In a recent blog update, iRacing detailed extensively the plans for the upcoming seasonal update, with 2 weeks to go before season 3 begins. And there's a lot to talk about !
New cars
First off, a good amount of new content will be released. Production cars will see the F87 generation of the BMW M2 be replaced by the newer G87 M2 Racing. The new car, like the asset it replaces, will be part of the service's free base content, and be used for the official M2 Series - and although it's not been stated, we can assume that will also be the case for the Production Car Challenge and its Endurance version. We will just have to see if the increase in performance will induce less or more chaos while in interacts with the MX5s and GR86s.
Stock car fans will also have something to be waiting for. The Euro NASCAR RC01 will join the roster to fill in a different niche : stock car road racing. Yes, it is engineered to turn left, but also right. The recipe remains otherwise similar : simplicity and V8 power for a raw experience.
Single seater rookies are not left aside either : 2 new Formula Vee chassis will join the existing free one, sharing the same on-track action. Just like in Street Stocks, those new additions will be grouped into a single purchase, the original remaining free.
To top things up, another BMW is getting an update : the GTP BMW Hybrid V8 is receiving the Evo package, free for everyone who already purchased the current version.
New tracks
To stretch out these news wheels, some fresh tarmac (and dirt) will be available as well. Laguna Seca receives a complete rebuild from a new scan, that will be released as a new track variation. This will be paid, but granted to anyone who purchased the original after it was switched from free to paid content.
But the more interesting release is going to be the Qualcomm Circuit. Designed on the Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, it hasn't been raced yet in real life, and simracers will have the privilege to race it a week before real-life race cars take the green flag. While cars got featured in games before their actual release a few times, this is a premiere, especially as iRacing worked hand in hand with NASCAR to design and test the layout.
Other features
A whole lot of features will also see the light in 2026. Though some of these aren't entirely confirmed for this season, the plan is to ship them for season 3 if they're ready, or release them later this year if it is found they need refining.
Dirt and Heat racing for AI, BoP and physics updates (notably some aero modelling and electronic assists) are in the cards, as well as new UI features, heavily inspired by popular third party overlays, that include a dynamic track map, a fuel calculator, and the possibility to switch between different wheel profiles.
But a major and highly demanded feature that has chances of hitting the sim for the new season is multi-class starts with a pace car for each class. This will make IMSA and PCC starts much less chaotic, especially for the lower classes. In addition to that, the pit limiter has been reworked so you no longer need to manually control your speed to gain a couple precious kph in the pitlane.
More projects are being talked about in the blog post, but it is unclear when some of these will actually be inplemented. But an offline career mode is on the way, which is a huge step up for iRacing.
If you want to get the full details, you can read the official blog post here : https://www.iracing.com/iracing-development-update-may-2026/