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

[Talon16]

I guess it’s time to actually buckle down and learn Bathurst. Every time I drive it I don’t enjoy it so I’ve never stuck with it, maybe I’ll like it better after some actual practice.

Also, N24 shows only medium tires, so not wets/inters? Maybe no weather?

If you look in game, IMs and Ws are "useable tires" (which I think IMs and Ws always are). Regardless, count on rain. The GTWS had rain at the beginning and if you do some practice laps it starts quite wet. In my practice sessions, first lap is right on the boarder of IM and W on the grip meter.

 

[SupaflyIRL]

oi mclaren time innit?

 

[guitargeek]

If you look in game, IMs and Ws are "useable tires" (which I think IMs and Ws always are). Regardless, count on rain. The GTWS had rain at the beginning and if you do some practice laps it starts quite wet. In my practice sessions, first lap is right on the boarder of IM and W on the grip meter.

Ah, I guess I hadn’t looked in game, that makes sense.

 

[Dep Fishtail]

Just did 5 laps in practice mode. First two very wet but still wet on third lap except right as the lap was finishing and then completely dry.

Switched to RM and the out lap was perfectly dry as was the final lap.
Took a full 5 laps to get a dry lap on RM which stick like glue compared to the first laps so it’s about adjusting big time to the change in grip.

Only ~22 seconds off the leaders with my dry lap 😂😂

A couple of things I thought about while doing this is all laps were primo qt fuel load and no tire wear was seen which may not matter much at 2x 🤷🏻‍♂️

Hopefully the weather can be duplicated reasonably easy in lobbies so we can get some good practice in.
I’ve always found it hard to nail weather coming in and leaving as intended when setting up.

Looks like total time was a crack under 45 minutes adding up my times. No spin outs or off track adventures in there either so these were best I could work out trying it for the first time.



Oh yeah. The new car already needs the first oil change 😂

 

[GTWolverine]

For Nations I wish they use other open wheels (MP4/4, RA272, RB Junior) instead of the usual X2019 or Super Formula.

Sorry, those are Race A cars only. Can't have people using iconic F1 cars in races that actually mean anything...🙄
And at least the SF cars no longer drive like 💩 like they did in GT Sport - they actually have rear brakes this time! As much of a PITA the X2019 is to drive, driving it at Spa is at least a change of scenery from SF at Spa for the billionth time...

2) Site says slip is set to Custom; I didn't verify this in game. I don't like this. Going to make it too easy for people to keep up. It will also like have people sandbag around the last couple of turns in order to be behind going on to Dottenger to get the ridiculous slip sling shot effect. I really hope this isn't the case and the slip isn't like it was in the Daily A last week.

We don't know for sure what "Custom" means though. In the SF23 Daily at Suzuka a few weeks ago, it just meant that there was no dirty air effect, so you could stay tucked up behind someone through the corners, but otherwise the slipstream felt like it was on "Real".

 

[SupaflyIRL]

Sorry, those are Race A cars only. Can't have people using iconic F1 cars in races that actually mean anything...🙄
And at least the SF cars no longer drive like 💩 like they did in GT Sport - they actually have rear brakes this time! As much of a PITA the X2019 is to drive, driving it at Spa is at least a change of scenery from SF at Spa for the billionth time...

We don't know for sure what "Custom" means though. In the SF23 Daily at Suzuka a few weeks ago, it just meant that there was no dirty air effect, so you could stay tucked up behind someone through the corners, but otherwise the slipstream felt like it was on "Real".

You’re right because im 95% sure that the quali for the two nations cup oval races had “custom” slipstream that was actually “no slipstream”. People speculated you could draft in quali because of it. You absolutely couldn’t.

 

[Talon16]

We don't know for sure what "Custom" means though. In the SF23 Daily at Suzuka a few weeks ago, it just meant that there was no dirty air effect, so you could stay tucked up behind someone through the corners, but otherwise the slipstream felt like it was on "Real".

I hope you are right.

You’re right because im 95% sure that the quali for the two nations cup oval races had “custom” slipstream that was actually “no slipstream”. People speculated you could draft in quali because of it. You absolutely couldn’t.

Slip has been turned off during quali for a loooong time, at GTWS races and Daily races. The actual race is different, though. The fact that slip is "Custom" doesn't mean anything for quali vs the race.

---

Anyone do enough practice laps to pit for slicks? If so, how many laps did it take? Are you starting on IMs or Ws? I've found that my times on IMs and Ws are about the same, but the Ws are much safer, especially under braking. But, the IMs will come into their own on lap two for sure. Definitely going to be a tough call as I didn't make it a lap on the IMs without an off, but the Ws were pretty easy. I need to practice more.

PS - On one of my accounts I picked Ford (but I am not allowing myself to use the LM II as I've used it many times before). The Mustang can't get grip while going straight in 4th gear even on full W tires.

 

[SupaflyIRL]

Slip has been turned off during quali for a loooong time, at GTWS races and Daily races. The actual race is different, though. The fact that slip is "Custom" doesn't mean anything for quali vs the race.

Im talking about mined quali settings from when the Daytona oval race went from TBD to official, not the race settings. People in my race were trying to draft in quali because of rumors despite no effect.

There was def discussion in this thread around it too I remember.

 

[Dep Fishtail]

I hope you are right.


Slip has been turned off during quali for a loooong time, at GTWS races and Daily races. The actual race is different, though. The fact that slip is "Custom" doesn't mean anything for quali vs the race.

---

Anyone do enough practice laps to pit for slicks? If so, how many laps did it take? Are you starting on IMs or Ws? I've found that my times on IMs and Ws are about the same, but the Ws are much safer, especially under braking. But, the IMs will come into their own on lap two for sure. Definitely going to be a tough call as I didn't make it a lap on the IMs without an off, but the Ws were pretty easy. I need to practice more.

PS - On one of my accounts I picked Ford (but I am not allowing myself to use the LM II as I've used it many times before). The Mustang can't get grip while going straight in 4th gear even on full W tires.

A few posts back 🤔
I did that 😁

Edit: I did wets for 3 laps. Water meter was still way up there starting lap 3 but super dry by the end of the lap.
Then night falls on lap 5

 

[icycls]

Just did 5 laps in practice mode. First two very wet but still wet on third lap except right as the lap was finishing and then completely dry.

Switched to RM and the out lap was perfectly dry as was the final lap.
Took a full 5 laps to get a dry lap on RM which stick like glue compared to the first laps so it’s about adjusting big time to the change in grip.

Only ~22 seconds off the leaders with my dry lap 😂😂

A couple of things I thought about while doing this is all laps were primo qt fuel load and no tire wear was seen which may not matter much at 2x 🤷🏻‍♂️

Hopefully the weather can be duplicated reasonably easy in lobbies so we can get some good practice in.
I’ve always found it hard to nail weather coming in and leaving as intended when setting up.

Looks like total time was a crack under 45 minutes adding up my times. No spin outs or off track adventures in there either so these were best I could work out trying it for the first time.



Oh yeah. The new car already needs the first oil change 😂


View attachment 1314015

this is in the 'free practice'? I haven't signed up yet, so haven't run any free practice. But I don't recall them having dynamic, or pre-determined weather in free practice before. Or, at least, the memory is fuzzy. Is the consensus that this is the pattern we will see in the race (GT1)?

 

[Dep Fishtail]

this is in the 'free practice'? I haven't signed up yet, so haven't run any free practice. But I don't recall them having dynamic, or pre-determined weather in free practice before. Or, at least, the memory is fuzzy. Is the consensus that this is the pattern we will see in the race (GT1)?

Yes. The free practice mode.
Not sure how it will reflect the race so I’m curious about what others believe the transition will be as well.

 

[Talon16]

A few posts back 🤔
I did that 😁

Edit: I did wets for 3 laps. Water meter was still way up there starting lap 3 but super dry by the end of the lap.
Then night falls on lap 5

Roger. I just did a five lap stint with the same results and same tire laps. Man, I am thinking if you can survive lap one on the IMs there can be a lot of time gained on laps two and three. Problem is - for me anyway - even if you are in the IM territory of the bar, all it takes is getting into a puddle on/near the curbs or some standing water on the... anywhere and it's game over, pal.

I am super bummed because I didn't get a 'real' result from my five laps as on lap four (first when RMs) I scraped against a wall, got some damage and true to race criteria, it stayed with me the whole following lap. I didn't feel like pitting to repair it as it would've taken two more laps to get a non-outlap on the RMs.

this is in the 'free practice'? I haven't signed up yet, so haven't run any free practice. But I don't recall them having dynamic, or pre-determined weather in free practice before. Or, at least, the memory is fuzzy. Is the consensus that this is the pattern we will see in the race (GT1)?

I am inclined to assume (and you know what they say about people who assume) that the free practice will mimic the race pretty darn close. Multiple people are reporting the same weather and day/night transition, as well as that is exactly how the GTWS event went.

I sure hope so anyway, as this race may be PD's best yet. Dynamic weather requiring strat, and the day to night transition looks amazing. I just hope at this point the "Custom" slip (which I did confirm it says that as well within the game) doesn't ruin it.

 

[Michelin Man]

It's an all right looking Exhibition season, races look a little on the short side, and the trend of Gr.3 only in GT1 seems to be continuing.

Anyway, with that I originally thought about running another new Manufacturer I haven't used before (specifically McLaren and the F1 GTR)). But alas, I've gone back to VW and my old favourite, the buzzing Beetle. It remains an underdog at the moment, and I enjoy it's quirky traits and the soundtrack. Plus there's the exclusivity .

Unfortunately it looks like I'll miss Rd.1, which is a shame given the results I've had at the Nurburgring. Even if I don't particularly enjoy it outside of Time Trials...

 

[Yard_Sale]

Rust Bucket Racing is back in business, more white trash than ever!!

 

[icycls]

Decided to go with the AMG since I have not used them before. And somehow have never bothered with scapes...

Lazy sunday, so I got 5 practice laps in at Nurb. My laps looked like an identical progression to @Dep Fishtail (and very similar times) using 3IM/2RM

 

[Moose78]

I ended up going with Mazda. With all the long straights at Watkins Glen, I expect the MAZDA3 to do well there. For the Gr.3 rounds, the Concept car seems like it should be decent, though it is a lot to handle in the rain, now that I've tried a few practice laps at the ring with it. Gotta short-shift that car quite a lot to keep from spinning out, especially on IMs.

 

[Met Entso]

I went wit Porsche again, I feel so comfortable with it. And no gr4 where it might be weaker so...

 

[MCL1974]

bit of a dissapointment, such a short exhibition series with only 4 races with a short interval.
Not possible for race for me on the 30th and not doing Bathurst so for this one my focus is on the two Gr. 4 races.

I absolutely love Watkins Glen, pretty much my favourite track and looking forward to practice further for Dragon Trail Gardens.
I tested a number of GR 4 cars on both these tracks and decided to stick with my earlier favourite, which I think is the best option for both races combined, both in speed and tyrewear:

 

[Moose78]

Anyone do enough practice laps to pit for slicks? If so, how many laps did it take? Are you starting on IMs or Ws? I've found that my times on IMs and Ws are about the same, but the Ws are much safer, especially under braking. But, the IMs will come into their own on lap two for sure. Definitely going to be a tough call as I didn't make it a lap on the IMs without an off, but the Ws were pretty easy.

I found some time to test some different strategies on that today. What I'm finding is that IMs and Ws are pretty close for the first lap, but there is a definite advantage for IMs in the second lap. I find with the Ws, they start slipping out because the track is too dry, especially towards the end of lap 2.

It's possible to go onto slicks at the end of lap 2, but you have to be pretty careful until the track has dried to the IM, before you can take advantage of the extra grip for latter part of the lap.

Here are how things look for me, so far, driving the Mazda RX-VISION in GT2 league:

Strategy	Lap 1	Lap 2	Lap 3	Lap 4	Lap 5	Full race time
3IM-2RM	10:22.222	9:46.539	9:16.365	8:36.307	8:35.965	46:37.398
2W-3RM	10:14.590	10:14.503	9:23.409	8:42.855	8:38.469	47:13.826
2IM-3RM	10:17.506	9:58.836	9:52.861	8:31.742	8:33.159	47:14.104

On the 2IM-3RM test, I had a couple spin-outs on the lap after switching to slicks, which added ~25s to lap 3. I feel like if I were able to get through that lap without incident, the 2IM-3RM strategy would be close to 3IM-2RM, but that is a big 'if'. I'm thinking the best strategy for me is going to be 3IM-2RM.

For both Ws and IMs, I find I need to aggressively short-shift to keep the back end of the car stable for that first lap. I spend most of that lap a gear or two higher than I normally would if it were dry.

This is just in the Free Practice mode, btw. I haven't been able to figure out a way to reproduce the slow drying time with a custom race yet. Has anybody had any luck with this? It would be nice to do some practice races with the extra weight of fuel and some other cars on the track, not to mention collecting some credits for the driving time.

Also, any guesses about what kind of track conditions we'll get for qualifying? Wet or dry?

 

[JDMKING13]

I have been doing testing also… I will be in my beloved 458! I use the IM for the first 3 laps.. pitting the end of lap three which gives me 2 laps on mediums. My times for the 5 laps are

9:58.7
9:45.3
9:15.8
8:34.6
8:31.5

I can definitely get the last lap down in the low 20’s I slept wrong the other night and I don’t have feeling in my middle, pointer, and thumb on my hand. It’s been messing with my driving but I’m hoping by Saturday I am all better!

 

[Yard_Sale]

Are you guys just doing these TT runs in free practice?

 

[JDMKING13]

Are you guys just doing these TT runs in free practice?

I am going into the the actual event and practicing from there… it’s tough though because you gotta do 5 laps to at least get a good time because of the weather.

 

[Moose78]

Are you guys just doing these TT runs in free practice?

That's all I've been doing. It's not ideal because you don't get any tire wear or fuel weight effects. The only reason is because I haven't been able to replicate the weather and long drying time in a custom race yet.

I do really like that they have provided the weather and track conditions as part of the free practice. Assuming the race follows the same pattern, I think it is great that PD is giving us a way to practice in race conditions. On the other hand, if they decide to give GT2/3 a dumbed-down race with a dry track, I'm going to be really annoyed.

 

[JDMKING13]

That's all I've been doing. It's not ideal because you don't get any tire wear or fuel weight effects. The only reason is because I haven't been able to replicate the weather and long drying time in a custom race yet.

I do really like that they have provided the weather and track conditions as part of the free practice. Assuming the race follows the same pattern, I think it is great that PD is giving us a way to practice in race conditions. On the other hand, if they decide to give GT2/3 a dumbed-down race with a dry track, I'm going to be really annoyed.

Last ManCup GT2/3 got weather only difference was number of laps I believe.

 

[Talon16]

I've been doing some testing as well. All of my times are 3W, 2RM. This is the safest option. Of course, you can push it and start on IMs and/or pit for RMs at the end of lap two, but in my experience you're really chancing it. Doing this in TT is one thing, when you have the whole track to yourself; but, in a race with other cars you can't always be on the racing line (which is the driest part of the track of course). If you may recall, during the last Manu race at a wet Nord, people were dying on the Dottenger just from hydroplaning. Also, hitting the brakes can get quite sketchy on the more aggressive of compounds.

BUT, for lap two and three, the track is in IM range and half of lap three is virtually completely dry which will eat those W tires to shreds. I did a Custom race and did one dry lap on the W tires in the Mustang (with 2x tire wear because that's what it says in game despite the Site saying 1x tire wear) and it at the Ws about 50%.

I've tried a couple times in various cars to start on IMs but have yet to make it through a lap without spinning or hitting the wall. Sometimes, everything is fine and I'll hit a puddle or something I can't see and it's just gone. I feel like this could be the same problem trying to pit for RMs at the end of lap two (as @Moose78 mentioned). All it takes is ONE of those instances in a full lap around N24 and you're done (especially in GT1 with heavy damage). The Mustang, for example, spins the rears while on full wets on the straights in 4th gear, with TC on (hence why the time on lap one is so slow)! So it's a bit of a handful and would likely die on IMs pretty quickly.

Pit delta seems to be ~28 seconds, so a two stopper is likely not an option.

Here are my times thus far, starting from left to right. You can see the times get better but that is due to the extra practice. The Porsche is capable of 8:0X for me I think on the RM dry lap. I haven't done a five lap stint in the McLaren yet. Hoping to try some of the same theories as Moose, doing 3x IMs, 2x RMs, or 2x W to 3x RMs, etc. and see how they shake out.

So do you go aggressive and try for the lower lap times with a higher probability of crashing out (especially in a race), or do you sacrifice time to be safe? THis is shaping out to be pretty exciting as I think a lot of people will be running different strats.

 

[GlockPants]

Also, any guesses about what kind of track conditions we'll get for qualifying? Wet or dry?

My guess is qualifying will be dry, this is only based off of the previous exhibition season race at Nurburgring.

If I recall correctly, qualifying was dry and the race started wet (100% wetness from the pre-race screen).

 

[Moose78]

Here are my times thus far, starting from left to right. You can see the times get better but that is due to the extra practice. The Porsche is capable of 8:0X for me I think on the RM dry lap. I haven't done a five lap stint in the McLaren yet. Hoping to try some of the same theories as Moose, doing 3x IMs, 2x RMs, or 2x W to 3x RMs, etc. and see how they shake out

Nice. You are much faster than me on lap 1. Maybe that's why the IMs feel more viable for me. I'm not pushing them as hard.

What TC level are you using? I've just been keeping it on 1 and running in higher gears, which makes the car stable, but slow. Maybe I'll try some higher levels to see if that improves things.

I might also spend a bit of time trying to figure out how to replicate the weather in the custom race settings.

My guess is qualifying will be dry, this is only based off of the previous exhibition season race at Nurburgring.

If I recall correctly, qualifying was dry and the race started wet (100% wetness from the pre-race screen).

Yeah. That would be my guess, too. The only thing that make me wonder is that the Free Practice conditions in this race are wet, where last season it was dry. Have there been any races in previous seasons where the Free Practice was wet?

 

[GlockPants]

Yeah. That would be my guess, too. The only thing that make me wonder is that the Free Practice conditions in this race are wet, where last season it was dry. Have there been any races in previous seasons where the Free Practice was wet?

Only thing that comes to mind was the GR Toyota Championship race last season at La Sarthe. But the weather there didn't seem to be scripted at all. I had a dry qualifying and race but had some wet practice sessions. I believe others had wet races, but I'd have to sift through that thread to know for sure.

@Moose78

Found my post from that race and it seems weather was random for that event.

Gran Turismo Toyota Gazoo Racing GT Cup Returns for 2023 Season

I was just doing the race and server crashed with 2 and a half laps to go. There was also constant lagging during the race with everyones connections dropping down to 1 bar. What is up with PD's servers recently?

www.gtplanet.net

 

[Talon16]

Nice. You are much faster than me on lap 1. Maybe that's why the IMs feel more viable for me. I'm not pushing them as hard.

What TC level are you using? I've just been keeping it on 1 and running in higher gears, which makes the car stable, but slow. Maybe I'll try some higher levels to see if that improves things.

I might also spend a bit of time trying to figure out how to replicate the weather in the custom race settings.

Yeah. That would be my guess, too. The only thing that make me wonder is that the Free Practice conditions in this race are wet, where last season it was dry. Have there been any races in previous seasons where the Free Practice was wet?

I was running TC 1 on the MR cars for the super wet laps and anywhere between TC 2-5 on the Mustang, which didn't seem to matter much which one it was on for that Monster. TC 0 on dry laps.

 

[Moose78]

TC 3 seems like what I need for the RX-VISION. With that, I'm getting that first lap down to around 10:00 on IMs.

I still haven't quite figured out how to replicate the weather in custom races, but I feel like I'm getting close. My most recent attempt was: R07-R07-R03-S03-S01-S01-S01-S01, starting time of Evening, time multiplier of 6x.

The time multiplier was too high. I was in the dark shortly into lap 3. I'm thinking that 4x would be closer. 2x was not enough. I already tried that, and still had daylight at the end of the race.

Other problems: The custom races never seem to get the rain above the W line on the gauge (even with R08), so the dry racing line appears earlier -- by the end of lap 2. I was hoping that moving the race later in the day would slow down the drying of the track, but so far I haven't gotten there.