AC GT Multiclass @ Bahrain - Sunday 20th March 2022

[HF2000]

Finally a good race from my part. No mistakes and the fastest lap of the race. Qualified 2nd but at the start I got stuck behind a Lambo in T1 and Paul could profit. But in T6/7 he had also bad luck with spinning Lambo's and I could pass him. I feel sorry for Paul who is himself such a clean racer that his chances for a podium got ruined this way. The problems in lap1 led to an immediately gap to Martin of about 5s. I knew my pace was at best equal to his so I concentrated at increasing the gap with Richard who was now 3rd. After the pitstop I was close behind Martin who changed his tyres apparantly and we had a good battle for the last laps although I never came into overtake distance.
I like the track but having a single screen you have the disadvantage that you can't see the apex in T10 which is very important to have a good exit there. So I lost a lot of time there whenever I gambled wrong. The one time I hit it perfectly was the fastest Ginetta lap of the race.

Congrats to the other podiums and thanks Brian for organizing.

 

[pcmoreno]

Well, that was an experience ;p

The good:
- Longest race I've ever made. Previously my longest had been 45 mins so it's a milestone.
- Pit stops are fun and somehow I nailed the strategy for my lambo. Went 45 + 45 L and pitted after the tires were on yellow after 3 laps and ended the race in the same way. Also that 20s break for my hands was quite a relief
- Even though I was pacing the slowest during practice I was not too far off everybody else and then even managed to qualify not last
- Passing all the GT4's after crashing out early on lap 1
The bad:
- I botched the start which probably annoyed some of the GT4's behind me
-

But in T6/7 he had also bad luck with spinning Lambo's

yeah, that was me. I had a cautious first corners and managed to avoid any contact until that turn where I took a way too wide line and then spun out of control trying to get back on the racing line which led to my car ending up perpendicular to the track(right on the middle) taking a couple of GT4's with it. Very sorry for that. And that was the last time I saw the GT3 pack. I waited for everyone to pass before resuming.
- Struggles with controlling the oversteering lambo. I don't think I managed to set it up properly or maybe I'm simply not ready for it on this track. I kept losing my rear and if the damage rate was not so low I maybe would not have been able to finish the race.
- number of incidents(was that a record?) Luckily apart from the first lap I did not cause any trouble to other drivers with my incidents.

It was quite a fun experience even though it was quite frustrating not being able to tame the lambo. Why did I choose it instead of a Z4 or Nissan which I know are much easier to handle is beyond me.

Thanks to organizers and to all the drivers as well

 

[Shed 17]

Not much to say really, a good start and up to P2 in GT4 class but getting hit by 3x3 GT3’s throughout the race, put paid to what might have been.. On such a wide track with long straights there was no need to attempt overtakes in the corners.
Thanks to Brian for organising and well done to podiums.

 

[Evoluzione]

I've spent my whole fridaynight struggling with all the GT3 cars, trying to make a decision on which one to pick for the race. I recognise the comments about the Lambo, you're making @pcmoreno.

After several hours, i spoke to Han, who told me that the sliders for Traction Control and ABS are "reversed". I had put them both to max, which basically turned off the TC and ABS, making some of the GT3 cars almost unable to control, in a fast lap.

Having given up on a fast lap, i tried the BMW as last, and moved the TC/ABS sliders to the left. Man o man, what a difference. All of the sudden i could just hit the throttle after a corner, instead of spinning out. Finally got my 2.00.xx times in and could get a decent consistent pace.

Just maybe this was also the case for your Lambo, @pcmoreno?

 

[HF2000]

Not much to say really, a good start and up to P2 in GT4 class but getting hit by 3x3 GT3’s throughout the race, put paid to what might have been.. On such a wide track with long straights there was no need to attempt overtakes in the corners.
Thanks to Brian for organising and well done to podiums.

I agree with you Paul. Although most of the GT3's did a clean overtake there were a few that tried to overtake me in the T8,9,10 sequence with a result that we both lost time: the GT3 driver because he ruined his exit from T8 and T10 and I because he blocked my turn in point.
So again to the GT3 drivers whom this concerns: wait for the straights, you will also loose less time although it may not feel that way.

 

[pcmoreno]

I've spent my whole fridaynight struggling with all the GT3 cars, trying to make a decision on which one to pick for the race. I recognise the comments about the Lambo, you're making @pcmoreno.

After several hours, i spoke to Han, who told me that the sliders for Traction Control and ABS are "reversed". I had put them both to max, which basically turned off the TC and ABS, making some of the GT3 cars almost unable to control, in a fast lap.

Having given up on a fast lap, i tried the BMW as last, and moved the TC/ABS sliders to the left. Man o man, what a difference. All of the sudden i could just hit the throttle after a corner, instead of spinning out. Finally got my 2.00.xx times in and could get a decent consistent pace.

Just maybe this was also the case for your Lambo, @pcmoreno?

I used a base setup I have for the lambo on Red Bull ring which got me the personal fastest lap of all the gt3s so far and iirc I did not touch the TC or ABS sliders(so they are the same as the default setup). I don't have the same oversteering issues there as I had in this track but the aero I take there is much higher.

 

[Fiberoptix]

I agree with you Paul. Although most of the GT3's did a clean overtake there were a few that tried to overtake me in the T8,9,10 sequence with a result that we both lost time: the GT3 driver because he ruined his exit from T8 and T10 and I because he blocked my turn in point.
So again to the GT3 drivers whom this concerns: wait for the straights, you will also loose less time although it may not feel that way.

I found if you did not get past by T4 you were taking a big risk to both cars trying anything until the straight between T10 and T11. T8 seemed logical, but I found the Ginetta was surprisingly fast exiting it so even sat directly behind leaving that corner it took most of the run into T9 to get past. A few Ginettas guided me past there but it was messy to then get tidy through T10 under braking and the Ginetta would lose speed as it was quicker entering that corner.

 

[Kek700]

I have a sneaking suspicion that Kunos at some point has dumbed down the power of the Lamborghini.
Even on a 1 wing it struggled.
It should have murdered every one on the straight bits.
Got my usual 10 second penalty and bad start. With every one’s pace and consistency so good it made making up time impossible, then throw in the Mazdas which again cost me a lot of time, the driving gods were hammering me heavily in this race.
So at third race distance I gave up and only had one bit of fun from there on in the last 4 laps chasing Hape, and to top it off , in an attempt to pass on the last lap managed to tap Han up the rear.
Well Thankyou racing gods , you rotters.
Thank you @Interslice for the organisation, we both seemed to be in the sights of the racing gods last night.

 

[Enzo Fazzi]

I think on the brakes in T8 was fine if you timed it right through/out of T6 and 7. Issue with the Ginetta mod is that it has way too much grip, so corners like that will always be a bit tricky.

I did a laptime in quali to put me at the back of the GT3 field, but still in front of the Ginettas, hoping for a fun chase. I think my experience caused me to be in 5th after T4 and a lap later I found myself up into P3 already. After that it was simply pushing out a few laps to close in on the BMW's, who both made mistakes when I got to them.
(Although I did have a bit of an overzealous send on Stefan in T1, it wasn't my intention to put it next to you and I think it could've been a clean overtake, yet I decided to give the position back anyway)

I have a sneaking suspicion that Kunos at some point has dumbed down the power of the Lamborghini.
Even on a 1 wing it struggled.
It should have murdered every one on the straight bits.

The Lambo's advantage is in aerodynamic drag, not power. This means it only kicks in at around 255kph and all of these straights start with a fairly slow corner. The Mercedes and the Nissan are the cars to beat on these sort of straights, if you can get the power down. Monza with Ascari and Parabolica being 4th gear corners are where the Lambo really shines.
I always run 1-3 wing on the Lambo, only exception is when we race at Le Mans. Front ride height at the 55mm minimum with the rear at 65mm. The rear suspension at it's softest setting, so the rear end gets pushed down on the longer straights, this moves the rear wing out of the airflow, further reducing drag.

 

[Kek700]

That is basically my setup Enzo.
I will put the wing at 3 next time, as I definitely suffer some stability issues on corners that require a complete throttle lift.
Better still , next time I will return to my Nissan.

 

[JamKart22]

Sorry I had to leave yesterday but the game froze and all I could hear was my car carrying on and crashing into the barrier. I'd have looked at the replay but I didn't have a replay file :-( If some one could share a replay then I'd be interested to see if anything odd happened at the point of the freeze.

Never happened before but maybe a gremlin in my new PC setup.

 

[Enzo Fazzi]

Sorry I had to leave yesterday but the game froze and all I could hear was my car carrying on and crashing into the barrier. I'd have looked at the replay but I didn't have a replay file :-( If some one could share a replay then I'd be interested to see if anything odd happened at the point of the freeze.

Never happened before but maybe a gremlin in my new PC setup.

I'll upload it when I'm home.

You can always check if Windows Event Viewer has logged something at the time of the freeze. Control Panel > System & Security > Double click on Administrative tools > Double click on Event Viewer.

 

[RasmusP]

like the track but having a single screen you have the disadvantage that you can't see the apex in T10 which is very important to have a good exit there. So I lost a lot of time there whenever I gambled wrong.

You could set a button for "look left" or if you're using real head motion, you can even dial in the speed and angle of the "looking over shoulder" move.
I only once did it and only during practice to see the apex. Helped a lot though until I knew the corner a bit better and could then stop using the button every time

Struggles with controlling the oversteering lambo. I don't think I managed to set it up properly or maybe I'm simply not ready for it on this track.

For me, the lambo sometimes just understeers straight into the grass or overrotates while getting off the brakes.
It is what it is and when I tried to find a clue in motec telemetry, the only difference between spinning/sliding off and nailing the corner was the steepness of lifting the throttle and lifting the brakes.
But it was very very marginal... So I mostly avoid the lambo.
I can do awesome hotlaps with it but 60 minutes are always a high risk for me...

After several hours, i spoke to Han, who told me that the sliders for Traction Control and ABS are "reversed". I had put them both to max, which basically turned off the TC and ABS, making some of the GT3 cars almost unable to control, in a fast lap.

Hehe yep! One of the quirks of ac!
And I also have to say that the TC implementation isn't the nicest of all sims...
In rF2 and ACC I can dial in the TC perfectly to easily drift the cars out of corners but in AC it's either:
- being careful and slow
- putting TC to 1 and being relatively safe
- putting TC to 2 or 3 and spin 50% certainly over a race distance...

So don't feel bad hehe.
And nice to see a new regular face!

 

[RasmusP]

Sorry I had to leave yesterday but the game froze and all I could hear was my car carrying on and crashing into the barrier. I'd have looked at the replay but I didn't have a replay file :-( If some one could share a replay then I'd be interested to see if anything odd happened at the point of the freeze.

Never happened before but maybe a gremlin in my new PC setup.

Sounds like either a driver issue, memory error or graphics card driver crash.
I experienced similar weird freezes when overclocking memory or GPU.
But also when not re-installing windows after upgrading from my 2600k to 10600k

Maybe you can find something in the event viewer! Otherwise I would suggest to run some memory benchmark that will flood the ram and push it to full performance.
Iirc AIDA64 has such a test that's not behind the paywall.
Or the classic memtest from Windows ofc.

 

[davejevons]

It was a rare trip out in the GT3 class with the Mclaren for me. It was interesting seeing it from the faster car persepctive as I usually race the slower car in multi-class.

Conscious of the T1 warning I was super careful at the start meaning I got mugged by the fast starting Ginettas. We had untangled GT3s and Ginettas by the end of the first straight only to find Lambos dancing on ice. For once a slow start probably helped as I was able to avoid the piroutetting Hurracans.

Had very similar pace to @Evoluzione for the first stint and got up to 7th after the bad start but after my pit I had a loss of confidence in the aero and slammed it hard into the wall in the T11-13 complex which let Geert-Jan and Andre past (plus Paul in the Ginetta).

Agree with the above about waiting for the straights to overtake. Thank you to the Ginetta drivers who were very accomodating with me learning how to overtake in the faster car; @Shed 17 in particular who was very patient with me passing him before my pit, after my pit and after my spin - thank you.

 

[Enzo Fazzi]

Sorry I had to leave yesterday but the game froze and all I could hear was my car carrying on and crashing into the barrier. I'd have looked at the replay but I didn't have a replay file :-( If some one could share a replay then I'd be interested to see if anything odd happened at the point of the freeze.

Never happened before but maybe a gremlin in my new PC setup.

Replay: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-rSOr-AvWkzh_FZLmGk_vpYyNQaVeG16/view?usp=sharing

 

[Kek700]

Thanks for that hint Enzo, I went 0.4 sec faster and better consistency, i will in future, apart from le-mans and Monza run a 3 wing. it is usually at 0 , 0 so I did not get as far as 1 , 3 in practice.
PS
I think what i lost in top speed and acceleration I made up with stability and extra traction.

 

[JamKart22]

Sounds like either a driver issue, memory error or graphics card driver crash.
I experienced similar weird freezes when overclocking memory or GPU.
But also when not re-installing windows after upgrading from my 2600k to 10600k

Maybe you can find something in the event viewer! Otherwise I would suggest to run some memory benchmark that will flood the ram and push it to full performance.
Iirc AIDA64 has such a test that's not behind the paywall.
Or the classic memtest from Windows ofc.

It's a fresh install of Windows with the latest drivers. Just did a full memory test run using memtest86 and no failures. AC told me it was a GPU issue that could be related to overheating but I've monitored the GPU temp and it's stable at 60C. Lets hope it was a one off.

 

[Kek700]

prime 95 is a really good test for any computer, sorted my 9600k out good and proper.

 

[JamKart22]

Replay: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-rSOr-AvWkzh_FZLmGk_vpYyNQaVeG16/view?usp=sharing

Replay at 15:04 is when the graphics froze and just shows me driving of the track in a curve to the barrier. I can't see anything obvious in the event logger but maybe you can suggest somewhere specific I should be looking at?