iRacing uses a license progression system to allow drivers to work their way from beginner cars and racing series to cars and series that require higher levels of skill, experience and racecraft.
The Road discipline advances from Rookie series such as Formula Vee iRacing Series and the Fanatec Global Mazda MX-5 Cup, all the way upwards to the iRacing Grand Prix Series and the European Sprint Series for A-License drivers.
We mentioned in our Beginners guide to iRacing how to move from the Rookie class to a D license by ensuring that you meet the minimum participation requirements and Safety Rating (SR). This method will see you progress all the way to your A License.
Porsche Cup iRacing Series
Between Rookie and A license you will come across the Porsche Cup series at C license level. This is where your road to Pro license really begins. We have covered the Porsche Cup iRacing series here.
For developing and ambitious sim racers, mastering the Porsche Cup 991 GT3 Cup car and series has an added incentive – the Porsche Tag Heuer eSports Supercup (PESC). PESC is the top tier of road sim racing in iRacing, and is a destination for professional sim racing teams and drivers.
The Pro License
The Pro license is very rarely seen. You have the Pro license on iRacing but never quite understand how certain drivers got it. This license is in a special category that is aimed at pro-level drivers and if you think the regular A license races are not enough of a challenge and want to see how far you can push yourself to compete with the best sim racers in the world, then the iRacing Pro license is for you.
Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup Qualifying Series
First steps
The first step on the road to obtaining a Pro license is to make sure you have a Class B license with an SR of 4.0 or preferably an A license. Thereafter, you need to enter the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup Qualifying series when it comes around each year.
Grid sizes
This special series involves driving the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car over a six-race season. Grid sizes are a maximum of 30 cars that may include not only A license drivers but the possibility of Pro license drivers as well, all vying to make it the very top once again that year.
Qualifying
The top 15 point scorers in the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup Qualifying Series may earn entry into the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup Contender Series, which will pit them against the previous years’ PESC drivers looking to earn their way back into the big show once again.
Looking For A Setup To Help?
Did you know that Coach Dave Academy have a team of professional iRacing drivers and engineers who specifically create iRacing setups for the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car and the Porsche iRacing Cup Series that you are sure to come across when you get your C license?
It’s the perfect series to hone your skills and craft in if you are looking to progress to the Porsche Tag Heuer Esports Supercup later in the future and you can do this with Coach Dave Academy by your side.
Our current crop of Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car setups are created by real Formula 3 driver – Bart Horsten (5500 iRating), so you know you are in good hands.
Updated every week across the entirety of a 12-week iRacing season, we’ve got setups, data packages, hot laps and more to help you extract the most out of your car every single race.
- Race setups
- Qualifying setups
- Onboard laps
- Data packs
- All crafted by professionals
Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup Contender Series
It Only Gets Harder
The Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup Contender Series is similar to the Qualifying Series, where drivers compete across a six-race season but with 15 drivers from the Qualifying Series and the other half being drivers that competed in the previous season’s Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup and finished in the bottom 15 of that series. iRacing also allows 5 additional drivers entry into this series that are classified as VIP. These drivers gain access to the series at the discretion of iRacing.
Getting The Pro License
This, of course, means that the level of competition will be crazily high, with minor mistakes being enough to cost you several positions and eventually preventing you from moving up to the Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup. The good news, though, is that once you gain entry to the Contender series and are one of the 35 drivers allowed to compete, then you will be awarded a Pro Licence just before the series starts.
Coaching
Coach Dave Academy can help with providing advanced one-on-one driver coaching where our pro drivers can help you make that final step to the top.
A Top 15 Spot
These 35 drivers are essentially considered some of the best road racing drivers in iRacing and will drive their Porsche 911 GT3 Cups to fight it out to the top 15 at the end of the season. Thereafter, these 15 drivers will be allowed to join the top 15 drivers from the previous years’ Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup.
Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup
The Ultimate Series
The Porsche TAG Heuer Esports Supercup is the ultimate series in road racing on iRacing. It comprises the best road racing drivers that came through via the Qualifying and Contender Series, as well as the top 15 from the previous years’ Supercup Series.
As Close As Its Gets
This series is the highest level of competition in iRacing. It typically comprises drivers that practice for thousands of laps, have their own race engineers and drive as part of a team. This is probably as close as it can get for a sim racer to drive for a real racing team.
$200,000 On The Line
The series consists of 6 races, with each race split into a Sprint race and the Main race. The drivers will be expected to live-stream their races as well as attend interviews. The entire series will be broadcasted live, which gives us fans a chance to watch these incredible drivers compete for their piece of $200,000.
The top 20 all win a split of the $200,000 with the lowest place starting at $1,000 for their efforts that year and the winner getting $50,000.
Since Its Inception
Since its inception in 2019, the series has been dominated by the same select few drivers, with Josh Rogers being a double champion in 2019 and 2021 and Sebastian Job being the standout man who never finished outside of the top 5 overall in the past 5 years, becoming the champion in 2020 and finishing runner up the last two years (2022, 2023), losing to Diogo C Pinto and Jordan Carusso respectively.
The series itself has evolved rapidly. In 2019 it had a prize pool of $100,000, where the winner would scoop $25,000 of that and the series had no main sponsor. Fast forward and the series is now affiliated with Porsche and it has Tag Heuer on board as its main sponsor. The prize pool is now a whopping $200,000 with the winner scooping $50,000 of it, meaning you really can make a career out of sim racing if you work hard enough.
Final Thoughts
The road to a Pro License starts with the Porsche Supercup Qualifying Series, moves to the Contender series and ends with the Supercup. Top drivers will acquire a Pro License along the way, but it will involve dedication, determination and sacrifice at the highest level. This series isn’t for everyone but for those few that reach the Supercup Series; they can be sure that they are the best drivers on the iRacing service and amongst the best sim racers in the world.
