In iRacing, we always start driving on the track from our pit box, which adds to the realism of this simulator. Although we can also use the circuit’s towing service to return to the boxes if we need to.
The only drawback of starting from the box is that we won’t set a time on our first lap since we don’t complete the first sector. This isn’t usually a big issue, unless we’re driving on a very long track like the famous Nürburgring circuit. The full version of this circuit includes both the “Nordschleife” section and the modern “GP” route, and it takes around 8 minutes to complete a lap that covers over 25 kilometers.
Thankfully, the iRacing implementation of the Nürburgring circuit includes some very helpful checkpoints in each sector of the track. These serve as reset points so that we don’t have to start from the pits every time we need to be towed. When we use the towing service, the simulator will place us at the nearest previous run-off, which works for both the GP and Nordschleife sections.
But that’s not all! There’s a very useful trick you can use when practicing a qualifying lap on this circuit. Simply drive your car to the last curve of the GP track, which isn’t included in the combined version and has a cone barrier. Drive a few meters past the line of cones and stop your car in the middle of the turn (between the two rows of cones). Then, press the “towing” button to be transported to the beginning of the never-ending straight at the end of the Nordschleife.
This means that you only need to drive around the GP track to complete a qualifying test, saving you a lot of time and effort.
As mentioned earlier, there are many checkpoints located throughout the circuit that can be extremely helpful. They can assist you in training for a particular section that you may be struggling with or even in requesting a new car if you happen to crash. Do you know of any other circuits that have this type of checkpoint system in place? If so, feel free to share them in the comments!
See you on the track!
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