As promised — a few shots of the content we’ve been working on for release next season: The Ford Falcon V8 Supercar and Phillip Island Circuit.

This content is still a work in progress, but we should be in good shape to get it out to you all at or near the start of next season.

A few notes…
- Not all trees are placed
- Tires are WIP
- Grass color is WIP
- Cliff faces are WIP
- Not all structures are placed
- V8 wheels are to be replaced

Thompson International Speedway Joins iRacing.com – Historic Connecticut Facility is Latest Online Racing Short Track

BEDFORD, MA (March 18, 2010) – For 70 years Thompson International Speedway has challenged New England’s finest racing drivers. With the announcement that iRacing.com will add the legendary Connecticut track to its inventory, fans of the legendary high-banked, five-eighths mile oval and short-track online racing enthusiasts around the world will soon be able to measure themselves against a track that in its history has sent drivers to the winner’s circle in the Daytona 500 and success on the NASCAR Sprint Cup circuit.

“I’m pleased that we’ve been able to put together this alliance with iRacing.com,” said Jonathan Hoenig, the track’s director of business development and marketing and the fourth generation of his family to be involved with Thompson International Speedway. “The timing couldn’t be better as we use innovative technology and other modern business management tools to move the sport of short-track racing forward for the benefit of both fans and participants.”

“Our fans are loyal and enthusiastic,” Hoenig said. “Many of them would be on the track racing if they could – and now through iRacing.com, they will be able to race on an exact digital duplicate of the speedway when they’re not attending races. We look forward to our local fans and racing game enthusiasts from all over the world being able to participate in online racing series that include Thompson International Speedway.”

Hoenig, who holds an MBA degree from Pepperdine University and whose great-grandfather began construction of the speedway in 1938, also noted that as host to a NASCAR touring series and seven of its own racing classes, each year the track saw a number of drivers make their maiden appearances. “Just as many NASCAR Sprint Cup stars such as Joey Logano and Martin Truex, Jr. use iRacing to prepare for races, drivers who are new to our track will be able to learn the quick way around before they unload for the first race.”

The technical crew that will later this spring laser-scan, photograph and otherwise document the Thompson facility includes Kevin Iannarelli, an associate producer at iRacing.com and a real-world racer who frequently competes at Thompson.

“I volunteered to spend one of my weekends working on the scanning,” said Iannarelli, 26, who first raced at Thompson in 2003 as a 19-year-old stock car rookie and is currently competing in New England’s Modified Racing Series. “I won my first heat race at Thompson that year and have driven there two or three times each year since then. It’s very fast – probably my favorite track.”

Iannarelli, whose professional responsibilities at iRacing.com include sound recording, track building, car scanning and collection of vehicle engineering data, noted that when he and his colleagues complete the build process, the finished virtual version of the track will feature millimeter accuracy. “A lap of the virtual track is exactly the same as a lap of the physical track. When you’re racing at Thompson on our internet service, you’re really racing at Thompson.”

Thompson International Speedway’s birth was a literal example of clouds with silver linings. In September, 1938 an epic hurricane – dubbed “The Long Island Express” – flattened the Hoenig family farm in Thompson, CT. Jonathan Hoenig’s great-grandfather, John, decided that with the land already cleared, maybe constructing a race track was a better idea than rebuilding the farm. In a day when the 2.5-mile, brick-paved Indianapolis Motor Speedway stood unchallenged in size, Thompson was a long track, and with its 26-degree banking and asphalt paving drew a stark contrast to the typical fairground dirt tracks that made up the bulk of America’s motorsport landscape.

The facility opened for competition less than two years later, on May 26, 1940. The first race was for what are now called sprint cars and was won by Dizzy Vance for car-owner Louis D’Amore. In the seven decades since, Pete Hamilton and Geoffrey Bodine have gone from being Thompson regulars to winning the Daytona 500, while other NASCAR stars with Thompson heritage include Bodine’s brothers Todd and Brett, Ken and Ron Bouchard, Greg Sacks, Mike McLaughlin, Steve Park and Jimmy Spencer. And Thompson International Speedway was host in the early days of the sanctioning body to three races in what is now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup series – 1951, 1969 and 1970. (The latter pair of races were won by NASCAR legends David Pearson and Bobby Issac.)

Today Thompson International Speedway runs weekly stock car races for Sunoco Modifieds, Super Late Models, Late Models, Thompson Modifieds, Limited Sportsman, Mini Stocks and Pro Four Modifieds, as well as playing host to the NASCAR Whelen Modified Series.

About iRacing.com
The company was founded in September of 2004 by Dave Kaemmer and John Henry. Kaemmer was co-founder of Papyrus Design Group, developers of award-winning racing simulations including NASCAR Racing: 2003 Season and Grand Prix Legends. Henry is principal owner of the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Sports Group – the co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing – as well as an avid simracer. The iRacing team combines more than 100 years of real-world racing experience with more than 50 years of successful racing simulation development. The company has developed numerous corporate relationships in the motorsport industry, including agreements to develop track simulations with International Speedway Corporation, Speedway Motorsports, and Panoz Motor Sports Group and vehicles with General Motors, Riley Technologies, Radical Sportscars, and 600 Racing. iRacing is the official simulation partner of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Sports Car Club of America, Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, Star Mazda Championship, Skip Barber Racing School and Australia’s V8 Super School. In April, 2009 iRacing and NASCAR announced a partnership to develop NASCAR-sanctioned online racing series. A similar program with the Indy Racing League, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Dallara Automobili was announced in August, 2009. In January, 2010, Williams F1 and iRacing announced an agreement for iRacing to produce a virtual version of the 2009 AT&T Williams FW31. The iRacing service is open to racers and fans of all skill levels from top-level pros to complete beginners. To join in the fun, go to www.iRacing.com.

Zandvoort to Be First iRacing Track on European Continent: Joins UK’s Silverstone, Brands Hatch & Oulton Park as Initial Additions Outside North America

BEDFORD, MA (July 6, 2009) – Most visitors to seaside sand dunes are there to swim and lounge on the beach; in the Netherlands, hard on the North Sea, they come to Circuit Park Zandvoort to race cars. Under the terms of an agreement jointly announced today by Exploitatie Circuit Park Zandvoort B.V. and iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC, drivers from all over the world will be able to experience the challenge of this classic European road-racing facility and compete with each other in organized races there just by logging onto the iRacing motorsport simulation service over the internet.

“The last Dutch Grand Prix was held in 1985, but as the host to 30 editions of the race, Zandvoort has more than its share of history,” said Divina Galica, iRacing’s director of partner relations. “We’re very pleased to be able to make the latest version of this great racing facility – now home to DTM, Formula 3 and many club events – available to iRacing’s membership. Last month we initiated the expansion of our track offerings beyond our base in North America with the addition in the UK of Brands Hatch and Oulton Park to Silverstone, which is already available to iRacing members. Circuit Park Zandvoort, the site of so much motorsport history, is a particularly appropriate first European track. Our members from all over the world will enjoy racing there.”

The list of winners of the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort reads like a Who’s Who of the first four decades of Formula One, beginning with Alberto Ascari in the first World Championship event in 1952, and including Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, Jackie Stewart, Jochen Rindt, Graham Hill, Jack Brabham, Jacky Ickx, Niki Lauda, James Hunt, Mario Andretti, Alan Jones and Nelson Piquet. But Zandvoort’s greatest master was Jim Clark, winner four times in the five races held from 1963 through 1967.

“In addition to our many fans, who will now be able through iRacing to have the fun of racing on the circuit themselves in the virtual world, we have real-world racers come from all over Europe and the UK to compete at Circuit Park Zandvoort” said Bart de Snaijer, Circuit Park Zandvoort’s marketing manager. “With our partnership with iRacing and their creation of a millimeter-accurate virtual version of the facility, now drivers who are making their first visit will be able to learn our very challenging track before they arrive for the race meet. And everyone will have the chance to get up to speed before the weekend begins.”

de Snaijer noted that while Tarzan, the 180-degree hairpin at the end of the start/finish straight, is the best-known of the dozen named corners on the 2.672-mile track, Scheivlak is the most challenging, and the turn that newcomers will profit most from by pre-race practice in the iRacing service.

“Scheivlak – there is no English word for it – is famous for its high speeds, changes in elevation and the fact that it’s a blind corner”, de Snaijer said. “Drivers either fear or love it. In a fast car a driver approaches the turn at a speed of 260 km/h (160 mph) and can’t even see the start of the turn until they are right on top of it because the track elevation changes. They enter the turn with a speed of 220 km/h (135 mph). The track drops about 10 meters (33 feet) in height and for three quarters of the way through the corner, they can’t see the exit. A driver can only understand the true rush of this turn when he or she has experienced it, whether in the physical world or in the virtual one.”

Circuit Park Zandvoort is the fifth major configuration of the track since it opened in 1948. While no more than a quarter of the original layout is part of today’s modern track, what all iterations have had in common is a combination of dauntingly fast sweeping corners and tight slow corners that demand technical perfection. Circuit Park Zandvoort is expected to join the iRacing track inventory early next year.

U.K.’s Brands Hatch & Oulton Park Set For iRacing – Virtual Versions of Classic British Circuits Join Silverstone as iRacing Opens Tracks Initiative for the UK, Europe, Australia & Asia

BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, USA (June 12, 2009) – Brands Hatch, home for many years to the British Grand Prix and today host to A1 Grand Prix and many other open-wheel and touring-car series, and Oulton Park, a hill-and-dale circuit named by drivers as one of the world’s most challenging, will join Silverstone as the second and third British motorsport facilities to be represented in the iRacing.com motorsport simulation service. The announcement was made jointly today by iRacing and MotorSport Vision, the owner of the two circuits.

“I’m particularly pleased that these two facilities are going to be the leading edge of the expansion of iRacing’s circuit inventory into the UK, Europe, Australia and Asia,” said Divina Galica, iRacing’s director of partner relations. Galica, a four-time member of the British Olympic ski team and former holder of the women’s downhill speed record, had a second successful career as an auto racer. “Oulton Park was the first place I ever drove a race car, and I worked for Brands Hatch for several years. I consider Brands my home track in the UK.”

Data collection at the two tracks will begin in July, utilizing survey-quality laser-scanning and iRacing’s proprietary interpretive software that produces millimeter-accurate virtual renditions of the physical facility. The finished circuits are expected to be available early next year to members of the service for practice and racing.

“Brands Hatch and Oulton Park are cornerstones of Britain’s motorsport heritage and critical to the sport today,” said David Scott, Race Operations Manager for MotorSport Vision Racing. “We’re delighted that virtual versions of Brands Hatch and Oulton Park are among the first British circuits that iRacing is building. We see this as a way to provide added value to long-time supporters of these tracks, both drivers and fans. Now the hundreds of competitors who race on these tracks every year will have the ability to tune up before they get on track. The many thousands of fans, who attend races in person or view them on television, will be able to see for themselves what it’s like to actually drive on these two spectacular race circuits at racing speeds; a unique chance to emulate their heroes.”

Galica noted that iRacing, which has its headquarters in America, outside of Boston, had for logistical reasons initially focused on North American facilities. The company, which opened its doors to the public in August, 2008, recently announced a partnership with NASCAR to organize and host NASCAR-sanctioned virtual racing series.

In addition to providing real-world racers with opportunities to learn new circuits and refreshing their knowledge of familiar ones, iRacing organizes and sanctions virtual series for motorsport enthusiasts of all skill levels. Membership in the service is by subscription, with annual fees as little as US$13.00 per month.

“Most of the major North American road-racing facilities and almost all of the NASCAR Sprint Cup tracks are currently either in inventory or under construction,” Galica said. “But our membership is global in nature – 40% are from outside North America and the England Club is the second most active of our regionally-based clubs – so it has always been our plan to eventually include tracks from all over the world.”

The first race at Brands Hatch pitted runners and bicyclists in a 1928 cross-country competition. An American-style one-mile oval was paved in 1950, and by 1956 the facility boasted a full road-racing circuit and that year organized a Formula 2 race. Between 1964 and 1986 Brands Hatch was host to 12 editions of the British Grand Prix. Both the 2.301-mile Grand Prix and the 1.198-mile Indy layouts will be included in the iRacing model.

Oulton Park in Cheshire is known for its challenging up-and-down terrain and blind corners. Home to the non-championship Gold Cup Formula One race in the 1950s and 1960s, Oulton’s major spectator attractions today include rounds of the British Touring Car, F3 and GT championships as well as club-racing meets. The 4.307-mile International, 3.616-mile Island and 2.656-mile fosters circuits will all be available to iRacing members.

iRacing.com was founded in September of 2004 by Dave Kaemmer and John Henry. Kaemmer was co-founder of Papyrus Design Group, developers of award-winning racing simulations including NASCAR Racing: 2003 Season and Grand Prix Legends. Henry is principal owner of the Boston Red Sox and Fenway Sports Group – the co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing – as well as an avid simracer. The iRacing team combines more than 100 years of real-world racing experience with more than 50 years of successful racing simulation development. The company has developed numerous corporate relationships in the motorsport industry, including agreements to develop track simulations with International Speedway Corporation, Speedway Motorsports, and Panoz Motor Sports Group and vehicles with General Motors, Riley Technologies, Radical Sportscars, and 600 Racing. iRacing is the official simulation partner of the Sports Car Club of America, Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup, Star Mazda Championship, Skip Barber Racing School and Australia’s V8 Super School. Most recently iRacing and NASCAR have announced a partnership to develop NASCAR-sanctioned online racing series. The iRacing service is open to racers and fans of all skill levels from top-level pros to complete beginners. To join in the fun, go to www.iRacing.com.

As I got older I continued to find that the only person crazy about auto racing, was me. When the internet came along it allowed me to find other people with similar interests at last and finally allowed me to find other people who raced simulations.

Until the Inaugural A1GP event at Brands Hatch in 2005 I had only ever seen any racetrack in either a racing game or on TV, I was so shocked to see just how different that fantastic British track was, compared to those games and the 2D image TV had given me.

I’ve been lucky enough during my time with iRacing to be sent to a number of racing facilities (as scanning team backup coverage in a scheduling emergency) and every single one of them I have been shocked by. Those little intricate details that are finally captured and used by the production team after they’ve been captured by the scanner, they’re all things that (having a photographer’s vision) I’ve analysed, trying to figure out how it’s going to affect the cars as they drive it.

This year I’ve been on two scan trips, both of them ovals. Each one amazed me for different reasons and gave me a whole new respect for what those who race on them actually do…

The first track had pretty high banking and as I was standing, gripping hard on the safer barrier for support, I actually realised that if I slipped, I was going to really hurt myself. The greasy sheen that the surface had (because it had newly dried from rain) meant that my sneakers gave me no grip whatsoever. I actually ended up coming down the banking each time with one foot tucked beneath my butt as I just scraped and controlled the inevitable slide down to the apron using my hands. The scale, just the sheer scale, left me in total awe.

So, as someone who isn’t actually afraid of heights, I had a pretty good appreciation after that. I realised that some of these ovals are the modern equivalent of the Roman Colloseum because – even if their life depended on it – some people just could not save themselves from competition or the location itself.

I’m sat in a hotel right now as I post this, I fly home tomorrow. I’ve been at another track this week which frankly looks lifeless and simple on TV, yet I’ve seen now a lot of the little elements that must make this track one of the most challenging facilities around. I think with the level of detail and the magic wand of those guys in the production department, this place could actually become my favorite track within the service.

As crazy as some events might look on TV, they are most certainly a sanitised version of what you see when standing beside the track as a fan, and they cannot possibly compare to the experience within the cockpit. I think that the level of track surface detail you have experienced after racing at Daytona in the Chevy Silverado with iRacing, finally gives fans like me and you a closer appreciation than we could get from standing in the infield. I know that each track I have helped the production dept. with, I have watched the next race there in a totally different way.

Most Successful Grand-Am Prototype Racer To Be Included in Motorsport Simulation

BEDFORD, MA (July 18, 2008) – iRacing.com will add the Riley Mk XX Daytona Prototype to the stable of racing cars available to users of the company’s motorsport simulation software and service. The agreement was announced today by Bill Riley, president of Riley Technologies and Scott McKee, iRacing’s vice president of marketing.

“Riley Technologies is one of the world’s foremost designers and manufacturers of racing cars, and the Mk XX continues Riley’s long line of winning prototype sportscars,” McKee said. “Several Daytona Prototype drivers have already made use of our service as part of their pre-race preparation for Grand-Am events; with the top car in the class becoming available, and so many of the tracks where they race already in our inventory, we expect even more teams and drivers will decide to take advantage of our simulation service for race rehearsals.”

“I drove a pre-release version of the iRacing software last December at the Performance Racing Industry show in Orlando,” Riley said. “The accuracy of the tracks and the cars was just amazing. One of the secrets of our company’s long-term success has been the level of support we provide for our customers. I look at our association with iRacing as an extension of that service; now the drivers for our teams can get meaningful behind-the-wheel practice before a test session or a race. That’s a big advantage.”

Ian Berwick, vehicle dynamics engineer at iRacing, noted that working closely with Riley’s engineering staff and having access to their design and performance data will permit iRacing to produce an extremely precise digital representation of the physical race car. “That’s one of the benefits of licensing all of the content in our simulation – tracks as well as cars,” said Berwick. “To be useful to real-world racers, the level of fidelity needs to be really high; approximations just aren’t good enough.”

One of the keys to making the Riley Daytona Prototype perform in the simulation precisely as it does in the real world is reproducing the car’s aerodynamic qualities accurately. “Our general aerodynamic model is very good, and getting better all the time,” Berwick said. “But we’ll be able to check our values against what the Riley engineers have found in their real-world testing. For a high-downforce car like this one, that’s an important factor.”

The iRacing.com laser scanning team recently visited Riley Technologies’ Mooresville, N.C., facility to scan the Mk XX for modeling purposes. Additional data gathering is underway, and the same version of the car that the Grand-Am professionals will use for their race rehearsals will be available to all iRacing subscribers later this year.

Also announced as “coming soon” on the members home page, Barber Motorsports Park!