iRacing is a motorsports simulation game that takes online racing realism to a whole new level.
iRacing is not Mario Kart. This isn’t a game where you push into the throttle and take every corner full speed, tossing shells and bumping your opponents off the track. Okay, obviously I’m being facetious but quite honestly minus the shells I’m actually surprisingly accurate with that previous statement with regards to how iRacing is played. It’s a game of delicate precision where you must concentrate fully to be successful, as it is designed from the ground-up to be as realistic as possible. Take your car too fast into a corner? You’ll understeer and end up in the gravel. Jump on the throttle too aggressively on your way out of a turn? You’ll likely spin the tyres and oversteer, which usually results in the car spinning out or sliding across the track’s wonderfully groomed lawn. If you remain attentive behind the wheel and calm on your pedals and inputs, you’ll slowly begin to find success as you learn the craft that is simulation racing.
One of the best parts about iRacing is that it doesn’t just throw you into the seat of a racecar and expect you to keep it under control. Provided to subscribers is a full video series in collaboration with the Skip Barber Racing School to teach you the basics you need to know in order to be successful on a racetrack. I watched every video, and I can honestly say they were excellent learning tools for me as I began my online racing career.
Within iRacing, you can participate in several types of events on both road and oval courses. Most of my preview time was spent in the “test” and “practice” modes, where I would pick a car and a track, and simply drive so that I could learn how to keep my car under control. These modes are important, because they set you on a track of your choosing so that you can take your time to learn at your own pace. Furthermore, driver errors and accidents here do not count against your personal “Safety Rating”, which in iRacing, is a measurement of how cautious you are as a driver. This safety rating is important, as it encourages safe and respectful driving practices in Time Trail or Race sessions. Once you’re more comfortable in the seat of your racecar, you can then start racing for real with players all over the world. And that my friends is as exciting as it gets.
Features:
- The best on-line racing simulation and service in the world with brilliant features and functionality
- Head-to-head racing competition – racing against real people
- Open practice, qualifying, testing, time trialing competition
- Constant free automatic updates and improvements to the service
- Officially licensed cars that are engineered from the ground up in cooperation with real world race teams and using real-world physics
- Officially-licensed, laser-scanned exact replicas of the world’s greatest race tracks
- Officially-sanctioned racing organized by iRacing
- An online community of racing enthusiasts over 40,000 strong
- Ability to host your own private sessions, run your own tournaments or create your own private racing leagues