Wow, what an incredible 24 hours that was!!
Here's my account of the event, or War and Peace as Chris would call it
Tuesday afternoon/evening
I arrived at the Thistle Hotel next to Brands Hatch racing circuit at about 4.30pm. Dan (GTP_Hyperspeed) and his partner Sam, Phil (GTP_DukeOfPendle) and Steve (GTP_Sigma) were already there. Steve, like any good student, had checked straight into his room and gone for a nap!
We checked in with Rebecca and Charlotte from Jardine International who took details from our passports and driving licences, then checked into our rooms where we found the programme for the race events, GT Academy cap, Tshirt and name tag. It appeared that the UK final was going to have a uniform format of Tuned Car, no ASM, no TC, no driving line, Pro Physics and....S2 tyres! First 2 races would be at Indy and High Speed Ring.
After all that was sorted we started to hang out in the hotel lobby, get some drinks in and commence festivities. Chris (GTP_Stotty), John (GTP_PrudentBear) + partner Claire and Ian (GTP_rpm) and partner Kezia arrived next and joined in the fun. Alex Procter (GTP_Pundershaw) also came over and introduced himself as well, and it's great to see these guys are just as cool and friendly in person as they are online, even moreso. It was funny how a couple of people had come over and said "You must be Maz?"
Glen Gibson, one of the main organisers, also came around and introduced himself. I think the Jardine team were very pleased to see a lot of the guys knew each other and were very much part of the socialising.
We were later taken to the Racing Bar, where we were surrounded by British racing history and memorabilia, as well as a couple of display racing bikes that made Phil a little moist
The bar was free, the food was free, the banter and laughs were free-flowing. A fantastic evening in the company of friends, like-minded people and welcoming hosts. Glen Gibson and his team made a presentation on racing etiquette and the spirit of GT Academy, including congratulating all the finalists for their efforts. Massive credit to legendary F1 journalist Tony Jardine and his team for actively seeking out this forum and its members (are you reading this Charlotte??
), taking note of proceedings and feedback from the other National Finals and using it to inform their own proceedings and events. We had concerns we wanted to raise initially, but the organisers covered everything in their presentation. 👍
At some point in the evening, Lucas Ordonez popped into the Racing Bar, at which point I cheered out and clapped, joined by a few fellow competitors! He laughed, waved and promptly escaped as his appearance was supposed to be a secret
The guy's a legend and an inspiration 👍
Wednesday Morning/Afternoon
After getting nowhere neeeear enough sleep, we all assembled in the hotel lobby after breakfast to make our way to the race circuit around 8.45am.
Phil (GTP_DukeOfPendle) + Dan (GTP_DanHyperKermitSpeed)
Ian (GTP_rpm) + Kezia
Claire + John (GTP_PrudentBear) + Jack (GTP_JackStanley)
Steve (GTP_Sigma) + Chris (GTP_Stotty)
At this point, Jack had also joined us with i-Phone ready to twitter proceedings direct to GTP. This is officially the earliest JackSlackerStanley has ever been awake. He arrived really early in the morning in his 106 Turbo VTR Studentwagon.
David (davissi) + Alex (GTP_Pundershaw)
We made our way to the track, with Chris doing his only GT practice in the last month in his Porsche on the access roads between the hotel and Brands Hatch circuit!
Once inside the Finals enclosure in the media centre, there were presentations from Tony Jardine and co, and finally the first group of racers were asked to step up to the pods (see Chris's pod and room pics).
Group 1 Race 1 - Immediately it became clear that the S2 tyres were not in evidence, and it was indeed R1s. Good news! The head steward Tim Bevin made it clear that races probably wouldn't be restarted because the races would be clean and fair. Every pod had a keen steward, taking down laptimes and watching closely. Greg (GMDLondon) had a dodgy accelerator pedal on his DFGT which the team replaced. Yes there were some technical difficulties and some delays but these were sorted perfectly, everyone was patient and we got underway.
EDDSKILL, Dan, GMDLONDON, Ian and Chris were in the first race and it was clear these guys had it really tough. A number of guys outbraked themselves into turn 1 after getting monster drafts. Slipstream most definitely ON. We had the benefit of seeing all this and being more careful for the second race. Congratulations to Edward for a beautifully driven race, and comiserations to Dan, Ian and Chris who had a harder time.
Group 2 race 1. This was my first race and I was very keen to try out the DFGT pedal resistance on my practice lap as I had heard bad things. To be fair it really wasn't so bad and we all adapted, most of us being regular G25 users anyway. I started in 4th place based on my TT seeding. Off the start I made 2 places into turn 1 and all of a sudden was running 2nd behind John (PrudentBear)!! There were a few cases where I applied too much brake and missed a shift due to the new equipment but I got the hang of it like everyone else. I don't know what happened behind me but Steve, Banksy05 and Markyboy92 were nowhere in my rear view, so it was me against John. First lap he started to get away but at the end of lap 2 I had started catching him. I had his slip at the end of lap 2 and passed him on the outside before turn 1, made turn 1 perfectly and got great drive out of 2, leading to a very satisfying turn 4. I was really loving it, the wheel felt nice, the car felt awesome and it was clicking more and more each lap. After getting ahead of John I pulled away a little and had a really nice third sector and turn 11 where I saw John had a bit of a wobble. There was a gap, "yes!!" I thought. But, he had my draft and despite my high line out of turn 12 he was right on me coming up to the finish line. I kept my line, didn't block and was crossing the line 1st.......or was it? On my screen it flashed up as 2nd in the results, but the top left corner of the screen said Position 1/5. Did I win? Did John win? Our finishing times were
exactly the same. xxx.021, a proper dead heat! My steward said it was a dead heat and we both received 6 points, great result!!
From the front: John (GTP_PrudentBear), me, Steve (GTP_Sigma)
John was interviewed as race winner but he came and dragged me in front of the camera as well saying "You won too, you should be there". Awesome bloke, our John, absolutely diamond geezer. By the time we got back to the pods, I could see the results on the screens and I only had 3 points! I went to my steward and asked what happened, she said "they checked and you finished 2nd"
I think it's a case like in prologue where if 2 drivers have the exact same finishing time, on one screen it says first, on the others' screen it says 2nd. I was really gutted, John and I had had a wonderful clean, hard and thrilling race and bless him he felt really bad for "robbing me". So PrudentBear beat Synwraith by 0.000s. I had a big task in the next race.
Group 2 race 2: Having just watched the carnage of group 1 at High Speed Ring, this was going to be really tough. John started on pole and me second...we got completely swamped and by the end of the lap I was 4th and John 5th
There was a lot going on in front of us and we all kept it really clean and respectful, apparently I had the lead at some point but I don't remember! By the time Markyboy and Steve had spun out in front of us, "The parting of the waves" as John called it, 1st place was gone. I had a really close fight with John for 2nd place, he was alongside me into the tunnel and got ahead into the last corner of HSR, I thought "Be patient, be patient, slip past at the line" but I never managed it, finishing mere fractions behind John. Result: 1. Banksy05 2. PrudentBear 3. Synwraith. And that was my day over as our final table was PrudentBear 9 points, Banksy05 6 points, Synwraith 4 points. Damn. Crap. Rats.
But I have to say, the racing in our group was STELLAR. Totally clean, respectful, intense and wonderful to be a part of. I will treasure that race at Indy forever, and I can't wait to see Claire's video of it. I can't help but feel High Speed Ring was an unfortunate choice of track for this event, but we all had to deal with it, and Banksy and John did, congratulations guys
Before the second round (Semifinals) the 8 guys who went through had their passenger laps with Lucas Ordonez and Alex Buncombe around the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit. The rest of us got our chance later, and this experience alone was worth the one and a half months I spent on the time trial. Alex took me around in the Nissan 370Z Max cup car, 1 out lap and 2 flying laps, one of the most thrilling experiences of my life.
(the Max cup car, one step up from stock road car, H-pattern shifter and in car stereo!)
(Dan getting ready for his ride in the GT4 cup car)
My brain was screaming "Brake! Brake! Brake!"...what did Alex do? Shift up! Paddock Hill bend felt like a roller coaster drop, and the brakes into Druids nearly sent me through the windscreen
Druids should be one of those boring 2nd gear hairpins on GT, in real life the G-force was intense and the screeching tyres sounded JUST as they do in GT 👍 I just can't put the rest into words, it was pure insanity and felt SO right, these guys have the best occupation in the world. I was loving it and Alex was saying "It's got no grip! too much traction control *grmbl*"
The absolute ferocity and violence of the initial brake application and turn-in is simply breathtaking, the fact that they do this for hours on end just proves how different real race car driving is. I do remember shouting "This is not a game!!" at some point
Anyway, round 2 was where the real racing happened. The first race was John, Dan, EDDSKILL and Banksy at Daytona Road. Dan and EDDSKILL had a coming together in the first corner and Dan was playing catch up the whole race. And catch up he did. He caught and passed Banksy, then closed on EDDSKILL but didnt manage to catch enough to get past. John drove an ice cool perfect race up front. Dan was a little miffed and had to be encouraged to..uh...chill
The crew rallied around, words of encouragement were spoken, backs were slapped, people were called "toilets" and it was time for race 2 at Fuji.
Dan starting last, John starting first. In my opinion this was THE performance of the day. From last place, Dan sliced his way to 1st place and simply obliterated the opposition. A true Fuji maestro at work, under the MOST intense pressure, he nailed every single apex with us all cheering him on and hanging on every corner exit...last lap, last corner, Dan pulled off the most perfect entry/exit I have seen at Fuji's last bend and won comfortably. John came second having driven another super smart and fast race. But Dan was utterly heroic in this race, against the odds he took it by the horns and owned it. The cheers at the end from Jack, myself, Phil, Sam, Chris and Steve could be heard through his headphones I'm sure
John and Dan were through to the final, truly doing GTP and the UK proud.
In the other semifinal, GTP_Ingram (Alex Ingram) was simply masterful. He hunted Davissi down at Daytona Road and used the slipstream to win right at the end. At Fuji he just vanished into the sunset while the others fought it out tooth and nail. Davissi and Alexpez1977 were tied but Davissi went through on faster laps.
Here we are then, the UK final of GT Academy 2010, 2 laps of the Nurburgring Nordschleife, no practice laps. Pole was John (fastest lap at Fuji), second Alex Ingram, 3rd Davissi and 4th Dan. Dan was unlucky to start last because he was usually out front at Fuji and had no slipstream benefit to augment his laptimes. This was the second outstanding performance of the day. John, GTP_PrudentBear, drove a blinder. Off the line he was gone, smooth, perfect, no drama, no scary moments, just clinical precision and ice cold determination. A champion's performance and worthy of the title with these 2 laps alone. He clearly eased off on the last lap but I'm certain he had it under control. And that was John all day today, totally under control. 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 1st. I guess it's no coincidence his ID is "Prudent Bear" as he drove sensibly, intelligently, coupled with fiersome strength in his pace.
Dan was trying very hard to get past Davissi into 3rd but both went off and Dan had a few spins leaving him a long way behind. His second lap of the ring was unbelievable. Kerbs, slides, risks, flight...and 10 seconds sliced off the leader. The commentator even said "He was flying!". A really valiant fightback.
Alex Ingram was supremely impressive, clearly happy at the 'Ring and despite a couple of wide moments, superfast and took a LOT out of John on the last lap. The real surprise of the day, Alex is completely worth his place at the finals, a true star. Well done mate
Davissi raced really well all day, I had him pegged as a time trialler only but his racecraft and car control were incredible. Some of the slides he saved were out of this world. Must have been the gloves
All of the finalists fully deserved their place in the final, a real showcase of just how much outstanding talent we have in the UK when it comes to Gran Turismo. I am truly proud to have competed on the same track in the same competition as you guys, and I can be pleased with my own performances relative to the eventual champion.
John Moorby, you sir are a deserving champion. Not one mistake or moment all day, precision and smoothness personified. A pleasure to watch and an even greater pleasure to race against. I will be supporting you all the way to Silverstone and beyond
And props for getting up on stage with Tony Jardine to receive your trophy and conduct an interview still in your socks!
I have to mention Dan again though, what fighting spirit and skill under pressure. Absolute lion's performance mate, inspirational
I want to close this out by saying a HUGE thank you to the organisers Nissan, RJN Motorsports, Playstation and especially the Jardine International staff. Charlotte Parham and Rebecca Smith were not only absolutely gorgeous with a fantastic attitude towards the competitors and the contest as a whole, but they were superbly organised, friendly, helpful and worked tirelessly to make this one of the most memorable experiences we've all had. I know you guys will read the forum here and every word of praise you and Glen and Tony receive will have been fully deserved.
I don't think anybody can walk away from the UK National Finals with a complaint, it was magnificent.
Thank you
All the best
Maz
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There were some crazy moments in all of the races. For example turn 1 at High Speed Ring. At the start of groups 1's first lap in turn 1, they were 4 wide trying to go round the bank 
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