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February 26th, 2026 by Greg Hill
The first few months of the year are an incredible time to be a motorsport fan. With real-world series deep into preseason testing or waving their first green flags, we get that first look at the new cars, technologies, and regulations that will define the season. As sim racers, we’re shaking off the winter rust and diving into some of the most exciting events on the calendar—with the Daytona 24, Daytona 500, and Bathurst 12 already under our belts.
Combined with the energy of the Winter Olympics in Italy, the spirit of competition is at an all-time high. Whether it’s on snow, ice, asphalt, or dirt, 2026 is shaping up to be a landmark year across the sporting landscape, and there is no better place to harness that spirit of competition than right here with our global community of sim racers.
Before we dive into the build preview, I want to touch on the Special Events I mentioned. It’s incredible to participate in races with you all at this scale, and to pull it off we invest a tremendous amount of resources into the technology that powers the sessions and the dedicated operations teams that run them.
Each year, the scale grows—and 2026 is no exception. Our recent Daytona 24 reached all time highs for all of sim racing:
- 104 Total Splits
- 6,000+ Registered Teams
- 3.5 Million+ Laps Completed
- 26TB of Data Transmitted
- 40+ Years of total connection time
The biggest racing events in the world happen exclusively on iRacing. For those who participated, we know these races require a massive investment of your time and energy—we truly appreciate your support. For those who haven’t jumped in yet, we hope to see you on the grid for the next one! You can check out the full 2026 schedule here.
While we’re discussing special events and racing operations, I want to pull back the curtain slightly on our Protest process. I won’t get too far into the details, but know that we invest heavily in a dedicated, full-time team of employees charged with one mission: keeping the iRacing experience clean and fair.
While our systems—like iRating, safety rating, incident limits, race control, and anti-cheat—handle the immediate regulation, certain situations require a human touch. This is a significant operational investment for us, but we view it as critical to supporting the best racing community in the world. To give you an idea of the scale this team manages, nearly 300,000 protests were processed during 2025, and during peak season, this team processed upwards of 1,000 protests every single day. These protests often result in coachable feedback, where our team works with the driver to help them understand why they were protested. Protests also result in race disqualifications, and sometimes suspensions.
They are truly the hardest-working group at iRacing, grinding around the clock to ensure that when you take the green flag, you’re racing in a professional environment. Our investment at this scale is unique in the racing space.
Now, back to the reason many of you are eagerly working your way through this update: Season 2 is right around the corner. Let’s set the table for our upcoming release and then touch on several longer-term projects debuting later in 2026 and beyond.
This build is packed—we’re delivering fantastic new cars and tracks, seeing multiple continued investments in car physics advancements hit the track, and launching a new suite of features for the Sim UI alongside exciting AI advancements.
Note – this is going to be lengthy, so please feel free to scan ahead; you won’t hurt my feelings if you skip some. Also, the YouTube reaction videos are always fun – I certainly watch and enjoy them! Keep up the good work, guys, and keep that feedback flowing
Our art, production, and rendering teams have leveled up significantly since Long Beach debuted a few years ago. We’re keeping that momentum rolling this season with the highly anticipated debut of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
Racing at St. Pete is a uniquely dynamic experience. The circuit is a technical jigsaw puzzle, stitching together bumpy public roads, purpose-built racing segments, and an airport runway. Navigating the high-speed transitions between weathered concrete and fresh asphalt—all while the track width constantly breathes in and out—is a rewarding challenge for any driver.
While it’s been a staple of the IndyCar calendar for years, 2026 sees the tracks profile grow even larger with the arrival of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the return of the Mazda MX-5 Cup. Whether you’re wheeling a high-downforce open-wheeler, a heavy stock car, or a nimble sports car, the racing here is phenomenal. We can’t wait to see you all take to the streets.
Barber Motorsports Park was one of the first road circuits ever built for iRacing, and it has been a staple of our service for years. Its sweeping turns and dramatic elevation changes make it a favorite for almost every car in our garage.
In recent years, the real-world facility has undergone significant changes, including a full repave that offers a smoother, grippier racing surface, updated runoff areas, and various facility improvements. To match this, our scan team returned to Alabama to capture the modern circuit, and our art and production teams rebuilt the track and all artwork from scratch. We are incredibly excited to re-release this modern, high-fidelity version of Barber.
