GT Academy: Introduction and Round 1

The seventh annual GT Academy competition is under way and it has brought along some changes to the format. What's on offer is still the same - an opportunity for a Gran Turismo player to become a real-life racing driver. The competition is split into three regions: GT Academy Europe, GT Academy Asia and GT Academy International for other territories. For the first time in the history of GT Academy, the 'race camp' for the successful participants will be hosted at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, as opposed to Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire, England. The winner of the competition will have the chance to participate in the 2016 Blancpain Endurance Season driving the GT3-spec Nismo GT-R.

Qualifying for GT Academy starts off with four time trial events. Round 1 has kicked off today with the following rounds scheduled to begin every two weeks, so the final round opens June 2nd. The debut event is set in the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit with the player being given a Nissan GT-R NISMO with GT Academy decals. Am I not right in saying it is a massive step up from the Nissan Leaf from last year? If round one kicks off with a supercar, imagine what round 4 will be like!

Getting back to the present, the first round is often the least difficult, but getting a Gold does require getting used to the handling of the GT-R. Progressing to round 2 requires the player to obtain the bronze trophy, setting a lap time of 2:20. For a bigger challenge, 2:13 awards you with a silver trophy and a 2:11 gets you a Gold trophy. If you want to be one of the highest ranking players on the global leader board, a lap time closer to the two minute mark is your aim.

Now the main thing you need to be aware of is that the GT-R is over 1.7 tonnes, making it a heavy car. Even with Sports-Soft tyres, the Nismo is very prone to understeer. On the plus side, the four wheel drive system is able to keep the car stable through corners at high speed, so the key to getting a fast lap time around a track like Silverstone is to hit every apex and use as much of the track as possible. Along sweeping corners, you would want to be as close to the inside kerb to get a better run out of the corner to utilise all the 600 horsepower the car has got to offer.

After a number of laps, some to learn the characteristics of the GT-R around Silverstone and explore the limits (a better way to say 'going off track') I managed to put in a 2:10.901, less than a tenth under the time required for gold. Being a user of a Dualshock 3 controller puts me at a disadvantage to some of the more skilled wheel users, so I'm satisfied with that result. 

Be sure to check out Frize Feed in a couple of weeks featuring a post about round 2! With the way difficulty escalates in GT Academy, I don't expect to post a gold medal time, but who knows what could happen!