In this guide, I'll look at which tracks are the most commonly used in iRacing, and which are the best to buy first. It's important to choose tracks that are both fun and widely used in different series.
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iRacing has such a huge variety of tracks, more than most other racing sims, and more tracks are added each season. But with so many tracks, it can be hard to decide which tracks to buy first.
You can opt to buy your favourite tracks, but it’s also worth considering which tracks are most commonly used in multiple racing series. Picking a track that is widely used will increase the amount of time you spend at that track, increasing your bang for your buck.
There is a huge variety of tracks available in iRacing, with over 100 different tracks and over 350 different track configurations currently.
The difference between a track and a track configuration is that some tracks such as Hockenheim feature multiple different configurations. These configurations utilise the same track in different layouts. These don’t count as additional tracks but do count as additional track configurations.
It’s important when planning which tracks to buy in iRacing, that you consider which tracks are the most popular, and which are used across the most series. After all, buying a track which is rarely used in events and are regularly used in series will limit how much use you can get out of it.
Some of the most popular tracks in iRacing are Road Atlanta, Road America, Watkins Glen, Sebring, Spa-Francorchamps and Red Bull Ring. There are many other widely used tracks, but these are among the most commonly used in iRacing.
Below are the 5 tracks that I would always recommend anybody whos looking at expanding their iRacing track library to pick up. Each track is extremely fun to drive, featuring unique elements and is also widely used across different racing series.
Our first track recommendation for iRacing has to go to Road America. This is a track that is widely used in different real-world and iRacing series, including the IMSA series, the Ferrari GT3 Challenge, the GT4 Challenge and many more series.
The range of series that Road America features spans from D class events right up to A class events, allowing you to use it throughout your iRacing progression. So it certainly ticks the right boxes in terms of value for money.
But the other reason that I highly recommend Road America in iRacing, is just how enjoyable it is to race around. It’s a rather long circuit at just over 4 miles long, and it feels incredibly raw. It certainly has an old-school feel to it, with huge elevation changes, bumps throughout, grass to either side of the track ready to punish any mistake, and a fair few incredibly tricky corners.
There are 14 corners in total, with many being incredibly fast and flowing turns, making for some great on-track action. Corners such as the infamous ‘Carousel’ which is a multi-part right-hander that seems to last forever make for a very tough challenge, and they will test both car and driver.
The next track follows the trend that Road America sets. Spa-Francorchamps is one of the most well-known circuits in the whole world, and is incredibly similar to Road America in its approach.
While the track layout is incredibly different from Road America, Spa also epitomises classic racing with its elevation change, grass and gravel traps, and incredibly fast sectors.
Corners such as the infamous Eau Rouge and Raidillon are incredibly tough to master in any car. While slower turns such as La Source, the Chicane and Les Combes all make for great overtaking spots. In fact, most corners around Spa-Francorchamps can be used to overtake, making it an incredibly exciting circuit to drive in iRacing, or watch others race around.
Spa is instantly recognisable for any Formula 1 fan, and features in all of the very best racing series that iRacing offers. It is often home to endurance events, including the GT Endurance Series, and also features in the Formula A – Grand Prix Series and a wide range of GT series.
This allows you to really maximise your use out of Spa-Francorchamps after buying it. It features in series spanning from D Class up to A Class, and even pops up in the NASCAR iRacing series.
Daytona is a track that epitomises the pinnacle of American circuits. It is an incredibly iconic track that’s been featured across a huge number of sim racing titles in the past. In iRacing, Daytona features 13 different configurations, giving you a large number of ways to race this circuit.
The Oval configuration features heavily in a range of NASCAR race series as well as other oval racing series. The road course also plays host to a wide range of racing series, including IMSA LMP2, GT Sprint and GT Endurance racing and much more.
Much like both Spa and Road America, Daytona also plays host to individual endurance races such as the Daytona 24.
The layout of the Daytona International Raceway is immediately recognisable in both its oval and road course form. The famous Bus Stop chicane, the International Horseshoe and the heavy banking make for an incredibly unique track, no matter which car you’re driving in iRacing.
The Red Bull Ring is another track, along with Spa-Francorchamps that is famous due to its long-running use in Formula 1.
Unlike Spa, the Red Bull Ring features a more modernised feeling but is still home to a good amount of undulation, fast corners and grass runoff areas thanks to its heritage as the Österreichring and A1 Ring. The Red Bull Ring has been home to Formula 1 and other racing series spanning back to the 1970’s and has always been a popular race track.
The track layout itself is characterised by long straights, followed by incredibly slow corners for the first half of the lap. With the second half of the lap switching the layout to include fast sweeping corners which flow nicely from turn 6 all the way through to turn 10.
The second part of the lap is incredibly fun to drive, although doesn’t present many overtaking opportunities. Instead, the first part of the lap, and turns 1, 3 and 4 in particular are all incredibly good overtaking spots. Each of these corners features a long straight leading up to a heavy braking zone.
The Best F1 24 Racing WheelsThe Red Bull Ring doesn’t feature in quite as many series as any of the tracks above, but it is a part of some of the most popular racing series in iRacing. In particular, the Formula A series, the Radical Challenge and the Formula C series all visit this track.
Watkins Glen is unique in that it features a range of different configurations, with almost all configurations widely used in iRacing. Most tracks have their main configuration that sees most of the action, while the others are reserved for testing. But Watkins Glen makes use of all of its configurations across a large number of different series.
The Watkins Glen Boot configuration plays host to a range of series including IMSA, LMP2, Indycar and the ever-popular Skip Barber series. This is the longest and most widely used track configuration that sees the inclusion of the extended Boot corner sequence of turns 6 through 9. It also features the incredibly tricky Inner Loop chicane that is so easy to get wrong.
The other configurations include the Classic layout which removes the Boot entirely and the Classic Boot which includes the additional corners but removes the tricky chicane after turn 4.
The track layout of Watkins Glen International allows for plenty of hard racing. Turn 1 and the Inner Loop chicane both make for great overtaking spots if you can get it right. And the Boot sequence can also lead to some overtaking thanks to its slower corners.
Before I conclude this guide on the best tracks in iRacing, I want to touch on how buying tracks in iRacing works. We speak about all of the content that is included in a base iRacing membership here.
Beyond this core content, you will need to purchase additional cars and tracks to race in additional series. You can buy new tracks via the iRacing UI dashboard, or through the membership website here.
I would recommend planning which series you will be racing in across the year, before deciding on which content to buy. Planning your schedule this way can help save you money by buying cars and tracks that feature in a wide range of different series.
Read our guide on how to save money when buying cars and tracks in iRacing for some top money-saving tips.
You can use the links below to shop for your favourite sim racing products, or for any products that we may have recommended. These links are affiliate links, and will earn us a small commission, with no additional cost for you.
Rich is the co-founder, and one of the main F1 setup creators and content writers for SimRacingSetups. With over a decade of experience as a graphic designer, marketing director, competitive sim racer and avid motorsport fan, Rich founded SimRacingSetup.com to share his passion and knowledge of sim racing and Formula 1 with other sim racers. Regularly writes for sim racing website SimRaceReviews.com
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