Gran Turismo World Series (Manufacturers Cup 2025 Exhibition 3 season: 12 Nov - 29 Nov)

[Wilsonson]

You would've been competitive in my 190 point race with that pace, well done.

Thank you. I feel like it is clicking at quite a few combos more and more often. But sometimes I still feel out of my depth. And let's not get started on race craft. Still a lot left to learn.

 

[Moose78]

Well, I've had a chance now to drive a few full 28-lap sessions in Free Practice. The weather is definitely scripted. It was identical in every session I did.

The rain is heavy for the first 17 laps of the race, keeping the moisture gauge pretty much pinned at or above the second tick. From there, the rain lightens up and the gauge slowly drops slightly below the second tick. On the radar, the rain moves completely clear of the track on lap 20. The moisture gauge steadily falls from there, but at the end of lap 28 it remains above the first tick. It isn't until lap 30, or so, that a dry line becomes visible on the track.

I feel like this is different from the race we had in January. I thought for that race even in Free Practice the dry line started to appear before lap 20. I'll have to go back to the forum chats to check, though. I could very well be misremembering that.

Anyways, if Saturday's race follows what is in Free Practice, it's feeling like 17W-11IM would be the way to go. Of course, I have no idea how well the IMs will last, or if having all those other cars on track will cause it to dry faster.

Luckily, I'm in the last region to race, so I'll have the benefit of learning from streamers that run earlier, and adjust accordingly. Good times.

 

[Talon16]

Anyways, if Saturday's race follows what is in Free Practice, it's feeling like 17W-11IM would be the way to go. Of course, I have no idea how well the IMs will last, or if having all those other cars on track will cause it to dry faster.

Having 15 other cars will definitely have an effect on how quickly the track will dry. I might try to set up a full grid 1P practice session tomorrow if I have time.

According to GT-Engine the race ends on S09 so it would seem plausible it ends dry. Running the Wets a bit long and going RS may end up being an option.

 

[Fezzik]

Ugh. I hate scripted weather races. Definitely skipping this one.

 

[Moose78]

From Jan 23, 2023...

I took the Audi (because... why not?) for a 28-lap ride in Free Practice this morning. I went with IM tires, thinking they would be quicker once the track started drying out. The rain lasted until lap 18, with the moisture gauge in the blue band pretty much the entire time. I was running 1:43s until it stared drying out, which only really started to become noticeable around lap 21. It dried gradually from there, but stayed above the first tick on the moisture gauge to the very end. There was never a visible drying racing line.

So it looks like Free Practice then was similar to this round in that it never completely dried out. It looks like this round is a repeat of that race.

If that's the case, the track is likely to dry out faster in the race and switching to slicks at the end could be viable.

That's what I did last time around (20W-8RS). My undoing was following the driving line assist too closely after switching to slicks. It turns out the drying line is wider at T9 than the assist would indicate, so I got my tires on the wet stuff and went for a spin.

I never noticed that in the custom races I did for practice because the track dried out so much quicker in those than it did in the actual race.

It seems like if I want to get practice with a drying line that resembles what we'll get in the race, I need to do it in an extra long Free Practice session, switching to RSs sometime around lap 30.

 

[Hiponiak]

Well, I've had a chance now to drive a few full 28-lap sessions in Free Practice. The weather is definitely scripted. It was identical in every session I did.

The rain is heavy for the first 17 laps of the race, keeping the moisture gauge pretty much pinned at or above the second tick. From there, the rain lightens up and the gauge slowly drops slightly below the second tick. On the radar, the rain moves completely clear of the track on lap 20. The moisture gauge steadily falls from there, but at the end of lap 28 it remains above the first tick. It isn't until lap 30, or so, that a dry line becomes visible on the track.

I feel like this is different from the race we had in January. I thought for that race even in Free Practice the dry line started to appear before lap 20. I'll have to go back to the forum chats to check, though. I could very well be misremembering that.

Anyways, if Saturday's race follows what is in Free Practice, it's feeling like 17W-11IM would be the way to go. Of course, I have no idea how well the IMs will last, or if having all those other cars on track will cause it to dry faster.

Luckily, I'm in the last region to race, so I'll have the benefit of learning from streamers that run earlier, and adjust accordingly. Good times.

Thanks, might be helpful. So you changed Wet's on 17th lap because of tire wear or because track moisture dropped to first tick?

 

[Moose78]

Thanks, might be helpful. So you changed Wet's on 17th lap because of tire wear or because track moisture dropped to first tick?

In Free Practice, it starts dropping below the second tick on lap 17. That seems to be the earliest point that IMs will be faster than Ws.

While the track is that wet, there is practically no tire wear. It is only once the track starts drying out that the W and IM tires start wearing. But in Free Practice, there is never any tire wear, so there's no good way to test how long the treads will last.

FWIW, the level only dropped to the first tick for me around lap 30.

 

[Pakiti]

I can't drive at all on the Red Bull track in the rain. The car skids when braking, and I know I probably shouldn't floor it, but it's hard to get the joystick to 90%. Increasing the ABS to a stronger setting helped a little. What brake balance and TCS settings do you use? I also tried "rim shooting" on the outside of corners, which helped somewhat, but I still can't find the right pace. What's your average lap time in heavy rain?

 

[Moose78]

I found Digit's stream of the January race. Here's a bookmark to lap 17 of one of his races. That's where the track starts drying out and strategy options start appearing:

 

[Talon16]

I can't drive at all on the Red Bull track in the rain. The car skids when braking, and I know I probably shouldn't floor it, but it's hard to get the joystick to 90%. Increasing the ABS to a stronger setting helped a little. What brake balance and TCS settings do you use? I also tried "rim shooting" on the outside of corners, which helped somewhat, but I still can't find the right pace. What's your average lap time in heavy rain?
View attachment 1493474

Try not to brake too hard in the wet. Think of braking into a turn as the opposite of accelerating out of the turn; it's all about finesse both sides of the apex.

TC: 1
BB: Car dependent. I would say if your car is getting loose under braking then start pushing the BB towards the front.

39.6 in the Citroen in the full Wet territory.

 

[Talon16]

In Free Practice, it starts dropping below the second tick on lap 17. That seems to be the earliest point that IMs will be faster than Ws.

While the track is that wet, there is practically no tire wear. It is only once the track starts drying out that the W and IM tires start wearing. But in Free Practice, there is never any tire wear, so there's no good way to test how long the treads will last.

FWIW, the level only dropped to the first tick for me around lap 30.

I remember going IMs in my race for a couple of reasons.

Advantages:

1) If you take slicks, the computer drives SO SLOW on pit exit (which is still wet of course). It's brutal.
2) Of course IMs have better pace until the track really dries out and get off the dying Wets sooner.
3) Yea, the RS runners will have much better pace in the last X amount of laps, but if they want to pass you can hold the dry line and they'll have to go onto the wet line with is insta-death for them.
4) High probability some will spin off and crash while on slicks for some free spots.

Disadvantages:

1) The RS tire is seconds (?) faster per lap once the track dries out. You will be a sitting duck. Contrary to #3 above, I got out of someone's way because I was worried about getting hit he was so much faster. If the slick runners are braking 50m+ later they may punt you pseudo-by accident.
2) IMs start dying really quickly once the track dries out.
3) Contrary to #3 above again, I was having to drive off-line to keep the IMs from going full red before race end (this was in the Ferrari keep in mind which is horrid on tires).

I remember doing this race twice, once in the EMEA (A+) and once in the US (A+) and I think I went IMs both times (definitely did on the US race).

All that being said I don't recall what position I came out of the pits vs finishing so I am not sure if it was positions gained or lost getting the IMs, although I am 95% sure it was gained. I qualified Q8 and finished P5 (I don't recall which place I started in EMEA but finished P2) but I specifically recall some RS runners fighting late and spinning out. I hate to rely on other's mistakes but that is definitely part of the thought process on crazy races like this. Could be one of those if you think you'll come out in traffic do the IMs; if you think you'll come out on a clear track, wait some more laps and do the RS.

YMMV.

 

[Moose78]

I can't drive at all on the Red Bull track in the rain. The car skids when braking, and I know I probably shouldn't floor it, but it's hard to get the joystick to 90%. Increasing the ABS to a stronger setting helped a little. What brake balance and TCS settings do you use? I also tried "rim shooting" on the outside of corners, which helped somewhat, but I still can't find the right pace. What's your average lap time in heavy rain?

There are some good tips in @Tidgney's guide from when this combo was a time trial:



A few things have changed since then -- BoP changes and a reduction in the amount of slipperiness on the racing line when it is wet -- so you might not be able to replicate the same lap times, but I'd say the general approach to doing a lap is still valid.

 

[Wilsonson]

Full edit: seems like qualifying will be full wet as well. Could anyone confirm please?

 

[Moose78]

Just to be clear: qualifying will be dry right?

In January it was wet. I'd expect it to be the same this time. Of course, we won't know for sure until the first slots in the Asia-Oceania happen.