The second patch for 2022 iRacing Season 2 is to be implemented on Thursday morning (7th April 2022) with a new Bristol Motor Speedway Dirt Track available to race upon. Between it’s inaugural real-world NASCAR event in 2021 and this year’s festivities, the updated Bristol Dirt Track has new geometry. On top of that, this one’s been laser scanned into the game by iRacing devs.
The old Bristol Dirt Track was created in conjunction with the real-world construction. In essence, the old version took the old Bristol track already built into the game and dumped enough virtual dirt over the surface to get it close. Now, we have a scanned edition of the limited venue, just in time for the real NASCAR Bristol Dirt Derby set to take place on Easter weekend.
Last year, the track took the normal 26 to 30 degrees of banking when concrete and made it 18 to 19 degrees of layered dirt around the corners. This year, the track will have a lower angle for the most part – 16 to 18 degrees on the lower portion – but the top will be its own dedicated 19 degrees of banking, a progressive transition that will likely change the dynamic of how this track is raced.
Both versions of the Bristol Dirt Track are still included with purchase of the full track, alongside the single or dual pit road configurations for the non-dirt, original version of Bristol. Old Bristol Dirt will be renamed to Dirt – 2021. The new updated dirt track will just be the current Dirt configuration.
iRacing, in general, has been focusing on their dirt side as of late. They just recently announced that their new studio acquisition Monster Games will be releasing a console World of Outlaws game utilizing some iRacing art and physics.
Also, there were three dirt tracks already announced to release, with Federated Auto Parts at I-55 Raceway dropping earlier this season. With Monster Games and iRacing’s other acquisition, Orontes, which is focusing on a dirt racing game as well, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more dirt racing updates throughout the year on both new and existing content.
The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series will be the first official NASCAR series to take to the updated venue on Tuesday, 12th April. With that, the NASCAR NEXT Gen vehicles have also been updated in this patch. Most of the fixes on the car are visual, but an important update to fix a cooling issue with these cars on dirt was also included.
Besides that, it’s somewhat of a smaller patch today. A few more updates to newer content, such as I-55 and the Buick LeSabre are included. For LMP2 racing fans, the previous Dallara P217 update “where the clutch would no longer disengage the engine while driving at high speeds” has been reverted.
Check out the full patch notes below. Be sure to keep it pinned here at Traxion.GG for future updates with the iRacing platform.
iRACING 2022 SEASON 2 PATCH 2 RELEASE NOTES
iRACING UI:
Create a Race
- The “Race Options” step has been moved to after both the car and track selection steps to allow for a better user experience for defining event rules, such as forcing tire compound changes.
Paint Shop
- ButtKicker logo has been updated.
SIMULATION:
Race Control
- Update the “must use multiple tire compounds” rule enforcement to only disqualify drivers that have both taken the checkered flag and not met the rule requirement. Drivers who do not finish the Race for any reason and have not met the rule requirement will not be disqualified by this rule.
- – This behavior better matches rules in real world series that use multiple tire compounds.
- Fixed a race server crash issue that could occur when an event Admin tried to extend a Caution after it was already double file by enough laps that it would try to go back to single file. Instead, now the Caution will simply stay double file.
AI Racing
- AI Drivers have improved their pit strategy with the Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance.
- AI Drivers have improved their driving skills with the GT3 Class cars.
- Fixed an issue where CPU demand of AI Drivers running with Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance was inordinately high.
Physics
- A system has been added to prevent suspension hyper-extensions.
- – This system applies to both Old Damage Model and New Damage Model cars.
Tires
- Race Servers will now correctly track tire compound usage when sessions are reset.
New Damage Model
- Fixed an issue where a detached wheel could cause some damage system instability.
Spotter
- Fixed an issue where the spotter was providing gridding fuel messages during non-Race events.
CARS:
<Car Class> NASCAR Classic 1987 Cars
- External shift lights have been updated.
<Car Class> NASCAR Next Gen Cars
- Cooling and aerodynamic parameters have been updated while running at Dirt Oval tracks.
- Models and textures have been optimized as the camera changes distances from these cars. This should allow for some improved framerates.
- Various minor artistic updates for the wheel textures, flaps, and suspension.
ARCA Menards Chevrolet Impala
- Fixed an issue with floating tape.
Aston Martin Vantage GT4
- Fixed a minor issue with the rotation point of the trunk, when popped open.
Audi R8 LMS
- Stint fuel used now references the updated fuel cell capacity.
Chevrolet Corvette C6.R GT1
- Fixed an issue with the rear view camera where the display would be too dark and not work well with auto-exposure.
Dallara P217
- Reverted a previous change where the clutch would no longer disengage the engine while driving at high speeds.
- – This fuel saving technique may now be used once again, at your own risk.
Honda Civic Type R
- The rear wing stamp has been moved to the car decal texture so that it may be altered in custom paints.
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 EVO
- Stint fuel used now references the updated fuel cell capacity.
McLaren 570s GT4
- Fixed an issue where car numbers were not appearing correctly on one of the car paint patterns.
NASCAR Buick LeSabre – 1987
- The rear fenders have been flared out a bit to more accurately replicate how the body panels would have been in 1987.
Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (992)
- iRacing setups have been updated.
Porsche 911 R GT3
- Fuel used in the current stint has been corrected to be in our typical form and reference the correct fuel cell capacity.
[Legacy] NASCAR Nationwide Chevrolet Impala – 2012
- Fixed an issue where some incorrect textures were being used.
TRACKS:
Bristol Motor Speedway
- New Track configuration: Dirt!
- – A new dirt oval track configuration, Dirt, is now available at this track!
- – – This new Dirt track configuration has been generated with brand new real-world laser scan data from the upcoming event! The entire track surface has been fully rebuilt and reprofiled for a brand new dirt oval experience.
- – This track configuration is available to all users who currently own this track. This configuration is named “Dirt”.
- – The original dirt track configuration, “Dirt”, has been renamed “Dirt – 2021” to reflect its build date, and remains ready for racing.
- Add Bristol Motor Speedway, including the new Dirt track configuration, to your digital landscape by purchasing it from the iRacing Store here: https://members.iracing.com/membersite/member/TrackDetail.do?trkid=442
Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55
- The pace car driver has improved his pit entry line and should no longer crash into the large tire.
