Introducing Stint Preferences: Smarter Driver Assignment for Endurance Racing
Managing driver assignments in endurance racing has always been a complex challenge. Team managers need to balance multiple factors: driver availability, weather conditions, day/night transitions, individual preferences, and fair distribution of driving time.
Introducing Stint Preferences: Smarter Driver Assignment for Endurance Racing
Previously, stint assignments were based primarily on availability and basic fairness algorithms. But what if a driver prefers night driving? What if someone wants to avoid rain conditions? What about drivers who excel at race starts?
Our new stint preference system allows each driver to specify their preferences for different racing conditions, automatically optimizing assignments while maintaining fairness across the team. The system intelligently processes rain driving preferences, night stint assignments (both in-game and real-world), race start preferences, and consecutive stint limits.
With real-time validation, visual feedback, and transparent fair share calculations, teams can now achieve better coordination and driver satisfaction. This feature is available to all iRacePlan users, helping racing teams optimize their strategy through data-driven driver assignments.
Key Features
Personalized Preferences
Each driver can set preferences for rain driving, night stints (both in-game and real-world), race starts, and consecutive stint limits.
Intelligent Assignment
Our advanced algorithm processes all preferences and race conditions to generate optimal assignments. The system considers:
- Driver preferences for rain, night, and race start conditions
- Availability windows and consecutive stint limits
- Fair distribution ensuring balanced driving time
- Race conditions matching stints to weather and lighting
Real-time Validation
Visual indicators show whether each driver's preferences are being met, with detailed explanations of current conditions.
Fair Share Monitoring
Built-in fairness calculations ensure no driver is over or under-utilized, with transparent lap distribution tracking.
How It Works
Set Your Preferences
Each team member configures their driving preferences through an intuitive interface:
- Rain Driving: Prefer, avoid, or no preference
- Night Driving: In-game and real-world time preferences
- Race Start: Preference for opening stint responsibility
- Consecutive Stints: Maximum preferred stint length
Intelligent Assignment
Our advanced algorithm processes all preferences and race conditions to generate optimal assignments. The system considers:
- Driver preferences for rain, night, and race start conditions
- Availability windows and consecutive stint limits
- Fair distribution ensuring balanced driving time
- Race conditions matching stints to weather and lighting
Visual Feedback & Validation
Team managers get real-time visibility into how well each driver's preferences are being satisfied:
Driver Preferences Status
Fair Share Calculation
Ensuring Equity Across Your Team
Using the iRacing's fair share system, we ensure no driver is overworked or underutilized.
Fair Share = (Total Race Laps ÷ Number of Drivers) × 0.25
Example Calculation:
- • Total laps: 306
- • Drivers: 4
- • Base share: 306 ÷ 4 = 76.5 laps
- • Fair share threshold: 76.5 × 0.25 = 19 laps minimum
Visual Indicators:
Smart Notifications
Preference Setup Reminder
Team members who haven't customized their preferences will see a prominent banner encouraging them to set up their driving preferences for better stint assignments.
Set your driving preferences to help optimize stint assignments for your team.
Technical Highlights
Performance Optimized
- • Efficient database queries with proper indexing
- • Cached preference calculations
- • Minimal UI re-renders with smart state management
- • Background processing for complex assignments
Robust Logic
- • Handles edge cases (no preferences, equal scores)
- • Timezone-aware calculations
- • Weather data integration
- • Comprehensive preference validation
Complete User Guide
Understanding Preference Rules
Rain Driving Preference
You'll be prioritized for rainy stints when available. If no rain stints exist, you won't be penalized.
You'll be excluded from rainy stints completely. Only use this if you're uncomfortable with wet conditions.
You're neutral about rain conditions and can be assigned to any stint based on other factors.
Night Driving Preferences
In-Game Night Driving
Based on the race's virtual time of day (lighting conditions in the simulator).
Prioritized for dark track conditions
Excluded from night stints
Available for any lighting
IRL Night Driving
Based on your local timezone - when you're actually driving in the dark.
Make sure your timezone is set in your profile for accurate IRL night detection.
Race Start Preference
You'll be prioritized for the opening stint. Great for drivers who excel at race starts and early positioning.
You'll be excluded from the opening stint. Useful if you prefer joining once the field has spread out.
You're available for any stint position based on other factors.
Consecutive Stints Limit
Set the maximum number of consecutive stints you prefer to drive before taking a break.
Rotate frequently
Balanced approach
Longer sessions
Marathon driving
How to Edit Your Preferences
You can edit your stint preferences in two convenient locations, depending on your workflow:
1
Through User Settings (Global Preferences)
Navigate to your User Settings from the main navigation menu
Profile Menu → Settings → Stint Planner
Configure your default preferences that will apply to all future stint planners you join
These settings become your global defaults and automatically apply when you join new teams
Setting up your baseline preferences once, or updating preferences across multiple active stint planners simultaneously.
2
Through Stint Planner (Race-Specific Preferences)
Open any Stint Planner where you're a team admin
Stint Planner Page → Drivers Section → "Edit" button
Look for the "Driver Preferences" section and click the "Edit preferences" button next to your name
Modify preferences specifically for this race while seeing real-time feedback on current assignments
Making race-specific adjustments while reviewing stint assignments, or quick changes during race strategy discussions.
Key Differences
User Settings
- • Sets global defaults for all races
- • One-time setup for consistent preferences
- • Applied automatically to new stint planners
- • Accessible from anywhere in the app
Stint Planner
- • Race-specific preference overrides
- • Context-aware editing with live feedback
- • Visible to team members immediately
- • Shows impact on current assignments
Tips for Team Managers
Ask team members to set their preferences before race week to allow time for strategy adjustments.
Check the Driver Preferences section to ensure fair distribution and preference satisfaction across your team.
Let your team know when you regenerate the stint plan after preference updates so they can review their new assignments.
Pay attention to the fair share indicators to ensure no driver is overwhelmed or underutilized in the final stint plan.
When Preferences Are Applied
Important: Preferences are for Initial Generation Only
Stint preferences are applied only during automated stint generation. Understanding when this happens is crucial for effective team management.
Preferences ARE Applied During:
Initial Stint Generation
When you first create a stint planner and click "Generate Stints" - preferences determine the initial driver assignments.
Full Stint Plan Reset
When you click "Reset & Regenerate" to completely rebuild the stint plan from scratch using current preferences.
Preferences are NOT Applied During:
Manual Driver Changes
When you manually assign drivers to specific stints using the dropdowns - your manual selections override any preferences.
Partial Updates
When you change race parameters (fuel, weather) without doing a full reset - existing driver assignments remain unchanged.
Mid-Race Adjustments
During race execution when you need to make real-time driver swaps due to circumstances.
Best Practices for Preference Usage
- Set preferences early: Configure all driver preferences before generating your initial stint plan.
- Use reset judiciously: Only reset when you want to completely rebuild assignments based on updated preferences.
- Manual overrides are preserved: Your strategic manual assignments won't be lost unless you explicitly reset.
- Check the visual indicators: Use the preference status display to verify the generated plan meets your team's needs.
Improving Race Strategy Together
Stint preferences are a step forward in helping teams better organize their race strategy. By allowing drivers to express their preferences and combining this with our assignment algorithms, we hope teams can achieve better coordination and driver satisfaction.
This feature is now available to all iRacePlan users. We're always looking to improve and expand the system based on your feedback and suggestions.
🏁 Give It a Try
Feel free to explore the stint preferences feature in your iRacePlan account. We'd love to hear your feedback on how it works for your team.
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