2021 FIA Series Race Discussion

  • Thread starter GTPNewsWire
  • 9,031 comments
  • 1,684,427 views
3566E38E-F11D-4158-B856-E674B416A20A.jpeg


That was exhausting :lol:

I was the only FR car to finish in the top 10. Just made sure I kept it on the track and picked off players who made mistakes. Had to sit patiently behind a struggling Renault for a while until I could make a clean pass. Finished 10 seconds ahead of 4th but the winning R8 was 25 seconds ahead of me! Supra was on pole but binned it and quit after a few laps. Just got beaten to the fastest lap by 0.025 seconds! Slowly making way back up the DR rankings.
 
LVS_1986
Aaah Mustang is probably the worst car on wet Spa... Set a lobby to check if its me that bad or the car... Took Mazda RX and set time almost 2s better than my best in Mustang... Only in two laps
Click to expand...

Have you tried the F1?

I might jump in on the last slot, but after some laps yesterday, I’m interested, but I could find this race really being a buzzkill early.
 
LVS_1986
So, in lobby with @Zorz, quali starts and disconnection... Its a signView attachment 998865
Click to expand...
Lucky. Wish I got disconnected. Wound up manually "disconnecting". Wasted my time. NSX behind me, passed me out of T1 at the start. From there, I was alone for five laps in P11. 10 seconds ahead of P12.
All of a sudden, the car wants to rotate left, after exiting Radillion. Just a random looseness after doing nothing different. Fell to 15/20, with a 10 second gap to 16th and battled with numb finger and an RC F.

Lap 12, exited. Was worth about 50 something points anyway. I'm on, I think, 80 points.
 
LVS_1986
Unfortunately I havent, but Im SURE it is better than Mustang;)
Click to expand...
Going to have to throw the Atenza out there as a contender for worst car now that we've done the race. I just tried the Mustang and it shares all the same issues as the Atenza with them both being FR, but the Mustang's traction out of the Bus Stop and La Source is far far better. :P
 
A big V8 should have better traction out of the slow corner since you can short-shift it and still have plenty of torque in low RPMs. I find turbo cars much more of a problem as you have no torque when off boost in low RPMs, and the turbo boost comes on quickly enough to cause sudden loss of traction.
 
I definitely wouldn't call that a "fun" race, but it was interesting to have something so different. I don't know that the Genesis with auto trans is made for driving in the rain, but I kept it steady and on track for a top 10 and a CRB. The 56 points counts for me right now, so a good result for a race I considered skipping. I still think the FIA officials should have waited for the clouds to clear and the sun to come out before starting the race though :).

spa wet genesis.jpg
 
FIA Manufacturers Round 4 - Spa / Gr3 WET!

Was looking forward to this one... it has a been a while since I had a solid result in the FIA races, I've hit a wall at 36k DR and it's been a goal just to finish top-10 to increase my DR a little each race.

But Spa, in the wet, in the Porsche... this HAD to be a good one for me.

Put in an hour or two of practice, more than usual for me. Ran a 2:46.8 best time, and repeated 2:47's a lot after finding my marks, with the TCS set to 0.

Didn't see any GT Planet or TPC drivers out there, unfortunately, when I got matched. I don't like the new matching with so many drivers, but what can you do? I was #3, which meant marginal points compared to what I might have hoped for, but the spread isn't so much at the 35k range, so probably didn't really matter.

When the qualifying session started, I waited at pit exit for the pack to get ahead, but with only the standard 5 minute qualifying session, felt some pressure. A few of us had the same idea and waited for the rest to head up Radillon, then accelerated to race pace to get our flyer in. Off course, predictably, someone had gone off at Les Combes already... I noticed as we passed through that the MacLaren in front of me, who seemed to be on the same page as me about the qualifying strategy, got a 3 second penalty... that was weird.

But then... I got one too! IGNORING THE YELLOW. WTF?! For a ghosted car that went off track? I immediately bailed to restart, to avoid the harsh penalty on my one and only flying lap, but when I exited the pits there was barely 3 minutes left on the clock now... pressure was ON!

I did put in a solid lap, a little conservative, but with 10 seconds to spare at the start of the hot lap, I managed to qualify 4th. There were two REALLY fast guys in my lobby, so I was satisfied with that. The McLaren that suffered the same fate as me followed me around, then pipped me for 3rd starting position just after I crossed.

The race: I started with my TCS on 5 (THANKS @Mistah_MCA !!) and in fact, committed to run the whole first lap or even two with it on, to simply avoid the carnage, and let the order settle out, before worrying at all about my pace. It worked perfectly... dogged the Mac for a couple of laps, hoping to pressure him into a mistake, while the first two aliens punched out ahead of us. The thought of a podium finish was dancing in my head already... just don't make a mistake and see what happens! I dialed the TCS down to 0 and set out to keep my nose under that McLaren.

But then, at the end of lap 2... the McLaren caught a tank slapper on the exit of the screwy last chicane... and I did the same! Except I didn't catch mine, and slowly came to a stop sideways. I had to spin it back toward La Source, and by then, I was in 7th. RATS.

Kept a cool head, though, and simply avoided trouble for the rest of the race. Clocked lap after lap within a tenth of the last one, hitting my marks and avoiding the urge to outdrive my talent, or the available grip. Was gifted a couple of spots by mistakes ahead of me. Pressured another McLaren, this one an F1, until he made a track limits mistake, allowing me to pass him at the end of Kemmel. From there, consolidated the spot, never really got in contact with the 3rd place car, and avoided more mistakes to finish a solid 4th, right where I started, but not at all that simple.

I loved this race... I've had some of my best race finishes here at this track, in the wet and dry both. I needed a good one this season, too. Would love to have earned that podium, but I got what I deserved, given the TINY mistake I made. I can't wait to run it again on the Alt, in a McLaren, later tonight. Good luck to all the other GTP drivers.

Earned 149 FIA points, exactly a 1000 DR, and enjoyed the race tons. (and kicking myself for screwing around in a Daily on the main account yesterday, because instead of pushing my DR to a new all-time high, I simply recovered the 1000 I lost when I got punted on the last lap of that one Daily A race... I'll NEVER learn...)

upload_2021-3-20_19-11-1.png

Needed that finish... been a while since a top-5... wanted that podium SO BADLY, though!

8358782132927104016_0.jpg

The thrill of throwing the car into Eau Rouge in the rain, 13 times in a row, gambling for that speed through Radillon and on the run up Kemmel... hard to top it.

8358782135076684816_0.jpg

Representing GT Planet, TPC and decency ...no new podium sticker this week, though! :(

8367789342384488464_0.jpg

I love this car... in the rain at Spa, no less, a very fun race.


...OH so close to avoiding trouble... just the slightest oversteer and I was done, on lap 2.
 
Last edited:
Top room, 343 points with Igor Fraga on pole. Door number 16. Qualify 14th, didn't have a great lap, but I was 2.1 seconds behind 13th, so even if I had done my fastest lap ever I wouldn't have started any further forward.

Kept my gap to the RXV in front of me at the start and was pulling ahead of the other Supra behind, but had a half spin on the 2nd lap that dropped back a position. I managed to stick with him and he went wide at the Bus Stop so I could get alongside, but the McLaren F1 behind took the opportunity to take the position from me, and I couldnt get enough traction to complete the pass on the Supra.

Eventually got the McLaren pretty easily, then got the Supra (twice, of course, penalties) and pulled away. Spent the entire second half of the race by myself, falling further behind 13th, pulling away from 15th. Finally managed to start setting good consistent laps near my normal time in the final third of the race. Took everything to not get bored or distracted and throw it away.

Finished 1 minute 21 seconds behind, right where I started, 14th. No other car behind me finished the race. About 25 seconds behind 13th. My fastest lap, a 2:46.1, was two seconds slower than the fastest lap of every car ahead of me.

I earned about 147 points, which gained me about 30 points in the championship. I'd like to gain more but why bother going again? It is impossible for me to do anything competitive with the Supra in this top tier, the most I can do is throw it away and do worse. The difference between the front and rear of the top tier room is night and day.
 
Last edited:
That's a long race only intensified by the feeling that you're driving on pins and needles the entire time. Entered the first slot and managed to botch qualifying similar to last week and started near last on top of making mistakes then got disconnected on the final lap this time.

Entered 2nd slot and was able to put my qualifying lap together 2:44.602 which was good enough to put the Ford GT on pole. Kept it clean slow and steady for most of the race and had a 5 second lead at one point but I started making mistakes late, followed by penalty at Radallion on lap 12 and the Huracan was able to get around me.

Took home 244 points though to put me at 500 on the season and gives me the freedom to go all in a Tokyo.... can't wait to see how the grid start does there in the Ford.

PS_App_20210320_112343.jpeg

PS_App_20210320_112349.jpeg
 
Whew! Really enjoyed that, but glad it's over! :nervous:

Slot 1 - Door 6, A/S lobby ~33.2K DR, 161 points for the win

Love me some Spa, and love me some rain, but that was pretty intense. Qualified alone in 9th, and lined up just ahead of one of the dirtiest mofo's in the North American low DR-A lobbies. Lap one was an effort in getting away from him ASAP, which I did, and even managed a nice pass into Bruxelles as a 911 made a small mistake coming out of Les Combs. Next up, starting lap 2, I made what I think was a pretty sweet double pass heading to La Source and that was pretty much it. Built a gap in 6th until a Citroen crashed out ahead while running 2nd on lap 7, promoting me to 5th. Brought it home from there pretty comfortably for 134 points and ~800 DR to ~34K DR.

Not enough points to count, but happy with the result, which continues a pretty solid run in the Manufacturer series with a win, a 3rd and now a 5th in the last 3 races.

Gran Turismo®SPORT_20210320175424.jpg


Hardly knew anybody in the lobby (Dirty dude aside) and ran most of the race with 3 yellow bars, which for me is unusual.

Lap 1 pass into Bruxelles, as "Mr. Dirty" lurks in his Mazda. He ended up 16th, with a red S and a trail of carnage in his wake, as usual.

20210320203143.jpg


Lap 2 double pass into La Source. Pretty chuffed with this one. :D

20210320203215.jpg
 
Last edited:
Boy, this was a rough opening round I had. Spa is one of those tracks that takes longer than usual to click with me, and the rain obviously doesn't make this easier. The first two races were just miserable. Started with door #18 in both of them, but still qualified in the back and some major mistakes made sure that I stayed there.

I went into the third slot hoping not to have a repeat of my first two attempts. Was joined with @Kermit_2142 and qualified 10th. I was cautiously optimistic. Started the race with the TC turned all the way up per @Mistah_MCA's advice and gradually turned it down to 1 after making it through the chicane.

My only proper overtake was a Vantage that I passed on lap 2 at Stavelot that seemed to be struggling. The other two positions I gained were thanks to a disconnect and a 650S driver that qualified 5th and had faster pace than me, but spun out a total of 3 times throughout the race, allowing me to pass them on the final lap at the brief straight before Bruxelles.

full


In any case, I'm glad I was able to get a decent result with the old F1. But I think I will have a better time with Bathurst and Tokyo coming up.
 
Last edited:
I just became one with Ferrari, was so connected to the car. 4th race and it turned out amazing. Took pole with a 1 second penalty (How is that even possible!?). TC at Zero the whole race. Set 5 fastest laps, the final on lap 12 and under 2:46!! I've never run that fast in my life. Got almost 1,500 DR points. Forgot to save the replay, but it was amazing. Earned 160 points.
Gran Turismo®SPORT_20210320191520.jpg
Gran Turismo®SPORT_20210320194827.jpg
Gran Turismo®SPORT_20210320195601.jpg
 
Last edited:
C_Raccoon23
Boy, this was a rough opening round I had. Spa is one of those tracks that takes longer than usual to click with me, and the rain obviously doesn't make this easier. The first two races were just miserable. Started with door #18 in both of them, but still qualified in the back and some major mistakes made sure that I stayed there.

I went into the third slot hoping not to have a repeat of my first two attempts. Was joined with @Kermit_2142 and qualified 10th. I was cautiously optimistic. Started the race with the TC turned all the way up per @Mistah_MCA's advice and gradually turned it down to 1 after making it through the chicane.

My only proper overtake was a Vantage that I passed on lap 2 at Stavelot that seemed to be struggling. The other two positions I gained were thanks to a disconnect and a 650S driver that qualified 5th and had faster pace than me, but spun out a total of 3 times throughout the race, allowing me to pass them on the final lap at the brief straight before Bruxelles.

full


In any case, I'm glad I was able to get a decent result with the old F1. But I think I will have a better time with Bathurst and Tokyo coming up.
Click to expand...
Top livery, as usual, Raccooon!

ran it again, on the alt account, in a McLaren, Q10, Race 8th... pretty uneventful. Clean run from start to finish, just one nice battle with a Supra that was getting faster as the laps went on. Definitely a bit less pace than the Porsche. Such a fun combo, though.
 
I will say of all the FIA races when it comes to mental fatigue, this rain race in Spa will probably go down as the most tiring FIA race I ever been to.

I started fine with P3 as my starting position and then as the race started, it was just about surviving because my RSR had better traction or turning so I used that as an advantage and while I was able to finish P2, I feel like had my mind not go tired at around lap 9/10 and still have enough willpower to try and catch that AMG, I probably would've gotten a win but at least I got a podium finish in this one and on a rain race too.

upload_2021-3-21_13-57-31.png


 
Sooo for the third time in four races I received the heralded door #20 as I (predictably) got drawn into top split for the final slot of the day. It's not such a thing, but it'd be nice to go into a race or two that I like being one of the stronger drivers, not statistically the weakest!

Anyway

I'd had good pace here in practice, but due to limited time hadn't actually done a single lap in practice race conditions, and probably more importantly as it turns out, hadn't done a single lap in FP.

Qualifying. No grip, just none. I'd been setting 44.0 in lobby qualifying with optimum of 43.6 but from the out lap everything just felt different and I didn't trust the car, while the lap was clean enough until Blanchimont (brain fart there!) it was in no way quick and I qualified over a second and a half slower than lobby qualy. Amazingly it put me 9th. Quite a few people have reported this big difference in feel between lobby and qualy and I can only think it caught a few others out too to help my position. If it's a normal thing with the settings, then maybe the wet conditions accentuated it.

Race started off ok, kept it all clean but there was a big warning at the end of L1 when nearly losing it out of the Bus Stop, costing me two places. L2 I went a step further and spun it in there to go down to 16th. Some clear water ahead and behind though and got into a rhythm chasing a BMW, caught him up and breezed past him out of the Bus Stop, the superior traction of the Ferrari working so well that after the exit of La Source I'd broken the tow to the car I'd been behind two corners earlier! Continuing to make places, gaining on people and taking advantage of their errors I was about to start the final lap behind a Supra and a Corvette, closer to them than I had been the BMW earlier and knew if I got good traction out of the corner there was the opportunity to jump two places and be back where I started the race, but trying to apply the power the tyres said "no", I didn't get the launch and the next minute or so didn't go to plan!



In the end the Corvette was pointing the wrong way on the final corner of the race and I regained one of the places to finish 12th.

A fun race if slightly frustrating, and was my lowest score of the season (184). Plenty of positives again though, I've been at my all time high in terms of DR for a few weeks now, so getting consistently matched against people with higher DR and still having the pace to take it to over half the field can only bode well. Hopefully soon I can start to be a genuine 2nd split driver and then see where we go from there 👍:cheers:
 
Hi all!

Names ChewParker. I have been lurking these FIA forums for a bit and have been enjoying your race stories and banter. Some of you Aussies may have raced against me already too.

I'm slowly improving my DR. Just hit 37k last night at Spa in the wet. I don't get much free time during the week. I really only have Saturday night free and I try to limit myself to one slot. Unless I get disconnected or have an abysmal performance (has only happened once so far)
So I basically watch a mistah MCA FIA video. Decide the strategy on his recommendation and do 20 - 30min free practice before a race. So far he has been absolutely spot on. I wouldn't be doing these races if he wasn't posting his videos. I just don't have the time to test all the pit stop/car variables. Last nights race made it a little easier in regards to not needing to worry about tires or fuel. But the wet weather is hectic. Was sweating hard in that race just keeping the my AMG on the road.

Anyway, I feel I'm getting close to the DR that I should be at. The drivers are getting really competitive. Its just been a little slow with only driving on Saturday nights. My talent can only take me so far before I hit a wall where hours upon hours of practice is needed to compete with the big boys higher up.

I got a few things to say about my spa race in another post once my video uploads. Just thought I'd finally say hi.

Cheers
 
I had a brief period of weakness last night after a couple of glasses of wine and joined the 3rd slot. Terrible mistake. I quit lap 3 when I was over a minute behind the leader and 15 seconds behind p19. I cannot drive Spa, and I cannot drive in the wet. If the physics is remotely realistic there should be multiple wet weather racing fatalities every year. Just impossible to keep the Jag pointed in the right direction.

ChewParker
Hi all!

Names ChewParker. I have been lurking these FIA forums for a bit and have been enjoying your race stories and banter. Some of you Aussies may have raced against me already too.

I'm slowly improving my DR. Just hit 37k last night at Spa in the wet. I don't get much free time during the week. I really only have Saturday night free and I try to limit myself to one slot. Unless I get disconnected or have an abysmal performance (has only happened once so far)
So I basically watch a mistah MCA FIA video. Decide the strategy on his recommendation and do 20 - 30min free practice before a race. So far he has been absolutely spot on. I wouldn't be doing these races if he wasn't posting his videos. I just don't have the time to test all the pit stop/car variables. Last nights race made it a little easier in regards to not needing to worry about tires or fuel. But the wet weather is hectic. Was sweating hard in that race just keeping the my AMG on the road.

Anyway, I feel I'm getting close to the DR that I should be at. The drivers are getting really competitive. Its just been a little slow with only driving on Saturday nights. My talent can only take me so far before I hit a wall where hours upon hours of practice is needed to compete with the big boys higher up.

I got a few things to say about my spa race in another post once my video uploads. Just thought I'd finally say hi.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Welcome. Good to see another Australian contributing (debriefing/venting) on the forum. Your DR is pretty close to mine, I suspect we may have raced each other in the past? Your username isn’t familiar, different PSN?
 
Hard to ever turn down a race at Sssspppppaaaa so in we went. Daylight savings meant I caught the 3rd slot instead of the 2nd, giving me an extra half hours practice which came in very handy.

I managed to find a practice lobby and ran around 20 laps fairly successfully but unsure on my ultimate pace. I’m not great in the wet so selected tc2 and to just keep it facing the right way round was my goal.

It was nice to see @C_Raccoon23 again but other than that it was an unknown and very polite pre race lobby with lots of well wishes etc flying around.

Qualifying started with everyone leaving together, I still don’t understand why people don’t spread out but it gives me more free track so I won’t complain too much :lol:. I think myself, Racoon and a couple others made the right call in waiting to go out as a few people spun and quit before the outlap had even ended.

I managed a cautious but tidy lap to put me into a surprise p2 and all of a sudden a podium was on the cards.

The race started and I tried to stick with p1 but once they had settled they were 1s + a lap faster so I turned my attention to p3 who was closing in on my 4s gap. I probably started to over watch the gap and a couple little mistakes halved that gap in just one sector. I then went deep into the bus stop checking my mirrors in the braking zone allowing p3 to sneak by with a nice move.

Sadly I couldn’t match their pace and by mid race I was in a bubble with around 3s either side of me. I would’ve happily taken a p3 right then but we had a long way still to go.

A few laps later p2 made a mistake at au rouge and I was now within the slip and adding pressure. They made a another mistake through Blanchimont and I was ahead before we even reached the bus stop.

I thought I had enough pace to keep them behind if I could survive the pressure but a lap later they made a mistake or were a bit keen on the brakes into the bus stop and I had to take avoiding action costing me p2. There was a little confusion between us with them taking a strange line into t1 (they said afterward to let me go by), but it meant I was forced narrow on the exit making the Mazda fishtail with me correcting into them as they accelerated out. I don’t know how we both didn’t go round but I decided to bump him down the hill as all of this had meant p4 was now in tow and I really wanted to secure a podium. (I wasn’t expecting it but why not just let me go by at the top of the hill :scared:).

This whole episode had broken my rhythm and I made multiple mistakes and eventually allowing p4 through and to gap me by a few seconds.

I was pretty frustrated but knew I had the pace to catch p3 and knew they were running without tc so planned to pressure them into a mistake. With 3 to go I hooked up my fastest lap of the race dipping into the 46s and pulling the gap to p3 down to only a second.

They just ran a tyre wide at Blanchimont picking up a harsh 0.5s penalty. We were side by side out of t1 as they ran deep but I dropped in behind knowing the penalty system would do it’s job.

That left the final 2 laps to just keep it nice and smooth and secure a first Mazda podium :D.

Sounds like it was a decent night for:gtpflag: members in general. Well done everyone :cheers:
 
Had a very clean quali in the AMG. A bit cautious, but I made sure to hit my braking markers and be patient and smooth. Put myself on pole surprisingly.

Full tank and cold tires at the start of the race made me even more nervous/cautious. Overly cautious actually. Didn't feel at one with the car and a Japanese driver starting in 3rd in an NSX had passed another Japanese driver in a Subaru and had caught up to me a couple laps in. I was tensing up too much and for some reason my car decided it wanted to understeer through Blanchimont for no apparent reason.
Went wide and copped a 0.5 second penalty for losing time. Great.
I covered the inside line into the chicane but this allowed the Japanese driver behind to get a better run out of it.
He blocked passed me into the hairpin as I set myself up to go back underneath him on the way out. But he parked it on the apex. Well played sir.

I thought he was then going to run away from me because he seemed to have the better pace at the start of the race. But I was able to keep the pressure on him for a good majority of the race. Right on his tail but always giving him space. So much so that I felt he was slowing me down. The Subaru driver was also catching us and I was soon keeping an eye on him in my mirrors while trying to find a way pass the NSX. The NSX just had such better traction coming out of the corners that there was not much I could do but follow and wait for a mistake.

Come lap 10 and I got a good run through Raidillon and had the speed to take the NSX down the straight. I motioned left and the driver jinxed left. I had him where I wanted and pulled right to take him on the inside. He jinxed right and ran me onto the grass.
The red mist entered and a few thoughts entered my mind to just ram him off into Les Combs. But I decided to take the high road. Unsure if that was the correct decision.

This undid my rhythm a little and i made a little mistake to lose his tail just slightly and suddenly I had to defend from the Subaru.

Composed myself for the final lap and went hell for leather and blitzed a fastest lap down into a low 45sec. Bringing home a hard fought 2nd but knowing 1st could have/should have been mine. Oh well. Next time I know not to trust that driver.

Here is the incident. What do others think of it?
 
Last edited:

Similar threads

GTPNewsWire
Gran Turismo FIA Championship 2020 World Final Takes Place December 5/6
2
Replies
33
Views
5K
dimassa19
dimassa19
GTPNewsWire
Watch Live: Gran Turismo FIA Online Championships 2020 Americas Regional Final [Spoilers]
Replies
17
Views
3K
Adam41
Adam41
GTPNewsWire
Watch Live: Gran Turismo FIA Online Championships 2020 EMEA Regional Final [Spoilers]
2
Replies
38
Views
4K
LeGeNd-1
LeGeNd-1
GTPNewsWire
Gran Turismo Sport's FIA World Tour to Remain Online in 2021
Replies
0
Views
1K
GTPNewsWire
GTPNewsWire
GTPNewsWire
Watch Live: 2020 FIA Certified Gran Turismo Online Championship Manufacturer Series Final [spoiler]
2
Replies
35
Views
5K
LeGeNd-1
LeGeNd-1

Latest Posts

Back