Gran Turismo World Series (Manufacturers Cup 2025 Exhibition Season 2: 12 Mar - 22 Mar)

[Spider-Racer]

Had fun yesterday, as I always do around this track.
Ran slot 1 and was put into too strong of a second split for my skills. Had a "great" race for my limited standards, no big mistakes and a good qualy run.
Highlight of slot 1 was trying (and failing) to hold off @OutlawQuadrnt.
Finished P10, which felt more like a P2 to me 😄

Went in again for slot 2 and was put into either a much weaker 2nd split or a normal 3rd split (no clue). Qualified Q2 but couldn't hold off two clearly faster drivers and finished with a podium and 273 points. I nearly retook P2 on the run to the line, but came short by 0.003s 😳. Made for a nice photo finish!

Edit: here's the season summary. Stacked McLaren!! Where were these people when all we had was a GP2 engine, huh?? 🤣

 

[Talon16]

I was able to do one slot yesterday evening in on the US side, running the LM II. If you've paid attention to many of my posts since joining (which I wouldn't blame you if you didn't!) you'll know I love the LM II. It's never been the META but can compete on a lot of tracks, especially those with longer straights as it's a rocket. I full expect PD to Nerf it as it's just as fast as the Supra... on the straights anyway as its brakes aren't quite as good.

My quali lap was pretty bad as others were finishing their laps I kept looking over at their times and messing up apexes. Thus, I started P5.

Fell to P6 on T1 as a Porsche driver went around the outside, which was a really nice move. But I got a better run coming onto the last little straight before Nord and as he and I were side-by-side he let off giving the position back; very smart, bigger picture move. Back to P5 behind two Porsches, a GTR and a ...Lambo? P1 went off on the right after the first straight so now P4 right behind the Lambo.

I was curious to see how the Lambo would do when the tires started to wear but never really got the opportunity, as the Lambo went full Lambo and, as they say, you never want to be on someone else's poster.

Up to P3. Nissan was next, and on the following lap he got a bad run going into the first straight after entering the Nord and the Ford's top end made it a pretty straight forward pass just before the kink.

Last up was a Porsche, and even though he was able to eek away a little on the infield portions, the straight line speed of the Ford is just so good it didn't matter. I made up 1.5 seconds on him on the back straight alone. As I got closer he made some minor mistakes, then by the 'middle' straight I was on him. Again, the Ford just closed and went by like it was nothing; the Porsche never stood a chance.



I was really looking forward to continuing the battle with the Porsche, but on the first carousal he spun and that's all she wrote. The GTR was maybe three seconds back at that point but pit at the end of lap three whereas I stayed out. I pit at the end of lap four, took on a little bit of fuel, and came out 11 seconds up. A lap later crossed the line in P1.

The only issue I had was there was a part of the track where my brakes would stop working. Not sure why exactly, but it didn't make a difference in the end.

This has maybe been my favorite race PD has done. I love Nords, and I think the duration and strat was very good. I did four of these yesterday and was legit mentally tired afterwards. It was also fun watching the aliens do some streams and tear up this track hitting faster race pace times than I was able to do in the TT. My best TT time was a 7:52.1 which I think was top 200 so not too shabby I guess.

I miss the track already and wish there was more do to on it today. Please bring it back, PD, as a daily at least!!!

 

[Spider-Racer]

I just had to YouTuber style edit that finish...arrow thumbnail and the whole thing

 

[GTWolverine]

Ended up in a split with @Spider-Racer, who I never saw outside of the grid walk. I Had no pace the entire time at the Nurburgring. Best I could do in FP was a 7:58 when my peers were doing 7:55 or (much) lower. I was hoping to have good race pace though. As much as I enjoy driving the Nordschleife portion, I hate racing there - mostly because of how tedious qualifying is. Still, I needed a 2nd score in order to realize my goal of being the top Chevy driver in the Americas, so I raced.

I only did the first slot, and qualified 15th of 16. I went 1H/4M and initially undercut my way up to 12th, but quickly lost spots down to 14th because I had absolutely no answer for their pace. That became 13th on the final lap when a Lamborghini that was part of the group I initially undercut binned it. The Ferrari that was the only car that qualified behind me gradually ran me down during the final stint and gained 9s on me to finally be in my slipstream down Dottinger Hohe for the final time, but outbrake himself for the final couple of corners. I finished P13 of the 15 that completed the race, ahead of only the much faster Lamborghini that crashed, and a Ferrari that also seemed quicker than me as well, and a full 9s behind 12th place. It was worth only 174 points, but that was still enough to bring me to the top of the Chevy standings, and I had absolutely no desire to race this combo again to try to get over 200 points when it was clear that I sucked, so I took those 174 points and went home.

Now for the season results:

I did manage to make it to the top of the Chevy standings in the region for the first time ever, but that was largely because I was literally the ONLY A+ driver to even compete with them (and the only driver to even top 200 points with them in ANY round). I'd been the top Corvette driver in the US before, but never the entire region. Also, even my backmarker finish at the Nurburgring was somehow enough to make me the top-scoring Corvette driver for that round too - even if it was only by 1 point...

I'd say the only real highlight from this is that I actually scored the most manufacturer points for Chevy GLOBALLY at Daytona.

 

[Pfei]

Well I managed to ruin my short Hyundai test season by only racing in Interlagos. I missed Daytona (family emergency - nothing serious - 5' before the race) and Nürburgring (despite 30 years of sim racing I still suffer from Nordphobia).

I feel the Hyundai has untapped potential but I was unable to put it thoroughly to the test. I am now thinking of what to choose for the next season, which will probably be the real deal.

On one hand I want to lead the charge with a less-popular brand, but on the other hand I am still chasing my personal goal of A+. I have been high A since the launch of GT Sport and I know I have it in me, but to help me achieve it I should choose a "competitive" manufacturer, but I also don't want to be one of many in the same car in every race.

I am using the VW Scirocco Gr4 in a touring car league so I am really considering VW. Unfortunately my beloved WRX seems to be more handicapped than ever so Subaru I guess will be a no for me. Alfa Romeo has always interested me but I am a bit miffed at the MR festival the game has become since the update. Maybe I'll test the Citroëns a bit.

It's likely the next choice will be for the long haul so we must choose wisely.

 

[SnakeEyes427]

So I guess they just take all your points away if you leave a race just before it starts. 🤕

Price of going out to run and winning my class with my RC Viper in the real world.

That's life 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️

 

[Famine]

So I guess they just take all your points away if you leave a race just before it starts. 🤕

No. Points are not taken away.

You score 0 for any race you quit after matchmaking. If that race is also your last entry in a round, you will register 0 points for the round as you only score the points gained from your last entry.

 

[Fezzik]

As a wise man once said, everyone is a Ferrari fan - even the ones who claim not to be. I’d regret it if I didn’t race for them at least once.

That’s my pick for the proper season.

 

[Cabelmania]

As a wise man once said, everyone is a Ferrari fan - even the ones who claim not to be. I’d regret it if I didn’t race for them at least once.

That’s my pick for the proper season.

Wise decision Same thing for me

 

[RobertHammer]

If they wont nerf the Renault again then i will probably do a proper season with it , only sucks about Gr.4 Trophy , i found the other Megane better with FF

 

[Fezzik]

If they wont nerf the Renault again then i will probably do a proper season with it , only sucks about Gr.4 Trophy , i found the other Megane better with FF

The Trophy was why I had to discount Renault. Was doing some Gr4 testing using the Daily Race qualification at Suzuka, and the Slophy was just that - way off the pace. Same with the front-wheel-drive Megane. A pity as the RS01 is so good now but I didn't want to handicap myself for half the races.

Citroen was my other choice other than Ferrari. In the tests I was consistently fastest in both the Gr3 and Gr4 GTs, but the Gr3 version is still a bit too wild and tail-happy to use in long races.

 

[MetalApe]

Is there a way of making sense of your Rankings? I can see my Local and Domestic rankings, but they're only my position amongst fellow Toyota drivers, which seems rather unimportant compared to my overall ranking. It would also be nice to see out of how many competitors you got your result. I mean, 100th out of 101 is pretty bad, 100th out of 10,000 is rather good.

 

[Fezzik]

As a wise man once said, everyone is a Ferrari fan - even the ones who claim not to be. I’d regret it if I didn’t race for them at least once.

That’s my pick for the proper season.

Having said that, if there is the AMG GT3 Evo coming this week - may have to reconsider.

 

[Roggers]

Having said that, if there is the AMG GT3 Evo coming this week - may have to reconsider.

Haha I saw that too this morning. It’s put AMG back on the table for me in the official season (thats as long as the new car is decent)

 

[Fezzik]

Haha I saw that too this morning. It’s put AMG back on the table for me in the official season (thats as long as the new car is decent)

My issue was more with the Gr4 SLS. I'll probably still go with Ferrari and hope an update to the 458 is in the works. Save the Evo for dailies and any Nations Gr3 races.

 

[RacingGrandpa]

As a wise man once said, everyone is a Ferrari fan - even the ones who claim not to be.

I am not going to say that I am not a Ferrari fan. But I really am not.

 

[RobertHammer]

nerfed Supra yay but my Renault why? :/

nerfed Atenza and WRX good

 

[Fezzik]

Small adjustments compared to last month but seems pretty fair, based on the recent Gr3 races (champs and dailies) - people have been constantly complaining that the Sup was OP, and Renault/Peugeot have been right at the top of the leaderboards. Nice to see the American cars get a little boost.

On paper it does look more balanced, though I'm sure new metas will emerge.

The Gr4 Ferrari got a little assistance - my bribe paying off quickly

 

[OJBrit]

Nice to see my next manu get a small boost.

 

[Fezzik]

Having said that, if there is the AMG GT3 Evo coming this week - may have to reconsider.

Tried it out for the Fuji Gr3 time trial. Must be pretty quick as I got silver on my first lap, which doesn’t happen often. Not a fan though, it feels more understeery than the older car, not as enjoyable to drive.

Sticking with Ferrari. Now come on PD, get a move on and start the season!

 

[RacingGrandpa]

Tried it out for the Fuji Gr3 time trial. Must be pretty quick as I got silver on my first lap, which doesn’t happen often. Not a fan though, it feels more understeery than the older car, not as enjoyable to drive.

Sticking with Ferrari. Now come on PD, get a move on and start the season!

I don't think it will start until after the GR Cup

 

[Fezzik]

I don't think it will start until after the GR Cup

They ran at the same time last year. The gazoo is a separate sponsor comp, like the Olympic TT - PD's own GTWS takes priority and I highly doubt they will delay it until September.

 

[samppa_944]

They ran at the same time last year. The gazoo is a separate sponsor comp, like the Olympic TT - PD's own GTWS takes priority and I highly doubt they will delay it until September.

I'd be surprised if GTWS does not start next month. Attached last year's schedule.

 

[OJBrit]

Hopefully longer seasons this time.

 

[RacingGrandpa]

They ran at the same time last year. The gazoo is a separate sponsor comp, like the Olympic TT - PD's own GTWS takes priority and I highly doubt they will delay it until September.

You are probably right. There's no way I can cram 3 official races in per week across the summer, I have both family and work to attend to. So I probably are going to run a few races here and there and not taking any of the seasons serious.

That's too bad. I guess it's PD's hint to me that I am too old or too young to be doing this.

 

[Fezzik]

You are probably right. There's no way I can cram 3 official races in per week across the summer, I have both family and work to attend to. So I probably are going to run a few races here and there and not taking any of the seasons serious.

That's too bad. I guess it's PD's hint to me that I am too old or too young to be doing this.

I didn't do the Gazoo last time but should have some free time on Sundays. Just a lowly B anyway, so will pick-n-mix my favourite rounds from the 3 comps, points don't matter at all to me.

 

[samppa_944]

You are probably right. There's no way I can cram 3 official races in per week across the summer, I have both family and work to attend to. So I probably are going to run a few races here and there and not taking any of the seasons serious.

That's too bad. I guess it's PD's hint to me that I am too old or too young to be doing this.

It has been like this for a few years, plus TGR GT Cup is not every Sunday 🤷 This is also why you usually only need to score 4-6 times out of 10. In TGR GT Cup 4 out of 7.

 

[OJBrit]

I didn't do the Gazoo last time but should have some free time on Sundays. Just a lowly B anyway, so will pick-n-mix my favourite rounds from the 3 comps, points don't matter at all to me.

B points don't matter to PD either. Only a select few have their points mean anything.

 

[samppa_944]

Hmm, I am smelling a possibility for the GTWS Nations and Manufacturers schedule being announced after May 11 update. 🧐🤔

 

[SPL170db]