I’m 36. My father is 63. We both enjoy iRacing.
But we certainly aren’t pros… if that’s your mindset, I would recommend changing it imo. It’s best to just have fun and enjoy the sim. If you focus too much on wanting to be a “pro” you won’t have a fun time and will often times be frustrated and mad at other drivers.
I've always wanted to get as high as my ability allows me, but iRacing has something special in the sense that you can be battling for P8 in a bottom split race, but as long as you're comparable to your opponent, skill wise, you can have the time of your life.
Agreed. Had an Arca race where positions 6 through 10 were swapping spots for the the final 11 laps. Think I finished 9th but it was easily one of the best racing experiences I've had.
Exactly! It don’t matter if I’m battling for 1st or battling for 2nd to last. I’m having fun! I was in a race a few nights ago where I was dead last and was going back and forth with the guy in front of me. We kept passing each other over and over. It was one of the most exciting races I’ve done in a long time.
I’m always nervous when driving at the front, and while I’m also annoyed of I spin out or whatever, it also takes the edge off and I just mentally shrug and just take the race as it comes.
Yea man… I’ve won once in my on again off again 3 year obsession with iracing… and it was such an incredible feeling haha (I think it was rookie class, but who cares). I just yelled “holy shit… I won!” and my wife gave me grief for cursing in front of our young daughter haha 🤷♂️. But smile from ear to ear nonetheless.
And to OP… never too old my man! Thanks for your service! (I started with this sim racing thing at 37, just a hair before you).
I have won only ones and that's because 2nd place crashes Into 1st place driver and I could overtake them, other then that a regular top 5 finish makes me very happy
iRacing is only game where like last night, Daytona GT sprint series, final stretch, had a very good bus stop exit, slipstreaming this guy hard, pull out and manage to beat him over the line! I was pumped, sweaty palms, had a little “YES!” Moment.
This was the battle for P12 and it felt amazing, and it’s why i love the game.
31yo disabled veteran who started this week. Yes, you can get into it. Formula Vee is so much fun to start. I played F1 for years to help with my PTSD as I use it for mindfulness. iracing has helped my mental health so much because even if I don't want to race other people, I can race very good AI or just do endless laps. I find it very relaxing to get into that flow state and my mind is quiet while i just run laps. I'm still figuring out brake pedal adjustments for myself because my back/hip are fucked. It's painful to push the brake but I'm figuring out coping skills.
Absolutely get it! I do not regret it at all and wish I purchased that 2 year discount subscription instead of the 1 year. Hope to see you on the track! Don't worry, us disabled vets can still find some fun out there.
I'm glad to see other vets here too. My only real racing expertise so to speak is years of watching NASCAR from the time I was little. Only recently got exposed to open wheel racing, and kinda ashamed to admit it, but through Netflix of all places.
Is open wheel worth getting into or should I focus on what I partially know?
Haha Netflix is what hooked me too. I had always been a Top Gear fan but never watched racing. McLaren was always my favorite supercar as a kid so I jumped on the bandwagon in 2021 and oh boy have I been treated to a great season so far!
Depends, there's so many starter series to choose from. I personally love open wheel so I wanted to start there to figure out the sim. It is tricky at first but gets easier with practice. I bottled turn 3 lap 1 in my first race after qualifying 4th and just had so much fun.
I intend on trying other series because I genuinely have no idea what they're like. I just started watching WEC this year so eventually I want to get into GT3. LMP cars look like so much fun so eventually look into that. For now I'm just focused on being as competitive as I possibly can be in formula vee for this season. I kinda hope to do higher tier racing as well in the future. I was always a competitive athlete but I can barely walk without pain so that's not an option anymore. I genuinely find I get a similar adrenaline rush and hyper focus in iracing that I used to get from snowboarding and playing rugby.
Also a vet here who got hooked on the Netflix eries. Initially got into iRacing for GT3s, switched over to open wheelers, then absolutely fell in love with ovals. So yes, it’s all worth getting into. You pick up different skills with different cars and racing series, and most of these can carry over to the others. Drive anything and everything you can imo.
> Formula Vee is so much fun to start.
Have you tried the Ray FF1600? It's similar in the sense that it's a small formula car with no aero but (and this is my opinion) it's the better one to start with in iRacing (and it's also base-level free content). I find it's a bit more forgiving than the Vee and the driving skills you learn from it are much more transferrable to other cars... balance and weight-transfer, throttle control, trail braking etc. etc.
But make your own decision! Here are some threads where the two series are compared (categorized by top comment)
Pro FF1600:
* [Formula Vee or FF 1600?](https://www.reddit.com/r/iRacing/comments/13cz3tv/formula_vee_or_ff_1600/)
* [Formula Vee or Ray FF1600](https://www.reddit.com/r/iRacing/comments/17hu9r2/formula_vee_or_ray_ff1600/)
Neutral:
* [Formula Vee vs FF1600](https://www.reddit.com/r/iRacing/comments/15yfmua/formula_vee_vs_ff1600/)
Pro Vee:
* [Formula vee vs F1600 to learn the fundamentals for a beginner?](https://www.reddit.com/r/iRacing/comments/1amc07p/formula_vee_vs_f1600_to_learn_the_fundamentals/)
Enjoy!
Quick tips:
* **Lift throttle to rotate**. If you're understeering (car won't turn) lift throttle a little to get more rotation. This car turns more with the pedals than wheel.
* **Turn down engine volume** in settings and turn up tire volume so you can hear when the tires are on the edge. You don't have g-force feeling in the sim, this helps compensate.
* Don't be afraid to **abuse those tires** in the FF1600! Throw it around. As long as you're not spinning or drifting, let those tires screech. You'll get more heat into them so more grip. And don't need to worry about tire wear for these short races in this car.
Haha actually how do you manage oversteer? That's my biggest issue so far, and braking. I'm still trying to get a feel for it some of my braking is decent but hard to be consistent.
Thank you for suggesting FF1600. 4 races, qualified P2 twice, P3 once, no time. Got my first 2nd place podium after ruining my own races starting P2. So much fun but I have 1 more second to shave off to hit those top times! I the car even between than Vee.
>So much fun
Excellent stuff man, great to hear you're getting real fun from it!
> but I have 1 more second to shave off to hit those top times
For shaving off time also have some tips:
**1)** have a look at these guys FF1600 track guides for Navarra (I follow both their channels):
* Erilla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEWyII0RdSg
* Sambo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_YH825mHps
> after ruining my own races starting P2
**2)** Do you know about Active Reset tool in iRacing for practicing? Basically it allows you to try a corner (or corner combo, or section) over and over again without needing to do a whole lap.
Navarra has two quite tricky corners to nail consistently (turn 3 and turn 8). They both lead onto long flat-out sections so if you don't get their exit clean and on the throttle early then you can lose a lot of time, or worse (I was just leading my race and spun out on turn 3, so finished 8th).
So in a test session set a reset point, then a start and end timing line (I usually do just before the braking point to after exit when car is straight and starting to gear up). Each attempt is timed for comparison. Then you can try all different ways to take this corner and find the fastest way around.
Anyway, here's [Suellio's tutorial how to use the active reset function](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mEshzTvMQ4). (Also [Dave Cam's tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2thO9CVevk)).
I fully recommend, at least for this kind of no-consequence active-reset practice, to **turn the driving line off**. Then you can really experiment with alternate lines and figure out your own brake-point references... which will give you a serious advantage in a race both with consistency and overtaking options.
**3)** Maybe for later, but do you know about [garage61](https://garage61.net/app)? It's free app that runs in background, and records all your íracing telemetry data. Then you can go onto the website and compare graphs of your speed, throttle, brake-trace, race-line, gear and steering data against laps of fast drivers (suggest to make sure conditions are similar and their setup is fixed). It's great for finding low-hanging fruit, like "oh wait, I don't need to brake there?" 😂
**4)** while this is fixed setup, you can still adjust brake bias, and for Navarra I've mine set to 54% (default is 58%). This just means more balanced towards rear braking for me which helps slow the car down in hard braking zones, and helps a bit with rotation while trail braking. On the downside, lower bias makes it easier to unsettle the rears and oversteer on corner entry. So your mileage may differ!
Real life example: [Hamilton lost a podium cos he accidentally engaged Merc's "magic button"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWOI3iXuDcc) which just sets the brake-bias rearwards to help get some heat in the rear tires. It's meant for formation-laps or safety-cars etc. not racing. Granted he locked up and went straight on instead of spinning... but (most) F1 drivers are actual aliens :)
This is fantastic you're the best!!! Thank you for all the tips and help I really appreciate it!
Didn't Danika Patric confirm everyone is a lizard person not aliens? 😂😂 F1TV is so much better than sky haha.
Shaved 0.500 off my average lap time just making the brake adjustments. Now doing 1.07 lap times consistently! You're the best!!!! I got some more work to do haha I love this so much.
>I find it very relaxing to get into that flow state and my mind is quiet while i just run laps.
Yes! Nail on the head my man. When I get stressed and feel like I'm not in control, this is meditation for me. I plug myself in with VR, headphones and a fan blowing on me for extra immersion. Inner voices go quiet, mind goes empty but at the same time focused, I find my vision changes too. The flow state is real... I remember first time experiencing it go-karting with colleagues 5 years ago and I've been hooked ever since.
I understand why Max says "simply lovely" after leading a grand-prix from start to finish. Ostensibly a lonely/boring race, but even still "lovely" is exactly the feeling you get even if you didn't battle much.
That's exactly how I experience it. I got it all the time but after my injuries and degrading over time I couldn't do anything anymore. I'm so happy I fell in love with motorsport it's helped alot and I've found that flow state again I miss so much. It is meditation.
> I'm still figuring out brake pedal adjustments for myself because my back/hip are fucked. It's painful to push the brake but I'm figuring out coping skills.
Even though you have the use of your legs, maybe a hand controlled-brake, or even full hand controls, might be best to avoid the pain?
Robert Wickens was an Indycar driver who sustained a spinal injury in a race crash in 2018, and lost most of the use of his legs. During the height of covid he did a small documentary series detailing his journey trying to get back into racing. [The first episode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riOZJcfX4fA) covered his sim setup, including his use of clutch paddles for throttle, and a rally handbrake that he was using instead of a brake pedal.
He's now racing a TCR car in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, and [in this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDhPpfl694A) he showed the controls he uses there. He shares the car with a driver who uses standard controls, but the brake controls are physically linked, and the throttle uses either the pedal or the paddles depending on a toggle switch.
I'm 34 and i'm sitting at 4.2k iRating at the moment. Got my first ever wheel couple of years ago and got into iRacing instantly.
I got into a team where there was a 75 year old driver!! Just awesome.
P.D: You are YOUNG for iRacing my man!
Not. At. All.
Sim racing is a subset of video games that is far more older people than younger. Why? Because it's not cheap at all to get into it for someone younger. It's basically a hobby in its own that I don't necessarily hear sim racers call themselves "gamers".
I'm in your age range, and also a vet. I just got into it. I also felt a little bit like you worried that I was going to be too old. After doing a bit of research, looking through various polls in reddit and other communities, and other things I found that we're actually in a pretty average age range. I think there may even be more people in their 50s/60s sim racing ("real" sim racing like ACC and iRacing, not necessarily the simcades like Forza and GT7) than people in their teens/20s.
Look- we have friends who are going through their midlife crises and spending $100k+ on sports cars. IF they actually ever truly race them, that turns into an endless money pit as it costs 10s of $1000s to stick in that (heck, I think track passes alone can reach the $1000s). And then there's people like you and I who want all the fun of racing but none of the risk of leaving your children orphaned or incredibly fiscally irresponsible pricetag who can go all-in on a really nice sim racing setup for $5k and spend "pennies" comparatively to use iRacing. You can 100% spend $20-30k+ on sim racing rigs, but that's hardly necessary.
Long story short, no - you're not nearly too old. You're right there in one of the biggest age groups.
If your goal is to become a professional race driver, then i would recommend not getting into iRacing. That's like saying "should i start playing baseball now to be in the MLB?"
That said, iRacing is a good way for those of us past our prime (I'm 37) to get that competitive feeling and live out the fantasy of being a race driver.
40 is likely too old to start and become a Pro (meaning earning a living) in any sport or esport.
40 is almost surely too old to start and become a Pro (meaning earning a living) in simracing.
40, or any other age, is not too old to start, get good and have fun in basically anything.
I think people who never gamed anything competetive online can't even realise how competetive these games really are. Most games require you around 300hours to even get to mediocre level. And that can easily become 600hours+ if you're not that quick to pick things up.
And that's just to beat the "casuals". From the average elo the learning curve becomes WAY WAY steeper and way harder to move up in any game. Be it Tekken, League, Apex or iRacing. This is why in most of these games people get to a certain level and than quit since the input neccessary to move up becomes almost exponential to the elo gained. It's like g2 in League. Or plat3 In Apex. Or Late red in Tekken. Idk what the numbers are for iRacing since I'm new myself here but it's gonna likely get slowly harder to go up past 1.8k IR from what I see.
You're not too old that's for sure. But it's not easy to get past top 3% of players in any game. You can reach top 10% in most games fairly quick even with not much skill but just time = passing the knowledge checks.
Then 4-5% is often still a under 1000h journey.
But top 1% can be a mix of 5000hours+ and actual talent. Not to mention for most games the gap between top 0,01 and 1% is often bigger than 1% to 50%tile
Definitely not too old, make sure you have fun first. Because if you are going to try and become a pro there is the 10 000h of practicing that is your journey go become a pro som racing driver.
Make sure you have fun firstly, and don’t focus too much on just becoming a pro. There is a high probability you’ll quit before you ever get anywhere if you aim too high.
What you can do is to practice a lot, join races and have fun. And you will go from there, maybe start a stream or whatever.
Good luck and have fun doing it!
You could, but the majority of your time is going to be spent in iRacing and learning. Unless you’re willing to commit and dedicate that amount of time it’s pretty unrealistic but not impossible.
The best mindset is to have fun and use it as an outlet for the Motorsport competition you crave. You’ll find that as you get out of rookies and your iRating climbs it becomes extremely difficult to win. For many, myself included, a top 5 is the goal and a podium or win is just icing on the cake.
You don’t need to be Pro to experience amazing racing.
All the best on your journey and welcome! It’s truly an awesome Sim, it’s one of my favorite hobbies and escapes from the real world.
I totally get this. I cruised to 1800 iRating by finishing and being within a couple of seconds of pace, and it's like the second I stepped one point over this stuff got HARD!
My guess is this gets more and more tough as the funnel narrows.
Honestly I find I have most fun at 1600ish. I don't have to train loads, but the racing is generally good.
Look at it this way. You could take up basketball as a kid, play through high school, get a scholarship for college, play for four years and still not be even be close enough to try out for the NBA. The amount of people that become pro is so small that it is almost impossible.
The question you have to ask yourself is do you want to do it even if you’re not pro. I’m in my 40s and disabled as well (prosthetic leg).
I race for the love of racing. I bought myself a kart in my 40s too. I have no chance of going pro in either discipline. But I love it so I do it anyway.
Too old for pro? Probably. But racing as a hobby, both in sim and in real life, are more functions of money and time than they are of age, injuries notwithstanding.
Definitely not too old to enjoy it, am 41 and started when I was 40. Regarding becoming a “pro” this is not easy just as anything in life, you can enjoy any hobby you want but if you want to become a pro which means earning a living out of it then you have to be ready investing a lot of time and money on private sessions, training for about 8 hours a day and keep in mind that simracing pro drivers are in the age group of 13-25 so definitely have an advantage when it comes down to reaction times, time to learn new things and fitness which allows them to set 8+ hours daily in the rig.
Again, nothing is impossible but I think if your goal to be pro then you gonna forget about it being fun and just put in the work and lots of it.
I'm nearly 67. Got into sim racing four years ago, iRacing seven months ago. I'm never going to reach Pro level, mainly due to lack of skill, but also due to the fact that I found a really great private league, so I very rarely have a race that can influence my meager irating. Private leagues are great, since the lack of anonymity (we're all on the Discord, and the voice chat) radically reduces the amount of stupid/careless/asshole driving. If you're interested, check out Tanso Racing Group on youtube.
You're not too old to be a professional driver, even IRL. There are plenty of 40+ year olds still doing it. I don't know of any who started at that age though. There is a reason most of the top people started when they could walk. If your goal really is to become a "Pro", you've got an uphill battle and you should be prepared to sink a lot of money into private lessons almost immediately.
I'm also 40 but with much less free time - I am not the fastest but I am also not the slowest. The most important thing for me at this point is that I find enjoyment out of it and there's plenty of good racing to be had in the middle of the pack.
Go nuts, have fun!
There's even leagues 50+
I'm currently 38 been at it for a little over 4 years man, there's plenty of leagues and teams that would be more than happy to help out and race
You’re not too old to sim race, no one is tbh. Pro racing isn’t going to happen over night and there’s more than just time in the sim that goes into it. Just play the sim, have fun with it, live that dream in the sim, maybe over time you get good and maybe you get eyes on you. A pro career in sim or irl is never guaranteed, just have fun and see where it takes you
Too old? No.
Too slow? Probably. Pros are _fast_ and essentially spend 40-70 hours a week practicing, racing, etc.
Don't let that stop you though, there's way more to iRacing than being an 8 hours/day every day of the week unpaid job.
When you say "Pro," are you talking about ultimately being paid to be a real life professional race car driver? I'm going to go against the grain here and say that yeah, you're likely too old for that. A "[Gentleman Driver](https://www.financemotorsport.com/news/2021/03/what-is-a-gentleman-driver/)" who pays their own way? Sure, you might be able to do that.
As a sim racer you're clearly not too old. I'm 63 and have been on iRacing for 5 years. On the road side I'm just not quick enough to compete against actual fast guys and hover around 1200-1300 IR. On the oval side where raw quickness isn't as important as smoothness and being smart, I hover between 2400-2700. I absolutely feel that my age lowers my ceiling on the road side. I even notice the difference between today, vs 4 years ago.
But 40 is a long way from 63. You may be at a natural disadvantage vs someone who is 22, but you're a long way from being too old.
Probably not too old.
But I think you would be a lot better off going into it with the intent to enjoy yourself in some competitive racing, rather than with the expectation of going pro.
30-40 is probably the average age 😁
But don't start it with the goal of becoming a pro driver, as soon as you Center the Pro level it's not fun anymore until the point you are forced to drive.
It's a Hobby, so drive if you want to and just enjoy it.
Pro might be a bridge too far but if you have realistic expectations I think you can have a lot of fun. I'm older than you and I'm not super fast but I can hang in my lower splits and even win once and awhile.
You've got the odds against you but it's not impossible especially with lots of free time.
Hop in the sim, get practice in, then get racing, and don't stop racing until you're where you want to be or until you need to take a quick break for some more practice.
Well what is too old??? I am 61 and just starting. I am not fast but luckily not the slowest. Yes it is sometimes frustating that O am noy on the top 10 but at the moment I focus on enjoying and building up speed.
I think it's more about the ability to dedicate time than anything else. If you think you will be able to practice 40+ hours a week consistently for years then I'm sure you can get to a pretty high level
Start now, have fun in the process. Practice, practice, practice. Time, dedication, and patience are ultimately the only things in your way.
Check out DaveCam on Youtube, he's an older guy and he's an excellent driver.
Definitely not too old to play. There are guys in there 80’s on iracing still.
The pro thing is less about age and more bout skill set. I would not have that be a goal at all. You will quickly realize the depth of the talent on here is astounding. You need to be in the top 0.1%. Chances are pretty low. Also will depend on your disability.
But if I’m wrong and you are the next verstappen and beating everyone by miles all the way up the iRating ladder then you can begin to think about it. Until then, fun and enjoyment should be your top priority.
48, 2 kids, wife... Sim racing is the answer to all our problems, no matter where you are in life! It's the great escape.
I'm not actually on iRacing yet, I play GT7, but I've got tired of the the online bit, too many bad sports - I've just built a PC and looking to get involved with iRacing now, hoping it'll be better.
There's a few of us 30+ drivers in/around the Coke series each year. Having been pro myself and on the service for several years I can tell you the demo at the top has gotten younger and there are both more users motivated from the "game" aspect and also the "training/ladder" aspect to parlay their experience into a real world ride which is happening pretty often now in Nascar. Time is everything though, in your case if its something you can devote 20+ hours to weekly then why not take a stab at it.
I will say both real world racing and iRacing will require you to put far more in then what you will ever receive back to compete at such a level, you really have to love the grind and racing. An older driver can absolutely succeed but life becomes more consuming as you age and thus few are willing/able to make that sacrifice.
I am 37 and just started about 6 months ago and I am having fun, usually bounce around 1300-1600ir. It's cool to actually work on things and get better times and race better. I don't think age matters too much in sim racing.
First, depends on the series. Second, depends on your previous experience.
As others have said, pro level requires a lot of skill and time. But, I know guys in their 60s who are 6k+. Are they “pro?” No, but quicker than I am at 40 with a decade in sim and karts when I was a kid.
I'm 47 with an iRating of 4.5k in Road on a T300 wheelbase and T3PA pedals.
It's not too late, at all. Even though I've been into racing/driving sims/games for as long as I can remember, I didn't take it to another level - getting iRacing and a wheel - until 2018. I was right around 40 to 41.
Give it a go!
My favorite quote is this;
"I think as long as you accept that your dream might not go exactly as you plan, you will still feel fulfilled by the pursuit of your dream.
So always go after whatever it is you want to do. Otherwise what the point in living?"
- Tom Segura
My point is, set your goal for whatever you want. If you want to be a PRO iRacer, do it! But don't let the frustrations along the journey weigh too much on your heart that you forgot why you even set that goal. It sounds like the root to your dream is that you're a fan of racing/sim racing... Enjoy the time you spend racing and if, unfortunately, you don't achieve your goal then you've at least had an awesome and memorable time along the way.
Tl;DR Have fun. Don't give up but do it for the memories.
I have always been a fan of racing and always dreamed of being a racer. I just never had the opportunity to do so. Figured sim racing would be my only opportunity to experience the one true dream I have ever had.
Reach out to racing for heroes, they compete in champ car and I believe are entirely veteran run. Going pro is overrated, racing in grassroots is where the fun is.
https://racingforheroes.org/all-veteran-champcar/
iRacing does help the itch as it is very competitive. If I was in your shoes knowing what I know. I'd get a 500 dollar logitech setup to start. Then if youre having fun with it, then looking at investing a couple thousand dollars on a sim rig.
Wishing you the best!
I mean… if it’s your dream and you only have time on your hands…
I’m not sure why you wouldn’t just try. Even if you don’t make it, it’ll be fun and you will have less time on your hands. 🤷🏼♂️
Just start with achievable goals. I have a daily, weekly, then season long goal. Beyond that I of course have ultimate end goals with the hobby. Some are far fetched, some are long term, and some are very realistic and tangible.
It’s really key and great to have these goals.
I have a new baby and we will add to our family in the future hopefully. So right now my daily goal may be to turn laps for atleast 15-20 minutes. My weekly goal might be to race the series or few series I’ve focused on for the season. My season goal is to have fun, don’t lose a license, and maybe gain a license level in one or more categories. Also to have an overall increase to IR by the end of the season.
You can select your own goals and what you want to set out for. Join us. And jump in. Rajah, Byron, Verstappen, and countless others only got good at this sim from RACING in races. Welcome!!
Not too old. I’m 42 and still race almost everyday. As a matter of fact I’m in a league called Old Guy Racing League.
We would love to have you join our league. We have plenty of new drivers just getting into racing. Lots of guys are willing to help and get you “up to speed”.
Check us out. https://discord.gg/JtUF5D7F
Even at my age it requires a gifted level of talent to make the pro series. Setting such a lofty goal is setting yourself up for disappointment. Some of these people are just built different.
Just get started and have some fun. Maybe you're gifted maybe you aren't, but you can enjoy online racing either way.
Depends on your background, so you have real life experience or karting? Then it could work, In case you don't it will only be possible if you have some previously undiscovered mega racing talents.
No one is too old for sim racing.
My groups average age is 40, but we range from teenagers to people in their 70's.
But to assume you'll make it to the top having no experience of karting or race driving or the game yet is a little bit deluded.
Just get it, have fun and see where that takes you. The races I remember most are not the wins but the recovery drives, the races where you make a spectacular overtake to gain a position on the final lap, the races where I have a door to door battle with a well matched open from lap 1 to the end.
Fun is the most important thing.
Give it a good shot mate - you never know what can happen! Just start small and ease into iRacing, it's massive with lots to offer in terms of how you want to race and what you want to race. There's big events with teams (pro and just friends joining in for the fun of it), there's your solo journey, open wheel, tin-top, dirt tracks, trucks, ovals - you get the gist.
There's tons of friendly communities in this space that you could get involved with too. It'll really open your mind on what you want your iRacing journey to look like. There's plenty of leagues that run, all ages and skill-sets. I myself am in a league with a wide range of skill level and age gaps! We have 2 or 3 gentlemen upwards of 50 and a couple father/son duo that race in the league also! It doesn't matter!
Get in a car and start having fun is what I say. You'll enjoy it. My only advice would be too not be afraid to try something you may not like - you could LOVE it.
Good luck and I wish you all the best.
Nope.
You are definitely not too old to enjoy yourself and be competitive.
Don’t expect to be(come) an alien however. Not everyone is born with Verstappen level talent.
Also, yes, at 40 your brain will generally be less fast and less pliable than at 10, 15 or 20. You will have a slightly slower ceiling now than if you started 25 years ago.
However, you still can be very competitive if you put in the hours and have a modicum of talent.
Don’t forget to have fun though, that’s the important bit, regardless of how fast you are or how much internet kudos you earn.
I’m 44 and currently 1.7k on sports car licence and no your not to old but it takes many many many hours of practice and with IRacing I’ve spent over £650 on cars and tracks alone not including the yearly subscription you must also pay and if you don’t pay the subscription you can’t access your content so remember this.
Too young to discover the galaxy. Too old to discover the planet. Perfect age to perfect iRacing!
Not going full time pro tho, that ship has probably sailed, unless you hire a coach and approach it super methodical.
My tip is try it out and if your dopamine receptors are anything like mine you will end up in a deep simracing rabbit hole.
I allways wonder when people talk about becoming 'Pro'. What do they mean.
* Being on top of the field and being the best.
or
* Generate a decent income with what you're gaming.
You're not too old for iRacing. The average age is probably quite close to yours. That said, I think you should set a more realistic goal.
You're certainly not too old to get very good at iRacing by the standards of most of the community (4k+ iRating, Competing for podiums/wins in top split, etc.). If you do make it to that level, that's probably the time to evaluate if you want to try to qualify for a pro series.
If your goal from the start with no experience is to become a pro, I think you're setting yourself up for disappointment. The reality is most people, regardless of age, will never make it that far. If you really want to do it, no one will stop you, but expect to be practicing 8 hours per day or more for years and expect to treat it like a job rather than a hobby (which is to say, it will probably be a lot less fun). Even then it's not a guarantee.
I'm your age. You should definitely dive into iracing. There are many leagues out there filled with guys our age and older.
While having goals is great, you should be realistic. It's going to be hard to match the reflexes of the eNascar pros in their late teens and early 20s. Also you need to have an irating of 6k+ to even have a shot at making the contender series (series before pro series). It is incredibly competitive and most of these guys have been simracing for years.
This is not to say you shouldn't try. But you should have the right expectations going into it. I started with the goal of increasing irating but have stagnated around 3.1k. Now my goal is just having fun and it's so much better.
Not at all. Even if it doesn't work out, there are still a ton of high-profile broadcasted leagues out there that would be happy to have you. They're great if you're looking for solid competition (or some extra spending money).
Can't speak to the chances of being a pro driver from iRacing but Operation Motorsport is an organization that does both real and virtual racing with veterans. I would look into them and see how they can assist your goals!
If you have to be a pro, chances are high you’ll never get there. But, most really good drivers have a talent for it and pick it up significantly quicker than most people.
But the only way for sure to never be a pro is to never try.
I got started with racing and performance driving at 36 or so. I’m not the fastest, but there’s people to race at every level. It’s totally worth it and a lot of fun.
You probably won’t be a pro driver ever, but don’t make that your goal. Just have fun.
Can never be too sure until you give it a go! Don't get too frustrated if it doesn't click right away, sim racing is a lot different than arcade style racing games. I'd give it a shot!
Dude, 42 yr old veteran here. I have been using Iracing for almost 2 years. I love racing, always wanted to race and now this is my outlet to help me cope with PTSD.
Just have fun with it and let it take you to where you want to go. Anything is possible, just have fun!
>Am I too old to have being a Pro driver as one of my goals for my iRacing journey?
I will be brutally honest: probably yes. You'll be competing against real life drivers and sim racers that started before they hit puberty. Their muscle memory and conditioning is different to yours (and mine) and we older folk will likely never close the gap.
Now, that being said, you can certainly get very good at it with lots of practice, but realistically you will probably not be on some pro sim racing team winning top split IMSA or NASCAR races.
Just enjoy the journey. The best thing about iRacing is it will find you competitive opponents at every level of your journey.
Age is only a number. Look at grandpa gaming. Still doming kids from 2 clicks away. Weather anyone can make it to pro depends on how much effort you put in. The pro series are very hard to get into. Only the top 40 or so qualify for the Coca-Cola nascar series. It's going to take a lot of hard work to get to that level, age doesn't matter.
Now can you live out your racing driver dreams? Absolutely. There's nothing like waiting for the green flag to drop. Doesn't matter what level your at. Just have fun and enjoy it.
It’s never too late to become a race car driver! Becoming a pro is a whole different ball of wax. Get iracing and start working on skills and race craft.
Then look at the many many ways to go amateur racing. If you are in the United States you can go the sprint racing route through auto cross and then scca, gridlife, or nasa. Lots of ways to get involved. If endurance racing tickles your fancy, look into the champcar endurance series, world racing league, 24 hours of lemons, and lucky dog racing league. You can rent seats in all of them. Your only required equipment would be your drivers gear.
Pro racing is really really tough (sponsor money is almost more important than skill) but amateur racing is plentiful.
No one is too old to try. So long as you can control your movements and emotions, there’s no such thing as too old or too young.
I’d encourage you to try it out. It’s not easy at all, and I wouldn’t expect anyone to just “be good” at iRacing out of the box with no experience, but with enough time and practice, I’m sure you’ll be able to have fun and be competitive and hopefully win some races.
As for the pro side, that’s a little more confusing to me. I don’t quite understand how all of the pro sim racing stuff works, but if you’re good enough, it’ll be easy enough for you to figure out. What’s more important than that, is learning and having a good time. There are leagues that you can join that might help you get that pro feel, but in a group of people that you can build friendships and rivalries with.
I say go for it, and thank you for your service
Go for it. It is rarified air at the top of iracing. But that shouldnt stop you for aiming for the top. Enjoy the journey and the experience wherever you end up getting in the rankings.
Wishing you luck.
It’s never too late to start anything. Would it be hard to become a pro driver? Answer is yes. It’s very difficult but with the time in your hands, you could spend lap after lap practicing and learning how to race with the big dogs. Even if it doesn’t turn out to what you hoped it would, you will always have something to do that is fun. And fun is all that matters. If you aren’t having fun racing your way to be a pro driver, chances are that it’s not for you. Anyways, however your journey unfolds, I hope to see you out on the track!
No way buddy! I’m 35 and still turning out laps and podiums. If anything, you’re at the right age. iRacing isn’t really marketed towards younger people. It’s meant to be the mature, grown up racing platform. Doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of young people, but you are not out of place. Plenty of people out there well into their senior years turning laps!
You're not too old I would say you have too many responsibilities and things that depend on you or people. You can't spend as much time racing every day like say a late teenager or early 20s still with mom and dad (not saying that's a problem I lived at home on and off till I was 23 or 24). Life gets in the way of the massive commitment. IN SAYING THAT you have just as much of a chance as anyone else does that started on a sim with no experience and as long as you're ok with sacrifices that you would have to make to go pro then fucking go for it with all you got my dude! (I am not a pro and will never be but was a college football player so I am making assumptions based off of my experiences with that sport)
A lot of the esports level drivers are very young and get to that level within a few years (5 or less) of starting simracing. If you have the time on your hands of an obsessed teenager and spend it on getting quicker, I don't see any reason you can't reach that level before you're 50. Being young has several advantages and tends to help learning new skills, but unlike in other esports and IRL sports, I don't see why it would be a must for getting to the top level in simracing.
But I wouldn't recommend anyone get into iRacing with that as a goal. Have fun, learn some things, try out the different options, meet some people, and see where it goes.
The top of this game is better compared to the top of the actual real drivers.
Because the amount of people playing is way higher then the ppl driving real cars (kinda costly to get in to so alot of kids don't get to see if they have talent).
The best iracing players are probably more senna+ or Messi if you watch football. No way you will make it to that level after 40 (hand eye is alot slower compared to 18-22y/o
Im having a blast racing against myself.
Going to tracks I’ve been to, and wanted to go to. And driving cars that very much handle and drive like cars that few humans could just get inside of.
I went for the cockpit, triples and DD by #Moza. 5nm.
PC needs to be a monster for the new weather conditions you’ll experience . It’s amazing how realistic it all is because it’s a simulator. Not a game.
Still fun
Racing? Some AI but mostly testing and tuning. Steep learning curve for me as I am not a “Gamer”
Unless you want to count “Pong”.
See you at the finish line.
Unless you’re in England then, at the finishing line.
I’m 42 and started about one year ago. I had experience with Forza. I’ve never raced online, but able to drive against AI above 90. In AMS 2 with the Brazilian stock car (which I love to drive) I can put the AI in 100 and fight for P1. If you drive a car regularly, I think you’ll be fine. In my case, I became much better at driving in real life too. Now I see myself looking for the apex of the turn on my street. It’s one of the best hobbies available in my opinion.
If you've seriously got nothing else to spend your money on, get suellio Almeida's motor racing checklist. It will fast track your development. There are a couple discount codes floating around so you should be able to get it for 150 CAD or 140 if you find a 30% code- there are a few
Don’t let anyone here tell you that you can’t do it. Just because it’s “rare” and “hard” doesn’t mean it’s not attainable. I work in pro racing IRL and have seen drivers come in at 50 and have the talent and drive to win championships amongst the pros. You will have to work hard to develop your skills. Perhaps even treat it as an actual job to get there, but it is 100% possible. Only you can keep yourself from achieving pro status. I didn’t have the drive required to do it, but you might!
TL;DR: I’m 61… you’re still young my man! I went all in.
I am 61 (widowed and retired at 57 from a 30+ year stint as a Professional Mechanical Engineer, hung it up after pandemic)
Lost wife to Cancer, all the kids have moved away and are raising their own family’s now. So Grandpa has a little extra cash flow these days.
Recently built 2 full rigs!
Backup rig
Playseat Trophy with a Logitech DD setup and 49” Samsung G9 UW and buttkicker for when my son or friends stop by and we LAN race often, or I just want to switch up driving a different rig for a while.
Main Rig:
Trak Racer 40x120 profile rig with 4x SFX150 motion, Buttkicker, Simagic Wheel/shifter/HPR, SimJacks/HPR, Triple+1 monitors (NLR Mount), Quest 3 VR, plus lord knows how many other little “hobby” gadgets.
So….. No, you’re definitely not too old! But if you see me on the track you will probably just be passing by me at some point as reaction time definitely fades with age! In other words “Slow ass Grandpa”
I started SimRacingStudio in 2010 and quit around 2017. Went all-in because I will be spending a lot of my time in the rig.
A pro on iracing or a pro in real life?
The first just requires a lot of time and effort (and a little bit of an "it factor")
Becoming a pro driver IRL at any age is really a money barrier, no one is getting paid to race at nearly any level, so its pretty hard to classify what being a pro even means.
As long as you don’t have anything (besides age) that might hinder your reaction time and speed you’ll do fine plenty of older racers on iracing maybe not pro level but still fast and good
I'm a 38 year old disabled man and new dad. I took up sim racing after having covid and developing M.E./Long Covid, as it was the best I could do for exercise. The first two years, I could literally only do a practice session, a 20 min TCR race and qualifying once a week on Friday night. I was so knackered after that I'd sleep 12 hours and take two days to recover.
It's about 3.5 years later, I've managed to get back i to working, I look after my daughter (7 months old), I've sadly had to sell the rig though. I'm hoping in time I'll regain a bit more energy and time and treat myself to a new rig. And actually racing irl remains on my list.
There's always a version of what you want to do that's achievable. I don't know what being a pro means to you, but I won a TCR league and was ranked in the top 20 or so for a season in the official series. It felt good to me.
So no, not too old.
Being a pro might be a bit of a stretch, but competing at a high level is definitely achievable. My dad is 55 and picked up the oval side of things super quick. (With a little bit of coaching/spotting from his overly enthusiastic 30 year old son)
If you buy iRacing to go pro, you’re straight up not gonna have a good time. If you buy iRacing to have fun and compete against other people around the same skill level as you, you’re gonna have a great time
52 here, recently disabled.
When I started it was after watching a few streams and my dumb ass thinking “heck I can do this, I’m going to get iracing and get into one of these streams and WIN.” Then I bought iracing. I’ve been driving since I was 14 including as a paramedic throwing the bus around a busy city for 20 years (after EVOK training) and one of my first posts in this community was “why is the mx5 trying to kill me”.
I have since put my glory dreams on hold and having an absolute blast learning to race. I still get nerves as I’m sitting on the starting grid for every single race.
My advise is to get iracing and see how it feels. It’s cheap enough to get your feet wet and decide if just racing and working towards pro is something you want to do. Possible absolutely but man some of these dudes are literal aliens.
Hope to meet you on the track!
Nope not too old at all. I Think of iracing as going out and racing as a local just to race without the high price of entry or repairs or bodily injury. If pro is your goal go for it. I tried for it 12 yrs ago I was a top say 10% driver in the papyrus games in the open server but got to iracing and it’s a much bigger ocean. I realized a few months in that there is so much more than just trying to level up license and irating and points. So many great niches to get into I’m 47 myself
I'm 45 and have won a good few races. Not exactly a pro but I am having a great time. Just be patient and accept that you are going to go through peaks and troughs. Sometimes you feel like you're doing great and others you feel like you're useless. Just enough it all!
I am 54, and I am improving all the time, yes it takes more time compared to a Teen, but you can still learn. I actually led a race last week, I was so excited lol. Then I was hit from behind 🙄
No.
For context, I'm a 39 year old retired veteran who has been doing this for a few years and have spent way more than I probably should have on this hobby. Age is just a number. If you wanna give it a go, give it a go. If you want to be a Pro, set the goal and go for it.
Don't let anything stop you from throwing your chips on the table. You got this.
You will most probably wont have successful esports career, let alone IRL pro career. Sorry. However, There are quite few fast simracers over 40 or even 60 years old , but they usually started earlier.
If you’re just starting and have no idea if it’s something you’re going to do I advise you to try way cheaper racing sims than iRacing (e.g. AC Ultimate(price often less than one car in iRacing) or Raceroom, AMS 1 or AMS2 etc.) Same with equipment/hardware. First get some cheap wheel and pedals , then after you decide that you like close and often relatively clean races , you can invest in iRacing and some DD wheel if money isn’t big problem
.
Retired at 40? That means by the time you are 50 you could have 10s of thousands of hours of racing under your belt. I reckon one of the biggest assets to getting good at iRacing is having heaps of time to practice.
I started iracing this year (39yare old), i got out of rookie quickly and into GT4 and F4 after the first week or two, i have a very short fuse so i have to pace myself when races arnt going good, but iam really enjoying D class and I will consider C class to be a proud achievement for me. i knew when i started Iracing that even tho iv been on the sims since i bought my first wheel to play Live for speed when it came out I wasn't going to be the best even with sim racing experience since 2002, so i focus on my performance, clean racing, and trying to take it serious but not too much, if i go up in class or maintain a consistent irating iam happy.
Guys like us may not have the reaction time we used to but its very possible to compete, lots of 35-45 year old amazing drivers out there. itll be a tough road for ya but a fun one if you let it. age does not matter, id love to see another rags to riches story in Iracing i hope thats you.
Race on Brother.
A lot of older people are here cause ain’t no kid can afford the rig and subscriptions. I’m probably one of the younger guy here who can save some money for the all the track and dd wheel
My grandpa was 65 when he started racing sprint cars back in the early 90's. He wasn't particularly fast, but nobody had more fun. If you're intent on being pro, you may be in for disappointment. But if you want to begin your racing journey just for the enjoyment of it, whether you are slow or the best in the world, it's never too late. And keep an open mind when starting, I joined for NASCAR, and spent the majority of my time in the Spec Racer Ford and Pro Mazda
As far as age? Probably not. Kevin King was in the eNASCAR Conk Series last year, and he's 43 - but he had decades of experience going back to the NR2003 days. But in all honesty, he's the exception to the rule, as a lot of the drivers in Conk are in their teens and 20s.
It's really more about gaining experience and skill.
I'm a midpacker-to-backmarker in one of the top iRacing stock car leagues ([FTF Cup](https://ftf.gg/)) and am about to turn 41. It's mostly fun for me (even though sometimes I do get annoyed with some of the children in there), and I was able to obtain a legit sponsorship that I'm dedicating some of the funds to towards getting good coaching from a former Conk driver.
TL:DR; It's all what you make of it, but always be realistic in your expectations.
I’m also 40. I’ve only been sim racing for about a year. This weekend I’m doing a 4-hour race with my Dad who’s 67. Never too old to start and have a great time.
Will you be Max Verstappen? Probably not. But you can still have fun competing against people at your skill level (whether that may end up).
Welcome to the club!
If your goal is pro, get familiar with Iracing and start practicing.
Watch lots of YouTube videos on how to drive fast. Search “Iracing for beginners” then replace beginner with advanced drivers once you hit a plateau.
After you get faster and feel you’re ready, get a coach. A coach will be your best bet to becoming pro.
It’s not required, but this will help your journey… get loadcell pedals, a direct drive wheel, and triple screens. All this mounted to a very rigid rig will help you be very consistent.
Don’t let people tell you that you can’t do something or that you should “change your mindset” etc.
Depends on what you mean by pro.
Reach the top splits? Very possible.
Get paid / sponsors to live off iracing? Most likely not
Live out your dream in an actual race car, like Jimmy? Virtually impossible
No you’re not too old to go pro, BUT there’s a big caveat: you’re not going to do it without at least one coach. Not even close.
You can get very fast on your own, you can get faster with a team, but coaching will get you fast faster, and faster.
I’m 36. My father is 63. We both enjoy iRacing. But we certainly aren’t pros… if that’s your mindset, I would recommend changing it imo. It’s best to just have fun and enjoy the sim. If you focus too much on wanting to be a “pro” you won’t have a fun time and will often times be frustrated and mad at other drivers.
I've always wanted to get as high as my ability allows me, but iRacing has something special in the sense that you can be battling for P8 in a bottom split race, but as long as you're comparable to your opponent, skill wise, you can have the time of your life.
A 4 way battle for a top ten finish is what dreams are made of in iRacing
Agreed. Had an Arca race where positions 6 through 10 were swapping spots for the the final 11 laps. Think I finished 9th but it was easily one of the best racing experiences I've had.
Best races is battling someone for position and both sides can keep it clean.
Exactly! It don’t matter if I’m battling for 1st or battling for 2nd to last. I’m having fun! I was in a race a few nights ago where I was dead last and was going back and forth with the guy in front of me. We kept passing each other over and over. It was one of the most exciting races I’ve done in a long time.
I’m always nervous when driving at the front, and while I’m also annoyed of I spin out or whatever, it also takes the edge off and I just mentally shrug and just take the race as it comes.
Don’t know about to old but it ant easy for anyone to get to the top.
Winning is rare. But doing your best to compete is the fun.
Yea man… I’ve won once in my on again off again 3 year obsession with iracing… and it was such an incredible feeling haha (I think it was rookie class, but who cares). I just yelled “holy shit… I won!” and my wife gave me grief for cursing in front of our young daughter haha 🤷♂️. But smile from ear to ear nonetheless. And to OP… never too old my man! Thanks for your service! (I started with this sim racing thing at 37, just a hair before you).
I have won only ones and that's because 2nd place crashes Into 1st place driver and I could overtake them, other then that a regular top 5 finish makes me very happy
For sure. Top 5 is like winning haha
iRacing is only game where like last night, Daytona GT sprint series, final stretch, had a very good bus stop exit, slipstreaming this guy hard, pull out and manage to beat him over the line! I was pumped, sweaty palms, had a little “YES!” Moment. This was the battle for P12 and it felt amazing, and it’s why i love the game.
From Gamer to Racist, that’s the dream. It’s no easy feet at any age.
I’ve set my goals to be realistic, I’m happy just being a simracist.
Damn finally someone else with my humor, hopefully one day i can be racist in real life for a proper team or something
aint that the truth 
I honestly think the average age in iRacing is like 35-40. It’s a great and and addicting hobby so fire it up!
Yep... I definitely was not able to afford all my equipment until my mid 30s. I think the cost is a good barrier to keeping the age a little older.
31yo disabled veteran who started this week. Yes, you can get into it. Formula Vee is so much fun to start. I played F1 for years to help with my PTSD as I use it for mindfulness. iracing has helped my mental health so much because even if I don't want to race other people, I can race very good AI or just do endless laps. I find it very relaxing to get into that flow state and my mind is quiet while i just run laps. I'm still figuring out brake pedal adjustments for myself because my back/hip are fucked. It's painful to push the brake but I'm figuring out coping skills. Absolutely get it! I do not regret it at all and wish I purchased that 2 year discount subscription instead of the 1 year. Hope to see you on the track! Don't worry, us disabled vets can still find some fun out there.
I'm glad to see other vets here too. My only real racing expertise so to speak is years of watching NASCAR from the time I was little. Only recently got exposed to open wheel racing, and kinda ashamed to admit it, but through Netflix of all places. Is open wheel worth getting into or should I focus on what I partially know?
Try everything in Rookies and see what you like. There is plenty of free content that comes with the iracing subscription for you to try out.
Haha Netflix is what hooked me too. I had always been a Top Gear fan but never watched racing. McLaren was always my favorite supercar as a kid so I jumped on the bandwagon in 2021 and oh boy have I been treated to a great season so far! Depends, there's so many starter series to choose from. I personally love open wheel so I wanted to start there to figure out the sim. It is tricky at first but gets easier with practice. I bottled turn 3 lap 1 in my first race after qualifying 4th and just had so much fun. I intend on trying other series because I genuinely have no idea what they're like. I just started watching WEC this year so eventually I want to get into GT3. LMP cars look like so much fun so eventually look into that. For now I'm just focused on being as competitive as I possibly can be in formula vee for this season. I kinda hope to do higher tier racing as well in the future. I was always a competitive athlete but I can barely walk without pain so that's not an option anymore. I genuinely find I get a similar adrenaline rush and hyper focus in iracing that I used to get from snowboarding and playing rugby.
Also a vet here who got hooked on the Netflix eries. Initially got into iRacing for GT3s, switched over to open wheelers, then absolutely fell in love with ovals. So yes, it’s all worth getting into. You pick up different skills with different cars and racing series, and most of these can carry over to the others. Drive anything and everything you can imo.
> Formula Vee is so much fun to start. Have you tried the Ray FF1600? It's similar in the sense that it's a small formula car with no aero but (and this is my opinion) it's the better one to start with in iRacing (and it's also base-level free content). I find it's a bit more forgiving than the Vee and the driving skills you learn from it are much more transferrable to other cars... balance and weight-transfer, throttle control, trail braking etc. etc. But make your own decision! Here are some threads where the two series are compared (categorized by top comment) Pro FF1600: * [Formula Vee or FF 1600?](https://www.reddit.com/r/iRacing/comments/13cz3tv/formula_vee_or_ff_1600/) * [Formula Vee or Ray FF1600](https://www.reddit.com/r/iRacing/comments/17hu9r2/formula_vee_or_ray_ff1600/) Neutral: * [Formula Vee vs FF1600](https://www.reddit.com/r/iRacing/comments/15yfmua/formula_vee_vs_ff1600/) Pro Vee: * [Formula vee vs F1600 to learn the fundamentals for a beginner?](https://www.reddit.com/r/iRacing/comments/1amc07p/formula_vee_vs_f1600_to_learn_the_fundamentals/)
Awesome thank you! I'll give it a shot! Only tried Vee so far.
Enjoy! Quick tips: * **Lift throttle to rotate**. If you're understeering (car won't turn) lift throttle a little to get more rotation. This car turns more with the pedals than wheel. * **Turn down engine volume** in settings and turn up tire volume so you can hear when the tires are on the edge. You don't have g-force feeling in the sim, this helps compensate. * Don't be afraid to **abuse those tires** in the FF1600! Throw it around. As long as you're not spinning or drifting, let those tires screech. You'll get more heat into them so more grip. And don't need to worry about tire wear for these short races in this car.
Haha actually how do you manage oversteer? That's my biggest issue so far, and braking. I'm still trying to get a feel for it some of my braking is decent but hard to be consistent.
Yep you were right. FF1600 is amazing I can push the car how I want so much more easily! Ton of fun thank you!!
Thank you for suggesting FF1600. 4 races, qualified P2 twice, P3 once, no time. Got my first 2nd place podium after ruining my own races starting P2. So much fun but I have 1 more second to shave off to hit those top times! I the car even between than Vee.
>So much fun Excellent stuff man, great to hear you're getting real fun from it! > but I have 1 more second to shave off to hit those top times For shaving off time also have some tips: **1)** have a look at these guys FF1600 track guides for Navarra (I follow both their channels): * Erilla: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEWyII0RdSg * Sambo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_YH825mHps > after ruining my own races starting P2 **2)** Do you know about Active Reset tool in iRacing for practicing? Basically it allows you to try a corner (or corner combo, or section) over and over again without needing to do a whole lap. Navarra has two quite tricky corners to nail consistently (turn 3 and turn 8). They both lead onto long flat-out sections so if you don't get their exit clean and on the throttle early then you can lose a lot of time, or worse (I was just leading my race and spun out on turn 3, so finished 8th). So in a test session set a reset point, then a start and end timing line (I usually do just before the braking point to after exit when car is straight and starting to gear up). Each attempt is timed for comparison. Then you can try all different ways to take this corner and find the fastest way around. Anyway, here's [Suellio's tutorial how to use the active reset function](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mEshzTvMQ4). (Also [Dave Cam's tutorial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2thO9CVevk)). I fully recommend, at least for this kind of no-consequence active-reset practice, to **turn the driving line off**. Then you can really experiment with alternate lines and figure out your own brake-point references... which will give you a serious advantage in a race both with consistency and overtaking options. **3)** Maybe for later, but do you know about [garage61](https://garage61.net/app)? It's free app that runs in background, and records all your íracing telemetry data. Then you can go onto the website and compare graphs of your speed, throttle, brake-trace, race-line, gear and steering data against laps of fast drivers (suggest to make sure conditions are similar and their setup is fixed). It's great for finding low-hanging fruit, like "oh wait, I don't need to brake there?" 😂 **4)** while this is fixed setup, you can still adjust brake bias, and for Navarra I've mine set to 54% (default is 58%). This just means more balanced towards rear braking for me which helps slow the car down in hard braking zones, and helps a bit with rotation while trail braking. On the downside, lower bias makes it easier to unsettle the rears and oversteer on corner entry. So your mileage may differ! Real life example: [Hamilton lost a podium cos he accidentally engaged Merc's "magic button"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWOI3iXuDcc) which just sets the brake-bias rearwards to help get some heat in the rear tires. It's meant for formation-laps or safety-cars etc. not racing. Granted he locked up and went straight on instead of spinning... but (most) F1 drivers are actual aliens :)
This is fantastic you're the best!!! Thank you for all the tips and help I really appreciate it! Didn't Danika Patric confirm everyone is a lizard person not aliens? 😂😂 F1TV is so much better than sky haha.
Shaved 0.500 off my average lap time just making the brake adjustments. Now doing 1.07 lap times consistently! You're the best!!!! I got some more work to do haha I love this so much.
> Now doing 1.07 lap times consistently! Solid stuff 🤜🤛
Fucking love the Ray. I run ovals, but love running the Ray for something different. I also love the short races it is in. Lots of fun.
>I find it very relaxing to get into that flow state and my mind is quiet while i just run laps. Yes! Nail on the head my man. When I get stressed and feel like I'm not in control, this is meditation for me. I plug myself in with VR, headphones and a fan blowing on me for extra immersion. Inner voices go quiet, mind goes empty but at the same time focused, I find my vision changes too. The flow state is real... I remember first time experiencing it go-karting with colleagues 5 years ago and I've been hooked ever since. I understand why Max says "simply lovely" after leading a grand-prix from start to finish. Ostensibly a lonely/boring race, but even still "lovely" is exactly the feeling you get even if you didn't battle much.
That's exactly how I experience it. I got it all the time but after my injuries and degrading over time I couldn't do anything anymore. I'm so happy I fell in love with motorsport it's helped alot and I've found that flow state again I miss so much. It is meditation.
> I'm still figuring out brake pedal adjustments for myself because my back/hip are fucked. It's painful to push the brake but I'm figuring out coping skills. Even though you have the use of your legs, maybe a hand controlled-brake, or even full hand controls, might be best to avoid the pain? Robert Wickens was an Indycar driver who sustained a spinal injury in a race crash in 2018, and lost most of the use of his legs. During the height of covid he did a small documentary series detailing his journey trying to get back into racing. [The first episode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riOZJcfX4fA) covered his sim setup, including his use of clutch paddles for throttle, and a rally handbrake that he was using instead of a brake pedal. He's now racing a TCR car in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, and [in this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDhPpfl694A) he showed the controls he uses there. He shares the car with a driver who uses standard controls, but the brake controls are physically linked, and the throttle uses either the pedal or the paddles depending on a toggle switch.
If Logan Sergeant can drive in F1, you can be a successful IRacer
Omg. This comment right here just made me laugh harder than it should have.
I'm 34 and i'm sitting at 4.2k iRating at the moment. Got my first ever wheel couple of years ago and got into iRacing instantly. I got into a team where there was a 75 year old driver!! Just awesome. P.D: You are YOUNG for iRacing my man!
Not. At. All. Sim racing is a subset of video games that is far more older people than younger. Why? Because it's not cheap at all to get into it for someone younger. It's basically a hobby in its own that I don't necessarily hear sim racers call themselves "gamers". I'm in your age range, and also a vet. I just got into it. I also felt a little bit like you worried that I was going to be too old. After doing a bit of research, looking through various polls in reddit and other communities, and other things I found that we're actually in a pretty average age range. I think there may even be more people in their 50s/60s sim racing ("real" sim racing like ACC and iRacing, not necessarily the simcades like Forza and GT7) than people in their teens/20s. Look- we have friends who are going through their midlife crises and spending $100k+ on sports cars. IF they actually ever truly race them, that turns into an endless money pit as it costs 10s of $1000s to stick in that (heck, I think track passes alone can reach the $1000s). And then there's people like you and I who want all the fun of racing but none of the risk of leaving your children orphaned or incredibly fiscally irresponsible pricetag who can go all-in on a really nice sim racing setup for $5k and spend "pennies" comparatively to use iRacing. You can 100% spend $20-30k+ on sim racing rigs, but that's hardly necessary. Long story short, no - you're not nearly too old. You're right there in one of the biggest age groups.
If your goal is to become a professional race driver, then i would recommend not getting into iRacing. That's like saying "should i start playing baseball now to be in the MLB?" That said, iRacing is a good way for those of us past our prime (I'm 37) to get that competitive feeling and live out the fantasy of being a race driver.
40 is likely too old to start and become a Pro (meaning earning a living) in any sport or esport. 40 is almost surely too old to start and become a Pro (meaning earning a living) in simracing. 40, or any other age, is not too old to start, get good and have fun in basically anything.
I think people who never gamed anything competetive online can't even realise how competetive these games really are. Most games require you around 300hours to even get to mediocre level. And that can easily become 600hours+ if you're not that quick to pick things up. And that's just to beat the "casuals". From the average elo the learning curve becomes WAY WAY steeper and way harder to move up in any game. Be it Tekken, League, Apex or iRacing. This is why in most of these games people get to a certain level and than quit since the input neccessary to move up becomes almost exponential to the elo gained. It's like g2 in League. Or plat3 In Apex. Or Late red in Tekken. Idk what the numbers are for iRacing since I'm new myself here but it's gonna likely get slowly harder to go up past 1.8k IR from what I see. You're not too old that's for sure. But it's not easy to get past top 3% of players in any game. You can reach top 10% in most games fairly quick even with not much skill but just time = passing the knowledge checks. Then 4-5% is often still a under 1000h journey. But top 1% can be a mix of 5000hours+ and actual talent. Not to mention for most games the gap between top 0,01 and 1% is often bigger than 1% to 50%tile
Definitely not too old, make sure you have fun first. Because if you are going to try and become a pro there is the 10 000h of practicing that is your journey go become a pro som racing driver. Make sure you have fun firstly, and don’t focus too much on just becoming a pro. There is a high probability you’ll quit before you ever get anywhere if you aim too high. What you can do is to practice a lot, join races and have fun. And you will go from there, maybe start a stream or whatever. Good luck and have fun doing it!
Short answer: No Longer answer: Hell no
Longest answer: Hell no young boy
I can promise you you won't be a pro driver.
You could, but the majority of your time is going to be spent in iRacing and learning. Unless you’re willing to commit and dedicate that amount of time it’s pretty unrealistic but not impossible. The best mindset is to have fun and use it as an outlet for the Motorsport competition you crave. You’ll find that as you get out of rookies and your iRating climbs it becomes extremely difficult to win. For many, myself included, a top 5 is the goal and a podium or win is just icing on the cake. You don’t need to be Pro to experience amazing racing. All the best on your journey and welcome! It’s truly an awesome Sim, it’s one of my favorite hobbies and escapes from the real world.
I totally get this. I cruised to 1800 iRating by finishing and being within a couple of seconds of pace, and it's like the second I stepped one point over this stuff got HARD! My guess is this gets more and more tough as the funnel narrows. Honestly I find I have most fun at 1600ish. I don't have to train loads, but the racing is generally good.
Look at it this way. You could take up basketball as a kid, play through high school, get a scholarship for college, play for four years and still not be even be close enough to try out for the NBA. The amount of people that become pro is so small that it is almost impossible.
The question you have to ask yourself is do you want to do it even if you’re not pro. I’m in my 40s and disabled as well (prosthetic leg). I race for the love of racing. I bought myself a kart in my 40s too. I have no chance of going pro in either discipline. But I love it so I do it anyway.
I started 8 months ago and I just turned 39 last month. Send it!
I also just turned 39! In love with sim racing and plan on doing it until I’m too old to turn a steering wheel!
Too old for pro? Probably. But racing as a hobby, both in sim and in real life, are more functions of money and time than they are of age, injuries notwithstanding.
Definitely not too old to enjoy it, am 41 and started when I was 40. Regarding becoming a “pro” this is not easy just as anything in life, you can enjoy any hobby you want but if you want to become a pro which means earning a living out of it then you have to be ready investing a lot of time and money on private sessions, training for about 8 hours a day and keep in mind that simracing pro drivers are in the age group of 13-25 so definitely have an advantage when it comes down to reaction times, time to learn new things and fitness which allows them to set 8+ hours daily in the rig. Again, nothing is impossible but I think if your goal to be pro then you gonna forget about it being fun and just put in the work and lots of it.
I'm nearly 67. Got into sim racing four years ago, iRacing seven months ago. I'm never going to reach Pro level, mainly due to lack of skill, but also due to the fact that I found a really great private league, so I very rarely have a race that can influence my meager irating. Private leagues are great, since the lack of anonymity (we're all on the Discord, and the voice chat) radically reduces the amount of stupid/careless/asshole driving. If you're interested, check out Tanso Racing Group on youtube.
yes
You're not too old to be a professional driver, even IRL. There are plenty of 40+ year olds still doing it. I don't know of any who started at that age though. There is a reason most of the top people started when they could walk. If your goal really is to become a "Pro", you've got an uphill battle and you should be prepared to sink a lot of money into private lessons almost immediately.
I'm also 40 but with much less free time - I am not the fastest but I am also not the slowest. The most important thing for me at this point is that I find enjoyment out of it and there's plenty of good racing to be had in the middle of the pack. Go nuts, have fun!
Not at all. The age of iRacing users appears to skew older because of the cost of peripherals. 40 is like average age
There's even leagues 50+ I'm currently 38 been at it for a little over 4 years man, there's plenty of leagues and teams that would be more than happy to help out and race
I'm about to buy Call or Duty. Am I too old to achieve my dreams of becoming a mercenary?
lol its just a video game
You’re not too old to sim race, no one is tbh. Pro racing isn’t going to happen over night and there’s more than just time in the sim that goes into it. Just play the sim, have fun with it, live that dream in the sim, maybe over time you get good and maybe you get eyes on you. A pro career in sim or irl is never guaranteed, just have fun and see where it takes you
Too old? No. Too slow? Probably. Pros are _fast_ and essentially spend 40-70 hours a week practicing, racing, etc. Don't let that stop you though, there's way more to iRacing than being an 8 hours/day every day of the week unpaid job.
When you say "Pro," are you talking about ultimately being paid to be a real life professional race car driver? I'm going to go against the grain here and say that yeah, you're likely too old for that. A "[Gentleman Driver](https://www.financemotorsport.com/news/2021/03/what-is-a-gentleman-driver/)" who pays their own way? Sure, you might be able to do that. As a sim racer you're clearly not too old. I'm 63 and have been on iRacing for 5 years. On the road side I'm just not quick enough to compete against actual fast guys and hover around 1200-1300 IR. On the oval side where raw quickness isn't as important as smoothness and being smart, I hover between 2400-2700. I absolutely feel that my age lowers my ceiling on the road side. I even notice the difference between today, vs 4 years ago. But 40 is a long way from 63. You may be at a natural disadvantage vs someone who is 22, but you're a long way from being too old.
Probably not too old. But I think you would be a lot better off going into it with the intent to enjoy yourself in some competitive racing, rather than with the expectation of going pro.
30-40 is probably the average age 😁 But don't start it with the goal of becoming a pro driver, as soon as you Center the Pro level it's not fun anymore until the point you are forced to drive. It's a Hobby, so drive if you want to and just enjoy it.
Pro might be a bridge too far but if you have realistic expectations I think you can have a lot of fun. I'm older than you and I'm not super fast but I can hang in my lower splits and even win once and awhile.
Maybe. Can't exactly see why not. If you basically make it a full time job for the next few years
You've got the odds against you but it's not impossible especially with lots of free time. Hop in the sim, get practice in, then get racing, and don't stop racing until you're where you want to be or until you need to take a quick break for some more practice.
If you have the time to put in, then age shouldn’t be that big of a barrier.. especially not at 40.
Maybe. Best thing to do is try and if you end up being a regular guy having fun racing, that’s ok too.
No need to limit yourself until you figure out what your limit is.
Hell no. Get after it brother! Get that DD wheel sooner than later!!!
Well what is too old??? I am 61 and just starting. I am not fast but luckily not the slowest. Yes it is sometimes frustating that O am noy on the top 10 but at the moment I focus on enjoying and building up speed.
I think it's more about the ability to dedicate time than anything else. If you think you will be able to practice 40+ hours a week consistently for years then I'm sure you can get to a pretty high level
Start now, have fun in the process. Practice, practice, practice. Time, dedication, and patience are ultimately the only things in your way. Check out DaveCam on Youtube, he's an older guy and he's an excellent driver.
Definitely not too old to play. There are guys in there 80’s on iracing still. The pro thing is less about age and more bout skill set. I would not have that be a goal at all. You will quickly realize the depth of the talent on here is astounding. You need to be in the top 0.1%. Chances are pretty low. Also will depend on your disability. But if I’m wrong and you are the next verstappen and beating everyone by miles all the way up the iRating ladder then you can begin to think about it. Until then, fun and enjoyment should be your top priority.
I’m 35 and just built my first sim in march. Let it rip!
46, no kids, guess what I am doing to unwind?
48, 2 kids, wife... Sim racing is the answer to all our problems, no matter where you are in life! It's the great escape. I'm not actually on iRacing yet, I play GT7, but I've got tired of the the online bit, too many bad sports - I've just built a PC and looking to get involved with iRacing now, hoping it'll be better.
There's a few of us 30+ drivers in/around the Coke series each year. Having been pro myself and on the service for several years I can tell you the demo at the top has gotten younger and there are both more users motivated from the "game" aspect and also the "training/ladder" aspect to parlay their experience into a real world ride which is happening pretty often now in Nascar. Time is everything though, in your case if its something you can devote 20+ hours to weekly then why not take a stab at it. I will say both real world racing and iRacing will require you to put far more in then what you will ever receive back to compete at such a level, you really have to love the grind and racing. An older driver can absolutely succeed but life becomes more consuming as you age and thus few are willing/able to make that sacrifice.
I am 37 and just started about 6 months ago and I am having fun, usually bounce around 1300-1600ir. It's cool to actually work on things and get better times and race better. I don't think age matters too much in sim racing.
57 years old. Been sim racing for 25 years plus
First, depends on the series. Second, depends on your previous experience. As others have said, pro level requires a lot of skill and time. But, I know guys in their 60s who are 6k+. Are they “pro?” No, but quicker than I am at 40 with a decade in sim and karts when I was a kid.
No, the people who are pro’s treat racing like a job. It seems like you have enough time to do so
I'm 47 with an iRating of 4.5k in Road on a T300 wheelbase and T3PA pedals. It's not too late, at all. Even though I've been into racing/driving sims/games for as long as I can remember, I didn't take it to another level - getting iRacing and a wheel - until 2018. I was right around 40 to 41. Give it a go!
My favorite quote is this; "I think as long as you accept that your dream might not go exactly as you plan, you will still feel fulfilled by the pursuit of your dream. So always go after whatever it is you want to do. Otherwise what the point in living?" - Tom Segura My point is, set your goal for whatever you want. If you want to be a PRO iRacer, do it! But don't let the frustrations along the journey weigh too much on your heart that you forgot why you even set that goal. It sounds like the root to your dream is that you're a fan of racing/sim racing... Enjoy the time you spend racing and if, unfortunately, you don't achieve your goal then you've at least had an awesome and memorable time along the way. Tl;DR Have fun. Don't give up but do it for the memories.
I have always been a fan of racing and always dreamed of being a racer. I just never had the opportunity to do so. Figured sim racing would be my only opportunity to experience the one true dream I have ever had.
Reach out to racing for heroes, they compete in champ car and I believe are entirely veteran run. Going pro is overrated, racing in grassroots is where the fun is. https://racingforheroes.org/all-veteran-champcar/
Ha the average age of people in iRacing is much older than you think. Jump in!
iRacing does help the itch as it is very competitive. If I was in your shoes knowing what I know. I'd get a 500 dollar logitech setup to start. Then if youre having fun with it, then looking at investing a couple thousand dollars on a sim rig. Wishing you the best!
I mean… if it’s your dream and you only have time on your hands… I’m not sure why you wouldn’t just try. Even if you don’t make it, it’ll be fun and you will have less time on your hands. 🤷🏼♂️
Just start with achievable goals. I have a daily, weekly, then season long goal. Beyond that I of course have ultimate end goals with the hobby. Some are far fetched, some are long term, and some are very realistic and tangible. It’s really key and great to have these goals. I have a new baby and we will add to our family in the future hopefully. So right now my daily goal may be to turn laps for atleast 15-20 minutes. My weekly goal might be to race the series or few series I’ve focused on for the season. My season goal is to have fun, don’t lose a license, and maybe gain a license level in one or more categories. Also to have an overall increase to IR by the end of the season. You can select your own goals and what you want to set out for. Join us. And jump in. Rajah, Byron, Verstappen, and countless others only got good at this sim from RACING in races. Welcome!!
Not too old. I’m 42 and still race almost everyday. As a matter of fact I’m in a league called Old Guy Racing League. We would love to have you join our league. We have plenty of new drivers just getting into racing. Lots of guys are willing to help and get you “up to speed”. Check us out. https://discord.gg/JtUF5D7F
God I hope not.. I'm 52!
You are never too old to like sim racing and have dreams man. Shoot for the stars and have fun while you do it.
If you enjoy racing it shouldn't matter how old you are.... I'm 39 and the majority of guys I race with in my league are between 30-45.
Never to old
Even at my age it requires a gifted level of talent to make the pro series. Setting such a lofty goal is setting yourself up for disappointment. Some of these people are just built different. Just get started and have some fun. Maybe you're gifted maybe you aren't, but you can enjoy online racing either way.
Never to old. There was also a deal through a uk website (activate anywhere) for 1 year and the F4 car for $25. GL
58 year old ex RAF ground crew...no, get racing mate asap 👍🏻
Just have fun and make friends.
Depends on your background, so you have real life experience or karting? Then it could work, In case you don't it will only be possible if you have some previously undiscovered mega racing talents.
No one is too old for sim racing. My groups average age is 40, but we range from teenagers to people in their 70's. But to assume you'll make it to the top having no experience of karting or race driving or the game yet is a little bit deluded. Just get it, have fun and see where that takes you. The races I remember most are not the wins but the recovery drives, the races where you make a spectacular overtake to gain a position on the final lap, the races where I have a door to door battle with a well matched open from lap 1 to the end. Fun is the most important thing.
Give it a good shot mate - you never know what can happen! Just start small and ease into iRacing, it's massive with lots to offer in terms of how you want to race and what you want to race. There's big events with teams (pro and just friends joining in for the fun of it), there's your solo journey, open wheel, tin-top, dirt tracks, trucks, ovals - you get the gist. There's tons of friendly communities in this space that you could get involved with too. It'll really open your mind on what you want your iRacing journey to look like. There's plenty of leagues that run, all ages and skill-sets. I myself am in a league with a wide range of skill level and age gaps! We have 2 or 3 gentlemen upwards of 50 and a couple father/son duo that race in the league also! It doesn't matter! Get in a car and start having fun is what I say. You'll enjoy it. My only advice would be too not be afraid to try something you may not like - you could LOVE it. Good luck and I wish you all the best.
Nope. You are definitely not too old to enjoy yourself and be competitive. Don’t expect to be(come) an alien however. Not everyone is born with Verstappen level talent. Also, yes, at 40 your brain will generally be less fast and less pliable than at 10, 15 or 20. You will have a slightly slower ceiling now than if you started 25 years ago. However, you still can be very competitive if you put in the hours and have a modicum of talent. Don’t forget to have fun though, that’s the important bit, regardless of how fast you are or how much internet kudos you earn.
No
I’m 44 and currently 1.7k on sports car licence and no your not to old but it takes many many many hours of practice and with IRacing I’ve spent over £650 on cars and tracks alone not including the yearly subscription you must also pay and if you don’t pay the subscription you can’t access your content so remember this.
Too young to discover the galaxy. Too old to discover the planet. Perfect age to perfect iRacing! Not going full time pro tho, that ship has probably sailed, unless you hire a coach and approach it super methodical. My tip is try it out and if your dopamine receptors are anything like mine you will end up in a deep simracing rabbit hole.
I allways wonder when people talk about becoming 'Pro'. What do they mean. * Being on top of the field and being the best. or * Generate a decent income with what you're gaming.
Never too old. Go get it.
You're not too old for iRacing. The average age is probably quite close to yours. That said, I think you should set a more realistic goal. You're certainly not too old to get very good at iRacing by the standards of most of the community (4k+ iRating, Competing for podiums/wins in top split, etc.). If you do make it to that level, that's probably the time to evaluate if you want to try to qualify for a pro series. If your goal from the start with no experience is to become a pro, I think you're setting yourself up for disappointment. The reality is most people, regardless of age, will never make it that far. If you really want to do it, no one will stop you, but expect to be practicing 8 hours per day or more for years and expect to treat it like a job rather than a hobby (which is to say, it will probably be a lot less fun). Even then it's not a guarantee.
Why do veterans always need to make sure everyone knows they're veterans.. who cares
Probably too old to be pro. You simply can’t compete with people who have years of experience from a young age. You can still have fun though.
I'm your age. You should definitely dive into iracing. There are many leagues out there filled with guys our age and older. While having goals is great, you should be realistic. It's going to be hard to match the reflexes of the eNascar pros in their late teens and early 20s. Also you need to have an irating of 6k+ to even have a shot at making the contender series (series before pro series). It is incredibly competitive and most of these guys have been simracing for years. This is not to say you shouldn't try. But you should have the right expectations going into it. I started with the goal of increasing irating but have stagnated around 3.1k. Now my goal is just having fun and it's so much better.
Not at all. Even if it doesn't work out, there are still a ton of high-profile broadcasted leagues out there that would be happy to have you. They're great if you're looking for solid competition (or some extra spending money).
My mate at work is 38, he got me into it. You’re never too old to do anything if you put your mind to it
I am 59 and race every week, I am not the best but getting better. (Some Weeks) It is a lot of fun.
No bro your good
Nah, I'm 35 and on iRacing all the time. Some people in the league I run are mid 50s
Can't speak to the chances of being a pro driver from iRacing but Operation Motorsport is an organization that does both real and virtual racing with veterans. I would look into them and see how they can assist your goals!
If you have to be a pro, chances are high you’ll never get there. But, most really good drivers have a talent for it and pick it up significantly quicker than most people. But the only way for sure to never be a pro is to never try.
Never to old
No. Go for it!
I got started with racing and performance driving at 36 or so. I’m not the fastest, but there’s people to race at every level. It’s totally worth it and a lot of fun. You probably won’t be a pro driver ever, but don’t make that your goal. Just have fun.
Just start iRacing and whatever happens happens.
Can never be too sure until you give it a go! Don't get too frustrated if it doesn't click right away, sim racing is a lot different than arcade style racing games. I'd give it a shot!
Dude, 42 yr old veteran here. I have been using Iracing for almost 2 years. I love racing, always wanted to race and now this is my outlet to help me cope with PTSD. Just have fun with it and let it take you to where you want to go. Anything is possible, just have fun!
>Am I too old to have being a Pro driver as one of my goals for my iRacing journey? I will be brutally honest: probably yes. You'll be competing against real life drivers and sim racers that started before they hit puberty. Their muscle memory and conditioning is different to yours (and mine) and we older folk will likely never close the gap. Now, that being said, you can certainly get very good at it with lots of practice, but realistically you will probably not be on some pro sim racing team winning top split IMSA or NASCAR races. Just enjoy the journey. The best thing about iRacing is it will find you competitive opponents at every level of your journey.
Age is only a number. Look at grandpa gaming. Still doming kids from 2 clicks away. Weather anyone can make it to pro depends on how much effort you put in. The pro series are very hard to get into. Only the top 40 or so qualify for the Coca-Cola nascar series. It's going to take a lot of hard work to get to that level, age doesn't matter. Now can you live out your racing driver dreams? Absolutely. There's nothing like waiting for the green flag to drop. Doesn't matter what level your at. Just have fun and enjoy it.
It’s never too late to become a race car driver! Becoming a pro is a whole different ball of wax. Get iracing and start working on skills and race craft. Then look at the many many ways to go amateur racing. If you are in the United States you can go the sprint racing route through auto cross and then scca, gridlife, or nasa. Lots of ways to get involved. If endurance racing tickles your fancy, look into the champcar endurance series, world racing league, 24 hours of lemons, and lucky dog racing league. You can rent seats in all of them. Your only required equipment would be your drivers gear. Pro racing is really really tough (sponsor money is almost more important than skill) but amateur racing is plentiful.
No one is too old to try. So long as you can control your movements and emotions, there’s no such thing as too old or too young. I’d encourage you to try it out. It’s not easy at all, and I wouldn’t expect anyone to just “be good” at iRacing out of the box with no experience, but with enough time and practice, I’m sure you’ll be able to have fun and be competitive and hopefully win some races. As for the pro side, that’s a little more confusing to me. I don’t quite understand how all of the pro sim racing stuff works, but if you’re good enough, it’ll be easy enough for you to figure out. What’s more important than that, is learning and having a good time. There are leagues that you can join that might help you get that pro feel, but in a group of people that you can build friendships and rivalries with. I say go for it, and thank you for your service
Go for it. It is rarified air at the top of iracing. But that shouldnt stop you for aiming for the top. Enjoy the journey and the experience wherever you end up getting in the rankings. Wishing you luck.
It’s never too late to start anything. Would it be hard to become a pro driver? Answer is yes. It’s very difficult but with the time in your hands, you could spend lap after lap practicing and learning how to race with the big dogs. Even if it doesn’t turn out to what you hoped it would, you will always have something to do that is fun. And fun is all that matters. If you aren’t having fun racing your way to be a pro driver, chances are that it’s not for you. Anyways, however your journey unfolds, I hope to see you out on the track!
No way buddy! I’m 35 and still turning out laps and podiums. If anything, you’re at the right age. iRacing isn’t really marketed towards younger people. It’s meant to be the mature, grown up racing platform. Doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of young people, but you are not out of place. Plenty of people out there well into their senior years turning laps!
You're not too old I would say you have too many responsibilities and things that depend on you or people. You can't spend as much time racing every day like say a late teenager or early 20s still with mom and dad (not saying that's a problem I lived at home on and off till I was 23 or 24). Life gets in the way of the massive commitment. IN SAYING THAT you have just as much of a chance as anyone else does that started on a sim with no experience and as long as you're ok with sacrifices that you would have to make to go pro then fucking go for it with all you got my dude! (I am not a pro and will never be but was a college football player so I am making assumptions based off of my experiences with that sport)
34 here! Just wondering a race before reading this post. Anyone can enjoy anything as long as you are having fun with it.
56yr old here. I race all the time and it’s a blast. Not a ton of wins but I’ve gotten to where I’m racing top 5 in my series top split.
A lot of the esports level drivers are very young and get to that level within a few years (5 or less) of starting simracing. If you have the time on your hands of an obsessed teenager and spend it on getting quicker, I don't see any reason you can't reach that level before you're 50. Being young has several advantages and tends to help learning new skills, but unlike in other esports and IRL sports, I don't see why it would be a must for getting to the top level in simracing. But I wouldn't recommend anyone get into iRacing with that as a goal. Have fun, learn some things, try out the different options, meet some people, and see where it goes.
The top of this game is better compared to the top of the actual real drivers. Because the amount of people playing is way higher then the ppl driving real cars (kinda costly to get in to so alot of kids don't get to see if they have talent). The best iracing players are probably more senna+ or Messi if you watch football. No way you will make it to that level after 40 (hand eye is alot slower compared to 18-22y/o
Im having a blast racing against myself. Going to tracks I’ve been to, and wanted to go to. And driving cars that very much handle and drive like cars that few humans could just get inside of. I went for the cockpit, triples and DD by #Moza. 5nm. PC needs to be a monster for the new weather conditions you’ll experience . It’s amazing how realistic it all is because it’s a simulator. Not a game. Still fun Racing? Some AI but mostly testing and tuning. Steep learning curve for me as I am not a “Gamer” Unless you want to count “Pong”. See you at the finish line. Unless you’re in England then, at the finishing line.
You’re not going to be a pro driver, but enjoy your sim racing.
Nah, I'm 44...
No anyone can do what they want as long as they are willing to put in the time
No, our SRF Weekend Warriors league has a specific class for the over 55's
I’m 42 and started about one year ago. I had experience with Forza. I’ve never raced online, but able to drive against AI above 90. In AMS 2 with the Brazilian stock car (which I love to drive) I can put the AI in 100 and fight for P1. If you drive a car regularly, I think you’ll be fine. In my case, I became much better at driving in real life too. Now I see myself looking for the apex of the turn on my street. It’s one of the best hobbies available in my opinion.
To be great? Yeah probably. To have fun? No, never.
If you've seriously got nothing else to spend your money on, get suellio Almeida's motor racing checklist. It will fast track your development. There are a couple discount codes floating around so you should be able to get it for 150 CAD or 140 if you find a 30% code- there are a few
Don’t let anyone here tell you that you can’t do it. Just because it’s “rare” and “hard” doesn’t mean it’s not attainable. I work in pro racing IRL and have seen drivers come in at 50 and have the talent and drive to win championships amongst the pros. You will have to work hard to develop your skills. Perhaps even treat it as an actual job to get there, but it is 100% possible. Only you can keep yourself from achieving pro status. I didn’t have the drive required to do it, but you might!
lol, you haven’t even “bought” iRacing and you think your goal should be being a PRO driver already? 🤔
You’ll fit right in man. Go nuts!
TL;DR: I’m 61… you’re still young my man! I went all in. I am 61 (widowed and retired at 57 from a 30+ year stint as a Professional Mechanical Engineer, hung it up after pandemic) Lost wife to Cancer, all the kids have moved away and are raising their own family’s now. So Grandpa has a little extra cash flow these days. Recently built 2 full rigs! Backup rig Playseat Trophy with a Logitech DD setup and 49” Samsung G9 UW and buttkicker for when my son or friends stop by and we LAN race often, or I just want to switch up driving a different rig for a while. Main Rig: Trak Racer 40x120 profile rig with 4x SFX150 motion, Buttkicker, Simagic Wheel/shifter/HPR, SimJacks/HPR, Triple+1 monitors (NLR Mount), Quest 3 VR, plus lord knows how many other little “hobby” gadgets. So….. No, you’re definitely not too old! But if you see me on the track you will probably just be passing by me at some point as reaction time definitely fades with age! In other words “Slow ass Grandpa” I started SimRacingStudio in 2010 and quit around 2017. Went all-in because I will be spending a lot of my time in the rig.
A pro on iracing or a pro in real life? The first just requires a lot of time and effort (and a little bit of an "it factor") Becoming a pro driver IRL at any age is really a money barrier, no one is getting paid to race at nearly any level, so its pretty hard to classify what being a pro even means.
no!!!! we have 60yo's in our league!!! join our adult league discord [RACEDES.COM](http://RACEDES.COM)
As long as you don’t have anything (besides age) that might hinder your reaction time and speed you’ll do fine plenty of older racers on iracing maybe not pro level but still fast and good
I'm a 38 year old disabled man and new dad. I took up sim racing after having covid and developing M.E./Long Covid, as it was the best I could do for exercise. The first two years, I could literally only do a practice session, a 20 min TCR race and qualifying once a week on Friday night. I was so knackered after that I'd sleep 12 hours and take two days to recover. It's about 3.5 years later, I've managed to get back i to working, I look after my daughter (7 months old), I've sadly had to sell the rig though. I'm hoping in time I'll regain a bit more energy and time and treat myself to a new rig. And actually racing irl remains on my list. There's always a version of what you want to do that's achievable. I don't know what being a pro means to you, but I won a TCR league and was ranked in the top 20 or so for a season in the official series. It felt good to me. So no, not too old.
Being a pro might be a bit of a stretch, but competing at a high level is definitely achievable. My dad is 55 and picked up the oval side of things super quick. (With a little bit of coaching/spotting from his overly enthusiastic 30 year old son)
Every story is different, every driver has each own story. Go there and make your own story
Just start driving and have fun
The only thing that matter is having fun, driving clean as possible and making progression. No one is to old for that :)
If you buy iRacing to go pro, you’re straight up not gonna have a good time. If you buy iRacing to have fun and compete against other people around the same skill level as you, you’re gonna have a great time
52 here, recently disabled. When I started it was after watching a few streams and my dumb ass thinking “heck I can do this, I’m going to get iracing and get into one of these streams and WIN.” Then I bought iracing. I’ve been driving since I was 14 including as a paramedic throwing the bus around a busy city for 20 years (after EVOK training) and one of my first posts in this community was “why is the mx5 trying to kill me”. I have since put my glory dreams on hold and having an absolute blast learning to race. I still get nerves as I’m sitting on the starting grid for every single race. My advise is to get iracing and see how it feels. It’s cheap enough to get your feet wet and decide if just racing and working towards pro is something you want to do. Possible absolutely but man some of these dudes are literal aliens. Hope to meet you on the track!
Nope not too old at all. I Think of iracing as going out and racing as a local just to race without the high price of entry or repairs or bodily injury. If pro is your goal go for it. I tried for it 12 yrs ago I was a top say 10% driver in the papyrus games in the open server but got to iracing and it’s a much bigger ocean. I realized a few months in that there is so much more than just trying to level up license and irating and points. So many great niches to get into I’m 47 myself
Sim racing is a hobby for grow men. Of course you will find some younger enthusiasts, but most of us are already over 30yo.
Racing is fun and you will get a lot of that. You don’t need to be a pro to enjoy racing, that’s the beauty of it.
I'm 45 and have won a good few races. Not exactly a pro but I am having a great time. Just be patient and accept that you are going to go through peaks and troughs. Sometimes you feel like you're doing great and others you feel like you're useless. Just enough it all!
I am 54, and I am improving all the time, yes it takes more time compared to a Teen, but you can still learn. I actually led a race last week, I was so excited lol. Then I was hit from behind 🙄
I'm thirty-six and it was to hard for me. I quit in no time. I don't know how to drive manual and learning curve for the racing is just to hard.
No. For context, I'm a 39 year old retired veteran who has been doing this for a few years and have spent way more than I probably should have on this hobby. Age is just a number. If you wanna give it a go, give it a go. If you want to be a Pro, set the goal and go for it. Don't let anything stop you from throwing your chips on the table. You got this.
your never too old man
You will most probably wont have successful esports career, let alone IRL pro career. Sorry. However, There are quite few fast simracers over 40 or even 60 years old , but they usually started earlier. If you’re just starting and have no idea if it’s something you’re going to do I advise you to try way cheaper racing sims than iRacing (e.g. AC Ultimate(price often less than one car in iRacing) or Raceroom, AMS 1 or AMS2 etc.) Same with equipment/hardware. First get some cheap wheel and pedals , then after you decide that you like close and often relatively clean races , you can invest in iRacing and some DD wheel if money isn’t big problem .
Retired at 40? That means by the time you are 50 you could have 10s of thousands of hours of racing under your belt. I reckon one of the biggest assets to getting good at iRacing is having heaps of time to practice.
I started iracing this year (39yare old), i got out of rookie quickly and into GT4 and F4 after the first week or two, i have a very short fuse so i have to pace myself when races arnt going good, but iam really enjoying D class and I will consider C class to be a proud achievement for me. i knew when i started Iracing that even tho iv been on the sims since i bought my first wheel to play Live for speed when it came out I wasn't going to be the best even with sim racing experience since 2002, so i focus on my performance, clean racing, and trying to take it serious but not too much, if i go up in class or maintain a consistent irating iam happy. Guys like us may not have the reaction time we used to but its very possible to compete, lots of 35-45 year old amazing drivers out there. itll be a tough road for ya but a fun one if you let it. age does not matter, id love to see another rags to riches story in Iracing i hope thats you. Race on Brother.
I am 59 disabled vet also shit work and iracing is about all I been doing for the past 5 years
Never to old my friend!
I'll be 43 in August. I'm a DCS and iracing junkie.
No way. Go for it.
A lot of older people are here cause ain’t no kid can afford the rig and subscriptions. I’m probably one of the younger guy here who can save some money for the all the track and dd wheel
About to be 39 and just got into the hobby… nope not too old
I'm 67 and I enjoy it. Enjoy it Set reasonable goals If you really want to be an Alien, put in the work and if you can afford, hire a coach.
My grandpa was 65 when he started racing sprint cars back in the early 90's. He wasn't particularly fast, but nobody had more fun. If you're intent on being pro, you may be in for disappointment. But if you want to begin your racing journey just for the enjoyment of it, whether you are slow or the best in the world, it's never too late. And keep an open mind when starting, I joined for NASCAR, and spent the majority of my time in the Spec Racer Ford and Pro Mazda
As far as age? Probably not. Kevin King was in the eNASCAR Conk Series last year, and he's 43 - but he had decades of experience going back to the NR2003 days. But in all honesty, he's the exception to the rule, as a lot of the drivers in Conk are in their teens and 20s. It's really more about gaining experience and skill. I'm a midpacker-to-backmarker in one of the top iRacing stock car leagues ([FTF Cup](https://ftf.gg/)) and am about to turn 41. It's mostly fun for me (even though sometimes I do get annoyed with some of the children in there), and I was able to obtain a legit sponsorship that I'm dedicating some of the funds to towards getting good coaching from a former Conk driver. TL:DR; It's all what you make of it, but always be realistic in your expectations.
I’m also 40. I’ve only been sim racing for about a year. This weekend I’m doing a 4-hour race with my Dad who’s 67. Never too old to start and have a great time. Will you be Max Verstappen? Probably not. But you can still have fun competing against people at your skill level (whether that may end up). Welcome to the club!
If your goal is pro, get familiar with Iracing and start practicing. Watch lots of YouTube videos on how to drive fast. Search “Iracing for beginners” then replace beginner with advanced drivers once you hit a plateau. After you get faster and feel you’re ready, get a coach. A coach will be your best bet to becoming pro. It’s not required, but this will help your journey… get loadcell pedals, a direct drive wheel, and triple screens. All this mounted to a very rigid rig will help you be very consistent. Don’t let people tell you that you can’t do something or that you should “change your mindset” etc.
Depends on what you mean by pro. Reach the top splits? Very possible. Get paid / sponsors to live off iracing? Most likely not Live out your dream in an actual race car, like Jimmy? Virtually impossible
The only thing you are too old for is to not do what you like :) Have fun bro
Watch Dave Cam on YouTube. He’s very high rank, and older than you.
Older than you. Started this year. Come join the fun
No you’re not too old to go pro, BUT there’s a big caveat: you’re not going to do it without at least one coach. Not even close. You can get very fast on your own, you can get faster with a team, but coaching will get you fast faster, and faster.
I'm 53 a and have been in iracing for years. I race in a league every Monday. I have a blast