2021 FIA Series Race Discussion

[VulcanSpirit]

Similar to Laguna Seca last week, I was initially thinking against entering Spa due to the Gr.4 Scooby's tyre wear and power issues. Gave the 15:00 slot a go anyway following some decent runs in FP and test lobbies, and oh boy was I not expecting this....

15:00 Manufacturers
Met @GR33N once more in another fairly diverse lobby, the biggest teams consisting of three Astons, three Jags and three Porsches. With enough practice, I was fairly confident I could set a high 2:28 in qualifying providing that I got my braking points right and didn't have one of those understeer episodes which caught me out in testing.

There was a fair amount of pressure knowing that I was ranked #3 and only had one chance to make my flying lap count. As long as I kept it clean, it didn't matter too much where the lap took me. The only real issues I encountered were a lack of slipstream and a less-than-perfect exit from Les Fagnes where I nearly crossed over onto the astroturf, but other than those the WRX had no trouble. Times started clocking in as I went round Blanchimont, the provisional fastest being a 2:28.702 from the Russian BMW. As soon as I cleared the Bus Stop, I looked up to the Position Indicator, expecting to slot in somewhere within the other high-2:28/low-2:29 runners.

Imagine my amazement when I crossed the line and saw my username jump up the grid. Not into the top 10, not into the top 5...

Position 1/20.

The time...

2:28.434.

I couldn't believe it... I put the Scooby on pole! Highlight of the season by far and yet it didn't occur to me to save the replay as I was still amazed and excited by what had just happened. Ah well...

Judging by what I had encountered in testing with other Caymans, I fully expected the Porsche starting in 2nd to leapfrog me on the basis of being inherently more agile and tyre-friendly. For whatever reason, the grid formation was set up in such a way that the Scooby still had a 1-second buffer by the time it reached the start line. The Porsche ate this up quickly while I almost drifted over the track boundaries at Raidillon and had an oversteer moment at Jacky Ickx corner. Such was his pace that he was already bump drafting me through Blanchimont.

At the start of Lap 2, the BMW dives up the inside of the Porsche after the pair briefly touch at the Bus Stop. Next lap, he drafts past along the Kemmel Straight, which was not a concern as this allowed me to pick up his slipstream while at the same time conserving my front tyres. During the early stages, I was also concerned that I might have burnt too much fuel off the line, but this mattered less as my extra fuel percentages per lap grew. Besides, my previous experiences with the M4 suggested that it was the thirstier car anyway...

Almost retook the lead on Lap 4 by slipstreaming around the outside down Kemmel Straight, but settled into a consistent rhythm of low 2:29s in an effort to force the BMW into a mistake. Somehow managed to save my tyres better by not being as aggressive under braking, but the BMW kept lapping faster in general until he broke the tow by Lap 8. The tow still proved useful, however, as it allowed me to build a 6 second gap ahead of the Mazda now sitting in 3rd. No mistakes and no pressure to hang on to 2nd, the gap growing to around 8.3 seconds by the end.

Two podiums in the last two FIA races, another top 5 finish in Gr.4 and all within a sub-25 minute total time eclipsing anything I could put out in testing. I still can't get over how I got that pole time. It wasn't an entirely clean lap, either, so goodness knows what the WRX could've done with a better exit out of Les Fagnes! I will say it here that the Gr.4 version has certainly been my biggest surprise of Season 1 along with Wednesday's Gr.2 round and the Super Formula race at Catalunya. I had expected it to wallow around and decimate its tyres like in one of the 2018 Exhibition Seasons I took part in, but it turns out that this Scooby can give you some very strong results providing you nail qualifying and are consistently gentle with it through the braking zones. Couldn't imagine myself getting consistently better scores than in the Gr.3 version before the start of this leg, but hopefully the combos for Season 2 might redress the balance a little bit.

Will wait and see what impact the extra 257 points will have on my season standings, but what a brilliant way to round off this stage of my Manufacturers campaign!

 

[Ashthebash]

Back at SPAAAAAAAAAAA!!

I love Spa (might have mentioned it!), but in recent races, Spa hasn't loved me back (might have mentioned that too!!)

Entered the 4th slot (7pm) and was almost horrified to see me as door #16 - in (a diluted) top split. Targets took an instant reality check and top ten became the goal rather than a podium.

My qualy lap was sketchy, the time was ok-ish (2:28.6) but it managed to sneak me 9th on the grid. So straight away things were looking good for a top ten. I did have three Astons behind me though and if they were close enough on the straight to get a tow there would be no stopping them

Race starts, I crawl around the Bus Stop, weave on the run towards La Source and feel zero coming back through the wheel so knew my tyres were on the cold side of freezing. The Aston directly behind seemed to have no trouble and he got a run on me up the hill allowing him to drive past. Luckily the other two Astons were roughly 1.5s behind and I was able to take two laps to warm the tyres up then close in on the car that had pushed me down to 10th. With a run on him towards Blanchimont he made a late, but completely fine, move to the inside to stop me going to the left of him. I was clearly the quicker car though and after getting a run out of La Source he defended the inside again, but this time I had the option of the outside and took it



Quickly opened up a gap and was closing in slowly on a Mustang that was 2.5s ahead. On L9, with the gap 1.6s he ran wide out of No Name, picked up a penalty and a combination of him struggling for a few corners on dirty tyres and me nailing everything around to Kemmel allowed me to take the place as he served his penalty. A clean run to the end, a cautious Bus Stop, and the target was achieved as I came home in 8th place. Not the kind of score I was hoping for, but the result was extremely pleasing

I love Spa, and today... it (at least) liked me back!

 

[Hasnain282]

Had a pretty clean quali lap which put me way higher than I should've been and it showed in the race as I spent most of my time just sliding down the field. In the end it was P12 which was about where I was hoping for when I saw the people in the lobby

 

[Cherryturbo]

Anyone else run out of fuel? Not seen any mention in the reports about fuel, other than the Lexus finished with a quarter tank!

It seems wrong that the McLaren has to either fuel save or pit stop when all the other makes don’t. Unsurprisingly, finished last in my two slots. Ran out of fuel in the first and fuel saved myself to the back in the other.

Not impressed.🤬

 

[crusselz]

Ran again in the final slot.

Door 20
Q6

Ran the whole race in P6, about 1s behind P5 and 3-4 seconds ahead of P7.

Pretty much settled in for a good haul of points on a track I've never liked.

To my absolute horror, on lap 9, the power flickered, long enough that the ps shutdown. Initial hope was only my TV had gone off.

Points 0
-1800 DR

Can't complain i guess, it is, what it is, but a frustrating way to end the day.

To those yet to run, good luck, especially if you Qualify in P5 or P6. Terrible position in the chicane when the countdown ends.

@Famine the Atenza is quite good around here. Ran break balance at 3 to the rear to preserve the front tyres. But did start to feel the tyre wear around lap 8.

 

[Ashthebash]

Had a pretty clean quali lap which put me way higher than I should've been and it showed in the race as I spent most of my time just sliding down the field. In the end it was P12 which was about where I was hoping for when I saw the people in the lobby
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Should have defended the inside against that BMW final lap mate!! With his penalty he'd have been a nice buffer between you and the other guy you were fighting with. Great drive though

Anyone else run out of fuel? Not seen any mention in the reports about fuel, other than the Lexus finished with a quarter tank!

It seems wrong that the McLaren has to either fuel save or pit stop when all the other makes don’t. Unsurprisingly, finished last in my two slots. Ran out of fuel in the first and fuel saved myself to the back in the other.

Not impressed.🤬

Were you revving it out?

Pretty sure the McLaren should only run out if you rev it out to the limiter, and if you rev it out you're changing too late anyway. Optimal shift is around half bar I think

 

[05XR8]

Wait, can the Atenza Gr.4 do well here somehow?

Somehow is right. Didn't expect it to last as well as it did. If I didn't get the penalty, might have been a bit closer to the NSX. Tough it out for the first five laps Car loosened up for me mid-race through to the finish.

Anyone else run out of fuel? Not seen any mention in the reports about fuel, other than the Lexus finished with a quarter tank!

It seems wrong that the McLaren has to either fuel save or pit stop when all the other makes don’t. Unsurprisingly, finished last in my two slots. Ran out of fuel in the first and fuel saved myself to the back in the other.

Not impressed.🤬

Mentioned that about one of the McLarens in my race. It finished 19/20 after making a pit stop. As someone mentioned above, regarding revs, must have been lack of experience, because the other McLaren had less than a quarter tank left. That one finished 8/20.

 

[Windfire1010]

Almost no practice in top split.

 

[Hasnain282]

Should have defended the inside against that BMW final lap mate!! With his penalty he'd have been a nice buffer between you and the other guy you were fighting with. Great drive though

Yeah you're right, though my thinking at the time was that I could just follow in the slipstream of the BMW but then unfortunately for me they went and had an absolute shocker of a lap, but ah well doesn't really matter too much either way

 

[Odiesback]

FIA Manufacturers Series - Spa-Francorchamps

BMW M4

17:00 Slot - one and done!

Door: #7
Qualified: 3rd
Finished: 3rd

Strategy: Hard tires, no stop
Fuel: FM1 - All out, no issues

Clean qualifying. One thing on my mind was to start in front and past the last chicane. That worked well!

Nice and clean race without any battles. My goal was to avoid mistakes and try to stay in close proximity to car ahead. After few laps, the leader and car ahead pulled away a little and I opened a 6s gap from the car behind. However, the Corvette behind me brought down the gap to 1.8s since I had started not to take chances and to drive with securing the position in mind by not making any stupid mistakes

Done for this Season as I will not go be able to race in the last round!

Got my three best scores on last three races: N24, Laguna Seca and Spa!

Good luck to all tonight!

 

[OJBrit]

Busy today so was unable to race. Having not practiced it was probably for the best.

 

[05XR8]

In a bit of dilemma. Said I'm done with FIA til next season... BUT! went into the website to have a look at what the Ford competition would look like and had to access my Mazda ranking first.


1

lozzaH_28
A S 158 145 128 - - - - - - - 431
2

SpacedustDaddy
A S - - - - 105 60 - 128 169 - 402
3

TMLapwing
A S 120 - 118 98 - - 138 - - - 376
4

hansi_rocks123
B S - - - - - - 69 96 117 - 282

I thought the 60 points would drop. Even with the one more race to go. P4 actually did the race last night, so they moved up with that nice points haul.
P1 and P3 haven't done any more races for the rest of the season.
Not sure about the RX-V at Sardegna. If I can grab a mid-pack finish, that's potential to be P1. Seems a bit greedy, as I'm fine where I am. But.... that but.

 

[Photodave219]

RAce report..... meh.

Somewhere between morning practice and the actual race, I lost 3s of pace. First race was bad, mostly due to getting spun out by a .... Brazilian in a GT-R with a race team name in his handle. Who was NOT GOOD and all over the place. I'm still pissed about it because he didn't even get a penalty.

Second race, self inflicted injury. Fixated on the rear bumper of the car ahead of me, missed a braking point and spun.

I hate how slow the Porsche Gr4 cars are. I know the problem is more driver than car but uh, DAMN.

So uh... yup. Fleeing for the night. Again, gotta stick with my instincts and not try to stick my finger in the light socket a second time.

 

[GTWolverine]

Background: this exact combo was by far my best result during last year's official Manufacturer's Championship season, with 238 points from a 2nd place finish. Spa is my favorite "real world" track in this game, and given how disappointing the Nation's round here was, I wanted to have at least 1 great result here again.

Slot 1: Messed up my qualifying lap by getting Eau Rouge wrong. To avoid a corner cutting penalty, I put more steering in than ideal, and as a result, I ended up overshooting on the right side of the track exiting Radillion, and had to lift to avoid getting a track limits penalty there. It still cost my at least 1 second though, and I qualified 12th. I did a decent job of carving my way up the order and finished 6th, and closing the gap to 5th when I ran out of laps. I was actually happy with my race performance, but I started too far back for it to matter. 6th was worth 207 points, which wouldn't count towards my total, so on to Slot 2...

Slot 2: Ended up in a split with @Winnie847 so I was worried I'd be off pace. This time I actually qualified 4th, with the polesitter benefitting from my slipstream, and @Winnie847 starting just ahead of me. The Top 4 were basically stuck together the whole race, and after getting in front of @Winnie847 and running 3rd for a few laps, I had to give it back when I messed up the corner before Pouhon. I got 3rd back again when he got into a tangle with the the cars in front for the lead, then lost it on the final lap running wide out of Stavelot. I finished where I started in 4th, less than 3s off the winner, for 240 points. That's better than last year's score, but given how much faster I've gotten since then, I was hoping for more than just a 2 point improvement when compared to last year (and I had a good chance at a better score if I didn't run wide at Stavelot on the last lap). Either way, this makes it my 2nd-best score this season, so I'm keeping it.

 

[csmirnoff]

Spa with the Jaguar F-type Gr4.

Americas Slot 2, door #8. Decided to qualify on my own, going out of the pits late to avoid traffic as you could only get one lap in anyway. Not a perfect lap, sector 2 wasn't great, but it was enough for P5 on the grid, just 2 tenths off the front row.

Started right in the middle of the bus stop chicane and I was VERY, VERY close to spinning out before even starting the race. Just managed to save it but had such a poor run that I was eaten up by a GT-R in the Kemmel straight, down to P6.

Following 5 or 6 laps were very quiet, until an American in another F-type went off in the bus stop, which allowed me to move up to P5. Unfortunately, he then pushed me wide when trying to pass into the bus stop the following lap, causing both of us to be overtaken by a Brazilian, so I was now down to P7. He then proceeded to block all through the infield section, when I didn't have any intentions of overtaking, and cost us both a lot of time and obviously, the slipstream to the Brazilian ahead.

Since it was clear it was not possible to work together with him, I went for a move on the outside into the bus stop as the guys behind had already caught up with us. Luckily, he gave me space and I managed to make it stick, back up to P6. He was clean there, nothing to complain about on that side, but if he had better racecraft, we would have been in the battle for P4, instead of battling for P6 at best. A little bit frustrating.

In the end, managed to break the slipstream to the guys behind and keep that P6 to the end. I felt like P4 or P5 were definitely possible, but still enjoyed the race. Spa is an amazing racetrack.

 

[JoeDaSnow]

In the last Gr. 4 race of Season 1 of the 2021 Manufacturers Series I had entered three slots, finishing in 10th, 8th and 7th respectively. In these respective races, I had scored 26, 34 and 39 points.

 

[adokeeffe]

5th from 5th! Could have done even better if I hadn't ran a fuel limiter of 2 for the first two laps. Practice sessions indicated the Ferrari should have been out of fuel with 2 laps to go, I guess the race started with a higher fuel load? Still I managed to defend 5th from an overly eager Suburu and a Jaguar, got the clean race bonus and was the fastest Aussie in the lobby 👍

 

[Cherryturbo]

Should have defended the inside against that BMW final lap mate!! With his penalty he'd have been a nice buffer between you and the other guy you were fighting with. Great drive though



Were you revving it out?

Pretty sure the McLaren should only run out if you rev it out to the limiter, and if you rev it out you're changing too late anyway. Optimal shift is around half bar I think

Somehow is right. Didn't expect it to last as well as it did. If I didn't get the penalty, might have been a bit closer to the NSX. Tough it out for the first five laps Car loosened up for me mid-race through to the finish.


Mentioned that about one of the McLarens in my race. It finished 19/20 after making a pit stop. As someone mentioned above, regarding revs, must have been lack of experience, because the other McLaren had less than a quarter tank left. That one finished 8/20.

Thanks for your replies.

I drive in “simple” mode, DS4 with an auto box. I would have thought that this is the default mode for most folks.

That being the case, I think my concerns are still relevant.

On another note, really like “dark mode” on the new update

 

[05XR8]

Thanks for your replies.

I drive in “simple” mode, DS4 with an auto box. I would have thought that this is the default mode for most folks.

That being the case, I think my concerns are still relevant.

On another note, really like “dark mode” on the new update

I can't remember after watching the replay, if Shiftinggears used MT. I think I was the only one using manual with TCS off.
Most used AT with TCS on or off.

 

[mobilmasher]

A 135 pt room, solid B's through the entire field. Door #20, Q'd pole, couldn't believe it. Over joyed to be starting on the straight instead of in the chicane. On the gas too fast at T1, half spun and let the P2 GTR by. Later in the lap the P3 Scirroco also got by. Settled in and just started concentrating on running clean laps. Had a few good respectful battles falling back to 6th. Final lap, last chicane, 5th accidently punted 4th and stopped to give his position back, Kudos for his sportsmanship, gifting me 4th place for my best finish and highest points for the season so far.

 

[The_Tullster]

Pretty sure the McLaren should only run out if you rev it out to the limiter, and if you rev it out you're changing too late anyway. Optimal shift is around half bar I think

About 85% of the shift bar for optimum acceleration on the top three gears, you can drop it back to 55 - 60% in the twisty bits without losing much speed and for a further significant fuel save. Source: https://gt-engine.com/cars/gr4/gr4_upshift.html and my experience using it a couple of seasons back. Gr.3 likes higher revs though.

 

[SpeedStarGTS]

My racing rig broke down so i didn't have much practice going to this Round, So i only did 2 races



i Found the groove on this track, I could have done much better, maybe a win was possible. but i didn't want the risk and drama that came with racing at Spa -_- so im happy with this result.

 

[Lewmatic]

Had to runs at this track. First attempt I didn't run well in qualifying and started 10th. Race was kind of a mess as I got dive bombed in the early laps even tho I saw the car coming in the look back I couldn't avoid it as another car behind me got caught up in it. Dropped back to 14th and was making some momentum back until this happened. Saw this him driving dirty earlier on and guest I was the next victim. He cut the chicane later that lap and then disconnected, I ended the race back in 10th.

My second try went a lot better starting in 2nd. Was holding on to 5th on lap 6 and saw the battle for 2nd was getting a little crazy and expected things to go bad when they reached the chicane and it definitely. I stayed behind them and waited for the mishap and got out of it clean. Increased my distance the rest of the race and finished 2nd. Wish I could have battled for the lead but happy with my race and got my A rating back.

 

[Geauxgreddy]

2021 FIA Manu Round 9
GR4 at Spa
LOW A+/S Lobby Door no. 2

I absolutely love Spa. Its usually a track I feel like I can compete against folks faster than me. However, I think I let that into my head and put TOO MUCH pressure on myself. Odd, I know. Racing is so mental. I just kept making mistakes. In practice I ran so many good clean laps, but couldn't seem to make it happen when it counted. My specialty is the Greddy Pass, free passes or forcing errors on others and not making mistakes. Well, that went right out the window. LOL.

Qualified 9th with an abysmal 2:30.0xx and preceded to stink up the world in the first few laps. But, lets find a silver lining in that cloud, it made for a fun race battling with people I gave a head start. Pretty clean race as well. Managed to pull it together and salvage a top 10 finish. I was about 14 seconds off my overall pace, but I had some things I needed to do that evening so I was one and done. Looking forward to Sardegna A. I'm not great at the track, but I do like the flow of it. Which, makes for fun lapping.

 

[praiano63]

Manufacturer yesterday , with a 205 points , my best score this season.
I love SPA circuit ..... Sorry for the poor video quality , i've loaded it from my PS4 , i don't know if it's possible to turn it better ... Sorry again.

 

[Photodave219]

I edited together some of my (Mis)Adventures in my early race at SPA. Featuring everyone's favorite, getting spun out by another driver without them getting a penalty.

Love the circuit but HATE how i perform there.

 

[C_Raccoon23]

NA Slot 3, A/S Lobby, 199 points, Door #2

Just going to keep this one short and simple. Qualified 10th but I spent the first half of the race in 9th after an 86 that started 5th slowed down and let everyone pass for some bizarre reason. Gained 8th from a F-type that served a penalty on lap 6. I get 7th after a Corvette got into a bit with a Genesis and went wide at Bruxelles on the following lap. Next lap, Corvette driver comes back and nearly pushes me off the track at Blanchimont. Whatever. I just let him go and hope he and the other two cars directly ahead of me fight it out as there were only two laps left at that point. Unfortunately for me, that doesn't happen. Ended this round gaining 200 DR.

 

[KosmoKazi]

Anyone else run out of fuel? Not seen any mention in the reports about fuel, other than the Lexus finished with a quarter tank!

It seems wrong that the McLaren has to either fuel save or pit stop when all the other makes don’t. Unsurprisingly, finished last in my two slots. Ran out of fuel in the first and fuel saved myself to the back in the other.

Not impressed.🤬

I ran the McLaren on my Alt for the first time last night. What a joke of a car! I don’t know what its using all the fuel for, because I was getting pulled on the straights and had to manage it all race to avoid running out. Finished 14th after a strong almost 4th place in my Porsche on my main account earlier, at the same DR. The McLaren was pointless At Spa. Didn’t brake better, didn’t rotate better, didn’t have more speed, and sucked fuel awful. I wish I’d have chosen Aston or Corvette on my Alt for some fun.

 

[csmirnoff]

I ran the McLaren on my Alt for the first time last night. What a joke of a car! I don’t know what its using all the fuel for, because I was getting pulled on the straights and had to manage it all race to avoid running out. Finished 14th after a strong almost 4th place in my Porsche on my main account earlier, at the same DR. The McLaren was pointless At Spa. Didn’t brake better, didn’t rotate better, didn’t have more speed, and sucked fuel awful. I wish I’d have chosen Aston or Corvette on my Alt for some fun.

I drove for McLaren in the 2020 season, when we had the same race, and the 650S was pretty good at Spa.

I know fuel consumption was adjusted a while ago, I haven't tested it recently, maybe they ruined it now. But while it's almost impossible to fuel save with it (which I remember cost me a win against a Porsche last year at Red Bull Ring Short), its fuel consumption isn't that bad. Sure you weren't overrevving it? With the 650S Gr4 you must shift at 50% of the RPM bar for peak power, after that it just wastes fuel and power. If fuel saving is necessary, you would need to shift even earlier than that.

 

[05XR8]

NA Slot 3, A/S Lobby, 199 points, Door #2

Just going to keep this one short and simple. Qualified 10th but I spent the first half of the race in 9th after an 86 that started 5th slowed down and let everyone pass for some bizarre reason. Gained 8th from a F-type that served a penalty on lap 6. I get 7th after a Corvette got into a bit with a Genesis and went wide at Bruxelles on the following lap. Next lap, Corvette driver comes back and nearly pushes me off the track at Blanchimont. Whatever. I just let him go and hope he and the other two cars directly ahead of me fight it out as there were only two laps left at that point. Unfortunately for me, that doesn't happen. Ended this round gaining 200 DR.

Good stuff! Can't wait to run the Mustang next season. Even if BOP nerfs it. Love the GT4 car.