An Observation on GT Academy From a Real World Racer

[LordMarklar]

I looked and did not see a similar thread.

Before you read this let me give some background on me. I have 5 years of racing experience in a Legend Car, I have won Rookie of The Year and a state points championship (also top 10 in national points) as well as finishing 8th at Nationals. I autocross my FR-S regularly and have also tested a Ferrari F430 GT2 car. So I at least like to think I know what I'm talking about with racing.

I have an observation/complaint/nitpicking/thing about GT Academy. Having participated in all of them (that were available to N. America) in GT5, the pre GT6, and the current one, I've always been around 0.5 seconds off the #1 time. I look at the #1 replay to see how I could go faster but what bothers me is that the technique used to get the #1 time would most likely either result in a crash/going off or actually be slower in the real world with a real car. Hitting your marks and driving smooth does not result in a #1 time or anywhere near it, but chucking the car around and drifting most corners (basically just exploiting the physics engine) does? That just doesn't sit right with me, and I've heard similar sentiments from some fellow racers.

I've watching some of the GT Academy products in action in the real world (via tv, youtube, etc.) and they share the common trait of being fast but not the smoothest (which can improve with more seat time). I'm not campaigning for me to be picked the next GT Academy driver, however I do think some very good, smooth drivers are getting overlooked because of what I explained above.

I'm not sure if others agree or this is just me being a typical racecar driver that if someone somehow has an advantage it's cheating/unfair. I'm sorry if it sounds like a rant, I don't mean it to be, I'm trying to give my perspective on the matter and I'd like to hear from the community what they think about it too.

I'm sure you're absolutely correct about the fastest way in GT6 not being the fastest way in real life but..

The Academy is a marketing device to find the best gamers and give them a chance in a real car, giving all who purchase the game a chance to try their hand. More sales of the game is the aim, not finding the next world champion. If they just wanted to find the best drivers they would look at real life amateur and semi-pro leagues.

The people who are fastest in GT6 are there because they can adapt their style quickly to suit what they are given. They exploit any deficiencies in the game to their advantage. They don't care if they shred the tyres in one lap because every lap is a qualifying lap and they are not paying for the tyres. If they can't adapt quickly to driving for real when they get through to the finals they won't last long. Some of the top gamers are also pretty successful driving karts and lower formula cars too. I expect they know how to look after their tyres and drive smoothly when necessary.

I'm sure we'd all like it if GT6 were more realistic and rewarded smooth driving but it that's not how it is. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

I absolutely agree with you. I was looking at some of the replays in the top ten and was amazed at how trashy some of the top times actually looked like in replay. I will not modify what I know of driving in real life to adapt to a simulator, if anything it is just a means of practicing what I learn in real life. There is no doubt in my mind that there are very talented drivers that can be discovered in this way and I fully support what GT Academy and Nissan are doing here. Good luck to all contestants.