FIA Race Discussion [Archive]

[Ashthebash]

Did toy with not doing Tsukuba, but the Ferrari seemed strong there so went for it in the end. Entered first slot along with @watto79 and I believe @PirovacBoy (apologies if there are two of you!!).

Qualifying went fairly well, 4th, knocked down to 5th, back to 4th, back to 5th, 0.007 off 3rd! Started on softs hoping that everyone else ahead was doing the same - luckily they were.

The race was solely about not getting held up while you're on the faster tyre (remember this!). After the usual jostling over the first couple of laps the race settled with everyone running line astern, think I was 6th. Ran 11 laps, others were pitting so I came in and plumped for the medium stint, hoping to have decent pace. The order sorted itself out after the stops and I was running 3rd, just 2s behind an Italian in an NSX who had put the softs on and I was holding on to the gap despite my harder tyres. At this point I planned to pit early on L22, run a longer final soft stint and try to undercut. Towards the end of the stint the car began to get a bit slidey, and on L21 I was under pressure from two cars behind, a Spaniard had a run into the final hairpin, bumped me on the exit which allowed a Brit a run down the straight to the final turn, side by side was fun but down another place, then with Pirovac right behind me I got rid of the tyres. A loose corner had effectively ruined the stint.

Came back out into a little gap and got my head down, running mid 52s. The undercut could be working here... it gained me the two places I'd lost but the time I'd lost at the end of that second stint proved too much and the Italian emerged from the pits 2s up the road. I caught him in no time, but he didn't want to be passed. I spent six laps all over his rear end with him defending his position for all he was worth, taking an outside line then pointing towards the apex before braking so as to cut off any potential lunges. Cars behind closed up, we had five cars together then on L32 I got a little twitchy through the Dunlop right hander giving a Spaniard a sniff of a chance, the Italian got properly crossed up, I dived to the left of him, pointed the car across him and towards the apex of the final hairpin and took the place, giving him no chance of a dive up the inside. Four laps on old softs and I was able to pull out a 2s gap before pitting to take my 2nd place...

NO!!

Came out in traffic, 4th place and under massive pressure from 5th. Hard tyres weren't offering much defence and I was desperately trying to hold him off, managing to do so until getting a slide on in the final corner of the race, he went inside, I held outside and we crossed side by side with me just taking the place by 0.04s

The race was a lot of fun but the time lost fighting for 2nd place with the Italian on mediums is ultimately what cost me 2nd. Went from mid 52s to mid 53s in an instant, the two who jumped me when I stopped were able to run their second stints on softs amongst other cars that were also on softs so didn't get held up as much. So there is an element of luck as to where you come out and what you're behind if in traffic. Can't complain though, 4th for 240-odd points from a race I was concerned about doing, solid points that will probably count at the end of the season.

On to Spa!!

 

[neil_1980]

I do wonder about people who still dont read tire warnings for races despite being DR B and above. It can make for nice surprises at the end of races though.

I always read the tire requirements... yet Wednesdays nations at Redbull Ring I'd had a busy day and stuff on my mind from just before the start of the race. My plan was to do 1H at the end though I lost track of how far into the race it was and realised it was the last but 1 lap just as I passed the pit entrance.

Was gutted the whole last lap, went from something like 6th to 19th

 

[MCL1974]

Had 36 awesome laps at Tsukuba.....

B/S lobby, door number 15.

I qualified 8th with a 53.2 and a bit. last place had 53.9ish so it was tight.
Qualifying was a nice affair, had plenty of free track to get good laps nd sporty rivals who made way when needed. (thanks!!!)

strategy: 12S/1H/!3/M/11S

Started well and was 6th after lap 1 as 1 driver got in the gravel and another pitted. was 4th at the first pit stop and kept on going in a steady pace, feeling quite relaxed and made almost no errors. concentrating on steady laps and keeping the tyres in good condition and avoiding hard battles.

after the final stop i was in 6th and catching the car in 5th which was on old, worn tyres. two laps from the finish car numer 5 made a mistake, hit the barriers and bounced back on track. I could not avoid it and off course got a penalty 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

That allowed the Porsche behind me to overtake me so i ended up in 6th as there was no way i could overtake him in the final stage without divebombing him. Should be happy with it but feel a bit bitter anyway.

But in the end did much better then expected and had a mostly clean race, no carnage or DR resets which i had expected so also a bit happy....
Was not unhappy with how the Peugeot drove too!

 

[SlowDriver87]

I had another go and started and finished in 3rd behind another McLaren and a Jaguar which won. I had the pace to win but I had two silly spins on the exit of hairpins which cost me badly. Accelerating out of 1st gear is tricky at times. Still I had some good battles with those two which were great fun while they lasted.

Another clean race though and another 1000 DR. I’ve been enjoying racing again after a bit of time off. There’s nothing quite like it!

 

[kungtotte_]

Not a fantastic track for racing, I must say. It's much too tight and although I finished 8th from starting 11th I did not overtake anyone on the track that was not in the pits or binning it. I'm sitting the final slot out because I don't think I stand to gain much in attempting it.

Fairly clean race over all, though I managed to bump an RCZ in the final hairpin because I was not expecting him to park the car halfway between the turn-in and the apex. I was giving him room and standing on the brakes but it wasn't enough. I waited for him to recover and then served my 1 sec penalty on the next lap, dropping me a few positions. I could possibly have finished one or two positions better if it weren't for that incident, but who knows?

There was one spaniard called Ruizvelayos in a Mercedes driving like a complete wanker though, bullying his way through the field in every corner, throwing it wildly into T1 again and again. I was lucky to escape his antics, and I passed him easily when he tried to divebomb a BMW into T1 that had overtaken him in the final hairpin. The Mercedes drove like that the whole race, if he got overtaken you best watch yourself in the next corner. He went into the sand in T1 after that one and me and the BMW were free and clear after that. He was driving really well (British guy called ivanvla20) and we had some good racing for the first half of the race. Unfortunately he disconnected shortly after that.

 

[PirovacBoy]

Did toy with not doing Tsukuba, but the Ferrari seemed strong there so went for it in the end. Entered first slot along with @watto79 and I believe @PirovacBoy (apologies if there are two of you!!).

Qualifying went fairly well, 4th, knocked down to 5th, back to 4th, back to 5th, 0.007 off 3rd! Started on softs hoping that everyone else ahead was doing the same - luckily they were.

The race was solely about not getting held up while you're on the faster tyre (remember this!). After the usual jostling over the first couple of laps the race settled with everyone running line astern, think I was 6th. Ran 11 laps, others were pitting so I came in and plumped for the medium stint, hoping to have decent pace. The order sorted itself out after the stops and I was running 3rd, just 2s behind an Italian in an NSX who had put the softs on and I was holding on to the gap despite my harder tyres. At this point I planned to pit early on L22, run a longer final soft stint and try to undercut. Towards the end of the stint the car began to get a bit slidey, and on L21 I was under pressure from two cars behind, a Spaniard had a run into the final hairpin, bumped me on the exit which allowed a Brit a run down the straight to the final turn, side by side was fun but down another place, then with Pirovac right behind me I got rid of the tyres. A loose corner had effectively ruined the stint.

Came back out into a little gap and got my head down, running mid 52s. The undercut could be working here... it gained me the two places I'd lost but the time I'd lost at the end of that second stint proved too much and the Italian emerged from the pits 2s up the road. I caught him in no time, but he didn't want to be passed. I spent six laps all over his rear end with him defending his position for all he was worth, taking an outside line then pointing towards the apex before braking so as to cut off any potential lunges. Cars behind closed up, we had five cars together then on L32 I got a little twitchy through the Dunlop right hander giving a Spaniard a sniff of a chance, the Italian got properly crossed up, I dived to the left of him, pointed the car across him and towards the apex of the final hairpin and took the place, giving him no chance of a dive up the inside. Four laps on old softs and I was able to pull out a 2s gap before pitting to take my 2nd place...

NO!!

Came out in traffic, 4th place and under massive pressure from 5th. Hard tyres weren't offering much defence and I was desperately trying to hold him off, managing to do so until getting a slide on in the final corner of the race, he went inside, I held outside and we crossed side by side with me just taking the place by 0.04s

The race was a lot of fun but the time lost fighting for 2nd place with the Italian on mediums is ultimately what cost me 2nd. Went from mid 52s to mid 53s in an instant, the two who jumped me when I stopped were able to run their second stints on softs amongst other cars that were also on softs so didn't get held up as much. So there is an element of luck as to where you come out and what you're behind if in traffic. Can't complain though, 4th for 240-odd points from a race I was concerned about doing, solid points that will probably count at the end of the season.

On to Spa!!

Yes, that was me

 

[DK]

Did toy with not doing Tsukuba, but the Ferrari seemed strong there so went for it in the end.

Both of the races I entered had Ferrari drivers doing their best Luca Badoer impersonations. In the first (a ~60SR lobby) the poor guy was over a second off 19th and about 5 seconds off pole, and ended up 4 laps down. All I remember about his teammate in the second race (an A-B/S lobby, around 28-32kDR) was that he was at the back, just 0.8s off pole, right behind a DBR9.

Anyway, I qualified 8th for my second attempt. I went for a 3-stop strategy to try to get some running in clean air, switching to mediums on Lap 11 and ditching them on Lap 24 for softs, and then using the hards for the final 3 laps. Unfortunately I was denied 6th place as some asshole decided to claim the penultimate hairpin for the British Empire, so I had to settle for 7th and 116pts. Just to add salt to the wounds, his post-race message was "sorry if i hit u". He didn't type it out or use the preset chat messages, he has that set as his post-race message for some Ellen-esque faux-kindness. Ugh.

 

[Granadier]

What’s the strat tonight?

Haven’t raced in a long time and figured I’m due for some punishment.

 

[Tea_Leaves]

I didn't plan to race although caught the last slot by a min so figured why not. I was set for a dismal 12th start in the RCZ until I somehow hit a 52.6 on my last lap without slipstream and worn tyres.

I started 3rd and ran 12S/12S/12M/1H. I was dive push passed at my inner 3 times by the same Lexus throughout (we ran a similar strategy so difficult avoiding them) and he got no timed penalty each time since it was side and not rear contact. He was a little faster and I understand passing is difficult on a tight circuit but that's no way to make one. He apologised but if you're really sincere, the right thing to do is give back the position. I don't understand how people can feel good about themselves passing this way nor do I understand the desperation.

Apart from the negative, I had a good and respectable last quarter of the race with a BMW (another Lexus victim) and finishing 5th for 155p. Gr.1 Tsukuba next?

 

[Ashthebash]

Both of the races I entered had Ferrari drivers doing their best Luca Badoer impersonations.

I'll be honest I'm REALLY liking Ferrari, both cars are good. Takes a little getting used to after driving FR cars in Gr.3 for the most part but I feel like it can be competitive everywhere

Yes, that was me

That was a good race today, could have gone either way between us. Well done on 2nd 👍

 

[PirovacBoy]

I'll be honest I'm REALLY liking Ferrari, both cars are good. Takes a little getting used to after driving FR cars in Gr.3 for the most part but I feel like it can be competitive everywhere



That was a good race today, could have gone either way between us. Well done on 2nd 👍

Thx Man, it definitely was a Good one. We both got stuck in Traffic, but in the end i‘d say we bagged in some Good points. On to the next

 

[Lateralus5813]

Hell yeah!! I survived 37 laps at Tsukuba!! Started P12, finished P7 but 2 guys forgot to use the required tires so P5 for me and 32 points

I raced mostly without any incidents except for some minor bumps here and there and a 3 sec penalty because I hit the back of a car which was out of track but suddenly came back in front of me.

Thank you all for the strategy tips, I did 12S/1H/13M/11S and I was happy with the result!!

 

[GTWolverine]

Slot 1
This race had several familiar faces, including @Geauxgreddy, @Winnie847, and @Granadier. I started 10th, finished 7th. I was aiming for 5th, and unfortunately my race came slightly undone starting with getting stuck behind a certain someone that anyone who regularly races in 2nd and 3rd split in North America knows...

After that, I forgot to cancel refueling on my first pit stop so that cost me a couple more seconds, which is how far I finished behind 5th... Got 185 points for it, somewhat short of my 200+ goal, so again I went...

Slot 2
I had JUST gotten into DR A+ after the previous race, and the game threw me into Top Split with @gears_1000 and others 🤬. Qualified the expected P15, almost 0.2s behind 14th...

I actually spent most of the race in clean air due to being on slightly different strategies from those around me. I needed P10 to get over 200 points, and finished...P11, with 9th and 10th place just in front of me. This time I got 190 points. On to the 3rd slot. Hopefully there's enough people in this next race to at least push me out of top split, because my DR went up again...

 

[GTWolverine]

Slot 1
This race had several familiar faces, including @Geauxgreddy, @Winnie847, and @Granadier. I started 10th, finished 7th. I was aiming for 5th, and unfortunately my race came slightly undone starting with getting stuck behind a certain someone that anyone who regularly races in 2nd and 3rd split in North America knows...

After that, I forgot to cancel refueling on my first pit stop so that cost me a couple more seconds, which is how far I finished behind 5th... Got 185 points for it, somewhat short of my 200+ goal, so again I went...

Slot 2
I had JUST gotten into DR A+ after the previous race, and the game threw me into Top Split with @gears_1000 and others 🤬. Qualified the expected P15, almost 0.2s behind 14th...

I actually spent most of the race in clean air due to being on slightly different strategies from those around me. I needed P10 to get over 200 points, and finished...P11, with 9th and 10th place just in front of me. This time I got 190 points. On to the 3rd slot. Hopefully there's enough people in this next race to at least push me out of top split, because my DR went up again...

Slot 3
I was placed into 2nd split this time, with @Pigems and fellow 'Vette pilot @wedjim . I qualified 5th, with Pigems only 0.005s behind me. The gaps between the first 5 cars were actually quite big (at least 0.1s between each position), but starting with me it was super close down pretty much the rest of the grid. I ran the same strategy as the first 2 races: 12M/12S/12S/1H. I was contemplating starting on Softs since I was in the Top 5, especially since for once I was ahead of the minimum place I needed to finish to get 200 points (6th), but I decided to stick to my plan. It turned out to be a good call, because the Ferrari immediately ahead of me was all over the place the first couple laps despite starting on the Softs. Fortunately because I was on a slower tire anyway he didn't hold me up that much. Eventually @Pigems and another car got past me and I fended off another car for 7th before we stopped the first time. The Lexus that was behind me in 8th undercut me and I came out right behind them, this time with them on Mediums and me on Softs. I made short work of the Lexus by getting a better run out of the left-hand hairpin and going side-by-side around the OUTSIDE of the right-hander immediately afterwards (and kudos to him for giving me space to do so!)

I caught @Pigems a few laps later, and we had a reverse of our previous battle. I managed to get by him in T1, then almost threw it away on the exit of the left-hand hairpin a few laps later by getting on the throttle too soon, and he retook the position. Fortunately the Ferrari from earlier that we both just passed wasn't able to capitalize. We stayed in these positions until I pitted again on Lap 24 and undercut when he pitted a few laps later. From there it was a pretty quiet race for me, and I finished 4th, some 15s behind 3rd, who was less than 5s away from first. This one was worth 226 points, which is my best score so far this season, so I'm done for the evening. Never thought I'd be in a legit battle with @Pigems! Good to finally, actually race you (and not just be in the same room)!

 

[Pigems]

Slot 3
I was placed into 2nd split this time, with @Pigems and fellow 'Vette pilot @wedjim . I qualified 5th, with him only 0.005s behind me. The gaps between the first 5 cars were actually quite big (at least 0.1s between each position), but starting with me it was super close down pretty much the rest of the grid. I ran the same strategy as the first 2 races: 12M/12S/12S/1H. I was contemplating starting on Softs since I was in the Top 5, especially since for once I was ahead of the minimum place I needed to finish to get 200 points (6th), but I decided to stick to my plan. It turned out to be a good call, because the Ferrari immediately ahead of me was all over the place the first couple laps despite starting on the Softs. Fortunately because I was on a slower tire anyway he didn't hold me up that much. Eventually @Pigems and another car got past me and I fended off another car for 7th before we stopped the first time. The Lexus that was behind me in 8th undercut me and I came out right behind them, this time with them on Mediums and me on Softs. I made short work of the Lexus by getting a better run out of the left-hand hairpin and going side-by-side around the OUTSIDE of the right-hander immediately afterwards (and kudos to him for giving me space to do so!)

I caught @Pigems a few laps later, and we had a reverse of our previous battle. I managed to get by him in T1, then almost threw it away on the exit of the left-hand hairpin a few laps later by getting on the throttle too soon, and he retook the position. Fortunately the Ferrari from earlier that we both just passed wasn't able to capitalize. We stayed in these positions until I pitted again on Lap 14 and undercut when he pitted a few laps later. From there it was a pretty quiet race for me, and I finished 4th, some 15s behind 3rd, who was less than 5s away from first. This one was worth 226 points, which is my best score so far this season, so I'm done for the evening. Never thought I'd be in a legit battle with @Pigems! Good to finally, actually race you!

Excellent racing tonight man! Congrats on the great finish. That was a lot of fun going back and forth with you, it’s always nice to race with friends. Hopefully we get to have round 2 in the next race.

 

[wedjim]

Ok, that was an interesting race. Saw GTWolverine @equusferrum(?) Pigems and a couple members in this race.
I made the mistake of accepting the featured driver status, based on last seasons finish. Did not realize that would give me an S/S rating, uh oh.

i got in 28 miles of practice laps, zero tire wear laps or testing of tire wear. With a best of 52.4 in the Corvette in those 25 laps or so. Tried hards three laps, 1.5 seconds slower, lol.

luckily for me I can count on you guys, I decided i‘d pick my strategy or a version of it from here, based on where I qualified. My best Q lap was a 52.7, which had me 5th for a while, until the fast guys got decent laps in, Q11. Pole was a 52.004, about a second spread the field.
I started on mediums. Held some drivers up if they weren’t being too aggressive, let them by if they were getting edgy. Faded to 15th by lap 7. After 12 laps, pitted for hards, 1 lap. Then on to softs On lap 13. I did well on softs, only .4 off the fastest lap for about 8 laps in a row and a fairly clear track, other than when cars came out of the pits knowing they were ghosted and could take the inside line no matter what. 12 more laps and my final stop lap 25 on softs also, things were getting dicey. A few guys battled hard, got some penalties and I found myself in 11th, only passing cars with penalties or in the pits. Then on the final lap a 911 bumped an AMG and got a 1 second penalty Gifting me a 10th place finish, 161points.

1 and done. 108 miles in total today including warm up, qualifying, race and practice. I know i’d do better with more practice, but I just want to have fun racing and not make it feel like another job.

as Tidgney would say, “Happy Days!”

 

[GTWolverine]

Ok, that was an interesting race. Saw GTWolverine @equusferrum(?) Pigems and a couple members in this race.
I made the mistake of accepting the featured driver status, based on last seasons finish. Did not realize that would give me an S/S rating, uh oh.

i got in 28 miles of practice laps, zero tire wear laps or testing of tire wear. With a best of 52.4 in the Corvette in those 25 laps or so. Tried hards three laps, 1.5 seconds slower, lol.

luckily for me I can count on you guys, I decided i‘d pick my strategy or a version of it from here, based on where I qualified. My best Q lap was a 52.7, which had me 5th for a while, until the fast guys got decent laps in, Q11. Pole was a 52.004, about a second spread the field.
I started on mediums. Held some drivers up if they weren’t being too aggressive, let them by if they were getting edgy. Faded to 15th by lap 7. After 12 laps, pitted for hards, 1 lap. Then on to softs On lap 13. I did well on softs, only .4 off the fastest lap for about 8 laps in a row and a fairly clear track, other than when cars came out of the pits knowing they were ghosted and could take the inside line no matter what. 12 more laps and my final stop lap 25 on softs also, things were getting dicey. A few guys battled hard, got some penalties and I found myself in 11th, only passing cars with penalties or in the pits. Then on the final lap a 911 bumped an AMG and got a 1 second penalty Gifting me a 10th place finish, 161points.

1 and done. 108 miles in total today including warm up, qualifying, race and practice. I know i’d do better with more practice, but I just want to have fun racing and not make it feel like another job.

as Tidgney would say, “Happy Days!”

Good result! Also, having a DR S doesn't actually affect your DR rank at all. The only thing it does is make you eligible for Top 16 races (if you're high enough in the points standings as well), which aren't part of exhibition seasons anyway, so it's basically just for bragging rights at the moment.

 

[Rexracer702]

I had a chance to race manufacturers today. I'm in the Aston since I know and like both cars, and figured it works pretty well everywhere. First time out I was clueless about pit strategy, ran m/h/m and spent way too long on hards. Not a great Q at 53.4, so started 18th. Finished 17th. Just finished my second go. Got my Q to where it should be (52.9) which put me in 8th. Ran as high as 6th in the first stint, but towards the end I (L9?) I had someone get a nose in on the last right hand hairpin and it knocked me wide, costing me 3 spots. I think I ran 12s/12m/1h/12s I dropped a couple spots at the end of the medium stint, 1 on hard, and a couple at the end. Finished 14th for 71 points, but almost lost that position to @Trone_Colby at the line. My left front was toast and I struggled the last 3 laps. I really need to figure out how to do better on tires.

 

[KosmoKazi]

FIAGTC 2020-2021 Exhibition Season
Manufacturers Series
Race #3

Down the spiral of irrelevance.

Qualified 20th. Was just hoping for some charity in the way of any gained places by staying clean. Turned out there were 3 spots on offer. Finished 17th but as I was lapped on the penultimate lap, I got caught out without getting the chance to stop in the pits for my set of hards... tried to duck in before the winner crossed the line but the game closes the pits on the last lap so I got the 60 sec penalty. When you suck but find even more ways to screw up your race... It's all running downhill right now. Lost another nearly 1400 DR.

Ran 11S11S14M1H... or tried to anyway...

@Trone_Colby had a better race and looked good in that Browns livery (with Bernie Kosar's number!). @afc5150 had a solid run as well, was nice to share the lobby with people I knew again but disappointed in being a non factor again this whole season.

Realized I was driving with my dust cover on the pedals the whole race. Don't think it mattered.

Holding up @Trone_Colby ...maybe he can tell me what I'm doing wrong, I held him up a couple of times.

Porsche 911 RSR (991) '17
Qualified: 20th
Race Finish: 19th (42 pts)
Door #11

 

[Pigems]

I had a chance to race manufacturers today. I'm in the Aston since I know and like both cars, and figured it works pretty well everywhere. First time out I was clueless about pit strategy, ran m/h/m and spent way too long on hards. Not a great Q at 53.4, so started 18th. Finished 17th. Just finished my second go. Got my Q to where it should be (52.9) which put me in 8th. Ran as high as 6th in the first stint, but towards the end I (L9?) I had someone get a nose in on the last right hand hairpin and it knocked me wide, costing me 3 spots. I think I ran 12s/12m/1h/12s I dropped a couple spots at the end of the medium stint, 1 on hard, and a couple at the end. Finished 14th for 71 points, but almost lost that position to @Trone_Colby at the line. My left front was toast and I struggled the last 3 laps. I really need to figure out how to do better on tires.

This should help you get started with the tire wear.

 

[barak181]

Work projects again interfered and I couldn't log on to race until slot 4. Luckily, I was able to get some practice in this week and by race day was able to get my practice lap down to a decent time. Again, @Mistah_MCA 's strategy guide proved to be invaluable as I didn't have time to figure out if the 3-stop was faster than a 2-stop, given the long pit time. But his strat guide came out just in time to save me a Friday night of practice races and I got to join in on @Pigems race with friends.

I get assigned to a B/C split lobby. On one hand, I feel good that I'll probably be at the front of the pack, on the other I know it's not going to be worth any points being such a low-rated lobby. I decide to suck it up and feel good about being the fast guy for once. I qualy P2 with a time right inline with my practice lap time.

Right from the get-go the McLaren in P1, the Porsche in P3 and I jump out and start creating some distance from the field. We eventually settle into ~1 sec gap between each of us and maintain it for about 9 laps. Then I start to have issues with tire wear - of course. The Porsche gets around me towards the end of L10 and we stay that way until the McLaren and I pit on L12.

Turns out the Porsche was on a 2-stop strat and didn't pit until something like lap 16. By that time I'm completely distracted by ghosting backmarkers all over the place. I eventually come to thank PD for making them ghost instead of actually holding me up and am back in P2, passing the Porsche when he pits in. I pit L24 for RM and have a pretty comfortable lead of P3 (~9 sec) but the McLaren starts to slowly creep away from me. I put my head down and focus on racing cleanly and not blowing a pretty solid P2.

By L36 the McLaren is almost 22 sec ahead of me and the Porsche must of binned it pretty bad because now someone else is behind me in P3 by almost 13 sec. By this time, I realize that the McLaren must have not changed compounds and is running headlong into a tire penalty. I slap on the RH and just tell myself not to do anything stupid. As I cross the line, my suspicions are confirmed as I'm bumped to P1 and the McLaren has a 1 minute penalty and drops down the standings like a log.

Yes, it was a slow lobby. Yes, I didn't race particularly well - my laps times were all over the place and I did not manage to tire wear well at all - but it's still my first FIA win. I finally got to see that little victory cutscene. Finally!

 

[KosmoKazi]

...oh, and once again: 3 yellow bars during the whole event. Despite verifying nearly 200Mbps on the Ethernet connection to the internet and about 10ms ping, with the router giving the PS4 priority— and the rest of the house asleep and offline. Should be pegged at five green bars, yet every FIA event lately I’m the only one who has yellow network bars on the grid. It’s driving me mad; and that it coincides with my terrible slump...

 

[Trone_Colby]

@KosmoKazi @afc5150 @Rexracer702 good race.

As for me, I’m learning that DR A is a challenge.

Tonight I qualified P18. So I started on hards to get it over with and pitted early for meds. I fell back to 20 for a while until people started to pit.

Much later in the race, I pitted two laps two early. I wanted to pit at the end of 25 but went in at 23. When I came out, I was behind Kosmo. We had a good battle as I tried to pass him. After a few laps at the sweeping right, he left a gap on the inside so I took advantage and beat him out at T1. Laps later, I caught up with Rexracer. On the final lap, at the sweeping right, he loses grip and I got on his inside. A mad dash to the line...nope he got me under .100. I finished P15.

@KosmoKazi I did notice I was catching you in S2. I think it’s because at the right turn after the hairpin, I noticed you brake in the middle of the turn sometimes. I tap brake before I take the turn.

 

[sk1719]

Punted off in every race tonight.... I don't know what it is with me and Manu races but I can't seem to get a decent finish for the life of me.

 

[KosmoKazi]

@KosmoKazi @afc5150 @Rexracer702 good race.

As for me, I’m learning that DR A is a challenge.

Tonight I qualified P18. So I started on hards to get it over with and pitted early for meds. I fell back to 20 for a while until people started to pit.

Much later in the race, I pitted two laps two early. I wanted to pit at the end of 25 but went in at 23. When I came out, I was behind Kosmo. We had a good battle as I tried to pass him. After a few laps at the sweeping right, he left a gap on the inside so I took advantage and beat him out at T1. Laps later, I caught up with Rexracer. On the final lap, at the sweeping right, he loses grip and I got on his inside. A mad dash to the line...nope he got me under .100. I finished P15.

@KosmoKazi I did notice I was catching you in S2. I think it’s because at the right turn after the hairpin, I noticed you brake in the middle of the turn sometimes. I tap brake before I take the turn.

I was inconsistent for sure in that corner. Couldn’t find the mark and with tires fluctuating I did notice I had to make big corrections in that right hander sometimes.

I figured I held you up long enough and when you had that good run in the final turn decided was best to let you thru. Don’t mean to say I let you past, because you were faster, but I didn’t keep anyone else behind for too long If they caught me and held close for a few laps, as it was better to me to avoid being punted by impatient people. Maybe a different story in top 10, but fighting like hell for 17th just ain’t me. But on this course, letting someone get by was work enough, as there aren’t many spots to do it and you gotta be quick about it or else you’ll give up two spots.

 

[JEverettL]

Work projects again interfered and I couldn't log on to race until slot 4. Luckily, I was able to get some practice in this week and by race day was able to get my practice lap down to a decent time. Again, @Mistah_MCA 's strategy guide proved to be invaluable as I didn't have time to figure out if the 3-stop was faster than a 2-stop, given the long pit time. But his strat guide came out just in time to save me a Friday night of practice races and I got to join in on @Pigems race with friends.

I get assigned to a B/C split lobby. On one hand, I feel good that I'll probably be at the front of the pack, on the other I know it's not going to be worth any points being such a low-rated lobby. I decide to suck it up and feel good about being the fast guy for once. I qualy P2 with a time right inline with my practice lap time.

Right from the get-go the McLaren in P1, the Porsche in P3 and I jump out and start creating some distance from the field. We eventually settle into ~1 sec gap between each of us and maintain it for about 9 laps. Then I start to have issues with tire wear - of course. The Porsche gets around me towards the end of L10 and we stay that way until the McLaren and I pit on L12.

Turns out the Porsche was on a 2-stop strat and didn't pit until something like lap 16. By that time I'm completely distracted by ghosting backmarkers all over the place. I eventually come to thank PD for making them ghost instead of actually holding me up and am back in P2, passing the Porsche when he pits in. I pit L24 for RM and have a pretty comfortable lead of P3 (~9 sec) but the McLaren starts to slowly creep away from me. I put my head down and focus on racing cleanly and not blowing a pretty solid P2.

By L36 the McLaren is almost 22 sec ahead of me and the Porsche must of binned it pretty bad because now someone else is behind me in P3 by almost 13 sec. By this time, I realize that the McLaren must have not changed compounds and is running headlong into a tire penalty. I slap on the RH and just tell myself not to do anything stupid. As I cross the line, my suspicions are confirmed as I'm bumped to P1 and the McLaren has a 1 minute penalty and drops down the standings like a log.

Yes, it was a slow lobby. Yes, I didn't race particularly well - my laps times were all over the place and I did not manage to tire wear well at all - but it's still my first FIA win. I finally got to see that little victory cutscene. Finally!

View attachment 957359

Congratulations on your win!!

 

[Rexracer702]

I was inconsistent for sure in that corner. Couldn’t find the mark and with tires fluctuating I did notice I had to make big corrections in that right hander sometimes.

I figured I held you up long enough and when you had that good run in the final turn decided was best to let you thru. Don’t mean to say I let you past, because you were faster, but I didn’t keep anyone else behind for too long If they caught me and held close for a few laps, as it was better to me to avoid being punted by impatient people. Maybe a different story in top 10, but fighting like hell for 17th just ain’t me. But on this course, letting someone get by was work enough, as there aren’t many spots to do it and you gotta be quick about it or else you’ll give up two spots.

I ran in 6th for a bit, and it's no different with impatient drivers. They may not punt you, but they will jam it up the inside and force you wide. To be fair, everybody is pushing, and tires are wearing, so some of those "forced passes" may be he just got in to hot, or you braked earlier than expected, or both. I know it's true for me, and imagine it's true for most, but since this is after all, a game, people don't leave as much cushion as they would in real life. My solution? Go faster!

 

[barak181]

Congratulations on your win!!

Thanks, man! Hopefully we'll be racing together again soon!

 

[GTWolverine]

As I suspected, I was the best-scoring Chevy driver in North America yesterday. When I was put in top split for my 2nd try and I was the only Chevy driver there, I had a feeling that none of the Chevy drivers ahead of me in the standings were bothering with this race. Unfortunately my score didn't count in the global standings because Corvette drivers in other regions did better. This also moves me up to 2nd in the North American points standings for Chevy (not that it'll last long...).

 

[Geauxgreddy]

Ran Slot 1 last night and had @GTWolverine , @Winnie847 , and @Granadier in a lobby which was full of other familiar names. Granadier and I kindly sacrificed our starting position so that others could have a position closer to the front for the start of the race. Pole was siting at 52.4xx and I was in p17 with a 52.8xx.

With a grid that tight, I had a notion it would be a hot race. So, rather that waste my softs in squabbles, I flipped the strategy for the Yeetle. I started on Hards for 1 lap, then I went to the Mediums on 13, and finished on the softs. I had a lovely 10 lap or so run of geauxgreddy time, all by myself. But, that would be ended abruptly. When all was said and done, I finished p12. Even after a lovely GT Sport Exclusive strange ghost incident and after being pitted by one grown child. 🤬 I decided not to run to again (honestly just not an enjoyable track with group 3 cars) and instead turned my attention to documenting the the madness.