GTPlanet’s WRS to Host Special Event the Weekend of May 3rd

Written by DGambino1 | posted in GTPlanet News Feed | 0 Comments

WRS Online Special Event II

On the weekend of May 3rd, WRS online will host its second special event on the GT6 platform. Titled “Moff’s Triple Mix“, the event will feature 3 races of 18 laps each, at the DTM layout of the Nurburgring GP circuit. But wait, there’s more! The catch is that participants will use a different car in each race, with each car having a different drivetrain layout. Cars featured are the MR Layout ’99 Lotus Motorsport Elise, the FR Layout Mazda Roadster Touring Car, and the FF Layout Honda CR-Z Touring Car. The cars will carry stock configurations, and tuning is prohibited for this event.

Only current members of the GTP_Registry are eligible to participate. Interested members should visit the race thread to register for the event. If you’re not yet in our registry, but interested in participating in this or any of our online events, visit the qualifier thread and follow the instructions.

WRS Time Trials

Week 14 of the GT6 WRS Time Trials is posted and ready for your to post some splits. We’re visiting a favorite city track this week, the streets of the London circuit. Titled ’221B Baker Street’, the combo uses an old favorite for the car as well, the ’98 Subaru Impreza STi Coupe. The leaderboard is already lighting up, with 16 drivers having times and the top 6 drivers separated by less than 3 tenths, as of this posting.

While Week 14 is up and running, Week 13 is not finished yet. The event deadline is today at 11:59 PM GMT, don’t forget to submit if you’ve been running. There’s some very close action on our leaderboard, with 52 drivers in total, and the top 5 separated by less than 5 tenths.

Week 12 Results are not yet official, but the top times have all been verified. We had a great turnout for the first rally event on GT6, with 41 drivers submitting a time. Congrats to the event podiums. Race Admin GTP_Vagabond took the overall win, while GTP_Ghostdriver and D2 Driver GTP_Argon rounded out the podium.

Check out this video by GTP_Vagabond, with the event winning lap!

WRS Online Events

WRS Online will host the 13th weekly race of GT6 on this Wednesday, ‘The Ultaimte Enduro’. It’s once again based on the Weekly Time Trial, and will feature the ’66 Ford Mk1 GT40 at Spa Francorchamps. The event will follow our traditional format, with a timed qualification, followed by a feature race of about 1 hour.

If you’re interested in participating, be sure and visit the race thread and follow the instructions to register for the event in your time zone! We continue to host races in 3 convenient time slots, and one (or more) of these should work for most members in most regions:

• 3:00 PM Eastern / 12:00 PM Pacific / 20:00 GMT
• 10:00 PM Eastern / 7:00 PM Pacific / 3:00 AM GMT
• 3:00 AM Eastern / 12:00 AM Pacific / 8:00 AM GMT / 7:00 PM AEDST / 10:00 PM NZ

What’s Next?

If you’re interested in joining the GTP_Registry to take advantage of the events we are offering, here’s what to do:

• Run the GTP WRS Qualifier. The registry is open to submissions at this time, and divisional placement is required to participate in our events.
• Have questions? Anything related to the qualifier can be discussed in this thread.

Source: GTPlanet’s WRS to Host Special Event the Weekend of May 3rd

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GT Academy 2014 Online Qualifier: Round 1 Starts Now

Written by DGambino1 | posted in GTPlanet News Feed | 0 Comments

GT Academy is back – and it’s bigger, badder and will likely be more competitive than ever before.

Round 1 starts today with a relatively simple single lap time trial in the Nissan Leaf electric car around the 1.2 mile Brands Hatch Indy circuit – an exercise in preservation of momentum and minimal braking in a car equipped with both a CVT and low friction comfort hard tyres.

While some driving aids are available, active steering and skid recovery force are both disabled for the event. The required times for each grade are:

• Gold: 1’05.500
• Silver: 1’07.000
• Bronze: 1’12.000

Participants also get credits towards their GT6 career, with up to 500,000cr available for those who gold the event while sporting a 200% login bonus.

Visit our GT Academy 2014 forum for more discussion and analysis!

Source: GT Academy 2014 Online Qualifier: Round 1 Starts Now

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Nick McMillen – My Journey: Monza Accomplished!

Written by DGambino1 | posted in GTPlanet News Feed | 0 Comments

This guest contribution is by Nick McMillen, 2013 United States GT Academy Champion. This is the account of his journey as one of the newest Nismo Athletes. Look out for future articles from our racing driver contributor coming soon as he experiences and progresses through his professional career.

Going from couch gamer to racing driver has been quite the process over the last nine months, but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

Knowing that all the training and the sim sessions were leading to a full season of the Blancpain Endurance Series, racing the Nissan NISMO GT-R GT3, really kept me wanting to push harder. After all of the training – and of course racing in the Dubai 24 Hours in the 370Z – it was exciting to finally get to Monza for my first race in the GT3 GT-R.

Being Bronze-ranked drivers means that me, Florian and Miguel get an extra practice session before the Blancpain races. It’s a great way to get to know a new track and get a feel for the race weekend. The test was a nice, no pressure situation I feel I benefited from greatly as I was able to establish a nice base before needing to put in 100 percent for Saturday.

I didn’t sleep much on Friday night due to the excitement and my allergies trying to suffocate me so I needed a little adrenaline to wake me up. There is nothing like hopping in a 550+ horsepower car to wake you up in the morning. Better than any cup of coffee I’ve ever had.

The first practice session was like the previous Bronze test, going out to get a better feel for the car and track. Messing around with braking points, lines, etc. trying to drop the lap times greatly before fine tuning them in. My pace seemed to be fairly decent but I felt there was some work to do knowing Alex Buncombe was still over a second quicker than me.

Qualifying came around and I was very anxious to go out in the car first and set my first fastest lap of the season! But, as soon as I hit the pit limiter to enter the track it felt like I was driving with the brakes on. The drivers behind me are probably thinking to themselves, “What is this kid doing? Does he realize this is qualifying?”

I had to pit for the team to check the car over. Once fixed it was on its way but with Alex Buncombe behind the wheel. On his second fast lap Alex was on it. Green in the first two sectors; this was the lap to put us up near the front. Unfortunately, a Bentley crushed its nose on the exit of the first Ascari corner and our greatly needed fast lap.

We sat 32nd on the time sheets. We knew there was going to be some work to do to come from that far back on the grid to a decent position. There was nothing we could change come Sunday other than we knew what needed to be done. Put in fast and consistent laps. Don’t waste time with traffic and don’t push the car so hard that the tires fall off halfway through the stint.

The plan was to have Alex in the car first, myself second, and German GT Academy 2013 winner Florian Strauss finishing the race. The start of the race came around in no time and it could not have come any sooner for me. You could tell Alex was determined to put in an impressive start, and my God was it all that and more.

We were 15th after the first chicane. Did I mention we started 32nd? I’ve never seen a start like that in my life and the onboard footage is almost unbelievable.

Al brought the car to me in 11th place so finally it was my turn. It all came down to this, all my preparation was finally going to be put to use. No more messing around in practice sessions. The racing is what really counts. I feel at home when it comes to racing. I love the pressure to perform well.

It was go time! I settled in to a decent pace not far off of Alex’s race pace. I was surprised with myself but I knew I needed to just do my job and keep pushing forward.

I kept at it, wasting no time with traffic and trying to hit my mark every lap. I knew there were a couple pro cars behind me that were catching slowly. I wasn’t letting them by easy though and even surprised myself that I wasn’t far off their pace after them getting by me.

I had passed a couple cars in my class and was running second at one point. I hear on the radio “First is four seconds ahead of you. You’re catching him!” I thought to myself, “No way! I’m actually tracking down first!”

The third place Ferrari had caught me though. It was a battle not giving him much room to make a pass by me. I had an absolute blast giving him a run for his money. He was just a bit quicker down the straights than me and got me into the first chicane. I tucked in behind and we went after the first place BMW. I struggled for grip and was pushing too hard to maintain a good pace.

Grip was low and the tires were gone. I fell back and the two got away from me. I was so close to a three way battle for first. I had had good run with nothing to be disappointed in but it was time to bring it in. I brought the car in for second place (I think one of the other leaders had pitted by now) and Florian hopped in the car.

We had a strong chance at a podium. Al, the team, and I were excited we might just pull this off. Things were going well until we had to save some fuel to make sure we could get to the end. Lap times dropped a little and a couple of the cars behind us were absolutely flying.

By the end though we were caught and finished up with a 5th in class, 13th overall. The team was excited to have pulled off a good race.

I have learned so much in one race weekend to carry through to my future races. I can’t thank Nissan and the whole GT Academy/RJN Motorsport crew enough.

My dream was made a reality this past weekend. I proved to myself I could run up front bit I know I still have a lot to work on. It’s going to be a fun ride and I can’t wait to head to Silverstone next month for the second round.

I hope I’m here to stay awhile.

_______

P.S. – As most of you know GT Academy 2014 starts Monday! I’m very excited for the new crop of talent to have a go at becoming a racing driver for Nissan and be one of my fellow teammates. I will be supporting all of you and expect only your best. It took me two attempts to get to the finals in GT Academy and I honestly never thought I’d win the whole thing. I was just trying to make it to Silverstone and look where I’m at now.

If you really do believe you have a shot at winning then put in one hundred percent effort starting now. There’s no screwing around in this business once you get to the real thing. Silverstone is just a taste of what it will be like if you win. They are looking for the most fit, hard working, personable, and marketable person out there who won’t be a one hit wonder but will have a future in motorsport. Remember, you will be representing Nissan on a world scale.

I want everyone to go for it! It’s a once in a lifetime shot and an incredible opportunity. Even making it to national finals or especially Silverstone finals you will have the time of your life. If any of you have questions, concerns, etc. you can always send me a message. I’m here to help and hope to be around as much as I can for the whole process. I will definitely be putting in some laps to see how I stack up against you all. Look out for a “How to win GT Academy” article in the near future.

Now go get it!

Source: Nick McMillen – My Journey: Monza Accomplished!

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GTPlanet Weekly Rewind: Moon Over The Castle

Written by DGambino1 | posted in GTPlanet News Feed | 0 Comments

We’re two weeks away from what could possibly be – and I can’t stress that “possibly” enough – the most profound Gran Turismo 6 update yet involving the career of Ayrton Senna. May 1st will mark the 20th anniversary of his passing, and it’s on record that Polyphony Digital has plans laid out to celebrate the anniversary with Senna-related content.

To go one step further, Polyphony has recently reaffirmed those plans to release content that will celebrate Senna’s F1 career. The question, and you should be well aware of where this is headed, quickly and assuredly becomes “When?”.

GTPlanet Picture of the Week

This week’s featured image, courtesy of drvac, features the WMD community-designed Marek RP 339H (PM06a) LMP1-class race car that will be featured in the upcoming simulation racing title Project CARS.

Have a suggestion for next week’s featured image? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Picture of the Week”, and fill it out with your two choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.

Polyphony Fights Back; Measures Taken Against GT6 Modders!

Hybrids, hacking, modding – call it what you will, the practice of fiddling with the car stable of Gran Turismo outside the usual confines of the game is almost as old as the series itself.

But in this online era of gaming, these methods can have a dramatic effect on the community and mutual trust between gamers – for every “realistic replica” creator or Lunar Rover addict there’s a whole mess of individuals who just want masses of horsepower or to cheat their way to the top of the Seasonal Event leaderboards.

This is why modders of all stripes are waking up this morning to find their access to GT6′s online sections curtailed as Sony take action against the practice:

Notice of Account Ban Measures
We have recently confirmed usage of illicitly modified game data in the online services of Gran Turismo 6, and the relevant accounts have now been banned from the service.

Hereafter, these Online IDs will no longer be able to access the online features of Gran Turismo 6.

Please be aware that usage of illicitly modified game data and any mischievous conduct against other players using such data are strictly prohibited, and will be subject to penalties as soon as they are found.

We ask everyone for their continued understanding and support.

GTPlanet Quiz of the Week

The eighth week is upon us, and the question is and forever will be, how much do you know?

1. This classic 80′s TV show had to refrain from using the Trans Am name as people were going into Pontiac dealers asking for a trim level that didn’t exist.

2. Can you identify this car?

3. When did Ferrari make their official Gran Turismo debut?

Clues will be provided if necessary. The official thread is up and running and has finally been updated but there’s still work to be done. Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Quiz of the Week”, answering in the comments section does not count, and share your answers.

GTPlanet Vehicle of the Week

John Davis is a sight for sore eyes; a sight I haven’t seen since MotorWeek stopped being televised on Speedvision. Moving forward, this week’s featured vehicle, recommended to us by dice1998, features yet another vehicle that Mazda aficionados and Gran Turismo junkies alike will be most familiar with, the Mazda MX-5.

Have a suggestion for next week’s featured vehicle? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Vehicle of the Week” and fill it out with your two choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.

GTPlanet Tune of the Week

This week’s featured tune, recommended to us by tuning aficionado danbojte and courtesy of Ridox2JZGTE of RIDOX Replicas Garage, features the 2008 Maserati GranTurismo S.

The MC Trofeo replica in particular is a kind of East meets West, with parts taken from Japan to make this Italian beauty completely transformed. I decided to use Fortune Auto coilover as the single rate suspension and adjustable damper setup information of the real MC Trofeo is unknown. Nevertheless, this replica managed to replicate the 2013 lap time at Silverstone International very closely.

Weight is at 1450kg ( 50kg heavier ) as I wanted to replicate the real weight distribution, and this does not affect the target lap time that I wanted to replicate at all. Also included above is 2014 power figure at 500HP, simply use 100% power limiter. Improve body rigidity is mandatory this time, as it’s beneficial when racing tires are fitted. Any road cars in GT6 can use racing tire with no issues, all it takes is proper body rigidity level and suspension + LSD tuning to make the whole package works in harmony.

Victory is the name of the game as usual and if it’s a deserving victory that you’re after and you want to do so while using the proven finesse of an Italian sports car, then you’ll want to stop by and see the tune for yourself!

Exactly like the Picture and Vehicle of the Week features, if you have any suggestions for the upcoming Rewinds be sure to drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Tune of the Week” and let me know. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.

GTPlanet Photomode Competitions

- Coming Soon!

Closing Thoughts

This past week I decided to watch Dredd upon learning that Karl Urban was playing the Judge himself, as well as Jack Reacher. The latter being something I’ve been wanting to see for a while now since taking the dive with Oblivion, a dive that paid off terrifically if I say so myself. All I have to say is wow.

The remake of Dredd is better than the original film from 1995 starring Sylvester Stallone in every possible way imaginable. Not only because it’s closer to its comic book roots (from my understanding, I’ve never actually read Judge Dredd), it’s better because it really hones in on why Dredd is so feared. I don’t want to spoil anything for those who haven’t seen it yet, but let’s just say you don’t threaten him and get away with it.

Jack Reacher is the second film starring Tom Cruise that I’ve watched with no prior knowledge of what anything was going to be about since Oblivion, and the payoff was just as plentiful. While the movie can’t be summed up with what I’m about to show you, it’s more than capable of reeling you in.

I have never wanted a Chevelle SS so badly in my entire life. See both movies, you won’t regret it. They’re both on Amazon Instant Video if you have it, and I’m sure they can be found elsewhere if need be. I wouldn’t lie about a movie with a Chevelle SS in it, nor would I lie about one that has all the action one could want from the type of movie that Dredd is, and if you haven’t seen Oblivion then I’d highly suggest adding that to your watch list as well; the soundtrack alone is better than some entire movies on merit alone.

That’s about all from me for this week, and if you’re shouting at your monitor right now for any reason, please stop because I already have a headache. Until next week, keep racing!

GT6 Photomode images by Giulietta73, ZDUPH, and green1997.

Source: GTPlanet Weekly Rewind: Moon Over The Castle

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Ferrari F2007/F10 and Racing Cars Featured in Latest GT5 Time & Drift Trials

Written by DGambino1 | posted in GTPlanet News Feed | 0 Comments

The latest Seasonal Events are now available in Gran Turismo 5, featuring a series of two racing events exclusive to Ferrari’s F2007 and F10 Formula 1 cars with no more than 883PP and no better than Racing/Hard compounds or less for this week’s time trial, and racing cars with no better than Comfort/Soft compounds or less for this week’s drift trial.

This week’s challenges are as follows:

Time Trial No. 85

• 883PP Ferrari Formula Car: Grand Valley Speedway Time Trial
  Period of Availability: 2014/04/16 23:00 – 2014/04/30 23:00
  Gold: Cr.250,000 Silver: Cr.150,000 Bronze: Cr.100,000

Drift Trial No. 85

• Racing Cars: Eiger Nordwand Short Course / Reverse Drift Trial
  Period of Availability: 2014/04/16 23:00 – 2014/04/30 23:00
  Gold: Cr.250,000 Silver: Cr.150,000 Bronze: Cr.100,000

As always, stop by our GT5 Seasonal Events forum for more analysis and discussion!

GT5 Photomode image by Metalsun.

Source: Ferrari F2007/F10 and Racing Cars Featured in Latest GT5 Time & Drift Trials

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