Dard's Painted Desert Short Course — New Beta Map Released

Darren Hardesty, known in the community as Dard, released a new beta map on April 2, 2026: the Painted Desert Short Course.

What Is It?

The Painted Desert Short Course is a dedicated short-course version of the original Painted Desert racing map. It is heavily inspired by real-world desert racing events, featuring tight, technical sections through arid desert terrain. The shorter format makes it ideal for quick racing sessions and time attack runs.

Community Reception

The map has been well-received since its release, accumulating over 1,400 downloads in its first few days. Early reviews praise the attention to detail in the desert environment and the quality of the racing surface, which provides a satisfying mix of grip and loose terrain.

The map is available as a beta release on the BeamNG.drive resources repository. As with all beta content, some rough edges may remain — feedback can be submitted directly to the creator on the repository page.

Source: BeamNG.drive Resources — Beta - Dard's Painted Desert Short Course.