Gran Turismo World Series (Nations Cup Exhibition Season: Jan 22 - Feb 1)

[Talon16]

I definitely threw caution to the wind this time as I picked my manufacturer at random before the schedule dropped. I got Renault.

Dragon Trail Gardens has me concerned with the zig-zag chicane. It feels OK doing that in free practice, but as an MR I fear the Renault's back end is going to slip out and murder me once the tyre wear kicks in.

My potential pace seems very strong so far though at least going by the leaderboards, so that's something to hold onto. I just need to find consistency. I had been doing 1:32.0s until I pulled a 1:31.5 out of nowhere. I think I'm currently the fastest Renault on the board, and it feels really, really weird saying that!

YMMV but I've found the Renault to have one of the more stable rears of all the Gr3 cars. It seems there are two classes of MR handing in this game: on one hand you have the Lambo, Ferrari, Audi; but on the other hand you have the Renault, Ford GT 18, and McLaren.

I used it for Manu on one of my accounts last season and it was fine. If it rains at Nord, you're golden. It's Achilles's heal is top end.

 

[dazdilly75]

I definitely threw caution to the wind this time as I picked my manufacturer at random before the schedule dropped. I got Renault.

Dragon Trail Gardens has me concerned with the zig-zag chicane. It feels OK doing that in free practice, but as an MR I fear the Renault's back end is going to slip out and murder me once the tyre wear kicks in.

My potential pace seems very strong so far though at least going by the leaderboards, so that's something to hold onto. I just need to find consistency. I had been doing 1:32.0s until I pulled a 1:31.5 out of nowhere. I think I'm currently the fastest Renault on the board, and it feels really, really weird saying that!

I've also decided to go with Renault. After bonding with it at the recent daily race C at Nurb Endurance. The car is absolutely incredible since update 1.49 and it suits my driving style perfectly. Looking at the world leaderboard, I've just beat your time by half a tenth. The last chicane is incredibly tricky but there is a lot of time to be gained there is you're willing to risk it. I think my optimum is about 1:31.1xx Nice to see someone else representing the French diamond.

 

[RobertHammer]

 

[Moose78]

I've had a chance to do some tire wear testing for this first round of the Manu Cup. I'm driving the Suzuki. Lap times are definitely on the slow side. I'm not great at Dragon Trail Gardens reverse to begin with, but combined with this car, I'm even slower. These results are likely not indicative of what faster drivers in better cars will see.

Anyways, I can get the RMs to last 18 laps. The front left goes first, on lap 19. The RHs would easily last the entire race if that were allowed.

I've done two test races on each compound so far. I did 19 laps on RMs and 20 laps on RHs. I've constructed 'optimum' races by taking the better of the laps from each race.

Here's how the lap times look:

At the finish of each race, tread levels were:

Laps	Compound	Front left	Front right	Rear left	Rear right
19	RM	0%	25%	20%	30%
20	RH	20%	35%	30%	50%

If I simulate different strategies using the lap times from the 'optimum' races, the fastest strategies are:

Strategy	Total time
7RH-13RM	31:57.252
8RH-12RM	31:57.404
10RH-10RM	31:57.872
9RH-11RM	31:58.020
6RH-14RM	31:58.189

It looks like the sweet spot is going to be 6-10 laps on RH and 10-14 laps on RMs.

Details in this spreadsheet.

 

[tankuroded]

Live event news: Fraga will not be at GTWS World Finals due to scheduling conflicts with Super GT race at Suzuka (the one delayed due to typhoon). Walsen to sub.

 

[Interemptor]

Oh my... I feel so stupid.. totally mixed up the tracks for round one. I thought we race on the layout with the death chicane reverse 🤦‍♂️ Thank god we don't... So I won't skip round 1 😂

Decided to stay with Lambo and take my nice livery (made by @MCL1974) to the races

Took some practice laps and feel that there is still time to gain for me. Did 3 laps with the Lambo on pad. I think I will stay with the pad on my main. It's the safer option for now even though it's not as much fun as with the wheel. Going with the wheel on my alts.

 

[Zorz]

For those who have done practice runs in race conditions, how are you finding your lap times compared to free practice? I've managed to start setting mid-high 1:31s more consistently in free practice (including a 1:31.2, no idea where that one came from) but in actual race conditions I can't get below a mid 1:32. That gap is a bit higher than I'd have anticipated.

I'm wondering whether the extra weight from the fuel impacts the Renault heavily since it seems like it needs to be revved very aggressively to get any straight line speed, or if it's like this for everyone. (Or alternatively, if I'm just not hitting my marks as smoothly!)

I've done two runs now which have ended up with very similar times. The first one I did yesterday went 31:28 going 10M/10H. Today's one went 31:27 going 12M/8H as I've switched to BB+5 for more rotation after finding it helped my lap times. It helped my front tyres last longer, but I reckon I should have switched off to Hards sooner.

 

[Interemptor]

Did some more testing and got into the 32s even though that lap was not really good and i nearly went to space on the first sausage curb on this tracks death chicane.. and I suck so bad at the quadruple left hander 😂

Still very exited for the race though

 

[Moose78]

For those who have done practice runs in race conditions, how are you finding your lap times compared to free practice?

I'm probably too slow for it to be relevant to you, but I'm seeing a similar difference between Free Practice and Custom Races. My best lap on RMs in a Custom Race is 1:34.640, compared to 1:33.770 in Free Practice. My best opt time in Custom Races is a little closer -- 1:34.179 -- but still a way off from Free Practice.

I feel like the fuel weight does have significant impact here. I definitely feel a difference at the hairpin. I expect it also impacts the speed I'm able to take the long compound corner and the final high-speed one.

 

[bliprunner]

Not a very original choice round here, but anyway I'm pleased to announce my signing to Team GTP Lavazza-Renault.

Had a few tests with some top manufacturers, the Renault felt planted and predictable and decent lap-times came quite easily. Plus they offered me the most amount of cash.

As part of this very lucrative deal I am contractually obliged to drink twelve cups of Lavazza, The World's Finest Coffee™ during each race.

 

[Zorz]

As part of this very lucrative deal I am contractually obliged to drink twelve cups of Lavazza, The World's Finest Coffee™ during each race.

Steer clear of that very twitchy Renault.

 

[Fezzik]

Checked the end date on my Plus and realized I have time for one last GTWS race. Have gone local and signed with McLaren, it's been quite a while since I last drove for them. Doing something different and dumb for this special one-off cameo - I'm running the F1. This won't go well.

 

[Norbsthebald]

Steer clear of that very twitchy Renault.

You'll be alright if there's another one-make race in the Cappuccino in the Nations cup that will no doubt follow this MC.

 

[ZEE]

For this cup, I did a test lobby race and didnt fair too well in Dragon Trails Garden Reverse, have signed with my trusty Asotn martin this time roudn so lets see how tomorrow goes. Hopefully it not a clusterfudge of divebombers on Turn 1 lol.

I dont think the combo is very good, RM at a reverse ocurse that doesnt really work backwards. Odd choice by PD imo.

 

[Interemptor]

GT2 - Mid B - EMEA - Door #5 - 115pts for the victory

Love the 10 min quali. No hitting and pushing. Everybody left enough space to the cars ahead. Qualified on P2 with a huge gap to P1. The rest was relativly close.

Race started really good. The driver in P1 struggled a bit and I passed them in the hairpin. Could build a gap of about 4s and had a feeling that they started on the hards.

Starting in lap 8 I felt the tires going downhill and in Lap 11 it was enough and I wanted to pit. Sadly I was a bit too fast in the last corner and would have crossed the white pit entry line so I stayed out for another lap. This move cost me about 2.5s and i went in the pit at the end of lap 12 with a gap of .8s to P2. Indeed the other Lambo started on hards so my hope for a win was mostly gone.

Came out in P3 with 2 cars ahead that didn't pit yet. At the hairpin the other Lambo tapped me a bit but waited until I was going again, and apologized after the race, but had a bit damage for a couple of seconds. Then I missed my breaking point at the end of the back straight and lost P3.

After the 2 in front made their stop I was back in P2 and finished there for 110 points and a clean race bonus (even though I had a penalty for leaving the track)

Overall I'm very happy with the result. Very good and clean race. I hope the next rounds will be just like it.

 

[ElectricNaz]

Just signed up for team BMW for a change. Will miss round 2 as we're away next weekend but I know I can make at least this one and my favourite Road Atlanta!

Managed a 1.32.143 in free practice, I'm in the GT1 class now for the first time ever so I'm gonna get absolutely destroyed based on my lap times 😂😂 but had some good runs on the mediums and hards in free practice so I'm confident I can keep it consistent and stay on the road. I think I can get my optimal down between now and then as the quadruple left kills me, just need to practice that section more.

Good luck all!!!!

 

[D_Dragline]

I’ve taken the coward’s option and signed with Toyota for the first time ever.

I’ve formed a weird bond with the Gr3 Supra over the last month. I’m really enjoying the way it drives.

However, DTG is my least favourite track in the game, so I will be questioning all my life choices by around lap 5 of round 1.

 

[Zorz]

Managed a 1.32.143 in free practice, I'm in the GT1 class now for the first time ever so I'm gonna get absolutely destroyed based on my lap times 😂

I think you're selling yourself short there. If this is your first GT1 season, I'm assuming you're at the start of DR A? I'm expecting to see the majority of quali times around 1:31.5-1:32.0 at low A+ so a mid-1:32 sounds like it should be about right for your DR.

Just be aware that tyre wear is turned ON in GT1 qualifying, so the car will feel a little different than it does in free practice and in the race itself, and you might want to cancel out for fresh tyres at some point with the 10 minute session.

And of course, welcome to heavy damage.

 

[OJBrit]

I engaged hard mode by coming down with Man Flu. Would it affect my racing?

So firstly my Manu choice. I was excited as all three in the last round of my randomisation process were new Manus. In the end Subaru came out winners.

In Practice this morning I got within a tenth of @MCL1974 which is the closest for a while. So there was a confidence there. At least on the mediums. I kept spinning out on the exit of the chicane on the hards thanks to the stupid bump.

In qualy I could not match my time mostly thanks to not getting Istanbul right. Qualified P12. Not to disappointed as it allowed me to run the alt strat.
On the grid walkthrough I was 11th as someone had left the room. I'll take a free place.

Nothing much happened at the start. I gained time on those behind but stayed with those ahead.
That was the way it stayed until lap 3. An Alfa hit a 911 into T1. I got past the Porsche and the Alfa had a 4 second pen. However the Alfa and Lexus ahead were still battling which allowed me a sniff into the chicane but I rightly pulled out.

The Porsche had since gained back thanks to this fighting and whilst I gained from the Alfa's pen the 911 retook that position into T1. I was fine with that. I was playing the long game. I stayed 10th with no further issues until my stop on lap 5 for mediums. I came out in 14th with plenty of clean air. Lap 8 and I had caught those ahead. A French Lexus let me through into T1 lap 9.
End of lap 10 and those ahead start to pit and I gratefully take their places. Interestingly the Lexus who had been ahead was also on the hards meaning he might pose a threat in the later stages of the race. Lap 12 and my saviour comes. A Lambo spins after going wide out of the chicane and I just make it past them. Well after they tried to outbrake me with dirty tyres into T1 that is. A nice switcheroo moment for me. I then build up a 2 second gap to them through Istanbul and that is roughly where it stays the next few laps meaning the Lambo is holding up the Lexus. The last few stops happen and I am 6th. I slowly gain on those ahead, but not enough to be meaningful.
Lap 18 and I go a bit wide in the 3rd part of Istanbul and have to control a slide coming out of the corner. This allows the Lambo to close up but I am still ahead. I don't see them again after the hairpin (I call it The Snout) as they seemed to be all over the place and contact with the Lexus put them into a spin. I was now 2 seconds ahead of them with 2 to go and they were closing. I shouldn't have worried. On the last lap they spun it out of the hairpin and that allowed me to finish P6! Or so I thought. A swiss driver ahead fell foul of the tyre regs and landed themselves 2 minutes worth of pens! Ouch when did that double? So 5th for round 1 and 63 points.
I much prefer running my own race and allowing my pace to come out than fighting with others. Worked very well here.

 

[ElectricNaz]

I think you're selling yourself short there. If this is your first GT1 season, I'm assuming you're at the start of DR A? I'm expecting to see the majority of quali times around 1:31.5-1:32.0 at low A+ so a mid-1:32 sounds like it should be about right for your DR.

Just be aware that tyre wear is turned ON in GT1 qualifying, so the car will feel a little different than it does in free practice and in the race itself, and you might want to cancel out for fresh tyres at some point with the 10 minute session.

And of course, welcome to heavy damage.

I'm very low A+ because tbf I absolutely rampaged through A a few weeks ago in between the last series I did and this one... But if I get a decent enough lobby I'm hoping I'm not just 2 seconds a lap begind everyone! (suppose at least then I'm at no risk of heavy damage lol)

Didn't realise about the tyres in Qualy - is fuel burn still a thing as well in the early part of the Qualy session? Thanks for the tips bud!

@OJBrit that livery of yours above is beautiful, chefs kiss

Edit: just seen that in Qualy fuel consumption is off, so that answers my own question!

 

[Zorz]

I'm very low A+ because tbf I absolutely rampaged through A a few weeks ago in between the last series I did and this one... But if I get a decent enough lobby I'm hoping I'm not just 2 seconds a lap begind everyone! (suppose at least then I'm at no risk of heavy damage lol)

Didn't realise about the tyres in Qualy - is fuel burn still a thing as well in the early part of the Qualy session? Thanks for the tips bud!

@OJBrit that livery of yours above is beautiful, chefs kiss

Edit: just seen that in Qualy fuel consumption is off, so that answers my own question!

Oh, bit of a different situation then. 😅 Skipping A entirely and going into GT1 at A+ is going in at the deep end! Maybe a little bit off the pace then, but who knows. I don't think it would be by too much if you are.

If you're at the start of A+, we might end up being matched up too as that's where I am. I'll try to remember to say hello if I see you!

 

[newmedia_dev]

Currently doing Race A and moving to the back to repair my SR although my pace in the GTR looks like it's not going to matter as I'll be starting so far back I'll be in a different post/zip code

 

[OJBrit]

@OJBrit that livery of yours above is beautiful, chefs kiss

Thanks. Nothing special. Just what I can come up with using the game's editor. Glad you like it. Good luck for this afternoon.

 

[RobertHammer]

GT2 B - run only once

Qualified P11 very bad laps looking back to it i wish pushed more
Race went good and started with Hards first as i managed to climbed to P9 , someone divebombed me near the saugages ...
but thankfully i didnt take long to get back and then to pits after lap 9 - got out in P10 then other drivers went pits and i slowly climped up to P7 , there been chase and battle with Supra but he got lucky because i got myself a track limit penalty xD
in the end someone forgot to pit and finished in P6

I could have done better but eh - have fun out there 👍

 

[ElectricNaz]

Awful first GT1 race.

Qualified in 2nd.... Woooop!

I was door number 10

Started on mediums. Towards the end of lap 5, I was in comfortable second place, 3 seconds behind SuperSonic but about 8 seconds ahead of whoever was in 3rd.

Then drama #1 - end of lap 5, coming out of the final curve I put my foot down a tad too early, went up on the kerb and spun, and binned it into the wall.

Was still in 7th after recovering when I pitted end of lap 6 for hards (risky but had to) and repair suspension and aero.

Came out in 14th. Was keeping the same pace as Supersonic, and eventually found myself back up into 8th, behind Carlsburger, with all except him ahead still to pit.

Drama number 2 - end of lap 12, I did it again, this time at the right hander after the chicane. Exact same thing except somehow didn't hit anything so I could carry on. By the time I'd recovered from a few pirhouettes I was in 13th.

Kind of gave up at that point, so end of lap 16 I pitted again anyway for mediums to try and at least get myself a fastest lap.

Drama number 3 - did the same thing that I did on lap 1 at the final turn. So ended up just pottering around with damage again for the last 3 laps.

Learnings - I've got a lot to learn about GT1. Never really had to stay focused for a such a long time before (inc 10 min Qualy), and the heavy damage really means I should just take it a bit easier and think about the long game.

Should I have carried on with that damage and not pit on lap 6? Would it have made the blindest bit of difference as I'd lost all those positions anyway?

Might try again at 5pm, but might not. Based on my race pace which was roughly half a second a lap down on Supersonic (and on the hards it did seem like I was matching him on the laps I didn't bin it), I could and should have finished 2nd or at worst 3rd if I'd have taken it a fraction easier. Gutted

 

[Zorz]

The longest 1.3 seconds I've experienced in a long, long time. Aaarrgggh. So, so close to my first win in 2 years. I spent that entire race shaking from nerves after throwing it on pole out of nowhere with a completely unexpected 1:31.344, just pipping the French Porsche. My personal best in free practice is a 1:31.288, and that was a surprise when it happened too.

I haven't really led any races properly in a very long time and on the rare occasions where I've started on pole, I've done something stupid and binned it.

I held the lead all the way until lap 14 when an AMG got me into the quadruple left-hander, but then got it back when he made a pit stop at the end of lap 19. (The joys of VR, can't tell what people are doing in the pits!) Unfortunately, the Croatian Porsche had been steadily gaining on me, and got past me on the run out of turn 2.

I'm sure as hell not going to complain though, taking away 248 points from P2 is one of my best points results ever. That's got to have me well towards the top of the EMEA GT1 Renault rankings, surely! 🥳

​

 

[Zorz]

Learnings - I've got a lot to learn about GT1. Never really had to stay focused for a such a long time before (inc 10 min Qualy), and the heavy damage really means I should just take it a bit easier and think about the long game.

Should I have carried on with that damage and not pit on lap 6? Would it have made the blindest bit of difference as I'd lost all those positions anyway?

Might try again at 5pm, but might not. Based on my race pace which was roughly half a second a lap down on Supersonic (and on the hards it did seem like I was matching him on the laps I didn't bin it), I could and should have finished 2nd or at worst 3rd if I'd have taken it a fraction easier. Gutted

Yeah, it's a hell of a lot more intense and competitive in GT1, especially once you're approaching A+. You know now why I said you'd be jumping in the deep end stepping in for the first time in A+. I recognise almost everyone in your lobby and they're fast. Unfortunate that it went south for you, but lol and well done at starting P2 after your concerns earlier. Hopefully that's a confidence booster for you - just need to get acclimatised.

Getting damage on lap 6, it probably would have ended up roughly equal pitting when you did. Assuming you were going 10/10, 4 laps of damage would probably come out to a pit stop anyway I imagine. Your race was effectively over one way or the other anyway.

 

[ZEE]

Well this race went better than I hoped considering all things that went before. Qualifying for the GTWS Round 1 at Dragon trail Gardens was a bit hit and miss, toomany argy bargys and I started the race in last place (14th), but it only had 14 cars in this race, some people dropped out before it started.

Anyways, it was a quite good race overall, had good pace at the start with the RM tyres, and there was chaos at turn 1 thru 3 that helped me glide up a ton of postions up to 8th place, the gave chase to some porsches in 7th and 6th. I raced up to Lap 11 and then pitted to change to the mandatory RH tyres and then exited pits barely crossing the white line, small error and got handed a stupid 3 sec penatly that slowed me down some more. All in all before that I was get punt passed by an irish driver in an ugly Guiness liveried Porsche RSR, but I didnt let it affect me too much. I did lose s little pace but recovered up until the end and finished a respectable 9th and gained about 36pts for Round 1.

Bring on Round 2 because I know I can win/do well at Trial mountain, it a great course and much more fun at racing as long as it not REVERSE variation!

 

[ElectricNaz]

Learned my lesson!!! Not going to lie, I practiced a bit with CSA on and then tried to replicate my earlier spins, and this helped a lot, the car basically refused to spin when I dabbed the high edge of the kerbs so I kept it on for the race.

Door 15, started 12th, not as good as my previous Qualy but at best I would have started 9th

This race went much better. Started on hards as I was way down the grid. Was up into 11th after the first corner, and then a couple of guys span so I was in 9th by the end of the first lap.

Managed to make it up to 8th before pitting at the end of lap 10, glad to get rid of those slippery eels they call tyres.

After the pits evened out, I'd been undercut by someone, so was in 9th. It was an absolutely great race, there were 5 cars all within a couple of seconds from 4th to 9th, gaining time here, losing time there. Was a really intense challenge to keep it all together.

And then on lap 19.....the madness happened.... Multiple lines and people starting to lose their cool a bit....

And then out of the "tunnel" halfway down the next straight...

Amazingly nobody made contact, but the guy in the 911 got all out of shape at the exit of the quadricurve and span himself out.

I was up into 7th as I'd got past the guy next to me in the screenshot, as he was completely blocked by both me making a move, and the guy in front of him.

Thankfully that was the end of the madness, and it all settled down on the last lap. Couldn't quite get close enough to make a move on the person in 6th, there's just nowhere really to do it!

Very happy with that! Slower pace than I anticipated but that happens when you're stuck behind someone else for basically 10 laps! I had predicted a 31.35ish so I was about 9 seconds off that, all good though, great defending from the driver in front.

189 points, I'm genuinely chuffed!!!

 

[Zorz]

189 points, I'm genuinely chuffed!!!

Big congrats! 🥳

How does that compare to your previous best score before this season? I imagine it's a substantial step up.