It can be tough to decide which tracks to purchase when first starting in iRacing, as the service features a plethora of venues from all over the world. These range from well-known grand prix venues such as Spa and Monza to hidden gems such as Knockhill in Scotland and Ledonon in France.
With the costs of iRacing tracks relatively high compared to other sims, in most cases, you’ll need to think about which ones to choose – a decision that will predominantly come down to which series you’re interested in running.
This guide will outline the ten best value tracks to pick up as a newcomer, with aspects such as how many series you can run with each as well as the number of layouts taken into account.
Daytona International Speedway
First up is the Daytona International Speedway located in Florida, North America. The track features a total of nine layouts, with five modern versions of the venue as well as four representing the circuit in its 2008 guise.
The modern versions will be used in official competition, and due to being a ‘roval’ setup the track can be used across a variety of disciplines. If you are more of a road racer, you’ll find the IMSA Series as well as GT3-based championships such as the Fanatec GT3 Series racing here, and you’ll be able to race in the season-opening Daytona 24 Hours.
Should you fancy something a bit different, you’ll also be able to run NASCAR races around the oval layout. The fast route also provides great slipstream-based racing whatever vehicle you’re piloting, making Daytona a solid addition to your track library.
Le Mans
Next up on the list is the legendary Le Mans de la Sarthe, located in France. It’s best known for hosting the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race which takes place each June.
On iRacing, you’ll most likely find prototype and GT-based series racing, such as the IMSA Series, the Fanatec GT Challenge, and the GT3 Sprint Series.
While the track looks simple on paper, it’s more difficult than it looks to get right due to the low downforce level you’ll have to run your vehicle at to be competitive. The final sector – which includes the iconic Porsche Curves section – is particularly challenging as the car moves around a lot, and walls are waiting close by should you get it wrong.
Red Bull Ring
Host of the F1 Austrian Grand Prix, the Red Bull Ring is one of the shorter tracks on this list. The track is routinely featured as part of the calendars of a large breadth of iRacing series, with the likes of the IMSA Sportscar Series, F3, and F4, Porsche Cup by Coach Dave Delta, the Falken Sportscar Challenge as well as the Touring Car Challenge contesting rounds there.
Its layout – which is essentially three long straights separated by a small selection of slow and fast bends – promotes fantastic racing whatever machine you’re driving, meaning you’ll rarely be faced with a boring encounter.
It comes with three layouts on iRacing, though as a pure driver’s track isn’t the most engaging on the service. Nevertheless, it’s a popular European venue that’s popular with smaller vehicles and more accessible series.
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Road America
Located in North America, Road America is one of the nation’s most revered racing facilities. It is old school in nature in that it doesn’t feature many expansive tarmac run-off areas, with grass and gravel ready to meet you should you stray too far from the racing surface.
This makes it thrilling to race around, though, unlike Suzuka, its layout is made up of several long stretches with straight braking zones, which culminate in presenting drivers with many overtaking opportunities.
Most sports car-based series race there, as does the Fanatec Global Series and the Skip Barber Series, meaning that you should get a lot of use from it whichever discipline you prefer. You will also find Road America featured on the Special Event calendar with the Road America 500, featuring the retro Nissan GTP ZX-T and Audi 90 GTO.
Silverstone
British venue Silverstone is up next. Home of the British F1 GP, the track is one of the most recognizable venues in the world of motorsport.
Its fast and flowing layout makes it thrilling and addicting whichever vehicle you’re piloting, both in terms of driving and the door-to-door action it provides.
Featuring three layouts, you will find Silverstone hosting everything from low-powered slipstream fests like in the FF1600s up to high-downforce prototypes in the IMSA Series.
This venue places slightly higher than Road America due to the fact it also features layouts that are better suited to lower-powered cars, which generally provide better bang for your buck in terms of purely thrilling racing.
Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace
The Jose Carlos Pace, also known as Interlagos and located in Brazil, is a track that has quickly grown in popularity since it arrived in iRacing. This is reflected in the fact that the majority of series within iRacing regularly feature rounds here.
The FIA F4 Challenge, F1600 Trophy, Touring Car Challenge, IMSA, and the Porsche Cup among others frequently visit the track. The layout promotes great racing due to featuring a long home stretch that keeps things close, as well as a mixture of fast and slow sections that provide a test of driving skill, making it satisfying to nail a lap.
These attributes make it one of the best value purchases within the service, as whatever you want to race, you’ll likely be visiting this venue sooner rather than later.
Sebring
Sebring is arguably the most difficult track on this list, but not because of the layout. Some of the track surface is the same as when the venue first opened back in 1941, which means it’s particularly bumpy, though the rest of the circuit isn’t much smoother.
This means that nailing the car setup is crucial, as you need the car to be as stiff as possible to ensure it’s more dynamic, while at the same time soft enough to not be too unpredictable over the bumps.
With a mixture of fast and slow bends, fun racing can be had at the joint, though sometimes the best strategy can be pressuring the driver ahead into an error due to how easy it is to make a mistake due to the roughness of the track surface.
A variety of series competes at Sebring, with fixtures such as IMSA, both GT3 categories as well as F3 all getting regular fixtures. Alongside that, you’ll be able to compete at the track as part of the Sebring 12 Hours special event in March each year.
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Watkins Glen
Located on the outskirts of New York, The Glen is one of the most storied and loved tracks the USA has ever produced.
Its fast, flowing nature makes it a pleasure to drive around, while its long stretches give a good amount of slipstream potential to keep the pack close. The only issue is that due to the long, rapid nature of its corners, it can be difficult to make passes as a result of short braking zones.
The Glen makes a great venue to purchase as it features frequently on the schedules of pretty much every series on iRacing. These include IMSA, Falken Sports Car Challenge, Formula C Dallara F3 and F4, the Ferrari GT3 Series as well as both major GT3 categories and the annual 6 Hours of The Glen special event. NASCAR events also utilise The Glen’s short circuit, so it offers fantastic value for any iRacer.
Spa-Francorchamps
The Belgian circuit needs no introduction to most race fans due to its endless history, thrilling layout – which includes the infamous Eau Rouge-Raidillion esses section – and a climate that seems to have a mind of its own.
The fast and flowing layout of Spa-Francorchamps means most vehicles provide an enjoyable experience when lapping the seven-kilometre track, while its long straights and heavy braking areas ensure close and battling racing is the rule rather than the exception.
Due to its popularity, it’s rare not to find it on the calendar of any of iRacing’s many racing series. This makes it great value as you’ll always find something to race there, and have a great time doing so too.
Road Atlanta
Finishing our list is the gorgeous Road Atlanta. Located in the state of Georgia in the USA, Road Atlanta provides a proper old-school driving experience. The four-kilometre GP circuit has very little runoff, significant variation change, and one of the fastest and breathless esses sections in the world.
Several decently long stretches flank the 1.3km back straight, which leads into a thrilling downhill swoop into a hard braking zone – making it rife for overtaking attempts. Unlike Spa, it also features a shorter layout which is perfect for lower-powered machinery such as the F1600 and Skip Barber.
The GP layout sees series such as IMSA, the Touring Car Challenge, Fanatec Global Series, the Porsche Cup, and the Ferrari GT3 Series among others all taking turns at one time or another, ensuring it provides excellent value for money. Host of the Petit Le Mans special event, too, you won’t be short of track time at Road Atlanta.
Road Atlanta’s old-school nature and extra layouts give it the nod over the still-awesome Spa on this list. So does the fact that lower-powered vehicles are slightly better suited to the track’s more compact layout, with more powerful machines not feeling hamstrung either.
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