GoldMan27
Retired Moderator/Car Enthusiast
Hello, everyone,
To some, you know why I'm making this thread, to others, you probably are wondering what this is all about. Well, to sum it up, I've been practicing racing on Need For Speed: Shift (a lesser known title of the NFS franchise), and have been doing so in preparation for Gran Turismo Sport, coming this November. Now you're probably asking why. Well, to simply put it (as some/most may/may not know), racing in GT Sport can give your the chance to essentially attain a legal race car driving license (or at least, certain aspects of it), which is due to in no small part the fact that GT Sport will be hosting FIA-sanctioned tournaments on the game (for those unaware, FIA is the biggest governing body in motorsports).
While I'm aware to properly train for this would involve a PS4/a wheel compatible with said PS4/a copy of Driveclub/GT6, I'm simply making do with what I have for now. And, in doing such, I've been updating my Practice Log via posts on BAND (a small community outlet some users on the forum do use, though not often).
So, to cut to the chase, allow me to upload my first Practice Log on here (which is actually my most recent one). Practice Logs will be added via posts, and to prevent multi-posting I'll simply wait for someone to reply before I add my next one. Also, if you'd prefer for me to add my previous logs here first before proceeding with my more up-to-date ones, just let me know and I'll swap them around (preferably today, otherwise it'll be confusing to swap out Days 15 and 16 with Days 1 and 2
).
To some, you know why I'm making this thread, to others, you probably are wondering what this is all about. Well, to sum it up, I've been practicing racing on Need For Speed: Shift (a lesser known title of the NFS franchise), and have been doing so in preparation for Gran Turismo Sport, coming this November. Now you're probably asking why. Well, to simply put it (as some/most may/may not know), racing in GT Sport can give your the chance to essentially attain a legal race car driving license (or at least, certain aspects of it), which is due to in no small part the fact that GT Sport will be hosting FIA-sanctioned tournaments on the game (for those unaware, FIA is the biggest governing body in motorsports).
While I'm aware to properly train for this would involve a PS4/a wheel compatible with said PS4/a copy of Driveclub/GT6, I'm simply making do with what I have for now. And, in doing such, I've been updating my Practice Log via posts on BAND (a small community outlet some users on the forum do use, though not often).
So, to cut to the chase, allow me to upload my first Practice Log on here (which is actually my most recent one). Practice Logs will be added via posts, and to prevent multi-posting I'll simply wait for someone to reply before I add my next one. Also, if you'd prefer for me to add my previous logs here first before proceeding with my more up-to-date ones, just let me know and I'll swap them around (preferably today, otherwise it'll be confusing to swap out Days 15 and 16 with Days 1 and 2
).As you can guess by today's title, I ended up crashing, a lot. I did my usual 3 laps on the 'Ring, and as per the usual cutting track, I wound up crashing into the guardrails twice, and something unexpected. On one of the turns, I have had a knack for taking the corner while in 4th gear at high speeds, and 90% of the time I clear it flawlessly without having to take my foot off the pedal. Well, mistakes happened, and I ended up hitting the guardrail, and hitting the side of the mountain shortly after (pictured below). All things considered, the car was relatively intact, aside from broken headlights and roughing up on the left fender, as usual.
After that, I decided to perform the 3-laps of Nurburgring again, only this time in my Skyline 2000 GT-R. However, I did this with a twist. Although I traditionally use my paddle shifters on the wheel (which is a Driving Force GT), I felt like using the sequential shifter (pictured below), that is to the right of the steering wheel.
Having my new setup in place, I decided to go for it (even though the Skyline is right-hand drive and has the shifter on the left side). The first lap went over pretty solid actually, almost no dents I believe, the second lap I managed to hit the guardrails a few times, but the car still looked fine. Then, on the third lap, this happened...
I took the turn going downhill too fast, and I ended up countersteering too much to compensate, which ended up with me crashing into the guardrail head on. First time in a while I've had to use the reverse gear since starting my training too. After that, the car had a dented hood, some front bumper damage, some scratches on the left side of the body, and that's about it. Overall, the car was at least road-worthy (not intact), and my left hand was aching from steering since my right hand was shifting all the time.
I also got a good drifting shot before all the damage was dealt.
Having done Nurburgring twice, I decided to mix it up again. This time, however, I went for a track that I don't often race on, London River (but not before I swapped over from my sequential shifter to my shifting paddles). Although the track has 0.10km less track length than the Royal Mile variant, it is still a good sized track with a few good straightaways to get high speed in. As usual, however, I am reminded that the racing line assist was a very helpful tool. During the first long straightaway, I didn't shift down as quickly as I thought I did and ended up skidding into the guardrail on the sharp U-turn that occurs at the end of the said straightaway. However, that wasn't the worst turn I encountered...
I had forgotten how steep the rumble strips are on the London tracks, namely in the River variant. During the slight S-bend near the third straightaway, I had cut onto one of the rumble strips and did not realize how steep it was. It was so heavily raised my car actually jumped! The aftermath of the said jump gave me little to no reaction time to realize I was headed straight for the barrier at the end of the bend. So, I tried to slam the brakes, however, the brakes couldn't slow down the car fast enough, resulting in me slamming into the tire barrier at the end of the bend.
After that, I still dinged the guardrails 2-3 times more in my second and final lap of London River. Overall, I finished with the car suffering major damage to the front bumper, damaged hood, and dents and scratches on the right side of the body. All things considered, the car was left in a slightly-disabled state.
Having done all this, I believe I will stick to my paddle shifters from now on (though I'll still use the sequential shifter once in a while, just to toy around with). While some racers are forced to use a gearbox and a stick shift to change gears, I believe that sort of practice will come to me in time. As for my practice in racing, it will definitely take some time to master racing without using a racing line assist, having to think on your feet about which turn comes next. Despite my crashes, I will be persistent, and will strive to move on past the wreckage I have made.
Anyways, as always constructive criticism is appreciated, and tell me what you guys think. Thanks for reading!
Anyways, as always constructive criticism is appreciated, and tell me what you guys think. Thanks for reading!
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