iRacing

iRacing has released its 2026 Season 4 build, introducing four new vehicles and three re-scanned circuit layouts alongside a range of interface and quality-of-life improvements. The new car roster includes the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH, making its debut in the simulator with rain capability enabled from launch. Two Caterham models—the 420R and Academy—arrive as a paired release, also rain-ready. A Gen 4 Grand National stock car rounds out the new machinery, offering early-2000s oval racing nostalgia. On the track side, Road America has been fully rescanned and rebuilt, now offering four total configurations including two new Short layouts. Milwaukee Mile gains an infield road course layout alongside its oval, while all five Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course configurations have received updated scans and rebuilds. Existing vehicles—the Global Mazda MX-5 Cup and paved Sprint Car—have undergone major physics and visual overhauls. Summit Point Raceway and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta have also received cosmetic updates. The new build introduces expanded pit summary and car damage widgets, a reference car UI for time trial and test drive modes, minimal and pinned UI options, and an improved fuel calculator. Multi-class pace car starts are now available at more than 50 track layouts. Backend improvements include multi-threaded physics updates, expanded car rule sets, and full UTF-8 character support. All four new cars and every configuration of the three rescanned tracks are immediately available for AI racing, alongside several additional classic vehicles and track variants.

iRacing and World of Outlaws have confirmed the return of the iRacing World of Outlaws Pro Series for the 2026–27 season, with $25,000 in prize money available to top competitors. The series will operate under a traditional qualifying model, split into two separate championships for 410 Sprint Cars and Super Late Models, each featuring five races across premier dirt oval venues during the winter months. Qualifying events begin Monday, September 21. The Sprint Car Qualifying Series runs on Mondays at 8PM ET from September 21 to October 19, featuring 30-lap races at each track. The Late Model Qualifying Series follows on Thursdays at 8PM ET from October 22 to November 19, with 40-lap features. All iRacers holding a Class A Dirt Oval license are eligible to enter the qualifying rounds, which will determine the championship rosters. The 410 Sprint Car Championship takes place from November 16 to December 14, visiting Volusia Speedway Park, Huset's Speedway, Williams Grove Speedway, Eldora Speedway, and Knoxville Raceway, with 35-lap races at each stop. The Super Late Model Championship runs from January 4 to February 1, with events at Federated Auto Parts at I-55, Cedar Lake Speedway, Eldora Speedway, Fairbury Speedway, and The Dirt Track at Charlotte, featuring races of 50 to 100 laps depending on venue. All races will be streamed live on Monday nights at 8PM ET across iRacing's social media channels and DIRTVision.

iRacing has announced a significant expansion to its single-player AI Racing mode for the 2026 Season 4 update, introducing eight newly AI-enabled vehicles and 19 additional track configuration unlocks across eight circuits. The new car roster includes four recently released vehicles receiving immediate AI support: the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH, Caterham Academy, Caterham 420R, and Gen 4 Grand National. The Valkyrie and both Caterham models will also feature rain-enabled AI capabilities, allowing drivers to practice wet-weather racing against the artificial intelligence. Four additional legacy road racing cars round out the update: the Chevrolet Corvette C7 and Riley MkXX Daytona Prototypes, the BMW Z4 GT3, and the Formula Renault 2.0. On the track side, iRacing's newly scanned versions of Road America, The Milwaukee Mile, and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will launch with full AI support across all available layouts. Existing circuits receiving new AI-unlocked configurations include Auto Club Speedway (Competition, Interior, and Moto layouts) and Kansas Speedway (Road Course and Infield Road Course). Dirt oval racing expands with AI availability at USA International Speedway, Oswego Speedway, and Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 for the first time.

iRacing's 2026 Season 3, Week 13 (September 8–14) features a full calendar of racing across multiple disciplines, highlighted by the return of the iRacing Suzuka 1000 endurance event and continued competition in the platform's flagship series. The iRacing Suzuka 1000 takes centre stage as a special event this week, recreating the legendary Japanese endurance race held annually at Suzuka Circuit since 1966. The event returned to the iRacing calendar in September 2025 as part of the Intercontinental GT Challenge. In the weekly racing series, the NASCAR iRacing Series reaches Week 28 of 36 at World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway), with fixed-setup races on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Monday, and open-setup events spread across Thursday through Sunday. The iRacing Grand Prix Tour continues at MotorLand Aragón (Week 16 of 24), featuring the Mercedes-AMG F1 W13 E Performance across both fixed and open setups with multiple daily sessions. The newly launched iRacing DTM Series holds Week 7 of 8 at the Sachsenring, with races scheduled at 8:00 PM local time on Thursdays across global regions. The CREVENTIC Endurance Series (Season 6, Week 4) races at the Nürburgring Grand-Prix-Strecke with two sessions on Saturday. Several regular series are off this week, including the Dirt 410 Sprint Car Tour, Dirt Super Late Model Tour, NASCAR Modified Tour, Super Late Model Tour, Vintage Grand Prix Tour, and the Nürburgring Endurance Championship, with these resuming in iRacing Season 4. Week 13 also features curated daily racing series and special formats including iTested (GTP, LMP2, GT3), Left Turn It Up (Gen 4 Grand National), Super Slide (Sprint Car), and Prototype Challenge Fixed.

The iRacing Creventic Endurance Series is set to return for its fifth consecutive year of partnership with Creventic, the organizers of the real-world 24H Series. The 2026 season will continue to offer team-based endurance racing across a curated selection of international circuits, maintaining the series' focus on accessibility for all iRacing members. The championship calendar comprises five events, combining multiple 12-hour races with a season-ending 24-hour contest. 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. Full details regarding event schedules, car lineups, and additional series information are available on the iRacing Forums.

iRacing has announced the Suzuka 1000, a special event team endurance race scheduled for November 12th at 08:00 AM. Competitors will pilot GT3 machinery around the full Suzuka International Racing Course layout for 1000 kilometres (173 laps), with five race time slots running from Friday 22:00 GMT through Sunday 00:00 GMT to accommodate global participation. The event features a single-class GT3 grid comprising 12 car models, including the Acura NSX GT3 EVO 22, Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO, Audi R8 LMS EVO II GT3, BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R, Ferrari 296 GT3, Ford Mustang GT3, Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO, McLaren 720S GT3 EVO, Mercedes-AMG GT3 2020, and Porsche 911 GT3 R (992). Teams must field a minimum of two drivers and a maximum of 16, with fair share driving time enforced. Entry requires a Sports Car license at Class C or higher, or Class D with a 4.0 Safety Rating. Dynamic weather will be active throughout the race, and setup tuning is unrestricted. Balance of Performance will be finalised closer to the event date. Incident penalties include Stop and Go penalties after 40 incidents, with disqualification triggered at 150 incident points per team. The Saturday 12:00 GMT time slot will receive a broadcast via RACESPOT on iRacing.com/live. The Suzuka 1000 is inspired by the real-world endurance race held annually at Suzuka Circuit in Japan since 1966. The event returned to the Intercontinental GT Challenge calendar in September 2025 after a five-year absence. iRacing members can register teams through the Special Events page.

The iRacing DTM Series continues this week with racing at Sachsenring, one of Germany's most prominent road racing circuits. Races are scheduled for Thursday evenings across multiple time zones, with 8 PM start times in AEDT, CET, ET, and PT to accommodate the global iRacing community. The series employs a straightforward race format designed to replicate the intensity of the real-world DTM championship. Each race runs for 55 minutes, matching the duration of actual DTM events. Competitors use the same car models as the 2026 DTM series, with fuel tank capacity limited to introduce strategic pit stop decisions during the race. More details about the iRacing DTM Series are available on the official iRacing website.

iRacing has unveiled a fresh lineup of unofficial series for Week 13, combining revivals of community favourites with newly designed events aimed at delivering varied racing experiences. The platform responded to user requests by curating a diverse slate of competitions across multiple vehicle classes and track types. Two returning series headline the update. Battle of the Little Wings brings together lower-formula machinery—FIA F4, Super Formula Lights, and Skip Barber Formula 2000—on shorter circuits, with drivers competing both within and across class categories. Ridiculousness returns with IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship prototypes and GT3s tackling tight oval layouts at Bristol, Dover, and Milwaukee. Six new series expand the Week 13 offering. The Doctor's Office pairs the Dallara P217, Ligier JS P320, and Ferrari 296 Challenge on iconic road courses. To The Streets focuses on precision driving with the Dallara IL-15 on street circuits, with plans to rotate vehicle types in future seasons. Manufacturer Madness groups multiple Ford models—stock cars, GT cars, and sports cars—on American road and street layouts, with different manufacturers featured in subsequent seasons. Incident Limit Challenge penalises every contact and corner-cut with drive-through penalties, using the Toyota GR86 at Lime Rock Park's Chicanes layout. Storm Chasers emphasises wet-weather performance, featuring the BMW M2 Racing (G87) on Oulton Park's International layout in 15-minute sprints. Free for All rotates between licence types using included content; the current season features the FIA Cross Car, Pro 2 Lite, and Volkswagen Beetle Lite on dirt road courses. The full Week 13 schedule is available on the iRacing website.

iRacing's Week 13 event for the 2026 Season 3 will serve as a testing ground for new features and race formats ahead of the season proper. The week combines community-focused racing with experimental mechanics designed to refresh the competitive experience across multiple series. Weather conditions will play a more dynamic role this week. A new Weather Reroll system will introduce variable atmospheric conditions throughout the week. The 13th Week Ferrari 296 Challenge and GT3 Challenge will see weather changes once daily at 00:00 GMT, while the 13th Week Porsche Cup Series will feature weather rerolls before every race. The iTested Series expands its car roster to 17 vehicles with the addition of the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH, joining the existing GTP, LMP2, and GT3 categories. The series will also introduce multiple pace car testing configurations across Fuji Speedway, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Notably, participation will affect Safety Rating only, leaving iRating unaffected for drivers pursuing the iTested award. Two high-profile series receive format overhauls. The 13th Week Porsche Cup Series adopts a structure inspired by the Porsche Esports Supercup, featuring one qualifying lap, an inversion of the top eight qualifiers before a seven-lap sprint, and a 14-lap feature race without inversion. The 13th Week NASCAR iRacing Truck Series will run at full race distance—175 laps at New Hampshire Motor Speedway—matching real-world event length. Several other Week 13 series will remain at a single track throughout the week, mirroring the format of standard 12-week seasons.

iRacing has released the full schedule for Season 3 Week 13 in 2026, featuring a mix of ranked championships, unranked series, and special events across oval, road, dirt oval, and dirt road disciplines. Week 13 serves as iRacing's inter-seasonal break between the four quarterly championships, traditionally used to introduce new cars and tracks while offering drivers a lighter racing week. The schedule includes debut events for newly added content, with the iTested series showcasing GTP prototypes (including the Valkyrie), LMP2, and GT3 machinery across 17 car types on track. Ranked series span multiple categories: oval racing includes the NASCAR iRacing Series and various truck and stock car challenges; sports car offerings feature the Mazda MX-5 Cup, BMW M2 Cup, Ferrari 296 Challenge, Porsche Cup Series, and GT3 Challenge; formula car racing covers FF1600, Formula Vee, and FIA F4; and dirt oval competitors can enter Dirt Street Stock and Dirt Mini Stock challenges alongside a Sprint Car series. Unranked events provide casual racing without affecting iRating or Safety Rating, including pickup oval series, road-based track days with multiple car types, and themed challenges such as Manufacturer Madness (seven Ford Mustang variants) and Storm Chasers (BMW M2 at Oulton Park with rain probability). Time attack and hill climb events round out the week, with the Porsche Experience Center series featuring the 992.2 Porsche 911 Cup.

The 2026 Porsche Esports Supercup World Championship Series kicks off on September 19th on iRacing, bringing together 32 drivers who qualified through regional competitions across four zones: Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. The five-race global championship will determine the world champion, who will receive $10,000 and an opportunity to compete in a real-world Porsche Shootout. Regional champions Xander Reed (Americas), Patrick Kessel (MEA), Charlie Collins (Europe), and Dayne Warren (APAC) have secured their places in the World Championship. Warren impressed with a perfect score across the Asia-Pacific region, claiming five poles and five wins. The field also includes returning competitors such as Luke McKeown and Gustavo Ariel, alongside former champions Diogo Pinto (2022 World Champion) and Cooper Webster (2025 World Champion), both seeking their second title. Sebastian Job will compete for his third championship. The championship visits five iconic circuits: Spa-Francorchamps (September 19), Silverstone (September 26), Suzuka (October 3), Interlagos (October 10), and Monza (October 24). Each race day features three segments—qualifying, a 15-minute sprint race, and a 30-minute main race—with a maximum of 85 points available per round. A top-eight invert between sprint and main races adds strategic depth to the competition. Races will be broadcast at 3:00 p.m. ET / 19:00 GMT / 21:00 CEST on the Porsche Twitch channel, iRacing's Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook channels.

Steven Wilson secured his place in the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series Championship 4 Finale with a dominant performance at Michigan International Speedway on Tuesday night. The defending two-time champion led 53 of the final 54 laps to claim his third victory of the 2026 season, extending his career win tally to 20 and tying him for third all-time with Nick Ottinger. Wilson's Spire Motorsports entry proved competitive throughout the night, though he dropped as low as eighth early in the race before methodically working his way forward. After taking the lead on Lap 20, Wilson managed tire degradation expertly while competitors struggled with pit strategy decisions. A final caution with two laps remaining set up eNASCAR Overtime, where Wilson held off Connor Yeroschak of Letarte eSports on the restart. Wilson's teammate Femi Olatunbosun completed a Spire 1-2 finish, securing the team's Championship lead. With two races remaining in the three-race Postseason format, three drivers currently occupy the points positions above the cut line: Yeroschak, Wyatt Tinsley (Kansas City Pioneers), and Bobby Zalenski (ERA eSports Team). However, any of the nine remaining drivers outside Wilson can still win their way into the Championship 4 Finale at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte next month. The next opportunity comes in two weeks at Texas Motor Speedway, followed by a final race at Kansas before the title decider.