RaceRoom update adds Ranked championships, side-draft rework, and server bandwidth changes

RaceRoom’s latest patch focuses on online competition, drafting behavior, and a first pass on dedicated server efficiency. The official notes also include GT3 car updates and a Ningbo track fix in the same release. Full details are in the official patch notes.

What changed

Features

Added a Championships tab to Ranked Multiplayer.
DTM Esports 2026 is the first championship in this new Ranked format.

Physics

Rebuilt the side draft model.
The model now separates clean air, slipstream behind a car, and side draft alongside it.
In side-draft situations, the car being overtaken gains drag when another car is alongside and slightly behind; the overtaking car is not penalized.
The update also brings a set of GT3 physics changes ahead of DTM Esports.

Cars

Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II: fuel tank range increased to 125 litres to equalize stint lengths; improved downshifts in Automatic Gearbox mode.
BMW M4 GT3 Evo: improved downshifts in Automatic Gearbox mode.
Porsche 992 GT3 R: improved downshifts in Automatic Gearbox mode.

Tracks

Ningbo: fixed a case where going off track near the wall could cause a missed sector time gate and the lap would not count.

Fixes

Dedicated Server: reduced per-server bandwidth usage.
The notes describe this as the first part of a broader netcode performance rework, with CPU usage targeted next, though no timeline was given.
Download size: 2.2 GB.
Client version: 0.9.7.72.
Dedicated Server version: 109.0.1640.

For league ops, we should update servers, recheck GT3 stint and fuel planning, and notify drivers that side-by-side drafting on straights will behave differently.

From the changelog

Structured change list parsed from the official notes.

physics

Today's update brings DTM Esports 2026 to Ranked Multiplayer as the first championship in the new format, a rebuilt side draft model, a first round of rework on dedicated server performance, and a set of GT3 physics ahead of DTM esports.

features

[h2]Championship mode in Ranked Multiplayer[/h2]
Ranked Multiplayer - Added Championships tab with DTM Esports 2026 as the first championship

tracks

There's a new Championships tab in the Ranked Multiplayer menu, and DTM Esports 2026 is the first championship to appear there. This is the first time a full championship structure lives inside Ranked, so the layout will most likely be evolving as we see how it's used. Make sure you share your feedback on the interface with us on [url=https://discord.gg/raceroom]Discord .
[h2]Side draft, rebuilt[/h2]
Moritz Löhner flagged to me on Discord a couple weeks ago that side-by-side situations weren't behaving right, which kicked off an investigation, and you got the result of this rework in today's update.
Ningbo - Fixed a case where going off track near the wall would see the player miss the crossing of a sector time gate and the lap would not count
Porsche 992 GT3 R - Improved downshifts in Automatic Gearbox mode

cars

The physics model now properly separates three cases: clean air, the slipstream behind a car, and the side draft alongside it.
Sitting in another car's slipstream still gives you reduced drag, and the leading car's own drag drops slightly as you fill the low pressure area behind it. The new part is the side draft itself. When you pull up alongside and slightly behind the car ahead, roughly half to three quarters of a car length back, that leading car picks up extra drag. The car doing the overtaking isn't penalized.
The effect is strongest when the two cars are close together side to side and fades smoothly as the gap opens up. On a long straight, the car being overtaken loses a bit of top end while you're alongside it, which changes how side-by-side runs and late braking into the next corner play out.
{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/4043123/b0b7b7eee2fa584f79f6f90d8d1ec25ae01d96ef.jpg
A couple real life examples of side-draft in action:
[previewyoutube=80Ruo--4IcQ;full]
[previewyoutube=iz39CrcZvTM;full]
[h2]Dedicated server bandwidth[/h2]
Physics - Rebuilt the side draft model so a car being overtaken gains drag when another car runs alongside and slightly behind it
Dedicated Server - Reduced per-server bandwidth usage
Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II - Increased fuel tank range to 125 litres to equalize stint lengths, Improved downshifts in Automatic Gearbox mode
BMW M4 GT3 Evo - Improved downshifts in Automatic Gearbox mode

fixes

This is the first part of a wider rework of netcode performance. From today, each dedicated server uses less bandwidth. CPU usage is the next area being worked on, with the longer term goal of larger online grids without giving up stability. As we have a lot of priorities lined up, we don't have a precise timeline to share at this point for the delivery of that CPU pass.
[h2]Patch Notes[/h2]
Update details:
Download size = 2.2 GB
Client version = 0.9.7.72
Client BuildID = 23292427
Dedicated Server version = 109.0.1640
Dedicated Server BuildID = 23337611
Changelog: