Although the computer generated iRacing Spotter can relay invaluable information about the cars around you, it still is limited in what it can do to inform and assist the driver. Having a spotter gives you more realtime feedback about the things happening immediately around your racecar, as well as allow a second person to assist with strategy.

A spotter can follow your car, or a competitors car, in real-time and inform you if you are clear when making a pass. A spotter gives you greater situational awareness when you are racing, they can look ahead of you on track, and also relay updates on your competitors' strategy and positions.


TABLE OF CONTENTS


Spotting Settings

To allow someone to spot for you, spotting must be enabled.


First launch the iRacing UI and open the Settings menu by clicking on the helmet at the top right of the screen.

NOTE: Any user spotting in a session is allowed to view and save the driver's setup

Select the desired spotter setting by clicking on the drop down menu and selecting one of the following options. :

  • No One
    • Only Trusted Spotters can be your spotter
  • Any of my friends (no password)
    • Trusted Spotters and any iRacing user on your friends list can be your spotter
  • Any of my friends with my password
    • Trusted Spotters and any iRacing user on your friends list with your Spotter Password can be your spotter
  • Anyone (no password)
    • Any iRacing user can be your spotter
  • Anyone with my password
    • Trusted Spotters and any iRacing user with your Spotter Password can be your spotter

If you are selecting one of the options with a Spotter Password, enter the desired Spotter Password, then click the green "Save" button.


You must give the Spotter Password to any user you would like to be your spotter.

Once you have selected your desired spotter settings, click "Close" on the bottom right of the Settings menu to save your spotter settings.



Registering and Joining as a Spotter

You may spot for any iRacing user that has enabled spotters. The spotter must own the track and at least one car being used in the session, but must have all cars downloaded. The spotter must wait for the driver to be registered for an active session before joining as a spotter.


When spotting in a password protected session, the spotter must also have the session password.


As a driver, all you need to do is ensure you have the correct Spotter Settings and are transmitting on @TEAMS when in a session. Spotters can join any driver that has allowed them to spot.


If you are spotting a user on your Friends list by clicking on the steering wheel icon next to their name on the Friends List and selecting "Spot".

To spectate in an Official session, first select a series from "Up Next or "Current Series" tabs  under "Go Racing".

Once you have selected the series you want to spot in, go to the "Entries" tab and select "Spot" on the driver you would like to spot. If the "Spot" icon is green or blue, you may spot the driver.


If the icon is grayed out, you may not spot the driver, if the driver does not appear, they most likely have not yet been assigned to a raceserver.


To spot for a teammate, open the Team in the "My Teams" tab under "Teams".

Once you have selected the team you want to spot, click "Sessions", then "Register as Crew" under on the session you would like to spot for.

If the driver requires a password to spot, you will have to enter the password, then click "Join".


Once registered as a spotter, you may join the session as you would as a driver by selecting "Join" on the top right.



Communicating with your Spotter

To communicate with your spotter, ensure both the driver and spotter are transmitting on @TEAM by pressing F10 and clicking @TEAM under TRANSMITTER, or by typing "@transmit @team" into the chat box. This will allow the driver and spotter to communicate exclusively on the private @TEAM channel, which has priority over @DRIVERS and @ALLTEAMS, preventing other users from talking over the spotter.


Third party voice chat applications such as Discord, Teamspeak, Ventrilo, etc. can also be used to communicate with your spotter.






How to Spot

Once you have joined the session, do NOT click "Start Spotting" immediately, as this will disable the built in computer generated iRacing Spotter for the driver. First ensure that the spotter and driver can communicate on the @TEAMS channel. 


Once the driver and spotter have established communication, the spotter needs to adjust their cameras to the desired angles.


Adjustments to the spotter camera do not affect the driver. It is recommended to use external cameras such as "Blimp", "Chase", "Far Chase", and "Rear Chase". These cameras can be customized by pressing Ctrl+F12 and using the Offset and Static FOV adjustments to move the camera to the spotter's preferred position.


Camera settings do not reset when changing between cameras, so feel free to adjust several cameras to get a better view from multiple angles.


You can leave the Camera Edit menu open to make adjustments while spotting, or if you prefer greater visibility, you can close the Camera Edit menu by pressing Ctrl+F12 again. 


Once your spotter cameras are in position, you are now ready to start spotting.


Press the "Start Spotting" button and ensure that the status bar underneath the play/pause button reads "Live"; if it does not, press the jump to end button located to the right of the status.


When spotting, you take on the role of the iRacing Spotter and are expected to help the driver with anything they cannot see or know. If there are cars around the driver, it is the spotter's responsibility to communicate that information efficiently to the driver, such as if there is a car low, high, left, right, or if the driver is going three wide.


Spotting disables the computer generated iRacing Spotter, make sure to select "Stop Spotting" at the top of your screen if you need to stop spotting at any point.

In addition to providing basic spotter information, a spotter allows for the driver to have greater awareness by anticipating a car making a dangerous move, or warning about issues further down the track. A spotter can also keep a driver updated on race condition, fuel status, strategy changes, and more.


The spotter may also keep tabs on other car's position and pit status by using either the arrows on either side of the helmet, or the Results button on the bottom left of the UI to change the driver they are spectating:

When spectating any car, spotters may view their laps for each session (Practice, Qualify, Warmup, Race) by clicking the Laps button on the bottom left of the UI and using the arrows at the top of the Laps display. This can be used to help predict pace and pit strategies of each driver:



Crew Chief

Spotters can make changes to the pit-stop adjustments and services by clicking the Green "Become Crew Chief" button in the black box and making adjustments as if they were the driver.


The spotter can only change pit-stop adjustments; services such as tires, fuel, and wing angle. In-car adjustments such as ABS, TC, and Throttle map can only be made by the driver.


Spotters are also able to save and share the current setup, using the buttons on the right of the Garage screen, even if they did not load the setup to the car.