Tutorials · January 20, 2025 · 5 min read

How to Plan Your iRacing Week Like a Pro

A practical guide to organizing your iRacing schedule. Learn how to choose series, manage your time, and make the most of each racing week.

Every Tuesday, iRacing resets. New tracks, new opportunities, and another chance to climb the ranks. But with over 100 active series, how do you decide where to focus your limited practice time?

In this guide, we’ll walk through a practical approach to planning your iRacing week.

The Tuesday Reset

iRacing runs on a weekly cycle:

Tuesdays ~8am UTC: Weekly maintenance begins
After maintenance: New week starts, tracks rotate
Seasons: 12 weeks long, 4 per year

When the new week drops, you have roughly 7 days before the next rotation. That’s your window to learn the track, practice, and race.

Step 1: Know Your Goals

Before opening the schedule, ask yourself:

Are you chasing iRating? Focus on series you’re comfortable with
Building Safety Rating? Prioritize clean finishes over positions
Learning new cars? Accept slower progress, enjoy the process
Just having fun? Pick tracks and cars you enjoy, ignore the meta

Your goals determine your series selection. A driver grinding iRating will make different choices than someone exploring new content.

Step 2: Check the Schedule

Use the iRacing Schedule Planner to see all active series at a glance. You can:

Filter by category (Road, Oval, Dirt)
Filter by license class
Search for specific series or tracks
See the full 12-week rotation

Look for:

Tracks you own (or are willing to buy)
Series that match your license
Race times that fit your schedule

Step 3: Evaluate Race Frequency

Not all series race at the same frequency:

Frequency	Best For
Every 30 min	High participation, always a race when you’re ready
Every hour	Good balance of availability and field quality
Every 2 hours	More committed fields, plan your session
Fixed schedule	Special events, requires planning ahead

If you only have 2 hours on a weeknight, a series with hourly races gives you flexibility. If you have a dedicated Saturday session, less frequent series might offer better competition.

Step 4: The Practice-to-Race Ratio

Here’s a framework that works for many drivers:

New track: 2-3 hours of practice before your first race
Familiar track, new car: 1-2 hours
Track and car you know: 30-60 minutes warmup

Don’t rush into races unprepared. A few extra practice laps can mean the difference between a clean race and an early wreck.

Practice Efficiently

When practicing:

Learn the racing line first (watch a hotlap video if needed)
Build up to pace gradually — don’t immediately push
Work on your braking technique — the brake pedal is where lap time is made (and lost). Tools like Braking Lab can help you train brake modulation away from the sim
Practice race scenarios — dirty air, side-by-side, tire degradation
Know your consistent pace — not your best lap, your average lap

Step 5: Pick 1-3 Series Per Week

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: you can’t do everything.

Spreading yourself across 5+ series means you’re never really prepared for any of them. Instead:

Primary series: Your main focus, most practice time
Secondary series (optional): A fallback or variety option
Fun series (optional): Low-stakes racing for enjoyment

Quality over quantity. Three well-prepared races beat ten sloppy ones.

Step 6: Schedule Your Sessions

Block time in your calendar:

Monday:    Practice Session 1 (1 hour)
Tuesday:   New week drops - check schedule, adjust plan
Wednesday: Practice Session 2 (1 hour)
Thursday:  Race Night - 2-3 races
Saturday:  Long session - practice + races

Treat your sim racing like any other commitment. Scheduled time is protected time.

Step 7: Review and Adapt

After each week, ask:

Did I enjoy the series I ran?
Was my preparation adequate?
Did I achieve my goals (iRating, SR, fun)?
What would I do differently?

Use this feedback to refine your approach for next week.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Racing before you’re ready — Impatience leads to incidents
Chasing every new track — You don’t need to run every series
Ignoring race frequency — Missing races because timing doesn’t work
Neglecting warm-up — Even familiar tracks need a few laps
Over-committing — Burnout is real, pace yourself

Tools That Help

iRacing Schedule Planner — See all series and schedules at a glance
iRacing Car Profiles — Learn each car’s braking characteristics, setup tips, and technical specs to prepare for your chosen series
Garage61 — Analyze your telemetry after races
Braking Lab — Train your brake pedal technique between sessions. Consistent braking is the foundation of consistent lap times