GT Sport - FG Races

[Greboth 2,721]

A couple of good races last night and good to see Matty @Misneach_ on for the first time.

 

Race 1 - Gr4 at Mount Panorama (or Bathurst for everyone else).  As ever with Gr4 races, the Peugeot RCZ and Audi TT dominate the top of the leaderboard and also as ever I try to avoid them.  I'd pretty much settled on using the Lexus RCF though tried the BMW M4 to see how it handled to give Matty some pointers.  During practice, Lee raised about the gap and how much was down to using a wheel and auto gears so cue me picking up my controller and giving it ago.  Not much of a surprise that I was slower but not massively (about 1.2 seconds) though I think I did 5 laps with a controller and auto gears so I think I could have cut that down a little more but it was an interesting experiment.  Still on to qualifying, it's Bathurst so never simple but I managed to get it on pole relatively easily by 0.8 seconds IIRC but as ever with Bathurst, my optimal was considerably quicker than my actual lap.  On to the race, Kiwi got the jump on me at the start and I dropped back a little too much on lap 1 to try for  a pass but lap 2 was better and caught Kiwi heading up the chase.  I tried for the pass but Kiwi defended which left me taking the outside which I couldn't hold.  I tried to keep it close with the aim of trying a pass in to turn 2 and took a bit of a dive which ended up costing me time which I couldn't make up enough over the mountain to have a change going in to the chase.

 

Results:

 

 

Race 2 - Gr3 at Laguna Seca.  This was an interesting one, the top times were a mix of cars mostly the Renault RS01 but with some Alfa 4C's, Honda NSX and Dodge Viper.  Though Phil gave away some insider knowledge that online people had been using the Porsche 911.  I tried the RS01 and while quick in it the car is a handful and any small mistake seemed to end in a spin.   Still I endured through practice with it but decided to give the 911 a try which on my outlap I didn't think would be much good as it's got such long gearing but first lap out I set a faster lap and it's much easier to drive to I stick with it.  On to qualifying and this was a lot tighter - I set a reasonable first lap to get pole, I set a faster second lap and then every lap after I was quicker but kept making mistakes trying to push.  Kiwi mind was setting faster and faster times and I actually thought he stole pole though has actually missed it by a few hundredths of a second.  On the last lap of quali I managed to complete a faster lap so took pole by only a couple tenths.   Similar to Bathurst, Kiwi in the Viper got the jump on me at the start and again got a small lead by the end of lap 1.  I wasn't too concerned though as being a 13 lap race with tyre wear there was going to be plenty of time to make up the time.  Over lap 2 and 3 I caught up Kiwi and had a look or 2 at passing him but was happy to follow.  Around lap 3 or 4, it was obvious Kiwi was struggling with his tyres and while mine were wearing I thought I could get to the end.  At this point it became a strategy call and I decide to do my best to look after my right front and to follow Kiwi knowing that he was going to pit or be easy to pass towards the end of the race.  As it turned out, Kiwi pitted end of lap 7 and I carried on lapping with the gap then being about 14 seconds for Kiwi to make up.  Thankfully the Porsche is kind on its tyres and Kiwi wasn't making up that much time on me, I think he got it down to around 12 second but the Viper was not kind on its tyres meaning I could extend my lead in the last couple of laps and cross the line with 13 seconds in hand.

 

The funniest, at least from my perspective, for this race was Lee.  Lee decided to stick to the RS01 and ended up spending most of the race raging at the handling of it 😆

 

Results

 

@phil bottle When you say Willow Springs, I assume it's Willow Springs international?  It seemed to help Matty and I know Mike was watching too so think I'll make a track guide

[phil bottle 9,766]

@GrebothIndeed, Willow Springs international, looking at 15 laps with 5x tyres and 4x or 5x fuel.  Any tyre in race and qualifying but must use hards for one lap minimum in race.

 

Great write up by the way 🙂

 

[Greboth 2,721]

This track isn't as technical as Mount Panorama / Bathurst but thought I'd do this guide to help @Misneach_ get up to speed and anyone else too.  This guide does need a prefix though that I only tried the GR Supra and the 911; both I got pretty equal times but there may be a better car for this track.  Definitely some time on the table, I got a 1:13 flat so 1:12's are definitely possible.  For reference too I did this on a controller, manual gears and TC set to 0 and racing hards tyres.

 

There's more speed to be had in the last corner but the more you push the more you risk touching the dirt on the outside and disappear off across those them desert hills there so this is my 'safe' approach sacrificing a bit of speed but with reasonable certainty I'll keep it on track.

 

 

Edit: whoops, just watched it back and I cut off the full speed lap off a little early.  The lap was a 1:13.045.

[phil bottle 9,766]

1 hour ago, Greboth said:

This track isn't as technical as Mount Panorama / Bathurst but thought I'd do this guide to help @Misneach_ get up to speed and anyone else too.  This guide does need a prefix though that I only tried the GR Supra and the 911; both I got pretty equal times but there may be a better car for this track.  Definitely some time on the table, I got a 1:13 flat so 1:12's are definitely possible.  For reference too I did this on a controller, manual gears and TC set to 0.

 

There's more speed to be had in the last corner but the more you push the more you risk touching the dirt on the outside and disappear off across those them desert hills there so this is my 'safe' approach sacrificing a bit of speed but with reasonable certainty I'll keep it on track.

 

 

Edit: whoops, just watched it back and I cut off the full speed lap off a little early.  The lap was a 1:13.045.

I've managed 1:13 laps on super softs in one particular car that I'm not sharing the identity of. 🙂

 

Did some prep I can share though.

 

I've tested a variety of cars at 15 laps with at least one lap in Hard tyres.

Some cars will do 12 or 13 laps before needing fuel, some will do only 8 or 9.

Super softs are useless after 5 or 6 laps.

Pit stop for tyres and fuel is around 10 seconds added to lap time.

Be very careful if you start with a soft tyre, as after switching to hard if you don't moderate your lines you'll make friends with the sand.

[Greboth 2,721]

7 hours ago, phil bottle said:

I've managed 1:13 laps on super softs in one particular car that I'm not sharing the identity of. 🙂

 

Did some prep I can share though.

 

I've tested a variety of cars at 15 laps with at least one lap in Hard tyres.

Some cars will do 12 or 13 laps before needing fuel, some will do only 8 or 9.

Super softs are useless after 5 or 6 laps.

Pit stop for tyres and fuel is around 10 seconds added to lap time.

Be very careful if you start with a soft tyre, as after switching to hard if you don't moderate your lines you'll make friends with the sand.

 

Haha sneaky just don’t do my tactic then and use it so everyone knows what car 🤣 Though my 1:13 lap was done on hards 😉 

 

Interesting to know though about fuel though, some more testing is obviously required.  It’s that question again of can you make up the pit stop time using 2 sets of super softs against 1 set of hards.

[phil bottle 9,766]

1 hour ago, Greboth said:

 

Haha sneaky just don’t do my tactic then and use it so everyone knows what car 🤣 Though my 1:13 lap was done on hards 😉 

 

Interesting to know though about fuel though, some more testing is obviously required.  It’s that question again of can you make up the pit stop time using 2 sets of super softs against 1 set of hards.

Fortunately I wasn't trying to drive particularly fast, just testing fuel, tyres and efficacy of short shifting....and ensuring I didnt drive off track....so plenty more to come🤗 I think I was getting 1:14 in hards in the Mazda and Aston Martin but that's not what I'm driving. The Atenza is a fast car though.

[Misneach_ 299]

Love that I’m getting personalized walkthroughs / tutorials 😂 @Greboth awesome buddy.

[Misneach_ 299]

I request one of these videos weekly before each race on said course! Loved it.

[Greboth 2,721]

18 minutes ago, Misneach_ said:

I request one of these videos weekly before each race on said course! Loved it.

 

It depends, if we race the weekly races they're only announced Monday so doesn't leave much time to do it but whenever there's time then that's the plan.

[phil bottle 9,766]

From this week's upcoming daily races we can choose between either:

 

Gr. 3

Tokyo Expressway East Inner

4 laps hard tyres

 

Or 

 

Gr.2

Fuji

13 laps medium tyres 

fuel 4x tyres 5x

 

As we're already doing Gr.3 around Willow Springs, I'd go for Fuji.

[Greboth 2,721]

Makes sense though my only concern would be if everyone has a gr2 car.  As there’s only (I think) 2 or 3 is unlikely people have had them as gifts cars so will need to buy them.

[phil bottle 9,766]

For the new Gran Turismo Sport owners, note that if you drive 500 miles a day, you will be given a free car every day. 

Doing the challenges too will provide free cars and also the funds to buy cars.

 

If there's people without Gr.2 we can do the Gr.3 race, as I know Lee loves those Tokyo walls😎

[Greboth 2,721]

Have you been driving 100 miles a day? 😆 It's a driving marathon (26.2 miles) to get a free car a day.

 

Though other way to get free cars;

Driving school - each row of 8 will give you a free car if you get gold in all 8

Circuit experience - get gold on each section and full track and you'll get a free car. (also a pretty good way to earn credits)

Mileage exchange - not technically 'free' as you buy them with mileage points but there's very little to use mileage points on except cosmetic stuff (paint, wheels, driver poses etc.) so they tend to build up over time.

 

As the miles per day counts in anything, driving 26.2 miles while doing circuit experiences can net you multiple free cars a day.

[phil bottle 9,766]

FFS😅 Fuck knows why I typed 100🙄

I'd walk 27 miles to you @Greboth😍

[phil bottle 9,766]

In recent Tuesdays I've wondered why I'm driving seconds slower on tracks I'm normally fast on. Today I tried the Gr.2 race and couldn't work out why I was so slow. I watched a video replay of one of the top ten fast times and noticed the guy accelerating between gears much faster than me and reaching 6th gear by the end if the long straight. I can't get into sixth.

Seems R2 on my controller has been fucked and I didn't realise. Tried another controller I don't use much, as it drifts when not plugged in (bluetooth issue with certain controllers), so much better. I had just assumed it was me being too careful. 

Anyway, no more controllers just the wheel from now on.

[Misneach_ 299]

I think the r2 goes more than we think

[phil bottle 9,766]

Doesn't look like anyone can make tonight, judging by the calendar. If it's just two people we can rearrange, as I was having to juggle a few things to make it myself this week (covid tier 3 in london from tomorrow). 

[Greboth 2,721]

Whoops! Forgot to rsvp to the event but happy to rearrange if no one else can make it.

[JBR-Kiwi 286]

I’ll definitely be about if people would like a race 🙂

 

keep forgetting to click the attend button 

[Spacedeck 920]

Well daughter is on Holiday from Friday, so I'll be back next week after hopefully catching up on my sleep.   Trying to teach her how to play Little Big Planet 3 can be tiresome... 🥱

[JBR-Kiwi 286]

Going to be slightly delayed on as I have only just got home and need to whip up some dinner first

 

be on as soon as I can 

[JBR-Kiwi 286]

Was absolutely gutted to have missed the first race at Willow springs especially as I had spent a fair bit of time in the morning playing around with different cars. Of the two races I definitely thought that would be my best chance of a win as it seemed to suit my style. 
 

Fuji I didn’t hold much hope for but my AMG Merc didn’t miss a beat at all! 😂

[phil bottle 9,766]

@GazzaGarrattproduced some very fast qualifying laps for Willow Springs but was unable to transfer that into a 13 lap race.  @Grebothran away with it and I managed a second place despite a couple of wobbles.

 

At Fuji it was @JBR-Kiwi from the start with @Grebothmaking some uncharacteristic errors and  @GazzaGarrattmaking some characteristic errors. @Mikepjbell took advantage of slipstream down the long straight and left me trailing.

 

Special mention to @Misneach_ getting better every race and giving Lee a run for his money at Willow 🙂

 

Great racing.🥰

 

I will suggest a track for next week shortly and if anyone has any preferences I'm happy to change to whatever.

 

For the second race, we will find out next week's GT daily races on Saturday or Sunday.

[phil bottle 9,766]

Ok, so here's the choice. As we said last week it might be nice to do a rally we can do that possibly, but if not popular of people don't have rally cars there's a Gr.3 instead.

 

Choice 1

Colorado Springs 

Rally Gr.B or X

 

Choice 2

Circuit de Sainte Croix - C

Gr.3

 

Let's try and decide today so we can practice in advance. Once decided I'll set the laps, tyres etc. 

[phil bottle 9,766]

We'll go with Choice 2. The rally stages need a lot of practice, maybe we can do one further down the line.