Vertex GT Super Silhouette Series | Series Ended! Noir and CWM Superdry emerge as champions!

NoirAntares

NoirAntares

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Japan
Osaka
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For our first racing series of 2021, Clockwork Motorsport brings to you the Vertex GT Super Silhouette Series, a spec-series featuring the Nissan GT-R GT500 from 2008. While a spec-series is a new challenge for us as series organizers, the racing format of the Vertex GT Series has proven to be able to produce some quality racing, and we hope that a grid of equal cars would be able to provide much more of it.

While the 2008 Nissan GT-R GT500 is one of the fastest GT machines of its time, the Super Silhouette spec features a detuned version of the 4.5L naturally aspirated V8 with a heavier chassis. Despite this, the car is still capable of producing faster lap times than GT3 machines, owing largely to its high cornering ability. It's a fun car to drive but a challenging one to set up, something the drivers will have to overcome to get the most out of this GT machine.

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  1. Use of the default livery is strictly prohibited.
  2. Livery designs must be kept strictly safe for work.
  3. Each team must have visually / thematically similar liveries between their cars.
  4. The series number plate must be clearly visible on the left and right sides, as well as on the bonnet.
  5. The mandatory number fonts must be colored black and scaled to be legible inside the number plates: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 0
  6. All cars must use the black Windshield Banner.
  7. All cars must use the aftermarket Bridgestone Tire Sticker. The car's default Bridgestone tire sticker is not allowed.
  8. Use of Nameplate decals are optional and teams are allowed to use their custom nameplate decals if desired.
  9. Minor changes to each livery are allowed but the race organizers must be notified of these changes.
  10. Major livery changes are prohibited once the season has started, however, each car is allowed an alternate livery to be used at only one round of their choosing.
  11. Alternate liveries must also observe the above rules, with the exception of rule #3.
  1. Each event consists of a single qualifying session and the main race.
  2. The qualifying session will run for 15 minutes, with all cars on track at the same time.
  3. The qualifying session will have Tire and Fuel Wear disabled.
  4. Warping back to the pits will not be allowed during qualifying.
  5. Entering the pit lane will not be allowed during qualifying for any reason other than parking the car for the rest of the session.
  6. The main race is run on a set lap count, with races taking approximately 50 minutes to complete.
  7. The main race will begin using the in-game Rolling Start.
  1. Free Practice starts as soon as the lobby opens at 17:00 Eastern.
  2. Qualifying will begin at 18:00 Eastern.
  3. The main race will begin after a short break from the end of qualifying.
  4. Drivers who join the lobby after qualifying has started will still be allowed to participate for the remainder of the session.
  5. Drivers who join the lobby during the break in between qualifying and the main race will be allowed to start at the back of the grid.
  6. Drivers who join the lobby after the main race has started will no longer be allowed to participate in the event.
  1. This series uses Racing: Medium (RM) and Racing: Soft (RS) tires.
  2. For Free Practice, drivers are free to use either compound.
  3. For Qualifying, all cars will be on RS tires.
  4. For the Main Race, the following rules are in effect:
    1. Both tire compounds must be used. A set of tires is considered used once a timed lap has been completed.
    2. All cars will have only one set of RS tires available, but are allowed to use as many sets of RM tires as needed.
    3. Drivers will be free to select which tire compound to start the race on.
  1. All drivers are expected to race each other cleanly and fairly, avoiding unnecessary contact by all means.
  2. When defending track position, the lead driver is only allowed one move in defense of their line on corner entry.
  3. Drivers defending track position are expected to leave adequate racing space to their opponents at all times.
  4. Drivers attempting to overtake are expected to actively avoid making contact with the car ahead.
  5. All drivers are expected to race within track limits at all times and to avoid gaining an unfair advantage by going off-track. Track limits are defined as keeping at least 2 tires within the track surface at all times, with kerbs counting as part of track surface.
  6. Drivers who overtake by going off-track are expected to return the position(s) gained at the soonest opportunity.
  7. Drivers who overtake by hitting another car off-track are expected to return the position gained at the soonest opportunity.
  8. Lapped drivers expected to give way to the lapping cars at the soonest and safest possible opportunity.
  9. Drivers are strictly prohibited from parking anywhere on track at any time during qualifying / race.
  1. In order to trigger a yellow flag period, at least three cars must have sustained heavy mechanical damage within the span of one lap.
  2. Cars that suffer heavy mechanical damage due to an incident with another car (i.e., Engine damage, multiple component damage) must indicate their status by simply sending "D", or any other message indicative of damage (i.e., ED, MD, etc.) in the chat.
  3. If at least three cars indicate heavy mechanical damage within the span of a lap, a race official can signal the start of the yellow flag period by sending "SCD" in the in-game chat.
  4. Once the yellow flag period starts, overtaking is immediately prohibited, and all cars must maintain a safe, sensible running pace until the start/finish line. Drivers are also expected to take extra caution when coming towards and driving around the damaged cars during this period.
  5. Cars without heavy mechanical damage that run at a dangerously slow pace prior to the field queuing up during the yellow flag period will be heavily penalized.
  6. Cars with heavy mechanical damage running at a much slower pace are allowed to be overtaken, with the overtakes performed as safely as possible.
  7. Cars with heavy mechanical damage that are unable to get up to the pace of the cars around them must stay out of the racing line as much as possible to avoid causing incidents with the other cars.
  8. The pit lane will remain open to all cars during the yellow flag period.
  9. If there is no Safety Car present for the race, the overall leader must slow down to a pace speed of 80mph/130kph after passing the start/finish line, with the rest of the field queuing up single file behind them.
  10. If there is a Safety Car present for the race, the overall leader must continue to maintain a safe, sensible running pace until they catch the Safety Car, with the rest of the field queuing up single file behind them.
  11. Once in the queue, drivers are expected to leave an adequate amount of space to the car in front to avoid any accidents. Drivers who are found to have caused an accident while in the yellow flag queue will be heavily penalized.
  12. Once the race official signals the end of the yellow flag period, the field must remain single file while closing the gaps to each other in preparation for the restart.
  13. Any driver who creates/maintains an excessive gap between the car in front once the preparations for the restart begins will be penalized.
  14. The overall leader can only begin accelerating to racing speed at the restart point.
  15. During the restart, drivers are prohibited from overtaking until they have crossed the restart point.
  1. A red flag period occurs when either three or more drivers disconnect from the lobby within the span of 5 minutes (mass disconnection), or the entire race lobby goes down (lobby failure).
  2. In the case of mass disconnection, the race official will signal the start of the red flag period by sending "Red flag" in the in-game chat. Drivers must then leave the track immediately and a new lobby will be made.
  3. In the case of lobby failure, a new lobby will be made as soon as possible, with all drivers rejoining the newly made lobby once it's created.
  4. In either case, all drivers are expected to save the video clip from the PS4/PS5's recording as soon as possible.
  5. All drivers are expected to reset their internet connections once a red flag period occurs.
  6. If the red flag was called within the first 10 minutes of the race, the race will be restarted from the first lap, with the grid set from qualifying.
  7. If the red flag was called after the first 10 minutes of the race, the race will be restarted from two laps before the lap in which the red flag was called, with the grid set according to the running order at the end of that lap.
  8. All race restarts will be done with the in-game rolling start, similar to the race start procedure.
  9. In the case of persistent network issues, the race may be cancelled, with the points awarded depending on the distance completed.
  10. If a race is cancelled with only 25% or less of the total race distance completed, no points will be awarded.
  11. If a race is cancelled with 26% - 74% of the total race distance completed, half points will be awarded.
  12. If a race is cancelled with at least 75% of the total race distance completed, full points will be awarded.
  13. In case of points being awarded from a red flag, the classification will be based on the order of the field two laps before the lap in which the red flag was called.
  1. All incidents must be reported to race officials after every race weekend via PM on either GTPlanet or Discord.
  2. Only reported incidents will be subject to review by race officials.
  3. A race-related offense may result in only a warning, with the next instance of the same offense automatically resulting in a penalty.
  4. All race-related penalties will be served as post-race time penalties, which will be applied to the race where the reported incident occurred.
  5. Applicable post-race time penalties consists of the following:
    • 5 seconds added to race time
    • 10 seconds added to race time
    • 30 seconds added to race time
    • 1 lap deducted from completed lap count
  6. Violation of the tire compound rule during the main race will result in exclusion from the main race results.
  7. Failure to follow the specifications listed in the Balance of Performance table will result in exclusion from the entire race weekend.
  8. Any unsportsmanlike behavior by any driver against other drivers and/or race officials is punishable with a race ban or outright ban from the series.
  1. Causing an Avoidable Collision
    • Refers to incidents resulting from over-aggressive maneuvers, and/or lack of awareness.
  2. Forcing a Car Off-Track
    • Refers to incidents resulting from excessive defending that results in another car going outside of the track surface. A certain degree of tolerance will be given when reviewing incidents involving this offense.
  3. Illegal Blocking
    • Refers to making more than one move in defense of an overtake attempt when entering a corner.
  4. Illegal Overtake
    • Refers to making an overtake from outside track limits and subsequently failing to return the position.
  5. Abuse of Track Limits
    • Refers to an excessive amount of gaining an advantage by driving beyond track limits. A certain degree of tolerance will be given when reviewing incidents involving this offense.
  6. Impeding Lapping Cars
    • Refers to when a car that is being lapped does not yield the position at the soonest and safest opportunity. A certain degree of tolerance will be given when reviewing incidents involving this offense.
  7. Lack of Car Control
    • Refers to a driver having difficulty keeping their car on track running at a reasonable race pace, turning themselves into a track hazard. This offense is punishable only by exclusion from the entire event.
  8. Dangerous Driving
    • Refers to any incident caused deliberately, or being found at fault for at least 3 incidents in the same race event. This offense is punishable only by exclusion from the entire event. Incidents caused under yellow flag will also fall into this category.
  1. The driver who scores pole position in qualifying is awarded 2 points.
  2. Only the top 10 finishing drivers in the race are awarded points.
    1. 20
    2. 17
    3. 14
    4. 12
    5. 10
    6. 8
    7. 6
    8. 4
    9. 2
    10. 1
  3. The combined score of all drivers per team will contribute to their points in the Teams Standings.
  1. The Drivers Championship is awarded to the driver with the most points at the end of the season.
  2. The Teams Championship is awarded to the team with the most points at the end of the season.
  3. The tiebreakers for all championship standings are as follows:
    1. Win Count
    2. Pole Position Count
    3. 2nd place finishes
    4. 3rd place finishes
    5. Average Finishing Position
  1. Driver numbers can range between 1-99, with leading zeroes prohibited.
  2. No two drivers can have the same number.
  3. All drivers are required to enter under a team.
  4. Each team is limited to a maximum of 2 drivers.
  5. In the event a driver cannot attend a race, they are allowed to name a substitute driver to replace them.
  6. Substitute drivers must run the same number as the driver they are replacing for the race.

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RACE RESULTS​
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CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS​
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Apologies for the delay, but here are the track conditions and lap count for tonight's race at Fuji Speedway.

Track Time: 12:00
Lap Count: 32
 
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Fuji provided a very intense battle all across the field, despite the relatively small grid. An unexpected highlight of the race weekend was the variety in which the drivers approached their respective setups. Some cars were set up to be relatively balanced across the high-speed Fuji Speedway, some were set to take advantage of the long main straight, while some were set to gain considerable time in the technical 3rd sector. The fact that the racing was close despite the variety is credit to the drivers who were able to get the most out of their machines.

Kyoto Driving Park Yamagiwa is another high speed track full of sweeping fast turns that the GT-R excels at, and a track that most drivers would definitely find fun to drive. We've seen great racing on this track in the past, and a spec field would surely guarantee more of the same this time around.

Round 2 - Kyoto Driving Park Yamagiwa
Track Time: 15:30
Lap Count: 34
 
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While we ended up with a smaller grid than Fuji, Kyoto turned out to be a race of attrition. While close racing was still very much possible even with dirty air, it still affected handling enough to unsettle the trailing cars on the longer sweepers. Tires became a bit of an issue too, as the soft tires, while certainly very quick in the early stages, were quite difficult to deal with once tire wear accumulated as the stint progressed. The medium tires weren't that much better, either, as the lower grip made it challenging for all the drivers to extract some much needed pace.

While still two weeks away, Interlagos has been the site of some very close racing in the past. The lack of high speed sweepers like the ones prominent in the previous two Japanese tracks would make close quarters racing a much more common affair. Tire strategies have also made quite a difference around this track so we might expect some battles to develop even late into the race.

Round 3 - Autodromo Interlagos
Track Time: 09:30
Lap Count: 33

A few things to note:
  • The race calendar has been adjusted, with the series ending on April 30.
  • The points system has been revised, with pole position now only scoring 2pts instead of 5pts. This has been retroactively applied to round 1 at Fuji.
 
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Once again, Interlagos delivers great racing in what eventually became the best race of the season so far. A great mix of tire strategies being played out and battles for the lead and the midfield positions all race long made for a really good race for every driver involved. We now move on to Spa-Francorchamps, another track with great potential for racing brought about by the variety of settings open to the drivers.

Round 4 - Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Track Time: 12:00
Lap Count: 23

A few things to note specific to this race:
  • The start procedure will be altered for this race. As soon as the countdown ends, the leader will immediately slow down to a pace speed of 80kph/50mph, with the rest of field bunching up double file behind the leader. The field will then continue to maintain pace speed until the leader reaches the new start point, which is the gantry on the run to Eau Rouge.
  • In the event of a yellow flag, the restart point will be the gantry on the run to Eau Rouge. The field is still expected to maintain racing speed until the start/finish line before slowing down to the specified pace speed of 130kph/80mph.
 
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As expected, the drivers went in different directions in setting up their cars for Spa-Francorchamps, resulting in cars with varying strengths across the track. Tire strategies made for an interesting dynamic in the early part of the race, where the medium runners held up quite well against the cars on softs, which translated into having more optimal tires in the closing stages of the race. The end result saw a 4th different winner in four races, however the absence of a few key contenders has somewhat tipped the scales at the head of the championship. Nevertheless, the battle for the top 3 are still too close to call.

The next round at Sainte-Croix marks our very first visit to the street circuit. The track itself is quite high speed with some lengthy straights, so how the drivers set their cars up could once again be a key point in this race. We could also expect tire strategies to once again play out, as being in the dirty air on the high speed corners could potentially compromise the performance of cars on soft tires.

Round 5 - Circuit de Sainte-Croix A
Track Time: 15:10
Lap Count: 18
 
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The streets of St. Croix turned out to be a very fun ride with these great handling cars, with majority of the track's mid-to-high speed turns taking full advantage of the high cornering ability of the GT500 chassis. It developed into a two horse race that brought us our first repeat winner of the season, while also effectively putting the current leaders of the championship in a very comfortable position heading into the season finale, a highly unpredictable race that could see any one of the top runners take the win.

The season finale is now here, taking place at the legendary Mount Panorama in Bathurst. While the tight mountain section would still be relatively easy for these high downforce cars, it's the descend from Skyline all the way down to Forrest's Elbow that could catch the drivers off-guard, as the sudden undulations and heavy bumps make it ever so easy to unsettle the very low-riding GT-R GT500. Consistency will be the key to race of attrition, and while overtaking opportunities are easily created along either of the two main straights, close racing around this circuit still requires full concentration from all the drivers involved.

Round 6 - Mount Panorama Motor Racing Circuit
Track Time: 12:00
Lap Count: 26
 
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The finale at Bathurst turned out to be the biggest race of attrition during the season, as majority of the field found themselves in contact with the walls and suffering damage. Some more than others, but the GT-R's sensitivity to the sudden undulations down the hill didn't make things easy for our drivers. Still, we were treated to one of the best qualifying sessions this season, with very close times among the packs of the field.

While the championship ended on a very tough race, the season ended on a very good note. The GT-R's performance and high potential for close racing was on display the entire season, and this class of cars definitely has more potential in the future. Congratulations to all the race winners and the series champions, and a big thanks to everyone who participated in the inaugural season of the Super Silhouettes. We hope to see you again in our future series!

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