Connecting to Assetto Corsa

PitLane reads live race data from Assetto Corsa running on the same PC. This page covers the one-time setup and how to verify everything is working.

Requirements

• Assetto Corsa installed
• Content Manager (recommended for managing AC)
• Custom Shaders Patch (CSP) — any recent version with Lua app support

CSP is required because PitLane's data sidecar runs as a CSP Lua app inside AC. If you're using Content Manager, CSP is likely already installed.

Set your AC install path

1. In PitLane, go to Settings > Preferences
2. Set the AC Install Path to your Assetto Corsa installation directory
   • Typical locations:
     • D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\assettocorsa
     • C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\assettocorsa
3. Click Save

PitLane needs this path to auto-deploy its data sidecar and to serve car badges, nation flags, and car preview images to the overlays.

Sidecar auto-deployment

When PitLane starts (and whenever you change the AC install path), it automatically deploys a small Lua script to:

<your AC path>/apps/lua/PitLaneSidecar/

This script runs inside AC and sends race data to PitLane over a local connection. You don't need to manually copy any files.

The sidecar is version-tracked — if you update PitLane, the sidecar updates automatically on next launch.

Activating the sidecar in AC

The sidecar needs to be activated once inside AC:

1. Launch AC and enter a session (practice, race, or online)
2. Move your mouse to the right edge of the screen to open the CSP sidebar
3. Find PitLaneSidecar in the list and click to activate it
4. The sidecar will connect to PitLane automatically

Once activated, the sidecar stays active for all future sessions — you don't need to activate it again unless you reinstall CSP.

Joining as a spectator

For broadcast use, you'll typically join a race as a spectator:

• Offline races: Start a race with AI drivers. You control the camera, they race.
• Online races: Join a server and switch to spectator mode. PitLane works with all cars on the server.

Broadcaster settings

Under Settings > Preferences, the Broadcaster section collects options that make PitLane easier to run as a production tool.

Auto-teleport to pits at session start

When enabled, your spectator car is automatically teleported to the pits every time you join a new session. This keeps your car out of the starting grid lineup, off the track, and off the minimap during the broadcast — so viewers only see the actual racers.

• Off by default.
• Fires once per session, so you can still drive out of the pits intentionally (for example, to record B-roll or frame a shot) without getting yanked back.
• Requires the CSP Lua sidecar to be connected (same setup as everything else on this page).

You can also bind a hotkey for manual "Teleport to pits" under Settings > Hotkeys > Broadcaster if you ever want to trigger it mid-session.

Verifying data is flowing

Once AC is running with the sidecar active and PitLane is open:

• The leaderboard should populate with driver names and positions
• The minimap should show car dots moving around the track
• The program monitor should show the current camera view label
• The telemetry strip (if visible) should show live speed, gear, and pedal data for the focused car

If nothing appears, see Troubleshooting.