Now thay the championships are officially underway, I thought I’d start a thread for people to post their experiences!
Everything from matchmaking to the penalty system to race length and everything in between can be discussed.
Did you enjoy the race? How do you like having a set qualifying time before the race, instead of the normal format of being able to qualify whenever? Is the driving from others any better than in normal daily races? Do you think that the FIA can actually find true talent with this system (as Nissan did with GTA) based on your experiences? Do you like the added flair in the presentations for the championship?
For my first race, I competed in the Le Mans GR1 for the Nations Cup. I really didn’t expect to do well, so I practiced the race in custom race beforehand to get dialed in and figure out my strategy.
I used the Porsche 919. Through my experience, I discovered that it was just about as quick overall to save fuel and not pit, versus pitting and running flat out.
I decided that if I started near the front, and away from trouble, I would pit. If I was near the back, I would save fuel and leapfrog everybody during their stops.
Come race time, I was actually somehow able to grab pole with a 3:26.0 (the 10 minute time limit meant that we all only had time for an out lap and flying lap. Never had so much anxiety while playing a video game hah).
During the race I utilized the strategy listed above of pitting once. I had determined from my mock-races beforehand that I used 18L per lap in the 919, meaning I only had to stop on lap 5 and fill up to 37 liters to be good to go. (Tyre wear wasn’t bad enough to warrant changing them, either)
This paid off. During the race, my nearest opponent was 6 seconds behind when he pit on lap 4. After I exited the pits, I had gained another 9 seconds on him due to my short stop. This also meant that I would be lighter on fuel and thus a bit faster, compensating for the bad tires.
I took it easy the last two laps and won by 10 seconds.
I don’t know how this system will work for actually promoting good racing versus the normal daily races. I personally didn’t see any carnage, but it sounded like it got a bit hairy further back.
I feel like the penalty system isn’t perfect, but that it’s necessary for something like this, where the FIA of all people is involved. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten upset in Forza over the years from divebombers and dirty racers. The fact that I can go into the first turn at a track while NOT looking behind me for torpedoes is a statement that the penalty system and SR must be doing SOMETHING right.
I’m curious to see how this system plays out. When I first heard about this FIA championship, I honestly couldn’t see PD pulling it off. GT games were always “the real hot lap simulator” to me. Seeing the final product has blown me away. I don’t think this is something PD could have achieved 5 years ago, which is a testament to them FINALLY moving in the right direction.
——————-
Sorry for the long-winded post. Just wanted to have plenty of different topics in the OP to spark conversation.
. Was able to enter last time slot in manufactures and finished Top 10 in an A+ lobby.
)
