TOCA Race Driver 3 includes 120 Championships and 35 types of racing through the Championship in World Tour, Pro Career, and Free Race. Also, it has Bonus Championships in different disciplines. They take place largely in the UK and Germany, though many more tracks are unlocked by winning cups in Pro Career, or by setting a lap time record on a course within Pro Career mode. Open-wheel, GT, Oval racing, Rallying and Off-road racing were all featured and can be raced in either a detailed Pro Career mode or an open-ended World Tour. The game features many real-life competitions, including British GT, DTM, IRL and V8 Supercars, as well as a Vintage series, other GT series, and Rally. The Formula Williams FW27 is the featured car of the Formula 1 series in the game. The career mode progresses with various cutscenes featuring the player character's crew chief providing driving tips and general commentary.
Settings for racing are largely customisable. Players can adjust the number of laps and difficulty level. Race rules such as wrong way, corner-cutting, and careless driving penalties, and racing flags can also be turned on or off. Players can choose to qualify for races, which allows them to secure a position on the starting grid rather than being placed at the back.
Online play allows 12 and 8 players on PlayStation 2 and Xbox, respectively. It is the only racing simulator for PlayStation 2 with an online racing mode. For the PC up to 12 players could race together with the built-in GameSpy Server or by using a LAN. When GameSpy closed in 2014 online multiplayer was subsequently made possible using the Free Tunngle Network but was shut down in April 2018 due to pending requirements of the new European General Data Protection Regulation. Online Racing is still possible in 2021 using the OpenSpy Servers.
The game supports the use of a racing wheel. For PlayStation 2 consoles and Microsoft Windows players can utilise wheels such as the Logitech Driving Force GT and the Driving Force Pro. Other wheels are also supported, such as the Mad Catz MC2, which supports multiple platforms.
