Having had a few minutes to sit down and reflect on the last few months I have to say it’s been a really exciting summer for me personally and professionally. On the personal side of things I thought I had the best job in the world all these years. I now have to say that that being a dad is the best job in the world and I absolutely love spending as much time as possible with my daughter. On the professional side of things I have also had the chance to see some major projects that I worked on for many months finally happen or get announced which was very gratifying. There was so much exciting news this summer but I think my highlights had to be seeing John Prather get a chance to be a professional race car driver for a weekend in the VW TDI Cup Series, announcing our NASCAR and IndyCar partnerships and seeing Marcos Ambrose take our colors to the track at Pocono.
So as the summer has pretty rapidly come to a close a new build is creeping up on the horizon. I really don’t have too much I can absolutely confirm will be in the next build at this time but I will give you a run down on what we are working on, some of which will be pretty obvious.
It’s not going to be a surprise that we plan on having the IndyCar ready for the next major build and it’s going to be an absolute blast. We will have different cars for different track types and the models all look terrific. We will also have the ability to adjust brake bias, weight jacker and sway bars from in cockpit. We should also have the in car brake bias and sway bar adjustments available in all cars that have this feature. We may not be able to get all of these adjustments done and for all of the cars by the next build but if we don’t they should not be far behind.
The Corvette C6.R did look like it was going to slip past this next build but we have actually just received a batch of data from Pratt and Miller that we had been waiting for so there is a chance this will be done. We still are waiting for some data but we have been promised its arrival in the next week or so.
The next new car in the development pipeline will be the Ford Falcon. Because we actually secured this license with the Ford contract we signed early this year we actually have a significant amount of work already completed on this car.
One feature that will definitely make the build is opponent tire smoke and skids. You will now be able to relive your own Cole Trickle moments on the high banks of Daytona.
There is a very small chance that we may have some tire improvements in this next build but we are probably going to make a change to a single car to start with. We are contemplating doing this on the Star Mazda to start with to get some feedback. We may also be able to sneak in the graphics model changes to this car to bring it up to spec with the current car.
One major project we are targeting for the next release that is not going to be a surprise is private racing. I don’t think I need to go into all the details on what we have envisioned here as it has been discussed at length in the forums. I will say that it is entirely likely that we will have a basic set of functionality with this available when it launches which will grow to be more robust over time.
A major project that is loosely tied into the private racing that has been partially leaked is our inclusion in the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Some of you may have seen items pop up in public records regarding this but we have finally executed that contract. This is pretty exciting for all of us because the Hall will have a terrific exhibit setup with show cars running our software and everyone that goes through the experience will leave with a print out of their lap times on a “sales slick” for iRacing. I actually flew down last week to supervise the “training video” shoot for the exhibit that will feature Dale Jr and Terry Labonte and I think that will come out terrific as well. It’s going to be pretty exciting to see how demonstrating our software in the Hall helps us build out customer base over the next few years as they expect at least 700,000 people to go through it in a given year.
One feature that Dale Jr put on our development schedule was the ability to transfer setups to each other. The general concept of what we are building is that you will be able to send and receive setups from other drivers who are connected to the same session you are. I am just going to put it out there now that whoever has the fastest lap in a practice session I join is going to get hassled to send me their setup!
Our friends to the north will be happy to know that the next track to be released will be Mosport and I am fairly certain it will be done in time for next season. The track that is next in line to be completed will be Brands Hatch and we actually already have a track spline done. The Kiwi turned a 1:17 in the Dallara the other day on the track and it’s going to be a fantastic track for the service, although possibly a safety rating killer! We have penciled in at the moment that Zandvoort will be the next track completed after Brands Hatch.
Night racing is coming along with a significant amount of engineering complete on it already. Unfortunately I don’t see this being rolled out with the next build as there is still quite a bit of work left to be completed. We have actually started the process of converting Richmond to a night track and we will send out some screenshots as it progresses.
We have seen quite a bit of discussion in our forums about mixed class and fixed setup racing and we have started the process of figuring out how properly implement this into the service. Quite a bit of the work that we are doing for transferring setups will help move the ball down the field on fixed setup racing actually.
For a media tease, I expect that you will see some iRacing segments on two TV shows this fall. When I have an actual confirmation on if we have made the cut and when they will air I will be sure to pass it along.
I hope I have given you enough of a taste of what we are working on to tide you over to my next blog which I plan to try and do before the next release. I anticipate this will go into more detail on some of these projects I have vaguely described. Until then I wish those of you in contention for a series championship the best of luck. I will be changing diapers….
Steve
Well as it stands now I have a class A in Road and race the Riley and the Jetta in Season 3. From the interview I saw with Dave K. it looks like the Indy cars are going to class A for the road. I really like the Riley DP but I guess I have to face it, noone races it, I think we have about 180 to 200 this season. That is honestly pathetic. I realize Pro didn't help but that is about what we had last season so Pro doesn't really seem to matter as far as numbers go. From the looks of it Pros don't race the DP in Pro either(mainly because they don't like it). But to make PRO and not race honestly baffles me but whatever.
I seriously doubt we will get the Corvette in time for season 4 because they are probably pushing very hard on getting Indy ready to roll out. So that leaves me wondering what to do now. I am getting very unmotivated to even practice for the Riley to finish off this season. Really, what is the point if the car is going to get dropped? Hopefully iRacing will announce something SOON so I can start to prepare for next season. Yes prepare, if I am going to race Indy I need to start running open wheel cars to get the feel for them because I am terrible at open wheel racing. I may run the Mazda the rest of the season in preperation for Indy.
I know the Riley may run in an ORG. but I have serious problem with paying to race in a service I have already payed for. I don't think org.'s will be ready for season 4 anyway so it is a non'issue anyway.
I’ve hit a wall but it’s the right one. I can be quick in most of the cars I can race (the two Solstices, Spec Racer Ford, Jetta, Skippy, Mazda and Radical) but can’t quite crack those alien times. Like so many others here I’m a second or so off the alien times and can’t seem to find that extra speed.
Testing over the weekend in the Mazda, for example, I set a 1:44:1xx in the Star Mazda at Silverstone. Scott U’Ren is currently leading the Star Mazda championship (2009 Season 3) and I had the good fortune to be in a practice session with him. His best recorded time at Silverstone Grand Prix circuit is a 1:43:536 but someone else who was in the practice session with me, I forget who now, set a 1:43:2xx – so I’m about a second or half a second off the pace in the Mazda.
Later on in the Jetta around Infineon Long I did a 1:51:949, which again was off the pace by quite some margin. Championship leader Andre Gomes set a 1:50:850 in practice but his best ever recorded time is a 1:50:676 which he did in qualifying in 2009 Season 3. So I’m about a second off the alien times in the Jetta too.
Earlier in the weekend I was in the Skippy at Summit Point – Jefferson Course and set a 54:644 after much practice and buggering around with the setup while championship leader (2009 Season 3) Klaus Kivekäs set a best recorded time of 54:289 in a race.
Where are these guys finding that extra speed? Try as I might I just don’t know.
Another area where they differentiate themselves from me is that I’m just cracking those numbers once or twice and then settling into times that either differ by half second or so every lap, which shows that I’m inconsistent, or times that are consistently a half second slower. In cars on tracks where my times differ quite a lot from one another I often end up crashing out of a race.
However, all of this is a giant leap forward for me. I used to be a solid two seconds or more off the alien times in a given car on a given track and that was after days of practice.
What’s changed? The biggest single difference, besides the obvious one being that I have a few more laps under my belt, is that I have refused point blank to use other people’s setups or the defaults that are provided by iRacing. I insist on making my own setups now and while I still feel like a blindworm groping around a rotten apple I am making some progress.
After some careful studying bells ring, alarms sound and occasionally, bulbs begin to glow, however dimly, while I spend hours in practice fiddling and tweaking. And all the while I’m doing more laps, getting more in touch with the car, more in touch with the track, more in touch with my PC hardware.
I’m not just aimlessly fiddling with setups or changing numbers arbitrarily either. I picked up a copy of Going Faster! Mastering the Art of Race Driving compiled by The Skip Barber Racing School and published by Bentley Publishers. I have read it cover to cover and now reference specific sections.
I don’t suggest that this is the definitive book and that you should rush out and get a copy if you want to go faster but this book’s explanations and theory resonated with me. It’s combining what I discover on the track with the theory presented by this book that deliver those light bulb moments for me. My suggestion then is that, if you want to improve your race craft, find some authoritative resource that resonates with you. The alternative is to labour excessively and rely on natural talent but that’s the long and torturous route. I’m not a masochist and I don’t like to hit walls.
Hello Fellow iRacers,
I am very pleased to announce our next three stops on the iRacing US Summer Tour. In a matter of hours, our mobile marketing truck and trailer will leave for our first stop: the Monterey Historic Automobile Races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. We will be at the Historics for the entire weekend beginning on Friday morning, August 14th. After the Monterey Historics, we will be traveling north to Infineon Raceway for the IRL and Indy Lights race the following weekend (Aug. 21-23). Our third confirmed stop on the Summer leg of our tour includes the SCCA Runoffs beginning on Sept. 22nd and going through until Sept. 27th. For those of you who live in the Las Vegas area, we *might* be going to SEMA this year; don’t hold me to it, but it is a trip we are considering.
Since I last posted an entry, we made two quick trips around the greater New England area with our mobile iRacing trailer. Staffed solely by our iRacing marketing department, we traveled to Lime Rock Park for the July ALMS event. Speaking for our entire department, we all really enjoyed meeting you, our current members, and creating a few new members as well. From Lime Rock Park we drove through the night to Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine. We try to visit every track in our simulator as our budget allows and we met a few very enthusiastic iRacing members who race with us from the most northern points in New England.
It has been a great summer so far, and I personally look forward to meeting more of you at our upcoming events. Come look for me at the front of our trailer at the events listed above and please do introduce yourself!
See you on the road.