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Although new players inGrand Theft Auto Onlineget a massive budget in the beginning toset up their initial businesses, it still takes some time to get rolling in the game and earn big profits. In between, some players have spent all their cash and are looking for activities that could give them big rewards without investment.
For many, it is going to be Open Wheel races, a replica of Formula 1 inGrand Theft Auto Online, delivering a chaotic experience to everyone at every level. Players are free to choose one of the four cars eligible for this mission without owning them, though owning the vehicle is a plus.
How To Participate In Open Wheel Races
Open the pause menu and navigate to the Online tab. SelectJobs, then open theRockstar Createdcategory. ChooseRacesand scroll down the list until you seeOpen Wheelraces. There are six variants in total, all sharing the same rules but set on different tracks.
You can either host the job or join an ongoing one. Between May 1 and May 8, the Open Wheel Races offer 4x GTA Dollars and 4x RP, which is a massive source of income, especially for every podium finish.
Best Vehicle For Open Wheel Races
When the mission is launched,the player will get to choose a vehicle from the four available race cars. When it comes to speed, all vehicles are similar. It’s mostly the Braking System and Traction that make the difference between thesevehicles. On paper, Benefactor BR8 is the best vehicle as it has a slightly better braking system compared to Progen PR4 and Ocelot R88. Also, Declasse DR1 is the worst vehicle with slightly weaker brakes and traction.
Based on personal experience,Benefactor BR8 is quite reliable, but this is only for those who get the vanilla version of the vehicle for free. Those who purchase their own vehicle are still suggested to get BR8, but regardless of which car you purchase, it’s important tomodify it correctlyfor the race.
To get an Open Wheel-eligible car, visit theLegendary Motorsportwebsite on your phone and then switch to the Special tab to see all four vehicles available. Below is the original price for each vehicle:
Best Modification For Open Wheel Vehicles
First off, let’s make it straight that you will have no control over the modification of the free cars that you receive before starting a race. If you want to modify the car, you must own it. And modification is done at Los Santos Customs.
Most of the modifications for these race cars are cosmetics, except for theFront WingandSpoiler. These will not change the overall speed of the vehicle, but will determine how the vehicle performs when moving in a straight line and when turning corners.
The Front Wing and the Spoiler determine the overalldownforceof the vehicle.Higher downforce will help the car turn corners faster, but will slow it down in a straight line. So, if you want the result to be vice versa, lower the downforce to the minimum. Here are the wings and spoilers that deliver the highest and lowest downforce for each vehicle:
Medium Cut Off
None/Large Rectangle
This is completely up to the player to change the downforce to their liking, but fully maximizing or fully minimizing it is not a good idea. So, it’s best to go with the middle ground, as all tracks are designed in a way that features many turns, but also require significant acceleration after cutting the corner to catch the drivers in front or make distance with opponents behind. Overall, higher downforce seems more beneficial if the track features many sharp corners.
Best Tires For Open Wheel Races
The only modification that both car owners and those who receive cars for free have access to is the tire model. There are three tire qualities: Soft, Medium, and Hard.Soft tires make it easier to turn corners, but they also wear out faster, which means the player needs to have more pit stops. On the other hand,Hard tires survive almost twice as long as Soft tires, but turning corners with them is a little bit challenging.
Keep in mind that the quality of driving is also important in how faster tires wear out. Technically,braking is the main reason why tires wear out. So, the less you brake, the longer the tires will remain functional. However, a worn tire in an orange or yellow state will already affect the quality of your turns, making it more difficult to steer sharply. So, it’s highly recommended to visit the pit stop as soon as the tire’s wear color goes from yellow towards orange.
It’s almost inevitable to finish a race, even in 5-Lap versions, without a pit stop. However, Soft tires are not recommended for shorter races as they will force you to visit the pit stop more than once. So, the best recommendation is Medium, and if you are really good at turning corners, then try Hard tires.
It’s worth noting thatthe combination of good downforce and the correct tire type can help a lot. A vehicle that has a low downforce is already weak at turning corners, and using Hard tires on it will just make it more difficult to have perfect turns.
Players can also change the tire type during the race when visiting a pit stop, but it is not recommended. The pit stop itself slows the player down significantly, and changing the tire type will just make it take longer before you’re able to get back to the track again.
KERS Boost And When To Use It
Every race vehicle comes with a nitro boost that briefly increasesacceleration. In Open Wheel it’s calledKERS Boost, andit will be activated after completing the first lap. The player will receive a KERS Boost notification after finishing the first lap, and a yellow bar will appear below the map, showing the boost capacity.
It’s best to use the boost after turning the corners to make distance from the opponents behind, or if there are drivers ahead, keep the car behind them and use the boost to reach them. It’s also good to use boost when approaching the Lap Line to improve the record.
KERS Boost has equal quality between all the vehicles, and players will have no control over its modifications.
Overall, Open Wheel races are quite chaotic, similar to other racing missions inGrand Theft Auto Online, and the most important thing is to escape the initial chaos. A lot of cars hit each other when turning the first few corners, and if you’re able to’t survive that, the race is almost over for you. Starting on the front line is a big plus, but that is just tied to your luck.
As one last tip,attempt to avoid lapping drivers who are at the bottom of the table. Usually, when the match is almost over for players, they like to ruin the game for others, especially for the top three players. Thankfully, the game ghost-ifies cars that move in the opposite direction, but there are still many ways to throw and annoy others, and it’s best to keep a distance from drivers who have nothing to lose.
