- 8,016
- GTP_Royalton
Race Specific Rule:
- You are not allowed to drive below the white line. The only excuse to go below the white is in the event of an accident/mistake and entering or exiting pits. Going below the white line during qualifying is strictly prohibited.
Touching The Line is OK. Going any further below it is not.
NOTICE: ASM is illegal in all sessions. TCS is optional.
NOTICE: There is no penalty for contact during Formula GT races, but try and stay clean.
NOTICE: Contact with the wall or getting more than 2 tires off course during a qualifying lap makes that lap illegal.
Qualifying Session
*Arcade Mode - Time Trial - Twin Ring Motegi SuperSpeedway
*Japan - Polyphony Digital - Formula GT - +1HP 900HP 550KG
*Send Split Times and Total Lap Time to Earth
*Time Due November 18th before midnight your local time
*NOTICE: Failure to include split times will result in the driver receiving no credit for pole position
The Race
*Arcade Mode - Single Race - Twin Ring Motegi SuperSpeedway
*Japan - Polyphonty Digital - Formula GT - +1HP 900HP 550KG
* AI Difficulty is up to you
*Send in the following:
*Total Time:
*Fast Lap:
*Time Due November 25th before midnight your local time
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The Start Of A New Season
Written by: ED
Motegi, Japan – 11/11/2007
Who is going to have their flag raised atop the podium here at the Pacific Grand Prix? Who is going to finish the Gran Turismo Grand Prix as World Driving Champion? These questions are already beginning to be asked. But who really knows? There are favorites, of course. Defending Driving Champion RACECAR returns this year, with a new team, Silver Arrows. Ironicly it's the same team his biggest rival for the Championship, Blake, drove for last season.
Both RACECAR and Blake have unproven teammates. Eagle hasn't turned a lap in a Grand Prix yet, and Earth failed to impress throughout most of last season.
You have to wonder who is going to emerge as the darkhorse. Blake, RACECAR, Earth, and danny12 are the 4 drivers returning, so we have an idea of what they can do, but what about the 10 new rookies? It's nearly impossible to pick one of the 10, and the picture may not be any clearer after the opening round here at Twin Ring Motegi, because as everyone knows, Twin Ring Motegi is the only oval circuit on the calendar.
In what is easily the biggest shocker so far this season, Formula GT management decided to have Twin Ring Motegi SuperSpeedway host the Pacific Grand Prix. An oval race? Surely that's not what Grand Prix racing is about. But gold and silver speak louder then tradition, and with the first oval race ever in Formula GT expected to peak interest in the series across the world, how can you say the decision was wrong? Most likely the race will end up being the first and last of it's kind, and every team and driver participating should feel a little warm inside that they were part of history.
Oval Racing is not easy, as some will find out the hard way. There have been several big accidents in testing, with alot the incidents involving top drivers in the surprising difficult turns 3 and 4. The drivers will find that there is a very fine balance in these cars, and nothing tests the balance more then taking turns 3 and 4 at 190mph plus. At 50 laps this could end up being the longest race time wise on the calendar. Physical conditioning could play a factor in the outcome of the race.
However, most Formula GT drivers loathe oval racing, some even say the Pacific Grand Prix is a 'throw away' round that doesn't really matter, as the results won't matter much because if you do well on one oval that doesn't mean you will do well on the six other roadcourses on the schedule.
While they do make some valid points, there are certain realities they should take into account. The Formula GT schedule is comprised of just 7 rounds. If you 'throw away' one round you've just thrown away 15% of your season. Formula 1 drivers simply cannot afford to wait until the European season begins anymore. The same applies to Formula GT. Maybe last season you could 'throw away' a round but not this season. The talent is stacked this season with almost every driver having a teammate. Gone are the days of running over 2 or 3 backmarkers. In today's Formula GT if you have a bad weekend you finish out of the points, not fourth.
If the Pacific Grand Prix is so important, what are keys to winning there? Well the key to winning at the Super Speedway is the same key to winning on every oval. Strategy. Oval racing requires more strategy then any other form of racing. This is because the speeds are so equal and the lap times are so short and the tire wear is usually very high. All of that is true of Twin Ring Motegi. A savvy driver must search for every possible advantage (within the rules of course) when the differences of lap times usually average less then a tenth of a second. Nothing must be overlooked, every strategy must be tested. Strategy. You can't say it enough when talking about oval racing. The driver who has his flag raised atop the podium will most likely be the smartest, not the fastest.
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Host Of Next Season's Pacific Grand Prix Narrowed Down
Written by: ED
Motegi, Japan – 11/11/2007
Unsurprisingly Suzuka and the Twin Ring Motegi Road Course received bids for next season's Pacific Grand Prix. There were surprises, however. Twin Ring Motegi Super Speedway did not receive a bid for next year's Pacific Grand Prix. It seems to be one and done concerning oval racing in Formula GT. Some are already speculating if the race at SuperSpeedway was nothing more then a Trojan horse to snare oval racing fans from the United States.
Also surprising was Tokyo R246. The track hasn't hosted it's first Grand Prix yet but it has already received a bid to host next year's Pacific Grand Prix. While testing at the track has been positive one must wonder how much Formula GT is allowing the financial benefits of a major automobile race through Tokyo to sway their decisions.
You may ask, "What about Fuji Speedway 80s and 90s?" Formula GT deemed the two tracks not up to Formula GT's standards.
"The two courses are fabulous, fast tracks, but the tracks' surface were too old, and the level of grip just wasn't there. The Formula GT cars are just too fast for old surfaces. Testing proved this as several cars had high speed spin outs due to sudden loss of grip.
"However we are pleased to announce with a new track surface and layout Fuji Speedway 2005 has earned a bid for next year's Pacific Grand Prix. We have tested there and the feedback from the drivers was overwhelmingly positive," said a Formula GT spokesman.
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Some Rules Make You Wonder If $ Is Involved
Written by: ED
Motegi, Japan – 11/11/2007
Running a racing series is by no means easy work. It's comparable to a second job. You have work that has to be done before deadlines. And if you don't deliver you leave alot of people dissappointed. Noone knows this better then Formula GT. But what about the drivers? Do the drivers owe the host of their racing series anything?
It's not uncommon to see racing series have rules that punish drivers for being inconsistant or missing qualifying. But what if the host misses a deadline and doesn't post the results at the promised time? Should he be punished? You could make a case.
In the end I'm writing this out of dissappointment with some racing series. Some hosts lack empathy. We love racing and competition, but there is life outisde of racing. To the best of my knowledge the hosts don't pay the drivers to drive in their series, so why do they get so upset when they don't show up every week for 20 weeks straight? Sadly, hosts usually fail their drivers as much as the drivers fail the host.
I'm hoping this disturbing trend will stop. It's quite obvious that the drivers, or even the best of hosts, may have to leave for a long time. This should be expected and accepted. Until money is involved can we lay off the strict rules and just race?
This Sushi is quite good by the way.
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Rumor Mill: Engine Manufacturer Battle On The Way?
Written by: ED
Dearborn, Michigan USA– 11/13/2007
For it's first and second season Formula GT is using a spec chassis and spec engines, both supplied by Polyphony Digital of Japan, but there are reports, and these reports are still labeled as only high grade rumor, that within the next few weeks perhaps even at the German Grand Prix, Formula GT will announce a new engine formula, and that these engines would be non-turbocharged and would follow a 3.0 liter formula. What's even more noteworthy is that the new rumored engine formula would allow for various numbers of cylinders, which can only mean manufacturers outside of Polyphony Digital will be building the engines for next year's cars. However, Polyphony Digital is expected to continue to build the spec chassis.
There are several obvious reasons why Formula GT is doing this. The first being the speeds the cars are now reaching. Practice times at Twin Ring Motegi have been well below the track record. Another obvious reason for the move is to allow manufacturers to have creative access to the most competitive form of motorsport on the planet. Not only will what they learn transfer to everyday applications, but there is also alot of bragging rights to be won. More so, Polyphony Digital has had trouble meeting supply to all 7 teams, giving Formula GT even more of a reason to branch out.
This rumor also suggests, as you would expect, that building a larger engine may mean more power, but at the same time more weight, and vice versa with a smaller engine, less power but less weight.
Who the manufacturers are we don't know yet, but several are expected to sign a contract before the season ends. I also happen to be in the city next to the headquarters of a certain automobile giant where the first signing is expected to take place behind closed doors.
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Bee Suffers Heavy Crash In Practice
Written by: Bee
Motegi, Japan – 11/14/2007
Mellow Yellow racer Bee hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons this evening as he suffered a huge 300km/h crash going into Turn 3 of the Motegi Super Speedway. The Brit who will be taking part in his first FGT race in Japan managed to climb out of the wreckage before being taken away by medical staff to the midfield medical centre where he passed all checks. We caught up with him as he tried to relax in the team's motorhome.
"Big crash there, how are you feeling?"
"Yeah wasn't the softest crash I've had. Basically it has summed up my day, the car is so unstable through that corner it was sometimes frightening to enter it. We've tried a number of set ups but I just can't seem to nail it."
"And your 100% ready for Qualifying?"
"Yeah I'm fine, the safety cell did it's job and I was able to climb out with ease. I just hope the guys can fix the car in time for the session, it really is a race against time."
"Thanks and good luck"
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The Battle Is On
Written by: RACECAR
Motegi, Japan – 11/18/2007
"The season has only just begun and practice looks to potentially be a prelude to what could be the most hotly contested season of Formula GT yet. The entire field is seperated only by fractions of a second and the top five are even closer. A most notable shock is that it includes three of the ten new rookies in just their very first Formula GT season followed by two of the returning veterans.
"Leading the way is GT4 Defistation folowed by Pepe13 and jump_ace in first, second, and third, While returning drivers Earth and Defending champion RACECAR appear to be the only GT veterans to contend with fourth and fifth places respectively. With qualifying now in sight, The race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive ever and could set the tone for the rest of what could be a very competitive season."
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Qualifying Has Top 5 Seperated By Less Than One Tenth
Written by: ED
Motegi, Japan – 11/20/2007
These are your top 3 qualifiers for the Pacific Grand Prix, GT4 defistation of Renault F1, Blake of Ferrari, and Pepe13 of Honda.
Q: GT4 defistation, supreme lap. How did you do it?
"Keeped calm and noticed where I needed to get faster and I felt pretty happy after that."
Q: How comfortable are you in race trim?
"Not very, this track is very hard considering all the little spins you get every 15 laps or so."
Moving on to the second place qualifier, Blake.
Q: Blake you missed out on pole position by just 7 thousandths of a second. You must be dissappointed.
"I’m not disappointed, I think 2nd is a great result. Much higher than I expected to be at the start of the week.
"We’ve dialled the car in over the week, though, and it is a bit frustrating to think that if I’d held the car an inch lower through turns 1 and 2 and I probably could have gotten pole. That’s racing, though, and I’m happy with my lap."
Q: How is the car handling in race trim?
"It’s getting better, but there’s still some oversteer at certain stages of a stint, which is obviously not ideal. I think we have our strategy sorted, but we’ve got a few more things to try out in the warmup.
"I’m looking forward to getting this round out of the way, to be honest. It’s been interesting, but I’m not sure about the reception it will get from the fans back in Europe. Hopefully I can get a podium and some good points for the championship…"
Moving on to the third place qualifier, Pepe13
Q: Pepe13 19 thousandths of a second from pole position for your first Grand Prix. Are you dissappointed you didn't get pole or are you happy to be 3rd?
"On my very first Grand Prix, I'm very pleased with the podium of course, but these thousandth are disturb me..."
Q: It's going to be a long, tough, 50 lap race, are you physically and mentally fit to deal with the demands of high speed oval racing?
"I'll try to do my best!
I need to concentrate hard, but I'm gonna win the race!"
Back to GT4 defistation,
Q: Have you worked out a strategy for the race yet?
"Ya pretty much. Still need to work on the correct racing line."
Q: Do you expect traffic to be a problem?
"Yes and no, the traffic gives you help by drafting and get faster times to improve your total time. The traffic also hurts because if your passing them on the outside coming into turn 3&4 and you didnt pass him your car gets sideways and he helps you out to spin(referring to what happened to me first time I ran the race)."
Thank you for your time gentlemen
So there you have it, one of the, if not the closest qualifying battle ever. You will be hard pressed to find a qualifying battle closer then this one. GT4 defistation's fast lap of 25.392 edges Blake's fastest of 25.399, a margin of only 7 one thousandths of a second. Third was Pepe13 in the Honda team, just 18 thousandths of a second back.
One of the strong points of oval racing is the close racing it produces, and so far we have not been dissappointed. Hopefully the race will end up being just as close.
There weren't many surprises in qualifying, the drivers at the top of the practice charts qualified up front for the most part. However there were dissappointments.
In the second Ferrari Eagle managed only 9th, and Silver Arrow's RACECAR had by far his worst qualifying performance ever in Formula GT, finishing the session 8th.
Bee has struggled with the handling of the car ever since they unloaded it. The other Mellow Yellow Driver, appie17, did not particpate in qualifying for unknown reasons. Maybe the team did not want to risk crashing another car in qualifying?
Dumkopf managed sixth on the grid, but teammate danny12 struggled in qualifying trim. Maybe dumkopf can share some driving or technical secrets with danny12 to help him get up to speed.
One team that has raised eyebrows is the Honda team. Less then 24 hours after earning pole position in the Super GT series jump_ace qualifies 5th for his first Grand Prix, starting directly behind teammate Pepe13. Though it is rather early in the season, the Honda team has been the most impressive.
UDO, the only single car team in the series, shouldn't be too concerned with Famine's 10th place qualification, as the driver had very limited practice time.
Mobius F1's superberkut qualified a solid 7th, but missing was his teammate ceiling_fan who had turned competitive laps in practice.
Overall this was a very good qualifying session, with 12 of the 15 drivers particpating. This is the first (and perhaps last) oval race in Formula GT's history with numerous rookies, so noone is sure what to expect, but we can only hope the race matches the excitement of qualifying.
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👍
I'm excited. 
when I read that time. Remember kids, alcohol in high amounts is BAD. Also, I checked that replay (surprised that I saved it in my drunken stupor) and that lap is invalid. So I ran some non DUI laps, and I hit a 13.629. 
.
But.....
