iRacing has a comprehensive list featuring nearly all of the world’s greatest circuits, laser scanned to millimeter accuracy. This gives you a chance to experience some of the world’s greatest driving challenges from the comfort of your own home. Here are the 5 corners which I personally find most enjoyable.

Eau Rouge | Spa-Francorchamps

As one of the most infamous corners in world motorsport, Eau Rouge/Radillion requires commitment and confidence in order to maximise speed. Navigating this section is a real thrill mainly because a huge shunt is just a tiny slip up away. The high speed nature of the corner and the proximity of barriers on either side of the track make a truly challenging combination.

Sadly, a lot of modern cars (especially single seaters) have enough grip to make this corner easily flat out.  If you want to experience this corner at its best try driving it in the Lotus 49 or a modern GT car. Additionally, you could hop in a private test session and try taking it in reverse! Downhill Eau Rouge is even scarier than uphill Eau Rouge especially since it gives you the (now downhill) Kemmel Straight to get up to breakneck speed.

Paddock Hill | Brands Hatch

Where Eau Rouge is often easily taken flat out, Paddock Hill bend is a challenge no matter what car you are driving.

The apex is completely blind as you turn in so the “chuck it in and hope for the best” tactic is the only way to go. As soon as you (hopefully) kiss the apex, the rest of the corner is all about maintaining control. Mainly because the road falls away sharply resulting in a huge decrease in grip. This is where you’ll find out if you’ve overcooked it on entry and you will see the unforgiving gravel trap on exit coming up fast. Before you know it, there is a huge compression where the gradient switches from downhill to uphill on corner exit. If you reach this point without dipping a wheel onto the kitty litter you have survived one of the most challenging corners in the UK motorsport.

This corner is extremely enjoyable in any car although I would recommend the Lotus 79. The amount of speed you can carry in this car is ludicrous fun. It also gives you a great sense of the bravery required to be a Formula 1 driver of the ground effect era.

Recaro/Final Corner | Oran Park

The last corner at Oran Park is much less renowned than the previous two on this list. However, I feel it deserves a place on this list out of the sheer fun factor it possesses.

As you head out of the preceding high speed chicane you will need to collect yourself as you head directly for a concrete wall. As you come off the brakes you hit a sharp incline allowing you to carry more speed than you think possible. After you have hooked your inside wheels on the inside curb you have to get on power for the following straight as the track falls away. There are not many things more enjoyable than slamming on the gas as early as you dare and powersliding all the way through the exit until you kiss the concrete wall at the corner’s exit. Since it is also the last corner on the circuit, it is make or break for the entire lap. This makes it so satisfying when you get it right.

As for which car to use, I’d recommend the Dallara F3 car. This car loves it when you hook your left wheels on the inside kerb through the corner. What’s more, the tires allow you to get a bit of a slide going on exit without losing speed. A rare thing for iRacing and a perfect recipe for a fun time.

As a side note, this entire circuit is an extremely enjoyable yet challenging drive. Sad when you think they demolished it to make way for residential development. It is a privilege that iRacing has preserved the track in pristine detail allowing us to enjoy this fantastic circuit today.

The Uphill | Lime Rock Park

A corner that every single person on iRacing has crashed more times than they perhaps would like to admit. This corner routinely tests rookie iRacers as one of the free iRacing tracks.

This corner is a twisted combination of the Flugplatz of the Green Hell and Eau Rouge. As you yank the wheel to the right on entry the track goes steeply uphill. This causes the car to undergo substantial loading thereby increasing the grip. All of this extra grip is great! … until you reach the exit of the corner where the hill flattens out extremely suddenly and the car takes off. You go from having bucket loads of grip to absolutely zero almost instantaneously because you are in the air! It is an extremely unique and old school corner which in my opinion necessitates its presence on this list.

The repaved version of this track was recently rescanned for iRacing and provided for free to all members. So I’d recommend giving it a spin in the Mazda MX-5 for the quintessential iRacing experience. Just remember to set the track configuration to classic!

The Downhill Esses | Bathurst

So as we reach the end of the list we come to my personal favourite. This is technically a section of track not a specific corner but it is just too good to not include. The section I am referring to is the entire portion of track after Mcphillamy park and before Forest’s Elbow. This is where the track zigs and zags downhill across the famed Mount Panorama before the Conrod Straight.

As you speed through Skyline you might want to move your brake bias forwards a click or two in preparation for the Esses. This is a high speed, steeply downhill, right left right chicane, that doubles as a braking zone in preparation for the Dipper, a sharp left hander which immediately follows the Esses. As you might expect from the name, it dips.

This isn’t just any dip though, this is the equivalent of the extra cheese triple dip from Chuck E Cheese. It is a monster once amusingly described as a geological oddity by NASCAR legend Darrell Waltrip. As it approaches, you have to aggressively throw the car in towards the inside wall and just skim it as the track drops away from you. If you succeed, then the car will hit the compression at the bottom of the dip and while you apply the throttle, the backend will kick out. Correct the slide before the outside wall collects you and continue to apply the throttle And you have survived the rollercoaster that is the Dipper.

For this to be enjoyed as it was intended, it is a must to try this in the V8 Supercar. However, I would also recommend trying it in a GT3 car for that extra bit of speed. If you want an adrenaline overdose try the Williams FW31 but be warned, you won’t survive…

Honorable Mentions

There are many more fantastic corners in iRacing I haven’t included in this list because there are just too many! So here are some honourable mentions:

• The corkscrew at Laguna Seca
• The Esses at Road Atlanta
• Ascari at Monza
• Scheivlak (High Speed downhill Right Hander) at Zandvoort
• The entirety of the Nurburgring Nordschleife

If you are wondering which iRacing cars to buy, check out this article