Fancy racing a 24 Hour race but don't have the time for it? Here is your guide to the best time acceleration and race lengths you need to run accurate endurance races.
Automobilista 2, iRacing, Le Mans Ultimate, Assetto Corsa Competizione, and many more. Sim racing in 2024 loves a game that enables endurance racing. Sportscar content is rushing its way into titles and many new releases even focus on the discipline.
But seeing races last up to a full day in length, running one's own endurance race, especially offline, can be a daunting process. Mid-race saving in certain games definitely helps reach the end of a mammoth duration, but gaming has a special feature allowing players to speed up time. Yes, you can technically drive for just a minute all whilst witnessing every second of a title's day-night cycle.
But numbers and maths are not something many will want to tackle when setting up a single player session, so we are here to help. In this guide, you will find every race duration possible to the full minute with its associated time progression acceleration value for all major endurance race lengths run in the real world.
There are many different race lengths to complete in endurance racing. Image: FIA WEC PressSite
But there is a reason for the full-day's infamy - it takes a full day to complete. In the real world, this means swapping between a multiple drivers. But when racing offline, chances are you will not have a pair of buddies waiting in the garage. So to run your own Le Mans 24 Hours, we would recommend speeding up the process in-game with Time Acceleration.
In many games, your race distance to the minute is difficult, bordering on the impossible depending on their UI system. In this case, opting for a full-hour like the 3-hour at 8X Time Progression may well be the best route for an intense yet reasonable race length.
Whilst a race ending on the hour is pleasing to those bugged by numbers, endurance racing is all about strategy. As most car classes will last pretty much an hour per stint, setting a strange race distance such as the 2 hours and 24 minutes of 5X Acceleration will make for a more complex and entertaining finish, forcing you to think throughout the race.
The lower we go on this list towards shorter race lengths, the fewer options we have for durations above a typical stint length. For the full endurance experience of pitstops, we would recommend implementing additional fuel burn values when dropping below an hour of racing.
As we approach the single-digits in hours raced, noticing time progression acceleration becomes harder and harder. Unless your race begins in the early morning hours or moves towards sunset, the main variation throughout a race will be in the track temperature.
If you are looking to run a full season of your favourite endurance championship with a single time progression rate, might we suggest the 5X-mark. Sure, a 4-hour, 48-minute Le Mans, Spa or Daytona enduro will be tough to complete in one sitting. But as you move through shorter distances, you will still get more than a single stint at every race.
What is your favourite race length to run and what is your go-to game for racing endurance events? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
Automobilista 2, iRacing, Le Mans Ultimate, Assetto Corsa Competizione, and many more. Sim racing in 2024 loves a game that enables endurance racing. Sportscar content is rushing its way into titles and many new releases even focus on the discipline.
But seeing races last up to a full day in length, running one's own endurance race, especially offline, can be a daunting process. Mid-race saving in certain games definitely helps reach the end of a mammoth duration, but gaming has a special feature allowing players to speed up time. Yes, you can technically drive for just a minute all whilst witnessing every second of a title's day-night cycle.
But numbers and maths are not something many will want to tackle when setting up a single player session, so we are here to help. In this guide, you will find every race duration possible to the full minute with its associated time progression acceleration value for all major endurance race lengths run in the real world.
There are many different race lengths to complete in endurance racing. Image: FIA WEC PressSite
Time-Scaled 24-Hour Races
The 24-hour race distance is no doubt the Holy Grail of endurance racing. Le Mans, Daytona, Nürburgring and Spa are certainly some of the most famous events on the annual calendar and some that drivers dream of one day winning.But there is a reason for the full-day's infamy - it takes a full day to complete. In the real world, this means swapping between a multiple drivers. But when racing offline, chances are you will not have a pair of buddies waiting in the garage. So to run your own Le Mans 24 Hours, we would recommend speeding up the process in-game with Time Acceleration.
- 2X Time Acceleration for 12 Hours
- 3X Time Acceleration for 8 Hours
- 4X Time Acceleration for 6 Hours
- 5X Time Acceleration for 4 Hours, 48 Minutes
- 6X Time Acceleration for 4 Hours
- 8X Time Acceleration for 3 Hours
- 10X Time Acceleration for 2 Hours, 24 Minutes
- 12X Time Acceleration for 2 Hours
- 15X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour, 36 Minutes
- 16X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour, 30 Minutes
- 18X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour, 20 Minutes
- 20X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour, 12 Minutes
- 24X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour
- 30X Time Acceleration for 48 Minutes
- 60X Time Acceleration for 24 Minutes
In many games, your race distance to the minute is difficult, bordering on the impossible depending on their UI system. In this case, opting for a full-hour like the 3-hour at 8X Time Progression may well be the best route for an intense yet reasonable race length.
Manageable 12-Hour Enduros
If the 24-hour race is infamous among sportscar enthusiasts, the 12-hour distance is not far behind. Sebring's 12 Hours and the Bathurst 12 are wicked events that always offer up some of the best racing of the year. But yet again, completing a 12-hour race solo is quite the task. Here are all the durations and time progressions you need.- 2X Time Acceleration for 6 Hours
- 3X Time Acceleration for 4 Hours
- 4X Time Acceleration for 3 Hours
- 5X Time Acceleration for 2 Hours, 24 Minutes
- 6X Time Acceleration for 2 Hours
- 8X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour, 30 Minutes
- 9X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour, 20 Minutes
- 10X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour, 12 Minutes
- 12X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour
- 15X Time Acceleration for 48 Minutes
- 16X Time Acceleration for 45 Minutes
- 18X Time Acceleration for 40 Minutes
- 20X Time Acceleration for 36 Minutes
- 30X Time Acceleration for 24 Minutes
- 60X Time Acceleration for 12 Minutes
Whilst a race ending on the hour is pleasing to those bugged by numbers, endurance racing is all about strategy. As most car classes will last pretty much an hour per stint, setting a strange race distance such as the 2 hours and 24 minutes of 5X Acceleration will make for a more complex and entertaining finish, forcing you to think throughout the race.
10-Hour Races With Time Acceleration
The 10-hour race distance is perhaps one of the least common on the worldwide stage. In general practice, series use the duration to match up with certain distances. For example, the FIA World Endurance Championship ran a 1,812km event at Qatar this year with a 10-hour time limit. Elsewhere, IMSA's Road Atlanta finale, or Petit Le Mans, is perhaps the most famous event to the length.- 2X Time Acceleration for 5 Hours
- 3X Time Acceleration for 3 Hours, 20 Minutes
- 4X Time Acceleration for 2 Hours, 30 Minutes
- 5X Time Acceleration for 2 Hours
- 6X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour, 40 Minutes
- 8X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour, 15 Minutes
- 10X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour
- 12X Time Acceleration for 50 Minutes
- 15X Time Acceleration for 40 Minutes
- 20X Time Acceleration for 30 Minutes
- 30X Time Acceleration for 20 Minutes
- 60X Time Acceleration for 10 Minutes
The lower we go on this list towards shorter race lengths, the fewer options we have for durations above a typical stint length. For the full endurance experience of pitstops, we would recommend implementing additional fuel burn values when dropping below an hour of racing.
How To Setup 8-Hour Races
Another rarely seen endurance race length is the third-of-a-day. Internationally, the FIA WEC gets an 8-hour finale at Bahrain each year whilst this year's Indianapolis Intercontinental GT Challenge round will run for the full 480 minutes.- 2X Time Acceleration for 4 Hours
- 3X Time Acceleration for 2 Hours, 40 Minutes
- 4X Time Acceleration for 2 Hours
- 5X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour, 36 Minutes
- 6X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour, 20 Minutes
- 8X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour
- 10X Time Acceleration for 48 Minutes
- 12X Time Acceleration for 40 Minutes
- 15X Time Acceleration for 32 Minutes
- 16X Time Acceleration for 30 Minutes
- 20X Time Acceleration for 24 Minutes
- 30X Time Acceleration for 16 Minutes
- 60X Time Acceleration for 8 Minutes
As we approach the single-digits in hours raced, noticing time progression acceleration becomes harder and harder. Unless your race begins in the early morning hours or moves towards sunset, the main variation throughout a race will be in the track temperature.
6-Hour Races
Across the FIA World Endurance Championship, 6-Hour races are highly common with the quarter-day duration forming the so-called 'standard' race length for the series. Main-season events such as Imola, Spa and Fuji all run to 6 hours, just like IMSA's Watkins Glen race and the GT World Challenge's Paul Ricard round up until last year.- 2X Time Acceleration for 3 Hours
- 3X Time Acceleration for 2 Hours
- 4X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour, 30 Minutes
- 5X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour, 12 Minutes
- 6X Time Acceleration for 1 Hour
- 8X Time Acceleration for 45 Minutes
- 9X Time Acceleration for 40 Minutes
- 10X Time Acceleration for 36 Minutes
- 12X Time Acceleration for 30 Minutes
- 15X Time Acceleration for 24 Minutes
- 18X Time Acceleration for 20 Minutes
- 20X Time Acceleration for 18 Minutes
- 30X Time Acceleration for 12 Minutes
- 60X Time Acceleration for 6 Minutes
If you are looking to run a full season of your favourite endurance championship with a single time progression rate, might we suggest the 5X-mark. Sure, a 4-hour, 48-minute Le Mans, Spa or Daytona enduro will be tough to complete in one sitting. But as you move through shorter distances, you will still get more than a single stint at every race.
What is your favourite race length to run and what is your go-to game for racing endurance events? Let us know on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
