With the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans taking place this weekend, fans may be wondering which platforms are the best to recreate the event in. Here is our rundown of singleplayer choices.
Despite multiplayer racing being immensely popular in 2024, singleplayer action is still much appreciated by large parts of the community. It is possibly the easiest way to really immerse yourself in a scenario. So, which current sim racing title does this best?
Le Mans Ultimate. There, done. Goodbye!
In all seriousness though, with the official World Endurance Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans sim title by Studio 397, it would be easy to assume that if you wanted to completely and authentically recreate this year's Le Mans event, LMU is the one to go for. But with how eager many are for immersion and realism, is it really?
If you really wanted to fully recreate this year's 24 Hours of Le Mans with official content (mods for Assetto Corsa will exist, of course), there could be other options, especially considering the features that are not yet in LMU.
For this list, we shall consider the cars in the respective titles, and which one holds the most car slots. All titles on the list feature the Circuit de La Sarthe.
To keep things simple, we are looking at titles which are still being sold and have an active playerbase, as well as first-party content related to the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Le Mans Ultimate
Let us get the clear favourite out of the way. After adding the BMW M Hybrid V8 on June 10, that brings the number of Hypercars in LMU racing this weekend up by one. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as that considering the GTE class from last year has been replaced by GT3 for 2024 - none of which are in LMU yet.
The vehicles racing in the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans that are available in LMU are the following:
- BMW M Hybrid V8
- Cadillac V-Series.R
- Ferrari 499P
- Oreca 07-Gibson (LMP2)
- Peugeot 9X8 (2023 version)
- Porsche 963
- Toyota GR010 Hybrid
It is of course worth noting that the 9X8 in LMU does not have a rear wing yet, as the 2024 version of the car was introduced in April at Imola. But there are more discrepancies, with no GT3 cars and the likes of the Alpine A424, Lamborghini SC63, and Isotta Fraschini Tipo 6-C being absent. So if you are eager for the immersion, the GTE class will be a minor issue. Additionally, the Vanwall Vandervell 680 and Glickenhaus SCG 007 LMH, which are not part of the 2024 campaign, will still show up on track.
Then, of course, there is the question of how many cars can be in a race at any one time. At Le Mans in LMU, that number is 61 when using the "fill grid" option, so a pretty decent grid, just one short of the 62 entries for 2024.
But what if the presence of the GTE class is a dealbreaker and you do not want to wait for the GT3 cars to get added supposedly later this year? Well, there are other alternatives.
iRacing
GT3 cars are plentiful in iRacing, with the new Corvette and Mustang being added for the start of 2024 Season 3. Of course with iRacing's licencing agreement with IMSA, plenty of the cars that are racing at Le Mans this weekend that also race in IMSA can be found in the sim. Conversely, that means that cars that do not race in IMSA but are present in WEC are not in iRacing.
The following cars that are on the 2024 Le Mans Grid are available in iRacing:
- BMW M4 GT3
- BMW M Hybrid V8
- Cadillac V-Series.R
- Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R
- Ferrari 296 GT3
- Ford Mustang GT3
- Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo (not the Evo2 version, though)
- Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
- Porsche 963
Whilst there is an LMP2 car as well, it is the Dallara P217 that last raced at Le Mans in 2020. Additionally, there is a fourth GTP car in the form of the Acura ARX-06, which has not raced at Le Mans. It is, however, loosely connected to the Alpine A424, as they both run an Oreca chassis.
How about the car count, then? iRacing allows for a very strong 60-car grid at Le Mans. Whilst it lacks the LMH cars and the correct LMP2, it does have the GT3 advantage over Le Mans Ultimate - whether that tips the scales in favour of iRacing, that is for you to decide. Its AI is held in high regards by the sim racing community, too - but, of course, there are considerably expenses attached to iRacing.
Meanwhile, there is one other title with IMSA-licenced content that may be a good alternative.
Automobilista 2
AMS2 may be the darling of many vintage sim racing enthusiasts, but how does it fare when it comes to recreating the grid for Le Mans in 2024? The answer is: not amazingly well. It has the same three Hypercars as iRacing, but not as many GT3s and no LMP2s, although more are to come off the back of the IMSA deal.
The following 2024 Le Mans cars are in AMS2:
- BMW M4 GT3
- BMW M Hybrid V8
- Cadillac V-Series.R
- McLaren 720S GT3 Evo
- Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)
- Porsche 963
That makes only six cars that can be run when attempting to recreate the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans. Unfortunately, that may be the least of your troubles, as AMS2's main weakness is car count. Right now, the max number of cars in a single player session is 32, although more could be possible once update v1.6 launches this summer.
For now, 32 is more than enough at most tracks for sprint races. But for trying to recreate the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it is a bit lacking. Until Reiza Studios increases this limit, we may have to put AMS2 to the side.
rFactor 2
Next up is Le Mans Ultimate's foundation, rFactor 2. Having been the platform that the ACO chose to run the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual in 2020, it is rather well-represented with first party content. Unfortunately where it falls short is the Hypercars.
The only car that raced in the Hypercar class to appear in rF2 is the Vanwall Vandervell 680, which is not on the grid in 2024. Since the focus of Studio 397 and Motorsport Games is firmly on LMU, more first-party cars are highly unlikely.
As it stands, the following 2024 Le Mans cars are in rF2:
- Aston Martin Vantage GT3
- BMW M4 GT3
- McLaren 720S GT3
- Oreca 07-Gibson
- Porsche 911 GT3 R (not the 992)
Neither the Aston Martin nor the McLaren are in their current Evo specs, however, and the Porsche is the 991 version - the predecessor of the current GT3 based off of the 992 generation.
It may be a stretch to get the exact grid here, but there are some third-party mods on the Steam Workshop that could make up the numbers. Nevertheless, a lot of the cars are dated. But like iRacing and LMU, the sim can house up to 60 cars at Le Mans.
There are plenty of varied options for PC sim racers, but what is the best choice for those on console?
Forza Motorsport
The first choice one may come to for consoles is Gran Turismo 7 on PlayStation 5. However, the inclusion of one Hypercar, next to no up-to-date GT3 cars and a 16-car cap in races does not make it a very attractive option. The only other alternative for a current-gen title is 2023's Forza Motorsport on Xbox Series X|S (also available on PC).
The Porsche 963 has just been added, and the Cadillac V-Series.R is on the cover, so that is a promising start.
The following 2024 Le Mans cars are in Forza Motorsport:
- Cadillac V.Series-R
- Lexus RC F GT3
- McLaren 720S GT3 (non-Evo)
- Oreca 07-Gibson (LMP2)
- Porsche 963
Like iRacing, it also has the Acura ARX-06 that, whilst not racing this weekend at Le Mans, is closely linked to the Alpine A424.
Predictably, the limitations of the Xbox Series X console means there is a cap on the amount of cars that can be in one race. Forza Motorsport does best Gran Turismo 7 here, upping it to 24 - still not a desirable amount for an endurance race, but the best you can hope for outside of PC. However, grid customization is very limited, so the cars and liveries that will show up will always be a bit of a gamble.
Conclusion
Depending on what you are willing to part with when it comes to first-party content in these titles, some are better than others. For those who want to recreate the 2024 Le Mans 24 Hours to a tee, this looks to be impossible by using first-party content at the time of writing. Until Le Mans Ultimate gets an updated 2024 field, maybe your best bet in recreating the entire 2024 Le Mans field is to find mods for Assetto Corsa or rFactor 2.
Which platform will you be using to recreate the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
