In both Sim Racing and real-world motorsports, unpredictable weather is a huge factor for wheel to wheel fun! The majority of this feature is absent from iRacing, however rain is being worked on and may be available soon.
There is no set date for the introduction of wet weather racing but based on development cycle estimates, the update could be ready to launch this summer in 2022. Rain development was confirmed for the first time in the summer of 2021, but there had been no further word until iRacing’s Executive Producer Greg Hill recently posted a screenshot. Hill stated that the development team was making fantastic progress with the feature, which features two Formula Vee cars battling it out at a rain-soaked Imola. Assuming the team were working on the feature at least 6 months before it was announced by Greg, they have been developing the new iRacing weather system for over a year and a half (possibly closer to two years).
Track Changes for Wet Weather First Released in 2019
The anticipation of rain in iRacing spurred a bunch of adjustments to the track model all the way back in 2019. This means that wet weather racing development could actually have been started all the way back in 2018.
Senior Software Developer Dan Garrison described how a simple setup with a static sun and clouds allows for fluctuations in track temperature. They basically had to rework the model as they started implementing day/night cycles and more in-depth weather changes because it was a highly binary system that heated and cooled too quickly. Unlike the prior technique, the 2019 update saves temperature data in numerous levels rather than just the top layer. After the sun sets, heat rises to the surface, making the temperature transition on the track considerably more gradual. An interesting mention goes to “the interaction between water and temperature” and wind applying to track temps, because as the blog states this is not only useful in conditioning the track temperature, but also drying after rain. Yes, he discussed making dynamic track model changes in anticipation of adding rain all the way back in 2019!
The 2019 model has a better relationship between water and temperature, as the evaporation and heat loss from that process are estimated much more precisely than before. Because of the heat lost through evaporation, a dirt track in continual shade, such as in Oklahoma, will often have a track temperature lower than the surrounding air. The rate of evaporation, of course, is affected by the surface and air temperatures, humidity, wind, and the supply of “free” water at the surface. On a cold, humid, windless day, the track temperature should be comparable to the air temperature, whereas on a hot, dry, windy day, the track temperature should be several degrees higher. The responsiveness of the track temperature to different events is influenced by what has already happened by modeling heat transfer between the surface and the ground beneath. As a result, depending on the history that is essentially preserved in the layers below, the surface temperature may be very stable or fluctuating. Finally, by forwarding the weather during initialization and recording the results, the server is better equipped to manage session transitions with big gaps in time and restart the track in the correct state.
The anticipation of rain in iRacing spurred a bunch of adjustments to the track model all the way back in 2019. This means that wet weather racing development could actually have been started all the way back in 2018.
No Official Release Date Set
There is no set date for the introduction of wet weather racing. Rain development had been revealed for the first time in the summer of 2021, but there had been no further word until iRacing’s Executive Producer Greg Hill recently posted a screenshot. Hill stated that the development team was making fantastic progress with the feature, which features two Formula Vee cars battling it out at a rain-soaked Imola. If things continue to go well, a season release is not out of the question. iRacing usually installs large patches in between seasons, and the inclusion of rain would fit right in. The current season will end in the middle of March. Before the new season begins, iRacers should make sure their rain tires are ready.
– Conor Murphy, Performance Engineer, Sim Racer Academy
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