2021 FIA Series Race Discussion

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Last night's Manu was interesting, to say the least. Between Thanksgiving prep, familial obligations and getting a jump on a long weekend of day drinking, I had some ups and downs racing-wise.

I did a lot of prep for this race. Too much in some ways but not enough in others. A new manufacturer, a new drivetrain, power vs handling it took a mental shift for me. I got my FP time down to something respectable for my DR (although I'm sure I would've been faster in my old TT) and thought I had my strat worked out.

Then slot 1 happened. I had to go with my banker lap time as every other lap either got held up by someone really slow or got slapped with a track penalty. I started P11 and went with a 13M/10S strat. But right from the start, the car seems sluggish and not handling well. I feel like I'm faster than everyone around me but can't pull away because I get track penalty after track penalty which pulls me back to the pack. I even managed a 1 sec penalty on the final turn, at one point.

After I slap the softs on the car feels a bit better and I start to creep up to the mid-field. Then I manage to pull a real bonehead of a maneuver going to the inside of someone serving a penalty. He drifts right making room on the outside for another driver and probably thought I'd take that line too, like any reasonable human being. As he un-ghosts, his nose hit my rear left panel and I go careening into the gravel. When all is sad and done, I limp across the line in 12th place for a measly 41 pts. As much as I would like to do another run, I have to go help with dinner and spend some family time.

I make it back just in time for slot 3. I do a couple practice laps and try to figure out how things started so poorly the first time around. It's only now that it dawns on me - in all my practice races, I started on RS and switched the RM. I've never driven this car with a full fuel load on cold RM before that race. Well, crap. That explains a lot.

Slot 3 turns out to be worth more points than slot 1 but I manage to qualify almost 3 tenths faster and start P6. This time I'm acutely aware of the cold tires and extra fuel weight and things go much better. For much of the race I'm running in clean air about 2.5 sec behind the leaders and 2.5 sec ahead of the mid-field pack. When the pits happen I start overtaking a few people and let someone by who's clearly much faster than me. When it all settles down, I back in my clean air gap but now in P5. That's where I finish for 67 pts.

I'm really glad I chose to force myself into a FR power car this season. I'm also glad I made a point of doing the second run. I was so frustrated at myself with the first race and how poorly I managed that. Here's hoping to another good season of learning and growing as a driver.

Gran Turismo®SPORT_20201125173713.jpg Gran Turismo®SPORT_20201125201804.jpg
 
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Video from my manufacturers split last night:

Got very lucky in qualifying by following a fast eMonaco driver around, and lucky again on lap 1 as the leader got a penalty and then slowed down the cars behind for a bit. Otherwise the FFs are really tough work and I wonder whether the tyre wear this season might neutralise them a bit. I struggled big time to get the TT turned in when the tyres started going!
 
Video from my manufacturers split last night:

Got very lucky in qualifying by following a fast eMonaco driver around, and lucky again on lap 1 as the leader got a penalty and then slowed down the cars behind for a bit. Otherwise the FFs are really tough work and I wonder whether the tyre wear this season might neutralise them a bit. I struggled big time to get the TT turned in when the tyres started going!


I had a similar story in my race. Quick in the Peugeot RCZ for the first half of each stint with a big drop off in the second half of each stint. You did well to hold off at the end!
 
I must suck at Red Bull Ring. My best was a 52.6 in the Boxster, which would have put me nowhere on most of these A/S grids. Luckily I was playing on an alternate account I keep for anonymous driving (I wanted to see how people behave when my name is not recognisably me and without a UK flag), and won in a C lobby by about 14 seconds from a TT.

Edit: Though my race time was 20:37 I think, so perhaps it was just a sucky qualifying.

Edit: Yes, Cayman, not Boxster...

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I must suck at Red Bull Ring. My best was a 52.6 in the Boxster, which would have put me nowhere on most of these A/S grids. Luckily I was playing on an alternate account I keep for anonymous driving (I wanted to see how people behave when my name is not recognisably me and without a UK flag), and won in a C lobby by about 14 seconds from a TT.

Edit: Though my race time was 20:37 I think, so perhaps it was just a sucky qualifying.
I think the Boxster is just hopeless on pace at that track... no guts on the main straight. I could get a great final turn, strong run on a guy if I let some space between us prior to that turn, but by the time I was along side, the other car would just pull clear of me... it's simply not got the power to compete at a place like that on pace. And with the short race, and pretty limited strategy options, I would be surprised to see too many Porsches rank high in these races, in competitive DR lobbies. At least I hope that's my excuse!

FWIW that was about my best FP lap time as well. I've found the Cayman rather impossible to milk the extra speed out of the Soft tires... takes a very specific approach, and I wasn't patient enough to stick with that in my short session yesterday, after a few weeks away from the game.

I thought long and hard about running Corvettes, but it seems it's the 'popular' choice all the sudden so I stuck with my Porsches.
 
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Managed to pull out a decent quali lap on my last run which put me relatively near the front. Went with the no stop and for the first few laps I didn't really battle too hard as I was trying not to push my tyres too much. Unfortunately I got a penalty on the exit of T1 when being overtaken by 2 cars which pushed me down to around 14th, after that it was just about waiting for pitstops and in the end I finished around where I started which suggests it was a bit of a missed opportunity for a good result but anyways was a decent race regardless
 
Last night's Manu was interesting, to say the least. Between Thanksgiving prep, familial obligations and getting a jump on a long weekend of day drinking, I had some ups and downs racing-wise.

I did a lot of prep for this race. Too much in some ways but not enough in others. A new manufacturer, a new drivetrain, power vs handling it took a mental shift for me. I got my FP time down to something respectable for my DR (although I'm sure I would've been faster in my old TT) and thought I had my strat worked out.

Then slot 1 happened. I had to go with my banker lap time as every other lap either got held up by someone really slow or got slapped with a track penalty. I started P11 and went with a 13M/10S strat. But right from the start, the car seems sluggish and not handling well. I feel like I'm faster than everyone around me but can't pull away because I get track penalty after track penalty which pulls me back to the pack. I even managed a 1 sec penalty on the final turn, at one point.

After I slap the softs on the car feels a bit better and I start to creep up to the mid-field. Then I manage to pull a real bonehead of a maneuver going to the inside of someone serving a penalty. He drifts right making room on the outside for another driver and probably thought I'd take that line too, like any reasonable human being. As he un-ghosts, his nose hit my rear left panel and I go careening into the gravel. When all is sad and done, I limp across the line in 12th place for a measly 41 pts. As much as I would like to do another run, I have to go help with dinner and spend some family time.

I make it back just in time for slot 3. I do a couple practice laps and try to figure out how things started so poorly the first time around. It's only now that it dawns on me - in all my practice races, I started on RS and switched the RM. I've never driven this car with a full fuel load on cold RM before that race. Well, crap. That explains a lot.

Slot 3 turns out to be worth more points than slot 1 but I manage to qualify almost 3 tenths faster and start P6. This time I'm acutely aware of the cold tires and extra fuel weight and things go much better. For much of the race I'm running in clean air about 2.5 sec behind the leaders and 2.5 sec ahead of the mid-field pack. When the pits happen I start overtaking a few people and let someone by who's clearly much faster than me. When it all settles down, I back in my clean air gap but now in P5. That's where I finish for 67 pts.

I'm really glad I chose to force myself into a FR power car this season. I'm also glad I made a point of doing the second run. I was so frustrated at myself with the first race and how poorly I managed that. Here's hoping to another good season of learning and growing as a driver.

View attachment 974423 View attachment 974424
Sounds like you had very similar struggles to me in the Corvette. I also kept getting caught in the mid-field due to stupid penalties and being unable to drive the car despite feeling good in practice. Only in my case it was a brake bias issue. In my practice races, when I picked up penalties I would just let them accumulate and take the penalty at the finish, since it was only practice. Unfortunately that meant I never figured out how to do a whole race without penalties, or why I was so inconsistent at T1 especially. It took me until Slot 3 to figure out what was wrong with my brake bias.
 
Hello everyone!

I have followed this forum for a long time, and after I missed half a year of GT Sport, I decided to come back - and also join this community :)
I'm not a professional, only using a Dualshock 4 on my sofa in front of the TV.

I usually create race replays too, here is the latest. That half year was a long hiatus, but after a week of practice, I managed to get a good result with the Audi in the Manufacturers Cup.



What do you think about this type of race replays? I always try making videos which are similar to a real one, apart from the fact that my car is always on the screen :)
 
Managed to pull out a decent quali lap on my last run which put me relatively near the front. Went with the no stop and for the first few laps I didn't really battle too hard as I was trying not to push my tyres too much. Unfortunately I got a penalty on the exit of T1 when being overtaken by 2 cars which pushed me down to around 14th, after that it was just about waiting for pitstops and in the end I finished around where I started which suggests it was a bit of a missed opportunity for a good result but anyways was a decent race regardless

Nice to see a direct "rival" in the Hyundai leaderboards(as you are now in 7th and me in 8th in EMEA). Hopefully we will meet on track too...
 
I'm here to say sorry to the ones that where in manufacturer yesterday. I did a horrible race full of mistakes :banghead:

I don't know how to drive properly and my tires where on fire after a few laps.

A good learning is that I should learn how to drive RF cars and stop doing FF all the time to be somehow competitive.
 
Quietly confident about the SLS AMG’s chances here, will be down to me avoiding track penalties though.

Yea, I didn’t avoid penalties. Looks like I wasn’t the only one though.

Qualified 7th
Decided to spin on the 2nd corner of the race basically, down to DFL. Recovered to 9th.

Had the pace for a podium in the SLS so feel like I let myself down a smidge.

Anyway, on to the Yaris!
Struggling with it so far, how the hell do you take the final corner consistently?!
 
Manu S2 R1 - Red Bull Short Track - 13 minute race edit with commentary
Did a one stop, starting on Medium on the first stint.
@Master Weasel was in the race (TPC_Racoon). Always great to see a team mate. We seem to spend many races together :cheers:
I have taken quite a break from racing due to various issues.
Looking forward to this new season and Im STILL in the McLaren :D

 
I can't decide which of my 'highlights' I enjoyed the most last night. Qualifying 18th 1st slot? spinning on the last turn into the straight BEFORE the first lap? Or the realisation after finishing dead last in slot 2 that, because only 12 have made it through without disconnecting, the 20 points on offer were probably the best I was going to get?

I'm so good at RBR, and so bad at RBR short.
 
Apologies, premature I know, but did a quick race practice for Monza vs only one AI car. No strat needed, flat out for 25 minutes. Nearly fell asleep at one point :lol: I’m sure it will be a lot more entertaining when it matters! ;)

Im not the quickest at Monza, but 2 seconds off current top 10 is decent for me.
 
Yea, I didn’t avoid penalties. Looks like I wasn’t the only one though.

Qualified 7th
Decided to spin on the 2nd corner of the race basically, down to DFL. Recovered to 9th.

Had the pace for a podium in the SLS so feel like I let myself down a smidge.

Anyway, on to the Yaris!
Struggling with it so far, how the hell do you take the final corner consistently?!
Closing my eyes usually helps.
 
Yea, I didn’t avoid penalties. Looks like I wasn’t the only one though.

Qualified 7th
Decided to spin on the 2nd corner of the race basically, down to DFL. Recovered to 9th.

Had the pace for a podium in the SLS so feel like I let myself down a smidge.

Anyway, on to the Yaris!
Struggling with it so far, how the hell do you take the final corner consistently?!

Try down shifting to 3 after the circuit start to go down and be close to the inside in the first one. Then you can stay in 4 I believe
 
Done quite a few races, but had never ventured in to any FIA events. Decided to give it a shot this season and see how it goes.

Chose Mazda, quite a random selection, but I enjoy driving the Atenza, will have to work out it's strengths and weaknesses as I go along.

Generally not very good at RBR, but managed to get a P5, which netted me 124 points, not the best start. But will see how the season goes.

Somewhat of a silly question from me, but how does the "top 16" work? I noticed some events on the calendar, were specific to that?

Anyone can send me a friends request, be good to have some references to see if I'm actually doing well. GTMW_Colin
 
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Somewhat of a silly question from me, but how does the "top 16" work? I noticed some events on the calendar, were specific to that?
It's an extra slot with bonus season points that's only available to people who qualified for an S rank in the previous season. Unlike the other slots, there is only one lobby.

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that when it goes to match it will scan through the driver ratings and country/manufacturer of everyone who signed up and pick from highest to lowest until it has 16 people (with an upper limit on how many people from a single country/manufacturer can be selected). Everyone outside the top 16 who signed up gets their entry cancelled.
 
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It's an extra slot with bonus season points that's only available to people who qualified for an S rank in the previous season. Unlike the other slots, there is only one lobby.

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that when it goes to match it will scan through the driver ratings and country/manufacturer of everyone who signed up and pick from highest to lowest until it has 16 people (with an upper limit on how many people from a single country/manufacturer can be selected). Everyone outside the top 16 who signed up gets their entry cancelled.

Thanks for this. Makes sense. So no need to practice those as I definitely won't be doing them haha.
 
Got to admit, after a ton of anxiety, I really enjoyed tis weekend's race. Signed with Volkswagen, mostly because I really liked driving the Scirocco last week. A couple dozen practice laps and my best was 52.4. Could be I just got my wheel and I'm still on the learning curve, could be I'm a chump. Qualied 52.2 which was good enough for 4th in the DS lobby I was in. One stopped, doing 15M/8S. couldn't catch up the places I lost, finished 6th. Not many bump-n-runs, jst one guy that didn't like getting overtaken and punted me. I held it together, ran out his penalty, laughed all the way home. Not the worst finish I could have had. Looking forward to next week. Got some Curva Grande love to give.....
 
Hello everyone!

I have followed this forum for a long time, and after I missed half a year of GT Sport, I decided to come back - and also join this community :)
I'm not a professional, only using a Dualshock 4 on my sofa in front of the TV.

I usually create race replays too, here is the latest. That half year was a long hiatus, but after a week of practice, I managed to get a good result with the Audi in the Manufacturers Cup.



What do you think about this type of race replays? I always try making videos which are similar to a real one, apart from the fact that my car is always on the screen :)



You got to love the TV camera view.
Here is my race and some bits from others views.
My plan was to play it safe away from track limit pens then wait for the right moments.
Finished 2nd from 7th. Did get stuck behind a no stopper Vette. See what happens to him at the end.

Whats your thoughts on me hitting the silver Pug?

 
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