Season 3 Patch 3 adds race-start testing and fixes

A limited test for a new race-start system

Participants in the iTested series will receive an “iTested” account Award badge and will help iRacing collect data on the feature. The release notes say that results from the test may help iRacing estimate when a full system-wide rollout could take place. No wider release date is provided.

For racers and tournament organizers, this means the new start procedure is currently a test rather than a confirmed general feature. The limited series may also provide a controlled setting for observing how multi-class and multi-pace-car starts operate.

Simulation and race-server fixes

Patch 3 fixes an issue that could show incorrect team and driver lap counts in driver-swap sessions when a driver joined late. The server was keeping accurate counts, but the simulator could falsely indicate that driver-change requirements had been met.

Race-server fixes address invisible timing ghost drivers and a client crash that could occur when moving from Open Practice to the Race Session. A telemetry issue involving the CamCarIdx value while watching the pace car has also been corrected.

The patch further adjusts spotter behavior, including a possible issue where the spotter stopped working after a driver swap. Spotter call timing at race starts has been updated for situations with cars high or low nearby. New Japanese and Romanian spotter packs have been added, while Italian and Spanish calls and the Ukraine-Vitaliy_Chizhuk pack have also been updated.

Car, graphics and interface updates

The release notes include a fix for overly aggressive mip texture tossing on AMD graphics cards. Relative and Standings black box heights should now initialize correctly as well.

For GT3 cars, SDK-reported Traction Control values have been aligned with in-car and black-box displays. iRacing setups were adjusted for the direct car changes, and TC states should now be stored and restored correctly when tire compounds change.

The NASCAR Cup Series Gen 7 now has pit-stop times designed to more closely reflect nine- to 10-second four-tire stops described in the notes. TCR wet-tire splitter ride-height limits have also been corrected.

Additional entries cover the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO, BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Hybrid V8 (EVO), EURO NASCAR V8, Lucas Oil Off Road Pro 4 Truck and Skip Barber Formula 2000, including display, setup, decal, naming and damage-model fixes.