iRacing Starts Track Type iRating and Safety Rating

There’s a big change coming as iRacing starts Track Type iRating and Safety Rating adjustments for the start of Season 1, 2021. The update and start of the season actually takes place in December 2020, and it means the two driver ratings will be applied and adjusted differently for series which feature multiple types of circuits.

As explained by Greg West on the iRacing forums, if a series runs Oval and Road tracks during a season, then your Oval iRating and Safety Rating will aplly to those circuits, but the Road iRating and Safety Rating applies to the apporpriate tracks.

This will be separate from the overall license requirement to enter a series. So your B Class Oval Licence will get you access to all circuits for a B Class NASCAR series, but your tarmac road iRating and Safety Rating will be used if a road course is included for a specific week to set your splits and reward your race finish.

As Greg West posted:

Beginning with 2021 Season 1 (December Build), iRating and Safety Rating will now be adjusted based on the event track type, instead of the series’ identified license type, for series with multiple track types. As part of this highly requested feature, the selected track type iRating that will be affected also will be used to determine splits. This change applies for any combination of cross-license/track type events.

For example, some series will primarily run Asphalt Oval tracks, but may run a few Asphalt Road tracks throughout a season. As the system stands currently, after completing an event at the Asphalt Road course, their Asphalt Oval iRating and Safety Rating are affected, since that is what the series is categorized as. This change instead applies iRating and Safety Rating changes to a driver’s Asphalt Road ratings after Asphalt Road tracks.

NOTE: This change is independent from any License requirements for entering into an event for the series. For example, if the series is for Class C Asphalt Oval licenses, then that remains the requirement for entry even on weeks where it may be racing at an Asphalt Road track

It will be interesting to see how this impacts on series which feature more than one type of circuit, and the sim racers involved. And how it might open up more chance of top split victories for oval or road specialists in different series.

If the fact that iRacing starts Track Type iRating and Safety Rating for the next season has you considering signing up to the service, resuming a lapsed membership, or renewing your existing subscription, then don’t forget the iRacing Black Friday 2020 Discounts are live until December 3rd 2020, and can save you up to 50% on your cost.

You can sign up to iRacing via the official site here. Or take a look at all the cars included in your subscription, plus the additional paid options, in our full official iRacing car list, along with the same circuit information in our full iRacing track list.