2021 FIA Series Race Discussion

[HaydenFan69]

8th place with the MacLaren. Bunch of guys (including myself) had some exits into the desert off the final corner. Just catch that dirt with the edge of the left rear and whoop! A pirouette into the end of the pit wall.

 

[ShiftingGears]

Keen for Brands Hatch, should be a disaster

 

[05XR8]

That was a fun race! Couldn’t find a good slip in Q, so I ended up starting P8, just tried to stay smooth and not kill my tires, while staying in the draft as best I could. I might have been able to gain another spot or two if I’d have 1 stopped, but it was a gamble, and I may have finished worse too. Ended up doing 8M/7M/3H in the end I think, not 100% sure though because I thought there was still two laps left when the final lap warning came up.

View attachment 977366

Exactly. I underestimated the 86s performance. Kinda sucks knowing after the fact, 86 was good with this combo, but as you said, the unknown was the gamble. Good stuff.

 

[HaydenFan69]

Keen for Brands Hatch, should be a disaster

But by disaster you need Touring Car goodness right?

 

[afc5150]

I didn't really have high hopes heading to Willow Springs tonight so I'm happy with starting 10th and finishing 6th without really doing anything other than run 18 laps with only a couple of minor mistakes. 3 positions were made up in the first two laps as cars ahead got off into the wooly-beans, and my strategy of 8M/10H gained me another position.

Clean race from what I could see (thankfully) in a lower A/S lobby and satisfied with 125 points, restoring my SR to 99 from 94 after the last Nations race, and 600 DR ~32.2K

 

[Tea_Leaves]

I considered not racing, tired and 1 sec off my FP time but the countdown timer was up before I knew it since I was glued running hot laps.

Bad qualifier, 1:18.7 and starting 18th in the Mazda. Misjudged tyre wear during qualifying. I decided on 1H/8M/9M and my tyres were reaching EoL by the 7th lap but I made my decision so I went through with it rather than fitting a 3rd pit stop in.

Clean race from my perspective, a few fell off but the main event happened on lap 17. A collision at Turn 9 sent 4 drivers packing into the desert with the offender given a 3 sec penalty. Someone was too ambitious and ended up sideswiping another causing a domino effect that knocked other drivers off in the process. It's a bad place to make a pass and especially when a long straight is literally right after. If I know someone is on faster/better condition tyres and behind me in an unsafe area for passing or racing side-by-side, I'll lift and catch their slipstream to avoid a potential accident. I don't personally know the people I'm racing and it's difficult trusting whether they decide on making a ridiculous move or not.

+5 places and held on with 3/4 red tyres to finish 8th for 126p.

 

[Rangeraus]

But by disaster you need Touring Car goodness right?

Great combination to drive, but...

If someone dives up your inside and bumps you, you will likely get a penalty

If someone blocks you by deliberately nearly stopping on the apex, and you hit them, you will get a penalty

Brands Hatch is hard to pass so both of those scenarios are very likely.

Yes I am salty because both of those scenarios deprived me of points I needed for Top 16 this season

 

[HaydenFan69]

True. Very true sentiment. But I’m not sold on the race being close. Spec races are very hit and miss. Especially for these slower/lower grip cars.

 

[elston87]

Not looking forward to this weekend's Nations Cup race. Brands Hatch GP is one of my weaker courses and combined with the fact that the car for the event is an FF sports car, it's gonna be all kinds of sketchy for me. Here's hoping I don't ruin my DR or other players' races. Gonna put in a few practice laps for the next two days, maybe setup a lobby as well, to get the car/course combo down so I at least stand a chance!

Has anyone done any races in the Lobby online with the Nations Cup parameters? Any strategies? With 8x tire wear on an FF I'm guessing the front tires are gonna get killed pretty quickly.

 

[ShiftingGears]

But by disaster you need Touring Car goodness right?

Depends if I get penalised or not. Haha.

It should be fun but like Maggiore West I can see it just spiralling out of control very easily. Last time it was an FIA race I won it because first crashed into second at Paddock Hill.

 

[roamingbard13]

The 86 is pretty great at Big Willow, and it’s a track that I have good history with as well, so I went in with high hopes. My goal is to grab a 200 pt race this season, and I thought I might have a decent shot here.

slot 1: 207 pts for the win. I think this race was with @Groundfish and @KiepeYai. Everyone pit glitched when the qualifying session started, and I thought the lobby was a goner. Eventually, it just restarted itself and we were all able to leave the pits with the full time left. (Caught it on my stream, I’ll try to snip it to post).

I ran an okay flyer lap (17.4) but got held up on my second lap. I started P7 and was up to P5 I think a few laps later when I caught the sand on the outside at T1. It was so stupid, as I absolutely had no reason to be pushing my exit speed in that situation. Of course, that was game over and off the sand I went. I came back on in P12, and went to work. I got held up a bit by the mid-field pack for a few laps (I think some of those folks were on hards). I finally made it through after the pit stops and worked my way back to P7 without much drama. 155 points, which is still pretty solid for me but it was a little disappointing.

I usually only race one slot, but @mohitraina91 talked me into going again

second slot: much, much faster room. 238 points for the win. I was nervous. Not gonna lie. I ran a great flyer (caught a tow for the second half) and set a 16.9. This was good for me third, and I was almost shaking when we started. It showed, since I got my tire off at T2 L1, and spun. Recovered and went back to work.

The field wasn’t as tightly bunched in this race, which gave me the opportunity to be able to make some moves. Through pit stops and some decent passes (if I say so myself, I made it up to p6 and passed to move into P5 on the last lap.

While I just missed the 200 pt goal , the races tonight were fun and I learned a lot about more competitive rooms. I think I will be able to hang a bit at the right tracks.

DR is up to almost 46k now. Maybe A+ is finally within reach?

 

[C_Raccoon23]

Another bad night in the Gr. 4 Corvette for me.

The first race was promising at first. I had door #1, which worried me a bit but I qualified 6th. @CurbHog was in the lobbby with me as well. Long story short, I went off at the final corner on the last few laps, which resulted in me finishing 12th for 96 points.

Race 2. Despite the last attempt, I was placed into a stronger lobby along with @Winnie847. I qualified 15th this time. I started with the hard tires and got rid of them on lap 2. Things were going okay until lap 4, when an 86 pushed me off the track at the god-forsaken final corner. Off into the sand realm again and another race ruined from the same spot. 86 driver gets a 3 second penalty for that and I fall down to last. Couldn't even recover to my original position.

"Fastest driver for Chevrolet!" I don't appreciate the sarcasm, game.

Anyway, not going to get too bothered over this. There are still 5 rounds left after all. Just need to finish strong towards the end of the season. I'm also hoping the Honda Integra race will help me recover from this waste of a night.

 

[05XR8]

Definitely passing on the DC2. Did two FL laps and thought, it's nice off-throttle, but me no likey because of no tuning.

 

[24HuresdeLoL]

Willow Spring was not good, not good at all. Qualified 11th, spun on the first turn, and was DFL w/ a 3 second penalty from hitting someone during the spin. Some others binning it got me to 13th at the line, so I'm glad to have that race done and dusted.

On a lighter note, the race b4 this one (one I forgot to put up) was pretty good:

 

[Randall_Flagg]

Willow always scares me, one slide and your race is over. But I didn't bottle it too badly. 11th ain't bad considering I did start 8th, slid way off once, and had a 4 second penalty thrown in. Anyway the good news is, after 2 rounds, I am the #1 Ferrari in New Jersey! The bad news? Err, I am the only Ferrari in New Jersey, haha.

 

[vvise]

I like the track a lot but the SLS was not the choice car. I was on the podium in the last slot top split when a well known driver intentionally took me out of the race while being a pitstop down.

When is this guy going to be banned from the game? I see him do this every single FIA night.

Spoiler

 

[Ashthebash]

I like the track a lot but the SLS was not the choice car. I was on the podium in the last slot top split when a well known driver intentionally took me out of the race while being a pitstop down.

When is this guy going to be banned from the game? I see him do this every single FIA night.

Spoiler

Every time I see him do something it makes me feel like opening up an NA account just to take him out. He must get reported every race, it clearly doesn't do anything

 

[vvise]

Every time I see him do something it makes me feel like opening up an NA account just to take him out. He must get reported every race, it clearly doesn't do anything

I wasn't even the only driver he took out that race. He got someone else earlier too. He knows how to game the system too, no penalty to him both times.

 

[Redneckchef]

I wasn't even the only driver he took out that race. He got someone else earlier too. He knows how to game the system too, no penalty to him both times.

Have seen him pushing people wide or tapping them at just the right time to ruin their race when I have checked into several other streams. Seems like a real hard case

 

[PhlebMike]

After so much angst over the Manu race, I got disconnected during matching. That was my one shot,since I have to leave for work before the next race. I have to admit, not heartbroken about it. Maybe Nation cup will be less dramatic this week. Guess we'll see.

 

[Timm Sheehan]

"Fastest driver for Chevrolet!" I don't appreciate the sarcasm, game.

I have seen "Fastest driver for Honda!" in the first 2 rounds and when I looked back I saw I was the ONLY one racing a Honda in the race . . . the sarcasm was lost on me until now - what a useless statement to put on the closing picture.

 

[Timm Sheehan]

I am putting it out there . . . I chickened out for Round 3. I ran several practice races online/offline and felt good but ran a few yesterday (since I enjoyed a nice day off) and wrecked every single time on the last turn - something was off yesterday. Upon review of every race I also noticed it would take me 14-18 seconds to get back on track and up to racing speed usually in P20 and several seconds from the pack.

I usually say race Big Willow because everyone can go off and suffer the same fate but yesterday was an off day for me and I just wasn't feeling this race. Anyone else ever have these thoughts?

I am looking forward to the Nation's Integra race - good course with a good car and it should be fun.

 

[LVS_1986]

There are still 7 rounds left after all.

Unfortunately only 5 rounds left

About yesterdays Manu, it was very good race for me. Ran two races, first one I messed my quali(as always) started 13th so decided to put hards. First 2-3 laps I was able to keep my position, even gained one, beacause someone in front get bored staying on track and went some desert sightseeing On next lap I passed some guy under Luxembourg(?) flag. He cant stand it and started to tapping my back, trying to push my car off track in braking zones.. I let him go before last corner, and he get what he deserves, little tap and bye bye, hope he enjoyed.. After 5th lap I pitted for mediums, did 6 lap stint and another pit for the rest of race... Finished 10th.
Another try. This time quali went better, started 11th, so same strategy as previous.
What a race! There was so many great moves, both from me and my opponents, got no time to describe all of them Really one of my best races ever. Finished 5th for 105pts. Today Ill make short clip with all situations to everyone can see that hard but clean and respectful racing is still possible
I wish every race be like that one...

 

[C_Raccoon23]

Unfortunately only 5 rounds left

Fixed.

 

[RacingGrandpa]

If someone blocks you by deliberately nearly stopping on the apex, and you hit them, you will get a penalty

This is a legitimate defense tactics often used in real GT racing, called over slowing. David Perel has a video on it.
It's not blocking. But it can be hard to predict and by that frustrating.

 

[crusselz]

Next weeks Manu might be an interesting one. All about slipstream and racing smart. Hopefully get a group who works together and bump drafts to build a gap.

Blue Moon Bay came up as a daily a while back. If I'm not mistaken the Evo was by far the best car.

Only done a few laps, will probably practice some time next week. But a 1 stop seems the most likely option.

Also, glad that bump drafting is no longer a penalty or SR loss.

 

[Ashthebash]

I have seen "Fastest driver for Honda!" in the first 2 rounds and when I looked back I saw I was the ONLY one racing a Honda in the race . . . the sarcasm was lost on me until now - what a useless statement to put on the closing picture.

Haha I had fastest driver for Ferrari at Monza when I was the only Ferrari there, but when I was at RBR and WAS the fastest Ferrari (out of two) - no mention of it!

This is a legitimate defense tactics often used in real GT racing, called over slowing. David Perel has a video on it.
It's not blocking. But it can be hard to predict and by that frustrating.

Isn't that just more to do with slowing the car down more than you usually would as you go into a corner though? As in it's still pretty much one move but you just keep slowing down to a speed much slower than you need to, as opposed to being halfway around a corner, off the brakes and then slamming them back on where there's no need, because that's simply a brake check

 

[fako]

Wacky and dramatic race in the Desert
a crazy bug stop the "remountada" of the Italian driver after a below expectations qualifying lap.

California - After two disappointing laps the Italian Driver Fako_77 started at 13th position. He started with a hard tire set of tire and in the first 4th laps drove in defensive modality. Turn after turn pass some car (some go out in the yellow sand of Californian desert). Ended the 4th lap he changes his tire and with a new set of medium tire attacks the drivers that are in coming to drive with weak medium tires. The strategy sounds like a good idea, and after other 7 laps the Italian driver helped by the pit stops of the others is 5th.
It's time to enter in the pit for the last time in the race. The 11th lap he resists at the attack to a Lancer driver, the Toyota have a faster speed during the long high speed turns of the circuit and the driver that tries to overtake during the straight line can't finalize because the Toyota goes into turn faster than him.
But a drama is on the air: Fako_77 makes a mistake that cost all the race. He don't take the way to the box but anticipate the entrance, the car go over a sand hill and fly on the sky. The car disappear, and the game place the red Toyota after the pit lane cancelling the 11th lap. Now Fako_77 from 5th place is 15th, with a lap totally cancelled and with wear tires. "The light of the sun hit my eyes, and i could not take the way to the pit" said a dismayed Fako_77 after the race, "I was confidente, after a bad qualification session. Before the start I was sure that I could take the podium, I repeated to myself: I can do it. And after the 1st and the 2nd stint with new tires I was sure that I'm going to manage to gain seconds and position from my competitors on the last part of the race."
No much to speak after this, he drove 2 laps with hope to do something, he changes his tires, and at the end he ended 15th.
The blasphemy center in the city of Vaticano (far 600 km from the driver) yesterday recorded a high peak of activity on his "blasphemy meter" during the last part of the last race of manufacturer series, but the driver about this close the topic with "no comment".
This happened in the last session for the day, and the driver could not try another race. It's all from the USA, see you soon racers!
a.f.

 

[Dave_H_87]

Not my finest hour............

Willow Springs tends to be one of my more favourable tracks but I just couldn't quite get any consistency in the SLS.
Door 8
Put a banker quali lap in to start with which had me 16th, was a bit of a dawdle of lap to be honest. Felt uncomfortable to push.
2nd lap I push and up by nearly a second, unfortunately I catch up with a slower car at the last corner which distracts me and I just drove off in to the desert in a car with no name

Starting 16th, opted to start on the hards and get them out the way.
Feeling pretty anxious to start off with but have a decent few laps, taking it fairly easy but got in a slipstream train so I eked the hards out to the end of lap 5, threw on the mediums and came out behind an Aston driver.
The Aston had just put on the hard tyres which I didn't realise at the time (seemed like a weird time to change to hard tyres tbh!), he tapped the brakes going round the 2nd to last (normally flat out corner) which meant we were bumper-to-bumper in to the last turn.
As I was about to pull out to 'avoid' contact he put the brakes on (about 30m too early imo) and I punted him off, 3 sec penalty.
Pretty much my fault, didn't get a chance to apologise as he quit after getting trapped between a barrier off the circuit.

The first medium stint was when I felt most comfortable and made some inroads, ended that stint on lap 11 in 8th place.

Whacked another set of mediums on and just struggled until the end, felt like I was all over the place. Fortunately there was only one car near me to witness it, I ended up pretty much waving them through as I couldn't pull it together.

At the end it felt like almost pure luck to finish 8th and actually gain some DR, glad it was over!

The most difficult part of the race was spotting braking points after all the boards were wiped out by Narnia tourists, there's not much around the circuit to measure them by apart from the occasional tuft of green!

Apologies to the Aston Martin driver, don't think he is on GT Planet but sorry all the same!

 

[Geauxgreddy]

Big Willow
Slot 1, low/mid A lobby
I was joined by @afc5150 and we qualified 8th and 9th. I was door number 19, so high DR points were on the table. As afc5150 said, I really wanted him to have a good race. So, I decided to see if the Merc could Rallycross. That was lap 2. Fell to last place and spent the rest of race trying to get to the top 10. Made a mistake entering after pitting and had a couple cheeky sends in the race. When it was over, I managed to gain 50 DR and a top 10 finish.



Slot 2, Low/Mid A lobby, Door number 8
My qualy still wasn't up to my capability, again with a 1:17.9xx which placed me at p11. Both races I went no slip, attempting to avoid issues with only enough time for 2 hot laps. Started on RM but so did the Viper in p11. He promptly sent it on me (karma) in T1 and I ended up in the dirt again on lap 2. But, I pulled it back on the track and only lost one spot. After that, I went around the track, no major issues, and finished p8. Mostly due to gifted positions. Gained 600 DR or so. Not bad.

Final slot, Mid A lobby, Door number 19. So, I finished making the video and noticed.... there was a slot remaining! Last minute decision, I jumped in. Just felt like I had more. Finally, I qualified well with a 1:17.6xx and started in p6. Lap 1, a Ferrari went off at the top of the hill, hit the side of the hill at the very top, careened back on track, and I hit his back quarter as he spins on the track. Somehow, all I got was an SR down but was able to maintain my position. Spent the next laps trying to catch back up to slip and manged to pull a p4 after the Vette in front of me got a 4 sec penalty. Much better race. Picked up 1100 DR.

Overall, a successful Big Willow in the Merc.