iRacing 2026 S3 Patch 3 update
iRacing’s 2026 Season 3 Patch 3 adds an early multi-class multi-pace car start test path, fixes several race control, graphics, spotter, telemetry, UI, car, and track issues, and adjusts pit stop timing for NASCAR Cup Series Gen 7.
We’ve got a focused patch update for iRacing, published July 10, centered on fixes and incremental improvements rather than a full seasonal feature drop. The official release notes also preview an upcoming limited-time test for multi-class multi-pace car starts.
What changed
Race control, servers, and session flow
- An early version of a multi-class multi-pace car race start system has been implemented and will be tested in a future limited-time “iTested” official series.
- A driver-swap session issue was fixed where late-joining clients could see incorrect team and driver lap counts, potentially making driver-change requirements appear satisfied when they were not.
- Timing ghost drivers are no longer invisible.
- A client crash when transitioning from Open Practice to Race Session was fixed.
Graphics, spotter, telemetry, and UI
- AMD GPUs should no longer be overly aggressive with mip texture tossing.
- Spotter behavior was adjusted to potentially fix cases where the spotter stopped working after a driver swap.
- Spotter call timing at race starts for nearby high/low cars was updated.
- New Japanese and Romanian spotter packs were added, with additional Italian, Spanish, and Ukraine-Vitaliy_Chizhuk updates.
- Telemetry
CamCarIdxwas fixed when watching the pace car. - Relative and Standings black box height initialization was fixed.
Cars
- GT3: SDK-reported traction control values were aligned with in-car and black box values; iRacing setups were adjusted, and TC state handling across tire compound changes was improved.
- NASCAR Cup Series Gen 7: Four-tire pit stop times were adjusted to better match real-world 9–10 second stops.
- TCR: Wet-tire adjusted splitter ride height limits now apply correctly.
- Car-specific fixes and setup updates were also made for the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO, BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Hybrid V8 (EVO), EURO NASCAR V8GP, Lucas Oil Off Road Pro 4 Truck, and Skip Barber Formula 2000.
Tracks
- Daytona International Speedway: pit-exit course-cut sensitivity was improved, and pit-exit cone violations during rolling starts from pit lane at the oval can no longer be ignored.
- Mid-Ohio: the Start/Finish booth and bridge now appear correctly at low visual detail.
For league ops, we should update event notes around Daytona pit procedures, verify endurance driver-swap checks, and refresh GT3 and Gen 7 expectations before race night.
From the changelog
Structured change list parsed from the official notes.
cars
- 2026 Season 3 Patch 3 Release Notes [2026.07.10.04] Patch Release: —--------------------------------------------------------- This release is a Patch, focusing on additional updates, improvements, and fixes for the 2026 Season 3 Release. Simulation —--------------------------------------------------------- Race Control An early version of a multi-class multi-pace car race start system has been implemented, and will be testable by you in an upcoming limited-time “iTested” Official iRacing Series! Participants in this Series will receive the coveted “iTested” account Award badge, and will help us collect test data on how this feature is operating. Once analyzed, this test series results may give us a better time estimate on when you can expect a full system-wide roll-out of this feature. Fixed an issue where the Simulator could incorrectly present team and driver lap counts for driver-swap sessions if you connected somewhat late into the session, while the Server was keeping accurate counts. This could falsely indicate you have met the driver-change requirements, when in fact your team has not done so. Race Servers Fixed an issue where timing ghost drivers were completely invisible - that was too spooky and made it difficult to compare yourself to them. Fixed a crash that could occur on the client when transitioning from Open Practice to the Race Session. Graphics Fixed an issue where AMD graphics cards could be overly aggressive with mip texture tossing, and visuals could look suboptimal. Spotter/Crew Chief Some spotter code has been adjusted which may fix a current issue where the spotter potentially quits his job after a driver swap. Updated the timing for spotter calls at race starts for when you have car(s) high or low around you. A new Japanese spotter pack "Japanese-COEIROINK_Aoba" is now available in iRacing! Special thanks to Hironori Kobayashi for the hard work on this project! A new Romanian language spotter pack has been added to iRacing! Special thanks to Roman Bobik for the hard work on this project! Updated some additional Italian and Spanish spotter calls. The Ukraine-Vitaliy_Chizhuk spotter pack has been updated. Telemetry Fixed an issue where the telemetry value "CamCarIdx" could be incorrect when watching the pace car. User Interface Fixed an issue where Relative and Standings black box heights were sometimes not getting initialized properly. Cars —--------------------------------------------------------- <Car Class> GT3 Resolved an issue where the SDK-reported Traction Control values could be different from the value observed in-car and in the black box displays. iRacing setups have been adjusted to suit the TC changes made directly to the car. Improved how TC states are stored and restored when changing tire compounds. <Car Class> NASCAR Cup Series Gen 7 Pit stop times have been improved to more closely reflect the 9 to 10 second four-tire pit stop times seen in the real world. <Car Class> TCR Cars (Touring Cars) The splitter ride height limit now obeys the adjusted ride height limit for wet tires. Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO Fixed an issue where the dash display ABS was incorrectly offset. Fixed an issue with an incorrect brake master cylinder size reference. BMW M4 GT3 Increased the size of the gearbox intercooler, TGEAR on the in-car dash will now show lower temperatures. There is no performance change as a result of this fix. BMW M Hybrid V8 (EVO) "(EVO)" has been post-pended to this car name to correctly reflect its status. Added a missing IMSA endurance decal to the right side of the car, and removed extra electrical shutoff decals from the Neutral Inception livery. EURO NASCAR V8GP iRacing setups have been updated. Lucas Oil Off Road Pro 4 Truck iRacing setups have been updated. Skip Barber Formula 2000 For the damage model, fixed an issue where the front wing endplates could stay behind if the front wing was detached. Tracks —--------------------------------------------------------- Daytona International Speedway Improved the race control sensitivity surrounding potential pit exit course cuts. Fixed an issue where disobeying the pit exit cones during a rolling start from the pit lane at Daytona Oval could be ignored. Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Fixed an issue with the Start/Finish booth and bridge being disabled at low visual detail levels.
Official sources
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