Race Pace / Qualifying pace. Short race No Fuel & Tyre were, Question

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Beevster

Beevster

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Beevster
I'm Sorry if this has already been sorted, I've sifted through 11 pages of the forum and still not found any clues.

My question is why in a short daily race with no fuel or tyre wear is there a big difference in my lap times, 2-3 seconds per lap. For example on brands hatch last night I managed a 1:31.1 In qualifying, But in the race struggle to get under a 1:33 or 1:34.

Is this the same for everyone or am I just crap in races :(

P.S Had some good races last night, Love the F type and BMW around Brands Hatch GG to all those in BB
 
Presumably with other cars on the track you can't drive as you would on an empty track.

I find sometimes I set better times in races (perhaps chasing someone better than me, following their lines and maybe getting some drafting) other times slower times
 
I don't tend to pay much attention to my lap times in Sport Mode (concentrating too hard on the lunatics!!), but I feel faster in races than I do in Quali. I guess like @Robben says above, battling with someone with better skill than you or drafting could be the reason!
 
Beevster
I'm Sorry if this has already been sorted, I've sifted through 11 pages of the forum and still not found any clues.

My question is why in a short daily race with no fuel or tyre wear is there a big difference in my lap times, 2-3 seconds per lap. For example on brands hatch last night I managed a 1:31.1 In qualifying, But in the race struggle to get under a 1:33 or 1:34.

Is this the same for everyone or am I just crap in races :(

P.S Had some good races last night, Love the F type and BMW around Brands Hatch GG to all those in BB
Click to expand...

My guess is: there’s no tire wear or fuel consumption, but there’s tire temp and fuel load / weight.
 
Usually I'm faster in qualifying, slower in race due to traffic and most important I guess, not daring to take every risk.
Difference between Q and R is 1 - 3 tenths, your 2 sec seem to be too much.
 
In qualifying you're on the track on your own with nothing to think about except how much brake/throttle/turn in etc you applied on that corner the lap before, also having your own ghost to remind you if you could have pushed more.
Also there is no pressure in qualifying, no looking in your rear view mirror, no thinking you need to pick up your pace which can lead to making errors etc etc.

Edit : following a faster driver in the same car can act as your ghost, so in those situations I normally improve lap time over qualifying, but that's probably due to visualising the corners before reaching them, and slipstream.
 
I've had no fuel/tyre wear races where I've managed best laps near my qualifying times, in fact that is mostly the case. However there are some races where it just seems like the car just won't go where you need it too on turn in and I'll lap maybe a second slower.

This is even worse when there is tyre wear as by the late laps all that sliding due to lack of grip wrecks the tyres and you slide even more. In my last race I had it and I was in front as I was previously but the car this time wasn't like the other races, it was pushing in corners a lot, I also ended up getting the blue screen after the race, I wonder if connection issues cause it and if this is all related.
 
ASH32
I've had no fuel/tyre wear races where I've managed best laps near my qualifying times, in fact that is mostly the case. However there are some races where it just seems like the car just won't go where you need it too on turn in and I'll lap maybe a second slower.

This is even worse when there is tyre wear as by the late laps all that sliding due to lack of grip wrecks the tyres and you slide even more. In my last race I had it and I was in front as I was previously but the car this time wasn't like the other races, it was pushing in corners a lot, I also ended up getting the blue screen after the race, I wonder if connection issues cause it and if this is all related.
Click to expand...

Fuel / tire wear, yep, didn't think of that ... I've been in sprint races only so far, so sorry.
But anyway : According to the saying here on the forum and what the HUD says ( correct me if I'm wrong ) qualifying is warm tires / full tank.
Race start is cold tires / full tank, but the tires get into their temps window and the tank gets empty. So it should be possible at least to reach qualifying pace in a race ( assuming fuel map 1, no traffic, etc ).
 
To add too the discussion,
I can go around the 6th corner on brands hatch the first of the grass cutting corners at 85mph every time in qualifying, but slide into the sand in the race.
Maybe cold tyres but after 2 laps surly there hot enough in a 4 lap race!
 
Beevster
To add too the discussion,
I can go around the 6th corner on brands hatch the first of the grass cutting corners at 85mph every time in qualifying, but slide into the sand in the race.
Maybe cold tyres but after 2 laps surly there hot enough in a 4 lap race!
Click to expand...

There are no grass cutting corners on Brands :D ...
Is it your nerves ?
 
I definitely felt a difference in physics between qualifying and race on a no wear/fuel race. Normally i don't notice it too much but the brands hatch gr4 daily the other day it was a night and day feeling.
I was comfortably pumping out mid 1:29s in qualifying but would come last in the race due to spinning out trying to do the same thing during the race. Exiting Druids and Graham Hill Bend was extremely painful.

Maybe it was all in my head but i had to drive differently to stay on track.

On a plus note, i like fuel / wear races. I always tend to pit when my fuel is empty generally about 2/3 of race distance. I can do a real quick lap after that. My theory is i took less fuel and have fresher tyres at that points vs people who pit at half way.
 

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