Descriptions of all standard tracks

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Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia

A very distinctive circuit, but one that suits the style of Indycar racing perfectly: enclosed in continuous barriers (the track is laid out through the streets of the city), with several very long straights, a large number of left and right corners, and sharp, prolonged braking zones — all of this guarantees a hard-fought and spectacular race. Races here are never boring — plenty of collisions, and overtaking under braking or on the straights. Success depends on the driver's skill and the car's setup: no particular combination of chassis and engine will help if your hands are not up to it.

This circuit, located not far from the Australian city of Brisbane, is very pleasant to drive simply for the fun of it. Perhaps because it is quite long and fast (in addition, the closeness of the barriers heightens the sensation of speed), and driving centimetres away from the barriers is always a pleasure. But practice plays a big role here.

The best places to overtake are either under braking at the end of the straights, or on the straights themselves.

Track information: Length: 2.795 miles (4.497 km) · Race laps: 65

Phoenix, Arizona ("Phoenix International Raceway")

This one-mile track, set among sand and cacti, can sometimes turn into a nightmare during a race, because the traffic here is usually terrible. But that does not mean the track itself is uninteresting or unpleasant. It is quite technical, though a lot can depend on the setup and the tyres. Speeds here are considerable while the track is rather narrow, so you need to stay alert at all times. And the layout itself will not let you relax: besides the main corners, the back straight also has a kink (in American parlance a "dogleg"), reminiscent of Nazareth, where the main straight has a similar kink.

You can overtake here in various places — for example, around the outside of the last corner, at the end of the straights and so on — but always be careful with your rivals, as they may slow down sharply before a corner when running in a big group.

Track information: Length: 1.000 mile (1.609 km) · Race laps: 200

Long Beach, California ("Grand Prix of Long Beach")

This street circuit is perhaps the best-known American track (that is not an oval). It is fairly simple and fast, and thrilling battles usually unfold here — along the Pacific coast. It is on this circuit that newcomers to Indycar Racing II usually start learning what is required of them to drive fast. But even for reasonably experienced drivers there are a couple of interesting spots here.

The main problem is finding the right braking points after the two long straights, because there is no run-off space if you make a mistake — barriers everywhere, as on any street circuit.

There are three proven overtaking spots: at the end of the two straights, and before the final corner.

Track information: Length: 1.590 miles (2.558 km) · Race laps: 105

Nazareth, Pennsylvania ("Nazareth Speedway")

This is a very interesting place. Somewhat reminiscent of Phoenix, this one-mile track always holds a certain mystery. All the corners here (the kink on the start-finish straight is not considered a corner by the Americans) differ in character. This track is the favourite of Michael Andretti and Paul Tracy (in fact it is the home track of the entire Andretti clan), which probably hints at the driving style this place demands: aggressive, slightly sharp. It is a very pleasant track to drive with no traffic. But in a race with 30 other cars all the pleasure evaporates, because you have no time to feel or appreciate it — all your attention is focused on the wing or the wheels of the cars that constantly appear centimetres to your left or right.

Perhaps the best overtaking spot here is the outside of the first big corner (not the kink); it is also good to overtake under braking at the end of the back straight. You can try to pass on the exit of the final corner on the way to the kink, but that is rather risky.

Track information: Length: 1.000 mile (1.609 km) · Race laps: 200

West Allis / Milwaukee, Wisconsin ("The Milwaukee Mile")

The "Milwaukee Mile" is arguably the oldest track in America — racing began here about 100 years ago. This one-mile track, like any other reasonably short track, has met the same fate: races here by definition simply cannot be boring. Passing a rival around the outside is very common practice here. In its characteristics and speeds Milwaukee is very similar to Loudon, yet each has its own small peculiarities that underline its individuality: Milwaukee gives the impression of a slightly narrower track than Loudon, and its straights are a little shorter.

Thanks to the track's "classic" layout, overtaking is possible both at the end of both straights and around the outside or inside of the corners.

Track information: Length: 1.000 mile (1.609 km) · Race laps: 200

Detroit, Michigan ("The Raceway at Belle Isle")

This is probably the slowest circuit of the whole championship, with the greatest number of corners. It is located on an island in the middle of the strait between two Great Lakes, Erie and Huron, right on the border with Canada. Compared with the twisty layout presented in the game, the circuit has actually changed a little today: its length has increased slightly, and a straight — which became the longest on the whole circuit — was added in place of several slow corners. As a result the drivers have a little less steering work to do, but there are more overtaking opportunities.

You can overtake before practically every corner where there is heavy braking, as well as on the back straight.

Track information: Length: 2.100 miles (3.379 km) · Race laps: 77

Portland, Oregon ("Portland International Raceway")

A very interesting circuit. Its layout is quite simple yet varied: there are very slow corners, medium ones, and fairly quick ones, as well as two relatively long straights. After the first corner the track narrows considerably, heading into an interesting sequence of right and left corners, and then widens again on the slightly curved back straight. Despite its modest size this circuit is very diverse — something is constantly changing along your way. And the price of a mistake practically anywhere on it is either a completely wrecked car or a long dance across the grass.

The best places to overtake are under braking before the first or last corners, and in the sequence of corners that begins with turn three.

Track information: Length: 1.950 miles (3.138 km) · Race laps: 102

Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin ("Road America")

This circuit is often compared with Europe's Spa. And indeed, the two tracks share many features: almost identical length, picturesque scenery along the whole circuit, and a large number of fast corners. It is very enjoyable to drive here: high speeds and quick corners do their job. The main difficulty is somehow settling on braking points before each corner, which does not always work out the way it should. The trickiest part of the circuit is always the so-called "Carousel" (a long right-hander with a large radius), where you can gain a lot of time — or lose a lot.

Thanks to the layout there are plenty of overtaking spots (many long straights and braking zones).

Track information: Length: 4.000 miles (6.436 km) · Race laps: 50

Toronto, Canada ("Exhibition Place")

This circuit is laid out on the grounds of an exhibition centre, on the shore of Lake Ontario. Although the track is not strictly in the city, it is entirely enclosed in barriers. It is a fairly difficult circuit; what stands out most is the very long straight ending in extremely heavy braking (it was right here that Jeff Krosnoff was killed in 1996). The slightest inaccuracy here leads to a heavy crash. The first and last corners also cause plenty of trouble. But so many difficult spots only add to the appeal of this circuit. So once you have learned it and absorbed all the dangerous moments, you can take great pleasure in racing on one of the most dangerous circuits of the championship.

The best places to overtake are in the first corner and at the end of the straight that follows it.

Track information: Length: 1.780 miles (2.864 km) · Race laps: 98

Cleveland, Ohio ("Burke Lakefront Airport")

This circuit stands out from the rest simply by virtue of where it is laid out: an airfield. Drivers here race along the taxiways and runways of one of Cleveland's airfields, located on the shore of Lake Erie. There are places so wide that probably 7–10 cars could line up side by side. But such open space does not make the drivers' lives any easier. On the contrary, the absolutely flat surface of the whole track and the great distances from one edge of the track to the other worsen the drivers' visibility; in such conditions it is relatively hard to get your bearings, pick braking points and commit to corners.

Overtaking here is quite difficult for the same reasons, but the opportunity exists practically everywhere.

Track information: Length: 2.369 miles (3.812 km) · Race laps: 85

Brooklyn, Michigan ("Michigan International Speedway")

This is possibly the most popular track in the game. Indeed, the Michigan superspeedway was for a long time the fastest "Indycar" oval, although recently that "title" has passed to a brand-new track — Fontana, California (incidentally, both of the fastest tracks belong to Roger Penske), which is available for download in the Downloads section. But in this game Michigan remains the fastest track of the original game; its official real-world record is roughly 237 mph.

Here, more than anywhere else, the car's behaviour depends heavily on race conditions: the amount of fuel, the tyres, the setup or the weather. That is why on tracks like this you have to make changes during the race — mainly by adjusting the balance of the front and rear anti-roll bars (the "+" and "-", "[" and "]" keys respectively).

You can overtake practically anywhere here, depending on the situation. The main thing is to constantly try to use the slipstream (gaining extra speed by sitting in the low-pressure pocket left by the car ahead).

Track information: Length: 2.000 miles (3.218 km) · Race laps: 250

Lexington, Ohio ("Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course")

This circuit is quite conventional, yet it still has distinctly American features — long straights, sharp braking zones and dangerous corners. It is precisely this cocktail that has always made American races interesting whenever, by chance, they take place somewhere other than an oval or a street circuit.

There is some elevation change in certain corners, as a result of which, for example, the exit of turn 4 is almost completely "blind". The trickiest spot is the first corner, where it is very important to find the braking point and hit the apex precisely — otherwise it is very easy to end up far off the track.

The best overtaking spots are before the second and third corners (after the straights), and in the penultimate corner.

Track information: Length: 2.250 miles (3.620 km) · Race laps: 83

Loudon, New Hampshire ("New Hampshire International Speedway")

This is a comparatively "young" track, especially next to its "twin brother", the "Milwaukee Mile". The characteristics of the two tracks are practically identical, but Loudon is a little longer. Unfortunately, CART races are not held here at present, even though there used to be plenty of overtaking and battles here too. But that is a matter of politics rather than racing. Everyone knows about the split of 1996, when American "Indycar" racing broke into the IRL and CART; Loudon, just like Phoenix, in effect went over to the IRL.

Overtaking here is mostly done either around the outside of the first corner, or along the inside of all the corners.

Track information: Length: 1.058 miles (1.702 km) · Race laps: 200

Vancouver, Canada ("Concord Pacific Place")

This street circuit deserves attention. Despite its modest dimensions it makes demands precisely on the driver's skill. It could perhaps be compared with Monaco in some way, but only because it is equally difficult. The most wins here were taken by Al Unser Jr. and Michael Andretti.

An incredible straight with several kinks, a few fairly quick corners and insane braking zones at the second and last corners — where the front wheels have not yet straightened up after the small kinks — that is everything the Vancouver circuit consists of. But you can take it on trust that a driver needs considerable effort to tame these 2.5 km of pure racing adrenaline and never-ending work with the wheel and pedals amid endless barriers.

In Vancouver you can overtake under braking before the second and last corners, and on the exit of the small tunnel. But you must shed speed in advance when overtaking, otherwise you may involuntarily slam at full force into a group of cars bunched up in a slow corner.

Track information: Length: 1.677 miles (2.698 km) · Race laps: 102

Laguna Seca, California ("Laguna Seca Raceway")

Judging by the surrounding scenery this is a pure Hollywood circuit. In the words of Alexander Melnik, who commentated the CART races, "here you half expect some cowboy on a horse to ride out from behind the next hill and ask whether you have seen 'Little Al' or Michael Andretti around."

The circuit really is very picturesque in reality, and the hilly landscape only adds to its charm. Besides the large number of varied corners, including ones with elevation change, there is a very interesting spot here that you will not find anywhere else — the "Corkscrew" corner. In this "chicane" the drop between entry and exit reaches several metres! So the car can be hard to hold on the exit, and you need to be careful.

Overtaking is possible in most corners, only a little extra caution never hurts, since the price of a mistake can be high.

Track information: Length: 2.214 miles (3.562 km) · Race laps: 84