Welcome in this blog post in which we release a guide about licenses and championships in iRacing.
iRacing, his majesty.
The variety of content offered by this simulator is so complete that you can switch from NASCAR races to Endurance events in a minute.
But to participate in the most important races, you need to make sure your license allows you to access these events.
In this article, we’ll explain how the license system works on iRacing, the best ways to improve your licenses, and what you can unlock once you reach certain goals.
Let’s start with the basics: the types of licenses you'll find on iRacing.
iRacing has four main types of licenses, so let's list them:
- Road: This lets you progress from the Formula Vee iRacing Series and the Fanatec Global Mazda MX-5 Cup for Rookies to the iRacing Grand Prix Series (with the Mercedes-AMG W12) and the Pure Driving School European Sprint Series when you obtain an A license.
- Oval: This allows you to move from the iRacing Advanced Legends Cup and the Fanatec Street Stock Series to the NASCAR iRacing Class A and the NASCAR Next Gen Cup Series (the seventh and latest generation of NASCAR Cup cars) when you get an A license.
- Dirt Road: This lets you advance from the Rookie iRX Volkswagen Beetle Lite Series and the Rookie Pro 2 Lite Off-Road Racing Series to the iRacing Rallycross Series and the Pro 2 & Pro 4 Off-Road Racing Series when you achieve a B license.
- Dirt Oval: This lets you progress from the ButtKicker DIRTcar Street Stock Series for Rookies to the Sprint Car, Late Model, and UMP Modified Series at the highest level when you get a B license.
Finally, there’s a PRO license, accessible only to a select few drivers and superior even to the A license.
How can I improve these licenses?
In every competition, you're classified in three ways:
- Safety Rating (SR): From 0 to 3 for Rookies, from 0 to 5 for a D license, and from 1 to 5 for all other licenses up to A.
- iRating: Determines which lobbies (sessions) you’ll be placed in but has nothing to do with the license.
- ttRating: Based on results in Time Attack mode, also unrelated to the license.
Now, let's focus on Safety Rating.
The key to improving this rating is essentially clean driving, avoiding incidents, and staying on track.
This can be quite difficult if you don’t apply the right driving techniques or if your car setup isn’t good.
However, how much you increase your SR in a race is influenced by several factors, such as the number of incidents (Incident Count), race duration, and the various Safety Ratings of the other drivers in the lobby.
For example, while it's common to gain up to 1.5 SR in an endurance race, in a 30-minute race, the most you can gain is around 0.2 SR.
Additionally, it's unlikely you’ll gain SR in a race for drivers with lower licenses. Here's an example:
If both a rookie and an A-license driver participate in a Fanatec Global Mazda MX-5 Series race and both finish clean, only the rookie will gain SR, while the A-license driver will not.
What's Incident Count?
Every type of incident on iRacing has its own multiplier, creating a total Incident Count (Inc) that determines how much SR you’ll gain or lose.
An off-track excursion counts as 1x Inc, a spin or wall impact as 2x Inc, and contact with another car as 4x Inc.
Unfortunately, even if it’s not your fault, you’ll still get these multipliers.
Sometimes, however, in the case of very minor contacts, they may not be added.
Incident Count rules change based on the session.
For example, in practice and qualifying, the Inc value is halved compared to the race. The same goes for dirt racing compared to asphalt.
To improve your license, your Safety Rating must be above 3.00 after enough Placement Races.
For Rookies, the total is 2 races, while for other licenses, it's 4 races.
If you reach 3 SR, you'll be promoted to the next license level at the end of the season. If you're a rookie, you'll be promoted immediately.
And if you’re not a rookie, how can you advance without waiting for the end of the season?
By reaching at least 4 SR.
What championships can I race in on iRacing based on my license?
There are many championships of all kinds: iRacing covers almost every form of motorsport. So, let’s dive right in without further ado.
Road:
- Rookie License: Formula Vee iRacing Series (open wheel), Fanatec Global Mazda MX-5 Cup (closed wheel).
- D License: Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship, Skip Barber Racing Series, iRacing Formula Renault 2.0 (open wheel); Sim-Lab Production Car Challenge, Fanatec Global Challenge, Turn Racing Touring Car Challenge, iRacing Spec Racer Ford Challenge, BMW 12.0 Challenge, Ferrari GT3 Challenge, Ruf GT3 Challenge, BMW Sim GT Cup, Nurburgring Endurance Championship (closed wheel).
- C License: Grand Prix Legends, F3 Series, Supercars Championship (V8 Supercars), Radical Racing Challenge, Fanatec Advanced Mazda MX-5 Cup Series, Porsche iRacing Cup, Heusinkveld GT Challenge, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, Kamel GT Championship, Creventic Endurance Series, VRS GT Endurance Series, VRS Global Endurance Series (closed wheel).
- B License: Dallara Dash, Dallara Formula iR Series, Classic Lotus Grand Prix, iRacing Formula 3.5 Championship (open wheel); Fanatec GT3 Challenge, VRS GT Sprint Series, IMSA Hagerty iRacing Series, LMP2 Prototype Challenge, GTE Endurance Series (closed wheel).
- A License: iRacing Grand Prix Series (open wheel), Pure Driving School European Sprint Series (closed wheel).
Oval:
- Rookie License: Fanatec Street Stock Series, iRacing Advanced Legends Cup.
- D License: iRacing ARCA Menards Series, SK Modified Weekly Series, iRacing Late Model Tour.
- C License: Super Late Model Series, NASCAR iRacing Tour Modified Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, iRacing Street Stock Series (closed wheel).
- B License: NASCAR Xfinity Series, iRacing Sprint Car Cup, iRacing Silver Crown Cup, NASCAR Legends Series.
- A License: NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Next Gen Cup Series.
Dirt Road:
- Rookie License: Pro 2 Lite Off-Road Racing Series, iRX Volkswagen Beetle Lite – Fixed Series (fixed setup).
- D License: Pro 4 Off-Road Racing Series – Fixed Series, iRX Volkswagen Beetle Lite Series.
- C License: Pro 2 Off-Road Racing Series, iRacing Rallycross Fixed Series.
- B License: Pro 2 & Pro 4 Off-Road Racing Series, iRacing Rallycross Series.
Dirt Oval:
- Rookie License: ButtKicker DIRTcar Street Stock Series.
- D License: iRacing Dirt Legends Cup, Fanatec DIRTcar 305 Sprint Car Series, DIRTcar Limited Late Model Series, Engine Ice DIRTcar 358 Modified Series.
- C License: DIRTcar Class C Street Stock Series, World of Outlaws Late Model Fixed Series, DIRTcar Pro Late Model Series, SUPERDIRTcar Big Block Modified Series, USAC 360 Sprint Car Series, DIRTcar 360 Sprint Car Series, DIRTcar UMP Midget Series.
- B License: World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, World of Outlaws Late Model Series, AMSOIL USAC Sprint Car Series, DIRTcar UMP Modified Series.
Did you notice how there are Fixed championships, meaning with a fixed setup that can’t be changed?
NASCAR championships, for example, have both a Fixed and a “normal” variant where the setup can be modified.
But remember, driving techniques are more important than the setup.
If you don’t know how to brake, apply correct traction, or use the right techniques in every phase of the corner, whether to hit or delay the apex, no setup will save you, and you'll struggle in all championships.
The more you make mistakes on iRacing, the lower your rating will be, and the harder your journey on this wonderful simulator will be.
That’s why you need to start a journey that will allow you to drive fast and error-free.
The good news is that you can take this journey with us at UniSimRacing!
We are professionals in the field and have already helped thousands of drivers significantly lower their lap times.
Keep reading our blog articles by clicking the button below.
See you soon!