iRacing Season 2 News

It’s that time once more, with the 17th March 2026 marking the first update of the year for iRacing. Season 2 2026 debuts with a range of primarily content-focused improvements, from new cars and tracks, to widespread physics revisions that help increase the authenticity of the machines in question. 

In this guide, Coach Dave Academy will run you through all the bits you need to know about iRacing’s 2026 Season 2 update.

If you’re new to iRacing and want to get up to speed quickly, Coach Dave Academy’s starter guide for the title is a useful resource. 

Tracks

Only one new venue will be added to iRacing as of Season 2, but it’s a good one. The St Petersburg street circuit will make its long-awaited debut as part of the service, with the track best known for hosting the season-opening IndyCar outing. Having first been used in 1985, iRacing will debut a version built to 2025 spec. 

As of 2026, the track hosts a round of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series alongside IndyCar and the associated Road To Indy fixtures. The Mazda MX-5 Cup will also take to the venue in 2026. The 1.8-mile track features a bumpy surface that demands full concentration, especially as the walls remain so close. Overtaking is tricky due to the mixture of tight and fast corners, with the best opportunity coming with a good exit from the final corner hairpin, which allowed you to get a run down the aircraft-runway-based front straight towards the slow Turn 1 right-hander. 

Barber Motorsport Park Update

Alongside St Pete, another American track receives a considerable update. Barber Motorsport Park has been included in iRacing for years, but iRacing’s track team returned to the picturesque road course to completely re-scan it. The circuit has undergone a wide range of changes since the original scan, including a full resurfacing program that has eliminated some bumps and afforded it considerably more grip. 

Alongside the updated track surface, the environment has been thoroughly revised to iRacing’s 2026 standards. Owners of the track will get the new one free of charge. 

There are other changes across iRacing’s track roster too, including:

• Full art refreshes for Lanier National Speedway, Langley Speedway, and USA International Speedway.
• More minor art refreshes for Long Beach and Sebring International Raceway.
• 3D Curb implementation for the Red Bull Ring, affording more authentic behaviour at the circuit.

Cars

Three new cars will be added to the service as of 2026 Season 2, with two of these coming from the world of stock car racing. These come in the shape of Chevrolet’s updated Camaro ZL1 Next Gen Cup car, which receives a revised nose design to help improve its aerodynamic efficiency. Alongside this, the new-for-2026 RAM pickup, which joined the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for this season, will also make its bow. 

Both cars will feature minimal physics changes to the cars already included in the respective Cup and Track classes. Still, if you’re a fan of the vehicles in real life, you can now climb behind the controls yourself within iRacing.

The final addition comes with a new challenger for the TCR category. The touring car class is popular for those who relish door-to-door touring car competition, and iRacing’s vehicle squad brings the Audi RS3 LMS Gen2 TCR to the sim for the Season 2 update. It replaces the Gen 1 Audi RS3 LMS in the class, with the older car being moved to legacy content. 

• As a result, players who purchased the older content within the last calendar year will be afforded credits to go towards the new car. The amount of credits deposited will depend on how recently you bought the first-gen RS3 TCR.  

Physics Evolutions

The second part of the vehicular enhancements comes in the shape of physics updates. These arguably represent the biggest changes in 2026 Season 2, with no less than seven classes receiving changes. These cover classic models like the Lotus 49 and various vintage IMSA cars, to modern machinery like IndyCar and TCRs. 

GTE

iRacing’s vehicle team revisited the physics for the GTE class in order to elevate it to the same level as the recently updated GT3 class. All five GTE cars get the revised physics, which include changes such as: 

• Updated tyre compounds that improve at-limit feel and tyre deflection.
• Wet tyre addition.
• Rebalanced BOP.
• Chassis changes, including added rub blocks and suspension tweaks to provide more authentic handling.
• Re-visited base setups to provide better out-of-the-box balance, as well as engine character.

TCR

Alongside the new car, the TCR class will also get a thorough physics revision. All cars included within the category have been subjected to these various updates, which consist of:

• Latest iRacing tyre model that includes wet and dry compounds.
• Enhanced powertrains to afford more consistent shift light behaviour across all cars, as well as better boost control.
• New splitter tech height to better match real life, updated 100l fuel capacity to match IMSA regulations.
• More consistent car behaviour at all speeds, reduced pitch sensitivity that calms down over-rotation.
• Updated braking system.
• Revised weight physics.
• Rebalanced BOP. 

These changes will drastically change the handling of the TCR class, so a bit of testing will be needed to get comfortable with them once more. 

IMSA Vintage

Next up is the IMSA Vintage class, which includes the Nissan GTP ZX-T prototype and Audi 90 GTO machines. Both cars have been treated to a range of iRacing’s latest physics standards, including: 

• Up-to-date tyre compounds and technology.
• Various aero packages have been revised to make them more authentic (Nissan’s high-downforce setup, Audi’s low-downforce makeup.)
• The Audi 90’s gearbox has been tweaked to become closer to reality, including making use of the clutch more beneficial to performance as opposed to using the auto-clutch.
• Nissan GTP physics rework: New aero, suspension, and turbo boost to afford the car a more authentic pace and handling (expect the car to be around six seconds a lap slower on average than the previous build.)

Lotus 49

The final major physics revision of this update concerns the Lotus 49, the 1967 Formula 1 weapon that has been a part of iRacing since the early days of the service. Upgrades to the virtual machine regard:

• Updated tyre model that works in both dry and wet conditions.
• Suspension revisions to better replicate data recorded from the era.
• Revised braking system to resemble the setup utilised by the car in its glory days.

Minor Physics Changes

The final three classes to get updates in terms of their physics are the NASCAR Cup Next Gen, NASCAR O’Reilly Series, and IndyCar. The Cup machines have all the aero and engine alterations debuted for the 2026 season, while the O’Reilly vehicles have an updated drafting model based on iRacing’s newer CFD system. This ensures they’ll behave more realistically to other cars around them, with more precise side-drafting and more pronounced balance changes depending on how close other machines are. 

The aero and tyre construction for the IndyCars received an update, while the IR-18’s V6 engine also receives a power bump to ensure it’s closer to reality. 

AI Improvements

Alongside the various car and physics updates, iRacing will also roll out some enhancements to the AI opponent area of the title. 

• Simulated finishes are now in effect, so you’ll see what happened in a race after you decided to retire.
• Skipping qualifying is now possible without having to start at the head of the field.
• AI has been further tweaked to offer a more realistic track experience.

Should you fancy elevating your driving level when out on track in iRacing, Coach Dave Academy has put together a list of tips and tricks that should help you make that step.

UI Tweaks

iRacing’s 2026 Season 2 update provides plenty of UI tricks alongside the various content-related enhancements, too. Some extra functionality has been added to iRacing’s UI to make it more helpful than ever, with one of the most prolific additions being the ability to save custom UI designs. 

You can now switch between different UI profiles you make, making it easier to tailor your on-screen display to a particular vehicle without having to spend ten minutes re-configuring everything. Simply save each as you go, and you’ll be able to open it again in seconds. Live telemetry has also been incorporated, allowing you to view your throttle and brake traces once you exit the track. You can use this data to work out how to improve your driving, and how you compare against others.  

Other UI additions include:

• Session and Session Rules widgets, which display information about the specific session you’re competing in a clean and easy-to-access location. 
• A Visual Spotter system, which affords drivers a way to see where cars around them are located to prevent contact being made during close racing situations.
• The Driving Line can now be set to a bindable button, allowing you to engage and disengage it at will while out on track.
• The Reference Car Offset setting is now accessible directly from the UI. It allows you to change how far ahead the ghost car starts ahead of you at the start of each lap, allowing you to view it from different distances to widen your learning opportunities.

There are plenty of new things to sink your teeth into with the 2026 Season 2 update, many of which help mould iRacing into a more rounded experience. Further updates are in the pipeline too, with the next update set to arrive during the summer.