Mercedes-AMG Launches Multiplatform “Virtual Championship”, Starting Today

[P-Courty]

Yeah it's a shame that those of us who only got invited yesterday aren't able to use a custom livery for todays race, but it's good to hear that they might approve them for Brands Hatch.

Also i noticed that we are in the same division, i look forward to racing you later today.

I didn't even realise you were on here 😅

Another for team GTPlanet.

Good luck for tonight 💪🏼

 

[P-Courty]

@A_Higher_Place @GT5Apex you ready to go 💪🏼

 

[A_Higher_Place]

@A_Higher_Place @GT5Apex you ready to go 💪🏼

Best of luck to you two in D2.1. D2.2 has some real aliens in it so I anticipate being a bit further back. Who knows, maybe everyone will bottle T1 😂.



.... 😬🤞🏻

 

[A_Higher_Place]

Here's a D2.2 stream. Quali starts in 15 mins!

 

[P-Courty]

@GT5Apex watch our race later one driver kept braking early and blocking me causing so much unbalance.

I kept losing it and then catch straight up again.

Took the winner to lap us to get him out of my way on the last corner on the last lap.

He even tried to block the leader 😱

Was doing the same during practice so I knew what he was like.

Also starting 8th threw me out on the last corner when the race started 😡 that was how he got ahead of me

 

[A_Higher_Place]

Here's a D2.2 stream. Quali starts in 15 mins!

Streamer got booted early on. They just rebooted. Check their channel for another stream.

 

[P-Courty]

I really didn't do well in that 😅

But the other driver got called out by a few people after race 1, but I mamaged to get away on race 2 and treat my space like any other time trial.

I kept losing sound on my head phones towards the end, good job GT7 teaches us to drive quiet electric cars 😂

@GT5Apex well done

 

[GT5Apex]

I really didn't do well in that 😅

But the other driver got called out by a few people after race 1, but I mamaged to get away on race 2 and treat my space like any other time trial.

I kept losing sound on my head phones towards the end, good job GT7 teaches us to drive quiet electric cars 😂

@GT5Apex well done

Thanks man! That was pretty enjoyable.

Also im gonna have a look at the replay for race 1, if that guy was pulling questionable moves then you should report it to race control.

 

[P-Courty]

Thanks man! That was pretty enjoyable.

Also im gonna have a look at the replay for race 1, if that guy was pulling questionable moves then you should report it to race control.

From what they were saying on the chat, they seemed very nervous and don't seem to use the radar, but there was some swerving to block me when I had chances and I didn't want to accidentally bump him and ruin the race.

I did dive in on turn one at one point but I backed off again at the apex for the same reason.

Better to have a clean race than a ruined one, that's what makes them enjoyable.

 

[A_Higher_Place]

Two 6th place finishes is pretty much all I could hope for. Those other A+ guys are 20~ seconds up the road by the end of 20 minutes. This means there was over a minute spread between 1st and last.

Qualified 5th in the first race only to have a mishap on cold tyres. Took me awhile to find my rhythm and was down in 7th momentarily before making a pass through the Korkscrew to get 6th back. After I got into the zone I was 0.5 seconds faster than 7th but 0.5 seconds slower than 5th.

Qualified 6th in the second race and just kept it steady. Overtook 5th place who made an error up the hill but they eventually got me back in a couple laps as my nerves got the better of me.

In each race the last 2 or 3 laps offered possibilities for an extra place or two but I couldn't keep the car in place to capitalize. Passing is hard at Laguna with settings chosen by the hosts.

Lots of fun either way and looking forward to Brand's Hatch in two weeks! Really feeling like a VIP participating in this. Feels an like an opportunity in a lifetime type thing for an average try-hard gamer like me.

Race 2 from D2.2 from the fastest driver's view.

 

[P-Courty]

The winner in D2.1was lapping 1:21.xxx miles ahead of me at 1:24.xxx - 1:25.xxx

I had what I thought was a good qualifying lap going bwfore race 2, with sectors all green until the final corner, not sure what happened but the winner was sat near the apex and another car with them and when I tried to avoid them I ended up in the sand. Could have been a 1:23xxx as my best was 1:24.1xx 😔

@A_Higher_Place it does feel a little VIP even if I was a last minute raffle pick due to drop outs 😅

 

[A_Higher_Place]

Below is race 1 from my perspective. Bit of a rocky start, but managed not to spin out! Dirty air was fierce here. Whenever I got within a second of the car ahead... yeesh.



If anyone can take a look at a couple laps and offer any pointers for correcting any bad driving habits that I may be unaware of, I'd greatly appreciate it. I think with a little guidance I can catch the Australian you see in the video here. I had the dutch fella well covered in race 2 and am confident I can keep that up in the next couple of rounds.

Hoping some of the GTPlanet elites can help me shave a tenth or two.

 

[A_Higher_Place]

The current gossip is that the prizes awarded are across all three platforms. Specifically, there are ONLY 3 prizes. That means that players are competing against each other across games. The sentiment is that it's way harder for GT7 players to compete due to a different points system.

GT7 boys ain't happy.

 

[P-Courty]

How does that work though?

Because aren't the points different across the platforms?

And there would be no way to have a final race across them either 🤷🏻‍♂️

I haven't caught up on discord yet

 

[A_Higher_Place]

How does that work though?

Because aren't the points different across the platforms?

And there would be no way to have a final race across them either 🤷🏻‍♂️

I haven't caught up on discord yet

No clue. We shall wait and see.

Being in D2 and having no chance in hell at winning a prize be like:

 

[A_Higher_Place]

First day race results are out!

Well, the pecking order may change a little here and there but I'm hoping to stay in the top 100 throughout the competition. Top 5 is my goal for D2.2.

@P-Courty though we aren't in the same div, points wise we have a race one our hands!

 

[cjsrt4]

Being in D2 and having no chance in hell at winning a prize be like:

I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit for what you accomplished by just getting into the competition. All jokes aside, think about how many people participated for the event on GT7. Anything can happen out on the track. Best of luck to you guys, but most of all, have fun!

 

[A_Higher_Place]

I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit for what you accomplished by just getting into the competition. All jokes aside, think about how many people participated for the event on GT7. Anything can happen out on the track. Best of luck to you guys, but most of all, have fun!

To be fair, I wasn't quick enough in GT7 (~1.6 - 1.7s off #1). I was however, quick off the couch on Monday morning when they asked for 'first-come first-serve' entrants to submit lap times to them directly on Discord. I'm quick at something .

But yeah, definitely just enjoying the time! I believe there were 188k(ish) participants in GT7 alone so I am definitely feeling lucky!

 

[cjsrt4]

To be fair, I wasn't quick enough in GT7 (~1.6 - 1.7s off #1). I was however, quick off the couch on Monday morning when they asked for 'first-come first-serve' entrants to submit lap times to them directly on Discord. I'm quick at something .

But yeah, definitely just enjoying the time! I believe there were 188k(ish) participants in GT7 alone so I am definitely feeling lucky!

You being off pace in a hot lap challenge means nothing. Some of those people probably put in 100's of hours and upwards of 1000 laps. Once pressure is put on them in a race, they don't know what to do.

Hot lapping time trial < A competitive race with a full grid

What were the average lap times in the actual races? I'm just curious how close they were to the actual hot lap times.

 

[A_Higher_Place]

You being off pace in a hot lap challenge means nothing. Some of those people probably put in 100's of hours and upwards of 1000 laps. Once pressure is put on them in a race, they don't know what to do.

Hot lapping time trial < A competitive race with a full grid

What were the average lap times in the actual races? I'm just curious how close they were to the actual hot lap times.

In my div there is such a spread. Lap times varied from 1:21s - 1:26s/lap. Me being 1.5 seconds off the pace of the top guys means I'm never close enough to pressure them.

Maybe three of them pressure each other. Otherwise they're hot lapping to the end unless taking themselves out (which the fastest player did in my second race; see above stream)

 

[P-Courty]

In my div there is such a spread. Lap times varied from 1:21s - 1:26s/lap. Me being 1.5 seconds off the pace of the top guys means I'm never close enough to pressure them.

Maybe three of them pressure each other. Otherwise they're hot lapping to the end unless taking themselves out (which the fastest player did in my second race; see above stream)

Same in our division too 1:21 - 1:26

@P-Courty though we aren't in the same div, points wise we have a race one our hands!

Looking at the points right now, I don't stand a chance, you are way higher up than me.

If I knew I was going to start the first race in the middle of a 90° corner then I may have stood a chance at staying ahead of the blocking driver and gaining a better position but that's the way this goes.

Was really hard to make any safe overtakes at Laguna

 

[P-Courty]

The GTPlanet livery is now on for the rest of the season 😁

 

[A_Higher_Place]

Welcome package or 'ticket' arrived today. Lovely little momento to add into the collection.

 

[P-Courty]

I've been checking the post every day waiting for mine to arrive 😅

 

[A_Higher_Place]

Stream from my Div today. QUALI 1 at 2pm, Race 1 at 2:15pm. QUALI 2 at 3pm, Race 2 at 3:15pm.

Check it out if interested

 

[P-Courty]

Div 2.1 was fun, especially race 2... Lap 1 turn 3 was interesting 😬😅

Qualifying times were pretty diverse and I think everyone ended in the positions they started

Changing the slipstream setting certainly made the racing better.

Also a few pics of the GTP livery before the race

Spoiler

 

[P-Courty]

@A_Higher_Place did you run ABS default or weak?

I found weak wasn’t working for me here, I kept locking up so went for default after our practice session.

I also turned my steering sensitivity down to -2 during the practice for race 1 which made the car so much more stable in the corners, had no spins at all during the whole of the 2x race sessions.

I was lapping 1:25.7** near enough every lap without traffic.

 

[A_Higher_Place]

@A_Higher_Place did you run ABS default or weak?

I found weak wasn’t working for me here, I kept locking up so went for default after our practice session.

I also turned my steering sensitivity down to -2 during the practice for race 1 which made the car so much more stable in the corners, had no spins at all during the whole of the 2x race sessions.

I was lapping 1:25.7** near enough every lap without traffic.

I'll have to check that. Since 1.50 I think I've had it on default.

Yes, sensitivity much lower really helps this car.

How'd your races end up going?

 

[P-Courty]

How'd your races end up going?

Started 6th and finished 6th in both races, also managed clean race bonus in both of them 😯

It was a good race, a lot of sportsmanship and great comments between races, makes a change from daily races A, B and C 🤣

Looks like your first race went better than your second 🫣

 

[A_Higher_Place]

Started 6th and finished 6th in both races, also managed clean race bonus in both of them 😯

It was a good race, a lot of sportsmanship and great comments between races, makes a change from daily races A, B and C 🤣

Looks like your first race went better than your second 🫣

Awesome, congrats! With points like those, we'll be pretty close in the standings. Based on the times you posted, it looks like your div only has 1.5 aliens compared to my 3.5. Maybe I'm just making excuses now too .

First race was my own undoing. Was stoked to quali 3rd but my nerves got the better of me and I put myself into a spin. Had a really fun recovery drive though.

That second race made my blood boil. I served my penalty to the right of the racing line and once I was un-ghosted I was entitled to the racing space. That driver decided they wanted it and basically pit manoeuvred me. Submitted a report to AMG so we will see what happens there.