- 3,734
- São Paulo
- Philip-Giger
It is my regret to announce the Pug Train has crashed for good.
View attachment 846704
Flat out, we needed two great race combos in Stage 2 to have a chance and we've had none. The VGT is atrocious off any slow corners which most recent tracks has had in spades and unlike Stage 1, we didn't have fuel savings as our equalizer. Gr4 RCZ is... a Gr5 car and other than a miraculous victory at a fuel saving combo, it won't score anything for us. We ran the numbers and we're so far behind that asking the team to continue would've been pointless.
Still, the train at least got to Salzburg, which is a major accomplishment. Proud of the entire field of Plebs who put in the effort to make it that far. I only wish all of us could be in Salzburg to celebrate. We'll do our best to shock everyone again and get in there!
I'll still be racing because I want to stay up there to be in the Superstars race.
That’s a pretty safe bet, as the current best time is 2:00.349 (by Pirata).I’m sure the top guys will be lapping in the 2:00s by the time the event rolls around.
That’s a pretty safe bet, as the current best time is 2:00.349 (by Pirata).(https://gtsport.r1s3.net/championships is useful for this)
That’s a pretty safe bet, as the current best time is 2:00.349 (by Pirata).(https://gtsport.r1s3.net/championships is useful for this)
Does anyone know if we should pit in the Nations race tomorrow? I had a quick race and the tyres seemed to be melting, so not sure whether it is best to struggle on or to pit? I did pit, but everyone behind me pitted as well so I have no idea if it was a good idea or not.
Also was wondering if any car is better than the rest? Peugeot seems to be dominating the times but maybe another car is better for the race?
Does anyone know if we should pit in the Nations race tomorrow? I had a quick race and the tyres seemed to be melting, so not sure whether it is best to struggle on or to pit? I did pit, but everyone behind me pitted as well so I have no idea if it was a good idea or not.
Also was wondering if any car is better than the rest? Peugeot seems to be dominating the times but maybe another car is better for the race?
Apart from Autopolis and Brands, where are you considering the Alfa OP? Honest question since I’m driving for Alfa but been missing many races this season. When I find time it’s usually a Gr.3 race that is bad for us.Since Pug's season is pretty much over, I might as well share how I came to that conclusion and a few thoughts about who will get in.
View attachment 847296
A screenshot of the spreadsheet that I had maintained on my end since the season started. I knew what the best of 5 score looked like from the first round and better yet, I set it up so that I could see possible scoring scenarios. From the Pug train's perspective, I figured after Stage 1 that we needed two strong combos (30+ point rounds) to stay in the running. St Croix A and Sardegna A looked like the best candidates for these and boy, they were anything but strong combos. Worse, Alfa had effectively stolen a spot thanks to OP combo after OP combo for them while Chevy, Madza and Nissan had much better scoring opportunities. In retrospect, we were finished the moment they came out with the Stage 2 schedule.
As for predictions for the last few spots:
Honda - The remaining combos may be okay for them but they lack strong enough support in NA and CSA. That will keep them out.
Nissan - Done because the Gr4 GT-R is too meh to score anything relevant and not enough points to be gained at Barcelona to close the gap.
Madza - Similar to Nissan with Gr4. They may be good at Barcelona but based on their lowest 5th scores, their strong drivers will need to win their T16 races just for a slim shot. I don't feel that's in the cards.
Subaru - See Nissan for Gr4. Even in the best case scenario where the three strongest drivers win T16, they still need the other two regions to score something. They haven't all season long and that will sink them.
Alfa Romeo - 99.9% in. Stage 2 has been Alfa 4C heaven and they still have two possible combos left to score big. Cue the crowd with pitchforks on nerfing that car to oblivion.
Chevrolet - Sardegna A may have just given them the last spot. All five regions have pretty high 5th round scores so moving any further up may be hard. However, most likely the Manus ahead of them will be scoring the crucial Manu points others below them need.
Hyundai and above - At this point, it's more about securing one of the three spots for Tokyo/Monaco.
In the second stage the Alfa was the best car at every gr4 race, 3 of those the Alfa was untouchable.Apart from Autopolis and Brands, where are you considering the Alfa OP? Honest question since I’m driving for Alfa but been missing many races this season. When I find time it’s usually a Gr.3 race that is bad for us.
So far there have been only 3 Gr. 4 races in the second stage: Autopolis, Brands Hatch and Alsace. The latter was a heavy fuel saving race. I couldn't race on this one, though it has always been one of my strong tracks, but from what I've seen the 4C didn't have any advantage there. The car underperforms too much in fuel saving races. As for the Gr. 3 races, unfortunately the Alfa is not competitive in any track. The Alfa driver in your region is just too strong and he's making the cars look better than they actually are.In the second stage the Alfa was the best car at every gr4 race, 3 of those the Alfa was untouchable.
That’s a pretty safe bet, as the current best time is 2:00.349 (by Pirata).(https://gtsport.r1s3.net/championships is useful for this)
Well, the standard of racing at Alsace in the Gr.B cars left a lot to be desired. The influence of the standards seen (in these cars, among others) at the World Tours coming into play, I wonder?
My room was full of morons, mainly the moron in a Megane who parked it on the apex of the first chicane every lap and had no sideways awareness of any kind. Luckily he got enough of a penalty for doing the latter that I got past.Didn't bother with the nation's cup race but I did surprisingly good manufacturers race at a circuit I don't really like for McLaren at a handling circuit. Made up 6 or 7 places to finish 7th and get 610 points. I even remembered that short shifting on the McLaren is faster as well.
Feel sorry for the FF drivers this round with T1.
Well, the standard of racing at Alsace in the Gr.B cars left a lot to be desired. The influence of the standards seen (in these cars, among others) at the World Tours coming into play, I wonder?
I was able to try again at 10pm, got a reasonable result, 4th for 1140 points. My DR had dropped after the first race, and I was at the top end of the ratings in the second lobby, vs the lowest rated in the first lobby, so the lobby was quite a bit lower rated overall. I think I'm around the limit of where my driver rating can go, now, a net drop from the two races today, first time that has happened for a long time.6pm Nations was a good result for me, qualified 3rd and finished 2nd (riding the bumper of 1st). 1 stop strategy was the way to go as you dont lose much time in the pits! @breeminator started further down the field and had a difficult race by the sounds of it. Another 1500 odd points and 1000 DR so im done for the night.. Good luck all who are racing later
Somewhat, yes.Where they wild and reckless or something?