iRacing News, Updates and Rumors

New Tire Model in New Build: UPDATE 2 No Major Change: The new build will roll out next week, and the new tire model has been confirmed to be on the Star Mazda. Also hearing the new tire model will be on the Riley DP in the next iRacing build. 1/19/12
UPDATE: Hearing a stiffer sidewall is an update that will take place on all cars with the NTM. Not sure how drastic of a change this will be or how it will impact current setups. Also hearing more spotter files will be added, possibly to inform when/where there are wrecks, lap times, and location of the leader. It also appears more features are coming in hosted sessions to allow more admin controls and also improvement to tournament racing. Looks like some other additions could be brake glow and backfires from cars. 1/21/12
UPDATE 2: Hearing that the stiffer sidewall will not drastically change setups in the new build. More than likely setups will only need some ride height adjustments to get past tech, and will not need major changes after that. Erid Hudec posted that you will see some difference with the tires, you will need to tweak setups. The left side right heights will be lower, and the rights higher and you’ll probably have to tune your balance as well. 1/25/12

2012 Season 1 Schedules Out: UPDATE: New Engine for K&N Car: The inRacingNews Challenge will now have the Mazda MX-5 Roadster,Pontiac Solstice and Spec Racer Ford competing in their own class in this series. The iRacing Grand Touring Cup will now have the Mazda MX-5 Cup, Pontiac Solstice and VW Jetta TDI Cup car competing in their own class in this series. A Class D series tentatively called the NASCAR iRacing East Series which will use the old nationwide car that has been transformed into a K&N series car has been added. This is a fixed class series and driving aids are available in it. The Prototype and GT open and fixed series and Grand Am series will now have their qualifying grids sorted by class. 1/24/12
UPDATE: iRacing did say the old Nationwide car which will become the new K&N car will lose horsepower for the new series. The car will not have the new tire model at this time. No word if any other changes will come along with the car. 1/25/12

Lucas Oil Raceway: UPDATE: Before May 2012 iRacing has scanned Lucas Oil Raceway and it is believe to currently be in production. No word yet when this track may be released other than sometime in 2012.
UPDATE: Lucas Oil Raceway should be out before May 25th as iRacing has the ‘iRacing.com Night Before the Indy 500′ Tournament race scheduled for May 25th. 1/25/12

New Build coming as early as Tuesday?: UPDATE 4: Nope, Next Monday: It appears the newest build for iRacing could arrive as early as next Tuesday 1/24. Tony Gardner posted about the World Cup and that the current plan is to push the new build pretty early – Tues or Wed. Currently we know the Cadillac CTS-V is in production, but may not be in the newest build. A new spotter function that will allow members to replace the in-game spotter in a session and be a spotter for a friend. Also a new team function is coming, that will allow 24-hour races with driver swaps. 1/19/12
UPDATE 2: The new build will roll out next week, and the new tire model has been confirmed to be on the Star Mazda. Also hearing the new tire model will be on the Riley DP in the next iRacing build. 1/19/12
UPDATE 3: Hearing a stiffer sidewall is an update that will take place on all cars with the NTM. Not sure how drastic of a change this will be or how it will impact current setups. Also hearing more spotter files will be added, possibly to inform when/where there are wrecks, lap times, and location of the leader. It also appears more features are coming in hosted sessions to allow more admin controls and also improvement to tournament racing. Looks like some other additions could be brake glow and backfires from cars. 1/21/12
UPDATE 4: Steve Myers posted today that the new build will not be released until next Monday, January 30th. The build is expected to take about 6 hours as there is heavy infrastructure changes. 1/23/12

Rockingham Speedway – UPDATE: Possibly Somewhat Soon?: NASCAR will return to Rockingham Speedway in 2012, no word yet if iRacing has any plans to scan and reproduce this track. Click Here to see the Support Thread in iRacing
UPDATE: Tony Gardner mentioned today in the support thread that iRacing may take a look at Rockingham Speedway. More on Oval Track News Page. 1/24/12

Twin Ring Motegi: UPDATE: Not in Season 1
Track has been scanned and is in production and appears to be the next road course released.
UPDATE: Steve Myers posted that we should not expect to see Twin Ring Motegi by the end of Season 1, 2012. More on Road Course News Page. 1/24/12

Week 13 is Back: iRacing has announced the lineup for Week 13, which will run next week. Official series will be Street Stocks at Thompson, South Boston, Lanier, Oxford Plains, and Charlotte (1/4 mile and 1.5 Speedway). Official Road series will run Legends at Lime Rock, Summit Point and Okayama. Unofficial Series include Impala A at Talladega, Formula FW31 at Zandvoort, and Indycars at New Smyrna. Also the Week 13 Production Enduro returns with the Mazda MX Cup, Pontiac Solstice and the VW Jetta TDi at Suzuka (preview of Season 1, 2012). The World Cup of iRacing also kicks off throughout Week 13. Road races include Star Mazdas at Spa with oval races at Michigan in the trucks. 1/22/12

Porsche Exclusively with EA?: Porsche is possibly the most asked for car by iRacers, but it appears we just might have to wait. Porsche is believed to still be under contract with EA Sports which released Need for Speed: Porsche Unleashed in January of 2000. Porsche appears to be interested in a ‘durable and good partnership’ and have specifically decided to not be featured in Gran Turismo. This leaves us with hope that we will see the Porsche at some point in iRacing, but probably not anytime soon. 1/22/12

Friday Continental and Rolex 2.4 Date Changes: iRacing has officially pushed back the dates of the Grand-Am Continental iRacing Showdown Before the 2.4 to Friday, February 17th at 8pm EST. The Grand-Am iRacing.com 2.4 hours of Daytona will now be run Saturday, February 18th at 12 Noon EST. The Friday Continental race will be a 60-minute race, open setup, each car running it’s own class using the new Daytona International Speedway – Road, using the Jetta TDi, Pontiac Solstice, and Mazda MX5. The Rolex 2.4 will be a 2 hour and 40 minute timed race at Daytona International Speedway – Road, using the Riley Mk XX and Ford Mustang. The reason for the change is to allow for the new version of Daytona International Speedway to finish and become available for the membership. 1/21/12

New Daytona Coming; Not in new build: UPDATE2: Official Announcement: February 2nd? Tony Gardner posted that the new Daytona track will be released “soon”. Tony wrote that they anticipate the new track being ready in February in time for the iRacing Daytona 500 scheduled for Feb 25th, but not sure if it would be ready for the iRacing 2.4 in early Feb and they may push the 2.4 race back a bit to have the track ready for that event as well. The old Daytona track will remain in iRacing as a Vintage track available for hosted/league racing. Tony also said, members who own Daytona before the release will receive the track for free. Those who do not own Daytona will be able to buy the new track for $14.95 and the vintage track for $5. 1/12/12
UPDATE: iRacing made an official announcement on Friday that the New Daytona is coming in February. While an official date has not yet been announced, it’s safe to say it should come between the second and third weeks in February. The iRacing 2.4 race has been pushed back a week to allow the race to take place on the new speedway. The iRacing Daytona 500 is scheduled for 1/25 using the new speedway. The new Daytona includes both day and night versions and will be free for those who own the current version (to be named Daytona circa 2007). Members who do not currently own Daytona can buy it before the release for $14.95 and get the new version free. Members purchasing Daytona after the release will pay $14.95 then have the option of buying Daytona circa 2007 for $5. 1/14/12
UPDATE2: Hearing the new version of Daytona International Speedway should be arriving on February 2nd, 2012, about a week following the new build. 1/19/12

iRacing.com Announces Updates; Road America: iRacing.com will update web, infrastructure and Road America on 1/13/12 at 10am EST for estimated three hours. 1/12/12

World Cup Content: iRacing plans to use the Trucks at Michigan and the Star Mazda at Spa for the Week 13 World Cup. 1/12/2011

New Protest System in 2012: A significantly more automated way to file protests right from the member site is on its way. A standard electronic form that submits directly to the race steward’s office. Also some other things being discussed in regards to improvements to the protest process and other automation which may discourage bad behavior. 1/10/12

iRacingTV Episode 12: iRacingTV begins 2012 with episode 12! Watch to learn about the latest iRacing news including: a new racecar mention, new features being built for future software builds, an interview with NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Champion Ray Alfalla, and iRacing.com IZOD Premiere Series Champion Yang Ou. Also in the episode is a recap of the first-ever iRacing Pro Race of Champions and an interview with Dallara’s Head of Research and Development, Andra Toso. Watch on Youtube. 1/4/12

iRacerstuff.com

Driver and Member of the Year: UPDATE: Ray Alfalla and Steve Luvender: Candidates have been named for iRacing’s 2011 Driver of the Year and 2011 Member of the Year. Gregger Huttu and Ray Alfalla appear to be top runners for iRacing Driver of the Year with Tim Terry and Steve Luvender looking strong for iRacing Member of the Year. iRacing.com members will vote between December 15th and December 31st, 2011.
UPDATE: The members of iRacing have named 2011 NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Champion (NiSWC) Ray Alfalla and Trading Paints’ Steve Lucender iRacers of the Year. Alfalla scored three wins and eight more top five finishes en route to the 2011 NiSWC, clinching the title with one race remaining in the season. The iRacer Member of the Year is awarded to the member for their “technical contributions, helping other drivers and/or simply adding to the fun, fellowship, and sense of community.” As founder of Trading Paints, the service which enables iRacers to share their custom-designed vehicle paint schemes with other members, Luvender is a most deserving winner of the award. 1/4/12

2 Free Months: iRacing has launched a new special, Buy One Month, Get Two Free. New signups only, can pay $12 for three total months of iRacing.

New Feature: myTeams: Team racing is coming to iRacing. iRacing’s goal is to have team creation, team racing and endurance racing with or without a team. A team could mean multiple drivers, spotter and crewcheif all together in a race. It will roll out in phases with the first stage being able to join a race as a spotter. Eventually you will be able to “create a team”. Races could be setup for 24 hours, with driver swaps. Nothing is set in stone. 12/7/11

Upcoming Track News

Head over to the OVAL Track News Page and the ROAD Course News Page for more on all of the tracks rumored to be coming to iRacing.

  • New Daytona should release around the first week of February, including a night version.
  • Looks like Lucas Oil Raceway will be the next oval track to be released.
  • Twin Ring Motegi appears to be the next road course to be release. It is believe to be in production, but no official word on when to expect its release.

Car Content News

These and more can be found on the Car Content News Page with info about the new car content headed to iRacing.

  • Lotus49 has been scanned. No word on when it may be designed and released.
  • Cadillac CTS-V is currently in production. No timeline has been released for when we may see it go public.