i am stuck on 1'49.241 in the stock and running out of ideas, any suggestions?
I was stuck at 1'49.1 for a while, but what helped me break into the 1'48s was just turning off ghosts altogether and focusing 100% on the track. Don't be afraid to throw some laps away for the sake of experimenting with braking points and throttle application. I've noticed after I run several laps, I'll get locked into one mode of racing... one line, same braking points lap after lap, without realizing I'm braking too much or too early for a specific corner... almost like I'm mentally locked into a certain pattern, and that pattern just wasn't doing anything better than a 1'49.0xx. I had to clear my head for a few minutes and come back to the game to try new things... one of which was turning the ghost off as I mentioned before. I then broke into the 1'48s after 3 laps and know exactly where I need to improve.
As far as ideas for the track itself go... while I can't speak for everyone, I can explain which corners were the most crucial areas of the track for me to improve upon for the Stock car. First, it's very important to nail turn 6 quickly and cleanly for a wide and tidy entry into turn 7. I usually brake just as I pass under the banner shadow before turn 6, downshifting to 3rd simultaneously. You can hold 3rd gear through turn 6 with a lot of throttle, right on the edge of your tires' grip, or you can downshift to 2nd if you're daring. For turn 7, I usually try to begin turn-in just after the banner's shadow on the track. Without any throttle, and maybe a tiny jab at the brakes right at the banner shadow depending on how quickly and cleanly you exited turn 6. Turn sharply toward the inside curb and smoothly get on at least 90% throttle quickly, which will help you get the power down soon without losing the rear or slipping onto the yellow paint. There's a fairly dominant line of rubber on the track shallowly arcing out of turn 7. If you can have your inside wheels on this line and get 100% throttle just before reaching it, you should be able to hold all the way to the outer curb and reach between 127-130 kph by the end of the curbing.
The small hairpin combo at the end of the lap is also a huge time eater. Enter the first hairpin wide for a late apex to set yourself up for a wide and gentle line through the last hairpin. Don't neglect the throttle out of the first hairpin--you don't have much room to go, but it's important to get a good squirt of full throttle to hit at least 70 kph between the hairpins. If you brake at all for the last hairpin, only do so at 15% or less. Take a slightly late apex through the last hairpin and get on the throttle as soon as possible and hold it to the outside curb. If you experience oversteer at the top of 2nd gear here, try sharpening your turn-in next time and straightening your wheel a bit more before getting heavy on the throttle. Oversteer out of this corner can be corrected easily, but it eats speed, so if you're experiencing it, chances are good you could have taken the corner faster. I've seen a few replays where people short-shift to 3rd here to stay in the throttle without oversteer, but this eats away at your time as well. Nailing this exit all the way through 2nd without oversteer should help shave a lot of time provided you keep at least 100-102 kph through turn 11 and are hitting about 140 kph just as you pass the end of the curbing on the outside before heading into the final banked corners.
Hope this is helpful! đź‘Ť