2023 iRacing Season 2 Patch 1 officially adds accidental Gen 4 ARCA variant

2023 Season 2 for iRacing officially begins tonight when the clock strikes midnight (GMT). Before things can officially get underway, however, the first patch of the season is already out with fixes, updates, reversals, and one additional car release that was not originally planned.

After last week’s accidental horsepower update of the ARCA Menards Chevrolet Impala followed by the outpouring of community support for keeping it, iRacing announced that a Gen 4 variant of what is now the ARCA car and was once the National B car will be included for Season 2. The normal specs of the ARCA car have been reverted back to what they should have been this whole time.

In the first Patch, the Gen 4 comes included for those that own the ARCA car already. The Gen 4 car comes as a package deal with the ARCA car similar to the way the NASCAR Whelen Tour Modified and SK Modified cars work on the service – if you buy one, you get both.

Other updates in the patch include some TLC for the new cars and the new track released last week. With the new oval car that was neglected in its release due to the ARCA/Gen 4 findings, the Late Model Stock is now enabled with the New Damage Model as was originally intended. iRacing has also updated some aspects based on first hand feedback from Dale Earnhardt Jr, per the notes.

The Renault Clio and Ray Race Cars Formula 1600 both got some fixing. It was a bit funny to read that the Clio had originally been released with a handbrake feature but had to have it removed in today’s update. As for Circuito de Jerez, just a few graphical features were fixed.

Some other existing pieces of content that got updated last week, such as the Dallara IR-01, were also given a second look before the official seasons start up. The rest of the official iRacing notes for the first patch of the new build are all listed below.

SOURCE: iRacing

2023 iRACING SEASON 2 PATCH 1 RELEASE NOTES

iRACING:

Static Assets and Series Standings

• Changes have been made to resolve sporadic failures when loading Standings, Time Attack schedules, some layers of tracks maps on the Classic Membersite and in iRacing, as well as some schedule data from iRacing Live. These errors were occurring due to a misconfiguration on the content delivery network (CDN), allowing this data to be cached without the necessary headers, causing it to fail.

My Cars

• Fixed an issue where clicking on the Hosted Sessions option within the Find Sessions section would cause an error.

SIMULATION:

New Damage Model

• Fixed a damage data processing issue that could cause cars to become outer space vehicles.
• – – This data processing issue was most easily reproduced by applying a new setup that altered the spring dampers and then crashing the car so the wheels would break.

Spotter

• The Ari Cejas Spanish Spotter Pack has been updated, with a full rewrite!
• – – Many thanks to Ari for the hard work!
• Updated the Portuguese Spotter Pack.

Replays

• Fixed an issue that would cause only a portion of a Replay to be saved out at shutdown if you had enabled the “Save Replay at Shutdown” option and had previously clippled a portion of the Replay out prior to quitting.

CARS:

<Car Class> NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen Cars

• Fixed an issue where these cars’ black boxes were receiving incorrect brake bias values.
• Fixed an issue where scrape damage was appearing on the interface model for these cars.

<Car Class> NASCAR Truck Trucks

• Updated the vehicle textures for distant camera views.

ARCA Menards Chevrolet Impala / Gen 4 Cup

• (ARCA Menards Chevrolet Impala) – Engine parameters have been reverted.
• (Gen 4 Cup) – NEW CAR!
• – – The Gen 4 Cup is now available for official purchase and use!
• – – – – The NASCAR Cup Series Gen 4 Chevrolet is based on the fourth generation NASCAR Cup Series car that ran through 2007, when the Car of Tomorrow took over. Gen 4 cars made their debut in the early 1990s and were used throughout NASCAR’s boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s, leading Jeff Gordon to all four of his championships and both Dale Earnhardt and Jimmie Johnson to some of their seven – Earnhardt to his last in 1994, and Johnson to his first in 2006. iRacing’s Gen 4 car is a higher-horsepower version of the same car used in the ARCA Menards Series, kicking up the 358-cubic inch V8 engine to 725 horsepower. The extra power makes for a more challenging driving experience, and a throwback for those who long for the days of one of NASCAR’s classic eras. It’s the generation where names like Wallace, Labonte, Jarrett, Martin, and Stewart did battle – and now, at long last, this is your chance to relive it.
• – – All Members who owned the ARCA Menards Chevrolet Impala now have access to this vehicle.
• A new Damage Model tuning update has been completed, including lowering break limits for the hood and trunk mounts.

Audi R8 LMS GT3

• Fixed an issue where scrape damage was appearing on the interface model for this car.

Dallara iR-01

• An additional gear option has been added for superspeedway use.
• Steering ratio is now an adjustable parameter for Fixed Series events.
• Drag parameters have been adjusted.
• Fixed an issue where scrape damage was appearing on the interface model for this car.
• iRacing setups have been updated.

Dirt Late Model

• Reverted a change where collision shapes were inadvertently adjusted.

Dirt Sprint Car

• Reverted a change to vehicle parameters and setup ranges.

Late Model Stock

• The New Damage Model is now enabled on this vehicle!
• Maximum wheel rotation has been reduced slightly, per feedback from Dale Jr.
• For the Old Damage Model, A tuning pass has been completed.
• Fixed an issue where the hood pins were not appearing when the New Damage Model was in use for this car.

Mercedes-AMG GT3 2020

• Starter cranking RPM has been increased so the car will start correctly at high altitudes.

Mercedes-AMG GT4

• Fixed a loading issue for when this car is using the Old Damage Model.

Mercedes-AMG W13 E Performance

• Fixed a critical loading error when attempting to load this car with New Damage Model cars.
• Fixed a visual issue with the animated shifters.

NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen Toyota Camry

• Fixed an issue where fender damage was appearing on the interface model of this car.

Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992)

• Fixed an error where fuel mixture controls were enabled. This is not adjustable on this car.

Radical SR8

• Fixed an issue with the setup name for [Legacy] Phoenix Raceway – 2008 – Road Course.

Ray FF1600

• Fixed a visual issue with the steering arm when it was damaged.
• Fixed an issue where the nose cone would appear inside the cockpit when the Old Damage Model was in use for this car.

Renault Clio R.S. V

• Maximum rear ride height adjustment value has been increased.
• Fixed an issue with the front camber adjustment range.
• A variety of garage tooltips have been updated.
• Fixed an issue with a duplicate paint pattern.
• Hand brake control binding has been removed – this car has no hand brake.

Toyota GR86

• Vehicle scrape damage at far camera distances has been improved.

TRACKS:

Charlotte Motor Speedway

• (Rallycross) – Fixed an issue where this track configuration would fail to load when New Damage Model cars were selected for use.

Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto

• Fixed an issue where the inflatable barriers were missing their back-sides.
• Fixed an issue where plastic flaps on flag stands were not translucent.

Homestead Miami Speedway

• (Oval & Open Wheel Oval) – Track surface parameters have been updated slightly.

Michigan International Speedway

• Fixed an issue where drivers could incorrectly be black flagged for an illegal pit entry.

Oulton Park Circuit

• A slow down penalty has been added to prevent running wide on exit of Turn 1. 
• Brake markers are no longer part of the material plane.
• (Fosters) – Slow down penalty for cutting at Hislops has been increased.

Sebring International Raceway

• Adjusted some pit wall collision parameters to prevent snagging.