AC GT3 @ Monza - Sunday 7th February 2021

[Bertje]

Here's an old story:

I started practicing offline. It took some time, but I got that AMG dialled in pretty well I thought. Super stable, quick through corners, no spins, totally comfortable. Good times, little faster each lap. Then I go online... everybody is 3, 3.5s faster than I am.

It's disheartening.

As Andreas (@640er ) mentioned, indeed the gt3 races are the most stacked on RD. Now it is the only event each week, but a while back we had regular races on Mondays and Wednesdays aswell. And the general trend was that the average skill-level of the grid was a bit lower on those days then for the Sundays. On gt3 Sundays you are going up against people who are really really fast. And with that I mean world record fast. So being off a few seconds isn't that bad when you look at it that way!

Practicing a lot will bring your speed and consistency up. And there are enough people on the forums who would like to help with questions about racing lines, setups, pit strategy or other things!

 

[Goblin616]

Thanks for all the support guys. I guess I just let it get to my head sometimes. I tried some other cars last night, and tbh I didn't go any faster, so I think the AMG is fine. The thing with practice though is you need somebody to tell you where you're losing time sometimes. I don't know where I'm losing the time to go faster right now. I'm happy with the pace, I think you're all right and that I'll have some battles. I just wish I knew where I can improve. Racing is a team effort IRL - even pro drivers will look to their engineers and team to tell them where they are losing time, and help with setups. I appreciate all the support in this place.

Did you ever keep points or run a 'season?' how does this work here?

 

[Chris Down]

Being a nosey git, I clicked your link Chris, now I'm, er...
View attachment 442453

Hah, I guess I only expected Rasmus to click the link and I know he also knows about these kinds of things Never mind.

 

[RasmusP]

. I don't know where I'm losing the time to go faster right now. I'm happy with the pace, I think you're all right and that I'll have some battles. I just wish I knew where I can improve. Racing is a team effort IRL - even pro drivers will look to their engineers and team to tell them where they are losing time, and help with setups. I appreciate all the support in this place.

- ask for replays of a hotlap and then look at the inputs of the faster driver and his line
- install acti and then compare laps in motec (I can send you my layout preset)
- record a video of your best lap, upload it on YouTube and post the link here

Or start by watching the replay of the session where you saw the faster drivers on the server. I'm sure you can find where you're losing time.

You probably think that it's magic that lets the faster drivers go faster but it's just their inputs.
And a bit of setup, but mostly the driver.

You'll see corner entry understeer, mid corner oversteer etc. You can dial that out by changing your inputs and by changing the setup.

Did you ever keep points or run a 'season?' how does this work here

Nope. That's for "leagues" and we barely have them here. If you wanna do it, grab all the simresults links and do it for yourself.
We enjoy the "one-off" character.
Sometimes I get close to a podium, next track I'm battling for 18th.
If there would be points involved, it would stress me to not have too many of these 18th place battles.
But since there aren't any points, I just enjoy the racing with whoever happens to be close to me

Hah, I guess I only expected Rasmus to click the link and I know he also knows about these kinds of things Never mind.

I guess we have quite a few people in here that know a lot more than me about that haha.

But yeah I can kinda "read it"

Looks like "not that complicated but to make it right it's endlessly melting your brain" kind of stuff

 

[Kek700]

I have carefully read most of Chris’s article too
Unfortunately I was not able to get that far.

 

[Chris Down]

Did you ever keep points or run a 'season?' how does this work here?

For the club races we've tended not to do that, just because it definitely puts undue pressure on some people and I'd rather these events were a nice place to chill out with one's mates rather than being super serious

That said, I mostly post the simresults after the race, so it's straightforward to work it out with your own scoring rules if you like.

(And of course after posting this, I see Rasmus basically said the same thing. Bah humbug!)

 

[RasmusP]

For the club races we've tended not to do that, just because it definitely puts undue pressure on some people and I'd rather these events were a nice place to chill out with one's mates rather than being super serious

That said, I mostly post the simresults after the race, so it's straightforward to work it out with your own scoring rules if you like.

(And of course after posting this, I see Rasmus basically said the same thing. Bah humbug!)

Old staff behavior, can't help it

 

[HF2000]

Thanks for all the support guys. I guess I just let it get to my head sometimes. I tried some other cars last night, and tbh I didn't go any faster, so I think the AMG is fine. The thing with practice though is you need somebody to tell you where you're losing time sometimes. I don't know where I'm losing the time to go faster right now. I'm happy with the pace, I think you're all right and that I'll have some battles. I just wish I knew where I can improve. Racing is a team effort IRL - even pro drivers will look to their engineers and team to tell them where they are losing time, and help with setups. I appreciate all the support in this place.

Did you ever keep points or run a 'season?' how does this work here?

I use the Performance app to see where I win or loose time compared to my previous laps. That way I can try out different approaches or setups to see if that's an improvement. Looking how others do it, is certainly useful but also difficult to compare when they have different cars and setups.

 

[jackdyson31]

Hello Chris - I just got AC a couple of weeks back. I am completely new to GT3 but I would like to race. I have read a few posts above about the very quick drivers (world record holders and what not) - is it worth it signing up for Sunday or should I spend a few weeks on the practice server getting an idea of what is needed? I don't want to be in people's way. and I don't mind waiting if it is advised !

PS Just in case I downloaded the track, team speak and the HUD

 

[random2k4]

Hello Chris - I just got AC a couple of weeks back. I am completely new to GT3 but I would like to race. I have read a few posts above about the very quick drivers (world record holders and what not) - is it worth it signing up for Sunday or should I spend a few weeks on the practice server getting an idea of what is needed? I don't want to be in people's way. and I don't mind waiting if it is advised !

PS Just in case I downloaded the track, team speak and the HUD

Monza is a pretty straight forward track to learn and begin, after all you only learn how to race when you actually race. If you give it a couple of hours of practice you should be good to go. Dont worry about times, just try to stay on the track. As a car I would recommend the Z4 or GT-R.

I also joined my first race a week after I got my wheel and AC, there is nothing to be afraid of. Just join the fun.

 

[RasmusP]

Hello Chris - I just got AC a couple of weeks back. I am completely new to GT3 but I would like to race. I have read a few posts above about the very quick drivers (world record holders and what not) - is it worth it signing up for Sunday or should I spend a few weeks on the practice server getting an idea of what is needed? I don't want to be in people's way. and I don't mind waiting if it is advised !

PS Just in case I downloaded the track, team speak and the HUD

"the hud" = helicorsa?

I'd say racing with our group is always great and a nice way to learn and getting familiar with everything.
But don't underestimate the stress and mistakes you'll do when racing for the first times.

What I would do:
Setup 2 quick races, 20 minutes if you don't have enough time for 60 minutes.
If using 20 minutes, set Tyre wear rate and fuel wear rate to 2x (200%) so you'll experience the same wear etc. That would normally happen in 40 minutes (after that almost everyone does his pit stop).

Then race against 20 ai.

First race: put the ai level to the minimum and fix your starting position to the last place.
Then try to overtake only cleanly, no divebombing etc.

Second race: put the ai level to the maximum and start at the front.
Then try to be "clear" with taking the inside or the outside but still try to defend against the ai cars.
This will simulate the pressure from behind.
You can also "let them by easily" to simulate blue flags towards the later part of a race.

Thing with racing vs hotlapping is that you don't just need to drive your laps. You need to be able to drive closely behind another car without seeing braking points or some corners.
Not hit them when braking, keep an eye on the mirror etc etc.

But don't be too worried, we're all nice and we all know how it was when we started out!
My hands sweating, me shaking at the race start, doing mistakes, forgetting about the mirrors...

So do the two ai races and then you should be ready to race with us

 

[Interslice]

Hello Chris - I just got AC a couple of weeks back. I am completely new to GT3 but I would like to race. I have read a few posts above about the very quick drivers (world record holders and what not) - is it worth it signing up for Sunday or should I spend a few weeks on the practice server getting an idea of what is needed? I don't want to be in people's way. and I don't mind waiting if it is advised !

PS Just in case I downloaded the track, team speak and the HUD

Once you're in control of the car you'll be fine. Don't worry and just join up. Its really only just the mad lads who sign up sliding all over the place and braking too late that cause issues. All about getting the clean laps under your belt.

 

[Goaqi]

I would like participate with AMG GT3

Thank you!

 

[Goblin616]

@

Hello Chris - I just got AC a couple of weeks back. I am completely new to GT3 but I would like to race. I have read a few posts above about the very quick drivers (world record holders and what not) - is it worth it signing up for Sunday or should I spend a few weeks on the practice server getting an idea of what is needed? I don't want to be in people's way. and I don't mind waiting if it is advised !

PS Just in case I downloaded the track, team speak and the HUD

I can be on every day to help you out on the track, as best as I can anyhow. That goes for any new player or those at my skill level.

 

[hape]

i take the 488 pls @Chris Down

 

[JamKart22]

Hello Chris - I just got AC a couple of weeks back. I am completely new to GT3 but I would like to race. I have read a few posts above about the very quick drivers (world record holders and what not) - is it worth it signing up for Sunday or should I spend a few weeks on the practice server getting an idea of what is needed? I don't want to be in people's way. and I don't mind waiting if it is advised !

PS Just in case I downloaded the track, team speak and the HUD

Hi, I was in your situation a few weeks ago and decided to have a go at a race. Fair to say I'm at the back of the field but everyone has been very friendly and understanding. There is nothing like the pressure of a pending race to spur you on to practice and try and get better and be more consistent.

My aim really is to try and not be last!

 

[uvraver]

Hello Chris - I just got AC a couple of weeks back. I am completely new to GT3 but I would like to race. I have read a few posts above about the very quick drivers (world record holders and what not) - is it worth it signing up for Sunday or should I spend a few weeks on the practice server getting an idea of what is needed? I don't want to be in people's way. and I don't mind waiting if it is advised !

PS Just in case I downloaded the track, team speak and the HUD

Get used to having Helicorsa right in the middle of your field of view .
It does not take long to be able to drive the track and avoid hitting cars beside you from the HUD of Helicorsa
It works in AI races too.
Also if some one catches you up just let them by, a couple of the fast drivers are pretty rubbish in traffic and at anticipating the slow drivers[like me] braking early.
Let the fast driver past before the braking zones because it's too easy to loose control driving of line in the corners.
There is nothing to compare to racing real people, it's psychologically different to racing the AIs.

 

[Interslice]

Get used to having Helicorsa right in the middle of your field of view .
It does not take long to be able to drive the track and avoid hitting cars beside you from the HUD of Helicorsa
It works in AI races too.
Also if some one catches you up just let them by, a couple of the fast drivers are pretty rubbish in traffic and at anticipating the slow drivers[like me] braking early.
Let the fast driver past before the braking zones because it's too easy to loose control driving of line in the corners.
There is nothing to compare to racing real people, it's psychologically different to racing the AIs.

Spot on john with the helicorsa. I had it off to the side for ages but it's so much better smack in the middle so you are looking directly through it.

 

[maxilogan]

Spot on john with the helicorsa. I had it off to the side for ages but it's so much better smack in the middle so you are looking directly through it.

Not to mention that it's just visible when needed, so why should we keep it aside?

 

[Interslice]

Not to mention that it's just visible when needed, so why should we keep it aside?

I had it more off centre rather than to the side. Made sense at the time