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| [[Riley Technologies]] [[Daytona Prototype]]
| [[Riley Technologies]] [[Daytona Prototype]]
| Road class A
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| [[Ford Spec Racer]]
| Road class ??
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| [[not COT|Chevrolet Impala SS]]
| Oval class ??
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| [[F1 Vintage|Lotus 79]]
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Revision as of 16:48, 5 March 2009

Warning: Display title "<i>IRacing</i>" overrides earlier display title "iRacing" (help).
iRacing.com
iRacing.com logo
iRacing.com logo
Developer(s)iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations
Platform(s)PC (Win)
ReleaseJune 11, 2008 (first subscribers)
August 26, 2008 (general launch)
Genre(s)Racing simulation
Mode(s)

iRacing.com (iRacing for short) is an online, subscription-based racing simulation service created by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations. In addition to a simulator, the service provides sanctioned oval and road racing with series for several different car classes.

The service had a gradual launch. The first subscribers, former testers of iRacing.com, gained access to the service on June 11, 2008, and the general launch followed on August 26, 2008.

Development

The company behind iRacing.com was established in September 2004 by David Kaemmer and John W. Henry after the demise of Papyrus Design Group, which Kaemmer had also co-founded.[1] The iRacing service has been in development since then, using code from Papyrus' NASCAR Racing 2003 Season as a starting point.[2] The company plans to constantly expand and enhance the product after the public launch.[3]

Reception

In December 2008 iRacing stated that more than 8000 individuals had subscribed to the service.[4] iRacing.com has received favorable reviews from automobile and racing magazines as well as websites dedicated to racing simulators.[5][6][7] Many real life racers, including Justin Wilson, Alex Gurney and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., have subscribed to the service and have given positive comments especially about the accuracy of the track modeling which makes the simulator useful as a tool for learning tracks.[8]

Overview of the service

File:Formula Mazda at Laguna Seca.jpg
A screenshot of a Formula Mazda race at Laguna Seca

The iRacing company aims to cater both to real-world racers and racing simulation enthusiasts,[9] so they are trying to offer a realistic simulation of motorsport with accurate track, vehicle and physics modeling,[10][11] and all of the cars and tracks are officially licensed.[12]

iRacing can only be driven online on servers run by iRacing.com, and participation requires a subscription to the service. There are several different subscription options available ranging from a monthly $20 fee to a year-length subscription for $156. The subscription packages include a basic set of tracks and two cars with which to practice and race, as well as a certain amount of iRacing credit that can be used, in addition to money, to buy additional car and track content, all of which is subject to charge. [13]

iRacing manages sanctioned series for the different car types. Each calendar year is divided into four 12-week seasons for standard series, and all driving sessions in a series take place only on one track each week. [14] On a given track, the drivers can participate in practice, qualifying, time trial and race sessions.[15] There can also be non-standard series, examples of which are the four-week Rookie series.[16]

The series are divided into two main categories, oval and road, which are further divided into several license levels from Rookie to Pro, and a driver must earn each license to be eligible to participate in race week sessions on that level.[17] Earning a higher license involves both participation in competitions on a driver's current highest license level and achievement of a minimum safety record. The requirements for advancing and the licenses themselves are category-specific — in other words, a driver has a separate license for road and oval categories. [18]

In addition to driving in the different race week sessions in sanctioned series, a player can use a test mode to drive alone on any track with any car, assuming he has purchased the license to use the content.[19] However, private races or leagues aren't supported yet,[20] and racing with other people is currently possible only within the sanctioned series and according to their predetermined weekly schedules.

Features in detail

Driving simulation

At the core of iRacing is the driving simulation. The company has stated that their goal has been to create the most realistic simulation of racing to date.[21]

Sanctioned racing and FIRST

Racing within the service is managed by a sanctioning body called FIRST. The detailed rules for official competition are published in a document titled the FIRST Sporting Code, which registered members of the service are expected to read.[22]

Individual championships

Competition is divided into two different categories, oval and road, which are further divided into many different series. All standard series follow a calendar of four 12-week seasons while rookie series have their own 4-week seasons. At the end of each season eligible drivers are promoted (or, in rare cases, demoted) to the next license level. At the end of each standard 12-week season FIRST crowns racing and time trial overall champions and divisional champions.[22]

Club championships

In addition to individual championships FIRST sanctions club championships, which are decided between geographically-based clubs. Starting in 2009, The World Cup of iRacing will be a year-long tournament with (in its first year) 35 clubs divided into 7 regions battling for the club championship.[23]

The following clubs are competing for the championship in its first year:[23]

Region Clubs
Northeastern Massachusetts, New England, Connecticut, New York, Eastern Canada
Mid-Atlantic Pennsylvania, Virginias, Atlantic, New Jersey, Ohio
Southeastern Georgia, Florida, Mid-South, South America, Carolina
Central US Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Midwest, Texas, Plains
Pacific West, Northwest, California, Australia/NZ, Western Canada
Western European England, Celtic, Iberia, France, Benelux
Central European Italy, International, Germany, Scandinavia

Pro Series and Drivers World Championships

On March 3rd, 2009, iRacing announced its premier series, the iRacing Pro Series and iRacing Drivers World Championships to start in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Both top series will have separate contests for oval and road course racing. The two Pro Series will be open to the top 250 drivers in each category and will serve as feeder series to the Drivers World Championships, which will be limited to the top 50 drivers. Unlike the standard individual championships, which have four 12-week seasons per year, the series will follow a 39-week annual schedule.

Unofficial races

Even though all on- and off-track conduct within iRacing is subject to the rules laid out in the Sporting Code, the service also has races that are not officially sanctioned by FIRST and are therefore open to members of all license levels. Currently such events include the so-called "24 Heures du Fun" races that feature different tracks and vehicles every Saturday 00:00-24:00 UTC as well as week-long unofficial series during the one-week breaks between 12-week standard seasons.

Web interface

The game is launched through a website, and there is no standalone offline client.

Cars

Vehicles in iRacing are divided into six classes: Rookie, Advanced Rookie, Class D, Class C, Class B and Class A.[24] They correspond to the identically named driver license classes except for the two different Rookie car classes, which can both be driven with the same Rookie driver license.

The following table lists all the vehicles featured in the game and the license requirements of the series they are used in:[25]

Note: a yellow background denotes that a car is not yet available

Car name License requirements
600 Racing Legends Ford '34 Coupe Oval rookie / Road class D
Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS Late Model Oval class D
SK Modified (Modified racing) Oval class D
Chevrolet Silverado Oval class C
C&R Racing Silver Crown (USAC) Oval class B
Chevrolet Impala SS COT Oval class A
Pontiac Solstice Road rookie
Skip Barber Formula 2000 Road class D
Star Mazda Road class C
Radical SR8 V8 Road class B
Riley Technologies Daytona Prototype Road class A

The Sports Car Club of America have confirmed that their Spec Racer Ford will eventually be included in the simulation. [26]

iRacing has also announced that Sprint cars[25] and Lotus 79,[27] will be available soon. The Chevrolet Corvette C6.R is expected to be available prior to June 13, 2009.[28]

Tracks

iRacing creates each track using proprietary Exactrac laser mapping technology to replicate the tracks with millimeter precision.[10]

The following track venues are confirmed to be in the game.[29]

Note: a yellow background denotes that a track is not yet available

Track name Location Configuration(s)
Atlanta Motor Speedway United States Hampton, Georgia Oval
Auto Club Speedway United States Fontana, California Oval, Roval
Barber Motorsports Park United States Birmingham, Alabama Road course
Bristol Motor Speedway United States Bristol, Tennessee Oval
Chicagoland Speedway United States Joliet, Illinois Oval
Concord Motorsport Park United States Concord, North Carolina Oval
Darlington Raceway United States Darlington, South Carolina Oval
Daytona International Speedway United States Daytona Beach, Florida Oval, Roval
F1 Outdoors United States East Bridgewater, Massachusetts Kart
Homestead-Miami Speedway United States Homestead, Florida Oval, Roval
Infineon Raceway United States Sonoma, California Road course
Kansas Speedway United States Kansas City, Kansas Oval
Laguna Seca United States Monterey, California Road course
Lanier National Speedway United States Braselton, Georgia Oval
Las Vegas Motor Speedway United States Las Vegas, Nevada Oval
Lime Rock Park United States Lime Rock, Connecticut Road course
Long Beach United States Long Beach, California Road course
Lowe's Motor Speedway United States Charlotte, North Carolina Oval
Martinsville Speedway United States Martinsville, Virginia Oval
Michigan International Speedway United States Brooklyn, Michigan Oval
Miller Motorsports Park United States Tooele, Utah Road course, Kart
Milwaukee Mile Speedway United States West Allis, Wisconsin Oval
Moran Raceway United States Beaumont, California Kart
Moroso Motorsports Park United States Jupiter, Florida Road course, Kart
Mosport International Raceway Canada Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada Road course
Oxford Plains Speedway United States Oxford, Maine Oval
Phoenix International Raceway United States Phoenix, Arizona Oval, Roval
Richmond International Raceway United States Richmond, Virginia Oval
Road America United States Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin Road course, Kart
Road Atlanta United States Braselton, Georgia Road course
Sebring International Raceway United States Sebring, Florida Road course
Silverstone Circuit United Kingdom Silverstone, Northamptonshire Road course
South Boston Speedway United States South Boston, Virginia Oval
Stafford Motor Speedway United States Stafford Springs, Connecticut Oval
Summit Point Motorsports Park United States Summit Point, West Virginia Road course
Texas Motor Speedway United States Fort Worth, Texas Oval
Talladega Superspeedway United States Talladega County, Alabama Oval
Toyota Speedway at Irwindale United States Irwindale, California Oval
USA International Speedway United States Lakeland, Florida Oval
Virginia International Raceway United States Alton, Virginia Road course, Kart
Watkins Glen International United States Watkins Glen, New York Road course
Willow Springs International Motorsports Park United States Rosamond, California Road course, Kart

Notes

  1. ^ "Company Overview". iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  2. ^ "I am familiar with NASCAR Racing: 2003, is this a mod of NASCAR Racing: 2003 Season?". iRacing.com FAQ. iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  3. ^ "Will development of iRacing continue beyond your public launch?". iRacing.com FAQ. iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  4. ^ "iRacing Presents at Racing Technical Meeting: Kaemmer and Berwick Speak on Operator-In-Loop Simulation at 2008 SAE Motorsports Conference". iRacing.com. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  5. ^ "Virtual Car Racing - iRacing". Automobile Magazine. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  6. ^ "iRacing Demo". Grassroots Motorsports Magazine. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  7. ^ "iRacing". SimHQ.com. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  8. ^ "The Way It Is/ Exploring iRacing with Gurney, Wilson and Villeneuve". Gordon Kirby. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  9. ^ "Is this a game?". iRacing.com FAQ. iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  10. ^ a b "Track Tech". iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  11. ^ "Car Tech". iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  12. ^ "Will iRacing feature only licensed products?". iRacing.com FAQ. iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  13. ^ "Subscription Packages". iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  14. ^ "4.2. Sanctioning" (PDF). FIRST Sporting Code. iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  15. ^ "4.5. Sessions" (PDF). FIRST Sporting Code. iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  16. ^ "4.2.5. Rookie series" (PDF). FIRST Sporting Code. iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  17. ^ "2.9. Series Eligibility" (PDF). FIRST Sporting Code. iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  18. ^ "2.2. Earning a FIRST License" (PDF). FIRST Sporting Code. iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  19. ^ Preview - iRacing. SRT Media Productions. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  20. ^ "Will iRacing.com support private leagues, allowing groups of friends to run invitation-only races?". iRacing.com FAQ. iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  21. ^ "iRacing.com Simulation Service Announced: FIRST to Sanction "Arrive and Drive" Internet Racing". iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  22. ^ a b FIRST Sporting Code. iRacing.com. 2008-12-08.
  23. ^ a b "The World Cup of iRacing 2009 Official Guidelines" (PDF). iRacing.com. 2009-01-19. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  24. ^ "2.10. Vehicle Classes" (PDF). FIRST Sporting Code. iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  25. ^ a b "Cars". iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  26. ^ "SCCA Club Racers to Compete for iRacing.com Cup". 2008-02-09. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
  27. ^ iRacing Goes Vintage With Lotus 79 F1 Car
  28. ^ "Ultimate Corvette Racer Coming to iRacing: Virtual Version of Le Mans & ALMS-Winning C6.R Available in New Year". iRacing.com. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
  29. ^ "Tracks". iRacing.com. Retrieved 2009-02-08.

References

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=IRacing&oldid=275196276"