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

[icycls]

I know my man @Moose78 is going to find the combo regardless. So, like many here, I'll defer to his information.

darn right! Thanks @Moose78 in advance!

 

[newmedia_dev]

Yea, would be super risky. Especially with heavy damage (or even damage at all in GT2). And especially when there will be other drivers around with IMs who will get impatient should an RH driver go two off or something.

I did a few TT laps and it seems one could pit on lap two or three; three is safer. Track basically starts damp and slowly dries as the race goes along. I did eight laps and there was zero sign of more rain coming in so I presume after 12 it won't happen. After those eight laps I am now 1000% more familiar with this track than I was yesterday. Still slow as beans, however.

I am having a hard time setting up a custom race to mimic these conditions. R03 is the lowest of Rs that actually gave me rain (R02 and R01 were a damp track but still within slick territory, even off the racing line; the rain was actually required - even though it doesn't rain during the TT - to wet the track enough to require IMs) enough to make the track damp. Even then it was a crapshoot as to whether or not it would rain at the beginning at all; sometimes it did, sometimes it didn't. Very annoying.

Next slot was C01 to get it to stop raining and hopefully create a dry line after a full lap or two. But, I didn't have time to do multiple laps in the custom race to verify. I know my man @Moose78 is going to find the combo regardless. So, like many here, I'll defer to his information.

Is it just the Tokyo 800pp race?

Genuinely asking as that's the grind race some people do.

Im with you on the lap 3 stop but you could in race nurse a bit and do a lap 2 stop.

 

[Moose78]

Even then it was a crapshoot as to whether or not it would rain at the beginning at all; sometimes it did, sometimes it didn't

I haven't looked at the next race at all today yet. Focused on the TGR race.

You can use the 'equal conditions mode' to guarantee rain, but it will apply for the whole race, which is not what we want. You might need to fudge it by choosing a heavier rain for the first part and something dry for the later ones. It won't mimic the conditions exactly, but it might be good enough to get the drying track effect.

 

[MIE1992]

At any rate, I won’t be able to do the next Manufacturers Cup Exhibition race on the 20th since I’ll be in Manhattan, but I certainly look forward to the latter two rounds - especially since they’ll be after the update!

EDIT: I wonder if one can get away with doing the entire third round without pitting on Softs, at Autopolis? The tire wear rate does seem low. Of course, if it rains, that’s another factor.

 

[Fezzik]

Is it just the Tokyo 800pp race?

Genuinely asking as that's the grind race some people do.

Im with you on the lap 3 stop but you could in race nurse a bit and do a lap 2 stop.

It’s the WTC 600 race (the grindy one), not the WTC 800. 600 starts wet/damp and gradually dries, 800 starts dry but can have rain during the race.

 

[Moose78]

A question for the experts here: I wanted to find the best car for the Manufacture Cup and train offline in Interlagos. Can I see beforehand which BoP settings are required for the race and can I somehow set them automatically?

One option would be to create a lobby, is there an offline way?

I have already decided on two constructors, but training is still scheduled for next Saturday.

Others have already suggested setting up a private lobby. Another option is the Custom Race feature. Both have a BoP setting that you can enable to have the car match what you get in Sport Mode races, but Custom Races let you practice against a full field of AI cars. They also have decent credit payouts, so you can make some credits for driving. You have to have at least one AI opponent, though, which an be a bit of pain if they interfere with your tests.

 

[Talon16]

At any rate, I won’t be able to do the next Manufacturers Cup Exhibition race on the 20th since I’ll be in Manhattan, but I certainly look forward to the latter two rounds - especially since they’ll be after the update!

EDIT: I wonder if one can get away with doing the entire third round without pitting on Softs, at Autopolis? The tire wear rate does seem low. Of course, if it rains, that’s another factor.

Yea, something ain't quite right with the Autopolis tires. 2x wear for 10 laps and all three slick compounds are available. Typically, when multiple compounds are available, they're also required. I smell rain...

---

On that note, I did a custom race around Tokyo. The criteria isn't perfect, but I can tell y'all that tire wear (for the RHs) will be no issue. I was using the Citreon and pit at the end if lap two. I had BB to -5 assuming the rears would wear much quicker, being the car is MR. Well... they did... I guess. At lap 10, the rears had the slightest sliver of red and the fronts had nothing. I changed the BB to -1 for the last two laps. I'd say the rears had 97% left and the fronts 99%. Moot.

So, for your tests I'd say run the BB at what you prefer rather than what you think the tires would prefer.

 

[911RSR]

My race report: GT2, 91 points lobby
(one thing up front: i was so mad at myself, i forgot to save the replay, so no pictures, sorry!)

My practice laps the day before the race were not promissing. I was 2.5 s behind the fastest guys and every 5 to 8 laps i spun or left the track. That kept my excpectations pretty low.

The qualifying started as excpected, i missed a turn in point and had a little off road excperience in the first lap. Luckily there was enough time to do 3 more laps. After lap 2 is was P12, after lap 3 P10 and what then happend ... i have no idea how, but i managed to do a personal best and finished quali on P2 (1:32,3 i guess)!

In the race i had a good start and kept my position in a Ferrari sandwich (of course i was driving my 911). In turn 1 of lap 2 the Ferrari behind me attackt and passed me.
I couldn't keep the pace of the Ferrari guys and lost 1 or 2 1/10 per lap. But the gap behind me was growing even faster. So i could concentrate on my driving. My tires lasted pretty good. Most guys went into the pits quite early, including the Ferrari guys in front of me. Suddenly i'm on P1! I knew i am much faster on the soft tyre and about 2.5 s slower on the hard ones. I drove the softs until they became to "slidy". So i increased the gap to P2 up to 15s, which should have been enough to keep P1 after the tire change.

As i went to change from soft to hard, my inevitable monster failiure happend. I went into the pits way to fast. As i tried to brake for the chicane at pit entry, i lost the car and spun. Not only i lost time by this, it also gifted me a 3s penalty for violating the white line.

Back on track i was still in P1, but i could spot the 2 Ferraris in the rear view mirror. And as i served my 3s penalty they passed and i was back on P3. And that's were i finished.

A very unexcpected podium on one hand, but with the victory in my hands ... i was so angry at myself for this stupid mistake ... Luckily the steering wheel is bolted to my rig, otherwhise it would have taken a nice flight through the window ...

 

[Moose78]

I had a chance to try a dozen laps in Free Practice for Rd.2 earlier this morning.

I hadn't purchased IMs for the car yet so I turned on the driving line assist and took a few tries at running RHs. It didn't go well, but not as badly as I expected. In all my attempts, I ran into a wall at some point and picked up damage. There was okay-ish grip on the drying line, when I managed to stay on it. I feel like with some practice, I could train myself to somewhat consistently get around the track. The problem I had was how slow I had to drive on that first lap stay on the line. If I have to do three laps of that, there's no way I'm saving enough time to make up for a pit stop.

So I bought some IMs and gave it a go. Ran the IMs for 4 laps, then switched to RHs for the rest.

I have to say, I like the dawn-to-dusk transition we are getting for this race. I fiddled around with weather settings a bit to see if I could replicate it in a Custom Race. Since there is no way to specify an initial moisture level on the track like there is in Lobby races, I have to choose rain for the first block. My closest approximation is R04-C05-C05-C05-S04 starting a Dawn. That gives a couple laps of light rain to soak the track, then the drying lines forms after that. I'm using a time multiplier of 30x, but I feel like that will probably need some more adjustment. I didn't have time to run to a full 12 laps to test it.

There doesn't seem to be much in the way of strategy for this race. Just start on IMs and switch to RHs once the track dries out enough. I expect that in the race, with 15 more cars on the track, that the track will dry quite a bit faster than in Free Practice. I'm hoping to test that in lobby races during the week.

I didn't measure it precisely, but it looks like the pit times in Free Practice match what you get in Custom races. They are pretty short, which is good new if you need to pit to repair damage. I drove out a full lap with front areo and suspension damage and was losing ~3s per lap, so it might be worth making the stop if there are some laps left in the race.

 

[Homestead]

For the start of this season my DR is really high. I went from 1/3 to 3/4 DR A during Le Mans week in the 787B and haven't done any online races since. I didn't know what this higher lobby would bring. I chose Porsche this season as I mainly use FR cars and needed to learn it.
214 points up for grab, my highest yet.

I qualify P10 with 31.158, about 0.4 off my best FP time.

I start in P10 on RH. I work my way up to P7 by the end of lap on where I am the first into to pits for RS. I come out in P10 and get to work. A decent amount of traffic to work through. Some fast drivers and good close racing. Picked up a penalty or two, but not too bad. I had worked up to P3. I pit at the end of lap 15 for another set of RS and come out in P7. As the race continues and others pit I find myself P3 by lap 25. Perfectly happy in this position since I started in P10. As the final pit stop shake out, P1 pits lap 28 but stay ahead. P2 pits lap 29 and I pass him in the pits. End results is a very happy P2 with my highest points yet, 205. I could not have asked for a outcome.

 

[OJBrit]

We had the race together. Your German 'friend' also rammed me at the end of the race after I had left him enough space and I came 12th. It's a shame, otherwise it was a fair race.

I think I remember your PSN. I'll keep a lookout and say hi next time. It's a shame they did that, some drivers should not be driving. A bit like the roads in real life.

 

[Talon16]

GOATs. That lap must've been an absolute blast!

 

[A_Higher_Place]

I'm thinking it may be safer to even stay on IMs until lap 4 for the next race. The race line is single lane until then and you know people will be... well, people and try to dive up the inside whenever they can. Not quite as technical as Interlagos, it may be a race of attrition for many..

Looks like the old NSX is the top car too. No idea where these guys find an extra 2.5 seconds on this track. First practice netted me a mid 2:01 which is alright but will revisit for more practice as the week goes on.

 

[Talon16]

I expect that in the race, with 15 more cars on the track, that the track will dry quite a bit faster than in Free Practice. I'm hoping to test that in lobby races during the week.

Great point. I'd thought of that while doing some TTing but forgot to mention it. I think, with 16 cars, there are some options here.

Thing about starting on RH is for all intents and purposes, you can't pass offline. So even if you're faster, if the IM driver holds the racing line and you try for the outside/inside line you're toast. But, you could just bide your time and wait for IM runners to pit. If you can just chill behind them and keep pace, when they all pit you've just bought yourself a ton of time. That being said, I think with heavy damage, it's very risky to start on RH and hope you survive the first few laps without touching a wall or any other cars. Super aliens might be able to pull it off, though. Guess we'll see...

Start in IMs and pit after one, two, or three laps. Just depends on what you're comfortable with doing and how quick the track dries out with all the cars on it.

The pit stop itself is pretty quick here (~15-16 seconds?) from entrance to exit, but we need to carry that delta all the way to T1 since it's a very long straight... so it'll hurt for a while.

 

[911RSR]

Did some laps on the drying Tokio streets. If the race starts with wet roads like that, it's drivable on RH. But, like you guys mentioned, it's another thing with other drivers around. I'm still torn between the risky RH and the safe but slow IM.

Are there any infos if the qualification is on wet roads as well?

Btw. it's strange the Interlagos quali time was 10 min and Tokio is only 5 min!

 

[Moose78]

Are there any infos if the qualification is on wet roads as well?

There's no way to know for sure. For the past couple seasons, PD has been pretty consistent at having the qualifying session match the Free Practice conditions when it comes to weather, but there have been races in the past where qualifying is done on a dry track even though the race is wet. As usual, we'll just have to wait and see what happens for our friends in the Asia/Oceania region.

Btw. it's strange the Interlagos quali time was 10 min and Tokio is only 5 min!

Interlogos was really odd in its long qualifying period, especially considering that the drivers at the live event in Montreal after which the race was modeled only had a single lap to qualify. The 5 minutes at Tokyo is what we usually get in GTWS races for a track with a ~2-minute lap time -- enough to get in an out lap and two hot laps.

 

[Talon16]

I did some laps in the Porsche yesterday, enough to get a mostly dry track. Managed a 2:00.9 but I have no idea if that is good or not. There are a few turns that still feel clunky.

It's hard to tell as the people on my friends list, there's no way to know of the conditions of the track when they set their times. Still a ridiculous amount of time to P1... looks like the NSX will be OP here as it's dominating the top spots.

I will say, I've done my fair share of hitting walls while practicing this track and I have yet to get a wall penalty. I really hope this race isn't ruined by wall riding because this track is prime for it.

Are there any infos if the qualification is on wet roads as well?

I really hope it's dry, if for the only reason if the quali session mimics the TT then everyone will just sit in the pits and wait until the last possible second to try and get onto the driest track possible, and it will be a clustereff. We've seen it before at Nord.

 

[A_Higher_Place]

I will say, I've done my fair share of hitting walls while practicing this track and I have yet to get a wall penalty. I really hope this race isn't ruined by wall riding because this track is prime for it.

Just did another 12 laps of practice and am unhappy to confirm that wall penalties do exist. The left-hander before the final hairpin and going through the quick S under the bridge provided me a couple this morning. I've noticed that grazing the wall results in no penalty, hitting without damage does give a penalty, and hitting and getting damage may or may not. I think it depends which wall you hit and how hard for penalties.

Had an optimal time of 2:00.511 but just couldn't string it together this time.

 

[Moose78]

Managed a 2:00.9 but I have no idea if that is good or not.

In the Custom and Lobby races that I've done so far, most of my laps once I switch to slicks are in the 2:02s. Good laps are in the mid to high 2:01s, but I did manage to squeeze out a 2:01.078 once. So you're barely quicker than a moose. Get faster!

To me, it seems like the final hairpin is where I make or break the lap. It is so easy to get that one wrong and lose 1/2 second or more.

I will say, I've done my fair share of hitting walls while practicing this track and I have yet to get a wall penalty.

You clearly aren't doing it right! If you hit the wall hard enough to get damage, the penalty system kindly heaps a 1.5-second penalty on top. Coming to think of it, though, I don't remember if I saw that in Free Practice. I know it applies to Custom/Lobby races, though.

This biggest question I'm still trying to answer is when to pit for slicks. I'd like to base that decision on the moisture gauge rather than a set number of laps because I'm expecting that in the race the track will dry at a different rate than Free Practice. From the practice races I've done, a safe threshold for me seems to be when the moisture gauge drops below 75% of the way to the to the first tick mark. On one race, I tried when it was around 85% and promptly put the car into the wall on T1 for damage and a penalty. But I feel like I probably could have made it work if I'd braked a little sooner. I'm going to do some more testing to see what feel right.

For anybody interested, I've made some adjustments to the weather settings I'm using in Custom Races to mimic Free Practice. I'm now doing R04-C05-C05-C05-C02 (S04 at the end was too clear). Starting at Sunrise with a time multiplier of 25x (30x was too much, ended in the night). That multiplier might still need some more tweaking.

 

[Nakano219]

Yea, something ain't quite right with the Autopolis tires. 2x wear for 10 laps and all three slick compounds are available. Typically, when multiple compounds are available, they're also required. I smell rain...

It could be rain, but my suspicions are more that it's new physics-related if the base tyre wear rate is going up. On current physics, everyone goes into that expecting an easy soft no-stop, so this round is to make people realise that that is no longer optimal on the new physics. It gives the playerbase gets a practical example of the changes.

Of course, as we all know, some combinations are massively thought out and crafted, and some are just straight out of a hat. It could just be the latter as well and we're all overthinking it...

 

[Talon16]

In the Custom and Lobby races that I've done so far, most of my laps once I switch to slicks are in the 2:02s. Good laps are in the mid to high 2:01s, but I did manage to squeeze out a 2:01.078 once. So you're barely quicker than a moose. Get faster!

To me, it seems like the final hairpin is where I make or break the lap. It is so easy to get that one wrong and lose 1/2 second or more.

"Barely quicker than a Moose" should be my GT7 intro text. I am curious to how the custom races translate vs the TT mode. Granted, you have to do like 10+ laps in TT just to get the track dry enough to take advantage of the whole thing, so it's not a time conservative task so to speak. But yea, definitely off pace here compared to where I want to be/think I should be.

I feel my biggest time losses are T1 and the esses while going under the bridge.

-T1 is an odd duck for me as it is an increasing radius turn with a deceivingly late apex. Really easy to get on the throttle too soon and then have to panic-slow to avoid the outside wall on exit. Good news about T1 is if you mess it up, it's not long before T2 so it doesn't hurt too much. I've botched T1 and only lost ~.100" before braking for T2.

-The esses under the bridge can be done super fast if you're able to overrate the car; not drift rotate but more so than typical. If you can consistently get the car to have a nice, controlled slide for the left you can get that same bit of snap-over-rotation into the subsequent right. Do it right and you gain a couple of tenths; do it wrong and you either lose time or lose bodywork.

 

[newmedia_dev]

For me starting with inters seems to be clearing the track quicker in practice which makes sense as they are treaded tires designed to move water....

This is making me think that if a few/all the cars start on inters by the end of lap 2 the track will be dry enough for RHs.

The only problem with then is that off line there is some standing water (but this may be cleared as well just by volume of cars) so overtaking will be nigh on impossible.

 

[GT5Power]

GOATs. That lap must've been an absolute blast!

Absolute blast is an understatement

 

[icycls]

I forgot there are circuit experiences on these tracks, if anyone needs some dry practice and credits. I never bothered with these since we never race them in sport. It's in the weirdo Z4 BMW - anyone driving the Z4 this weekend?!

Looking at that looooong straight and then thinking about the aero damage, I think I'm going to be sick.

I still haven't picked my manu on my GT1 account, just might wait another week!

 

[Moose78]

Looking at that looooong straight and then thinking about the aero damage, I think I'm going to be sick.

Yeah. Damage is costly here. About 3 seconds per lap for me. Thankfully, pit stops are relatively short. If you get damage early and pit immediately, you might be able to catch the drivers who decide ride out their damage.

Speaking of damage, I had a pretty frustrating night practicing against the AI in custom races yesterday. Lap 1 against the AI is simply infuriating, especially when the initial R04 portion of the race actually has rain. The AI brakes an absurd amount for anything resembling a corner. I must have restarted one race six or seven times trying to get a run through lap 1 without any damage-inducing bumps. Ultimately, the trick was just to drive slow and leave lots of space, even if it meant a lap time 10+ seconds slower than I could get otherwise. Such a nuisance.

 

[Talon16]

Yeah. Damage is costly here. About 3 seconds per lap for me. Thankfully, pit stops are relatively short. If you get damage early and pit immediately, you might be able to catch the drivers who decide ride out their damage.

Speaking of damage, I had a pretty frustrating night practicing against the AI in custom races yesterday. Lap 1 against the AI is simply infuriating, especially when the initial R04 portion of the race actually has rain. The AI brakes an absurd amount for anything resembling a corner. I must have restarted one race six or seven times trying to get a run through lap 1 without any damage-inducing bumps. Ultimately, the trick was just to drive slow and leave lots of space, even if it meant a lap time 10+ seconds slower than I could get otherwise. Such a nuisance.

When I race against the AI to test WS races, I turn off damage for this very reason. The AI is SOOOOOO bad, often trying to test races ends up being an exercise in futility. Now, in a wet race I can see using 15 to get a better idea of how quick the track will dry, but starting P1 might help.

I also only use one AI car and start ahead of it, but it's also annoying when needing to pit but the AI doesn't you can still end up behind them. Ie, I start on softs and since we can't dictate the AI use softs, I will pit and the AI won't.

Yet another head scratcher from PD.

 

[Fezzik]

Sadly I may skip this round. Can't find the pace I would need at my level to start near the front and leg it, and I think anywhere midpack and behind is going to be hell with the walls and the first damp laps. I've been wanting a Tokyo round for ages but this layout is one of the worst.

 

[Moose78]

When I race against the AI to test WS races, I turn off damage for this very reason. The AI is SOOOOOO bad, often trying to test races ends up being an exercise in futility. Now, in a wet race I can see using 15 to get a better idea of how quick the track will dry, but starting P1 might help.

I also only use one AI car and start ahead of it, but it's also annoying when needing to pit but the AI doesn't you can still end up behind them. Ie, I start on softs and since we can't dictate the AI use softs, I will pit and the AI won't.

Yet another head scratcher from PD.

It's probably too much to hope for anything in GT7, but I really hope in some future version of GT that PD makes it possible to configure custom races to fully match the settings used in sport mode races, including mandatory pits and allowed/required tire compounds, sport-mode-style penalties, etc. Ideally, there would be a 'Practice racing the AI' button alongside the 'Free Practice' one in the GTWS event page that would instantly take you to a race without any tedious set up. It's a lot to ask, I know, but a moose can dream...

 

[bliprunner]

Don't know if this will be a good race but it sure looks pretty...

Going to be all about careful driving and patience I think, no need to be the quickest, let others make mistakes and try and keep it out of the wall... the Monaco GP of GTWS

 

[icycls]

It's probably too much to hope for anything in GT7, but I really hope in some future version of GT that PD makes it possible to configure custom races to fully match the settings used in sport mode races, including mandatory pits and allowed/required tire compounds, sport-mode-style penalties, etc. Ideally, there would be a 'Practice racing the AI' button alongside the 'Free Practice' one in the GTWS event page that would instantly take you to a race without any tedious set up. It's a lot to ask, I know, but a moose can dream...

Yes! In my practice, I pitted to put the RH on and the AI were all putting softs on. (They all pitted end of lap 4 btw). And sometimes, you pit, they don't as Talon mentioned. Of course, if you force them to pit, you will usually run away since they don't seem to ever want to use full throttle. We need sophy smarts and elite speed on these AI races.

I haven't driven the vette much (one reason I chose it) - but does it lack top speed? I started a 2 car race, P1 in the dry and the dang audi took turn one from me!