It’s a familiar feeling to anyone who has mindlessly watched TV: hundreds of channels but there’s nothing on.
Okay, in the era of cord-cutting, that reference may not resonate with as many people as it used to, but it’s still an interesting phenomenon: As the number of choices increase, it can be actually become tougher to find one that’s appealing.
I found myself in a similar position on iRacing last month. After taking some time off following a busy winter endurance season and six straight months of racing the sprint cars full-time, I hoped to drive something to stay fresh and enjoy a little competition.
However, in looking through the long list of series, I couldn’t find anything that I really wanted to race — not a prototype, not a GT car, nor an open wheeler.
That reminded me of an idea I had a few years ago: Taking a virtual road trip within iRacing to survey the variety of available cars and series, at least on the road racing side.
I’ve decided to embark on that trip this summer, and I’ll take you along for the ride here on The Driver Diary. For each of the 12 weeks that make up the official 2017 season 3 schedule, I will race a different road series and write about my experiences with the car, the competition, and the community.
With more than two dozen series to choose from, I won’t be able to try them all. Instead, I plan to approach them like a racing ladder — or two of them, to be exact.
For the first six weeks, I will stick to what I know best: closed-cockpit sports cars, from the rookie-level Mazda MX-5 to top-of-the-line GT machinery. That half of the season will culminate in a team endurance test at the 24 Hours of Spa.
During the second half of the season, I’ll step outside my comfort zone, moving into the ranks of prototypes and open-wheelers. I will cap off that half of the season driving a modern Formula 1 car in a full-distance race — if I can survive that long, of course.
Going into the season, I realize that switching cars every week isn’t ideal for being competitive. In the past, even running two different GT cars over an entire season has hindered my abilities in both.
But I’m not out to win races or championships this summer, nor should I expect to, given that I’ll be up against the drivers who race the same cars and series week in and week out. I simply want to sample the current road series on iRacing and review them from the outside looking in.
In the process, maybe I’ll rediscover the rush of a car I raced in the past or stumble upon something new that I enjoy driving. Either way, with so many choices and multiple races going off every hour, I certainly shouldn’t have the feeling that there’s nothing on.