Does Le Mans Ultimate have a DRIVER RATING problem?

Summary

Jardier reviews Le Mans Ultimate’s driver and safety rating systems, arguing that both need refinement—especially the driver rating.

How the ratings work

Driver rating reflects competitive results, while safety rating is based on incidents, off-tracks, spins, and clean laps. Both use Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum tiers, each with three levels. The game shows progress with squares and provides a post-race breakdown.

Issues with the rating systems

• Driver rating can be hard to gain and costly to lose. Jardier says sustained success can be undone by a single poor result. After months of strong LMP2 finishes, he lost a large portion of his rating when a connection issue caused a DNF.
• Some results seem counterintuitive. During a 10-hour Petit Le Mans event, Jardier saw a team that completed only a small part of the race gain rating, while higher-placing teams—including a class winner—lost it.
• Qualifying has too much influence. Jardier estimates that qualifying accounts for roughly a quarter of the rating change. He believes this can penalize drivers who qualify poorly but finish strongly—for example, finishing third after starting tenth—and suggests removing or reducing qualifying’s impact.
• Ratings could be separated by class. A driver’s experience in one category may not reflect their pace in another. Class-specific ratings could place drivers in more appropriate splits and encourage them to try different cars without risking a rating built in a different class.
• Team ratings can produce mismatched splits. Team and lineup ratings may place less experienced drivers in high splits because of stronger teammates. Jardier argues that split placement should better reflect the actual lineup’s ability.
• Safety rating may be too forgiving. In Jardier’s experience, it is difficult to lose safety rating, even after races with many incidents or off-tracks. He suggests making it stricter so it better reflects driving conduct.

Suggested improvements

Jardier suggests limiting how much rating can be gained or lost in one race and showing exact rating percentages instead of only progress squares. He also proposes adding driver profiles, statistics, leaderboards, and a way to track favorite drivers. He raises the idea of periodic rating resets but does not endorse or settle it.

Overall view

Jardier likes Le Mans Ultimate’s online racing and sees the current system as a good starting point, but thinks the rating balance and overall online-player interface should be improved.

People and sources mentioned

Jardier discusses rating ideas with George Youcock and references a video by Matt. Henry Gamble is mentioned as an example of a driver Jardier would like to track. Comparisons are made with iRacing and Low Fuel Motorsport’s ACC rating system.