Well what can i say, PD loves to pick them chaotic races that match up poorly with Car + track combo. Went into the race with optimism, got punted on lap 1 into the frikkin nevada desert at this rate. Some dopey spanish driver just kept bumping people left right and center.
had to do some late strategy with the RM Tyres to get soem places up as many people pitted on lap 12 and 13. I choose to wing it and pit very late and it kinda helped not massively. But the car did not like it and i had to work hard to even get up to 10th. Many people kept spinning out on this course and it seemed all abit too much.
Managed to recover to get 10th overall but not a pretty race, nabbed some good points as it was a high-ish B lobby.
I had a very similar experience. This car was far too quick for this track and my ability. Best I could manage was a 13th and that was probably due to folks quitting 😂
Roll on the next 1. 🤠
That's my impression, too. Not completely surprising. We're getting into summer -- at least in the northern hemisphere -- so people are finding other things to do.
I also feel like a lot of A and A+ drivers have given up on GTWS because of the low number of racing slots in GT1 and when they are scheduled.
100% agree
I’m sadly one of those people. I really love the manufacturer cup and gr3 car are very nice to drive on multiple tracks but the nation, using mostly the redbull and it high downforce car is not my cup of tea.
And being promoted to gt1 with it atrocious time slot for me (9 pm, 11pm, 1 am) is impossible for me being a morning person who wake up around 6:30 not matter what time I go to sleep…
That's my impression, too. Not completely surprising. We're getting into summer -- at least in the northern hemisphere -- so people are finding other things to do.
I also feel like a lot of A and A+ drivers have given up on GTWS because of the low number of racing slots in GT1 and when they are scheduled.
I remember watching 7-8 A+ S drivers having livestreams or highlights posting on youtube and twitch but it was on GT Sport, it was really great to watch them also race against them time to time.. I don't see those racers anymore on yt and twitch
I've been doing a fair bit of testing today, but I'm not nearly done even a first pass yet. This 2x tire multiplier means that the softs can last 24 laps in all the cars I've tried so far -- Lamborghini, McLaren, and Ferrari -- at least the way I drive, which I'm guessing is slower and easier on the tires than many of you.
I've decided to do 24-lap tests for both of the required tire compounds, which means quite a lot of driving to test them all out. I'll post my results when I have them. It might be another day or two, though.
I have skip the first two races because busy in other stuff but also because I don't like at all such combinations.
Next race at RBR with GR3 cars sounds to me more pleasant and I could join...
I've been doing a fair bit of testing today, but I'm not nearly done even a first pass yet. This 2x tire multiplier means that the softs can last 24 laps in all the cars I've tried so far -- Lamborghini, McLaren, and Ferrari -- at least the way I drive, which I'm guessing is slower and easier on the tires than many of you.
I've decided to do 24-lap tests for both of the required tire compounds, which means quite a lot of driving to test them all out. I'll post my results when I have them. It might be another day or two, though.
May well be similar to last race if I get binned early might do a lap 1 pit and go long, but 24 laps is a long way for softs to last, might be quicker to do 5 med 20 soft or similar?
I've done some testing. Only one round for each car, so there is still a lot of variability in the data. I did 24-lap tests on each tire compound in custom races against a single AI opponent. The weather settings were early morning, S04, with 1x time.
I tested the cars in this order:
Lamborgini
McLaren
Ferrari
Porsche
Audi
I got progressively faster on the track as the testing went on, so you probably shouldn't read too much into the fact that the Lamborghini did so poorly.
On with the results, then:
Manufacturer
Model
Tire compound
Laps
Opt time
Best time
Avg time
Total time
Audi
R8 LMS Evo '19
RS
24
1:30.353
1:30.682
1:31.581
36:37.948
Audi
R8 LMS Evo '19
RM
24
1:30.875
1:31.004
1:31.539
36:36.934
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
RS
24
1:30.426
1:30.674
1:31.463
36:35.118
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
RM
24
1:30.778
1:31.000
1:31.684
36:40.420
Lamborghini
Huracán GT3 '15
RS
24
1:31.344
1:31.515
1:32.334
36:56.016
Lamborghini
Huracán GT3 '15
RM
24
1:31.174
1:31.286
1:31.933
36:46.388
McLaren
650S GT3 '15
RS
24
1:30.806
1:31.119
1:31.719
36:41.245
McLaren
650S GT3 '15
RM
24
1:31.028
1:31.427
1:32.138
36:51.309
Porsche
911 GT3 R (992) '22
RS
24
1:30.771
1:30.849
1:32.471
36:59.297
Porsche
911 GT3 R (992) '22
RM
24
1:31.136
1:31.432
1:32.230
36:53.523
Lap times:
This is quite the jumbled mess. The spoiler sections below have charts broken out for each of the tire compounds and for the individual cars if you want less noise. And speaking of noise, apologies for the huge spike in the Porsche RS test. I went for a spin on lap 18.
Lap
Audi RS
Audi RM
Ferrari RS
Ferrari RM
Lamborghini RS
Lamborghini RM
McLaren RS
McLaren RM
Porsche RS
Porsche RM
1
1:30.292
1:30.664
1:30.078
1:30.317
1:32.007
1:31.827
1:31.353
1:31.989
1:31.988
1:30.883
2
1:31.614
1:31.977
1:30.796
1:32.049
1:32.207
1:32.639
1:31.119
1:31.427
1:32.573
1:32.192
3
1:31.142
1:31.678
1:30.674
1:31.275
1:32.075
1:32.076
1:31.817
1:31.689
1:31.456
1:32.017
4
1:31.281
1:31.902
1:31.276
1:31.370
1:32.517
1:32.292
1:31.824
1:32.378
1:31.732
1:31.909
5
1:30.887
1:31.723
1:31.616
1:31.109
1:32.154
1:31.806
1:31.439
1:32.358
1:31.946
1:32.347
6
1:31.133
1:31.585
1:31.174
1:31.867
1:31.621
1:32.155
1:31.269
1:32.568
1:31.652
1:32.129
7
1:30.682
1:32.593
1:31.420
1:31.083
1:32.303
1:32.368
1:31.156
1:31.804
1:31.830
1:32.235
8
1:30.760
1:31.551
1:30.892
1:31.713
1:31.954
1:31.803
1:31.322
1:32.672
1:31.590
1:32.782
9
1:31.211
1:31.143
1:30.961
1:32.784
1:31.515
1:31.999
1:31.168
1:31.894
1:31.724
1:31.783
10
1:31.053
1:31.353
1:31.384
1:31.724
1:32.056
1:31.332
1:31.167
1:32.491
1:31.960
1:31.921
11
1:31.321
1:31.629
1:31.120
1:31.635
1:32.197
1:31.286
1:31.901
1:31.788
1:30.849
1:31.840
12
1:32.401
1:31.608
1:31.215
1:32.388
1:31.999
1:31.865
1:31.231
1:31.884
1:31.688
1:32.692
13
1:31.124
1:31.004
1:31.327
1:31.549
1:32.669
1:32.005
1:31.358
1:32.451
1:31.396
1:31.432
14
1:31.462
1:31.721
1:30.944
1:31.000
1:32.011
1:31.909
1:31.522
1:32.352
1:32.160
1:31.495
15
1:31.280
1:31.302
1:31.800
1:31.932
1:32.764
1:31.953
1:32.140
1:32.021
1:32.222
1:32.738
16
1:31.516
1:31.289
1:31.927
1:31.993
1:32.229
1:31.478
1:31.864
1:31.704
1:32.614
1:31.991
17
1:32.061
1:31.893
1:31.915
1:31.626
1:32.823
1:32.209
1:31.700
1:31.923
1:32.114
1:32.764
18
1:31.796
1:31.733
1:31.894
1:31.827
1:32.423
1:31.602
1:31.641
1:32.023
1:41.927
1:31.791
19
1:31.762
1:31.699
1:31.841
1:31.400
1:32.185
1:31.360
1:32.011
1:32.115
1:32.269
1:32.483
20
1:32.006
1:31.429
1:32.353
1:31.594
1:32.435
1:32.124
1:32.422
1:32.061
1:32.899
1:31.997
21
1:32.035
1:31.421
1:31.966
1:31.933
1:32.501
1:31.657
1:32.089
1:32.641
1:32.554
1:32.210
22
1:32.474
1:31.279
1:31.313
1:32.790
1:32.360
1:32.104
1:32.070
1:32.801
1:32.232
1:32.382
23
1:32.562
1:31.370
1:32.756
1:31.752
1:32.807
1:32.368
1:33.155
1:32.303
1:32.926
1:32.120
24
1:34.093
1:31.388
1:32.476
1:31.710
1:34.204
1:32.171
1:32.507
1:31.972
1:32.996
1:35.390
Tire tread remaining at finish - RS tires
Manufacturer
Model
Tire compound
Laps
Front left
Front right
Rear left
Rear right
Audi
R8 LMS Evo '19
RS
24
20%
30%
1%
10%
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
RS
24
NA
NA
NA
NA
Lamborghini
Huracán GT3 '15
RS
24
20%
30%
5%
15%
McLaren
650S GT3 '15
RS
24
15%
25%
10%
20%
Porsche
911 GT3 R (992) '22
RS
24
20%
25%
10%
20%
Apologies, I forgot to record the tread levels for the Ferrari test.
Tire tread remaining at finish - RM tires
Manufacturer
Model
Tire compound
Laps
Front left
Front right
Rear left
Rear right
Audi
R8 LMS Evo '19
RM
24
60%
70%
55%
60%
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
RM
24
65%
70%
65%
70%
Lamborghini
Huracán GT3 '15
RM
24
65%
70%
55%
65%
McLaren
650S GT3 '15
RM
24
65%
70%
60%
65%
Porsche
911 GT3 R (992) '22
RM
24
60%
65%
60%
65%
Simulations:
Using the lap times from my tests, I'm able to simulate all of the possible strategies from 24RS-1RM to 1RS-24RM. These are the fastest three for each car, ordered by total time.
Manufacturer
Model
Strategy
Total time
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
17RS-8RM
38:01.302
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
18RS-7RM
38:01.483
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
14RS-11RM
38:01.803
Audi
R8 LMS Evo '19
10RS-15RM
38:03.488
Audi
R8 LMS Evo '19
11RS-14RM
38:03.507
Audi
R8 LMS Evo '19
9RS-16RM
38:03.724
McLaren
650S GT3 '15
22RS-3RM
38:10.688
McLaren
650S GT3 '15
21RS-4RM
38:10.996
McLaren
650S GT3 '15
18RS-7RM
38:11.204
Porsche
911 GT3 R (992) '22
14RS-11RM
38:16.582
Porsche
911 GT3 R (992) '22
11RS-14RM
38:16.957
Porsche
911 GT3 R (992) '22
15RS-10RM
38:16.964
Lamborghini
Huracán GT3 '15
3RS-22RM
38:18.138
Lamborghini
Huracán GT3 '15
1RS-24RM
38:18.395
Lamborghini
Huracán GT3 '15
2RS-23RM
38:18.431
Note: These simulations do not take into account the order in which the compounds are used. For example, 10RS-15RM is equivalent to 15RM-10RS.
It looks like I'm fastest in the Ferrari, which is a bit of a surprise. While I was doing my Audi tests, I felt sure it was going to be the fastest.
The Porsche was surprisingly bad for me. I'm not sure why, but it may have had something to do with some gin-based drinks I had just prior to doing the tests.
The McLaren did better than I expected. It a solid car. Nice to drive.
As I mentioned earlier, the Lamborghini is sitting at the bottom because it is the first car I tested. I expect it would sit higher in the simulations if I retested it. I probably won't bother, though. I've got other things to do.
I've done some testing. Only one round for each car, so there is still a lot of variability in the data. I did 24-lap tests on each tire compound in custom races against a single AI opponent. The weather settings were early morning, S04, with 1x time.
I tested the cars in this order:
Lamborgini
McLaren
Ferrari
Porsche
Audi
I got progressively faster on the track as the testing went on, so you probably shouldn't read too much into the fact that the Lamborghini did so poorly.
This is quite the jumbled mess. The spoiler sections below have charts broken out for each of the tire compounds and for the individual cars if you want less noise. And speaking of noise, apologies for the huge spike in the Porsche RS test. I went for a spin on lap 18.
Apologies, I forgot to record the tread levels for the Ferrari test.
Tire tread remaining at finish - RM tires
Manufacturer
Model
Tire compound
Laps
Front left
Front right
Rear left
Rear right
Audi
R8 LMS Evo '19
RM
24
60%
70%
55%
60%
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
RM
24
65%
70%
65%
70%
Lamborghini
Huracán GT3 '15
RM
24
65%
70%
55%
65%
McLaren
650S GT3 '15
RM
24
65%
70%
60%
65%
Porsche
911 GT3 R (992) '22
RM
24
60%
65%
60%
65%
Simulations:
Using the lap times from my tests, I'm able to simulate all of the possible strategies from 24RS-1RM to 1RS-24RM. These are the fastest three for each car, ordered by total time.
Manufacturer
Model
Strategy
Total time
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
17RS-8RM
38:01.302
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
18RS-7RM
38:01.483
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
14RS-11RM
38:01.803
Audi
R8 LMS Evo '19
10RS-15RM
38:03.488
Audi
R8 LMS Evo '19
11RS-14RM
38:03.507
Audi
R8 LMS Evo '19
9RS-16RM
38:03.724
McLaren
650S GT3 '15
22RS-3RM
38:10.688
McLaren
650S GT3 '15
21RS-4RM
38:10.996
McLaren
650S GT3 '15
18RS-7RM
38:11.204
Porsche
911 GT3 R (992) '22
14RS-11RM
38:16.582
Porsche
911 GT3 R (992) '22
11RS-14RM
38:16.957
Porsche
911 GT3 R (992) '22
15RS-10RM
38:16.964
Lamborghini
Huracán GT3 '15
3RS-22RM
38:18.138
Lamborghini
Huracán GT3 '15
1RS-24RM
38:18.395
Lamborghini
Huracán GT3 '15
2RS-23RM
38:18.431
Note: These simulations do not take into account the order in which the compounds are used. For example, 10RS-15RM is equivalent to 15RM-10RS.
It looks like I'm fastest in the Ferrari, which is a bit of a surprise. While I was doing my Audi tests, I felt sure it was going to be the fastest.
The Porsche was surprisingly bad for me. I'm not sure why, but it may have had something to do with some gin-based drinks I had just prior to doing the tests.
The McLaren did better than I expected. It a solid car. Nice to drive.
As I mentioned earlier, the Lamborghini is sitting at the bottom because it is the first car I tested. I expect it would sit higher in the simulations if I retested it. I probably won't bother, though. I've got other things to do.
Awesome data now the hard part. I’m on the fence with the McLaren v the Porche. The McLaren is super stable in kerbs has good power delivery, not snappy, 24 on the leaderboard so it has pace. The Porche seems like the meta and it is also easy to drive. Leaning McLaren at this point.
I've settled on driving the Ferrari for this next round. I did another round of testing in it, which really smoothed out the data and clarified where the pit window is. It turns out to be pretty wide. All of the strategies from 8RS-17RM to 17RS-8RM are within a second of each other for me. The best is still 10RS-15RM, but there are lots of viable options. I'll have to gauge the situation in the race to decide what I ultimately do.
Here are the updated numbers for there Ferrari...
Manufacturer
Model
Tire compound
Laps
Opt time
Best time
Avg time
Total time
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
RS
24
1:30.269
1:30.360
1:31.253
36:30.075
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
RM
24
1:30.728
1:30.932
1:31.318
36:31.622
Lap
Ferrari RS
Ferrari RM
1
1:30.078
1:30.317
2
1:30.783
1:31.851
3
1:30.674
1:31.204
4
1:30.360
1:31.370
5
1:31.046
1:31.109
6
1:30.590
1:31.279
7
1:30.592
1:31.083
8
1:30.892
1:31.434
9
1:30.886
1:31.278
10
1:30.978
1:31.625
11
1:31.120
1:31.269
12
1:31.215
1:31.412
13
1:31.327
1:30.932
14
1:30.944
1:31.000
15
1:31.207
1:31.072
16
1:31.548
1:31.104
17
1:31.915
1:31.535
18
1:31.826
1:31.265
19
1:31.647
1:31.400
20
1:32.353
1:31.536
21
1:31.966
1:31.403
22
1:31.313
1:31.682
23
1:32.339
1:31.752
24
1:32.476
1:31.710
Tire tread remaining at finish:
Manufacturer
Model
Tire compound
Laps
Front left
Front right
Rear left
Rear right
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
RS
24
15%
25%
10%
20%
Ferrari
296 GT3 '23
RM
24
65%
70%
65%
70%
These were the 10 fastest strategies simulated from the above lap times:
I've settled on driving the Ferrari for this next round. I did another round of testing in it, which really smoothed out the data and clarified where the pit window is. It turns out to be pretty wide. All of the strategies from 8RS-17RM to 17RS-8RM are within a second of each other for me. The best is still 10RS-15RM, but there are lots of viable options. I'll have to gauge the situation in the race to decide what I ultimately do.
Porsche for me, as I was not blessed with imagination. Thinking I'll go with 10RM-15RS and BB 3 to the rear, but hopes are not high as on practice races I'm picking up track limit penalties on almost every lap
GT2 EMEA 1st Slot low AS Lobby, 264 points up for grabs, 11 on the doors, went for the Porsche
Could only get in 1 fastish lap with no penalties or mistakes and put in a 1.29.8 which got me 13th on the grid. Pole was in 1.28.6 region which was an indicator of how things were going to go.
Started on RM and through a combo of penalties, being out paced, and being out hustled ended up in 15th pretty quickly. Managed to claw a few spaces back from others mistakes and penalties and caught up to a group ahead when the pit window opened. As they all started to enter the pits from L10 onwards I stayed out as had some clean air and hoped the other group would carry on fighting and slowing each other down even if they were on RS. Pitted on L15 for RS and the plan mostly worked, had jumped up 2 positions after exiting the pits and right behind another car. Their worn tyres slowed them down and I was able to get past and then had a battle with another Porsche for the remaining laps where we kept swapping places due to penalties.
Came home 10th for 202 points, lowest so far but not going again as was clear I had a lack of pace and consistency here. I have found the number on my doors has been surprisingly accurate recently though.
Just did my race, GT2 lobby, red bull I enjoy racing on but never seem to have pace here. Moose's work is really useful as we are about the same speed, but I decided to stick with the trusty 911 - the top 4 all used it so it was likely a skill issue that meant I had poor pace. Qualified 9th with high 1:30, finished 8th 0.2 secs ahead of 9th to take home a slither of DR gain.
Race was uneventful as the top 8 were too fast and bottom 7 too slow, 9th got a series of penalties so I could beat them. Started on the meds as did most of the field and pitted on Lap 11. Was alarmed at how fast the softs were wearing but this seemed to stabilise with around 70% left.
However 4-7th were all in a big battle and all finished within 5 secs ahead so a bit more pace I could have had a great finish as high as 4th. If the Ferrari is 15 seconds a race quicker I would have finished 2nd, but I find it tricky to handle along with a ton of other variables!
Settled for a 6th in the 992, too hot, too tired and too hungover to go again (So much for an early night, got home gone 2am, weather and beer was too good).
Think I Q'd 4th, track limit 2nd quali lap and ruined 3rd quali lap with track limts. Held up on 4th.
Started softs, got shuffled back on L2 to 8th. Was held up with some squablers in front, so pitted on L10, but didn't have a quick enough outlap. They pitted on the two subsequent laps and came out of pits level with me and bombed me into T2... wasnt in the mood to fight.
Ran 6th and couldn't gain.
Think I fnished <10 sec behind P2. P1 was miles ahead. P2 was a little dirty, overtakes 3rd>4th and 3rd>2nd weren't clean and should have given back.
GT2 - North America - 12 PM EDT - Ferrari 296 GT3 '23 - Door #10 - 256 points available - Q5 (1:29.986)
A good qualifying position had me hopeful. Until we reached T3 on the opening lap, that is. I got pushed out wide and went for a spin. Down to P14 by the time I got the car going again.
It was a pretty uneventful race from there, trying without much success to claw my way back to the pack. The best I could muster was a P10 finish for 197 points and a 0.9% drop in my DR B progress, taking it to 96.8%.
I'm not going to bother going again. Even if I manage to avoid the carnage and place better in the next race, there's no guarantee it'll be for more points.
GT1 - EU - 21:00 - Porsche 911 - Door #4 - Q7 (1:29.3xx)
I was fairly happy with my qualifying, P1 being 0.55 ahead. At the start I lost 1 position T2/3 but made it through most of lap 1 before a disastrous turn 9 where I started breaking on the curb, losing the rear sending me over the grass. As I was catching the car it snapped back into P9 sending him off track. Sorry!
I had now lost the slipstream but was catching up as there was fierce fighting ahead. P4-P6 all took out one another and I pulled ahead from the pack behind. All I had to do was avoid penalties. That only held until a disastrous lap 7 where I got a total of 1.5 sec penalties, again losing my rear in turn 9. This had me back in P9 in the middle of the fighting. Thanks to @Moose78 testing i knew I could pit early, swapping to Softs lap 10. Now I could focus on clean consistent laps for the undercut, which worked wonders. Only had a few laps of difficulties overtaking an audi with Mediums which was stressing me out as the drivers behind were closing fast. Made it stick lap 17 and pulled ahead for a P4 finish and 178 points!
I was surprised by the aggressive driving in this GT1 race. It seemed most drivers were constantly trying to battle with 0 thought for long term strategy. Pitting away from it all is really my go to strategy in these long races.
Btw: Should I have waited after my crash lap 1? I strive to be clean and always wait if I miss my breaking point or somehow bump my way past someone. But an accident like pic 1, should you wait?
GT2 - North America - 12 PM EDT - Ferrari 296 GT3 '23 - Door #10 - 256 points available - Q5 (1:29.986) View attachment 1547282
A good qualifying position had me hopeful. Until we reached T3 on the opening lap, that is. I got pushed out wide and went for a spin. Down to P14 by the time I got the car going again.
It was a pretty uneventful race from there, trying without much success to claw my way back to the pack. The best I could muster was a P10 finish for 197 points and a 0.9% drop in my DR B progress, taking it to 96.8%.
I'm not going to bother going again. Even if I manage to avoid the carnage and place better in the next race, there's no guarantee it'll be for more points.
GT1 - EU - 21:00 - Porsche 911 - Door #4 - Q7 (1:29.3xx)
I was fairly happy with my qualifying, P1 being 0.55 ahead. At the start I lost 1 position T2/3 but made it through most of lap 1 before a disastrous turn 9 where I started breaking on the curb, losing the rear sending me over the grass. As I was catching the car it snapped back into P9 sending him off track. Sorry! View attachment 1547306
I had now lost the slipstream but was catching up as there was fierce fighting ahead. P4-P6 all took out one another and I pulled ahead from the pack behind. All I had to do was avoid penalties. That only held until a disastrous lap 7 where I got a total of 1.5 sec penalties, again losing my rear in turn 9. This had me back in P9 in the middle of the fighting. Thanks to @Moose78 testing i knew I could pit early, swapping to Softs lap 10. Now I could focus on clean consistent laps for the undercut, which worked wonders. Only had a few laps of difficulties overtaking an audi with Mediums which was stressing me out as the drivers behind were closing fast. Made it stick lap 17 and pulled ahead for a P4 finish and 178 points! View attachment 1547308
I was surprised by the aggressive driving in this GT1 race. It seemed most drivers were constantly trying to battle with 0 thought for long term strategy. Pitting away from it all is really my go to strategy in these long races.
Btw: Should I have waited after my crash lap 1? I strive to be clean and always wait if I miss my breaking point or somehow bump my way past someone. But an accident like pic 1, should you wait?
Just want to say a huge thank you for all your research and data for these races mate, really appreciate all you do for us.
Whilst I only managed a 12th place yesterday it could have been a lot worse if I hadn’t had your data ref: RS tyres.
Thanks again 🤠
Did 4 Races at Red Bull got spun in low speed corner pit maneuvers 7 times. Hard to think it’s all mistakes when after the apex they make contact in my rear corner then maintain full throttle till I spin out of their way. A level drivers don’t make that mistake. Garbage racing ended p12 with major doubts about continuing the series but I probably will because, as my wife says, I’m an addict.
