Data the key to Paul Ricard success, both on track and in Assetto Corsa Competizione

The Fanatec Esports Cup is one of 16 different disciplines being contested at the second edition of the FIA Motorsport Games staged in Marseille, France, next month from October 26-30.

The Esports competition will be contested on a custom-branded virtual version of the Circuit Paul Ricard track – one of many circuits around the world that have been laser scanned down to the millimetre by Assetto Corsa Competizione developers, Kunos Simulazioni.

The Rome, Italy-based company began in 2005 and has become a world leader in racing software and games.

While the aim for both virtual and real-world competitors at the FIA Motorsport Games will be to go as fast as possible, the creation of the virtual version begins with a slow lap.

“We begin with a very slow lap of a track with a van equipped with laser scanners. Those lasers reflect every single surface of the track and its surroundings down to the last millimetre,” said Aristotelis Vasilakos, Kunos Simulazioni Head of Vehicle and Handling R&D.

“We actually end up with more data than we want to use in Assetto Corsa Competizione. In some corners and over kerbs, the software is far more precise down to the millimetre. But in other parts of the track, we condense that down to centimetres as we need to keep data weight as low as possible, keeping the best quality but making sure the frame rate is as high as needed..

“What we end up with is a very precise recreation of the track. Drivers who have raced on the actual circuit tell us that every tiny bump is recreated precisely in Assetto Corsa Competizione.”