Sim Racing — news

Retro-styled top-down racer Pretend Cars Racing 2 has officially left Steam Early Access, bringing its arcade motorsport gameplay and track creation tools to full release at a budget price point. The title combines classic isometric racing aesthetics with modern features including a built-in track editor, allowing players to design and share custom circuits alongside the game's existing content library.

iRacing has introduced Physics Islands, a technical optimisation designed to reduce CPU physics processing overhead by more than 50 percent in large-field races. The feature is intended to free up computational resources while maintaining simulation fidelity. According to the platform, Physics Islands will also create headroom for future enhancements to physics calculations, input handling, and force feedback systems. The optimisation addresses a long-standing performance bottleneck in online racing simulators, where CPU load scales significantly with the number of active vehicles on track.

iRacing has confirmed that its Career Mode will provide access to all necessary cars and tracks for player progression without requiring additional purchases beyond the base subscription. The feature will support seven distinct career paths, allowing drivers to choose their own progression route through the sim's racing ladder.

iRacing has begun testing a randomised weather system in Season 4, introducing per-race and per-race-day weather re-rolls to increase unpredictability during competition. The feature is designed to reduce the ability of drivers to memorise and optimise setups for fixed weather conditions, adding a new strategic element to online racing.

iRacing has announced that all content will be accessible within the platform's career mode without additional charges, according to Senior Vice President and Executive Producer Greg Hill. The move represents a significant shift in how players can engage with iRacing's library of cars and tracks through the single-player career progression system, removing paywall barriers that previously may have restricted access to certain vehicles or circuits in that mode.

iRacing has announced the addition of the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH Hypercar and two Caterham models for Season 4 2026, according to the latest developer blog post. The Valkyrie will mark a significant expansion of the platform's hypercar roster, while the Caterham additions will broaden the lightweight sports car category available to drivers.

The 2026 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Championship Series Playoffs commence on Tuesday night at Michigan International Speedway, with ten drivers competing across three races for a share of $500,000 and the Dale Earnhardt Jr Cup. Bobby Zalenski (ERA eSports Team) earned the No. 1 seed after claiming three wins during the nine-race regular season, tying defending two-time champion Steven Wilson (Spire Motorsports) on playoff points. Wilson secured the No. 2 seed due to fewer overall victories. Parker White (Williams F1 Team Gaming), Garrett Lowe (BS+COMPETITION), and Vicente Salas (Kanaan Esports) rounded out the top five seeds after winning races. Tucker Minter (William Byron eSports), Shawn Conklin (RFK Racing), Connor Yeroschak (Letarte eSports), Wyatt Tinsley (Kansas City Pioneers), and Casey Kirwan (Kansas City Pioneers) qualified on points. Zack Novak (JR Motorsports) narrowly missed the field by three points. Zalenski has never won an eNASCAR championship despite 21 career victories—second all-time—and six previous Championship 4 appearances. He led the most laps during the regular season and won the opening race at Charlotte, a first for him to start a season. Wilson, despite recent inconsistency including a 23rd-place finish at Indianapolis and 29th at Nashville, remains a title threat with wins at all three upcoming tracks. White, the 2024 series champion, has shown consistency since a frustrating 22nd-place finish at Dover, posting four consecutive top-ten finishes to close the regular season. The three-race playoff format continues at Texas and concludes at Kansas, with the top four drivers advancing to the Championship 4 finale.

iRacing has announced major updates arriving with Season 4, headlined by the September 18th launch of NASCAR 26 alongside significant physics engine improvements and a substantial roster of new and refreshed content. Tracks Three classic circuits receive complete rebuilds based on fresh laser scans captured in 2026. Road America, part of iRacing's original 2008 lineup, has been fully reconstructed and will gain two new configurations featuring the Turn 5 bypass road (East and West variants). Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, added in 2010, has been rebuilt to emphasise its variable terrain and sweeping layout. Milwaukee Mile also receives a complete overhaul and introduces a new Road circuit configuration in Roval style. Existing owners of these tracks will receive the updated versions automatically at no cost; older versions will be retired. Two additional tracks receive visual refreshes. Summit Point Raceway undergoes a complete art upgrade with rebuilt models, textures, curbs and scenery throughout. Jefferson Circuit receives the same treatment. Road Atlanta gains new track surface textures, 3D curbs, foliage, trees and upgraded scenery. Cars The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH arrives after over a year of development, incorporating telemetry, engineering data and direct collaboration with the manufacturer to capture the V12 hypercar's power, downforce and chassis dynamics. iRacing has partnered with Caterham Cars to deliver two open-wheel sports cars: the Caterham Academy and Caterham 420R. Both vehicles will be sold as a single package. The Academy, designed for novice racers, emphasises lightweight mechanical grip and pack racing dynamics, positioned in Class D series. The 420R offers increased power-to-weight ratio and will compete in Class C. The Mazda MX-5 receives a complete re-engineering covering suspension kinematics, engine tuning, damper specifications, tire model integration and aerodynamics. The update aims to deliver more intuitive handling and closer door-to-door racing. The Gen 4 Grand National stock car joins the existing Gen 4 Cup package, positioned just below the premier division with high-momentum racing characteristics. Both Gen 4 cars receive drafting model updates. The pavement Sprint Car undergoes a front-to-rear rebuild with increased power, broader low-end torque, new tire model, overhauled suspension geometry and updated braking, developed in partnership with real-world and sim community drivers. Sim Systems The physics engine receives its first major milestone from a multi-year overhaul initiative called 'Physics Islands'. The core physics update loop has been refactored and multi-threaded, distributing calculations across available CPU threads. In full-field races and crowded multi-car battles, CPU physics overhead drops by 50% or more across a range of hardware, with gains unlocking future improvements to physics tick rates, input sampling and force feedback loops. A new multi-class, multi-pace car system launches for Season 4, deploying dedicated pace cars for each class and independent green flags for every category. The feature initially rolls out on select tracks with full support in official IMSA series, aiming to eliminate chaotic grid stacking and improve turn-one racing fairness. Season 4 also introduces updates to the Sim UI engine, retiring legacy architecture to unlock long-planned interface advancements. NASCAR 26 includes a new Chase mode allowing players to jump directly into championship racing, alongside new burnout celebration animations.

MOZA has released full specifications and compatibility details for its MotoGP Handlebar, a direct-drive motorcycle controller designed for sim racing. The peripheral supports dual riding modes and features RGB lighting controls, alongside integration with MOZA's Pit House software ecosystem. The handlebar is compatible with a range of racing simulation titles and works with MOZA's direct-drive motor technology. Additional details on supported games and specific technical specifications have been made available as part of the announcement.

NASCAR 26 will introduce a driver rating editor, allowing players to customise competitor attributes within the game. The feature was showcased in a recent video teaser featuring drivers from Trackhouse Racing, one of the series' competing teams.

Pimax and CONSPIT have announced a co-branded variant of the Pimax Crystal Light virtual reality headset tailored for sim racing enthusiasts. The collaboration pairs Pimax's VR hardware with exclusive CONSPIT branding, creating a specialised edition aimed at the competitive and recreational sim racing community.

Version 0.9 of Assetto Corsa EVO introduces significant changes to GT slick tyre behaviour, affecting grip characteristics, slip angles, camber sensitivity and setup tuning across the board. The update alters how drivers interact with the simulator's tyre model, with early feedback indicating a shift towards increased understeer tendencies and measurably slower lap times compared to previous builds. The changes require drivers to reassess their setup strategies and driving techniques to adapt to the revised physics.