2014 United Kingdom General Discussion

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RHODRIEWILLIAMS
How quick are the brit's who are left at the track driving? Wish we could see lap times from Bedford and Silverstone.
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On average we were all within a couple of tenths, I was generally the best in high speed track driving, Karl was best with car control and in anything that slides around (like caterhams), Luke was best at mid speed track driving, and Alex was good all round and didn't really have a strong point. That's all a fairly big generalisation, but you get the general idea.

As for Bedford times, Karl was fastest in Caterhams track challenge with a 49.7, Luke was fastest in head to head Caterham autocross with a 28.7 (Karl might have been able to go faster but messed up all his runs), and he was also fastest in the LMP with a 60.4, and I was fastest in the single seater with a 1.16.9.
 
Spurgy 777
Well I got eliminated, bit frustrated because it wasn't really down to my speed, more just not being able to put the left hand drive 370z through a hole in the wall very well, but there we go. Hoping to get more time driving at least.
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Dude that sucks! I'm apart of the Aus GT race camp finalist. Did you get to keep doing the activities after you were eliminated or just sit and watch? And any tips? Looked heaps of fun. Real shame they eliminated you thou :( you are really quick!
 
Alex P was in my group of 7 at the finals, he's 36 now but scored 61 in the press-ups and came 2nd in the bleep test. He's an experienced driver and a genuinely nice guy, giving me some tips for next year.
 
Filip_Ovik
Kinda unfair though as by looking on his youtube channel he has driven lots of race cars like Formula Renault 2.0, Legends Cars, Clio Cup, Mit'Jet 1300, Aston Martin V8 Vantage etc... :/
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Its a disgrace, they're clearly trying to fool people into thinking this is a gamer to real life competition when it simply is not.
They keep doing it over and over again every year, either they fiddle the results to suit their pre-judged profile of what they would like to see or the winner who happens to have a lot of racing car experience.

It's disgusting and someone with a pair of balls should step up and apologize to the competitors who make big commitments based on being bull****ted into thinking the competition seeks natural talent from gaming not people with practice and experience.

You name me one proper driver that's come out of this? Lucas was already a failure at trying to do single-seaters, Jann is nowhere near fast enough and is already nearly 23 with drivers 7 years younger than him embarrassing his results in F3 who previously have never driver a racing car.
Why don't they just support a driver who is number one in the world at Gran Turismo and assist a career in motorsport because he would likely be a real life star. The closest they ever got was the Lacombe brothers and they booted them out.
Idiots!
 
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Filip_Ovik
Kinda unfair though as by looking on his youtube channel he has driven lots of race cars like Formula Renault 2.0, Legends Cars, Clio Cup, Mit'Jet 1300, Aston Martin V8 Vantage etc... :/
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All looks Fairly tame stuff on his you tube channel its mainly race school stuff no crazy money spent. He's a top 250 gamer and has beaten a lot of guys who have spent way more than him so good luck to him.

Famine
Stowe Circuit, 370Z. Alex had the LHD car, Luke the RHD one.
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The Uk guys are not liking left hand drive did they have the same problem in the formula car with shifter on the right. I remember Kurt Busch having the same issue driving a RHD V8 supercar at Austin a few years ago
 
Playstation Gamer to real-life racing driver! As in learn their skills playing Gran Turismo and managed to convert those skills to the track by going through the GT Academy system. Anyone with previous experience and well practiced is breaking the whole ethic and spirit of the competition...the whole point of why it exists.
It doesn't matter if it's morally right or wrong but what it does do is give you a winner who will never be good enough to show how good the game is which is the whole point of the competition. It is not to find a racing driver it is for Kaz to show the world how good his game is!
 
davissi
Playstation Gamer to real-life racing driver! As in learn their skills playing Gran Turismo and managed to convert those skills to the track by going through the GT Academy system. Anyone with previous experience and well practiced is breaking the whole ethic and spirit of the competition...the whole point of why it exists.
It doesn't matter if it's morally right or wrong but what it does do is give you a winner who will never be good enough to show how good the game is which is the whole point of the competition. It is not to find a racing driver it is for Kaz to show the world how good his game is!
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Yes but how does anyone police this track days karting at llandow or Heatherton no one knows who's done what. I'am fine with banning anyone with a race licence but not someone who been to a race school or been to a track day.
 
davissi
Playstation Gamer to real-life racing driver! As in learn their skills playing Gran Turismo and managed to convert those skills to the track by going through the GT Academy system. Anyone with previous experience and well practiced is breaking the whole ethic and spirit of the competition...the whole point of why it exists.
It doesn't matter if it's morally right or wrong but what it does do is give you a winner who will never be good enough to show how good the game is which is the whole point of the competition. It is not to find a racing driver it is for Kaz to show the world how good his game is!
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Good luck finding a top gamer without driving/racing experience. Although granted, the winner seems to have spent quite a lot of money on testing but how do you regulate that?
 
He is one heck of a driver. Wow

Now a days almost all the guys that make the Top 12 have tons of experience. If you are only good at them game you wont make it too far.
 
RE the negativity about GT Academy / Experience of drivers / winners

GT Academy is a marketing exercise for Nissan and Playstation. It's a fantastic opportunity and everyone entering it should do all they can to prepare before they go to Silverstone. When I found out I was going to race camp I spent 2 days at a rally school here in Ireland driving a 350z. I also did a good few karting sessions. That was a lot more than some guys, but a lot less than others. You can't think about the other competitors though. You have a passion for racing, it is your dream and you do all you can to try and win. Why bother doing anything in life if you are afraid others are better than you? Someone is always "better", but on any given day you can be the best.

For marketing reasons they use slogans like 'from gamer to racer' etc, and I think that this is fine. Everyone in the competition is a gamer as (1) they own a ps3, GT6, wheel and (2) they would have played countless hours to qualify. Some of the guys have done testing or amateur racing, but they are also gamers. Just like Rene Rast, who never seems to be away from Project cars when he's not racing for real. Countless other pros are gamers too. Valterri Bottas used to play F1 2010/2011 with a friend of mine.

Playing GT6 is how they find the talent pool and from that they try find the best candidates.

When Lucas won the whole thing was still just a concept and nobody expected it to go as far as it did. Jann is a pure talent, proving so in GT3 cars, LMP2 and now race winning in GP3. I don't subscribe to the negativity about him. He had to learn the hard way in F3, but a few months later nearly won the Toyota Race Series championship in the same spec car. The guy has been racing 3 years and he's as fast as some guys that are racing 10 times as long.


Also regarding getting a seat afterwards. Motorsport is a business and if you are not business minded, you will struggle. I tried for a long time to get something going, and decided it was best not to put myself and parents in debt just to fulfil a selfish passion that doesn't really have any certainty to it (no matter how good you are).

Everyone has had a different experience of the Academy, but I know I will never forget mine and I highly recommend anyone that hasn't made it yet to keep trying. Also, don't give up on the dream of racing for real some day. It's not that big a deal if you have the ability. Getting the business side sorted is the hardest part. Stay fit and keep driving sims to keep your eye in and maybe one day you can make something happen. Thats what I keep telling myself anyway... :lol:

EDIT: forgot to mention congrats to this years winner and commiserations to those who didn't make it
 
First of all, congratulations to Gaetan, and best of luck in the future! Comiserations to those who didn't quite make it, I know how you feel.

davissi
General cynicism
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Let's be honest here, you're only complaining about the quality of the competiton because you haven't won anything.

I have competed against (and beaten) you in three separate gaming competitions, and your negativity at each event is staggering. Every single competition you have entered, you have always grumbled about how poorly it is run and/or organised. I have yet to talk with another GT Academy competitor who feels this way.

Sure, perhaps there is the occasional individual that has a gripe with an adjudicator's decision, but beyond that everyone seems happy. The organisers look for feedback from competitors on what can be improved, taking advice and even employing former race-camp finalists to help out.

You constantly look to blame others when maybe if you had looked at your own performances and been more self critical, you could have been more successful. Or at least not still so clearly bitter about everything more than two years since your last competition.
 
GTP_Ingram
First of all, congratulations to Gaetan, and best of luck in the future! Comiserations to those who didn't quite make it, I know how you feel.



Let's be honest here, you're only complaining about the quality of the competiton because you haven't won anything.

I have competed against (and beaten) you in three separate gaming competitions, and your negativity at each event is staggering. Every single competition you have entered, you have always grumbled about how poorly it is run and/or organised. I have yet to talk with another GT Academy competitor who feels this way.

Sure, perhaps there is the occasional individual that has a gripe with an adjudicator's decision, but beyond that everyone seems happy. The organisers look for feedback from competitors on what can be improved, taking advice and even employing former race-camp finalists to help out.

You constantly look to blame others when maybe if you had looked at your own performances and been more self critical, you could have been more successful. Or at least not still so clearly bitter about everything more than two years since your last competition.
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GT6 FIA 2015 Championship also know as DAVISSI V INGRAM rematch :lol:
 
Agree totally with Dessy's post - that's saved me some typing!

Congratulations Gaetan and well done to everyone else involved - looks like it was another tough competition with plenty of fun along the way.
 
If you come into GT Academy with a decent level of experience and are consistently good, you won't win. They're not after someone who is already good - they're after someone who demonstrates the capacity to improve and does so consistently. The final test to get into the last race is a second benchmark and if you have barely improved from your first you won't get through even if you're faster than your compatriot - because the tuition has done less for you. They've got six weeks to get you into a GT4 car and get your 12 signatures and they can't waste it on a guy who's good and doesn't get any better.

In any event, Gaetan won the final race having qualified only 3rd and in someone else's car...
 
@Famine is right, you see all the time the judges going for the driver which they believe they could improve. Just because someone has had time at test tracksand are faster does not neccesarily mean they could win. There's a lot of negativity and it's not nice. If you got though to race camp but have never done any racing, at all but you show you have potential, and your on the same par as a driver who has had experience, then it's obvious how much improvement that person could gain.

And why are people insulting some of the previous winners? I'm sorry but jann is a massive star in my eyes. He's gone from sitting at home on his arse to winning GP races, yes the drivers may be younger but they have more experience. I can't remember when, I think it was Mcmillan and wolfgang, they came to a race weekend at my local track castle combe. Some may know but basically it's a hard track. Quarry has actually been voted the hardest corner in the UK by drivers. But as I've been going there to watch for years, you understand certain lines, the norm. But the GT Academy boys had their own lines, ones which they had obviously been told to take, that shows the drivers were willing to learn, and imrove, even if it didn't neccesarily mean it was the faster way to take the track. I talked to the GT mecahnics there, and one of them said how quick jann was, he was 'insanely quick' I quote.

Hwever at the end of the day, if it was you who had on the whole thing, I don't think you'd mind.
 
GTP_Ingram
First of all, congratulations to Gaetan, and best of luck in the future! Comiserations to those who didn't quite make it, I know how you feel.

Let's be honest here, you're only complaining about the quality of the competiton because you haven't won anything.

I have competed against (and beaten) you in three separate gaming competitions, and your negativity at each event is staggering. Every single competition you have entered, you have always grumbled about how poorly it is run and/or organised. I have yet to talk with another GT Academy competitor who feels this way.

Sure, perhaps there is the occasional individual that has a gripe with an adjudicator's decision, but beyond that everyone seems happy. The organisers look for feedback from competitors on what can be improved, taking advice and even employing former race-camp finalists to help out.

You constantly look to blame others when maybe if you had looked at your own performances and been more self critical, you could have been more successful. Or at least not still so clearly bitter about everything more than two years since your last competition.
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Ahh the man who wont say boo to a goose in person but loves to jump to anything I say arguing for the sake of arguing. I forgot about you, how are you?

Yes I remember you drooling because I dropped the ball whilst leading a race once by miles allowing you to carrying on the actual competition thanking me and I also remember you disappearing into the distance in my rear view mirror desperately only managing to claw back because of the draft effect, you would've been out there and then on the spot my quiet little friend and never made it to Silverstone ;)
I've never been eligible for Silverstone since the day I started the competition as I am not eligible of which I have mentioned but you only seem to read what you wanna read but I still enjoyed trying and the format they've used over the years has really thrown some rubbish forward hasn't it! I was hoping it would reveal the real talent that's out there.

Anyway, anybody would think you were any good or something Alex judging by the way you speak of yourself? You should be grateful I made a couple of little errors and you had a nice big unrealistic draft to catch me up otherwise Silverstone 2010 would've been all a dream for you. Like I said I'm ineligible it makes no difference to me :)

Spurgy 777
Good luck finding a top gamer without driving/racing experience. Although granted, the winner seems to have spent quite a lot of money on testing but how do you regulate that?
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That's right but can you imagine how much better it could be if someone else ran it with a decent format? More emphasis on the game simulation and keep concentrating on that instead of faulty equipment and short events because of tight schedules, all these hundreds of thousands of people dedicate their lives to practicing and get tiny little events where circumstances decide the results. There was one year I remember one of the competitors being blatantly rammed off by someone in plain sight of me and he was straight out of the competition and I thought they were a potential winner. I thought it was really unfair on him, I remember thinking how unfair it was on the time and effort he put in to get there. If that race would've been a one on one the referee might've actually open his eyes and seen something.
One day perhaps hopefully someone will come up with a great format that really digs the proper talent out! It would really be great then to see some real young talent being found.
 
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Sorry David but I can't take you seriously anymore :odd:

We've all had our ups and downs with GT Academy, but your attitude towards it and fellow competitiors is beyond my understanding at this point. Don't give us anymore excuses, if you wanted it bad enough you could have come back and tried again (like I did on 3 occasions). How many attempts did it take Shane and Alex? Years of trying and they finally made it!

We all know you are very fast at Gran Turismo games, probably faster than most :bowdown:, however GT Academy is an international racing driver search, and the gaming element has to end at some point, otherwise no one would get out on track. And once you get out on track you really start to see the limitations of sim-cades like GT6. It teaches the basics and it is very cost effective, but after that it has served its purpose and should only be seen as a way to practice consistency or to learn tracks.

Each year they find the real talent, and plenty of it doesn't make all the way either.

It is a competition. The best / most deserving men or team can't always win. This goes for every sport in the world. GT Academy is no different. Now could you please try and stop spewing such garbage onto our lovely forum. Deep down I secretly enjoy reading your nonsense, but it's done now. Move on 👍
 

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