All News: virtual

2011 World Tour of iRacing Schedule Announced

December 22nd, 2010 by

Popular Series Samples Global Motorsport Variety With Tributes to Major Real-World Races Conceived a year ago as a way for iRacing.com’s 20,000+ members to sample the world’s wide range of oval-track and road-racing cars and circuits, the 2010 World Tour of iRacing proved to be an extremely popular artistic success among the global group of sim racers and racing game enthusiasts who enjoy competing with one another in virtual versions of real-world racing cars on the internet racing service’s high-fidelity reproductions of many of the world’s premier race tracks.

Spa Treatment

December 18th, 2010 by

I’m living a motorsports fan’s dream:  Watching a race at Spa-Francorchamps from the window of my room at Auberge de la Source, the picturesque country inn overlooking the La Source hairpin which, of course, takes its name from the adjacent establishment. The amazing thing is that I’m actually nearly 4,000 miles west of Francorchamps, Belgium, in the office of Greg Hill, iRacing.com vice President of art and production.  Greg is giving me a preview of the latest addition to the online racing service’s catalogue of virtual race tracks, legendary Circuit Spa-Francorchamps, set for release to iRacing’s membership on December 21

The Williams-Toyota F31 – More (and Less) Than Meets the Eye

September 28th, 2010 by

On the face of it, designing and building a virtual version of the Williams-Toyota FW31 figured to be the most formidable challenge yet faced by iRacing.com.  After all, Formula One is the technological pinnacle of the motorsports world, and it takes a virtual army of engineers, technicians and mechanics just to start a modern Grand Prix car.

iRacing Continues Japanese Growth

September 17th, 2010 by

iRacing continued its Japanese expansion with today’s announcement that Twin Ring Motegi, Suzuka Circuit and Tsukuba Circuit will join Okayama International Circuit on its growing list of global racing facilities.  In addition, iRacing will also be augmenting its line-up of virtual race cars with the Mazda Roadster and MX-5 Cup racing cars.  The announcement was made by iRacing president, Tony Gardner, in conjunction with this weekend’s running of the Japan 300 IZOD IndyCar Series race at Twin Ring Motegi. “When we announced last spring that Okayama was joining iRacing, we promised there would be more tracks and cars of particular interest to our Japanese members,” Gardner said.  “Now we’re pleased to announce that our members in Japan, and elsewhere in the world, will be able to compete themselves with other drivers in Japan and elsewhere in the world on exact virtual versions of the tracks that are home to Japan’s two most important races, this weekend’s Japan 300 and next month’s Japanese Grand Prix, in precise digital versions of the Dallara Indy car and AT&T Williams FW31 grand prix car.  Tsukuba Circuit is popular with Japanese drivers, who enjoy its demanding technical nature, and we believe our members world-wide will enjoy driving on our virtual version.” According to Gardner, the AT&T Williams FW31 and the Mazdas will be available to iRacing members later this fall, and the four Japanese tracks will be available during the course of the next year.  Laser scanning of all four tracks and related data gathering will begin in November. The four new race tracks cover the gamut of motorsports activities in Japan.  Twin Ring Motegi boasts a 1.5 mile, egg-shaped oval, together with a state-of-the-art road course facility including a 12 turn, 2.9 mile circuit as well as two smaller club tracks.  Suzuka Circuit features a unique cross-over design in its signature 17 turn 3.6 mile circuit and, like Twin Ring Motegi, several shorter configurations.  Tsukuba Circuit is a short, but testing road course packing everything from fast, sweeping turns to hairpins and medium speed corners into its 1.2 mile layout while Okayama International Circuit (which hosted two Pacific Grand Prix Formula One races in the 1990s) mixes a series of flowing corners and straightaways with a technical infield section over the course of 2.3 miles.

School’s In for Summer!

June 25th, 2010 by

iRacing.com Offers Online Racing Instruction for Racing Game Enthusiasts There are books on how to drive a racing car and schools in the physical world where aspiring drivers can get hands-on instruction.  Now drivers who race in the virtual world have the iRacing.com Driving School, a modular 16-unit online race-driving instructional package.  Nearly two years in the making, the school is available free to all members of the iRacing.com racing simulation service.  The school is now live on the iRacing.com member Web site .  The first module of the iRacing.com Driving School is currently available to non-members on www.iRacing.com .

Thompson International Speedway Joins iRacing.com

March 18th, 2010 by

Historic Connecticut Facility is Latest Online Racing Short Track For 70 years Thompson International Speedway has challenged New England’s finest racing drivers.  With the announcement that iRacing.com will add the legendary Connecticut track to its inventory, fans of the legendary high-banked, five-eighths mile oval and short-track online racing enthusiasts around the world will soon be able to measure themselves against a track that in its history has sent drivers to the winner’s circle in the Daytona 500 and success on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit. “I’m pleased that we’ve been able to put together this alliance with iRacing.com,” said Jonathan Hoenig, the track’s director of business development and marketing and the fourth generation of his family to be involved with Thompson International Speedway.  “The timing couldn’t be better as we use innovative technology and other modern business management tools to move the sport of short-track racing forward for the benefit of both fans and participants.” “Our fans are loyal and enthusiastic,” Hoenig said.  “Many of them would be on the track racing if they could – and now through iRacing.com, they will be able to race on an exact digital duplicate of the speedway when they’re not attending races. We look forward to our local fans and racing game enthusiasts from all over the world being able to participate in online racing series that include Thompson International Speedway.” Hoenig, who holds an MBA degree from Pepperdine University and whose great-grandfather began construction of the speedway in 1938, also noted that as host to a NASCAR touring series and seven of its own racing classes, each year the track saw a number of drivers make their maiden appearances.  “Just as many NASCAR Sprint Cup stars such as Joey Logano and Martin Truex, Jr.

Gooden Takes iRacing’s Virtual Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup Title & Chance to Compete for Real-World Version in 2010

November 3rd, 2009 by

Tight Competition for Big Prize Highlights 12-Week Season of Virtual Racing The prize? The chance for a paid-for arrive-and-drive ride in the 2010 VW Jetta TDI Cup.  The result?  Twelve weeks of hard racing among 600 competitors climaxed by a two-race final-weekend shootout between real-world kart racers Wyatt Gooden, 21, and Carl Modoff, 20, with the championship – and the shot at a real-world drive next year – going to Gooden by the narrowest of margins. Gooden has the opportunity to build on his karting and iRacing success in the SCCA Pro Series VW Jetta TDI Cup

Virtually Indy

September 4th, 2009 by

It didn’t take long for Indy car drivers past, present and future to get their hands on iRacing’s virtual Dallara IndyCar or the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at Infineon Raceway last month.  Even before the August 22nd announcement of iRacing.com’s partnership with the IndyCar Series, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Dallara Automobili, Justin Wilson took a development version of the Dallara out for a few laps around the Brickyard. Wilson remarked on the authenticity of the experience even before he left the virtual pits

iRacing Announces Partnership with Indy Racing League, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Dallara

August 22nd, 2009 by

iRacing.com to Put IndyCar Series Fans in the Driver’s Seat: Virtual Indy 500 Next May Highlights Partnership with Indy Racing League, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Dallara Sonoma, CA (August 22, 2009) – IndyCar Series racing fans won’t just be able to attend the Indianapolis 500 in person next year, or watch the broadcast at home – on the 2010 Memorial Day weekend anyone in the world who has a PC and a broadband internet connection will be able to drive in a stunningly realistic virtual version of the race. It's not just the sleek lines of the Dallara I 09 IndyCar that are precisely captured in iRacing.com's virtual version, the digital race car's mechanical elements are all modeled with the highest possible level of fidelity such that the digital car's performance is essentially identical to its real-world counterpart. Under the terms of a multi-year partnership with the Indy Racing League, iRacing.com’s motorsport simulation service will offer fans the opportunity to compete in virtual versions of IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights races on a variety of tracks, including Indianapolis Motor Speedway, beginning this fall