- Four new cars and one new track are coming to iRacing’s Season 3 2026 build
- Dirt AI and AI heat racing are also set for introduction
- New dynamic track map to be added to UI
iRacing’s Season 3 2026 Development Blog has been released, revealing all the new content and features players can expect to see added to the sim in a couple of weeks’ time.
New cars
- BMW M2 Racing (G87)
- Euro NASCAR RC01
- Two new Formula Vees
- BMW M Hybrid V8 Evo
There are two all-new vehicles to look forward to, with the latest G87 generation of the BMW M2 Racing coming to iRacing. This is the Bavarian brand’s newest entry-level racecar and will become part of the sim’s free tier of base content.
Unfortunately, though, it dispenses with the silky six-cylinder from the F87-gen car to use a four-pot motor.
The Euro NASCAR RC01 also joins iRacing for Season 3, bringing the main protagonist from the NASCAR Euro Series to a global audience. The car produces around 400 bhp from its V8 engine, within a spec chassis built by Team FJ.
From this base, the cars are then rebadged as Fords, Chevrolets, Toyotas, Shadows or as stock EuroNASCAR FJs.
iRacing’s incumbent Formula Vee also gets two more variations, adding a touch more variety to the class. The two new cars will be available in one purchase.
The latest Evo version of the BMW M Hybrid V8 also arrives in Season 3, with the older car updated to its new spec at no extra cost.
Car tweaks
The Dallara IR18 IndyCar gets updates to its aero package, including ramp flaps and an Indy 500 body wicker, while the Porsche 992.2 receives nostalgic taped headlights as a livery option.
Lastly, the SK and Tour Modifieds have received a ‘ground-up’ physics refresh, which will be released in a couple of weeks.
New track
- Qualcomm Circuit (Naval Base Coronado)
In something of a coup for the sim, NASCAR’s latest new track will be added to iRacing one week ahead of its real-world debut. The San Diego-based Qualcomm Circuit (Naval Base Coronado) is a typically challenging, concrete-heavy street circuit.
I’d like to offer my congratulations to Shane Van Gisbergen on his dominant race win…
Track upgrades
- Laguna Seca
- Motorsport Arena Oschersleben
- Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours
- Oran Park Raceway
- Chicagoland Speedway
Laguna Seca has been given a ground-up rebuild, featuring new laser-scan data. The track is no longer base content for new subscribers but remains a firm favourite with iRacers (although maybe not for those who ran the recent IMSA Classic 500 Special Event).
Oschersleben and Magny-Cours receive three-dimensional kerbing, while Oran Park gets a track art refresh. Chicagoland Speedway is also the latest circuit to be given a modern-day ‘NASCAR refresh’.
Dirt AI and heats
It’s been a long time coming, but iRacing is finally adding AI to its Dirt content. Beginning with Dirt Oval racing and the Dirt Legends Ford ‘34 Coupe and Dirt Street Stock, the system will be gradually rolled out across more classes in future alongside AI heat racing.
UI updates
Season 3 will introduce a live track map as part of iRacing’s modular Sim UI system. With this, players can see where other cars are on track relative to them, including the location of the safety/pace car.
This can be edited to suit your requirements, with smaller, less detailed options available.
A fuel calculator will also be introduced, allowing players to better judge their economy.
Anycast
iRacing has implemented ANycast technology to help alleviate latency and improve connection stability for its community.
Multi-class starts
Although multi-class starts and separate class-based pace cars won’t appear in Season 3 initially, fans will be happy to know it’s a feature in the advanced stages of production.
It could well make it into the Week 13 schedule, offering a tidier and safer way to conduct multi-class events.
The future
iRacing continues to work on its Career mode and new ‘Spark’ graphics engine, but no timeframe has been offered for their introduction.
However, in terms of audio updates, the sim plans to introduce reverb (in and outside the cockpit) to the Season 4 2026 build later this year.