To answer your question Jordan, going through the entire week I always was thinking my speed was lacking ever since the first benchmark. We were never shown our final benchmark times so I was still worried on the final day, that I would maybe have to fight in the dogfight for my spot in the final, possibly because my lack in speed. When I got the pole I was relieved but I still thought the final race was going to be very close and well fought. My experience in the quadrathalon on the International circuit helped a lot for the final race, and I was able to get up to speed quickly and pull away. Also when I began to see Mark and Alex battle in my mirrors, I was able to relax and really begin to push and pull away.
iName, I would say there are a couple similarities to GT to real life driving, but there are obviously major differences as well. Growing up I was always playing Gran Turismo just to get valuable time behind the (virtual) wheel. When a person is playing Gran Turismo it helps a lot prepare for real life racing, every corner you have to go through a process understanding what the car is doing and what you as a driver need to do. Playing the game helps teach your mind how to process information quickly and get faster. On a video game this is actually more difficult than in real life, because on a video game all you have is your hands, eyes, and ears trying to get a sense of the car, when I am behind the wheel in the GTR GT3 I have all those plus, most importantly, my body in the seat. I can feel with my butt what the car is doing. An example of this is on the game going through the corner if I begin to slide I have to hear it, see it, or feel it with my hands but with the real car, I have all that, plus much sooner I can FEEL the rear tires beginning to slip.
Also in real life there is no reset button, which makes real life driving more fun, but also more intense!
Tijee, a few things I have learned in my driver development program that helped a lot even on the simulator is definitely the importance of smoothness, and not trying to overdrive. I know that many times a person wants to carry that extra 1/2 mph through a corner, but if you are fighting the car all the way on exit, that extra tenth you gained is now lost and you would have been better being smooth in, getting on the power earlier and carrying that speed out. These two things I would say have been the biggest things that have helped me improve in the virtual world as well.
After all, road racing is just drag racing from corner to corner!
Congrats! 
Congrats!! All the best to you going forward!! 👍👍
