GT Academy National Finals - Venues, Dates, Drivers & Discussion Thread

[CodeRedR51]

How come they never ran a full grid for the competition? I only see 4 at a time. Makes me wonder if it is going to be laggy with a full grid.

More cars on the track would create lots of accidents, especially on the 'Ring.

 

[Pyoverdin]

yes Dan... i made that move all the races but in the finals, dont know why, i left room for the 1st corner... i guess i was too much confident on my opponents skills...

That confidence stems from the belief that this competition aims at producing a competent driver, not only geared towards racing, but also considering the aspects of safety, sportsmanship. You, MAY, are operating at that high level of racing integrity, and you lost only because of your trust that others would follow suit. You were probably the best representative of racing driver Portugal could send. The majority of blame should, however, go to Sony officials for not ignoring, but negating the importance of sportsmanship in the competition. Believe me, its not worth it, consider it even more impetus and drive to succeed in future competitions.👍

 

[blackjack]

cheers for posting the vids, it's great to see some top driving on the nurburg. The influence of drafting sure does appear to make a lot of difference in the high speed sections. It's also great to see some of the replay interface on some of the screen shots too. Why hasn't sony revealed this stuff to the fans ages ago? Maybe it's all a custom setup for the academy only? Anyhow, spill the beans already KY! Let us know that you are still thinking about the loyal GT fans!

 

[bullie77]

Good to see videos from the portuguese finals!

I can understand the sentiment of frustration and disappointment that MeAgainstYou must be feeling even today! He is definetively the fastest and more consistent driver in Portugal (GT-wise) in my opinion and truly deserved the spot at Silverstone. I believe his reaction and statement that we done for good with this sort of events is yet reflex of its present state of mind. Understandable!

However, I like to say something about the incident. Please have in mind that I only have these videos to base my opinion, but it is what it is.

I honestly don't think that there were reasons for a re-start of the race. From what I've seen there was no dangerous moves or intentional punting from the guy that hit MAY. He simply took the corner from the inside (and there was space). MAY simply "closed" the door (likely unware of the opponents being there) and the contact was inevitable.

It's a shame however that a single incident had ruined it all. MAY deserved the spot.

 

[kayman]

Good to see videos from the portuguese finals!

I can understand the sentiment of frustration and disappointment that MeAgainstYou must be feeling even today! He is definetively the fastest and more consistent driver in Portugal (GT-wise) in my opinion and truly deserved the spot at Silverstone. I believe his reaction and statement that we done for good with this sort of events is yet reflex of its present state of mind. Understandable!

However, I like to say something about the incident. Please have in mind that I only have these videos to base my opinion, but it is what it is.

I honestly don't think that there were reasons for a re-start of the race. From what I've seen there was no dangerous moves or intentional punting from the guy that hit MAY. He simply took the corner from the inside (and there was space). MAY simply "closed" the door (likely unware of the opponents being there) and the contact was inevitable.

It's a shame however that a single incident had ruined it all. MAY deserved the spot.

I think its unfair to say anyone deserved the spot. He may have been the quickest driver, but a race is not all about hot lapping. Its about driving quickly, knowing your surroundings, when you can make a pass, when you can turn in, when you have to wait and hold back, when you can push ahead or when you have to cruise and look after the car etc.

To me this demonstrates that he was unaware of this vehicle behind him, on the first lap... of a race with 4 cars, of which only 1 was ahead. The two cars behind aren't going to just pack up and go home. They are there to race too. Sure a mistake was made, someone was taken out, but thats racing.

I've been taken out on the first corner before (25 car race on rfactor), I cracked the ****s and left the server, instead of putting my head down and getting back into it. You know what happened. That one decision dropped me from 4th to 9th at end of the championship.

This is racing, and GT academy is looking for the best racer, not necessarily the fastest.

 

[Anghammarad]

To me it's quite obvious what happened in the first corner in the Portuguese final, but I've been wrong before

Bruno is very aware that he is the fastest racer and knows from experience what first corner mayhem is and feels that it might even happen in a GT Academy final. He also knows that he doesn't have to lead through the first corners since he almost certainly can outdrive everyone else in the final. He therefore brakes very early and plans to go gently through the first complex and start racing in earnest when things settle down a bit. Unfortunately the other competitors don't have that luxury. They have to go full out from the start and when they brake in the usual place there's a car ahead that goes a bit slower than expected and there's really nowhere the guy in the black car can go. So unfortunately Bruno in reality is a victim of his own superiority since I'm quite certain he wouldn't have braked so early in a race with Timppaq, Lars and takeuchi.

 

[kayman]

I could agree with that, I dont know him so perhaps its not my plce to say, but yeah he is partially a victim of his own success.

In reality, as he rightly stated he should have been on the inside for that turn, when the pressure, was on he made a mistake by not moving inside and protecting his line, contact was made and we know the result.

Also you cant afford to go slow, especially when in front of a pack racing, perhaps if the demo had simulated tyre temp and brake temp though. Unfortunately it doesn't.

Pressure can make you loose concentration, and all it takes is a split second for you to make a mistake, like it or not MAY made a mistake by not covering his line.

Race drivers are under pressure multiple times during a race, how they deal with it ultimately decides the outcome of their success.

Also for those saying just restart the race, you need to realise that GT Academy is all about taking a GT player and turning him into a Real race driver. There are no restarts in real life, and as such there should be none in any GT Academy finals event.

MAY please dont take offense to what I'm saying here either. I'd cant say my reaction would be any different if i were in the same position. But you are a great driver and it would be sad to see you quit just because of this incident.

 

[bullie77]

I think its unfair to say anyone deserved the spot.

You're right. Although, in my defense, when I stated that he deserved the spot I wasn't implying that the driver that eventually did get it didn't deserve. He has rightfully (and fairly) earned it!

 

[GTP_rpm]

Having watched the first part of the Portuguese final and MAY's accident, I can't say I would put 100% of the blame on the guy in the black car. MAY was right to be cautious, but wrong to assume others would be as forgiving.

If MAY knew he had his nose up the inside, whether it's right or wrong, he would still have allowed room. As you can see MAY enters his normal apex, despite being cautious.

It's a cruel lesson to learn at an unfortunate stage in GT, but an important one.

I'm dissapointed to read on here, direct abuse aimed at Sony and the organisers regarding decision making. Continuity in these decisions is something that has and will affect competitons for as long as they exist. Whilst I've not had my final yet, I'm sure I'll have nothing but praise for the guys and girls involved with making this competition occur - they simply don't have to do any of this.

 

[drivatar]

GTAcademy in Portugal used the driving line!👎

 

[Sphinx]

GTAcademy in Portugal used the driving line!👎

Instead of posting a one liner, perhaps you could post in more detail why you feel a thumbs down was necessary?

...


I've added all posted videos to the first post, together with credit to the uploaders.

Thanks for posting. 👍

Have we heard anything from the Switzerland final yet?

I'll be adding the group photo's soon.


EDIT:

Is there any footage for the New Zealand final other than the 3news footage?

And how about the French final?

 

[Manuelos]

Have we heard anything from the Switzerland final yet?

'Oliver Simon' is the winner in Switzerland

 

[PrudentBear]

I'm dissapointed to read on here, direct abuse aimed at Sony and the organisers regarding decision making. Continuity in these decisions is something that has and will affect competitons for as long as they exist. Whilst I've not had my final yet, I'm sure I'll have nothing but praise for the guys and girls involved with making this competition occur - they simply don't have to do any of this.

Very good point Ian. The organisation of these events may not be perfect and luck obviously has a large part to play but in the end, those who've made the final will have a great day out and have at worst a 1 in 20 chance of going on to even better things. I think we should recognise that this year's event is a huge leap forward from last year's with the increased participation, fairer and more challenging online qualification and improved national final format. GT Academy and competitions like it could have a big future and should continue to get better. It's a cheap and very effective way of tapping into undiscovered driving talent. If we moan less and offer constructive comments there's a chance we could influence the way future events are developed.

By the way, young whippersnappers like MAY have time on their side to win future events but time is running out for old gits like me

 

[snowgt]

I finally managed to get the full final race of the portuguese event


Here it is

meagainstyou is car #1 blue
the winner hunter_4_6 is car#3, yellow
this is from the perspective of cars #4 (black) and sometimes #3 (yellow)

The guy in black plays in outside view. me = stunned.

 

[fasj6418]

I don't know if MAY will be mad at me, but after watching the whole race, i don't think he lost because of the first accident. I think it was more due to the mental aspect of it.

After the incident, he got close to the leader, and people were running on the 37's. I believe the stupid play by play guy was worse than the first turn accident.

About the swiss final, who is Oliver Simon? Can't recognize people without their usernames...

 

[eSZee]

Oh ok, far out the organisation stories just get worse and worse... 👎

Hey the french winner has had alot of experience in karting?

I thought we had to all be rookies?? 👎👎👎

You could have all the experience you want, you just can't have a racing license of any kind. I think that was the rule...

How come they never ran a full grid for the competition? I only see 4 at a time. Makes me wonder if it is going to be laggy with a full grid.

Because starting 8th and having only 2-3 laps to catch up isn't very fair is it?

Having watched the first part of the Portuguese final and MAY's accident, I can't say I would put 100% of the blame on the guy in the black car. MAY was right to be cautious, but wrong to assume others would be as forgiving.

Yeah, lap 1 corner 1 it seems blue car went wide and when he was going back into the apex, he hit the black car. That's what it looks like to me from seeing the rear view video. I can't really say the black car was going too fast I just saw the blue car go wide and when he cut back inside, he side swiped the black car. 2nd blue accident looked like a spinout.

Come on mate, so is yours



👍


Dave_SZ, to be perfectly honest I think Bruno's experience will have been a heartbreaking one. Such an opportunity that probably had his name written all over it even though he may not admit to feeling that way to be respectful of all deserving competitors. I expect he will feel differently given a day or so, maybe longer and that he will be back next year.

Even competition drivers must have niggling feelings like this, one remembers Damon Hill in 1994 at Adelaide vs Schumacher. Maybe they put the face on for the press and public, but with their mates they may well have shared such negative misgivings. Only their sports-psychology attitude would have pointed them back in the right direction I imagine, but probably not even straight away.

All the best
Maz

I completely agree. It was devastating to him, it must've been. However, a pro will not go out in public and say what he did. He would keep it to himself or close ones. He would take a day or two, clear his mind and be a pro. I would say it's due to age but he's older than me. I feel bad that he lost as there was no doubt he was the best person there.

 

[MeAgainstYou]

GTAcademy in Portugal used the driving line!👎

we were allowed to use any setting we want apart from force feed back that was the same for all... some used the line other didnt (i didnt)

The guy in black plays in outside view. me = stunned.

thats a really important factor in the final judgement... the responsible person who was watching the black car said to the main judge that P4 didnt touched me (because he couldnt see well the front of the black, thats my thought).. i spoke yesterday with the man in charge on the finals and he told me that he thought no one touched me.. he thought that i made the 360º by myself because I'd put too much throttle too earlier............... well.................. there were so many factors that influenced the whole final result.. it seams that all stars lined but in disadvantage for me..

I don't know if MAY will be mad at me, but after watching the whole race, i don't think he lost because of the first accident. I think it was more due to the mental aspect of it.

in that point of view i can say that i only lost it cruising the finish line in 4th... i already said that my race was a mess.. all i can say is that after 1st corner my nerves changed from 50% to 100%..

i wont be mad at anyone because everyone has their own opinion.. im just trying to give you my point of view and relieving a bit my pain..

 

[IsmokeGT]

Yeah, lap 1 corner 1 it seems blue car went wide and when he was going back into the apex, he hit the black car. That's what it looks like to me from seeing the rear view video. I can't really say the black car was going too fast I just saw the blue car go wide and when he cut back inside, he side swiped the black car. 2nd blue accident looked like a spinout.

Blame the guy who took the racing line. 👎

I completely agree. It was devastating to him, it must've been. However, a pro will not go out in public and say what he did. He would keep it to himself or close ones. He would take a day or two, clear his mind and be a pro. I would say it's due to age but he's older than me. I feel bad that he lost as there was no doubt he was the best person there.

Spoken like an amateur.

 

[The Outlaw]

Spoken like an amateur.

+1

It's funny how socially correct people try to be on this forum at times Saying things like: "If you had class and you were a pro, you would have handled the situation like this..."

It was devastating to him, it must've been. However, a pro will not go out in public and say what he did. He would keep it to himself or close ones. He would take a day or two, clear his mind and be a pro. I would say it's due to age but he's older than me. I feel bad that he lost as there was no doubt he was the best person there.

I thought MAY handled his misforutunes suprisingly well, even if it was just a racing accident and he was partly at fault.

No ones perfect, nor does one need to fit some image that you've made up in your mind, while you criticize their actions 👎

 

[Neenor]

I wanted to give you guys an idea of the Swiss Final so I'm writing a little report for you to have a look at.

First of all is was a bloody long journey! I was picked up in Lausanne and 10 hours later we arrived at circuit de Castellet. What a phenominal place. As the bus pulled up to the hotel there were 2 cars convieniently placed outside the hotel. A Nissan 370z and a Nissa GTR. Beautiful.

We got dinner and a free bar!? (I'm English I took full advantage) and then off to bed for a 06:30 start. Got up, got breakfast then we were promptly whisked away to the track for some "track exercises" While the French guys competed. The setting was truly amazing, blue skies, warm day even in Feb and 2 Nissan 370z parked on the track ready to go.

Our briefing was:
Go through the slalom course in the car in the quickest time possible, take care of the gearbox in your change to 2nd gear.

That was pretty much it, we all got about 9 laps each through the slalom course. In the vids it looks slow but trust me, those cones were set to a tight slalom. The second vid is me driving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmB8QoIGZN0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M7-Z4_4g1k

That was an immense amount of fun.

Then we went to a different part of the track and the fun truly started! Our new exercise was to accelerate flat-out up to 3rd gear (i can't remeber how fast) then brake at the orange cone, change down to second at the blue cone, then turn into the corner and hit the apex, gradually applying the gas to speed up for the straight. (I actually was good at this getting the quickest exit speed of my group). I was only beaten by the overall winner Oliver.

Again it was amazing!! Here are some vids. This is Dmitiri (Baboun) in the 370 on the corner exercise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZAk9RhDLu0

I was in the car with him, the idea was that we swapped after about 9 attempts each. It was a lot of fun being in the car with a fellow gamer, we both did pretty well too.

Next we just followed the pace car (a GTR) around part of the track. However, the pace car was pretty much flat out most of the time and we just had to keep up. They placed cones out so we knew where to brake and change gear, but other than that it was just keep up, taking turns to be the car directly behind the pace car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVRZdilYt6E

So after the amazing morning at the track we went to the paddock for lunch which was nice then we were straight into the compitition. You could tell people were nervous but everyone was in good spirits.

My first race was a complete disaster. I broke late and spun on the first corner, I knew I needed to be 2nd or 1st to qualify for the semi's so I put my foot down and luckily ended up 2nd.

The semi was time trial around Fuji. I was simply too slow and was beaten by about 2 seconds by the 4 finalists.

My 1 minor complaint is that I didn't fit in the pods. It was too small and my knees were by my chin. Really I have no excuse as Oliver the winner was about 6'4 and an inch taller than me!

To conclude, the organization was truly amazing, in true Swiss style all timings were kept to the minute, all the hardware and software worked perfectly and things were all very fair, only 1 minor incident in the compitition which was just put down to racing incident.

Big thanks go to Sony, Oreca, Nissan and anyone else involved in making it a very memorable day for me!

Congratulations to Oliver the Swiss winner. He'll be training hard for the final!

 

[Timppaq]

Wow, that sounds amazing!! 👍 👍 Well done the Swiss organization! And big congratulations Oliver 👍

 

[Neenor]

I couldnt get the vids working so i changed them to hyperlinks...

 

[Dessy182]

holy cow.. awesome.. pity all the countries couldn't do something like this.

 

[Gaviao_pt]

Wow! Amazing! All we had was a static and locked 370Z to look at and no goodies bag, just a tshirt, cap and a promise to receive a fee GT5 game when it comes out

 

[IsmokeGT]

holy cow.. awesome.. pity all the countries couldn't do something like this.

As the number of pages in this thread grows larger, the more I feel like I just got robbed. Just the experience me and my good American buddies (Shake n BAKE) are missing out on is enough to make me upset.

Always 2011 GTAcademy!

 

[TiZzla]

Is there any footage for the New Zealand final other than the 3news footage?

No spectators (apart from the organisers and film crews) were allowed in the room that we were competing in. The only people with footage of our races will be 3 news and "the green room" - the company contracted to film for the UK tv series

 

[Rudi Raser]

Really I have no excuse as Oliver the winner was about 6'4 and an inch taller than me!

Oliver? was it this guy?

old pic from 2004

then it´s GTNDC-czsimo. some people here will know him.

i know he was there. yesterday he send us only a short message to GTRP with an i-phone. he said only, it was great.

Unser tag hier in südfrankreich war einfach nur umwerfend. Hammer von a-z!
Mehr morgen, ich kann nicht mehr.

Olli @ iphone, still in le castellet, france

EDIT


found it, yes its czsimo.

http://www.game7.de/ps/2315-gran-tu...4849.php?sid=1880e3cddbde7fda20e35b205ef6e7c4

great mate. 👍 👍 good luck in Silverstone. 👍

 

[Neenor]

your pic doesnt work but he was making updates on his FB page like me so I guess it was him yes. Very tall chap.

 

[Horde_R35]

+1

It's funny how socially correct people try to be on this forum at times Saying things like: "If you had class and you were a pro, you would have handled the situation like this..."



I thought MAY handled his misforutunes suprisingly well, even if it was just a racing accident and he was partly at fault.

No ones perfect, nor does one need to fit some image that you've made up in your mind, while you criticize their actions 👎

TA and IsmokeGT, you guys are so funny ! I love those direct comments you guys make! Im the same way about those issues and i can see myself making the same comments ! The truth no matter who it hurts !

And how can anyone say to MAY?: "You should have made like this or like that!" That can only come from amateurs ! I would never do such thing! Im a pro, but certanly not an alien !


EDIT: At least for now!

 

[Anghammarad]

then it´s GTNDC-czsimo. some people here will know him.

He was 16:th on the Swiss leaderboard which at least I find interesting.