This Week in iRacing: March 12-18, 2024

Welcome back to This Week in iRacing, our weekly post that details all you need to know about what is going on in the world of iRacing!

As always, This Week includes topics ranging from official eSports to some of the top community-driven events, and everything in between.

Welcome to 2024 Season 2! A new season is ahead with some returning favorites as well as some new content

Here’s what you should know for the first week of 2024 Season 2, Week 1, from March 12th to March 18th, 2024.

For the Members: iRacing Official Series Highlights

Every week, iRacing offers daily, even hourly racing that members can get into, based on where their license level is at. There are also some special series that run at specific times that anyone can jump into, with the right credentials, that offer a more meaningful sim racing experience.

Here are a few of the highlighted series taking place this week.

NASCAR iRACING SERIES

Back in 2024, the NASCAR iRacing Series (Open Setup and Fixed Setup) follows the NASCAR Cup Series schedule for a 36-week racing season. Week 5 is set to take place at Bristol Motor Speedway this week, utilizing the NASCAR Next Gen Stock Cars from Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota. Note that starting this week, those affected by Daylight Savings may have their preferred time slot moved up or down an hour from the previous four weeks.

The races this week are scheduled for:

Fixed Schedule: Wednesday, 21:00 GMT; Friday, 01:00 GMT; Saturday, 10:00 and 16:00 GMT; Monday, 01:00 GMT

Open Schedule: Thursday, 01:00 and 19:00 GMT; Saturday, 01:00 GMT; Sunday, 14:00 GMT

For more information on the NASCAR iRacing Series -> CLICK HERE

FIA F4 ESPORTS REGIONAL TOURS

Every week, FIA F4 Esports Regional Tour races take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:00 PM, 9:00 PM, and 11:00 PM in time zones appropriate for each region. While all iRacers are eligible to run in any region’s event, the servers will always be set to the most appropriate iRacing server for each region. Europe North and Eurpoe South have combined into one singular Europe region in 2024 Season 2.

Week 1 Schedule:

Americas: Summit Point Raceway
Asia-Pacific: Okayama International Circuit – Full Course
Europe: Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli – Grand Prix

RACING PRODIGY MAZDA SPEC MX-5 GOLDEN TICKET SERIES

For a special seven-week series that spans the end of 2024 Season 1 and 2024 Season 2, Racing Prodigy will have an official road racing series (a Sports Car licensed series once the road license split happens) for their Mazda Spec MX-5 Golden Ticket Series. The top-48 leaders in the final points from the series advance to enter the Series Finals which start on Sunday, April 7.

While the ranked series is open to all iRacing members to participate in, those looking to enter for Racing Prodigy’s program need a Racing Prodigy Membership (RPM), either the PRL iRacing Game Pass or the PRL Combo Game Pass will suffice in order to be considered for the top-48. The car that will be used is the legacy Mazda MX-5 from 2010.

There will be seven time slots to participate in every weekend during the seven-week series:

Friday:
- 4:00 p.m. ET / 21:00 GMT
Saturday:
- 4:00 a.m. ET / 09:00 GMT
- 11:00 a.m. ET / 16:00 GMT
- 4:00 p.m. ET / 21:00 GMT
Sunday:
- 4:00 a.m. ET / 09:00 GMT
- 11:00 a.m. ET / 16:00 GMT
- 4:00 p.m. ET / 21:00 GMT

Week 5 Track: Rudskogen Motorsenter

For more information on the Racing Prodigy Mazda Spec MX-5 Golden Ticket Series -> CLICK HERE

iRACING WEEKLY CHALLENGE

iRacing’s latest new series concept returns for 2024 Season 2—the iRacing Weekly Challenge. If you’re into all forms of road racing, this is the series for you—it’s 12 weeks of different car and track combinations, with no repeats on either, for a season-long championship. Prove you’re the best at everything from sports cars to open-wheel racers on a global tour of some of iRacing’s most popular circuits.

Each week will feature points races every hour, leading up to a main event on Sunday at 20:00 GMT that features splits by weekly points. Races will be 20 minutes long and are open to iRacers with Class D licenses and higher. A separate set of points will also be tracked for the top splits of the Sunday main events on their own landing page. In addition, $5 in iRacing credits will be awarded each week to a random driver who makes the top split of the Sunday main event.

Week 1 Schedule:

Ray FF1600 at Brands Hatch – Indy

RING MEISTER / DRAFT MASTER COMBINATIONS

Two of the more unique daily racing series added in recent seasons are the Ring Meister Ricmotech Series and the Draft Master Series, where the cars change every week as opposed to the tracks. This season, the setups are fixed in both series, which means it’s all about jumping in and racing the combination at hand.

The Ring Meister Ricmotech Series (Races on every odd 2 hours | Qualifying every even 2 hours at :30) takes place at the Nürburgring Nordschleife – Industriefahrten and cycles through mostly road-type racing vehicles every week.

As for Draft Master (every hour), there are now three tracks—Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, and now iRacing Superspeedway as of 2024 Season 2—and now four NASCAR vehicles—the 2009 Impala COT, Craftsman Trucks, 1987 Cup cars and the current-day Next Gen—that each track will cycle through. This series will take on the new track, iRacing Superspeedway in the first four weeks of 2024 Season 2.

Week 1 Schedule:

Ring Meister: Cadillac CTS-V at Nürburgring Nordschleife – Industriefahrten
Draft Master: [Legacy] NASCAR Cup Chevrolet Impala COT at iRacing Superspeedway

OFF THIS WEEK

INDYCAR iRacing Series
- Next Race -> March 19 at Auto Club Speedway Oval (2024 Season 2, Week 2)

For more details on the eNASCAR College iRacing Series -> CLICK HERE

Official iRacing eSports

Business is booming in the official iRacing eSports sphere this week. With the new season comes the return of both of our top-rated series, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series and the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup. This week will also feature a special Thrustmaster Time Attack challenge event on Thursday alongside the usual running of the eNASCAR Qualifying iRacing Series.

eNASCAR COCA-COLA iRACING SERIES

The third race of the 2024 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series takes the 40 top-rated eNASCAR sim racers to Atlanta Motor Speedway for 100 laps of racing. Steven Wilson scored his second straight at the venue last season, becoming the only driver to win on the old and new configurations. Can he make it three-in-a-row?

ATLANTA RACE #3 – BROADCAST STARTS WITH COUNTDOWN TO GREEN AT 7:30 PM ET (1:30 GMT)

For more details on the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series -> CLICK HERE

eNASCAR QUALIFYING iRACING SERIES

The third race of the eNASCAR Qualifying iRacing Series will also take place this week at Atlanta Motor Speedway. At Las Vegas, nearly 900 iRacers took on the second round of the series. Justin R Smith held off former eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series competitor Logan Clampitt for the Top Split win.

ATLANTA RACE #3 – TOP SPLIT BROADCAST STARTS AT 8:00 PM ET (2:00 GMT)

For more details on the eNASCAR Road to Pro Ladder -> CLICK HERE

PORSCHE TAG HEUER ESPORTS SUPERCUP

After another week off, the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup returns for the start of the second half of the 2024 season. In the Mid-Season Tournament two weeks ago, Alejandro Sanchez held off Luke McKeown for the win. Entering the Red Bull Ring for the fifth event, the normal Sprint and Feature racing returns. Sebastian Job will look to regain his early momentum in the championship while both Jordan Caruso and Gustavo Ariel look to repeat with wins just as last season.

RED BULL RING RACE #5 – BROADCAST STARTS WITH ALL-STARS AT 2:00 PM ET (18:00 GMT) – SUPERCUP AT 3:00 PM ET (19:00 GMT)

For more details on the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup -> CLICK HERE

OFF THIS WEEK

eNASCAR College iRacing Series
- Next Race -> Tuesday, March 19: Race #7 at Talladega Superspeedway

For more details on the eNASCAR College iRacing Series -> CLICK HERE

For more information on iRacing and for special offers, visit www.iracing.com.