Gran Turismo World Series (Manufacturers Cup Exhibition Season: Feb 5 - Feb 15)

[afc5150]

Chaos and mayhem sums up America slot 1 in GT2. Hard to tell if it was dirty driving or stupid driving, but got spun out, rammed out or pushed out all race long. Went from Q3 to P8 running IM the whole race. There was a time or 2 when full wets would have been better. Oh well, may run again.

 

[NAXEHT]

Chaos and mayhem sums up America slot 1 in GT2. Hard to tell if it was dirty driving or stupid driving, but got spun out, rammed out or pushed out all race long. Went from Q3 to P8 running IM the whole race. There was a time or 2 when full wets would have been better. Oh well, may run again.

You had enough rain to motivate IM for the entirety of the race?

 

[afc5150]

You had enough rain to motivate IM for the entirety of the race?

Yes. It was over 2/3 wet to start and hovered around there for most of the race. During lap 3 it decreased to around 1/3 with a drying line forming but never enough for slicks.

 

[Eggstor]

Lots of carnage in my D/S GT3 room, of which my part was entirely self-inflicted. I skipped qualifying in my Corvette Gr.3 as some of the drivers had mediums or hards on for that, so I started 10th (with 2 of the 16 disconnecting before qualifying ended). Despite my warnings to the room before qualifying the race would be wet, a few still had slicks on, and the carnage ensued immediately. I made it through that on my full-wets and got up to 4th when I nosed it hard into the inside barrier at Bergwerk. I lost about 30 seconds while trying to make sure I didn't come out in front of anybody else, and almost got DQ'ed.

I persevered and otherwise kept it clean, making a sweet outside pass for 4th in the Dunlop hairpin on lap 3. My pace was good enough to almost catch 3rd by Pflanzgarten. After messing up Kleines Karussell by thinking the outside had more grip than the banking, I didn't think I had a chance, but he bounced off the barriers between Hohenrain and T13, and I snuck on by for a 3rd. I'm mad at myself for that off and for not qualifying, as my best practice lap was 3 seconds faster than the pole, and I made up over 6 seconds on the lead after I got back on track.

I'm not rolling the dice again as I got 18 points and my next race will be in a C room.

Slight edit after reviewing the replay - corrected where I caught 3rd.

 

[Mathaios_C]

So for GT1 legue…start with soft and then depends if it is going to rain or not? Just came back home and wanted to take part to the last slot.

 

[Hasnain282]

So for GT1 legue…start with soft and then depends if it is going to rain or not? Just came back home and wanted to take part to the last slot.

Qualify on softs, start on wets, the weather is scripted to always rain at the start of the race and then switch to slicks on lap 4/5

 

[Roggers]

So glad I didn't go again!

Don't normally do this but I decided to go on my 2nd account just to have a bit of fun really and also test the inters. Picked Porsche and it felt great round the ring.
As for the racing....well... Was dirty. I tried to play fair but other decide it's ok to brake late and use you as a stopper. Last lap the inters were doing well. In P6 and only 3seconds behind the leader. Heading in the final corner 7 cars into 1 doesn't go and I get punted off. Feel like desperation hour has kicked in an some people will do anything for points etc... Oh well. Great weekend of racing from what I've done.

 

[Stilva]

Just finished the noon slot of GT2 Americas and what a mess. I qualified P6 which was cool, but the rain was going to be the great equalizer and it made a huge impact.

The race starts and 2 drivers were on slicks as they spun immediately and I think both quit. I was banged around in turn 1 and it looked like a herd of baby deer trying to walk on ice for the first time going through the GP section of the track. A driver decided to shove me off track after I tired a pass on them for P5. So stupid to do that. They go off track later in the lap and I zip on by and never see them again. I baby the car around the track and finish P4 in the end. Not much else happened as we were all spread out after the first lap.

No spins for me, but a ton of off tracks as I could not get the car to turn properly. I've never driven in the rain with the Huracan or the Nordschleife except for the 2 laps before I entered the event. But I had no idea it was going to rain until this morning so I can't complain with my finish. I'm also not a fan of the GP section of the track so that was a pain for me. I'm not running again and I'll take my 83 points and be happy.

 

[Moose78]

Well, that was more racing than I expected to do today.

Race 1: First GT2 slot in the Americas. Qualified at Q4. 100-point race. Chose IMs for the race. Two of the cars ahead spin out immediately as the race starts. I manage to come out of T1 in the lead, which I comfortably hold until I hit the carousel in lap 3. I'm not sure what happened, but instead of going right to exit, the car went left right into the wall. I lost a couple positions. I caught up to the P2 car fairly quickly and was able to overtake them when they went into the grass on the downhill before Hohe Acht. When I come around the corner, I see that the P1 car has also binned it and drive past, giving me the lead again. And then... the game crashed. "Session has ended."

Race 2: Second GT2 slot in the Americas. Qualified Q4, again. 97-point race. IMs, again. This time everybody remembered to put on wet-weather tires. I spent most of the race in some clean, fun battles with the two other cars in P2-P4. In the end, I managed to get by both of them to finish at P2.

That's enough of rain at Nurburgring to last me a while, though. That was exhausting.

Next up, Sarthe.

 

[Raven-Sport]

GT2 B/S lobby Europe. Didn't practice much as didn't know the servers would be sorted until Thursday.

Shocking QT in my slow arsed Ford see's me start 14th. Absolutely torrential rain until halfway through lap 3. Finish 9th due other people quitting or driving like it was dry. Pretty intense fun though. Amazed I didn't bin it once. I detest the GP part of the track. I probably lose a ridiculous amount of time round there.

Glad the servers are sorted. Le Mans should be good next week.

 

[Batschisane52]

Well, next time I read here, before the race...had no idea, that it'll be wet

 

[Michelin Man]

Well what a fun race that was! So glad weather changeability was a factor, Nurburgring is so much more fun to race on like this, compared to an arduous dry race.

EMEA GT1 DR A, Slot 1:
Given my surprise Suzuka success, I wanted a wet race, feeling it would give me and the Ford GT a better chance around N24, compared to a dry race. Especially given how thirsty the Ford is, and how poor on tyres I am 😅.

Qualifying was poor, returned usual form I suppose . Managed to bin it into the wall before the mini-karrousell on my out lap (don't ask...), giving me front right wheel and front aero damage. As a result the 8:17 I managed was only good enough for 12th. Though I wasn't too bothered given the weather at the start.

Wet with about 75% surface water, and I started on Inters, looking at the long game. As soon as the countdown finished, 2 cars aquaplaned off, mistakenly on Softs. The first 2 laps were very bunched up, with some on wets, others inters. It was so tight, that I got front and rear aero damage after being sandwiched, which really hurt top end down the Döttinger Höhe.

Either way I found myself up to 7th, as the GT came into its own by lap 3/4 once the heavy showers passed. A number of cars ahead on wets started to struggle, so myself and a few behind caught up. By lap 5 I was 2nd after a couple of early stoppers, so I pitted for RM's and some fuel. Out lap was nervy, but I was cautious not wanting to bin it, now 6th. It was quite an attritional race for many

For the remainder of the race, things got more comfortable as the track dried out, but I had one eye on fuel, as it was going to be close given I wasn't stopping again. 3 late pit visitor moved me up to 3rd, though a Supra (the leader before pitting...) caught me on the last lap.

No matter though, was super happy to finish 4th, a far better result than expected. And to top it off, I hit 0% fuel across the line with 197pts to boot.

 

[Talon16]

This might be the best race PD has ever done. Their rain renderings are absolutely fantastic. The way the water runs off the windshield at speed; how the wipers actually work (at least in first-person), the spray, the puddles and pockets of water on and off the track, the sound of the rain coming down so hard you can barely hear the car's engine; the 'splashes' and 'sploshes' as you run over pudles. The game just looks sooo good with rain; I really wish PD would take more advantage; the going from lighter clouds to darker clouds. The radar is also much better now than it used to be.

Three races for me today (thus far). All three were the same weather pattern: grip-meter hovered around that second rung virtually the whole time; it poured for a bit on lap two which caused it go to into the top zone, but then just sprinkled on lap three which had the bar just below the second rung. My only complaint would be the extra rain made the races just long enough I wasn't able to sign up for the next time slot. Like, missed it all three times by literally seconds.

I no longer regret picking the NSX as it was very pleasant to drive in the wet. My one issue with the radar is how it tells us what happened 60mins ago until now. Why do I care what happened over the track 60 mins ago? Like, they should do -30mins to now to +30 mins from now. That way we can tell if the track may be wet from rain, and what it will be like as we're driving. Anyway, I started the first race on IMs as I misread what it was telling use. Started on pole but lost P1 at the first turn as the McLaren was on Ws. I was able to keep close and he made a mistake going wide, so I took over P1. Must've been some chaos and mistake behind as I was able to pit at the end of lap one for Ws and still come out in the lead - albeit barely.

Yeehaw!

Race two, qualified Q1 and was able to walk away thanks to starting on Wets. Rainy races are like any other, but even more so... if you can stay away from the mid pack you're golden. Just don't mess up while they all fight. Plus, of course, many-a-mistakes are made and everything is exacerbated relative to driving in the dry!

Jumped onto one on the US side, this time in the Viper. Zero practice in the rain with that pig. Qualified P2 behind an NSX of all things. But, he messed up T1 braking too late so I was in the lead. Surprisingly, I was able to eek away from him a tenth at a time and by the time we were onto the twoish mins into the Nord he wet off and quit. Again, must've been some offs and fighting behind and even with TC on 3 (I ain't ashamed) in the Viper was able to bring her home in P1.

Of course, the game is going to look better on my 51" TV, but how good does this look? The rain on the car with the track and off track standing water just looks so good. Just look at the water droplets on the windshield! I can't get over it. PD deserves 99.9% of the criticism they get, but they do deserve praise for their weather. Wish they would use it more often.

No offs or pens, which surprised even me. I am hoping to do another later tonight,

 

[PMK]

So i did GT1 Slot 3, the last one. I gotta agree with the others, fantastic race and lots lots lots of fun. I finished 5th and i should be happy, but i always have mixed feelings when i know that it could've been 3rd or even first but messed up because of my own actions.

Anyways, I qualify 6th after giving it my all. I was pretty content with that. I knew this was the last slot and my only chance at a good placement. As expected, race is very wet and we start of sliding and slipping around the GP track. I didn't know at the time but i was 1 of 2 starting on full wets that race.

We make it to the Nordschleife and i'm in 4th. Unfortunately, i get punted off with damage to two wheels and both aero's.
Dead last. Towards the end of the lap i made up around 6 places but i had to pit. I refueled, fixed the damage and me being stupid, replaced my wets that were 1 lap old, with new wets. This meant i was struggling on cold tyres in the rain on the second lap. By the end they warmed up though.

Lap 3 was my moment. Even though i was in last place 2 laps ago, i was now making my way back up the field into 3rd due to a combination of the wet tyres, track knowledge and raw speed (Didn't i tell you that driving a MR2 at the Ring yesterday magically gave me lots of pace in todays race lol). Unfortunately, on my own accord, i hit the wall at the Carousel and took damage again. This didn't impact me alot but it did really slow me down on the long straight, where i dropped back to 7th before lap 4.

I decide not to pit on lap 4 and make up some positions again even though the rain stopped. Track was still quite wet so I was able to keep my pace. At this point i was in 4th and the top 3 was right in front of me. Wasn't able to overtake them due to damages but i was still happy with my current position.

Lap 5, i pit for softs. Parts of the track had dried up and while some stayed on their inters ( i realised now that most were on inters as those who did pit all had inters) most switched to softs also. I also repair my damage and refuel. As we leave the pit, something funny happens. Everyone and i mean EVERYONE who pitted, got automatically caught in the wet pit exit and spun around. There we were, atleast 6 cars all spinning around and gaining a 3 sec penalty. Remember when rain caught out everybody at Le Mans this year? It looked exactly like that lmao. I was in 6th now so all good. It was still wet, except for the racing line. What first was trying to keep up pace and gaining positions ASAP, now turned into a game of survival and making sure you stay on the racing line. Get caught out and you spin and most likely take damage. I managed to do that but three others in front of me weren't so lucky and spun. This got me back to 3rd!

Come lap 6, those who didn't pit did now and that confirmed my suspicions about the inters from before. Staying on the race line, i managed to set fastest lap and i kept on pushing towards second and first. Unfortunately, number 2 wasn't so keen on me passing him so he rammed me just before Carousel. I take damage and lose about 7 seconds of time. I'm pissed, rightfully so but know that i can't give up now. I pit at the end of the lap to repair damages, refuel for 4 laps and change to Mediums! (This is gonna bite me in the ass later on).

From lap 7 and on, i didn't plan on any more stops as i had enough fuel and was on mediums. I'm in 4th now and i was really happy about that as i could've been way worse. I was last place in lap 1 and almost gave up all hope and here i was, on my way to a top 5 finish and possibly a top 3!
At this point though, most are on softs. I am catching up to 3rd as he is on mediums like me but i mess up, twice. I lost about 12 seconds and 5 and 6 position are now on my ass. At this point i've got damage as well as the realisation that i could've easily gone for softs...

The guys behind me pit as they refuel on Lap 8. 3rd place in front of me then switches to softs as he doesn't need to refuel and it payed off eventually. The order hasn't changed and i'm still in 4th but the top 3 start to pull away on their softs. I'm right behind third place though and hope that maybe he spins out but he doesn't and keeps it consistent. However, 5th and 6th place are still 14 seconds behind me and i still have damage.

On lap 9 the cars behind me are catching up but to my luck, one spins out as they were fighting for position. This gives me around a 7 second buffer for 1,5 laps regarding the M6 on softs behind me. He sets fastest lap on the final lap though and near the end of the 10th lap, he takes my 4th place, setting me back to 5th on the final straight. It's the same guy that punted me off in the first lap so i'm kinda pissed but it is what it is. 3rd place didn't even finish that far in front us, about 6 seconds from the M6.

At the end of the day i'm happy with the points but i can't help but feel pissed at the M6 and more importantly, myself. If i look at he pace i had in the first two laps, if the M6 didn't punt me off, i could've easily taken 1st and take off. Then again, i did make a fantastic comeback by myself. But i managed to get off track atleast thrice. If that didn't happen, i'm sure i would've finished 3rd, especially with the softs. But hey, **** happens, that's racing for you. Frustration and chaos is part of the game. In the end, this race was one hell of a ride and really shows you how fantastic the Manu Cup is!
Thanks for coming to my TEDtalk

 

[guitargeek]

Mixed feelings on this one. GT2 America noon slot. Ranked near the bottom of the lobby (13th).

Was on a great pace to qualify, first several splits would have been top 3. But, caught someone who didn’t want to move. I thought the 20 second gap I left would be enough, but it wasn’t. After fighting with them up to the very last two turns, I still was at an okay pace, then clipped the curb too much in the last right hander and spun around all by myself. Lost all 20 seconds I had gained on the dude and we ended up 7th and 8th together on the grid a couple tenths apart.

Even with disappointing qualy, I still found myself up in the top 5 several times, only to run wide and roll through the mud, losing the spots and time I gained. Never anything severe, never due to dirty driving, just enough to lose my gains all by myself.

Finished 8th, better than my number plate, so good enough for this round. And overall it was a fun challenge to navigate traffic in those conditions.

I kinda figured this would be a lower score for me just due to my lack of time spent on this track, so I’m happy with the 70 points, even if I could’ve done better with a little bit tidier driving.

 

[Zorz]

More races like this. Please, more races like this. That was fantastic, albeit very mentally draining.

I only did this once because it extended on so long it overran past signup for the second slot, and honestly, didn't know if I'd have the energy to go again on the final slot. So much fun in VR though.

I qualified P8 and decided to use the Inters for the wet stint. P9 immediately vanished into the ether after starting on Softs, which was probably just as well because turn 1 was a little bit of a car park. A fair number of bumps, including me sliding into someone in front but it was soft enough to not cause any damage.

Some shuffling around occurred on the GP circuit and the start of the Nordschleife. I was running P7 after another McLaren was fighting with a Genesis into Flugplatz and then lost a lot of momentum hanging onto the track before the run down to Schwedenkreuz. Disaster struck soon after though; right after rounding Fuchsröhre I felt the McLaren bump into the back of me, sending me off onto the left-side wall with him then spinning after me. The impact gave me damage.

The experience from that was apparently so traumatic I spontaneously gave birth to a Nissan. Or at least that's what it looked like. Who'd have guessed that two McLarens would spawn a GT-R?! I swear, having someone go through you whilst you're ghosted is freaky as hell in VR. That dropped me down to P12 and left me battling with a couple of Nissans and a Toyota whilst the group in front started pulling away.

At the end of lap 4, I ended up thinking I'd play it safe, stay out on the Inters for a 5th lap in the hopes it would let more of the track dry up and then go 5I/5M. All fine and well until I hit the throttle too hard on the pit exit, sent myself into the wall to immediately pick up damage then had to cross the pit lines trying to turn back the right way.

I did two laps on the Mediums before deciding screw it, I'll go repair the damage and finish on the Softs. By this point I'm now down in P9 (of 11) but at least feeling much more comfortable. I managed to catch the Genesis on the final lap and then dive past it under the Bilstein gantry on the Dottinger for P8 with seconds to go before the race timed out, claiming 190 points.

I could have had an extra position or two if not for my pit exit mistake, but oh well. I'm more just highly amused by Polyphony having the balls to ramp race lengths up this hard! If someone had told me when I started this back 4-5 years ago in GT Sport with the roughly 20-25 minute races that we had at the time that it would eventually produce a 90 minute epic with mixed conditions, I wouldn't have believed them!

 

[Yard_Sale]

2 slots for me today, one oceanic, one European. Don’t think I’m going to be able to hit my NA main today at 1500hrs because of football games that are on….. priorities.

Q’d 1st on my first race. Had a couple minor off’s on my rain stint…one resulted in damage. Was surprised that I didn’t have to “repair” it in the pits. Looked like PD did us a solid by maintaining heavy damage without the pit loss of repairing it. Maybe they couldn’t figure out that aero glitch…who knows. Accidentally underfueled on my last stint, and it took every fuel savings trick I knew to coast across the finish line on empty, to a distinct second place. Fun race. Definitely a workout.

Second race was EMEA slot 2. Middle of the road GT1 lobby. Got held up by 2 window lickers in qually whom were battling each other. Spun but luckily got no damage. Somehow I Q’d 3rd out of all that with a 8:12 😳. Rain stint was pretty stressful. I moved into the lead quickly and held it for 2 laps. Made a couple mistakes, but P2 and 3 powered by me toward the end of lap 2 as their inters were starting to come into play.

Settled into the pre-determined strategy of 4W/3S/3S. Looked like the 2 guys that passed me went 5I/5M, because they had quite a large gap on me as I left the pits going into lap 5. Then I got them both back midway through lap 6 when the track was pretty much dry, and my Softs just had more pace. Got into the lead and checked out. Hit an 8:08.7 on my last lap, so that was cool.

Couple thoughts….


Something felt off about this race. I wish the weather would have been more “dynamic”, with equal chances to get rain or dry. But in hindsight, knowing that PD knew what weather scheme they were going with, I think the fuel multiplier should have been brought down a tick. I appreciate that it stayed cloudy and cold, allowing us to extend our tire stints if we wanted, and it’s more realistic. However, I think had fuel not been an issue, you would have seen guys attempt a 5I/5S stint. Or even a 4W/6M. I know for one I might have tried it.


It was a mistake to put the rain in the beginning of the race. Both lobbies I was in were down to 10 players by end up lap 4. I think if the goal is to get players to stay in the race…and they were already planning on making it a 1 hour and-58 minute event, they should have put the weather in the middle or the end.


I wish there was more of a severe DR/SR hit for quitting races.


PD would be smart to put a Nurburgring race in either Nations or Manu every season. Any FIA race at Green Hell is a banger. I think Kie’s stream had over 1000 viewers for much of his stream and Omega had over 700 in his. That should tell you how much these events are liked.

This race was a riot in VR. But cloudy weather is definitely its weak point. Looks like PD decided to de-nerf the spray. In VR, it was actually a little tough to follow closely… THATS AWESOME!!! More realism!!

Please, please give VR users a delta page to scroll to. I think I could have used one in all three Manu races this season.


Can we please have 20 car grids now and even longer races? Pretty please? I promise I’ll never rage-quit!!













Late edit:



Polyphony.

Do the right thing.

..Give us 2 official “Endurance Manufacturers Seasons” a year. 1 race a month. Minimum 90 minute race. Best 4 of 6 races count. GT2/3 go 75% race distance. Just completing the full distance of 4 rounds gives you a 7* ticket that can be redeemed for ANY legends car you want within the calendar year. By all means…give us longer races in a regular season too. But hell, let’s make this official. The community will dig it.



Make Gran Turismo Great Again 🇺🇸

 

[Zorz]

This race was a riot in VR. But cloudy weather is definitely its weak point. Looks like PD decided to de-nerf the spray. In VR, it was actually a little tough to follow closely… THATS AWESOME!!! More realism!!

Please, please give VR users a delta page to scroll to. I think I could have used one in all three Manu races this season.


Can we please have 20 car grids now and even longer races? Pretty please? I promise I’ll never rage-quit!!

Especially on the delta page. Doubly so if it can also show tyres and fuel of people who are in the pits like the regular position board!

 

[bliprunner]

GT1 UK 7pm race... was a bit worried that only going in the last race of the day would put me at a disadvantage, but...

Quali another disaster, good lap ruined by a slide at the carousel, quit straight away, starting last is strangely tempting. Um and ah about tyres for ages, opt for Wets.

Race like an old granny for the opening 4 laps, TC3, waving aggressive drivers past, get aero damage front and back but nothing serious. Pit in 12th at the end of lap 4 along with about 5 cars in front. I knew the danger but the dry line was so tempting.

Put on softs and everyone spins out of the pits, I tap the barrier but avoid damage, after surviving the rest of the lap (just) I start to feel more confident. Start to catch and pass people, despite another spin late braking at turn one.

By lap 8 I'm up to 4th, I left TC on 2 because the McLaren felt so amazingly planted, final lap the car in front on old mediums drops it after the carousel, 3rd place is mine and another epic race!

 

[JDMKING13]

Man that race was amazing(GT1!!!)Qualified P7 finished P3… I had P2 in the bank… on lap 6 I put on Mediums…. Came out the pits fine… as soon as I hit the first hairpin my baby(458) Spun… All my teammates saw it(Screen share) I felt so embarrassed 😂 Droped to P4… got into a good grove and caught P3 because he was running out of fuel! I did a 1 stop and it worked beautifully… If I didn’t spin I think I could have went for 1st! Anyway super happy about third… and doing it in VR just made it sooo much better… I can’t believe how amazing that race was!

I would love to do a 24 hour with the ability to team up with 3/4 other people that would be amazing!!! Please PD keep the good stuff going!!

 

[icycls]

whew, finished first slot in GT1, had a good time (mostly). Practiced quite a bit and could really start to run loose and easy, so felt good about this. Left the pit last and ran with lots of space, but near the end of the hot lap, turning onto the straight, a car had binned it and was... right there! I ran onto grass, slowed me a lot(!) and had a less-than-best Q lap. It still got me a Q7.

And I finished P7. Stuff happened in between.

Ok, I decided to start IM and try to fuel save for 5 laps since I saw reports that some were going a fifth lap on IM. Got front/rear aero damage on turn 1, of course. The wet laps went okay, I didn't feel great about some passing chances and stayed back. Lost a bit of time to the front runners. By the end of lap 4, it was a close call to change, I was really tight on the fuel and running near last. Decided to get in and do two 3-lap stints on RS and repair the aero.

The first RS stint had me making up two positions. But here is where I have a bad taste left over. I'm pacing someone, I feel that I am faster but timing my opportunity. Then he suddenly brakes (hard) where everyone usually lifts and I go right into him. In the moment, my thought was 'did he just brake-check me?' I went on and if circumstances arose, I'd give the position back. No penalty awarded to me and we both had pretty good damage now. Eventually, he fell off me by over 30 seconds over the last five laps.

Now I had to improvise - get in the pit, repair and do a final 4 lap RM as I could really only get 3 on the RS? Or stay out and repair later? I stayed out, dropping off a little bit more with the damaged car.

The final 3 lap/RS went easy and I picked up P7 when someone pitted at the end of lap 9 (fuel?). I only lost about 5 seconds to the leader over those 3 laps, but the wet laps and incident had me at the bridge when the timer went off, so, yeah, I got timed out. Lots of little things added up, but no major screwups on my part (well maybe except for the above discussion). As I usually say, I coulda, shoulda been more competitve.

Post race, he asked me why I hit him, I apologized, asked him why brake hard? He said he got damage and I said me too, I apologized again and he gave me an 'fu'. Okay, done with this conversation. Thinking about it, I feel it was an incident (unless he really did brake check me) as no one would reasonably have expected a brake there on a dry track. If he is reading this, I'll apologize again. I feel bad, really bad. But I feel bad for both of us.

(Sorry for the extra rant, I;m still a bit peeved and bummed out that a good race was spoiled just a bit)

I don't have time (or energy!) to go again, Good Luck to those still running!

 

[Dep Fishtail]

I did first slot GT1 and quailed off my practice time but p8 for some mid pack fun to start 😁 with door 10 today.
Finally got a higher paying lobby with 223 up for grabs.
I walked away with p4 and 195 which is my best haul to date.

Started on wets and had p1 about a third of the 1st lap and held it until I pitted for inters to start lap 4. Came out in p5 and worked back to p1 by the time I pitted for meds after lap 5. I made it back to p1 again but on lap 9 gave up two spots to soft runners and lap 10 lost one more place to a soft runner.

I saw a yellow flag on lap 10 and was hoping to get a chance to challenge for p3 but I ran out of time to get it done as p3 was nearly out of fuel coming into the finish.

Overall I was really happy with my consistency. Had one slight grass excursion on lap one but it was minor and didn’t lose a place. After that zero off and even avoided the pit penalty coming out on slicks lol.

Awesome race and while VR is such a joy to race with, but the lack of knowing gaps and when people pit is a big disadvantage.
Watching the replay I was shocked to see that I had multiple fastest laps lol. I’m not good at that course. 😂
The guys that beat me pitted for softs on lap 7 and then took the race back while I was on 3 more laps of meds.

Great fun and wish everyone luck who’s still racing.

The finish was closing on p3.

 

[SPL170db]

That race was something....my hands and wrists are killing me, lol.

First GT1 slot was an absolute disaster. Q'd OK in 5th. After a whole bunch of carnage and a few people dropping out I think I finished next to last which I believe was 9th. Session ended with about 35 seconds left to jump into the 2nd slot.

Slot 2 was much better. Q'd with a slightly better time putting me 4th on the grid. Went with the 4W > 3RS > 3RS strategy. Off the start managed to miss a few entanglements and squeaked myself into into 2nd before heading off the GP circuit and onto the Ring. About 1/2-way into the Ring the leader binned it handing me the lead. Gladly took it and extended to about a 10 second lead for the first 4 laps. Dipped into the pits at the end of the 4th lap and I think the first 5 drivers all came in behind me, we all started on Wets. 2 drivers stayed out and went past, so I came out of the pits in 3rd. Stupidly I let the car slide inadvertently and crossed the pit penalty line and got myself 3 seconds, in hindsight that might have been the moment that really disrupted by flow in the race.

Had to take the 5th's lap a little carefully on RS since it was still a bit damp and I ended up catching the 2 guys coming through Döttinger-Höhe and a few mistakes of my own had let 4th close up on me. Served the 3 sec penalty, 1st pulled away as the 2 guys that stayed out went into the pits putting me back up into 2nd. Stayed like that for the 6th and 7th laps. Guy in 1st and I both pitted for fresh RS and fuel and 3rd place came past us. Came out of the pits in 3rd, 1st and 2nd battled a bit on the 8th lap while I was behind making stupid mistakes. I amazingly spun the car 2 different times, just barely grazing the barrier walls both times and somehow managing not to get any damage....crazy. Finishing the 8th lap I saw that 2nd was pitting for tires and fuel. I came past with about 6 second lead, but tires that had a full lap on them already, and I stink on managing tire wear. Managed to hold 3rd off for one lap but he came past me early on the last lap and I didn't have much left for him at that point. Just brought it home safely for a 3rd & 187 points which I'm fairly happy with.

 

[meekrab]

Only just got online in time to do the last slot after watching the Petit Le Mans all day, but wow what a fun, albeit highly chaotic, race. Q'd 3rd, decided to go with Inters for four laps instead of trying the Wet-Inter traffic gamble. The one driver who did run that risk came out of the pits ahead of me on lap 3 and proceeded to promptly outbrake themselves into the beach on the outside of the GP loop hairpin. Probably would've had a podium sewn up except that my brain abandoned me on lap 5 and forgot the kerbs would still be wet, spun myself into the barriers under braking at Hohe Acht. Eventually recovered to P5, which would promote to P4 as a WRX ran out of gas.

Ten laps in the comfort of my desk chair really puts into perspective the endurance of drivers who double stint at the N24h in a real GT3.

 

[GTWolverine]

Slot 1: Finally managed mistake-free first slot this season, but probably only because I was hopelessly slow...
I qualified P9, 7s off pole, and started on Wets. I worked my way up to P7 midway through Lap 1, but found myself unable to maintain the pace to stay there. When the torrential rain came on Lap 2 I lost any semblance of grip and started hemorrhaging positions even though I was on Wets and most around me were on Inters. By the end of Lap 2 I was down to 11th. I'd heard some people in EMEA had done a 2W/2I strategy for the wet portion of the race and took advantage of the "rain boost" to catch back up, so I pitted for Inters at the end of Lap 2 - the only one to do so - and filled my tank up as well. Sure enough, by the end of Lap 4 I was back on the tail of the pack but was stuck in traffic. I made my way up to P9 by the end of the lap.

When everyone in front of me pitted, I decided to stay out one more lap on the Inters and pit the next lap for Mediums, hoping to make up spots by not having to pit again while others did 2 Soft stints. An M6 I'd just passed down Dottinger after being held up by him for much of the lap somehow found pace as soon as we started Lap 5 and overtook me around the outside of T1 after we both went deep, so even though everyone in front of me had pitted, I still only found myself in P2. Both me and the Beemer pitted at the end of Lap 5 - him for Softs and me for Mediums - and upon leaving the pits the BMW immediately spun on the wet track while I tip-toed into T1, somehow emerging in P5 despite my extra lap on Inters! I stayed there until the end of Lap 6 when 2 further ahead pitted again, bumping me up to P3. That was short lived however, as one of them came out of the pits just behind me and overtook me at the end of the GP section. At the end of Lap 8, the BMW that spun out in front of me leaving the pits caught back up to me and passed me down Dottinger Hohe and dropped me to P5. I was hoping he would pit again since he was on Softs, but he somehow made his Softs last 5 laps after spinning, fighting through traffic, then chasing me down and disappearing up the road. So 5th place was where I would finish... 58 SECONDS behind the winner for 231 points. I wanted at least another 20 points, but decided to not go again since my pace was clearly lacking and I was probably lucky to even get a Top 5.

 

[GlockPants]

That race was a nice change up. Really enjoyed some pretty clean racing considering the wet track.

GT2 - B/S lobby, me with the #16 door.

Qualifying was Ok. I didn't really practice for this race at all, but I had spent the last few days finishing up some single player races here and also working on the Honda TT, I figured I'd do fine in the trusty RSR. So my plan was just to take it easy and put in a clean lap, try not to qualify last. I knew the race was going to be wet from everyone's reports here, so starting position was likely not super important here. Wound up P3, nice.

For the race, starting on the Full Wets. Inters may have been fine, but just about everyone else also started on the Wets. Except one guy who forgot to change from the Softs from qualifying, I'm pretty sure they quit before T1. For the most part, the entire race was single file. I was pleasantly surprised everyone was giving people room on the track and also braking at correct times, with only a couple exceptions that I saw.

Unfortunately, I had a couple offs that caused me to lose position each lap. Not bad, but enough that made it difficult to get places back. Lap 1, barely ran off the hairpin in the GP section misjudging the brake point. Lap 2, ran wide at Flugplatz. Lap 3, got bumped at Wehrseifen and spun a bit to have a brief unscheduled meeting with Barry R.

Somehow, I managed fastest lap on Lap 3, too? I was shocked.

P5 for 77 points, 13.5 seconds off P1. Not bad when I account for lack of preparation and mistakes that at a point had me down as low as P12.

 

[C_Raccoon23]

GT1, Slot 2 (20:00), Door #2

When it comes to the Nordschleife, the best practice I can to do is just becoming familiar with the track. Since it's so long, I don't have time to get the best braking points and whatnot down, so I just did two practice custom races to prepare for this round. With this race having scripted weather like at Suzuka, at least the conditions were predictable.

Unfortunately, my qualifying went horrible when the back end of my car hit a barrier after it spun while I was lifting through a corner. This resulted in damage to my rear bumper, which heavily compromised my top speed. Because of this, I qualified P14, only starting ahead of a Peugeot that didn't bother setting a lap at all.

With nothing to lose, I went with the unorthodox pit strategy of 2W/2IM/3S/3S. The idea was that by pitting on lap 2 and refueling, I skip having to do so on lap 4, which is when most people would refuel/get new tires, while all I had to do was switch tires. And by switching to Intermediates on lap 2, I would gain on those ahead over the next two laps since the track would be more dry for me.

At the start of the race, a shocking number of people lost control of their cars at turn 1, some receiving damage and penalties in the process. As a result, I jumped all the way to 5th by the time we entered the Nordschleife. Lap 1 was just people behind me scrambling to recover, while I was just trying to be careful and not screw up the massive upperhand that was given to me. Two impatient drivers with 2 and 5 second penalties squeezed past me, which I truly didn't understand the point of doing. I stayed close, and to no one's surprise, I took back their positions once they served their penalties. I was still in 5th by the end of lap 2, where I pitted for Inters and refueled. I came out in 8th.

My next two laps on the Inters weren't too eventful. I came across two drivers on lap 4 that both had front end damage, and I was able to overtake them with no fuss, putting me in 6th. I pitted once more at the end of lap 4 to switch to Softs. Unfortunately, despite being prepared for the wet pit exit by having my TCS all the way up to 4, I still spun out while leaving, giving me the dreaded 3 second pit lane penalty.

The silver lining was that I didn't pick up damage and the only other car around was a Peugeot RCZ that was approaching from behind, but that I managed to stay ahead of after recovering. This RCZ didn't stick with me long as they went off track at the hairpin of the GP section. I was completely alone for the rest of the lap.

At the start of lap 6, I was in 6th place after overtaking two other cars that pitted. This was once again a lonely lap and I overtook another driver in the pits going into lap 7. Here, I came across and passed a WRX driver who was on really worn Softs. We both pitted at the same time and I came out ahead of them after refueling once more and putting on new Softs.

For the last stint on lap 8, I was in 5th. In the early section of the Nordschleife, I came across a BRZ driver who had damage and was on Mediums. They thankfully did the wise thing and let me pass, giving me 4th place. However, the WRX from earlier caught up over the course of the lap and overtook me on the long back straight. I couldn't take my position back as it was apparent that they were simply faster than me on this track and gradually widened the gap for the remainder of the race. With no more incidents, I completed the race in the top 5.

This was undoubtedly an intense race. I know I could've had 4th or maybe even a podium if I hadn't screwed up the pit exit, but considering I started at the very back, this was a good result. I gained 150 points from this round, which thankfully was enough to put me in 4th for Honda for the time being.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

I had to feed the cat whilst everybody was qualifying for slot 2 yesterday, not ideal but starting last on a wet Nurburgring is ridiculously good fun

 

[Spider-Racer]

Good to be back after having to skip Rd2 for IRL reasons!

Found myself door 12 in mostly the same lobby I've been racing lately, which I'm sure is too fast for me, but the rain chaos helped. @OutlawQuadrnt was there and suffered from that very chaos on L1 partly because of me (sorry, I had no idea Jara was re-joining ahead)

My Qualy was OK, but in this lobby only good enough for Q7. Laps 1 and 2 were chaos and I had bumper damage front and back. I proceeded to pit at the end of L2 for Inters, which was perfect. That got me out of the slow, risky, tight pack and I was able to go much faster than the train. I caught them up, passed some, switched to softs, died at the pit exit but was still P2 after all that!

In P2 I put a wheel out of the dry line and had a massive spin, had to reverse back on track and carry on...losing loads of time but ultimately staying in P3. After the last stop I rejoined in P4 behind Outlaw but he was nursing older tyres so a couple of laps later I was able to pass cleanly and take the podium.


P3 and 320 points, which is a new record for me in Manufacturers. Super super happy with that 😁 Livery originally made by @Michelin Man , but I did adapt it a little bit, added a couple of Spider-Man logos to arguably make it worse 🤪

 

[kjeldsen]

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