After several teasers, Assetto Corsa Rally’s v0.3 update is here, with co-developer Supernova Game Studios aiming to simulate an authentic Rallye Monte Carlo experience.
To the uninitiated, this means vastly changeable wintry weather, with damp conditions giving way to dangerous black ice and snow as temperatures drop and elevations rise.
Winter and studded tyres are now also in-game, with two new cars to choose from: the Škoda Fabia Rally2 Evo and the Lancia Fulvia Coupe HF 1600.
However, the biggest draw of v0.3 is the addition of two classic Monte stages that are etched into the consciousness of all hardcore rally fans: Sisteron and Col de Turini.
Make no mistake, the latest build of AC Rally is its most important yet.
Authenticity
The first thing that strikes me about the two new stages is how detailed they look, capturing the Monte’s look and feel. Speeding up the Col de Turini at night is a spine-tingling experience, with the famous stage lined with passionate spectators backlit by flares and fireworks.
Likewise, the snow effects are literally blinding, with heavy flurries obscuring corners ahead, forcing you to rely on the game’s so-so pacenotes (side note: I pray for the day the developers introduce a pacenote editor). The way a stage gradually fills with the white stuff as you ascend the Col is mesmerising.
Performance-wise, I experienced smooth frame rates at high/ultra graphics settings, even at 3440 x 1440 resolution (tested on an AMD Ryzen 7 3800X, RTX 4070, 16 GB RAM). I find it incredible that both EA SPORTS WRC and AC Rally use (albeit different versions of) Unreal Engine, given how much better the latter runs. Credit where credit is due.
Sisteron’s 13 km is split into six stages, including shorter snippets and reverse versions, while Col de Turini’s 18 km is divided into eight separate units. The longest hairpin-filled layouts can take over 10 minutes to complete in good weather, offering a clear insight into the focus required to complete a real-world Monte stage, especially with ditches and sheer drops mere inches away.
I’ve previously waxed lyrical about the importance of these two tests, but suffice to say, they are a wonderful addition to the game, raising the average rally fan’s enthusiasm level past the ‘Colin Clark’ marker (almost).
Snow joke
Even with the new studded winter tyres, snow is extremely slippery (well, duh). Perhaps even too slippery, given how efficient modern titanium studs are. Lock-ups are frequent, but cars are satisfying to master in full snow. It just takes practice.
To get a feel for the sim’s dynamic wintry weather, I set the Col de Turini to start dry and clear, with a light snow flurry scheduled to develop later.
Jumping into the driver’s seat, the start line was indeed dry, and right on schedule, a snow shower arrived partway through. A nice thick dusting then greeted me for the stage’s iconic final section. Tick. Once the game’s single-player and online modes are more fleshed out, I’d expect that randomised dynamic weather adds real intrigue to proceedings.
When and where the snow appears depends on your position within the road order, and inclement weather may arrive sooner or later (or not at all), so you won’t always see the forecast develop as expected. This makes AC Rally’s Monte conditions delightfully unpredictable: just the way it should be.
One complaint I have, however, is that I couldn’t find any evidence of ice on the road surface, even when using the developers’ suggested settings. You’d expect to see some verglas along a Monte route when conditions are sub-zero, especially on Sisteron.
Sadly, however, it was nowhere to be seen during my testing. I’ve approached the developer for comment and will update this article accordingly.
Tyred out
What did seem to work was the new tyre options. With a mixed forecast, I opted to cross my tyres, fitting one winter tyre and one studded tyre on each axle, diagonally. With this setup on snow, I found the handling balance tricky to manage, often ending up in embarrassing barrier scrapes.
Put it this way, I have a newfound respect for real-world WRC drivers (well, maybe not all of them).
Players will have to be vigilant when choosing their rubber pre-stage; I found that the game defaulted to studded winter tyres even if most of the stage was free of snow. Mind you, I managed to steal a march on the opposition… until I crashed.
The winter tyre options and dynamic wintry weather are only available in the two new Monte stages as it stands. Still, it’s clear given how pretty and effective AC Rally’s snow effects are that the system will add a lot of atmosphere to current and future stages (imagine running the incumbent Welsh stages in full winter wonderland spec, for example; it’s giving serious 1985 RAC Rally vibes)
Contrasting cars
The Škoda is the second Rally2 car to be added to the sim, joining the Hyundai i20. In terms of pace, these cars aren’t far off Rally1 machines, but thanks to an ultra-competitive field, including examples from manufacturers Ford, Toyota, Citroën and, new for 2026, Lancia, they’re hugely popular with rally fans.
Rally2s are normally the premier class for most national rally events, resonating with the general public in much the same way Super Tourers did back in the ‘90s on circuits. This makes them popular in virtual terms, too, with a decent chunk of gamers favouring Rally2 over other categories in Richard Burns Rally and EA SPORTS WRC, AC Rally’s two biggest rally game rivals.
If you’re familiar with the Hyundai’s dynamics in AC Rally, then the Fabia will offer few surprises. Both are the quickest cars in the game and demand respect when threading the tight and twisty turns of Sisteron and Col de Turini.
But the Škoda is also eminently manoeuvrable, with enough traction to pull continental Europe a smidge closer to the UK, one hairpin at a time. Its exhaust note doesn’t quite match the real car’s for accuracy, with its turbocharged four-pot sounding a bit over-processed to my ears.
The Lancia, on the other hand, features an aurally superior naturally-aspirated V4 engine. It sounds (and looks!) lovely, but is less engaging to drive thanks to its grip-limited front end. If you’re more of a momentum-style driver, it can be lots of fun, though, and you can try to emulate the car’s famous 1972 Monte victory (and its subsequent International Championship for Manufacturers, the forerunner to the WRC).
Caution, elephant in the room, into hairpin left, over trunk
If there’s one big criticism I have of AC Rally, it’s its asphalt physics. The DiRT Rally and EA WRC games, in my opinion, exuded a similarly odd sensation of weight shifting on sealed surfaces. Although the effect doesn’t feel as pronounced in Supernova’s game, it’s still there.
Despite some improvements to the game’s overall grip model in this update (see patch notes at the bottom of this article), every car I’ve driven on asphalt still feels like it lacks inertia. Inputs transfer to the car’s tyres almost instantaneously, making it difficult to drive as smoothly as I can in RBR. This leads to nervous handling, a loss in confidence and a lot of time spent correcting inputs instead of focusing on the next corner.
On this surface, cars feel far too soft and too grippy on initial turn-in for me, with overly bouncy suspension reacting skittishly to AC Rally’s superbly laser-scanned stages. Once you reach the limit of adhesion, it’s difficult to bring the car back from the brink.
It’s a cliche to say that RBR is still the benchmark for rally sim physics, but I tested AC Rally’s v0.3 build a few days after competing on an asphalt RBR event, providing an almost back-to-back reference point.
RBR has had many years of refinement thanks to some talented modders, of course, but I still hoped for more progress from AC Rally on this front. Right now, however, I simply prefer the asphalt driving model in the 22-year-old game.
Fortunately, being in Early Access, AC Rally still has plenty of time to address its issues.
V0.3 update highlights
Controller improvements have also arrived in the v0.3 update, opening up several new settings for gamepad users to tweak, including a series of steering and input filters. More peripherals are also now compatible with the game, which should address some of the input mapping concerns some players have experienced.
Another notable complaint from the community has been the lack of bite from braking systems on asphalt. I’m pleased to report this is no longer an issue, with cars feeling much more positive when you hit the anchors.
However, no more information has been made available about the game’s VR mode, something a passionate minority of fans are (im)patiently waiting for.
More events are also available in the game’s single-player alongside several bug fixes and car tweaks, as it remains unclear whether Supernova will continue to offer updates on a monthly or bimonthly basis, as was the case here.
Regardless, although AC Rally hasn’t quite reached the top of the Col just yet, it feels like the game is heading in the right direction.
Just look at all the pretty Monte pictures. Pure rally.
Assetto Corsa Rally v0.3 changelog
NEW CONTENT
- Added Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo,
- Added Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1.6 HF Gr. 4
- Added Rally “Monte Carlo” with two special stages: Col de Turini (18km) and Sisteron (13km). Weather conditions are fully dynamic within the same race,
- added 4 new ACR Events groups and a total of 40 new ACR Events,
STAGES AND CIRCUITS
- Added Rally “Monte Carlo”: Col de Turini, Sisteron, Service Park,
CARS
- Added Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo,
- Added Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1.6 HF Gr. 4,
- Added Montecarlo tires (regular & studded variants),
- Improved anti-aliasing on car materials,
- Added support for daytime running lights,
- Added tarmac dust type on cars,
- Fixed flipped right-side badges on Alpine A110,
- Adjusted graphical wheel offsets on several wheel setups,
- Improved textures on Mini Cooper license plate,
- Fixed auxiliary lights on Mini Cooper,
- Reduced fog effect on interior windows,
- Fixed corrupt dirt and damage effects on rear of Hyundai i20,
- Added animations on latches on Citroen Xsara, Peugeot 208 and Fiat 131,
INPUT
- Added gamepad steer filter options and removed default steer dead zone (now the user can set it to 0). When relaunching the game for the first time, all values will be reset.,
- Added soft lock option for steering wheels,
- Added auto-binding for every known steering wheel related device (handbrakes, gear shifters, etc.),
- Fixed Xbox wireless gamepad detection,
PHYSICS
- More realistic steering ratio for Lancia Rally 037,
- Review of combined grip model for all surfaces,
- Review of pneumatic trail model and thus FFB for all surfaces,
- Introduced a specific per-car setup option for FFB strength,
- Adjusted surfaces grip,
- Tire thermal evolution is currently disable as we work on an evolution of the system,
- Added Skoda Fabia RS Rally2 and Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1.6 HF Gr. 4,
- Added Winter Tarmac Tires, normal and studded.,
- Adjusted and improved the default setups of some cars,
AUDIO
- Added engine/exhaust sounds for Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo,
- Added engine/exhaust sounds for Lancia Fulvia Coupé 1.6 HF Gr. 4,
- Rally Monte Carlo environmental audio setup,
- Firework audio first implementation,
- Tweaks to asphalt slides to get more feedback early,
- Engine damage improvements,
- Spatial improvements to exhausts in 3rd person view,
- Asphalt/snow surface blend,
- Increased off load exhaust volume on Delta,
- Added a couple more randomised events for service area,
- Mix improvements for all driving camera positions,
GAMEPLAY AND UI
- Added camera yaw and roll customization,
ONLINE
- Fixed hitches caused by authentication recovery while playing,
- Migrated backend cluster to a new, more stable server service,
VFX, LIGHTING AND ART DIRECTION
- Added new Sky setup with Rally Monte Carlo geographic coordinates,
- Added custom lighting setup for Rally Monte Carlo,
- Improving visual quality of raindrops on windshield,
- Fixed over-exposure issue with triple monitor,
- Reduced stuttering during gameplay