Edit: sorry I had this saved from this morning. I've found the name finally, it's Konami's CHEQUERED FLAG!
I've been chasing this racer for a while, I used to play it as 10y old at the arcade so I guess '86/'88? 2D top down racing game, cab came with a wheel similar to Super Sprint (so no turning ° lock, ) and High/Low gear stick, there was also a version with a joystick and buttons for the cheapass edition I figure.
Not a racetrack with fixed screen, but vertical scrolling on a long road from point A to B iirc.
You'd start and you'd race against time and against cpu cars, with arrow signs appearing on top to warn you about turns coming. Weather change, and also time of the day with a section with night driving where you'd have headlights on. Also a chance to pitstop (which would repair the car but lose you precious time) when near a checkpoint and there were these cool zooming in and out effects, oh yeah now I remember the intro with a bird view of the starting line zooming in to your car, was awesome. I've never seen it in any collection or console releases...
the game I'm talking about is much more graphically complex than Konami's Road Fighter,
Anyone here knows what's the name of the game I'm talking about???
I'm not sure if Konami are the makers... or maybe TAITO... I don't know!
. The turning arrow signs work like the Gaelco Neo-Geo racers.
Edit: have some videos below! I really really hope it gets an ACA release down the line because I'm sure there was a cheapskate/bootleg(?) version around that replaced the wheel with a joystick and the Gear Shifter with 2 buttons. It can work fine without an unlocked wheel (something that Atari's Super Sprint cannot)
It's still as awesome as I remember and I assure you it looks much better on the big screen, TATEd.... the zooming, the handling, the night driving and rain... please, please make an ACA release!
CHEQUERED FLAG (Konami 1988)