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Your guide to iRacing’s ROAR 2025 special event

The first iRacing Special event, the ROAR (Roar Before the 24), marks the start of the mass-participation sim racing season. Here’s everything you need to know.

iRacing Daytona ROAR
Images: iRacing

The iRacing Special Event schedule for 2025 kicks off here, with the ROAR aka Roar Before the 24.

The genre-defining sim racing multiplayer events, utilising the platform’s ranking and licence systems will be running in January. The track will, as ever, be Daytona International Speedway’s Road Course.

Here, we run through the event’s basics, entry requirements, cars and timings.

iRacing ROAR special event 2025

What is the iRacing ROAR Special Event?

In the real-world IMSA series, the ‘Roar Before the Rolex 24’ is three days of pre-event testing ahead of the big Rolex 24 day-long endurance race.

In iRacing, the ROAR is a solo endurance online multiplayer race during five timeslots, one week ahead of the virtual Daytona 24 team sim racing event.

So, it’s a race (not a test), and as it’s organised by iRacing during a limited time period, its mass participation classifies the ROAR as a Special Event.

When is the iRacing ROAR Special Event?

In 2025, the iRacing ROAR will be held during Week 4 of the service’s Season 1 during the following dates and five timeslots:

  • iRacing ROAR 2025 timeslot #1 – Friday 10th January 22:00 GMT/UTC, 23:00 CET, 14:00 PT, 17:00 ET
  • iRacing ROAR 2025 timeslot #2 – Saturday 11th January 07:00 GMT/UTC, 08:00 CET, 02:00 ET, 23:00 10th PT
  • iRacing ROAR 2025 timeslot #3 – Saturday 11th January 12:00 GMT/UTC, 13:00 CET, 04:00 PT, 07:00 ET
  • iRacing ROAR 2025 timeslot #4 – Saturday 11th January 16:00 GMT/UTC, 17:00 CET, 08:00 PT, 11:00 ET
  • iRacing ROAR 2025 timeslot #5 – Sunday 12th January 00:00 GMT/UTC, 01:00 CET, 16:00 11th PT, 19:00 11th ET

What is the iRacing ROAR race distance?

The iRacing ROAR lasts for two hours and 40 minutes (2.4 hours).

This is the same length as the IMSA Esports Global Championship races – a sim racing esports championship that also uses iRacing, and will have its final round during the same weekend on Sunday 12th January.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen will be making a guest appearance during the official IMSA esports race, too.

iRacing ROAR special event 2025 poster

iRacing ROAR accepted cars

10 cars can be used in the iRacing ROAR event in 2025, across three classes.

The classes are:

  • LMP3
  • GT4
  • Touring Car

The cars are:

  • LMP3 – Ligier JS P320
  • GT4 – Aston Martin Vantage GT4
  • GT4 – BMW M4 G82 GT4
  • GT4 – McLaren 570S GT4
  • GT4 – Mercedes-AMG GT4
  • GT4 – Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR
  • Touring Car – Audi RS 3 LMS TCR
  • Touring Car – Honda Civic Type R TCR
  • Touring Car – Hyundai Elantra N TCR
  • Touring Car – Hyundai Veloster N TCR

iRacing ROAR entry requirements

To take part in the ROAR Special Event, you must be an active iRacing subscriber, have achieved the D 4.0 Road licence, own the Daytona race track (which is $14.95 excluding sales tax) and own one of the applicable cars.

None of the accepted vehicles are included in the base content roster for subscribers, therefore they cost $11.95 (excluding sales tax) each.

iRacing ROAR Before the 24

Key session information

Ahead of the 2.4-hour race, there will be a 30-minute warmup session, followed by an eight-minute, or two-lap, qualifying session to set the grid.

As ever, based on your past record, you will be placed into splits, decided by iRacing’s system. This should place you into a race with similarly skilled drivers. In 2024, there were a ginormous 146 splits.

iRacing Daytona International Speedway

To reiterate, this is not a team event, so you are racing solo with no driver swaps in a field that can be as large as 60 cars.

The in-sim race start time for each time and date slot will be at 1 pm, and the weather and sky are set to ‘dynamic’ – so you never know, there could be precipitation. Within the iRacing user interface pre-event, check the event’s forecast.

Chance of rain

Presently, there is a slight chance of rain later in the race. As the weather is set to dynamic, there is approximately an 18% chance of precipitation.

iRacing ROAR 2025 before the 24 weather forecast

Top split live broadcast

On 11th January, starting at 12.30 pm UTC, the iRacing online channels will broadcast the top split of this special event.

Those not taking part, or who enter at one of the different times, can watch along and see how the very best drivers manage.

How to register

To register, and therefore enter the 2025 ROAR event, load iRacing before your desired time slot. Registration will open between 30 minutes and one hour before the aforementioned timeslot time (listed above).

If you match the entry conditions, the 2.4hr race will be listed on the main official racing events page, and simply click the ‘register button’.

iRacing ROAR Daytona 2025 menu registration

If you complete one of the earlier time slots, you can complete the race again if you wish. For instance, you could complete it three times, once per category.