On July 29, Straight4 Studios released Update 2.1 for Project Motor Racing, which it describes as one of the biggest updates since the game’s November 2025 release. Highlights include revamped GT3 and GT4 cars, a free car, and two long-awaited online features: Join-in-Progress and ranked race notifications. The update was released on the same day the studio announced a change in leadership.

The GT3 and GT4 have been redone, along with your setups

The bulk of the patch consists of the GT3 and GT4 classes, which Straight4 says it rebuilt using actual homologation data. The list is long: general handling, Balance of Performance, suspension geometry, differentials, gear ratios, inertia, center of gravity, turbo response, aerodynamic sensitivity, and tire performance.

The thermal aspect has also been expanded. Temperature now affects both tire life and grip, leading to overheating, scrubbing, and severe wear, and heat from the brakes is transferred to the tires. This has led to the addition of abrake duct adjustment in the setup menu, which affects both cooling and aerodynamic drag. Naturally aspirated engines now feature a ram-air intake simulation, while turbocharged engines have a revised model.

One thing to know before relaunching the game: saved setups no longer work as they did before. Straight4 provides new default settings to ease the transition, including low-drag configurations for Daytona and Brianza, and a more stable base for the Nordschleife. The AUS V8 class gets the same treatment, including handling and tires.

A Holden Commodore VF for Everyone

That’s exactly where the Aussie Rivals pack comes in—a free DLC for all players. It adds the Holden Commodore VF, a front-mounted 5-liter Chevrolet V8 with rear-wheel drive, which goes head-to-head with the Ford Falcon FG —which was released for free in March and has been reworked for this occasion. This lets you relive the Ford vs. Holden rivalry from the “Car of the Future” era—a category you don’t see very often in racing sims. Career Mode events open to the AUS V8 class have been adjusted to accommodate the Holden.

On the online side, there are two handy new features. ” Join-in-Progress ” is gradually rolling out to custom lobbies: you can join a practice or qualifying session that’s already started without waiting for the host to return to the lobby, and the Custom Lobby screen shows which sessions are available. And a notification system alerts Ranked Racing participants that a race is about to start, so you don’t have to stay on the registration screen.

Triple-screen support is also making its debut on PC, in early alpha, with in-game options. VR has received fixes and configuration options. Straight4 notes that these two features are still under active development and do not represent the final quality.

Kevin Boland replaces Ian Bell as head of the studio

On the same day, another announcement: Ian Bell is no longer the head of Straight4 Studios, the studio he had founded with his own funds to create the game. Kevin Boland, previously Chief Development Officer, is taking over as CEO effective immediately. The studio says it remains focused on its community, its roadmap, and improving the game, and Boland explains that he wants to provide his teams with the clarity, structure, and support they need on a daily basis. Ian Bell, for his part, has not commented.

It’s hard to say at this point what the impact of these two developments will be. What we can see, however, is that a studio that’s completely overhauling the mechanics of its flagship classes—even if it means disrupting its players’ settings—isn’t slowing down.