Gran Turismo Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup Announced for 2024 Season

[Moose78]

I'll give that a test. I ran 5 laps of wets and it started to feel a bit too slidey under drying conditions. I'll compare times and see if it's worth not putting for inters.

Another option that might be worth considering is starting out on IMs. I did a quick custom race earlier this morning with R07 (torential) rain, starting from P10. While the moisture gauges on the lead cars were into blue territory above the second tick mark, the cars further back -- P6 and later, IIRC -- were all below that tick, suggesting IMs could be viable. I did that race on W tires and didn't have time to go back and retry it with IMs, but this is something I'm definitely going to test.

 

[A_Higher_Place]

Another option that might be worth considering is starting out on IMs. I did a quick custom race earlier this morning with R07 (torential) rain, starting from P10. While the moisture gauges on the lead cars were into blue territory above the second tick mark, the cars further back -- P6 and later, IIRC -- were all below that tick, suggesting IMs could be viable. I did that race on W tires and didn't have time to go back and retry it with IMs, but this is something I'm definitely going to test.

Interesting. During my practice session the rain worsened significantly on laps 2 and 3 to the point where I felt inters wouldn't hold out.

I'll revisit too.

 

[Moose78]

During my practice session the rain worsened significantly on laps 2 and 3 to the point where I felt inters wouldn't hold out.

Yep. In Free Practice, I was seeing the moisture gauge max out at around a quarter of the way through the upper section. That's around what I saw the lead cars get with R07 rain in my custom race.

GT7 has that rain physics where lead cars dry out the track for the cars behind. I remember @GOTMAXPOWER pointing it out a couple Manu Cup seasons ago when we had the race a Nurburgring where track started wet and progressively dried out. In the rain, the cars behind tend to be at an advantage to the lead cars because they get a drier track.

The Free Practice mode can't help you prepare for this effect because you are driving alone without the benefit of other cars drying out the track for you.

My guess for this race is that a one-stop IM-RS is what I'll end up going with. Even if the Ws are faster during the really wet laps, I feel like I'll be able to make that up on IMs when the rain eases up. Also, I doubt the Ws are so much faster that it will be possible to make up the time for a second pit stop with a W-IM-RS strategy. Of course, these are all guesses at this point. I still need to do some tests.

BTW, I did a full 12-lap run through the Free Practice weather last night. Managed to post a 3:29 on my final dry lap on RSs. That put me at 324 globally. I suppose that means I was the 324th person to drive out a FP session until it dries, but still, I'm not usually anywhere close to that. I'll take it for now.

 

[Talon16]

Man, I am trying to get excited about the remaining TGR events but it's not easy.

Rece 3:
LeMans with GR010 is a cool combo and I am hoping to be able to participate.

Race 4:
Gr4, specified cars around Nurburgring for... eight laps? Like.... EIGHT LAPS?! Virtually this exact same combo at the last TRG (was the Endurance layout for 12 laps) so another bout of creativity from PD. Hopefully it goes well or it'll be an hour and 40 min wait until you can try again. Thanks, Kaz.

Race 5:
SF cars at Barcelona. A good combo I guess but not really my cup of tea.

Race 6:
Grand Valley, YES! Oh, Grand Valley Short... no.

Race 7:
Fuji... [specified] Gr3 cars... again. 24 laps is twice as good as the official WS event we just had. Maybe weather? Wouldn't surprise me if it's another dry race.

I haven't done one yet, and need four to make it even worth it. Races 3, 4, and 7 are good enough for me to want to participate. So race 5 or 6 the lesser of evils... if I can't convince myself to put the time into doing at least one of them might as well not do any of them.

 

[Hdbd04]

GT7 has that rain physics where lead cars dry out the track for the cars behind. I remember @GOTMAXPOWER pointing it out a couple Manu Cup seasons ago when we had the race a Nurburgring where track started wet and progressively dried out. In the rain, the cars behind tend to be at an advantage to the lead cars because they get a drier track.

The Free Practice mode can't help you prepare for this effect because you are driving alone without the benefit of other cars drying out the track for you.

My guess for this race is that a one-stop IM-RS is what I'll end up going with. Even if the Ws are faster during the really wet laps, I feel like I'll be able to make that up on IMs when the rain eases up. Also, I doubt the Ws are so much faster that it will be possible to make up the time for a second pit stop with a W-IM-RS strategy. Of course, these are all guesses at this point. I still need to do some tests.

A part of me wants to use IMs after learning that fact, but another part of me wants to stick to Wets as insurance to what might actually happen in my possible slot (First lap crashes, some cars leaving a huge gap, etc.). It's quite conflicting to think about, but hopefully I could actually decide for once.

In other-other related news, the local TGR GT Cup qualifiers would take place in Tsukuba in the GR Yaris with RH tires. God forbid the GR Yaris with race tires, but it's to be believed to be a close one where getting below 1:00:9xx might put you in the top 40.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

GT7 has that rain physics where lead cars dry out the track for the cars behind. I remember @GOTMAXPOWER pointing it out a couple Manu Cup seasons ago when we had the race a Nurburgring where track started wet and progressively dried out. In the rain, the cars behind tend to be at an advantage to the lead cars because they get a drier track.

That has been fixed now, or has been in the last few wet races we've had (if its a race setting rather than something in the game engine). Now wet races are decided more on skill than luck and how good you are at playing musical chairs. Since that update the full wet tyres can be useful now if its wet enough, before they were a waste of time and you would always lose to inters, I haven't practiced yet but its something to consider.

The wet line is a thing you have to work out now, staying off the rubbered in racing line will give you more grip, I guess you can try that in practice.

 

[zjn]

apologize for the silly question:
Gt3 league has 6 laps with possible rain

at race day how should we understand the current wheater?
Meaning: before jumping into the 5 min quali, based on what information the tyres selection can be done?
Does the race start weather equals the end qualy wheater?

 

[A_Higher_Place]

That has been fixed now, or has been in the last few wet races we've had (if its a race setting rather than something in the game engine). Now wet races are decided more on skill than luck and how good you are at playing musical chairs. Since that update the full wet tyres can be useful now if its wet enough, before they were a waste of time and you would always lose to inters, I haven't practiced yet but its something to consider.

The wet line is a thing you have to work out now, staying off the rubbered in racing line will give you more grip, I guess you can try that in practice.

Glad to see this clarified, thank you.

@Moose78

Even if this is the case, my practice laps today on IMs were only about 6 - 7 seconds slower per lap compared to my WTs times yesterday. Though I may be improving with more practice, it still seems like a toss-up as to which is better. When racing myself, IMs are faster overall. However, given there will be a myriad of other players trying to survive (rather than drive) in the wet, I'm willing to bet that the WTs extra grip may provide the stability needed to battle if you qualify mid pack.

Also, starting on WTs and anticipating getting damage from those trying to survive may be an option too. A switch to inters while repairing damage shouldn't be an option ignored me thinks.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

Glad to see this clarified, thank you.

@Moose78

Even if this is the case, my practice laps today on IMs were only about 6 - 7 seconds slower per lap compared to my WTs times yesterday. Though I may be improving with more practice, it still seems like a toss-up as to which is better. When racing myself, IMs are faster overall. However, given there will be a myriad of other players trying to survive (rather than drive) in the wet, I'm willing to bet that the WTs extra grip may provide the stability needed to battle if you qualify mid pack.

Also, starting on WTs and anticipating getting damage from those trying to survive may be an option too. A switch to inters while repairing damage shouldn't be an option ignored me thinks.

Decisions, decisions.

If it is very wet the inters might lose temperature after a few laps too which is worth bearing in mind, it's a long pitlane though so (again I haven't practiced or had a proper look at the race details) probably worth sticking with what you have unless the car is badly damaged. From the sounds of it you'll have to take the pain at the start or at the end depending on which rain tyre you go for.


Edit: Ignore everything I said if you need to stop for fuel whilst it's still raining

 

[Globato44]

If you pit for slicks because there's a dry path REMEMBER that pit lane exit will still be wet.

 

[A_Higher_Place]

If it is very wet the inters might lose temperature after a few laps too which is worth bearing in mind, it's a long pitlane though so (again I haven't practiced or had a proper look at the race details) probably worth sticking with what you have unless the car is badly damaged. From the sounds of it you'll have to take the pain at the start or at the end depending on which rain tyre you go for.


Edit: Ignore everything I said if you need to stop for fuel whilst it's still raining

True. I still think IMs are the way to go, especially if you find yourself alone on track. Fuel is not a factor for this race.

 

[Moose78]

at race day how should we understand the current wheater?
Meaning: before jumping into the 5 min quali, based on what information the tyres selection can be done?
Does the race start weather equals the end qualy wheater?

It is never clear until race day what PD will choose to do for qualifying. Sometimes you qualify on a dry track and the rain is only in the race. Sometimes qualifying is wet. Sometimes the weather is dynamic and some lobbies get rain and while others don't.

Here's what I do on race day:

1. Look for streamers from earlier time zones to see what they got.
2. Check the GTPlanet forums for any race reports from those earlier time zones.
3. That's usually enough to get a good idea of what to expect, but I still check the weather radar in the game once I enter the event prior to qualification starting if I am at all in doubt.

 

[jrbabbitt]

Here's what I do on race day:

1. Look for streamers from earlier time zones to see what they got.
2. Check the GTPlanet forums for any race reports from those earlier time zones.
3. That's usually enough to get a good idea of what to expect, but I still check the weather radar in the game once I enter the event prior to qualification starting if I am at all in doubt.

I just jump in blind and go for the best...

 

[SupaflyIRL]

I usually go into the in-game showcase in the morning before the US race slots and search for race replays on the current track with my race car as the "current car" checked and then select the type of race (nations/manu/etc) and that gives me the in game replays for the current race from the asia/oceania region where i can check everyone's strats/tires/weather etc.

Never have the time to do all the testing myself so I rely heavily on this and posts here to inform my own strategy.

 

[Talon16]

Just did some wet only laps to try and get used to it. I did like five laps on W tires and three with IMs. Few things:

-Both sessions the bar was ~33% into the top zone, and jumping up to the 50%-75% when hitting puddles. Both sessions had a healthy yellow blob on the radar that made it over the track. The puddles weren't enough to get the IMs to aquaplane out of control, but they were enough to get the IMs to not want to stop the car in braking zones.

-Holy track limit pens, Batman! Apparently, being on the outside of the dashed lines before both of the chicanes is considered going off track. See exhibit A (already had the .500" from a different turn, but got an additional 1.000 from being here):

-The W tires gave me the best time of 4:03.9. Where they really seemed to shine over the IMs was in the braking zones... car was much more stable and predictable. Was running TC.

-IMs best time was a 4:06.4 I think. So they're not as quick initially. But, we all know that if the race goes wet to dry as predicted, the IMs will come into their own as the bar goes into the middle zone... which it essentially has to.

-Rain seemed to stop at about lap 3.5. This was the first time I saw the bar actually not in the top zone.

I want to go a couple 12 laps practice sessions to see when the rain tires to slicks transition may end up happening and if running the full wets at the beginning will end up killing the race in the middle stint.

 

[A_Higher_Place]

I want to go a couple 12 laps practice sessions to see when the rain tires to slicks transition may end up happening and if running the full wets at the beginning will end up killing the race in the middle stint.

If yours is the same as mine, should be able to pit at the end of lap 8 and be fine with softs. Sounds like you've had the same initial experience I did. IF (and its a big IF) you can keep it straight and out of traffic for the first 4 laps then IMs seem the way to go.

 

[Moose78]

-Holy track limit pens, Batman! Apparently, being on the outside of the dashed lines before both of the chicanes is considered going off track. See exhibit A (already had the .500" from a different turn, but got an additional 1.000 from being here):

The one that always gets me is Indianapolis. It seems like there is so much road to use on the left for that entry, but if you cross that line...

If yours is the same as mine, should be able to pit at the end of lap 8 and be fine with softs. Sounds like you've had the same initial experience I did. IF (and its a big IF) you can keep it straight and out of traffic for the first 4 laps then IMs seem the way to go.

In the one session that I tried last night, I didn't switch to slicks until the end of lap 10. After my mistake at the Manu Cup race at Suzuka last week, I was being overly cautious about switching to slicks. The road was looked pretty dry around lap 8, but the moisture gauge was still hovering right around the first tick so I waited until it had fallen a bit more.

 

[A_Higher_Place]

The one that always gets me is Indianapolis. It seems like there is so much road to use on the left for that entry, but if you cross that line...


In the one session that I tried last night, I didn't switch to slicks until the end of lap 10. After my mistake at the Manu Cup race at Suzuka last week, I was being overly cautious about switching to slicks. The road was looked pretty dry around lap 8, but the moisture gauge was still hovering right around the first tick so I waited until it had fallen a bit more.

Yeah, I was skeptical when I made the switch at the end of lap 8 but there was a surprising amount of grip there even with rooster tails of water spraying from the rear wheels! You have a thin dry line but if you can keep within it, you'll be faster!

 

[Moose78]

I had a chance to do some tests/practice for this race this morning -- at least for the rainy part. I feel like I'm starting to get the hang of driving this car in the rain, but with ranking board times all over the place, I really have no idea whether my times are any good.

There were a couple things that I wanted to figure out today about driving in the rain:

1. Am I better off staying on the racing line which tend to get slippery when wet? Or is it better to take a different line where there is more traction?
2. How much faster are W tires versus IMs in the heavy rain? Is it enough to make a 4W-4IM-4RS viable over a 8IM-4RS strategy?

To find out, I went into Free Practice and did a few 8-lap sessions. I did 8 laps because that's roughly how long the track stays wet. I enabled the 'Driving Line' assist so I could better tell where I was in relation to the racing line (tip of the hat to @Tidgney on this -- I saw him doing this in the rainy Manu Cup race at Suzuka a few weeks ago and seemed like a great trick for rainy conditions).

Here's how they went (in the order that I ran the tests; raw data in this spreadsheet):

Test name	Tire strategy	Avoid racing line laps 1-4	Avoid racing line laps 5-8	Laps 1-4	Laps 5-8	Total
8IM-online	8IM	FALSE	FALSE	16:54.008	15:50.069	32:44.077
8IM-offline #1	8IM	TRUE	TRUE	16:50.218	15:56.794	32:47.012
4W-4IM	4W-4IM	TRUE	FALSE	16:53.994	15:55.299	32:49.293
8IM-offline #2	8IM	TRUE	TRUE	16:33.449	15:44.138	32:17.587

The final test -- 8IM-offline #2 -- is where things started to click for me with regards to driving off of the racing line. In my earlier attempts I had been keeping quite wide of the racing line and trying to make sharp cuts across it when I need to change sides. As you might imagine, this really compromised my speed in a lot of places. What I eventually found worked better is to follow the line more closely, but just to the side of it. You can still get a lot of traction there.

Right now, it doesn't look like the 4W-4IM strategy is going to beat 8IM. The time to pit is just too much to overcome. But I also feel like I could probably do those W tire laps faster now that getting the hang of the off-line approach. I might give that 4W-4IM strategy another shot to see if I can close the gap any.

 

[A_Higher_Place]

Another 8 laps of wet data for you @Moose78 . This was on IMs. Lots of brown pants moments but I think the consensus is IMs for 8 laps will be faster if the race is clean.

Also, thanks for sharing your data and findings as always!

 

[Talon16]

I can't imagine anyone will be running Wets (at least in GT1).

 

[Moose78]

I can't imagine anyone will be running Wets (at least in GT1).

If qualifying is wet, it might be worth using them for that. Otherwise, yeah, it seems like IMs are the way to go.

 

[SPL170db]

Kind of bummed I'm going to miss this one...I've had a history of not doing terrible @ LeMans in the wet. Unfortunately I'll be in flight while the races are going on

 

[Moose78]

I've had a chance to do a few full-length, full-field custom races to practice for this Sunday's race. Here are a few things I've noticed:

1. In the custom races, the track dries out much faster after the rain stops compared to Free Practice. I don't know how much of that has to do with additional cars driving on the track and how much is from differences in how I have modeled the weather in the custom races settings (R07-R07-R05-R05-C03-S09). Come race time, that might mean it is possible to switch to slicks a lap earlier.
2. Be careful the first time through the section between pit entry and pit exit on slicks. In one of my races, this bit of track was still drenched while the rest of the track was nearly dry. Because of the way that pitting worked out in that race, very few cars had driven over that stretch. I wasn't expecting it and spun straight into the wall out of the chicane, then did a few pirouettes trying to get to the pit exit.
3. If you happen to need to pit after switching to slicks (eg. to repair damage), remember the pit entry might still be very wet.
4. Driving against the AI cars is very different from driving human drivers, but if the custom races are any indication, surviving lap 1 and the first lap out on slicks without damage is going to be a big challenge.

 

[zjn]

If I get cought out with the slick and the rain drops heavily I'm not really able to regain the pit.
TC Max, nothing lower than 5 gear but sooner or later I spin and from there it becomes a spin festival to regain the track -> game over

 

[SPL170db]

If I get cought out with the slick and the rain drops heavily I'm not really able to regain the pit.
TC Max, nothing lower than 5 gear but sooner or later I spin and from there it becomes a spin festival to regain the track -> game over

The characteristics of the car make it all the more tricky too because the hybrid only deploys to the front wheels, when it's not deploying you're in a RWD car.

 

[Moose78]

Given how often I'm picking up damage in lap 1 of my custom races, I decided to do a quick test in Free Practice to see if it would make sense to pit at the end of lap 1 to repair damage instead of staying out until lap 8 to switch to slicks. In short, no -- not for me, anyway.

With front aero damage I'm a about a couple seconds slower per lap than without. I ended up being ~20 seconds off my best 8-lap stint. Since a pit stop is over 30 seconds, there's no way I'm going to make up the difference if I stop for repairs.

Maybe with more damage I could justify it, but not with just light damage.

 

[Talon16]

Apologies if I missed it but I wasn't aware of the gift car distribution date(s). So long as you register for the TGR by round three (the one on 6/9) you'll get the GR010 on Tuesday, June 11th. Otherwise, Aug 26th.

Actually pretty stoked as I didn't think this car would be distributed until the season was over. Can't wait to get it... and sell it as I already have one. Costs 3mil new so should be worth maybe 1.5mil for selling it.

 

[Interemptor]

Apologies if I missed it but I wasn't aware of the gift car distribution date(s). So long as you register for the TGR by round three (the one on 6/9) you'll get the GR010 on Tuesday, June 11th. Otherwise, Aug 26th.

Actually pretty stoked as I didn't think this car would be distributed until the season was over. Can't wait to get it... and sell it as I already have one. Costs 3mil new so should be worth maybe 1.5mil for selling it.

View attachment 1362808

We get a free car? Nice didn't know that yet (or probably forgot). Was about to buy it for sunday. So I will rent for sunday and save 3million 😅

 

[Interemptor]

Saw a post on Twitter from the official GT chanel and they only spoke of a livery. So do we only get a livery for the Toyota? 🤔