iRacing endurance & sports car racing: which series to run
iRacing’s six scheduled endurance series do not loop. A sprint field like the GT Sprint Series fires a fresh race every 30 to 60 minutes, so the clock never matters much. The endurance set runs on a fixed calendar in UTC, with rounds placed hours apart, so the start time in your timezone is what you plan around.
The license ladder, lowest to highest
Section titled “The license ladder, lowest to highest”Pick the series that matches the license you actually hold; the field gets faster as the letter climbs.
- Production Endurance Challenge. Class C, the BMW M2 CS Racing, Global Mazda MX-5 Cup car and Toyota GR86. The on-ramp: short stints, road cars, the lowest closing speeds. Learn to nurse fuel and tires here before the GT3 jump.
- Nürburgring Endurance Championship. Class C, a GT3 grid (Mercedes-AMG GT3, Ferrari 296 GT3, Aston Martin Vantage GT3 EVO) on the 25 km Nordschleife-plus-GP combined layout. The classic VLN format. Traffic management is the real skill.
- GT Endurance Series by Simucube. Class C, a pure GT3 field. The standard multi-hour GT3 series and the most-run enduro on the service.
- IMSA Sportscar Endurance Challenge. Class C, a GT4 grid (Ligier JS P320, Ford Mustang GT4, Mercedes-AMG GT4). Multiclass pace gaps without needing an A license.
- IMSA Endurance Series. Class A, full multiclass from the Dallara P217 and Porsche 963 GTP down through the GT3 field. The marquee enduro, modeled on the real IMSA WeatherTech rounds (Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen).
- Global Endurance Tour. Class A, prototypes and GT3 over the longest formats on the calendar. The top of the ladder.
Sprint first, or endurance first?
Section titled “Sprint first, or endurance first?”Endurance racing rewards the driver who finishes over the driver with the fastest single lap. If you have never run a stint longer than a sprint race, start at Production Endurance Challenge. A 40-minute race with one fuel-save phase teaches more about endurance than a 6-hour GT3 round you crash out of on lap three.
Rounds are set hours apart in UTC, so a midnight European start is a late-afternoon US one. Startlight (the $9.99 iOS and Apple Watch schedule widget) pins the next round’s start in your local clock on your Home Screen, the one thing the in-sim UI makes hard. You can also read the converted start times directly on each per-series page above.
See the full races index for every series, or getting started if you are still building your license.
Frequently asked questions
Which iRacing endurance series should a new sports car driver start with?
The Production Endurance Challenge at Class C, running the BMW M2 CS Racing, Mazda MX-5 and Toyota GR86. It is the lowest-license scheduled enduro, so you build the stint discipline endurance racing needs before stepping up to GT3 and prototype fields.
Why do endurance series need a timezone-aware schedule when sprint series do not?
Sprint series loop every 30 to 60 minutes, so there is always one starting soon. The endurance series run on a set calendar, with rounds placed hours apart in UTC, so missing the absolute start time means missing the race. The exact start in your local clock is what you plan around.