2021 FIA Series Race Discussion

[Weaves1983]

Ugh..just got disconnected after quali. Am I about to lose a ton of DR/SR?

 

[afc5150]

Ran the first 2 slots in North America Nations Cup tonight. Was pretty fun (in the end).

Slot 1 - Door 16, Q14, P8, low A/S 168 point lobby

Was seriously compromised in qualy by someone unghosting on the main straight as I started my flyer and could only recover to 14th. Had a great start and was running 8th on lap 2 when I was pushed wide in T2 by someone who had crashed coming back through and off I was in the wooly beans. Rejoined DFL and 8 seconds behind 18th. Ran out my 12M 11S strategy and between being fast enough and other's errors, I ended up in 8th. Good enough for 118 points that count and 400 DR ~33.3K DR.

Race 1 Red Frankenstein:

Pushed wide (and off) lap 2, turn 2:

Felt I had good pace and decided to risk my points and join slot 2. This time it was a mixed A/S, B/S lobby only worth 152 points, so I needed a really good result to better my score for the evening. Had @Trone_Colby in this one with me, and a goal became not becoming a submission to IOTW.

Slot 2 - Door 3, Q12, P3

A marginally better qualy and lined up in 12th using the same 12M 11S strategy and it worked to a charm! Was up to 9th by lap 2 and spent the first stint running a comfortable 8th. As the pit stops started and I stayed out and was 5th when I came in for softs. Rejoined in 7th and off I went on sticky rubber and low fuel. Had a great tussle 7th to 5th, but as I was the only one on softs, I got by relatively quickly.

Looked like 5th was on the table when 4th crashed ahead, and then 3rd pit on lap 21 promoting me to 3rd. I'll take that, thankyouverymuch.

So managed 139 points and a cool 1100 DR ~34.4K DR

Race 2 Yellow Frankenstein:

Fresh soft tires, low fuel. And trust:

 

[Photodave219]

View media item 74383
Race(s) Report. 2000 Americas. C/S Lobby. Door 20(?!) Q4.

Jumped up into 3rd immediately, binned it coming out of turn nine on lap one as P2 brakes in the corner and I was not planning on it..... and yeah.

Dropped to 18th. Quickly worked back up to P12-ish when I binned it AGAIN. Ended up building a lot of sand castles around turn nine. Binned it coming out of there one more time. Ended up getting lapped. Managed to Up-lap myself when P1 binned it in the balcony. Ran a 2 stop - Worked for me. 10 Soft, 8 Soft, 5 Medium. Rear end was definitely stepping out on turn nine by the end of the stint. Pulled up to P11 by the final lap, advanced to P9 on penalties. (The eventual winner started Q12. Just drive a clean race.)

Saw "Mr. Block" from the Mini Race a few weeks ago? Lapped him three times. Revenge is best served blowing past a troll at 150mph down the front stretch.

My issue was watching other cars and following their line and not doing my own thing.

Now i know I shouldn't be pushing my luck. BUT. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

View media item 74387
Slot 2! 2120 Americas. C/S Lobby.Door 10. Q3.

... I should not have pushed my luck. (You'd think I'd have learned by now)



Started 3rd. dropped back to 5th/6th on the start, punted on the very first lap in the braking zone at the bottom of the balcony. (By a guy who would quit the race) Drop to P14.

View media item 74384
Fought back to P6 by lap seven and followed the car in front of me right off the track at the bottom of the balcony. Pitted on Lap 8, came out in 9th. Fought up to P7 and thought "Gee, I havent binned it at all coming out of turn nine this race" .... Yeah. You know whats happening. The end of lap 11. smdh.

View media item 74386
Back up to P7 on Lap 14. Lap 15? I'm losing grip in my left rear, I decide to brake a smidge into turn nine and get punted AND get a 1s penalty for my trouble. Pit on Lap 16, onto the mediums. I get lapped at the balcony on 17. Faded, came into Turn 1 way too hot on lap 21 and go and build a sand castle. Dropped to 11th (I am pushing way too hard) and immediately blow through the braking zone at the bottom of the balcony. I try to get going fast but 12th place catches me. Lap 22 (final lap for me), last corner and Imma send it. I want 11th place. I follow him wide, drag race through the sand and finish a car length short

View media item 74385
Meh. Finished 12th.

-50 DR for the day.

 

[Photodave219]

Ugh..just got disconnected after quali. Am I about to lose a ton of DR/SR?

Sadly Yes, So sorry. It happens to everyone.

You can tell if someone's using a controller because of how their car moves. They aren't as smooth through corners because of how the game handles steering inputs. It looks more severe when the car has less grip or is more oversteery - MR cars, worn tyres etc - so it would be noticeable in this combo if you knew what you were looking for.

A great way is if theyre constantly flashing their high beams with i believe is the L3 button or when you push the left stick down.

I'm not sure what the benefit of this is? Why is it useful to know if I'm racing a wheel or controller?

An in-race indicator of which tyres an opponent's using however would make a huge difference.

I think I'd just like to know. At the end of the day, i guess it doesnt matter.

 

[JoeDaSnow]

At round 7 of this season of the Nations Cup, I finished in third place with 51 points. As a result of this race, I now have 160 total points.

 

[HaydenFan69]

Ended up building a lot of sand castles around turn nine.

It’s the end of the pit wall that sucks the most. Really wish they’d reset the cars more consistently. Can’t take the jump on the inside of 2 without a reset, yet you go off into the wilderness, and it’s up to you to dig yourself out.

 

[Photodave219]

View attachment 1014747

It’s the end of the pit wall that sucks the most. Really wish they’d reset the cars more consistently. Can’t take the jump on the inside of 2 without a reset, yet you go off into the wilderness, and it’s up to you to dig yourself out.

Basically. You oversteer coming out of 9 and you shoot off into the infield and end up halfway to Las Vegas Before you stop but elsewhere it will reset your car.

So many little things about this game that just don’t make sense.

 

[AwfulDriver]

Here's an example from one of GT's closest competitors, where they show input type (there is no matchmaking here).

This would also be a step forwards.

I agree - it wouldn't hurt to show more information. Plus, I'm curious what input type the competition is using. I noticed some DS4 gamers are sensitive regarding the subject of wheel usage and would rather ignore the fact there are separate inputs being used in the game.

An in-race indicator of which tyres an opponent's using however would make a huge difference.

I agree, plus instead of pushing Michelin branding on the tires they could have color coded the tires like they do in certain FIA races.

 

[pennanton]

Second try in Oceania 3rd slot. Door 14 in with @Raptor013 and @pennanton

Qualy was ok. Got clean air for all my laps and qualified 4th. Left about half a second on the track but even that would have only got me 2nd.

Turn 1 the car in front of me drove off the track and I followed like a brainless lemming. No major damage and recovered to enter turn 2 in about p7.
Then the fun started. The guy behind taps me as we get half way around the turn. No big deal, accidental because I carried a little less speed into the corner. But rather than lift a little bit and stay in line, he simply continued to push like I wasn’t there and spun me around. Off I go, into the sand and rejoin in p19 20 seconds behind the leader. Cue one of the best drives of my life. I made up place after place either through genuine overtakes (thanks @Raptor013 ) or cars driving off the road. Before I knew it I was in p6 right behind p5 and just in front of p7. I had also managed to complete 12 laps on the softs. I pitted lap 12, was in a groove on the softs and decided to take a punt and try and stay in clean air by using a 2 stop.

It worked a treat and by lap 22 I was in p3 with p4 5 seconds back. I threw on the mediums for a final lap and rejoined in p6 with p4 and p5 about 2 seconds in front and Pennanton about 4 seconds behind me. I drove conservatively in n the cold mediums to bring it home without further incident. P6, 135 points and proved to myself I could take the combo.

I could have been on for P17 to at least P3 in this, but I binned it coming out the last corner after my stop and wasted by clean air overlap. I was following your progress though on the leaderboard as we went around as a gauge of where I could be at. Good drive, you can be happy with that.

 

[OutlawQuadrnt]

Not much to say for Nations other that my qualifying attempts were a complete disaster either thanks to other drivers or that last corner in sector 2. Naturally, my races were also a disaster having to start so far back but I salvaged a 2nd place.

 

[HaydenFan69]

Not much to say for Nations other that my qualifying attempts were a complete disaster either thanks to other drivers or that last corner in sector 2. Naturally, my races were also a disaster having to start so far back but I salvaged a 2nd place.

Alright Lewis.

 

[GR33N]

Threw away a potential podium going too deep at T3 because the 50m "board" had been swiped off and I braked a good 20m too late by the time I realised

I was leading the race at that moment and in the post-race chat, the winner who was right behind me at that moment was feeling bad for me but said he would have done the same noob mistake had he been in front haha.

I really need to start using immovable brake markers, I stopped using cones because of this and yet it still screws my races

 

[MCL1974]

I agree - it wouldn't hurt to show more information. Plus, I'm curious what input type the competition is using. I noticed some DS4 gamers are sensitive regarding the subject of wheel usage and would rather ignore the fact there are separate inputs being used in the game.


I agree, plus instead of pushing Michelin branding on the tires they could have color coded the tires like they do in certain FIA races.

Some DS4 drivers are a bit sensitive because in the past some drivers with a (very expensive)wheel set-up would look down on them as inferiour and that creates a whole different sort of discussion then the one here now. For me, as a DS4 user, i can understand the issue a bit, some DS4 users are more "blockey" in long corners. Also the flashing lights are annoying, but that is a set up thing, and can be corrected easily.

in fact, I would not mind to be set up only with other DS4 users, as I do think using it is a bit of an disadvantage against the use of a wheel, especially on some tracks and off course regarding tyre wear. I hear from other drivers that a wheel makes them seconds faster, but somehow I think it would not make an enormous difference to me. (I would still be average at best)

We live in a bit of a small department, so not really fancy a wheel set up, as it takes up quite a lot of room. My wife is okay with it though,should I want tp purchase one but for some strange reason I sort of prever the pick up and play of the DS4. A wheel set up makes it sort of serious for me, i guess...

for the second point: I would too like to know what tyres others are using, it might also help to have cleaner races.....

 

[crusselz]

I agree - it wouldn't hurt to show more information. Plus, I'm curious what input type the competition is using. I noticed some DS4 gamers are sensitive regarding the subject of wheel usage and would rather ignore the fact there are separate inputs being used in the game.


I agree, plus instead of pushing Michelin branding on the tires they could have color coded the tires like they do in certain FIA races.

The beauty of it, is we are all entitled to our opinions.

Having a little icon to show what hardware your opponents are using, is harmless and I would see nothing wrong with that. Be interesting to see how well one does in comparison to those in their lobbies running the same setups.

My only point of contention, is using that for matchmaking. Match making on skill works nicely.

There are DS4 users, if I ever see in a lobby, I know they'll be several seconds up the road (yes I mean @GOTMAXPOWER)

As for seeing what tyres people are running, it sounds like a great idea.

Just to emphasise, I'm not knocking any opinions hey. Just sharing my thoughts on that.

All the best to those running on "The green hell" this weekend. Never been a fan of the track for racing. But might give it a shot if I have some time to practice.

 

[D_Dragline]

All my positional changes in last night’s adventure at Big Willow.



Putting this together I realized one of my overtakes was not quite clean. It seems I tapped the back of p15 just before he dipped his wheels on the apex. In race I thought he had tried to cover the inside and lost control without us touching. Sorry to that guy. I would have given the spot back if I’d realized.

Also, special shout out to the doofus who tried to sideswipe me at the end of the straight. Good work dingus.

 

[AwfulDriver]

Some DS4 drivers are a bit sensitive because in the past some drivers with a (very expensive)wheel set-up would look down on them as inferiour and that creates a whole different sort of discussion then the one here now.

Yeah, I've noticed that as well - it's unfortunate.

My only point of contention, is using that for matchmaking. Match making on skill works nicely.

I agree, It does work nicely if you ignore the SR rating disaster (topic for a different thread) plus I don't think there are enough wheel players to keep lobbies full.

 

[challenger001]

In a lobby with @challenger001
A race ruined by 2 incidents. But a half decent result none the less.

The car twitched and span at the last corner during my first qualy lap. So it ruined both. I still qualified 16th but even a half second off my practice pace would have been top 10 material.
So hop onto the meds and go for a 2 stop. This is a race of attrition and so long as I am in the ball park at the end then I was hopeful of a result.
Get a decent start and go around the outside of the queue going through the Rabbit's Ear. (Someone should tell them it looks more like a Rabbit's foot than a Rabbit's Ear.) However I encounter someone going through a wobble. Of course they collect me and we both dip into the sand allowing the queue back past. A few people have issues or penalties so I gain places throughout the rest of the lap until this happens.

They tried to squeeze through a gap that wasn't really on. First lap, be patient and if you're really that quick you'll pick us off no issue. Their impatience got me a penalty. Yes it was technically me who caused their car to spin and go off the track, but the real cause was their poor car placement and foresight.

I clattered into that Swiss driver during the final lap of qualifying, felt atrocious but he seemed to accept my apology. Feel gutted for you though, an R4M driver living up to his name, I would submit that to IOTW.

My race was relatively uneventful one-stop. I didn't really fancy pushing too hard against the drivers up front or any crazy moves since 8th would have got me my average score so far for the championship and anything on top of that was a bonus. There were a couple of wobbles and opportunities from 4th place, though we lost the Bulgarian in 3rd quickly. Not sure what happened to the Spaniard who'd been leading the whole race though right up until the last corner.

Turn 9 scared me until I realised that it punishes you for going for an early apex. I began to get it more to a science. Stay left on the inside of the silver line in the middle of the track, then at the red boards, begin to turn - you should be turning fully by the white Mobil 1 boards, and then once you're aligned with the blue AMT boards, go for the apex.

A thought btw on *why* they decided to go for Sports tyres... could this be a glimpse of Formula E coming to the GT series? Famously they use closed front 'wings' and all-weather tyres rather than slicks. I know the downforce is a complete opposite to the RBR cars, and putting it on a sweeping circuit like Big Willow wouldn't give the same street racing vibes of FE, but it was what I was thinking. If I hadn't been lazy and just slapped the biggest Union Jack I could on the car, I might have gone for an FE livery.

 

[RacingGrandpa]

I clattered into that Swiss driver during the final lap of qualifying, felt atrocious but he seemed to accept my apology. Feel gutted for you though, an R4M driver living up to his name, I would submit that to IOTW.

My race was relatively uneventful one-stop. I didn't really fancy pushing too hard against the drivers up front or any crazy moves since 8th would have got me my average score so far for the championship and anything on top of that was a bonus. There were a couple of wobbles and opportunities from 4th place, though we lost the Bulgarian in 3rd quickly. Not sure what happened to the Spaniard who'd been leading the whole race though right up until the last corner.

Turn 9 scared me until I realised that it punishes you for going for an early apex. I began to get it more to a science. Stay left on the inside of the silver line in the middle of the track, then at the red boards, begin to turn - you should be turning fully by the white Mobil 1 boards, and then once you're aligned with the blue AMT boards, go for the apex.

A thought btw on *why* they decided to go for Sports tyres... could this be a glimpse of Formula E coming to the GT series? Famously they use closed front 'wings' and all-weather tyres rather than slicks. I know the downforce is a complete opposite to the RBR cars, and putting it on a sweeping circuit like Big Willow wouldn't give the same street racing vibes of FE, but it was what I was thinking. If I hadn't been lazy and just slapped the biggest Union Jack I could on the car, I might have gone for an FE livery.

I think they went with street tyres for a much simpler reason. On racing tyres anyone putting a wheel off would have dirty tires for half a lap. It would mean one off and race over. With street tyres a excursion to the beach barely made a difference.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

There are DS4 users, if I ever see in a lobby, I know they'll be several seconds up the road (yes I mean @GOTMAXPOWER)

You're too kind but I'm not fast . The fact is that wheels have an advantage, on tyre wear and pace even for the very best. Agu was one of the best controller players until he switched but within a few days of getting a wheel he was as already faster. (edit: the expensive wheels are quicker than the cheaper wheels too)

The main problem with matchmaking is the DR, FIA and daily races should have separate ratings, as it is now people who do well at dailies have more DR so are put into FIA rooms where they're not competitive which kills the fun.

 

[05XR8]

Tried a host of N300 and detuned the Amemiya FD. Stayed in the 5-5.5 second range. Stratos got me under 5 seconds(1:04.989). Has the numbers(271BHP/1100kg, but it's too wild for me.
The other Lancia(Integrate) was slow.

Jumped in my birth year cars. Pantera sounds so good. Felt good. Easy to drive. Surprisingly, not quick enough for how good it feels.

The Dino was all over the place. Couldn't control it at all. Big difference to when I used it at Sardegna.

Mach 1 suspension is tight. Enjoyed driving it. Low 5 seconds with the short final gear. Also drove the G.T.350 for a couple laps. That was nice. Still, couldn't see me doing the full race in it.

Busted out the 365GTB4. Followed the 10th place S-FR, to see what the difference in performance looks like.


Ran again, with no ghost. Dropped my time to 1:04.154. Optimum 1:04.031.

At 1284kg and major tyre flex, it'll probably struggle after Lap 4 or 5. Anyway, I'd like to, at least, qualify well versus the S-FRs, looks promising.

 

[MidnightRun85]

Tried a host of N300 and detuned the Amemiya FD. Stayed in the 5-5.5 second range. Stratos got me under 5 seconds(1:04.989). Has the numbers(271BHP/1100kg, but it's too wild for me.
The other Lancia(Integrate) was slow.

Jumped in my birth year cars. Pantera sounds so good. Felt good. Easy to drive. Surprisingly, not quick enough for how good it feels.

The Dino was all over the place. Couldn't control it at all. Big difference to when I used it at Sardegna.

Mach 1 suspension is tight. Enjoyed driving it. Low 5 seconds with the short final gear. Also drove the G.T.350 for a couple laps. That was nice. Still, couldn't see me doing the full race in it.

Busted out the 365GTB4. Followed the 10th place S-FR, to see what the difference in performance looks like.


Ran again, with no ghost. Dropped my time to 1:04.154. Optimum 1:04.031.

At 1284kg and major tyre flex, it'll probably struggle after Lap 4 or 5. Anyway, I'd like to, at least, qualify well versus the S-FRs, looks promising.

You're lucky you can do that and have a choice of a few cars! It seems my birth year was a quiet one for cars (at least the ones in GT Sport!)...

EDIT: The closest to my birth year is the 250GTO.

 

[D_Dragline]

Tried a host of N300 and detuned the Amemiya FD. Stayed in the 5-5.5 second range. Stratos got me under 5 seconds(1:04.989). Has the numbers(271BHP/1100kg, but it's too wild for me.
The other Lancia(Integrate) was slow.

Jumped in my birth year cars. Pantera sounds so good. Felt good. Easy to drive. Surprisingly, not quick enough for how good it feels.

The Dino was all over the place. Couldn't control it at all. Big difference to when I used it at Sardegna.

Mach 1 suspension is tight. Enjoyed driving it. Low 5 seconds with the short final gear. Also drove the G.T.350 for a couple laps. That was nice. Still, couldn't see me doing the full race in it.

Busted out the 365GTB4. Followed the 10th place S-FR, to see what the difference in performance looks like.


Ran again, with no ghost. Dropped my time to 1:04.154. Optimum 1:04.031.

At 1284kg and major tyre flex, it'll probably struggle after Lap 4 or 5. Anyway, I'd like to, at least, qualify well versus the S-FRs, looks promising.

I ran a few different cars last night. The S-FR was the quickest but it wasn’t THAT far ahead of a few others. I think I got 4 different cars into the 04s. The F50 is both fast and enjoyable.
The Stratos is from my birth year, so that might be an option for me. It would be great to see a wide range of cars on the grid for this one.

 

[MetaBrain]

Last result only

Ah, that explains a lot! Thanks

 

[KosmoKazi]

FIA Nations Rd 7 - Willow / Red Bull Jr

Was hopeful for a decent result, after running a 1:11.2 in FP, which was top-100, and better than my usual pace.

Assigned #8 at 37k DR, Qualified 3rd, just missed pole due to a messy second sector, then ran in second before dropping a wheel on the last turn and binning it into the infield after losing the back end... my own mistake and the typical "I got it... I don't got it" at Willow. I was probably way ahead of things in my mind, contemplating how it's been forever since I had a podium, and thinking that running 2nd on lap 6 was a sure bet to grab one, but you have to stay focused for all 23 laps... and I blew it!

Finished 10th, after also losing a lot of spots in the second sector as my rear tires wore off. Gained a few DR and snagged useful-to-me FIA points. Was a clean race, even with the most notorious driver lined up on my grid.

Was so fun I ran it again on the Alt, and in that case, was matched with a much stronger field. Given that my Alt DR was about 40k, and I was door #20, was worth even more points but also meant a room full of A+/A drivers who were likely even more prepared for the race than the first one I ran. Qualified 16th after missing my marks a bit, and getting pinched on my second lap, so that I only had one timed one. Finished 16th as well, though ran as high as 10th or 11th, but here again I lost a ton in the second stint on the M's, while my tires faded and others were able to get by easily while I had to nurse them. Racing in this lobby with drivers who were all much higher rated than me was a good gage of where I need to get to maintain higher DR.

A lot of people ran a 2-stop strategy in this race, I think, and it seemed more effective.

While I didn't get the result I wanted, it wasn't a disaster, and those cars are always so darn fun. Even on Sport tires on a track that isn't normally suited to overtaking, it was a great challenge and just 'felt' like real racing to me. I'd love a whole series in the RB Jr Formula cars.

Moved up a spot in local state rankings, grabbed a few DR, and put those FIA points in the bank.

Ran the first 2 slots in North America Nations Cup tonight. Was pretty fun (in the end).

Slot 1 - Door 16, Q14, P8, low A/S 168 point lobby

Was seriously compromised in qualy by someone unghosting on the main straight as I started my flyer and could only recover to 14th. Had a great start and was running 8th on lap 2 when I was pushed wide in T2 by someone who had crashed coming back through and off I was in the wooly beans. Rejoined DFL and 8 seconds behind 18th. Ran out my 12M 11S strategy and between being fast enough and other's errors, I ended up in 8th. Good enough for 118 points that count and 400 DR ~33.3K DR.

Race 1 Red Frankenstein:

View attachment 1014726

Pushed wide (and off) lap 2, turn 2:

View attachment 1014727

Felt I had good pace and decided to risk my points and join slot 2. This time it was a mixed A/S, B/S lobby only worth 152 points, so I needed a really good result to better my score for the evening. Had @Trone_Colby in this one with me, and a goal became not becoming a submission to IOTW.

Slot 2 - Door 3, Q12, P3

A marginally better qualy and lined up in 12th using the same 12M 11S strategy and it worked to a charm! Was up to 9th by lap 2 and spent the first stint running a comfortable 8th. As the pit stops started and I stayed out and was 5th when I came in for softs. Rejoined in 7th and off I went on sticky rubber and low fuel. Had a great tussle 7th to 5th, but as I was the only one on softs, I got by relatively quickly.

Looked like 5th was on the table when 4th crashed ahead, and then 3rd pit on lap 21 promoting me to 3rd. I'll take that, thankyouverymuch.

So managed 139 points and a cool 1100 DR ~34.4K DR

Race 2 Yellow Frankenstein:

View attachment 1014732

Fresh soft tires, low fuel. And trust:

View attachment 1014733

View attachment 1014734

Awesome liveries, as usual! I wonder if people saw the real EVH guitar livery car that was planned for Indy this year?

Also: noticed that in the Daily Race A this week, the frame rate issue was similar... weird that the simplest track we race on has this issue. But seems specific to Miyabi.

While the lag issues have been a thing in the Manufacturers Series this season, I had a really bad issue with frame rate during the Nations Cup Mini race at Miyabi this last weekend. I don't recall ever having frame rate drop in an online race before...

The connection indicator was good... 4 green bars for this race, but the frame rate drop during the first few laps was really off-putting.

Does that happen to others? I'm running a PS4 Pro, on a HD copy of the game, with a hybrid SSD/HD that is only 30% full and I'm on an ethernet connection with 150 MBps speed. After a year and a half of playing the game, have not seen that before.

 

[05XR8]

I ran a few different cars last night. The S-FR was the quickest but it wasn’t THAT far ahead of a few others. I think I got 4 different cars into the 04s. The F50 is both fast and enjoyable.
The Stratos is from my birth year, so that might be an option for me. It would be great to see a wide range of cars on the grid for this one.

Yeah, I got the Fugu Z and 993 into the 4.5s. Quicker hands than mine, should see 4 seconds flat. Would like to see variety as well. Some fast players in alternate cars. Just to see what those alternative cars can really do.

 

[Trone_Colby]

Nations at Big Willow, Slot 2.

I was going back and forth all day on if I wanna do this race or not. I didn’t like the tire selection or did I practice enough. On the other hand I wanted to see people die lol.

In my lobby of DR As and Bs, there was @afc5150 and @Rexracer702 (I know you’re trying to forget this race lol).

To my surprise, I qualified 4th, so I went with the 11s/12m strategy. I was going to do the 1m/11s/11s if I didn’t qualify well.

Starting the race, I put too much throttle on the exit of T1, I understeered off but kept it cool. I fell back to 8th. At the small right sweeper, P7 turned in too much and went off, almost hitting me. I held my breath for that. I snuck up on P6’s inside on lap 2 at the big right sweeper. We was both on that turn. I don’t know if he didn’t see me on the inside at the apex but he hit my car and ricocheted off track at the exit but saved it.

Lap 3, caught up to P5 at the small sweeper. An accidental bump to pass but didn’t ruin his race and we battled in the Budweiser Balcony and I had the better exit.

Later that race, P4 suddenly disappeared. I thought he disconnected. Turns out he bind it on the exit of the balcony.

I held P4 for a while until lap 11...I started to go off on the inside of the balcony, straight for the green barrier...at that point I had a sudden flashback of last season’s Manu Gr3 race at Big Willow. That race I was P3 on the penultimate lap when I went off, smacked into the green barrier for 1.5 seconds penalty and it took me an eternity to get back on track at P14. Back to this race, I did manage to control it, miss the green barrier but did ramp off the mound and back on track. I only lost a position and I pitted after that near fiasco.

As the race went on, P4 was making mistakes, too much that I caught up but had to slow down and not hit him. P6 (afc) and P7 was creeping up to us. P4 keeps making errors in front of me and others finally caught us around the balcony. Thankfully I only fell to P6. AFC has to deal with P4. I was hoping P4 would slow him down so I can catch them, but P4 binned it and AFC and I strolled passed him.

I finished the race P5, 126 points. Not bad for a race I didn’t want to do.

 

[GR33N]

FIA Nations Rd 7 - Willow / Red Bull Jr


A lot of people ran a 2-stop strategy in this race, I think, and it seemed more effective.

Yeah, I struggled in each slot on the M tyres and now I regret not trying the 2-stop strat. I was around 1.5 sec slower and much MUCH less confident than on Softs.
Well, I guess my brain was unable to work out a different strategy yesterday, too focused staying on track ^^

By the way, I managed a 11.3 in quali in the last slot, probably my best ever qualy lap that made me hear Lewis' voice "Wow, where did that come from ?"
And I just couldn't give him a plausible answer

 

[GTWolverine]

Yet again, another race I was looking forward to turned out to be a massive disappointment, and as usual it was my own fault.

Slot 1: Surprisingly I ended up in 2nd Split instead of Top Split for this one, so I was liking my chances. Managed to screw up both qualifying attempts, running wide on the first turn on my first lap, then running wide out of the final turn and spinning on my final qualifying attempt, qualifying dead last, almost 7 seconds behind 19th. Did a 2-stop of 1M/11S/11S and clawed my way up to 8th, right behind 7th at the line, but easily had the pace to get a podium and be done for the night. The 185 points I got wouldn't have counted towards my final tally, so of course I went again.

Slot 2: Starting with this slot, I was thrown into Top Split with @OutlawQuadrnt, @The359, and @kevinddr, where I was expecting a Top 10 at best, which would barely be good enough for some decent points. Surprisingly I qualified 4th, and was running in the Top 5 for most of the event. I did a 1-stop of 12S/11M, and became a moving chicane at the end of the race. I was dropping like a rock down the order when I got spun on the final lap at T2 by a driver trying to force his way inside. Finished P13...I still likely would've lost a few spots on that lap even if I hadn't been spun, so the points would've been useless no matter what, so in the grand scheme of things, being taken out had no real impact.

Slot 3: Once again in Top Split with the same people, and miraculously qualified P2 with a 1:11.2, which was faster than any practice qualifying run I'd done all week. I immediately lost 4 spots on the opening lap, but had a shot at a Top 5 on a 2-stop strategy when I got a random slide in the final turn and ran wide on the exit, clipped the pit wall with my left rear, and spun down the front straight. Once again I was in 13th with my race over. Since I still had to make another pitstop to use the Mediums at that point, I just didn't bother pitting and took the 1-minute penalty since my race was already over. Finished dead last in 19th.

Slot 4: Still in Top Split, but with over half the room at DR A since it was now 12am EST, I needed to finish 4th to score enough to even barely improve on my 4th-best score. I qualified 5th in spite of running wide in Sector 2, and went for a 2-stop strategy again, but wasn't sure if I was gonna do SMS or SSM. I briefly considered starting on Mediums since I was starting behind where I needed to finish to not have this night be a complete waste. After the start, I ran 5th for the entire first stint, then inherited 4th when they pitted on Lap 10. They made a mistake in the middle sector on their out lap, which allowed me to make my first stop while still staying in front of them. I also knew they had a massive gap behind them into which I could slot after my 2nd pitstop, so I went with the SMS strategy and pitted on Lap 11 for Mediums, then Lap 12 for Softs again, which put me back in 5th but on the faster tires with lower fuel. I ran down 4th again in short order, and he waved my by at the final turn. The car that was in 2nd made a mistake at the final turn and promoted me to 3rd, where I finished behind @kevinddr and @The359 for a GTP podium sweep. It was worth 228 points, which is now my 4th-best score. It's not a bad result, but I could probably beat it at the next 2 rounds, so it'll probably be worthless in the end, which is extremely frustrating since I was expecting this to be my 2nd-best result after the kart race. At least this means that, no matter what, my worst counted score will now be worth more than my BEST Nation's score in last year's official season.

 

[Roman_GT23]

Slot 2: Starting with this slot, I was thrown into Top Split with @OutlawQuadrnt, @The359, and @kevinddr, where I was expecting a Top 10 at best, which would barely be good enough for some decent points. Surprisingly I qualified 4th, and was running in the Top 5 for most of the event. I did a 1-stop of 12S/11M, and became a moving chicane at the end of the race. I was dropping like a rock down the order when I got spun on the final lap at T2 by a driver trying to force his way inside. Finished P13...I still likely would've lost a few spots on that lap even if I hadn't been spun, so the points would've been useless no matter what, so in the grand scheme of things, being taken out had no real impact.

I was wondering what the heck happened on the last lap in slot 2. I was behind all you guys and chaos just exploded (which I'll explain in a minute). You have a very very long spin in front of me and I wasn't sure if you were ghosted so I took avoiding action anyways.

So I wasn't feeling great about this combo coming into tonight so I watched a lot of streams from the UK folks and studied. I like the junior with the tires, but I HATE willow. And for some reason the car was snappy, as sometimes it would slide but you had a 50/50 chance that if you correct the slide it snaps the other way, and with willow having automatic shadow realm doors........................DOOM!

Slot 1. This one only had 264 on offer so I wasn't sure if it was 2nd split or 3rd. Qualy was ok. Qualified 6th. I definitely had a shot at maybe 4th but that snap correction bit me on the last corner heading into my last qualifying attempt. I was doing ok, but I lost the draft from the lead pack and the rear was there with me but not close enough to get my slip. Someone dropped like a tank and I was able to pick up 5th but that's as far as I was getting. Got back over 60K DR but the points were meh so I went again.

Slot 2. Was in top split for this one, but luckily I had a lot of allies, including @GTWolverine , Gouletzky, Greasy and Applepop. But for whatever reason looking at who was in the lobby I felt rattled, like I didn't belong here. I set my best qualifying time so far but sadly that was only good for 11th . It was a tough call to either start of softs or meds but I decided softs to help deal with any shenanigans in the opening laps. The Zefix guys for whatever reason were really pushy and forceful in the beginning. One of them was really leaning on me, and I decided discretion was the better part of valor and just let them have it. It might come back to me later. Then it was kind of the same story as slot 1. Had no one really in front to take advantage of the slip but no one behind to really defend. I did have one mishap with Hawkco on the last corner, There was a ghosted backmarker and he tried to use the slip from him to get by. He was on the outside, but no overlap on my car, but I took the inside to defend. The overlap of lines as I had to take a straighter entry into the corner caused contact and he just ended up in the shadow realm..........oops. Anyways, then the people that idk if they did a 2 stopper or started on meds was chewing my gap and making me look like I belong in a E/E lobby. I got as high as 7th but it was looking like a 11th that this point. Then chaos just exploded on the last lap. Equus got taken out, I think the other guy he got tangled with also went sailing onto the grass, Then Loop had a big off and from dirty tires I cut under over and got him, then Stagger just stopped for whatever reason. All this in a span of 4 corners saw me back in 7th but I had to defend hard from Loop and Gouletzky that had my draft. There we were again last corner, they went outside I held the inside. Luckily no contact and I held them off for 7th. Sadly not the points goal I wanted. I was aiming for 240-250. Got 237, but it was better than my lowest score. With the next slot being 10:40 EST............eh called it a night. Was probably the best I was going to manage anyways.




I do apologize for a portion of the audio in this video. They were talking about something way left field and..............................I'm sure youtube will take this video down at some point. I can't control them, I can only control myself

 

[GTWolverine]

I was wondering what the heck happened on the last lap in slot 2. I was behind all you guys and chaos just exploded (which I'll explain in a minute). You have a very very long spin in front of me and I wasn't sure if you were ghosted so I took avoiding action anyways.

So I wasn't feeling great about this combo coming into tonight so I watched a lot of streams from the UK folks and studied. I like the junior with the tires, but I HATE willow. And for some reason the car was snappy, as sometimes it would slide but you had a 50/50 chance that if you correct the slide it snaps the other way, and with willow having automatic shadow realm doors........................DOOM!

Slot 1. This one only had 264 on offer so I wasn't sure if it was 2nd split or 3rd. Qualy was ok. Qualified 6th. I definitely had a shot at maybe 4th but that snap correction bit me on the last corner heading into my last qualifying attempt. I was doing ok, but I lost the draft from the lead pack and the rear was there with me but not close enough to get my slip. Someone dropped like a tank and I was able to pick up 5th but that's as far as I was getting. Got back over 60K DR but the points were meh so I went again.

Slot 2. Was in top split for this one, but luckily I had a lot of allies, including @GTWolverine , Gouletzky, Greasy and Applepop. But for whatever reason looking at who was in the lobby I felt rattled, like I didn't belong here. I set my best qualifying time so far but sadly that was only good for 11th . It was a tough call to either start of softs or meds but I decided softs to help deal with any shenanigans in the opening laps. The Zefix guys for whatever reason were really pushy and forceful in the beginning. One of them was really leaning on me, and I decided discretion was the better part of valor and just let them have it. It might come back to me later. Then it was kind of the same story as slot 1. Had no one really in front to take advantage of the slip but no one behind to really defend. I did have one mishap with Hawkco on the last corner, There was a ghosted backmarker and he tried to use the slip from him to get by. He was on the outside, but no overlap on my car, but I took the inside to defend. The overlap of lines as I had to take a straighter entry into the corner caused contact and he just ended up in the shadow realm..........oops. Anyways, then the people that idk if they did a 2 stopper or started on meds was chewing my gap and making me look like I belong in a E/E lobby. I got as high as 7th but it was looking like a 11th that this point. Then chaos just exploded on the last lap. Equus got taken out, I think the other guy he got tangled with also went sailing onto the grass, Then Loop had a big off and from dirty tires I cut under over and got him, then Stagger just stopped for whatever reason. All this in a span of 4 corners saw me back in 7th but I had to defend hard from Loop and Gouletzky that had my draft. There we were again last corner, they went outside I held the inside. Luckily no contact and I held them off for 7th. Sadly not the points goal I wanted. I was aiming for 240-250. Got 237, but it was better than my lowest score. With the next slot being 10:40 EST............eh called it a night. Was probably the best I was going to manage anyways.




I do apologize for a portion of the audio in this video. They were talking about something way left field and..............................I'm sure youtube will take this video down at some point. I can't control them, I can only control myself

I knew I was forgetting to tag someone! Sorry about that, it's not completely fresh in my memory anymore. I also like these cars but hate this track. If this race was using virtually any other car, I'd have skipped it without a 2nd thought. Before this race, the most laps I'd ever done on this track were for the Lewis Hamilton Challenge...