Does iRacing Week 13 Affect Safety Rating and iRating?

Yes, iRacing Week 13 can affect both Safety Rating and iRating, but only when you enter a Ranked event. Week 13 also contains numerous Unranked series where neither rating is affected, making it important to check the session type before joining a race.

Week 13 takes place between iRacing’s regular 12-week championship seasons and is used to deploy major builds, introduce new content and experiment with unusual race formats.

That does not mean ratings are automatically disabled for the entire week. iRacing continues to run a selection of normal Ranked series, while its more experimental Week 13 combinations are usually marked as Unranked.

The distinction matters considerably if you are trying to protect your Safety Rating before a license promotion or do not want an experimental Week 13 race to affect your iRating.

Does Safety Rating count during iRacing Week 13?

Safety Rating counts normally in Ranked Week 13 events.

If a series is marked Ranked, incidents accumulated during the relevant Ranked portions of the event can affect your Safety Rating just as they would during a normal championship week.

Safety Rating measures how frequently a driver accumulates incident points relative to the number of corners completed. Clean running can improve it, while contacts, spins, off-tracks and other incidents can reduce it.

Importantly, Safety Rating is not limited exclusively to the race itself. iRacing states that Ranked Qualifying, Ranked Time Trial, Ranked Warm Up, Practice within a Ranked Race event and Ranked Race sessions can all contribute to Safety Rating.

That means drivers should still treat practice and qualifying seriously when they are attached to a Ranked Week 13 event.

If the event is explicitly marked Unranked, neither the race nor its associated sessions affect Safety Rating.

Does iRating count during Week 13?

iRating also changes in Ranked Week 13 races.

Unlike Safety Rating, however, iRating is based on your result in an official race. Practice, qualifying and Time Trial sessions do not directly change your iRating.

Your result is compared with the strength of the field and where iRacing expects you to finish. Finishing above that expectation generally increases your iRating, while finishing below it can reduce it.

This works during Week 13 exactly as it does during the regular season when the series is Ranked.

For more detail, iRacing provides an official explanation of Ranked and Unranked racing through its support site.

Which Week 13 races affect Safety Rating and iRating?

For the September 2026 Week 13, iRacing has clearly separated its schedule into Ranked and Unranked categories.

Ranked Sports Car series include the Mazda MX-5 Cup, BMW M2 Cup, Ferrari 296 Challenge, Porsche Cup Series and GT3 Challenge – Fixed.

Formula drivers can continue racing for rating in the FF1600, Formula Vee and FIA F4 Challenge, while Ranked events are also available across Oval, Dirt Oval and Dirt Road licenses.

These events should be treated like normal official races because both Safety Rating and iRating remain on the line.

The more unusual Week 13 combinations are generally Unranked. Examples include Ridiculousness, Battle of the Little Wings, The Doctor’s Office, Manufacturer Madness, Figure GR8 and Storm Chasers.

Entering one of those Unranked races will not affect either rating, although the iRacing Sporting Code still applies.

The complete current list can be checked in iRacing’s 2026 Season 3 Week 13 schedule.

There is an unusual iTested exception this Week 13

September 2026 also introduces an interesting exception to the usual Ranked versus Unranked distinction.

The new iTested series features GTP, LMP2 and GT3 machinery, including the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH, with as many as 17 different car types sharing the circuit.

iRacing has confirmed that participation in iTested will affect Safety Rating but not iRating.

That makes it particularly useful for drivers who want to experience the new multiclass format and work towards the associated iTested award without putting their iRating at risk.

However, incidents can still affect Safety Rating, so it should not be treated like one of the completely Unranked Week 13 fun series.

How to tell if a Week 13 race is Ranked

The safest approach is to check the event in the iRacing UI before registering.

Under Multiplayer → Official, iRacing allows drivers to filter series by Ranked and Unranked categories. A Ranked series means competitive ratings are active, while Unranked indicates that neither iRating nor Safety Rating will normally change.

Do not assume that a race is Unranked simply because its name begins with “13th Week.” Several Week 13 championships are specifically maintained as Ranked competitions.

Likewise, a Rookie-level series is not automatically Unranked. Mazda MX-5, Formula Vee and FF1600 Rookie racing can still affect your ratings.

Hosted races, League sessions and AI Single Player races remain Unranked and do not affect either Safety Rating or iRating.

Should you race Ranked events during Week 13?

There is no additional rating penalty simply because it is Week 13. If you enter a Ranked race, the normal iRacing systems apply.

However, Week 13 often attracts drivers experimenting with different cars, unusual combinations and newly released content. That can make some sessions less predictable than a regular championship week.

• If you are close to a license promotion or particularly concerned about Safety Rating, choosing one of the many Unranked Week 13 series can be a safer way to explore new content.
• If you still want normal competitive racing, the Ranked Mazda MX-5, BMW M2, GT3, Porsche Cup, F4, FF1600 and other official championships remain available with ratings enabled.

The simple rule is therefore: Week 13 itself does not determine whether Safety Rating and iRating count — the Ranked or Unranked status of the individual event does.

New drivers can access iRacing and its Ranked and Unranked series through an iRacing membership.

See you on the track!