24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual 2023 had a really horrendous weekend plagued by DDoS attacks, player outrage and organizer incompetence. Professional drivers in both real-world and sim racing environments were disappointed by the decisions and series of events that unfolded this past weekend.

This crossover event was supposed to be a highlight in the racing esports calendar and a big one for sim racing as a whole. It put the top names in racing against each other, playing on simulators for a staggering session of 24 hours. Teams were competing for a share of a $250,000 prize pool, along with the prestige of winning the crossover event.

Statement made by by Motosport Games mid-way through the competition

24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual 2023 was a s*itshow

24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual 2023 was a joint competition organized by Motorsport Games and Automobile Club de l’Ouest (most of the obligations falling on the former). Both groups come together to hold the crossover event; an esports racing series consisting of five rounds, played by a mix of the best drivers in sim racing and normal racing. It is supposed to be a test of endurance alongside skill, played on simulated versions of famous real-world tracks.

The line-up for the event was completely stacked, with major names from both racing and esports involved. As is getting more common as the lines with virtual racing and normal blur more.

Featured list of superstar drivers in 2023

The event itself was well set up this time around. Multiple media coverage platforms and media outlets covered the race extensively on both traditional and digital media. We wont go into the race day breakdown, Motorsport.com has a great recap already.

Instead, we have to address the absolute fiesta this entire race was. Platform problems and server troubles for a third year running is a bit much. The organizers (Motosport Games) are going through a really hard time over the past 24 months, their stock price sinking to extreme lows, fighting to regain compliance with NASDAQ, and it absolutely showed this past weekend.

We embed the entire coverage by TraxionGG below, with all the interviews, drama and red flags in one long stream. Problems started about three hours in, as soon as rain was introduced to the race, about five hours into the stream time.

We had two red flags in total and plenty of disconnects throughout the race. By the end, the outrage on stream and on social media hit boiling point. The harshest criticism was laid toward the racing platform rFactor 2, with most commenters pointing out that iRacing or Assetto Corsa are the better choice platforms.

Reigning Formula 1 Champion Max Verstappen did not mince words or sugarcout his disdain with the event. His team (Redline) retired the #1 entry from the event deep into the night.

Results after the 24 Hours of LeMans Virtual 2023

We still ended with a pretty decent event in the later portions of the race. Some serious racing and extremely good pushes by both the Pro Drivers and the Sim Racers made for an interesting finale. Redline and R8G managed to get the top podium spots in each of the categories.

After all was said and done, the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual 2023 winner in LMP was Redline’s #2 entry driven by Felipe Drugovich, Felix Rosenqvist, Luke Bennett and Chris Lulham ahead of Porsche and Mercedes-AMG.

In the GTE category, R8G Esports Ferrari #888 driven by Erhan Jajovski, Timotej Andonovski, Alexander Smolyar and Scott Andrews ended up in first beating both BMW Sim Racing entries. Roman Grosjean was elated with his team winning the GTE category after the race.

We have to commend the drivers in both categories for sticking through and “surviving” this event. Hopefully, players will heed Verstappen’s call and uninstall the game, forcing those incharge to either re-evaluate the event or move the competition to a different platform.