Sounds like about now is the time to bring back GTPES style mega enduros... come ooooon you know you want to
It's the only way I'd be able to get back into this game but I don't have even 5% of the spare time I had in 2015 lol.
Qually: Was really mad I only did a 30.5 considering the 29.5's I'd done during the week at 100%. Just hoping that I'd get my strategy right for the race, maybe almost went Inters at the start. Race: Didn't expect that at all. Played into my favour though, qually difficulties meant an adrenalin filled charge forward was eminent and my pace on the softs were faster than I anticipated, thought if I flogged them and made track position I'd be in a good position for inters when the rain came..... cause that went well....... Lag and some good defending meant I couldn't pass Stigs so I stayed with him hoping for a mistake or for the rain to come so I could get on Inters cause my softs were fried. Got to the point where the car was undrivable and had no chance at holding Warrior off. But to get a podium after that qually was undeniably a success. Well done on the win Stigs, maybe if I had a better starting position I may not have destroyed my tyres so badly and had a good battle to the end. Side note: Hoping GT Sport has a more improved version of weather system so we can ensure certain rain (just when it falls and how much rain is the uncertainty).
Round 4 Results Pole: @StigsTC 13 @BMWF30328 (Quit) Fastest lap: @ssman244 Could someone please post lap times? I forgot to get the replay.
Qualified ok but over 1.5s off my PB to start in the midfield. Had some good battles early on with @warrior2167 and then later with @Jaycie Just disappointed that we didn't get any changeable weather conditions to see the tyre strategies play out. Congratulations on @StigsTC first Div1 win, probably would've won it by a mile had it rained considering the canyon sized gap from pole to Jay's front row time
*Long story inbound* No really. Super Long. After last week I was considerably pissed off at losing my best chance at what is a historically consistent; 1 podium per season. At one race every season things just work and I pull a podium from nowhere. I don't start up the front often and I get lag-punted even less frequently, so to have both drop simultaneously I was livid. For the great qualy, great race pace, 19 gains of position I was rewarded with 8th. As I said in the BHR chat I've done a pile of wet racing (somewhat against my will) and had to get good as a result, so if they wanted to go testing to just ask. A couple hours later were testing on Monday night and it was clear @Jaycie had some handy pace in the wet. We were on most nights working as a team to try and improve our pace, getting under 2:30s, 2:29s and a few 2:28s. That was the most pre-race testing and driving I've ever done for Rooz. All of it in the rain. By Friday night I was really happy with where we were, had a 27.0 among many other 27s to me name with Jay pulling 28s. We just needed the conditions to come together and we were on for a ripper. I lost Saturday to a family function but I was confident that after some more practice Sunday evening I would have a good round. Well when I woke up on Sunday morning everything was not well. Instead of getting up and getting my head dialled in to Watkins Glen for the 3 hour pCARS race, I was chugging immodium. Struggled through that race with my room getting up over 30 degrees to land a very pleasing 2nd place, but I was completely stuffed. A quick visit to my mate before he leaves the country for work and I'm back home to try and recalibrate for GT6. I drove my first 6 laps in the dry and I was all over the shop. Had a reset and did another 4 and bam 2:08.7. Right, recalibrated, time for more wet practice and some dinner. Another half hour of running confirms I can still drive in the wet doing mid 27s. So by the time we got to the room I'm about 5 or 6 hours of racing into my day, not particularly hydrated nor healthy. Got a ripping pit box to be 2nd in the queue and after a drag race with Bryan up the Kemmel clear track for 3 flying laps of Spa in 100% rain. First lap wasn't great but I was happy with a 28 as a banker, figured Warrior would be in the 28s or high 27s by end of QP. 2nd lap was the better one, moved it forward to 2:27.712, assuming both Jay and Warrior are just behind me. So big push for lap 3, got a great run out of 1, nailed Eau Rouge perfectly to go up by 3 tenths but I out braked myself into Les Combes and ruined the lap. Was completely hyped by the BHR 1-2. Totally validated all our hard work during the week. If it rained in the race we, the self dubbed "MidPack Marauders", could bring home a 1-2 like Bob and ssman did it in round 1. Race plan was hang onto the lead or leaders until the rain came and then let the wet pace do its thing. Well, it was a good plan. Had a good early battle with Lets Party before he got caught up with Jay, SSman and Apex. Left me a bit of breathing room to try and build a gap and before the pitstops for wets I was expecting... but the rain stopped falling and the track remained at 0%. So if this was going to be my race it'd have to be the hard way. Kept shaving the laptime down but SSman was coming like a train, taking 3 tenths, 5 tenths, every single lap, when I got the 2:09.0 was certain I'd made a gap, but he ran a 2:08.694! to get within 1 second and got in the slipstream. From there the battling began. SSman was all over me like a rash, huge gains under brakes, better in most places and he was frankly too fast for me, but with some clean exits (and apparently lag assistance) managed to have just enough gap at the end of most straights, went side by side up the Kemmel one lap and resolved in Les Combes with the inside line. Then just as it looked like he'd dropped back to get a massive run up Eau Rouge for a mega pass, he ran wide at 1 and got on the ludicrously bumpy astro turf (which is smooth IRL) to give me another gap. The margin came and went a bit but after that time but apparently SSman's tyres were gone and I started easing away. Was always terrified of Warrior just appearing and cruising past and his pace at the end validated my concerns. It was not what I had planned, envisaged or could ever hoped for to achieve a race win in Division 1, but I am bloody happy to finally take one in my 5th season or Rooz. Pole then leading every lap to take the win makes it sound a lot simpler than it was. Big thanks to the BHR boys @Jaycie, @incey and @bmx_mtb_boy for all the team work, strategy, testing and reporting back during the week so we could build a race plan that worked in all scenarios. Without you guys this wouldn't have happened. You built one hell of a team @SPL Racing. See you all next time, StigsTC. *End of obscenely long post*
Nice essay Stigs. Don't get me wrong; I hate the weather system as much as the next guy. I learnt my lesson last season in regards to it. I'm just defending the moderators. The rain spec was in the brief consistently and never changed after the brief. We all had to deal with the same, as garbage as the weather system is, haha.
Sometimes on my screen you just slid off into the sandtrap and then reappear mid corner or on the exit, got me excited a few times I'll admit, but when an online lobby is doing that once every 2/3 laps I found best to wait for a big opportunity (to pass) otherwise not let the internet destroy both of our chances at maiden Div 1 victories. (lag punt etc.)
Thanks Crunch for your unrequested input. Firstly, I always join the room last to ensure the best connection for all drivers. which Bryan will confirm..which has meant nearly every round I do not get to practice or see the preceding chat before qualifying. Secondly, just as I joined the room, a comment was typed for all to return to the pits when done, which I thought meant I had missed qualifying..hence I simply asked if qualy was finished. Thirdly the qualy was set (warrior made comment asking me to jump in to pits from memory) and I had not checked so did not realise I was on inters until I jumped in to the pits ( believe party commented to tell me to get on to wets after I joined the track). Rather than lose qualy time I persisted, not expecting I would be up the front anyway (if you must know), which I had no problem with and made no reference to in my comment above. Fourthly, the round brief gives no indication of what the weather will actually be accept it is variable with 4x change...this in no way gives any indication as to what the weather condition will be at the start. And the simple point I made is that we gain nothing as a series from running a lottery with regard to this type of weather setting. If the weather had been 45-65% surface water. I would have bolted past the rest of the field and probably scored a most surprising win...and then I imagine 11-12 drivers would probably have made the same comment on the forum as I have done - so my comment was neither unreasonable, disrespectful or out of order Finally the moderators are there to moderate - on this type of issue - so you should let them do that and not presume you have a role to play unless asked lest you make a comment that is misinformed or not based on knowing all the facts.
Sorry bimmer... To summarise what I wrote in the briefing: Qualifying will be full 100% wet Race start will be 0% surface water Then the gamble begins with whether the weather increases or not etc
The trouble with weather variation is there is always a gamble, but that is what makes weather transition challenging and interesting. You can negate the gamble by enforcing a mandatory starting tyre, but that reduces strategy elements that can be played. Same deal for fixed weather, everyone knows what's coming and it takes that strategy and decision making process out of swapping tyres. A potential solution would be to start the race at same 70% weather but instead at 100% track water. That way instead of trying to wet a bone dry track then increase the surface water you can maintain or at least slow the decent of surface water with rain so we at least get some laps in the rain before it dries out and everyone has to swap tyres or it stays wet and we actually get to race in the rain that the weather round has always potentially offered but not delivered too frequently in Division 1. The track dries out faster than it gains water, so it has more potential to dry out later on from a wet start than it does to get wet again after starting dry.
The variation of weather is great. The fact its pot luck what its going to do is its downfall. Last night pitted at a very reasonable 32% only for it to go backwards as soon as i left the pits having to go back to slicks. 2 pit stops to others 0 is dumb and the race was over after the 1st pit. I understand it could of easily went the other way and i would of been sitting pretty. But of the 2 variable weather races ive ran ive been very unlucky.
I'm down for a 100% rain race on Racing full wets, I'd bank a podium every season, but the reason we loving watching weather racing in real life is the strategy and transition phase is unpredictable and difficult to get right. If you wanted to keep strategy and weather variation in play potentially our starting conditions could be modified to be more conducive to racing and less to pot luck. The current settings starts in a dry condition and usually transitions to wet to some degree, then either dries out or goes on to full wet. At 70% weather, track water will increase, at about 60% it stays the same and at 50% rain turns on/off. So by starting at 70% weather on a dry track it gets damp because we start the race with an upward trend of surface water, y even if the weather value is declining. We are only able to SEE surface water so its very hard to get a correct read on what weather is coming at about the point where wet tyres are feasible. With the reverse scenario however, the track is already at 100% surface water so at race start it will not move, it will only trend downwards once weather drops below 60% and even then there is about 80% surface water to trend through before you'd think about swapping to slicks, instead of 30% before you'd think about swapping to wets. If the track dries out and you swap to slicks you would at least get a few laps before more rain could push things to a point where you need wet tyres, instead of being at the crossover point and swapping tyres when the rug can instantaneously be pulled out from under you. Running wets on a dry track would see guys who pitted able to make up 10 seconds per lap to close down the disadvantage, compared to swapping to wets on a damp track where the gap is at times negligible where having the weather swap again on you sees you take 2 pitstops and make no gain, while in the wet race scenario you'd make up at least one of your pitstops before the rain could force you onto wets again, and those who stayed on wets would have had a HUGE chunk taken out of them driving on a dry track, giving those who pitted a chance to catch up. Alternatively make the weather round also an Endurance round so you have time to recover and guys can't win by no-stopping on slicks from the race start. Wouldn't fix everything but with a good run the fast guys on the wrong strategy stood a shot of catching the slow guys on the right strategy.
the rain is the only thing that tends to equalise my pace in this div1 bunch. my race started out okay quallified 8th till i backed off a bit rounding turn 18 and touched the curb and spun me into the inside wall, then touched the grass just before bustop a lap later. to far gone so it was just practice form there on till last few laps where russell scooted past after his pitstop, and managed to reign in jono who cooperated with some doorhandle rubbing through the bustop, that made my night but overall another junk drive on my part
