2021 FIA Series Race Discussion

[Zorz]

I was terrified of this, but it ended up going REALLY well.

Put it on pole but didn't have a fantastic start so I fell behind the Polish driver who started P2 off the line. I then had a lot of trouble with the dirty air on cold tyres so he extended a gap. I started reeling him back in but then accidentally had a collision whilst trying to overtake into turn 2 so I got a 1s penalty. However... fuel management to the rescue.

The Pole went into the pits at the end of lap 8 with 9% fuel left. I went in at the end of lap 9 with 5% fuel left and that means my pit stop was short enough to cancel out the penalty and make me jump back into the lead! From there I just pulled away to a 4s lead by the end.

Back-to-back wins following Wednesday's success in the Manufacturers, and I believe 168 is a new personal points haul record.

 

[OJBrit]

That was a complete and utter ********. (Appropriate for this week's dailies.)
Firstly I mucked up qualifying. Had a wobble coming out of Hell Corner but controlled it.
Then met a German who had obviously had an off. So I was stuck behind him from Griffins to McPhillamy Park where he went wide. I had done a 1:45.0 in practice and my first lap was a 1:47.0 (which did put me 5th.) But I knew I could do better. Ah Hell corner again got a wobble again (mainly because for some reason I subconsciously went to 2nd) This time there was no catching it and the car squirmed several times. Lap over a few seconds in. I quit to the pit to see how well my first lap would hold. I slowly fell to 11th.

Got an o.k. start but like almost everyone else I hit someone in front (as well as being hit.) So 4 seconds were mine to take along the conrod. I think 2 3rds had a penalty of some sort. I had still picked up positions to around 8th. Cold tyres put me wide at Griffins. Then I understeered at the cutting. 2 cars decided to join me and pancake me into the wall. I was now about 17th. I put my head down and started picking more positions up as others went off or got penalties. I passed a German who had an accident coming out of Griffins. I assume he cut the esses as he just punted me at the dipper. I somehow ended up on the inside wall and my car refused to move for a few seconds. My scream of rage finally got it going again. I was practically last.
I caught up with a few others and on lap 8 I pitted. I was got past a Spaniard who served a penalty and then at Hell corner he decided to use me as a brake. He got 2 seconds. Then at Griffins a Russian did the same. He got 4. I couldn't catch up with the Spaniard but did get past the Russian when he served his penalty. That's where I stayed. The only battles was against the chronic understeer the car decided to put in on random corners.
Due to three people fogetting to put on hard tyres I rose to 10th at the end. I probably had the pace to stick it on pole but my own mistakes meant I had to settle for lower putting me in the crosshairs of frustrated idiots looking for a punt.

At the end I called out the Spaniard and and Russian as idiots. The Russian decided to swear at me (as stars showed.) I just replied the penalty was deserved and left the room.
Whoever decided on this combo needs squishing with a steamroller.
Not bothering to go again as I can't deal with more stress.

Still gain a smidgin of DR and only fell 6 SR which was surprising.

 

[C_Raccoon23]

I lost a bunch of DR doing Race C from the back so I could get my SR from 68 to the 90s after the Blue Moon Bay fiasco, so I’m not sure what to expect today.

 

[HaydenFan69]

I lost a bunch of DR doing Race C from the back so I could get my SR from 68 to the 90s after the Blue Moon Bay fiasco, so I’m not sure what to expect today.

I’ve had this situation before. You’ll end up in a bad room, but likely if your DR is high enough, you’ll be a a top driver somewhere. Not many points will be available, but a win and a sure SR boost is possible.

So you might end up running at least twice tonight. Which honestly I don’t think is a too bad combo of a race.

 

[Norrin Radd]

I lost a bunch of DR doing Race C from the back so I could get my SR from 68 to the 90s after the Blue Moon Bay fiasco, so I’m not sure what to expect today.

I dragged my rating back up to C/S using race C, if was hard sometimes gaining SR, but if you actually ignore most of the little bumps you don't often lose any.
Now I'm still unsure about doing this one, my Aussie lost loads of DR and even more SR so do I want to risk all the hard work I put in getting it back up? OK yes, what's the point if I don't at least try these things, but unlike this morning it will be one and done no matter what happens.

OH hell looks like I'm door 1, so not a lot of points and I'm going to look silly.

Yeah came 14th, had my fastest lap the last lap, but surprisingly although my lap was 7sec slower than top guys I was purple nearly every lap in first sector. So I'm great at the track, it's just toooooo long.

 

[LVS_1986]

So, Q 2nd, finished 2nd for 154pts which is my highest score ever
Tonight Im going to be drunk
Good luck all!

 

[Tidgney]

FIA Races + christmassy things !

 

[RX8 Racer]

Nations - Bathurst SF19

I knew this combination was going to be difficult, having to navigate the treacherous Mount Panorama with the rapid SF19. I spent a painful Thursday afternoon restarting Custom Race over and over again as I learned how to drive the unfamiliar SF19 (having only run a few laps in the Red Bull time trial) and how to tackle each corner. I then spent Thursday and Friday evenings running races in lobbies and Custom Race to consistently survive the track and practice pit strategy (I forgot to refuel at least twice). Before the actual race, I ran Custom Race one last time to warm up and get the mistakes out of the way.

Livery by Zuramaru_Kanako

Strategy: 9M-4H

I completely bottled the first flying lap, but nailed it on the second try, taking 3rd on the grid. I got off the line safely while 4th immediately spun out for not using TCS. I was punted wide into Hell Corner, but kept it on track (The culprit apologised afterwards). I then used Overtake to pass #7 sporting a pink Bang Dream/Bandori livery.

I made the pass via Overtake...

As all hell was breaking loose behind us.



#7 followed me too closely into Griffins, sending me wide into the wall side first and handing them a 4 second penalty. I was up into 2nd after #7 and the polesitter had to serve their penalties, but they both proved to have superior pace and eventually re-overtook me as the race progressed.

Unfortunately for me, I ended up losing the anime music franchise duel this time round. Maybe next time.

With my drop to 4th, I was left in no man's land as the podium trio pulled away and 5th was a healthy distance away. I basically ran my own race and executed the pit strategy, which was the exact same strategy the podium trio was running. It seemed that I had no chance of a podium...until the polesitter in 3rd completely binned it on the last lap in The Cutting. Unfortunately for me, he was able to recover in time and retain 3rd. I tried to pressure him into another mistake in the second half of the lap, but it was not to be and I had to settle for 4th and 145 points.

10 guys lost SR that round, plus 1 ragequitter.

My compatriot had shown up in a suitably patriotic livery, but binned it off the line and out of The Cutting a few laps later, finishing a dismal 16th.

 

[das89ca]

Nations Cup - SF19 at Mt. Panorama

Slot1 - Was optimistic for this, my timetrial time was not great, but I was doing decent quali times. Did that in quali, put a 1.41.1 which was with a half spin in the last corner and that put me in P2 for the start. Misjudged a bit T2, going too hot and grazing the wall on exit which costed me P2. Then disaster struck, got a 2s penalty for slightly taping the car in front at the skyline and serving it thrown me in the middle of the pack. Then, I managed to get 6 different 2s penalties in just 2 laps - all of them for slight taps with no impact whatsoever. I think I did not have 7 penalties in total in the last 2-3 seasons in FIA races. I was at the back of the pack when serving them and worried about a serious DR reset - till the end avoided any fights and just put clean laps to limit the SR damage. Finished P15 with SR down to 70(was happy that did not mess my DR)

Slot 2: Recover SR lobby, qualified P3, finished P2. SR back to 92

Slot 3: Qualified P6 but had a great start and after T1 was in P4. In T2 both car in front went a bit too fast and understeered, I was expecting that and jumped on the inside to take P2. One of them, a Russian still managed to stay with me - and for about 5-6 laps I had one of the best pieces of racing in last week's. We traded positions 3 times while not losing much time, giving each other space when needed and racing hard. Fun was finished when I got a penalty for cutting the Dipper and then pitted and got a 2nd penalty for slight tap(2s again). P7 after serving the penalty but lost another position until the end. P8, 162 points - I know I can get a better result, but the risk of getting a DR reset here is to great so I will take them.

In any case, great start of the Nations cup season for me - 4 races, now I am at 458 points(best 2 calculated) and I am on track for a minimum of 811 points. To be honest, I don't like too much the next combos, but I will race at least once in each.

 

[Tea_Leaves]

Pretty miserable results. First slot I was set for 9th then lost it at The Cutting losing 5 spots and finishing 14th.

I figured it was worth a second shot but nope. Second slot I made a mistake early at Hell Corner by boost turning, overcooking it and spinning off. The next 11 laps was scraping back whatever I could. I finished 16th although I was blocked by a warrior in 15th (I don't understand the mentality of fighting to the death for back places) that changed his driving line to swerve block as I made my move to pass. I got SR down to add more salt in the wound.

Either I got worse overnight, I suck at driving this thing or the rooms were 10 x tougher than usual. It was fun if I ignore where I finished, that's more important than anything else.

 

[barak181]

I haven't been able to race for about 2 weeks. First race back: A car I'm not great in and a track I suck at. This could be epic.

 

[05XR8]

Alrighty then...

Started with a 43.987. The other RX-V was just ahead with that current time. I dropped down to 43.886. Then, loaded the Supra to chase that. Wound up dropping to a 43.440! Didn't even think I'd jump the Supra.
Now, I'm getting greedy. Figure I'll work on T1 entry. Kept following my ghost to try and maximise the RX-V cornering speed. I was .3 ahead once past the PZ. Just not hitting my braking and turn in after the back straight.
Decide to load the WRX time, as that's only .1 faster.

Follow the WRX and I'm ahead from the start to the underpass and the tight left there after. WRX starts to gap me from the PZ to the finish line. My time drops to the 43.041. I'm thinking, am I P1? How could I be if I was behind the WRX? Didn't realise the WRX was a full second quicker when I loaded the time. The R8's time threw me off.
Well, I'm cool with this knowing the RX-V is pretty stable on both compounds around this joint. The T1 entry and the esses before the PZ can drop my time much more if I can nail those.

 

[GTWolverine]

Slot 1 was a typical race for me, which is to say, drove like an absolute moron, then quit when it became clear I couldn't redeem even a respectable finish. Good thing it's only an hour wait until the next one. I have no idea how I only lost 1000 DR.

 

[C_Raccoon23]

I was pleasantly surprised to see @Geauxgreddy, @afc5150 and @KosmoKazi all in the same lobby as me. Qualified 6th and started with the mediums. No turn 1 catastrophes from my POV, but two cars ahead of me got penalties, so I was P4 by lap 2. Things were going excellent until lap 6, when 5th caught up to me and we were going side by side down Conrod and a bit of light contact while going through the Chase picked me up a 1 second penalty. Simply ridiculous. After serving the penalty on following lap, I was 5th.

I pitted on lap 8, switched to hards and refueled, and came out in 8th. It was smooth sailing from there and a few drivers ahead needed to pit, so I gained more positions.

I'm slightly annoyed because I could have had 4th or potentially even a podium if it weren't for that silly penalty. But I still got a good result and my SR is back to 99 despite the penalty. A part of me wanted to go again since this is a fun combination but I'll just leave it there.

 

[HaydenFan69]

So qualifying went as planned. 2 laps, and both taken out early in turn 2. So a 1:48 lap meant I was last. 20th out of 20 competitors.

So I had my work cut out. Just like plan. Had @Trone_Colby just ahead to maybe spoil my run to the front (he did not). Like I had hoped someone messed up their start. I was able to work through the turn 1 mayhem to move up to 15th. A 5 second penalty came from said mayhem, but okay. Worked my way through the filth of GTS low A/high B lobbies to 12th before the penalty was assessed on the back stretch. Though, it didn’t hurt as much as I’d thought as I realistically still gained 5 spots from my starting spot. Great first lap. Still on plan. And slowly worked my way up from there. Spot after spot. Some actual overtakes, most from guys taking off track excursions. Ran off wide into the chicane at the end of the backstretch that cost some time but wasn’t ultimately a big issue. Tires were a bit worn and had some wash from the guy in front. Up to 5th before pitting on lap 9. Dropped a few spots from the pit cycle to 8th before using the last drops of overtake to 7th on the straight from T1 to T2.

I’m happy. Dropped SR by 6 points, but 93 is not the end of the world. Would use less of the overtake button early in the race. Really could’ve gained at least more time to 6th. Don’t know if I’d caught him though.

 

[elston87]

Getting punted into the sand on turn one of the start of the race and having my SR dropped from S to B given from penalties due to unavoidable and unpredictable drivers? So this is the race I've been practicing this whole week for!

Do I dare go again to have my DR ruined or what...hard choice...

 

[Pigems]

Well, I snuck into one of the last couple of spots in the NA Top 16 race tonight, with door #13. I’d been practicing this combo since last Sunday, but I still wasn’t sure what to expect. I managed a solid Qually lap for once, and started 9th I believe, my first ever top 10 start in top split. Once the race started I just tried to stay on track, and stay out of penalty trouble, which I somehow managed to actually do. In the end I got my first top 10 finish in a top split race, and my most points for the season. One and done tonight.

Edit: This was the highlight/scariest point of the race. Luckily I managed not to take out the 100 board too!

 

[Norrin Radd]

Well I wasn't going to try my Yank on this one, but glad I did. Logged in with 2 mins to buy the car and register. Had a low door number (6)and a few D's in the game so not the hardest lobby I could get, but hey I'm rubbish. Normal terrible quali so 16th. After the first corner I'm in 5th, thinking I'm going to have loads of trouble but no, kept the guy behind at about 5secs and pushing the guy in front hard enough to make he make mistake so everything was great. Went into pits at end of lap 7 and onto the meds. Come out in 7th with a 1.5 sec drop to 10th on penalty then 2 crash and the other pits so back to 7th. Then the trouble started, not much though, 2 guys barged passed me just before pitting on laps 8 and 9. Another guy pitted on 9 and I managed to pass him. So in 6th been fighting with the guy in front since stops (he had been behind before) needed to get him cos if I did I'd get 6th otherwise the idiot who rammed me on lap 9 was going to get me.....anyway he did. But he got a penalty on the last lap, was laughing so much could hardly control it, passed him crossed the line in 7th ended up in 5th due to idiots not using hards. I really enjoyed that race and felt I performed well. Again 1st sector purple even without overtake and I manage a sub 1:50 (yes I realise how bad that is, but I'm happy)

 

[barak181]

Well, welcome back!

I had busy last few weeks and wasn't able to race for a couple of weeks. I'm not great in high downforce cars and Bathurst is one of my worst tracks. I knew I was going to unable to race well ahead of time, so I decided to put some work into not sucking at Bathurst quite so much. I got a few sessions in before my gigs and improved my relation with the track from abysmal to merely bad.

I was hoping to get a little more work in over the last few days but my mother was coming in to stay with us for the holidays, so I literally did not get any practice in until about 40 min before slot 1. My relation with the combo went from merely bad to sometimes ok. (With the occasional foray into a wall or two.)

Slot 1 went as expected. I qualified P18 but moved up a spot on the grid when someone disconnected! Whoohoo! I slide up several positions T1, as I remembered to turn TCS on for the grid start. I then moved up into the top 10 as several people go wide at Griffin's Bend. Then my suckatude with this track showed itself around T4 or 5 when I spun around hard and went to the back of the grid. I don't know if I got rammed from behind or just stepped out mashing the throttle to hard but be that as it may, I was almost 17 sec behind the pack by the time I got the car turned around and going forward again. By the time I pitted in for RM, I had visited the wall at the bottom of Forrest's Elbow a few times and spun out another time. I did, however, manage to pass a guy that started to have even more problems than me.

I get onto the mediums and slowly start to not suck as hard. I start improving my lap time somewhere between .4-.6 sec lap over lap for several laps. I move up to P13, at one point. Then somewhere around T4-T5 I again get spun - this time it's definitely someone PIT'ing me into the wall. I don't even make it to the finish before time runs out and finish where I started: P17. I also lost 1100 DR and 12SR for the effort.

Then I suddenly realized my problem. I was running the stock livery! Everyone knows that a good livery is worth a least a sec a lap. So, I went and downloaded a McLaren livery and went about to set things straight.

Slot 2. This time with my middling SR I'm in the middle of a split B/C lobby. I do a little better and qualify P11. I again move up T1 and T2 to only get mashed around at T4-5 but keep myself from spinning this time and keep from losing too many positions. This time I remember that I have a go fast button and use it more often. I visited the walls far fewer times and kept myself from completely spinning, although I came close a few times. I move up into the top 10 and start gaining more positions strictly on the basis that I'm not binning it. I briefly get into a fight with P6 when he comes out of the pits but he's clearly faster than me. He did, however, ram me pretty hard from behind and get a 2 sec penalty for that. You could tell that really upset him. After I pass him when he serves his penalty he tries to go around the outside of me in the chicane after The Chase. It didn't end well for him. Apparently, that was my fault, too. I guess I got reported or put on notice or something like that. Anyway, when all was said and done, I got to cross the finish line this time in P7. I only got back a fraction of my DR from the first race and lost a couple more SR but I don't think I'm going to tempt fate too much right now. I'm already miles better at this combo than I was a little bit ago. I'll take what I can get and live to fight another day.

 

[KosmoKazi]

I was pleasantly surprised to see @Geauxgreddy, @afc5150 and @KosmoKazi all in the same lobby as me. Qualified 6th and started with the mediums. No turn 1 catastrophes from my POV, but two cars ahead of me got penalties, so I was P4 by lap 2. Things were going excellent until lap 6, when 5th caught up to me and we were going side by side down Conrod and a bit of light contact while going through the Chase picked me up a 1 second penalty. Simply ridiculous. After serving the penalty on following lap, I was 5th.

I pitted on lap 8, switched to hards and refueled, and came out in 8th. It was smooth sailing from there and a few drivers ahead needed to pit, so I gained more positions.

I'm slightly annoyed because I could have had 4th or potentially even a podium if it weren't for that silly penalty. But I still got a good result and my SR is back to 99 despite the penalty. A part of me wanted to go again since this is a fun combination but I'll just leave it there.

I got reset thanks to totally bogus penalties, starting with getting hit from behind by the pole sitter during qualifying, who had enjoyed my tow on his hot lap... whereas I got a penalty and ruined my qualifying session. It was downhill from there as incidental contact penalties ended up with a DR reset in this nightmare of a race. Worst ever. Replay was shared.

 

[kevinddr]

8th in NA Top 16 SS with @Pigems and company all the way up from a weak 13th place qual, couldn't ask for more especially with how touchy the penalties seemed to be today! I backed off people massively in many places and I guess it paid off! There was potential for disaster today but in the end it all worked out well enough. I put a decent amount of practice in on this one so I'm glad I got a good shot at a clean race.

 

[Pigems]

8th in NA Top 16 SS with @Pigems and company all the way up from a weak 13th place qual, couldn't ask for more especially with how touchy the penalties seemed to be today! I backed off people massively in many places and I guess it paid off! There was potential for disaster today but in the end it all worked out well enough. I put a decent amount of practice in on this one so I'm glad I got a good shot at a clean race.

I didn’t realize you were on here man, great race today, always a pleasure racing with you. Congrats on the great finish!

 

[C_Raccoon23]

I got reset thanks to totally bogus penalties, starting with getting hit from behind by the pole sitter, who had enjoyed my tow on his hot lap... whereas I got a penalty and ruined my qualifying session. It was downhill from there as incidental contact penalties ended up with a DR reset in this nightmare of a race. Worst ever. Replay was shared.

Ouch, man. I saw him giving you a bit of beef in the chat before the race but I didn’t imagine it was that bad. Hope you can get back to where you were soon.

 

[GTWolverine]

Slot 2: Managed to not be an idiot for a change, but instead I was just too slow for where I wanted to finish. Started 10th, finished 9th for 171

Slot 3: Only managed 12th in qualifying, then threw it away again due to cold tires at T2. I went way too wide and someone then got slammed by someone else who went too wide and got spun as a result. Decided to do a 2-stop since I started on Hards, then got a stupid corner cutting penalty because I took the pit entry way too hot. Somehow in spite of once again doing my best to throw it all away, I still managed to finish 13th.

 

[HaydenFan69]

That was something I was worried about at the start. How people would take turn 2. I knew you could go two wide, but I was worried more about a third car. Or people braking early. Was a bit of inconsistency in my race with this.

 

[elston87]

Nope...not going again after my 2nd attempt; all that practice thrown out the window. Penalty sensitivity feels like it was many months ago, where even the slightest bit of contact will grant a penalty + SR Down. Players just can't keep it together and either bin their car, divebomb corners or fight with one another pointlessly in situations where you shouldn't and become a hazard after the battle ends. Gonna go grind Race C I guess and get my SR back up before the inevitable reset happens. What a shame. Turn 1 shenanigans in both races I did and a whole field of red dots after the races were said and done.

 

[afc5150]

I got reset thanks to totally bogus penalties, starting with getting hit from behind by the pole sitter during qualifying, who had enjoyed my tow on his hot lap... whereas I got a penalty and ruined my qualifying session. It was downhill from there as incidental contact penalties ended up with a DR reset in this nightmare of a race. Worst ever. Replay was shared.

Yep. I got smoked in qualy, too and started right behind you in last. I got 3 contact penalties for not actually contacting anyone and came home 11th, but lost 24 SR in the process.

A 2nd place in the C race has most of my SR back, so I'm jumping in to slot 4 hoping for a better qualy and result.

Pray for me.

 

[Rangeraus]

This turned up in my Twitter feed, I thought it summed up the race pretty well

 

[Kermit_2142]

Bathurst summed up -

If someone spins and you tag them - 4s penalty
If you crash and hit the wall -1.5s penalty
If someone hits the wall and you run into them - 2s penalty
If someone hits the wall, you pass them but they glance you as you go by - 1s penalty
If you go side by side, they touch you then the wall - 1.5s penalty
If you unghost after a penalty and someone drives into you (even if your as far off the line as you can be) - 1.5s penalty.

 

[RX8 Racer]

This turned up in my Twitter feed, I thought it summed up the race pretty well

In my race, 5th to 12th all had penalties by the downhill section.

I’m already looking forward to Super GT’s video on this. XD