First off, I'll say that I'm not a fan of real-life racing, and I'd probably suck at this, but after reading Andy Mahood's column in this month's PC Gamer, this service sounds really interesting.  I mean, he was racing against the ACTUAL Dale Earnheardt Jr.  I could see this league going really big, maybe as big as MLG.

No, but it does sound interesting.

Still, I think its more for the track fan enthusiast than an actual car simulator. Games like GT and Forza makes me believe I actually own the cars which I can collect and mod individually. Also having the many different cars in GT and forza I actually do feel the difference in each car (Just car appreciation in general). The whole Iracing thing seems like its good for those that want to test thier racing reflex skills with the best.

I tried iRacing and I really like it.  It is challenging to get the hang of at first, but it is fun to race real cars on real licensed tracks against real drivers!!  I have never raced against Dale Earnhardt JR, but it is cool to see him on the forums and such.  There are console sims like Gran Turismo - even though we all know that GT is still a game.  Why is GT a game?  Well, if you use a game pad to "drive" in GT, how can that actually be a simulation of real driving?  Nothing wrong with GT, it is fun and challenging but they don't laser scan cars and tracks like iRacing does.  To use iRacing I bought a Logitech G25 wheel and pedal set and that works great.  You can tune the wheel and pedal settings in sim.  Anyway, if you want to race a real simulator, I will see you on iRacing. 

I have been an iracing member for over a year and although I am not very fast, I enjoy the competition.  On the one hand, I think Gran Turismo and Forza have their place as casual, living room, racing sims.  On the other hand, If you like sim racing enough to buy a wheel and pedal set, and you are more excited by faster lap times than longer power slides, then you should check out iracing.  The learning curve can be steep, but finally mastering a track after hours of practice is a great feeling of accomplishment.  And the best part is that all the tracks are laser-scanned recreations of real tracks, and the cars are accurate models of real cars.  It's really cool to watch a race on TV that involves a car and track that you have "raced" yourself.  

viral marketing
 
gtfo

" viral marketing  gtfo "

Nothing wrong with GT, it is fun and challenging but they don't laser scan cars and tracks like iRacing does.

For the market that Iracing is going for, males over 30 years and up, the price probably wont matter much anyways.  
 
@Diamond said:

Why pay $100 a year for iRacing when you can get many times the value for $60? "

I usually recognize users on these forums, and I tend to give the benefit of the doubt to people.. but why is it that I don't recognize a single person saying that this game is amazing?

Most Giantbombers are not Simracers.
 
Also I don't think Iracing is amazing, but it is a viable alternative for many people who are into simracing.

good thread

it's much more like a MMO than a normal game. also, it's a lot like a flight sim in that it requires more commitment than a typical game. however, it certainly has its place as a recreational experience as well as a learning tool for real racers.

I wouldn't compare iRacing to GT or Forza. iRacing is more about picking a car, learning how to set it up, perfecting your line and then realising that you're still 2 seconds off the pace than just racing dudes on the internet. Took me about 6 months to be competitive in the Skip Barber (on of the easiest cars there) but once you get there it's a lot of fun.

I used to race karts and with iRacing it felt like I'm racing again. The sim still isn't perfect but they're slowly getting there. Most importantly it captures emotions and decisions involved in real racing: balancing your tire load, outbreaking opponents, picking the better line when close to other car etc. Plus, when I'm 0.3 sec ahead of another driver and still have about 5 laps to go then I my heart is racing and my hands are wet! ;-)

I'd do it, but I just don't have a good setup. I want a proper racing wheel and pedals for a piece of software like that, but I don't have a good place to put that hardware.

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend trying iRacing on a joypad. It would be like playing Counter-Strike with a pad and being frustrated that you get killed all the time :-)

I get your point, I'd love to get 3 monitors but don't have enough space on/around my desk ;/

Big fan of Iracing, But it isnt really a game its a motorsport simulation, i know thats the marketing term but in fairness its not a false claim. Really you cant talk about games like GT5 and Forza4 in the same league, they are both console arcade sims and it shows. Dont get me wrong i love both games, (i actaully spent a lot of time with forza3, i own 4 but have not spent that long with it but the driving experiance isnt that different) but they are nothing like iracing.

Re the comment above about what you get for your money, that @Diamond he is both right and wrong.

If you are expecting a game about cars, he is 100% right. If you are expecting a motorsport sim, that is all a bit "why so serious", he is totally wrong. The Physics, and layout of how the game works are 100% better than any racing sim title you can play. Its stupidly expensive.

I love iRacing specifically because it's based on a real world skill. I can directly translate the skills I'm learning in iRacing to a live track and even my daily commute. I've noticed I'm a better driver because I'm more cognizant of other drivers: especially of their mistakes and how to avoid them. iRacing has "turned on" my brain more so than normal when driving.

Plus it's fun to challenge yourself based on a realistic skill that takes hard work to master. The requirement of learning a real world skill levels the playing field between the people that normally dominate twitch games and those that are willing to work hard to get better.

That's not to say I don't love the arcade games too. Sometimes I just love me some race-candy and play Grid 2, Dirt 3, or one of the Need for Speeds.