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

[MCL1974]

Well, today started just so lovely; Wife went out early to go to the gym before going to the University so I figured to go out too, so grabbed the MTB and cycled to the nearby 'polder' to go for a run. After that cycled back with a little detour in this typical Dutch landscape. Nice weather, the heat and humidity is gone for a few days. Then got a cup of tea and a good book, happy to spent a day doing pretty much nothing, no work till Friday night.

And there is today's race off course; can the day get even better?

B/S lobby, did two okay qualifying laps and thought I had pole but in the last seconds a Frensch Supra beat me with over 0.6 seconds.

So, I knew this guy was probably faster then me. But not at the start he was, he got away bad and at the Kemmel straight I was already alongside. He outbraked himself massively at the end of the straight and suddenly I was in the lead. Had a big moment in Blanchimont and almost lost it but managed to get back on track and had a narrow lead.

Starting lap 2 I suddenly had a 2 second lead, think because of the cars behind me fighting at La Source. Still in the lead after 4 laps but the French Supra was gaining on me fast and soon we were alongside again at the Kemmel straight. I did not put up much defending, figuring he was faster anyway so gave up the lead and tried following him. Second place was also fine.

I noticed then he was perhaps a bit nervous, he lost some speed, driving a bit erratic and I stayed close behind him and see if i could profit from a mistake by him.

End lap five then this happened:



I am pretty sure he tried to take me out because he got a penalty, but it backfired big time for him. What do you think?

After that I just had to do my laps and went over the finish for another win, and again winning not because I am the fastest there.
Getting a lot of free wins by faster drivers making mistakes. Fine with me, all take them!!

Now back to enjoying my day. Good luck to all racing today!!

 

[xxPinkyKissxx]

Well, today started just so lovely; Wife went out early to go to the gym before going to the University so I figured to go out too, so grabbed the MTB and cycled to the nearby 'polder' to go for a run. After that cycled back with a little detour in this typical Dutch landscape. Nice weather, the heat and humidity is gone for a few days. Then got a cup of tea and a good book, happy to spent a day doing pretty much nothing, no work till Friday night.

And there is today's race off course; can the day get even better?

B/S lobby, did two okay qualifying laps and thought I had pole but in the last seconds a Frensch Supra beat me with over 0.6 seconds.

So, I knew this guy was probably faster then me. But not at the start he was, he got away bad and at the Kemmel straight I was already alongside. He outbraked himself massively at the end of the straight and suddenly I was in the lead. Had a big moment in Blanchimont and almost lost it but managed to get back on track and had a narrow lead.

Starting lap 2 I suddenly had a 2 second lead, think because of the cars behind me fighting at La Source. Still in the lead after 4 laps but the French Supra was gaining on me fast and soon we were alongside again at the Kemmel straight. I did not put up much defending, figuring he was faster anyway so gave up the lead and tried following him. Second place was also fine.

I noticed then he was perhaps a bit nervous, he lost some speed, driving a bit erratic and I stayed close behind him and see if i could profit from a mistake by him.

End lap five then this happened:



I am pretty sure he tried to take me out because he got a penalty, but it backfired big time for him. What do you think?

After that I just had to do my laps and went over the finish for another win, and again winning not because I am the fastest there.
Getting a lot of free wins by faster drivers making mistakes. Fine with me, all take them!!

Now back to enjoying my day. Good luck to all racing today!!

View attachment 1266887

Yeah looked like he tried to take you out! Did he still finish 2nd?

 

[MCL1974]

I'm mad right now. I'd smash some heads with a steel bar if I had them at reach.

How can someone be so dirty? And for the third round in a row I am the one being punished for pushing NO ONE off track. I honestly think the only thing I could be blamed for was contact with the Cayman at lap 5 turn 1, and even there I think I was alongside at braking point and therefore he shouldn't close the gap like he did; I may be wrong here.

But specially: How can someone be so STUPID to be dirty while going with the wrong tyres!!!!???? Why push me to the wall when you still have to do a mandatory pit stop? If you are so eager to win start by READING THE ******* RULES!!!!!

Yeah, I could be more cautious, but at some point I want to race someone, not just doing "conservative time trials" behind everyone hoping I will take their positions when they crash. If I can't do that at SR S, where?

sure, you had contact with the Cayman, but obviously that was just racing. His reaction was ridiculous though! double idiot for not checking the rules prior the race. You were in a bad lobby it seems being forced to the wall twice. But do not give up, still most are out there trying to race clean. (I specifically said 'trying')

Yeah looked like he tried to take you out! Did he still finish 2nd?

He still got second place, a few seconds behind me and left the lobby immideately after. Do think he was fuming with himself. Really the nicest wins one can have....

 

[Nakano219]

I've generally been okay with the lengths of GT2 races this season, but after finishing the race today, this one, along with the Maggiore Nations round, are definitely the two where I've thought "Oh, that's it?" when I've crossed the finish line.

Also remember to switch tyres before race start! I only remembered I needed to switch to hards with about 8 seconds left on the countdown, it was a very hectic bit of menuing.

 

[GTWolverine]

Well, today started just so lovely; Wife went out early to go to the gym before going to the University so I figured to go out too, so grabbed the MTB and cycled to the nearby 'polder' to go for a run. After that cycled back with a little detour in this typical Dutch landscape. Nice weather, the heat and humidity is gone for a few days. Then got a cup of tea and a good book, happy to spent a day doing pretty much nothing, no work till Friday night.

And there is today's race off course; can the day get even better?

B/S lobby, did two okay qualifying laps and thought I had pole but in the last seconds a Frensch Supra beat me with over 0.6 seconds.

So, I knew this guy was probably faster then me. But not at the start he was, he got away bad and at the Kemmel straight I was already alongside. He outbraked himself massively at the end of the straight and suddenly I was in the lead. Had a big moment in Blanchimont and almost lost it but managed to get back on track and had a narrow lead.

Starting lap 2 I suddenly had a 2 second lead, think because of the cars behind me fighting at La Source. Still in the lead after 4 laps but the French Supra was gaining on me fast and soon we were alongside again at the Kemmel straight. I did not put up much defending, figuring he was faster anyway so gave up the lead and tried following him. Second place was also fine.

I noticed then he was perhaps a bit nervous, he lost some speed, driving a bit erratic and I stayed close behind him and see if i could profit from a mistake by him.

End lap five then this happened:



I am pretty sure he tried to take me out because he got a penalty, but it backfired big time for him. What do you think?

After that I just had to do my laps and went over the finish for another win, and again winning not because I am the fastest there.
Getting a lot of free wins by faster drivers making mistakes. Fine with me, all take them!!

Now back to enjoying my day. Good luck to all racing today!!

View attachment 1266887

Congrats on the win! I think it's possible the Supra also had dirty tires, was on a terrible line due to rejoining, and was desperate to keep the lead, all of which led to him sliding into you at the exit of the chicane. So pretty poor driving, but maybe not intentional.

 

[Cherryturbo]

2:00pm slot EMEA GT3 (Dr C)

Driving for Nissan this time around so had a choice between the Silvia or the GT-R. I had practiced both and at my pace it was a coin toss between the two.

Reading comments in the forum earlier in the week consensus appeared to be no-stop on hards. That being the case, I opted to run the Silvia.

Managed to get out 2nd for the qualifying run and posted a 2:32.3 on my first flying lap which was good enough for 4th. I made a mess of Eau Rouge on my 2nd lap so headed back to the pits for the remaining minute or so. My time stood up and 4th was where I started. Pole was set with a 2:30.2 which for a DR C driver seemed very fast indeed. That time was 2 seconds faster than 2nd.

I changed tyres to hards as soon as qualifying ended!!

Race starts and I am immediately losing ground to the leaders and the 5th placed Ferrari is all over my back end. I decided that safety was the better option and gave them room to pass, which they did. I was hoping folks had started on mediums and would have to pit at some point.

The now 4th place Ferrari was a tad too aggressive several times so we trade 4 & 5 on multiple occasions due to him exceeding a few track limits along the way.

At the end of lap 6, the driver in 2nd had to pit to switch tyres. As he had been on the softer tyre, he had quite a lead on me. As my lap progressed they began to lose places. They were still in the pits after I had finished my lap and I was up to fourth. After the race he reported that his stop lasted for the better part of a minute! He rejoined in 8th.

I held a hard charging driver from Belgium a couple of seconds behind me and I crossed the line in 4th. I was more than happy with this but almost ecstatic when the race screen showed me in 2nd!! It seems the Ferrari driver in 3rd and the 2nd placed driver hadn‘t run the hard tyre at all. They eventually ended up 10 & 11 after their penalties.

The pole sitter and winner ran hards all the way and finished 30+ seconds in front of me. I’ll leave it to you to decide if their Dr C is genuine.

So, best result of the season and “one & done”.

 

[Fezzik]

2:00pm slot EMEA GT3 (Dr C)



Managed to get out 2nd for the qualifying run and posted a 2:32.3 on my first flying lap which was good enough for 4th. I made a mess of Eau Rouge on my 2nd lap so headed back to the pits for the remaining minute or so. My time stood up and 4th was where I started. Pole was set with a 2:30.2 which for a DR C driver seemed very fast indeed. That time was 2 seconds faster than 2nd.

If those are the times in GT3 / DR C then I'm in real trouble later for my GT2 / DR B race.

 

[MCL1974]

Congrats on the win! I think it's possible the Supra also had dirty tires, was on a terrible line due to rejoining, and was desperate to keep the lead, all of which led to him sliding into you at the exit of the chicane. So pretty poor driving, but maybe not intentional.

Think you should always give one the benefit of the doubt. But having said that: i watched the entiry replay just now and he did the same thing at the start, only in that case he completely missed me. Also I think he was driving with TCS zero, I usually have it on 1 during a race. I have experienced in the past that it really helps when one tries to hit or push you.

Anyway; you mentioned dirty tyres, but is that actually a real thing in GT7? Never really noticed any real difference in the tyres when going off the racing line. Now, either I am very good (i'm not) or that is not an active feature at my level?

 

[Weaves1983]

Welp…2nd win (GT3) ever thanks to everyone in front of me running Ms till the end and having to pit. I’ll take it

 

[GlockPants]

If those are the times in GT3 / DR C then I'm in real trouble later for my GT2 / DR B race.

Pole sitter in my GT3 (I'm DR - B also) lobby today set a high 2:28.xxx ... I was astonished. I've raced against this person in a few of the other Manufacturer races and they've always been quick but I was never this far behind them. P2 was 2 seconds behind. Myself included at P4. My best FP lap was a 2:29.6xx and I figured that was pretty good.

They ended up finishing 30 seconds ahead where the previous race we were only 6 seconds apart. Spa isn't my best track, but I know my way around it.

 

[OJBrit]

Think you should always give one the benefit of the doubt. But having said that: i watched the entiry replay just now and he did the same thing at the start, only in that case he completely missed me. Also I think he was driving with TCS zero, I usually have it on 1 during a race. I have experienced in the past that it really helps when one tries to hit or push you.

Anyway; you mentioned dirty tyres, but is that actually a real thing in GT7? Never really noticed any real difference in the tyres when going off the racing line. Now, either I am very good (i'm not) or that is not an active feature at my level?

It is a real thing. However I experience understeer and crap braking as standard that it doesn't make much difference to me.

A really good race this evening.
Got a good lap in and placed her P5 on the grid. Lap 1 and the top 3 are fighting quite hard. Myself and the Supra ahead are battling but also keeping an eye on that as we are just on the fringes of it. They wobble a bit in Pouhon and I seize my chance into Fagne and claim P4.

Notice the Trophy just behind. They are on me all the way up the back straight and I let them past into the final chicane. I suspect the ol' Slophy is on meds.
From here it is a bit of a boring race actionwise but I have to maintain concentration to make sure I hold position.
A TT ahead pits on lap 4. +1 place. Another Supra then pits lap 6. +1 place.
Finally on lap 7 the Megane files off right into the pit lane confirming my suspicions. +1 place.
As I am 9 seconds off the now leader and 6 seconds ahead of the Supra behind I just ease it on to the line with no issues. I was hoping the leader might also be on meds but not pit but no it was P2 in the end and 60 points to give me a net 10 point increase in my battle with @Fezzik in the GT2 Vette challenge.

With some fuel in her the Gr4 Vette is a nice car to drive. Maybe it could do with some of it's horses back but no complaints from me.

 

[Mercia]

Definitely agree with the sentiments above that this one should be more laps. Perfect track for a bright sunny evening with the fan blowing. Good stuff.

Qualified 6th after struggling to pick between the GT-R and Silvia, it just seemed like Silvia had a bit more jump off the throttle but even then I felt really sluggish off the race start.

Spent the opening laps being attacked by 7th and 8th, having to eventually slip down to 7th where I found some peace and some pace as the race went on. Can't say much happened after that point until amazingly cars pitted ahead on lap 6 and I was moved up to 3rd, with no challenger around and wow, how long is that pit stop because those guys were out of it when it was all said and done.

3rd, bit jammy so unlikely to go again, could have been a much more interesting event I think with some creative race design but hey ho. Perhaps that's just how it fell for me.

Good luck everybody

 

[GTWolverine]

It is a real thing. However I experience understeer and crap braking as standard that it doesn't make much difference to me.

A really good race this evening.
Got a good lap in and placed her P5 on the grid. Lap 1 and the top 3 are fighting quite hard. Myself and the Supra ahead are battling but also keeping an eye on that as we are just on the fringes of it. They wobble a bit in Pouhon and I seize my chance into Fagne and claim P4.
View attachment 1266946
Notice the Trophy just behind. They are on me all the way up the back straight and I let them past into the final chicane. I suspect the ol' Slophy is on meds.
From here it is a bit of a boring race actionwise but I have to maintain concentration to make sure I hold position.
A TT ahead pits on lap 4. +1 place. Another Supra then pits lap 6. +1 place.
Finally on lap 7 the Megane files off right into the pit lane confirming my suspicions. +1 place.
As I am 9 seconds off the now leader and 6 seconds ahead of the Supra behind I just ease it on to the line with no issues. I was hoping the leader might also be on meds but not pit but no it was P2 in the end and 60 points to give me a net 10 point increase in my battle with @Fezzik in the GT2 Vette challenge.

With some fuel in her the Gr4 Vette is a nice car to drive. Maybe it could do with some of it's horses back but no complaints from me.

Hopefully I can drag this boat to a decent finish too. I like Spa and I'm fairly quick around it, so hopefully that'll make up for its lack of competitiveness against some of the more popular cars. Now I just need to resist the urge to push too hard to keep up with the Silvias...

 

[OJBrit]

Hopefully I can drag this boat to a decent finish too. I like Spa and I'm fairly quick around it, so hopefully that'll make up for its lack of competitiveness against some of the more popular cars. Now I just need to resist the urge to push too hard to keep up with the Silvias...

I'm sure your capable hands will do her well.

 

[GlockPants]

GT3 - B/S lobby of 15 drivers.

Where to start. This race was silly.

Driving the Porsche Cayman sporting the #8 board. Qualifier was uneventful for me, setting a decent lap good for P4. The pole sitter out drove the entire lobby besting the other top 5 by 2 seconds or better.

As for the race, utter chaos. After watching the replay, I don't believe most of the silliness to have been unsportsmanlike, just a ton of bumping and shoving. I'll keep it short, but after some racing incidents during the first lap, I'm clawing my way back from P12. Below is a video of a sample of what I was dealing with while almost getting punted at the chicane (after watching the replay, I believed they were actually trying to avoid me but nearly didn't).



In the end, the no-stop strategy with hard tires paid off. I crossed the finish line 6th, but 3 drivers ahead never changed off their medium tires and took a 1 minute penalty landing me in P3 and 66 points.

 

[Fezzik]

@OJBrit your lead is safe after today’s subpar performance. Only 63 points were available for the win and that was never on the cards.

Knew I was off the pace here and so it proved. A 31.8 only good for 13th place in the Corvette. 2 secs off pole and behind my #10 board seeding.

Made up a few places on lap 1 but misjudged the braking point for the bus stop - I hadn’t practiced with the hards. Thumped into a M4, luckily didn’t hurt them too much but waiting dropped me back to P12 to go with a 2 second penalty.

Spent the next 7 laps staring at the back of a Jag. Couldn’t get closer than 1.5 seconds. Picked up a couple of places as people crashed and that was it to the flag. Only 1 car pitted, everyone else on no-stop hards so no free places. The downside of only being available for the later slots - people have read the rules by now.

9th place and 42 points means my worst performance of the season. Can’t really blame the car despite its lack of top speed, I’m just slow here even though I love the track.

 

[Zorz]

That's a one-and-done for me after EMEA GT1 slot 1. It's a very boring combo, I lucked out with a few people using Mediums for some reason and...

(I said there would be Mercedes F1 memes when the season started, I've been slacking!!)

Getting the SLS to turn on worn Hards is so, so painful!

Started P10 with a 2:28.8 and managed to survive a fairly rough start. Once it settled down, it was really quite processional, save for a Ferrari doing a last-to-first challenge and a Honda that binned it but ultimately had better pace than me and took the position back.

The last 4-5 laps of the race were just horrible with the car no longer really wanting to do anything anymore. Still, ended up P5 for 214 points which I'm more than happy to take and run. I very much doubt I'd get anything like that if I went again now that people know making a pit stop is shooting yourself in the foot. Our polesitter did that, and despite being extremely fast on the Mediums and a very long way out in front, he finished P11.

RIP to the Subaru who had an almost dead front left on lap 13 as well - yikes.

 

[amnesiactical]

Did the 8pm EMEA GT1 and a one and done for me!

Qualified 3rd, 3 tenths off pole, wasn't too disappointed given the fact that the NSX needs the tow to avoid being overtaken down the Kemmel.

Jumped off the line by an Italian in the 458 who then proceeded to ruin everyone's race at one point or another. Managed to battle my way up to P2 but already 6 seconds off 1st with tyres far more worn than I had hoped ( BB -5 managed to kill the fronts quicker than I'd expected plus the fighting for position).

Pretty boring race from there, had a few scares with some fast charging cars behind only for them to pit onto hards. Finished P2 and a tenth off fastest lap which was set by someone on Mediums.

159 points in the bag and should hopefully place me in the top 15 for Honda in EMEA as it stands.

 

[Talon16]

One and done for me today. Only time I could get a race in was 15:00 EST. Even if I had more time, I probably wouldn't do another.

It was actually a pretty boring race after the first lap. Qualified P4. A Supra tried a move around the outside going through Les Combs (which wasn't a good idea IMO) on lap one, went wide, cut the chicane, and smacked into the Ferrari that was in front of me on rejoin. Fortunately, the Supra went off and crashed and the Ferrari wasn't much worse for the wear.

Still in P4, said Ferrari went wide through Blanchimont so I took P3. P1 & P2 were fighting about 2.5s ahead but I couldn't much make time on them. They fought for a couple of laps, when P2 took P1 and was gone. After lap seven I saw why: he forgot to put the RH tires on before the race. He was a good sport and laughing about it in the chat afterwards. So I inherited P2 on the last lap and that's how it finished. Spent seven of the eight laps ~3s back from P2 and ~3s ahead of P4 so it was just an open lapping session.

Glorified Daily C. Gets a big MEH from me...

 

[Stilva]

Terrible race from me just now. I was in the GT2 Americas 7:00pm slot and I had no pace at all. I had the #8 plate and qualified in P14 thanks to I believe having my TC default to 3 before qualifying. I did fight my way up to P9 before lap 4, but I spun exiting Speaker's Corner and fell way back. Got back to P9 a lap later, then got stuck in an unfavorable position entering the bus stop and fell down the field again. Just ugh at that point. I get to P11 and finish P10 thanks to one of the front runners running only medium tires. I have no idea how everyone was going so quick around here. I was just so slow it was very deflating to say the least. Maybe I'm just not good at Spa in general. Oh well, nothing I can do now.

I'll cheer myself up with some Final Fantasy 16 tomorrow, and try to remember the next round is Saturday. And I STILL haven't come close to finishing Tears of the Kingdom. Lots of nerd stuff for me to do after this series is done.

 

[Dep Fishtail]

Second slot GT1 NA tonight in another low A/S lobby that actually matched my ability fairly well.

Qualified p8 because I missed my average practice laps by about half a second due to traffic.

Race went really well as I moved up to p5 on lap one and held that with a small gap behind me until I spun on lap 5. Dropped to p11 and went back to work while doing my best to save tires on this FF tire shredder.

Gained positions fairly quickly and back to p7 by lap 10. Going past the pits I moved up to p6 and realized someone had pitted. Running VR I can’t tell other than random positions being gained.
Tires were getting bad by lap 15 but it seemed that I still had a good shot at holding p6 til the end.
Lap 16 I got passed once half way around and once more just before the final straight for a hard fought p8.

I didn’t donate as many DR points as I had feared by even entering this round with the FF RCZ as I gave up 200 DR and got 128 Manu points which is my second highest score of the season.

Bring on the GR3’s because while the FF is a great sprinter, it doesn’t compete if the strategy is no stop.
🍺

 

[SPL170db]

Uggh, playing on controller really blows sometimes.....this race is one of those times. Tires both wear faster and your times suffer more as they wear since you don't have the finer control a wheel offers for sure.

Anyway, in the first GT1 slot I Q'd 6th, faded back to 11th. Skipped the middle slot and did the 3rd. Q'd in 3rd, briefly up to 2nd and once again faded back to 8th. In both races my front left tire was completely fried before the end of the 15th lap.

 

[D_Dragline]

Asia GT1 in the Porsche. Door 2 in a 15 car, 266 point lobby. But the Cayman is soooo slow a reasonable qualy lap put me Q13.

Race starts and, you couldn't make this up, on the revised version of Spa where you start on the downhill straight, the cars from p13 back start in the middle of La Source? Seriously? They couldn't start the race just 20m further down the road? Nice one PD.

The first few laps saw some real drama ahead as cars took turns 4 wide and basically jostled each other all the way to Blanchimont. When it finally settled down I was in p14.

On lap 3, a Ferrari that had started p12 had worked its way to p5 but got into a tangle with a WRX in p4. They both ended up in the sand and I took 2 places back. The Ferrari recovered and, turning quick laps, got back past me. I then watched in horror as he proceeded to ram everyone in sight. just the filthiest driving you can imagine. As he did this, I began to pick up places from the victims left on the sides of the road. When he got one wrong at the chicane at the end of lap 5, I overtook him and got the hell out of there as fast as I could. Eventually he caught me into Blanchimont. Because I had seen what he was doing, I held the inside. Sure enough as we approached the turn-in he tried to sideswipe me off the track. I quietly let him plant his rear left panel in my front right and PIT himself.

Now up to p10 I got a quiet lap before our Ferrari friend was back. This time he tried to punt me through Les Fagnes. He was only partially successful and I ran off track but held the car together and out of the sand.

Cue more chaos from our Ferrari friend and by lap 12 I was in p9. The agent of chaos was well back targeting another poor soul for no apparent reason. About lap 13 he finally pitted for hards!

I made one more overtake on lap 14 when I got by a WRX whose tyres must have been shredded and I took huge chunks out of a Silvia who was also obviously struggling. But at La Source on the start of the last lap, he literally parked it on the apex and I almost lost it trying avoid rear ending him. Any chance of p7 was officially gone.

But I brought it home in p8 for 188 points. It wasn't anywhere near my best result, but it was a very good drive and, given the Cayman's severe handicap here, a much better result than expected.

NB: For no particular reason other than a slightly strange username, I have a suspicion the Ferrari driver might be a Japanese alt for everyone's favourite Portuguese driver. You can watch a different version of his antics in the next slot here;

 

[RobertHammer]

I skipped this round as my RCZ Gr.4 aint that good , it's a shame since i like racing on Spa
so preparing for the Watkins Glenn that's gonna be good

 

[GTWolverine]

Sigh
Slot 1: Had an awful qualifying and started P12, just behind @Geauxgreddy. Headed into Blanchimont for the first time, Greddy went a bit wide and got a tank-slapper and ended up bouncing off of me and into a spin. Much later on in the race, I caught a WRX who'd clearly chewed through their front tires, who then also went wide at Blanchimont and spun directly into the side of me, sending him spinning off in the other direction and almost forcing me off track as well, and allowing Greddy to latch on to my rear bumper before he eventually passed me. At that point I'd also worn my front tires off from all the times I out-braked myself and got stuck in battles with much more capable cars. Literally the only car I had a battle with the entire race that I managed to keep behind me was a Cayman that also apparently lacks straight line speed. Finished P11.

Slot 2: Once again in with @Geauxgreddy, but this time I managed a much better qualifying time, with my time netting me an amazing...10th... I moved up to 9th at Les Combes when 11th outbraked himself and torpedoed 9th, then I lost a few spots on Lap 2 when I was part of a train of six (6!) cars that picked up track limits penalties at Eau Rouge. I settled behind Greddy for a few laps until he had another moment at Eau Rouge and I was able to get past. A Mercedes spun in front of me a bit later, and after that I just stared at the rear bumpers of 2 McLarens as they walked away from me on my way to an 8th place finish and 218 points. I figured as terrible as the Gr.4 Corvette was, I'd be able to easily outscore that in the final 2 rounds at Watkins Glen and Interlagos when I'd have the much better Gr.3 car, so I figured I had nothing to lose and decided to go again...

Slot 3: Once again matched up with @Geauxgreddy and other familiar faces. Had an OK first qualifying lap, but knew I could do better. Of course when I was almost 0.2s up on my previous lap, I spun at Stavelot so I started P13. I was staying with the pack and even gained a couple spots, but always lost them because my car won't stop, turn, accelerate, or maintain speed, so I was still in P13 ultimately when I stupidly outbraked myself into the chicane and dropped to 15th, completely ruining my race as there was no way I had enough pace to actually overtake anyone that got by me. A few laps later, I caught up to a floundering Supra and made a move in the same chicane. I managed to get past with some slight, but ultimately inconsequential contact. 14th position was literally worthless, but for some reason the Supra took exception to being passed by my POS Corvette and this is what followed:

I gained 1 more spot from there because someone who showed up in a Swift unsurprisingly quit when his tires died. 134 absolutely useless points, and yet more DR lost.

 

[Dep Fishtail]

I skipped this round as my RCZ Gr.4 aint that good , it's a shame since i like racing on Spa
so preparing for the Watkins Glenn that's gonna be good

Sorry to hear that you missed this one as the RCZ was super competitive until tire wear caught up around lap 13 or so.
8 laps on hards wouldn’t have been as bad as you were thinking.

I do agree that the GR3 is where the best opportunities are.
GL on Watkins!

 

[Slowdan]

The 8pm UK slot was an adventure for me! It was a mixed B and C lobby and I spotted later that I had the 15 plate.

Went out for quali and made myself some space through the lap when someone comes up on my bumper through blanchimont. He decides that a full contact divebomb into the chicane at the end of the out lap is a good move. So I come out onto my flyer with a car 5m in front. Obviously I go for the overtake at la source, with contact but side to side, and he responds by pushing me into the pit wall. Needless to say, I'm a bit miffed, but I settle down and drive the lap. He doesn't get away so I give myself a little room at the end and go for the next instead. Not enough room obviously, as I'm back on his tail halfway through and held up. Qualified 14th, one place ahead of the guy in front. This should be fun!

And actually it was! 😁

The weird start worked in my favour. I was on the exit of la source and he was in the middle of the corner, so I got a nice gap and caught up with the pack in front. First and second laps were chaotic (as below! ) but I managed to survive the melee and climb to 9th by the time it spread out a bit.

After that I had some great battles and gained some places through mistakes. Found myself in a battle with a Mazda for fourth by lap 4 and we had an awesome to and fro battle. I got in front thanks to a 0.5 penalty and held it for a lap and a half. He got a great run down kemmel and so I went defensive and missed my braking by 10m or so, went straight on and lost the place. In the end, he was faster and I was starting to make mistakes trying to keep up.

So pretty happy with a great fun race and a 5th place finish in the end!

I went back through the replay, and divebomb guy was having what looked like a great time (to him!) punting people off track. Last lap someone had enough, and just full speed rammed him off into the barrier at Las Fagnes. I might get a few highlight clips together later. 😆

 

[Hodd10]

Well that was sub optimal. Ran 2 slots last night.

Put some practice in an hour before I joined the 8pm slot. Got down into the low 2.29s consistantly which I was very happy with and went into qualifying expecting good things.

1st race quali I thought I had enough gap to run without any issues but the guy in front binned it but unghosted in front of me coming into the bus stop. Ended up qualifing 7th. Started the race well and made up a place on the Kemmel straight. However I completely missed by braking point and smashed into the back of a Merc. I felt freaking awful. Thankfully he took it well and accepted my apology afterwards. Obviously dropped to last but pulled it back to take 11th.

Went again in the 9pm slot. Quali this time was ruined by some absolute clown in a Mustang pushing to pass on the warm up then taking folk out the same way on the hot laps. This time I started 10th. No issues with braking this time on lap one and was up to 5th after some very messy racing up front which I took advantage of. However lap 3 disaster strikes. Stupid TV decides it has been on too long and gives the power off messgae unless a button is pressed. FFS. Remote not within reaching distance. Finally find it but have dropped back to 10th. Finish up 7th in the end. Couple of nice overtakes but in my rage at myself I didn't safe the replay after the race.

So lesson for this round. Maes sure your TV doesn't go into power down mode and if it does have the remote within easy distance!!

 

[Fezzik]

I'm sure there's a good and logical reason why they're skipping Saturday and having round 6 next Wednesday. At least there'll be a bit of strategy in that one. Soft tyres around Watkins Glen will be bliss.

With the Xbox price hike I think I'll be sticking with GT now rather than defecting over to Forza. Gonna put the money towards a wheel instead - hopefully will be ready for the next season. Need a new ride though, the Gr4 Corvette is just a bit too slow on the straights and I'm not good enough in the bends to compensate.

 

[D_Dragline]

I'm sure there's a good and logical reason why they're skipping Saturday and having round 6 next Wednesday. At least there'll be a bit of strategy in that one. Soft tyres around Watkins Glen will be bliss.

With the Xbox price hike I think I'll be sticking with GT now rather than defecting over to Forza. Gonna put the money towards a wheel instead - hopefully will be ready for the next season. Need a new ride though, the Gr4 Corvette is just a bit too slow on the straights and I'm not good enough in the bends to compensate.

So this is the first time I’ve realized that next round is Wednesday. Great news for me as it means I can run Watkins Glen.

No idea why Saturday gets skipped but woohoo!