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

[Nakano219]

Slightly off-expectations pick, but I wonder if the NSX GT500 might be a decent shout for Saturday?

It's a naturally aspirated MR car, which are both traits you want in the rain in this game, and we know it's good in a straight line at current BoP, which means it should be decently well suited for Red Bull Ring.

 

[benjoi84]

@Talon16 your point about casual players wanting to just log on anytime really rings true with me. I'm a steadily (sometimes clinging to) A rated driver and frequently I encounter the odd B driver, and without tooting my own horn, I usually despatch of them without too much fuss. So I know there's a definite skill gap which means I'm not thrilled about the prospect of dropping into GT2 just to open up more chances. A lot of this is irrelevant because I hardly ever make the slots due to work commitments, but that would be remedied by having more opportunities to jump on.

@Moose78 totally agree with your points, too. Plateau'd is indeed the expression. Whereas I do work quite hard to keep my rating, I'm not too interested in fine tuning my driving enough to rise up towards A+.

 

[bliprunner]

Slightly off-expectations pick, but I wonder if the NSX GT500 might be a decent shout for Saturday?

It's a naturally aspirated MR car, which are both traits you want in the rain in this game, and we know it's good in a straight line at current BoP, which means it should be decently well suited for Red Bull Ring.

I just tried it, along with the RCZ, the BRZ and the Renault. All on Wets.

The NSX is really smooth and easy on the power, no TC required, but had a few low speed oversteer moments when changing gears and after the third spin I decided not to risk it.

The BRZ I wanted to try as it feels very planted in the dry, but it was twitchy as hell and a total deathtrap, even with TC2. Felt quick but completing one lap was a challenge.

The RCZ was quite fast and possibly a solid option, managed to get into the 1:40s, but then the Renault smashed it on lap one and seemed more stable on power, very confident of getting to 1:39 with the Renault. Both on TC1.

Of course I am getting used to the wet track now so need to loop back to the Merc, some of the wider turns you can pick up 0.5+ just by driving off the normal line.

 

[Famine]

Nobody going for the RX-Vision

 

[stpatty]

If it were up to me, we'd get rid of the lettered tiers entirely and switch to numerical DR ratings. For the GTWS races, we could reduce it to two leagues:

1. GTX -- consisting of, say, the top 100 drivers by DR from each region, with limited time slots and stricter rules
2. Everyone else

The way the credit rewards are allocated would need to be adjusted so lower-rated drivers could still hope to get a decent payout for participating. Maybe the way to do that would be to increase the race rewards like we've seen recently in some of the Daily Races where the payouts were multiplied 10x their normal amounts.

I find the arbitrary letter tiers -- and the corresponding GTWS leagues -- really frustrating. As someone who has plateaued at the low-A level, I feel forever doomed to be at the bottom of GT1 with measly bronze-level awards, whereas if I were just a slightly worse driver, I could be dominating GT2. And it all depends on the arbitrary choice of where PD draws the line.

Like many things, the league system seems like an idea someone thought of, put it in GT7 to start with and just left it with no refinement or thought for how things might change in the future.

That said, the only time I was ever bothered by my standings place was when I was chasing an S rank in GT Sport, so it's never affected me. It's easy to see the problems (and solutions!) though.

 

[Talon16]

Nobody going for the RX-Vision

 

[afc5150]

I enjoyed my run from Q12 to P6 at Sardegna last night in GT1 slot 1.

Unfortunately it was at the expense of some of my friends here on GTP including @Moose78 who made a tiny mistake that cost him a couple of positions as I was a few seconds behind him at the time.

I did pick up some minor front aero damage around lap 8 or so on my 12M first stint that slowed me down slightly.

Was catching 4th and 5th at a rapid pace as they had run out of tires but could only get to within a second of them at the end.

Enjoyable race for me, and a decent enough haul of 138 points.

On to the soggy A1-Ring this weekend. Hopefully see a few of you low DR-A guys out there again.

 

[Skyrocket44]

I'm gonna start my report here because half the people in the lobby haven't understood the implications of permanent damage. What happened here was Raybrig Guy made a run and was quarter-to-quarter on Castrol Guy who was taking an angled approach into the intersection, and they both braked after the 100 board. Castrol aimed for inside me from 0.7 seconds back, Raybrig feathered his brakes for some reason, and Castrol kept turning in and ended up smacking my diffuser. Everyone from Malboro Guy backwards came out of lap 1 injured, mostly from the KoD. Speaking of, I don't care how much faster you are or if your mugshot can be seen in the game - if you're 17-for-18 at the Kink and I finish ahead of you, I'm a better driver. Accuse me of Mickey Mousing, but SOMEONE failed a respect check, and it wasn't me. (except for qualifying. I took front damage on the out lap and only managed a 1:34.7 for 10th.)

Otherwise, the race was a solo affair for me, and letting obviously faster drivers pass me. I stopped on lap 12 into clear road, so I decided to swap from the radar to brake balance to at least speed things up a bit. 0 for the chicane onto the road section and church, -5 for everything else. I stole the fastest lap as well during that time (1:33.340). There was an Italian in front of me who pitted on lap 11, so I thought if I could keep my pace up, I could snooker a position from him if he falls victim to dead tyres at the end. He made up a few spots to some M runners, but a Brit with a wrecked front end and expiring M's got sacrificed to the windmill gods at the Kink. I lost about 14.5 seconds to my wing damage, but it could have been a lot worse than 6th and 144 points.

I also learned the that the post-race pit penalty is two minutes instead of one.

 

[IngRobNy]

I just tried it, along with the RCZ, the BRZ and the Renault. All on Wets.

The NSX is really smooth and easy on the power, no TC required, but had a few low speed oversteer moments when changing gears and after the third spin I decided not to risk it.

The BRZ I wanted to try as it feels very planted in the dry, but it was twitchy as hell and a total deathtrap, even with TC2. Felt quick but completing one lap was a challenge.

The RCZ was quite fast and possibly a solid option, managed to get into the 1:40s, but then the Renault smashed it on lap one and seemed more stable on power, very confident of getting to 1:39 with the Renault. Both on TC1.

Of course I am getting used to the wet track now so need to loop back to the Merc, some of the wider turns you can pick up 0.5+ just by driving off the normal line.

Just tried the RCZ now and did 1:43.363, I'm almost 1 sec faster than the fastest lap I did with the lambo, tried the M6, BRZ and the Nissan Pennzoil, but I'm slower than the lambo, so I'm going for the RCZ this saturday.

 

[Talon16]

Tried some more cars in TT mode, giving them each ~5 laps.

NSX: 39.7
Ferrari: 39.8
Alfa: 39.9

...with honorable mentions going to the Renault and Porsche in the low 40s. In the might try on an alt account are the Lambo/Audi and Ford GT 18.

On the likely pass on these goes to the Citroen, McLaren, RCZ, and Vette (had to try an FR car and it wasn't too bad just not what I am going to use, something like the GTR might be good in FR form).

The McLaren felt the best but the times were way slow. Also tried the NSX GT500 and had the same results as the McLaren, easy to drive in the wet but the times were in the 41s.

 

[fardoche]

I took the Audi (because... why not?) for a 28-lap ride in Free Practice this morning. I went with IM tires, thinking they would be quicker once the track started drying out. The rain lasted until lap 18, with the moisture gauge in the blue band pretty much the entire time. I was running 1:43s until it stared drying out, which only really started to become noticeable around lap 21. It dried gradually from there, but stayed above the first tick on the moisture gauge to the very end. There was never a visible drying racing line.

I was trying to beat your time in the rain, the best I could do was in the 1:43. I was wondering how the hell is that 1:34 you got on the ranking board possible.

 

[MetalApe]

I've enjoyed the Ferrari so far in the wet. Not 100% sure I'll stick with it for the race, but if I do, seeing as it's the Red Bull Ring then it's obvious who has to be the sponsor.

 

[Moose78]

I was trying to beat your time in the rain, the best I could do was in the 1:43. I was wondering how the hell is that 1:34 you got on the ranking board possible.

I did the full 28 laps. Once the rain stops and the track mostly dries, it is easy to go faster.

TheKie25 did a rain guide for the race yesterday, if you are looking for some tips to get around faster:



I find it also really helps to keep the driving line assist on so you can see where the track is slippery (on the line) and where there is grip (off it).

I tried a few cars yesterday in Free Practice on W tires -- Audi, Porsche, Ferrari, Renault, Dodge, old NSX, and maybe one other that slips my mind. The Ferrari was the clear winner for me. It was the only one I could get under 1:40 in on the wet track. The Audi and Porsche were also pretty good. I could get low 1:40s out both of them.

Edit: Also, @Tidgney's guide from a few months ago when this was a time trial is worth checking out:

 

[Zorz]

Sounds like I'm doing something wrong and/or need to find more pace in the wet. I simply can't break the mid 1:40s.

I've now switched to the Aston Martin Vantage after setting a 1:40.6 with it and an optimal of 1:40.3. It would be very amusing if I win with it since the Vantage got me my last GTWS win (and highest score ever) 2 years ago at the 2022 Manufacturers Grand Final Demo round at Spa, which also started in the wet. Don't think I'm realistically in the running for that but who knows what will happen.

I'm definitely out in the off-meta weeds for this round as I just can't get the MRs to play along, other than the Ford GT test cars which have been the closest to matching my pace in FR cars. I was even looking at the BMW Z4 of all things for a while yesterday after managing to get a 1:40.7 with it.

 

[Skyrocket44]

Another think to keep in mind is that the track dries out slower in practice sessions than a race. A clear dry line appeared for me at 48 minutes in versus 33 for the Prague race. Add 1 to 4 more cars in the mix and it's looking like W-S will be even more viable than it was for Romero, Labouteley with all his penalties, and Henschei who choked.

 

[bliprunner]

Did a final test to decide and the Ferrari is best for me, power delivery in 1st and 2nd is better and a bit of throttling eats up time.

I wanted to use the Renault but the times are not even close, it's 0.5 to 0.7 faster for me and 1.38's are on the table.

Hopefully can get a good practice lobby tonight, or will use first slot as a semi-practice... looking forward to the chaos!

 

[lhunatic]

The leaderboard now is almost completely meaningless for round 2

 

[Talon16]

Another think to keep in mind is that the track dries out slower in practice sessions than a race. A clear dry line appeared for me at 48 minutes in versus 33 for the Prague race. Add 1 to 4 more cars in the mix and it's looking like W-S will be even more viable than it was for Romero, Labouteley with all his penalties, and Henschei who choked.

Something to consider, if you go on slicks and catch someone on IMs, how are you going to pass them? If the IM driver defends the racing line (which they will if they're smart) while the slick runner is attacking, the slick runner will have to go onto the wet part(s) of the track to pass. Could very well mean insta-death to the slick runner (and they might even take out the IM runner at the same time). It's that old racing saying: Catching someone is one thing, passing them is another... which is further exacerbated in the wet.

To your point, though... the track will dry quickly so it might just be a gut call at the time. Should be interesting.

The leaderboard now is almost completely meaningless for round 2

Has been since day one. Open a TT, go get dinner, come back and the track is dryer than it will be in the race at all. Put in a lap seconds better than will be achievable in race. Profit.

 

[MetalApe]

Something to consider, if you go on slicks and catch someone on IMs, how are you going to pass them? If the IM driver defends the racing line (which they will if they're smart) while the slick runner is attacking, the slick runner will have to go onto the wet part(s) of the track to pass. Could very well mean insta-death to the slick runner (and they might even take out the IM runner at the same time). It's that old racing saying: Catching someone is one thing, passing them is another... which is further exacerbated in the wet.

To your point, though... the track will dry quickly so it might just be a gut call at the time. Should be interesting.

I think my strategy is going to be, if I'm running near the front I'll play safe and go for Inters. If I'm down the order and want to take a gamble I'll go for a Do or Die option on slicks. Then I'll just need to work out how to get past those pesky Inters runners hogging the dry line.

 

[lhunatic]

To have accurate weather transition for GT2 do I just do first 3 weather slots R06 and last S03?
Edit: letter

 

[iron_fiend]

Just looked at the next race scheduled, Red Bull Ring in Gr.3 cars in the rain. Now, I like to watch replays of the fastest laps. To my shock, the fastest (so far) lap is a shade under 1:28.00. Good time in the rain, until I watched the replay. The driver set the time on lap 44, on RS tyres when the track was dry(er).

Will be interesting to see how these drivers hold up on Saturday.

 

[Talon16]

To have accurate weather transition for GT2 do I just do first 3 weather slots S06 and last S03?

R06 to S03 (probably what you meant), but yea that's a good estimate I presume. Or you could just use the TT. Bing W tires only I don't believe there will be much wear involved. Only difference would be the fuel load.

ETA - GTEngine's weather is likely for a GT1 race and not GT2, thus the transition from wet to less wet is presuming 28 laps. If you run the same weather slots n an 18 lap race the game will be trying to make that transition in a shorter period of time and it won't be accurate. I'd recommend setting up your mock race to be 28 laps even if you're only doing 18. Hopefully that makes sense.

 

[lhunatic]

R06 to S03 (probably what you meant), but yea that's a good estimate I presume. Or you could just use the TT. Bing W tires only I don't believe there will be much wear involved. Only difference would be the fuel load.

Just done a lobby like this seems like for GT2 there is little to no reason to put inters on or softs unless well someone's really that good and just on the way to GT1.

 

[Talon16]

Just done a lobby like this seems like for GT2 there is little to no reason to put inters on or softs unless well someone's really that good and just on the way to GT1.

If the TT is any indication, run Wets until the end.

 

[Moose78]

To have accurate weather transition for GT2 do I just do first 3 weather slots R06 and last S03?

Judging from my 28-lap run through Free Practice, I'd think that R06 the whole 14-lap GT2 race would be more accurate. The rain didn't really lighten up for me until lap 16, and only stopped completely on lap 18. But that was in a GT1 session. Is the GT2 weather different?

 

[Talon16]

Judging from my 28-lap run through Free Practice, I'd think that R06 the whole 14-lap GT2 race would be more accurate. The rain didn't really lighten up for me until lap 16, and only stopped completely on lap 18. But that was in a GT1 session. Is the GT2 weather different?

I am assuming GT2 is just truncated GT1 (see my edit a few posts above) but cannot confirm.

One of the nice things about having an AO account is I get to TT upcoming WS races before I would be otherwise. That account is GT2 and after 18 laps it was full wets the whole time. I suppose you could pit for IMs but it would be late enough in the races you'd not make up the pit loss. But, again, that's TT with one car on track.

 

[MIE1992]

So from what I’ve been hearing, I suppose I should just have Wets for all of tomorrow’s round, including qualifying? I also recall doing well for that time trial with the Ferrari so I think I’ll likely go for it again.

 

[lhunatic]

Judging from my 28-lap run through Free Practice, I'd think that R06 the whole 14-lap GT2 race would be more accurate. The rain didn't really lighten up for me until lap 16, and only stopped completely on lap 18. But that was in a GT1 session. Is the GT2 weather different?

From the TT I've run for GT2 it went to light blue for the last 2.5 laps.

I would even venture to say for accurate settings in custom lobby I would pick the first weather setting to be R07 because with R06 it barely goes into the dark blue on the rain amount indicator.

Will do more testing about the last weather slot.

 

[Zorz]

I am assuming GT2 is just truncated GT1 (see my edit a few posts above) but cannot confirm.

Also cannot confirm but it would be in line with past races if GT2/3 is shortened to 18 laps so they only get the wet part.

Whenever mixed weather races have come up in the past, Polyphony always seem to avoid giving GT2/3 wet-to-dry transitions. At least, I've got a strong impression that's been a pattern. The best example I can immediately think of is the 35 lap Suzuka round that first appeared at Amsterdam 2023. GT2/3 got some of the rain at the end after the dry start but stopped long before it started drying out again.

I'm also under the impression there's been at least one round at the Nurburgring where it started wet and went considerably longer for GT1 as the rain stopped after 2-3 laps and the track started drying. Would need to dig into the old race schedules to check.

 

[Skyrocket44]

Something to consider, if you go on slicks and catch someone on IMs, how are you going to pass them? If the IM driver defends the racing line (which they will if they're smart) while the slick runner is attacking, the slick runner will have to go onto the wet part(s) of the track to pass. Could very well mean insta-death to the slick runner (and they might even take out the IM runner at the same time). It's that old racing saying: Catching someone is one thing, passing them is another... which is further exacerbated in the wet.

To your point, though... the track will dry quickly so it might just be a gut call at the time. Should be interesting.

Leave a length or two on entry, outdrag 'em on the straights.