Gran Turismo World Series discussion (2026 Manufacturers Cup Exhibition 2: Aug 22 - Sep 12)

[VTEC Driver]

I've done quite a few custom races against a full field of 15 AI cars for practice now. I've learned a few things.

First, the AI is stupidly slow on the entry to every corner and impossibly fast out of the exit, which makes them a hazard on the way in and out of reach on the straights -- at least when on the same tire compound and rubber banding hasn't kicked in.

Second, the 'competition' damage is absolutely brutal. Bumper damage lasts more than a full lap. There have been so many times that I've been on the verge of having the damage repair itself only to understeer out into a wall and keep the damage going for another lap and a half. And it can really slow you down, too. In one particularly bad race, I remember losing 10 seconds in a single lap just from the damage slow down -- no crashes or spins, just going slow from damage. A good result is almost certainly going to depend on avoiding damage.

Third, going for a spin can destroy the tires. There have been a couple races now where I hit the curb badly on the RS stint and spun out. On a clean stint, I can do a 12-laps on RS tires and still have 15-20% remaining on the rear left tire. On the ones with the spins, the tread completely wore through on the 11th lap, leaving me do to pirouettes to the pit lane. I don't know if it was the spin itself or me spinning the tires as I tried to recover, but I lost more than a full lap of tire tread as a result. If you go for a spin, be prepared to adjust your strategy.

I've tried a three-stop strategy (10RM-1RH-12RS-12RS) a few times and it seems viable when I compare it to my two-stop times (20RM-2RH-12RS). It feels like the the RS tires will have a big advantage on the straights. Combine that with the custom slipstream and I expect it should be pretty easy to get by RM and RH drivers on the straights even if you have to bide your time through the middle section. And in the three-stop, most of the race is on RS tires, so
the risk of getting held up is maybe not as severe as in other races.

In these practice races, I've been putting the RH stint in the middle, but in the actual race tomorrow I feel like it might be good to leave it to the end, just to have some buffer in case the RS tires don't last as long as I expect them to.

Whichever strategy I go with, I think clean air and avoiding damage are going to be key to having a good result.

Good luck to everybody racing!

I admire your consistency and professional approach versus a race that more or less I am hating...

Right now I am seduced by the new 1.72 update driving the old Civic at SUGO... and it is adorable...
The sound of F355 is so nostalgic and remember me the good old times... that never will be back.

I wish all the best to all the braves that will race tomorrow !!!

 

[VillaJ100]

I've done quite a few custom races against a full field of 15 AI cars for practice now. I've learned a few things.

First, the AI is stupidly slow on the entry to every corner and impossibly fast out of the exit, which makes them a hazard on the way in and out of reach on the straights -- at least when on the same tire compound and rubber banding hasn't kicked in.

Second, the 'competition' damage is absolutely brutal. Bumper damage lasts more than a full lap. There have been so many times that I've been on the verge of having the damage repair itself only to understeer out into a wall and keep the damage going for another lap and a half. And it can really slow you down, too. In one particularly bad race, I remember losing 10 seconds in a single lap just from the damage slow down -- no crashes or spins, just going slow from damage. A good result is almost certainly going to depend on avoiding damage.

Third, going for a spin can destroy the tires. There have been a couple races now where I hit the curb badly on the RS stint and spun out. On a clean stint, I can do a 12-laps on RS tires and still have 15-20% remaining on the rear left tire. On the ones with the spins, the tread completely wore through on the 11th lap, leaving me do to pirouettes to the pit lane. I don't know if it was the spin itself or me spinning the tires as I tried to recover, but I lost more than a full lap of tire tread as a result. If you go for a spin, be prepared to adjust your strategy.

I've tried a three-stop strategy (10RM-1RH-12RS-12RS) a few times and it seems viable when I compare it to my two-stop times (20RM-2RH-12RS). It feels like the the RS tires will have a big advantage on the straights. Combine that with the custom slipstream and I expect it should be pretty easy to get by RM and RH drivers on the straights even if you have to bide your time through the middle section. And in the three-stop, most of the race is on RS tires, so
the risk of getting held up is maybe not as severe as in other races.

In these practice races, I've been putting the RH stint in the middle, but in the actual race tomorrow I feel like it might be good to leave it to the end, just to have some buffer in case the RS tires don't last as long as I expect them to.

Whichever strategy I go with, I think clean air and avoiding damage are going to be key to having a good result.

Good luck to everybody racing!

Tempted with that 3 stop strat. Did you refuel during second stop?

I can't get pace round here. Best lap is mid 2:09. Struggle with the red bull and I think being blown diffuser it gets more downforce when accelerating, but you run wide as too fast. But if you aren't, you understeer badly. Also struggle with traction both coming onto and out of the straight, and to a lesser extent in general everywhere here.

 

[Moose78]

On a lark, I just tried a 4-stop strategy -- 1RM-1RH-11RS-11RS-11RS -- in a full-field custom race for practice. Surprisingly, it ended up giving me my fastest overall race time yet. The one really nice thing about it is that with two pit stops in a row at the start, it puts you well away from the rest of the pack, so you can drive some fast laps on the RS tires without any traffic around. Of course, with the rubber banding in custom races, it only took 3 laps to catch back up and have to pick my way through the cars, but in an actual race, I expect the clean air would last quite a while.

Tempted with that 3 stop strat. Did you refuel during second stop?

I added fuel as I needed it, but just enough for the coming stint. So I added enough for 12 laps on the second pit, then again to 12 laps on the final pit.

 

[BGreenFace]

On a lark, I just tried a 4-stop strategy -- 1RM-1RH-11RS-11RS-11RS -- in a full-field custom race for practice. Surprisingly, it ended up giving me my fastest overall race time yet. The one really nice thing about it is that with two pit stops in a row at the start, it puts you well away from the rest of the pack, so you can drive some fast laps on the RS tires without any traffic around. Of course, with the rubber banding in custom races, it only took 3 laps to catch back up and have to pick my way through the cars, but in an actual race, I expect the clean air would last quite a while.

I added fuel as I needed it, but just enough for the coming stint. So I added enough for 12 laps on the second pit, then again to 12 laps on the final pit.

If it wasn’t for the fact that I don’t have time for the nation cup, I think I would try your 4 stop strategy.🤔 I think that with the fighting and people being bunched up together during the middle part of the lap, having a bunch of clean air and and not getting caught in the fighting could be an underdog strat, and I definitely would like to see someone try it 😉

 

[MetalApe]

Thanks to @Moose78 for all the strategy work. I was awake early this morning, so popped down under for a race.
I was the slowest qualifier, started 11/13 with only the two who didn't bother qualifying behind me. I expect that was a smart strategic decisions from those two to avoid first lap trouble.

I decided to start on hards, as expected the first lap is chaos. Starting 11th I was actually well placed to avoid the trouble, I started still in the final corner, so couldn't floor it at the start giving clear room ahead, drivers behind were well clear as well because they get the problem even worse.

Even with that, I couldn't avoid rear ending someone who hit the wall, luckily no penalty just damage. Which confirmed my plan to stop after 1 lap, switched to RS, and somehow I'm running 9th. I don't think anyone ahead of me stopped, I know at least one behind did. Not sure how I was ahead of everyone else, either they stopped or lost more than a pit stops worth of time in first lap incidents.

From there on all went well, I did 1H-11S-12S-11M. Had no problems with traffic, the odd cars I did catch on slower tyres either just let me past to avoid trouble, or with better tyres, I just out accelerated them onto the front or back straight without problem.

Ended up 4th, not bad for the slowest qualifier in the race.

 

[Hiponiak]

Fresh from the race, some insights:

• qualifier was horrible, bumps on every lap, qualified 9th with 1:15 (mid 1:08 was my best lap in practice)
• race was surprisingly clean, managed to finish 6th with low 1:09 best lap.
• strategy: 20 mids -> refuel to +1 lap and 10 softs -> 5 hards
• start on mids and until fuel ends gave me a calm head not to think about both but avoiding traffic and focus on driving
• avoid contact at any cost, try to drive clean as championship damage takes its toll here big time.
• felt confident though won’t repeat as one idiot can ruin your race and it’s a full hour of grinding.
• Weird stuff is best lap is based on 1st one that is not full so in a race best one was like 59 seconds or so. Pitty as it kills competition a bit. So if you aim for it go fast from the start.

Good luck fellow drivers!

 

[VillaJ100]

Not a good start, rammed on both fast laps and 16th. Someone actually moved over to wipe me out on the straight 😂