World’s Premier Online, Multiplayer Racing Game to Release Revolutionary Updates over the Summer Months
BEDFORD, MA (April 20, 2011) – iRacing.com today formally announced its most dramatic software release to date – Version 2.0. Coming in the summer of 2011, iRacing 2.0 will feature enhancements across the board for the popular online, multi-player racing title.In contrast to gaming software brands that typically release a new title once every few years, the online racing game takes advantage of digital distribution to provide regular updates of its service to the more than 25,000 iRacing members four times per year.
“By summer’s end, we will have clearly ‘launched’ a truly amazing step forward in sim racing. It is incredible how far we have come in just three years. I am thrilled to see our vision come to fruition with thousands of people racing online everyday in our service. iRacing is now to sim racing what NASCAR is to stock car racing,” said iRacing co-founder John Henry.
New Tire Model is the Core of iRacing 2.0
At the core of the 2.0 release is the highly anticipated new tire model, which will revolutionize the way iRacing members race online, providing unparalleled realism and the most accurate racing experience ever produced for a PC. The introduction of new tire model will be rolled-out over the course of the summer, along with many of the additional enhancements, beginning in May.
iRacing’s CEO and legendary sim racing developer, Dave Kaemmer and his team have been researching tire properties and working on his newest tire model for over three years. “I have dedicated my professional life, over 20 years, to working on racing simulations and physics models,” said Kaemmer. “This new tire model is our best work ever. It was incredibly challenging and time consuming to develop an understanding, mathematically speaking, of a racing tire at the limit and under all sorts of conditions – and that was just phase one. To then translate that into a working model within the simulation was incredibly taxing – but it was truly a labor of love. The tires are clearly the hardest thing to simulate for any racing title, but I think we’ve nailed it! I believe it is going to bring simulated racing to a whole new level of enjoyment and realism.”
“iRacing 2.0 isn’t a new disc that needs to be purchased. Members will download the updates from our easy to use website, all for free”, said iRacing.com president Tony Gardner. “We have improved our product so much in the last three years that, along with adding such an incredible list of new features this summer, we feel it’s fitting to celebrate the next generation of iRacing. We will be releasing some of these features in early May and some in August, but frankly we will continue improving the product long after that.”
The company initially launched its service in the summer of 2008 and 400 people joined that first month. Now three years and over 25,000 customers later, the company still provides updates and improvements to the service like clockwork every three months.
“Although we have moved well beyond our initial vision, we are working harder than ever and the features coming out this summer prove it”, added Gardner. “When we first launched we had only a few cars running on about a dozen U.S.-based tracks. Now we have over 30 official series running on over 60 laser scanned tracks from around the world – over 1,500 official races going-off each week, 24 hours per day, not to mention the hundreds of member-run leagues that take advantage of our hosted racing features each week.”
“I want to thank our tremendous real-world partners involved in this including: NASCAR, INDYCAR and GRAND-AM, who officially sanction series on iRacing.com. I also want to thank all of the tracks, car manufactures and racing teams who have worked so hard with us to get everything simulated as realistically as possible. It sure does make it more fun for our members, ”Kaemmer added. “Lastly, and most importantly, I want to thank our members for their continued support and passion for race gaming and sim racing. Without them we could never have gotten to iRacing 2.0. It is incredible to think how far technology has come, especially in the last few years, and what could be in the future. We look forward to that journey with our members and many more great years of sim racing.”
Highlights of iRacing 2.0
May 2011
- Early preview of Dave Kaemmer’s new tire model available on the new NASCAR Nationwide car.
- Launch of in-game awards program – over 50 different participation awards members can earn.
- Night racing on road courses using headlights beginning with Sebring International Raceway and the V8 Supercar, Mazda MX5 Cup & Roadster, Corvette C6.R, Riley Daytona Prototype, Pontiac Solstice, VW Jetta TDI Cup and Mustang Challenge race cars.
- New NASCAR “Nationwide” stock car – race the car you watch on Saturdays.
- Okayama International Circuit (Japan) – the first of several tracks from the island nation.
- New telemetry output for the data hungry racers.
- Private league racing enhancements including: reduced pricing, advanced scheduling, new race session options and additional grid spots to virtually every track.
- Graphic and shader upgrades in-game for more lifelike visuals.
- Complete graphical overhaul of the Skip Barber FSB2000 race car – updating our first car to current standards.
- Opening practice sessions to all license levels (excluding Pro Series).
- Enhanced pitting and damage repair for all cars.
- Preferred/custom car numbers.
- Improved accuracy of the model of physical track sirface to match the laser scanned data better than ever before.
- New Tire Model for all cars.
- Enhanced aero model for improved drafting and more realistic downforce characteristics.
- Heat/Tournament racing for private leagues/sessions.
- Driver aids available for private leagues and Rookie series (ABS brakes, traction control, driving line, steering aids, etc.).
- Enhancements of new sound system.
- Endurance racing and driver swaps.
- Suzuka Circuit (Japan).
- Iowa Speedway (USA).
- Ford GT race car.
- Honda LMP ARX-01C race car.
- Live pop-up chat on member site.
- Inexpensive – Standard one-year membership is less than $9 per month. Try it for one month for $5 to learn more first hand. Use Promo code PR-FIVEDOLLAR when joining.
- The most accurate, realistic and feature rich simulation in the world.
- Centralized member website with ease of use being the cornerstone; Regular automatic updates free with membership.
- Live stats, tracking and scoring for every race.
- Robust and passionate community including forums and live chat.
- State-of-the-art graphics.
- Head-to-head racing with same field size as real world racing – some tracks capable of racing up to 60 cars.
- Fully integrated and professionally developed iRacing driving school.
- Over 60 officially licensed and laser scanned tracks.
- Over 25 officially licensed and authentically reproduced cars.
- Over 100 private leagues using iRacing.
- Unlimited racing 24/7: over 1,500 official race each week, unlimited open practice, unlimited time trialing, unlimited testing on track.
- Ability to race any car at any track, anytime you want, utilizing the hosted racing feature.
- Dozens of special events each year: iRacing Indy 500, iRacing Daytona 500, Club style competition, World Cup of iRacing.
- Most prestigious Pro Series in sim racing sanctioned by NASCAR, INDY CAR and GRAND-AM, with thousands of dollars in cash prizes, full press coverage and live broadcasts.
- Fully integrated real-world and sim racing news site (inRacingnews.com) and webcast show (iRacingTV) covering the racing action.
- Mixed class racing, open setup racing, fixed setup racing, night racing on ovals.
- License and division system automatically categorizes each member into the level that they are interested in: from casual race gamer looking to just have some fun to serious competitors looking for the best competition sim racing has to offer.
- World class, live customer service and support.
