- 20
- EvNiGpIeNrEER
I finally decided to enter the Formula Gran Turismo Championship and finish out the Extreme Series in A-Spec. I had been putting this race off for months due to the time commitment required to complete it, and also the presumed extreme difficulty in actually winning any part of it. I was right about how long it takes to complete this championship. Each of the six-20 lap races took an average of 25 minutes to finish. But the difficulty wasn’t as severe as I feared.
I have about 6,000 miles on my FGT, no engine overhaul, no chassis rebuild. I changed the oil just before entering the championship. I tuned the LSD to 12, 28, 16 and left it there for all the races. I set the trans at 242 except at Cote D’Azure, Nurburgring, and Monza I moved it down to 212 (more on that debacle later). Max down force on the aerodynamics setting. I used racing softs, turned on the skid recovery, and set active steering to mild. I race using a DS3 controller (no wheel since the original GT back on PS).
Here’s how the races went:
1. Fuji: No serious issues here. The track is quick to learn and fast. Down the main straight, my car was always faster by a few MPH thanks to the transmission setting at 242. Even if I had someone drifting on my six, they couldn’t overtake me. I finished just over 8 seconds ahead of the second place car even after two nasty spinouts midrace on back-to-back laps (11 and 12) that put me as far back as 11th place from 1st.
2. Indy: This was a fun race. The Indy road course never seemed to be so interesting to me until this race. I didn’t find any difficulty here except that I had to learn to pace down at the beginning. If any of the wheels came off the track and went into the grass, the car wanted to spin. I was fearing the worst after lap 2, sitting in 12th about 14 seconds off the lead. But I slowed down a bit, stayed on the track and found a rhythm. I found that you can corner much faster than the AI was willing to go. I managed a few passes on the long straight, but most of my overtaking was done on the outside line of the corners. Managed to take first place by lap 7 and held it for the rest of the race.
3. Cote D’Azure: Dropped the top speed on the trans to 212. Somehow managed to leap out to first going into turn #1. I just got lucky and made it through the pack that way. I quickly realized that the AI was faster here than I could ever hope to be. This race is 100% bounded by walls that the FGT likes to “stick” to. But I did figure out that it was easy to defend your position because of those walls. The AI was very finicky about attempting to pass anywhere, but they will exploit any mistake you make. I dug into the barrier at the chicane on lap 2 and spun the car. The car stopped perpendicular to the wall. This was good fortune in a way. My car essentially acted as a road block since it stopped the way it did. The only downside was that the second place car managed to squeeze through before I fully recovered. I never caught him. Fortunately the car that got by me was not my rival on the points board. The AI is just way too fast on this track (or I’m just not that good ..
) I was able to take second place in the end only by racing conservatively and not letting anyone else get by me. And I’m lucky for it: I finished 16 seconds behind that guy that did get around me.
4. Nurburgring GP: This was a challenge. First, I forgot to reset the trans which limited my top-end speed. I wish there was a way to fix it mid-race. The only thing that saved me on this race was that on EVERY lap, the AI would spin out at the chicane on the back straight. I couldn’t believe it. The only problem I had was getting through the mess of cars on the first few laps without hitting anyone. Took first by lap 4 thanks to the AI spinning out. No sure what that was all about, but it seems like a flaw in the race. Kind of took the challenge out of it for me despite my speed disadvantage due to my error in setup.
5. Monza: After Nurburgring, I took a break. When I came back I again forgot to reset the trans!!!! Still stuck at 212, I knew I could not compete with the AI in the long straights at this track. This is a weather change track, and I was given clear, sunny skies which I thought wouldn’t help my trans mistake (I knew the AI has a bad habit of starting wet races with dry tires and then pitting for wets after the first lap or two, but I wouldn’t be so lucky this time). I was forced into cutting the 2nd chicane to save myself. I topped out the trans on every straight for 20 laps. Very annoying. But I still took first in the end. I will say that if I had the trans set back at 242, this race would have been a breeze. Monza is a very fast track and the AI cars are easy to overtake here. I felt bad for “cheating” the chicane, but at this point I had been racing the Championship a while and was losing my inhibitions for shaving a few seconds off.
6 Suzuka: Finally remembered to reset the Trans to 242 mph. Sunshine here too. I had 1st place overall in the championship by over 150 points, so I knew I could drop out of this race if I wanted and still take gold. But I wanted to give it a shot any way. In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t. This race SUCKED. After all my success in the previous 5 races (even with a few mistakes in driving technique and car setup) this track made me feel like I couldn’t drive. And I know this course well! The FGT would not stop spinning! I could not get a solid lap down no matter what I tried. Maybe I was fatigued since I did this championship all in one sitting, but whatever my problem was, I couldn’t figure it out. I finished the race out, but I finished dead last. By a lot: off the lead by 44 seconds. Embarrassing way to wrap up this event. But I had my gold, and I knew a prize car and a level 21 ticket awaited me!
Prize car: Caterham Fireblade?? What the…? After all that work, this is the prize? To say I was underwhelmed would be nice way of saying what I truly felt! What a joke. Still had my Level 21 ticket waiting for me though…
Open up my Level 21 ticket and close my eyes. I hope to hear the music that plays behind a Premium car… and I do! I slowly open my eyes and see that no headlights come on as the car is presented… what is the game rewarding me with? Finally it comes into view: Camry #11 Denny Hamlin NASCAR. BUMMED. I already had the Vickers Red Bull car. What do I need another NASCAR for? Oh well. At least I managed to finally finish out that beast of a championship. Now I can go back to grinding for credits and hunting through the Used Car Dealer for some cars I really want.
Thanks for reading my tale...
Jake
PSN: EvNiGpIeNrEER
I have about 6,000 miles on my FGT, no engine overhaul, no chassis rebuild. I changed the oil just before entering the championship. I tuned the LSD to 12, 28, 16 and left it there for all the races. I set the trans at 242 except at Cote D’Azure, Nurburgring, and Monza I moved it down to 212 (more on that debacle later). Max down force on the aerodynamics setting. I used racing softs, turned on the skid recovery, and set active steering to mild. I race using a DS3 controller (no wheel since the original GT back on PS).
Here’s how the races went:
1. Fuji: No serious issues here. The track is quick to learn and fast. Down the main straight, my car was always faster by a few MPH thanks to the transmission setting at 242. Even if I had someone drifting on my six, they couldn’t overtake me. I finished just over 8 seconds ahead of the second place car even after two nasty spinouts midrace on back-to-back laps (11 and 12) that put me as far back as 11th place from 1st.
2. Indy: This was a fun race. The Indy road course never seemed to be so interesting to me until this race. I didn’t find any difficulty here except that I had to learn to pace down at the beginning. If any of the wheels came off the track and went into the grass, the car wanted to spin. I was fearing the worst after lap 2, sitting in 12th about 14 seconds off the lead. But I slowed down a bit, stayed on the track and found a rhythm. I found that you can corner much faster than the AI was willing to go. I managed a few passes on the long straight, but most of my overtaking was done on the outside line of the corners. Managed to take first place by lap 7 and held it for the rest of the race.
3. Cote D’Azure: Dropped the top speed on the trans to 212. Somehow managed to leap out to first going into turn #1. I just got lucky and made it through the pack that way. I quickly realized that the AI was faster here than I could ever hope to be. This race is 100% bounded by walls that the FGT likes to “stick” to. But I did figure out that it was easy to defend your position because of those walls. The AI was very finicky about attempting to pass anywhere, but they will exploit any mistake you make. I dug into the barrier at the chicane on lap 2 and spun the car. The car stopped perpendicular to the wall. This was good fortune in a way. My car essentially acted as a road block since it stopped the way it did. The only downside was that the second place car managed to squeeze through before I fully recovered. I never caught him. Fortunately the car that got by me was not my rival on the points board. The AI is just way too fast on this track (or I’m just not that good ..
) I was able to take second place in the end only by racing conservatively and not letting anyone else get by me. And I’m lucky for it: I finished 16 seconds behind that guy that did get around me.4. Nurburgring GP: This was a challenge. First, I forgot to reset the trans which limited my top-end speed. I wish there was a way to fix it mid-race. The only thing that saved me on this race was that on EVERY lap, the AI would spin out at the chicane on the back straight. I couldn’t believe it. The only problem I had was getting through the mess of cars on the first few laps without hitting anyone. Took first by lap 4 thanks to the AI spinning out. No sure what that was all about, but it seems like a flaw in the race. Kind of took the challenge out of it for me despite my speed disadvantage due to my error in setup.
5. Monza: After Nurburgring, I took a break. When I came back I again forgot to reset the trans!!!! Still stuck at 212, I knew I could not compete with the AI in the long straights at this track. This is a weather change track, and I was given clear, sunny skies which I thought wouldn’t help my trans mistake (I knew the AI has a bad habit of starting wet races with dry tires and then pitting for wets after the first lap or two, but I wouldn’t be so lucky this time). I was forced into cutting the 2nd chicane to save myself. I topped out the trans on every straight for 20 laps. Very annoying. But I still took first in the end. I will say that if I had the trans set back at 242, this race would have been a breeze. Monza is a very fast track and the AI cars are easy to overtake here. I felt bad for “cheating” the chicane, but at this point I had been racing the Championship a while and was losing my inhibitions for shaving a few seconds off.
6 Suzuka: Finally remembered to reset the Trans to 242 mph. Sunshine here too. I had 1st place overall in the championship by over 150 points, so I knew I could drop out of this race if I wanted and still take gold. But I wanted to give it a shot any way. In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t. This race SUCKED. After all my success in the previous 5 races (even with a few mistakes in driving technique and car setup) this track made me feel like I couldn’t drive. And I know this course well! The FGT would not stop spinning! I could not get a solid lap down no matter what I tried. Maybe I was fatigued since I did this championship all in one sitting, but whatever my problem was, I couldn’t figure it out. I finished the race out, but I finished dead last. By a lot: off the lead by 44 seconds. Embarrassing way to wrap up this event. But I had my gold, and I knew a prize car and a level 21 ticket awaited me!
Prize car: Caterham Fireblade?? What the…? After all that work, this is the prize? To say I was underwhelmed would be nice way of saying what I truly felt! What a joke. Still had my Level 21 ticket waiting for me though…
Open up my Level 21 ticket and close my eyes. I hope to hear the music that plays behind a Premium car… and I do! I slowly open my eyes and see that no headlights come on as the car is presented… what is the game rewarding me with? Finally it comes into view: Camry #11 Denny Hamlin NASCAR. BUMMED. I already had the Vickers Red Bull car. What do I need another NASCAR for? Oh well. At least I managed to finally finish out that beast of a championship. Now I can go back to grinding for credits and hunting through the Used Car Dealer for some cars I really want.
Thanks for reading my tale...
Jake
PSN: EvNiGpIeNrEER
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), but I waited until we were next to the opening to pit lane, and I gave him a little bump, and into the pits he went. I went on to smoke everyone, and took a 150 point lead, so I was able to abandon the last race. 
