I have tried several of the most popular sims, AC, RaceRoom, Project Cars 2 and rfactor 2. I can tell you in my opinion rfactor 2 is by far the best one for gamepad, it's not even a question. Once you calibrate your controls and learn how to drive smoothly, gamepad in rf2 feels fantastic. Then you hear people online talking about rf2 being unplayable on gamepad etc. I'm sorry but it's just a bunch of nonsense.
If a game works great with a gamepad or not has nothing to do with the physics and the simulation aspect of the game, it has to do with how well the controls are implemented into the game. In rf2 you can precisely fine tune how your controller input corresponds to actual output in the game, and you can make it non-linear with a graph as well. The only other game I have seen doing this is RBR, which also drives really well on a gamepad.
These games are obviously best enjoyed with a proper steering wheel, but they can still be very enjoyable with a gamepad. I don't see why anyone would buy forza for instance, when you can buy rf2 and have a much better experience, even with a gamepad. It's a bit sad that they probablyl lost many customers due to the Internet falsely labelling this game as unplayable on gamepad.
Anyway, if Le Mans Ultimate improves it even more, thats obviously great. I'm sure there are many people that wants to enjoy a proper racing sim but are unable to get a steering wheel. Maybe it's too expensive, maybe you are handicapped or are iinjured, maybe you don't have the space at home to have a proper setup or maybe you are just lazy and prefer a more relaxed approach.
