Formula GT Write Up

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Blake

Blake

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Australia
NSW, Australia
haswell00
This is my first write-up in GTP so I'll hope for the best.

League: Proffesional
Championship: Formula GT
Car: Polyphony002
Competitors: Polyphony001; Polyphony001; Polyphony001; Polyphony002; Polyphony002

I will add a new race every 2-3 days untill I have completed the championship.

Race 1: Midfield Raceway

Qualifying

The "Haswell Racing Team" arrived on satuday ready for qualifying. I bit of tweaking in the garage and the car was ready for the flying lap. When the silver Polyphony002 got out on the track it was flying. After the first racing lap it set the best time of the entire weekend, 55.124 secs (not great but anyway), putting it on pole for sunday raceday.

Raceday

On the warm up session before the race HRT tested the tyre durability and decided on a 9 lap pit strategy.

The Race

The HRT's Polyphony002 got a poor start and had to veer to the left to avoid ruining it's weekend with a rear-ender of the start. It soon caught up though and after taking an excelent line around turn 1 was neck and neck with 1st place. At the first set of chicanes the HRT car was well ahead and by the end of the frst lap had developed a 3 second buffer over 2nd.
Since everyone was running a 9 lap strategy The pits were really busy on lap 9, but the HRT car was 28 seconds ahead by that time and got a clear run through the pits.
On lap 15 Blake Haswell, the only owner driver in the championship, caught up to the back of the field and on the front straight going into lap 16 took both of them out.
By lap 18 Haswell almost had the front runners in his sight for the overlap. He pitted in and lost sight of them (since they were only just beggining lap 18 as he pitted).
After a quick pitstop the HRT car was out and running again and when the pack of 001's pitted he could see one of them. The sight of the competition seemed to give him extra vigger (sp?) and by lap 22 they were all off the leading lap.
Lap 23 had just been completed and Haswell was about to take the 002's again. Around the final section of the track it was easily done but they unlapped themselves (to one lap behind) when the HRT Team made a shock pitstop on lap 24. This would ultimatly help them as they would have no slow laps on worn tires. They quickly relapped the 002's and finished the race a lap before the 2nd runner.

Results

1st. Polyphony 002 - 29'58.832
2nd. Polyphony 001 - 1 Lap
3rd. Polyphony001 - 1 Lap
4th. Polyphony 001 - 1 lap
5th. Polyphony 002 - 2 Laps
6th. Polyphony 002 - 2 Laps

Thank you and I hope you enjoyed our coverage of the Midfield GP.
 
Race 2: Seattle Circuit

Qualifying

Being the first street circuit of the season all the teams were nervous, escpecially HRT who had had bad luck the previous season concerning tire wear. They left the garage with the entire crew nervously watching the screens as Haswell went for his flying lap. Around turn 6 things almost came undone as the car went sideways but it was only just kept under control. HRT were dissapointed with the lap but it was still good enough to earn pole, a 1'17.064

Raceday

With the problems that occured around turn 6 the crew decided that the rear end needed to be lifted to improve downforce. They found that this dramatically improved the stability and assured that the car would not come undone for the entire weekend. HRT decided on a 7 lap strategy while the rest of the field opted for 9 laps. This would mean an extra pit stop but would help with the tire wear issues from last season.

The Race

The lights went green and the race was on, again Haswell's 002 got a poor start dropping down to 4th but he quickly made those positions up around the first corner. Infact he gained such a lead that lap that his closest rival was 4 seconds behind.
The action was pretty much non-existant untill the pit stops came into play. Since HRT went in two laps before anyone else they didn't have to deal with poor laps due to tire wear and gained 7 seconds out of the pitstops.
The race was again pretty monotonous with Blake's lead extending, untill lap 20 when he passed one of the 002's while it was in pit lane. The other was caught in braking around turn 1.
At the end of lap 21 Haswell was scheduled to pit, and when he did one of the 002's took back his lap. As soon as Haswell came out of the pits the other took him in braking but Blake had the better line and got his spot back.
A lap later and Blake takes the next 002 around turn 8. He seems to get faster for no particular reason and on lap 26 he puts down a 1'14.038, the fastest lap of the entire weekend!
On lap 30 the oil light goes on the cars signefying that 300 km's of racing has occured in the season, the engines have gone past there warrantee and any damage must now be paid for by the teams.
The HRT's 002 takes out a 001 and now only has 2 cars to lap before the field has been taken care of. He tries and tries and almost ruins his weekend trying to take the next one. When he has a close encounter he decides to think of the championship and takes it safe.

Results

1st. Polyphony002 - 53'03.940
2nd. Polyphony001 - +1'12.196
3rd. Polyphony001 - + 1'16.768
4th. Polyphony001 - 1 Lap
5th. Polyphony002 - 1 Lap
6th. Polyphony002 - 1 Lap

Championship

1st. Polyphony002 - 20
2nd. Polyphony001 - 12
3rd. Polyphony001 - 8
4th. Polyphony001 - 6
5th. Polyphony002 - 4
6th. Polyphony002 - 2

The Seattle Sprint is proudly brough to you by Pepsi MAX
 
Excellent work so far!

It's funny, I've done a lot of writeups, but when it came to the FGT, I just couldn't do it. For one thing, the races were too long to remember, and I also ran them a week or more apart. But really, that was the first time that I had driven an F1 car, and the pace was just so quick that I couldn't retain the events of a race well enough to write up.

Great jobs! I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
 
I agree with duke on this one. Great job so far! Keep it up! Oh and . . . Haswell! Haswell! Haswell! I can hear the stands chanting it.
 
Good job mate. What a coincidence(I am pretty sure I spelled that wrong, I better add it to my spelling list for english!)You team name has the same initial's or whatever as Holden racing team.:lol:
 
Yes, just a coincidence............I hope no-one comes after me with a law suite.
 
Race 3: Grand Valley Speedway

Qualifying

Having arived late on saturaday the team had no time for testing so they had to use the settups from last season which weren't up to date with camber of many of the corners this year. Haswell set off out of the pits with some smoke out of the tires and some hope in his eyes. A good lap of 1'29.225 put him in pole position for the race.

Raceday

Since HRT had no testing on saturday they spent the warm up session putting some last adjustments on the car for the race.

The Race

As usual HRT had a poor start putting them down to fourth, on the first turn Haswell had a semi-spin putting him in last position. Haswell urgently turned himself around severly damaging the rear tires but leaving him within 10 seconds of the front runners. He urgently pulled as many tricks as he could to catch up and on turn 10 5th and on turn 14 was up to 4th position.
On turn 2, lap 2 Haswell took a dangerous line and scared the 3rd 001 out of 3rd and into 4th. Haswell kept on pushing the dangerous line through the esses and by the hair pin he was into 1st place, but the 2nd placing 001 was battling for 1st and on lap 4 Haswell spun under the pressure and was put down to 4th.
On the same lap he spun again landing himself in 6th with some very worn tires. The next lap he pitted and the race looked like it was over. On lap 6 the rest of the field pitted and Haswell was into 4th after taking care of the 002's while they were in pitlane.
Lap 7 comes around and so does a 1'28.641 by Haswell putting down the weekends first 1'28.xxx. On lap 8 Haswell can see the 3rd placing 001 and on lap 9 he takes 3rd place for himself.
On lap 10 Haswell late brakes and is put into the sand and into 4th, he then pits for the second time of the race.
Haswell spins AGAIN on lap 12 around turn 1 but cathces up quicly and when the others pit he moves into 3rd. On lap 13 after a long battle Blake moved into 2nd and was on the tail of first.
On lap 15 that position was realised but due to tire wear he had to give it up and he pitted later in that lap moving again into 4th. The rest of the field pits in on lap 18 and the HRT car is in first, but the position has to be given up when they pit, Haswell moves back to the end of the pack.
Another spin for Haswell on lap 21 around Turn 10. On lap 24 everyone in the field pits - the race is on!
Haswell moves into 3rd after a long battle, probably too long for Haswell's needs. He keeps catching and on lap 27 Blake tries to play tango with 2nd place and halfway through the lap Haswll is in 2nd. He then puts the foot down drifting around the corners trying to get as close as possible to first place but he just misses out on the win by 2 seconds.

Results

1st. Polyphony001 - 43'19.798
2nd. Polyphony002 - + 0'02.017
3rd. Polyphony001 - + 0'03.412
4th. Polyphony001 - + 0'09.363
5th. Polyphony002 - + 1'12.662
6th. Polyphony002 - + 1'15.234

Championship

1st. Polyphony002 - 26
2nd. Polyphony001 - 16
3rd. Polyphony001 - 15
4th. Polyphony001 - 12
5th. Polyphony002 - 6
6th. Polyphony002 - 3

The Grand Valley GP is 100% backed by Sony
 
Race 4: Super Speedway

Qualifying

The first oval of the season had teams excited and ready for a very close finish. The settups for the weekend were nothing special except for the HRT team who had exceptionally high downforce for a short-course oval. They tested out the settings and on the flying lap of qualifying they grabbed a 25.820 and 1st spot on the starting grid.

Raceday

In the warm-up session before the race HRT changed their gear ratio's so they would 6th gear free of use except for drifting. They tested this but with poor results, without any time for changing the gears the parked the car on the grid.

The Race

The noise of the engines was so great you couldn't here the lights go out, and the smoke from everyone's tires was so great that the racers became invisible. When the racers came out of the haze Haswell was down in 5th but after the first turn he was in 1st but 2nd wasn't going to let it slip this race, he had tasted victory.
By lap 6 the positions hadn't changed but with Haswell on such bad tyres he had to give up 1st before entering the pits for the first time.
By lap 9 the field had sorted itself out and Haswell was in good shape, 2 seconds above the competition. Lap 13 rolled around and Haswell pits, 5 seconds ahead of the competition.
The field eventually sorted itself out and again Haswell was well ahead and on lap 19 Haswell laps a 002 whilke it is pit lane, but on the next lap it took back the lane as Haswell pits for the 3rd time.
As Haswell comes out of the pits he is neck and neck with the 5th placing 002 and around the last corner he takes him and pulls into 5th. The next time around that same corner, Haswell moves into 4th by taking out the next 002.
Lap 24 and a 001 pits, Blake takes him and moves into 3rd. Next lap and the next 001 pits and a 002 pits aswell, Haswell moves into 2nd.
Lap 26 and the final 001 pits and the next 002 aswell, Haswell tastes first place again but it short lived as he pits on 27. Haswell comes out in 4th and the pit games continue to be played.
By Haswell's next pit, on lap 34, he had worked hiself into 3rd. On lap 41 Haswell pits in again and is lapped by the two leading 001's and he moves into 5th. On lap 43 Haswell takes back 4th and as cars pit he moves into 3rd.
On lap 45 Haswell is in 3rd and only 3 seconds behind, deciding victory is to close he decides to run the rest of the race on his worn tires. On lap 49 he gets put into 4th, 7 seconds behind 1st. On the final lap it is no longer a battle for victory, but a battle with a lapped 002.

Results

1st. Polyphony001 - 25'57.645
2nd. Polyphony001 - + 0'00.494
3rd. Polyphony001 - + 0'05.133
4th. Polyphony002 - + 0'09.882
5th. Polyphony002 - 1 Lap
6th. Polyphony002 - 1 Lap

Championship

1st. Polyphony002 - 29
2nd. Polyphony001 - 25
3rd. Polyphony001 - 22
4th. Polyphony001 - 16
5th. Polyphony002 - 8
6th. Polyphony002 - 4

The Super Speedway Sprint is proudly supported by Bridgestone - Know the road
 
It's time to get back on your horse, though. You can't afford many more second place finishes.

Does anyone else find it interesting that the same cars finish in the same possitions everytime even though they're the same car? It's almost as if there are different AIs or car configurations or something.
 
Originally posted by LoudMusic
It's time to get back on your horse, though. You can't afford many more second place finishes.

Does anyone else find it interesting that the same cars finish in the same possitions everytime even though they're the same car? It's almost as if there are different AIs or car configurations or something.
Click to expand...

Unless you knock one out of their position. :lol: But, I've noticed the same thing also.
 
Yes I do need to pick up my pace a bit. I won't be doing a race tonight I have WAY WAY WAY to much homework for one night and I have NO free time.
 
Originally posted by Blake
Yes I do need to pick up my pace a bit. I won't be doing a race tonight I have WAY WAY WAY to much homework for one night and I have NO free time.
Click to expand...

Hey, I know that feeling. Sure does suck, doesn't it? :banghead:
 
It does, it does.:(

I think I will do another race this weekend, BTW what is no. 5 in the FGT?
 
Im on race 8 at the moment. Ive won all the races except 1, which I quit coz I couldn't be bothered.

Interesting challenge: Try getting a sub-1 minute lap at Laguna Seca. Involves a lot of setup adjustment and it took me over 25 laps to do, but my final fastest was in the race with a 57.342second lap. Did get some slipstream that lap though.;)
 
what is the american equivelant of the 002 and 001s? what F1 car would you guys suggest for the american version, im thinking F094/s is the best bet so far, but i also have f688, f090, f094/h, and f687. which is the best to use for this series?
 
Originally posted by mynameisbob28
what is the american equivelant of the 002 and 001s? what F1 car would you guys suggest for the american version, im thinking F094/s is the best bet so far, but i also have f688, f090, f094/h, and f687. which is the best to use for this series?
Click to expand...

Heres the equivilants:

P001=F094/s
P002=F688/s

The F094/s is the best F1 in GT3 to have, conquecidentally"SP" its the one you'll want to use for the FGT series. The F094/H is slightly slower than the F094/s.

But if your looking for a challenge or some fun the F090/s "725hp" can win all of the FGT races. + The replays rule since you can use the drivers perspective view :) "wish the F094/s had that view"
 
i have spent hours doing this race and only managed to get further and further behind as the stages rolled on...

i have only ever won 1 or 2 stages out of the entire series...

my problem is my tyre/pit strategy...

milefile, what do you do here?

cheers
TS
 
Originally posted by neon_duke
Excellent work so far!

It's funny, I've done a lot of writeups, but when it came to the FGT, I just couldn't do it. For one thing, the races were too long to remember, and I also ran them a week or more apart. But really, that was the first time that I had driven an F1 car, and the pace was just so quick that I couldn't retain the events of a race well enough to write up.

Great jobs! I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
Click to expand...
When I did the FGT the races just sort of happened and I managed to win (the championship) without winning a single race. All seconds and a third if I remmeber correctly. I think its because the competition is at a high standard, one car rarely wins all the races.
 
I never had any problems with the FGT races, I actually enjoyed doing them other than the lack luster AI.
I think it would have been more challenging if the AI would actually drive to some kind of decent pace with the human player.
I would have liked it even more if the races were 10 or 15 laps longer, except for monaco 78 lapper is a nice race distance.
 
The whole thing what a bit easy, I used the Poly 001 because it was the only F1 car i had. I couldn't be arsed with the last race though, I'll do it as my last race ever probably.
 
I should really get back onto doing this. I'll dust off my GT3 disk and give it a whirl because it's school holidays now. I haven't done the Monaco race in FGT yet. I'm not looking forward to it because of the constant pitstops.
 

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