iRacing S2 2024: Splitting In Two Road Licenses

iRacing has published a very exhaustive development note and there are many things we will talk about. Road licenses will split in the S2 2024 update to reflect our skills on Sports Cars and Open Wheels cars. Let’s dive into the details of the official announcement and FAQ support page.

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Season 2 will include the first significant update to our license structure in some time.  This change will involve the Road license being split into two road racing disciplines: Open Wheel and Sports Car.  We expect this change will help address a longstanding issue with competition: many racers have great competency in sports cars or in open wheelers but not an equal level of proficiency in both.  However, with the road license only tracking one iRating, participation in a race in your less proficient category would match you up in races where it’s a struggle for you to be competitive.  With the license now split into two different categories, you will independently build your road racing career in a way that results in more balanced competition.  On day one of the split, your iRating in both categories will be the same as your current Road license.  From that point on they will each track independently.  It will take a little bit of time, but soon enough, your iRating will find its proper place in both categories as you participate in more and more races.  Far greater detail on this split can be found in our FAQ which is located below.

What does “splitting the Road License Type” mean?

• iRacing broadly defines Road racing as any vehicle racing on a non-oval-shaped track made entirely of asphalt or concrete. This large umbrella covers various car types that function and race very differently from each other. Some users prefer racing one type over another. Splitting the Road License Type means we will consider the car type when determining the type of racing at a track. iRacing will divide Road Racing into Sports Cars (cars with fenders), and Formula Cars (cars without fenders) to help focus competition. Drivers will have a separate and unique License Class, iRating, Safety Rating, and ttRating for each Sports Car and Formula License types. Participation in one “Road” License Type will not impact the other in any way, just as now, if you run a rallycross event, this does not impact your Dirt Oval License data.

Why is iRacing splitting the Road License Type?

• Our goal for splitting the Road License into Sports Car License and Formula License is to encourage participation in both types of racing. This split provides Members with two road racing ladders to climb and maintain. Drivers can participate in one form of road racing without fear of losing standing in the other. Drivers with different skill levels in each will now safely be able to participate in both!

When is iRacing splitting the Road License Type?

• iRacing will split the Road License into Sports Car License and Formula License with the 2024 Season 2 Release deployment on Tuesday, March 5th, 2024. When iRacing comes back online after the deployment, your Road License will be retired, and you will have both a Sports Car License and a Formula License. This split means you will have your Sports Car and Formula Licenses during Week 13! 2024 Season 1 Official Series that ends with Week 12 will retain their original Road License Type properties and data. Official Series that run through the Road License Type split will change their associated license type to fit the new types.

What will happen to my iRating, SR, and License Classes? Am I getting sent back to Rookies?

• When the Road License Type split occurs, all current iRacing Members will have their current multiplayer Road License values copied directly to both the Sports Car License and the Formula License. Multiplayer Road License values include License Class, iRating, Safety Rating, and MPR values. For example, if your Road License is a Class B, 2100 iR, 4.65 SR, you will have the same values for your brand-new Sports Car License and Formula License. Your Minimum Participation Requirement (MPR) values will also be directly copied. If you were ready for a Seasonal License Class promotion for the Road License Type, you will be immediately ready for both a Sports Car License and Formula License Seasonal License Class promotion!

• Time Trial Rating (ttR) value will not be copied over to the new License Types. Unlike iR and SR, which are adjusted based solely on current ratings and performance from data exclusive to the just-completed session, ttR is computed from data based on multiple recently-run sessions within the License Type. Since no sessions will have yet been run for Sports Car and Formula, there will be no data to calculate. All drivers, current and new, will start with a default value for Sports Car License and Formula License ttR.

What will happen to all of my Road License data? My Stats, Results, Replays, and Awards from Road License events?

• All Road License Type data will be frozen when iRacing goes down for the 2024 Season 2 deployment. All Stats, Results, Replays, Awards, and historical data will remain available for browsing, searching, watching, and sharing. All past “Road” events will remain labeled as Road License events – the Road License Type will just be displayed with a “(Retired)” label. None of your history with iRacing will be lost.

• Drivers will begin with no historical data for their new Sports Car and Formula License Types. For example, everyone will start at “0 Wins” for these License Types. Drivers only begin with a copy of their current multiplayer Road License Type data, including License Class, iRating, Safety Rating, and Minimum Participation Requirement values. Additionally, both the Sports Car License and Formula License will have their own Race Participation Credits tracking!

There are a bunch of Road-specific Awards. What is happening to the Awards? Wait, are there new Sports Car and Formula Awards, too!?

• Any member who has earned any award specific to Road Racing retains it in its “earned” status. All Road-specific awards that have not yet been earned will be “Retired” and will no longer be displayed or available for earning.

• A full set of brand new awards for each Sports Car License and Formula License will become available for earning as soon as the split occurs. Also, any member whose current ratings or status would earn them lower-tier awards for both types of racing shall immediately be granted those awards. For example, after the split, a driver with a 4001 iRating in both Sports Car License and Formula License will immediately earn the awards for having a 2000, 3000, and 4000 iRating in both Sports Car License and Formula License.

Will this change affect how iR and SR are calculated?

• No. The iRating and Safety Rating calculation process will remain unchanged. The only factor that changes is the pool of drivers participating in each of the now separate License Types. A driver who only races within the Sports Car License Type will be completely removed from the Formula License Type calculus and visa-versa. This split in road racing will yield much better competition and participation for both halves of road racing as members settle into their appropriate divisions and license classes over the next few seasons.

Will the process for license requirements for the Official Series be changing?

• No. iRacing Official Series will maintain the License Class requirement system for registration into certain Series, such as a Class B Sports Car License is required to register for a Class B-level Sports Car event. The only change is that now Sports Car and Formula are two distinct and separate License Types for Official Series that both use road racing tracks.

Some iRacing Official Series run cars on non-matching track types for several weeks throughout a Season, such as stock cars at asphalt road tracks. What License Type will these off-beat weeks impact?

• Before the Road License Type split, these Official Series (such as the NASCAR Class A Series) used their “primary” License Type for determining eligibility for registration, while the racing performance impacted the “secondary” License Type data (such as iRating and Safety Rating) on these off-beat weeks. This process will not change, but the License Types available will be expanded based on the type of car in use. For example, for 2024 Season 2, when the NASCAR Class A Series is at an asphalt road track, this event will impact driver’s Sports Car License Type, because stock cars are cars with fenders.

For Multi-Class Racing and Hosted Racing, what if the event has multiple License Types of cars in the same event?

• After the Road License Type split, all events of all types including Official, Unofficial, Special, and Hosted will require a License Type classification. This License-type classification determines how racing-type filters display the event in the interface and which License Type data will be impacted by the results. This addresses an issue that could occur with multi-class events where cars of multiple racing types are in use simultaneously. Separate License Class restrictions and results are not possible – instead, the event creator will specify which License Type is in use.

I’m an Admin for a Road-focused League. When the split occurs, what will happen to my Hosted Sessions scheduled for the future that use the Road License Type?

• When the Road License Type is retired, all Hosted Sessions that were scheduled for the future that had selected to use cars of the “Road” type will be canceled. Pending Sessions that fail to launch, such as these, are never charged to our customers, and these customers will be notified. The process for splitting the Road License Type requires us to cancel these sessions, and we apologize in advance.

• If you are a Road-focused League Admin, we recommend ending any ongoing Road Seasons before the Road License Class split, and be prepared to create some exciting brand-new Sports Car and/or Formula Seasons!

I’m not familiar with racing Formula cars (or Sports Cars), but now I have a Class A License. I’d like to try them out now that they are separate, but I’d like to start from the bottom. What can I do?

• The good news is that you will not be alone in this boat! Since this change impacts everyone in the entire service, thousands of members will be in this situation. Many users might appear to have overvalued License Classes and want to learn a new racing discipline. We strongly recommend that these drivers filter for races of their expected real License Class before joining. For example, suppose you have little experience with Formula-type racing. In that case, you should probably race down, stick with some Rookie and Class D Formula Series for training and practice and work your way up before digging in at your actual Class A Formula License. Over the course of a few seasons, Members should find their License Classes right where they should be based on their performance.,

After this change, drivers with high License Classes and iRatings but low actual skill are ruining races at my License Class level. What can I do?

• We strongly recommend you exercise patience with these drivers as they try to find their footing exploring something that you already know so well. Give these drivers the benefit of the doubt that they want to learn and are not being malicious until proven otherwise. Constructive feedback is encouraged to help the new participants and to grow the community. Throughout a few seasons, Members should find their License Classes right where they should be based on their performance.

How does this change affect the iRacing.com Pro & World Championship Series License Class?

• The iRacing.com Pro & World Championship Series License Class is an invite-only License Class reserved for the best drivers in the world in their respective disciplines. When the Road License Type is split, any driver with a Road License Type at the Pro/WC Class will be individually assessed by our internal professional racing administration team and they will determine which License Type(s) retain the Pro/WC Class rating.

• Any Class A Road drivers qualified for potential promotion to the Pro/WC Class will retain this status and remain Class A drivers for both Sports Car and Formula License Types. Promotion to Pro/WC is not automatic.

I’m brand new to iRacing and signed up after this change. What do I start with and how will my advancement compare to previous members?

• Brand new iRacing Members will begin with the default Rookie License Class for all License Types. This allows them to start fresh in both Sports Car and Formula, as well as iRacing’s three other License Types: Oval, Dirt Oval, and Dirt Road. New iRacing Members will also possess a retired Road License Type, but since it is retired, it will never have any data or be referenced for their account. Advancement for Rookie iRacing Members remains unchanged within each of the License Types.

Are any other License Types going to be split in the future?

• We presently do not have any plans to split additional License Types.