Dependent System Claims 8–12 — Detailed Claim Mapping
Additional System Limitations Assessed Against Publicly Disclosed iRacing Functionality. Each claim carries two separate findings: Level 1, the additional limitation introduced by the dependent claim; and Level 2, the complete dependent claim, which incorporates every limitation of independent Claim 7. No percentage scoring is used and no infringement conclusion is drawn.
Granted U.S. Patent —US 12,528,021 B2
View Issued Claims 8–12Dependent system claim structure
Claim 7 Is the Foundation
Independent system Claim 7
- Real-world event data feed
- One or more processors
- User computer hardware
- Multi-dimensional virtual environment
- Physical participant representations
- Corresponding physical movement
- User avatar
- Display
- User control / instructions
- Virtual competition
Claim 8
+ user performance data
Claim 9
+ 2D / 3D physical-environment representation
Claim 10
+ modifiable environmental / physical conditions
Claim 11
+ user-modifiable virtual equipment
Claim 12
+ defined racing surface
Each of Claims 8–12 incorporates every limitation of Claim 7. Strong evidence for an additional dependent limitation therefore does not independently establish the dependent claim as a whole.
The issued patent expressly establishes this dependency. The controlling text is the issued claim set of US 12,528,021 B2.
Methodology
Every Claim Is Assessed at Two Levels
Level 1 — additional limitation
Does publicly disclosed iRacing functionality establish the additional feature introduced by the dependent claim?
Level 2 — complete dependent claim
Does the evidence establish Claim 7 plus the additional dependent limitation?
The two findings are never merged. No percentage overlap, ratio, risk score or infringement probability is used anywhere in this section, and no infringement conclusion is drawn.
Dependent system claim 8
Claim 8 — User Performance Data
Exact issued claim language
“The system according to claim 7, further including receiving, by the one or more processors, data relating to performance of one or more users who virtually participate in the racing event.”
Controlling text: the issued claim set of US 12,528,021 B2.
Technical requirement
- The system of Claim 7 in its entirety;
- the one or more processors further receive data;
- that data relates to the performance of one or more users;
- those users are users who virtually participate in the racing event.
The system-claim issue is not merely whether performance information exists somewhere. The additional limitation is directed to receipt of that performance data by the processors of the claimed system.
Claim 8 — technical architecture
User Performance Data Into the Processors
User
Virtual racing activity
Performance data
Processors
Performance record / analysis
Claim 8 — processor relationship
The System-Claim Issue Is Receipt by the Processors
The important system-claim issue is not merely whether performance information exists. The additional limitation is directed to the processors of the claimed system receiving data relating to the performance of users who virtually participate.
User computer hardware
iRacing client
Racing activity
Performance data
iRacing system / processing
This provides strong technical correspondence with the additional Claim 8 limitation.
Evidence matrix
Claim 8 — Source-Linked Evidence Cards
Safety RatingLast modified 15 July 2026 · expand
- iRacing function
- Per-discipline driver rating computed from race activity
- What the source establishes
- iRacing publicly confirms that Safety Rating evaluates driver activity using factors including incident points, corners completed and session type, and that Safety Ratings are maintained separately for individual racing disciplines. This is server-side computation performed on data generated by the user's virtual participation.
- Identified data points
- Incident points
- Corners completed
- Session type
- Per-discipline ratings
- What it does not establish
- It does not establish that any part of the data originates from a corresponding real-world racing event or its physical participants.
- Public source · date · entity
- iRacing SupportiRacing Support — Safety RatingLast modified 15 July 2026iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC
Additional-limitation assessment
Publicly Established — Strong Correspondence
Whole-claim assessment
Claim 8 as a complete claim — not established from current public disclosures.
Driving performanceAccessed August 2026 · expand
- iRacing function
- Lap, incident, session and result data with driver ratings
- What the source establishes
- iRacing publicly documents lap performance, incidents, session performance, race results and driver ratings arising from user participation, processed by iRacing systems and reflected in member records.
- Identified data points
- Lap performance
- Incidents
- Session performance
- Race results
- Driver ratings
- What it does not establish
- It does not establish physical-event participant performance data, nor any feed of such data into the system.
- Public source · date · entity
- iRacing First PartyiRacing 101 — Incident PointsAccessed August 2026iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC
Additional-limitation assessment
Publicly Established — Strong Correspondence
Whole-claim assessment
Claim 8 as a complete claim — not established from current public disclosures.
Telemetry18 February 2025 · expand
- iRacing function
- Vehicle / driver-input telemetry associated with the user's session
- What the source establishes
- iRacing's vehicle telemetry documentation describes telemetry associated with the user's own simulated driving, including driver inputs and vehicle behaviour recorded across a lap. Each listed data point below is drawn from that first-party telemetry material rather than from generalised description.
- Identified data points
- Steering input
- Throttle
- Braking
- Vehicle behaviour
- Lap data
- Driver performance information
- What it does not establish
- This is simulation telemetry generated inside iRacing. It is not physical-event telemetry from a real-world race, and it is not presented as such.
- Public source · date · entity
- iRacing SupportiRacing Support — Vehicle Telemetry Update18 February 2025iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC
Additional-limitation assessment
Publicly Established — Strong Correspondence
Whole-claim assessment
Claim 8 as a complete claim — not established from current public disclosures.
Level 1 — additional limitation
Additional Claim 8 Limitation
The identified first-party evidence establishes that data relating to the performance of users who virtually participate in iRacing sessions is received and processed by iRacing systems, and is used to maintain per-user records including Safety Rating and driver ratings.
Because the chain runs from user hardware through the iRacing client and racing activity to iRacing system processing, the correspondence is with the processor-receipt requirement of the additional limitation and not merely with the existence of performance statistics.
Descriptive assessment only. No numerical or percentage scoring is applied.
Mandatory qualification
User performance telemetry is not physical-event telemetry
All of the performance data identified here is generated by the user's activity inside the iRacing simulation. It must never be characterised as a data feed from the corresponding real-world racing event or from that event's physical participants.
Level 2 — complete dependent claim
Claim 8 as a Complete Claim — Not Established
Claim 8 incorporates every limitation of independent Claim 7, including the presently unresolved real-world-event-data requirements identified in Section 08.
Accordingly, although the additional Claim 8 limitation is publicly established with strong correspondence, Claim 8 as a complete claim is not established from current public disclosures.
Unresolved Claim 7 requirements carried forward (Section 08)
- Data feed originating from the corresponding real-world racing event
- Processor configuration deriving virtual participants from that event data
- Virtualized physical participants moving according to corresponding physical movement
- User virtual competition against those event-derived participants
Dependent system claim 9
Claim 9 — 2D or 3D Representation of the Physical Environment
Exact issued claim language
“The system according to claim 7, wherein the multi-dimensional virtual environment is either a three dimensional or two dimensional representation of the physical environment of the racing event.”
Controlling text: the issued claim set of US 12,528,021 B2.
Technical requirement
- The system of Claim 7 in its entirety;
- the multi-dimensional virtual environment is a three-dimensional or two-dimensional representation;
- that representation is of the physical environment of the racing event.
The claim recites alternatives. For iRacing the analysis focuses on the three-dimensional alternative; no effort is made to prove both, because satisfying one alternative is sufficient.
Claim 9 — major evidence panel
Physical Circuit → Digital Racing Environment
Real-world racing circuit
3D laser scanning
Geometric / surface data
Digital reconstruction
iRacing 3D environment
iRacing expressly states that it uses proprietary three-dimensional laser scanning to recreate physical circuits and to reproduce cracks, surface features, camber and undulations.
Physical characteristics captured
- Racing surface
- Elevation
- Camber
- Undulations
- Track geometry
- Physical irregularities
- Surrounding environment where evidenced
iRacing First PartyiRacing Track TechnologyAccessed August 2026
Evidence matrix
Claim 9 — Source-Linked Evidence Cards
Three-dimensional laser-scanned circuitsAccessed August 2026 · expand
- iRacing function
- Proprietary 3D laser scanning and digital reconstruction of physical circuits
- What the source establishes
- iRacing expressly states that it uses proprietary three-dimensional laser scanning to recreate physical circuits, reproducing cracks, surface features, camber and undulations, so that the digital environment corresponds geometrically to the physical venue.
- Identified data points
- Racing surface
- Elevation
- Camber
- Undulations
- Track geometry
- Physical irregularities
- Surrounding environment where evidenced
- What it does not establish
- Track reconstruction establishes replication of the venue. It does not establish a feed of data from a racing event occurring at that venue, nor the presence of event-derived physical participants within the environment.
- Public source · date · entity
- iRacing First PartyiRacing Track TechnologyAccessed August 2026iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC
Additional-limitation assessment
Publicly Established — Very Strong Correspondence
Whole-claim assessment
Claim 9 as a complete claim — not established from current public disclosures.
Scale of the reconstructed catalogueAccessed August 2026 · expand
- iRacing function
- Large published catalogue of recreated real-world circuits and configurations
- What the source establishes
- iRacing publicly lists an extensive catalogue of real-world circuits in multiple configurations, each presented as a three-dimensional racing environment.
- What it does not establish
- Catalogue scale does not affect the inherited Claim 7 requirements; it goes only to breadth of the additional limitation.
- Public source · date · entity
- iRacing First PartyiRacing TracksAccessed August 2026iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC
Additional-limitation assessment
Publicly Established — Very Strong Correspondence
Whole-claim assessment
Claim 9 as a complete claim — not established from current public disclosures.
Level 1 — additional limitation
Additional Claim 9 Limitation
The public evidence strongly establishes that iRacing generates three-dimensional digital representations of real physical racing environments, derived from measurement of the physical venue itself.
This is among the strongest points of technical correspondence identified anywhere in this review in respect of an additional dependent limitation.
Descriptive assessment only. No numerical or percentage scoring is applied.
Level 2 — complete dependent claim
Claim 9 as a Complete Claim — Not Established
Claim 9 incorporates independent Claim 7. The inherited event-feed and participant-movement requirements remain unresolved on the identified public record.
Claim 9 as a complete claim is therefore not established, notwithstanding very strong correspondence with its additional limitation.
Unresolved Claim 7 requirements carried forward (Section 08)
- Data feed originating from the corresponding real-world racing event
- Processor configuration deriving virtual participants from that event data
- Virtualized physical participants moving according to corresponding physical movement
- User virtual competition against those event-derived participants
Dependent system claim 10
Claim 10 — Modifiable Environmental / Physical Conditions
Exact issued claim language
“The system according to claim 7, wherein the multi-dimensional virtual environment that substantially simulates the physical environment of the racing event is modifiable to simulate any defined environmental and/or physical conditions.”
Controlling text: the issued claim set of US 12,528,021 B2.
Technical requirement
- The system of Claim 7 in its entirety;
- a virtual environment substantially simulating the physical racing environment;
- that environment is modifiable;
- the modification simulates one or more defined environmental and/or physical conditions.
Claim 10 — weather
Dynamic Environmental Simulation
iRacing publicly provides configurable weather including cloud cover, track moisture, temperature, wind speed, humidity, fog and rainfall. Its Forecasted Weather and Timeline Weather systems permit conditions to be configured and changed throughout a racing session.
User / system defined conditions
Temperature
Rain
Humidity
Wind
Fog
Cloud cover
iRacing environment engine
Modified virtual racing conditions
Changed driving environment
iRacing SupportiRacing Weather SystemAccessed August 2026
Claim 10 — dynamic track
A Computationally Changing Physical-Condition Model
iRacing's track technology material states that tracks actively change during sessions and that its servers receive virtual-race data including vehicles, driving patterns, weather and tyre setups, and dynamically reapply that information to the track surface in real time. Its technical material also describes server-side modelling of track temperatures and physical surface behaviour.
This demonstrates a computationally changing physical-condition model, rather than merely visual weather effects — which is why it is treated as separate evidence from the weather system.
iRacing First PartyiRacing Track TechnologyAccessed August 2026
Claim 10 — real-time feedback loop
Virtual Race → Servers → Dynamic Track Model → User Experience
Virtual race
Vehicle activity
Driving patterns
Tyres
Weather
iRacing servers
Dynamic track model
Surface temperature
Rubber
Moisture
Grip
Track state
Updated virtual environment
User experience
Mandatory qualification
This is evidence of iRacing processing data generated within its virtual racing system. It is not evidence, without more, of the Claim 7 data feed originating from the corresponding real-world racing event.
Evidence matrix
Claim 10 — Source-Linked Evidence Cards
Dynamic environmental simulation — iRacing Weather SystemAccessed August 2026 · expand
- iRacing function
- Configurable weather with forecasted and timeline modes
- What the source establishes
- iRacing publicly provides configurable weather including cloud cover, track moisture, temperature, wind speed, humidity, fog and rainfall. Its Forecasted Weather and Timeline Weather systems permit conditions to be configured and to change throughout a racing session.
- Identified data points
- Cloud cover
- Track moisture
- Temperature
- Wind speed
- Humidity
- Fog
- Rainfall
- What it does not establish
- Configurable weather establishes modifiable environmental conditions. It does not establish that conditions are derived from the corresponding real-world racing event as it occurs.
- Public source · date · entity
- iRacing SupportiRacing Support — Weather SystemAccessed August 2026iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC
Additional-limitation assessment
Publicly Established — Very Strong Correspondence
Whole-claim assessment
Claim 10 as a complete claim — not established from current public disclosures.
Dynamic Track — computational physical-condition modelAccessed August 2026 · expand
- iRacing function
- Server-side track-state modelling reapplied to the racing surface in real time
- What the source establishes
- iRacing's track technology material states that tracks actively change during sessions and that its servers receive virtual-race data including vehicles, driving patterns, weather and tyre setups, dynamically reapplying that information to the track surface in real time. Its technical material also describes server-side modelling of track temperatures and physical surface behaviour. This is a computationally changing physical-condition model rather than merely visual weather effects.
- What it does not establish
- This is data relating to the iRacing virtual race. It is not, without separate evidence, a data feed from the corresponding real-world racing event.
- Public source · date · entity
- iRacing First PartyiRacing Track TechnologyAccessed August 2026iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC
Additional-limitation assessment
Publicly Established — Very Strong Correspondence
Whole-claim assessment
Claim 10 as a complete claim — not established from current public disclosures.
Level 1 — additional limitation
Additional Claim 10 Limitation
The identified public evidence establishes both configurable environmental conditions and a server-maintained physical-condition model that changes the racing surface during a session.
The correspondence therefore extends beyond graphical weather to modification of the simulated physical conditions themselves, which is the subject-matter of the additional Claim 10 limitation.
Descriptive assessment only. No numerical or percentage scoring is applied.
Mandatory qualification
Internal virtual-race data is not a real-world event feed
The dynamic-track evidence is evidence of iRacing processing data generated within its own virtual racing system. It is not evidence, without more, of the Claim 7 data feed originating from the corresponding real-world racing event.
Level 2 — complete dependent claim
Claim 10 as a Complete Claim — Not Established
Claim 10 incorporates independent Claim 7, which remains incomplete on present public evidence.
Claim 10 as a complete claim is therefore not established from current public disclosures.
Unresolved Claim 7 requirements carried forward (Section 08)
- Data feed originating from the corresponding real-world racing event
- Processor configuration deriving virtual participants from that event data
- Virtualized physical participants moving according to corresponding physical movement
- User virtual competition against those event-derived participants
Dependent system claim 11
Claim 11 — User-Modifiable Virtual Equipment
Exact issued claim language
“The system according to claim 7, wherein the multi-dimensional virtual environment further includes virtual equipment that is/are modifiable in part, or whole, according to user input entered prior to, and/or during, the racing event.”
Controlling text: the issued claim set of US 12,528,021 B2.
Technical requirement
- The system of Claim 7 in its entirety;
- virtual equipment within the claimed system;
- modification in part or in whole;
- modification according to user input;
- the input entered prior to and/or during the racing event.
The limitation has two temporal components — before racing and during racing — and it requires modification according to USER input. Developer-side physics or vehicle updates are not user input and are not relied upon.
Claim 11 — before racing
iRacing Garage / Vehicle Setup
Public iRacing documentation confirms that users may load and use custom race-car setups and that available setup selections vary between vehicle types. Adjustable parameters are mapped only where supported for the relevant vehicle.
Adjustable parameters where supported
- Tyre pressures
- Suspension
- Dampers
- Ride height
- Aerodynamic configuration
- Brake settings
- Gearing where applicable
- Other vehicle-specific parameters
User
Garage
Vehicle parameters
Modified virtual racing vehicle
Race
iRacing SupportiRacing Setup GuideSetup Guide PDFAccessed August 2026
Claim 11 — during racing
In-Session User Modification
Only functions supported by first-party evidence are relied upon. Identified examples include:
- Brake-bias adjustment
- Tyre changes
- Wet / dry tyre selection
- Pit-stop adjustments
- Refuelling
- Supported aerodynamic adjustments
Specification example — not proof of the claim
The patent specification itself contemplates user modification of racing equipment, including changing tyres during changing weather conditions. Similarity to a specification example does not independently prove the issued claim. The issued claim language controls.
Claim 11 — system flow
User Input Through to Modified Vehicle Behaviour
User input
User computer hardware
iRacing client / system
Virtual equipment configuration
Vehicle setup
Simulation engine
Modified virtual vehicle behaviour
This shows that the additional Claim 11 limitation is not merely about cosmetic vehicle selection: user input changes the configuration acted upon by the simulation engine.
Evidence matrix
Claim 11 — Source-Linked Evidence Cards
Before racing — garage / vehicle setupAccessed August 2026 · expand
- iRacing function
- User-selected and user-edited vehicle setups loaded prior to a session
- What the source establishes
- Public iRacing documentation confirms that users may load and use custom race-car setups, and that available setup selections vary between vehicle types. The first-party setup material identifies adjustable vehicle parameters where supported for the relevant vehicle.
- Identified data points
- Tyre pressures
- Suspension
- Dampers
- Ride height
- Aerodynamic configuration
- Brake settings
- Gearing where applicable
- Other vehicle-specific parameters
- What it does not establish
- Setup configurability does not establish any of the inherited Claim 7 event-data or participant-movement requirements.
- Public source · date · entity
- iRacing SupportiRacing Setup Guide (support article and PDF)Accessed August 2026iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC
Additional-limitation assessment
Publicly Established — Very Strong Correspondence
Whole-claim assessment
Claim 11 as a complete claim — not established from current public disclosures.
During racing — in-session modificationAccessed August 2026 · expand
- iRacing function
- Driver-initiated adjustments during a race, including pit-stop service
- What the source establishes
- First-party release and support documentation identifies driver-adjustable functions during a session, including brake-bias adjustment, tyre changes, wet/dry tyre selection, pit-stop adjustments, refuelling and supported aerodynamic adjustments, subject to what each vehicle permits.
- Identified data points
- Brake-bias adjustment
- Tyre changes
- Wet / dry tyre selection
- Pit-stop adjustments
- Refuelling
- Supported aerodynamic adjustments
- What it does not establish
- In-race modification is user-directed configuration of the virtual vehicle. It does not establish event-derived participants or the real-world event feed.
- Public source · date · entity
- iRacing Release DocumentationiRacing Release DocumentationAccessed August 2026iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC
Additional-limitation assessment
Publicly Established — Very Strong Correspondence
Whole-claim assessment
Claim 11 as a complete claim — not established from current public disclosures.
Level 1 — additional limitation
Additional Claim 11 Limitation
The identified evidence establishes user-directed modification of virtual racing equipment both prior to and during a racing session, operating through user hardware and the iRacing client into the simulation engine so that vehicle behaviour changes accordingly.
The additional Claim 11 limitation is therefore not merely about cosmetic vehicle selection; the public record corresponds with functional, user-entered equipment modification.
Descriptive assessment only. No numerical or percentage scoring is applied.
Mandatory qualification
Specification examples do not establish the issued claim
The patent specification itself contemplates user modification of racing equipment, including changing tyres during changing weather conditions. Similarity to a specification example does not independently prove the issued claim: the issued claim language controls, and it is assessed on its own terms.
Level 2 — complete dependent claim
Claim 11 as a Complete Claim — Not Established
Claim 11 depends from independent Claim 7 and incorporates all of its limitations.
Claim 11 as a complete claim is therefore not established from current public disclosures.
Unresolved Claim 7 requirements carried forward (Section 08)
- Data feed originating from the corresponding real-world racing event
- Processor configuration deriving virtual participants from that event data
- Virtualized physical participants moving according to corresponding physical movement
- User virtual competition against those event-derived participants
Dependent system claim 12
Claim 12 — Racing Surface
Exact issued claim language
“The system according to claim 7, wherein the multi-dimensional virtual environment includes a racing surface selected from any one or more of a race track, an animal race track, an automobile race track, a dirt road, a sports court/arena, a marathon track, a rally (race car) track, a ski/snow field or a body of water.”
Controlling text: the issued claim set of US 12,528,021 B2.
Technical requirement
- The system of Claim 7 in its entirety;
- a multi-dimensional virtual environment;
- that environment includes a racing surface;
- the racing surface is selected from one or more of the enumerated categories.
The issued term is racing surface. This section uses that term throughout, in preference to the looser description used when summarising the corresponding dependent method claim. Because the claim recites alternatives, only categories actually relevant to iRacing are mapped.
Claim 12 — relevant categories
Racing Surfaces Relevant to iRacing
Claim 12 recites alternatives. Only the enumerated racing-surface categories actually relevant to iRacing are mapped; there is no attempt to map every alternative.
Race track
Strong correspondenceiRacing publicly operates a large catalogue of virtual racing circuits in numerous configurations, each presented as a racing surface within the simulated environment.
iRacing TracksAccessed August 2026
Automobile race track
Very strong correspondenceiRacing's core product is automobile racing on recreations of real-world automobile circuits, publicly described as reproduced by proprietary three-dimensional laser scanning.
iRacing Track TechnologyAccessed August 2026
Dirt road
Strong correspondence where supportedThe current Official Sporting Code identifies Dirt Road as a racing discipline involving vehicles operating on non-circular tracks composed at least partly of dirt racing surfaces.
Official Sporting Code V.2025.09.099 September 2025
Rally (race car) track
Relevant where technically supportableiRacing maintains a dedicated Rallycross discipline combining dirt and pavement surfaces, jumps and real-world rallycross venues. This is relevant to the enumerated rally (race car) racing surface category; whether it falls within that enumerated term is a construction question for counsel.
iRacing RallycrossAccessed August 2026
Not mapped — no identified evidence
- Animal race tracks
- Sports courts
- Marathon tracks
- Ski fields
- Bodies of water
No correspondence is asserted with these alternatives. It is unnecessary, because Claim 12 permits selection from one or more of the enumerated categories.
Claim 12 — physical surface replication
Physical Automobile Racetrack → Virtual Automobile Racetrack
Physical automobile racetrack
Laser scan
Surface geometry
Digital reconstruction
Virtual automobile racetrack
iRacing states that its laser-scanning system reproduces physical track characteristics including road-surface imperfections, camber and undulations. This is highly relevant to the additional Claim 12 limitation.
Claim 12 — dynamic racing surface
Surfaces That Evolve During a Race
iRacing publicly says its surfaces evolve during races based on weather and virtual competitor activity. This is not necessary merely to establish the enumerated racing-surface limitation, but it reinforces how sophisticated the implementation is when Claims 10 and 12 are viewed together.
Evidence matrix
Claim 12 — Source-Linked Evidence Cards
Automobile racing surfacesAccessed August 2026 · expand
- iRacing function
- Recreated automobile circuits reproduced from physical surface measurement
- What the source establishes
- iRacing states that its laser-scanning system reproduces physical track characteristics including road-surface imperfections, camber and undulations, producing virtual automobile racing surfaces derived from the physical racetrack.
- What it does not establish
- Surface replication does not establish the inherited Claim 7 requirements.
- Public source · date · entity
- iRacing First PartyiRacing Track TechnologyAccessed August 2026iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC
Additional-limitation assessment
Publicly Established — Very Strong Correspondence
Whole-claim assessment
Claim 12 as a complete claim — not established from current public disclosures.
Dirt and rallycross surfaces9 September 2025 / accessed August 2026 · expand
- iRacing function
- Dirt Road discipline and dedicated Rallycross surfaces
- What the source establishes
- The current Official Sporting Code identifies Dirt Road as a discipline using dirt racing surfaces, and iRacing maintains a dedicated Rallycross discipline combining dirt and pavement surfaces at real-world venues.
- What it does not establish
- Whether rallycross falls within the enumerated rally (race car) track category is a claim-construction question for qualified U.S. patent counsel.
- Public source · date · entity
- iRacing Sporting CodeOfficial Sporting Code V.2025.09.09 / iRacing Rallycross9 September 2025 / accessed August 2026iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC
Additional-limitation assessment
Publicly Established — Very Strong Correspondence
Whole-claim assessment
Claim 12 as a complete claim — not established from current public disclosures.
Dynamic racing surfaceAccessed August 2026 · expand
- iRacing function
- Surfaces evolving during a session from weather and competitor activity
- What the source establishes
- iRacing publicly states that its surfaces evolve during races based on weather and virtual competitor activity, reinforcing the sophistication of the implementation when Claims 10 and 12 are read together.
- What it does not establish
- This is not necessary to establish the enumerated racing-surface limitation, and it is not evidence of a real-world event feed.
- Public source · date · entity
- iRacing First PartyiRacing Track TechnologyAccessed August 2026iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations, LLC
Additional-limitation assessment
Publicly Established — Very Strong Correspondence
Whole-claim assessment
Claim 12 as a complete claim — not established from current public disclosures.
Level 1 — additional limitation
Additional Claim 12 Limitation
The public record establishes that iRacing virtual environments include racing surfaces within the enumerated categories, most clearly automobile race tracks and race tracks, and additionally dirt surfaces where supported.
Because the claim permits selection from one or more enumerated categories, no attempt is made to map alternatives for which no iRacing evidence exists.
Descriptive assessment only. No numerical or percentage scoring is applied.
Level 2 — complete dependent claim
Claim 12 as a Complete Claim — Not Established
Claim 12 incorporates independent Claim 7.
Claim 12 as a complete claim is therefore not established from current public disclosures.
Unresolved Claim 7 requirements carried forward (Section 08)
- Data feed originating from the corresponding real-world racing event
- Processor configuration deriving virtual participants from that event data
- Virtualized physical participants moving according to corresponding physical movement
- User virtual competition against those event-derived participants
Master claims 8–12 table
Two-Level Assessment Summary
| Claim | Additional limitation | Principal iRacing evidence | Additional limitation | Whole claim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claim 8 | User performance data | Safety Rating, telemetry, race / session data | Established / Strong | Not established |
| Claim 9 | 2D / 3D physical environment | 3D laser-scanned circuits | Established / Very Strong | Not established |
| Claim 10 | Modifiable environmental / physical conditions | Weather system + Dynamic Track | Established / Very Strong | Not established |
| Claim 11 | User-modifiable virtual equipment | Garage / setup + in-race adjustments | Established / Very Strong | Not established |
| Claim 12 | Enumerated racing surface | Automobile tracks, dirt / rally surfaces | Established / Very Strong | Not established |
“Whole Claim — Not Established” results from the presently unresolved inherited limitations of independent Claim 7, rather than absence of correspondence with the additional dependent limitations.
Important patent story
The Dependent System Features Are Already Present Around the Unresolved Core
Claim 8
User performance data
Additional feature publicly established
Claim 9
3D real-world track reconstruction
Additional feature publicly established
Claim 10
Dynamic environmental conditions
Additional feature publicly established
Claim 11
User-modifiable racing equipment
Additional feature publicly established
Claim 12
Claimed racing surfaces
Additional feature publicly established
Unresolved public-evidence bridge
Real-world race event
Event data feed
Physical participant movement
Corresponding virtual participants
User competes against those participants
The tick marks denote only that an additional dependent feature is publicly established. They do not denote satisfaction of any claim, and no legal conclusion is expressed.
Why this matters
System Architecture Convergence
The public record shows that iRacing has already developed sophisticated technical infrastructure around the claimed system concept:
- User hardware
- Network-connected racing
- Server processing
- Performance data
- High-fidelity physical track models
- Dynamic racing surfaces
- Weather simulation
- Configurable vehicles
- Interactive user control
- Virtual competitors
This means the principal question is increasingly concentrated around a narrower architectural bridge:
Does physical event / participant data enter that system in the manner required by independent Claim 7?
That is the question this document puts squarely before iRacing's technical and legal reviewers.
Mandatory evidentiary warnings
Analytical Rules Governing Claims 8–12
Internal virtual-race data ≠ real-world event feed
iRacing publicly says its servers receive data about a race, including vehicles, driving patterns, weather and tyre setups, and dynamically reapply that data to its track surface. That is significant. But on the identified evidence, this is data relating to the iRacing virtual race. It must not be presented as a data feed from the real-world racing event unless separate evidence establishes that relationship.
Historical weather data ≠ historical racing-event data
iRacing's weather system can automatically derive conditions from historical information for an area. That strongly supports Claim 10. It does not independently satisfy Claim 7's historical-event feed.
User performance telemetry ≠ physical-participant telemetry
Claim 8 evidence concerns data generated by users participating inside the simulation. It must be kept separate at all times from telemetry produced by physical participants at a real-world racing event.
Developer updates ≠ user input
Claim 11 requires modification according to user input. Developer-side vehicle or physics updates are not user input and are not relied upon as evidence of the additional Claim 11 limitation.
Combination analysis
Individual Features vs the Claimed Combination
Patent claim analysis concerns the claimed combination, not merely whether each technology exists somewhere within a company's broader ecosystem.
Publicly established individually
- Performance processing
- 3D environments
- Weather modification
- Dynamic physical conditions
- Virtual-equipment modification
- Automobile racing surfaces
Not yet established as the complete claimed combination
- Those capabilities operating as part of a system driven by data from the corresponding physical racing event and its physical participants.
First-party evidence priority
Source Hierarchy Applied in Section 09
Granted U.S. Patent
iRacing first-party technical material
iRacing support documentation
Official motorsport / technology partners
Reliable secondary sources only where necessary
No unsupported statements are made. Where a source is evergreen, it is labelled as accessed for this review; where a source shows a publication or last-modified date, that date is stated.
Section 09 evidence repository
Identified Sources — Claims 8–12
| Topic | Source | Provenance | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granted patent — issued Claims 8–12 | US 12,528,021 B2 — issued claims | Issued U.S. Patent | Granted patent record |
| Physical environment / dynamic track | iRacing Track Technology | iRacing First Party | Accessed August 2026 |
| User performance | iRacing Support — Safety Rating | iRacing Support | Last modified 15 July 2026 |
| User performance telemetry | iRacing Support — Vehicle Telemetry Update | iRacing Support | 18 February 2025 |
| Environmental modification | iRacing Support — Weather System | iRacing Support | Accessed August 2026 |
| Virtual equipment | iRacing Setup Guide | iRacing Support | Accessed August 2026 |
| Racing surfaces / disciplines | Official Sporting Code V.2025.09.09 | iRacing Sporting Code | 9 September 2025 |
| Rally-style surfaces | iRacing Rallycross | iRacing First Party | Accessed August 2026 |
Section closing
Claims 8–12 — Current Public-Evidence Position
The additional system limitations introduced by Claims 8–12 exhibit substantial and, in several instances, particularly strong correspondence with publicly disclosed iRacing functionality.
Whole-claim position
These findings do not establish Claims 8–12 as complete combinations, because each incorporates independent Claim 7, for which the presently identified public record does not establish the central real-world-event-feed and physical-participant-movement limitations.
This section expresses no infringement conclusion and applies no numerical scoring. Final legal conclusions require review by qualified U.S. patent counsel.
Strategic conclusion
Why the Granted Patent Matters to iRacing
The significance of the granted patent is not based merely on the fact that iRacing operates a racing simulation.
Rather, the patent defines an architecture in which sophisticated virtual-racing technologies — including many capabilities iRacing already publicly operates — are combined with a specific additional bridge between the physical racing event and the interactive virtual racing experience.
Physical event data
Physical participant movement
Corresponding virtualized participants
Interactive user competition
This is the central patent position.
Next — Independent Claim 13
Non-Transitory Computer-Readable Medium — Detailed Mapping
Claim 13 creates the third independent statutory claim category.
The next analysis must determine whether publicly disclosed iRacing software and computing architecture corresponds with the claimed stored instructions which, when executed, cause processors to perform the specified real-world-event virtual-participation architecture.
Claim 13 is not mapped in this section; the Claim 7 and Claim 1 results are not reused.