Where do rankings become important

[Willthethrill_H]

Hey guys. I've obviously gotten gold on rounds 1 and 2, but my rankings aren't that great (30k-50k on average). My real question is when do rankings become important. What really determines who goes past this portion (the 8 rounds of the downloadable GT academy) of the competition?

 

[GTPorsche]

Round 8 does.

 

[Samus]

Round 8-5 only.

In the events contained within the free download, players will learn sports driving in 8 rounds that will open sequentially as the days progress. And depending on the level of achievement in in the 5th qualifying event of the final round 8, the player may be selected as a participant of the National Final Event.

 

[Skinny DG]

I kind of miss having a few complete tracks to get times on. Of course thats not to say they won't have full lap times to beat in the later rounds. I wonder why they decided to do it THIS way this time?

 

[Samus]

I kind of miss having a few complete tracks to get times on. Of course thats not to say they won't have full lap times to beat in the later rounds. I wonder why they decided to do it THIS way this time?

To get more players involved, simple as that. The whole thing is a marketing exercise.

 

[Skinny DG]

Getting more players involved is FANTASTIC. 300,000 and counting last I checked. Last year in the States we had...110k - 150k? So this is really a nice change of pace. I LOVE how 15 countries are able to complete (lol @ Canada, sorry guys). I think this marks a revolution in online gaming competitions?
However, I'm not sure I understand it being a marketing scheme. They are giving the competition away, after all. Care to elaborate?

Afterthought: This is the shortest competition I have seen GT Academy have yet the biggest... I'm very excited for this AND for anyone fortunate enough to make it to the finals (I prefer to watch myself on TV though). I only finished 72nd in my Region last year but I feel more...seasoned...this time around.

 

[Samus]

Well two main goals, Nissan want to promote their brand and PD want to do the same. Giving it away for free to everyone instead of a GT5 add on means people who didn't buy GT5 can try it out, same for Nissan cars. Even if people do own GT5 they may not drive Nissan's, now they're forced to in this. Both could conceivably mean sales for both parties.

Of course they're trying to find the fastest drivers but overall, it's all about marketing for both brands. Even once they've got the drivers they don't go off and race 'normally', they continue to be marketing faces for the brands.

I'm not bashing it, fair play to both companies because it obviously works, but that's what it is.

 

[chriz00]

I only finished 72nd in my Region last year but I feel more...seasoned...this time around.

Same here, I finished in 50 something in Round 3 in my Region, this time I feel like I have gained more experience.

Thank's to the Online TT's! 👍

I am hoping I can make it to the final's this time around, I'm working really hard at these event's and I hope that pay's off in the end.

 

[Louie_Schumii]

Well two main goals, Nissan want to promote their brand and PD want to do the same. Giving it away for free to everyone instead of a GT5 add on means people who didn't buy GT5 can try it out, same for Nissan cars. Even if people do own GT5 they may not drive Nissan's, now they're forced to in this. Both could conceivably mean sales for both parties.

Of course they're trying to find the fastest drivers but overall, it's all about marketing for both brands. Even once they've got the drivers they don't go off and race 'normally', they continue to be marketing faces for the brands.

I'm not bashing it, fair play to both companies because it obviously works, but that's what it is.

+1

So even if you don't win GT Academy this year you can always use it as a stepping stone to real-life motorsport as some of the finalists have shows over the past 👍

 

[Olegonic]

How many attempts would be given in round 8-5 and will be there any restrictions for wheels only and (or) all assists OFF? That round wil be qualifying so I think it would be reasonable to limit attempts let's say, 10-30. What do you, guys think?

 

[Samus]

How many attempts would be given in round 8-5 and will be there any restrictions for wheels only and (or) all assists OFF? That round wil be qualifying so I think it would be reasonable to limit attempts let's say, 10-30. What do you, guys think?

No, there will be no limits.

 

[CodeRedR51]

Last year in the States we had...110k - 150k?

53-54k. Not as many as you'd think. It was the first year though, they expect much larger numbers this year.

 

[Skinny DG]

R1600Turbo...haven't I seen you on T.V.?

Any idea how I can practice, or maybe areas to concentrate on, when I'm coming out of a turn and getting the power to the ground? I slide more than I don't slide...which I assume means acceleration/oversteering problems. I only lose time when exiting corners...mainly the first corner which sets me up to lose time on the rest of the turns.... Should I be braking INTO my turns and accelerating from the apex out? It seems if I come in hot enough to stay with the leaders my exit will be trashed by wheel spin. If I come in slow enough to keep traction obviously the entrance AND exit end up slower.

I know its not as easy as "you're doing this wrong so do this" but any info would be helpful.

 

[McClarenDesign]

R1600Turbo...haven't I seen you on T.V.?

Any idea how I can practice, or maybe areas to concentrate on, when I'm coming out of a turn and getting the power to the ground? I slide more than I don't slide...which I assume means acceleration/oversteering problems. I only lose time when exiting corners...mainly the first corner which sets me up to lose time on the rest of the turns.... Should I be braking INTO my turns and accelerating from the apex out? It seems if I come in hot enough to stay with the leaders my exit will be trashed by wheel spin. If I come in slow enough to keep traction obviously the entrance AND exit end up slower.

I know its not as easy as "you're doing this wrong so do this" but any info would be helpful.

Do a search for GTP Racing School, PM an instructor. The tracks have been announced, just get as much practice as you can.

And brake before, not into.

 

[yzfmike]

Round 8 is where it matters.... oh wait a sec, wasn't that answered already????

 

[TRC Scooty]

And brake before, not into.

Not totally true. If you trail brake TOO far into the corner, yeah, you're just wasting valuable momentum, but there is a certain degree of braking into a corner that must be done to be really fast.

Any ways, yeah, there's tons of reading material on being fast. Even though GT5 is far more forgiving than sims like iRacing or even real life, the same stuff still applies. Slow in, fast out, smooth inputs and proper car placement (without that you have nothing) are all key.

 

[Skinny DG]

I just know I'm missing my corners wrong. Man...this is eating me up. If I'm .100 of a second off I lost it in 1 turn. That's HUGE. Makes me wish I had friends that raced or even played a racing game for that matter. I got nothin!...except a girlfriend that says things I don't want to hear when I'm practicing.

 

[Wardez]

It's mostly about balance, the smoother you are the less drastic the body roll is so if you think about it that allows the tires to put the power to the ground easier. So minimizing weight shift is one of the more fundamental things you can try. Braking's a lot more important at this stage of the competition than throttle control. You can get away with stomping down the gas most of the time in the Silvia if you have the car pointed right, if you find yourself having to let off the gas or creep it up for too long you're probably just on the wrong line and need to work on having a tighter entry.

The thing with the brakes though, is both timing and technique are pretty crucial for good entries, also steering input to a degree as you want to get the car pointed in the right direction as quickly as you can without wasting too much time on counter steer and such.
Play around with different amounts of braking force on entry, you'l be surpised at how little brake you need most of the time. The less your nose dips, the more stable the overall working of the vehicle is, more grip, better power on exit, etc.

Jackie Steward, famous F1 driver from the '60s and one of the foremost masters of driving and racing theory, said it best, "*The last thing I learned about going faster was how to come off the brake pedal."
The hardest thing to master in racing, is letting your foot off the brake. Smoothly coming off the brake (managing the weight transfer) is critical.

These are all things to think about when optimizing the execution of a corner, fun stuff in theory really, but you could easily get frustrated in practice if you try and over-apply these things you read about so when you feel like you've hit a plataeu in performance, step away for a bit then come back like you don't know a god damn thing. This allows your unconscoius to put all the practice you've done so far into play itself, the best way, and you'll be surprised to see the results.

 

[chriz00]

The thing with the brakes though, is both timing and technique are pretty crucial for good entries, also steering input to a degree as you want to get the car pointed in the right direction as quickly as you can without wasting too much time on counter steer and such.

Play around with different amounts of braking force on entry, you'l be surpised at how little brake you need most of the time. The less your nose dips, the more stable the overall working of the vehicle is, more grip, better power on exit, etc.

This, that is how I found more time on Round 2-4, enough to put me on the leaderboards. 👍

Before that, I used to give it full brakes then go to the desired braking amount, now I just give it the desired amount and find that it makes thing's a lot more smoother.

Little by little, I am learning more and more, I hope I can make it to the finals.

 

[Skinny DG]

Thanks Wardez...that info was enough to get my brain going again. I think weight transfer may be something I've underrated until now. A good example of an issue I'm having would be with round 1-5. All my time is lost on the second turn (the right hand turn). By ALL my time I mean .050 to .100

I also just thought of something. I try to 'keep up' with the leaders but my attitude is never to 'beat' the leaders. I spend so much time trying to keep up that I think I forgot how to race...

Off topic: Why do some of you have red names?

 

[Wardez]

Yeah, good then. And if you're having trouble with trying to hard to keep up with the ghosts, just turn them off, it's a hotkey, check your button assignments. That could help in taking your mind off of following so you can focus more on your own driving.

What's your sim racing background btw, first time playing GT5?

and red names denote premium GTP users, a pay service that gives you a few extra privelages on this forum.

 

[Skinny DG]

I started with the first Gran Turismo (heck of a soundtrack back then). Well, if you want to get specific...the first racing game I ever played was Al Unser Jr Racing for NES.

I also played a LOT of Nascar 09 where I was top 10 at Bristol. But that had more to do with tuning my car than anything else.

I'm 31 now. When I was a kid my father took me with him for a qualifying lap on a dirt track in an RX-7. I had a HUGE helmet on that my little neck could barely support but, while my head slapped against the window and his shoulder, I had a grin from ear to ear. That was my first experience with racing. I also went to quite a few years of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb....mmmmm. Though after that race he never raced again and I never had the pleasure of meeting anyone (willing) to befriend me that raced. I started working on cars at Volvo/Mazda and Volkswagen/Subaru where I was their Alignment Specialist but even then NEVER met anyone who raced except 1 kid who did 1/4 miles at Bandemeir Speedway.

SO everything I know is from games and research on the internet...pretty sad...and not something that will get me to the finals (I'm too competitive to stop now though). My first experience with a wheel was last years GT Academy event. My gf (unfortunately the ONLY one who supports me attempting GTA again) bought me a wheel saying, "you need the proper tools to do well." I placed 72nd in my region. Nothing to brag about but for ME, nothing to be ashamed about either.