GT Sport - FG Races

[Greboth 2,721]

We're supposed to practice? 😕

[phil bottle 9,761]

18 minutes ago, Greboth said:

We're supposed to practice? 😕

We are, not entirely sure you need to😘

[phil bottle 9,761]

Some great racing this evening, plus Goodwood 🙂

 

We managed 4 tracks tonight with 10 of us racing, really enjoyed it!

[Mikepjbell 354]

I think that was a much needed evening of good fun racing at the start of what will be a challenging time for all. Really good racing all round and it was great to see some surprisingly fast times being banked during quali and the race. 

 

Also amazing win Lee, totally not jealous at all. 

 

[slamminbones 1,789]

Loving the pass that @phil bottledoes in this clip and talking  of clips watch @Misneach_ Clip me spinning me out 😂😂😂 but got to love his reaction.

 

[GazzaGarratt 11,051]

Superb racing last night was and nothing to do with the fact I actually won a race at all 😁😍

 

To get 4 races in, was superb. Great turn out too, 10 at the peak which made for some great battles. I'll try and summarise what I can remember from the 4 races:

 

Race 1 - Blue Moon Speedway

You would think a 12 lap race on essentially a Nascar race track where you left only would be a pretty boring race but I think it was far from it. Times were always going to be fast and tight on qualifying, and for the most part many ended up getting some additional slip-streaming for extra fast Qualifying times, much to my frustration as I couldn't get a tow! @JBR-Kiwi , @Greboth and @Mikepjbell  managed to break away from the pack and worked as the perfect Cycling Pelaton for at least half the race and were battling like crazy, constantly swapping positions. I managed to break away in a small pocket in 4th with @Stretch616  performing strongly in 5th with @phil bottle not so far behind. Paul @slamminbones  took a major hit early, with Tom @LordBaguette  and Matty @Misneach_  struggling to keep with the pack. On a personal note I had the best race I could, after nailing most laps apart from hitting the barrier on lap 1 slightly. The gap between the top 3 was reducing in the latter half and I managed to grab their tails just before the remaining lap. A little slipstream, a few little bumps between, a penalty for Kiwi for a slight collision (similar to one I picked up after Paul's car touched mine!?!) and eventually I pulled through past Mike to take the lead on the last corner. Positioned myself in the best place possible to ensure Greebs couldn't do anything inthe 500m and off I went into screaming ecstasy, amazed that I won, but super happy how I ended. @Stretch616  got a super 4th considering he had no one to slipstream in the race whatsoever.

 

Race 2 - Interlagos

Greebs and Kiwi fought for top spot again, whilst Mike looked super quick. Harold @Spacedeck  came online and hit the ground running, starting to show his fast one lap times swooping into 4th. Unfortunately he couldn't hold on in the race after starting well. The battle in midfield was hotting up with Tom and Matty finding some pace, but Matty just couldn't hold the car on the track, much to his frustration picking up constant penalties. Stretchy kept clean for the most part and managed to take Tom in the final standings based on his penalties but Matty just kept ahead down after penalties were added up.

 

Race 3 - Goodwood

A fun race added as a spur of the moment thing, saw everyone in the 1965 Mini (N100) with Kiwi taking early qualifying pace with Greebs bagging pole at the last moment. Harold was flying in this one, making is way past 3 or 4 of us and fighting with Kiwi back and forth. Only for him to hit the final barrier on the home stretch and lose 3rd place to me by less than a second. Mike started strongly but lost it on the 2nd lap of 3 when karma struck 😄 when he said goodbye to Stretch on the middle of the lap, only for him to slide straight off the next corner and Stretch retake his position. Tom qualified well, but then forgot we can't pause the start and came back after lap 1 was nearly over! Most of us I think we're laughing are heads off whilst spending the race mainly on two wheels every time trying to turn the Mini slightly! 🤣

 

Race 4 - Brands Hatch

An added bonus for a final race when everyone felt they had time to spare for a quick race. No practice though, just Gr.3 on Brands Hatch and straight into qualifying. My laps slowly faded through the night as I couldn't hit corners bang without sliding off the track. Phil started to show some resurgence of form after being hit and miss in the previous races. Kiwi was struggling to be his usual super fast pace as he fell down the pecking order whilst Greebs surprisingly fell early down the ladder due to some bumps and bruises through the first corners. I had the lead for over a good lap with Mike sticking close enough to be a threat. Unfortunately I ruined my whole race by taking the first corner slightly too fast and touching the sand. This was followed later down the back straight which ended up with me spinning out. Greebs grabbed back his race pace, much to the Mike's despair and I believe Phil kept up his consistency by finishing strongly throughout each lap.

 

A super night of racing, with a few surprises and unexpected fast times for many FGers. GGFG everyone! @JBR-Kiwi  @Greboth @Mikepjbell  @phil bottle @slamminbones  @Stretch616  @LordBaguette  @Misneach_  @Spacedeck

 

Hopefully we get to see more debuts next week @Diddums @Macca89  @G_dub52  @crispymorgan and also seeing where @jordie1892  fits into the racing pack!

[phil bottle 9,761]

If I compile all the footage of people ramming me up the arse, it would make one hell of a gang bang.

 

Is my defence😊

[Misneach_ 299]

In my defense @slamminbones  you can see me in the rear view staying in the outside land and you went to change from the center lane 😊 if it had been any other way I’d have felt awful, but instead I feel redeemed.

[slamminbones 1,789]

@Misneach_ I should use my mirror more often 😅 but love your reaction 🤣

[G_dub52 559]

Game ordered 🤪

[Greboth 2,721]

2 hours ago, slamminbones said:

@Misneach_ I should use my mirror more often 😅 but love you reaction 🤣

 

I believe it should now and forever be referred to as The NOT MATT! NOT MATT! incident 😆

 

My thoughts on the races;

 

Race 1 - Blue Moon Bay oval GR3

This was always going to be a tricky one to hold the lead on due the slipstreaming and there basically being no corners to ever pull a large enough lead on.  Qualifying was as expected close with it seemingly coming down to a bit of luck of who was getting a tow at the rights parts of the lap without being hindered at others.  In the middle of qualifying I managed to time it perfectly, getting a tow from Mike out of turn 1 down to turn 3 then, taking a different line through the final corner, a tow all the way to the finish line too.  On the race, as said, this was going to be tricky but Kiwi, Mike and I broke away then proceeded to battle amongst ourselves swapping positions a number of times each lap.  It was obvious after a few laps it was going to come down to position on the final lap and through the final corner.  Going on the final lap, I deliberately held back across the start/finish line so I could be behind both Mike and Kiwi coming out of Turn 1.  Unfortunately Lee caught us up at the point too so I had to slot in behind him but no worries, plenty of time to draft passed.  Going in to the last corner, it was a copy of my pole lap, I took a different line so I didn't catch Lee up mid corner but could get a good run out of it and a tow to the line.  A mix of not quite being close enough and Lee moving break the tow to Mike and to block me ... bloody blocking cheater mumble mumble mumble not salty 😠😆... I ended up bump drafting Lee across the finish line.  I'm not a fan of ovals but it was a fun race and great to see Lee get a win.

 

 

Race 2 - Interlagos Gr4

A tricky race for me, I'd done a few laps practice to decide which was the fastest car but hadn't managed to do any testing for fuel or tyres.  I took a gamble on the fastest car, the Peugeot RCZ and thanks to an off hand comment from Phil about tyres not necessarily making it through the race, I switched to softs, rather than super softs, and managed to get the fastest time in practice.  So the decision was made, I was going to qualify and race softs.  Qualifying came and went and I managed to stick on pole.  The race begin and held the lead without a real challenge from Kiwi though had a worrying moment when I saw I wouldn't have enough fuel but thankfully it was just the game being rubbish at calculating remaining fuel at the beginning of a race.  I kept it clean and put in some fast laps to open up the gap over Kiwi then just managed it.  The last lap was tricky though due to tyre wear as the softs were ruined and going by comments of others the super softs were even worse.

 

 

Race 3 - Goodwood Minis

What a laugh, Phil set it up to use racing tyres and without tyre wear we all went with Racing Super softs.  As it turns out, the means cornering hard will cause the mini to roll over on to 2 wheels which was further exacerbated by the high kerbs round Goodwood.  I set the early pace in qualifying then Kiwi got a faster lap but I knew I could go faster if I could keep the Mini on 4 wheels.  Then on the penultimate lap, with some tiny steering inputs, I got the pole back.  In to the race, similar to race 2, I got away reasonably well but down the long 'straight' Kiwi caught me up but due to sticking a wheel on the grass and almost spinning / spinning it gave me the chance to break away.  After that it was just a case of taking it easy and keeping far away from kerbs.

 

 

Race 4 - Brands Hatch Gr3

As this was a random race at the end with no practice it was always going to play to my strengths of having one of the top amount of experience with this game, tracks and cars.  Though it was going to be frustrating for most as Brands Hatch is a tricky circuit especially the rookies going in to it blind.  Qualifying went well and though I could have gone faster, the last few laps of qualifying were all ruined by getting penalties but I still managed to get pole so can't complain.  On to the race, I think it was Lee who lined up second and got a good start and clearly was going to overtake me round the outside of T1.  Not a problem, I'm fast enough to get the lead back over the rest of the race and at the point I got nicely punted by, I think, Kiwi costing me a few more places.  I fought back and caught back up to Lee just in time to see him throw it all away at T1 😞 Another bump from Kiwi saw me lose a little more time and me take a BTCC approach to get back passed (well it is Brands Hatch after all).  I picked up a 1 second penalty at some point too but after all of this I was right behind Mike going on to the final lap.  Knowing I couldn't slow down to get rid of the penalty and keep up with Mike, I decided to go for it and try to open up the gap.  Due to a messy Turn 4 for both of us with a bit of contact, I got my penalty time down to 0.003 seconds and managed to take the lead in to turn 5.  After that, I nailed all the fast right turns meaning I could easily lift out the last corner to get rid of the last little but of my penalty.

 

[G_dub52 559]

Great write up @Greboth! I can't wait to join you all on the track soon!

[phil bottle 9,761]

I found a site that announces the daily races earlier than others so next week's dailies are available. There's an N300 around Blue Moon that we'll avoid I think, but here's the other two.

 

Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Gr.3

4 laps

Hard tyres only

No fuel or tyre use.

 

 

Dragon Tail- Gardens

Gr.2

13 laps

Medium tyres

Fuel x2

Tyres x7

 

Technically the second race is Seaside, not Gardens, but we did Seaside a few weeks ago, so I'm switching it to Gardens. 

I will also ask new players to grab a Gr.2 car. If that's a problem before Tuesday we can make it Gr.3 or 4 instead. 

I'll sort the calendar now.

[GazzaGarratt 11,051]

Great racing last night everyone. Only time for 2 races, which was outlined tbh, but I know sometimes people hope for an extra race or two if possible. I think in future weeks, as the newer people keep coming on and get used to the racing, alongside buying more cars, we can have slightly less Practice time moving forward.

 

Race 1 - Circuit de Barcelona - Catalunya

 

After practice looking likely that @Greboth would take this at a stroll as no one could get under 1.48 or any consistency so he had a 2 seconds advantage...and Qualifying proved that right as @JBR-Kiwi  unfortunately got kicked for some reason mid-way through it. I ended up struggling to get a good lap in until the final chance, beating @Mikepjbell  by 0.002 even with a small penalty picked up on my last flying lap. Paul @slamminbones  and Matty @Misneach_  had some cracking laps and had started to shine through after working really hard over the last few weeks to improve their times and consistency. New to the fold, Rich @tronic44 and Cal @TheMuggySpud  came a very respectable 8th and 9th out of 11 racers - our largest number to date.

 

Unfortunately, Matty couldn't keep the consistency up by spinning out later in the 4 lap race and ended up 9th. I kept with Greebs for a few corners but the gap grew enough to be out of slipstream even though it never wasn't a huge gap (+7.67s at the end). Mike performed well considering he said something about hating this track 🤣 as his lap times were very quick and was on my tail for the most part whilst keeping @phil bottle at bay on the first lap - he unexpectedly dropped down to 8th overall after struggling to keep the car on track. Tom's @LordBaguette night went far better than he had probably first thought after gaining a few places to just finish behind Paul in 5th. Paul's consistency was great to see, especially after trying so hard to learn the tracks and cars from the back of the grid last few Tuesdays. Cal couldn't keep up his great start after a valiant effort however Rich did manage a great 7th place only just behind Harold @Spacedeck  that had to work really hard on an unforgiving track starting 10th on the grid.

 

Race 2 - Dragon Tail - Gardens

 

Gr.2 cars really make for erratic racing and all over the shop results don't they?🤣 One of Mike's favourite tracks and cars (Honda NSX) didn't pan out exactly how he wanted as he started 3rd on Qualifying but took an early lead in the 12 lap race. Tom was showing some amazing speed, Qualifying 5th and then taking 3rd place in the race for the early laps. Unfortunately hit the outside barrier on the fast first corner and that was enough for him to take an early bath; shame as how the race panned out i'm pretty sure he would've secured that spot later on after pit stops. Kiwi also struggled like mad, partly because of knocks early on but he was struggling with the car in most places dipping up and down the order which then saw him follow Tom to the bathroom.

 

Greebs had to work a little harder for his win this time round, only re-taking the lead half way through the race. Mike couldn't hold on and after Phil's slow start dropping back a few places from 4th, he managed to sneak up into 2nd, past myself Matty and Mike in the second part of the race. Matty had a dream race where his lap times finally came hot and made minimal mistakes. Even when did make one near the end, it didn't matter because Mike and myself were making too many through the final stages. I always struggled on this track to keep lap times quick so a quick 2 pit stops in multiple laps to get the Hard tyre out of the way and back on Medium felt better so i could have more grip. I gained over 13 seconds on Matty and Mike up until the final few corners where Mike spun allowing me to pass, yet for me to squander it down the drain and spin just behind him. Paul (6th) and Harold (7th) struggled to hold the car on the track in most places but understandable as we don't do many Gr.2 races and it felt like a very hard race to keep the cars on the track at all times.

 

Great racing, super improvements made by all and great to see 2 new faces again. Hopefully more of the same and we get more than 11 on the track next Tuesday!

 

GGFG @TheMuggySpud  @phil bottle @Greboth @GazzaGarratt @JBR-Kiwi  @Spacedeck  @LordBaguette  @Mikepjbell  @slamminbones  @tronic44 @Misneach_

 

 

EDIT: Nice little of Mike getting magnetised to Phil once again....

 

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by GazzaGarratt
Added twitch video highlight

[phil bottle 9,761]

Best part of race 2 was doing Matty on the tyres. He stayed out two extra laps after I'd pitted, possibly one lap too long on the worn mediums. It was close though, just as he had left pits, myself and Mike the Marauder sailed by. We had been a couple of seconds behind him the previous lap. Mike then bottled it and had a date with Barry R.....so end of race I came in second, albeit around 30 seconds after Greboth's first place. Also had a nice battle early on with Kiwi but he disappeared into the shadow realm.

 

Race 1, I was predictably in the sand trying to avoid Mike who had unpredictably braked a second time at Turn 11. To be fair, me telling him I was right behind him seconds before may have had an influence on that. But I spun twice in the race without any help from anyone so let's avoid Catalunya for a while😅

[phil bottle 9,761]

Ha ha I forgot that 'other' Mike incident. Clearly I'm punch drunk at this point😆

[Greboth 2,721]

Race 1 - Catalunya Gr.3

I don't dislike this track as much as some though since they added the chicane in the last sector it is very mickey mouse.  I wish more games would give the option of running the Moto GP layout which does (did?) run the older double right handers rather than the chicane.  A pretty quiet race night for me all told, qualifying started off badly with a penalty on my first flying lap meaning I was about a second off my pace.  Lap 2 of qualifying saw me get a good lap in, a few tenths off my PB but good enough pole which was going to be important as Phil had said it was to be a rolling start.  Lee had me worried at the start though he gained 1.5-2 tenths down the straight as I think the Peugeot is fast in a straight line but a tow helped but thankfully Lee didn't go full Mike.  I knew my laps were faster than Lee so it then was a case of keeping it clean to avoid any offs or a penalty.

 

 

Race 2 - Dragon Trail Seaside Gr2

Again contrary to some, I don't particularly like this track, to be quick means taking specific lines which get even slightly wrong means a spin or the wall.  Still, a few laps of practice saw me get the fastest time which carried over in to qualifying.  This race featured tyre wear which I'd done no practice on but thankfully it was only mediums and hard so was going to be a case of run mediums until they're dead then hards to the end.  Qualifying came and similar to practice, I got pole by just over 2 seconds so stupid me though easy win....until the race start.  Unlike Catalunya this was a standing start which I messed up royally and bogged down losing a few places and in the pack going through the chicane lost a couple more putting me down in 5th or 6th by the end of the first sector of lap 1.  Still I knew my laps were faster and 13 laps would be enough to make that up if I didn't hang around so I went straight on the offensive.  I got back up to 4th by the line and right on the tail of Kiwi in third while Mike was trying to make a break in the lead and Lee holding second and claiming he was going to do all he could to hold up Kiwi and myself.  Then T1 of lap 2 came,  my plan was to follow Kiwi through T1 and try an overtake at the chicane or following hairpin but Kiwi braked considerably more than I expected so a quick dive to the inside avoided heavy contact but still saw some door to door and Kiwi running a bit wide.  At the same time Lee was stacking it in to the barriers to meaning up to second I went.  At this point I think was 6 or 7 seconds behind Mike and I think it was lap 5 I sneaked passed and then held the lead until the end.

 

[Mikepjbell 354]

Sorry Phil

[TheMuggySpud 239]

I'm gonna put the full, 100% blame on my car 😂

[Mikepjbell 354]

Me too

[Misneach_ 299]

This game is both a blessing and a curse. If you enter this with any other thought than having a Love/Hate relationship with GT Sport you'll end up like @LordBaguette  Ceeb's (CBA TOM). Honestly love getting on with you lot Tuesday evenings for race days. The wife has not been pleased as our time difference puts me directly in the cross hairs of the end of the workday, time to pickup our son, and get dinner on the table. Alas she has given in as long as I'm off by 5:30 (Half 10 for you lot). It must be said that you can have phenomenal times and make one mistake and it be a misfortune. Its great to see that we are all improving week to week which makes any errors spotlights in our group. I don't think picking up the wheel gave me as much of an advantage as I had hoped. Its more of not only practicing the course but trying to practice clean racing. I know I can speak for myself that I'm improving in that regard. staying behind other instead of risking a pass and doing us both in. I don't know how long this all can last but I hope we keep it up. I cannot promise @Greboth that I will be a contender any time soon but @Mikepjbell  and @GazzaGarratt are on your tail. I've got to give it to @slamminbones  for his improvement over the weeks. We are typically neck and neck with some races but he blew me away on race one this week. As for @phil bottle I saw someone comment in the livestream that you were hacking.....must be true it was on the internets.... as it was the only way you passed me with such amazing speed. LOL GGFG

 

Sincerely yours,

No! Not Matt, Not Matt!

[Spacedeck 920]

This week was probably my worst so far.  I just wasn't feeling the tracks, and couldn't get to grips with the cars handling. During Qualifying for Catalunya, I set a very slow time above 2 minutes, since all my other attempts resulted in getting penalties. I gave up this attempt to sit in pits until race time.  The race was completely different though, I had a very good race and was keeping the car on track and with good enough lap times to not be last.

 

Gr. 2's are awesome cars to drive, if you know how.  I kept spinning on all the same corners, so that was a disaster.  I admit I came close to quitting early.

[GazzaGarratt 11,051]

5 minutes ago, Spacedeck said:

This week was probably my worst so far.  I just wasn't feeling the tracks, and couldn't get to grips with the cars handling. During Qualifying for Catalunya, I set a very slow time above 2 minutes, since all my other attempts resulted in getting penalties. I gave up this attempt to sit in pits until race time.  The race was completely different though, I had a very good race and was keeping the car on track and with good enough lap times to not be last.

 

Gr. 2's are awesome cars to drive, if you know how.  I kept spinning on all the same corners, so that was a disaster.  I admit I came close to quitting early.

 

I'm glad you didn't quite mate, some weeks are tougher than others and if your name is anything other than @Greboth then you would've felt your pain already at some point. I suppose the first race proved though that even when you feel something isn't going your way, especially in qualifying and split times, your race was a great one where you made up 4 places - given another 1 or 2 laps you may have passed Tom and Paul to finish 4th.

 

Thats the beauty of races we've been having is no one quite knows how its going to pan out so never give up dude. Watching your progress has been great to see.

[slamminbones 1,789]

First race I did better than all the practicing from weekend and before the race and held on to get 4th position. 

The second race was a different story as after I gave kiwi a boost on the first lap I thought he spun out so I held of thinking he was behind me so lost about 20/30 seconds then held of pitting till about 9th or 10th lap till I needed to change tires. 

[Diddums 4,346]

I won a few races last night in the Sunday league thing. I haven't raced properly since GT4 (apart from the NFS stuff and GTA which is to racing what Blackburn Rovers is to professional football) so it was nice to have a little go again. I have a fucktonne of practice and shit to do but it was a laugh, I can see myself getting in to it again.