2021 FIA Series Race Discussion

[KosmoKazi]

Went against the META in my trusted Porsche. It just felt SO GOOD at LM. And I knew it was easy on tires so it would be effective in the race, with its good brakes and the creative lines you can race at that track.

One other brave Porsche vs 18 Trophies. His PSN ID included “Porsche“ though so he was likely a loyalist too.

qualified 12th. Passed a few to get solidly in top 10 and was putting time on any I passed. Things were shaping up for the colts top 10 I was targeting. Maybe better.

even dispatched of one dirty guy who had pushed me aside to pass in the last turn, nearly spinning me as he ran me off the track, but I got revenge and justice by hip checking him into the wall on the back straight to perfection then pulling away. Was so happy with how this race unfolded as I pitted For my hard tires.

THEN I FORGOT TO REFUEL.

What an idiot. Had to pit next lap for fuel. Put a set of mediums on to try and recover. Came out DFL. Clawed my way back up to 14th to minimize the damage. But DAMMIT! I would have likely finished 6th. Was really one of my best races in ages. I’ll pretend there was a problem with the fuel filler and it wasn’t my fault. But it’s been so long since we had to refuel in an FIA race that I just habitually bounced right thru the option when I was in the pits. We’ve all done it but boy did that one hurt. To late to run it again and I’m sticking with my one and done mentality this year. What a shame. Discouraged and encouraged all at once. I went against the META and was looking really good. The Porsche was really effective against the Trophies. Deep into the slow turns and much faster in the Esses. Was able to hound anyone I was behind and pounce when they made any mistake. I just made the biggest one of the race.

I really liked this combo. Racy as any. And rewarded good driving Mostly.

shout out to Revengel who was cool and let me past at the end instead of holding me up. Cheers if you see this.

 

[D_Dragline]

On the contrary, it's RBR so there's a strong concertina effect through the field and not a lot of corners that really exploit tyre compound differences.

If you qualify top 5 probably start on something softer. Lower than that, consider a harder compound. Reasons being:

* Cars ahead of you are just going to waste time and tyre advantage fighting through the field. Remember there's two hairpins that other players will bleed time fighting for position. As long as you're close on a harder compound, you're winning.

* Being slightly slower can allow you to run at your capacity, and establish a rhythm instead of battling. You can sit tight and save fuel in the draft behind.

* Opens you up to an under/overcut once you do pit, as pit stop cycles will spread the field, making it easier for you to overtake the cars now on the worse compound more efficiently. Either through the pits on an out/in lap, or quickly after their stops when they're trying to get back up to speed

Also always save fuel when necessary. Less fuel used is less fuel taken during stops, means easy time can be gained on the competition basically for free.

Source: At Maggiore Nations I went from qualifying P7, half a second off the pace to P1 in the race just by racing with my brain.

This is sage advice. The lap time differences between medium and hards are very small. Most pit strategy will probably come down to fuel consumption/tyre wear. The Aston will do about 15 laps on a tank flat out, but some light fuel saving will likely get it to 18. I expect there will be two extremes in this race. The drivers who want to do 18/1 no matter what and the drivers who simply drive flat out until the tank’s empty for a 15/4ish. The smart drivers will realize not being in traffic is more important than an extra few laps on mediums and pit based on this.

I’d also suggest you fuel save to minimize pit loss. Every 1% you save is equivalent to about 1 and a half tenths. Short shifting all race in the Aston will cost you about 1 tenth per lap and save you about 1-1.5 seconds overall.

 

[pennanton]

This is sage advice. The lap time differences between medium and hards are very small. Most pit strategy will probably come down to fuel consumption/tyre wear. The Aston will do about 15 laps on a tank flat out, but some light fuel saving will likely get it to 18. I expect there will be two extremes in this race. The drivers who want to do 18/1 no matter what and the drivers who simply drive flat out until the tank’s empty for a 15/4ish. The smart drivers will realize not being in traffic is more important than an extra few laps on mediums and pit based on this.

I’d also suggest you fuel save to minimize pit loss. Every 1% you save is equivalent to about 1 and a half tenths. Short shifting all race in the Aston will cost you about 1 tenth per lap and save you about 1-1.5 seconds overall.

Well that leads us into even more advanced things, like track position and pit windows. A lot of players will go out there on the softest compound, run hard, then when it comes time to pit, they end up sabotaging their own races.

The only reason why lead cars start on softs is because of track position. They want to scamper away, pit, and have enough cushion to maintain that track position when running on the harder compound.

What people don't realise is this strategy isn't automatic doesn't just happen by default, you need to build margin over the harder compound runners and find a pocket of space to be able to pit and come out again with minimal time loss. Or in layman's terms, come out of the pit without a bunch of harder tyre runners that haven't pitted holding you up. Under the old pit timings, I recall is was about a 10-12 second buffer between yourself and the car you needed to get out ahead of.

I've noticed there's a lot of quick players that don't consider this, they just run flat out and pit, then blow the whole point of that strat because they've come out behind 3 guys battling that haven't pit.

It can go another level on top of that too. Say your tires have between 10-11 laps in them but you're concerned about pace drop off around lap 10. Sometimes it may be better to just stay out an extra (or in turn go a lap earlier) if it means you can put yourself in that pocket of space to maximise time. Like this it becomes a matter of thinking of how everyone's race is working around you.

Personally, I start looking at margins, adding them up and the track map a couple of laps before I intend to pit and making a judgement call from there. It's not usually just as simple as saying 'I'll pit on lap 10 and everything will take care of itself'.

 

[Yard_Sale]

And to build on all of this, one should consider what kind of lobby they’re in. Depending what account I log into, I race in low “A” or high “B”. I lose a lot of time each race trying to “push” my braking points , getting on the throttle earlier than I should have, turning in too early for corners, etc.

I can save more time playing the long game and being consistent, then I ever could fuel saving. Not to say I don’t do it, because there’s races I definitely do (namely Tokyo, or any easier power track). But on a track like RBR, personally my strategy will revolve around Clean Air, Consistency, Tire Saving, Fuel Saving …. In that order

 

[Seth_Logan]

Not a bad race. Door 8, Q8. Decided to start on hards.
Thankfully started just after the last corner, just!
Sorta held station despite gaining a few places from spinners but loosing places to the VW's behind. I didn't feel too far behind on hards and thankfully those behind me didn't have the pace so was able to keep on the tail of the swarm of cars ahead. Eventually 2 Meganes and 2 VW's we going 4 wide into turn 1. It was all clean. But the VW's lost out. I was coming in Lap 8 for the undercut, but a long stint on mediums. It worked. I gained on those ahead including one in the top 3. They came out right in front of me. Turn 1 the next lap and they went wide giving me the space. I pulled away but an Italian was not far behind either. They couldn't quite get close enough for a move and raced very clean. Kudos to Stefanostefano-f. Eventually their pace and my fading tyres meant they would get through at turn 1 eventually. The gap behind was around 3 seconds so I could relax a little and concentrate on keeping my tyres a little. In the end I crossed the line 5th for a great result.
View attachment 1068192
The Italian and I thanked each other for the clean race. Generally the racing ahead looked clean despite the close nature at times. I'm not sure how it was behind but only 15 finished; With only 2 of those loosing DR. So clean lobbies can be found.
I was worried about fuel. Pitting early I didn't have enough to go 15 laps. However some minimal fuel saving. (A couple of tactical short shifts per lap) gave me 0.3 at the end. (I think my driving style helps there.)
Good luck for those still to run.

Thos was in the Megane Gr4? Or Trophy? Either way well done!

 

[OJBrit]

Thos was in the Megane Gr4? Or Trophy? Either way well done!

Trophy. Same as half the grid.

 

[Benay79]

.

 

[Geauxgreddy]

NA Slot 1, A/S Lobby, 177 points, Door #1

What a breath of fresh air this round was for me. Qualified P7 and spent most of the race driving alone. Towards the end, two other Meganes ahead started battling, allowing me to get close to them. They didn't play nice for long though, as one tried to dive bomb the other on the final lap, but failed. This allowed me to snatch P4 at the last second. A much needed one-and-done after a rough past two rounds.

@8:01 my alt was sent spinning. To say I wasn't happy is an understatement. Not only did I get sent to the wall, I got 1.5 seconds in penalties after I smashed into it. This was shortly after a massive lunge on lap 2 where p4 hit me in turn 1 and came in so hot he also pushed P2 wide. After hitting the wall, I gathered my lawn mower parts, got back on the track, recovered and caught back up to yall at the end. You did well to stay out of trouble. And, unfortunately for me, you were in my way in the last turn as I was going to get a little street justice, lol. But, I didn't want to get you tangled up in it so I didn't pull the trigger. P7 and an unhappy Greddy. Good job on that P4.

FIA Nations Round 2, Slot 2
Door 3
Qualified Q2
DR A, SR S Lobby 36,000 DR Points

Much cleaner race since myself and the leader pulled out a 2 second gap to p3 by the end of lap 2. I stayed glued to P1's rear bumper for 8 laps. I did nothing silly, even if I had a slightly better corner, I just hung out, saving fuel and being kind to the tires. I let P1 relax a bit and put in quick lap times, increasing my odds of a possible late overtake while not letting P3 back into the race.

Lap 8, the leader made a mistake in the esses and I went by. Used my fuel and tire advantage to pull out of the slip quickly. Once I broke the tow, I shifted 3/4 way up the rev band until lap 13 when I came in the pits. I had about a 20L fuel advantage over the pole sitter. Added another 3 seconds on him when I came out of the pits and he had to deal with traffic.

Kept the lawn mower in cruise control the final half of the race and won by a healthy margin. 175 points.

 

[SpeedStarGTS]

-_- Racing a lil to hard cost us some big points but good result for the second round

 

[JoeDaSnow]

I entered Round 2 of Season 2 of the 2021 Nations Cup in a Renault Megane Trophy. I entered the second slot, qualified 6th and finished in 4th with 32 points.

 

[csmirnoff]

Last Wednesday, Manufacturers Gr4 at Sardegna B with my Jag. Did the first slot (only one I could do that day), door #19. Pace was pretty good (1.2s off Deafsun in TT) but my qualy lap was poor, qualified P13. From there, it was a bit of a frustrating race, with people wanting to battle and go for bump-passes all the time. Nothing too dirty, but losing us the slipstream to the guys ahead. It was quickly clear that we were now in a fight for P9 max, which I managed to take with a move in the final lap. P9 at the end. Points not so good, but I couldn't go again anyway.

Saturday, Nations race at Lago Maggiore East in reverse, using the META Megane Trophy. Managed to get in and put just a few laps practice before the 4th slot, so I wasn't expecting much, needed more laps in to find more pace. To make things worse, I was door #20 on a 245-point lobby, with mostly A+ drivers. Not exactly what I needed. 🤣

Tried to take some slipstream in qualifying, but ended up losing time in both laps due to the guy ahead making mistakes. Qualified P14.

Started on hard tyres, lost a position to a guy on mediums and tried to save some fuel. Was running in 12th when I pitted for mediums at the end of lap 11, leaving the pits in 15th. With the fresh mediums, I managed to overtake two drivers while I gained another place from someone refuelling more in the pits. Then it was a very lonely race to the finish line in P12, nothing else happened. P11 was over 5 seconds up the road, while I built a very comfortable gap to the guys behind. P12 doesn't sound like a great result, but considering the strength of the lobby and the lack of pace and practice I had, I'll take it. I even gained almost 100 DR points despite finishing outside the top-10, since I finished ahead of many A+ rated drivers. 😅

Hopefully neither result will end up counting by the end of the season...

 

[D_Dragline]

The RBR Manu race is going to be interesting. I ran a couple of lobbies last night. The key is definitely to get in clean air ASAP. To the point where if you start on pole it might even be feasible to try and 2 stop so you can put a big gap in on the softs in stint 1 and then time your stops to avoid traffic.

If you’re near the back, like I will be, a short stint on hards and then into the pits will be best. But this will mean you need to fuel save on mediums. Laps 1-3 are the key. You will have to do everything you can to avoid getting wiped out in this period, there will be a lot of desperate drivers lunging early to try and get the track advantage on their medium stint.

I’m actually looking forward to it, I think the Aston on this track really suits me.

 

[05XR8]

1 RH/1-3RM/RS full blast. I'll probably be 50 seconds behind again, but should be fun in the RSR.

 

[D_Dragline]

1 RH/1-3RM/RS full blast. I'll probably be 50 seconds behind again, but should be fun in the RSR.

This will be much more competitive than you think.

 

[pennanton]

This will be much more competitive than you think.

Isn't the RSR a meta option for RBR?

The RBR Manu race is going to be interesting. I ran a couple of lobbies last night. The key is definitely to get in clean air ASAP. To the point where if you start on pole it might even be feasible to try and 2 stop so you can put a big gap in on the softs in stint 1 and then time your stops to avoid traffic.

If you’re near the back, like I will be, a short stint on hards and then into the pits will be best. But this will mean you need to fuel save on mediums. Laps 1-3 are the key. You will have to do everything you can to avoid getting wiped out in this period, there will be a lot of desperate drivers lunging early to try and get the track advantage on their medium stint.

I’m actually looking forward to it, I think the Aston on this track really suits me.

Have you been hosting the practice lobbies?

 

[D_Dragline]

Isn't the RSR a meta option for RBR?



Have you been hosting the practice lobbies?

No. Jumped in one hosted by a lovely German fellow.

 

[pennanton]

No. Jumped in one hosted by a lovely German fellow.

A fair enough, was thinking of getting involved in some as practice but wouldn't mind seeing some familiar people either.

 

[OJBrit]

I suspect in the lower lobbies a lot of people will still have the softs on at the start or will use them at some point in the race. This means an extra stop or 1 minute at the end. So consistency will pay off in this way too.
For me I suspect my biggest battle will be with my psycho machine. Hopefully my caution in this manner will aid in fuel/tyre saving.

 

[D_Dragline]

A fair enough, was thinking of getting involved in some as practice but wouldn't mind seeing some familiar people either.

Yeah, it’s a bit of a lottery when you don’t know the names. If I put one together I’ll post on here. My only windows for practice are usually late (10:30 - midnight AEST)

 

[05XR8]

Isn't the RSR a meta option for RBR?



Have you been hosting the practice lobbies?

Being in a meta won't matter, if I get dumped at T1 and/or T2. Annnd T3 through to when I make my pit stop on Lap1. Not sure people will have patience with me on RH.

I can probably go 1RM/2RH/RS full blast. I'll see once qualy is done and where I sit.

 

[KosmoKazi]

Being in a meta won't matter, if I get dumped at T1 and/or T2. Annnd T3 through to when I make my pit stop on Lap1. Not sure people will have patience with me on RH.

I can probably go 1RM/2RH/RS full blast. I'll see once qualy is done and where I sit.

Cold tires in FIA races at RBR usually make starting on H's more viable than you'd think... at least that's been my experience. Cold mediums are pretty gnarly the first two or three critical turns too, so you can manage a gap if you're especially good on those first turns and couple of laps. That said, it's a punting palace for sure, so a bit of a dice roll no matter what. But I think starting on Hards is a viable plan for anyone who will be stuck in traffic in the first stint.

 

[05XR8]

Cold tires in FIA races at RBR usually make starting on H's more viable than you'd think... at least that's been my experience. Cold mediums are pretty gnarly the first two or three critical turns too, so you can manage a gap if you're especially good on those first turns and couple of laps. That said, it's a punting palace for sure, so a bit of a dice roll no matter what. But I think starting on Hards is a viable plan for anyone who will be stuck in traffic in the first stint.

I qualify well, at most times, but I can't call it until I'm in the room. Gotta see who are in there.
Some just don't understand the first few corners. Once someone takes it easy, others think that player doesn't have pace. Does more damage to pounce, as that allows the leaders to skip away.

 

[Timm Sheehan]

So I ran some RBR races for the upcoming Manufacture's race and it seems that if I can average a low 1:34 the Hyundai feels good, tires and fuel will last until around lap 13. I can push to get down into the low-mid 1:32 range but the tires slide too much and wear faster (about 10 laps). It seems like I might be considering a 1 stop 13RH/6RM strategy with no RS use at all. Pit stops are averaging around 35-40 seconds with fill up from a near empty tank (0.5 lap or 4L remaining). Anyone else ran any practice races yet?

 

[05XR8]

I'll see where I qualify on the RS. Might experiment with a couple RS runs and finish with 1RH/1RM. Not expecting that I have the skills to gap the field by a minute. I'll improvise by my grid position.
If I'm at the back, I'll have to dump those harder compound tyres first. In the bottom half of the top 10, would have to pit early as well. We'll see.

Looking forward to the race. It's all about fun.

 

[MCL1974]

So I ran some RBR races for the upcoming Manufacture's race and it seems that if I can average a low 1:34 the Hyundai feels good, tires and fuel will last until around lap 13. I can push to get down into the low-mid 1:32 range but the tires slide too much and wear faster (about 10 laps). It seems like I might be considering a 1 stop 13RH/6RM strategy with no RS use at all. Pit stops are averaging around 35-40 seconds with fill up from a near empty tank (0.5 lap or 4L remaining). Anyone else ran any practice races yet?

Did a few and did alright i think. I am midd B but qualified 8th and 5th in a strong field, plenty of A riders. My issue is fuel economy and that will cost me. qualytimes were a 1.29.5 and a 1.28.9. best medium laps midd 1.30 and did 14 laps in mediums in both and 5 laps in hard. best hard lap a 1.31.5

Had a lot of cool drivers in the lobbies i was in, including Pirovacboy. last race was ruined by an English fellow who thought swerving allover the truck like a drunk was valid defending. If you are called out by 5 drivers in a 19 lap race then you might have some anger issues....
Had a cool duel with a German fellow though, overtook eachother a few times, nice moves from both. Shame he was one of the others who got knocked by the idiot later in the race.

Seth-Logan: sorry for not answering you in the post race chat, internet was bad last lap and the game did not allow me to type specific messages. to answer your question: I did use TCS, no way the Citroen can be kept under control by me on this track without it....

Also: hate that second to last corner in this race, very poor visibility due to the low sun. What does not help is the bloody cat pestering me three times exactly when about to break for that particular corner! cost me two positions and granted me three time penalties

The evil one, trying and failing to look all innocent:

 

[OJBrit]

Did a few and did alright i think. I am midd B but qualified 8th and 5th in a strong field, plenty of A riders. My issue is fuel economy and that will cost me. qualytimes were a 1.29.5 and a 1.28.9. best medium laps midd 1.30 and did 14 laps in mediums in both and 5 laps in hard. best hard lap a 1.31.5

Had a lot of cool drivers in the lobbies i was in, including Pirovacboy. last race was ruined by an English fellow who thought swerving allover the truck like a drunk was valid defending. If you are called out by 5 drivers in a 19 lap race then you might have some anger issues....
Had a cool duel with a German fellow though, overtook eachother a few times, nice moves from both. Shame he was one of the others who got knocked by the idiot later in the race.

Seth-Logan: sorry for not answering you in the post race chat, internet was bad last lap and the game did not allow me to type specific messages. to answer your question: I did use TCS, no way the Citroen can be kept under control by me on this track without it....

Also: hate that second to last corner in this race, very poor visibility due to the low sun. What does not help is the bloody cat pestering me three times exactly when about to break for that particular corner! cost me two positions and granted me three time penalties

The evil one, trying and failing to look all innocent:
View attachment 1068756

How can you resist that face?

 

[D_Dragline]

So I ran some RBR races for the upcoming Manufacture's race and it seems that if I can average a low 1:34 the Hyundai feels good, tires and fuel will last until around lap 13. I can push to get down into the low-mid 1:32 range but the tires slide too much and wear faster (about 10 laps). It seems like I might be considering a 1 stop 13RH/6RM strategy with no RS use at all. Pit stops are averaging around 35-40 seconds with fill up from a near empty tank (0.5 lap or 4L remaining). Anyone else ran any practice races yet?

In my test races I did;

18m1h my early RM laps were low 30s when I pitted I was pulling low 31s. Short shifting to save fuel. RH was on track for a high 30.

10s1h8m going flat out on all compounds the softs were pulling low 29s out to low 30s, mediums mid 29s to low 30s with the lower fuel load.

The one stop is theoretically much better. But my first race was actually slower because traffic meant slower laps and contact related issues.

 

[05XR8]

So, the 4x tyre wear and time of day, are keeping the tyres consistent. No real gain with any of the compounds. Just stay out of trouble as usual.

 

[MidnightRun85]

So I ran some RBR races for the upcoming Manufacture's race and it seems that if I can average a low 1:34 the Hyundai feels good, tires and fuel will last until around lap 13. I can push to get down into the low-mid 1:32 range but the tires slide too much and wear faster (about 10 laps). It seems like I might be considering a 1 stop 13RH/6RM strategy with no RS use at all. Pit stops are averaging around 35-40 seconds with fill up from a near empty tank (0.5 lap or 4L remaining). Anyone else ran any practice races yet?

When I saw the tyre requirements for this my instant thought was qualify on RS, start on RH, finish on RM. Two stop is madness with the pit time loss, so no point trying to run the RS in the race if the other two compounds are needed. Your 1-stop strategy sounds like roughly was I was planning, although maybe an extra lap or two on the RM's if they'll manage it. Plan to pit early enough to fill the tank the least amount required to get you to the finish and you'll get the shortest possible pit stop.

 

[Seth_Logan]

Were are the Aussie NZ race reports?

Never mind. Break in schedule I see