Overview
iRacing is an online-based racing game that consists of a persistent online service that hosts ongoing competitive series in which members race to improve their standing, better their skills and achieve higher and higher classes of licenses. The online league and standings operate in many ways like a racing MMO; players climb the ranks and improve skills to compete in bigger, faster races. New players begin as rookie drivers and can advance to bigger races by performing well enough to raise their license grade.
The game requires a constant internet connection and there is no AI or offline racing available. Pricing model includes a monthly subscription, which comes with 12 cars and 13 tracks. Additional cars and tracks can be purchased individually.
Currently, the following content is in iRacing:
Cars
- Aston Martin DBR9 GT1
- Audi R18 LMP1
- Audi R8 LMS GT3
- Audi 90 GTO
- BMW Z4 GT3
- C&R Racing Silver Crown Car
- Cadillac CTS-V R
- Chevrolet Corvette C6.R
- Chevrolet Corvette C7 Daytona Prototype
- Dallara DW12
- Dallara Indycar (2011)
- Dallara Indycar IR18
- Ferrari 488 GTE
- Ferrari 488 GT3
- Ford GT
- Ford GT GTE
- Ford Mustang FR 500S
- Ford SCCA Spec Racer
- Ford Falcon FG V8
- Ford Falcon V8 Supercar (2012)
- Formula Renault 2.0
- Holden Commodore VF V8
- HPD ARX-01C
- JR Motorsports Street Stock
- Kia Optima (GTS)
- Lotus 49
- Lotus 79
- Mazda MX-5 Cup (2015)
- Mazda MX-5 Roadster (2015)
- McLaren MP4-12C GT3
- McLaren MP4-30
- Mercedes-AMG GT3
- NASCAR Camping World Series Chevrolet Silverado
- NASCAR Camping World Series Toyota Tundra
- NASCAR Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
- NASCAR K&N Pro Chevrolet Impala Gen 5
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Chevrolet SS Gen 6 (2013-present)
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Ford Fusion Gen 6 (2013-present)
- NASCAR Sprint Cup Toyota Camry Gen 6 (2013-present)
- NASCAR National Series Chevrolet Impala SS (2011)
- NASCAR Truck Series Chevrolet Silverado (2013)
- NASCAR XFINITY Series Chevrolet Camaro (2014)
- NASCAR XFINITY Series Chevrolet Impala (2010-2012)
- NASCAR XFINITY Series Ford Mustang (2013)
- NASCAR XFINITY Series Toyota Camry
- Nissan GTP ZX-T
- Pontiac Solstice
- Porsche 919 LMP1
- Porsche 911 GT3-CUP
- Radical SR8 V8
- Riley MKXX Daytona Prototype
- RUF AWD
- RUF C-Spec
- RUF RT 12 R
- RUF RWD
- SK Modified
- Skip Barber Formula 2000
- Super Late Model
- Star Mazda
- Tour Modified
- US Legends Cars Intl. Ford '34 Coupe
- Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup
- Williams-Toyota FW31
Cars in Development
- Aston Martin Vantage GT3
- BMW E92 M3 GT2/GTE
- BMW One Series NGTC
- Honda Civic NGTC
- Mazda MX5 Cup (2016)
Tracks
Tracks Under Construction
- Croft Circuit
- Gateway Motorsports Park
- Lime Rock (Update)
- Mallory Park
- Michigan (Update)
- Miller Motorsports Park
- Montgomery Motor Speedway
- Mosport Oval
- Pocono (Update)
- Silverstone (Update)
- Thruxton Circuit
- Tsukuba
- Eldora (Dirt Track)
- Williams Grove (Dirt Track)
- Volusia (Dirt Track)
Tech Tracks
- Long Beach
- New Jersey Motorsports Park
Modes
Testing: Take to the tracks you own with any of the rides you own to do some single-car testing in which you can tweak the setups and practice the racing line. Unlimited time limit.
Open Practice: Take to the track in a open session of practice in which you can run out on track with your fellow iRacers online. All sessions are timed.
Time Trials: Take to the track and see if you can lay down consistent laps around the circuit of your choice. Users must lay down 3-10 consecutive "clean" laps in order for the session results to become official. It's a race against the clock and track itself!
Qualifying: Hit the track and lay down several fast laps in order to qualify for an official or unofficial iRacing-hosted race event. Your best time will determine your grid position for rest of the week.
Race: Take to the track against a field of fellow iRacers as the green flag waves in both official and unofficial series races! Based on your performance in the race, your iRating for your current license rank will be affected by your actions on track in official races. Drive a clean race, and your ratings will increase. Get involved in accidents or driving dirty will see your ratings drop as a result of your actions. Unofficial races (such as Carburetor Cup) do not have an impact on your iRating but the Sporting Code is still in effect, so keep it clean!
License Classes
When you first start out on iRacing, you will be given a Rookie Class license for both the iRacing Oval and Road Divisions. Each Rookie Class license starts off with a Safety Rating of 2.50 and an iRating of 1600. To advance up the ranks, you must advance your Safety Rating to 3.0 or higher along with meeting the special MPR requirements in order to be promoted to the next license class. The ranking system is listed below (from lowest to highest):
- Rookie Class (Red)
- Class D License (Orange)
- Class C License (Yellow)
- Class B License (Green)
- Class A License (Blue)
- Pro Class License (Black)
- Driver's World Championship License (Black)
Safety Rating is based upon your ability to complete laps and races with as few incidents as possible. Incidents fall into several categories:
- Contact/Car Contact
- Off-Track
- Lost Control
Each incident is assigned a point value from 0x to 4x based on the severity. For example, scraping the wall lightly may result in a 0x contact incident, which is minor and does not impact your Safety Rating. Driving through the grass is a 1x off-track incident, and will have a slight impact on Safety Rating. More severe contact with the wall or with another car may result in a 2x or 4x incident. The total number of points per race is added together, and an incident total that is too high may result in disqualification from the event. This is intended to discourage reckless driving.
After each race, iRacing will adjust your Safety Rating based on your incident rate. The more turns and laps you complete without incident, the more your Safety Rating will go up.
Customization
iRacing lets users customize their car's paint scheme, as well as your helmet and driver suit. The user first selects a pre-made design from the paint booth, then picks up to three different colors for the design from a full RGB palette. The car number can also be customized with three colors and a selection of fonts. From there, a number of sponsors can be chosen from a drop-down list.
For more personalized or realistic paint schemes, users can download layered templates and edit them in Photoshop or similar applications. In order for other drivers to view these custom designs, they must either be shared manually, or through the use of a third-party program called Trading Paints that monitors iRacing for activity and downloads all the custom schemes for the drivers in a given session.
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