GTP WRS-Online : Post Race Interview Series

Episode Index:

I ...... Nascar (WRS Style) .............. December 7, 2011 ...... GTP_dsgerbc
II ..... Hyper-Dan's Spanish Holiday ..... December 14, 2011 ..... GTP_Allibubba99
III .... 16 X 3 Laps in a 4 Door ......... December 21, 2011 ..... GTP_w-g-e
IV ..... Split Window Splits ............. December 28, 2011 ..... GTP_gooners_17
​

Hi Dan,

First off, congratz on your win in the 3D3 NA Event NASCAR (WRS Style).

Thanks!

Qualifying seemed to go pretty well for you. How did you feel about your qualification lap? How did it compare to your practice laps and your expected grid position?

Didn't have much time for practice/tuning this week. Second lap of qualifying was my best to date, I think. I was pretty happy with my first lap (which was on par with my personal best from practice), so I could afford to be a little more aggressive. As for expectations - with little practice I was projecting to be marginally better than mid-pack.


You had a great start off the line from the front row, but ended up 3rd after turn 1. What happened?

Probably a mistake on my part for not covering the inside of turn 1. Was fairly certain that somebody would be side-by-side with me whether I chose inside or outside and decided to shoot for the inside of turn 2. Left some space for Speedy, but not enough and he had nowhere to go.


It looked like you had a real hard time getting by gooners in the early laps (or rather entire first stint). Speedy seemed to be driving away a little and then Hydro with him with WRP applying pressure from behind. What were you thinking at this point in the race?

Given my expectations for the race - not much. At first I felt I could go a hair faster than gooners but didn't want to ruin tires by pushing too hard. Then he pulled a small gap on me, and I only caught up closer to the end of the tire run. And I missed the point where WRP pitted, which confused me later in the race. I thought that he must've had an off since he fell back on an odd lap for either pitstop strategy.


When gooners pitted after lap 11 you were 10 seconds behind Speedy and Hydro. What was your strategy and thinking at that point? Did you plan on pitting after lap 12 or were you waiting for gooners to make a move? If he had stayed out were you pitting after lap 11 or was your strategy fixed?

Wasn't really expecting to catch up w/o big mistakes on their part, and gooners was still ahead of me, so catching up to him was my #1 goal. I guess with cleaner air and no immediate pressure from behind I could go a bit faster than during the first stint. The fact that I was gaining on the leader after 5-6 laps on the tires was encouraging, though. I watched the EU race and it seemed like pitting early (lap 11 of the stint vs 12) was useful if one needed to catch-up to somebody few second ahead. Leaders were further so if I was alone I would've pitted on lap 12. Gooners pitting on lap 11 helped me in that sense, because if he would've stayed out I would've pitted on lap 11 to avoid crap that often happens in the pits when two cars go in close together (I think it's usually the car behind that ends up losing a couple of seconds).

Through the pit cycle it looked like you gained 2 seconds on Speedy and 4 seconds on Hydro. Do you have any idea how that happened? Did you get a really good out lap in or was it traffic related?

Not sure what happened. Probably pit-lane or regular traffic somewhere. I was pretty lucky to avoid being stuck behind somebody with a different pit strategy and on worn tires.

You came out about 4 seconds behind gooners after pitting but you were able to pass shortly after you caught him. How was the 2nd stint different from the first? Did you approach the pass differently?

I suppose being behind gooners for the first 11 laps I couldn't really settle into the rhythm, with all the dirty air leading to extra braking and understeer. Couple of laps in clean air helped, plus he had one extra lap on his tires. Not sure approach was any different, just got a really good run off the last turn into the SF straight, and even after that the pass took a few more corners to complete.


After clearing gooners for 3rd place you were still 6 seconds behind Hydro and Speedy, but it appears Hydro had an off and you took 2nd. Did you see what happened? Were you confident you could catch Speedy at that point in the race?

Don't remember exactly, I think he made some noise on the air before I saw him on the grass. Almost lost it myself looking at his off-roading. I think by that time I started seeing the gap shrink consistently so I was planning a pit-stop on lap 23 to catch their draft if I didn't get close enough before then.


How did you overtake Speedy on lap 21? When you took over first place what was your strategy for holding the lead?

I was 4 seconds behind at the last in-field split and next thing I know - there's a cloud of dust ahead and Speedy is there, going slowly. So that's how I passed him. From race commentary in the thread it would seem that this is a particularly popular way of passing him. There were still few laps left before final pit-stop, and since I was gaining on him before his incident I tried to build a bit of a gap. I think I got it to about 2-3 seconds.


When you came out of your 2nd pit stop and saw WRP was in the lead did you know he was on a 3 stop strategy and still had a pit stop remaining?

I saw him pit on lap 17 or 18, so I knew he was either on 1-stop or 3-stop strategy. If this was a 1-stop strategy, with 17-18 second gap and 11 laps to go, given the sharp drop-off in speed after 8-9 laps on the tires, I felt there was plenty of time to catch up if I stayed mistake-free.


After WRP pitted was Speedy able to challenge you in the final stint? It looked like your front tires were in better condition than Speedy's? Were you saving tires and/or do you think your setup helped tire wear?

In longer races where tire wear is important I usually try to brake a hair early and not at 100% in intense braking zones to avoid tire-squealing, and give up a bit in turns where tires 'go red'. Setup was pretty much a mix-n-match of different tunes that I haven't tested much. The only thing had time to adjust was tire brake balance, which I tried to set to get a reasonably even wear. Luckily, the tune I used wasn't producing too different of front/rear tire wear to begin with.

Since I seemed to have had a faster pace on worn tires than Speedy during the second stint, I wasn't trying to push harder than normal. Priority was still avoiding mistakes and not letting Speedy catch up too easily, hopefully costing him some tire wear. That almost failed somewhere around lap 28(?) when I clipped the tire wall in turn 1 and Speedy almost ended up on my bumper, but somehow right after that I restored the gap to about 2 seconds. Not sure what happened, maybe dirty air threw off Speedy's balance/rhythm for a bit. And I think by lap 33 Hydro caught up with Speedy, so he had to drive a bit more defensively and the gap stabilized.

What were your thoughts over the final couple laps? Hydro seemed to be gaining at times. Were you aware of the gap or just trying to drive easy and maintain your lead?

I saw him catching up to Speedy so I was hoping they would slow each other down. After Speedy caught some sand Hydro was 3 or 4 seconds behind with less than 2 laps to go, so I focused on a bit of extra safety.

What were your overall thoughts on the race, car and track? If you were to run the event over would your strategy and approach be the same or would you do anything different?

Not a fan of the car by itself, too much torque, too nose-heavy of a beast. I even had to run with TC on, which I almost never do. The track/car combo was pretty fun though, and the replays are cool-looking and sound nice.

That's your second 3D3/NA win in a row. Do you expect that streak to continue next week?

Fat chance. I was on the receiving end of a couple of mistakes by others this week and CSL's poor internet connection last week. I expect the universe to balance itself out pretty soon.


Finally, here's a video of Dan's fast lap of the race which was a 1'26.438 on Lap 26

Hi Al,

This WRS Time Trial was your best podium finish yet (D4 Silver)! Congrats. About how much time did you devote to that? What tune did you use?

Thanks! I drove probably 300+ laps for this week’s WRS. I have been enjoying a friendly but fierce rivalry with Dale (GTP_RaceRyder), we had been jumping back and forth on the leaderboard. I finally gave up late Sunday evening and went to bed!
I used Madmax’s transmission (if I remember correctly) and played with the rest of the tune myself. I do try suggestions from the thread but playing with the settings myself is helping me understand how they affect the drivability of the car.

How much time did you spend practicing in an online lounge for this race? Did you practice Madrid Forward at all?

I spent approximately 45 min in the 3D3 lounge; most of that time was practicing Madrid Forward. I also got in almost an hour in the warmup before the race.

Were you satisfied with your qualifying laps? Did you get enough time, considering we accidentally started the race before the timer reached 15min?

I was very pleased with my qualifying, having the race started early did not affect me at all.

Were you disappointed that Dale sat out? He and you usually have some good battles.

I was disappointed, I hope he doesn’t sit out too often, I enjoy our battles.


Did you have a set plan for the race(s)? Or just go for it?

My plan for all races is to stay clean, hit my brake markers and apexes. It has helped me preserve my tires and saved time in the pits. This race tire wear was not a huge issue although I did have significant tire wear after all the close racing in the first race.

Early in lap 2 you had already passed Chuk and Daniel, and were 2sec behind Gravitron. What were your thoughts here?

First thoughts were to put the hammer down and see if I could close the distance but I stuck to my plan to stay clean.


And how did you handle the many following laps with Chuk and (mostly) Daniel taking turns riding your rear bumper?

Having someone on my bumper is a feeling I have not experienced often. I was pleased with my performance and it was definitely exciting! I must commend both of them for racing me so hard and being very respectful.

On lap 6 your tactic of trying to avoid leaving a draft for the following car almost wrecked you at the pit wall. Were you intending to cut it this close?

I have tangled with the pit wall a couple of times during the WRS time trials and certainly knew it was close. After watching the replay of the race I think I will not worry so much about trying to mess with the draft for those following me.


How fun was lap 12, where Daniel got in front of you by a hair at the final hairpin, and then you got back in front in the chicane, following the long side-by-side drag down the front straight?

Lap 12 was definitely fun 2 wide in the chicane! That was nuts! I still can’t believe I came out in front of that encounter!


Describe lap 20, where Chuk had gotten by you, but you stayed right on his tail, and then lap 21, where you got back in front.

I was disappointed in myself for tagging the wall and he snuck past. I tried to stay close enough to catch the draft and used a tactic Kevin (EDK) used on me in Laguna Seca ; put some pressure on him and hope for a mistake. It paid off.


How about lap 23, where Nish (in red), with much fresher tires, started pressuring from behind, and you held him off for more than a full lap? After this interaction, you then coasted to a 5th place finish.

What a surprise to see Nish behind me after lap 13. I thought maybe he had pitted. His tires did me in after the almost 2 lap battle and he slipped past and pulled away. My tires were almost toast, I was relieved to see I didn’t have to push hard for the last 2 laps.


Did you find any corners to be faster if they were slightly drifted? What was your favorite corner for Madrid Reverse? Madrid Forward?

I am just starting to get a better feel for what the car is doing. I still find that drifting is so difficult to do on purpose. I feel I am improving and must thank all of you at the WRS and 3D3 for helping me along the way.
I really don’t have a favorite corner but I do dislike the darn hairpin at the end of the back straight in Madrid Reverse! I think I have figured out the proper line but hitting it is the issue!

Speaking of Madrid Forward, what was it like starting up front (3rd)? You missed the Chuk crash halfway through lap 1, and ended up in first! What were your thoughts there? Nervous? You held the lead for 1 full lap. Nish and Hydro got by, but then you held Gravitron and Chuk off until lap 6. Gravitron got by you, but by lap 10, he was again behind you.

I was nervous to say the least with the reverse starting grid for the 2nd race. I was relieved to get by the 1st lap incident with only a scuff. I have the lead? Oh My! Now what do I do????? I tried to stick to my game plan but fell victim to both Hydro and Nish only to find Gravitron in my rear view. I held him off for a while and I think we exchanged spots once or twice. My nerves and Gravitron’s inside position on the last chicane caused me to tag the wall just enough to let him by in the final straight. So close but yet so far to my first 3D3 podium. Oh well, lesson learned. I will get him next time!


What was your best moment you were proud of? You certainly were not easy to pass.

I was proud of my overall result, there is still lots to improve on but I gained a ton of confidence in this week’s event.


You submitted for WRS Week 12 "Gee Tee Eye" on Madrid Forward, do you have any love or hate for that week? Or not memorable?

Week 12 was my 4th week with WRS. I was as green as could be, it was a struggle. I think I took a rather long break after that, life got in the way of my racing. My wife and I had a baby girl and being with them took priority. I thank my wife every Wed. after the races for blessing me with the time and understanding to make the living room my man cave!


Are you looking forward to next week's race at Suzuka East with the Renault? Are you enjoying the time-trial battle with the new blood in D4 recently?

This week at Suzuka East has been frustrating to say the least. 3 clean laps in a row are proving difficult. I do understand that finesse and patience has everything to do with this week’s challenge. I have over 200 laps invested in Suzuka East so far. Hope to get a few more in because I am at the bottom of the leaderboard chasing all the new blood in D4!

You mentioned that you're a firefighter and you teach karate on weekends? Any other hobbies you enjoy?

I am in my 29th year as a full time Firefighter and Paramedic in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I teach Shotokan Karate with my wife and enjoy our Daughter, Dog and many aquariums in our fish room. That’s a story for another time!
I would like to thank all of you at the WRS and 3D3 Racing for all of the time and effort you put in so we can live our dream of being a real/virtual race car driver! A special thanks to Christophe (GTP_Speedy6543) for referring me to the 3D3!

Al

Great job to both Al and Lucas for an interesting read! Makes me even more home-sick to get back in these races and battle with you guys.

The pics from that side by side run through the hairpin look cool. When I get back and get a copy of the replay from Lucas I'll try to add a capture of that lap to the bottom of the interview. Did you guys really make the entire turn without any contact? Did you use your side view or could you see him from your view or did you just hold your line and hope he did the same?

Yes great interview Al and Lucas:tup:.

WRP001

Great job to both Al and Lucas for an interesting read! Makes me even more home-sick to get back in these races and battle with you guys.

The pics from that side by side run through the hairpin look cool. When I get back and get a copy of the replay from Lucas I'll try to add a capture of that lap to the bottom of the interview. Did you guys really make the entire turn without any contact? Did you use your side view or could you see him from your view or did you just hold your line and hope he did the same?

Click to expand...

We rubbed a little and I think we both tagged the walls a bit. I have surround sound and defiantly could hear him next to me. I tried to leave him enough room and hoped to come out of the chicane with a lead. I was very fortunate.

I don't want to rub any salt in your wound but we missed you Tim.

Al

Great interview! But I was blushing at seeing my name so many times while reading it

It was fun racing with you Al and with all the others, I'm looking forward to the next one!

Nice interview and pics!

Nice interview!
Seems like a very good race.
Really regret being absent for the NA race.
I liked the combo very much...

Nice read and a good little addition to add interviews after each race 👍

Hi Wesley,

First off, Congratulations on winning both the Pole, and Race for this event.
You also finished first overall in the WRS offline event with a lap of 57.112 which is about 1/2 faster than your fastest Online lap. Do you find you need to adjust your driving style much to acheive similar lap times Online?

Thanks,
I found I could be much more agressive because the rear tyres were upgraded to sports medium tyres, making the car less pronounced to spinning out. However I wasn't prepared for that because I came in the room quite late and hadn't done any practice beforehand. I only did my pole lap on lap 4 or 5 (when the grip wasn't optimal) so yes I needed some time to adjust to the new tyres. I think the lap could have been about the same if not faster than my offline lap but I knew I wouldn't have another chance so I was pretty conservative.

You've placed 3rd or better in your last 11 WRS Offline events (including the last 6 in a row), which is no easy task in Division 1, and you've also won 3 of the 5 races you've finished in the 3D3 / WRS Online events as well. Are you confident that you can maintain these streaks in future events?

I think the main reason for doing well in both WRS and 3D3 events is lack of participation of D1 gold drivers (and D1 drivers in general). 3D3 is becoming quite popular but the participation could still be a lot better, especially considering the quality racing and organisation. I hope WRS and 3D3 keep on growing and then it will be a lot harder for me to keep on the podium.

You have won events that allow tuning, and also events that do not. Do you have a preference for events with respect to tuning?

To be honest, I like both. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Non-tuning weeks make for an all-even playing field but tuning weeks give the tuner a chance to shine. That's why I like the way WRS is currently being run. I like being able to tune the car to my liking but I also like to try to control a stock car. I think I prefer non-tuning weeks but very slightly.

A lot of drivers use your posted tunes (myself included - Thanks ), so clearly you are able to make a(ny) car run fast. Is there any particular trait you like to see in your tunes (Oversteer, tight handling, etc.)?
Oh, great to see I can help others with my set-ups.
I like my tunes agressive in that the car is quite loose and pronounced to oversteering. Most of the time this is the way to go if you want the fastest lap. But one would prefere a safer set-up to be more consistent. I think I'm a fairly smooth driver and that's why I don't mind the car to be a little 'wild' sometimes.

After qualifying on Pole, and having a good start, you were in the lead pack of 4-5 drivers. It was very close racing, with drivers often going 2 wide through turn 1. Do you get nervous at all in a pack like that?

Yes, I do. I don't know if you can see it in the replay but my right foot was shaking in a way it became annoying and almost hurt my driving in the first 10 laps. This usually doesn't happen though (maybe it's because of lack of practice) and I think I'm fairly conservative in a pack of drivers (and sometimes even too conservative).

The first 16 laps saw yourself, Biffy, MadMax86, and Hydro all within 1-2 seconds of eachother, with multiple position changes. Were you considering a race strategy at the time or were you just happy to stay with the leaders until the pit stops separated the drivers?

I just tried to stay with Biffy, Pekka and you and I didn't really have a strategy at that time. I saw that Pekka and Biffy were fighting quite hard for position so I could keep up quite easily and conserve my tyres that way. I would just see if I could do a 1 or a 2-stop.

On lap 4 you caught the grass coming out of the final turn and almost spun right into the pit lane wall. You recovered and only lost 1 position. Were you concerned that Biffy and MadMax would get away?

No, not really. Pekka and Biffy were fighting quite hard for position and even if I couldn't close the gap I knew it wouldn't be much of a problem in a race that long.

From there you were easily as fast as the others, but not nearly as aggressive when in close. With you being on a 1 stop strategy, and the others were on 2 stop strategies did you feel like you needed to be patient in order to conserve tires?

Not especially, I didn't drive at the limit though just because I could keep up easily with them battling it out in front. Normally in a 3D3 race I only pass if me and the driver I'm about to pass don't lose time with it. And that was almost impossible on this track.

Biffy and MadMax were engaged in quite a battle in front of you right until Biffy Pitted on lap 16. Were you counting on them to essentially burn themselves out?

I knew they were battling quite hard and I know they were driving with a controller. But I didn't know their strategy. It wasn't surprising to see them pitting though and I felt that I was on the right way if I could keep my tyres well.


Your driving was looking consistently smoother than the others, even in traffic, and your (lack of) tire wear backs this obsevation up.
How do you think your driving style allows you to remain so fast, yet preserve tires so well?
Here's some comparison pics of tire wear so you can see what I mean:

This first pic is of your tires vs. Madmax's tires on lap 17.

And here's a pic of your tires on lap 26 and Hydro's tires on lap 16.
Despite going 10 more laps on your tires the wear is almost even.

I think I didn't drive at the limit of the tyres grip like the others around me did. My pace wasn't that spectacular but it still allowed me to keep up. I could drive faster but it was hard to pass so I just sticked behind Pekka and Biffy.
And of course the wheel makes for more consistant smooth driving than the controller.

Do you drive in other Racing games as well, and does that seem to help in making you faster in GT5?

No, currently I don't drive in other racing games. I would love to try iRacing sometimes though. But that would be too expensive for me at the moment having to buy the required equipment and the subscription.

On lap 15 you were tapped in your rear quater panel by Hydro as you were entering the "esses", and you made an impressive recovery. The off track cost you a little over 1 second in that lap. You were .643 behind at the start of lap 15, 1.703 on lap 16, and .770 on lap 17. Obviously the contact didn't faze you that much as you were able to close the gap immediately. What were you thinking when it happened?

I was thinking 🤬 you Marc.
No, just kidding.
Incidents are inevitable when it comes to racing. I tried to get back on pace as soon as possible and I already knew it wouldn't be too hard to close the gap.

On lap 26 (26!) you went in for your only pit stop. However your pitstop took a full minute as opposed to almost all other drivers taking only 28-30 seconds. Watching the replay, your pit crew didn't even start to change the tires until almost the 20 second mark - in fact they just stood there doing nothing for quite some time. What happened there? Forget to push the "X" button?

I wasn't sure what tyres we were supposed to race on so I searched for the thread to see the tyre combo (even though I asked before the race started).
Looking back it's so incredibly stupid because I would have been disqualified anyway.

That cost you almost exactly 30 seconds and when you exited the pit you had dropped to 7th spot. Were you concerned that the error had cost you a chance at 1st place?

Yes, I was. Lucky for me I had free air and I could put in some fast laps.. But I had no real clue what position I was racing for.

From there you had a pretty clear run until the final 12 laps or so, and on lap 32 you were 31 seconds down on the leader and in 6th place. Following round 2 of pit stops (for other drivers) you were 3rd on lap 34. With 14 laps to go how confident were you that you could pull off the win?

Not at all.
I saw Biffy coming right in front of me after his pitstop. But I knew he had much fresher tyres and I was on half-worn tyres..

On lap 42 after several laps of battling with Biffy (who unfortunately couldn't see you due to network issues), you were bumped off track in turn 1, putting you 1.3 seconds back with only 5 laps to go. What was going through your mind then?

I was almost sure he couldn't see me so I thought there was no way to pass him unless he made a mistake. I knew I was faster than him so the lost time wasn't much of a problem (event though that cost me an extra lap).

In an ironic twist of fate Biffy went off on lap 43, and had no idea you passed him for 1st overall - a position you held until the race ended. You've raced with Biffy before, and he's a tough driver to shake off. How do you think the last 12 laps or so would have played out had he been able to see you?

I think it would be very close until the end. I was on tyres from lap 26 and he on tyres from lap 34 but I conserved my tyres better so it was pretty even. It's almost impossible to predict the results had that happened.


Thanks for the Interview Wesley, and good luck in all of your future Racing 👍

👍 Fire your crew chief for not having proper tires ready! Oh, that would be you. amazing you could recover and win after that.

Also win without practice... Must be nice. I guess all those WRS-time trial laps didn't hurt.

Good job guys!

Fun read! And I'm fairly certain Wes tried to pit on lap 24 and came in a bit too hot.

That pit stop answer is too funny. X 10
So let me get this straight - you would have [most likely] won by [at least] over 30 seconds otherwise?
Wow. WOW

I'm gonna go practice for a year or two....

Very nice read! 👍
Just amazing how Wes was still able to finish first with all the lost time.

My pitstop strategy helped me to gain the lost time I guess.

dsgerbc

Fun read! And I'm fairly certain Wes tried to pit on lap 24 and came in a bit too hot.

Click to expand...

Yes, almost fully hit the barrier with that..

Nice read! Congrats again to Wes for his amazing victory, despite all the time lost. Shows why he is in Div 1 👍

Also great pics with the name-tags :-) Only, I thought Wes was Dutch in stead of Brittish

That's a great interview!! It will be fun to see how the new update affects tire wear, and how we use that for racing strategy. And again, top-notch driving from Wes! Well-done!!

OnlyMe

Also great pics with the name-tags :-) Only, I thought Wes was Dutch in stead of Brittish

Click to expand...

I don't know why, but Wes' tag has reverted to the original save twice now - I originally gave him the wrong flag, and it keeps coming back.
I probably just used the wrong folder / version (not sure why they are out of focus as well).
I'll fix it up 👍

Great interview. 👍 And great win Wes. Nice to see humility and talent in the same person. I think you're still improving too mate.

Vagabond

Great interview. 👍 And great win Wes. Nice to see humility and talent in the same person. I think you're still improving too mate.

Click to expand...

I think you may be right Chris, worrying for the rest of us

Great interview Wes, after watching the race I can see what an accomplishment it was to still take victory with all the incidents, not to mention your pit crew who seemed to have fallen asleep on the job

Some fantastic results you have had over the weeks regardless of the lack of D1 participation, you still have to be consistent 👍

Fantastic job by both interviewer and star. 👍

Sorry I missed that race I was signed up for, I blame my non-GTP_Friends.

Thanks for the comments but it's my own fault I forgot the tyre choice. Besides that Biffy also lost time being confused about something.

*awaiting for interview*

anastasis14

*awaiting for interview*

Click to expand...

lol. Just lol

Hello and welcome Mohit,

Congratulations on your first win in the WRS-OE/3D3 series!

Thanks .

Before we get into the online race let's talk about the WRS time trial. You did pretty well in the offline time trial this week posting a 1'34.905 lap which was good for a top 10 overall finish. How much time did you put into the time trial and did you leave a lot of time on the track or was it pretty close to a gold lap for you? What tune did you use for the time trial?

Yeah in terms of overall position it was my best WRS to date. I did put in a lot of effort, around 800 kms (500 miles), which i think is around 150 laps of the track. I had never driven this car before, but I can say now it is definitely one of my favourite in the game. It was pretty close to my best effort, maybe I would have gained a position if had put in even more time, but Division 2 podium was definitely out of my reach as we had some great times up there. I ended up using Vagabond's tune (so did I think most of the participants in the WRS ). Thanks Chris!

I heard you just got a new wheel. Did you use it for the time trial or for the race? How do you compare driving with the two controllers? Was this car hard to control with the pad?

Yeah I just bought a DFGT, but since I got it over the weekend I didn't use it at all in the TT or the race. The wheel brings great precision and accuracy when attacking the apexes, and the gas and brake modulation is so much easier than on a DS3. In terms on handling, the car wasn't hard to handle, but I put that down to R3 tires and a decent tune.

On to the live race. How much practice did you get online before the race? What tune did you use for the race? What tunes did you try? After PD changed the tire wear model did you spend a lot of time developing your race strategy and tire choice or did you just wing it?

I think I managed around 3 hours of online practice. I mostly just concentrated on figuring out how much life I can extract from the 3 different tire options, and trying to find a tune to suit the online physics. I tried pretty much all the tunes out there, including the offline ones with maxed out ride height. In the end I settled for MadMax's tune (thanks Pekka ), it suit my driving style perfectly, and the car was behaving as good as it was offline.

I didn't spend time comparing strategies on track, just came up with a strategy in my head which wouldn't involve R1s (they were giving terrible laptimes). That being said, I knew exactly what strategy I would be using before the race, and I was confident that it was a good one.

This was the first time we've allowed open tire choice. What did you think about that option? Did it add to the race or cause issues?

I like . I even posted a suggestion about it in the suggestions thread. For me, it added another dimension to the race, and I wouldn't mind seeing it there every week .


You qualified in 5th with a 1'37.993. Were you happy with that lap? You were in Group B and had to wait while Group A qualified, did you think that impacted your performance? Some reported a stark difference in the cars feel and/or physics between practice and qualifying after the room was reset, did you notice that yourself?

Yeah, qualifying didn't go the way I planned. I think I had almost a second more in me. The waiting really didn't impact my performance, but watching Speedy post a 1'37.2, and Vagabond posting a 1'36.3 (I went last), really made me put some pressure on myself. Trying to target a 1'36.xxx lap, I pushed too hard and ended up making mistakes on both my laps. I can't say I noticed any issues after the room reset, the car still handled the way I hoped it would.


Your start was awesome. You went from 5th to 1st on the straight before the first turn. Did you use any special technique to get such a great launch and did you have any problems weaving past the top 4 drivers who are all very fast (Vagabond, Speedy, W-G-E and Sjaak)?

All I did was floor it . I would put it down to the transmission settings on the car. I know for a fact MadMax was using the same transmission settings (it was his tune ), and he went from 14th to 6th before the first turn. I did think it was a bit weird since a longer 1st gear usually bogs down a bit and doesn't get you off the line that great, but hey, I'm not complaining haha. I didn't really have to weave past Speedy, Sjaak, and w-g-e to be honest, it almost felt as if they were standing still. I caught up to Vagabond on the run down to the first corner, and I was a bit surprised he didn't try and defend his position. I almost lost it in the first corner but managed to keep it together and exit the corner before Vagabond.


You were smoking fast the first few laps running your fast lap of 1'37.342 right out of the gate on lap 2 which beat your qualify time by over half a second! After 3 laps you had a 6.8 second lead on Vagabond in 2nd. Were you just "going for broke"? How did that play into your overall race strategy?

Yeah I was just trying to enjoy being in the lead, even though it was a bit nerve-wracking . I just thought Vagabond made a mistake somewhere and lost time, and soon he would come charging past, which wasn't a far cry considering he was the overall WRS winner and had set a blistering quali time.


You went in for your first pit after Lap 5 which was pretty early and your tire wear was pretty bad compared to Chris in 2nd. Was it your plan to pit so early or did you adjust on the fly based on tire wear and/or the fact that you jumped out to such an early lead?

I did plan from the start to pit at lap 5. I don't know if it was my driving style, the tune, the DS3 I use, or a combination of all the three, but 5 laps were the best I ever got from the softs in practice.


You came out of the pits in 3rd even though most of the field didn't pit so that must have made you feel pretty good. Fresh tires and only a few drivers in front, plus very little traffic to deal with which is usually the problem with short pitting early in the race. Was this your master plan with driving so hard those first few laps while everyone else was managing tires?

As much as I'd love to say it was part of my master plan, I was very surprised I came out 3rd after the pit stop. I was really confused, and the only thing I could think of at the time that there had been a huge 10 car pile up somewhere on the track .


You had a close call passing NINE_HUNDRED to take back 2nd place on the final turn of lap 6. It's obvious you were still pushing very hard on your soft tires... were you still unconcerned with tire wear at this point in your 2nd stint?After lap 6 you were in 2nd place about 25 seconds behind Vagabond who was yet to pit. What were you thinking at this point in the race and did you change your strategy at all given the great position you were in?

One of the good things about choosing a 3 stopper before the race was that I wasn't conflicted between putting down good lap times and conserving tires. My stint lengths and tire choices meant I could push hard without worrying about the tires going out on me. At this point I was definitely dreaming about a podium. In terms of strategy, I was pretty much locked to the one I had chosen in the beginning of the race, because of my inability to manage my tires. Also I didn't want to do something stupid because I hardly find myself in these kinds of positions.


Chris switched to medium tires and even though he had fresher tires your soft tires seems to keep pace and your lead after lap 10 was 33 seconds. I was surprised given the tire wear that you risked a 6th lap on Softs and you seem to have a hard time on lap 11? Did you have any regrets trying to stretch the tires one additional lap?

I did something stupid . I knew I could get only 5 laps out of my softs, but looking at the tire indicator I decided to go for a 6th lap. I was fine for the first half of the lap but negotiating the latter half was a real mission. Nah, no regrets since it worked out in the end, but if I had run out of tread I'm pretty sure there would have been some.


Even though your 11th lap was rough you caught a big break when Chris spun on turn 1 himself and got stuck in reverse? Did you notice the splits getting larger or were you just focusing on getting it back to the pits? That incident allowed you to come out of the pits after lap 11 with the lead and fresh tires. Were you confident at this point that you were going to win?

Though I was watching the splits continuously, it gets a bit weird around the pit stops, and I really didn't want to start doing the math as I still was pushing hard. I only knew that something had happened after the race. I not sure how much time Chris lost, but I'm sure the race would have been a lot closer, and maybe a bit different. Yeah the thoughts of standing on top of that figurative podium did come to my mind then, but I still wasn't that confident looking at the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, in the driver list.
I'm still trying to figure out how he got stuck in reverse though .


You switched to medium tires for the remainder of the race. Did you have to change your line or approach (e.g. corner gear) to any parts of the track? Did you have a hard time adjusting to the medium compound?

All I did was brake a bit early, coast a bit more, and gas a bit later. I had no problems adjusting, since I had practiced running on the medium compound during practice. I ran a very structured and productive practice session, so I was prepared for the difference in performance for the race.

Your 3rd stint seemed fairly uneventful. Were you still pushing hard or were you managing the tires and the gap to 2nd? After Chris pitted after lap 16 you had a one minute lead, were you feeling pretty safe at this point knowing you still had one pit remaining? On lap 18 you had a pretty tough battle with MadMax who was a lap down, but had a very good pace at that time. Given you were about to pit did you consider just letting him go and following him for the 2nd half of the lap?

I was still pushing hard, as I just needed to do 7 laps on a set of mediums. Though the race was starting to get the feel of a time trial, and without trying to sound bigheaded, I wish the gaps were a bit smaller to make it a bit more interesting. I started to get too comfortable and started making stupid errors. Now that you mention it, it would have been smarter to let him go and continue to the pits. But at the time I wasn't taking my lead for granted, and you know I never shy from a battle with others .


You came out of the pits at the start of lap 19 with a 31 second lead. Thoughts at this point?

I got this.

You had a very close call with Speedy under braking on turn 1 of lap 21. I'm not sure how you avoided a wreck there? Given you were so close to the end did this change your approach to lapped traffic through the rest of the race?

I'm not sure either. He picked up my draft, and I guess he missed his braking point. I only realized something was wrong when he came blitzing past me on the inside of the corner and into the wall. It didn't really change the way I approached lapped traffic, though a couple of people didn't want to let me get by for some odd reason.


On lap 24 with 1 to go and a big lead you still seemed to be pushing 100% and almost lost it coming out of the final turn with a 24 second lead. Is that the "gooners style", 100% all the time, or were you still worried about getting caught? Even on lap 25 you posted one of the fastest 2 or 3 laps in the field. Way to bring it home! 👍

. Nahh, the slide just looked more dramatic than it was.
The car just felt so perfect, even on worn tires, that I had no hesitation giving it all. I don't know if I'm ready to give it a label yet, but I believe you either Go Hard or Go Home .


Congratulations again on a fast and very consistent race. Does it feel good to get your first win in the series? You did it with a very fast grid and our biggest field to date (15 drivers) so you definitely earned the top spot on the podium in a good way!

Thanks again! Definitely feels good, probably will be back down to earth next week though.


Have you started on the next WRS time trial yet? And if so are you confident you can follow up this performance with a similar effort next week? Are you going to switch to the wheel and do you think that will impact your performance?

I've put in around 30 laps on the new wheel, but my current splits are good enough to be in the middle of D3 and D4. Its a bit frustrating but a lot of fun and I hope soon I can go faster than on a DS3. I will be doing the 3D3 races on the DS3 in the near future though, till I can stop spinning out on my DFGT. I may be able to challenge for a podium if I improve considerably, but a win may be out of reach for now as we have some really quick drivers out there and I really need to step up my game if I'm to repeat performances like this one.

Finally, here's a video of Mohit's fast lap of the race which was a 1'37.342 on Lap 2 on Racing Softs:

Great questions, Tim, and nice driving, Mohit. 👍 Hope you move to the DFGT exclusively ASAP, I know it takes a while, but it really is more involving.

Great interview! Nice read. 👍
Eventhough being on the same tires as the qualifying I wasn't able to get to my qualifying times the whole race. (min 2.5sec off )
Great work there Mohit! 👍

Well deserved win Mohit and nice interview.👍