Le Mans Ultimate is the official game of the FIA World Endurance Championship, yet it does miss a lot of features you would expect from a WEC simulator. Here is what the game needs before entering Version 1.0.
For the past 14 months now, Le Mans Ultimate has slowly but surely developed itself from a buggy Early Access title to a popular and content-ful... Early Access title. Though with Driver Swaps and the final bits of 2024 content coming this May and some interesting quotes coming from Motorsport Games CEO, Stephen Hood, it looks like a Version 1.0 full release is not all that far away.
That being said, LMU simulates one of the most complex forms of motorsport around with a plethora of unique situations, scenarios, intricacies and rulesets that set the World Endurance Championship apart from other series. And so if it truly wants to succeed as a WEC simulator, there are a number of currently missing features the game must incorporate before reaching that magical 1.0 release.
Class-by-class qualifying in LMU would ensure only getting stuck behind your class.
In the real world of WEC, qualifying does not see cars magically alone on-track as they are in LMU's private qualy mode. Bar Le Mans, nor do all classes converge on-track at the same time leading to a game of luck as to if you get a clean lap or not. In actuality, the World Endurance Championship separates its classes, first running LMGT3 quali, then letting the Hypercars out to play.
Allowing for a bit of strategy between drafting and searching for clean air whilst also avoiding the massive speed differences between different classes, this makes for an intense but enjoyable qualifying format we would love to experience in LMU. But that is not the only qualifying improvement the game requires.
We want Hyperpole in Le Mans Ultimate.
Qualifying for in WEC is not made up for two sessions, rather four with each class getting a full-grid session and then Hyperpole, a condensed session seeing just the top ten cars go for top honours. Adding a little bit more tension to the mix, it would be nice to see this two-stage system available as an option. Both class-by-class and Hyperpole qualifying rules have been mentioned by the LMU team in the past on its guide to Early Access so their inclusions are not outside the realms of possibility.
Currently, if you exclude the impact of weather, a race in Le Mans Ultimate is a very basic thing with pace, positions and strategy unaffected from start to finish. If one were to throw in the odd Safety Car or even a Slow Zone on the massive Le Mans circuit, it would create an extra element and variable to alter proceedings.
The big complexity with Safety Cars in sim racing is how to implement them. Do you throw the virtual SC lights on every time someone goes off? Do you wait for major shunts? How do you define a large crash causing an FCY versus a small spin incurring a local yellow? These are all questions far above our pay grades and so we will leave it to the developers at Studio 397 to answer them. Either way, we would love to see mid-race Safety Cars in Le Mans Ultimate.
Whilst LMU is set to bring online Driver Swaps to the game next month, we would also like to see offline race weekends get the same treatment. In Co-op mode, AI-driven teams have planned driver swapping, seeing their pace change throughout a race, in-turn promoting overtakes later on in an event.
LMP2 races would benefit from AI driver swaps.
It would be nice to see this also happen in the standard Race Weekend format, where watching Laurens Vanthoor jump aboard the #6 Porsche in Kevin Estre's stead or passing Sarah Bovy only to see Michelle Gatting pass you later on in a race would add to the immersion.
Whilst less realistic of a proposition, we would also enjoy the possibility of handing your own car over to an AI teammate, providing a bit of respite for the next stint or even the ability to skip through the next stint in the same ethos as Automobilista 2's Session Simulation button from the pits.
Real world LMGT3 success comes down to driver time management. Image: Studio 397
One final rule that AI Driver Swaps would allow is the real series' Driver Time limitations whereby a single driver is not allowed to drive for more than four hours within any six, nor can they run 14 hours in a single race. As for more amateur classes, Bronze drivers must complete a certain percentage of the race, often resulting in around two full stints in six-hour races. Having to track this particular strategic element alongside the likes of fuel and tyres may well be a challenge, but a challenge we look forward to trying out.
Whilst there is certainly something to be said for the difference in grip between a green track and saturated one, the difference between the racing line and more adventurous areas of tarmac are not as pronounced as we would like to see, especially after a longer race. Come the end of an enduro, running off-line even to pass a GT3 car should be something that makes you think twice. Not only would we like to feel a bit more slide in the tyres when running over marbles, the odd sound of rubber hitting your car would be a nice additional touch.
Puddles are only visual in LMU for now - Real Road is WIP. Image: Studio 397
But that is far from the most obvious tweak we would like to see to the title's Real Road system as wet weather racing in its current state is about as realistic as a simply grip multiplier being turned down it seems. As we saw in our LMU Wet Weather Guide, the wet line is only lightly replicated whilst puddles on-track are simply there for your visual delight, providing no real effect to your handling.
From a wet weather system forcing players to look elsewhere for grip to a flooded circuit causing dramatic aquaplaning scenarios - therefore requiring the aforementioned Safety Cars - this is a system in dire need of an overhaul before Version 1.0 releases.
Come the title's full release, we would expect LMU to at least feature a Time Trial and Championship Mode with a proper Career also high up on that list. But in an article last year, we presented the idea for a Stint Simulation game mode in endurance racing games.
Theoretically enabling players to skip forward to a stint in the middle of a race, where traffic is more spread out and battles are locked-in, we can imagine Le Mans Ultimate particularly suiting this sort of play style. Be it just for the immersion or for the game's developers to utilise the feature for setting up specific scenarios akin to challenges available in the F1 games, this is a bonus feature that we would love to see in-game one day.
What missing features would you like to see in Le Mans Ultimate in time for its full release. Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our LMU forum!
For the past 14 months now, Le Mans Ultimate has slowly but surely developed itself from a buggy Early Access title to a popular and content-ful... Early Access title. Though with Driver Swaps and the final bits of 2024 content coming this May and some interesting quotes coming from Motorsport Games CEO, Stephen Hood, it looks like a Version 1.0 full release is not all that far away.
That being said, LMU simulates one of the most complex forms of motorsport around with a plethora of unique situations, scenarios, intricacies and rulesets that set the World Endurance Championship apart from other series. And so if it truly wants to succeed as a WEC simulator, there are a number of currently missing features the game must incorporate before reaching that magical 1.0 release.
Class-by-Class Qualifying & Hyperpole
Endurance races are long. From start to finish, there is plenty of time for positions to change and so qualifying is far from the most crucial element to a Race Weekend. However, we are going to argue that for Le Mans Ultimate, it is one of the most important elements building towards the game's already impressive immersion.Class-by-class qualifying in LMU would ensure only getting stuck behind your class.
In the real world of WEC, qualifying does not see cars magically alone on-track as they are in LMU's private qualy mode. Bar Le Mans, nor do all classes converge on-track at the same time leading to a game of luck as to if you get a clean lap or not. In actuality, the World Endurance Championship separates its classes, first running LMGT3 quali, then letting the Hypercars out to play.
Allowing for a bit of strategy between drafting and searching for clean air whilst also avoiding the massive speed differences between different classes, this makes for an intense but enjoyable qualifying format we would love to experience in LMU. But that is not the only qualifying improvement the game requires.
We want Hyperpole in Le Mans Ultimate.
Qualifying for in WEC is not made up for two sessions, rather four with each class getting a full-grid session and then Hyperpole, a condensed session seeing just the top ten cars go for top honours. Adding a little bit more tension to the mix, it would be nice to see this two-stage system available as an option. Both class-by-class and Hyperpole qualifying rules have been mentioned by the LMU team in the past on its guide to Early Access so their inclusions are not outside the realms of possibility.
Safety Cars, FCY & Slow Zones
Another, and perhaps even more obvious element of the FIA World Endurance Championship is race interruptions. Just last week, the 2025 Imola 6 Hours showed the importance of getting your strategy to align with Safety Car and Full Course Yellow periods as well as their effect on class battles.Currently, if you exclude the impact of weather, a race in Le Mans Ultimate is a very basic thing with pace, positions and strategy unaffected from start to finish. If one were to throw in the odd Safety Car or even a Slow Zone on the massive Le Mans circuit, it would create an extra element and variable to alter proceedings.
The big complexity with Safety Cars in sim racing is how to implement them. Do you throw the virtual SC lights on every time someone goes off? Do you wait for major shunts? How do you define a large crash causing an FCY versus a small spin incurring a local yellow? These are all questions far above our pay grades and so we will leave it to the developers at Studio 397 to answer them. Either way, we would love to see mid-race Safety Cars in Le Mans Ultimate.
AI Driver Swaps
Speaking of Le Mans Ultimate features affecting the flow of a race, real WEC events see up to three drivers form the crew of each car. When one driver gets out of their car and is replaced by another, that can translate to a difference in pace, especially when it comes to the LMGT3 class' mix of Bronze, Silver and Gold drivers.Whilst LMU is set to bring online Driver Swaps to the game next month, we would also like to see offline race weekends get the same treatment. In Co-op mode, AI-driven teams have planned driver swapping, seeing their pace change throughout a race, in-turn promoting overtakes later on in an event.
LMP2 races would benefit from AI driver swaps.
It would be nice to see this also happen in the standard Race Weekend format, where watching Laurens Vanthoor jump aboard the #6 Porsche in Kevin Estre's stead or passing Sarah Bovy only to see Michelle Gatting pass you later on in a race would add to the immersion.
Whilst less realistic of a proposition, we would also enjoy the possibility of handing your own car over to an AI teammate, providing a bit of respite for the next stint or even the ability to skip through the next stint in the same ethos as Automobilista 2's Session Simulation button from the pits.
Real world LMGT3 success comes down to driver time management. Image: Studio 397
One final rule that AI Driver Swaps would allow is the real series' Driver Time limitations whereby a single driver is not allowed to drive for more than four hours within any six, nor can they run 14 hours in a single race. As for more amateur classes, Bronze drivers must complete a certain percentage of the race, often resulting in around two full stints in six-hour races. Having to track this particular strategic element alongside the likes of fuel and tyres may well be a challenge, but a challenge we look forward to trying out.
Real Road Improvements
Right, that is enough immersion talk for now as there are some elements more key to the overall driving feel in Le Mans Ultimate that need some work - namely, the way the track grips up and gets wet over time. Copied over from rFactor 2, LMU utilises what Studio 397 calls the Real Road system that simulates the racing line gaining rubber build-up, marbles off-line and the evolution of the track surface in the wet.Whilst there is certainly something to be said for the difference in grip between a green track and saturated one, the difference between the racing line and more adventurous areas of tarmac are not as pronounced as we would like to see, especially after a longer race. Come the end of an enduro, running off-line even to pass a GT3 car should be something that makes you think twice. Not only would we like to feel a bit more slide in the tyres when running over marbles, the odd sound of rubber hitting your car would be a nice additional touch.
Puddles are only visual in LMU for now - Real Road is WIP. Image: Studio 397
But that is far from the most obvious tweak we would like to see to the title's Real Road system as wet weather racing in its current state is about as realistic as a simply grip multiplier being turned down it seems. As we saw in our LMU Wet Weather Guide, the wet line is only lightly replicated whilst puddles on-track are simply there for your visual delight, providing no real effect to your handling.
From a wet weather system forcing players to look elsewhere for grip to a flooded circuit causing dramatic aquaplaning scenarios - therefore requiring the aforementioned Safety Cars - this is a system in dire need of an overhaul before Version 1.0 releases.
Bonus Game Modes
Take a look at any official race game of a particular series on the market today and you will notice plenty of gamification elements. In its current state, this is something Le Mans Ultimate is severely lacking, not even getting a full Championship Mode.Come the title's full release, we would expect LMU to at least feature a Time Trial and Championship Mode with a proper Career also high up on that list. But in an article last year, we presented the idea for a Stint Simulation game mode in endurance racing games.
Theoretically enabling players to skip forward to a stint in the middle of a race, where traffic is more spread out and battles are locked-in, we can imagine Le Mans Ultimate particularly suiting this sort of play style. Be it just for the immersion or for the game's developers to utilise the feature for setting up specific scenarios akin to challenges available in the F1 games, this is a bonus feature that we would love to see in-game one day.
What missing features would you like to see in Le Mans Ultimate in time for its full release. Let us know in the comments below and join the discussion in our LMU forum!
