ACC rewards clean, calm driving. No pressure to be perfect — we take it one step at a time.
Seven values, one goal: racing without stress. The most important one for getting started online is SA.
| Rating | What it measures | How to raise it |
|---|---|---|
| SA online | Safety Rating — cleanliness. Above all the value that public and community servers check as an entry requirement. | lots of clean miles without contact or offs |
| TR | Track Competence — how well you know each track (per track). | simply run laps on one track |
| CN | Consistency — how even your lap times are. | hit the same lap, not the fastest one |
| CC | Car Control — car handling at the limit. | gentle with throttle and steering, calm corrections |
| PC | Pace — your speed vs. a reference. | comes later; clean first, then fast |
| RC | Racecraft — wheel-to-wheel skill. | only in real races; fight fair |
| CP | Competition — not an overall score. CP is earned exclusively in the official Competition Server races. | stays at 0 if you never race there — that is normal |
On top of the seven individual values (each 0–99), ACC also builds a Total Rating on a scale from 0 to 9999, which the familiar tiers are mapped to: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum.
SA is the value other people see and use as a filter. Many public and community servers set a minimum SA to join. The idea: someone who drives cleanly does not ruin other people's races. It is about cleanliness, not speed — a slow, clean driver builds SA just as well.
not official A particular minimum SA is often quoted ("around 80 or so"); Kunos has never published a threshold, and every server operator sets their own. Treat numbers as a rule of thumb.
But: for the big leagues on PC, SA is no longer the entry ticket it once was — see the "Where do people race in 2026?" tab.
You will not find this in any older guide — and it changes what you should be working toward.
| Platform | What it is | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| LFM PC | Low Fuel Motorsport — the de facto main platform for ACC racing. Free, its own splitting, its own race calendars. | PC only (Steam), not on console |
| SimGrid | Leagues and one-off events, a lot of community organization. | works on console too |
| PitSkill | PitSkill.io — cross-platform rating and racing portal. | alternative to LFM |
SA rewards calm, not lap time. You do not have to race anyone — clean miles alone build it.
SA rises with clean distance: laps without contact and without going off track. Speed does not matter. Better to drive at 90% and clean than at 100% in the gravel.
In Practice / Hotlap and calm sessions without pressure. No opponents means no unwanted contact.
Tick off what applies to you — the verdict below updates live. There is no right or wrong, just an honest look at where you stand.
Tick off what already works — I will tell you where you stand.
SA can drop — usually one of these causes is behind it. Each with a concrete fix.
All four wheels outside the track counts as an off and pushes SA down.
Fix: take some speed out, use curbs carefully, brake earlier for the tricky corners.
Contact drags SA down — even when it is not your fault. The system often simply registers the contact.
Fix: keep your distance, leave room early, avoid risky moves.
Rejoining sideways or abruptly risks contact and SA loss.
Fix: look first, then merge back gently and parallel to the track. Never straight across the racing surface.
Cutting the track counts as unclean.
Fix: stay inside the white lines, even when it costs a tenth.
A spin often ends in an off or contact — double the risk.
Fix: gentler with throttle and brake, especially on cold tyres.
The ACC rating system is noticeably gentler than the one in iRacing. There are seven values: SA (safety, cleanliness), TR (track competence), CN (consistency), CC (car control), PC (pace), RC (racecraft) and CP (competition). For getting started, SA is the most important — it is the value that public and community servers check as an entry requirement.
You build your Safety Rating mainly through clean kilometers — laps without contact and without going off track, with no opponents at all. Speed does not matter for it. To stay honest: Kunos has never published the exact internal formulas and thresholds, so any concrete numbers are community rules of thumb.
Through clean kilometers: drive relaxed (about 90 % pace) in practice or hotlap sessions, no contact, never leave the track. SA rewards cleanliness, not lap time — a slow, clean driver builds it up just as well.
The most common causes: going off track (offs), contact with other cars (even contact that is not your fault often counts), rejoining unsafely, cutting the track and spins. Keeping your distance, leaving room and rejoining cleanly helps.
Because CP is not an overall score made up of the other ratings, as is often assumed. The Competition Rating is earned exclusively in the official Competition server races. If you never race there, your CP stays at 0 permanently — that is normal, not a bug.
No, not any more. LFM dropped the ACC license requirement on 9 January 2026. LFM runs its own Safety Rating, which starts at 2.50 and is independent of your ACC SA. Only for the Nordschleife is there still a separate track permit. LFM is only available on PC, though; on console, platforms like SimGrid remain.
When you rarely spin, can string five clean laps together, know the track, understand the flag rules and have built your SA into double digits. Then start in a lower split — finishing is more important than your position.