SCB/SR4L LMU 1hr Race - April 2026

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

For those that are planning to race in April at Portimao…. (Event hasn’t been opened up beyond our shared community - yet - so this thread is intended to just be a general discussion for now…)

How’re you getting on?

I’ve not driven LMU since our June race last year - and aside from that race, I’ve never dabbled with car setup in LMU as I only did the fixed-setup Daily Races before that…

Without a regular practice server running, it’ll be very hard to judge where you are on performance, setup and other racing tips - hence this discussion…

So…. What kind of laptimes are we managing (under what fuel load/setup) for instance? Relative to the default AI, I’m precisely nowhere at the moment - plumb last in fact!

[Edvvc]

Thanks for starting this thread, Myles. I've been starting a race weekend with Heavy real road in all sessions and using a full tank of fuel. After spending some time in all four cars I'm settling on the Ferrari but that's probably just my driving style. They are all excellent except I didn't gel well with the Aston Martin but I prefer mid/rear-engined GT cars. The Porsche is very stable, especially in the last corner, but after realising I was too slow braking with my left foot, I felt the character of the car didn't suit right foot braking. Something clicked between me and the Ferrari and right foot braking. I also really liked the Corvette C8R (unlike in rf2) and it was a close call between it and the Ferrari.

I have put several hours in and have accepted that the AI is way better than rfactor 2. I use an AI difficulty of 90% to get near the front of the timesheets, wheras it was 100% in rfactor2. The more I drive the more I appreciate how good the simulation is in LMU. There is so much depth and subtlety to how the tyres work so it takes longer to get speed and consistency.

Regarding setups I've just been trying the LMU and Coach Dave presets on each car - they take very different approaches. I get the impression Coach Dave setups are faster but require more skill. In the Ferrari I settled on the Coach Dave setup and have only adjusted brake bias where necessary.

On mediums I'm in the mid 1:46 and on softs mid 1:45

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

Great!

I’ve managed to put an hour on the track this morning - first in the Aston and then in the Porsche. I was going to do the Ferrari next but my partners gym class was cancelled and she’s home an hour early!

I’ve settled on 90% AI too. It was on 93% yesterday and the difference seems quite significant!

I was running 50% tanks on softs - not sure what real-road setting is. I’ve managed 1:47.5s in both cars, both on Dave setups. I found the Aston really quite easy to drive - and possibly a good bet for a long stint. The Porsche moves around quite a lot more and seems quite keen to lock and flat spot the front tyres - but I haven’t really tried moving the brake bias backward yet.

For me, one feature that might decide which car I use is the dash design! The Porsche wheel dash is ‘in my face’ and requires an effort to focus on after looking down the road (my eyesight…). The shift lights are not particularly grabbing my attention.

The Aston feels further away and reasonably comfortable. The Ferrari has a fixed dash - from memory, a bit far away to read that clearly! Haven’t tried the Corvette yet.

I’m warming to LMU after such a long stint away though - the graphical performance is excellent compared to rf2 and it’s a wonder why ACC and AC Evo are such rubbish in VR given a similar-ish graphical richness and feel. I also like the extra layer of drama that having LMPx cars weaving around the GTEs brings….

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

So I’d been running with Light real-road. I did some more testing after switching to Heavy. I can manage 1:46.4s in the Ferrari on a clean lap starting with half fuel. Close to that in the Porsche (a bit of rear brake bias helped/sort the lockups). Can’t really get close in the Corvette and haven’t tried the Aston again.

The Ferrari feels like probably the best package at the moment.

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

Making Sticky

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

More time spent in the rig!

I’ve tried and tried with the Porsche - even using CoPilot to give some setup ideas…

It’s nice to drive - but within one flying lap in the Ferrari (essentially with Dave settings), I’m half a second quicker. The Ferrari feels more rubbery and jelly like - but quick is quick….

[stu3284]

As Myles pointed out, the 12th is also SCB's birthday bash with a 1 hour race in the evening which may take away potential participants. So options are :-

• Promote it as an SR4L race so as not to step on their toes. I can still advertise it on SCB.
  
• Move it to the 19th but then I think it'll disclude Jonathan.
  
• Have a one for us on the 12th and then hopefully a bigger one on the 19th. we could always chuck in a couple of AI.
  

I have enough server credits to do whatever suits.

And a reminder. 08:30 BST Practice start
No Qualifying
09:00 1hr race

And @myles Do you want 2x times Tyre wear and Fuel or will a gentlemans pit stop requirement suffice?

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

@Stu3284 - last time we raced, we did it on 2x fuel and that was enough to force a pitstop (I hope to get a chance to do an offline test race to confirm - but i bet Ed already has that information…..)

2x Tyres might be overkill. I’ve not yet tried Mediums and can’t recall what I used last time (the tyre model has probably changed since then anyway). My experience suggests that you’ll do well on Softs not to flat spot them or wreck them in a spin anyway at some point - so I think tyres will be self-policing anyway!

We can chat tonight but I suggest we plough ahead with the 12th (I really quite like having the LMP prototype AIs in the race to keep you on your toes!) and use any learnings from that for a follow up. I think Jonathan is looking forward to the race so wouldn’t want him to miss out.

[stu3284]

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

Nice!

I tried my first 1hr offline race this afternoon.

It was fun having the LMPs out there too - and they were pretty well behaved (unlike the GTE AIs which were often pretty rowdy/erratic).

You can definitely just about get a set of sorts to ‘last’ the hour if you are careful and lucky. I’m keen to try another race on the mediums to see if that’s a better bet.

I’m bemused by the AI pitting though. Maybe some of them two-stopped - but despite me starting on full tanks, some of the GTEs ended up pitting waaaay later than me and despite me pitting in the lead on the last possible lap of my first tank, I came out in around 6th and ended up 4th after a few late altercations…

[Edvvc]

Corvette Racing has announced a change to its GTE driver line-up for the 1 Hour of Portimao, with series debutant Ed Pond joining the team.

“Having closely followed the previous races, I’m really excited to be joining Corvette Racing for the next round of the World Endurance Championship in Portimao,” Pond said.

“The circuit presents a unique and demanding challenge, but with the support of such a well-respected team I am confident to be able to fight at the very front of the pack. My goal is to hit the ground running and work tirelessly for the best result possible.”

---

What a fast lap looks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRgf7uK__KI

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

Nice! Sounds like it will be a sea of Ferraris, your Corvette and maybe an Aston.

My laps look pretty similar to Estre’s - except at the Portimão corner complex (the right hander at the top of the hill after the fast left handed climb) where I stuggle to enter so wide. Dunno how much time I might be losing there - but I rather doubt it’s the five or so second deficit between estre’s real world lap time in the vid and my own!

[Edvvc]

Is there an entry list somewhere?

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

Not that I’m aware of.

The 12th might be pretty much the usual suspects (I hope including Cruicky!?!) I’m hoping/planning/expecting to have a field of the LMP* AI cars running with us for company. Personally, I really enjoy having them around the GTEs and they have rarely caused me problems.

The follow-up race (two weeks later) will be under the SCB banner and hopefully the distraction of their 6th Birthday race will be long gone and we’ll get a bigger field.

*we’ll probably have to password the event on the day to prevent any loony random human LMP drivers ruining our fun.

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

After discussion with Stu, we will try running half a dozen AI LMP(2?) cars - but no AI GTEs - alongside the hoomans. If you’ve not been practising with LMPs, I suggest you do so. In my experience, they are well behaved but still need care.

Keep to your racing line and let them pass when they’re ready - they generally will wait *unless* you gift them an opportunity! Crew Chief is helpful in warning you of approaching cars too.

[stu3284]

Just to confirm, you can't add AI to hosted events yet so it'll just be us in the GTE's
Server will be open from 08:15 and race start on a short rolling at 09:00
Fuel 2X

[Myles (Mr Fox)]

Just to confirm, you can't add AI to hosted events yet so it'll just be us in the GTE's
Server will be open from 08:15 and race start on a short rolling at 09:00
Fuel 2X

Boo-hiss!

Oh well.

[stu3284]

Next week will be GTE's at COTA National. Once Nick from SCB get to his PC, there'll be a #sunday-race thread under LeMans Ultimate. (Monday removed)

And thank you all for participating this morning.