Update 9, as it's officially called, will bring another new circuit location to the game as Sebring makes its way back to the series having missed the cut for launch day.
The release notes for the update suggest that there'll be two courses at the location, with the full-length, 3.7-mile (although curiously listed as 3.74 miles…), 17-turn course as used in the two famous endurance races on the same weekend joined by a Short Circuit running at two miles in length.
This being the case, it looks like short, north course — the Club Circuit — won't make the transition into FM, while the old, lightly massaged Short Circuit in previous titles is replaced with a more accurate version of the School Circuit.
Naturally that's the most high-profile of the three, the 2024 model of the Porsche 963 as raced by the Penske Motorsport team. This is only available as part of a "Porsche Combo" pack which also adds a Porsche Racing Suit.
The catch? It's not actually added to the game directly. You'll need to head to the Microsoft Store (or Steam) where it'll be available for free until 11.59pm UTC on June 19. After that it becomes a paid add-on, at $4.99 (€4.99/£3.99) — and no, it's not part of any other enhanced game version or the Car Pass — so grab it while you can…
As usual, you'll need to take part in the new Tour events added in the update, completing the required series to pick up the vehicles.
The first of those is the Nissan R88C, available for completing the four new events in the Endurance Tour, while the Chevron B16 is a reward for getting through the Open Class Tour.
Each has its own Spotlight car, most of which (at least on the official site; the dates and cars don't entirely tally so we'll need to wait and see) will be available at a discount during a corresponding week during the four-week window:
Featured Tour – Endurance Tour
- June 12 – Pinnacle Endurance/Forza GT – Porsche 911 RSR '17 – Sebring (20 laps)
- June 12 – Pinnacle Endurance/Forza P1 – Porsche 919 '17 – Silverstone GP (24 laps)
- June 19 – Retro Endurance/GTX – Mazda RX-7 '91 – Watkins Glen (20 laps)
- June 19 – Retro Endurance/GTP-C – Toyota Eagle MkIII '92 – Road America (20 laps)
- June 26 – Global Endurance/Forza Touring – Audi RS3 LMS '18 – Brands Hatch GP (29 laps)
- June 26 – Global Endurance/Forza P2 – Mazda Lola B12/80 '14 – Kyalami GP (25 laps)
- July 3 – Classic Endurance/Vintage Sports – Shelby Cobra Daytona '65 – Nurburgring Nordschleife (5 laps)
- July 3 – Classic Endurance/Vintage LMP – Shelby Monaco KC '63 – Daytona Sports Car (25 laps)
- July 3 – Reward Showcase – Nissan R88C – Le Mans Old Mulsanne (12 laps)
That will sit alongside a new Endurance Series, with races of up to an hour in length. You'll be racing in Forza Proto-H cars in week one, GTX Sportscars in week two, Forza Touring Cars again in week three, and round out with Vintage Le Mans Prototypes in week four.
There's a small number of bug fixes and other changes — with T10 stating that this update is "lighter" as more improvements are on their way in the summer. However fans of the Nordschleife will be happy to hear that the curbing has been updated along with some environmental changes, and Laguna Seca's pit exit has been modified to match up to the real thing.
Update 9 will be available right around now, and the events contained therein will get underway at midnight UTC on Wednesday morning.
