Gran Turismo Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup Announced for 2024 Season

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I ran some strategy tests for this Sunday's Rd.5 race. I'm not quite sure what to make of the results (more on that below), but I'll share them here with you all the same. All the tests were done in a Custom race against one opponent using Late Morning S04 weather and the fuel and tire multipliers matching the race conditions.

I tested a few different strategies, all starting on RMs and finishing on RSs, including a two-stop one inspired by Fraga's race in Montreal on Saturday.

Here are the overall results (from this spreadsheet):
StrategyOpt timeBest timeAvg timeAvg devTotal time
5RM-25RS1:21.7351:22.0051:24.2500:02.02842:07.487
10RM-20RS1:21.5911:21.8291:24.1720:02.23542:05.157
1RM-14RS-15RS1:20.7711:21.4341:24.1490:03.41342:04.459
1RM-29RS1:21.4231:21.4831:23.9770:01.99541:59.309

Lap times:
pubchart


Tread levels at first pit:
StrategyFront leftFront rightRear leftRear right
5RM-25RS90%95%90%95%
10RM-20RS75%90%80%90%
1RM-14RS-15RS100%100%100%100%
1RM-29RS100%100%100%100%

Tread levels at second pit:
StrategyFront leftFront rightRear leftRear right
1RM-14RS-15RS55%80%60%75%

Tread levels at finish:
StrategyFront leftFront rightRear leftRear right
5RM-25RS20%75%35%65%
10RM-20RS40%45%80%70%
1RM-14RS-15RS50%80%60%75%
1RM-29RS1%70%30%60%

Comments and observations:
  • 1RM-29RS was my best result. I was surprised by that. I really expected to do better with a few more laps on RMs. And it isn't like I was running great laps. The whole session felt pretty mediocre compared to some of the other ones.
  • I was expecting 5RM-25RS to be the winner, but it turned out to be the slowest of the bunch. 🤷‍♂️
  • The 10RM-20RS would have been about 5.5 seconds faster had I not spun out on the final lap.
  • I must have had some magic tires on the first RS stint of the 1RM-14RS-15RS. I was just flying (for me) on those laps. If I'd have run more typical laps like I did in the 1RM-29RS test, the total time would have been noticeably slower.
  • The likelihood of taking damage on lap 1 seems pretty high, which is the reason I tested the two 1RM strategies. Damage has a huge impact on my lap times in this race -- about 2 seconds per lap, by my testing -- so I'm planning to pit immediately to repair damage if it happens before the last 12 laps.
 
I ran some strategy tests for this Sunday's Rd.5 race. I'm not quite sure what to make of the results (more on that below), but I'll share them here with you all the same. All the tests were done in a Custom race against one opponent using Late Morning S04 weather and the fuel and tire multipliers matching the race conditions.

I tested a few different strategies, all starting on RMs and finishing on RSs, including a two-stop one inspired by Fraga's race in Montreal on Saturday.

Here are the overall results (from this spreadsheet):
StrategyOpt timeBest timeAvg timeAvg devTotal time
5RM-25RS1:21.7351:22.0051:24.2500:02.02842:07.487
10RM-20RS1:21.5911:21.8291:24.1720:02.23542:05.157
1RM-14RS-15RS1:20.7711:21.4341:24.1490:03.41342:04.459
1RM-29RS1:21.4231:21.4831:23.9770:01.99541:59.309

Lap times:
pubchart


Tread levels at first pit:
StrategyFront leftFront rightRear leftRear right
5RM-25RS90%95%90%95%
10RM-20RS75%90%80%90%
1RM-14RS-15RS100%100%100%100%
1RM-29RS100%100%100%100%

Tread levels at second pit:
StrategyFront leftFront rightRear leftRear right
1RM-14RS-15RS55%80%60%75%

Tread levels at finish:
StrategyFront leftFront rightRear leftRear right
5RM-25RS20%75%35%65%
10RM-20RS40%45%80%70%
1RM-14RS-15RS50%80%60%75%
1RM-29RS1%70%30%60%

Comments and observations:
  • 1RM-29RS was my best result. I was surprised by that. I really expected to do better with a few more laps on RMs. And it isn't like I was running great laps. The whole session felt pretty mediocre compared to some of the other ones.
  • I was expecting 5RM-25RS to be the winner, but it turned out to be the slowest of the bunch. 🤷‍♂️
  • The 10RM-20RS would have been about 5.5 seconds faster had I not spun out on the final lap.
  • I must have had some magic tires on the first RS stint of the 1RM-14RS-15RS. I was just flying (for me) on those laps. If I'd have run more typical laps like I did in the 1RM-29RS test, the total time would have been noticeably slower.
  • The likelihood of taking damage on lap 1 seems pretty high, which is the reason I tested the two 1RM strategies. Damage has a huge impact on my lap times in this race -- about 2 seconds per lap, by my testing -- so I'm planning to pit immediately to repair damage if it happens before the last 12 laps.
Your testing here highlights one of the current physics quirks that based on what we saw in Montreal I'd speculate is getting changed with the update - heavily worn racing softs are currently still so good that even in long races they might be preferable to changing to a fresh harder compound (and they are definitely preferable in a daily C-length race hence all the "pit for no reason" shenanigans that go on there).
 
If RS can last 29 laps then it seems like a one-stopper with minimal RM would be best, no? Perhaps a 2RM at the start would drop you far enough far enough behind for clear air after the pit to just run laps on your own the whole time. I know I am much faster as a hot-lapper than a racer.

Quali position also matters. I'm not sure which of these strategies seem fastest to move up the field. Will try some tests this week.
 
Noticed that going off-track doesn't seem to invalidate your time in Free Practice anymore, wondering if that's intentional...
 
How is everybody is using the overtake button for this race? In the practice races that I've been doing, I'm mostly just burning a bit coming out the final corner onto the main straight on each lap. If I find myself with a surplus, I burn some out of turn 9 (Campsa) on the straight into La Caixa. I'm rarely using it to actually overtake, but that is because the AI cars are pretty easy to get by without it.

I also use some off the grid start to keep up with the AI cars who seem to all have impossibly good jumps off the line.

When it comes to racing other humans, what is your approach? Are you burning some every lap? Where are you using it? Do you hold some back for later in the race to compensate for worn tires? I'm curious to hear how you plan to use it.
 
How is everybody is using the overtake button for this race?
Only did a couple of laps in training and it was disabled for it so I thought it would be in the race too 😂

Did a 1:21.324 in training.. not sure if I should race at all here. Have a feeling that I won't be competitive in GT2 with this. On the other hand I had only one good (leMans) and 1 bad race (Suzuka)... Skipped the rest so I kinda have to 🤔
 
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Only did a couple of laps in training and it was disabled for it so I thought it would be in the race too 😂
For the Super Formula races, the overtake button is usually disabled for free practice and qualifying, but enabled for the race. I just double checked the race details. It says "Nitrous/Overtake: Unrestricted", so I assume it will be available for the race, as usual.
 
@Moose78 Looking at your data, I'm probably going to run a 10RM - 20RS strategy. If I get damaged in the first five laps then I"ll switch to a two stop for extra softs. Thanks again for sharing this and good luck!
I'm happy to share it, although at this point I'm sure you are coming to distrust anything it says about tire wear. 😅

For what it's worth, there is probably a similar thing going on here as there is for the Manu Cup race. Some of the habits that I've adopted for safety and consistency on this combo are probably also helping me extend tire life. I'm lifting in places that I see the top-ranked drivers are taking full out -- like the first big sweeper (T3), into the straight towards the hairpin (T9), and the final one (T14). I don't know how to take those corners flat out -- especially on a full tank of fuel -- without ending up in the sand.

Best of luck in your race!
 
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How do we find out starting fuel? (Gt2). For Rd3, practice lobbies were running a few days before the race with a couple of laps of fuel, curious how the would have known? Also, I'd spotted drs was unrestricted, but doesn't work in practice, and I've not managed to join a lobby that's ran a race...and wouldn't have thought to try drs (seeing as it didn't work in free practice). After reading this thread, I'll have to remember to try drs before the race!
 
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How do we find out starting fuel? (Gt2). For Rd3, practice lobbies were running a few days before the race with a couple of laps of fuel, curious how the would have known? Also, I'd spotted drs was unrestricted, but doesn't work in practice, and I've not managed to join a lobby that's ran a race...and wouldn't have thought to try drs (seeing as it didn't work in free practice). After reading this thread, I'll have to remember to try drs before the race!
I'm not sure about starting fuel. I know that was a thing in the Prius race, but I haven't been expecting anything like that in Sunday's race. I guess you just have to find a streamer from Asia/Oceania to see what they start with.

You can try out the overtake/nitro feature using a custom race. That's how I do most of my practice. It is against AI cars, which has its quirks, but it will at least let you try out the overtake.
 
GT2, mid B, SR S, 101pts for 1st, door (nose) #10

Didn't really want to race here but since I skipped 2 races already I kinda had to.

Quali was, surprisingly, very good for me. Q4 but the first 3 were just on another level.

190b06737a843-screenshotUrl.jpg


Race was brutal... Not because of crashes or mistakes (everything was clean) but because those cars have so much downforce. Settled in P4 in a pretty even match up with the german who started behind me. He had a great start and got to P3. One of the drivers ahead had a aweful start on the other hand (maybe started without TC).

switched positions a couple of times and 3 or 4 times I probably could have passed him after some mistakes but I didn't want to go too aggressive.

We both pitted after lap 16 in P1 and P2. Came out in P5 and P6. Don't know how but another german was suddenly 10s ahead of me and I didn't even see his name on the board when i pitted. Probably missed it but a bit weird.

At the end of Lap 18 the german I was fighting the whole race made a mistake in the last turn and drove into the gravel which gave me P5. Finished there for 84points.

Overall I'm satisfied with this and won't go again. Had enough of that much downforce 😅

190b0674da37-screenshotUrl.jpg
 
Yes. But the softs were still good when I pitted. Wanted to go later but the guy I was fighting pitted so I did the same.
Practice account:

Door 1
QT 12
Started on the mediums and pitted the end of lap 1 (lap 3 would have been better)

Slow grid start as I didn't have the handbrake mapped doh!

Uneventful until lap 12 when someone not using the radar ran me wide in to the gravel.

Sat in the pits for the remainder.

Will do one more practice race and then do races on the main account aiming for a top 10 with any luck.

There is definitely a gap with peoples ability with these cars, the guys at the front were seriously fast and I'm seriously slow in these Uber high downforce and Uber high power to weight cars.
 
There is definitely a gap with peoples ability with these cars
I feel like this is going to be the story of the day. I've been practicing this combo pretty regularly since the last TGR race, and it took me a lot of laps before I felt I had the timing down and was driving the track consistently. Maybe that's just an indication of how slowly I learn things, but I'm guessing there are going to be a lot of drivers who jump into this race today with little more than a half hour of Free Practice and cause chaos. Maybe I'm wrong. I hope so.

Of course, I took a day off of practice yesterday to prepare for the Manu Cup race, and now my pace is gone. I tried a lobby race earlier and I couldn't even break into the 1:22s in that race. I was hitting 1:21s earlier in the week.

BTW, I did a quick comparison of the pit times between Custom Races and Free Practice. Looks like they are the same: ~31.7s for a tire change.

Good luck in your races, all!
 
An incredibly disappointing 5th

Qualifying ruined on my first lap by ploughing into a guy at the hairpin while weaving through traffic and getting a 3 second penalty. Seriously, qualify alone. At least 10 seconds before and after you.

Started... somewhere and was up to 6th by the end of lap 1. Pitted on lap 2 and had little trouble with traffic on the way back up. Was within sight of 2nd once they pitted from softs to mediums but my left front was useless and I was lapping 2-3 seconds slower than I should have been pretty much every lap. Practice, people. And be wary of tyre wear, it's worse than you think.
 
Awful qualifying. Ended up without a clean lap because I'm an idiot, started 15th in the end. Had the pace to be top 4 easily.

End of lap 1 I was up to 11th, got pushed out on the the gravel on turn 3 lap 2, ended up backwards and lost more than 20 seconds overall by the time the damage was cleared, and I was dead last by a long way (20s behind 15th)

Pitted for softs end of lap 4 as I had nothing really to lose at this point. Some good racing after that in the midfield, I was in chase down mode and I was lapping quicker than the leaders who were admittedly on more used softs than mine.

Ended up 8th as my front left tyre just lost all it's grip in the last lap or two, probably would have finished 6th if I'd pitted a lap later.

Guy who took me out on lap 2 finished 4th (grr), and a top 3 was definitely possible. Annoying, but okay. Happy with 8th and 122 points, I'm jetlagged and tired so gonna call that quits for the day.

Enjoy!
 
Rare sight - won my race in GT1 for 279 points! It was mostly time trial action while avoiding mistakes, as dirty air makes it nearly impossible to overtake if the drivers have somewhat similar pace, so qualifying was crucial. I got Q2 but the guy with Q1 did more mistakes in the race than I did and ended up P7.
3a5bfb30-25da-4c5f-82e5-e7a6a07fe2e2.jpg
 
I genuinely feel at this moment in time rage and also zen.

These cars in this game are a struggle to race competitively. Sure for the Aliens and tour drivers this is bread and butter but for a daily B/C racer these are not fun at freaking all.
 
I had forgotten that I am still GT2 in this series, when I am DR-A. It was really nice to take part here in the morning instead of late evening (no limited GT1 slots). It was an all A/S lobby with one B/S guy.

I did 1M-19S. I think this might be an almost optimal strategy. No one else pit on lap 1 so I had free air throughout the race. I was terribly slow towards the end but I had undercut a lot of drivers and had made them stuck behind me towards the end, giving me gained positions over the drivers who were clearly faster than me. I am not doing it again but if I did, I would try 3M-17S instead. Moose78 is godly for making 1M-29S work in practice.

Super Formula is clearly above the skill-set of my lobby (me included) as almost every passing action was chaotic, lol. Also, it felt like many folks did not account for heavier fuel, dirty air, different braking points due to slipstream + boost. I had forgotten about boost myself for 1/4th of the race.

Pretty happy with how this race went considering (three little off track) it is my first time driving Super Formula in a Sport event (daily race, gazoo, or GTWS).
 
Straightforward in my slot 1 GT2 lobby worth 138 points.

Went Q11 to P5 for 115 points (1 short of my 2nd best tally of the season). Had a pretty much race long battle over 4th until I got a little squirrely as I headed onto the back straight and that was that.

Clean and respectful from where I sat and pretty enjoyable if not for yet another unforced error by me.

One and done as usual. Pretty much 1 pixel away from A-DR, but that will have to wait for now.
 
Managed to spin out on my first qualifying lap, next lap was clean, but not so hot. Put me 10th on the grid, and decided to start on mediums with the risk of early damage.

Got caught out by the car two rows ahead getting a false start penalty, car ahead of me suddenly slows to avoid him and I slam into the back of them. Did actually still get back to about 12th, but front wing damage was showing, so was quickly slipping back.

R05-Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya GP Layout No Chicane_ (2).jpeg


I'd hoped to stay out a few laps to avoid stretching the softs too long, but the front wing damage was killing my speed through the fast corners. So I came in after 2 laps, with the plan being to look after the front left.

Soon found myself following a fellow Brit with almost identical speed. Shadowed him for a while, matching my speed to his, if I get too close take it easy on the bends to preserve my tyres. Or use a bit of boost to catch up if falling back.

R05-Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya GP Layout No Chicane_ (1).jpeg


I was surprised to see him pit again around half way, I guess he didn't fancy stretching his tyres to the end. As the pits stops shook I found myself in 7th, but with the front left wearing down fast. I had brake balance all the way to the back, was taking it really easy on the right handers. But the tyre was still wearing down too fast.

I had a massive gap behind, so just drove slower and slower towards the end to try and keep the tyre alive. Maybe a bit too slow, one car was catching up fast, they caught and passed me on the final lap as I nursed the tyres to the end. Finished 7th at the line, promoted to 6th after a 1 minute penalty for the 3rd place car.

R05-Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya GP Layout No Chicane_ (3).jpeg
 
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