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

[theewar]

GT Academy Irish Finals..

It seems the Irish have been paying attention to what went on in some countrys GT Finals.
The day started for me at 9.45am,shower,cup of tea,and looking for my passport.I got in to Town at 11.35am,The starting time for the show was moved from 1pm to 12.30 and I wanted to get in early so I could get a feel for the place,and maybe get a peek at the setups of the wheels and such,Didnt happen,I got in to the Pub(The first one to be held in a pub I was told) Go on the Irish for being original,so I got as far as the guest lobby and all the GT Academy banners and 3 large T.V's are all in place,but no wheels and pods in sight,This was all setup down the far end of the pub in a Kind of V.I.P area.The setup was nothing like what other places had,very basic,DFGT Wheels that where clamped on to the side of a Booth table,Like the Booths in Eddie rockets.The chair was just that,A chair,four legs and an upright back,They worked perfect,I dont think anyone had an issiue with the setups.

The car for the day was the Tuned 370z on R1 tyres.
Track 1:Fuji 4 lap race.
Track 2aytona road 6 lap race.
Track 3:Indy 8 lap race.
All races are standing start.
It was broke into 4 groups of 5 Drivers for the first round,only the 5 drivers and staff got to go in the V.I.P area.I was in group 4,so I had a bit of a wait on my hands.My time came around and in we went,We all got a quick lap before the 2 lap practice race began,and we had earphones.I was in 3rd place for the first turn of fuji in the main race.By lap two I was in second place and starting to push towards the guy in first,I could see he was a lot slower than me on this track,and Even though the first two get through,I thought it would be nice to win on Fuji,so I pushed a little more and by the middle of lap 3 I was on his rear bumper.I just sat behind him untill the last turn then as we come out of it I sat be hind him for all of 5 maybe 6seconds,moved right and set it up for the pass,We are side by side all the way down the straight and coming in to the brake zone I just seen the nose of his car beside me,on the brakes we go almost at the same time,I being on the inside line knew to keep a tight line or it could all go pear shaped for the two of us.This was exciting stuff,we both got through and I got the better drive out of the turn,by the exit of turn turn 3 I had pulled a 1 second gap and was telling myself over and over just keep it on the road and its home and dry.To my surprise thats what I done and came in first about 3 seconds ahead of car 2..

Race2aytona
It was now 4 drivers,and faster drivers,ok so Daytona,I had noticed during the two lap practice race that turn one is not the same anymore,sure its still a turn but something about it was better,I had spent the day before doing the SRT10 TT on N1 tyres,in GT5P events,maybe thats why it felt better.So off we go into turn one,I am on the inside so I hold back a bit,got through it fine but in 4th place,so work to be done,Car 3 went wide into turn 3 and that let me slip up the inside,I was now gaining on car 2,by turn 6 I was maybe a second or two behind,Not sure what went wrong for car one,but he got a penelty for something,I think he may have hit the wall on the exit of turn six.So I get up along side him just as his car comes back to life, but I have more speed so the pass is made and puts me now in 2nd place,through the Bus stop and now gaining on car 1.The laps went by and the gap to the cars behind got bigger,but the gap to the guy in front sat between 1.5 seconds and 2.6 seconds.The bus stop was the place I gained on him every time.Lap 3 and I had made roads into his lead,but on the exit of the bus stop I turned in to soon and had to make a correction input,the back got out of shape a bit and I went through the exit very sideways and slow But the car was still facing the right way,First thing I do is check the track map to see if my 2nd place was in danger,It was ok,3rd and 4th place are 24seconds behind me ..From here on in It was about just getting it home.Crossed the finish line 1.6 seconds behind Car one,Result,

Race3:INDY

So here I am in round 3,THE FINAL...This was not something I planned for if the truth be known but there you go.

I have P1,3,2,1 and its go,straight into 2nd gear off the line and I get the better drive Heading towards turn one I place my car in the middle of the road,I can see in my rear veiw the Blue car in second on my right so I leave space along that side,getting closer to the turn and the guy in 2nd is moving up beside me,I ease of the gas and on the brakes but car two was still moving at a pace,I got on the brakes a bit more and held the line leaving him space so he could get through but he left his brakes a bit late and went in too fast,as he went in the grass I went through the turn but slower than the guys in 3rd and 4th,One got by me but I had enough speed to hold on to 2nd,It was really hotting up now,turn 4 and the guy in front had opened a small gap,by this time 3rd place had got along side me and held the right side of the track,we got through turn 5 Putting me on the better line for turn 6,got the better drive out of the turn and went up the little back straight clear in second place.I dont remember getting by car one,but I did.I was now leading on lap 1of 8laps,I held the lead untill lap3 and had pulled a gap of almost 2 seconds,I rember thinking 🤬 I am in the lead,next thing I know I am going into a left hander,turn in,back gets out of shape,make a correction input,the car snaps back the other way and I am now in the grass on the right side of the track going sideways.I am sliding for what seemed like forever but the next turn is a right hander and I slid right back on to the track,Facing the right way just as car 2 goes by me at this point I was regretting not spending more time on the TT but also thinking only one car has passed me,right time to get the head down and save what I can.For the next 3or so laps I pushed hard to try and catch car1 and I did,got the time down to .869 but I made a small mistake on every lap and I was overdriving the car by this time.Thats as close to car 1 as I ever got and even on the last turn of the last lap I made some strange :censored:up and almost missed the turn.

All said and done,I had a fantastic day and over the moon with my result.Not bad for a guy about to turn 40 this year


A big congrats to all the guys who have made it to Silverstone and I wish all of you the best of luck.

To the people who put together the Irish event I thank all of you,it was, from my point of veiw a fantastic day.It went like clockwork 👍


I have saved this bit untill the end of my small book


There Was zero...0...Nada slipstream effect in our event.

To every one I met yesterday.

 

[eSZee]

The manual 370z's do have a system that rev-matches on down shifts though, which is absolutely fantastic IMO.

getting used to it was kinda tough...

 

[Synwraith]

Incredible account of events Warren, all of T&L are extremely proud of you I'm sure. You're a great sporting competitor and always gracious with a massive helping of talent to go with it. A true credit to the Irish, GTP and T&L GT communities

Congratulations on a brilliant performance, congratulations also to the overall Irish winner (who was it btw?), and WOW, no slipstream...the promised land draws closer. Well done to the organisers of the Irish event for clearly putting on such an enjoyable event

Also Warren, you only did 3 races all day?

All the best
Maz

 

[eight6er]

Yes I also noticed 0 slipstream in Irish event. I thought the setup was terrible though, was dissapionted when I saw there was no pods. The table that the wheel was clamped to was not stable and flimsy. Guests could not see any of the competition and the judge was there for show as far as I could see. I was punted off on the exit of the first corner at the start of the race and again someone tried to punt me into the wall while overtaking latter in the race, judge did nothing.
Dispite this I still had a good time with the other competitors and that was worth the trip meeting some like minded people.

 

[mr_VOLCANO]

Nice write up Warren! And congratulation for your overall result 👍
And good to hear the organizers take some of the complaints seriosly!! This must have bin a nice change from your shield in mw2
I really need to get my driver licence in time for next gt academy!

 

[theewar]

I feel quite bad about the fact I cant remember the winners Name
Is it Aaniel Collins or Bavid cooney..? Really sorry guys,but its more and more of a blur with each passing hour..

Also Warren, you only did 3 races all day?

Yes 3 races,that was all I done

Also I dont know why I keep getting grin faces where it should be a D

 

[Dessy182]

Just back from the Irish Finals...

Really enjoyed meeting all the other players, everyone was really nice.

As theewar explained in the post at the top of the page, there were only 3 races overall. We got a practice race and then the real race. I won my practice race. I came last in the real race. Bye bye for me in the first round. I was disappointed we didn't get 3 races for group 1 and it was based on points, but thats irrelevant now. I ****ed up real bad, got on the grass and spun. By the time I got back on course I had lost over 10 seconds. Obviously I felt a little crap afterwards but I accepted it and I'm happy I got as far as I did. Maybe next year.

Overall the event was run ok, but there were a few things that were badly done. The wheel was attached to a circular table with a tablecloth hanging down all around it which slightly covered the pedals too..... and the chair was like something you would find in a restaurant. There were no pods.
Also no one was aloud in to the room to watch the events apart from judges and other Sony people - so I didn't even get a chance to take any pics or vids.

Another problem was the servers crashing. I don't know how often it happened as I left when everyone played their first rounds (since we couldn't watch).
My race was about to start and then my ps3 just didn't connect and froze. So I was left sitting there for nearly 10 mins as everyone fiddled around and fixed it (by switching off the ps3 at the power button - proving they knew **** all about what they were doing). To be honest all this threw me off as I was ready to race and then all of a sudden nothing was happening - and everyone else was still practicing. That's the only excuse I can come up with for not doing well lol.

Finally as for prizes. We all got €40 of PSN vouchers and the t-shirt we had to wear while playing. That was it. Meh.

Anyway I will probably play again next year if the competition runs again. I learned that it's more about keeping a cool head than actually being fast. The guys who can keep themselves the calmest are the guys that will likely win.

Best of luck to everyone yet to attend their final and best of luck to the Irish finalist

 

[eight6er]

I think the winner was Daniel Collins (Darkenergyforce). Pitty we could not watch the races, it would have made it a bit more fun. Congratulations to the winner👍

 

[MeAgainstYou]

There Was zero...0...Nada slipstream effect in our event.

wow.. there's some hope now...

anyone know how was that possible!? an option of the game maybe, turn on/off!?

would be nice to make this 1st page news on GTP!? please...

 

[eight6er]

wow.. there's some hope now...

anyone know how was that possible!? an option of the game maybe, turn on/off!?

I was in the first group and I did not see them do anything that might suggest they had an in game option, it was just off.

 

[theewar]

wow.. there's some hope now...

anyone know how was that possible!? an option of the game maybe, turn on/off!?

Something to do with the code they had.In the breifing at the start they laid out the rules and they had TC at 7,but we put it to the vote and got it turned off They said something about the code they where using and if it crashed,they would restart the race,All my races went without any issiue,but this is all being told through my eyes,others for sure will feel another way about it.

 

[Dessy182]

wow.. there's some hope now...

anyone know how was that possible!? an option of the game maybe, turn on/off!?

would be nice to make this 1st page news on GTP!? please...

I think we got a different build of the game. We were warned before the competition started that this is new code and that there was a high chance of the game crashing at some point. Like there was very very little slipstream if any. I had watched videos of the other finals and I was expecting it to be easy to catch people on the main straight at Fuji, but this was not the case. It would be cool to adjust how strong it is -- OR -- PD could get off their asses and actually sort out a realistic level of slipstream before they release the game and leave it at that 💡

 

[PrudentBear]

Whether it's been by accident or by design I'm shocked by the differences that've been seen in almost all aspects of the finals held so far.

It really is a case of preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.

 

[MeAgainstYou]

I think we got a different build of the game. We were warned before the competition started that this is new code and that there was a high chance of the game crashing at some point. Like there was very very little slipstream if any. I had watched videos of the other finals and I was expecting it to be easy to catch people on the main straight at Fuji, but this was not the case. It would be cool to adjust how strong it is -- OR -- PD could get off their asses and actually sort out a realistic level of slipstream before they release the game and leave it at that 💡

yes thats one of the biggest failures that the series ever had.. i hope they can get it fixed by the release date!

many guys already stated that we need more than 1,5 seconds of distance between cars to break it.. and thats disgusting.. in reality we will have slipstream only running at really high speed (over than 150/200 km/h) and at maximum 0.5 seconds behind... so if they fix that for GT5, that would be an huge step to make races more fair and find the truth paces of each player in that races 👍

 

[mr_VOLCANO]

yes thats one of the biggest failures that the series ever had.. i hope they can get it fixed by the release date!

many guys already stated that we need more than 1,5 seconds of distance between cars to break it.. and thats disgusting.. in reality we will have slipstream only running at really high speed (over than 150/200 km/h) and at maximum 0.5 seconds behind... so if they fix that for GT5, that would be an huge step to make races more fair and find the truth paces of each player in that races 👍

I have big hope that PD fix this for GT5, although that means I cant compete against drivers like you anymore





Alan_G: Yes its very unfair. and its more a game of slipstream tactics then pure drivers skills...

 

[Alan_G]

There was some mention previously in this thread that the strong slipstream was in one of the finals, yet not in the Ireland finals. If this is the case, this is completely unfair on some competitors as it's a very different race one must drive depending on this slipstream effect. I'm thinking in particular for any event with exaggerated slipstream effect; it just means the best racer is less likely to win.

 

[Dessy182]

Yeah well whats done is done now for this year anyway. I hope to good they get their act together and make all finals the same next year.

 

[MeAgainstYou]

I have big hope that PD fix this for GT5, although that means I cant compete against drivers like you anymore

dont be so humble.. we are the same at racing 👍

@Alan_G: so true...

 

[eight6er]

There was some mention previously in this thread that the strong slipstream was in one of the finals, yet not in the Ireland finals. If this is the case, this is completely unfair on some competitors as it's a very different race one must drive depending on this slipstream effect. I'm thinking in particular for any event with exaggerated slipstream effect; it just means the best racer is less likely to win.

True, it felt strange being 1 car length behind coming on to the start finish straight, and only be up to the back bumper by the time it came to brake!

 

[Alan_G]

If it is the case, I can't understand how they can have different physics for different countries' finals. Either they all have to have the exaggerated slipstream, or they all have to have an updated version.

From doing some Fuji 550PP races lately, it is pretty ridiculous. In a Honda Integra doing less than 150kph before the finish line, less than 1.5 seconds is an unsafe gap. I can't believe they would try to pick out candidates to be a professional racing driver with this kind of racing environment.

There's no question, the primary objective is not to reward someone with potential; the main thing is advertising, marketing, and there's nothing wrong with that. They need to raise/maintain the profile of the GT brand to help sales of the elusive GT5. But a serious competition needs to have a standard, and further, an even playing-field across all of the finals.

 

[GTP_rpm]

...Perhaps the others had "catch-up" on ?

Remember how Prologue in on-line races used to give us more grip and speed? Maybe they've turned it to slipstream now?

 

[The Outlaw]

...Perhaps the others had "catch-up" on ?

Remember how Prologue in on-line races used to give us more grip and speed? Maybe they've turned it to slipstream now?

Don't remind me

Hard to beleive we not only had the mega-sleapstream effect but that crap as well

 

[MeAgainstYou]

watching this video thats pretty clear (watch the splits).. the white car was fastest and he was gaining some advantage on 1st and last groups of corners of the circuit but in the straights he lost the gap again so easily .. and he actually was in need to fight the whole race to win it...

 

[Alan_G]

watching this video thats pretty clear (watch the splits).. the white car was fastest and he was gaining some advantage on 1st and last groups of corners of the circuit but in the straights he lost the gap again so easily .. and he actually was in need to fight the whole race to win it...

Yes, it's just not right. The white car was clearly the faster driver. He deserved to pull out a few seconds over the the race.

 

[mr_VOLCANO]

watching this video thats pretty clear (watch the splits).. the white car was fastest and he was gaining some advantage on 1st and last groups of corners of the circuit but in the straights he lost the gap again so easily .. and he actually was in need to fight the whole race to win it...

Thats true...and its also clear that the yellow car didnt find his brakes...

 

[VTi-DOHC]

Played in the Irish Final on saturday.

Great day out. Met some great people (Daniel, Warren, and a thanks to Dave for giving me the heads up on the races!) and I look forward to racing you online when GT5 finally comes out!

20 people spilt into 4 groups of 5. The rule was one race for each group, first 2 over the line qualified for the semi's. 8 people split into 2 groups, first two over the line qualified for the final.

Race 1 Fuji Speedway. 4 laps. Had a 2 lap practice race befroehand. Started 2nd on the grid, FF3some was on pole position. Kept with him expecting to pass him on the straight to find out there was NO SLIPSTREAM....at all! I was exactly 1 second behind him and nothing! Position stayed the same until lap 3 where he put two wheels on the inside of turn 2 and got a time penalty. Went round the outside and stayed in first place.

Race 2 Daytona Road. 6 laps. Won the practice race. Started on pole.(Grid Start!!!) Event winner DarkEnergyForce(Daniel) behind me. Kept my line in the first corner, and began to open up a gap, had a hairy moment on lap 3 going into turn 1 got my braking wrong and got a bit sideways and lost a lot of time, Daniel closed on me. After that I began to pull away and won the race by about 6 seconds.

Race 3 (Final) Indianapolis 8 laps. Started second on the grid. Warren(theewar) was on pole. Got a good start and closed a little on him, unfortunatley, I tried to outbrake him even though he braked as late as possible, and went off the track. Game over. Caught the pack a little by the end of lap one. Spun again in vain. I can empathise with MeAgainstYou except I went off all on my own.

I had'nt used the Logitech GT DF before found it more forgiving than my g25. Apart from the brake which i kept hitting because my foot was hovering over. Having always used the driving line as a braking reference didnt help because it was turned off. Same for everyone.

Not taking anything away from Daniel he drove a great race and kept his cool when it mattered. Congrats to him and I wish him the best of luck at Silverstone. He will do Ireland proud and I will be rooting for him all the way I dare say all the other Irish finalists wish him the same.

 

[PR1VATEJ0KER]

watching this video thats pretty clear (watch the splits).. the white car was fastest and he was gaining some advantage on 1st and last groups of corners of the circuit but in the straights he lost the gap again so easily .. and he actually was in need to fight the whole race to win it...

Wow! Great Tactics from White Car! I reckon he delayed his overtaking on the last lap to get in slip stream on the straight.

Anybody know if Ti-Tech got through???

 

[DC-Z]

First off,

Official Irish Finalist Standings:

1. Darkenergyforce
2. Theewar
3. Nismoe-Dave
4. Vti-DOHC

I'll start by congratulating Daniel on his win and wish him the very best at Silverstone!

I also have to mention the excellent organization by the Irish organisers(didn't even have to leave the building afterwards for a few celebratory beers ).
It was nice to have a 'quiet' room to race with no distractions from happy snappers/press/general chat and whilst it was sad not to have your support/family/friends cheering you on it was a sacrifice I was happy to live with. The groups I raced in were all very clean fast racers and everyone gave each other enough room(just!) to make it very cometitive and enjoyable on the day. I have not a bad word to say about anyone and in fact must apologise to Warren for the little tip we had (i spun, thankfully Warren didn't). My only small complaint was the lack of pods but in a weird way it kind of matched my setup at home less the table cloth .
Was also great to put faces to names and I made a good few friends on the day.
My races went well until the final.
First race(Fuji 4 laps) I was 3rd on the grid, got a good start and made it to 2nd and soon afterwards the guy leading spun, handing me the lead. I had a quiet race from lap 2 on and with the guys in 2nd and 3rd battling each other gave me a clear road allowed me to finish with a 9+ second margin crossing the line.
Race 2 was Daytona Road(6 laps) and I was on Pole with fastest lap from the previous race. I held my lead from the off with Warren constantly putting me under pressure with the gap no bigger at any point than 2 seconds and at one point I had considered letting him past as I was not sure if he was willing to settle for a safe 2nd(we had a comfortable gap with 3 laps to go) I think it was the 2nd last lap and with the gap down to 0.8 secs Warren decided to play it safe and carried his Z home with a respectable 2nd.
So far things were going great, I had good consistency and was feeling more confident having won both my heats.
I think this was my downfall. In the previous practice races I always had an off and never came in better than 2nd. In the final race (Indy 8 laps) we had the obligatory 2 lap practice race. I was 3rd on the grid and made a seriously late brake into the 1st corner of the 2nd lap and jumped to 2nd and carried speed past the leader to take the win. Confidence was up and I had convinced myself to push hard from the off, get in the lead and take the win - boy did i 🤬 that one up !
Got a decent start and kept position and found myself carring a bit more speed than Warren(2nd at this point) into turn 5(i think), I had the outside line and just went for it into the corner, Warren to be fair kept his head and gave me room but I had my eyes on the win(damn red mist) and tipped him at corner exit and spun, I tried to make up for my mistake but binned it by outbraking myself into turn one - and that was that. I was closing marginally on the leaders for the next 6 laps but would have needed another 40 to challenge them . Still though had a fantastic day and I have to mention Warren(Theewar), Cian(Rorschach) and Kevin(Vti-DOHC) - really sound lads, was a pleasure to chat with ye throughout the day and look forward to racing ye again online and hopefully at future GT Academys(please please Ireland make it so)

 

[Synwraith]

Wow! Great Tactics from White Car! I reckon he delayed his overtaking on the last lap to get in slip stream on the straight.

Anybody know if Ti-Tech got through???

Hi, yes Ti-Tech (Arnaud Lacombe) won the French final and is going to SIlverstone again.

Warren, you keep getting the grin smiley because you use the capital D after the colon ":" without a space

All the best
Maz

 

[Horde_R35]

That's lousy timing for you, SS.
I hope you get your 2nd chance next year. 👍

Welcome to GTPlanet. It's good to see you here. 👍

His not really new here mate!