Gran Turismo World Series

[Zorz]

After TWO AND A HALF YEARS, I get to see this screen again for the first time. Also my first ever win in VR. 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

I am shaking like a leaf right now. I honestly don't know what to do with myself. That was 41 minutes of pushing like a maniac.

I swiped pole by all of 14 thousandths with a 1:48.311. The start of lap 1 went very well for me as I managed to stay in front going into Les Combes. Some fighting behind also helped me get a little bit of distance and try to calm my nerves.

The Italian who'd started P2 came roaring up on me on lap 2 - he'd started on Softs. I figured seeing him come out of nowhere on the extended radar that I shouldn't fight him. That was the right move, but when his Softs started to die it caused some friction which brought P3 and P4 (another Italian and a Brit) right back into play.

On lap 7, I ended up trying to take Blanchimont 2-wide with the Italian, and since I was on the inside I had to lift a little. That allowed P3 and P4 to swoop around me and get ahead on the approach to the Bus Stop since they were right behind us.

The Italian on Softs went deeper than he wanted on the Bus Stop and then got spun out by the second Italian trying to enter the pit lane, so he was pretty much out of the race at this point.

On lap 8, the second Italian had a wobble coming out of Stavelot. I tried to avoid him and dive up the inside, but he kept a pretty tight line. At such close range I couldn't get entirely around him and ended up giving him a bit of a shove. If you're reading this, I apologise.

He got me back on lap 11 at the Fagnes chicane with an impressive move around the outside of the right-hander after I went defensive. Big respect for that one, I certainly wouldn't have had the nerve to try that.

From here, I found we were all on slightly different strategies after starting on Mediums. The Brit pit at the end of lap 11 for fuel to go to the end and Hards. The Italian pit at the end of lap 12 for a dash of fuel and Hards. I'd been doing some slight fuel saving and took my pit stop at the end of lap 13, where I put enough fuel in to go to the end and also put on Hards.

I emerged in P5 a couple of seconds ahead of the other Brit and did 2 laps on the Hards, pitting about 1.5s ahead of the other Brit when I came in for my final stint on Softs.

Going by the replay, the Italian had undercut both of us and managed to get a few seconds ahead, but it looks like he had some kind of controller failure on lap 19 and I passed him at Stavelot as he'd gone into the wall.

From there I was hanging on by the skin of my teeth pushing to try keep the Brit away from my slipstream. Ended up finishing all of 1.010s ahead of him on the line to claim 261 points.

I needed this. I really, really needed this. It's been demoralising going about 120 races without winning one, and slot 1 of this was a DISASTER for me. I'd started P3 and ended P11 after falling back due to a big brawl at the start, then spinning it not once but twice from pushing too hard.

Would it be too much to pray for another result like this at Trial Mountain? I know the X2019 is Marmite as people seem to either love it or hate it, but it's nice having something I actually feel competitive in.

​

 

[ZEE]

Well this was an epic race from start to finish with alot argy bargy on Lap 1, and a dodgy bumping arab driver which i will explain, but I knew I cud excel at this race and I believe I did, enjoy reading!

GT2 League - EMEA Region - 8pm Slot - B rank Lobby - RED BULL X2019 - Door no.10 - Qualified 7th - Started on RS tyres - Good Strategy thx to Moose!

Well my practice was good logged on at around 7:20pm to get some hot laps in and get my timigs was right, managed a decent 1:50.4 on my runs and was happy with that put me in the under 4k category lol.

The Qualifier was a total ball-ache as the AI decied to let me out late, whcih didnt help as I was packing up the traffic exiting th pits.
My first laps ended in a mess with me hitting small plastic stick thingy on TURN 14, and catapulting the redbull into the gravel, this has happend to me before in a race and I think it is pyshics glitch of the game. SO funny, but I managed to recover and do a good last lap finish after the time expired to get at least 7th place, so higher up to be with in a decent chance of podium.

Onto the RACE!

The race started ok but as everyone rushed into turn 1, all hell breaks loose as a domino of cars just start crashing, bumping coming out and I am sandwiched between two cars and almost go to barrier town, but I recover and begin the chase to the car in P9, 10th and racing and chasing, a few more tipsy turns and was gaining on the competion, but I was very careful on lap 1 to assess how quick the rivals were.

Gradually I dialled up the pace as the tyres started to warm up, the RS tyres were struggling as I worked my way back up to 7th place
by lap 3 and gained on the leading pack. Eventually I worked my way up to 4th palce and was chasing off an russina driver as we battled.

THen was got further up, was chasing an italian driver in 1st place and it was neck and neck on each corner, sum good battling before I had to pit as I gained pole on the last chicane, but had to pit as my RS tyres could not last any more on lap 8. Top up fuel as well, I was using Moose's strategy and im glad to say it paid off!

Onto the RM tyres and I had to gain ground, as I exited and was 9th again, neeeded to push to gain soem spaces, but piece by piece other drivers with poor stratetiges pitted an dlost so much time that I passed them. As the laps builded up I gained a significant advantage onthe RM tyres and was 3rd place chasing a dodgy Arab driver who kept nudging me earleir int he race to bump pass me and gaint he lead, it really peeves me off when childish drivers do this and think its ok!!??

As I pitted then exited, I began chasing and battling a spaniard named the mexican batman (lol) and he and I battled for 2nd place, as I held him off till lap 20, where I then pitted again to switch to RH tyres. Coming out, I chased the leaders and noticed that the Italian guy from earlier had not pitted but was not sure, so kept pushign best I could.

I kept pushing as another crashed out spinning on his tyres and I moved forward fast and held my 2nd position, as I finished crossing the start line and I had noticed, the italian guy did not pit, (hell yeah) and got a 2mins penatly and I gained 2nd place. The Arab guy won the race but I was chuffed regardless, it was a good fun race and I happy with my points and result on podium!

BRING ON Round 3, hopefully Autopolis will be a fun battle also! Good luck to all racers!

Spoiler: Cool racing photos - Round 2

 

[BluRacer7]

Another Stellar Recovery Drive​

Qualified an alright 9th with a 47.9 but could've gone quicker since I've done this track/car combo many times now and had enjoyed a lot of racing here at Spa.

Before I get into the race I wanna point out, WHY IS THE ROLLING START NOT BASED OF HOW THE 2023/24 EXHIBITION HANDLED IT?! SO UNFAIR TO DRIVERS STARTING BELOW 10TH!
Now onto the race, on Lap 1 it was close I stayed with the leaders and then til Sector 2 I manage to make up 2 positions after some drivers ahead started on the Hards while I was on Mediums then by the end of Lap 1 some pitted to get off the Hard so I went up to 5th but at the start of Lap 2 I was battling 2 other cars after I hit the bollards trying to build a rhythm and dropped to 7th which costed me time to the leaders in front but thankfully by Lap 6 the car ahead that just overtook me on the Kemmel Straight lost control and just manage to avoid him.

Then the pitstops came, some went for Soft to Hard and other went Hard to Soft, I went with the latter so I successfully pulled 13 Laps on the Mediums on a full tank despite not having any slipstream and when I put on the Softs I was on a mission overtaking few cars that are struggling and by the time I made my way up to 7th it was now getting my Softs to the end and after the final round of stops I'm in 5th and just hang on to now 4th after one of the cars ahead spun out.

In the end I came home in 4th and bagged 312pts. Pulled off the 13M-1H-8S strategy, if I hadn't got held up battling other cars and not picked up a few track limit penalties a Top 3 would be on the cards but I'm happy that I manage to reach my 300+ point objective in 1 shot so I'm keeping them. Happy that I made another recovery drive just like in Manufacturers Rd4 in the McLaren few weeks ago but I still need to get my act together in Qualifying.

Next up Autopolis and I hope we get some rain since 30 Laps on just Softs would be so boring on a track that's hard to overtake let alone managing tyres.

 

[OJBrit]

@OJBrit

Some carriage returns or paragraphs wouldn’t hurt mate.

 

[Cerebral303]

I was really up for this season, went in to the last race and after one lap quali just "nope" at the handling and quit so this is my first race. I have to do all 5 now!

I qualified 8th and started on hard tyres as I anticipated things would be chaotic the first few laps, the plan is to keep place and wait for things to calm down.

First corner the car in front almost completely stopped before the first corner, I slowed and avoided them but got punted from behind which pushed me into the first car. I got a clean exit but the car in front overaccelerated and spun out as I passed them, and I was handed a 5 second penalty for colliding with another car! OK, so that wasn't going to plan at all. Later that lap I lost several places serving the penalty but that just put me back in 8th again. OK, still good, it's a long race, just keep calm and consistent.

Changed tyres lap 12 (bit later than planned, but I was in space and set two personal lap records on lap 10 and 11 so don't think it harmed me). I got to 6th and stayed there.

Mediums up to lap 16, and then soft to the end. I had bags of extra grip so I could keep the hammer down all the way through the fast corners when others were grabbing curbs and spinning off, which gave me another place even after one or two slips myself.

I crossed the line 5th but due to tyre penalties grabbed 4th from the player who punted me in the first corner! Beautiful end and since 3rd was a third of a lap ahead I would have finished there regardless of the penalty.

A satisfying and long race and a nice start to the season!

 

[afc5150]

Ran round 2 at Spa twice today. Loved the track and car combo, perfect length race and lots of strategy!

Slot 1 - GT2 - 147 point lobby - 5 A/S drivers, top split? - door #9

Q9 to P9 in this one. Went 2H - 13M - 7S and that proved costly as the tire wear was a little too much for me to deal with in the closing laps. Was as high as 7th with a few to go, but faded towards the end. Throw in a couple of unforced errors and that was that. 98 points in the end and small DR down.

I usually don't go more than once, but hey it's my day off and I felt like there was more on the table.

Slot 6 - GT2 - 146 point lobby - 2 A/S drivers, door 12

Q12 to P7 this time and glad I went again. Went 3H - 13M - 6S this time. No mistakes from me this time until the very end, and better tire management saw me move up throughout, whether by pace or a little attrition. I even lead at one point during all the pit cycles which felt nice. Settled into 6th with just 2 to go.

Still had a hard time on the soft tire on lap 6 and just couldn't get stopped at La Source on the FINAL LAP and was passed dropping me to 7th. Not really unhappy about it though, I raced well, I thought. 108 points in the end and a slight DR up.

 

[tankuroded]

Nations standings and cutline as of round 2:

 

[tmtk]

Well, that was disappointing round for me (kind of expected it, but ofcourse hoped for better).

There was festival of crashes, punts and side slaps plus ofcourse my own mistakes (and one controller fail).
Some people get in those high-downforce cars and suddenly feel very brave (in the stupid way) making overly optimistic inside moves and causing trouble around.
I tried few times, but basically the outcome was similar in all cases.

The strategy that worked for me best was 13M-2H-7S (and one refuel on first stop), which needed some fuel saving for the 13th lap. As I drive AT, that means flicking some fuel maps. Due to this I was a little slower on medium stint and couldn't get away from people (or they were catching me).
With my quite poor pace I could only count on others' misfortunes and mistakes. When it doesn't happen there's not much I can do.
Finally it was just Q10/P10 case, lot of fighting along the way (mainly with my own disadvantages with this combo).

After the Lambo round which was great, those 59 points seem so small, but that just was my place in the order.

 

[VTEC Driver]

Just gonna be honest, I did 11 laps and have put it in the pits.

I don’t enjoy driving these cars and honestly I’m not very good at driving them.

I’ll take what ever the lowest points are for this one. The lobby pace was so quick compared to me that even just mercy hoovering a few fallers wasn’t even on the cards.

I don’t like to drive such car too.
Also the fact that we have to use it twice and the F-3500… has pushed me to stay out from this season.
I reached the level B and I don’t want to lose it because I am driving cars that I don’t like.
Honestly the manufacturer cup where you have to “sign” a contract with a brand make everything more engaging… as it would be a real thing.
So I am out till the next one.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

That was a mixed race last night, I never expected to have any pace in the X2019 and I didn't! 😀 14th on the grid but it's really close this season so even that was only 9 tenths off pole.

In the race I went for 2 laps on hards, 12 on mediums (I would've liked to run an extra lap but forgot to refuel on the first stop) and finished with 8 on the softs with a lot of short shifting to protect the rears, the car behind pushed from the start of that stint so immediately closed the 2 second gap to pass, once that happened I tucked into the slipstream and got towed around until the final lap.

Now this was the annoying bit, I managed to get a run on the final lap to overtake and beat P4 to the line by 0.003 seconds but the game decided it was illegal although I'm pretty sure I never fully crossed the white line

Still P5 is about 10 places higher than I expected, I'll take it!

 

[Moose78]

First GT1 slot in North America (9PM EDT). I was in door #6 with 161 points up for grabs.

Qualifying turned into a bit of a mess. My first lap was slow. In the second, I caught up to another driver and decided to back off to create some space for the final lap. Could only manage a 1:50.756, more than a second off what I'd managed in the Free Practice before the race. Landed me with Q10.

I settled on a 13RM-1RH-8RS strategy, with the hope of saving some fuel on the RMs and reducing my time fueling in the pits.

The race got off to a good start. I had the benefit of being the last driver to start on the main straight, which left a healthy gap to the cars behind.

Lap 1 was the usual chaos. I managed to survive, and came out of it in P8 behind a driver on RHs. Got by them on lap 2.

Things settled down for quite a while after that. The cars ahead of me were out of slip and on RS, so I had no chance of catching them. I drove out the laps in P7 unmolested until the RS runners went into the pits. I found myself in P4, 8-seconds behind the other RM cars. The whole time I was short-shifting at around 85% of the rev bar to bank some fuel.

I pitted for RHs at the end of lap 13. I'd saved enough fuel to go another lap so I skipped fueling and hopped back out on track in P5, still short-shifting.

Back into the pits on lap 14 for RSs. The fuel saving worked. I jumped a couple of the other RM runners with the shorter refueling time. Came back out in P8, which improved to P6 as drivers on other strategies pitted for their final stint.

It wasn't long until those drivers I'd jumped caught back up to me, though. They were clearly faster than me. Before I knew it, they were by me and I found myself back in P9, fighting with a stock-liveried car for P8. They had switched to the RS tires one lap before me, apparently planning to get 9 laps out them.

Unsurprisingly, they were struggling on their final lap, and I easily got by on the Kemmel straight.

From there, it was an easy drive to a P8 finish -- or so I thought. Coming out of Stavelot, I cut the corner a bit too much, hit the bollard, and went for a spin.

Two cars went by as I recovered. Down to P10. As luck would have if, though, the 9-lap RS driver, having completely burnt through their rears, went for a spin of their own at Blanchimont, leaving me to take home a P9 finish for 107 points and a small DR reduction.

That was a fun race. A good mix of strategy and racing. Maybe not the greatest result, but given how things have been going lately, a top-10 finish feels pretty good.

 

[Moose78]

Starting preparations for the next, I've taken all five cars for a 5-lap spin in Free Practice. As expected, I'm slow in all of them. My best lap was in the Lambo (1:46.9), with the Ferrari a close second (1:47.0).

While I didn't see any rain on the radar in any of my tests, I did notice that the clouds in the sky changed from lap-to-lap, so I'm not going to rule out the possibility.

I also did a 10-lap custom race in the Lambo just to get an idea of how long the tires will last. At the of it, the front left was showing the worst wear with 30% tread left. Assuming there's no rain, it looks like the strategy options are between a 1-stop (if one of the cars is great on tires) or 2-stop. It didn't look like fuel was going to be an issue.

I'm planning to do some longer tests with each of the cars under race conditions to see how long the tires last and how the tire wear affects performance. I'll post results here once I have them.

 

[Kipczirczir07]

First slot GT1 in EU didn't go well. Qualified 5th ended up 11 after disappointed race. People were fighting like crazy, pushing me off the track multiple times.

Second slot for 171 point.
Qualified 4th.
My strategy was 1H-14M-7S with fuel saving

First lap was quite chaotic. Many spinners in 2. sector

I pitted after 1 lap for mediums. 1 lap later I catch up a guy exiting pit and kudos for him for working with me next 12 laps. It didn't happen much during these laps. We managed to overtake some slow cars.

He didn't save fuel and pitted lap earlier than me. I pitted at the end of lap 15 and put soft on. To be honest I hadn't any idea in what position I was. Overview of the race is quite bad in Gran Turismo. Anyway I was pushing hard and 3 laps to go I was 4. Two was only few seconds ahead but pitted after lap 20 and I ended up second with 2 laps left. And the leader entered the pit on the last lap for fresh Hards. I managed to be 1 second ahed she he exited pit. He wasn't be able to catch me up and I ended up taking the checked flag for 171 points

It was my first win in a long time and first in Gtws.

I will point out shortcomings that those races expose.
First, it should be an icon showing which compounds are people using. I don't know why it is a mystery. People are fighting like crazy with others on softer compounds becouse they don't have any idea who is using which tires.
Second, alongside tires indicator by drivers name should really be a number showing how many pits players have taken. It was basically a blind race. I hadn't any Idea which place I had until last lap

 

[Wilsonson]

… I will point out shortcomings that those races expose.
First, it should be an icon showing which compounds are people using. I don't know why it is a mystery. People are fighting like crazy with others on softer compounds becouse they don't have any idea who is using which tires.
Second, alongside tires indicator by drivers name should really be a number showing how many pits players have taken. It was basically a blind race. I hadn't any Idea which place I had until last lap

100% yes yes yes.

 

[newmedia_dev]

I will point out shortcomings that those races expose.
First, it should be an icon showing which compounds are people using. I don't know why it is a mystery. People are fighting like crazy with others on softer compounds becouse they don't have any idea who is using which tires.

Fair point, I think the reality is that most races are so short that it doesn’t ultimately matter, and if it’s to the point it really matters you probably have a good idea anyway.

I 100% agree and I’m a VR player so get way less info than those who use other views.

Second, alongside tires indicator by drivers name should really be a number showing how many pits players have taken. It was basically a blind race. I hadn't any Idea which place I had until last lap

To this point I have a genuine question, what would you have changed in your driving knowing this information?

I can only speak to me and I just try to go as fast and consistent as I can, if I’m getting caught I won’t fight it, if I’m catching someone I assume crash or different strat.

The main focus isn’t the racing, it’s the total race time. People seem to forget this, the best race is that you go the fastest and end the race before anyone else.

 

[Kipczirczir07]

To this point I have a genuine question, what would you have changed in your driving knowing this information?

I would push even more knowing that I am virtually in the lead. Until lap 20 two drivers was 10s ahead and I hadn't any idea if they have already pitted. I would help knowing that. Other than that just imagine I catched them up and they without knowing that I compleated all pitstops, would for sure fighting like crazy ruining their and me race.

Informations about tires and nr of done pitstops shouldn't be hidden. It would be beneficial even I dailies. As for today you can only guess which tires others are using

 

[newmedia_dev]

I would push even more knowing that I am virtually in the lead. Until lap 20 two drivers was 10s ahead and I hadn't any idea if they have already pitted. I would help knowing that. Other than that just imagine I catched them up and they without knowing that I compleated all pitstops, would for sure fighting like crazy ruining their and me race.

Informations about tires and nr of done pitstops shouldn't be hidden. It would be beneficial even I dailies. As for today you can only guess which tires others are using

I understand that, but realistically you can’t “push more” if you are already pushing.

Let’s say you knew what everyone’s tires were, what would you have done differently?

This is the point, if you are catching it doesn’t matter if they are on worse tires if you can’t pass them.

It’s info we think we need but it’s not actually that useful

 

[Kipczirczir07]

I understand that, but realistically you can’t “push more” if you are already pushing.

Let’s say you knew what everyone’s tires were, what would you have done differently?

This is the point, if you are catching it doesn’t matter if they are on worse tires if you can’t pass them.

It’s info we think we need but it’s not actually that useful

My point is that if I knew they hadn't pitted yet, I would know my position. But as it was I cruised blindly without knowing my place.

I understand that you as VR user will defend restricted raceinfo as it is the "normal" in VR (which is a really shame).
But the more information we have the better.
In daily C we often feature two different compounds required. I don't se why we shouldn't know opponents tires and done pitstops. What are reasons for restricting these informations?

 

[newmedia_dev]

My point is that if I knew they hadn't pitted yet, I would know my position. But as it was I cruised blindly without knowing my place.

I understand that you as VR user will defend restricted raceinfo as it is the "normal" in VR (which is a really shame).
But the more information we have the better.
In daily C we often feature two different compounds required. I don't se why we shouldn't know opponents tires and done pitstops. What are reasons for restricting these informations?

Dude, you will finish where you finish whether they pitted or didn’t, you still have to do the laps.

The only time it matters in knowing what your place is, is when you finish the race.

The rest is just over FOMO

Here is the thing, let’s say you knew all of the strategies of everyone.

Firstly you have to be consistent in your own race.

If people are catching you then probably on a different strat? And if they are on the same strat, do you let them through or slow you both down?

The point is and will always be unless there is a clear under/overcut strategy then you have to treat it like an endurance race where it all shakes out crossing the line.

It makes zero difference if you know your virtual and actual position on lap 18 or the last lap does it?

You should if you don’t already watch some endurance and mixed class racing to understand what I’m saying. These GT races are just condensed versions of them.

 

[BluRacer7]

Ok so there's no rain for Autopolis, so it's a straight up 1 stop race but even with x2 Tyre Wear the front left shreds quick so curious if a 2 stop might be possible as lap times drop lap by lap.

The 5 MR cars to choose from is tricky as it's between either the Lamborghini or Ferrari that are looking to be the favourites to choose from.

 

[tankuroded]

In live event news, ticket sales for GTWS Round 1 live event in London is now open:

 

[Zorz]

Ticket already bought. If anyone's going, might bump into you there!

A bit sad they're not doing the event t-shirts this time around though. I'd been hoping to add another to the two I got at Amsterdam 2023.

 

[Wilsonson]

Ok so there's no rain for Autopolis, so it's a straight up 1 stop race but even with x2 Tyre Wear the front left shreds quick so curious if a 2 stop might be possible as lap times drop lap by lap.

The 5 MR cars to choose from is tricky as it's between either the Lamborghini or Ferrari that are looking to be the favourites to choose from.

Why are you certain that there won't be rain? Are the race settings always equal to the free practice ones?

 

[Norbsthebald]

In live event news, ticket sales for GTWS Round 1 live event in London is now open:

Aw man, as a fan of both GT and the history of television I'd have loved to go to this. There's even a special offer on the train meaning it'd have cost me less than £30 to get there and back.
I've never been to the concrete doughnut and would have loved to have seen it up close. Unfortunately i have to go to a wedding that day.
Still, for those that do go, I hope that the event lives up to the name the location was given in the 1980s by the BBC's Will Wyatt: "The Fun Factory". Enjoy!

 

[Moose78]

I've done a 12-lap test in each of the five cars using the fuel and tire multipliers in a custom race (afternoon - S08 - equal conditions mode on).

Interestingly, only the Ferrari and Lamborghini were able to make it to end without the front left tire burning out completely -- the Renault only made it 9 -- and there was no way they were going to last another 3. It looks like a 1-stopper is out reach for me.

I was fastest in the Ferrari, with the Lamborghini not far behind. Details in the spoiler below.

Spoiler: Tables and charts

Disclaimer: My test results reflect the idiosyncrasies of my driving style. Unless you drive like a moose, you will likely get different results. I encourage everybody to run their own tests.

Manufacturer	Model	Laps	Opt time	Best time	Avg time	Total time
Audi	R8 LMS Evo '19	10	1:45.643	1:47.934	1:49.883	18:18.834
Ferrari	458 Italia GT3 '13	12	1:46.166	1:48.313	1:49.187	21:50.249
Honda	NSX Gr.3	11	1:46.942	1:48.433	1:49.970	20:09.665
Lamborghini	Huracán GT3 '15	12	1:46.127	1:46.895	1:49.645	21:55.739
Renault	R.S.01 GT3 '16	9	1:45.979	1:47.055	1:49.542	16:25.882

Tire tread levels at the end of the final lap:

Manufacturer	Model	Laps	Front left	Front right	Rear left	Rear right
Audi	R8 LMS Evo '19	10	5%	55%	55%	60%
Ferrari	458 Italia GT3 '13	12	15%	55%	45%	50%
Honda	NSX Gr.3	11	10%	45%	50%	55%
Lamborghini	Huracán GT3 '15	12	5%	45%	45%	50%
Renault	R.S.01 GT3 '16	9	1%	55%	65%	70%

For an apples-to-apples comparison, here are the 10-lap numbers for the cars that made it that far (i.e. excluding the Renault):

Manufacturer	Model	Laps	Opt time	Best time	Avg time	Total time
Audi	R8 LMS Evo '19	10	1:45.643	1:47.934	1:49.883	18:18.834
Ferrari	458 Italia GT3 '13	10	1:46.166	1:48.313	1:48.969	18:09.694
Honda	NSX Gr.3	10	1:46.942	1:48.433	1:49.721	18:17.208
Lamborghini	Huracán GT3 '15	10	1:46.127	1:48.490	1:49.298	18:12.978

One observation that might be worth noting here is that despite enabling the Equal Conditions Mode in the race settings, the conditions did seem to vary from race-to-race. For example, the Lamborghini test was dark under a cloud for the entire time, while the Renault test was bright and sunny. I don't know if that impacted tire wear. I suppose I could figure that out by running multiple tests in each car. All of these results were from a single run in each.

Why are you certain that there won't be rain? Are the race settings always equal to the free practice ones?

Usually -- but not always -- the races follow the weather in Free Practice. I don't know if there's any rain in Free Practice though. I've only driven 5 laps there in my longest run. Has anybody driven out a full 30 laps in Free Practice to test this?

 

[Zorz]

I've done a 12-lap test in each of the five cars using the fuel and tire multipliers in a custom race (afternoon - S08 - equal conditions mode on).

Interestingly, only the Ferrari and Lamborghini were able to make it to end without the front left tire burning out completely -- the Renault only made it 9 -- and there was no way they were going to last another 3. It looks like a 1-stopper is out reach for me.

I was fastest in the Ferrari, with the Lamborghini not far behind. Details in the spoiler below.

Spoiler: Tables and charts

Manufacturer	Model	Laps	Opt time	Best time	Avg time	Total time
Audi	R8 LMS Evo '19	10	1:45.643	1:47.934	1:49.883	18:18.834
Ferrari	458 Italia GT3 '13	12	1:46.166	1:48.313	1:49.187	21:50.249
Honda	NSX Gr.3	11	1:46.942	1:48.433	1:49.970	20:09.665
Lamborghini	Huracán GT3 '15	12	1:46.127	1:46.895	1:49.645	21:55.739
Renault	R.S.01 GT3 '16	9	1:45.979	1:47.055	1:49.542	16:25.882

View attachment 1447267

Tire tread levels at the end of the final lap:

Manufacturer	Model	Laps	Front left	Front right	Rear left	Rear right
Audi	R8 LMS Evo '19	10	5%	55%	55%	60%
Ferrari	458 Italia GT3 '13	12	15%	55%	45%	50%
Honda	NSX Gr.3	11	10%	45%	50%	55%
Lamborghini	Huracán GT3 '15	12	5%	45%	45%	50%
Renault	R.S.01 GT3 '16	9	1%	55%	65%	70%

For an apples-to-apples comparison, here are the 10-lap numbers for the cars that made it that far (i.e. excluding the Renault):

Manufacturer	Model	Laps	Opt time	Best time	Avg time	Total time
Audi	R8 LMS Evo '19	10	1:45.643	1:47.934	1:49.883	18:18.834
Ferrari	458 Italia GT3 '13	10	1:46.166	1:48.313	1:48.969	18:09.694
Honda	NSX Gr.3	10	1:46.942	1:48.433	1:49.721	18:17.208
Lamborghini	Huracán GT3 '15	10	1:46.127	1:48.490	1:49.298	18:12.978

One observation that might be worth noting here is that despite enabling the Equal Conditions Mode in the race settings, the conditions did seem to vary from race-to-race. For example, the Lamborghini test was dark under a cloud for the entire time, while the Renault test was bright and sunny. I don't know if that impacted tire wear. I suppose I could figure that out by running multiple tests in each car. All of these results were from a single run in each.

Usually -- but not always -- the races follow the weather in Free Practice. I don't know if there's any rain in Free Practice though. I've only driven 5 laps there in my longest run. Has anybody driven out a full 30 laps in Free Practice to test this?

That's shaken up my plans a bit. I felt like I'd been getting on best with the Audi in free practice but looks like it's going to lose out once the tyres start going from your testing.

What brake balance were you running out of curiosity? I still need to do some race conditions testing myself, but kind of wondering if this might be another one of those races where the tyre wear is pushed so close to the limit that using a wheel rather than a pad could make the difference.

 

[Moose78]

What brake balance were you running out of curiosity? I still need to do some race conditions testing myself, but kind of wondering if this might be another one of those races where the tyre wear is pushed so close to the limit that using a wheel rather than a pad could make the difference.

I was running BB 0 for all my tests.

BTW, everybody, all the usual disclaimers apply: My test results reflect the idiosyncrasies of my driving style. Unless you drive like a moose, you will likely get different results. I encourage everybody to run their own tests.

 

[Zorz]

I was running BB 0 for all my tests.

BTW, everybody, all the usual disclaimers apply: My test results reflect the idiosyncrasies of my driving style. Unless you drive like a moose, you will likely get different results. I encourage everybody to run their own tests.

Cheers. Been running +5 myself so shall have to see how long I can make them last later.

I just did 24 laps in free practice and didn't see any indication it was going to rain. If it will (since the lack of a mandatory pit stop count on a long 1-compound race is fishy), they're hiding it.

 

[Zorz]

I've just finished a full distance test in the Audi (afternoon, S08 and equal conditions). I hate to say it @Moose78, but I think you're overworking your front left. Your tyre wear is far in excess of what I had.

This is what my tyres looked like after 10 laps:

And then what they looked like when I pit at the halfway point:

I'm thinking this is an exercise in extended tyre saving where some people are going to be forced into a 2-stop, and at >54 minutes that sounds a bit tedious. Maybe it's meant to be 1-stop vs 2-stop since the times do fall off a lot towards the end of each stint, but haven't tested that.

 

[Wilsonson]

Please excuse my blunt questions but they might help put this tire topic into perspective.

What brake balance did you use?
Are you on a wheel or controller?
What driver rating do you have?
Do you consider yourself capable and skilled enough to deliberately save tires by adjusting your driving style and if yes did you do that or is that just your natural style?

I ask because I worry that I as an okay ish B driver on a pad won't be able to get 15 laps out of the tires.

I guess I will go and simulate at least one 15 lap stint and see how I fare.