2021 FIA Series Race Discussion

[Norrin Radd]

Best thing about this race. I'll never have to drive that Beetle again!!!!! So D10 and I suck at the track and the car so let's see how badly I do.
Q 5 so going to try my silly strategy S/S/H, just goin as far as they will take me and then blocking (legally not swerving and bad stuff) like crazy at the end.
Didn't have to block, in fact I took a guy (low fuel I'd think) and got my fastest lap. admittedly the only time I really had open track. Finished 5th nothin great, but a deserved place I feel. Not oing again as didn't feel I deserved better anyway. Now how do I get that piece of junk out of my garage?

 

[stpatty]

First up, a frankly miraculous qualifying:

A full tenth quicker than anything I managed in (limited) practice.

While I knew that 9 laps = 51% I had no other real planning or practice and just went in with that in mind. Did two stints of 9 laps since I'd been able to save some fuel in the first stint, then one lap hard, seven for the final soft stint. A mistake, obviously.

I also miscalculated how much fuel I should put in because I didn't know how many laps were left and I think I put in two laps too much even considering the glitch at this track. The result was disappointment as a group from 4th-6th were just ahead of me by about 3 seconds in the final laps. Then a BMW and a Porsche ran out of fuel, and I finished 5th:

It was a pretty clean race throughout, although I got an SR down for tapping an Alfa coming out of the right hander on to the back straight and I got rear-ended at the final hairpin by the Mazda who was on hard tyres that lap. (Ed - scratch this, he just missed his braking completely. Did me a favour though, I was sandwiched between two others at the time and he bumped me out the way of them.) A better pit strategy could have got me near a podium, but I'm very happy with how this went.

 

[Critterchum]

So just had first race and just moved up to C yesterday.

Got Pole !! Good start. Went for a 8s(20 laps of fuel) 8s, 9s and 1h. Was going lovely, but rookie mistake was using the double cone as a reminder to break and realised it was gone as I went sailing past into the barrier last turn before line. Bummer! Managed to get back in the race took me a couple of Laps to get concentration back. I followed 2nd place into pits lap 25, finished tailing them for 3rd and 23 points. Plus no penalties at all .

Question is do I have another run today???

 

[xxPinkyKissxx]

Well that was massively disappointing! Felt good in practice lobbies and was looking forward to the actual race and then go and qualify 18th! Was racing with @LVS_1986 who qualified just up ahead.

Started on Hards and right on the hairpin bend so had to crawl round that and then braked too late on cold tires at T1 and went onto the grass. Fantastic start! Pit for Softs and then had to play catch up. Got an annoying penalty later on when a car unghosted at T1 whilst I was inside it. Probably would have been nearer top 10 without those errors/pen.

Have never done more than one shot but really tempted to go again as I know I should have done better than that. Can’t decide!

 

[OJBrit]

Disconnected from the first slot. Bummer. Due to the football I won't be able to try until a little bit later.
I had a poor day yesterday at Seaside and checked my Kudos today. Yup holding onto B by my fingertips.
I had a quick race B and A to see if I could increase my DR. I went from 12th to 8th in B and stayed where I was in A. Yet I still dropped back into C. Ah well hopefully my race later will help me move back upwards.

 

[Critterchum]

Big improvement!

 

[Adam Barber]

Slot one was fun, qualifed in 12th with the Ferrari with a 43.8. I started on the soft tyres as I knew that hards would put me in traffic for the whole race.

20210116150633

• Adam Barber
• Jan 16, 2021

First 8 lap stint went well as a slowly climbed to 9th mainly due to others errors. I rejoined in 10th and clean air and on lap 10 got past 2 cars in one go for now 7th. More laps in clean air let me look after my fuel and tyres well and a I pitted from 6th and rejoined in 7th after re-fueling. Be careful re fueling and pay attention to your fuel % use over the diamond.

20210116150712

• Adam Barber
• Jan 16, 2021

More laps in clean air and I pitted for the mandatory hard tyres on lap 24. I rejoined in 7th and thanks to over fueling managed 2 flat out laps on hard tyres.

20210116150724

• Adam Barber
• Jan 16, 2021

This race played right into the Ferrari's strengths in fuel saving abilities and it's where it's quick. Someone with better tyre management could maybe stretch the soft tyres to maybe 10/11 laps at a push. Fun race that, one and done as I can see how this could easily be chaos and I excuted a good race and strategy.

 

[LVS_1986]

View attachment 985161

Well that was massively disappointing! Felt good in practice lobbies and was looking forward to the actual race and then go and qualify 18th! Was racing with @LVS_1986 who qualified just up ahead.

Started on Hards and right on the hairpin bend so had to crawl round that and then braked too late on cold tires at T1 and went onto the grass. Fantastic start! Pit for Softs and then had to play catch up. Got an annoying penalty later on when a car unghosted at T1 whilst I was inside it. Probably would have been nearer top 10 without those errors/pen.

Have never done more than one shot but really tempted to go again as I know I should have done better than that. Can’t decide!

Go again! Im going
This is what I did on lap24, could be 7th

 

[crusselz]

Race 1
A complete disaster of my own doing.

Qualified in P17, just couldn't hook up a proper lap. 43.8.

Started on the hairpin, went quite well, worked my way up to P7. Unfortunately got stuck behind a Spaniard, who was adamant that no one would pass, for some reason, he opted to use the Medium tyre, so was blocking and swerving.

Ran me off the road twice, I had had enough, punted him off, I got a 4s penalty, no complaints from me, put me down to 16th. Pretty much finished there, he came 20th.

Might go again, last race of the season. Not much to lose in terms of DR. If it goes badly, I'll probably be back down to DR B. But that's ok.

 

[xxPinkyKissxx]

Go again! Im going
This is what I did on lap24, could be 7th

Argh I went again and just got disconnected

 

[crusselz]

Argh I went again and just got disconnected

Went again. Another disaster haha.
Lap 1, T1 I get taken out. Downhill from there. Not a great combo for me.
Was behind a car with a 2s as we approached the PZ. Obviously he slows down to serve his penalty, right on the apex, but doesn't ghost immediately, I get a 2s penalty for hitting him...
Down to A/A and likely any recovery job will bring me down to B/S.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

This race should be at SSRX, it would still be ******** but could actually be fun.

 

[Famine]

The fuel use here makes no sense at all.

During my first three laps I used 3.3% fuel per lap - crossed the line at the end of lap 3 with 90% fuel.
Took my second pitstop on lap 15 (thus 16 laps completed) with 25% remaining, which is 4.7% per lap.
I fuelled with another 33% to make 58% for the last ten laps and still had to short shift on the final two laps - a rate of more than 5.8% per lap.
Across the whole race using more than 133 litres (assuming full pace final two laps) that's more than 5.1% per lap.

That means my fuel use went up to around 200% with a nearly empty car compared to a fully fuelled one.


Perhaps that helps to explain why people think the laps remaining counter is bugged at this track - it isn't, but there is a bug making car fuel economy get worse as the car gets lighter.

 

[VulcanSpirit]

Going into this race, I was already considering making this potentially my last Manufacturers meeting for Ford as I fancy a change to something more handling-oriented. But the 14:00 made me realise that even a 43.0 FP time wouldn't translate into a competitive or fun experience.

14:00 Manufacturers
It must be said that qualifying was extremely close, with just under 9 tenths separating the entire field. Definitely, there was consistency between my times here and the times I set in practice lobbies, the first (and fastest) being a 43.416. Had the potential to take nearly a tenth and a half out of it on my second lap, but unfortunately got impeded by a Lexus and a McLaren 650S at the final hairpin, both of whom had already set faster times. The pole-sitting Viper also happened to be in my way at the start of my third lap and actually unghosted as I tried to get through him at the first corner. While we thankfully escaped without penalty, I wasn't able to improve afterwards and ended up starting 15th.

I would've been happy with this, except that I'd been given door number '2' during matchmaking and would have needed to start further up in order not to compromise my DR rating. After what happened at the Nürburgring last week, I couldn't afford to lose any more DR points, so the moment I saw this in the loading screen was the moment where it felt like a decent result was able to topple out of the window. The real kicker out of this was that had I managed to pull off the 43.2 I was developing on my second lap, it would have at least given me the chance to start somewhere in the top 10.

Strategy was 12S, 3H (plus refuel to 13 laps), 11S. Anticipated that I would be starting half-way round the final corner, so set Traction Control to 1 and managed to avoid a repeat of what happened at Blue Moon Bay. Looking behind to see the other backmarkers struggling proved that was a wise move. First lap, the Audi up ahead goes off and I try to get around the outside of him at Turn 2. He runs wide, I'm forced onto the grass, he twitches... and I receive a 1 second penalty for forcing him off the road! Without a doubt the worst penalty I've ever received in GT Sport. Already, I was annoyed, but after a quiet first stint things would only get worse.

Went through the Hard stint, dropped to 19th. On Lap 19, the Nissan GT-R emerging on cold Softs loses it coming out of Turn 2. Thinking that he'll recover and keep clear on the outside, I take a tighter line through the next corner, but probably not tight enough, as the GT-R keeps sliding and we collide in the middle of the track. The result... I receive a 4-second penalty and end up finishing 18th, thanks in part to a couple of on-track altercations on the final lap. The GT-R driver felt especially remorseful about the incident afterwards, and I don't blame him. It wasn't his fault that I got penalised... that, plus the shambles on Lap 1, are just symptomatic of how unnuanced and at times unreliable the system can be when it comes to detecting and ruling over collisions.

At least another 1,200 DR points down the drain. At this rate, I'm not sure if I can hang on to my A+ rating if things like this keep happening. Will the 16:40 be any better? We'll see...

 

[MCL1974]

was looking forward to this one. Did several practice races in the lobbies and had fun in all of them and mostly good results. Really like doing this race.
Was door 8, midd B/S lobby, driving the Peugeot GR3. Qualifying did not go so well though, planned to do two quick laps in a fow, and getting a good tow while doing so. lap 1 went okay but lap two was meant to be the fast one but got tapped on the side by a car spinning of track at the first corner and did not improve in later attempts. In the end I was 12th and decided to start with hard tyres.

And my start was horrible. I do not know if I underestimated the hard tyres, the slipstream Igot or missed my brakingpoint, or a combination of all three. I felt liked i braked well in time but nothing happened when I did and I ended up bowling a poor guy in a Redbull Porsche of track. A well deserved 1 second penalty, in fact i should have had more. Pitted after lap 1 furious with myself and served the penalty and found myself in 14th position. Changed my state of mind as I was angry with myself for ruining someone else's race but realised that it had happened and no use to look back now. So I settled myself and concentrated on the race again and doing my laps.

And from there it did went fine. Was in a smooth rhytm and felt like I hartly had any tyrewear, I did a strategy of 1H/8S/9S/8S and fueled up on the last stop. (had 0.1 lap of fuel left!) Had a few nice overtakes and ended 6th. first thing then was to apologyse.....

A good result but overshadowed by the poor start. My mindset before a race is to have fun and just as importantly not ruin another drivers fun! did not succeed in that. This race is an awesome one though and think I will dust of my alt account and try the Hyundai Gr3.

 

[LVS_1986]

Argh I went again and just got disconnected

Yes, I try to say hello, and there wasnt your nickname realised that you got discoed.. My race went very well, Q8 with 43.6xx, finished 3rd for 160pts
Just keep my pace, not fighting anyone, saving fuel and tyres 8/8/1/9+fuel

 

[xxPinkyKissxx]

Yes, I try to say hello, and there wasnt your nickname realised that you got discoed.. My race went very well, Q8 with 43.6xx, finished 3rd for 160pts
Just keep my pace, not fighting anyone, saving fuel and tyres 8/8/1/9+fuel

Wow well done! Great points! Looks like I’m having to stick to my earlier result which is annoying. Most practice I’ve ever put in for a race Waste of time

 

[Famine]

The fuel use here makes no sense at all.

During my first three laps I used 3.3% fuel per lap - crossed the line at the end of lap 3 with 90% fuel.
Took my second pitstop on lap 15 (thus 16 laps completed) with 25% remaining, which is 4.7% per lap.
I fuelled with another 33% to make 58% for the last ten laps and still had to short shift on the final two laps - a rate of more than 5.8% per lap.
Across the whole race using more than 133 litres (assuming full pace final two laps) that's more than 5.1% per lap.

That means my fuel use went up to around 200% with a nearly empty car compared to a fully fuelled one.


Perhaps that helps to explain why people think the laps remaining counter is bugged at this track - it isn't, but there is a bug making car fuel economy get worse as the car gets lighter.

Mad. Did a second race and I was at 94/93 as I pitted at the end of lap one. Ended up taking 41% at the second stop, using 141 litres in total - 5.4/lap, which tallies with starting at 99/98, and the just slightly under 65% used in the final 12 laps...

8/8/1/9+fuel

Wow, really? I was in the 911 RSR and ran 1H/13S/12S+fuel. Final two laps of the middle stint a bit more like running mediums and a bit snatchy on the final corner, but drove fine.

 

[Tidgney]

Streaming as always

 

[LVS_1986]

Wow, really?

Yes, Im with Chevy... Not the best car on fuel I guess?

 

[Famine]

Yes, Im with Chevy... Not the best car on fuel I guess?

Or I suck more.

I have had two podium finishes on that strategy though, in B/S lobbies.

 

[05XR8]

Best thing about this race. I'll never have to drive that Beetle again!!!!! So D10 and I suck at the track and the car so let's see how badly I do.
Q 5 so going to try my silly strategy S/S/H, just goin as far as they will take me and then blocking (legally not swerving and bad stuff) like crazy at the end.
Didn't have to block, in fact I took a guy (low fuel I'd think) and got my fastest lap. admittedly the only time I really had open track. Finished 5th nothin great, but a deserved place I feel. Not oing again as didn't feel I deserved better anyway. Now how do I get that piece of junk out of my garage?

Yeah, at the end of Manu, there should be an option to keep the car until the next Season or the cars should "poof!" away.

 

[OJBrit]

Managed to get into the 6pm slot. But I had some time beforehand so did a quick race C and gained about 1k DR so it was all looking good.

Qualifying was a bit atrocious. I knew I couldn't wait for a gap but held a little hoping gaps would appear lower down. Nope. A fellow BMW was holding people up and a 911 got past me. No gap to drop back into so I had to go with it. Set a time for 9th before dropping down to 17th. I was constantly getting a good run out of turn 3 which didn't help me gap. After 2 laps I tried getting past the 911 as he had been in front for a few laps and was holding me up. I had the run but he fought too hard so I dropped back a little. Managed to get 12th in the end. I knew I could do better as my practice times were the same as the top 5 on the grid.

I did a 8S/8S/1H(+Fuel)/9S.
Managed to get the R8 in front of me lap 1. I was getting better runs than the R8's out of turn 3 which made a pass into the hairpin easy.
However I got divebombed into turn 1 by a DBR9. No penalty for him despite pushing me wide. They seemed to be being a bit aggressive and eventually another car sent him to the barrier exiting the hairpin. I couldn't help but smile. I managed to find myself a gap through my first 2 stints. I was up to 4th and hanging on to those ahead before my second stop.

The rest of the race saw me in 9th sat in a gap. Only one moment of worry. I lost a little focus and went deep into turn 1. I barely kissed the barrier (not even a new paintjob required) and somehow the game gave me 1.5 seconds. (This is just a really stupid part of the game.) Crossed the line 9th. However the melee I caught ahead gave someone a 2 second penalty out of the hairpin giving me a place plus someone didn't use hards giving me another so 7th in the end.

Really enjoyed the Manu this time round. The BMW especially the M6 has been a joy to drive and my results have been consistent.

Oh and a bucketload of DR took me back to B.

 

[MCL1974]

"I am surrounded by Goddamn idiots. IDIOTS!"

I Just did a C lobby race on my alt account and what a horrid lobby it was. Cars coming out of the pits in qualifying without any regards to cars on their fast lap, divebombs everywhere and instead of overtaking just shoving the others off track. What a difference with the recent races I had on my main...

Qualified seventh in a messy session and stayed 7th for the first 8 laps with car no1 driving away and cars 2 to 6 playing bumpercars, costing all a lot of time. Stayed right behind them till I pitted lap 8 about 16 seconds behind the leader allready. found the free space I wanted and could finally do some proper driving. finished second in the end, 6 seconds behind the winner.

So annoying: drivers putting up a big fight against a much faster car that is catching them fast on fresher tyres when they themselves are on old tyres and about to pit. Race smart, not hard!!!!

although my races did not go exactly as i had hoped I really do like this particular event on this track, real fun to drive it. Hope it will be in Manu again!

 

[xxPinkyKissxx]

Ok ok so I couldn’t resist! Didn’t want my season to end on that disappointing race so decided that the kids could wait for their dinner

Much better this time. Slightly tougher lobby and managed to qualify 12th so got to start the right side of the hairpin!! Good race and had the pace. Passed a few cars and then on lap 20 pulled off a great move at the hairpin passing 2 cars at once on the inside to move into 5th. Then as I congratulated myself it flashed up that I had a 2 second penalty for colliding with someone Didn’t touch anyone! Fell back into 7th and stayed there rest of the race.

 

[crusselz]

View attachment 985227

Ok ok so I couldn’t resist! Didn’t want my season to end on that disappointing race so decided that the kids could wait for their dinner

Much better this time. Slightly tougher lobby and managed to qualify 12th so got to start the right side of the hairpin!! Good race and had the pace. Passed a few cars and then on lap 20 pulled off a great move at the hairpin passing 2 cars at once on the inside to move into 5th. Then as I congratulated myself it flashed up that I had a 2 second penalty for colliding with someone Didn’t touch anyone! Fell back into 7th and stayed there rest of the race.

Also went again. Qualified much better, started P5.

Went for the 9,1,9,7. Which seemed to work pretty well.

Got a 4s penalty for touching a car as it spun out and then a 1s penalty for tapping a car that got on the brakes pretty early.

Finished P4, about 5.3s off 3rd place. For 146 points.

Don't know if I would have gotten P3 minus the penalties. But I'll take what I got and leave it there.

The account can now be put to rest, till the next FIA season. But I reckon I'll stick with Mazda and see how it goes next season. Real mixed bag. But generally enjoyed this season.

EDIT: Decided to hop on my "dailies" account. Hadn't done any FIA races on it this season. 38K DR on that account, so slightly higher than FIA account, but was mostly curious to see how the Aston went on that track.

Qualified P11, finished P8. Mostly clean race.

+300 DR
133 Points (doesn't really count since its the only race I've done)

But wow, what a difference the car can make. It felt so much smoother.

 

[VulcanSpirit]

At least another 1,200 DR points down the drain. At this rate, I'm not sure if I can hang on to my A+ rating if things like this keep happening. Will the 16:40 be any better? We'll see...

It was.

16:40 Manufacturers
Received a more reasonable 10th seeding upon joining the matchmaking screen. Clocked a 43.662 while being pursued by the multicoloured McLaren F1, then a 43.366 before encountering heavy traffic. One more 43.565 to round off the session, which put me 11th behind a Jaguar. Polesitter was a Rockstar Lexus with a 43.112.

Stuck with my initial strategy for the first stint, which paid off handsomely as the next trio of cars up front were forced to fight past a purple Porsche on the Hard compound. Had a run on the Jaguar coming down the back straight, but was forced to take the orange kerb at the final hairpin to avoid contact and further damage to my SR rating. Purple Porsche pits for Mediums; I was content with following another and the Jaguar around while setting the fastest lap on Lap 5. Stayed out while more cars pitted, running as high as 2nd behind the eventual race-winning Vantage. With the Viper quickly closing in on fresh Softs, and the rest of the pack not too far behind I eventually decided to pit for Hards on Lap 11 to save myself any further delays. Neatly rejoined the pack in 10th and soaked up pressure from the French McLaren until he too forced his way past on the Softs.

Lap 13 proved unlucky for the Mercedes driver in 9th; he picks up a 2-second penalty for side-by-side contact with the Vantage and takes himself out in rage at the Liqui Moly bridge. Tried to maintain a 3+ second gap over the multicoloured McLaren on Softs, which I succeeded in doing before my second and final stop two laps later. 73% fuel (13.4 laps according to the pit menu, 12 upon pit exit) would keep me going until the finish. Four laps from the end I meet the purple Porsche again as he comes out of the pits, and watch as he goes wide and scrapes the barrier at Turn 3. This allowed me to get a better run and a pass at the final hairpin for 10th, but his fresher tyres eventually allowed him to pass back. Gave him the widest berth imaginable as soon as I saw him on my inside; while this might sound like a self-sabotaging move, this actually ended up working in my favour.

Going into the penultimate lap, the multicoloured McLaren in 9th gets distracted by the Supra exiting the pitlane. He misses his braking point entirely, smacks the concrete wall practically head-on, and while recovering taps the rear of the fast-approaching purple Porsche just before Turn 2. Both cars receive penalties as a result; I pass the McLaren around the outside, but in doing so lose enough momentum for the Porsche to remain ahead by the end.

Happy to leave the meeting (and this season) there with this decent run to 10th. A much cleaner and less frustrating race than the 14:00 horror show, but somehow only good enough for 78 DR points. As much as I think the GT LM is tentative around tighter corners, it still did a great job keeping in touch with the group for 5th-9th in the opening stint while also gaining on the leaders down the straights. Managed to save an extra lap's worth of fuel as well via short-shifting.

 

[xxPinkyKissxx]

Also went again. Qualified much better, started P5.

Went for the 9,1,9,7. Which seemed to work pretty well.

Got a 4s penalty for touching a car as it spun out and then a 1s penalty for tapping a car that got on the brakes pretty early.

Finished P4, about 5.3s off 3rd place. For 146 points.

Don't know if I would have gotten P3 minus the penalties. But I'll take what I got and leave it there.

The account can now be put to rest, till the next FIA season. But I reckon I'll stick with Mazda and see how it goes next season. Real mixed bag. But generally enjoyed this season.

EDIT: Decided to hop on my "dailies" account. Hadn't done any FIA races on it this season. 38K DR on that account, so slightly higher than FIA account, but was mostly curious to see how the Aston went on that track.

Qualified P11, finished P8. Mostly clean race.

+300 DR
133 Points (doesn't really count since its the only race I've done)

But wow, what a difference the car can make. It felt so much smoother.

I ran a test with the Aston and the Corvette on this track last week just to see how they compared to my Jag and I was fastest in the Aston! Felt good round there.

 

[neil_1980]

Hated this track and car combo to start with... but loads of practice and I really enjoyed it and was the most consistent I've been anywhere... so decided as it was last one and I haven't been taking manufacturers seriously I was going to do every slot regardless of result.

Slot1
Door 2, qualified 4th with about the fastest lap I've done here with no slip. Was a bit unlucky with where I came out in traffic and ended up finishing P4. Decent points (for me), extra 1k of DR and usually I'd call it a day and move on.

Slot 2
Door 18, Qualified 11th with a bit of a scruffy lap. Picked up a total of 5 seconds worth of penalties from 2 dubious incidents... had one person hit me 7 times no less and then call me a B*** **d at the end... watching the replay back and its comical that I could be blamed for any contact any of the times.

Ended up something like 8th.. I forget and literally have a headache now so can't go back and look.

Slot 3... naught SR A race.
Race itself was ok... however I made a massive mistake and between the time of qualifying ending and turn 1 I'd managed to forget I was on hards rather than softs and took someone out and picked up a 3 second penalty Completely my fault, waited for him to get back on track and the rest of the race was without incident but not enough to get my SR up due to the T1 incident.

Slot 4... Qualified 4th... then disconnected before the race started

Decided to do my first daily race in agggeeees to get my SR back up whilst waiting... picked Dragon Trail, managed to get through chicane of death 13 times without dying and picked up 8th with a clean result.

Slot 5... lost the will to live and had a beer instead.

So if I'd done what I normally would have done and finished after slot 1 I'd have more DR than I woke up with... instead my DR and SR are down and I have a massive headache

 

[05XR8]

I was satisfied with the RX-V. I guess, handling wise, it can be put the in category of the AMG GT and Supra. Top speed is good, but main difference to the others is, acceleration is slow. Fuel & tyres aren't a concern. The World Tour resuts made it look bad, but in the races I used it and in Daily Races, its a good car. Adjust BB to -2 and enjoy.