Registration and scheduler changes with new iRacing patch

The fifth iRacing update of the current season is out today, bringing a number of improvements to the simulation platform. Most importantly, the update includes some changes to reduce the likelihood of scheduler problems that have plagued special events, resulting in issues like we recently witnessed at the iRacing Daytona 24 Hours.

When you schedule for an event, there have been some changes to the process. Firstly, whilst the scheduler is running, there’ll be no more registrations allowed – which seems pretty sensible. It will mean that you’ll likely have a small gap between registering and the session becoming available. For spotters and spectators, you’ll still be able to join but only after the sessions have been created and launched.

For team events, there are a few additional changes. The registration period has been extended before the scheduler gets to work creating the sessions. Once you’ve registered as a driver, then you’ll declare drivers in your team and then likely have some time to join a practice session before the event. Should a driver miss the initial registration, but is still on your declared driver list then they’ll still be able to register and join your team after the completion of scheduling.

The new registration process will be given its biggest test at the next special event – the 12 Hours of Bathurst – due to be run 26-28 February. If you want to find out more about the changes you can see the notice on the iRacing forums.

Other than the scheduling changes, this is a fairly minor patch, just like the previous one. The changes you might notice are:

• Warm-up added as an option to hosted sessions
• Audio fine-tuning for the Dallara iR18 on the limiter
• Adjustment to the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 car (reduced fuel consumption)
• Contingency decals updated to 2021 on NASCAR Cup Series cars
• Updated NASCAR Trucks branding

If you want to see the notes on the iRacing forums, you can do so here. Alternatively, read below:

Release Notes / Changelog (iRacing 2021 Season 1, Patch 5)

iRACING:

Status Page

– A brand new System Status page has been added for iRacing!
– – https://status.iracing.com

– This web page details the live status of a variety of iRacing’s services and servers, allowing you to check-up on our online status at any time.
– – Click on any status report box to get a detailed timeline of that service’s performance for the past hour.

– Any current system-wide notifications will be displayed at the top of the page; such as planned maintenance, downtime, or a severe issue we need our Members to know about.

– This web page can be accessed at any time from any device, and is designed to keep you informed.

iRACING UI: (5.06.04)

General

– Fixed a rare issue where the iRacing UI could take the operating system’s focus when the connection to the iRacing servers was suddenly severed due to an authentication issue.

– Fixed an issue where the iRacing UI could visually lock-up if it was opened from Membersite when it was already open.

Hosted Racing

– A new Session type, Warm-Up, may now be selected with some event types!
– – A Warm-Up Session precedes a Race Session, and gives drivers, teammates, broadcasters, and race officials some extra free-form time before the big event starts.
– – A Warm-Up Session may be used in Hosted Sessions that contain both a Practice and Qualify Session.
– – When selected, this new Session type includes a time duration slider and an input field for the new Warm-Up period, as well as the ability to set Track State and Time of Day parameters.

MEMBERSITE:

General

– Fixed an issue where opting out of email settings was not being saved correctly.

Hosted Racing

– A new Session type, Warm-Up, may now be selected with some event types!
– – See above for more information.

SIMULATION:

Race Servers

– While a Race Server is creating splits and sessions for an event, no new registrations will be allowed for that event. This process occurs when the window for registering for an event as a participant closes. This is particularly helpful for large-scale special events and team events where dozens of splits and sessions are being created at the same time. Stopping new registrations will reduce the load on the scheduler. Further registration and joining of the sessions, for spotting, spectating, etc., will be allowed again after the sessions have been fully created and launched.
– – This change has no effect on members who register for an event before the splits and sessions are created.
– – For more information on this upgrade, see this post: https://members.iracing.com/jforum/posts/list/3793278.page

CARS:

Dallara IR18

– Audio levels for the limiter have been increased to 12300 RPM.

McLaren MP4-12C GT3

– 2021 Season 1 BoP Adjustment: Fuel consumption rate has been reduced slightly.

NASCAR Cup Series Chevrolet Camaro ZL1

– Contingency decals have been updated for the 2021 Season.

NASCAR Cup Series Ford Mustang

– Contingency decals have been updated for the 2021 Season.

NASCAR Cup Series Toyota Camry

– Contingency decals have been updated for the 2021 Season.

NASCAR Gander Outdoors Chevrolet Silverado

– NASCAR branding has been updated for the 2021 Season.

NASCAR Gander Outdoors Ford F150

– NASCAR branding has been updated for the 2021 Season.

NASCAR Gander Outdoors Toyota Tundra

– NASCAR branding has been updated for the 2021 Season.