[slideways]

So far I'm way quicker in the Beemer than the other two and did less laps. That was on Marty's slightly tweaked set.

[Bacchulum]

29.   Bacchulum   BMW M3 GT2   01:46.653   
50.   Bacchulum   Ferrari 458 GT2   01:47.786   
56.   Bacchulum   Chevrolet Corvette C7R   01:48.285

Lotus 25 @ Monza Full
2:48.151

[Wally]

29.   Bacchulum   BMW M3 GT2   01:46.653   
50.   Bacchulum   Ferrari 458 GT2   01:47.786   
56.   Bacchulum   Chevrolet Corvette C7R   01:48.285

Lotus 25 @ Monza Full
2:48.151

You can drive the Lotus 25 in a GT season if you want

Thanks for the times. I see a lowering of ballast on the cards...

[marty]

Isnt it easier just to got to the server link, its the same one as last tests at Brands Hatch. http://52.65.162.16:50041/lapstat?track=ks_barcelona-layout_moto&cars=bmw_m3_gt2,ks_corvette_c7r,ferrari_458_gt2&valid=1,2&date_from=&date_to=&currservers=acserver3

You can change track to Brands hatch and get that data too quite easily.

Seems just the c7 is most out here as its gone from clearly quickest to marginally slowest, the other 2 not miles off but but as I suspected with that ballast the BMW would go from the general weakest link to the strongest. Anyone setting good times in one of the cars may also want to upload their setup in the server so others can give it a try. In these cars setup is fairly critical and if you have a bad one it simply will not be as quick as it could be.

[Bacchulum]

You can drive the Lotus 25 in a GT season if you want

And don't forget, this is all just to prepare for one of the next season's options. We may not even use it.

[Wally]

Isnt it easier just to got to the server link, its the same one as last tests at Brands Hatch. http://52.65.162.16:50041/lapstat?track=ks_barcelona-layout_moto&cars=bmw_m3_gt2,ks_corvette_c7r,ferrari_458_gt2&valid=1,2&date_from=&date_to=&currservers=acserver3

You can change track to Brands hatch and get that data too quite easily.

Seems just the c7 is most out here as its gone from clearly quickest to marginally slowest, the other 2 not miles off but but as I suspected with that ballast the BMW would go from the general weakest link to the strongest. Anyone setting good times in one of the cars may also want to upload their setup in the server so others can give it a try. In these cars setup is fairly critical and if you have a bad one it simply will not be as quick as it could be.

Yeah, I just cut and paste all of the data from the website into a spreadsheet and run some formulas over it to do counts, averages and what not.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

The question is, do we count the setup difficulty of a car as part of its inherent pace?  ie. with the right setup a car might be x seconds faster, but if you can't find the right setup for each track then it will be a lot slower and the performance disparity between that car and the rest will be greater.

[Wally]

The question is, do we count the setup difficulty of a car as part of its inherent pace?  ie. with the right setup a car might be x seconds faster, but if you can't find the right setup for each track then it will be a lot slower and the performance disparity between that car and the rest will be greater.

Now you're firmly in the too hard basket. There's so much variability between drivers, and to a lesser degree tracks, that you can only get BOP somewhere in the ballpark.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

The question is, do we count the setup difficulty of a car as part of its inherent pace?  ie. with the right setup a car might be x seconds faster, but if you can't find the right setup for each track then it will be a lot slower and the performance disparity between that car and the rest will be greater.

Now you're firmly in the too hard basket. There's so much variability between drivers, and to a lesser degree tracks, that you can only get BOP somewhere in the ballpark.

Yeah, I was more so talking about posting setups for these cars while we are trying to determine performance difference.

[marty]

Ballast should really be set regarding what the ultimate pace is in all cars, people then just choose whichever car they want at the level they are at. If you struggle in a car then you wont pick it but ballast shouldnt be set based on default setups where it gives one a big advantage over any others if they can find much more pace out of it I think.

With setups once you find a reasonable base setup it doesnt take much to adapt to most tracks, but any car that people are struggling to setup is not likely the one they would choose.

[Wally]

Ballast should really be set regarding what the ultimate pace is in all cars, people then just choose whichever car they want at the level they are at. If you struggle in a car then you wont pick it but ballast shouldnt be set based on default setups where it gives one a big advantage over any others if they can find much more pace out of it I think.

With setups once you find a reasonable base setup it doesnt take much to adapt to most tracks, but any car that people are struggling to setup is not likely the one they would choose.

Like I said before, it's all about making sure that all cars are likely to get picked. If nearly everyone finds the Beemer too slow for example, for whatever reason, then hardly anyone will choose the Beemer. It's not just about the ultimate pace of the car. It's about "pickability", to avoid a two horse race.

Nothing is based on default setups either. There's no restriction at all on how you set your car up in these tests.

[marty]

Does it really matter about the likelihood of people picking one car or not. I think the key to BOP is that no one car has a clear advantage so people can pick whichever car they feel comfortable with knowing they arent at a big disadvantage.

If 1 car ends up with a clear advantage and another with a clear disadvantage then this will effect things quite a bit in which cars people choose.

Most will pick the car they like as long as its not completely uncompetitive against the rest. There is no set limit in how many of each car must be picked and best to keep this open. If that means everyone picks one car then thats how it is but if ballast is set where no one car is too fast or too slow its unlikely most will pick one or avoid another.

[Wally]

Fair points, Marty. I'll still see how this week's testing pans out. I haven't looked at the laps yet, but anectodatlly it looks like the ballast will reduce from Brands. A little bit of ballast will still be a good thing if in general it brings the field a bit closer. You can already see that there is a big spread in lap times, and that means a spread out field and more potential for races turning into hotlapping sessions, especially with longer GT style races.

[insomniac]

 I can't get the 458 to handle Barcelona or any other track from brands hatch. No amount of setup fiddling gets good results.

I'm still learning the track at moto and am finding it particularly challenging in the 458. Haven't tried the c7  but the m3 felt much easier to drive even on default setup. Best lap so far offline with a crappy setup and without ballast is a 1.45.45 in the Ferrari, with heaps of area to improve on.

Around VIR the 458 was shocking using my Barcelona  setup and even default.

I think people are going to choose the car they like to drive and comes naturedly for them, no matter if it's theoretically 4 tenths faster or slower than another for the aliens. People have different styles and suit different cars better,  also not everyone sets  their car up to the max potential so I don't see the point in ballast for cars as close as these.

The rx7 is a clear exception being so much faster than the others nearly everywhere and this has the shed load of ballast to keep it even.

[marty]

Bmw and 458 arent too far apart and dont really need ballast IMHO, maybe 10 to 15kg max in the ferrari but its just the c7 that is in another class GTE vs the 2 gt2 cars actually.  GTE is an evolution from the old gt2 class but seems to have a bit less drag and some more power so that really needs ballast or its too quick. Thats really the main issue with the 3 cars.

Even the 35kg isnt enough ballast to have a big impact on handling in the 458. No ballast the c7 was clearly dominant for a big number of drivers, with 85kg its put it a little behind the other 2. Not as far behind as it was ahead at brands but maybe around 50kg there it should be close to the other 2.