Explain Out Lap please

[Steven Keeney]

What is out lap on the qualifying for the races? I've seen some discussion here about folks not knowing how to 'do it' but I don't know what it is so how can I do it right? Please explain it.

 

[PzR Slim]

Out lap just refers to your first lap 'out' of the pits. It's a common term used in motorsport. In the same way that an in lap is the final lap before you come 'in'to the pits.

 

[RotorHed]

A bit more specifically, in theory on the outlap you get your tires and brakes to optimal temperature before startig your quali lap(s). So you might drive fairly hard and brake heavily but not go at full speed so as to avoid wearing the tires.

Also, people on their out and in laps must stay out of the way of people on their quali lap(s) or receive a penalty. I guess that’s not simulated as such in GTS but I’m not sure.

 

[SnowLeopard]

My thread about not knowing how to do an out-lap mainly refers to the fact that in qualifying, the goal is to be able to put in the fastest lap possible while dealing with all the other drivers trying to do the same thing. On the out lap, you want to leave a decent gap to the car in front so you do not catch up to it while on your fast lap (and have time to react if they should mess up).
On your fast (aka timed) lap, you hopefully won't catch anyone else and have to pass since that costs time, and no one will be catch you and try to pass which might also cost you time. On some tracks, catching another car might be beneficial if you get a tow, but trying to plan that is extremely difficult even for real-life drivers that have engineers in the pits helping them.
If you make a mistake and know you've ruined your time (going off track, missing a braking point, etc), the must important thing you must do is not ruin anyone else's fast lap. In real-world racing, drivers are penalized for impeding others even when there is nothing the driver could have done to avoid the situation. A specific example is the penalty Lance Stroll was given for blocking Romain Grosjean at the US F1 qualifying.

 

[EmArA]

Outlap is to warm up the tyres and brakes temperature to reach optimum temperature in real life (and racing simulators)