FIA Race Discussion [Archive]

[GTWolverine]

Went into Spa to fix my SR (I had 19 clean races in a row there so I figure I can put 3 back to back). No such luck.

Total nightmare in T1 and at the end of Kimmel Straight all the way to No Name. Seemed like the harder I tried to stay out of peoples way, the worse it got for me. DR reset. Lost 30K.

I'm now a B A. I feel like I'm racing in a mine field. I've managed to pull my SR up to 68, but not sure if I'll make S by Wednesday.

For those that have done this before, what's the best strategy to regain SR/DR? Should I just eat DR and hang out in the back to get SR up 1st? Not much DR left to eat now (18k). :/

Yeah I would focus on getting SR back up in Race C first since you can typically gain the most SR points/hour with that. With the grid start at RBR it would probably be wise to hang out at the back until at least Turn 2 and pick up spots when everyone sends themselves off. Even if you don't finish well, you won't lose too much more DR since you're already down to DR B, and you might even gain some even with a mid-pack finish. From there, pick either Race A or B, since you can squeeze more of them in per hour, and try to finish as well as possible in as many races as possible.

 

[TBR 427]

For those that have done this before, what's the best strategy to regain SR/DR? Should I just eat DR and hang out in the back to get SR up 1st? Not much DR left to eat now (18k). :/

I had this exact same thing happen.

Daily B or C, whichever one you're better at. Then put in a few hours of quali, then a few hours of race, then more hours of race. I did this last week (or before?) on Dragon Trail Gr3; in the Corvette I was getting race pact to within a few tenths of quali pace, lap after lap. A while back it happened due to the FIA go-kart mess, and I did the Race C Red Bull X Junior at Monza.

Crush opponents with consistency.

Other tips:
Find a track where you can walk away from the pack. Ironically, Monza, Dragon Trail Seaside, etc work well because of the tight T1.
Find a car (if it's open) that can allow you to slipsteam into the lead for T1 incase you don't get pole. If you start pole, you want to have the power to get into T1 still in 1st place.

 

[kungtotte_]

More testing. With fairly aggressive fuel saving (map 6 from T1 to last corner, map 1 on the main straight, short-shifting the whole time) I made it 10 seconds into lap 9 before running out of fuel. That's still a whole lap to save with running most of the lap on map 6. Lap times were about 2 seconds slower as a result.

There's just so much ground to make up with fuel that I won't bother. If I'm at the front I won't keep people behind me long enough, if I'm at the back I won't catch up when conserving.

So I'll just run this flat out and go for a splash and dash

 

[das89ca]

I was wondering about that in FP. Couldn't believe how much of a gap I was pulling on the top Vipers before T1.


Tried a Custom Race to see what I top out at. 275km/h. Maybe a couple more with a bigger gap between the lead car. Or does my speed become fixed?


My gearing was the same BOP in FP and the Custom Race:
3.7 gears, 292km/h(theoretical) 6th gear.

I just tried free practice and lobby with bop on and no tuning. In FP or without slipstream there is not too much of a problem as it will top out at 262 kph, which is a decent value or at least pretty close to the average.

In race conditions things change, I think every other car will pass the Vipers in slipstream - the other cars I had in the lobby were all able to do at least 270kph in slipstream(Porsche, McLaren, Aston, Corvette, Lambo). I have seen the same thing in Kie's practice lobby where he was flying past Will.

I will run the race later today in our private league and come back with my experience. I don't have any expectations, if I finish top10 I will be really happy even if my normal pace is normally fast enough to challenge the top5 and occasionally podiums. My best bet is qualify well(front row) and push during twisty section to break the slipstream in the first lap, otherwise I will be swallowed by the pack and left behind...

 

[GTWolverine]

I had this exact same thing happen.

Daily B or C, whichever one you're better at. Then put in a few hours of quali, then a few hours of race, then more hours of race. I did this last week (or before?) on Dragon Trail Gr3; in the Corvette I was getting race pact to within a few tenths of quali pace, lap after lap. A while back it happened due to the FIA go-kart mess, and I did the Race C Red Bull X Junior at Monza.

Ironically it was that Red Bull Jr. race at Monza that caused my last DR Reset and put me in the same position as @Geauxgreddy in the middle of the last FIA season. Fortunately for me, I was really quick at that combo and got almost back to DR A and 99 SR by the end of the same day (Sunday). In another stroke of luck, the next cycle of races had the Nissan Z's (300, 350, Fugu) at Tokyo South Inner Loop, which under normal conditions I'd have skipped because I didn't think I'd enjoy that combo. It turned out I was extremely (and very unexpectedly) fast with that track/car and never started any lower than 3rd and won over 10 races there to put myself firmly back into DR A. The next FIA race for me was the Nation's race at Wet Spa, which I wasn't planning on doing originally, but since I needed the DR, I ran 3 races and got a 2nd and 2 wins, which I would never have been able to do if I had been matched at my usual DR.

Good luck @Geauxgreddy. Hopefully you'll get as lucky as I did with my recovery and can find a race that really clicks with you!

 

[RacingGrandpa]

For those that have done this before, what's the best strategy to regain SR/DR?

I'd recommend doing a few race C, no qualfying, start on hards and stay behind until the field is through Remus. After that go for safe overtakes, no outbraking, just better run out of the curves. Get as high as you safely can to retain as much DR as possible. I got from 80 to 99 in two races. And when lower you get a multiplier on your SR gain

 

[Jwptexas]

@Geauxgreddy tough spot to be in. While you don't have much DR to hand out it's probably best to set a good qualifying time and just try to start up front.... at 18k DR you'll probably find it easier to just walk away from opponents on the 1st turn while building your SR. Last thing you want to do is gain SR while sacrificing DR in your position I'd think since you belong in top split lobbies. Either way you're going to have to win to get back to your normal splits and couple of days to do so.

 

[Zorz]

I think Tokyo might be the round for Porsche. They seem to have the best of both worlds, able to set competitive lap times whilst also not requiring a pit stop!

I was just in a practice lobby with a Porsche I've raced in Manufacturers recently, and he was setting lap times around my fuel saving pace for the first 4 laps. Then he just went berserk, setting 2:08s and even 2:07s without a slipstream for the rest of the race while everyone else either had to stop or lap considerably slower from fuel saving.

If you're a Porsche this season, enjoy your free win/podium I guess!

 

[Mistah_MCA]

I think Tokyo might be the round for Porsche. They seem to have the best of both worlds, able to set competitive lap times whilst also not requiring a pit stop!

I was just in a practice lobby with a Porsche I've raced in Manufacturers recently, and he was setting lap times around my fuel saving pace for the first 4 laps. Then he just went berserk, setting 2:08s and even 2:07s without a slipstream for the rest of the race while everyone else either had to stop or lap considerably slower from fuel saving.

If you're a Porsche this season, enjoy your free win/podium I guess!

Its 6th gear finally has a use now.

 

[05XR8]

I think Tokyo might be the round for Porsche. They seem to have the best of both worlds, able to set competitive lap times whilst also not requiring a pit stop!

I was just in a practice lobby with a Porsche I've raced in Manufacturers recently, and he was setting lap times around my fuel saving pace for the first 4 laps. Then he just went berserk, setting 2:08s and even 2:07s without a slipstream for the rest of the race while everyone else either had to stop or lap considerably slower from fuel saving.

If you're a Porsche this season, enjoy your free win/podium I guess!

Yeah, if you do a Route X GR.4 race, the Cayman always wins. It's 6th gear is something like a theoretical 325km/h.

 

[SlowDriver87]

I thought I recognised your PSN name from somewhere! I was in that lobby too and started behind you.

The McLaren is fast, but beware people like me who are intending to no-stop because our cars are fuel-efficient enough to make fuel saving to skip the pit stop a viable strategy. There's little point in trying to pass someone down the main straight in something like a Mitsubishi because the top-end just isn't there, but that doesn't mean we can't do damage in other ways.

You might have someone like me turning their engine down to leech time from your slipstream by heavily fuel saving. I doubt the McLaren can viably fuel save enough for a no-stop, but it's still possibly something you could take advantage of rather than fighting, especially if the slipstream to the car/group in front of your target has gone. Shortening your pit stop could help you jump the person you're behind and maybe even get back up to a group that you've fallen away from. I messed up early on and fell out of the slipstream train on lap 1 so my strategy didn't work as well as it could have (turning the engine down with no slipstream = ), but I was still only 7s behind you before the Citroen forced you into the pit entry wall as you went to pit at the end of lap 6.

Taking off the ~8 seconds you lost trying to get into the pits from the incident, you would have been around 13 seconds behind me as you came around the hairpin after your pit stop with only 3 laps to go.

Ha, it was a bit of a silly race, eh? Yeah I tried another race and I short shifted wherever I could, but still needed another 2 laps worth of fuel.

I tried not changing my tyres but it seemingly made no difference to the stop time. The hard tyres also began to wear a bit towards the end of the race and I lost the slip stream. I feel I may struggle a bit on Wednesday now.

 

[das89ca]

I think Tokyo might be the round for Porsche. They seem to have the best of both worlds, able to set competitive lap times whilst also not requiring a pit stop!

I was just in a practice lobby with a Porsche I've raced in Manufacturers recently, and he was setting lap times around my fuel saving pace for the first 4 laps. Then he just went berserk, setting 2:08s and even 2:07s without a slipstream for the rest of the race while everyone else either had to stop or lap considerably slower from fuel saving.

If you're a Porsche this season, enjoy your free win/podium I guess!

Well, you are right - the winner in our race was the only Porsche driver and in our last 5-6 races he always fought for P7-P8.

So, my plan was to put it on pole and try to build a gap in the first lap when the field is packed and they are getting in the way of each other in the esses. I had no chance to fuel save in slipstream because of the Viper's low top end. Did exactly that, put a 2.06.9 in quali and started very strong and managed to build a 1.5s gap after end of first lap. Then I was able to keep the lead until the end of lap4 when the Lambo caught up and passed me on the straight. I changed a bit the strategy, switched to fuel save mode for the 2 laps I was behind until we got in the pits. I was able to gain 2s in the pits but got out in P4 as the no-stoppers blasted by. Started again to push, kept the Lambo at bay and managed to close the gap to the Aston and Audi in P2 and P3. I managed to get in Slipstream range at end of last lap but messed up the last turn and missed my chance. Porsche won with a 7s gap, then Audi snatched P2 from the Aston in the last meters of the race after the Aston ran out of gas.

So, all in all - I think I can apply the same strategy on Wednesday. Don't think I will be able to get a top5, but should be able to get decent points...

 

[SpeedStarGTS]

AH Monza, it went as we expected, and i don't know we manage not getting taking out so many time. one thing for certain i really need to get gud at qualifying -_-

 

[kevinddr]

Went into Spa to fix my SR (I had 19 clean races in a row there so I figure I can put 3 back to back). No such luck.

Total nightmare in T1 and at the end of Kimmel Straight all the way to No Name. Seemed like the harder I tried to stay out of peoples way, the worse it got for me. DR reset. Lost 30K.

I'm now a B A. I feel like I'm racing in a mine field. I've managed to pull my SR up to 68, but not sure if I'll make S by Wednesday.

For those that have done this before, what's the best strategy to regain SR/DR? Should I just eat DR and hang out in the back to get SR up 1st? Not much DR left to eat now (18k). :/

Hang in there mate, I just had the exact same thing happen (except I got extremely lucky and only dropped to 40K since my SR remained in B by 2 points) this week in that same daily. I think I would probably advise sitting in the back for 1-2 races max of race C to build that SR back to 90-99 (IIRC, that's the actual top SR "split" even though 80-89 are also S), then just pick whatever you think you can realistically put up a top 50 server qual time in and go to town as much as you can, giving up positions instead of fighting if you can afford to. It sucks to completely have to give up defense/offense for a bit, but unfortunately while things are the way they are that's just how it is for the time being. The other approach is of course to just start off by qualifying high and running circles around the lower DR/SR players that you're going to be matched with for a while. The only downside with this is that it will take forever as race A/B can't give you enough SR quickly. Rolling starts should at least take away some of the risk of that strat, and as jwp said higher up it might be worth going that route since you don't have much to lose DR-wise at this point. If you were only reset to 40K it would be a bit different.

The problem of being punted off at T1 on Spa and then having to fight off penalties in a midfield of less experienced (or even dirty) players seems to have been extremely bad this time around, probably exacerbated by the fact that many B/C drivers can't handle the Gr2s on Spa consistently. When the field even in primetime hours is like 4-5 A drivers, 10 Bs, and then a C or D thrown in near the back plus people doing last to firsts, it's just not really going to be possible for things to work out as is. Taking penalties is one thing but if people are braking all over the place with no clue about the pace they can hold through turns then there's just not much be done. As others have mentioned at various times, I think a safe rule to follow for now is: If you take 3 SR down contact-related penalties for ANY REASON in one single race, just park in the pits immediately or park off track and coast around in the back while ghosted. No matter how good you may be and how safely you drive, it's really not reliable enough to assume that you can get through the remainder of the race without either slipping up yourself or having someone take you out in a stupid way. I didn't take my own advice last week and now I'm sitting grinding out hotlaps and daily wins just so that I can compete in top split for the remaining Manu races where VW should do quite well. Obviously racing is still fun, but that time could probably be put to better use practicing other stuff!

 

[HaydenFan69]

Wish they'd had made this race one lap longer. To remove this extreme fuel saving it's created. I don't know if it's worth losing 3 seconds a lap to gain the extra 2 laps of fuel is going to work. My math is not adding up to gaining any advantage from fuel saving.

 

[kungtotte_]

If you lose 3 seconds per lap it's going to be faster overall to go for the pitstop.

But there's traffic to consider. If you pit out into clean air you're good, but getting stuck behind a pack of eco-drivers will cost you.

If you can qualify on the front row and get away clean on the first lap and build up a sufficient gap (which shouldn't be hard going flat out versus everyone else saving!) you should be okay for a pitstop. Even the gas-guzzling Vette made it almost 7 laps before running dry so you have a long first stint to build up your gap.

 

[HaydenFan69]

@kungtotte_, that's what I was thinking. Just go for broke. The Mazda already struggles on the straight, so I need any little advantage I can get.

 

[05XR8]

@kungtotte_, that's what I was thinking. Just go for broke. The Mazda already struggles on the straight, so I need any little advantage I can get.

I missed something. The Atenza needs fuel going full speed?

 

[Razgriz2118]

Well, this is going to be interesting... I'll need to test a going-flat-out run to see what my laptimes with fuel and tire wear will be like, because my lap-times without slipstream were 2s off my qualifying time without slipstream, but I haven't gone at 100% with a full fuel load yet. I can get the Viper to make it the full-race without refueling, but I had to play around with the fuel map, which I'm not sure will be feasible during the race since I use a G27 and using the D-pad requires me to take my hand off of the wheel.

The Corvette in the practice race I was in managed to make it to Lap 8 before needing to refuel, with them on a mix of fuel saving and going flat out. The 458 that won said they were in fuel setting 2 the entire time, while the 458 behind it had to pit on Lap 7, but they used AT so they couldn't shortshift.

 

[kungtotte_]

I'm sure I could stretch the Vette for the full distance but it takes so much fiddling with fuel maps (lots of room for mistakes due to being distracted) and kills my pace that it's just not worth it.

Going to try a map-2 run to see if I can make that work.

 

[C_Raccoon23]

Still haven’t figured out what’s the best way to go about this with the Vantage. I hate this kind of “strategy”. A part of me honestly just wants to say 🤬 it and just go all out, refuel and let the chips fall where they may.

 

[Timm Sheehan]

So I ran a few Custom AI races using my FR Toyota 86 and consistently ran into the pack of 4 FF cars near the end (last few laps) and was wondering if the FF cars (Audi, RCZ, Renault, and VW) are always highly favored in the GR.4 class?

 

[RacingGrandpa]

So I ran a few Custom AI races using my FR Toyota 86 and consistently ran into the pack of 4 FF cars near the end (last few laps) and was wondering if the FF cars (Audi, RCZ, Renault, and VW) are always highly favored in the GR.4 class?

Their BOP is overpowered, they have much faster acceleration and often higher top speed. This is supposed to be balanced by tire wear, but if the multiplier is low they are too strong

 

[xxPinkyKissxx]

Don't think i'll be doing this race. Can't get lower than a 2:08.5 in free practice and i thought my FF Peugeot would be fast down the straight but only hits 159mph max! Did a practice race to test the fuel and i can't no stop either. Short shifted and ran a couple of whole laps on map 2 and still needed a lap of fuel. So along with the fact i'll probably clobber the wall at some point too i'll think i'll pass

 

[kungtotte_]

Their BOP is overpowered, they have much faster acceleration and often higher top speed. This is supposed to be balanced by tire wear, but if the multiplier is low they are too strong

Even in high-wear races they are way too powerful.

 

[Winnie847]

I missed something. The Atenza needs fuel going full speed?

doesn't it? I know the Atenza is good on fuel, but you also need to rev the balls off it for optimal pace. I haven't tested anything, plus I don't drive for Mazda anymore, but it would be pretty ridiculous if there were any cars that could make it flat out without taking fuel....when so many others have to save so much. It's why races like this should be Nations races. Some fuel-saving is ok in my eyes, but when you have to save soooo much that only a couple cars remain competitive, it becomes pointless for too many, especially in the higher splits. From what I can tell, the Cayman is going to dominate this race...and if the Atenza doesn't need to save then it should dominate too.

 

[KosmoKazi]

...and @Jwptexas and @Pigems …how in the WORLD did you get to the ‘37’s in that RBJr car?! Had to work my balls off to crack into the

I think Tokyo might be the round for Porsche. They seem to have the best of both worlds, able to set competitive lap times whilst also not requiring a pit stop!

I was just in a practice lobby with a Porsche I've raced in Manufacturers recently, and he was setting lap times around my fuel saving pace for the first 4 laps. Then he just went berserk, setting 2:08s and even 2:07s without a slipstream for the rest of the race while everyone else either had to stop or lap considerably slower from fuel saving.

If you're a Porsche this season, enjoy your free win/podium I guess!

...gee, thanks! Now when I DON'T get a good result, I'm gonna feel that much worse! But: fingers crossed. I do remember that the Cayman was surprisingly handy in race conditions, in the last season at the other version of this track.

 

[MCL1974]

Don't think i'll be doing this race. Can't get lower than a 2:08.5 in free practice and i thought my FF Peugeot would be fast down the straight but only hits 159mph max! Did a practice race to test the fuel and i can't no stop either. Short shifted and ran a couple of whole laps on map 2 and still needed a lap of fuel. So along with the fact i'll probably clobber the wall at some point too i'll think i'll pass

dito. tried in practice but cant imagine having a good result in this race with the Peugeot, unless accidentally surviving the predictable carnage at the first turn. but not willing to bet on that! in practice a lot of cars simply drove away from me on the straight as they had higher top speeds.

 

[Pigems]

...and @Jwptexas and @Pigems …how in the WORLD did you get to the ‘37’s in that RBJr car?! Had to work my balls off to crack into the

...gee, thanks! Now when I DON'T get a good result, I'm gonna feel that much worse! But: fingers crossed. I do remember that the Cayman was surprisingly handy in race conditions, in the last season at the other version of this track.

With the Medium Tires, the car just has crazy amounts of grip! Keep chasing/studying those ghosts, I know you‘ve got a 37 in you.

 

[Jwptexas]

...and @Jwptexas and @Pigems …how in the WORLD did you get to the ‘37’s in that RBJr car?! Had to work my balls off to crack into the

...gee, thanks! Now when I DON'T get a good result, I'm gonna feel that much worse! But: fingers crossed. I do remember that the Cayman was surprisingly handy in race conditions, in the last season at the other version of this track.

I had my struggles to begin with and like Pigems said the Mediums really grip you can take the track flat out just about. For me, it's all about sending it into T1 and hoping the car hooks up just right or you don't get on throttle too early and go wide.

Keep at it, you'll get there! I'm frustrated as heck trying to get into 36s