A new game mode for Le Mans Ultimate, Online Championships offers a new challenge for players looking for the next level of online competitions with linked race events to crown champions.
What Are The Key Features?
- Linked Events with points scoring – races are linked together with points scored based on your results to find the overall positions across a series of races
- Limited “Attempts” – Drivers cannot endlessly run races to improve their points, your best score from between 1 and 3 attempts will score (number of attempts depends on the championship)
- Manufacturer Signup – Each player must commit to a car across the entire season of a championship
- Additional leagues – Within each championship, league standings are available based on your Driver Rank league (your closest DR competitors when you signed up), Nationality, Manufacturer and your Friends
- Practice for Upcoming Races – You can practice for this and next week’s round of races with always online practice servers alongside a leaderboard
What Is The Structure of An Online Championship season?
Initially seasons will last 6 weeks but future seasons may be longer. There will feature an “off week” between seasons to allow players to test the new championship combinations and allow sign ups to determine the Driver Rank (DR) League.
Each “round” of a championship starts and ends on a Tuesday at 12pm UTC.
The first championship season will begin on Tuesday 17th December 2024.
What Online Championships are Available?
This may vary from season to season as we expand the content selection and prepare for future esports series.
It is best to keep an eye on the Le Mans Ultimate social media channels, RaceControl.GG and the “Future” tab available in Online Championships in game.
What Are The “attempts” in Online Championships?
In Online Championships, players have a limited number of attempts to score points towards that round of a championship. This is because Online Championships is designed to have higher pressure events rather than throwaway online races.
The number available to you depends on the championship that you’ve signed up for and is clearly displayed on the registration page.
Once you’ve run out of attempts, you won’t be able to sign up any more races in that championship until the next round begins.
How Many Online Championships Can I join?
As many as you like that you are eligible for and are available. Typically, there will be 4 available per Season.
What Are The Additional Leagues in Online Championships?
To make Online Championships even more interesting, we’ve made sub-leagues for each championship:
- Driver Rank – The closest drivers based your DR placed into a league, this is usually up to 50 drivers but may vary depending upon the championship
- Manufacturer – This is for all drivers that have selected the same car as you
- Nationality – Players are entered into these based on the nationality selected in your RaceControl profile
- Friends – All friends you have on Steam that own Le Mans Ultimate and are entered into that championship
How Does The Matchmaking System Work?
When you register for a race you will be put into a “split” with the closest Driver Rank (DR) competitors that have also signed up for that event. They won’t necessarily be the ones that are in your DR League.
You can sign up for and see all other drivers signed up to particular races in that Round (week).
How Does The Points Scoring System Work?
Points are scored based on the Strength of Field (SoF) of your opponents – the higher quality of drivers you race, the more points you will score.
Dropped rounds are in effect for some series – you’ll see a 🚫 in the series calendar and if you hover over it you can see how many races are “dropped” (your lowest scores) from the final championship standings.
For Online Championship races, 5 drivers in a class are required to make it “official” and score points towards the championship.
If a race is not official, it does not count towards your “attempts”.
Why Can’t I Change My Car in The middle of an Online Championship?
Online Championships require you choose a car when you sign up that you have to stick with all the way through so that it reflects how a “real world” championship would be organised.
Cars across classes do have per-track BoP applied but of course some cars will often be stronger at certain circuits.
If you do want to change your car mid-season, go to “options” in the top right and select “unregister”. You can then re-register for the championship with a new car (but you will lose all of the points you’ve accumulated).
How Do I Protest Another Driver in an Online Championship?
Head to your Event History in your Profile and click on the elipses (…) next to a player’s name then click “Report Driver” and fill in the form.
Online Championship protests are prioritised over other online RaceControl evnts.
Who Can Access Online Championships?
Online Championships on Le Mans Ultimate are only available to players that have an active RaceControl Pro or Pro+ subscription.
To sign up for RaceControl Pro or Pro+, visit www.racecontrol.gg/pro
Are All Online Championships Open To All Subscribers?
Alongside an active RaceControl Pro or Pro+ subscription, you will also need to have a certain level of Safety Rank (SR) before joining an Online Championship. This varies between each championship but the initial minimum is Bronze 2 (B2).
This is because Online Championships are intended to be a space for competition and users are required to be able to drive safely before joining the grid to make these races fun for everyone.
Why Are Online Championships Only Available to Subscribers?
RaceControl operates a dedicated server system with significant IT infrastructure, development and maintenance costs. The subscription helps pay for the additional servers and administration required for Online Championships this on-going service and is completely optional.
The Daily, Weekly and Special Events remain accessible for FREE as they always have been in Le Mans Ultimate. Players can also participate in Hosted Server events without subscriptions.
