iRacing

iRacing season system: setup, structure and schedule

The season system is the heart of official racing on iRacing. It provides a reliable, worldwide rhythm by which championships are run, software updates are installed and driver licenses are updated.

Here you learn how an iRacing year is divided up and how the weekly change works.

The 13-week rhythm

The calendar year on iRacing is divided into four fixed quarterly seasons (Seasons 1 to 4). Each individual season lasts exactly 13 weeks and follows a strict structure:

1. The regular season (week 1 to 12)

• Duration: 12 weeks.
• Racing: In the official series a different track is driven every week. Anyone who wants to finish near the top of a series' overall standings collects championship points here across the 12 weeks.
• The weekly change: The iRacing week always changes in the night from Monday to Tuesday at 02:00 CEST (00:00 UTC / at 01:00 CET during winter time). At that moment all official series switch to the next track.

2. Week 13 (Week 13)

The final week of each quarter takes on a special role and serves as a buffer and preparation phase for the next quarter.

• Major software updates: In this week iRacing installs the new "Quarterly Build". It brings new cars, tracks, graphics updates or physics adjustments. During the maintenance work the servers are often in maintenance mode for a few hours.
• Fun series: The regular championships pause. Instead there are unconventional "fun series" (e.g. unranked races with wild car combinations) in which Safety Rating and iRating are usually not counted (exception: the occasional official "last chance" series).
• License updates: At the end of week 13 the accounts are settled. Anyone who has met the criteria (MPR and a Safety Rating above 3.0) is officially promoted to the next license class.

2026 calendar overview

Since the seasons pass seamlessly into one another, the new season preparation (week 13) always starts on the Tuesday after the end of week 12.

Important for the statistics: Your championship points are finalized at the end of week 12. Organizationally, week 13 already belongs to the transition to the new quarter.

Worth knowing for beginners (FAQ)

• Can I improve my Safety Rating in week 13?In most series no, because they are marked as "unranked" (unofficial). Every season, however, there are one or two selected official series in week 13 in which you can still actively push your rating to secure the promotion at the end of the week.
• When does the exact race calendar for the new season appear?A provisional calendar (draft schedule) is usually published in the middle of week 12 in the iRacing forum. The final, binding calendar goes online with the start of week 13, as soon as the new build is live.