3D3 Racing: WRS-based races moved to new WRS sub-forum!

First Turn is tricky in timing the braking. A little early and it's hard to get the perfect angle to take advantage of the early exit. I little late and you go wide so it's just all about timing. When it works best I brake down from 6th to 2nd and turn in off gas until I can see exit and then slow application of throttle increasing as car comes around running out to left rumbles (usually going far to left so only right tires are on rumble). Obviously much more tricky when coming out of draft and have to brake early to avoid the over/under re-pass. Also tricky if driver is following you as it's easy for that car to punt you if they misjudge the brack point themselves. Depending on the driver following I may give a little room to the outside for them to use when they overshoot and also prevent a late under move. (We have some inexperienced drivers in a GT500 series I run and leaving room like this for them to gather after errors is key, not quite so much for 3D3, but it's insurance )

Coca Cola I get right now about 60% of the time with success depending on how much I slow the car under braking. On approach go far to right with right tires on rumbles and downshift to 4th braking to desired speed, turn in and partial throttle through apex to manage drift to right before full power when you can avoid going to wide. I often slow too much through here and make up for it by hitting throttle harder and earlier, but it doesn't make up for loss of speed. That is better than overshooting though which screws up the next section of track and is disastrous if someone sneaks in under you. I have a hard time following close to another driver here and tend to brake too early in that scenario... usually try to cut two tires inside rumbles in those cases and back in gas early to make up for the lost track position. Better than punting the other guy though. With safety concerns in mind I don't attempt to dive bomb pass inside here unless somebody missed and goes wide/overshoots or is "giving me" the position. I know other people that dive bomb here last minute. Bad taste.

100R I enter in 5th and downshift to 4th around the displayed brake zone (driving line). Try to keep a good even arc even where the track flattens out... not too wide, not too narrow. Level of tire wear changes the amount of throttle you can apply in 4th going around the arc (or if you have to coast more) and how fast you can get back to 5th when it straightens out. With tires very warn or if you overshoot it's possible never to get back in 5th before hairpin, but on best of laps I'm hitting limiter at end of arc and can get into 5th and still be tight to right on exit. Not a great place to try and pass. Better off to setup the driver for the Hairpin. If they are really slow or go wide/slide then it's open season. I think you can make a safe pass if the speed difference is significant (new vs warn tires, very fast vs very slow), but it's very easy to screw up hairpin trying to pass here and that will cost you time overall versus tucking in and getting better hairpin exit.

Hairpin is one of two keys for most of my laps. I was downshifting from 5th to 2nd and getting very very early hard throttle on exit prior to apex. Gave me a very good and safe launch, but required too much slowing. I switched that yesterday and instead only go down to 3rd which means I can't get in gas quite as quick or with quite as good an angle so it's gradual throttle increase, but still before apex. In 3rd the min turn speed is about 7-10mph higher so it ends up faster. It's harder on the tires though and requires more grip so I tended to go back to the 2nd gear approach with cold tires or late with warn tires. I think I'm going to keep both techniques in my pocket and pick the one best suited for the situation. Use 2nd gear approach with early full power for first lap, warn tire laps and when I'm following someone tight and need to brake early anyway. Use 3rd gear approach for quali laps and laps where I'm ahead of another driver and prefer a later brake with better tires to defend position (or to prevent early braking punts from behind). Exit is a great place to pass here... not so convinced about passing before apex unless you have a real good run and don't sacrifice your own exit.

Chicane. Exact braking is key like turn 1. Stay wide under braking for optimal time, but opens up inside... so have to change line when under attack to an earlier turn in. I go all the way down to 1st for first part of chicane as it helps car rotate and gets me to the right corner speed and then take second part of chicane in 2nd gear using throttle to help turn the car. Dive bomb pass under braking is risky and you better have cooperation from (and be seen by) the other driver. I wouldn't try it unless I was inside/beside the car at the start of braking after a good run from hairpin. I'm sure some of the more aggressive drivers will bull their way inside and success will depend in the other driver cooperation.

Corner Name? The next sharp right is tricky. I shift all the way down to 2nd braking early to keep it tight, but back on gas immediately and shift back to 3rd right after apex... sometimes a short shift to prevent the car from getting loose if I don't hit it perfect. I take this corner quite tight to the inside and have pulled up beside other drivers who go wide in their approach or by mistake. I haven't managed a clean pass in practice, but definitely closed a lot of gap by the time we get to the next section and if they go so wide they get back in gas late the pass is there without adjusting my line much.

Netz. The sweeping section following the right is all about trying to position the car for the final sharp left. (Is the whole section Netz or just the final sharp left part?) Exit from previous corner perfect and you can set up nicely, but exit too wide to left on the previous corner and you make that final left very tricky at a high angle. In an ideal scenario I've swung back to right early and try to minimize the angle of the sharp left. Brake down to 2nd aim just to right of the rumbles for early power and shift to 3rd... again sometimes early to avoid losing the back end. This corner is my Achilles heal right now and I need some advice on a more systematic approach... right now it's all feel and guesswork and just hoping I end up at the right spot and adjusting when I don't. I feel like in most instances I want to start turning the car at the end of my braking zone which gets me loose or I get a little lift off over steer here I have to manage with throttle that much make me push on the corner. How hard should I go entering the sharp left? How wide? Wider equals slower entry, but less angle so less loose and no push issue. How much should I worry about angle versus just going in fast? How wide should I swing going into this versus saving time and straight lining from previous corner? Advice appreciated. I have a hard time with this section by myself and won't be attempting any passes here unless the other driver makes a mistake.

Panasonic (final turn). Swing way to the left on entry, brake very early down from 4th to 2nd and get on gas early early early. On the best runs I'm getting back into gas 30-50% before I even see the apex and just after starting the turn in from the far left. Not quite full throttle until I come around a bit just catch sight of the apex area. It's a bit blind so hard to get perfect, but rhythm will give you a feel. If you hit it just right you can come out of there will very early full power at a good angle to run out to left rumbles on exit without spinning tires or losing back end at all. Too late and/or too fast and you tend to push (or have to wait too long for power), too early and the angle is so sharp it's easy to lose back end and have to stay off/feather throttle or risk a donut on exit. Obviously the straight following is the best place to pass on the track and you have draft to assist. If you get a better exit you can pass very early, but the other driver actually will have the opportunity to repass. I'd still take the opporunity to make the pass early under accel if it's there.
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