If you want to recreate the 2024 Daytona 24h in single-player, there are several current racing games to choose from. But which one does it best?
Image credit: IMSA
It's that time of year again … The 24 Hours of Daytona is coming up. While the iRacing Daytona 24 Hours Special Event has just taken place virtually, the real race will not take place until next weekend.
And it is certainly no shame to jump on the hype train and have some multiclass fun yourself on the iconic road course in Florida in your favorite sim. Fortunately for us, there are numerous racing games where this is possible.
Porsche 963, Porsche Penske Motorsport (#6), Mathieu Jaminet (F), Nick Tandy (UK), Laurens Vanthoor (B), Kevin Estre (F), IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Qualifying, Daytona, 2024. Image credit: Porsche AG
However, especially in single-player many sim racers go for authenticity down to the smallest detail. That is why we took a close look at the various titles to answer the question: Which game recreates the 2024 Daytona 24h in single-player the most accurately and authentically?
Is the track up-to-date? Are all the real cars in the game? What about original liveries, team and driver names? Editable AI skills? Can you simulate 24 hours? Dynamic weather and time of day? Here we present seven current racing games in alphabetical order and tell you how accurately you can recreate the 2024 24h of Daytona in single-player in each of them.
The bad news is that you have to be willing to search every bit of content for yourself, implement it and set it up manually. Some find that envigorating, others exhausting. Anyway, it surely demands literally some endurance (!) - but it is worth it. Moreover, if you are lucky, some like-minded people have already done some work and are willing to share their files. Best to check our Download section here on RaceDepartment.
Image credit: StevenGD
Once you are set up, there is hardly anything stopping you from enjoying your recreation of the Daytona 24 Hours with all real cars, many original liveries, tweaked AI, day and night transition and dynamic weather of your choice. Theoretically even as a 24-hour race - if you and the AI can keep it up, that is. Because you would have to do this in one go, as a session can only be paused, but not saved.
Also, the Daytona track is available as DLC. Though visually stunning and fun to race at, please notice that there is still an issue with track limits in the bus stop chicane, as you can cut like crazy without getting penalized.
Original skins and real drivers? Yes to both. Regarding liveries, please check out our dedicated section for Automobilista 2 community skins on RD. At the time of writing, there have been several WIP projects for accurate IMSA skins. In terms of real drivers, the answer is "Custom AI". If a proper Custom AI is not included in one of the skin packs, you can go and create or edit one yourself and set names and skills to your heart's content.
Featuring great accessibility and technical fidelity, Automobilista 2 is tailored towards an immersive and authentic single-player experience.
On the con side, there are a few things missing in AMS2 which prevent you from recreating the 2024 Daytona 24h in single-player to perfection.
While in the LMDh class only the Acura ARX-06 is not in the game (or available as a mod), the GTD class is significantly thinner. With the Aston Martin Vantage, Chevrolet Corvette, Lamborghini Huracan, the Lexus RC F, Ferrari 296 and Ford Mustang, more than half of all GTDs are missing in Automobilista 2. AMS2 is also bereft of LMP2s, although available as a mod.
Moreover, sessions are limited to 32 cars. That is 27 less than in this year's real race.
Also, a complete 24-hour race is possible. However, like in AC, we still cannot save the game mid-session. As of now, you should still refrain from using the new AI driver swap, as it is in a very early stage and will likely ruin your race.
While Turn 10 added the Daytona tracks to the game just in time before the big event, the Road Course has a major flaw that practically ridicules proper racing. Though there is the actual pit lane (see the picture below), the exit is blocked by tire stacks. This forces you to directly rejoin onto the racing line and into the braking area into Turn 1, making crashes inevitable! Why the developers did that, remains their secret.
The current version of the Daytona Road Course in FM has an hilariously incorrect pit lane exit.
At worst abysmal, at best okay, the AI has rightfully been the target of criticism from release on in Forza Motorsport. And since not much has changed in the last three months, all we can say is: good luck and strong nerves in your attempt to survive 24 hours against the AI. You'll need them.
The track is as good as it can get, and it is also possible to do a 24-hour race with day and night transitions - yet no rain. As the Daytona Road Course is one of the locations without dynamic weather, it will always be dry there.
GT7: Current Lexus RC F with user-made 2024 Daytona livery which you can find in the ingame livery editor.
Since it was released already in early 2022 and as a console-only title is not moddable with 3rd-party content, players are limited to what Polyphony gives them. With regards to the 2024 Daytona 24 grid, this means that out of the 16 possible only four cars are present in GT7, namely the Lexus RC F, the Lamborghini Huracan, Audi R8 and the Mercedes-AMG in the GT3 class. While the Lexus is in its current version, the Lambo is "non-Evo", the R8 is only an 'evo I' and the AMG is in its 2020 trim.
Though you thus at least can compile a grid of class-accurate cars, the biggest disadvantage of GT 7 is probably the grid size. The maximum of 20 cars not only represents the smallest grid in this comparison, it also only corresponds to around a third of the real starter list.
Regarding current accurate skins, you can try your luck with the in-game livery editor. The tool allows sharing user/community-made designs, which you can then apply to your cars.
Moreover - though primarily a competitive multiplayer online racing sim - iRacing also offers a very pleasing offline experience and has perhaps even the best AI of all titles in here!
AI in iRacing stands out for its exceptional realism and adaptability, contributing to an immersive and challenging racing experience, replicating human-like decision-making and ensuring dynamic and unpredictable races. Apart from ability sliders, you can also change names and thus create the actual grid of the 2024 Daytona 24 Hours.
Though still not perfect, iRacing provides arguably the most accurate and authentic recreation of the 2024 Daytona 24h. Image credit: VCO
Second, also iRacing does not have an option for AI driver swap, nor a save session functionality. Hence, you will have to do your complete Daytona endurance race yourself and in one go, as you can only pause the game.
Third, Pace/Safety Car and Yellow Flags do not work properly. On road courses (like Daytona), as the player in an AI session you can launch a safety car procedure. But they do not happen automatically when there is a crash, even if you tick the option when setting up the session. Moreover, there is no full course yellow either. There are yellow flags obviously, but they do not mean much as you can overtake and do not have to slow down when they are out. While this is somewhat comprehensible for online multiplayer, in single-player this shortcoming significantly reduces authenticity and immersion.
So if you are new to iRacing, recreating 2024 Daytona 24h in single-player will cost you roughly $40. To be fair though, first, there are often discounts on memberships and contents, and second, iRacing essentially is made for racing online and increasing your iRating while competing with other humans.
The iteration of the Daytona Road Course in RR is a good as any and leaves hardly anything to be desired. Also, with 5 out of 10 GT 3 cars, RaceRoom is on par with AMS 2 and iRacing in that class. These are the BMW M4, Ferrari 296 GT3 (DTM trim), McLaren 720S, Mercedes-AMG GT3 (2020), and the Porsche 911 GT3 R (992).
Unfortunately, there are neither LMDh nor LMP cars in RR. The only comtemporary prototype in the game is the Mazda RT24 P DPi. However, that does not race at Daytona, which effectively renders the whole multi-class approach a bit absurd.
On the other hand, there is one category in which RaceRoom beats all other games easily: grid size. At the Daytona Road Course you can race a whopping 79 vehicles! That is almost four times as much as in GT7 and more than twice than what AMS2 allows. If only RR now had fitting prototypes ...
The track and cars are available on Steam, as well as most additional third-party content, which you can search and possibly find in the "Workshop". One of them is the Porsche 963 as a mod car. Though it may be underwhelming, especially compared to its renditions in Automobilista 2 and iRacing, for rF2 it is the only LMDh available.
The BMW M4 GT3 is one of two 2024 Daytona 24h GT3 cars in rFactor 2. Image credit: Studio 397
Setting up and doing endurance races can be a frustrating experience in rFactor 2. The GUI is not the most accessible, to say the least. Also, the game has a certain history of unpredictable crashes. Moreover, editing the AI is not as straightforward or easy as in iRacing and Automobilista 2.
Last but not least, rFactor 2 is the only sim in here to feature a working AI Driver Swap functionality. You can hand your car over to the AI at any time, which will then do its best to keep your car on the track. If you want to take over again, simply call for a pit stop; there you will then be handed over the control again.
Have we forgotten or missed anything? What is your favorite sim for recreating the 2024 Daytona 24h? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
Image credit: IMSA
It's that time of year again … The 24 Hours of Daytona is coming up. While the iRacing Daytona 24 Hours Special Event has just taken place virtually, the real race will not take place until next weekend.
2024 Daytona 24h: Expect the Best
With even more sophisticated GTP cars in the LMDh class, the latest iterations of the GT3 Evos and the tried and tested LMP2s, the IMSA event promises endurance motorsport in a class of its own on January 27/28.And it is certainly no shame to jump on the hype train and have some multiclass fun yourself on the iconic road course in Florida in your favorite sim. Fortunately for us, there are numerous racing games where this is possible.
However, especially in single-player many sim racers go for authenticity down to the smallest detail. That is why we took a close look at the various titles to answer the question: Which game recreates the 2024 Daytona 24h in single-player the most accurately and authentically?
Is the track up-to-date? Are all the real cars in the game? What about original liveries, team and driver names? Editable AI skills? Can you simulate 24 hours? Dynamic weather and time of day? Here we present seven current racing games in alphabetical order and tell you how accurately you can recreate the 2024 24h of Daytona in single-player in each of them.
2024 Daytona 24h in Assetto Corsa
With 10 years under its belt and the last DLC from Sept 2017, Assetto Corsa cannot have the latest cars and tracks in the original game. Fortunately, for those on PC, there are mods that fix (most of) these shortcomings. The good news is that you can set up AC so that it is (almost) a perfect recreation of the real Daytona 24, including the track, all cars, most liveries etc.The bad news is that you have to be willing to search every bit of content for yourself, implement it and set it up manually. Some find that envigorating, others exhausting. Anyway, it surely demands literally some endurance (!) - but it is worth it. Moreover, if you are lucky, some like-minded people have already done some work and are willing to share their files. Best to check our Download section here on RaceDepartment.
Shines Brightest with Mods and Modded
Regarding grid size, AC may be the only title here to display the whole 59 cars taking place in this year's Daytona 24h. Depending on the mod track you are using, you will have 40 to 43 pits. However, if you are proficient enough you can either use a 3D modeller to further mod the track, or try your luck by simply typing in the desired number of pits on the track page in your full version of "Content Manager". Be aware though that this can lead to some serious issues with cars spawning on top of each other or falling through the ground. So try at your own risk.Once you are set up, there is hardly anything stopping you from enjoying your recreation of the Daytona 24 Hours with all real cars, many original liveries, tweaked AI, day and night transition and dynamic weather of your choice. Theoretically even as a 24-hour race - if you and the AI can keep it up, that is. Because you would have to do this in one go, as a session can only be paused, but not saved.
2024 Daytona 24 Hours in Automobilista 2
The latest "Endurance Pack Pt. 1" DLC expands Automobilista 2 to include the latest LMDh cars from BMW, Cadillac and Porsche as well as the GT3 Gen 2 class, which adds the latest BMW, McLaren, Mercedes and Porsche to race in IMSA and/or the WEC.Also, the Daytona track is available as DLC. Though visually stunning and fun to race at, please notice that there is still an issue with track limits in the bus stop chicane, as you can cut like crazy without getting penalized.
Original skins and real drivers? Yes to both. Regarding liveries, please check out our dedicated section for Automobilista 2 community skins on RD. At the time of writing, there have been several WIP projects for accurate IMSA skins. In terms of real drivers, the answer is "Custom AI". If a proper Custom AI is not included in one of the skin packs, you can go and create or edit one yourself and set names and skills to your heart's content.
On the con side, there are a few things missing in AMS2 which prevent you from recreating the 2024 Daytona 24h in single-player to perfection.
While in the LMDh class only the Acura ARX-06 is not in the game (or available as a mod), the GTD class is significantly thinner. With the Aston Martin Vantage, Chevrolet Corvette, Lamborghini Huracan, the Lexus RC F, Ferrari 296 and Ford Mustang, more than half of all GTDs are missing in Automobilista 2. AMS2 is also bereft of LMP2s, although available as a mod.
Moreover, sessions are limited to 32 cars. That is 27 less than in this year's real race.
Leading in Accessibility and Technical Fidelity
When it comes to accessibility and technical fidelity, Automobilista 2 is second to none. You only need a few clicks to set up your 24-hour Daytona session. Then you can experience racing action with contemporary graphics and excellent performance, including dynamic weather, day and night transitions, as well as changing track conditions.Also, a complete 24-hour race is possible. However, like in AC, we still cannot save the game mid-session. As of now, you should still refrain from using the new AI driver swap, as it is in a very early stage and will likely ruin your race.
Casual Community Club Races on RaceDepartment
Need some practice? Then join our Casual Club Races on RaceDepartment! This Thursday (January 25) we are warming up for the Daytona 24h and taking the LMDh and GT3 GEN2 cars for a cursory hour around this iconic track.2024 Daytona 24 Hours also Good in Forza Motorsport?
The good news is that you can do the 2024 Daytona 24h in single-player in Forza Motorsport. The bad news is that, of all the games here, it is perhaps the least accurate and fun experience. Why? Because of the track, cars, AI and grid slots.While Turn 10 added the Daytona tracks to the game just in time before the big event, the Road Course has a major flaw that practically ridicules proper racing. Though there is the actual pit lane (see the picture below), the exit is blocked by tire stacks. This forces you to directly rejoin onto the racing line and into the braking area into Turn 1, making crashes inevitable! Why the developers did that, remains their secret.
Fewest Original Cars, Problematic AI
Of the 16 possible original cars running at the real Daytona 24, with the Cadillac V-Series.R FM only features one. There is an older version of the Acura LMDh as well as some older and old GT3 cars though, which you can use to fill the grid with. Speaking of, the grid is limited to 24 cars.At worst abysmal, at best okay, the AI has rightfully been the target of criticism from release on in Forza Motorsport. And since not much has changed in the last three months, all we can say is: good luck and strong nerves in your attempt to survive 24 hours against the AI. You'll need them.
Gran Turismo 7 and the 2024 Daytona 24h
Of all games here, Gran Turismo 7 is arguably the most sold and played. And, of course, also recreating the 2024 Daytona 24h in single-player is possible in Sony's driving title - albeit with a few restrictions.The track is as good as it can get, and it is also possible to do a 24-hour race with day and night transitions - yet no rain. As the Daytona Road Course is one of the locations without dynamic weather, it will always be dry there.
Since it was released already in early 2022 and as a console-only title is not moddable with 3rd-party content, players are limited to what Polyphony gives them. With regards to the 2024 Daytona 24 grid, this means that out of the 16 possible only four cars are present in GT7, namely the Lexus RC F, the Lamborghini Huracan, Audi R8 and the Mercedes-AMG in the GT3 class. While the Lexus is in its current version, the Lambo is "non-Evo", the R8 is only an 'evo I' and the AMG is in its 2020 trim.
Though you thus at least can compile a grid of class-accurate cars, the biggest disadvantage of GT 7 is probably the grid size. The maximum of 20 cars not only represents the smallest grid in this comparison, it also only corresponds to around a third of the real starter list.
Regarding current accurate skins, you can try your luck with the in-game livery editor. The tool allows sharing user/community-made designs, which you can then apply to your cars.
24 Hours of Daytona in iRacing
In terms of accuracy and authenticity, iRacing is probably the first choice for recreating the Daytona 24h in single-player. It is the only game to offer all four current LMDh cars as well as four of the ten GT3s entered for the weekend (BMW M4 GT3, Ferrari 296 GT3, Mercedes-AMG GT3 2020, Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)). With a grid size of 50 slots it also almost achieves the real dimension (59).Moreover - though primarily a competitive multiplayer online racing sim - iRacing also offers a very pleasing offline experience and has perhaps even the best AI of all titles in here!
AI in iRacing stands out for its exceptional realism and adaptability, contributing to an immersive and challenging racing experience, replicating human-like decision-making and ensuring dynamic and unpredictable races. Apart from ability sliders, you can also change names and thus create the actual grid of the 2024 Daytona 24 Hours.
Limitations and Drawbacks
However, also iRacing has its limitations and drawbacks. A minor issue is that though you can create AI rosters with custom skins, it is highly unlikely that you will find all authentic ones for all of the teams and cars of this year's Daytona race.Second, also iRacing does not have an option for AI driver swap, nor a save session functionality. Hence, you will have to do your complete Daytona endurance race yourself and in one go, as you can only pause the game.
Third, Pace/Safety Car and Yellow Flags do not work properly. On road courses (like Daytona), as the player in an AI session you can launch a safety car procedure. But they do not happen automatically when there is a crash, even if you tick the option when setting up the session. Moreover, there is no full course yellow either. There are yellow flags obviously, but they do not mean much as you can overtake and do not have to slow down when they are out. While this is somewhat comprehensible for online multiplayer, in single-player this shortcoming significantly reduces authenticity and immersion.
iRacing and the Inevitable Topic of Costs
And last but not least, of course, there are the costs. Not only do you need an active subscription, which starts at $13 per month, you will also have to buy every new track and car individually. And as none of the assets needed for recreating the 2024 Daytona 24h are part of the subscription (which includes 19 cars and 25 tracks or track variants), you will have to purchase the Daytona Road Course track for $14.95 and at least one of the eight available LMDh or GT3 cars for $11.95 each (AI-driven cars do not have to be purchased).So if you are new to iRacing, recreating 2024 Daytona 24h in single-player will cost you roughly $40. To be fair though, first, there are often discounts on memberships and contents, and second, iRacing essentially is made for racing online and increasing your iRating while competing with other humans.
2024 Daytona 24h in RaceRoom
RaceRoom and a proper recreation of the 2024 Daytona 24h in single-player is a mixed bag. Great unique features stand in sharp contrast to unfortunate shortcomings.The iteration of the Daytona Road Course in RR is a good as any and leaves hardly anything to be desired. Also, with 5 out of 10 GT 3 cars, RaceRoom is on par with AMS 2 and iRacing in that class. These are the BMW M4, Ferrari 296 GT3 (DTM trim), McLaren 720S, Mercedes-AMG GT3 (2020), and the Porsche 911 GT3 R (992).
Unfortunately, there are neither LMDh nor LMP cars in RR. The only comtemporary prototype in the game is the Mazda RT24 P DPi. However, that does not race at Daytona, which effectively renders the whole multi-class approach a bit absurd.
Shortcomings and a Major Plus
Regarding game settings, customization and modding, RaceRoom is more limited than its PC game rivals. As the only game here it does not allow 24-hour racing but limits a race to 600 minutes or laps, respectively. As last year's Daytona 24 winners did 783 laps, even that would not suffice for doing 24 hours. Also features which have become standard, such as a day/night cycle, dynamic weather including rain, or light modding like custom skins and AI driver tweaking, are missing in the sim.On the other hand, there is one category in which RaceRoom beats all other games easily: grid size. At the Daytona Road Course you can race a whopping 79 vehicles! That is almost four times as much as in GT7 and more than twice than what AMS2 allows. If only RR now had fitting prototypes ...
Recreating Daytona 24h in rFactor 2
Cherished by many for its physics, rFactor 2 is also fairly open towards third-party content aka modding. Thus, when recreating the 2024 Daytona 24h you will find the actual track as well as the current LMP2 and two GT3 as official DLC from Studio 397.The track and cars are available on Steam, as well as most additional third-party content, which you can search and possibly find in the "Workshop". One of them is the Porsche 963 as a mod car. Though it may be underwhelming, especially compared to its renditions in Automobilista 2 and iRacing, for rF2 it is the only LMDh available.
Setting up and doing endurance races can be a frustrating experience in rFactor 2. The GUI is not the most accessible, to say the least. Also, the game has a certain history of unpredictable crashes. Moreover, editing the AI is not as straightforward or easy as in iRacing and Automobilista 2.
Unique Features in rFactor 2
On the other hand, rFactor 2 is the only game to feature both LMP2 cars (Ligier and Oreca) which take part in the 2024 Daytona 24 Hours. And it is the only contemporary sim which allows mid-session saving. All other titles discussed here only have the option to pause the game. But in rF2 you can start your Daytona 24-hour endurance race today, save, drive some other combo in rF2 or close the game, and continue later via the resume from the replay feature.Last but not least, rFactor 2 is the only sim in here to feature a working AI Driver Swap functionality. You can hand your car over to the AI at any time, which will then do its best to keep your car on the track. If you want to take over again, simply call for a pit stop; there you will then be handed over the control again.
Special Community Event 1.2hrs of Daytona on RD
Looking for some multiplayer race fun? Then join our Special Event 1.2hrs of Daytona - Fri Jan 26 2024 on RaceDepartment!Recreating 2024 Daytona 24h: Games and Their Features
Check and compare significant features and functionalities of all racing games capable of recreating the 2024 Daytona 24 in single-player in one table.| AC | AMS2 | FM | GT7 | iR | RR | rF2 | |
| Track | Mod (free) | Yes (DLC) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cars | Mods (free and paid) only, but then all | LMDh: 3/4 LMP2 (Mod): 1/2 GT3: 4/10 | LMDh: 1/4 | GT3: 4/10 | LMDh: 4/4 GT3: 4/10 | GT3: 5/10 | LMDh: Mods LMP2: 2/2 GT3: 2/10 |
| Current Liveries | Mods only | Mods mainly | Few | UGC | Few | No | Mods only |
| Authentic AI Driver Names and Skills | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| 24 Hours | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| AI Driver Swap | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Mid-Session Save | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Dynamic Weather | Yes, with Mod | Yes | Yes, but limited | Not here | No Rain | No | Yes, with Mod(s) |
| Day/Night Cycle | Yes, with Mod | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Rolling Start | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Safety/Pace Car | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Grid Slots | Editable | 32 | 24 | 20 | 50 | 79 | 43 (editable) |
Have we forgotten or missed anything? What is your favorite sim for recreating the 2024 Daytona 24h? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
