It was announced back on 1st April that the Formula Vee would be joining the iRacing world in the Season 3 build. No, it was not an April Fool’s joke, it’s really happening, and the sim company previewed a first look at the upcoming rookie car on their social channels on Thursday with Season 2’s Week 13 coming up following this weekend.
The Formula Vee, a Volkswagen Beetle-based racer that is ingrained in various types of grassroots racing, is one of the first cars that a hopeful racecar driver will wheel early in their career. The car itself is also “based on the stock parts of a pre-1963 Volkswagen Beetle,” combined with a tube frame chassis and an open-wheel body, usually made of fiberglass or carbon fiber.
It makes sense that iRacing is adding this popular junior open-wheel racing formula car as a free vehicle to utilize in the rookie classes for road racing. Getting a start in Formula Vee before moving on to more difficult racers is similar to racing a Legends car on ovals or taking to a quarter midget car on dirt.
Drivers in the real world such as Niki Lauda, Keke Rosberg, Nelson Piquet and Emmerson Fittipaldi all wheeled in this vehicle before becoming world champions in Formula 1. The car is popular worldwide, with championship series running in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Brazil, and in the United States. The Formula Vee is also a staple during the SCCA National Championship Runoffs, a class that’s been running since 1964.
Season 3 on iRacing officially begins on 15th June, but the content will likely launch during Week 13 as is par the normal. The Formula Vee will be alongside the Global Mazda MX5 Cup in the iRacing Road rookie ranks. The preview video that gives the first look at the new car takes a lap in the cockpit around another included with membership item, Oulton Park.
For those starting out on the service, give a quick read to our Beginners Guide to Advancing on iRacing, or check out Dave Cam’s tutorial on How to get out of Rookies on iRacing. For those with years of experience, let us know what you think about the new model and why you’re as upset as I am that this wasn’t an option 12 years ago.
