Been a very busy week so i haven't been able to put any input into this discussion, but i have read some posts and they have been a great guideline for my first serious session today.
I tried AI difficulty -7 today but on my best race i encountered 5 of them right around the hairpin. I was incredibly agressive and just dove into the hairpin under braking and can't believe i didn't come into any contact with the AI. Probably alot of luck right there (Been a pretty lucky week too! Friend made over $100 just copying my bets in mini baccarat
) But about AI difficulty.. i dont think you should play with this too much because each race you will encounter them at different parts of the track unless your an incredibly consistent driver.
For top speed, just tried 310 and it seems okay for the esses, but i might try 300 next time.
Tires are probably the most important factor in this race other than obvious driving ability. Anyways, i've consistently read posts where people have used harder tires before the first pit stop, and then finish on softer tires.
I am currently doing the exact opposite. My tire combinations right now are (F/R) S/M for the first 4 laps (pit on lap 4 - maybe S/S will work, but my front tires do grow a bit orange at the end of the 4th lap) and then i change to M/M for the remainder of the race. I find, by using softer compounds first, that this allows me to get right into the rhythm of the track instead of having to be a little more tentative on harder cold tires at the start of the race. By the time i have my pit stop and change into harder tires, i'm already into a groove. And who knows, maybe a slightly softer tire will help you get a better launch at the start of race.
My best lap has been a low 1'47 on S/M tire combination, with TCS equipped. Without TCS i just can't launch the car at the start 👎 so i can't pass the AI cars by the first turn and then that just leads to a major slowdown at the esses for me.
Edit:
By the way, which drivers are going to try out for the team so far? If you are, post here and tell us all so we can see who is trying out.
I want to try out for the team, but not 100% sure about it as so far i've only been able to commit 2 hours to this week's event. I know that this is nowhere close to being enough time for an event such as the BC and as such it is causing me to think twice.
IRL 
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aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh bless ya 
Smash gas, brake, turn left, where's the excitement in that?? Maybe when they add road courses...... 
J/K 'Drooos 
(which won't be until Tuesday night or even Wednesday, but let's hope you don't get too far ahead of me while I'm moving!)
