With the 24 hours of Daytona taking place this weekend, a couple of iRacing devs were spotted scanning a few new cars. That got us wondering, what other Daytona 24 cars could iRacing add?
Image credit: IMSA
It is the start of the sportscar endurance racing year, with the Daytona 24 hours currently ongoing as of the publishing of this article. The iRacing Special Event took place last weekend to resounding success, with a claimed 18.5k members taking part.
iRacing‘s long-standing ties with IMSA means they get access to a lot of their cars. It is why the GTP cars first began arriving in sim racing via iRacing, and apparently the development team have been in attendance at this weekend’s Daytona 24 hours to scan a few cars.
The consensus is that the new GT3 racecars from two prominent American brands are the ones being scanned. After years of sticking to GTE class racing, Chevrolet and Ford have finally joined the world of GT3 racing with IMSA and WEC ditching the GTE class.
With the Corvette and Mustang seemingly on their way, there are a couple of other cars that have not made it in. Here are the cars from the IMSA SportsCar Championship that may or may not join iRacing in the future.
Since their first appearances at the Daytona 24 hours, both cars have had quite moderate success in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The NSX got seven victories and the manufacturer’s championship in 2020, whilst the Lexus won ten races in that time.
It is safe to say that if these cars were ever going to come to iRacing, it would have happened already. The RC F GT3 is set to be replaced in competition by the Toyota GR GT3 Concept and the NSX has been discontinued in production since 2020. So mark these two down as very unlikely.
If you tune in to the real-life Daytona 24 hours, you will notice in the LMP2 class that the Dallara does not feature whatsoever. In fact, with the exception of the #33 Ligier JS P217 that 4-time Daytona 24 winner João Barbosa will be racing, every LMP2 car is the Oreca 07.
Whilst the popularity of the Dallara LMP2 is undeniable, it might not guarantee that there is any interest in having the Oreca and Ligier in iRacing. Besides that, the LMP2 class is being phased out of usage, with no full season entries in WEC.
With the Dallara already being on the service for many years without any contemporaries, maybe adding the Oreca and Ligier would be futile since everyone has become so used to the LMP2 class being one-make. Therefore we cannot see these two cars being added to iRacing, although it is not completely out of the question.
But for whatever reason, there is no GT3 Aston in iRacing and whilst there is a GT3 McLaren, it is the long obsolete MP4-12C. Even Gran Turismo 7 has a more recent McLaren, and that is still a car that went out of circulation years ago, the 650S.
Both cars recently had Evo models introduced and they are making their IMSA debut in the 24 hours of Daytona. Yes, there is a vast array of GT3 cars in iRacing already, but the desire from many members to see the Vantage and 720S GT3 cars in the game is still too great to ignore.
So with the Evo cars hitting the track, there is certainly no time better than the present to finally see an up-to-date McLaren GT3 and the debut of an Aston Martin GT3 on iRacing.
After its competitive debut in the WEC season opener, the Lambo will join the IMSA circus. The car will be driven by former F1 driver Romain Grosjean and of course, as you would expect, the arrival of Lamborghini into top class sportscar racing has been met with pandemonium.
If there is any car that is competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship that people would want in iRacing, it would be the SC63. Plus it is by far the most likely out of any of the cars on this list. Just got to hope the Bologna bullet is as fast as its GTP counterparts!
Are there any other cars from the 24 hours of Daytona not already in iRacing that you would like to see added? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
Image credit: IMSA
It is the start of the sportscar endurance racing year, with the Daytona 24 hours currently ongoing as of the publishing of this article. The iRacing Special Event took place last weekend to resounding success, with a claimed 18.5k members taking part.
iRacing‘s long-standing ties with IMSA means they get access to a lot of their cars. It is why the GTP cars first began arriving in sim racing via iRacing, and apparently the development team have been in attendance at this weekend’s Daytona 24 hours to scan a few cars.
The consensus is that the new GT3 racecars from two prominent American brands are the ones being scanned. After years of sticking to GTE class racing, Chevrolet and Ford have finally joined the world of GT3 racing with IMSA and WEC ditching the GTE class.
With the Corvette and Mustang seemingly on their way, there are a couple of other cars that have not made it in. Here are the cars from the IMSA SportsCar Championship that may or may not join iRacing in the future.
Established Japanese GT3
First up are the GT3 versions of two Japanese performance cars. Both the Lexus RC F GT3 and Honda/Acura NSX GT3 are not exactly the newest faces in the GT3 world, having made their competitive debuts in 2017.Since their first appearances at the Daytona 24 hours, both cars have had quite moderate success in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The NSX got seven victories and the manufacturer’s championship in 2020, whilst the Lexus won ten races in that time.
Both the NSX and RC F during their IMSA debut in the 2017 Daytona 24 hours. Image credit: John Dagys / Sportscar 365
The RC F is going to race this year in the World Endurance Championship, with former Le Mans winner José María López set to drive it in the new LMGT3 class. However even with that fact, there is perhaps little reason to add them both in now.
It is safe to say that if these cars were ever going to come to iRacing, it would have happened already. The RC F GT3 is set to be replaced in competition by the Toyota GR GT3 Concept and the NSX has been discontinued in production since 2020. So mark these two down as very unlikely.
More LMP2
Currently on iRacing, the LMP2 class consists of the solitary car which is the Dallara P217. It has been an immensely popular car on the platform and features in many of the endurance special events alongside the GTP and GT3 classes of car. But could it do with some friends?If you tune in to the real-life Daytona 24 hours, you will notice in the LMP2 class that the Dallara does not feature whatsoever. In fact, with the exception of the #33 Ligier JS P217 that 4-time Daytona 24 winner João Barbosa will be racing, every LMP2 car is the Oreca 07.
Whilst the popularity of the Dallara LMP2 is undeniable, it might not guarantee that there is any interest in having the Oreca and Ligier in iRacing. Besides that, the LMP2 class is being phased out of usage, with no full season entries in WEC.
With the Dallara already being on the service for many years without any contemporaries, maybe adding the Oreca and Ligier would be futile since everyone has become so used to the LMP2 class being one-make. Therefore we cannot see these two cars being added to iRacing, although it is not completely out of the question.
British Marque Representation
Starting this article with two Japanese GT3 cars, now we come to two British icons. The GT3 versions of the McLaren 720S and Aston Martin Vantage. Both have had plenty of success in a multitude of different GT3 series.But for whatever reason, there is no GT3 Aston in iRacing and whilst there is a GT3 McLaren, it is the long obsolete MP4-12C. Even Gran Turismo 7 has a more recent McLaren, and that is still a car that went out of circulation years ago, the 650S.
Both cars recently had Evo models introduced and they are making their IMSA debut in the 24 hours of Daytona. Yes, there is a vast array of GT3 cars in iRacing already, but the desire from many members to see the Vantage and 720S GT3 cars in the game is still too great to ignore.
So with the Evo cars hitting the track, there is certainly no time better than the present to finally see an up-to-date McLaren GT3 and the debut of an Aston Martin GT3 on iRacing.
The Raging Bull
Last but not least, a bit of a technicality as it is not racing in Daytona. The GTP class in IMSA is made up of the BMW M Hybrid V8, Cadillac V-Series.R, Porsche 963 and Acura ARX-06, but they will be joined later this year by the Lamborghini SC63.After its competitive debut in the WEC season opener, the Lambo will join the IMSA circus. The car will be driven by former F1 driver Romain Grosjean and of course, as you would expect, the arrival of Lamborghini into top class sportscar racing has been met with pandemonium.
If there is any car that is competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship that people would want in iRacing, it would be the SC63. Plus it is by far the most likely out of any of the cars on this list. Just got to hope the Bologna bullet is as fast as its GTP counterparts!
Are there any other cars from the 24 hours of Daytona not already in iRacing that you would like to see added? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
