2020 Virtual 24 Hours of Le Mans (Live Stream)

Paul Jeffrey · Jun 13, 2020

Welcome to the central discussion thread for the first ever official 24 Hours of Le Mans - virtual edition.

This weekend marks an historic moment for the genre of sim racing, as the WEC, Automobile Club de l'Ouest and Motorsport Games are set to host what could well turn out to be the largest organised virtual race in history - the Le Mans 24 Hours Virtual.

Held as an officially sanctioned event in place of what would have been the real Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend, the race features an incredible selection of official teams, manufacturers and drivers. Two Formula 1 World Champions, three Indy 500 victors and seven outright Le Mans 24 Hour winners join together with some of the finest rFactor 2 sim racers racing side by side with their real world contemporaries .

Held at the beautiful Le Mans circuit in rFactor 2, and making use of the LMP2 and GTE content within the simulation, the race is set to become a high watermark for the increasingly popular esport movement we are experiencing at present.

You can catch all the action live here:

Nano10 · Jun 14, 2020

Fantastic and exciting race, I saw almost everything.

RF2 is definitely the glory in video games, congratulations to all the participants.

I will always support Studio 397, I look forward to the new DLC.

Terry Rock · Jun 14, 2020

I thoroughly enjoyed that racing.
I spent all of Saturday in front of my computer...from start, until about 9
;30 EST....got up this morning at 6:00 until the end.
The level of participation was epic...to say the least.
Those guys did a great job with the organizing, racing and broadcasting.
Say what you will....and I have my (all too well known frustration with RF2)...but it was the best title to showcase this event.

TTM75 · Jun 14, 2020

Well done S397 and everyone who made this event possible. I really enjoyed watching race.

I saw many comments that iRacing is better platform for this kind of the event, but i'm not agree. We need many different racing games and developers. It's only way to keep virtual racing going forward.

I hope that S397 will keep going on and updating game, so we can get even more realistic virtual racing experiences in the future.

M-Bimmer · Jun 14, 2020

Good job S-397. This was good coverage and marketing.

(Link for the SC plz

)

schlitty · Jun 14, 2020

I just checked in every few hours but I think the biggest takeaway was 'what a difference a day makes'. 24 hours is a long time and the valleys were quite low but in the end I think some decent mountains were climbed too. I still don't know how entertained I was but it was an interesting journey to track. End of the day, can't wait for more real racing.

passenger · Jun 14, 2020

So the race finished and everything went well, besides some server issues apparently. Congrats
to S397. Next time with more experience everything will come out better.

And, we sim-racers who love rFactor 2, have to be very happy because this event and all the
eSports events rFactor 2 gets involved in will help a lot to keep developing the best Sim.

Zhabik · Jun 14, 2020

It just shows that when people do take it seriously, sim racing is much more than a game - the racing is as good (and as difficult) as real world racing, and as enjoyable to watch. To those that have said in the past that sim racers take it too seriously, bow your heads in shame - sim racing is most enjoyable when the people you are racing against treat it like a real world race.

BrainsBush · Jun 14, 2020

Majuh said:
I'm not quite sure what you mean, I don't think RaceDepartment is involved in this production.

Sorry I meant Marcel

mantasisg · Jun 14, 2020

Great event, personally to me way way better than I expected for everything. And rF2 certainly proved that it is good enough, maybe not perfect, but it actually even did fit le mans event even better, as it is all about to endure and to deal with various issues. rF2 certainly did well. And I slept on the couch, wake up and immediately turned on TC again. It was exciting.

Syndrami · Jun 14, 2020

What is up with the Le Mans track used during this race? It seems updated. The outside kerbing of the first corner is updated, I see light spots (reflection stripes probably) at the start of the kerbs themselves. I wonder when we will get this update to the track ourselves.

mantasisg · Jun 14, 2020

I hope we will get this updated version soon as several other tracks, such as updated silverstone and new Portland track...

Christian.ca · Jun 14, 2020

Frankly, this was really fun to watch, of course it wasn't perfect, but so are non virtual races. Drivers that get mad and blames others when things don't go their way? In what way is this different than a real life race weekend? Social media that get all over every bit for days? Same as usual. Really, this was a great event.

Wayne Hutchison · Jun 14, 2020

Peter Stokman said:
Quite sure Iceracing would demand a hugh amount off $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ for the use off theire server

Yep, $0.50 per hour is the standard rate for hosting. HUGE money...

Wayne Hutchison · Jun 14, 2020

Too bad the event was limited to just a hand full of drivers though. Now if S397 had it's own server farms and ranked races running 24/7, we could all race in the 24H of LeMans.

Ole Marius Myrvold · Jun 14, 2020

This got too real for me. Just like real Le Mans, I end staying awake for too long, then decide to stay awake for the whole thing, just to fall asleep around 3hrs from the finish.

Who said simracing isnt realistic?

manu68 · Jun 14, 2020

The GT Formula said:
It is a reality here. We have the 2.4 hours of Le Mans. Awesome event and one of my favourites.

I really don't see why people are biatching and whinging about rF2 this and that, it's a great title, it has issues alright but enough people seem to be able to use it without really having too many problems it would seem, definitely doesn't spoil their day.

I'm loving the broadcast, its incredibly professional and at a glance it almost looks and sounds like the real thing.
All sim racers should be happy that this is getting the focus it deserves. Sim racing is getting some global recognition and hopefully it paves the way for better online multiplayer net code, better optimised simulation for faster loading and more realistic graphics that even the more modest systems can run.
It could be a really great thing for the hobby no matter which sim you prefer.

(For the record I love them all)

I know alex about 2.4h of le mans and/or long races with ACC.
The sim itself doesn't matter.
I had in the past the opportunity to drive endurance races with GTP mod group C/nascar2003
6h of spa , road america etc..
Racing in team with real driver swap, teamspeak, ....
It really brings simracing to another dimension in my opinion.

And as i went to Le Mans race about 15 times in my life, having the opportunity to race virtually there during real 24h in team would be just a dream.
I don't know if it could never happen, but who knows?
The event was a pro event. No way for amateur like us

Could it be a reality for us at racedepartment server.
Maybe it is impossible due to technical aspects, or not enough pilots.
I really don't know.

Maybe also real 24h at spa francorchamps with real driver swap on ACC.
Who knows

I have a dream, that someday......

Botmeister · Jun 14, 2020

17/24 hours watched. It was great.

Ole Marius Myrvold · Jun 14, 2020

manu68 said:
Could it be a reality for us at racedepartment server.
Maybe it is impossible due to technical aspects, or not enough pilots.
I really don't know.

It has been done multiple times at RD before. It's the manpower to organize it, rather than enough drivers that often is the "problem" with these events. It's a lot of work, to put it mildly.