2021 FIA Series Race Discussion

[StarMeKitten]

I did select Lexus as my manufacturer. One and done in the first slot. By far the best time I've had at Barcelona.

Low A/S lobby, Door 20, qualified 7th, finished 3rd for 148 points and about 1200 DR.

I went with a 9 hard / 8 medium strategy and saved as much fuel as possible. I gained 2 spots on L1, T1 when not one but two cars went off. From there I just tried to stick with the lead pack for the rest of the first stint. I came out of the pits in 14th but ended up back in 7th when stops were done. The mediums worked really well for me and didn't fall off as fast as the softs seemed to for others. I made 2 good passes, took advantage of 3 other cars going off, and was passed by 1 other driver all in the closing few laps. It was a really clean race and the perfect start to the season.

We'll see how next week goes. The gr. 4 Lexus is missing a little something since it was nerfed in the exhibition season.

 

[Photodave219]

Hi there. First Post, bit of a lurker.

Driving with a wheel for the past four months, up to a C rank after giving up on Daily Races. (Daily races on a controller when you don't know what you're doing tends to ruin your DR)

Drove for Hyundai in the exhibition season just to get a feel for what I'm doing and learn the basics. I just want to learn the racing lines, focus on clean racing and not touching another car. I figure speed will come with practice and familiarity with how the car behaves. Watched a lot of MCA's videos as well to really understand basic things.

Practiced my ass off in custom races to learn Barcelona fairly well and get a feel for the tire wear, decided that Hyundai just wasn't fast enough in the GR.3 and went Porsche. I get that its the META and its a common manufacturer that people go for, but its a very driver-friendly, I'm-still-learning-what-I'm-doing kind of car.

Low and behold I somehow pulled off my first ever Manu victory. Yes - lower lobby, slower pace, not as competitive but I came into it aiming for top five and to just keep up.

View media item 73231
Went into it aiming for 11 laps on RH, 6 on RS. Dialed it back on 5 & 6 to be able to stretch the fuel. Qualified 4th. Q2 had a bad start, slipstreamed Q3 to the end of the straight and they braked early ... or before my braking point. Dove under them to avoid hitting them, picked up P2 and held that until the end of 7 when the leader went into the pits - they were on softs and switched to hards. I picked up the lead and went in to the pits at the end of 11. I switched to softs, came out in 3rd and quickly ran down the leaders.

Overall thoughts? I didn't intend or mean to dive under someone in turn one, they braked before the cone markers and I decided that I'd take my chances with ruining my own race by swerving and jamming on my brakes rather than plowing into anyone else. Just tried to stay clean and take my chances with fresh tires and a half tank of fuel.

Pace was SLOW. I think i ran a 32:22 overall? RH after 9/10 laps were like driving on ice. Kept sliding in that righthander that leads to the chicane.

Hope to someday rank up and be in the splits of some of the folks I see posting in here.

 

[Photodave219]

Quick Question:

How much practice would you for the Manufacture races? As I said I had never before put in the time I did for the 1st race as mostly when I have time it would be spent on the daily races and I'm glad I decided to give them a miss for now as I recon I would have quit playing had I continued doing the daily races. I did about 15 races in the run up to the 1st race and had 3 main goals, learn a track I never liked, learn which tyres to run and what order and finally fuel-saving or usage depending on how hard I was pushing. Funny think was I mis-timed my pit exit for qualifying and was 3 seconds too late to get a second lap in but still had pole with 1.2sec slower that may fastest time, I never timed the outlap in practice. Is this the kind of detail people go to in practice.

I consider myself a newbie to these races, but I'll chime in. I try and get as much seat time as possible on the track. I'll take note of the settings for the race, make a custom against the AI with fuel and tire wear. Usually a couple of times a day in the two/three days leading up to the race. If its a track i'm really unfamiliar with, i'll do an hour long endurance race just to get the hang of it with a couple of AI cars on the track to use as something to chase. I only use the free practice to try and practice for qualifying and look for a measuring stick of where I am vs the A/S racers. If i can get within 3 seconds of their times, I'm happy. Otherwise I figure I'll take the practice sessions with the AI. If I can't beat the AI, then I won't stand a chance against real drivers. (Also the Ai doesn't yell at me if I screw up in front of them as opposed to a lobby)

I gave up on the daily races to focus on the FIA seasons and really learn how to race.

 

[MCL1974]

I consider myself a newbie to these races, but I'll chime in. I try and get as much seat time as possible on the track. I'll take note of the settings for the race, make a custom against the AI with fuel and tire wear. Usually a couple of times a day in the two/three days leading up to the race. If its a track i'm really unfamiliar with, i'll do an hour long endurance race just to get the hang of it with a couple of AI cars on the track to use as something to chase. I only use the free practice to try and practice for qualifying and look for a measuring stick of where I am vs the A/S racers. If i can get within 3 seconds of their times, I'm happy. Otherwise I figure I'll take the practice sessions with the AI. If I can't beat the AI, then I won't stand a chance against real drivers. (Also the Ai doesn't yell at me if I screw up in front of them as opposed to a lobby)

I gave up on the daily races to focus on the FIA seasons and really learn how to race.

Welcome to FIA! Hope you will like it and stay around!

Might I suggest to sent some of the folks here a friend request, best if there are in the same region as you are. Think you are US region so look for drivers in that region. then look for drivers around your level and also (slightly) above yours. It is really handy to see if you are competitive at a track. Think it gives a clearer picture then comparing with the aliens in the top 10. I have made friends (EAMA region) with people like Kungtotte and XxpinkykissxX who are faster then me and if I can get relatively close to their time then I know I can be competitive in the race. Also got friends who are perhaps a bit slower then me usually and when they are close or ahead of my time then I know I have to do more practice. Plus the additional competition in fastest lap time is fun.

also this side was recently mentioned here and iI found it really usefull to compare yourself with others for a specific track you did practice laps on: www.gtblade.com

Finally you might concider to also practice in lobbyraces dedicated to the coming race or make your own lobby for practice. That it what I usually do after a couple of laps in the free practice. In the lobby you can set up to the same conditions as in the actual race and test with the fuel and tyrewear on. I usually make it friends only to prevent from idiots joining the session when I am just practicing.

And congrats with your first Manu win!

Have fun!

 

[Seth_Logan]

Gtblade.com is an excellent tool. There is, however no way to contact @Jim_bilzerian to notify him It seems that the stats are not always updated with what's been driven. For example wanted to see my Kart times and noticed the site does not update. Even after forced refresh and cache dumping. I noticed the site doesn't work real time, so I did the patience thing too. Elas, doesn't do the job either. Perhaps I can reach him here?

Love the work!

 

[MCL1974]

Gtblade.com is an excellent tool. There is, however no way to contact @Jim_bilzerian to notify him It seems that the stats are not always updated with what's been driven. For example wanted to see my Kart times and noticed the site does not update. Even after forced refresh and cache dumping. I noticed the site doesn't work real time, so I did the patience thing too. Elas, doesn't do the job either. Perhaps I can reach him here?

Love the work!

As a statistic junkie I love sites like that. I can spend a lot of time checking all those figures.
same with Kudosprime. Can not believe that people have the dedication to set these up and very thankfull that they do.
Also the livery request thread; amazing that people supply your decals without any reward, other then a thank you.
and off course people like Mistah and many others, giving excellent guides and advice.

So hereby a big thanks to all those awesome folks that dedicate their time to make other people's gaming experience even better!!!

 

[kungtotte_]

I consider myself a newbie to these races, but I'll chime in. I try and get as much seat time as possible on the track. I'll take note of the settings for the race, make a custom against the AI with fuel and tire wear. Usually a couple of times a day in the two/three days leading up to the race. If its a track i'm really unfamiliar with, i'll do an hour long endurance race just to get the hang of it with a couple of AI cars on the track to use as something to chase. I only use the free practice to try and practice for qualifying and look for a measuring stick of where I am vs the A/S racers. If i can get within 3 seconds of their times, I'm happy. Otherwise I figure I'll take the practice sessions with the AI. If I can't beat the AI, then I won't stand a chance against real drivers. (Also the Ai doesn't yell at me if I screw up in front of them as opposed to a lobby)

I gave up on the daily races to focus on the FIA seasons and really learn how to race.

A few things to keep in mind, to replicate FIA settings you want to make sure your custom race has the following settings:

Boost = off
Off-line grip reduction = weak
Slipstream = real
Cutting penalties = weak
Wall collision penalties = weak
Mechanical damage = light

Make sure to toggle BoP on your car on, or manually set the power/weight % correctly otherwise your car isn't reflecting how it'll be in FIA.

You probably also want to set the AI skill level to the maximum (professional I think it's called?), because otherwise they're going to be too weak.

Also bear in mind that the AI does silly things sometimes like braking in a flat out corner, and they will all run without BoP on, will always use racing hard tyres and they will not pit unless they run out of fuel no matter how bad their tyres get.

So while it's good for practicing running in traffic, it's not super accurate to the real thing

 

[xxPinkyKissxx]

Welcome to FIA! Hope you will like it and stay around!

Might I suggest to sent some of the folks here a friend request, best if there are in the same region as you are. Think you are US region so look for drivers in that region. then look for drivers around your level and also (slightly) above yours. It is really handy to see if you are competitive at a track. Think it gives a clearer picture then comparing with the aliens in the top 10. I have made friends (EAMA region) with people like Kungtotte and XxpinkykissxX who are faster then me and if I can get relatively close to their time then I know I can be competitive in the race. Also got friends who are perhaps a bit slower then me usually and when they are close or ahead of my time then I know I have to do more practice. Plus the additional competition in fastest lap time is fun.

also this side was recently mentioned here and iI found it really usefull to compare yourself with others for a specific track you did practice laps on: www.gtblade.com

Finally you might concider to also practice in lobbyraces dedicated to the coming race or make your own lobby for practice. That it what I usually do after a couple of laps in the free practice. In the lobby you can set up to the same conditions as in the actual race and test with the fuel and tyrewear on. I usually make it friends only to prevent from idiots joining the session when I am just practicing.

And congrats with your first Manu win!

Have fun!

Absolutely! Definitely helps to have friends to compare times with. I used to have a goal of getting within 3 seconds of top 10 times. As I improved I now look to be with 2 seconds. This isn’t always an accurate thing to compare though, especially if it’s a long track as the gap gets bigger to the aliens! It’s more beneficial to see how you’re comparing to drivers nearer your DR level. That GTblade site is cool. My current time for Lago is pretty much bang on the average time for a DR A apparently! So if anyone wants to add me to get an idea where they stand against a low/mid A driver then please do!

 

[OJBrit]

Low and behold I somehow pulled off my first ever Manu victory. Yes - lower lobby, slower pace, not as competitive but I came into it aiming for top five and to just keep up.

Welcome. And only the best get a victory on their first Manu race.

Overall thoughts? I didn't intend or mean to dive under someone in turn one, they braked before the cone markers and I decided that I'd take my chances with ruining my own race by swerving and jamming on my brakes rather than plowing into anyone else.

This is a good attitude to have and already puts you above the majority who play the game. Well done and good luck with the rest of the season.

 

[Seth_Logan]

As a statistic junkie I love sites like that. I can spend a lot of time checking all those figures.
same with Kudosprime. Can not believe that people have the dedication to set these up and very thankfull that they do.
Also the livery request thread; amazing that people supply your decals without any reward, other then a thank you.
and off course people like Mistah and many others, giving excellent guides and advice.

So hereby a big thanks to all those awesome folks that dedicate their time to make other people's gaming experience even better!!!

A few things to keep in mind, to replicate FIA settings you want to make sure your custom race has the following settings:

Boost = off
Off-line grip reduction = weak
Slipstream = real
Cutting penalties = weak
Wall collision penalties = weak
Mechanical damage = light

Make sure to toggle BoP on your car on, or manually set the power/weight % correctly otherwise your car isn't reflecting how it'll be in FIA.

You probably also want to set the AI skill level to the maximum (professional I think it's called?), because otherwise they're going to be too weak.

Also bear in mind that the AI does silly things sometimes like braking in a flat out corner, and they will all run without BoP on, will always use racing hard tyres and they will not pit unless they run out of fuel no matter how bad their tyres get.

So while it's good for practicing running in traffic, it's not super accurate to the real thing

Welcome. And only the best get a victory on their first Manu race.


This is a good attitude to have and already puts you above the majority who play the game. Well done and good luck with the rest of the season.

Everybody is so full of love you would think it's Spring!

 

[MCL1974]

Everybody is so full of love you would think it's Spring!

A moment of weakness, I will be the usual grumpy old dude soon enough again!

 

[barak181]

Everybody is so full of love you would think it's Spring!

 

[OJBrit]

Everybody is so full of love you would think it's Spring!

We'll leave the grumpiness to the Southern Hemisphere lot and their autumn soon to be Winter thoughts.

 

[Photodave219]

A few things to keep in mind, to replicate FIA settings you want to make sure your custom race has the following settings:

Boost = off
Off-line grip reduction = weak
Slipstream = real
Cutting penalties = weak
Wall collision penalties = weak
Mechanical damage = light

Make sure to toggle BoP on your car on, or manually set the power/weight % correctly otherwise your car isn't reflecting how it'll be in FIA.

You probably also want to set the AI skill level to the maximum (professional I think it's called?), because otherwise they're going to be too weak.

Also bear in mind that the AI does silly things sometimes like braking in a flat out corner, and they will all run without BoP on, will always use racing hard tyres and they will not pit unless they run out of fuel no matter how bad their tyres get.

So while it's good for practicing running in traffic, it's not super accurate to the real thing

Thank you, yes. I try to make practice sessions as close to the FIA races as possible.

Ive noticed the AI does some dumb and unpredictable things which in a very strange way helps in dealing with drivers in lobbies around my level. You follow a guy in the pack that decides theyre going to brake in a flat out corner, I've already practiced cleanly getting around the AI doing the exact same thing.

Welcome. And only the best get a victory on their first Manu race.


This is a good attitude to have and already puts you above the majority who play the game. Well done and good luck with the rest of the season.

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I will try not to #&$% too bad.

 

[MCL1974]

We got a new cat last week. In the past we always got the most miserable and old specimen from the shelter to give it a few nice years and those cats spent their time sleeping or napping. But the new one is about a year and a half old and turned out to be a mix between a cheetah and a Tasmanian devil. Named it Hopper because of its "walk" and after my favourite painter; Edward Hopper.

During the warm-up lap in my FIA race last wednesday Hopper noticed my fingers moving on my pad and decided that it must be a toy. So midd lap it attacked the pad ruining my lap and I was shouting to my wife to "REMOVE THIS BEAST"!!!
Since then we have cat toys within reach to throw to the other side of the room in case he gets to much interest in my fingers while racing.....

Anyone else ever had their race ruined by pets?

 

[GTWolverine]

We got a new cat last week. In the past we always got the most miserable and old specimen from the shelter to give it a few nice years and those cats spent their time sleeping or napping. But the new one is about a year and a half old and turned out to be a mix between a cheetah and a Tasmanian devil. Named it Hopper because of its "walk" and after my favourite painter; Edward Hopper.

During the warm-up lap in my FIA race last wednesday Hopper noticed my fingers moving on my pad and decided that it must be a toy. So midd lap it attacked the pad ruining my lap and I was shouting to my wife to "REMOVE THIS BEAST"!!!
Since then we have cat toys within reach to throw to the other side of the room in case he gets to much interest in my fingers while racing.....

Anyone else ever had their race ruined by pets?

View attachment 1006292

You must be hardcore to be a mouse and still keep cats as pets.

 

[O604]

Oh good I found a place to rant. I've held this in for too long.

I like my room warm. The cat likes the room cool. Whenever the cat opens the door, I close it. All other/previous cats can walk in and the door gently closes behind them.

So Kool-aid cat always waits till I'm playing, then slams the door open half way through a race, then sits there like, Oh Yeah!!!

 

[kungtotte_]

During my first FIA season my cat decided it should jump up on my TV bench and sit right in the middle of the TV screen looking at all the pretty things on screen. Kinda threw me off my game I have to say.

 

[OutlawQuadrnt]

Quick Question:

How much practice would you for the Manufacture races? As I said I had never before put in the time I did for the 1st race as mostly when I have time it would be spent on the daily races and I'm glad I decided to give them a miss for now as I recon I would have quit playing had I continued doing the daily races. I did about 15 races in the run up to the 1st race and had 3 main goals, learn a track I never liked, learn which tyres to run and what order and finally fuel-saving or usage depending on how hard I was pushing. Funny think was I mis-timed my pit exit for qualifying and was 3 seconds too late to get a second lap in but still had pole with 1.2sec slower that may fastest time, I never timed the outlap in practice. Is this the kind of detail people go to in practice.

I am certain some of the top players in the game put 10+ hours for a Manufacturer combination, not including time spent doing multiple slots on race day. I am committing myself to a 4 hour cap because I'm not seriously competing this season.

1 to 1.5 hours - Time Trial
1 to 1.5 hours - Race pace/qualifying practice
Remaining time - 1 or 2 Practice races

Is it enough? From a standpoint of having to race in top split? No. At lower levels, it would be okay although prior experience does help.

 

[vDIRTYJ3RZv]

Hey on the Dsily C race with the McLaren F1 what Braje Balance do you suggest.

 

[JD_18]

Catalunya was pain for me. My Citroen kill the tyres.
I qualyfing on 3rd but spun in the 3rd lap, so I finish 5th

 

[MCL1974]

You must be hardcore to be a mouse and still keep cats as pets.

For the last time: It is clearly an evil looking rat, ready to attack!!!

note to self: must find a tougher looking avatar....

 

[Famine]

With literally half a lap to go, the Ferrari in front of the Porsche in front of me made a massive error, slid, and almost collected the Porsche who managed to avoid it. That slowed both of them up and I got both at T10, and they held up the other RX-Vision who was about to pass me, so I finished 4th with I think my best ever points in the current system at 151.

That, but as a video:

 

[OJBrit]

We got a new cat last week. In the past we always got the most miserable and old specimen from the shelter to give it a few nice years and those cats spent their time sleeping or napping. But the new one is about a year and a half old and turned out to be a mix between a cheetah and a Tasmanian devil. Named it Hopper because of its "walk" and after my favourite painter; Edward Hopper.

During the warm-up lap in my FIA race last wednesday Hopper noticed my fingers moving on my pad and decided that it must be a toy. So midd lap it attacked the pad ruining my lap and I was shouting to my wife to "REMOVE THIS BEAST"!!!
Since then we have cat toys within reach to throw to the other side of the room in case he gets to much interest in my fingers while racing.....

Anyone else ever had their race ruined by pets?

View attachment 1006292

Gorgeous kitty.
My cat has never disturbed any racing. She has come in and rubbed against the chair or my legs but has usually been between races so all good. Sounds like you have a good handicap there.

 

[foolsgold74]

It's like I replied to @EERIEISSSS in his "My wife chose the Manu" vid. I believe the Scirocco could do very well in Lago and Sardegna - C if you can manage the tyres. A while back I drove a Megane Gr4 in a daily race B and I have never driven as fast as on the full GP Lago track (the Megane is pretty much compatible with the Scirocco). It may even hold its own in Tokyo if its half decent on fuel.

It certainly likes Sardegna C. It's near enough META on the reverse layout in dailies this week, albeit no tyre wear and the race itself is a bit of a shambles.

But i won there in the exhibition series with the VDub doing a no stopper on hards. Was in a 4 car battle early on but the other 3 pitted and managed the race to win by about 8 seconds if I recall.

But that was a pretty low B rated race and I don't know if the multipliers are the same this time. Brake balance to the rears and straight line braking in the final turn and I don't think my tyres were too shot at the end.

 

[Seth_Logan]

So, a bit late to the party, I know, but I still hadn’t picked my manufacturer for the full season. I had decided I was not going to do Catalunya (hate that kerb in the last chicane), so that gave me some more time to ponder on which brand to actually pick.

So I had this short list sorted out:

1. Mercedes
2. Volkswagen (Beetle!)
3. McLaren (at first for the F1 at Le Mans and Sardegna A)
4. Hyundai (any underdog will always find a place in my heart really)
5. Citroen
6. Jaguar
7. Ford (GT Spec, again for Le Mans and Sardegna A)
8. Porsche (‘cause you know… what IS all the fuss about)

And just by reasoning I kind of narrowed it down to just four (underlined and bold). Who Went on to the next phase, which meant: what tracks can/will I drive and were do I think I can get the four best results.

At first I thought that was:

1. Le Mans (Gr. 3)
2. Lago Maggiore – West (G.r 4)
3. Sardegna A (Gr. 3)
4. Tokyo (Gr. 4)

(with Spa and Laguna as entries 5 and 6 (both Gr. 4))

Which meant I would have to find the best combo between the four I had pre selected.

So I set up my test… and only half way through I found out I was sucking at both Sardegna A and Le Mans, pretty much the reasons I had chosen the Ford and McLaren (for the F1) as brands to test in the first place. And I just could not come to terms with the Citroen (well the Gr3 to be exact, the Gr4 handles much better).

That meant I had to go back to the drawing board and shuffle things around a bit. At this point I’m certain I can do Lago Maggiore West (Gr4) and one other Wednesday race, but no more on that day of the week. Counting all that up I would have 4 Gr. 4 races (3 on Saturdays and one on Wednesday) + 2 Gr. 3 races (one on Wednesday and one on Saturday.). Now if I was to switch the Le Mans race to the Sardegna C race I would be able to drive all Gr. 4’s and one Gr 3. as a bonus. Making my task of finding the right manu for this season a little easier, focusing on just group 4.

Having narrowed it down to the first half of the season I decided I wanted a car that would be excellent at Gr. 4 and did not present a big risk in the second season of which we do not know the planning. That unfortunately meant the Ford and Citroen were of limits as was the F1 for McLaren.

As you might know (see page 118) I did my homework on last season’s results and both the McLaren and Jaguar in group 4 performed admirably. Which meant I did the full Monty. All 6 races times 2 for both cars to see which was faster, more fuel efficient, better on tyre wear, had better cornering and breaks. I found a winner, but it was close…

And the winner of that rigorous testing is:

I'm happy with how it all turned out. I have driven the Jaaag in the previous season. But there is this little something inside me that keeps telling me I'm missing out on some serious fun with the McL's... I guess will see. And if anything... there is always the next season.

Take care. Good luck and have fun.

Cheers,

Seth

 

[OJBrit]

I'm happy with how it all turned out. I have driven the Jaaag in the previous season. But there is this little something inside me that keeps telling me I'm missing out on some serious fun with the McL's... I guess will see. And if anything... there is always the next season.

Jag is always a solid choice.
There are ways you can find out what you are missing with the McLaren. Dailies will give you a demonstration of the car's personality. For the endurance nature you could always enter a practice lobby in the McLaren and do a what if race.

 

[LeGeNd-1]

A few things to keep in mind, to replicate FIA settings you want to make sure your custom race has the following settings:

Boost = off
Off-line grip reduction = weak
Slipstream = real
Cutting penalties = weak
Wall collision penalties = weak
Mechanical damage = light

Make sure to toggle BoP on your car on, or manually set the power/weight % correctly otherwise your car isn't reflecting how it'll be in FIA.

You probably also want to set the AI skill level to the maximum (professional I think it's called?), because otherwise they're going to be too weak.

Also bear in mind that the AI does silly things sometimes like braking in a flat out corner, and they will all run without BoP on, will always use racing hard tyres and they will not pit unless they run out of fuel no matter how bad their tyres get.

So while it's good for practicing running in traffic, it's not super accurate to the real thing

Correction, off line grip reduction is set to Real in FIA. I know it's confusing but Weak means weaker grip reduction, not Weak grip. Yet another example of PD overcomplicating things with their vocabulary

I don't use the AI when practicing in custom race. I just set to 1 AI at the slowest setting so they don't interfere. Their pace is just too slow and will just make your laptimes inconsistent. For simulating dirty air, I cut front DF by 50% and rear DF by 25%, that's the closest I can get to the feeling of understeer in dirty air.

Of course, if you can get a group of people in online lobby that would be more realistic, but if you're pressed for time it's hard to get enough people and often they will be of varying skill levels, it's not going to be representative anyway.

 

[kungtotte_]

Correction, off line grip reduction is set to Real in FIA. I know it's confusing but Weak means weaker grip reduction, not Weak grip. Yet another example of PD overcomplicating things with their vocabulary

I don't use the AI when practicing in custom race. I just set to 1 AI at the slowest setting so they don't interfere. Their pace is just too slow and will just make your laptimes inconsistent. For simulating dirty air, I cut front DF by 50% and rear DF by 25%, that's the closest I can get to the feeling of understeer in dirty air.

Of course, if you can get a group of people in online lobby that would be more realistic, but if you're pressed for time it's hard to get enough people and often they will be of varying skill levels, it's not going to be representative anyway.

Oops Good catch.

 

[Erebus_9]

Got a pretty solid time in practice for tonight's Nations race. One tenth of a second away from getting into the Top 10. I've got the first sector spot on, I generally manage around a 24.1 or 24.2 (my best is a 23.95). Then I lose heaps of time in final two corners... even when I feel like I get a good run through the section I'm still losing at least .3 of a second. Pretty sure all that time is lost accelerating out of the penultimate corner, I can't seem to get onto the throttle any earlier without spinning, and easing onto the throttle is very difficult on the pad. Still, happy with my overall pace. Hopefully it carries over into the race!

Edit: Let's go, 7th on the leaderboard!