How to get .ibt files from iRacing

1. Configure the telemetry hotkey

Before you head onto track, check (or assign) the shortcut that toggles recording.

1. 1
   Launch iRacing: Load into any practice or test session.
2. 2
   Open Options: From the top navigation bar, open the Options menu.
3. 3
   Select the Control tab: You'll see your controls listed on the right.
4. 4
   Find the Telemetry toggle: It sits with the other controls/replay entries.
5. 5
   Note or remap the shortcut: The default is Alt + L, but you can map it to a button on your wheel or keyboard.
6. 6
   Save: Click Done.

2. Enable recording in-car

Telemetry is recorded per stint, while you're sitting in the cockpit.

• Start logging:once you're buckled in, press Alt + L (or your mapped control). A telemetry indicator with the text Telemetry Logging, or a blinking circle, briefly flashes on your HUD to confirm it's on.
• Stop logging: press Alt + L again before you exit, or just hit Escape and tow/exit back to the pit stall.

Important: iRacing only writes the .ibt file to disk when you stop recording or exit the car. If the game crashes mid-session or closes abruptly, the active file may not be finalised.

3. Locate your .ibt files

Files are saved locally to your Windows Documents directory:

C:\Users\<YourUsername>\Documents\iRacing\telemetry\

(or %USERPROFILE%\Documents\iRacing\telemetry\)

They're named chronologically with the car, track, and session timestamp:

[CarName]_[TrackName]_[Year]-[Month]-[Day]_[Hour]-[Minute]-[Second].ibt

Example: dallaraf3_spa 2024-05-12 14-30-15.ibt

Optional: record every session automatically (advanced)

Don't want to press Alt + L every time you get in the car? You can force iRacing to record telemetry automatically on every stint.

If you use Garage 61: the Garage 61 desktop agent already enables this setting behind the scenes, so your sessions are already recording .ibt files automatically. Nothing to do.

Otherwise, set it manually in app.ini:

1. 1
   Close iRacing: The file is only safe to edit while the game is off.
2. 2
   Open your iRacing config folder: Documents\iRacing\ in File Explorer.
3. 3
   Edit app.ini: Open it in Notepad (or any text editor), then press Ctrl + F and search for [Telemetry].
4. 4
   Find telemetryLogAutoStart: You'll find telemetryLogAutoStart=0.
5. 5
   Set it to 1: Change it to telemetryLogAutoStart=1, then save and close the file.

Tip: .ibt files average 20–50 MB per stint. Check Documents\iRacing\telemetry\every so often (Garage 61 has a built-in cleanup if you use it) so your drive doesn't fill up.

Uploading to Hit Your Apex

1. 1
   Log in and open My Laps: The My Laps page is where your own sessions live.
2. 2
   Upload the .ibt: Click Upload .ibt session and pick the file.
3. 3
   That's it: One file is one session. Every lap in it is parsed and listed, so you can compare them and share them with your coach.

Good to know

• Set the hotkey once, and remember to flip logging on at the start of each stint.
• If a file is missing or truncated, iRacing most likely crashed before it could finalise the recording.
• .ibt is iRacing's standard raw telemetry format, the same one used by third-party analysis tools.