Complete Guide/Rewards - Lewis Hamilton Time Attack Challenge

[superwally]

I'm .011 away from Diamond at Suzuka and am not finding it as difficult as Brands or Willow. I can really catch him out of the hairpin and I roll on him as much as .150 through 130R. If I could find a way to stop botching Degner 2 I'd be done with this!

I feel zero physics difference and my laps before and after the update are pretty much the same. I usually do enough laps to get my free car 3-4 times a week. I may just be insensitive, someone in the undocumented changes thread says the FFB on my TGT has been changed and I'm not feeling that either.

Update: I stopped choking and got my Suzuka Diamond. Was not close heading out of Spoon but nailed 130R and the final chicane and squeaked by. I had many better laps that I never managed to finish. On to Panorama.

 

[Harsk100]

And also, I got Diamond at Interlagos Challenge too! Now, I just need to get Diamond on Mount Panorama, Suzuka and Nurburgring GP/F...

 

[GRT_MattM]

can't they just give us the credit cap without having to do these challenges?

 

[93360]

Finally bought the DLC after a few months away from the game so I've never tried it with the old physics.
Managed to diamond all the tracks so these are my impressions of their difficulty with regards to how much I needed to push the limits:

DRAGON TRAIL SEASIDE - DIFFICULTY: 2/5

MAGGIORE GP - DIFFICULTY: 2/5

BRANDS HATCH - DIFFICULTY: 4/5

WILLOW SPRINGS - DIFFICULTY: 5/5

SUZUKA - DIFFICULTY: 3/5

MONZA - DIFFICULTY: 1/5

INTERLAGOS - DIFFICULTY: 4/5

MOUNT PANORAMA - DIFFICULTY: 3/5

NURBURGRING GP - DIFFICULTY: 3/5

NURBURGRING NORDSCHLEIFE - DIFFICULTY: 1/5

 

[GRT_MattM]

this is proper frustrating me 🤬 only got Nurb GP and Nordschliefe to get gold for and the car just keeps trying to step out and my brakes feel less responsive compared to driving on soft tires like I do online.

 

[MIE1992]

I had some questions:

-Which time trials use the C9 and which ones use the AMG-GT3? I know the one at the Nordschleife uses the C9, was that the only one that uses the C9?

-It says you get twenty million credits upon getting all golds, and the credit cap is increased, but should I spend all my credits before getting all golds? In other words, I'd like to know if the credit cap increased before receiving the twenty million, or after, and in the latter case I would likely want to spend all my credits before getting all golds.

 

[watto79]

-Which time trials use the C9 and which ones use the AMG-GT3? I know the one at the Nordschleife uses the C9, was that the only one that uses the C9?

The C9 is only for the Nordschleife challenge. All the others are the AMG GT3.

-It says you get twenty million credits upon getting all golds, and the credit cap is increased, but should I spend all my credits before getting all golds? In other words, I'd like to know if the credit cap increased before receiving the twenty million, or after, and in the latter case I would likely want to spend all my credits before getting all golds.

The credit cap is increased at the point you get the 10th gold, so you don't need to worry about hitting any credit cap at that point. If you were on 10 million before doing the final gold you'll be on 30.5 million when you complete it (because you also get 500k for each gold).

 

[Silver_Wolf]

So apologies if it's already been covered but with the topic being 21 pages and me only having a think about doing this now
what tips should I take in mind for the controller settings?

I already suck at driving the Merc with TC off so I guess that means it's going to be very hard to diamond this DLC.

The only other settings I've tweaked are turned all aids off except cone marker brake points and set ABS to weak.

I presume the rest is lots of practice?

 

[Need4Speed685]

So apologies if it's already been covered but with the topic being 21 pages and me only having a think about doing this now
what tips should I take in mind for the controller settings?

I already suck at driving the Merc with TC off so I guess that means it's going to be very hard to diamond this DLC.

The only other settings I've tweaked are turned all aids off except cone marker brake points and set ABS to weak.

I presume the rest is lots of practice?

The rest is down to lots of practice. Keep at it and eventually you'll make the Diamond targets if you improve over the course of many retries as you can.

 

[xJildertx]

Hadn't really played for some while and started playing again. Got all golds now and 2 diamonds. I'll probably try to get diamonds for the other tracks.

But is it me or is it easier now compared to when it released?

 

[Silver_Wolf]

Hadn't really played for some while and started playing again. Got all golds now and 2 diamonds. I'll probably try to get diamonds for the other tracks.

But is it me or is it easier now compared to when it released?

Maybe just me and skills but I've still not achieved any golds or diamonds on this DLC since my post on the 6th June so I would not say it's easier but I am no pro yet when it comes to perfect lines, I am planning to try again this weekend though once I have my new gaming setup done.

 

[MIE1992]

What’s the recommended TCS and BB for each course? I think TCS will be best set at 0 for the AMG-GT3, but I don’t think I could drive the Sauber C9 at zero - maybe at 1 or ideally 2. I suppose I’m more curious about what BB I should use for each one. Perhaps -4 or -5 for Monza?

 

[sturk0167]

What’s the recommended TCS and BB for each course? I think TCS will be best set at 0 for the AMG-GT3, but I don’t think I could drive the Sauber C9 at zero - maybe at 1 or ideally 2. I suppose I’m more curious about what BB I should use for each one. Perhaps -4 or -5 for Monza?

At 1 or 2 tracks, I was able to get away with tcs 1, but on most, I use 2. I use the X button for throttle, so tcs 0 is not an option.

 

[MIE1992]

At 1 or 2 tracks, I was able to get away with tcs 1, but on most, I use 2. I use the X button for throttle, so tcs 0 is not an option.

It does feel like I’ve been able to come closer using TCS 1, too, so thanks for the advice! I just got my third gold at Dragon Trail Seaside, with my first being at Monza and second at Interlagos. I’ve been leading LH by almost three tenths near the end of the first sector of Dragon Trail, too, at least on some attempts.

EDIT: For what it’s worth, I’m using a DS4, too, but with throttle mapped to R2, as default.

 

[sturk0167]

It does feel like I’ve been able to come closer using TCS 1, too, so thanks for the advice! I just got my third gold at Dragon Trail Seaside, with my first being at Monza and second at Interlagos. I’ve been leading LH by almost three tenths near the end of the first sector of Dragon Trail, too, at least on some attempts.

For me, the challenge is too hard. There are 3 tracks where I'm just not gonna get gold.
Oh, well. They got my money. I hope they savor the flavor, because it won't happen again.

 

[MIE1992]

For me, the challenge is too hard. There are 3 tracks where I'm just not gonna get gold.
Oh, well. They got my money. I hope they savor the flavor, because it won't happen again.

I’d argue that, hypothetically, if the trophies for getting wins/poles were replaced with a trophy for getting all-diamonds for the LH challenge, I’d say it’d be an improvement since you don’t have to worry about the matchmaking algorithm, and you could focus more on racing for its own sake. Is the LH challenge hard? Absolutely - I’d say it’s one of the hardest challenges in videogames I’ve ever come across. But I feel like it’s still more fair than praying you end up in a lobby where you’re on pole, or alternatively exploiting the matchmaking algorithm by purposely tanking your DR to get slower lobbies.

 

[MIE1992]

My personal tips so far for Dragon Trail, despite "only" having gold, and as a DS4 user using R2 for throttle:

-Don't feel bad about using TCS. I personally have been doing well with it set to 1. My brake balance has been set at 0.

-Start braking at the 150m mark, then cut into the chicane/corkscrew as far as you can while keeping your right wheels on the kerb. If you do this really well, you should have a lead of about two or three tenths. If you don't have a lead of at least one tenth, I'd recommend restarting.

-You might be able to go flat out into the second-to-last turn before the next checkpoint, but keep your car in the middle with the left wheels going over the kerb so you don't bounce off the kerb as much. You'll also want to start braking almost immediately after that turn. I've also found that you can easily get some more time on Lewis on that turn that comes right before the checkpoint.

-As for the second sector and its esses, I've found myself being a little behind Lewis, but then getting ahead of him again with the path I personally take, so I wouldn't worry too much about him getting ahead of you, especially on that first turn after the checkpoint.

-Much like the turn before the first checkpoint, cut as far in as you can with the turn that's just before the next checkpoint - the one that's just before the chicane of death.

-Don't worry about going flat-out on the chicane of death, but don't brake, either. You will likely need to lift, however.

So far, I think my time is 1:37.7xx, but I've been getting ahead of Lewis for more of the track, too - it's mostly the last sector I'm working on right now.

EDIT: I’ve updated it to 1:37.6xx but I think I’m going to give up. I got all silvers with three golds between Monza, Interlagos, and Dragon Trail Seaside. I just think it crosses the line from being a fun challenge into something that isn’t very fun. I don’t think A-ranked drivers such as myself should be struggling this much.

 

[Harsk100]

After several tries, I finally managed to get Diamond on Nurburgring GP/F Challenge. Now I just need to get Diamond on Mount Panorama and Suzuka...

 

[UnkaD]

Playing on Dragon Trail for hours across a few days and it's safe to say I won't be doing diamonds on this dlc. Gold was pretty easy, no problem. But for diamond, it's just lost all sense of fun. I just can't get over the dumptruck understeer. I consistently manage to get to the final chicane 3 or 4 tenths up on him, but no matter what I try I lose more than half a second through there and even more on the final turn. I've figured out how to squeeze every little bit out of the whole track except this last sector. I've tried so many things: slight lift, light tap of brakes, 4th gear, 5th gear. The car just doesn't want to turn. I just can't figure out how to make it work, and with everyone saying that this track is easy compared to others, whatever... It was nice hoping for the 100mil, but I'm done.

 

[superwally]

Playing on Dragon Trail for hours across a few days and it's safe to say I won't be doing diamonds on this dlc. Gold was pretty easy, no problem. But for diamond, it's just lost all sense of fun. I just can't get over the dumptruck understeer. I consistently manage to get to the final chicane 3 or 4 tenths up on him, but no matter what I try I lose more than half a second through there and even more on the final turn. I've figured out how to squeeze every little bit out of the whole track except this last sector. I've tried so many things: slight lift, light tap of brakes, 4th gear, 5th gear. The car just doesn't want to turn. I just can't figure out how to make it work, and with everyone saying that this track is easy compared to others, whatever... It was nice hoping for the 100mil, but I'm done.

Try lift-coast-brake. If you are that far ahead, it's all about not sliding those front tires through the final sections when the pressure is on, and a little lift before braking can really help. And get OFF the brakes sooner than you think you can and wait for the fronts to grip. This car will turn in, but not if the fronts are sliding because you still have a little bit of brake on. When you get it right, be ready, because the car will actually oversteer from midcorner to exit if the fronts are gripping at the apex.

I have been struggling putting a whole lap together at Bathurst, and the biggest challenge was figuring out why one lap was great and another slow, when it seemed to me I'd driven the same. The difference came down to releasing the brakes a little sooner and trusting the front end. GTS renders tire sounds in a way (at least to me) that tricks the driver/player into thinking the car is sliding when it's actually picking up grip at the end of the braking zone.

I say this kinda stuff a lot, but the biggest challenge many of us face is mental. Blowing the last 2 or 3 corners when you are leading isn't because you don't know how to drive around the corners, it's because you can't keep focused. I know this because I live it. It took me probably 2 or 3 hours to figure out how to drive around Bathurst, it's long and I don't know it well. It took 3 times that long and who knows how many restarts after blowing the last 3 corners to get the Diamond. When I finally stopped choking, I beat Lewis by .4 or something stupid like that. Failing that way is all head stuff, not hand-eye/foot coordination. It's execution, not practice.

I moved on to Interlagos and managed a Diamond in an hour at a track I typically really struggle at. Why? Probably because I did it in the afternoon when I wasn't exhausted and dehydrated, so I could focus. Normally I drive after 11PM when I can barely keep my eyes open. It matters, especially if you aren't 22 any more.

I have Nurb GP up next, then the full Nurburgring, and I will finish with Monza, because it's supposed to be easy. I'm ranking Bathurst the toughest for me so far.

 

[UnkaD]

Try lift-coast-brake. If you are that far ahead, it's all about not sliding those front tires through the final sections when the pressure is on, and a little lift before braking can really help. And get OFF the brakes sooner than you think you can and wait for the fronts to grip. This car will turn in, but not if the fronts are sliding because you still have a little bit of brake on. When you get it right, be ready, because the car will actually oversteer from midcorner to exit if the fronts are gripping at the apex.

I have been struggling putting a whole lap together at Bathurst, and the biggest challenge was figuring out why one lap was great and another slow, when it seemed to me I'd driven the same. The difference came down to releasing the brakes a little sooner and trusting the front end. GTS renders tire sounds in a way (at least to me) that tricks the driver/player into thinking the car is sliding when it's actually picking up grip at the end of the braking zone.

I say this kinda stuff a lot, but the biggest challenge many of us face is mental. Blowing the last 2 or 3 corners when you are leading isn't because you don't know how to drive around the corners, it's because you can't keep focused. I know this because I live it. It took me probably 2 or 3 hours to figure out how to drive around Bathurst, it's long and I don't know it well. It took 3 times that long and who knows how many restarts after blowing the last 3 corners to get the Diamond. When I finally stopped choking, I beat Lewis by .4 or something stupid like that. Failing that way is all head stuff, not hand-eye/foot coordination. It's execution, not practice.

I moved on to Interlagos and managed a Diamond in an hour at a track I typically really struggle at. Why? Probably because I did it in the afternoon when I wasn't exhausted and dehydrated, so I could focus. Normally I drive after 11PM when I can barely keep my eyes open. It matters, especially if you aren't 22 any more.

I have Nurb GP up next, then the full Nurburgring, and I will finish with Monza, because it's supposed to be easy. I'm ranking Bathurst the toughest for me so far.

I'm dreading just the thought of Bathurst. I could never get over the top of the hill cleanly in Gr.3 races. Granted I always use the NSX and that car absolutely despises bumpy surfaces.

I'll give it another look with your tips being taken into account. I watched the video in the first post and was surprised with how aggressively he drives, actually being behind Hamilton at the same point I'm so far ahead and then gaining through the chicane and final turn.

 

[LeGeNd-1]

Finally got diamond at Bathurst. Weirdly I find using BB forwards is better now because the last physics update made braking distances longer, and on a bumpy track such as Bathurst the extra braking force really pays dividends. It doesn't make the car understeer as much as expected.

Corner by corner tips:
- BB -5 except last chicane & corner -3
- T1 brake at ~90m. You don't have to hit the apex exactly here, I find carrying as much exit speed as possible and using all the outer kerbs are more important.
- T2 you can brake deeper than expected thanks to the uphill incline. Brake almost near the end of the asphalt sliproad on the left and then trail to apex. Avoid the inside kerb as it will unsettle the car. You want a slight 4 wheel drift to be fast here.
- I totally plebbed the Cutting on my diamond lap so it's not that critical to a good laptime. Just lift at the kink, brake straight and early, get as close as possible to the inside and accelerate carefully. Lewis is extremely fast in this whole uphill section and you can make gains later so just get through here safely.
- Quarry second part slight lift and STAY IN 3RD. For some reason this car understeers more in 4th gear
- First left kink is flat, second kink slight lift on the dip, third kink dab the brake over the crest and aim late apex.
- Biggest time gains for me are going downhill. You can absolutely go crazy on the Esses and cut very close on the inside at the Dipper. Can't give specific tips here, you just gotta learn the rhythm of the brake/throttle/gear. I find the more I think the slower I am so just let it flow
- For Forrest Elbow, slow down earlier and more than you think. I started lifting on the right kink before. Entry speed is really not critical. What's critical is getting as close as possible to the inside, rotating the car early and getting the power out.
- On the straight, upshift before going uphill so you don't lose momentum. Gains you a few hundreths easy.
- The chicane is my biggest problem until I learned a trick from Lewis - he lifts just before the 2nd brake board and then goes full brake after the board. That split second of coasting settles the car and allows you to brake harder and later. If you go full gas -> full brake it "shocks" the car and your brake distance is actually longer. Take a late apex, avoid the inside kerb and slightly delay acceleration. Too much power too early and you risk understeering off because the front end goes light.
- Final corner, same tactic as above. Lift before 100m and brake after. Late apex and avoid inside kerb. Use all the exit kerb and pray you've done enough. I beat him by just 0.003 sec

That's 6 down, 4 to go. Nurb and Brands 0.1 sec off. Suzuka and Willow still 0.6 sec off

EDIT: Got Willow to 0.3 sec off. I'm kinda getting the hang of the last corner but my main problem now is the uphill part of Omega. Car just doesn't rotate there. Surprisingly I'm plebbing Nurb GP so hard now. Can't get closer than 0.5 sec as I did before the physics update

 

[JD_18]

I love Dragon Trial and Death Chicane... Until this DLC, uck death chicane, its imposible

 

[zdravkelja]

So, after a long break, I finaly took the time to finish the rest of the challenges. Suzuka was very difficult but after that, the rest was manageable. So, here is my playlist.



It's kinda late with all those videos out there, but I wrote some tips in descriptions for each track. I'm a B rated driver (mostly because I don't play very often, I'm probably between B and A) and I play on gamepad, so if you are similar and you think it's impossible, try again

Anyway, I'm now flush with cash, time to buy all those fancy cars

 

[sturk0167]

Anybody know some cheats for Nordschleife, NGP, and Suzuka? I can't get gold by driving them straight up.
I tried wall riding at the Nord carousel, and gained about half a second, but could shake all of the penalty time by the end.

 

[JakeJortles]

Anybody know some cheats for Nordschleife, NGP, and Suzuka? I can't get gold by driving them straight up.
I tried wall riding at the Nord carousel, and gained about half a second, but could shake all of the penalty time by the end.

Don’t know how common these are, but I’ve found them to be quite helpful. Not quite cheats, but more things I’ve observed on my long, long way to 100m credit glory.

Nordschleife: Try to push hard early in the lap – you can take quite a lot of kerb here all the way to Hocheichen if you get the line right. You can even stay in 3rd gear for pretty much the whole sequence. Lewis is also a lot better later in the lap, so it pays to make up time here. (Also, and I’m speaking from experience here, if you bin it early, it doesn’t hurt quite as much. ) Generally, if you’re an AT driver, this combination is the one where it’s probably the most helpful to switch to Manual. Just stick the thing in 3rd and you should be good for about 90% of the slower corners.

Nürburgring GP: Take a wide line out of the Mercedes arena – you can get on the throttle a lot earlier that way and let the car drift to the outside. Track limits aren’t particularly stringent there. Also, try and get on the outside kerb on the approach to the Schumacher-S. That has the potential to unsettle the car a bit, but it gives you a much better turn-in angle. You can also take a lot of kerb for the last chicane.

Suzuka: Reeeaaally hug the inside line all the way from the hairpin to approach to Spoon. Same coming out of the last corner. There’s a lot of time to be gained here and you don’t need the speed you’d lose down the straight. And finally, just like the Nürburgring, you can ride the kerbs quite a bit in the final chicane.

Hope this helps!

 

[superwally]

Finally had some time for this again and got Diamonds at Nurb GP and Monza. Nurb GP wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, probably somewhere in the middle for difficulty for me. Panorama was harder to put a full lap together, and Suzuka, Willow, and Brands were all more difficult to find a faster line than Lewis. Monza was weird because I could be ahead by .4 before the second chicane, the only track where I was so far ahead so early in the lap. It was almost distracting.

Just the full Nurb left! I took a crack at it late last night, what a totally different experience in this car, I've only run road cars and stuff there. I want to see if I can manage it in cockpit view, these cars are the most fun for me driving that way but I'm slower.

 

[05XR8]

Did yet another new game start to see how fast to get to Level 20. Did all but the, ironically, Monza and Nurb once.

Monza I did a full lap, getting a 1 second penalty at the back end of the track. Didn't bother to abort. Next lap, I get Diamond.

The Nurb, I aborted 4 times by messing up T1-3(had the ghost on). Turned the ghost off and couldn't believe the outcome. First time Diamond, without a hiccup.

 

[sundaydriving]

Do it.

 

[DanSHW]

Finally went for this, went straight through all the tracks, trying for silver first, got it first lap on almost all of them apart from a couple of spins here and there, was less than a tenth away from gold on Interlagos, not far at Monza, and surprisingly close at Big Willow considering how hard everyone says it is. Will now go through them again to try and boost them all up to gold, not sure I'll be able to get there on all of them though.