With the next build of iRacing on the horizon, Luca has been giving some thought to the tracks that are set to be added onto the platform in the future - and if they are used properly.
It is no secret that many people are not interested in iRacing due to its monetisation model, where one has to buy a subscription and then individually buy a large majority of the cars and tracks. Even I as someone who does enjoy iRacing can concede, the money one must put into it is considerable - which is why I meticulously plan what content I am picking up ahead of each season.
Whenever the schedule for the upcoming season is released, I look for which tracks are the most prevalently featured among the ones I am interested in. A good example of a track I have been wanting to pick up but have not yet is Zolder, because for the past few seasons it has only featured in the Porsche Cup series. As of next season though, it is apparently set to feature on both the Pilot Challenge and IMSA schedules.
With the news that iRacing are adding Cadwell Park in the next build, as much as I am excited to race it, I do wonder if enough people will be picking it up. Because there are multiple tracks on iRacing that for one reason or another, have not tempted people into purchasing them.
But on the flip side of that, there are some tracks which are quite obscure and do not lend themselves to a lot of high powered cars. Subsequently on iRacing, you see them on rotation in certain series and even in some of the more populated participation series, the signups are not that great.
Some tracks that are not base content on iRacing rarely get a decent number of sign-ups in officials. Image: iRacing.com
In the article where we discussed which currently less-frequented content on iRacing should be part of the base package, the community identified a few tracks that are not getting much in the way of participation at the moment. Such examples include: Willow Springs, Sandown, Sonoma, Phillip Island and Knockhill. Quite frankly, it is a crime that Phillip Island is in there as it is an absolute gem.
But for the sake of this point, the one we will focus on is Knockhill. The track is very small and compact, with the lap clocking in at just over one and a quarter miles, being done in around 48 seconds in an F4 car which is not that much quicker than a Porsche Cup car. It is also for the most part only known by UK car racing fans due to hosting British Touring Cars.
The track was added to the service for 2022 Season 1 and rather astonishingly, it appeared on the schedules for the GT Endurance Series and IMSA Endurance Series. Both series featured GT3 and if that was not already absurd enough, the latter also had LMP2 cars in the mix.
Of course, cars as quick as that on a track as compact as Knockhill are just a novelty, and iRacing have not dared do something like that since. But clearly, it is within iRacing's interests to have new tracks feature prominently on many of their series schedules.
Which has me wondering why they are adding some of the tracks that they are. Because how likely is it that the track does not get used after their introductory season?
Why is this? Many of the series have their schedules decided upon every season via a vote on the iRacing forums by a co-ordinator for that series. As a result, most series will rarely include a new track beyond its introductory season and the track will be made completely irrelevant. Then hardly anyone ever picks it up or races it again.
The Jerez circuit has not been in iRacing for long but in 2024 Season 3, it only featured in one series. Image: iRacing UI
What that means is: The track is not popular because it does not get used, and the track is not used because it is not popular. A self-fulfilling cycle that kind of prompts the question: Why even bother introducing new tracks? Why go through all the effort to make a new track if it is just going to end up underutilised and abandoned in the following seasons?
Take Willow Springs, introduced in 2023 Season 3. How often was it featured on the current season's schedule? The answer is three times, in the Production Car Challenge, IMSA Vintage Series and Grand Prix Legends. Even a track as internationally renowned as Jerez - introduced in 2023 Season 2 - only features once on the current season schedule, in the Classic Lotus Grand Prix series.
In stark contrast to that, Algarve features across twelve different sets of series across the entire season. So with Cadwell Park on the horizon, will it be just another flop?
But for that to happen, the track would have to be base content and if they were going to make it free, they would have said as such by now. Otherwise, it will probably end up on the schedules for the open setup versions of the MX-5 and Formula 1600 series as well as the Radical Esports Cup, Clio Cup, Grand Prix Legends, the GR86 series, perhaps F4, TCR, the Production Car Challenge with the old BMW M4 GT4 replacing the Mustang, maybe even IMSA Pilot Challenge at a stretch.
A few of those series are rather popular, but due to Cadwell's incompatibility with cars as fast as GT3s and beyond, it would be a stretch to see it do well enough in sales to feature prominently on iRacing schedules in the future. Same goes for the two other British tracks being added: Thruxton and Croft.
Other road tracks that have been announced in the most recent iRacing Developers Blog include The Bend, Adelaide, Circuit Ricardo Tormo and TT Circuit Assen. All of which have had high level racing in various forms, like Australian Supercars, Asian Le Mans Series, GT World Challenge, DTM etc. But even with Jerez struggling to get featured, what is to say that Ricardo Tormo and Assen will not suffer the same fate?
So with not everyone clearly wanting to fork out $14.95 for a track that will probably never get used again, what to do?
Of course, they are not just going to make every track that does not sell well in its first season free, because then next to nobody would buy a track. It would be ripe for exploitation. Instead, what they could start doing to drive sales of a particular track is sell a bunch in bundles. This is something that rFactor 2 did with its content add-ons.
rFactor 2 players can pick up four tracks for less than 50% of what it costs to buy them all individually. Image: rFactor 2 Steam Store page
In rFactor 2's British Track Pack, players could get Croft, Thruxton, Donington and Brands Hatch. Individually, it would cost €31.96 to purchase all those tracks, but the bundle only costs €14.96. This means it works out at getting essentially four tracks for the price of two - so maybe iRacing could do something similar.
Packaging a load of tracks together, maybe even cars for some of the lower level series beyond Rookie Class, subsequently working out at considerably less than purchasing them all individually. Yes, iRacing would prefer everyone just picks up the content at full price but considering many people are not picking up certain tracks as is, people will be more likely to buy bundles with these tracks working out cheaper than normal.
Couple that with a lot more effort to actually incentivise people picking up certain content, featuring it on the schedule frequently enough to make it worth the purchase. Because nobody who actually races in iRacing Officials is going to part with their hard-earned cash to buy a track that is only present in a few series every season.
What bunch of content on iRacing would you want to see in a pack? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
It is no secret that many people are not interested in iRacing due to its monetisation model, where one has to buy a subscription and then individually buy a large majority of the cars and tracks. Even I as someone who does enjoy iRacing can concede, the money one must put into it is considerable - which is why I meticulously plan what content I am picking up ahead of each season.
Whenever the schedule for the upcoming season is released, I look for which tracks are the most prevalently featured among the ones I am interested in. A good example of a track I have been wanting to pick up but have not yet is Zolder, because for the past few seasons it has only featured in the Porsche Cup series. As of next season though, it is apparently set to feature on both the Pilot Challenge and IMSA schedules.
With the news that iRacing are adding Cadwell Park in the next build, as much as I am excited to race it, I do wonder if enough people will be picking it up. Because there are multiple tracks on iRacing that for one reason or another, have not tempted people into purchasing them.
Dead iRacing Tracks
What are some safe bets for tracks one would be willing to pick up in a sim title? The likes of Spa-Francorchamps, Mount Panorama, Nordschleife or Le Mans, all the prominent tracks that host international level racing. If you are going to sell tracks individually, those ones are some of the safest bets. Wide open, known across the entire space and hosts all kinds of racing.But on the flip side of that, there are some tracks which are quite obscure and do not lend themselves to a lot of high powered cars. Subsequently on iRacing, you see them on rotation in certain series and even in some of the more populated participation series, the signups are not that great.
Some tracks that are not base content on iRacing rarely get a decent number of sign-ups in officials. Image: iRacing.com
In the article where we discussed which currently less-frequented content on iRacing should be part of the base package, the community identified a few tracks that are not getting much in the way of participation at the moment. Such examples include: Willow Springs, Sandown, Sonoma, Phillip Island and Knockhill. Quite frankly, it is a crime that Phillip Island is in there as it is an absolute gem.
But for the sake of this point, the one we will focus on is Knockhill. The track is very small and compact, with the lap clocking in at just over one and a quarter miles, being done in around 48 seconds in an F4 car which is not that much quicker than a Porsche Cup car. It is also for the most part only known by UK car racing fans due to hosting British Touring Cars.
The track was added to the service for 2022 Season 1 and rather astonishingly, it appeared on the schedules for the GT Endurance Series and IMSA Endurance Series. Both series featured GT3 and if that was not already absurd enough, the latter also had LMP2 cars in the mix.
Of course, cars as quick as that on a track as compact as Knockhill are just a novelty, and iRacing have not dared do something like that since. But clearly, it is within iRacing's interests to have new tracks feature prominently on many of their series schedules.
Which has me wondering why they are adding some of the tracks that they are. Because how likely is it that the track does not get used after their introductory season?
The Catch-22 Situation
More often than not, it would seem that most iRacing tracks go through a cycle: get added, feature extensively in their introductory season, then rarely ever get featured again. There are exceptions, the likes of Algarve and Mugello have longevity, still featuring prominently on the schedule following their release. But that is the exception, not the rule.Why is this? Many of the series have their schedules decided upon every season via a vote on the iRacing forums by a co-ordinator for that series. As a result, most series will rarely include a new track beyond its introductory season and the track will be made completely irrelevant. Then hardly anyone ever picks it up or races it again.
The Jerez circuit has not been in iRacing for long but in 2024 Season 3, it only featured in one series. Image: iRacing UI
What that means is: The track is not popular because it does not get used, and the track is not used because it is not popular. A self-fulfilling cycle that kind of prompts the question: Why even bother introducing new tracks? Why go through all the effort to make a new track if it is just going to end up underutilised and abandoned in the following seasons?
Take Willow Springs, introduced in 2023 Season 3. How often was it featured on the current season's schedule? The answer is three times, in the Production Car Challenge, IMSA Vintage Series and Grand Prix Legends. Even a track as internationally renowned as Jerez - introduced in 2023 Season 2 - only features once on the current season schedule, in the Classic Lotus Grand Prix series.
In stark contrast to that, Algarve features across twelve different sets of series across the entire season. So with Cadwell Park on the horizon, will it be just another flop?
Impending iRacing Tracks
Like Knockhill, Cadwell Park is a tight and compact track. In real life, probably the fastest cars that have actually raced there are Radicals. British GT does not race there so it is worth asking, what selection of series on iRacing would be the most fitting to have Cadwell on the schedule next season? Honestly, I could see all the Rookie road series like MX-5 Cup, Formula Vee and Formula 1600 all being perfectly suited to Cadwell.But for that to happen, the track would have to be base content and if they were going to make it free, they would have said as such by now. Otherwise, it will probably end up on the schedules for the open setup versions of the MX-5 and Formula 1600 series as well as the Radical Esports Cup, Clio Cup, Grand Prix Legends, the GR86 series, perhaps F4, TCR, the Production Car Challenge with the old BMW M4 GT4 replacing the Mustang, maybe even IMSA Pilot Challenge at a stretch.
A few of those series are rather popular, but due to Cadwell's incompatibility with cars as fast as GT3s and beyond, it would be a stretch to see it do well enough in sales to feature prominently on iRacing schedules in the future. Same goes for the two other British tracks being added: Thruxton and Croft.
Other road tracks that have been announced in the most recent iRacing Developers Blog include The Bend, Adelaide, Circuit Ricardo Tormo and TT Circuit Assen. All of which have had high level racing in various forms, like Australian Supercars, Asian Le Mans Series, GT World Challenge, DTM etc. But even with Jerez struggling to get featured, what is to say that Ricardo Tormo and Assen will not suffer the same fate?
So with not everyone clearly wanting to fork out $14.95 for a track that will probably never get used again, what to do?
A Possible Solution: Content Packs
It would be easy for us to say which tracks iRacing should be adding instead, but the problem is that the tracks they are adding are not capturing the playerbase's interest. The developers have been known to take unloved content and make it part of the base package, such as Winton, Lédenon, Snetterton and Oschersleben in the lead-up to 2024 Season 2.Of course, they are not just going to make every track that does not sell well in its first season free, because then next to nobody would buy a track. It would be ripe for exploitation. Instead, what they could start doing to drive sales of a particular track is sell a bunch in bundles. This is something that rFactor 2 did with its content add-ons.
rFactor 2 players can pick up four tracks for less than 50% of what it costs to buy them all individually. Image: rFactor 2 Steam Store page
In rFactor 2's British Track Pack, players could get Croft, Thruxton, Donington and Brands Hatch. Individually, it would cost €31.96 to purchase all those tracks, but the bundle only costs €14.96. This means it works out at getting essentially four tracks for the price of two - so maybe iRacing could do something similar.
Packaging a load of tracks together, maybe even cars for some of the lower level series beyond Rookie Class, subsequently working out at considerably less than purchasing them all individually. Yes, iRacing would prefer everyone just picks up the content at full price but considering many people are not picking up certain tracks as is, people will be more likely to buy bundles with these tracks working out cheaper than normal.
Bringing Life to Old Content
As it stands right now, many tracks are a tough sell on iRacing since very few people actually race them. What good is doing a race that maybe three other people sign up for? If iRacing want to continue adding very tight and obscure tracks, they have to be prepared eventually to face the reality that not enough people are picking up that new piece of content.Couple that with a lot more effort to actually incentivise people picking up certain content, featuring it on the schedule frequently enough to make it worth the purchase. Because nobody who actually races in iRacing Officials is going to part with their hard-earned cash to buy a track that is only present in a few series every season.
What bunch of content on iRacing would you want to see in a pack? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
![Luca [OT]](https://overtake-data.community.forum/avatars/s/3235/3235113.jpg?1697196734){kind=avatar}
