Looking back, I give this GTWS Manu a grade of a C-.
Race 1: A
Having N24 on the schedule is always welcome for me, so I was happy about that. I do prefer some sort of rain/wet weather but we’ve had wet Nord a few times in the recent past so I’ll give them a pass for a dry race.
That being said, there was a little bit of strat involved (more so in GT2/3 than GT1 due to the odd number of laps) with the required pit and enough tire wear that you could, but didn’t have to, change tires.
Race 2: F
Interlagos… again… RH x1, fuel x1, 13 laps. Nothing else needs to be said. Sprint race, glorified Daily C.
Race 3: A-
Deep Forest is a good enough track. Lends itself to the handling cars and straight line cars. The fact that two different tire compounds were available and required opened the door to some good strategy racing.
Race 4: A+
This is the only one I didn’t participate in as I just didn’t have time to prepare and/or actually do the race. Suzuka is not my favorite track and is also way overused, but these are the races that a GTWS Official Season should be. 75+ minutes long with weather that required everyone to decide when to pit for IMs: either lap X to be safe but slower or lap X+1 to push for a faster time but maybe spin in the process. The changing of not only weather but the day-to-evening transition really showcases what this game can do… and PD take so little advantage it’s a bit mind boggling.
Race 5: A
Great combo at my second favorite track in the game. Not a huge fan of mandatory pits; I’d rather it be more fluid such that the tire/fuel would require a pit rather than the regulations forcing them. However, here it was both. If you could make it on tires, you’d not make it on fuel anyway. So with everyone pitting for fuel, some were able to save, some had more fuel efficient cars, and some were able to get fuel only with no tires. In my AO race, for example, I was able to jump the Ford GT ahead because he needed way more fuel.
Race 6: F-
Fuji… again… RH x1, fuel x1, 12 laps. Nothing else needs to be said. Sprint race, glorified Daily C. I feel like I am having déjà vu. Oh, and no weather at a track that’s capable of it, hence the "F-" and not just an "F."
Seems like a tale of two halves where half of the races were great and the other half were pants. But, overall this season should’ve been much longer with many more variables (weather, laps, tracks (so many of these tracks are much overused… except N24!)). I’d much prefer to see eight races minimum, 10 would be better. And give more timeslots to GT1 drivers while you're at it. Having an 11:00PM race time on a Wednesday as one of only three available slots is bull.
Not upset with picking Porsche as it was a solid car everywhere, even the tracks I thought it'd struggle (Daytona RC and Deep Forest) it was pretty good. I literally waited until I was about to start the Nord race before deciding, but am happy with the decision. Also not upset with no Gr4 races in GT1.
779 points for me this season with so many coulda-woulda-shoudas but I am sure we all have those. 5.4mil in the bank. Hope y'all had fun and we'll see you in the next one!