What a Difference a Year Makes!

iRacing.com Returns to PRI Show With Its Motorsport Simulation Service Open to the Public – and Growing

BEDFORD, MA (December 10, 2008) – At last December’s Performance Racing Industry show in Orlando, there were always lines at the iRacing.com booth, as show goers waited for the opportunity to try out a developmental version of the company’s new race-driving simulation software.  Most who tried the innovative operator-in-the-loop simulation came away understanding that they had experienced an important tool for driver development and track familiarization.  And plenty of them were ready to sign up on the spot, had there been a product available to the public – which there wasn’t.

When the 2008 edition of the PRI show opens tomorrow, race engineers, team owners and other attendees of the annual industry-only motorsports technology exhibition will not only be able to sample a more fully developed version of the software, they’ll be able to sign up for a subscription to iRacing’s internet-based simulation service, joining more than 8,000 racers who have subscribed since the company opened its doors to the public this past summer.

“What’s happened in the past year is quite remarkable,” said John Henry, co-founder of iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations.  “After more than four years of development, in just 12 short months we’ve gone from a small group that was alpha testing an innovative package of simulation software and the internet-based service to support it, to a company that is providing a growing global community with a turnkey auto-racing simulation service and access to a new branch of professionally sanctioned competition.” 

Henry, who is also the principal owner of the Boston Red Sox and co-owner of NASCAR’s Roush Fenway Racing, noted that with the help of more than 300 volunteers – including amateur and professional racing drivers and experienced simulation users – iRacing completed alpha testing in late spring and with an expanded volunteer corps proceeded to a six-week beta test before beginning on June 25^th a phased invitation-only commercial launch. 

“Two months and one day later, we opened the service to everyone,” Henry said.  “That was a proud moment for all of us.  But it was far from the end of our task.  It was only then that we could really begin to build our community of racers.  Development of the software and the service will never be ‘finished’; we’ll always be working to make it better for our members.”

Dave Kaemmer, co-founder of iRacing.com and both the company’s chief executive officer and chief technical officer, noted that in addition to the 11 vehicles currently in inventory (including the Chevrolet Silverado race truck and Monte Carlo SS late model, Star Mazda, Skip Barber Formula 2000 and Radical SR8), the company’s technical staff is currently working on the Chevrolet Impala SS, Riley Mk XX Daytona Prototype,  and the Le Mans class-winning Pratt & Miller Corvette C6.R.  The track inventory now stands at 26 (with a total of 62 configurations.)

“We have lots more tracks in the pipeline, including all of the International Speedway Corporation, Speedway Motorsports and Panoz group facilities, plus many other tracks in the U.S. and overseas,” Kaemmer said.  “But we don’t compromise quality for the sake of quantity. A simulation is only really useful to someone who races in the physical world if the virtual versions of the car and track exactly duplicate their real-world counterparts.  Close won’t do.  The techniques we use to achieve the necessary degree of fidelity – ultra-high accuracy laser scanning of race tracks and detailed mathematical modeling of all aspects of cars – is very resource intensive.  But the response of real-world drivers, who are now regularly using our service to prepare for both test sessions and races, has made it all worthwhile.”

In addition to providing virtually unlimited testing time, iRacing’s sanctioning body, FIRST, organizes four 12-week competition seasons each year and currently oversees 10 race series for drivers of all skill levels. Plans are underway to create a professional series.  An annual subscription to the service costs as little as $13 per month.