2021 FIA Series Race Discussion

[JD_18]

Hi, I need your help.

Iam a driver between A and B. So im really competitive but I dont want have the best car, just compite, but I dont have a clear chose in Manufacturer Series. Guide me.

Is Subaru, Mitusbishi or Hyundai?

 

[RacingGrandpa]

Hi, I need your help.

Iam a driver between A and B. So im really competitive but I dont want have the best car, just compite, but I dont have a clear chose in Manufacturer Series. Guide me.

Is Subaru, Mitusbishi or Hyundai?

Out of those Hyundai

 

[LVS_1986]

Hi, I need your help.

Iam a driver between A and B. So im really competitive but I dont want have the best car, just compite, but I dont have a clear chose in Manufacturer Series. Guide me.

Is Subaru, Mitusbishi or Hyundai?

Chevy, Dogde, Lexus, BMW Toyota maybe?

 

[Seth_Logan]

Hi, I need your help.

Iam a driver between A and B. So im really competitive but I dont want have the best car, just compite, but I dont have a clear chose in Manufacturer Series. Guide me.

Is Subaru, Mitusbishi or Hyundai?

If you care to go back to page 118 you will find an analysis on last seasons results in group 3 and 4. Maybe you will find it helpful.

Which would make me feel great in turn, having put in all that work

 

[Raptor013]

There are plenty more Asian countries they have to fit in as well. Slots any earlier and it cuts out more western countries. But it does seem as though the time slots are designed to be optimal for Japanese players.
Whatever, more dailies or nights off for me. I always struggled at Manu when it was just Oceania so I feel like I wouldnt be improving with the merged regions.

Well it's still early days since the merger. But I'd have to say based on my races the quality of sportsmanship has improved. I was able to run almost an entire lap side by side with a driver from Japan at Sardegna in the qualifying session without a single touch. Whereas before the risk of being sent into a wall was much higher.

 

[Ashthebash]

Shock horror...

Changed the colour slightly and gone more crimson than scarlet (I say changed - these were the original paint jobs, don't even have the numbers on!)

 

[LeGeNd-1]

My thoughts on the upcoming races...

Nations
Maggiore Kart - skip.
Spa Gr.1 - grid start will make T1 carnage. Hybrids will reign supreme here. No stop or 1 stop (RH/RS) both viable depending on traffic and where you start.
Barcelona SF - again carnage with grid start. Straightforward 1 stop due to tyre reqs. Undercut very powerful but beware of traffic on outlap.
Suzuka Gr.3 - GT-R always OP here, although with required RH that might get other cars into the mix. RXV could be a dark horse because you can extend RS/RM stint?
Miyabi Mini - YES finally a fun race Only one braking spot basically and with SH tyres there is so much grip, it will keep the pack close. Not worried about dirty driving because the car is so slow (unless they decide to tune up to max power?).
Autopolis Gr.4 - interesting that they use short layout. Also another one with potential carnage due to grid start. OP cars probably Megane Trophy/Alfa/Evo/WRX.
Willow RB Jr - another interesting race. No stop or 1 stop could work here, depending on starting position, but I'd rather lean on no stop because overtaking is so difficult here.
Tsukuba N300 - sigh, so many tracks they could choose from, and they choose one that guarantees SFR domination. Defo trolling this race with the Raptor
Fuji Gr.2 - another boring no stop tyre conservation race.
Nurb Gr.3 German Battle - interesting concept, but Porsche or Beetle are probably OP due to good tyre wear. Merc and BMW so-so. R8 need not apply.

Manu
Barcelona Gr.3 - 1 stop RH/RS most likely. Almost tailor made for RXV again due to extreme tyre wear.
Maggiore W Gr.4 - no stop with a bit of tyre saving required at the end.
Fuji Gr.3 - straightforward 1 stop due to tyre reqs.
Sarthe Gr.3 - based on experience, no stop because slipstream is so dominant here, the RH runners will be able to keep up with RM easily.
Sardegna C Gr.4 - exact same race as last season, except RH required instead of RM and RS now available. I still think no stop is preferable here.
Tokyo South Inner Gr.4 - extreme fuel saving race. All aboard the slipstream train choo-choo! After quick test it seems no stop is not possible, so best bet is to save as much as possible and jump people in the pits.
N24 Gr.3 - if starting front 2M/1H, if starting back 1H/2M. Mild fuel saving required. No stop will be too slow due to extreme fuel saving needed I think (one lap is ~40% at full pace).
Laguna Gr.4 - no stop due to long pit times. Megane Trophy will be OP here.
Spa Gr.4 - another no stop.
Sardegna A Gr.3 - straightforward 1 stop due to tyre reqs. Best to go RM first as slipstream is dominant here and you can easily keep up with RS runners.

Yesss! At last I get to bring out my F150 again!

Though I'm not a big fan of Tsukuba the lack of any high speed sections might actually prove beneficial. Last time I was being outclassed on the straights but through the corners actually on par with the other cars. Didn't really make much sense to me but hey, I'll take it

That race was a N500 one. Tsukuba being N300 the Raptor is probably even more competitive. It's actually quite good on brakes and initial traction, just slow on long straights as you said. Also it's grid start so the weight + 4WD will come in handy. With the big body you can pretty much stay in the middle of the track and no one will be able to pass.

Ultimate meme race

EDIT: After quick test, Raptor is around 2 seconds slower than SFR Racing The grid launch isn't that much better either, SFR barely has any wheelspin even without TC. I found another alternative though: the Tundra. Similar power to Raptor but 200kg lighter, and only 1 second slower than SFR

 

[OJBrit]

Uh, why are people assuming the N300 is a free choice? The nations at SSRX was labelled as N700 and you only had 5 or 6 cars to choose from?
I can see this maybe being a J-Sport race or Scooby vs Mitsu.

 

[Famine]

Uh, why are people assuming the N300 is a free choice? The nations at SSRX was labelled as N700 and you only had 5 or 6 cars to choose from?
I can see this maybe being a J-Sport race or Scooby vs Mitsu.

It was labelled as N700 initially, but the detailed calendar listed the cars.

The detailed calendar here labels it as "N300", while Round 10 gives a specific Gr.3 car list, rather than "Gr.3". While not a sure thing, it seems likely that there is not a specific N300 car list for this round.

 

[OJBrit]

It was labelled as N700 initially, but the detailed calendar listed the cars.

The detailed calendar here labels it as "N300", while Round 10 gives a specific Gr.3 car list, rather than "Gr.3". While not a sure thing, it seems likely that there is not a specific N300 car list for this round.

True I guess. Have PD ever done this in Sports Mode before?
Sounds like a recipe for disaster and abuse. N400 cars competing with N200. X-Bow vs TT. Only 1 winner. I'd have thought they'd try to exert some control at least.

 

[Famine]

Have PD ever done this in Sports Mode before?

Yes, quite often. Much of the discussion above, with the Raptor in an N500 race against Toyota S-FR/KTM X-Bow/911 GT3s, relates to a previous race. It was also common in the Beta and happened a couple of times in early Daily Races. It only crops up in FIA events now.

There's generally two ways of doing it: tune down for torque and tyre footprint; or tune up for weight and fuel consumption/tyre wear. In previous N300 races we've seen Ferrari F50 vs Toyota S-FR Racing Concept vs KTM X-Bow, and I recall the Toyota and KTM against the Mazda Roadster Touring Car in N200.

 

[Zorz]

Bwuhahaha, l'm glad I'm not the only one considering using the trucks at Tsukuba. Last time I took the Ford Raptor out for a laugh in FIA was well over a year ago during an N500 Tokyo South Inner Loop.

I ended up stone dead last in the race, but I was killing myself laughing at the start because I didn't qualify in last place. I can only imagine what the people behind were thinking as that showed up on the grid rundown, followed by having me as a rolling roadblock for a lap through the narrow sections.

 

[ii_Biggles_ii]

I’ll go with Chevy. Gr3 Catalunya yep. LeMans yep gr3. Nurb 24 yep.
I don’t do alt on FIA. I don’t feel good taking spots from players I’m in reality ranked much higher than.

I only run one race on main and alt and only ever once ran 2 slots on any day and it was due carnage on the first lap which I had no part in but took the biggest hit. I don't really see the point running 4 slots in the same race but that's just me, I know others love to learn and improve over the day and if I had more time I would probably do the same.

 

[barak181]

If you care to go back to page 118 you will find an analysis on last seasons results in group 3 and 4. Maybe you will find it helpful.

Which would make me feel great in turn, having put in all that work

Thanks, I had somehow missed that when you first posted it!

It does confirm my choice of Jag for me next season. Although, with it being so OP it might get nerfed mid-season or something. Last time I signed with them, it got a big ole nerf right before the season...

 

[Groundfish]

Karts! Maggiore center!
I hope I will be able to race that one.

 

[GTWolverine]

My thoughts on the upcoming races...

Nations
Maggiore Kart - skip.
Spa Gr.1 - grid start will make T1 carnage. Hybrids will reign supreme here. No stop or 1 stop (RH/RS) both viable depending on traffic and where you start.
Barcelona SF - again carnage with grid start. Straightforward 1 stop due to tyre reqs. Undercut very powerful but beware of traffic on outlap.
Suzuka Gr.3 - GT-R always OP here, although with required RH that might get other cars into the mix. RXV could be a dark horse because you can extend RS/RM stint?
Miyabi Mini - YES finally a fun race Only one braking spot basically and with SH tyres there is so much grip, it will keep the pack close. Not worried about dirty driving because the car is so slow lol.
Autopolis Gr.4 - interesting that they use short layout. Also another one with potential carnage due to grid start. OP cars probably Megane Trophy/Alfa/Evo/WRX.
Willow RB Jr - another interesting race. No stop or 1 stop could work here, depending on starting position, but I'd rather lean on no stop because overtaking is so difficult here.
Tsukuba N300 - sigh, so many tracks they could choose from, and they choose one that guarantees SFR domination. Defo trolling this race with the Raptor
Fuji Gr.2 - another boring no stop tyre conservation race.
Nurb Gr.3 German Battle - interesting concept, but Porsche or Beetle are probably OP due to good tyre wear. Merc and BMW so-so. R8 need not apply.

Manu
Barcelona Gr.3 - 1 stop RH/RS most likely. Almost tailor made for RXV again due to extreme tyre wear.
Maggiore W Gr.4 - no stop with a bit of tyre saving required at the end.
Fuji Gr.3 - straightforward 1 stop due to tyre reqs.
Sarthe Gr.3 - based on experience, no stop because slipstream is so dominant here, the RH runners will be able to keep up with RM easily.
Sardegna C Gr.4 - exact same race as last season, except RH required instead of RM and RS now available. I still think no stop is preferable here.
Tokyo South Inner Gr.4 - extreme fuel saving race. All aboard the slipstream train choo-choo!
N24 Gr.3 - if starting front 2M/1H, if starting back 1H/2M. Mild fuel saving required. No stop will be too slow due to extreme fuel saving needed I think (one lap is ~40% at full pace).
Laguna Gr.4 - no stop due to long pit times. Megane Trophy will be OP here.
Spa Gr.4 - another no stop.
Sardegna A Gr.3 - straightforward 1 stop due to tyre reqs. Best to go RM first as slipstream is dominant here and you can easily keep up with RS runners.



That race was a N500 one. Tsukuba being N300 the Raptor is probably even more competitive. It's actually quite good on brakes and initial traction, just slow on long straights as you said. Also it's grid start so the weight + 4WD will come in handy. With the big body you can pretty much stay in the middle of the track and no one will be able to pass.

Ultimate meme race

I'm looking forward to Rounds 1, 2, and 7 the most in Nation's, with Rounds 8 and 9 to make up my 4th score. I might do Round 4 as well depending on if I can find a competitive car that I actually like driving around there. Also, the RB Jr. race is definitely a no-stop with it being on Sports tires for that race. That might be a typo though because the tire multiplier would be pointless for these cars on these tires. Even on racing tires though it would be an easy no-stop because the Jr's don't wear their tires at all, especially at a track with only 3 braking zone - only one of which requires going down more than 1 gear. I'll probably use the S-FR Racing because I'll always look for a reason to use that thing (and it's likely to be the META anyway).

For Manufacturer's, the only one I'm really excited about is Spa, because I love the track, and it's also where I got my best score last year. While I also like Tokyo SIL, I'm not sure I'll be any good at the extreme fuel saving (though I've already done a couple practices for that round). Other races I'll probably do well at, but I'm not necessarily excited about are Maggiore, Fuji, Le Man's, and Sardegna C.

 

[Erebus_9]

Bit late here, but the Nations schedule looks great.

Glad karts at Maggiore Centre are back - the kart races in seasons past given me some of my highest points totals. Should be a good way to kick things off. RB Juniors should be good as well, if I can get used to the car on SM and SS. Also, awesome to see the '65 Mini. SH tyres should be plenty of grip; that race will be fun for sure.

I'll probably use the S-FR Racing because I'll always look for a reason to use that thing (and it's likely to be the META anyway).

Totally agree, the S-FR Racing is an absolute blast to drive and I've done enough laps around Tsukuba to be fairly competitive. Should be another good one.

Only 3 or 4 races I may struggle in - Spa, Suzuka, Fuji, and possibly the German Gr. 3 race at the Nurburgring. Not particularly great at the first 3 tracks, and I'm rarely on the pace in Gr. 3 in general. Main reason I avoid Manu, aside from the extra time commitment.

One week until first race. Looking forward to it!

 

[Seth_Logan]

True I guess. Have PD ever done this in Sports Mode before?
Sounds like a recipe for disaster and abuse. N400 cars competing with N200. X-Bow vs TT. Only 1 winner. I'd have thought they'd try to exert some control at least.

What is the abuse part about it though? If you watch the leaderboard closely or just skip the first slot (and watch a live stream instead) you can easily find out what car to pick. Personally I think the idea is very charming of picking something you like. Like a pick up truck. It doesn't all have to be serious for me at least.

Yes, quite often. Much of the discussion above, with the Raptor in an N500 race against Toyota S-FR/KTM X-Bow/911 GT3s, relates to a previous race. It was also common in the Beta and happened a couple of times in early Daily Races. It only crops up in FIA events now.

There's generally two ways of doing it: tune down for torque and tyre footprint; or tune up for weight and fuel consumption/tyre wear. In previous N300 races we've seen Ferrari F50 vs Toyota S-FR Racing Concept vs KTM X-Bow, and I recall the Toyota and KTM against the Mazda Roadster Touring Car in N200.

One of the first cars I was thinking about was the S-FR. First car I bought in the game and to date the car with the most offline wins. There is something about it.

 

[Groundfish]

I only run one race on main and alt and only ever once ran 2 slots on any day and it was due carnage on the first lap which I had no part in but took the biggest hit. I don't really see the point running 4 slots in the same race but that's just me, I know others love to learn and improve over the day and if I had more time I would probably do the same.

I only ever enter once. I like it. People might be more careful in these if they were one chance.
That said, I might do another if I got taken out turn 1 and quit or something.

 

[OJBrit]

What is the abuse part about it though? If you watch the leaderboard closely or just skip the first slot (and watch a live stream instead) you can easily find out what car to pick. Personally I think the idea is very charming of picking something you like. Like a pick up truck. It doesn't all have to be serious for me at least.

The talk of using cars in a different class for the advantages they bring despite power reductions/ increases. Not saying it's wrong if the game allows it but using a non N300 car in a N300 race smacks of cheating to me.

 

[ii_Biggles_ii]

I only ever enter once. I like it. People might be more careful in these if they were one chance.
That said, I might do another if I got taken out turn 1 and quit or something.

Yea totally agree, if you only had one chance people might race cleaner, downside would be when you get an idiot who doesn't care and ruins everyone's race or you get disconnected.

 

[Pigems]

The talk of using cars in a different class for the advantages they bring despite power reductions/ increases. Not saying it's wrong if the game allows it but using a non N300 car in a N300 race smacks of cheating to me.

The Ferrari F50 is Uber Meta in N300, expect to see a lot of them in that race.

 

[Zorz]

The talk of using cars in a different class for the advantages they bring despite power reductions/ increases. Not saying it's wrong if the game allows it but using a non N300 car in a N300 race smacks of cheating to me.

I think I'm in the same mindset. I don't have any issues with it since everyone has the opportunity to do it, but I feel like the way this is set up undermines the point of having the different road car classes.

I don't think I've ever been in an N200/300 free-choice race where there's been more than 1-2 cars in mainstream use and the ones that get used aren't even from that class. Scanning back through the Nations schedules, I think the last time I saw something different was the 2020 Pre-Season. There was an N300 race at Lago Maggiore where almost everyone was using the Ferrari F50 (N500) or Toyota S-FR '16 (N400) and a couple of X-BOWs as outliers that actually are N300. However, someone turned up in a VW Golf VII which was very surprising. I've just dug through my race history on YouTube and I've found it.

This was the lobby entry:

Scanning through the race on fast forward, the VW was so outclassed and off the pace that I lapped it on the final lap despite being in P13 at the time. It's a bit disappointing when there's all those N200/N300 cars available to choose from, but everything ends up being dominated by the same 1-2 cars that have been tuned down.

 

[Pigems]

I think I'm in the same mindset. I don't have any issues with it since everyone has the opportunity to do it, but I feel like the way this is set up undermines the point of having the different road car classes.

I don't think I've ever been in an N200/300 free-choice race where there's been more than 1-2 cars in mainstream use and the ones that get used aren't even from that class. Scanning back through the Nations schedules, I think the last time I saw something different was the 2020 Pre-Season. There was an N300 race at Lago Maggiore where almost everyone was using the Ferrari F50 (N500) or Toyota S-FR '16 (N400) and a couple of X-BOWs as outliers that actually are N300. However, someone turned up in a VW Golf VII which was very surprising. I've just dug through my race history on YouTube and I've found it.

This was the lobby entry:
View attachment 1004923

Scanning through the race on fast forward, the VW was so outclassed and off the pace that I lapped it on the final lap despite being in P13 at the time. It's a bit disappointing when there's all those N200/N300 cars available to choose from, but everything ends up being dominated by the same 1-2 cars that have been tuned down.

How often do you ever see ANY open class race, weather it’s road or race cars, that has people using more than 1/2 cars? The BoP isn’t good enough to stop meta cars from coming through, in any class. Some are better than others, but none of them are great.

 

[stpatty]

The N300 choices are the X-Bow, the F50 or the angry frog depending on what kind of track it is. This has always been the case. Stinks, but nothing we can really do.

N500 choices are X-Bow, F50 or 911. There's never any point driving anything else.

 

[Jwptexas]

I still remember one of my first top split races.... n500 at Kyoto I believe it was. Nothing but Xbows and a detuned 17' Ford GT.

It didn't end well

I had blast though.

 

[GTWolverine]

The N300 choices are the X-Bow, the F50 or the angry frog depending on what kind of track it is. This has always been the case. Stinks, but nothing we can really do.

N500 choices are X-Bow, F50 or 911. There's never any point driving anything else.

And N200 is the MX-5 Cup or Stratos. Also, perfect descriptor for the S-FR; that's exactly why I love it so much. It's pretty much the only META in this game I actually look forward to driving.

 

[Zorz]

How often do you ever see ANY open class race, weather it’s road or race cars, that has people using more than 1/2 cars? The BoP isn’t good enough to stop meta cars from coming through, in any class. Some are better than others, but none of them are great.

It's not so much the meta aspect I have a problem with. I wish that didn't happen but as you say, the BoP is nowhere near good enough to stop that. My frustration is just that the go-to in all the N200 races I've taken part in is an N400, and the go-to for N300 races is usually an N400 or N500. And then on top of that, it's the same cars being tuned down every time as well. Kind of makes the roster of N200/N300 cars seem a little redundant.

If I had to really distill down my thoughts, I guess I just wish PD would set up some road car one-makes where the car has been picked at random from the roster. Really mix things up a bit!

 

[stpatty]

Since we're all doing pictures again, may as well show off chungus and dungus

My man's squinting because some genius decided to hold this photoshoot at sunset.

Same liveries as ever, with one or two changes. I use a Steelseries headset now rather than Sennheiser. I added a Nissan Intelligent Mobility decal above the door because I'd like to believe if Nissan ever made a decent fist of it in the Manufacturer Series they'd get proper factory support. Both cars now have an FIA Action for Road Safety or whatever it is on the front splitter. The side decals on the Gr.4 have been moved around to try and better copy the IMSA 300ZX and Fairlady LM the car is based on, and there's a Make Tiny Changes decal on the back now too to match the Gr.3.

My driver overalls have been updated too with the Steelseries change:

It's quite likely that 2021 will be the last official series to take place in GT Sport. I hope everyone gets everything they want out of it. I just want 200 points from a race.

 

[JD_18]

If you care to go back to page 118 you will find an analysis on last seasons results in group 3 and 4. Maybe you will find it helpful.

Which would make me feel great in turn, having put in all that work

Thanks to you I chose Citroen.

I really apreciate your hard work