Sim Racing — news

iRacing's 2026 Season 4, Week 2 (September 22–28) features the platform's marquee endurance event alongside regular championship series and daily racing opportunities across multiple disciplines. The headline special event is iRacing Petit Le Mans powered by VCO, a 10-hour endurance race at Road Atlanta. The NASCAR iRacing Series continues its 36-week campaign at Kansas Speedway (Week 30), with fixed and open setup races scheduled across Wednesday through Monday at multiple GMT times. The iRacing Grand Prix Tour reaches Week 17 of 24 at Algarve International Circuit – Grand Prix, featuring the Mercedes-AMG F1 W13 E Performance in both fixed and open configurations. Other championship series in action include the CREVENTIC Endurance Series (Week 5 of 5 at Barcelona-Catalunya Historic), Dirt 410 Sprint Car Tour (Week 31 of 37 at Eldora), Dirt Super Late Model Tour (Week 33 of 39 at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55), NASCAR Modified Tour (Week 21 of 26 at Myrtle Beach), Super Late Model Tour (Week 21 of 27 at Martinsville), and Vintage Grand Prix Tour (Week 12 of 16 at Algarve, featuring the Lotus 79). Daily racing series continue hourly throughout the week, including FIA F4 Regional Tours across four regions (Challenge, Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe) rotating through Knockhill, Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, Motegi, and Misano. GT3 Regional Tours by SENSITHaptics run at Watkins Glen Boot (Americas), Mount Panorama (Asia-Pacific), and Nürburgring Grand-Prix-Strecke (Europe). Ring Meister by LVRY features the Lotus 79 at Nürburgring Nordschleife, while Draft Master Challenge by SIMAGIC runs NASCAR Cup Gen 7 cars at Talladega. Rain Master Challenge by PODIUM1 offers wet-weather GT3 racing at Cadwell Park, and a new Track Day series debuts at Okayama with multiclass racing featuring Porsches, Mazdas, Caterhams, TCR machinery, and other road cars. The FIA Cross Car Championship also launches this season at Rookie level, with Week 2 action at Daytona Rallycross. The iRacing DTM Series and Nürburgring Endurance Championship take the week off, returning in Week 4.

Charlie Collins of Porsche Coanda secured victory in race two of the Porsche Esports Supercup 2026 at Spa with a decisive last-lap overtake on Brazilian driver Gustavo Ariel. The result mirrored the day's opening race, which had been won more convincingly by Florian Lebigre, leaving both drivers level on wins after the two-race event.

Hot Wheels Infinite Rush will receive an official Formula 1 DLC pack in March 2027, featuring cars representing every team on the current grid. The open-world racer will expand its vehicle roster with the new content, marking a significant licensing addition to the arcade-focused title.

The British F4 Esports Championship will resume in 2026 under the backing of Motorsport UK. The series will see defending champions Team BENIK and driver Henry Moore return to contest their titles in the upcoming season.

The iRacing Creventic Endurance Series is set to resume in 2026, continuing its partnership with Creventic, the organiser of the real-world 24H Series. Now in its fifth year of collaboration, the sim racing championship will maintain its focus on team-based endurance competition across a curated selection of international circuits. The 2026 calendar comprises five events, combining 12-hour races with a season-finale 24-hour event. All 12-hour races will adhere to the established Creventic time slots, with starts scheduled for 01:00 GMT and 13:00 GMT on Saturdays. The series remains open to all iRacing members seeking an accessible endurance racing experience. Full details on event scheduling, vehicle lineups, and additional information are available on the iRacing Forums.

iRacing is hosting a 10-hour endurance race at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta this weekend, mirroring the real-world IMSA Petit Le Mans. The special event runs across five time slots from Friday 22:00 GMT through Sunday 00:00 GMT, with the top split broadcast taking place on Saturday at 12:00 GMT via RACESPOT on iRacing.com/live. The race features IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship machinery across three classes: GTP (including the Porsche 963 GTP, Ferrari 499P, and BMW M Hybrid V8), LMP2 (Dallara P217), and GTD (ten car models from manufacturers including Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Mercedes-AMG). All vehicles have undergone balance-of-performance adjustments in fuel, weight, or power, with figures available on the iRacing Forum and subject to potential updates on Wednesday before the event. Teams must register with a minimum of two drivers and a maximum of 16, with all declared drivers required to meet a lap-share threshold by race end. The event is open to members holding a Sports Car license at Class C or higher, or Class D with a 4.0 Safety Rating. Qualifying consists of an eight-minute, two-lap session following a 30-minute warmup. Splits accommodate up to 60 teams, with a 150-incident-point disqualification limit and stop-and-go penalties beginning at 50 incidents. Dynamic weather is enabled, and the race uses open setup rules. Registration opens 60 minutes before each time slot.

Le Mans Ultimate has received a substantial update with version 1.4.2, introducing over 90 new liveries alongside significant online stability improvements. The patch addresses netcode issues affecting multiplayer performance, while expanding the sim's track roster with two new DLC circuits: Road Atlanta and Long Beach. The livery additions provide players with expanded customisation options for their race cars across the game's existing vehicle roster.

A comprehensive guide to optimising wheel settings for NASCAR 26 has been published, covering force feedback and steering calibration across multiple popular sim racing peripherals. The guide addresses setup recommendations for the Logitech G29, G920, G923, Thrustmaster T248, T300, Fanatec, and MOZA wheels, helping drivers extract better performance and feel from the simulation through proper configuration of FFB parameters and steering response.

The 2026 Porsche Esports Supercup World Championship Series kicked off at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday with 32 of the world's top sim racers competing after earning their places through regional qualifying events. Florian Lebigre dominated the opening sprint race, while Charlie Collins claimed victory in the main event in a dramatic final-lap battle, with both drivers now tied atop the championship standings. Lebigre set the pace from the start, securing pole position by just 0.008 seconds ahead of two-time series champion Sebastian Job of Oracle Red Bull Sim Racing. The Verstappen Sim Racing driver then controlled the sprint race, leading all seven laps. However, the main race saw the field inverted after the sprint, placing Gustavo Ariel on pole following his eighth-place sprint finish. Ariel led for much of the 30-minute main event, but Collins mounted a sustained challenge alongside his Coanda Esports teammate Mitchell deJong, who ran second. With the white flag flying, Collins made his decisive move on the Kemmel Straight. Contact between the two drivers unsettled Ariel's Porsche, allowing Collins to secure the preferred racing line through Les Combes. Ariel ran too wide and incurred a slow-down penalty, which he served into Bruxelles, allowing both Collins and deJong to pass. Collins held on for the victory, with deJong taking second and Ariel third. Lebigre, despite winning the sprint, started the main race eighth and finished sixth after a strong recovery drive. The top ten in the final standings consisted entirely of drivers with prior Porsche Esports Supercup experience. The series continues on 26 September at Silverstone, with four rounds remaining in the championship.

SCS Software has announced a new expansion for American Truck Simulator launching on 29 September. The update introduces a travel mode that expands gameplay beyond trucks, allowing players to drive passenger cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs across the game world. The new mode features courier missions and its own map exploration system. Players will earn rewards for discovering tourist attractions, landmarks, viewpoints, and photo opportunities as they travel. The initial vehicle roster includes four Ford models: the 1967 Mustang Fastback, 2023 F-150, 2023 Bronco, and 1998–2012 Crown Victoria. SCS Software has indicated plans to release similar vehicle packs featuring RAM and Dodge models in the future.

Heusinkveld and Simucube have jointly developed the One SC steering wheel, purpose-built for Simucube 3 direct-drive bases. The wheel was unveiled at Sim Gaming Expo 2026 and features direct connection to Simucube 3 hardware without intermediate adapters, eliminating compatibility concerns for users of the latest base generation. The One SC incorporates a 4.3-inch touchscreen display integrated into the wheel rim, alongside 12 programmable buttons with RGB illumination and 11 RGB indicators for engine RPM display. Despite the addition of the screen, the manufacturers kept weight gain minimal—the wheel tips the scales at 1,060 grams compared to 1,040 grams for the standard One model. Pricing and exact availability have not yet been confirmed, though both companies indicated the One SC will launch in the near term.

Sim racing hardware manufacturer MOZA is reportedly planning PlayStation 5 versions of its R5S Pro and R16S Ultra racing wheels, with a target launch window in late 2026. Neither pricing nor a confirmed release date has been disclosed at this stage.