Phhheeeeeeeepppppppp! Nope, that isn’t the whistle which signals a rally car’s about to hurtle through this neck of the woods, it’s Assetto Corsa Rally devs Supernova Games Studios trying to get our attention so they can shout about SNOW. They’ve added some to their uber-simmy rally sim in its latest early access update, and it coats some new laser-scanned Monte-Carlo trails.

To be fair, the Col de Turini and Sisteron Monte stages that AC Rally update 0.3 adds in are arguably the most iconic routes in rallying, so I can understand a bit of excitement. The two new cars the update delivers, a classic 70s Lancia Fulvia and a modern Rally2 Skoda Fabia RS, are also worth a small cheer. Especially the former, with its sporty Italian curves. You know, sometimes you write some words about a car, read them back and wonder if you need to have a word with yourself.

Anyway, the SNOW. “Both stages will have DYNAMIC WEATHER recreating the same circumstances you might encounter in reality where it can mix from snow to tarmac and back to snow again, with DYNAMIC SNOW debuting in Rally simulations for the first time ever,” Supernova shout, adding that you can stick new “SNOW TIRES” on your ride to tackle these changing conditions.

Rounding out this SNOWY update are 40 new events, as well as a range of tweaks to the likes of car physics, car sounds, and the inputs used to control cars. The latter look like particularly good news for controller users, with “gamepad steer filter options” having been added, “default steer dead zone” ditched, and Xbox wireless controller detection fixed.

I’ve been a bit too busy Crusader Kinging, Yakuza manning, and campervanning in recent months to get around to giving AC Rally the lengthy revisit I’ve been vaguely promising since my wheel bug-affected initial foray with it last year. However, I do love the Monte, so this may finally be the kick up the backside I need.