Time Trial Discussion

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My gold time at Spa is holding on by a thread but then again I've only managed to put in maybe 10-12 laps last Saturday with the RCZ. With the long weekend coming up in Canada, I can't wait to get back into it. I love Spa. It is by far my favorite track and my goal for this TT is to at least get into the 2.19s and if it within reach, maybe a high 2.18s but that might be beyond my skills for now so we'll see.

Happy to report, my 2.19 goal has been achieved. That was tough but man does it feel good to finally nail that lap, was not perfect but I felt really proud of myself watching the replay. Considering how much I love the track and really believed that I could "easily" put down a 2.19, that didn't happen. Was stuck at the 2.20.507 for the longest time and I had to work hard for it. Gave it go yesterday morning, no improvement, then tried again today and after 2hrs, I improved by less than a tenths which was a bit annoying. Then I decided to give the R.S.01 a go and after understanding the behavior of the car, I managed to clock a 2.19.897 and suddenly something clicked. A few laps later, I even surprised myself (and my dog who was keeping me company) screaming about my new PB 😂

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My left knee is really hurting after spending the last 3.5hrs on my rig, so that will be it for today. Will give it another go tomorrow and see if I can move that goal post and get into the 2.18s. Really happy with that one.
 
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Hi,

Some here will know that I have been having some <ahem> issues with my brakes sticking on. Some here will know that it was down to a badly connected load cell cable. Some here will know that I am a total and utter muppet when it comes to connecting things correctly and checking and testing them appropriately!!! Blimey crikey - do I feel like a complete *************** right now!

Anyways - Moving swiftly on....

I have no idea at all how to get a race car around Spa in less than 2:20:xxx. I have tried a Porsche, a Honda, an Audi, a Peugeot. I have tried them all - I think. 1st corner: On it. Eau Rouge: On it... Flat out! Marvellous. Les Combes and Malmedy: All over it - I am gaining fast on my ghost here. Speaker's Corner and Double Gauche... Crash, rinse, repeat. If I don't crash or invalidate, the rest of the lap is pretty good.

On a much brighter note - The BMW at Red Bull is a whisker short of a sub 1:00:000. As my Head teacher used to say, 50 years ago, Ian could do better if he applied himself to the tasks we have set him. Hmmmmmmm!

Best regards to all here.

Ian.
 
Day 1 at Spa
As a contracted Ferrari driver I just couldn't dare not to try the 458 Italia with this TT

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What an epic fight to keep this car under 2:22, it seems so badly nerfed by this game. Low 2:21s would be possible for me, with a stroke of luck maybe a dip into high 20s, but gold - very unlikely.
Going to try some more popular cars next.
 
I'm afraid if I don't keep pushing at Spa, some alien will break a last minute record which will knock me out of silver.

And you all know I can't let that happen.

Right @Evilmuffin ? I need one of your muffins to get strong amounts of speed. You have a replay?

Does anyone have a good visual guide for AT. Spa is not a good place to practice MT as I will have to focus all my attention on the road.
 
Finally got to do the weekly races and began catching up on the TTs
Had a go at Spa and I’m now ready for RB next up.
Tried the 911 first and fid okay, did poorly in the NSX GT500 and then RS 01 hit the see spot in about more laps. Happy with this one as I’ve never been at this track.

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My brother set a faster lap time in the BMW, so I responded with this:
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The first half of the lap wasn't perfect but I somehow nailed the second half. I was half a second faster than my previous best for the session. Not sure if my brother will have another crack, but he says that this sort of competition is beneficial for both of us as we're pushing each other up the board.
 
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I decided to visit Spa one more time because I felt that out of the three challenges, this was the one with the biggest potential for improvement. I was sitting on a 2:19.216 and set my mind to a 2:18.x, which, considering I had to fight quite a bit for my previous PB, I figured would be a real struggle.

Surprisingly then, after just a few invalidated laps, I improved by almost seven tenths with my first valid one.

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Very happy with this one. A top 1,000 placement would have been even better, but this is probably more elusive here than usual with all the Daily Race experts flocking to it.

I then tried to use the momentum to improve at Road Atlanta. I did, but only found another three hundredths. But considering how tight the margins are here, I gladly take it. New PB is 1:00.762.

Here are both laps:




Happy lapping everyone!
 
I thought I would spend my time this weekend at Spa testing out the various GT3's and also attempt the sideways bronze challenge at RBR but it did not go that way. I am rather spending my gaming time enjoying the single player aspects of GT and other older sim titles I own.

I know I can get my faithful 911 RSR into the 2.18s but I have zero motivation to do so. Feel burnt out by doing TTS. Taking a mini hiatus from it. Will still compete, but dedicating minimal effort into it. Getting gold and running.

In other news, my buddy @330_D visited Austria this weekend and has since been abducted. Please return to earth. I miss you :lol:
On a serious note, that time in the M3 is insane. Well done :cheers:

@Ian JB Been there, done that. I know all to well about not plugging cables in correctly. Glad you sorted and don't have to deal with RMA.


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It has been a long time without the OTT but Gr. 3 on SPA made me come back. Favorite racing class, favorite racing track, it had to be.
Currently sitting in the top 10k with 2:19:748 with a DS on the PS5, and using the NSX GT500 00'. I think I have made the best out of what I could because I am by no means an alien on this. I can't really understand how people manage to clock at 2:16:6/7 or so, taking about 3 seconds of my lap.

My major struggle were turns 9, 10 and 11. I really feel that I could be able to get some more tenths (maybe 0.2/0.3) from it. Turn 12 isn't perfect as well but other than that, I am very satisfied with my lap.
 
Happy July 1st everyone, the nation's birthday is on Thursday. So, maybe PD will do a special TT for that occurrence. You all were right, the RBR Short TT is not a simple one, the first turn is the key for getting a good time, it also depends on how well you clip that corner. It is not working out for me though, have done 77 laps in a 2-day period and I am almost at a silver level time.
 
You need to find yourself again my friend.
Unfortunately I can't recommend yoga...
Stretching Downward Dog GIF by Best Friends Animal Society


But I can highly recommend Titan's races for this purpose. They are sources of energy, spirit and love 😄

Come back! 😡
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I'll be back, I promise.

100% agree on the Titan's Track days. Racing with you guys is such a blast.
Would have loved to have joined yesterday evening, but my time did not allow it.
 
Hello there. How sad it is that there's absolutely no time for me to participate in all tt's avaliable. And one is my favorite SPA :(.

Fortunately, a relatively short M3 TT came to my rescue like a savior. And the way this machine from the past feels is just perfect.

I'm in it till the end, aiming a sub 59 time.

Using no assists so far. Wondering if the steery wheel cheat code thing :D work here?

Happy lapping everyone

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It is @Mistah_MCA who does those video guides, so all credits due to him.
Sorry for the mixup. Thanks @Mistah_MCA for putting the time and effort in your vids. Great production value with the detailed explanation and slow motion segments are really helpful :)

Meanwhile @ RBR, I managed to match my PB from the other day.
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Stats don't lie and most of the time it really doesn't pay off for me to do many laps. If I'm dialled in on a track, I usually reach my quickest pace early on and it's all downhill from there :D When I notice the laps are getting slower repeatedly, it is better to stop than push on. The graph from the other day shows how my focus drops after the fastest lap and only slowly goes back up. This is the part where I'm not really driving, but trying to emulate my quickest pace in zombie autopilot mode while repeating mistakes. It's difficult to judge when this happens while it happens and I have to remind myself to stop and pick it up some other time.

Another prime example for this: 24 lap stint at Brands Hatch with the Silvia. I really wanted to push it, but PB in 2nd lap and after that the focus plateaud with 2.5 major dips.
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Hello there. How sad it is that there's absolutely no time for me to participate in all tt's avaliable. And one is my favorite SPA :(.

Fortunately, a relatively short M3 TT came to my rescue like a savior. And the way this machine from the past feels is just perfect.

I'm in it till the end, aiming a sub 59 time.

Using no assists so far. Wondering if the steery wheel cheat code thing :D work here?

Happy lapping everyone

View attachment 1369096
Now that's a decent lap you got there mate, man you are fast that quick in the trials!

🙏🙏
 
@BeRSeRKeR_TR Hey there! Welcome back to the TT club. I am hanging on by a thread in silver territory. So, what's been going on lately?
Hi there Chris. Thx mate. I'm too far behind in the forum pages but overall observing your nice progression. A lot of great advice are given by a lot of great people here. And it seems like you are making good use of it all. Keep pushing while prioritizing your health first bro.

@Gomario JSP a lot of decent laps including yours mate. It's a pleasure to get close to you 👽 breeds :D:cheers:
 
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what a difference in % between RBR and SPA

In SPA I am 103,36% timewise and 18.75% in the overall leaderboard
In RBR I am 103,49% timewise and 12.00% in the overall leaderboard


Spa particullary bothered me.
I started last week end with the Audi to set something around 2:21.5xx
than moved to Porsche to get a 2:21.003 in just 2 laps

I was very happy about it and thought that I had still about 2 weeks ahead to improve with Porsche which seemed to be more in my chord

But no, I tried and Fri, on Saturday, and (a little bit) yesterday, and the only good time I places has been a 2:21.1xx
 
Happy July 1st everyone, the nation's birthday is on Thursday. So, maybe PD will do a special TT for that occurrence.
Happy Canada Day, you would say Chris, right?
And if I'm not wrong, 4th of July is Independance Day and 14th of July is Bastille Day :)

Happy New Year Celebration GIF by Faith Holland


(sorry for all others "Day" I forgot to mention here like Doris, Daniel, Benjamin, Charlie, etc.)
 
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Stats don't lie and most of the time it really doesn't pay off for me to do many laps. If I'm dialled in on a track, I usually reach my quickest pace early on and it's all downhill from there :D When I notice the laps are getting slower repeatedly, it is better to stop than push on. The graph from the other day shows how my focus drops after the fastest lap and only slowly goes back up. This is the part where I'm not really driving, but trying to emulate my quickest pace in zombie autopilot mode while repeating mistakes. It's difficult to judge when this happens while it happens and I have to remind myself to stop and pick it up some other time.
Spot on description, the exact same thing happens to me. It was different a year ago when I was only beginning to take these TTs seriously. I had to drive at least 30 mins to get in the zone. Probably because I had not yet quite figured out the mechanics, so I needed more time to build up the muscle memory. These days I get there mostly within a couple of laps (or not at all), and it‘s mostly downhill from there when I enter zombie mode, as you put it. It‘s sometimes enough to have a quick break, get something to drink before trying again so my mind is reset to „active driving“ mode.
 
Feel burnt out by doing TTS. Taking a mini hiatus from it. Will still compete, but dedicating minimal effort into it. Getting gold and running.
I know the feeling all too well, these TTs can be exhausting, better to pick and choose where to push than get burnt out by going hard on all of them. That's definitely where I'm at now, I just can't do every TT at full effort. I missed the Catalunya one entirely, and I'll ignore Road Atlanta as well. I might do a couple of laps at Spa before it ends, but I dunno, I haven't felt motivated to do so yet. I'll go back to RB though. :)
 
Spot on description, the exact same thing happens to me. It was different a year ago when I was only beginning to take these TTs seriously. I had to drive at least 30 mins to get in the zone. Probably because I had not yet quite figured out the mechanics, so I needed more time to build up the muscle memory. These days I get there mostly within a couple of laps (or not at all), and it‘s mostly downhill from there when I enter zombie mode, as you put it. It‘s sometimes enough to have a quick break, get something to drink before trying again so my mind is reset to „active driving“ mode.

I also feel myself here, unless in the "last" section I've started to figure out something clearly.
In this case when I jump in again two things may happen
1) what I had started to figure out make actual sense, so I experience a progression in that specific topic (begin this a way to approach a corner, to handle to car, or whatever else) and a general alignement in the rest of the lap -> improve
2) like 1) but missing something I was better in the previous session -> very little / no improvement
3) what I had started to figure out does not make actual sense -> no improvement

Other time, when I jump in again, or prolonge the ride with no actual plan other then "hope for the better", things go exactly how you described.

Therefore I'd always like to have a specific goal, but that's not always the case
 
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