GT Sport Season 6 Division 4

you would have come second in D3 by being 5 seconds behind him

yet to win a race and yet to set a fastest lap or start from the pole

What a race! 3rd in the first race and 1st in the second, better than I could have hoped for...unbelievably better than the despair of crashing on the last corner and losing 2 positions last race.

Wasn't expecting too much with my relative pace at meet n greet, but ended up with a bit of spare time so got a bit of practise in. After my first practise session with TCS2 yielded what i thought were great times, I sent a snapshot to Johnno bragging of my times then realised meet n greet were on RH not RS, and he soon showed me he was getting better times already in his first practise...ahh well. Tried BB-2 for a while to get better stopping power, but was easier to drive and get around corners with BB0, TCS0 really makes it fun pushing the throttle as far as you can without making the bacjk slip <too far> out.

Pre race i found I had better relative pace than I thought, knowing @Kephin_07 @VARDZ and @Matthyus would be in front of me anyway. Couldn't see anyone else lapping as quick as me, great sign. Qualified 4th as I then expected.

Got in front of Johnno early down the inside - glad I was on the inside of that first corner! He did overtake me before making a mistake and slotting in behind me again. Try as I might, I couldn't make any ground on Vardz - I could see the gap increasing just slightly - got a tiny whiff of hope as he messed up the final corner one lap, but the gap soon built up again. I then realised these races are 18 laps not 16 laps as I practised...hoped my tyres would hold out. I became very tyre conscious, but still got a rude shock at lap 16 when the understeer really set in. Johnno started to catch up...but I learned from last week to not let up the pressure, race right to the end...

It will be interesting to see the first corner of the next race - Kev shot across real quick, not sure who got involved in that, was glad to be ducking down the inside, came out behind @fezza and @T F Eccles. I wondered how long it would be until I could pass them - they might have been on pace and just held up in traffic last race. I saw Vardz a few seconds behind me and knew that wouldn't last - his pace would have me caught in 6-8 laps if last race was anything to judge by. I had been behind Fezza prerace, and knew I had an edge on the last corner - so when I crept up on him I didn't bother waiting for a slipstream slingshot and shot straight past him. Seemed close elsewhere! Eventually caught Col too, I could see he wasn't quite apexing as quick as me and knew I just had to wait for an opportunity. After this I was in first and cruised all the way to the finish line. Well not really. Spent way too much time looking at where bigkev and vardz where, and then Johnno passed Col and Fezza and was closing the gap fast. I thought I might just be able to hold him at bay - busily calculating how much time he needed to gain on me each lap to pass - but gave it away, knowing as soon as he was within 0.6 or so the slipstream would have him in striking distance in no time. He sat between 0.3 and 0.8 behind me for the last few laps - I figured he was just waiting to pounce, so I tried to ignore him and just race. Last 2 laps he was real close, so I knew I had to start defending properly - I braked as short of a fraction earlier as I dared, to cover the inside of the corners - he could still go around the outside, but at least I wasn't making it easy for him. Crossed the line in disbelief, my first win! Well sort of...second overall won't show as a win, and it is from a reverse grid - but its there! After talking in chat Vardz was only half a point behind me too - needed Johnno to beat me for Vardz to keep second - then I realised how amazing it was that both Vardz and Kev didn't catch up to Johnno and I - what happened there??!

Stick in there! Time behind the wheel counts. I guess there is a base skill level that places an upper limit on how fast you can get short term, but practise is the fastest way to git gud afaik! Ever heard of "MJ attitude"?

https://www.usab.com/youth/news/2012/08/how-michael-jordans-mindset-made-him-great.aspx

I am grateful I seem to have the pace to keep up with div 4...most of the time. It can get despairing to see others drive away so easy - but you are always very close to me, these last two tracks are a bad example - I have done many laps at both these tracks before in previous races and practise.

Besides - next race is Redbull, you had pace on me there in the P1...what night can you practise? I can join you after 8pm except mon and tue. Recruit Div 1 guys to do some 5 min races, so you can save the replay, then watch the race from their bonnet/ bumper cam (whatever you use) to get an idea of where you are close to optimum and where you need to improve. I have done the same, and am often surprised how close I am in some corners - and more importantly, where the biggest improvements can be made. Have a chat with @Viperzed as head of ICR, get him to race around behind you while in chat, he could give you some pointers. Watch your own replays of previous races too, to work out where you aren't as fast, and what led up to mistakes before they happened. Same as any video game In the end, its a game. If you enjoy it you will come back to it. I enjoyed Gran Turismo that much I bought a PS4 and got back into it after not playing for 10 years...

Jonesey is spot on @T F Eccles

Not too long ago I was in the same boat. My first sim racing game is GT Sport and I picked it up thanks to @deedz_aus basically bugging me to get it haha. After my initial enthusiasm for the game (not that I was any good) I lost interest because I was slow and wasn’t enjoying it. I didn’t race for basically 2-3 seasons (life also got in the way)

But now, the enjoyment has returned. It’s a combination of realising that it is enjoyable, but also putting in a session or two throughout the week and practicing. This has allowed me to be quicker and more competitive.
Joining rooms with other people (div 1 guys) during the week allows you to spectate and check lines, gears etc.

I’m not going to lie either, in my absence from the game, I was religiously watching F4H Super GT on YouTube. Every day on the way to and from work on the train, id watch his videos and races. I learned so much from just watching him. I’d recommend following his channel (might not work for you, but it certainly did for me)

Keep at it mate.

Same.

Thanks for the words of encouragement, I'm not that ready to quit yet. I was pretty tired, in fact knackered, yesterday after a weekend of working in a hot shed (that I built myself over the Christmas break) installing insulation and lining it with plywood sheeting. Same with last weekend, on the third Sunday of every month you'll find me at the RAAF Museum in a harness up a tall ladder cleaning the display aircraft, it can be taxing on hot days.

And I should be wise enough at 50 to recall way back when I began fencing nearly 30 years ago what it was like as a beginner and how things peaked and troughed along the way. While I'm no longer at the peak of my powers I can more than hold my own - that's where I'd like to get to with this GTS thing. I got to my fencing level through hard work, practice and expert tuition and I think it's the tuition part I need now, then the practice.

@LennonLegend1993 yes I watch Super_GT, Kie25, Eeerieeess most day too. I've learnt quite a bit from them to date but clearly not enough.

So a PB in the 9's should be expected from D1 if not D2 drivers

I can put most of my driving issues down to lack of practice. I think I did like 6 laps earlier yesterday before logging on for the race. Was actually surprised some of my times werent actually THAT far off the pace (no where near 1:09s though).

Anyways, heres my race footage.

Race 1;


Race 2;

Thanks @Hatfield and thanks for the good racing, guys. Really enjoyed the last 2 weeks

Awesome videos Mark!

I didn't realise you raced with in-car view - I love the idea of this, and the immersion...but when I try to practise like this I end up with slower times...and revert back to bumper came. Are you any faster with other views? When I'm grinding the Xbow @ BMB for cash, I use the in car view to add a bit of difficulty - though can be frustrating when you hit a car trying to squeeze through, losing the clean race bonus!

Your tyres were in great nick by the end of the race - mine were worn much further. You got some of your best times towards the end, getting into the 11s like most of us where. While being nice to your tyres is good, I think you lost a bit of time going in to that last corner too easy. Great for tyres, but not for times. You did great the lap you overtook Macca!

You don't use radar in race? You might have been able to avoid the rubbbing at the start of race 2 with it...perhaps not, but try it out. Just remember cars are closer than they appear in radar!

Good to see you are using TCS0...though have you tried 1 or 2, are you faster? I spent most of last season using 0, not even testing 1 or 2 due to misplaced pride. Then I forgot to turn it off after a grid start and it ended taking a second off my lap time...so I left it on in the following races!

You had some good battles with Macca there!

Honestly, I try to use the in car camera just to try and get the immersion factor. Now that I’m racing Karts, I’m looking for as realistic experience as possible. I also have a friend who has a mirage he races in the lemons racing and if I ever have enough money, I’ll be joining him for some races. (Big emphasis on the IF). So the more realistic the better. So that’s also the reason I go without TCS. I’m not too fussed being a bit off the pace if I’m getting some fairly realistic practice.

In regards to radar. I’ve only just started using the in car cam, so I haven’t figured out the full setup of what I can have where and where to actually look for everything. . I normally like to have the full map up but haven’t worked it out as of yet. I can put every bump at the start of race 2 down to nerves. I’m just not used to racing with others around just yet. When I’m in the kart, there’s no mirrors, so it’s really just a case of holding your line and the guy behind you needs to find his way past, and I’m very rarely in the kart for the start of a race. I certainly came across towards the apex way too hard on the first corner. Should’ve stayed in my lane around the outside knowing there’d potentially be some one on my inside. My gear shifts I think we’re way out too. Vaguely remember being on the rev limiter for the first few shifts.

And tire preservation isn’t actually anything I was working towards. I think it’s just my currently conservative style. I simply couldn’t get that last corner any better than I was. Was never comfortable over the bump in the lead up and couldn’t get my head around a quicker way through there. Noticed in the battles I did have, I could catch in the lead up, but struggled to have similar speed on the straight. If I’d actually done any decent practice, it might have been quicker through that section.

I did notice you like to drive very smoothly. You would be ace in an endurance series

I’d be your last pick for sure