iRacing Dev Update Highlights New Tracks, Career Mode

iRacing Formula Vee Rain Preview.jpg
Like clockwork, iRacing gets a considerable update every three months. In September, it is time for one again to prepare the sim for Season 4 of 2023, which will include some exciting improvements - although rain is not quite there just yet.

Image credit: iRacing

The latest dev update for iRacing announced that two new tracks are going to be part of the September update - or rather three, to be exact: For one, sim racers finally get to enjoy a modern version of Zandvoort, which has seen some significant alterations ahead of its return to the Formula One calendar in 2021 (originally scheduled for 2020, but postponed due to the COVID pandemic).

In addition to the Dutch Grand Prix venue, short track oval racing fans can look forward to the addition of Kern County Raceway Park with both its paved and dirt layouts. The Californian ovals will not be sold separately, meaning racers pay for one circuit, but receive both versions.

New Spanish Circuit in Development​

More is in the pipeline on the circuit front, too: While iRacing is already working on Algarve, Misano, Mugello, Pukekohe and Lédenon, Executive Producer Greg Hill also confirmed the Circuito de Navarra to be in the works for the sim. Opened in 2010, the facility currently mostly hosts regional series, but has been on the calendars of the FIA GT1 World Championship (2010-2012), the Blancpain Endurance Series (2011-2012, now GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup), World SBK (2021) and the 24H Series (2018), among others.


Meanwhile, numerous elements will receive a fresh coat of paint for the September update: The in-sim UI gets a rework that also makes it possible to scale better to different resolutions, more history will be available on the results page, and the doubled-in-size animation team focuses on modernizng the core architecture for graphics, which should lead quicker load times and another increase in different car models that can be on the grid in one race together.

Tire Physics Improvement for Dry & Wet​

In conjuction with the progressing rain and wet weather model, the physics team (now even tripled in size) is working on more detailed tire physics, also for running in the dry. A deep dive on these developments should follow soon, which also goes for the implementation of rain when "closer to release of this ongoing project", according to Hill.

The road racing license system is also subject to change to better accommodate different types of cars "with dramatically different characteristics and the pitfalls that can be experienced when trying something less familiar."

iRacing Nürburgring Nordschleife Rain Preview.jpg

Rain is coming to iRacing - it is not quite clear when, however, but the screenshots provided with the Dev Update look promising. Image credit: iRacing.com

Career Mode in the Making​

Another highly-interesting piece of info is iRacing's apparent focus on adding a "realistic and engaging career mode that is being built true to the authentic nature of what iRacing (and real world racing) is all about", as Hill states in the Dev Update. Whether this means a career mode being added to iRacing itself or a separate release remains to be seen.

The content is certainly there: Ladders for various types of cars and disciplines already exist in iRacing - think Formula Vee to Formula One via F4 (which is officially partnered with iRacing now), and F3 or Mazda MX5 to LMDh prototypes via GT4, GT3 and LMP2.

To get all the details about iRacing's latest Dev Update, check out Hill's original post here.

iRacing Jerez Rain Preview.jpg

On-track battles like these could be fought in a career mode eventually, as iRacing has confirmed to be working on one. Image credit: iRacing.com

Your Thoughts​

There is a lot happening with iRacing right now - what are you looking forward to the most? And what would you wish for in their career mode? Let us know in the comments below!
About author
Yannik Haustein
Lifelong motorsport enthusiast and sim racing aficionado, walking racing history encyclopedia.

Sim racing editor, streamer and one half of the SimRacing Buddies podcast (warning, German!).

Heel & Toe Gang 4 life :D

Comments

I hope that the new skybox and lighting on the track that applies to rain will also be implemented for day racing. It looks much better then daytime racing currently in iRacing, more realistic.
 
sounds like good news, thx for report Yannik. Had another great event yesterday night, one gridder in the RAY Formula Ford 1600 which is heaps of fun. Had a 12 lap super clean fight with a chap I'd never met before from Canada, luckily for me he made that one mistake with two laps to go so I could finally slip past and finish in 5th of 13 on the grid.
Here's hoping (in vain) the haters will maybe stop being so negative, join the service and enjoy it as much as I do, doing two events each week, sometimes three, 90% of those as much fun as that one last night, just the F4 giving me a bit of a headache, too many hotheads there ...
But all in all, seven or eight good events a month for 12 or so Euros, still works fine for me just as it did 12 years ago.
 
I might be an outlier here, but I love Iracing's AI

Mostly race against the AI as I am not particularly good and far too competitive. Career mode would be amazing.
Also, not too sure why people go on about the graphics, it runs super smooth and I actually like the look along with RF2s. Must be me again.

Yes I do have all the other titles, maybe I have a sit PC….
 
I might be an outlier here, but I love Iracing's AI

Mostly race against the AI as I am not particularly good and far too competitive. Career mode would be amazing.
Also, not too sure why people go on about the graphics, it runs super smooth and I actually like the look along with RF2s. Must be me again.

Yes I do have all the other titles, maybe I have a sit PC….
Your not alone. Even if iRacing isn't my product of choice I actually like the rain previews so far. And while rain in rF2 and iRacing might not look as spectacular as in AMS2 or ACC, they sure look convincing and realistic to my eyes. Atleast I don't have the feeling that I am watching a Michael Bay movie.
 
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Too bad the subscription model is not for me.

I would implement a career mode like this, online:
- sim free to try for everyone with just one car (Mazda MX5) and track (Lime Rock)
- once you got a decent irating you can try a custom Championship with the Mazda MX5 Cup
- if you arrive in the top 3, you can partecipate for free to the Season 2 in the same class, or drive in a higher class (i.e. Skip Barber - Formula Vee - Ray FF1600)
- if you already own the car, to partecipate in the career mode with this class, you must maintain a certain irating. If you don't own the car, you have it 1 season for free.
- if you arrive in the top 3, you can continue another Season in this class, with the same car (i.e. you selected Skip Barber), or change the car (i.e. Formula Vee or Ray FF1600).
- if you choose to change the car in the same class, you can still buy the Skip Barber with a discount, because you arrived in the top 3. If you won the class, the car is yours for free.
- If you choose to drive in an higher class, you will receive the new car for free for 1 season, like before.
- Winning the Custom Championship gives you the car for free, while arriving in the top 3 gives you a discount if you want to buy the car, gives you the opportunity to drive another car in the same class for free for 1 season or gives you the chance to advance in another class, higher.
This scenario until you will reach, if you are so good, the top of the racing classes: Formula 1 or Indycar.

As for the tracks, when you are driving in a specific class, those tracks of the Custom Championship are free to drive for you, but you can also have a discount in case you want to buy them, if you arrived in the top 3 in that specific class.

You can test a track for free, 1 week before the racing weekend on that specific track.

Every class has an entry irating level. If your irating points are lower, you can't enter that class, so you must practice in order to get the points you need to drive in that class.

Sorry for the length of the post, but I think this kind of online Career Mode would take onboard in iRacing many other people that would stay out otherwise. So, if you didn't buy a specific car for a specific class, in order to partecipate to that class with that car, you need to have the requested irating level/points. If you don't have the necessary points, then you can decide to return to lower classes in order to gain points, arriving in the top 3, or you can decide to buy the car and practice until you got the points you need, because a car is yours for free in the higher class, only for one season. Going back to lower classes should grant you the car only because you are coming from an higher class, for 1 season only. To maintain that car without buying it, you must arrive in the top 3.

LOL it's not too complicated! (hopefully)
 
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Premium
I might be an outlier here, but I love Iracing's AI

Mostly race against the AI as I am not particularly good and far too competitive. Career mode would be amazing.
Also, not too sure why people go on about the graphics, it runs super smooth and I actually like the look along with RF2s. Must be me again.

Yes I do have all the other titles, maybe I have a sit PC….
Plenty of things I don't like about iRacing, but it's AI is the best out there IMO. I love they fact they make mistakes, which is not something you see a lot of other games implement well.
 
Premium
I have always wished they would have a single player option too. I love oval racing but I don't love oval MP racing.
Don't know if I perhaps misunderstand your post…but they actually have a singleplayer, their AI is one of the best among the popular sims. Downside is that you still have to pay the sub ofc.
 
Premium
I could pay for a light only offline version of i racing, with just what is needed for doing a monoplace carrer.
4 or 5 cars (one in various categories, 5 to 10 tracks.
5€ per item, about 60 € .

Otherwise, this sim will remain à nice one i will never try.
 
Tbh. I am glad all those toxic crybabies are not using iracing anyways...
The whole subscription system keeps the bad apples away.
Most of them are the same ppl trash talking all of the other sims here too... ignoring them is the way to go.
I am sorry to say this but this attitude isn't exactly helping anyone. I for one could afford iRacing put I see no reason to pay 12 Dollar for a track that I have never heard off to not be able to use it. I would propably be fine with a sub, but blocking payed content behind a paywall is a big nogo for me. That's a concious desicion after my three month trial time when I experienced good and bad apples as in any other racing platform. If there was something like a retail version of iRacing I would propably be using it.

Now add to that fact that we both are propably just lucky enough to be born at the right place so that we can have access to something like simracing, it becomes apparent that we maybe can't change the world, but how we approach economical fairness in simracing. Some studios are showing how it's done more than others. As it stands now, this genre is still very niche and a playground for rich kids or people with too much money and you propably have no idea how many skilled enough people are excluded from iRacing, because it's just very expensive in the long run. It's allmost as bad as in real racing these days.
 
I might be an outlier here, but I love Iracing's AI

Mostly race against the AI as I am not particularly good and far too competitive. Career mode would be amazing.
Also, not too sure why people go on about the graphics, it runs super smooth and I actually like the look along with RF2s. Must be me again.

Yes I do have all the other titles, maybe I have a sit PC….
The graphics are what they are because iRacing does not want to force subscribers to have to buy new equipment to be able to race.

As a subscriber I appreciate that I have not had to make changes to my machine just to be able to race and be competitive.

Quite frankly, I do not care about being able to see the ladybug in the grass while I am racing. I just want to be able to see the track and the cars I am racing against. All other stuff is fluff - nice to have but ultimately not important.
 

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