iRacing Scandal: Two Formula 2 Drivers and an Esports Racer Spark Outrage

Hardly a month goes by without a scandal at iRacing. No other simulation is operated as competitively as iRacing in regular online operation and the number of incidents in which people try to gain an advantage is accordingly high. This week, three well-known names are affected. Two Formula 2 drivers and an e-sports player.

The incident in detail

The incident occurred this week on the virtual Le Mans racetrack. During the training session, three drivers intentionally drove over the gravel traps. The background: The track state is transferred between sessions, and the corresponding section is practically undriveable in the qualifying session. The result was ruined laps for many drivers. The affected drivers acted together and deliberately returned their cars to the pits several times, only to drive onto the gravel again.

Members of the community are outraged

Naturally, the reactions from the community did not take long to come after it was announced. There were contributions with many reactions on X, Reddit, and the unofficial IRacing forum.

• iRacing Forum (50+ Posts): https://forums.iracing.com/discussion/98880/hymo-co-founder-and-two-f2-drivers-ruining-topsplit-for-everyone-else
• Reddit (300.000 impressions): https://www.reddit.com/r/simracing/comments/1vie8ve/comment/p2cxl74/:
• X ( >50.000 Impressions): https://x.com/F1Pepee/status/2086033679659241740

As expected, the reactions are extremely negative and range from disappointment to anger. Overall, the situation is considered unsportsmanlike, and it is clear that consequences are demanded.

Hymo reacts with a statement

Dáire McCormack, one of the drivers, is an e-sports driver and co-founder of HYMO Setups, an iRacing setup provider. The two affected Formula 2 drivers are not directly affiliated with HYMO, but they are in their orbit. HYMO COO William Chadwick has since addressed the incident and announced internal consequences. Unfortunately, it is already clear here how the situation is being downplayed by partially portraying the incident as unintentional. In combination with the driver’s statement, this seems more like an attempt to make excuses than an honest reflection of the situation. Many users also find it hard to believe that McCormack did not know that the track state affects the next session.

We are aware of the situation above, we had started an internal discussion about this before the reddit post last night as I was present in the race, you can maybe tell my feeling on the matter with the replay I saved at the time.

HYMO is not actively associated to Alex Dunne or Taylor Barnard, the HYMO liveries are public and free to use by anyone. after a deeper internal review late last night, we believe the actions undertaken by Daire to be irresponsible and immature. the two trips through the gravel at the turn one, only once do we deem it to be intentional due to the fact on the second event Daire lost the car naturally.

That being said, we still don’t condone these actions undertaken, and we accept there was also no attempt to deposit gravel off the racing line. I have attached the replay mentioned above, Alex and Taylor both clearly did this intentionally as see by the constant resetting and 4 trips through the turn 1 gravel trap each.

please feel free to watch the replay and make your own judgments, there will be internal consequences for Daire related to this matter.

William Chadwick -HYMO

Hello Dáire here,

Something must be clarified from my side to you guys, I did not know gravel comes across sessions.
It’s not an excuse, it’s just ignorance I suppose being relatively inexperienced with this sim.

Sorry if this affected people but I did not do it for the purpose stated in the post.

The track conditions are the same for everyone at the end of the day.

Dáire McCormack

Dáire McCormack statement

Of course, Dáire McCormack was also given the chance to speak about the events. He was asked three questions:

• First, William mentioned internal consequences for you. Can you share what those will be?
• Second, given your experience as an e-sports driver and co-founder of a setup provider, many find it extremely difficult to believe that you were unaware of the track state carryover mechanic. Can you clarify how you missed this core feature, and was the maneuver coordinated with Alex and Taylor beforehand?
• Third, how do you plan to rebuild trust with the community given your leadership position at HYMO?

You will find the full, detailed answer here, which is given in full at his request:

1. I have been removed from all things HYMO. I am only a share holder now with no input in the company. Refer to William for proof if needed
   
2. My experience, in iRacing specifically, primarily predates the game mechanic mentioned. I have seen it before of course but i assumed the gravel was being deposited during the qualifying by others. Not much thought had gone into that as i didnt really care for it. Nothing was communicated with Alex or Taylor during that session. They acted on their own accord. I followed Alex off track the first time, with no intentions of “depositing gravel to disrupt others”. There was no reason behind it, i just chased him across the gravel. This broke my suspension because i tapped William after leaving the gravel leading to me resetting the car.
   
   The second and final time i was in the gravel was due to a spin leaving the pits in T1. Both statements can be clearly backed up in the replay posted by William in the HYMO discord.
   
   Once again, I was NOT communicating with them during the practice or qualifying session.
   
3. I currently have no leadership in HYMO. My feelings on the situation are that it has been far beyond blown out of proportion on both HYMO’s and my involvement in the matter.
   
   If the incident was “reported” correctly in the first place this conversation would be very different.
   
   Both myself and HYMO have no involvement with Alex and Taylor who have seemingly done this on purpose.
   
   I am truly appalled with the treatment of this situation. While it looks bad on me with a simple glance of a screenshot, actually investigating what happened would have been much better. People need to realise that my Job and others are now at risk of a mistaken report.

Dáire McCormack