i disagreed with the costs of iracing when i first heard about it, with lfs and rfactor, why would i pay to race.
The best thing i can suggest is to try it for one month. its less than the cost of a single lapping session, or go kart outing, and you get a month of as much racing as you can handle. The competition is intense. I never thought id agree to pay monthly for a game, after trying it i realised two things, this is NOT a game, this is a serious tool for those that want to improve their driving and race in a proper competitive environment and the monthly fee does a great job of keeping out the idiots and people that would otherwise just screw around a ruin peoples races. I have no regrets on spending a small amount/ month for the most fun i could have at my house.
here is a link to a video i made from a league race of the monte-carlo ss at mosport. I qualified 2nd and finished 3rd.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toZT233Z0xc
the level of accuracy of the tracks is surreal. It is identical to real life. Since everything is laser scanned you know its the way it should be. This is definately the best simulator available, be warned, since iracing i cannot play other racing games because they are all so obviously crap; either the track is wrong (laguna seca is notorious for being completely wrong in every other game ive ever tried), or the
Getting an adrenaline rush while waiting for the lights to turn green and racing the pack of real drivers into the first corner is always a huge rush.
here is a nice track comparison of brands hatch (coming soon)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg1QNwPXmXU
again, my best advice is to try it, iRacing is NOT for everyone, but the lapping forum is the best place to find candidates.