Gran Turismo World Series discussion (2026 Nations Cup: 11-28 February)

[Zorz]

With the long straights at Deep Forest and slipstream effects, I feel like the ideal situation would be pitting on lap 1 with one other driver that you trust and then working together to build up a gap. Probably not going to happen in my DR B lobbies where hardly anybody thinks beyond the car that is immediately ahead of them, but maybe in higher lobbies.

The one thing I'd worry about, at least in DR B lobbies, is surviving the onslaught of drivers on fresher tires from behind towards the end of the race. I feel like there's a big risk of getting pushed or punted off the track, especially at the hairpin.

Yeah, working with someone else would also be good. I just really want to escape the initial rush if possible and a lap 1 pit stop is perfect for that, even if I do it alone.

I am at my worst by far at the beginning of a race, struggling with nerves. I don't know how everyone goes straight into attack mode on cold tyres when everyone's bunched up. The car just feels wrong. I go backwards at the beginning of races a lot.

On my first try at Road Atlanta, I spent the first 3 laps fighting with my right leg shaking after having sector 1 go poorly. It's a good thing it was the right leg and not the left!

Even if I lose a bit of time from not having slipstream, I wouldn't be surprised if running alone for a while is worth more for me just by being able to calm down. There's also the possibility to take things a bit more gently to preserve the tyres knowing you're not going to catch someone out doing it.

 

[Moose78]

Anyone have an idea of Nord weather? I highly doubt there will be rain since two slick compounds are required. But, even temps (sunny vs cloudy, time of day, etc.) effect tires so still wondering what it would be. Already just presuming 2x RS and 3x RM (or vice versa) will be the strat.

A full night time race would be awesome! But it'll likely just be he normal sunny weather.

I have no idea what the weather will be. I did a 5-lap test race in the Aston Martin Vantage yesterday with sunset S18 weather -- just for the aesthetics. I ran a 2RM-3RS strategy and there was still plenty of tread left on the softs at the end -- around 40% on the worst, if I remember right. It looked like it would be possible to do a fourth lap on the softs, but I imagine it would be slower than the mediums.

 

[Uday9479]

I just completed 20 laps on the controller without changing tires with TCS 0, it does not cause any problems at all, even with my complete lack of skill in saving tires.

I think some top rated player said that if You don't change tyres, You'll lose about 2 seconds per lap to those who make the stop for new tyres.

Also, a very handy lap guide & vital suggestions by Calster for the upcoming Round 3 Manu event at Deep Forest:

 

[BGreenFace]

With the long straights at Deep Forest and slipstream effects, I feel like the ideal situation would be pitting on lap 1 with one other driver that you trust and then working together to build up a gap. Probably not going to happen in my DR B lobbies where hardly anybody thinks beyond the car that is immediately ahead of them, but maybe in higher lobbies.

I would be down to try that. Pitting on lap 1 or 2 and just managed our own race. Last season I just got eaten alive at deep forest and really don’t want it to happen again. The first time slot I can get into is 19:00 EST so I don’t know if we will get in the same lobby though…

 

[Zorz]

I think some top rated player said that if You don't change tyres, You'll lose about 2 seconds per lap to those who make the stop for new tyres.

I've just done 2 full length runs to test change vs no change, both taking the pit stop on lap 10. 2 seconds per lap is a bit of an exaggeration.

The no change run was 29:51, losing about 0.7s trying to get past the AI car as I got the move done coming out of turn 1 and up the hill into the S-bends.

The change run was 29:50, losing about 2s to the AI car as I got stuck behind it through the S-bends and had to follow it until I got to make a move at the tight hairpin, which was also slow.

The no change run got up to about 1-1.2s/lap slower than the change run by the end.

 

[Pakiti]

I think some top rated player said that if You don't change tyres, You'll lose about 2 seconds per lap to those who make the stop for new tyres.

That may be true for high-class people, but I'm not one of them.
I can say for myself that my best lap was around lap 16, and I maintained an average pace of 1.29.5-1.30.0 throughout the entire distance

 

[TBR 427]

Fuel saving when the fuel multiplier is 1x? I would expect that all the Gr.3 cars can get to 17 laps there without taking on fuel. Did you perhaps mix up the multipliers?

Yep, I had my own moment of Ferrari Strategy when creating the test race and had it on 5F/5T instead of 1F/5T.

Fixed the strategy post, for Watkins Glen fuel is absolutely NOT an issue.

 

[KAlex122]

Any data how many players chose the different manufacturers?

 

[Moose78]

I did a second round of testing in the Aston Martin Vantage and now I'm seeing a definite advantage to changing tires in that car.

Here are the updated numbers:

Manufacturer	Model	Strategy	Laps	Opt time	Best time	Avg time	Total time
Renault	R.S.01 GT3 '16	Tire change	20​	1:28.015​	1:28.202​	1:29.726​	29:54.529​
Renault	R.S.01 GT3 '16	No tire change	20​	1:28.313​	1:28.483​	1:29.807​	29:56.144​
Aston Martin	V12 Vantage GT3 '12	Tire change	20​	1:28.169​	1:28.301​	1:29.566​	29:51.327​
Aston Martin	V12 Vantage GT3 '12	No tire change	20​	1:28.191​	1:28.486​	1:29.711​	29:54.222​

And a lap times chart that goes all the way to lap 20 this time...

Any data how many players chose the different manufacturers?

I don't know of any nice summary page.

Judging by some earlier posts on this thread, it seems like GT-ENGINE might be occasionally posting information on X/Twitter, scraped from the Free Practice participation. I wouldn't know. I'm not on that platform.

You can get a list of drivers for each manufacturer in each country by going to the Gran Turismo web page for the season and selecting the "Local Rankings" (links: US, UK, AU, HK). Unfortunately, those lists get truncated at 100, so you can't really see what's going on with the popular manufacturers.

 

[VTEC Driver]

I did a second round of testing in the Aston Martin Vantage and now I'm seeing a definite advantage to changing tires in that car.

Here are the updated numbers:

Renault	R.S.01 GT3 '16	Tire change	20​	1:28.015​	1:28.202​	1:29.726​	29:54.529​
Renault	R.S.01 GT3 '16	No tire change	20​	1:28.313​	1:28.483​	1:29.807​	29:56.144​
Aston Martin	V12 Vantage GT3 '12	Tire change	20​	1:28.169​	1:28.301​	1:29.566​	29:51.327​
Aston Martin	V12 Vantage GT3 '12	No tire change	20​	1:28.191​	1:28.486​	1:29.711​	29:54.222​

And a lap times chart that goes all the way to lap 20 this time...
View attachment 1507333

I don't know of any nice summary page.

Judging by some earlier posts on this thread, it seems like GT-ENGINE might be occasionally posting information on X/Twitter, scraped from the Free Practice participation. I wouldn't know. I'm not on that platform.

You can get a list of drivers for each manufacturer in each country by going to the Gran Turismo web page for the season and selecting the "Local Rankings" (links: US, UK, AU, HK). Unfortunately, those lists get truncated at 100, so you can't really see what's going on with the popular manufacturers.

I see that with Renault you are lapping in average below 1:30 while I am doing above 1:30 (let say 0.4-0.7 difference).
Watching some replay I see people driving as "escape to survive", while I normally drive enjoying the trajectory and the car behavior.
I think to drive as "seduced by the car" more than driving for eliminating the competition... so I will never win a race...

 

[Uday9479]

Any data how many players chose the different manufacturers?

Here You go Mate:

 

[Zorz]

I can't help but notice the number of people recorded in those GT Engine data dumps for each round. 22560 at Road Atlanta, 12632 at Dragon Trail and now 13870 at Deep Forest.

I can understand the wet round being unpopular, but it hasn't really recovered much. That's a big drop-off after round 1! 😲

 

[MCL1974]

Here You go Mate:

View attachment 1507350

View attachment 1507351

Suddenly I am glad I selected Dodge!
(but off course nowhere near that fastest time...)

And that Z4 is a bit of a surprise, that's a car that has hardly ever been of use, I think!

 

[Pakiti]

I saw that only six people had chosen the McLaren F1, so I decided to try it. What a strange feeling! After using the BOP:
650S: 484 hp and 1,310 kg
F1: 444 hp and 1,180 kg
It all makes sense, but I was amazed at how much earlier I could hit the gas on the 650S. It was simply incredible! Despite its greater weight, the 650C corners much better; I can turn it in at a greater angle, especially in the left-hand turn before the bridge. I simply couldn't physically get onto the left curb in the F1; I didn't have enough grip, whereas in the 650S, I often go over it. And despite all this, my best time on the 650S was 1:28.586. In the F1, I almost immediately set a 1:28.648 and managed to stay inside the 1:29. The F1 is a really fun car, I really enjoyed it, but I'll be driving the 650S in the race, it's just very, very, VERY forgiving.

 

[Uday9479]

Today I took part in 2 lobby races that had the same race settings that will be applicable to tomorrow's Deep Forest event. These races were of 20 laps as well.

What I did in both is not change the RM tyres. In the first race, I pitted on lap 18 & still managed to finish 3rd whereas in the second race, I pitted on lap 1. Though I'm average, I was happy to see I was able to set mostly consistent times. Of course, when I exited the pits in the second race or when I was running in the first race, I didn't have any cars ahead or behind of me.

As expected, the right hand side tyres had about 20% life left in them. For me, this is still a positive considering I'm not that good with tyre saving skills as I'm a DS4 user. BTW, maybe all this looks favourable/positive as I'm driving the wonderful Audi R8.

Here are the times(not that quick but decent for me) that I was setting in both races:

 

[stpatty]

Whenever we have a race like this I always wonder what I'm doing wrong when I set up a custom race. I just did one there with no tyre change and had about 10% left on the front right. I'll be changing the tyres on lap 10 tomorrow and driving the ****ing wheels off it, let's go.

 

[ZEE]

Hey all, pleased to share my highlights from my 2nd round race at Dragon Trails for the Manus cup and wishing everyone good luck at Deep forest tomorrow - hopefully good racing overall!

 

[BBerlingo]

Hi! 1st time posting, 2nd time participating in the Manufacturers cup. I must say these cups are the best races i have in gt7, the qualifying format feels really immersive having few attemts and working around traffic, the length of the races and the attitude of other drivers is just a different level to the daily races.

After a good round 1 and a poor round 2 in the rain it was time for round 3 in the GT2 league today. The R8 feels really good around Deep Forrest and i qualified 2nd with a 1.27.7, only 3 tenths off my best practice lap. Race was fairly quiet the first half as P1 in the Z4 was too fast for me and pulled away around 4 tenths a round. I gained a gap of 1.5-2sec off the pack around 3rd but I decided to pit after round 11, while they pitted round 10. My thinking was that a lap on worn but warm tires will be faster than a cold lap on new tires so I could keep my place/gap. That was a mistake. The german driver in P3 was right on my tail as I came out of the pits and I got passed on the back strait. He was fast but caught 2 penalties in the last few rounds and i gained back my place finishing 2nd for a record 107 points!

P1 and P3 were both Z4s and my R8 felt really fast. We had a 911 in 4th keeping up with us but his top speed on the straights limitied him to keeping his place.
Good luck to all!

 

[Norbsthebald]

Just done two races (AO slot 3, yes i did race at 6am, and EMEA slot 1) in GT2, and my observations for today:

• Dry all meeting. Looks like S01, so perfect conditions.
• Qualifying is 7 minutes, so hang back to give yourself plenty of space, you'll still get at least 4 flying laps in.
• As you all know, pitting is compulsory (once), changing tyres is not. Having said that, tyre wear is such that it will probably pay to change (at least for the non-aliens amongst us). In the Aston, I did the most straightforward thing and changed at half distance (10 laps). I could have made the tyres last 12 laps, and it might pay to mix it up if you are bogged down in traffic.

And... that's about it! This is about as simple as it gets without being a straight sprint. I knew I could drive the Aston consistently round here from my testing, and I do love this track, but I didn’t expect...

AO slot 3
Door 11 Q7 P1 132pts
EMEA Slot 1
Door 2 Q1 P1 143pts

I ** never** win so this just blew me away! Still looking at the screenshots in disbelief, to be honest...

Good luck to all of you racing today!

 

[Moose78]

I did a second (and final) round of testing on the Renault last night and the gap between the tire-change and no-tire-change strategies has narrowed to about 1 second:

Manufacturer	Model	Strategy	Laps	Opt time	Best time	Avg time	Total time
Renault	R.S.01 GT3 '16	Tire change	20​	1:28.015​	1:28.202​	1:29.615​	29:52.307​
Renault	R.S.01 GT3 '16	No tire change	20​	1:28.313​	1:28.406​	1:29.662​	29:53.248​
Aston Martin	V12 Vantage GT3 '12	Tire change	20​	1:28.169​	1:28.301​	1:29.566​	29:51.327​
Aston Martin	V12 Vantage GT3 '12	No tire change	20​	1:28.191​	1:28.486​	1:29.711​	29:54.222​

I also ran a lobby race in the Renault last night. I qualified middle of the pack. The first lap was crowded, and I felt like I was being held up in the infield turns, so when I saw that nobody else was going to do it, I went in to the pits for a no-tire-change strategy. Came out in plenty of clean air. I did start catching up to some of the lower-ranked back-markers as the stint went on, but they didn't really slow me down. By the time I caught them, they went into the pits, leaving me more clear track. As we got closer to the end of the race, a couple of drivers on fresher tires did catch up to me, but I found I was able to let them by without losing much time. I ended up finishing where I started, in P7, so it didn't really cost me anything. The early pit made for a really relaxed race. I think I might give it a try in my Renault race later today.

Good luck to everybody who has yet to race!

 

[Uday9479]

I did a second (and final) round of testing on the Renault last night and the gap between the tire-change and no-tire-change strategies has narrowed to about 1 second:

Manufacturer	Model	Strategy	Laps	Opt time	Best time	Avg time	Total time
Renault	R.S.01 GT3 '16	Tire change	20​	1:28.015​	1:28.202​	1:29.615​	29:52.307​
Renault	R.S.01 GT3 '16	No tire change	20​	1:28.313​	1:28.406​	1:29.662​	29:53.248​
Aston Martin	V12 Vantage GT3 '12	Tire change	20​	1:28.169​	1:28.301​	1:29.566​	29:51.327​
Aston Martin	V12 Vantage GT3 '12	No tire change	20​	1:28.191​	1:28.486​	1:29.711​	29:54.222​

I also ran a lobby race in the Renault last night. I qualified middle of the pack. The first lap was crowded, and I felt like I was being held up in the infield turns, so when I saw that nobody else was going to do it, I went in to the pits for a no-tire-change strategy. Came out in plenty of clean air. I did start catching up to some of the lower-ranked back-markers as the stint went on, but they didn't really slow me down. By the time I caught them, they went into the pits, leaving me more clear track. As we got closer to the end of the race, a couple of drivers on fresher tires did catch up to me, but I found I was able to let them by without losing much time. I ended up finishing where I started, in P7, so it didn't really cost me anything. The early pit made for a really relaxed race. I think I might give it a try in my Renault race later today.

Good luck to everybody who has yet to race!

The key to the puzzle is where You are within the grid. If there are a few drivers ahead battling it out amongst themselves, then it's best to pit on lap 1 as they will slow You down.

Also if You're in no man's land after 5 laps, You can either run long or just drive till the cars behind You pit so You rejoin ahead of them.

Also if the grid competitive (as in close qualy times across the grid) then it makes sense to change tyres whenever You pit in order to not become a sitting duck towards the end of the race,

 

[Hdbd04]

I did the first slot, with the attitude going to this round with a big yawn. To be honest, despite the simple nature of the race, I wasn't that keen on doing it, but I did, with having 3 minutes of practice before the round started.

Started P15/16 with a 1:27.879 lap (0.789 seconds off the lead), I wasn't expecting to move up high on the list with my fears of the Jag's twitchy nature still present. Pitted on Lap 10 without a tire change, where the tires did managed to hold up well for what it is.

Finished at P10 with 141 points to bag (from the maximum 226 points) which is weirdly the lowest points I got so far.

(Every time that Corvette in P7 is always on a charge...)

I just didn't feel the itch to do this round then and now. Although the next round at the Nurburgring should be fun from the track alone. Big earnings for anyone driving the BRZ soon

 

[KAlex122]

Took the last morning race slot in EMEA League 3.

I qualified 4th in the Jag and immediately fell back to 6th. The top 7 stayed all together within 3 seconds. It was going back and forth.

The other drivers where fair but of course it costs a lot of time of you battle front and back for every corner.

So i took a pit exit at lap 6 and was lucky that i was the only one. I came out 5 seconds behind last place and had a quiet and concentrated time, overtaking the slower drivers cautiously (bumped one a little bit, what cost him about a second, sorry for that).

When the others pitted between lap 10 and 12 i was three seconds behind first place and 3 seconds ahead of the pack. I worried about them coming closer as my tires would give up earlier but of course they still had to compromise their lines due to the close racing. Soon they where more than 7 seconds behind me and i could concentrate on a clean racing line.

I even could put a little pressure on 1st (at least i like to think like that) as i ended up 2 seconds behind the leader. So the tires where holding up nicely.

That's a 2 - 1 - 2 for me in the first 3 GTWS races. I'm already into B rating territory again (i don't do a lot of online races at the moment. Only one slot of every GTWS race).

 

[Gorefast]

Took the last morning race slot in EMEA League 3.

I qualified 4th in the Jag and immediately fell back to 6th. The top 7 stayed all together within 3 seconds. It was going back and forth.

The other drivers where fair but of course it costs a lot of time of you battle front and back for every corner.

So i took a pit exit at lap 6 and was lucky that i was the only one. I came out 5 seconds behind last place and had a quiet and concentrated time, overtaking the slower drivers cautiously (bumped one a little bit, what cost him about a second, sorry for that).

When the others pitted between lap 10 and 12 i was three seconds behind first place and 3 seconds ahead of the pack. I worried about them coming closer as my tires would give up earlier but of course they still had to compromise their lines due to the close racing. Soon they where more than 7 seconds behind me and i could concentrate on a clean racing line.

I even could put a little pressure on 1st (at least i like to think like that) as i ended up 2 seconds behind the leader. So the tires where holding up nicely.

That's a 2 - 1 - 2 for me in the first 3 GTWS races. I'm already into B rating territory again (i don't do a lot of online races at the moment. Only one slot of every GTWS race).

You are doing great! Clever strategy and no errors - congratulations! 💪

 

[Uday9479]

If anyone wants to further familiarize wit their Gr.3 car other than Deep Forest, I'd suggest taking part in the 5th race of the weekly challenge at Dragon Trail Seaside reverse (GT 800). There also we need strategy to win against 20 (AI) drivers. I drove that race 2 times just to see & feel how my selected car handles at different kerbs & turns just to prepare a bit more but differently for the Manu event tonight.

 

[KAlex122]

You are doing great! Clever strategy and no errors - congratulations! 💪

Thanks! I don't race online a lot these days. But when i do i try to relax and do the smart thing. Staying away from trouble and observing what's going on.

 

[Moose78]

If anyone wants to further familiarize wit their Gr.3 car other than Deep Forest, I'd suggest taking part in the 5th race of the weekly challenge at Dragon Trail Seaside reverse (GT 800). There also we need strategy to win against 20 (AI) drivers. I drove that race 2 times just to see & feel how my selected car handles at different kerbs & turns just to prepare a bit more but differently for the Manu event tonight.

Keep in mind that these WTC800 races do NOT apply the BoP adjustments, so the car will behave differently in them than they do in online races. I prefer the Gr.3 chili races for offline practice since those ones DO apply the BoP adjustments.

 

[Uday9479]

Keep in mind that these WTC800 races do NOT apply the BoP adjustments, so the car will behave differently in them than they do in online races. I prefer the Gr.3 chili races for offline practice since those ones DO apply the BoP adjustments.

I agree Mate. Usually I even keep taking part in the Practice/Qualify/Race versions of Manu event for Deep Forest in the lobbies. The biggest help or eye opener or guide is tracking Your tyre wear.

Someone had said earlier it would be best to be in a slipstream train to gain time but I'll prefer to be last or second last in that train & not towards the front cars in this group of cars. I'd just want to concentrate on a steady race instead of keeping an eye on both front & behind. It's too distracting. One mistake by Yourself or some car ahead, it could either spin You out or give a time penalty if You hit into the car.

I've mentally prepared myself to take part in 2 slots (EMEA GT1 A) of 22:30 & 00:30. If I get a top 5, I'll be more than happy to not try again.

BTW, the next event at Nurburgring is going to be a banger. I think qualifying there as high as possible will be the key due to less overtaking chances on a narrow track. But I'm already looking forward to practice there from tomorrow as Nurburgring although so long, I know almost all of it as per the turns.

 

[FlapJackFlash]

Have done a few lobby races without changing tyres and maybe start losing around 1s per lap after lap 12 or so. Not quite sure what I'll do in the race. Like the idea of doing an early pit and getting clean air but don't like the idea of trying to defend on worn tyres at the end. Also considering having of a pit window starting at lap 6 so could still do an early pit whilst still changing tyres. Guess it will depend on where I qualify and whether I feel I'm being held up in a train or not.

 

[Gorefast]

Have done a few lobby races without changing tyres and maybe start losing around 1s per lap after lap 12 or so. Not quite sure what I'll do in the race. Like the idea of doing an early pit and getting clean air but don't like the idea of trying to defend on worn tyres at the end. Also considering having of a pit window starting at lap 6 so could still do an early pit whilst still changing tyres. Guess it will depend on where I qualify and whether I feel I'm being held up in a train or not.

I won't participate today but am interested how this turns out as it would have been my main scenario... Good luck! 🍀