iRacing’s new damage model has been something teased for over a year three years(!), but hasn’t been something that has been seen in action… until today! Steve Myers has shown us off-screen footage of a test performed, showing off debris from an “exploding” BMW Z4 GT3.

Richard was showing us progress on the new damage model so I filmed it! Richard was not thrilled. Long way to go still but it's real! pic.twitter.com/bPImwTjiaO — Steve Myers (@iRacingMyers) April 4, 2017

It is worth mentioning that this is NOT indicative of the final damage model, but it is definitely something. For the longest time, iRacing has not had any debris, which made for semi-unrealistic crashes. Compared to older Papyrus-era racing titles, where the damage was absolutely insane, this seems to be going in the right direction. It is still unsure if you will have wheels fall off of cars, but I would hope that suspension/wheels could fall off the car, as that has been a sticking point for racers in the past.

This is just a first look of the car’s new damage engine, but it is quite promising. It does raise some questions though… How will debris be removed from the track? Will there be debris cautions? Will these cars have a “Repair policy” that polices parts that can be replaced/removed? Time will tell, but this is an exciting time for iRacing. As of right now, no ETA has been revealed for the new damage model, but seeing it in-sim is a positive sign.

What are your thoughts on this new damage model? Let us know!