2011 World Tour of iRacing Opens With Jan. 29 Running of iRacing GRAND-AM 2.4 Hours of Daytona

Season Opener Features Multi-Class Sim Racing with Riley XX Daytona Prototype and Ford Mustang FR 500S on Daytona Road Course

As the green flag waves at 3:30 p.m. EDT to start the Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway, nearly two dozen iRacing.com members (among them Alex Gurney, Justin Wilson, AJ Allmendinger, Michael McDowell and Colin Braun) will be preparing for their series of behind-the-wheel stints in this twice-around-the-clock endurance racing classic.  Meanwhile, hundreds more iRacing members from around the globe will be winding down from their own participation in a 2.4-hour (144-minute) online racing version of the legendary sports car race.

The first event on the 2011 World Tour of iRacing, the iRacing.com GRAND-AM 2.4 Hours of Daytona is open to all driving game enthusiasts who are iRacing members.  The event will take place on iRacing.com’s virtual version of the Daytona International Speedway road course and features millimeter-accurate visual and functional duplicates of the Riley Mk XX Daytona Prototype and Ford Mustang FR 500S.

“Last year’s running of the iRacing.com GRAND-AM 2.4 was one of the most popular events on the World Tour of iRacing schedule,” said Kevin Bobbitt, iRacing.com’s director of marketing.  “With the addition of multi-class racing we expect that even more of our members will participate.  While the Ford is of course not as fast as the Riley, many of our members love racing the Mustang, and they enjoy racing other Mustang drivers while dealing with the interesting traffic situations that multi-class racing produces.”

Bobbitt also noted that the field, expected to number about a thousand drivers, will be divided into splits according to qualifying times, with Riley prototypes and Mustangs assigned to each 40-car split in proportion to their size in the overall entry.

The 2011 World Tour of iRacing features mixed class racing between the Riley Daytona Prototype and the Mustang FR500S.

For driving game enthusiasts who aren’t yet members of iRacing.com, iRacing is offering a special $5.00 one-month trial membership.  For more information go to https://www.iracing.com/wcrr/.  New members will also need to purchase Daytona International Speedway, the Riley Mk XX and the Ford Mustang FR 500s in order to take part in the iRacing.com GRAND-AM 2.4 Hours of Daytona.

Starting time for the iRacing.com GRAND-AM 2.4 Hours of Daytona is 12:00 noon ET (17:00 GMT.)  Qualifying begins Sunday, January 23, (00:30 GMT), with new qualifying sessions every hour on the half hour.  For each split, the top three finishers in each class will be announced and receive certificates of recognition and be listed in inRacingNews.

The 2011 World Tour of iRacing also includes:

February 19 – Daytona 500
Daytona Int. Speedway – 500 miles (Chevy Impala SS NASCAR Cup)

April 9 – Ice Breaker at Thompson
Thompson Int. Speedway – Distance TBD (iRacing Street Stock)

May 28 – Indianapolis 500
Indianapolis Motor Speedway – 500 miles (Dallara-Honda Indy car)

June 18—Michigan 400
Michigan Int. Speedway – 400 miles (Chevy Impala SS NASCAR Cup)

July 16 – Radical Cup
Brands Hatch – 40 minutes (Radical SR8)

August 27 – Spa-Francorchamps GP
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps – 44 laps (Williams-Toyota FW31)

September 30 – Petit Petit Le Mans
Road Atlanta – 120 minutes (mixed class TBD)

October 8 – Suzuka GP
Suzuka Circuit – 53 laps (Williams-Toyota FW31)

You may also like...

Recommended

This Week in iRacing: December 24-30, 2024

Recommended

eNASCAR College iRacing Series returns with Spring Semester in January 2025; Paint Contest announced

Recommended

iRacing Downshift #60: 2024 Recap and Holiday Show

Recommended

Popular World of Outlaws: Dirt Racing 24 Gold Edition Coming to PC via Steam in 2025