A little late but here goes:
Reporter: We finally got the chance to chat with another of the drivers in the Weekly Race Series Career Championship, Aaron, or as he's otherwise known, PHO3NIX_F1RE. Let's jump right in, what was your favourite moment of the Championship so far?
Me: There are quite a few that stand out, but I think the one that just takes it is the very first turn at London. It was hectic, messy and almost definitely had a negative impact on pretty much everyone in the race, but that was the beautiful thing about it, especially to me.
Reporter: How so?
Me: Well, this Championship is the first fully organised thing I've done online in Gran Turismo, I usually just jumped in and out of lobbies, this is completely new territory for me, and it was a reminder that regardless of the other drivers' reputations, standings or however they may perform, they are still only human and susceptible to mistakes.
Reporter: Interesting. Following on, which race was your favourite?
Me: The very first race, at Autumn Ring Mini. I've had a few good races, races that I've enjoyed, races where I exceeded my expectations of myself, but Autumn Ring Mini takes it for me.
Reporter: Care to elaborate:
Me: As I said earlier, this is my first foray into an organised event in Gran Turismo, and I honestly didn't know what to expect. I have a few issues with social awkwardness, as a friend calls it, I'm not particularly good around people I don't know, so this was a step forward for me in that aspect, although I have a long way to go. However, as a race, it was brilliant, I qualified above last, which is a victory in of itself, gained a few positions and finished sixth, which is far better than I expected to do.
Reporter: Now, expanding the scope a little more, what is your favourite thing about the Championship as a whole?
Me: The bonus events. They are a great way of making up credits for people who have missed races, or didn't perform as well as expected, and they are great little fun things to do outside of the seriousness of the Championship itself.
Reporter: Thank you. Now, in contrast, what is your least favourite moment of the Championship?
Me: Eiger Nordwand Reverse. That race was just horrible. I qualified far too fast, and in an effort to penalise myself, I ended up ruining to race for several racers. It was a black mark on my racing record, and after the debacle I caused I resigned myself to just finishing the race dead last.
Reporter: Wow, ok. Moving on. What are your thoughts on the cars in your garage, and which is your favourite?
Me: The Silvia is great. Having previously used it, and it being one of my favourite cars, I pretty much knew what I was going to get. Decent power, decent handling, a great all-round car, and I will continue to use it in the future where possible.
The Focus? The focus was bought as a direct contrast to the 106. She's a big girl, and probably has one of the biggest back ends seen so far. It's a little cumbersome in the corners, but it devours tarmac on the straights. It's probably my biggest credit winner so far, and I have used it the most.
The 106 Rallye was a great, and my favourite car so far, and it was a wrench letting it go to the auction house. It didn't pack much in the straights, but it was light and nimble in the corners which more than made up for it on two of the three tracks I used it on. It held it's own against a Neon and an RX-7 for almost the entirety of the Grand Valley race early on and performed well on the other two.
Reporter: It was a great little car. Out of all of the drivers in the Championship, who do you consider to be your closest competitor?
Me: I can't really say I have one. I think my driving over the Championship has been to consistent to allow such a thing to happen. One day I could be challenging the pack of front-runners, and the next I could be struggling to stay out of last place. There are also variables such as the track and the cars used to consider too.
Reporter: Before the final question, we have to talk about Motegi. You spent the first half of the race in first, gaining almost a 3 second lead, only to finish 10th. What happened?
Me: Ah, Motegi. I qualified first, under the cap too, which was great. I slowly built up a lead, I was worried about
@Gravitron overtaking me for the first few laps, but he lost control of the car, leaving me wit quite a substantial lead. All of my laps to this point were under the cap too, so I had no need to worry about penalising myself. On lap 6, My hubris got the better of me, and while looking behind me to see how close they were (How tiny they were on my screen), I completely missed my breaking point and took a trip into the sand. I quickly tried to get out, but the pack that followed me was so closely knit that I had to let the whole pack through if I didn't want to risk a collision, which I didn't. Then, within a lap, I beached myself again, dropping down to 12th and finding myself once again behind Gravitron. He suffered another spin out, and soon after that
@goofytyler found himself in the sand, and I finished the race in 10th.
Reporter: Finally, what are your thoughts on the Championship, both past and going into the future?
Me: I'm really enjoying it. It has obviously been well thought out and executed, and a lot of planning and testing has gone into setting the lap time caps at something that is both achievable and yet still feels like the drivers are pushing their cars to the limits. Going forward, I am looking forward to continuing to race in this championship, however, I am a bit apprehensive about the possible removal of caps in some races. I see them as a great mechanic to keep the races close, without letting the better drivers and faster cars to gain too much of a lead, and the removal of that cap could affect that. However, this is merely speculation on my part and we'll just have to see what the future holds.
Reporter: Thank you for your time. Stay tuned for a your highlight reel.