We race multiple series on iRacing based on cars that we enjoy driving as well as if the series has good participation. We always used to race in the Grand Prix Series and at our peak, won two divisional championships driving the old Williams FW31 F1 car. However, over the years that series has essentially died out and we moved on to driving other cars in other series.
This article lists the series that we race in with cars that we think are not just challenging but enjoyable to drive.
Formula C - Dallara F3
This series comprises both fixed and open series where you can race the Dallara F3 single-seater over a relatively short distance without compulsory pit stops. Races are lap-based but last around 25 minutes.
There's no rain which removes one variable but the car has amazing feedback and can be pushed from start to finish. The series is still has very good levels of participation despite the rise in popularity of the Formula 4 and Super Formula Lights series.
Formula 4
This series is split across not open and fixed setups but is further broken down into the FIA Formula 4 Challenge, FIA F4 Esports Regional Tour - Europe, FIA F4 Esports Regional Tour - Americas and FIA F4 Esports Regional Tour - Asia. You get to race the Formula 4 single-seater in a rain-enabled series in races that are 20 minutes long.
Grids are always full with races scheduled as often as every hour. The car is a joy to drive and has a big slip angle, for a single seater. This means that you can get to rotate the car quite easily and balance it on the throttle. You can really lean on the car over the full twenty minutes without worrying about killing the tyres. Pitstops are only required if you need to change tyres due to weather.
The only issue we have with this series is that sometimes races can become very messy with drivers being too aggressive and causing incidents and wrecks.
LMP2 Prototype Challenge
This fixed setup series features the Dallara P217 LMP2 prototype that is powerful with a huge amount of downforce. It responds well to smooth steering and throttle/brake inputs and pushing the car hard and getting it to rotate too much will just bleed off speed and murder your lap times.
Races are twenty minutes and no pit stops are required unless you need a change of tyres due to rain. Races are a sprint from start to finish and begin from a double-file rolling start. We enjoy this car because of the downforce and speed and enjoy the series because of its sprint nature without worrying about strategy and fuel management etc.
IMSA iRacing Series
Available in both fixed and open setups, this series is the only multi-class series in our list and features Hypercars (LMDh), LMP2 (Dallara P217) and GT3.
The open setup series is 45 minutes long with one compulsory pitstop for fuel. Tyre changes are optional. The fixed setup series is 35 minutes long also with one compulsory stop for fuel and optional tyres. Rain is enabled and can become very tricky, especially when driving the Hypercars.
Our favourite car to drive in the series is the Cadillac V-Series.R LMDh Hypercar has lots of power, hybrid energy and huge downforce levels. The car is fun to drive but doesn't enjoy being over-driven. It can be a handful in the rain but a smooth driving style and lots of practice can help overcome this.
Since there are three classes of vehicles on track, races can become very exciting very quickly when you come up to pass slower category cars while fighting for position. Learning the best passing areas on the track with minimal loss in lap time is critical for getting a good result.
Formula C - Super Formula Lights
As the third single-seater series in our list, Super Formula Lights is the series that we are least familiar with since we only started learning the car and series very recently. However, the car is similar in some ways to the F3 and F4 cars in terms of downforce and the type of lines you can take with it. However, what's different is the much lighter steering and the need to be careful in high-speed corners on cold tyres.
The car typically needs one lap to bring in the tyres and after that, it's a joy to drive with a wondrous engine note and precise handling. Unlike the the F4, this car doesn't seem to enjoy being pushed into big slip angles and a slightly smoother driving style tends to yield faster lap times.
We wrote a full guide on this series if you need more information.
Honourable mention
The iRacing Grand Prix Series, as we mentioned earlier is essentially dead but the iRacing Grand Prix Tour is where you can race the Mercedes-AMG E Performance W13 F1 car over a full race distance with compulsory pit stops for a change in tyre compounds. Three compounds are available, just like real F1 and the car features multiple ERS modes that the driver must utilise to find the best balance between pace and consistency.
It is a massive challenge that is not for the casual driver. We love this series mainly because we raced F1 cars over full race distances back in our league racing days and the Grand Prix Tour is one of the few places where you can still do this driving modern machinery.
Final thoughts
We listed three single-seater series and two sportscar series in our list. Four series are one-make and one is multi-class. We prefer driving the Cadillac LMDh in the IMSA multi-class series which means that all five have one thing in common: high downforce. We love high downforce cars and tend to struggle with GT-style cars that rely mainly on mechanical grip.
However, despite this, we think that our list represents some really popular and challenging series on iRacing we're sure that you'll enjoy competing in at least one of them.
