Le Mans Ultimate is preparing a new online racing fix for September 15, with Studio 397 targeting the “phantom collision” behaviour reported by some players in recent weeks. The developer believes the change should deliver an immediate improvement to online performance while it continues testing broader network changes ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans event planned for October.
Studio 397 detailed the upcoming fix in its September 11, 2026 Community Update, following several weeks of investigation into online racing issues that emerged around the introduction of network changes with Le Mans Ultimate v1.4.
According to the developer, the September 15 fix is surprisingly small from a technical perspective. Studio 397 says a single line of code, unrelated to the network protocol itself, could be responsible for some of the collision behaviour players have experienced.
The studio specifically referenced the “netcode” effect associated with phantom collisions, where contact can appear to occur despite cars seemingly having enough space between them.
Studio 397 believes this issue may also explain collision problems reported while using RUDP.
The full explanation is available in the official Le Mans Ultimate September 2026 Community Update.
Le Mans Ultimate Expands Public Network Testing
The September 15 deployment will not mark the end of Studio 397’s work on Le Mans Ultimate’s online systems.
The developer is also converting several upcoming special events into public open beta network tests, allowing it to gather data from real-world races while deploying and evaluating further networking changes.
The updated test schedule includes:
- Week commencing September 14: single-driver tests on Tuesday and Thursday, featuring 90-minute races at Le Mans with Hypercar, WEC LMP2 and LMGT3.
- September 18: six-hour team race at Silverstone featuring ELMS LMP2, LMP3 and LMGT3.
- September 25: 12-hour Le Mans network test with a planned 62-car field covering Hypercar, WEC LMP2 and LMGT3.
Studio 397 says the live testing programme will allow its developers to monitor behaviour in real time and gather more representative data than would be possible through internal testing alone.
The 62-car Le Mans test is particularly significant, as the studio continues preparations for the 24 Hours of Le Mans online event scheduled for October.
RUDP Development Continues
The current work follows Studio 397’s decision in August to roll back some of the networking changes introduced with v1.4.
At the time, the developer said it had identified issues affecting some connection types and returned parts of the game’s network traffic to the system used before v1.4.
However, RUDP has not been abandoned. Studio 397 continues to view the technology as potentially beneficial for reducing disconnects, but acknowledged that further development is required before it can be used more broadly without negatively affecting the racing experience.
The September testing programme will therefore serve two purposes: addressing immediate problems such as phantom collisions while continuing to evaluate longer-term improvements to Le Mans Ultimate’s online infrastructure. Studio 397 has cautioned that live network testing can change quickly, meaning future dates and configurations may be adjusted as fixes are deployed.
For now, the next important date is September 15, 2026, when the studio expects to deploy the new fix and evaluate whether it delivers the online racing improvement it anticipates.
See you on the track!
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