FIA Race Discussion [Archive]

[TRC_Stagger]

This was my first ever T16 race in the Manufacturer’s series.

The Ford Mustang GR4 is one of the worst cars on fuel mileage. Naturally, it made the Mustang one of the slowest car to have in terms of race pace. I was mentally prepared to be fighting for a top 10 at best.

Thankfully the night before the race, my Italian teammate (Garasa, EMEA’s top Ford driver) told me how to finish the race without a pit stop.

I would have to constantly be changing my fuel mixture between 3 and 6 to be able to finish the race.

I’ve never been so busy during a race. Having to constantly change my fuel map, not having a radar, attacking, defending, and managing the gaps with the cars behind me was quiet overwhelming. It also didn’t help knowing that I was always down on power due to running low fuel mixture.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with the result. Earned Ford 33pts and qualified for Salzburg.

Pretty excited to have my first ever World Tour!

 

[SpecMiata-JSW]

This was my first ever T16 race in the Manufacturer’s series.

The Ford Mustang GR4 is one of the worst cars on fuel mileage. Naturally, it made the Mustang one of the slowest car to have in terms of race pace. I was mentally prepared to be fighting for a top 10 at best.

Thankfully the night before the race, my Italian teammate (Garasa, EMEA’s top Ford driver) told me how to finish the race without a pit stop.

I would have to constantly be changing my fuel mixture between 3 and 6 to be able to finish the race.

I’ve never been so busy during a race. Having to constantly change my fuel map, not having a radar, attacking, defending, and managing the gaps between with the cars behind me was quiet overwhelming. It also didn’t help knowing that I was always down on power due to running low fuel mixture.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with the result. Earned Ford 33pts and qualified for Salzburg.

Pretty excited to have my first ever World Tour!

Congrats and kick butt man!

 

[LeGeNd-1]

I hate this mix of no stoppers and 1 stoppers in these Manufacturers races. Can't we just have one or the other? I'm happy for a pit stop if everyone else is pitting too. Massively dull driving around short shifting and fuel mapping. I want the only strategy to be whether to come in on lap 5 or 6 of an 11 lap race for example!

It's not really a mix. Because the races have been getting shorter no stop is really the preferred strategy for now when fuel is >6x. You just can't recover the time lost refuelling with the extra pace, because you also have to account getting back through the field (any battling is always going to cost time). I agree it's not proper racing, but it's actually quite interesting mentally to be able to micromanage your fuel and still keep a good pace. I prefer fuel limited races than the tyre wear ***show we had last season. As Tidgney said with fuel you can still have a race because you can choose WHEN to save and when to attack. Whereas with tyres you just have to baby them the whole race.

IMO, straightforward races with only 1 viable strategy is even more boring because everyone will just qualify according to their DR, and the race will be a processional train unless someone makes a mistake. The last Nurb GP Gr.3 Manu was like this. No pits, no need to worry about fuel or tyres. Most stupor inducing FIA race I ever had. Though this is based on experience in top splits. In lower splits where people aren't so consistent YMMV.

 

[schnick]

A needed break between seasons.

Is there a driver list anywhere for New York World Tour?

Here's my unofficial list of NY Manu reps, backups and theoreticals for non-qualified manus
I only bothered to gather data on the overall top 100 of each region but I assume all reps will be top 100 overall in their respective regions

 

[Benay79]

It's not really a mix. Because the races have been getting shorter no stop is really the preferred strategy for now when fuel is >6x. You just can't recover the time lost refuelling with the extra pace, because you also have to account getting back through the field (any battling is always going to cost time). I agree it's not proper racing, but it's actually quite interesting mentally to be able to micromanage your fuel and still keep a good pace. I prefer fuel limited races than the tyre wear ***show we had last season. As Tidgney said with fuel you can still have a race because you can choose WHEN to save and when to attack. Whereas with tyres you just have to baby them the whole race.

IMO, straightforward races with only 1 viable strategy is even more boring because everyone will just qualify according to their DR, and the race will be a processional train unless someone makes a mistake. The last Nurb GP Gr.3 Manu was like this. No pits, no need to worry about fuel or tyres. Most stupor inducing FIA race I ever had. Though this is based on experience in top splits. In lower splits where people aren't so consistent YMMV.

Yes i agree with that which basically shows that the only answer is to increase the length of the races! (oh and to reduce the tire wear!)

 

[RoadBeef]

Well goodness! Saturday and the days leading up to it were nerve-wracking for me. Only a couple hundred points separate Turismo-lester and I for the lead of Porsche NA - I knew there was no rest in store if I was going to successfully mount a challenge to this Canadian titan of a competitor. On Friday, I was able to sneak onto a turismo-team practice server just long enough to see lester was putting down great times, better than I had been able to do by a good third of a second. Uh oh...

So, on Saturday my wife, who is keenly aware of how much dedication this hobby requires, very kindly exempted me from running a few important errands related to settling into our house (for those who have been there before - it goes without saying, this was a HUGE gift from her!!). This free'd up five hours of practice time I tried to put to use as effectively as possible. I learned the Cayman could run fuel map 1 the whole race, but with very low shift points well off of the rev indicator graphic. Winding out 2nd gear in T1, T4 and the tight uphill right hander ending sector 2 proved a critical ingredient. Everywhere else was a short-shift-o-thon.

Come Saturday PM, I entered slot 1 to warm up. Lester was there, in great form, and took the pole and win by a healthy margin. Although I could not get near him on track, I was pleased to see he and I set identical fast lap times... to the thousandth. This was encouraging. I puckered up to join the T16 server, biting my nails, hoping for no discos, and luckily we all joined in without any technical incidents. I knew I had to nail Qualy to fight for anything. 7th on the grid, eons behind pole but at least close to the rest gave me a good feeling. Lester started behind but there would be no resting!!

Green flag!! Right off the bat, the car felt good, and my fuel pace allowed me to attack. The Cayman was sipping along, giving oomph where I needed it. Lap 2 had it all going on - After a scruffy T4 exit, TTG_Zennit got alongside and took my position as we began the downhill chute. However he was quickly bottlenecked by the dueling Hendrix323 and Turismo-Windfire. The two latter racers were side by side in the penultimate corner, allowing me a run to get alongside Hendrix. We arrived at the braking zone for the final corner and there was strong contact. I think Hendrix did not expect me there, and on the front straight flashed his displeasure. I had planned to leave him room so we could deny Zennit an avenue for counterattack by leaving the corner exit side-by-side - but it didn't work out this way. Zennit, Windfire and I dragged down to T1 from there and were three-wide into the braking zone. The outside line was optimal and luckily, that is where I was to sweep past both into P4. There was gap ahead to Stagger and Lamb - time to get back to it.

Stagger had to save hugely and Lamb in his wee Alfa just had no legs on the straight bits (although he was magnificent in how he attacked every corner.) I saw the black Lexus of Deafsun not too far ahead, and the shimmering gold of Lester not too far behind. I decided I needed to put cars between me and Lester, and also I wanted to know if I had the speed to pursue Deafsun's draft. I decided to risk it and on lap 5 ran the RPMs higher than planned to get past Stagger and Lamb. I had pinned my fuel mileage hopes on catching Deafsun's draft, hoping his front tires would get smoked to allow this. It did not come to be, and on lap 7, with Deafy still seconds ahead, I had to recoup my strategy and double-down on not just short shifting, but Devito shifting. This brought Lamb right back onto my tail, and he could smell blood. We tussled lap 8 and he drove past me beginning the final lap as I was now resorting to -edit- shifting at something like 4k rpm... (In the slot 1 warm-up, I tried Map 6, in an already gutless car. I hit 125mph and simply stopped accelerating, lol, no matter how hard I pushed down upon the loud pedal.) -/edit-

But things were looking alright. Lester was just under two seconds behind. On the downhill run on the final lap, my fuel percentages were back where I needed them to be, so this allowed me to motor up the sector 3 climb. Unfortunately though, I distracted myself into the final corner and broke too late. Stagger got a run, and put himself to map 1 (according to his own youtube channel) to get alongside for the final stretch. His timing was fabulous and he beat me to the podium by 3 hundredths of a second.

Lester finished 5th, very close behind me. He matched my run through traffic, and skillfully avoided a big wreck between jMag and FT_Ant that unfolded inches in front of him.

Thanks to no shock high-scoring results from Audi or Subaru in any regions, Porsche was cemented into 11th globally for Round 4 of the 2019 GT World Tour. I managed to hold on to 1st, and holy balls, this means I'll be in Austria in six weeks!! What!!! Dude.

Please enjoy the onboard and TV camera views of my T16 race.

edit: The onboard includes the voices of myself, Wardez, NZNZNZ and my wife.

 

[Rangeraus]

Top 16 broadcasts are up for North America, EMEA and Asia.

 

[RZQSPEED]

Spotted @MortosDer under the URT umbrella before having to drop out of my Nations practice because my dad really wanted me to get his laptop...

Also, I was not on my form there...

 

[MortosDer]

Spotted @MortosDer under the URT umbrella before having to drop out of my Nations practice because my dad really wanted me to get his laptop...

Also, I was not on my form there...

I saw you. Man those guys are fast. They were doing no stoppers under 15.40. Insane.
I've been practicing all week. Haven't touched dailies. I better get 1500 points minimum or I'll be very dissapointed

 

[MIE1992]

I can't really tell just by eyeballing it, but how does one know what tire compound to pick for certain fuel/tire consumption parameters, and when multiple tire compounds are available? It's not like you can change your tires from when you're in qualifying, either, so couldn't I pick Racing Hards before qualifying, then immediately pit for Racing Mediums/Softs if they're available, continue the qualifier using those, then automatically get put back on Hards again when the actual race starts?

I mean, alternatively, I could pick the softest available compound before qualifying, do what I can in qualifying, then go as far as I can using those compounds when the race begins, and depending on how far I've gotten with those tires, I may swap to a harder compound so that I'll likely be able to finish the race without a substantial amount of the tire being consumed, on top of the fuel.

 

[watto79]

I can't really tell just by eyeballing it, but how does one know what tire compound to pick for certain fuel/tire consumption parameters, and when multiple tire compounds are available? It's not like you can change your tires from when you're in qualifying, either, so couldn't I pick Racing Hards before qualifying, then immediately pit for Racing Mediums/Softs if they're available, continue the qualifier using those, then automatically get put back on Hards again when the actual race starts?

I mean, alternatively, I could pick the softest available compound before qualifying, do what I can in qualifying, then go as far as I can using those compounds when the race begins, and depending on how far I've gotten with those tires, I may swap to a harder compound so that I'll likely be able to finish the race without a substantial amount of the tire being consumed, on top of the fuel.

Once qualifying has finished you can go to the car settings and change the tyre compound for the race.

As for knowing what compound to use, that just comes from practicing with the FIA settings in a lobby. Or by watching streams!

 

[vvise]

It's unfortunate the broadcasters weren't really aware of the fuel saving going on behind the scenes. They were attributing pace to tire management.

 

[05XR8]

It's a long way off, but been practicing for the N300 race at Sardegna, on the 28th.

Just running the Roadster TC versus X-Bow, S-FR, GT-40, 930 and E30. Of course the E30 is slowest, but didn't hurt to gauge a time.

S-FR is quickest with X-Bow nearly a second behind and GT-40 & RTC posted similar times within hundredths. The 930 was another second behind, followed by E30 a further second. Really weird how the RTC brakes aren't that strong like the S-FR. They both have the same level of F/R downforce. GT-40 is the most stable around corners followed by the X-Bow, S-FR, RTC, E30, 930.

Tyre wear is my next test.

 

[bdubclub]

I can't really tell just by eyeballing it, but how does one know what tire compound to pick for certain fuel/tire consumption parameters, and when multiple tire compounds are available? It's not like you can change your tires from when you're in qualifying, either, so couldn't I pick Racing Hards before qualifying, then immediately pit for Racing Mediums/Softs if they're available, continue the qualifier using those, then automatically get put back on Hards again when the actual race starts?

I mean, alternatively, I could pick the softest available compound before qualifying, do what I can in qualifying, then go as far as I can using those compounds when the race begins, and depending on how far I've gotten with those tires, I may swap to a harder compound so that I'll likely be able to finish the race without a substantial amount of the tire being consumed, on top of the fuel.

98% of the time the softer option is going to be the “fast” option. Now what’s fastest for you over the period of a race might differ, but generally you lose more time in the beginning then you will gain during the second half of a stint using the harder option.

 

[MortosDer]

Idk man. A no stop shouldn't work on softs. Period.

 

[Lion-Face]

Fia races starting with nations cup

 

[gtpierre]

I watched the replay of the EMEA top 16 manufacturers race yesterday.

After the Nürburgring event, I can't say I was surprised by what happened in the last corner...
Also I felt bad for @force ewerby , his ps4 switched off apparently (was that it ?) and ruined what could have been a fight for the top 5 with tidgney...

I still have to watch the American and Asian race

 

[adokeeffe]

Missed the Nations Cup again, although Gr.2 cars aren't really my thing. Had two shots at Manufacturers in the McLaren F1, both quite eventful. My first qualifier was horrendous, and I ended up dead last. I was also too heavy handed with my fuel strategy, thinking I would need to save a substantial amount of fuel given the high multiplier, which turned out to be completely unnecessary (I crossed the line with about 5 laps of fuel left). Regardless, I gained 10 places from 18th and hit a personal best for points scored in a round.

Not content with that, I went for a second shot and qualified 10th - not great, but not last. Things looked grim from the outset however, after being knocked off my line at turn one by an Aston Martin, who then proceeded to cut off and knock out several other racers up through the second hairpin. He was promptly dealt with coming down through Rauch, sadly I didn't hit him hard enough and he remained on the track, and I got a 3 second penalty (worth it). Hopefully he thinks twice before cutting people off next time. I gained 4 places, coming home 6th and besting my personal best yet again. Was also great to see the majority of drivers on good behaviour, and some familiar faces I haven't raced with for a while given the constantly changing rankings.

 

[Rangeraus]

Made 3 attempts at manufacturers. First attempt was average, second was pretty embarrassing really.

Managed to bank decent points in the last race, will hopefully get 20 manufacturer points.

 

[VulcanSpirit]

Entered the 19:00 Manufacturers race with plenty of hope and memories of an FIA victory in a Subaru last year.

Qualifying was as clean and consistent as it could get. After setting a solid first lap and encountering a spun car on the second, I eventually managed to secure 4th with a 1:30.455 - just over one-and-a-half tenths off pole.

From the outset, I knew that getting a decent result this time round would be challenging, given how rough the opening stages can be at Red Bull Ring. On the opening lap, the Corvette starting in 5th repeatedly dived on the inside of me in the first two sectors. At Schlossgold, he missed his braking point entirely, holding me up and enabling a Lambo and a Supra to pass. Down to 7th I went. On Lap 2, the third-placed Lexus punts the second-placed Aston through Lauda Kurve, promoting me back up to 5th while the Aston spins out completely. At Remus, a black Supra punts the delayed Lexus into my right-rear, pushing me out wide and causing damage to my suspension and rear aero/bumper. Thankfully, I managed to hang on, and as soon as the Mustang healed began pressuring the French Supra - the same Supra I had defended vigorously from at the Nürburgring - to try and reclaim 4th. And on Lap 4, I did just that, following a cutback manoeuvre starting at Remus and ending at Schlossgold.

My priority for the remainder of the race was to build a gap over the French Supra, who still seemed as strong as ever behind me, while keeping controlled and sticking to the track limits as much as possible. I was ready to settle for 4th until Lap 6, when the Corvette from earlier lost control and smashed into the wall on the run out of Schlossgold. A podium finish had just landed in my lap, and I was happy to let the French Supra fight for it while he was still in my slipstream. The fight never happened, however, as the Supra lost ground and eventually suffered the same fate as the Corvette.

Free from the pressure, I soldiered home in 3rd place, having managed to shave the gap between me and the two leading Lambos in the process. Turned out that one of them gained a 0.5 second penalty for track limits at the first corner, eventually losing the lead and struggling on well-worn tyres. Said Lambo nearly lost control at the penultimate corner on Lap 9; while he lost a lot of ground, it wasn't enough for me to get close and mount a serious challenge for 2nd.

Overall, a very satisfying result for me tonight. My first FIA podium of 2019, and a season-best score of 1,719 points (formerly 1,720). What more could I ask for?

 

[stpatty]

Nations was the disaster I knew it would be. Got Momoz'd on the first lap when a guy was slow coming back on to the track at the right hander going down to the chicane. I was going through on the inside, he tried to cut me off, then went off the track when we touched, 3 second penalty. from 11th to god knows where. I got beaten by an '08 Nissan just to compound the misery. I really can't make the tyres last in Gr.2

Manufacturers... it's a track I need to do well in for Nissan, and after just finishing I have my best score for the season at 1,039, but that was 6th and it really feels like a missed opportunity. Qualified 9th after messing up qualifying (sh/could have been 5th) and while in 5th pushing hard at 4th who was pushing hard at 3rd, I made a mistake and rammed him at the top of the hill. I let him back through at the next corner but I just didn't recover. The guy in the AMG I hit ended up finishing 3rd, while I started fighting with another GT-R that had caught up and finished 6th. I want to try again, but I don't feel like I'm in a position to be able to risk my points. It's a shame.

Also, has anyone else had problems tonight with helmet and suit liveries loading in-game? Both myself and other people I see in-game seem to have defaults, mine are the wrong colour, they're all just off.

 

[Keith2324]

A little late posting this but here's was my race from Round 10 of the Manufacturer's. One PSA..........Don't ever, ever change your fuel map in the last corner of the last lap.

 

[Lion-Face]

My races of the night. Great battles in Manufacturers, Fuji with my strategy was about gaining the positions, and less about battles.

 

[C_Raccoon23]

Didn’t have a good qualifying session in Manufactures and started last. I had to claw my way up as much as possible.

 

[05XR8]

Manufacturers was a write off. No wonder I don't do them like I used to. Qualified P2 in the Atenza, after the P1 C7 just leap frogged me by 0.035, at the flag.

The start was fine with a Mustang behind me. I gave it room for the inside at T2 and all of a sudden, I'm offed wide. I see like 4 cars ahead of me! Like no one was patient. As I settle in, down around 13th after a few laps, a Jag in front of me gets spun by another car. As it's spinning in front of me and ghosting, I wind up 3 seconds for "contact with another car".

My tyres were fine half distance and I'm starting to make ground on the front battle group. Round up an RC F that struggled for the last 3 laps. Passed that car and had 4th&5th placed cars in my sights for the last 1.5 laps. Finished 6th. Oh well, what could have been...

 

[adokeeffe]

Didn’t have a good qualifying session in Manufactures and started last. I had to claw my way up as much as possible.

Well done!

 

[JEverettL]

Didn’t have a good qualifying session in Manufactures and started last. I had to claw my way up as much as possible.

This is excellent, congratulations! I just couldn’t find my groove tonight in manufacturers in the Ferrari. Ended up babying it through T2 each lap for fear that the back end would come around...again. Qualified 14th, spun out 3 times and ended up 16th. Worst round so far.

 

[LeGeNd-1]

Gr.2 at Fuji is a combo that I'm bored to death already. So tried to make it interesting by using the old GT-R (ended up being the only one in my lobby using an '08 car ) and tried no stopping. Quali 6th, dropped back to almost last and then climbed back up to 3rd at one point, before the stoppers caught back up and finished 7th Heck of a race. Stopping would probably be safer but where's the fun in that

Manu had a disastrous qualifying. RBR is always a sketchy track with the dubious track limits and my Evo desparately needs the draft to keep up on straights, but dirty air just ruins the handling through the last half of the track. Then on my final flyer got tangled up with another driver in the hairpin. I went off track and he got a penalty so ruined both our laps. It's a shame but we both apologised to each other after. I started last and didn't have high hopes, but lots of people fell off the track and got penalties so finished 13th. Not bad for meme team

It's a long way off, but been practicing for the N300 race at Sardegna, on the 28th.

Just running the Roadster TC versus X-Bow, S-FR, GT-40, 930 and E30. Of course the E30 is slowest, but didn't hurt to gauge a time.

S-FR is quickest with X-Bow nearly a second behind and GT-40 & RTC posted similar times within hundredths. The 930 was another second behind, followed by E30 a further second. Really weird how the RTC brakes aren't that strong like the S-FR. They both have the same level of F/R downforce. GT-40 is the most stable around corners followed by the X-Bow, S-FR, RTC, E30, 930.

Tyre wear is my next test.

You forgot to try the F50, M4 and Supra. Though I suspect it won't change the fastest car since layout B is quite twisty. From experience S-FR is quicker in time trials than XBOW but in a race situation with draft the XBOW will be the car of choice.

 

[Keith2324]

Knock on wood, but things seem to trending in the right direction.............onward and upward. Maybe one of these days I'll get my DR "A" rating I've been fighting so hard to get. A decent outcome in the Manufacturer's race tonight.

 

[HellzFire]

Only did Manu yesterday. First slot I suffered a lot with the new slipstream, the dirty air is absolutely insane, at least in the Red Bull Ring. Second race I improved my qualifying lap, a decent 29.7. In the race, I overtook Igor on lap 1 for the lead and after that was an immense fight and pressure to keep it. Shame that the room had terrible scoring, I shouldve got at lest 36 for Jaguar with this result, but only got 33.