After a dismal weekend at Imola for the #50 Ferrari hypercar in the FIA WEC, OverTake Editor Angus took to Le Mans Ultimate in a bid to earn the outfit a better result. Here is how he got on.
Last weekend saw the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship embark on its first European round at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari - otherwise known as Imola. Read a few headlines and you will know that with an overall win for the #51 Ferrari and a second place finish for the #46 BMW LMGT3 of Valentino Rossi closing for P1 on the line, it was a good weekend for the Tifosi.
But if you followed the event more closely, you will know that it could have been so much better. In the GT class, the aforementioned BMW was on dominant form, looking set for victory until Rossi himself punted the leading #21 Ferrari off, earning his crew a drive through and binning the Fezza out of the race.
And in Hypercar, Antonio Fuoco was seemingly hellbent on ruining another podium lock-out for the Italian squad, failing to set a valid time in qualifying and then bashing Sebastian Buemi to the point of a puncture as a reward. In fact, it was a pretty dismal showing from what was at the time the championship leading car.
So with that in mind and a bit of time on my hands, I decided to jump into Le Mans Ultimate, the series' official game, in order to right the wrongs committed over Easter weekend. Would I be able to gain a more respectable finish for the Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen driven car? Well, if you are bored of reading about my failing escapades versus sim racing game AI, I will sum it up for you with a simple word: no. But if you want to know how I came to that conclusion, you are in the right place.
Recreate my race settings to see how you do.
Speaking of strategy, if you tracked proceedings at Imola last weekend, you will know that the threat of rain appeared omnipresent but never quite materialised into anything serious. Wanting to replicate this uncertainty, I dialled up the chance of Light Rain in the second-to-last weather slot to some 46 percent which would turn out to be an interesting factor.
Finally, whilst I could have chosen to restart the full weekend from scratch, I chose to stick to the source material and start from the back of the Hypercar grid, looking to purposefully slow on the finish straight. But seemingly equally as attracted to track limits as our friend Antonio, failing to qualify well came naturally. So on my last run, just to ensure I didn't start behind the GTs, I ran a particularly cautious lap placing me between the classes.
Starting behind a Peugeot 9X8 in LMU.
Lap 1 was a successful start seeing my 499P get the jump on the Peugeot beside me into Turn 1 and eventually gaining a further four positions in the opening handful of laps, with the JOTA Porsches just outside the Top 10 in my crosshairs.
But then, the first round of traffic commenced where a blocked run through Villeneuve and a fast van der Linde behind led to an awkward point of contact sending both Hypercars spinning. Back down to last place, it was time to push with the aim of at least catching the pack before the pits. Several laps later of hard, flat-out pushing with little consideration of fuel, I had caught and passed the two BMWs and Peugeots ahead with the JOTA Porsche of Rasmussen once again my target.
Finding myself glued to the JOTAs in Imola.
However, having pushed hard for much of that first stint to catch the lift-coasting AI, my first stint came to an abrupt end. Where I had planned to complete 15 laps per stint, I actually came in after 13 with the most frugal AI waiting until lap 16 to pit. Nevertheless, back within the pack, I could fight from here I thought.
What started out as the odd drop swiftly turned into a heavier shower, leading to a very treacherous track surface. Acque Minerali by name, Acque Minerali by nature, exiting the right hander and heading up the hill, I sent myself into my second incident of the day picking up the throttle a little early and looping the car. So with five laps of fuel left in the tank, I banked on an early stop for wets which initially served me well.
Spray, puddles and low grip in the rain at Imola.
Leaving pitlane, I could already see light spray from the cars around meaning I had made the perfect call as, whilst I could power through at pace, my rivals were slipping and sliding all over the place for another lap meaning that in one lap, I jumped from P11 to P7, increasing my undercut count to seven positions, originally coming in from P14.
For the rest of the stint, I sat in a sea of Porsches, having jumped Rasmussen's JOTA in the pits, passed Stephens and Campbell on track and now chasing down Estre. Never quite getting close enough for a move however, it was clear that the Le Mans Ultimate BoP is more fair than its real world equivalent where the 499P is faster pretty much everywhere than the 963.
Le Mans Ultimate end-race battles at Imola.
Having come into the pits for wets a lap or two earlier than my rivals, my third stint ended just a little earlier than I would have liked. The rain had stopped and the track was drying fast. But switching to slicks so early felt like the wrong move considering I very well could have found myself spinning like a top on cold, wet rubber. So instead, I decided to hold onto my wets in the hopes that I could cool my tyres down by running off-line and just about manage the car through these last 13 minutes.
Just a few corners after exiting the pits however, my engineer mentioned that slicks were the optimal tyre and my heart sank knowing I would have to defend from an onslaught of cars behind until the end. So with my head down looking to make the most of the AI's cold tyres for a lap or two, I set my fastest laps of the race - which was probably the wrong thing to do as the contact patches were then fried for the finish.
Pit speeding in Le Mans Ultimate will earn you a penalty.
To make matters worse, my pit entry to that final stop was compromised by following the Valentino Rossi BMW, distracting me from my brake marker and so I sped over the line by a kph or two. Just enough to earn a drive through. Blast! After serving that slow trundle down pitlane dropping me from P6 to P14, it was a matter of getting the car home which I did, but not without complications.
And with that, the race is done.
Every braking and traction zone was enough to send even the strongest of minds into a dark depression with the AI flying past no later than a corner after catching. From fourteenth with ten minutes to go, I crossed the line in P17 feeling dejected and as though I had failed for the evening. On a positive note however, I gained a place. Remember, there is always a light in the darkness, even in sim racing - we will just avoid highlighting the fact the P18 dropped it on Lap 1 and never left the pits again.
Can you do better than the factory Ferrari team at Imola? Give the race a go and let us know how it went in the comments or in our LMU forum!
Last weekend saw the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship embark on its first European round at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari - otherwise known as Imola. Read a few headlines and you will know that with an overall win for the #51 Ferrari and a second place finish for the #46 BMW LMGT3 of Valentino Rossi closing for P1 on the line, it was a good weekend for the Tifosi.
But if you followed the event more closely, you will know that it could have been so much better. In the GT class, the aforementioned BMW was on dominant form, looking set for victory until Rossi himself punted the leading #21 Ferrari off, earning his crew a drive through and binning the Fezza out of the race.
And in Hypercar, Antonio Fuoco was seemingly hellbent on ruining another podium lock-out for the Italian squad, failing to set a valid time in qualifying and then bashing Sebastian Buemi to the point of a puncture as a reward. In fact, it was a pretty dismal showing from what was at the time the championship leading car.
So with that in mind and a bit of time on my hands, I decided to jump into Le Mans Ultimate, the series' official game, in order to right the wrongs committed over Easter weekend. Would I be able to gain a more respectable finish for the Fuoco, Molina and Nielsen driven car? Well, if you are bored of reading about my failing escapades versus sim racing game AI, I will sum it up for you with a simple word: no. But if you want to know how I came to that conclusion, you are in the right place.
2025 Imola 6 Hours In LMU: The Setup
Before jumping on track, I obviously had to setup the event. My typical race format in Le Mans Ultimate goes as follows: a short practice session to dial in a setup, brief 10-minute private qualifying and a 90-minute race with fuel burn and tyre wear doubled. This usually makes for a nice and manageable length race but still allows for some strategy to come into play.Recreate my race settings to see how you do.
Speaking of strategy, if you tracked proceedings at Imola last weekend, you will know that the threat of rain appeared omnipresent but never quite materialised into anything serious. Wanting to replicate this uncertainty, I dialled up the chance of Light Rain in the second-to-last weather slot to some 46 percent which would turn out to be an interesting factor.
Finally, whilst I could have chosen to restart the full weekend from scratch, I chose to stick to the source material and start from the back of the Hypercar grid, looking to purposefully slow on the finish straight. But seemingly equally as attracted to track limits as our friend Antonio, failing to qualify well came naturally. So on my last run, just to ensure I didn't start behind the GTs, I ran a particularly cautious lap placing me between the classes.
A Strong Start
Starting from the back of the Hypercar field in P18 made for a long wait on the grid for every car ahead to set off on their formation lap - yes, I run a full lap, not that un-immersive short version. With a quartet of Peugeots and BMWs ahead, the likes of the Toyotas and Ferraris felt very far away. But having placed in fourth in practice, I knew I had the pace to contend.Starting behind a Peugeot 9X8 in LMU.
Lap 1 was a successful start seeing my 499P get the jump on the Peugeot beside me into Turn 1 and eventually gaining a further four positions in the opening handful of laps, with the JOTA Porsches just outside the Top 10 in my crosshairs.
But then, the first round of traffic commenced where a blocked run through Villeneuve and a fast van der Linde behind led to an awkward point of contact sending both Hypercars spinning. Back down to last place, it was time to push with the aim of at least catching the pack before the pits. Several laps later of hard, flat-out pushing with little consideration of fuel, I had caught and passed the two BMWs and Peugeots ahead with the JOTA Porsche of Rasmussen once again my target.
Finding myself glued to the JOTAs in Imola.
However, having pushed hard for much of that first stint to catch the lift-coasting AI, my first stint came to an abrupt end. Where I had planned to complete 15 laps per stint, I actually came in after 13 with the most frugal AI waiting until lap 16 to pit. Nevertheless, back within the pack, I could fight from here I thought.
Slippery When Wet
As hinted at earlier, rain was on the cards going into this particular race with a 46 percent chance of Light Rain set for the fourth weather slot out of five. As you would expect, in my mind, that meant a potential downpour setting in with about half an hour to go and so when drops began falling on the windscreen just halfway through the second stint, you can picture my surprise.What started out as the odd drop swiftly turned into a heavier shower, leading to a very treacherous track surface. Acque Minerali by name, Acque Minerali by nature, exiting the right hander and heading up the hill, I sent myself into my second incident of the day picking up the throttle a little early and looping the car. So with five laps of fuel left in the tank, I banked on an early stop for wets which initially served me well.
Spray, puddles and low grip in the rain at Imola.
Leaving pitlane, I could already see light spray from the cars around meaning I had made the perfect call as, whilst I could power through at pace, my rivals were slipping and sliding all over the place for another lap meaning that in one lap, I jumped from P11 to P7, increasing my undercut count to seven positions, originally coming in from P14.
For the rest of the stint, I sat in a sea of Porsches, having jumped Rasmussen's JOTA in the pits, passed Stephens and Campbell on track and now chasing down Estre. Never quite getting close enough for a move however, it was clear that the Le Mans Ultimate BoP is more fair than its real world equivalent where the 499P is faster pretty much everywhere than the 963.
Strategic Slump: I am Ferrari
I think we are all aware of the memes surrounding Ferrari in Formula One and to a lesser extent, in the WEC. I never thought I would personally contribute to its reputation for poor strategic decisions. Sadly though, I very much did in this race.Le Mans Ultimate end-race battles at Imola.
Having come into the pits for wets a lap or two earlier than my rivals, my third stint ended just a little earlier than I would have liked. The rain had stopped and the track was drying fast. But switching to slicks so early felt like the wrong move considering I very well could have found myself spinning like a top on cold, wet rubber. So instead, I decided to hold onto my wets in the hopes that I could cool my tyres down by running off-line and just about manage the car through these last 13 minutes.
Just a few corners after exiting the pits however, my engineer mentioned that slicks were the optimal tyre and my heart sank knowing I would have to defend from an onslaught of cars behind until the end. So with my head down looking to make the most of the AI's cold tyres for a lap or two, I set my fastest laps of the race - which was probably the wrong thing to do as the contact patches were then fried for the finish.
Pit speeding in Le Mans Ultimate will earn you a penalty.
To make matters worse, my pit entry to that final stop was compromised by following the Valentino Rossi BMW, distracting me from my brake marker and so I sped over the line by a kph or two. Just enough to earn a drive through. Blast! After serving that slow trundle down pitlane dropping me from P6 to P14, it was a matter of getting the car home which I did, but not without complications.
A Slow Finish
Out of the pits, click the pit limiter button and away we go. Except with boiling hot tyres, a wet pit out and a plethora of cars charging up behind, it was more away we pootle. Half a dozen laps remained with pace some four seconds slower than the field, so you can imagine how fast even the likes of the Isotta caught up.And with that, the race is done.
Every braking and traction zone was enough to send even the strongest of minds into a dark depression with the AI flying past no later than a corner after catching. From fourteenth with ten minutes to go, I crossed the line in P17 feeling dejected and as though I had failed for the evening. On a positive note however, I gained a place. Remember, there is always a light in the darkness, even in sim racing - we will just avoid highlighting the fact the P18 dropped it on Lap 1 and never left the pits again.
Can you do better than the factory Ferrari team at Imola? Give the race a go and let us know how it went in the comments or in our LMU forum!
