- 94
GRAN TURISMO ALL STARS
Hi everyone, this is my first write up so if you will be kind enough to leave some feedback Good or bad.
QUALIFYING- I only do one lap qualifying, F1 style. If I do badly I don't retry.
A-SPEC POINTS- 91
CAR- Pescarolo Playstation C-60 Judd, 04
ROUND 1- High Speed Ring; An easy beginning
An easy race from start to finish on this Nascar-esque circuit. After qualifying first, I started on the right side of the front row. Following the start I moved to the inside to block the quicker Sauber C9. A slight nudge that followed was the only excitement of this otherwise uneventful race. It was smooth sailing from there on. I never had to push hard and the Sauber seemed content to hold back the others and finish second.
Result- Pescarolo-Sauber-Jaguar-Nissan-Minolta-Toyota70
Feeling/mood after the race- Cautiously optimistic
Surprise of the race- Toyota Minolta finishing that far behind. I expected Minolta to challenge Sauber, but to be beaten by Jaguar and Nissan leaves a lot to be desired.
ROUND 2- Fuji Speedway 80s; An indifferent volcano
A race that belonged to the Sauber. Starting on pole the Sauber C9 remained untouched and led from start to finish. Nissan and I had contractual obligation to mown the grass on every corner, while the Jaguar and Minolta were out on a Sunday family cruise. After running wide on the first corner I had qualified third, and as far as the race goes, I made a mistake on every single lap. But oddly enough so did the others and hence I finished second. Another lonely drive by Toyota 70 who did just enough to bring the car home.
Results- Sauber-Pescarolo-Nissan-Minolta-Jaguar-Toyota70
Mood/Feeling after the race- Whatever
Surprise of the race- None actually. Mt. Fuji looked beautiful though.
ROUND 3- Laguna Seca, Race of the season
This was by far the best race of the season. After a poor qualifying lap filled with errors, I placed 5 on the grid. Incredible first couple of laps saw me playing cat and mouse with Jaguar for 4th place. We changed places three times until I finally pulled the decisive move. Then I engulfed the typically uninterested Minolta on the next lap to begin my chase for the Sauber for second place. Nissan was already 5.2sec ahead. Sauber fell on lap 4 but I made a mistake immediately after and he regained his spot. On the next lap I put the same move on him, on the same corner (corner 5) but this time made it stick. Then began the amazing race for the 1 place. With 2.5 laps remaining Nissan was already 4 seconds ahead. But I pushed hard on lap 5 and came within a second of him at the start of lap six. I overtook him after the first corner but ala Sauber he overtook me back within the next two corners. But I was soon behind him and tucked up nicely for a move on the first corner of the last lap. And this time I made no mistake. Drove cautiously for the remainder of the final lap and won the most exciting race of the season. Hope the fans loved it.
Result- Pescarolo-Nissan-Sauber-Minolta-Jaguar-Toyota70
Mood after the race- content, fulfilled
Surprise- Nissan completely outperforming the Sauber.
Round 4- Autumn ring; Resurrection of Minolta
A race filled with surprises and excitement. The apathetic Minolta finally woke up and completely blew away the pretenders, Toyota70 race car was lapped and tire wear proved to be a factor on this circuit. Considering that this is a track I am unfamiliar with, I was surprised to qualify on pole. And judging by the pace of first few laps I thought this would be an easy sailing for me, but man was I wrong. I build a healthy lead in the first 3 laps but then the unthinkable happened. The generally indifferent Minolta stared making progress through the field and caught up to me and overtook me on lap 5. After the initial shock of seeing the sexy Minolta bum in front of me I regained my composure and was back in the lead after the hairpin. But the Minolta was running with grit and determination unheard of in recent years. His aggressive overtaking maneuver put him back in the lead and he stayed there till the end. Soon after surrendering the lead my tire gave up on me and I spun 3 times on the final lap. All except the amazingly mediocre Jaguar and jaded Toyota 70 overtook me and I finished at my worst spot of the season.
Results- Minolta-Sauber-Nissan-Pescarolo-Jaguar-Toyota70 (lap down)
Mood- Shocked
Surprise- Firstly tire wear. I didnt realize tire wear would be a factor in any of the race but more so I didnt knew it was possible to be lapped in this series.
Round 5-Test Course; A photo finish.
I dont know what use qualifying would be on this throttle-down track but I did it anyways. And its clear that Pescarolo is not the most powerful car. I qualified 4, running in clear air (no drafting) and for the record my Pescarolo C-60 Judd reached a top speed of 371 km/hr. (no tranny trick, running on stock settings) Nissan 92 car qualified on pole beating both Sauber and Minolta. I started well, using top three cars for tow and reached a top speed of 397km/hr under slip stream!!!! But then I hit the barrier as I tried to avoid the Sauber which put me back into 4. Using the same old slipstream trick I was soon in the lead and drove on a different line so as to not give slipstream advantage to anyone. Not sure if it helped because I lost by 0.018 sec in the end while the 5th place Jaguar was only 0.811 sec behind. A close race, but thats not unusual for this track.
Result- Sauber-Pescarolo-Nissan-Minolta-Jaguar-Toyota70
Mood after the race- Reasonably satisfied, although the overall standing is too close for comfort
Suprise- Well not really a surprise but I am happy to reach almost 397km/hr with stock tuning and setting.
STANDINGS after Round 5:-
Sauber Mercedes C9 36
Playstation Pescarolo C-60, - 35
Minolta Toyota 88C-V- 21
Nissan R92CP- 21
Jaguar XJR-9-12
Toyota 7, 70- 5
Any updates yet? Your report reminded me I wanted to do this again with the BMW MacLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97. I'm on a quest to win as many Series as possible WITH the Prize Car from that series! (wWhich I did today! 👍 )...O.G. 
to Nissan.
