Why you should try iRacing’s Cadwell Park

To many of iRacing’s customers outside of the UK, the sim’s new 2024 Season 4 content may have felt like a bit of a let down. With only two cars and a little-known English track, hype was understandably absent *

However, I’m here to plead the case of Cadwell Park. I firmly believe it’s one of the most exciting driver’s tracks in the world and its appearance in iRacing is a big deal. 

So, here’s why all our international sim racing friends should buy it…

Leafy, leafy Lincolnshire

Cadwell Park is located in a particularly leafy part of Lincolnshire, south of Louth, in an alliterative twist. It’s owned by ex-Formula 1 Driver Jonathan Palmer’s MotorSport Vision organisation, whose portfolio includes Brands Hatch, Snetterton, Oulton Park, Bedford Autodrome, Donington Park and Circuit de Navarra.

The track has been a going concern since 1934, mainly hosting motorcycle and sidecar events but with the odd top-line single-seater series thrown in for good measure. The British Formula 3 championship staged events at Cadwell on and off from 1954 to 1983, treating the likes of Ayrton Senna, Ronnie Peterson, Nelson Piquet and Martin Brundle to its tight and twisty rollercoaster ride.

It’s because of its confined layout and lack of run-off that Cadwell is predominantly suited to motorcycle racing and smaller four-wheeled cars, with the track playing host mainly to club-level motorsport, including the British Racing and Sports Car Club’s range of low-cost, entry-level series.

This is reflected in iRacing too, where the best online battles will be had with the sim’s smaller and slower cars, including the Renault Clio R.S. V, Global Mazda MX-5 Cup, the Legends Ford ’34 Coupe and the Toyota GR86.

However, my favourite with which to master ‘The Mountain’ is the plucky little Ray FF1600 single-seater.

Driving Cadwell Park

The Ray is essentially a Formula Ford, a lightweight, wing-less open-wheeler powered by a 1600cc normally-aspirated engine. The category began in 1967 and has been a proving ground for top F1 talent, including world champions Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet.

Designed as a cost-effective way to go motor racing, Formula Ford is now largely confined to the club racing scene – ideal for Cadwell, then. 

The level of mechanical grip is immediately apparent from the Ray in my early laps around Cadwell, with the car able to exert a surprising amount of braking force before locking up. It’s essentially a big kart: lots of grip, insanely chuckable and with comparatively little horsepower.

A lap of Cadwell Park in the Ray FF1600

Heading out onto Cadwell’s 2.175-mile Full Circuit layout, you quickly reach the limit of adhesion reached around the high-speed, double-apex right-hander of Charlies. The Ray responds beautifully, lapsing into a predictable four-wheel drift: this is a car that loves to be thrown around. 

The exit of Charlies is crucial, as it leads to the long Park Straight, where the Ray’s lack of horsepower necessitates carrying huge momentum. Carry too much, though, and you’ll hit the raised kerb on the outside, sapping speed and a track limits strike.

Park features the first big braking zone of the lap and if you get it wrong you’ll be headed for the enormous grassy run-off area to the outside. Get it right, and you’ll carry a lot of speed into Chris Curve, perhaps even requiring a small lift depending on how rubbered-in the track is. Like many areas of the track, one false move and you’re headed for a country drive.

Next up is the infamous Gooseneck, a quick right-left combination featuring huge elevation changes. Braking on entry, you need to hug the right-hand kerb before flicking back to the left-hand kerb on-power, using the camber of the road to drag your car into the apex (and you’ll need it, as putting just one wheel over the exit kerb will invalidate your lap).

Get it right, and you’ll feel like Sebastien Vettel driving his dominant RB7. Get it wrong, and you’ll feel like Sebastien Vettel driving literally any Ferrari (okay, 2015-16 were good years, I’ll grant you that). 

The track’s varied topography comes into play again as you approach Mansfield (named after the original circuit owner Mansfield Wilkinson), a deep bowl of a left-hand turn that can easily catch you out thanks to its downhill braking zone. Fortunately, its cambered apex can help both slow the car down and keep the momentum up as we head towards The Mountain section.

The Mountain

The Mountain is a medium-speed left-right complex with a stunningly steep exit, where the British Superbikes Championship’s riders literally take off and catch some air. Banked on the way in, you can carry an absurd amount of speed through the right-hand apex, taking liberties with the kerb, before the hill provides enough grip to drag the car through. There’s very little time to think here: just close your eyes and keep your right foot planted!

Encountering a touch of oversteer over the brow of the hill, you’re now on the way to the deceptively quick Hall Bends, a sequence of tree-lined chicanes with chunky kerbs. You can use a lot real estate here without being pinged for track limits, so take as much kerb as you dare. 

It’s a dangerous downhill chute, requiring careful brake modulation while negotiating its tricky, undulating right-left, right-left sequence. The close proximity of barriers make this section of the track stand out too: one false move and you become one with nature.

The descent into Hairpin is made even trickier by its off-camber approach, with zero margin for error on the outside. The final corner of Barn similarly features a deceptive exit.

And the challenge is only amplified when you add iRacing’s Tempest wet weather system into the mix, with puddles forming in the track’s natural troughs, creating a few extra watery chicanes. It is England, after all.

Rivals

This isn’t the first time Cadwell has appeared in a racing game or sim, however, as it has also been seen in RIDE 4, RIDE 5, Project CARS, PCARS 2 and Automobilista 2. Arguably, iRacing’s version is the best and most up-to-date example.

However, there are still a few rough edges, including mysterious floating grass and foliage pop-in. It really shouldn’t happen with iRacing’s heavily optimised and aged graphics engine, or at its premium price point of £14.95 / $11.95 (before any discounts), but it doesn’t distract from the largely excellent driving experience.

Ultimately, Cadwell Park in iRacing perfectly reflects its real-world counterpart. The bumps, kerbs and cambers are all represented wonderfully in-game and provide players with the kind of visceral feedback that makes sim racing such a wonderful hobby.

Go buy it now! (And watch your iRating plummet.)

So there we have it. Have I convinced you that Cadwell Park is a must-have for your iRacing shopping basket, or is it back to GT3s around Spa-Francorchamps for you? Let me know in the comments below!

*the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo was recently added in a post-update patch