Gran Turismo 5

[boltonite]

Way to go Nick - You're going to Silverstone!!! Bring a COM hat and T-shirt ... and your favorite COM instructor!

[blindsidefive0]

Wow, guys - thanks for the support.

I have a bit of work to catch up on, but later today I'll try to post the full details of the final GT5 tournament, and what's to come for the top 16 in Silverstone.

[joncowen]

I found this:

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011/03/ ... finalists/

[TroyV]

This might be the first time something like this actually applies. Best of luck Nick!!!

[blindsidefive0]

This competition was broken down into 3 stages - GT5 time trials, GT5 National Finals (live GT5 tournament in Orlando), and GT Academy in Silverstone.

Time Trials
55,000 participants entered round 1 of the time trials - I ended up finishing 2nd nationally, winning some free stuff (including a free wheel along the way). In the final time trial round I had to leave for a trip 36 hours before the event closed. At the time I was 4th in the country, but dropped to 13th by the end - the competition was insanely close, and I only made it to the National Finals in Orlando by less than a tenth on a 4 minute entry.

National Finals
32 of the top time trialers were flown to Disney World for a live Gran Turismo tournament. The format was a little funny - we were split up into 8 groups of 4 racers. Within that group you run 2 races, and score points based on finishing position (1st - 6pts, 2nd - 3pts, 3rd - 1pt, 4th - 0pts). The 4 lowest drivers across all 8 groups are dropped. 7 groups of 4 are assembled, and another 2 races are run with the bottom 4 being eliminated. Then 6 groups of 4, and finally 5 groups of 4, with the last 4 being eliminated.

Round 1 - For the first race I had an okay qualifying lap and a decent race, finishing 2nd. In the 2nd race I grabbed pole with a solid lap, dropped to 2nd, got the lead back, and held on for the win.

Round 2 - In both races I finished 2nd, but was disappointed with the latter race as I actually had the pole, and made a small mistake (missed the turn-in point) to give up the lead.

Round 3 - disaster. I was on a track that I didn't know in the first race (finished 3rd), and in the 2nd race I made a huge mistake that sent me from 1st to last on the 2nd to last lap. Basically just blew a braking point after bump drafting with the guy in 2nd to pull away from the pack. I knew I had to back everything up at the higher speed, but I still underestimated it.

Round 4 - I needed at least two 2nd place finishes or a win, or I was going home... In the first race I qualified 3rd, but was able to make a pass to get into 2nd and hang on. It came down to the last race - months of this competition decided in essentially 5 minutes. I was able to grab pole by a couple tenths. After surviving the first corner (crazy 180 after a downhill braking zone), I was able to smooth things out over the next 2 laps and extend the lead. On the last lap I knew I had a big enough lead (about 1.5s), and only needed to stay on the track and I was going to Silverstone. I kicked those thoughts out of my head, and just imagined Carl Fossum urging me to look ahead. All I did was worry about my hitting my marks, and in the last turn I just remember concentrating as hard as I could to find the last track-out point - I was finally able to relax as I crossed the line. Someone from the GTPlanet forum had a press pass, and captured this video of my race: http://db.tt/aCf0y1S (it's best if you watch this on QuickTime)

Overall, the competition was insanely tight. I basically made 3 "mistakes" during the entire competition, including only 1 real "off" in 8 races. I'm just relieved to make it through to the final round given how intense things got.

In addition to the racing, there were cameras, microphones, and staff everywhere filming the competition for a reality show to air on SPEED in the fall. We also had multiple interviews, and a fairly in depth medical screening. It was most fun to meet the guys in person, and I'm looking forward to meeting up again to race in the real world.

...more details on the GT Academy portion to come.

[OBrien839]

Great stuff Nick...way to go, good luck!!

[blindsidefive0]

The final round of the competition is a 5 day driving "boot camp" at Silverstone.

Physical fitness activities include running, bicycling, obstacle courses, reflex challenges, flexibility, strength, and endurance.
Driving activities include go-karts, slalom course, skid pad, wet track, autocross, drifting, and lead-follow, but mostly time trials and door-to-door racing towards the end.
Vehicles include 370z, GT-R, and a single seater open wheeler.
To make things "interesting" everything is going to be filmed and recorded. I was able to tune out a lot of the distractions in Orlando, but I can only assume it'll be way more intense in Silverstone. There will also be racing "celebrity" judges - in 2010 Johnny Herbert and Sabine Schmitz were running things...

The competition is going to be stiff - these aren't your typical mario-kart gamers. Sure, some are out of shape, and others will struggle behind the wheel. However, most guys have some sort of experience, including go-karts, racing schools, track days, and even a SCCA solo national champion and HPDE instructor/SCCA ITA/SM racer.

I'm going to be training hard at the gym and getting out to run while the weather is good. I'm also finishing out the F1 Boston go-kart league with Nick, John, and Adam. I'll be looking to find an Iron Man go-kart event at On Track Karting in Connecticut, and maybe an F1 Boston enduro.

Finally, I'm going to need a bit of help at the track. I'm signing up for Mosport and the NHMS track day (I will miss the NHMS Memorial Day event because of the competition), and I'm looking to maybe try a NASA time trial at Lightning as well as a BMW club racing school the weekend before Mosport (I think I saw Fred on the list for that as well). I'll be looking for as much help as I can get on and off the track. Win or lose, I'm trying to get the absolute most out of this once in a lifetime experience.

Just for fun, some videos of previous events:
2008 - http://us.gran-turismo.com/us/gallery/d5156.html
2010, day 1 - http://eu.gran-turismo.com/ie/news/d12548.html
2010, day 2 - http://eu.gran-turismo.com/ie/news/d12492.html
2010, day 3 - http://eu.gran-turismo.com/ie/news/d12495.html
2010, day 4 - http://eu.gran-turismo.com/ie/news/d12498.html
2010, day 5 - http://eu.gran-turismo.com/ie/news/d12501.html

Edit - how did I forget to mention the prize...if you win, they will train you to become a professional race car driver. I was talking with the 2008 winner, Lucas Ordonez. He ran the LMP2 Nissan at Sebring, finishing 2nd. He said they give you media coaching, support you through the MSA International license processing, and he ran for 2 years in the GT4 European Cup in the Sony/Playstation sponsored 350z on this team: http://www.rjnmotorsport.com/

[Mick]

This is awesome Nick.
When you're racing how do they keep the competition clean. I assume there are judges who can disqualify you for bumping. ?

what's your PSN screen name?

[blindsidefive0]

Mick - every driver has a judge hawking over them. They took notes of every single off, contact, whatever during the race. The judges then review all replays as a committee and take away points as needed. DQ's were handed out as well for too much non-sense. They were super strict as the rounds went on and things intensified.

PSN: blindsidefive0

[cfossum]

Awesome, Nick!
He who was once the student has become the master.
-Carl

[WillM]

Congratulations Nick! Great stuff. You've drawn a strong connection between GT5 and competitive driving and other sports competitions.

You mentioned a bit about your mental game. Are you familiar with the Ross Bentley Speed Secrets books? If not, check them out, especially:Speed Secrets 3 - Inner Speed Secrets: Mental Strategies to Maximize Your Racing Performance. If I had to pick one book to read, that would be it. Very easy read, and it is great to pick up every once and a while.

We are certainly able to help out at Mosport or at any of our other events!

Just curious - what were the other participants like?

[CP]

Best of luck Nick. Couple of questions for inquiring minds:

- What tracks has the competition used throughout the process? Were they real tracks or ones created for the competition? I messed around with the track creator a few weeks ago and it was really cool.

- What types of cars have been used?

- Have the competitors been allowed to play with car setup (suspension tuning, traction control, ABS, "active steering," etc.) or are all the cars prepared indentically?

- I find that I use left foot braking in sims alot more than I do on a real racetrack, mostly to combat understeer. No clutch actuation makes it easier since the pedal dance doesn't need to occur. Have you found that this is a key area to master for a competition like this? I find that braking while using sims is the most unrealistic part of the gaming experience since you can't feel when a tire locks up, or hear it very well for that matter.

- Was crash damage utilized during the competition?

[blindsidefive0]

WIll - a lot of the guys were super cool. Everyone was very down to earth, and not quite as "geeky" as you might expect. However, there were some definite typical "gamers" on hand. Some guys were college students who were into racing - super baby faced kids with go-kart experience. Other guys were a bit older, and downplayed their real world or instructing experience. It was kind of all over the place, really.

CP -
Tracks used during the time trial rounds: Tsukuba (real circuit in Japan, typically used for time trials), Rome (fake track through the actual city), Cape Ring (fantasy track), Madrid (fake track through the actual city), Indy GP config (not the new config), Toscana (fake tarmac rally course through Tuscan countryside), Eifel (fake circuit through German/Belgian mountains).

Tracks used during the national finals: Tsukuba, Deep Forest (fantasy track), Madrid, Grand Valley (fantasy track), Trial Mountain (fantasy track), Indy GP, Cape Ring, Nurburgring GP/D config (the video I posted is of me driving on this course in a stock 370z)

Cars used (all Nissans): stock 370z, "tuned" 370z (similar specs to the RJN Motorsport run in the GT4 European Cup), R34 GT-R spec v, R34 GT-R, Skyline 370GT, and Xanavi GT-R (JGTC GT500 car)

All car setups and other settings were fixed - you had to use "as delivered" settings for transmission, aero, suspension, whatever... ABS was set to "1". Traction control, active steering, skid recovery, and all other assists were turned off. Even things like steering mode and force feedback were preset to default - which sucked because I'm used to "simulation" and it was on "standard". Basically it helps you to put in corrections in standard mode, which messes me up and caused me to make double corrections at times.

No clutch was used - left foot brake all the way. The braking is pretty unrealistic, and by far my biggest complaint with the driving physics. You just mash the pedal as fast as possible when braking in a straight line. You need to be super smooth with trail braking so you don't scrub speed, but overall the braking is disappointing. This is really key to understand if you are going to be fast - basically you want have an instant switch from gas to brake in straight line braking zones. Left foot braking helps reduce ANY lag time. The pedals on the rigs we were running are pretty weak, so you need to have a super delicate foot for trail braking - this is something I'm particularly good at in the game as I actually bought the exact wheel to prepare for the competition back in January.

Damage wasn't used - the team of race officials instead evaluated every single instance of contact with anything to determine if you should lose points. However, even if they did use it, none of the cars would have been significantly damaged as it takes a bit for it to kick in and no one really ever slams into the walls minus a couple rare instances at certain tracks.

[robster707]

Nice work Nick. You earned this.

[blindsidefive0]

Nissan/Sony put together a nice video recap of the Orlando finals.
It's got a couple embarrassing shots, but I'll share here anyway...