iRacing – 2021 Season 3 Build Deployed

iRacing has deployed the 2021 Season 3 build of the online racing platform. Besides the usual list of fixes and improvements, this latest build also introduces a number of new cars, tracks, and features.

For more details, check out the full changelog below.

Highlights:

• Porsche 911 GT3 R: Porsche’s internationally renowned GT3 challenger joins the iRacing fray for competition in premier tracks around the world starting with Season 3. Get your first taste of the car in iRacing AI, where it joins seven other GT3s, before getting competitive with it in our IMSA, sprint, and endurance series.·      
• Red Bull Ring: Head to the home of the Austrian and Styrian Grands Prix with iRacing’s newest internationally renowned road course. Three fast and fun track layouts, headlined by the Grand Prix course, will challenge your skills at any level of racing.·      
• Nashville Superspeedway: Nashville’s long-awaited return as a host city for the NASCAR Cup Series comes this year at the revitalized Nashville Superspeedway. Be one of the first to hit the track as you await the inaugural Ally 400 later this month!·      
• Formula Vee: Get your start in open-wheel racing at the Rookie level with the Formula Vee, free for all users. Six decades of racing heritage come to life in one of the most fun new cars to hit the service!·      
• SCCA Spec Racer Ford: Fully overhauled to reflect the current SRF3 spec, one of iRacing’s longest-tenured starter road racing cars gets both lighter and faster with the addition of a more powerful engine.·      
• BMW M4 GT3: The M4 GT3 is no longer designated a Prototype—it’s received its final updates in time for Season 3. If you’ve previously purchased the Prototype version, you’ll see the updated version automatically.·      
• Dirt Road Ladder Overhaul and VW Beetle Lite: A brand new, expanded Dirt Road racing ladder offers drivers the opportunity to race at higher license classes. As part of the revamp, a new, 300-horsepower Lite version of the Volkswagen Beetle has been added as a free car.·      
• New Forums: iRacing will introduce a brand new forum in conjunction with the Season 3 build, and all new posts, discussions, and announcements from staff will be moved there from now on. The old forums will remain open until June 23 before entering a read-only state.·      
• New AI Content: More than two dozen track configurations have been unlocked for AI use, primarily focusing on base content to give Rookie drivers the opportunity to practice race sessions before hitting the track with real opponents. The ovals at Lanier, Lucas Oil, South Boston, Southern National, and Thompson have been unlocked for AI use as the Street Stock joins the car lineup, while Lime Rock, Okayama, Oran Park, Oulton Park, Summit Point, and Tsukuba also have layouts joining the roster.·      
• New Damage Model and Visual Updates: The Formula Vee and Street Stock get the NDM, while debris from other cars will be collidable for less time in high latency environments. Smoke, dust, sparks, and more have also been updated.·      
• iRacing UI Updates: Content info windows now feature the Find Sessions tab, where you can find places to race each car or track. Custom paints are now displayed in the UI on car thumbnails. And in team racing, declared drivers can be updated prior to the start of race sessions.·      
• Race Control: The introduction of a four-tire detection system for off-track penalties debuts in certain areas of Spa. Admins also have the ability to adjust pace and caution laps on the fly with the new !pace laps (!p) command.

---

Official Webpage – www.iRacing.com

---

2021 Season 3 Changelog:

iRacing UI:

Find Sessions for Content

• Each Car and Track info window now features a new tab, Find Sessions. To get to the Car or Track info window from anywhere in the UI, click the three dots icon next to a content and select “Car/Track Info”
• – – This tab is separated into three sections which each display a list of all available sessions that use this piece of content. This includes: Official Sessions, Hosted Sessions, and Time Attack.
• – – From this window, you can browse all available sessions, navigate directly to the associated Series to learn more, or even join the sessions right away! You may also use select Filters and Tags to curate the list of available sessions to your tastes.
• – – This tab is available for ALL pieces of content, even items you do not own. This makes it very easy to learn how a piece of content is used before you purchase it, and it allows you to jump right into events using a favorite piece of content.

Interface Images

• All images in the iRacing UI that previously showed a Member’s in-Sim paint scheme will instead now show any available custom paints present on the file system.
• – – This applies to cars, suits, and helmets.
• – – This should work for a Member’s own paints as well as displaying other Members’ paints. For example, seeing another Member’s custom helmet on their profile.
• – – As a reminder, custom paints should be placed in the “My Documents/iRacing/paints” folder. Helmets and suits are in the base directory and cars are in their respective subdirectories.
• Car images will automatically be loaded when the iRacing UI launches.
• – – This should minimize the appearance of car images “popping in” when a large number are shown on a page at once.

Series Racing

• Fixed an issue where the Time of Day setting was not being correctly preserved when creating Test Drive events or Hosted Sessions from a Series event.

Team Racing

• For the Declare Drivers feature for events using the “Drive Fair Share” rules, Teams may now update their pending Declared Drivers list prior to the start of the Race Session.
• – – Drivers in the list must still be team members that are eligible to drive for the session.
• – – The Declared Drivers can only be altered for sessions which have not launched and are currently open for registration.
• – – The list cannot be changed for Practice or Hosted Sessions, or Race Sessions after the Session starts.
• – – Any team admin or the team member who registered the team can update the list of declared drivers.

Hosted Racing

• Users now have the ability to select specific “Series Branding” for supported cars and tracks in Hosted and League Sessions.
• – – This can be configured by going to the “Race Options” step of “Create a Race” and selecting a Series from the dropdown. Currently, the IMSA series branding is supported for this option on some of the P2, GTE and GT3 class cars.
• For Open Practice Only events, multiple setups may now be selected for use. For example, this allows users to select both Qualify and Race setups for practicing.
• Fixed an issue where users were unable to change the selected track for their Session if they had enabled Short Parade Laps prior to attempting to change the track.
• Filtering the available Hosted Sessions to achieve no results now correctly displays the warning “No Data”.

AI Racing

• Some additional race options have been added for AI Racing, including:
• – – Short Parade Laps
• – – Wave Arounds
• – – Do Not Count Caution Laps
• Fixed an issue where loading into an AI Session using a default class-based Opponent Roster would break the loading screen.

Paint Shop

• Textures for driver heads with ponytails have been updated.
• The McLaren MP4-30 interface model has been updated to better match the in-Sim version.
• The RYCO logo has been updated.

General

• Fixed an issue where new users could load into an empty user interface.

Membersite:

Auto-Launching The UI

• The home page no longer half-loads when you select to cancel opening the iRacing UI.

Promotions

• Fixed a button layout issue.

Forums:

New Forums

• New iRacing Forums: https://forums.iracing.com/
• All new posts, discussions, and announcements from iRacing will only be made in our new forums.
• The original Membersite forums will remain available through June 23rd. Then they will enter a read-only state for the foreseeable future.
• The Private Message system will also remain intact until further notice.
• We will be providing an OAuth2 API for third-party developers in the near future as well.

Simulation:

Connectivity

• Improved the reporting and handling of dropped connections.
• – – These changes will NOT fix bad network connections, but the messages shown as a result of these changes may give a bit more detail as to what went wrong. In some situations the amount of time it takes for a dropped connection to be cleared will be reduced, so a user may be allowed to reconnect more quickly.

Cars

• Up to 8 different car models may now be used when creating Hosted Sessions.
• Engine oil cooling has been adjusted to increase temperatures at lower engine RPM. Higher engine speeds are not impacted by this change.

Tracks

• All track collision meshes have been regenerated.
• A variety of visually updated tire stacks and tire wraps have been added throughout iRacing tracks. This rhyme was unintentional.

Race Control

• A new mode of off-track detection has been created, “Four-Tire Detection”.
• – – Our current off-track detection system checks for whether or not half or more of your vehicle has traveled beyond a racing surface boundary. The new four-tire detection system checks for whether or not all four of your vehicle tires have traveled beyond a racing surface boundary. Since the four-tire detection system requires more of your vehicle to be off of the racing surface before administering a penalty, this system is more forgiving.
• – – The four-tire detection system will be deployed on a case-by-case basis. With this initial release, the four-tire detection system is currently active at some areas of Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and Red Bull Ring. The four-tire detection system will be applied to additional tracks and areas as we continue to collect feedback and data from our members.
• – – Any track that is utilizing the four-tire detection system will feature a new “Rules” tab in the in-Sim interface. This new tab will detail where the four-tire detection system is active at the track.
• Fixed an issue where closed pit exits could cause a black flag for drivers on a parade lap when the field starts in pit lane.

Dirt Racing

• Opponent tires on dirt surfaces should appear to be touching the ground better, particularly for slopes, bumps, and divots.
• All dirt versions of stockcar tires have been reverted to an earlier version.
• – – This change affects the following vehicles:
• – – – – ARCA Menards Chevrolet Impala
• – – – – NASCAR Cup Series Class Cars
• – – – – NASCAR Gander Outdoors Series Class Cars
• – – – – NASCAR Next Gen Series Class Cars
• – – – – NASCAR Xfinity Series Class Cars
• – – – – [Legacy] NASCAR Cup Series Class Cars
• – – – – [Legacy] NASCAR Nationwide Chevrolet Impala – 2012
• – – – – [Legacy] NASCAR Truck Chevrolet Silverado – 2008
• – – – – [Legacy] NASCAR Xfinity Series Class Cars

Rallycross Racing

• Fixed an issue where the high rpm launch rev limit in the rallycross cars would prevent the gearbox from downshifting lower than 3rd gear when stationary.

AI Racing

• AI Drivers are now able to pilot the following additional vehicles:
• – – Porsche 911 GT3 R
• – – Street Stock
• AI Racing is now available on the following additional track configurations:
• – – Lanier National Speedway – Asphalt
• – – Lime Rock Park – Chicanes
• – – Lime Rock Park – West Bend Chicane
• – – Lucas Oil Raceway – Oval
• – – Okayama International Circuit – Short
• – – Oran Park Raceway (ALL except North B)
• – – Oulton Park Circuit (ALL)
• – – Red Bull Ring (ALL except North)
• – – South Boston Speedway
• – – Southern National Motorsports Park
• – – Summit Point Raceway (ALL except Oval and School)
• – – Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park
• – – Tsukuba Circuit (ALL)
• AI Drivers have improved their racing techniques with the following cars:
• – – GT3 Class Cars
• – – GT4 Class Cars
• – – NASCAR Cup Series Class Cars
• – – SCCA Spec Racer Ford
• – – Skip Barber Formula 2000
• AI Drivers have improved their racing skills at the following tracks:
• – – Lime Rock Park – Grand Prix
• – – Long Beach Street Circuit
• – – Okayama International Circuit (ALL)
• AI Drivers have completed the following specialized quarterly curriculum classes:
• – – TURN ONE: Horror Stories and What you can Learn
• – – Alex Foster’s Guide to Pit Stall Entry & Exit
• – – How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Parade Lap
• – – The Sides of your Car and the Things that are There, A 2021 Treatise on Lateral Perception
• – – Handle With Care – Preventing Rollovers at Low Track Temperatures
• – – Three Essential Steps for Recovering your Race-Line
• – – Locating Pit Lane Entry and Exits in the Wild
• – – Translating Track Corners to Wheel Rotation
• AI Vehicle parameters have been updated to improve their correlation to a user vehicle for the following vehicles:
• – – NASCAR Cup Series Class Cars

Race Admins

• A new race admin command has been added that can modify the number of laps a Caution or Parade will be:
• – – !pacelaps (or !p for short) <+n|-n|n>
• – – – – Add +n laps to caution length, or remove -n laps from caution length, or set caution to “n laps to green” at next crossing.
• – – – – The caution lap length can’t be adjusted until the first full caution lap is completed, since the caution length is not finalized until then.
• – – – – The number of parade laps may be adjusted immediately, just as cars start driving.
• – – !yellow is primarily intended for throwing a caution, but can still be used to delay an upcoming start/restart by 1 lap if used during the 1 to Green lap, which would be equivalent to !pacelaps +1.

New Damage Model

• The New Damage Model has been enabled for the following vehicles:
• – – Formula Vee
• – – Street Stock
• The duration during which detached parts from opponent vehicles are collidable has been shortened significantly.
• – – This should help reduce the possibility of hitting debris generated from local estimates of collision damage in a high latency environment.
• – – The duration for yourself and your own car parts has not been reduced.
• Tire side-wall properties for some vehicles have been adjusted to differ from tire tread properties. These changes should allow more realistic tire-to-object and tire-to-tire contact based on the part of the tire(s) making contact.
• – – These tire property changes have been enabled for the following vehicles:
• – – – – ARCA Menards Chevrolet Impala
• – – – – Audi RS 3 LMS
• – – – – Dallara IR18
• – – – – Indy Pro 2000 PM-18
• – – – – Skip Barber Formula 2000
• Fixed an issue where some cars were getting repeatedly reset in the pits, and appeared to be bouncing around as a result.
• – – When a spring damper was broken it was possible the wheel could hit the hyper extension limit if it was set fairly low. Whenever the hyper extension limit was exceeded the code was resetting the car while in the pits, without fixing the hyper extension, resulting in a bouncing-reset loop.
• Some curbs used on Rallycross tracks have been updated to prevent devastating blows to cars utilizing the New Damage Model.

Original Damage Model

• Fixed an issue where vehicles that have the capability to run the New Damage Model were not having damage scrape textures appear when running with the Original Damage Model.

Rendering

• Fixed an issue where specular highlights were not rendering brightly enough, especially on the track surfaces and cars. 
• Fixed an issue where the illumination of the world often flickered in brightness as the sun moved, especially during sunsets.

Visual Effects

• Smoke may no longer be disabled via the graphics options.
• Tire smoke and dust have received an overhaul!
• – – Smoke and dust volumes and sizes have been tuned based on the moisture levels in the environment.
• – – Smoke blending has been improved.
• – – More lingering dust should be visible towards the end of a dust-cloud’s life cycle.
• – – Dust particle volume has been increased during dirt racing events.
• Spark effects have been updated.
• Backfire and exhaust effects have been optimized.
• The average track temperature for generating heat haze has been updated to utilize data from the dynamic track system.
• Water shaders have been updated for more realistic behaviors including slower speeds along the shores and improved roughness. Water reflections have also been improved
• Fixed an issue where smoke effects were not appearing for the player car during Lone Qualify Sessions.

Audio

• Road debris sound levels and variations have been improved.

Pace Car

• The Sedan Pace Car may now be selected for use at any and all track types.
• – – The pace car driver has completed a rigorous course in stunt driving with this vehicle, and has passed all final exam maneuvers with flying colors.
• After some extensive tutoring on the states of matter, the Pace Car driver is now less apt to drive through solid walls.
• Fixed an issue where the Sedan Pace Car’s headlights would incorrectly be lit while parked at night tracks.
• Backfire effects have been removed from the Sedan Pace Car. :’(

Spotter

• The Italian spotter packs has been updated, thanks to Renzo A. Olivieri and Marco Arcidiacono.

Cameras

• More camera tool controls can now be mapped to an analog axis on a joystick.
• The “show camera” mode is no longer persistent, and will now turn itself off on the next restart of the Sim.
• Blimp camera option minimum allowable values have been reduced to nearly 0.
• Fixed an issue with cameras’ “aim at group” logic that could sometimes cause a camera to shake or shudder.

Controls

• Joystick calibration routines have been updated so that all control types should be able to calibrate, including combined pedals that operate in the opposite direction of the industry norm. Mapping separate functions to each half of a joystick’s axis should be greatly improved as well.
• Support for the display on the new Thrustmaster SF1000 wheel has been enabled. You can turn this on and off with the “Control LCD wheel displays” checkbox in the Sim Options menu. Tire data is not sent to the wheel, other than core temperatures and wear being updated when you stop in your pit box. This matches the rest of the Sim where no real time tire info is displayed. To make this work you will need to be on the latest version of the Thrustmaster driver (2.TTRS.2021 rc29), and you will need to update your drivers and firmware to enjoy the full support of SF1000 in iRacing.
• Logitech keyboard back-light support has been re-enabled.
• – – You will need the latest version of Logitech GHub or Logitech Gaming Software.
• Support has been added for the Razer Chroma RGB Controller and other Chroma Link enabled devices in the Razer Chroma keyboard lighting effects.
• Fixed an issue where the second brake and second throttle controls were disabled for some vehicles.
• Fixed an issue where some analog controls could never achieve a “0 input” value.

Telemetry

• A new session string value, “CarClassEstLapTime” has been added.
• – – This value indicates the estimated lap time for every car in the session. This value matches the existing value, “DriverCarEstLapTime” entry for the player’s car.
• New telemetry values, “CarIdxFastRepairsUsed” and “PlayerFastRepairsUsed” have been added.
• – – These values log how many fast repairs each participant has used in the current session. These only report on sessions where there is a limit on the number of fast repairs.
• ABS brake engagement is now logged to telemetry as the boolean, “BrakeABSactive”.
• – – This value is true if either the car physics ABS is active or the Driving Aid ABS is active. The car physics ABS now drives the LFE bass shaker just like the driving aid did previously.
• – – NOTE: This is currently only available on the following vehicles:
• – – – – Audi R8 LMS
• – – – – Audi RS 3 LMS
• – – – – BMW M4 GT3
• – – – – BMW M4 GT4
• – – – – BMW Z4 GT3
• – – – – Cadillac CTS-V Racecar
• – – – – Ferrari 488 GT3
• – – – – Ford GT GT2/GT3 (ALL)
• – – – – Ford Mustang FR500S
• – – – – Global Mazda MX-5 Cup
• – – – – Kia Optima
• – – – – Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO
• – – – – McLaren 570s GT4
• – – – – McLaren MP4-12C GT3
• – – – – Mercedes-AMG GT3
• – – – – Pontiac Solstice (ALL)
• – – – – Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR
• – – – – Ruf RT 12R (ALL)
• – – – – VW Jetta TDI Cup
• – – – – [Legacy] Mazda MX-5 Cup & Roadster – 2010 (ALL)
• Simulator performance meters may now be displayed via telemetry:
  – – FPS = FrameRate
  – – R = CpuUsageFG
  – – G = GpuUsage
  – – L = ChanLatency, ChanAvgLatency
  – – Q = ChanQuality, ChanPartnerQuality
  – – C = CpuUsageBG
  – – S = ChanClockSkew
  – – P = MemPageFaultSec
  – – F = SteeringWheelPctTorque
  – – – – You can find more information on these values here: https://support.iracing.com/support/solutions/articles/31000133494-meter-box-f-key-in-game-
• New telemetry messages have been enabled that allow a remote program to start/stop video capture and take screenshots.
  – – New telemetry value: “VidCapEnabled” that is true if the video/screenshot system is enabled.
  – – New telemetry value: “VidCapActive” that is true if the video system is currently recording a video to disk.
• Fixed an issue with the variable, “CarIdxP2P_Status” where all 64 entries were not showing up correctly.

Screenshots

• For taking watermarked screenshots, the backspace key is now accepted as a substitute for the keypad Enter key for users working on a laptop without easy access to the number pad.