Version 2.0 of iRacing has been announced for release this summer, based around an even more realistic and accurate tire model, which is the result of three years of work by by the iRacing team. The game has grown from 400 racers in its first month back in 2008 to over 25,000 members with 30 official series, over 60 tracks and more than 1,500 official races each week, with sanctioned series from the likes of NASCAR, INDYCAR and GRAND-AM. The schedule for releases will be:
May 2011
- Early preview of Dave Kaemmer’s new tire model available on the new NASCAR Nationwide car.
- Launch of in-game awards program – over 50 different participation awards members can earn.
- Night racing on road courses using headlights beginning with Sebring International Raceway and the V8 Supercar, Mazda MX5 Cup & Roadster, Corvette C6.R, Riley Daytona Prototype, Pontiac Solstice, VW Jetta TDI Cup and Mustang Challenge race cars.
- New NASCAR “Nationwide” stock car – race the car you watch on Saturdays.
- Okayama International Circuit (Japan) – the first of several tracks from the island nation.
- New telemetry output for the data hungry racers.
- Private league racing enhancements including: reduced pricing, advanced scheduling, new race session options and additional grid spots to virtually every track.
- Graphic and shader upgrades in-game for more lifelike visuals.
- Complete graphical overhaul of the Skip Barber FSB2000 race car – updating our first car to current standards.
- Opening practice sessions to all license levels (excluding Pro Series).
- Enhanced pitting and damage repair for all cars.
- Preferred/custom car numbers.
- Improved accuracy of the model of physical track surface to match the laser scanned data better than ever before.
August 2011
- New Tire Model for all cars.
- Enhanced aero model for improved drafting and more realistic downforce characteristics.
- Heat/Tournament racing for private leagues/sessions.
- Driver aids available for private leagues and Rookie series (ABS brakes, traction control, driving line, steering aids, etc.).
- Enhancements of new sound system.
- Endurance racing and driver swaps.
- Suzuka Circuit (Japan).
- Iowa Speedway (USA).
- Ford GT race car
- Honda LMP ARX-01C race car
- Live pop-up chat on member site.
So if you’re tempted by the idea of iRacing, this summer could be the perfect time to give it a try!
And if you’re already involved in iRacing, we’d love to hear from you – we’re keen to get more iRacers writing for OnlineRaceDriver, and you can let us know if you’re interested in the comments, by posting in our forum, or by contacting us directly. Sadly we can’t pay for any submitted content at the moment, but we can offer the chance to get involved in one of the biggest online racing sites on the internet, and to give you access to perks including access to pre-release games, helping you to become a better writer, and other incentives…
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