GT5 Specials: Sebastien Loeb Rally Challenge

Think you know about rallying in Gran Turismo? Well... think again! Sebastien Loeb is one of the finest rally racers racing today. In the Sebastien Loeb Rally Challenge, you are challenged to complete three intense rally challenges on three tough courses. Try to complete a lap around three of GT's off-road courses to pass the Sebastien Loeb Rally Challenge.

--- Sebastien Loeb Rally Challenge ---

^ Prepare for the most difficult rally challenge of your Gran Turismo life when you compete in the Sebastien Loeb Rally Challenge.

"Learn some skills from 7-time WRC World Champion Sebastien Loeb."

NOTE: This Special has a video you can watch. When you play it for the first time, you get to see this video play. You can see it again by highlighting on the image in the bottom-left hand corner of your screen when you access this Special.

The rally racing is much improved in Gran Turismo 5 than in any other Gran Turismo, and you're going to learn this in the most intense way with this Special Event. Being at Level 16 will get you into this challenge. Three of the game's off-road courses will be made available to you. Your job is to try to drive fast enough to clear each prescribed time. These challenges can be pretty intense, so take your time and learn as you go. You will be racing the 2008 Citroen C4 WRC rally car in all three challenges.

I can say that this is very hard because I am not familiar with any of the featured courses. You run on Toscana, Eiger Nordwand K Trail, and Chamonix (not the GT4 version). The real challenge is in adjusting to these new courses and driving them as fast as you can.

FIXTURES:
• cars will be provided for you- no need to purchase a certain car beforehand.
• You must be at Level 16 or higher to compete in any challenge in this Special Event.
• You will be disqualified if you have a hard collision.

--- Sebastien Loeb Rally Challenge (Level 16) ---

Part of the challenge of this Special is that you don't have too much experience on any of these courses. As of this blog post, I have only completed the first of the three challenges. What I suggest for the other two challenges are all based on what I've learned in TRYING to complete the different challenges.

REMEMBER: You must be at Level 16 or higher to compete in this Special.

Tuscany.

If you remember your experience around Toscana in the Ford Focus WRC in the Grand Tour, you have yourself some experience heading into racing this event. There is very little separating Bronze from Gold. So if you want the best time, you'll need to be absolutely precise in your attack. While it shouldn't be too much a problem, keep in mind that the sun will go down as you're trying to complete this course. The course also has a handful of long and sweeping corners along with some sharp corners and switchbacks. It won't be easy trying to lay down a consistent lap with this track and its variable corners.

OBJECTIVES:
• Bronze: 2:00.700
• Silver: 1:59.200
• Gold: 1:58.200

Eiger Nordwand Full Course.

In all likelihood, you will be racing Eiger Nordwand K Trail for the first time ever. The Full Course of Eiger Nordwand is, in a word- difficult. You will do a brutally long (four minutes) lap around this 4.45-mile (7.16-kilometer) twisting rally course. One of the recommended things to note about this course is that a big part of your lap time involves your handling of the many small corners as well as how you handle the various elevation changes. Because the lap is long, your concentration has to be at or near the top in trying to complete the lap effectively and efficiently.

OBJECTIVES:
• Bronze: 4:11.400
• Silver: 4:09.900
• Gold: 4:08.900

AS OF THIS INITIAL POST: I have NOT cleared this challenge.

Chamonix.

Your final challenge is on snow at Chamonix. Now keep in mind- this is NOT the Chamonix of Gran Turismo 4. GT5's Chamonix is much longer at 5.13 miles (or an estimated 8.26 kilometers). In fact, GT5's Chamonix is longer than the Eiger Nordwand K Trail you raced in the previous challenge. Remember I said in the GT Rally Specials that rally racing on snow/ice is easy? Well, not here! You basically need to practice this course before even considering laying down a blinding fast lap here. An even more delicate balance of speed and handling is needed here than when you took on Eiger Nordwand K Trail in the previous challenge. Practice patience and stay consistent for the whole four-something minute lap around Chamonix.

OBJECTIVES:
• Bronze: 4:19.000
• Silver: 4:17.000
• Gold: 4:16.500

AS OF THIS INITIAL POST: I have NOT cleared this challenge.


These Special Events are tough. It takes a good deal of practice to eventually get everything right. You can do these courses in Practice in GT Mode if you need to familiarize yourself better with each course. Do whatever it takes to get these courses right.





That's all for this one. Thanks for reading!

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GT5 Specials: Gran Turismo Rally

Rally racing makes its return as Gran Turismo 5 takes you through the intense realm of rally racing. It is a style of racing that combines controlled frenzy while also properly navigating a car around some intense corners on winding roads. Have the best combined time to win in rally racing. This blog post will not help you win in rally racing, but it will give you a little bit of pointers on rally racing in GT5.

--- Gran Turismo Rally ---

^ Get ready to get sideways on gravel, snow, and tarmac in the Gran Turismo Rally.

"The fastest overall time through all of the Special Stages will win in this realistic rally event."

Gran Turismo's best attempt at rallying was exhibited in Gran Turismo 5. Gone are the rallycross-type courses that have defined GT rallying since its Gran Turismo 2 debut. You will be racing on generated rally stages. This is the first-ever Gran Turismo title whose rally mode does not utilize the rallycross-style courses (Toscana, Chamonix, etc.). You are racing proper rally courses here. Though they may be generated rally courses in one of three different Course Maker environments, you are doing point-to-point rally racing in this mode.

Early on, the courses are pretty weak sauce. Just wait until you do the Intermediate and (especially) Advanced courses, though! Realistic weather and time changes also help make these events fun to race. Each event is a one-day rally with a different number of stages. The rallying gets more interesting as you compete in the tougher rally classes. You encounter more intense and longer roads in tougher stages as opposed to in the basic Beginner rally. I think if there was more variety in the surroundings and character of each generated course, the rallying would be much better. It's still very good for what it is.

Gran Turismo Rally: Briefing.

All of the events you will be racing in are on generated tracks. You may not know what kind of course you will be racing on, so the best thing to keep in mind is to study what generated track is given to you and adjust from there. The Gran Turismo Rally is divided into three different difficulty levels and offer a certain number of events. Each level of difficulty features one rally of each of the following: gravel rallies with the Liege environment, snow rallies with the Alaska environment, and tarmac rallying with the Toscana environment. The Beginner GT Rally features three Special Stages with very easy to learn courses. The Intermediate GT Rally features five Special Stages with some complex corners. The Advanced Gran Turismo Rally features eight special stages with some of the longest and most intense courses of all. You do not need to win every stage, but you must have the best combined time to win each rally.

When you begin any rally in this series of Special Events, you will start behind three other rally cars that share the track with you. Cars will be sent off in intervals of about five seconds. When your car is sent off, it is very important to listen to your co-driver, as the co-driver will let you know of when the next corner is coming up and how long the road ahead is. Drive aggressively while making sure to stay controlled. Try to get a good slide into the corners while keeping the car firmly balanced. Hard impacts with the walls or into other racers will result in penalties that slow you down for as much as about five seconds. So don't try to get any sort of unrealistic advantage by doing a lot of wall riding.

The gravel stages represent some of your most basic rally races. Gravel allows you to be more aggressive and daring in your driving. It can be very fun pushing your car to the limit on these gravel stages. From my experience playing GT5, the snow rallies can be incredibly easy. Hard, consistent driving can easily land you top honors for each stage. Rallying on tarmac isn't as fun as rallying on gravel. And really, you could bring almost any car you want for the tarmac rallies as long as you have the required tires and horsepower regulations. As you may know, not every car can be equipped with Dirt or Snow tires. Make sure your car can be equipped with Dirt or Snow tires if you intend on using it in the gravel and snow rallies.


FIXTURES:
• You must have Dirt tires for Gravel rallies and Snow tires for snow rallies.
• You must be at Level 10 or higher to compete in the Beginner rallies, and your car must have no more than 246 horsepower to compete. Sports Soft tires (or less) are required for the tarmac rally on this level.
• You must be at Level 15 or higher to compete in the Intermediate rallies, and your car must have no more than 345 horsepower to compete. Sports Soft tires (or less) are required for the tarmac rally on this level.
• You must be at Level 20 or higher to compete in the Advanced rallies, and it requires any proper rally car. There are no horsepower restrictions.
• Penalties will be enforced for collisions or wall-riding.

--- Gran Turismo Rally: Beginner (Level 10) ---

The Beginner level of Gran Turismo Rally requires for your car to be at 246 horsepower or less. Be sure you have invested in Dirt Tires and Snow Tires before attempting rally racing on (respectively) gravel or snow. The humble beginnings of your rally racing career will begin with three rallies. Learn the basics of rally racing as you go along. Because you are racing on generated roads and in generated environments, you will not know what specific course you will get. So the challenge lies in what generated courses you will get. You must learn to adjust and adapt to these challenges both in driving and in execution. Try hard to finish high in each rally.

REMEMBER: You must be at Level 10 or higher to compete in the Beginner rallies, and your car must have no more than 246 horsepower to compete. Sports Soft tires (or less) are required for the tarmac rally on this level.


PRIZE MONEY:
• 1st: 27,000 Cr.
• 2nd: 19,000 Cr.
• 3rd: 14,000 Cr.

Fine Gravel Rally.

To begin your rally racing career in Gran Turismo 5, your first challenge is to take on three gravel rally stages. The roads can be very wide with only a few modest corners to contend with. It should be too difficult to win unless you don't have a properly-tuned car.

Snow Challenge Rally.

Your first snow challenge takes place in the Snow Challenge Rally. The three stages shouldn't be too complex in layout as you try to drive around in the snow. There is very much a difference between gravel and snow. Snow has much less traction than gravel. So therefore, you will need to drive the car differently to try to get as much grip as possible as you try to navigate through each stage. You should be fine as long as you drive hard and consistently.

Tarmac Challenge Rally.

The open road is your best friend, or your worst nightmare if you can't handle tarmac roads properly. Rally racing on tarmac doesn't have the aggression you can display like in a gravel or snow rally. These events are more about precise driving on real tarmac roads. Undulations in the road as well as sudden corners and switchbacks may rack your brain as you try to go through each section properly. This shouldn't be too difficult as long as you remain calm and controlled as you progress through each Special Stage.


That concludes the Beginner rally events. Time to step it up and go to the Intermediate rallies. Get up to Level 15 if you haven't done so already.

--- Gran Turismo Rally: Intermediate (Level 15) ---

The Beginner Rallies just got you going. Now, it's time you take on some tougher stages. The Intermediate Rally features the same three kinds of rallies, but instead of three stages, there are now five stages. The stages of the Intermediate rallies are longer and more complex in layout. You can afford to bring more powerful cars (up to 345 horsepower), but your ability to properly navigate each stage and rally remains a daunting task. It may help if you have a proper rally car that is within the horsepower limitations.

REMEMBER: You must be at Level 15 or higher to compete in the Intermediate rallies, and your car must have no more than 345 horsepower to compete. Sports Soft tires (or less) are required for the tarmac rally on this level.


PRIZE MONEY:
• 1st: 41,000 Cr.
• 2nd: 29,000 Cr.
• 3rd: 21,000 Cr.

Clubman Gravel Rally.

The Clubman Gravel Rally readies you for a ride rougher than what you experienced in the Beginner-level gravel rallies. Five tough gravel stages await you as you try to power through each stage of the Clubman Gravel Rally. Remember that the courses will be tougher than what you experienced in the Beginner-level gravel rallies. So make sure to adjust your driving style as well as make any needed tuning adjustments to get your car to better adapt to the loose gravel. Also, be mindful of any weather changes that may hamper your driving experience somewhat.

Alaskan Rally.

When you begin your romp on the snow, be ready for a five-stage tour of duty as you heat up the ice. Just remember that your car can be no more powerful than 345 horsepower. Be ready to down-tune your car if it is too powerful. And of course, it has to be equipped with Snow Tires. You have to be careful taking on some of these tougher stages.

Tuscany Tarmac Rally.

The five-stage Intermediate Tuscany Tarmac Rally will test your ability to handle tarmac roads in your car. Your car must have Sports Soft tires or less to compete. Be wary of elevation changes as well as any possible weather changes that may come along. It can be a bit tough when dealing with races at night in the Toscana environment. Make sure to tune your car to take on the rigors of this rally.


The Intermediate Rallies are now complete. Make sure to do your best in getting Gold for all three rallies in this difficulty level. The final events are in the Advanced rallies. So make sure to get up to Level 20 to take on the final set of challenges.

--- Gran Turismo Rally: Advanced (Level 20) ---

Only true rally cars are allowed to compete in this final set of rally races. The longest and most difficult stages await the adept Gran Turismo racer in the Advanced class. There are now eight stages of rally insanity compared to the three stages in the Beginner class, and also compared to the five stages of the Intermediate class. Only true rally cars, meaning no normal/concept/tuner cars tuned for rally, can compete. These races will be difficult and long. Victory is not impossible- you just have to work for it in this one! So get ready to log the most difficult rally miles/kilometers of your GT5 career!

REMEMBER: You must be at Level 20 or higher to compete in the Advanced rallies, and it requires any proper rally car. There are no horsepower restrictions.


PRIZE MONEY:
• 1st: 107,000 Cr.
• 2nd: 75,000 Cr.
• 3rd: 54,000 Cr.

Gran Turismo Gravel Master.

You're in trouble now. Prove your mastery of racing on gravel stages by trying to win this eight-stage rally. Only proper rally cars are allowed to compete in all of the stages here. As you progress through this rally, you will be faced with numerous sharp corners and perhaps some narrow roads. One problem I've had was in trying to get through low-speed corners while in opposite lock. Not sure if that's a problem with GT5's driving model or if I need to tune better. Anyhow, this is a tough rally to take part in. Do your best!

Gran Turismo Snow Master.

Try this eight-stage snow rally with your finest rally car. Long and intense stages await you as you try to take on each individual stage. Remember your training through the first two snow rallies to help you with this one. If you drive very well or have a nicely-prepared rally car, you may be able to dominate this rally.

Gran Turismo Tarmac King.

Rally racing with racing tires can be tricky with tarmac racing. You may anticipate some wet roads, making it tricky to prepare for the challenges ahead. It won't be easy taking on this eight-stage rally. Now here is the tricky part. Some stages may have some wet roads or may start out in wet conditions. Do you opt for the Rain tires? I think to be safe, equip your car with (at most) Sports Soft tires so you won't have to worry too much about trying to equip proper racing tires for stages that aren't soaked in rain. Can you become a champion of tarmac rallying with this rally?


Congratulations! If you have won prizes in all nine rallies, you did great! This series of races is over.





I want you to know that I appreciate all of you for visiting John's Gran Turismo Space! I will continue my series of blog posts on the Special Events of GT5. The next in the series is the Grand Tour. I hope you enjoyed your time here. I may edit this post to reflect more changes. Thank you for reading!

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Gran Turismo Rallying

Rally racing debuted in Gran Turismo 2 for the GT series. Rally racing is a different animal apart from the road racing in Gran Turismo games. Rallying allows you to get more aggressive and race a car a bit harder than you normally would in circuit racing. You can slide the car out hard to make the most out of handling tight and tricky corners. Almost as satisfying as taking on an intense set of corners is making serious jumps from hills.

What makes rally racing so fun is the fact that many courses and stages have been created by Mother Nature. So no worries about any Hermann Tilke-style snoozefests. Get ready for some of the most intense racing action among any discipline of Gran Turismo!

This blog post is merely a digest look at rally racing in Gran Turismo. I just talk about rally racing in Gran Turismo games rather than offer any advice. Enjoy your read and feel free to comment!


^ Peugeot 206 Rally Car kicking up dust around Tahiti Dirt Route 3 in Gran Turismo 2.

Gran Turismo 2 Rallying.

The vision for Gran Turismo 2 was to have a more concentrated focus on the history of automobiles while also delivering a new experience of rally racing. Previously, Gran Turismo 1 featured the first-ever rally car in a Gran Turismo game as the Subaru Impreza Rally Car was featured. Subaru, along with a handful of other cars and car companies found their way into Gran Turismo 2 with rally cars. Two of my all-time favorite rally cars are in Gran Turismo 2- the Lancia Stratos and the Peugeot 206 WRC. Sadly, you can only really gain the 206 WRC while you have to do something to get the Stratos Rally Car (at least in Simulation mode).

To this day, Gran Turismo 2 remains the only title in the GT series to feature an open circuit- Pikes Peak (albeit an abbreviated Pikes Peak). Many fans of the Gran Turismo series would love to see Pikes Peak return. Also unique to Gran Turismo 2 was that all of the rally events were basically time trials (like real rally racing) rather than the one-on-one race battles in future GT titles. So one can say that Gran Turismo 2 delivered the best rally package of GT games past. With GT5 on the horizon, who knows what GT5 will provide?

The rally tracks of Gran Turismo 2 include Green Forest Raceway, Smokey Mountain South, Smokey Mountain North, Tahiti Dirt Route 3, Tahiti Maze, and Pikes Peak (uphill and downhill).

Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec Rallying.

As Gran Turismo 2 introduced its GT fans to rallying, Gran Turismo 3 continued the rallying style. A few new cars and a few new venues were added. A few new rally cars were available, but the notorious Escudo Pikes Peak returned bigger and badder than ever. With the rather weak trails of dust from Gran Turismo 2, Gran Turismo 3 allowed you to kick up more clouds of dust as you raced off-road.

Among the off-road tracks, Green Forest and Smokey Mountain South were axed. Smokey Mountain North (the better of the two in my opinion) is just Smokey Mountain. Tahiti Dirt Route 3 was renamed to Tahiti Circuit. The formidable challenge of Tahiti Maze returned for another tour of duty. The new challenge for rally racers was Swiss Alps. This track has some easy-going and smooth corners great for sliding out of control. There is even a bridge that is crossed during a lap around Swiss Alps.

If you want to consider it an off-road track, then Special Stage Route 5 Wet marks the first time an all-tarmac course is used in a rally environment. Four cars can race on Special Stage Route 5 Wet in Arcade Mode. In GT3's Simulation mode, however, you are on proper racing tires. Of course, there are no Rain tires. So you will be slipping and sliding on highways and streets trying to outduel the other driver.

Gran Turismo 4 Rallying.

Gran Turismo 4 offered many new experiences in rallying. For one, tarmac rallies are possible to race on. More importantly, the debut of racing on snow and ice were offered to GT racers. Those who have played Gran Turismo 2 may remember the Opel Tigra Ice Racing car. That car would have a happy home on one of this game's two snowy/icy courses- Ice Arena and Chamonix. A lot more modern and classic rally cars found their way into GT4, including the return of the Stratos Rally Car. It also was the first Gran Turismo to feature Paris-Dakar (or just Dakar nowadays) "cars." I say "cars" because the "cars" are mostly SUV-type machines. The Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution Rally Raid Car is a hulking beast taking on the various courses of GT4.

The first rally course we laid eyes upon in GT4's development was Grand Canyon. Grand Canyon offered the most realistic rally course in GT history with its narrow roads and tricky corners. It seemed near impossible to try to pass your opponent on a track like this. Cathedral Rocks was another new course utiziling El Capitan. There were some proper tarmac rally courses with Citta d'Aria and (my favorite) Costa di Amalfi. You can also race around George V Paris for a tricky tarmac stage utilizing beautiful Paris. If you want to call it a Rally course, then Tsukuba wet marked both the first wet real-world course and the first permanent circuit with wet characteristics.

As for the two icy courses, Ice Arena was nothing special. It was an alright course that you could use to basically prep your ice racing skills. The real nightmare was Chamonix. You go from some icy tarmac to taking on the snow-covered roads of Chamonix. It was a total nightmare, but nowhere near the Nürburgring Nordschleife (which I call the "Nürburgring Nightmare") in terms of complexity. Chamonix was one of the toughest rally courses to master of all off-road courses in GT4.

There is one last element to GT rallying in GT4- run into a wall hard or ram into your opponent in a Special Condition race, and you suffer a 10-second penalty bringing your car down to no more than 31 miles per hour. You almost have to use this strategically if you know you are losing. This was an alternative to damage rather than actually assessing fouls to racers in my view.





Using what all we know about rallying in GT games past, we look forward to what Gran Turismo 5 has to provide. Features such as Sebastien Loeb (7-time World Rally Champion) being a consultant for GT5 rallying and the prospect of randomly-generated rally courses across certain environments will mean interesting trends in rally racing in GT5. Of course, the Eiger Nordwand rally stages will only sweeten the pot apart from the Eiger Nordwand we've raced all the way back with Gran Turismo HD. So the sky is the limit for what this title will provide in rally racing. Also, Gran Turismo 5 features some lovely particle effects for rally racing. You see dust and grass realistically get kicked up. Also, cars collect dirt and snow. Cars can also roll over in GT5, making the rally racing element even more intense. If all goes well, Gran Turismo 5 could well feature the best rally racing in Gran Turismo history.

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Does Gran Turismo Not Believe in Touge?

In Gran Turismo history, there has never been anything even remotely close to good old mountain touge. Look at two courses from two of GT's sim rivals. Enthusia Professional Racing had Dragon Range. Forza Motorsport has Fujimi Kaido. Does GT and PD not believe in touge? Why haven't they implemented any sort of mountain road racing or have any unique mountain road course? It kind of baffles me considering just how much Gran Turismo tries to incorporate a variety of environments.

Hi, everyone! Welcome to "John's Gran Turismo Space"- my blog devoted to various things Gran Turismo and Tourist Trophy.





What is touge? Touge (pronounced like "toh-gay") is all about performance driving on mountain roads. It's all about point-to-point performance driving as you go either downhill or uphill. These twisty roads are a great test of both driver and machine. A well-prepared car can properly drift in the corners (drift cars), or it can accurately hug the corners and be precise (grip cars). The mountain roads in Japan are famous among many circles for illegal street racing and drifting. Fans of "Initial D" are often enamored with the thrills of touge action.

But really- with all the different kinds of racing Polyphony Digital could implement, why not also include some sort of touge? It would not only cater to drifting fans, but you can also use these mountain roads for furious rally racing. You can also envision the online battles. Can you imagine some of the one-on-one battles that can take place in these events?

Besides touge battle, you could simply have your own performance drives of sports cars on these mountain roads. Think about something like Top Gear and doing performance driving on mountain roads. Something like mountain road driving and touge would be amazing to showcase the sheer joy of driving. Why Gran Turismo hasn't any sort of mountain pass or touge battle in its 10+ year history is beyond me.

I always say that you can make your own inspired locales if you can't feature real-world places. If you have a PlayStation 2, you may recall a game called (depending on your region) either "Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift 2" or "Kaido Battle 3." I played TXRD2 and think it is a very underrated game. You raced all around Japan on a lot of twisty mountain roads. Only non-mountain sort of course in that game is a short course set around the streets of Yokohama. But just about every course is a mountain pass of some sort. I'm sure Polyphony Digital could come up with some sort of mountain pass or some sort of mountain road course to excite fans of touge and drifting.


This video is only provided as inspiration for touge. Take a look at this and imagine something like this in the Gran Turismo realm:


^ "RE-Amemiya RX7 FD Vs Amuse S2000 Touge Battle, Japan"

I tried to find a video that wasn't extremely long because I wanted to be brief in providing an example of touge battle. I still don't see why Gran Turismo hasn't taken on something like touge. It could be a nice compliment to the already featured styles of racing in the Gran Turismo series. Why not one more? What do you think?


IN CASE YOU'RE INTERESTED: I reviewed "Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift 2" in my main blog- John's Blog Space. Have a look if you're interested: "Tokyo Xtreme Racer Drift 2" (John's Blog Space)





I'm sorry for not providing more posts to this blog. However, I want to thank all of you for giving my blog over 50K views since I first started JGTS. Thank you for reading!

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Gran Turismo 5 Special Events

Gran Turismo 5 features Special events meant to challenge your racing skills in a variety of challenges. A good thing is that some of them do not require you to have a certain car to race with. This blog post is mostly general thoughts on each Special. In later posts, I will provide some Resources on each event. For now, this is a general commentary piece on the Special Events of Gran Turismo 5.

About the Label: "Special Events".

Blog posts under the "Special Events" label feature resources on each of the Special Events in Gran Turismo 5. They may not necessarily involve clearing each one with the best results, but they do feature a general look at each Special Event.

--- Gran Turismo 5: Special Events ---

^ From go-karts, to NASCAR, to rally racing, and all the way up to insane racing machines (like the Red Bull X2010); you will definitely have your hands full racing all the different Special Events!

Have a look at each header. I will share general thoughts on each featured event. I have decided rather not to update this blog post each time just to link you to each Special I do a blog post for. Instead, I will ONLY update this blog post with links to each specific Special when ALL of the individual posts are completed. There are a total of eight Special Events.

NOTES:
• Special Events which require you to bring your own car will be in braces. Example: {Special Event}
• The minimal level you must be at to compete in each event will be listed in parentheses.

{Gran Turismo Karting Experience (Level 1)}.

"Experience the first step on the road to professional race driving in specially designed Gran Turismo karts."

The cat was out of the bag at one game show when Gran Turismo 5 featured karts racing on a track. It was an Italian temporary course called Piazza del Campo. Gran Turismo's inclusion of kart racing shown me that PD was being more serious in featuring a proper racing model for GT5. While many people see kart racing as boring and slow, this is actually the first step to becoming a proper racing driver. This Special features kart racing across three different difficulty levels. You will need to have a kart to compete. Go to Gran Turismo in the Dealerships to purchase a kart. You can choose the color of your kart as well as give it a number to help identify it.

No one said GT5 was going to provide the most realistic kart racing of any racing title. However, one can make good money and receive sufficient experience early on by winning in these events. It is a great way to enjoy racing early on. I do kind of wish there were some more kart events to enjoy besides the featured ones, though.

FIXTURES:
• All races require you to have a go-kart.
• You must be at Level 1 or higher to compete in the Beginner events.
• You must be at Level 7 or higher to compete in the Intermediate events.
• You must be at level 17 or higher to compete in the Advanced events.

Jeff Gordon NASCAR School (Level 2).

"Learn the secrets behind NASCAR racing from four-time NASCAR Series champion, Jeff Gordon."

NOTE: This Special has a video you can watch. When you play it for the first time, you get to see this video play. You can see it again by highlighting on the image in the bottom-left hand corner of your screen when you access this Special.

When NASCAR was brought into Gran Turismo 5, many people met with this news either with loving embrace or with detest. In an effort to educate people on NASCAR, my personal favorite NASCAR driver, Jeff Gordon, is featured. You will be racing his #24 car in three different sets of challenges featuring a number of different scenarios and situations. Learn various techniques to help you get ahead and master racing stock cars. Each of the challenges help you become better adjusted to stock cars, both in handling and in racing.

Say whatever you want about NASCAR. I'm no fanatic, but I do respect NASCAR as an unconditional lover of motorsport. NASCAR is featured for an important reason- it is every bit as distinct as any other motorsport. Maybe the cars aren't as capable as F1 cars or sportscar racing machines. Maybe the action is more like a demolition derby than actual racing. Thing is, NASCAR is its own distinctive motorsport. It has its own character and style that sets it apart from any other form of motorsports.

FIXTURES:
• cars will be provided for you- no need to purchase a certain car beforehand.
• You must be at Level 2 or higher to compete in the Beginner events.
• You must be at Level 9 or higher to compete in the Intermediate events.
• You must be at Level 21 or higher to compete in the Advanced events.
• If you go off-course, crash hard, or knock over any cones, you will be disqualified.

Top Gear Test Track (Level 4).

"Unique and exciting challenges on the world-renowned Top Gear Test Track."

NOTE: This Special has a video you can watch. When you play it for the first time, you get to see this video play. You can see it again by highlighting on the image in the bottom-left hand corner of your screen when you access this Special.

It used to be that there has NEVER been a real-world track in the United Kingdom in Gran Turismo's history. That all changed in "Gran Turismo 5: Prologue" when the streets of London were featured. The Top Gear Test Track blew away many motoring fans with its inclusion into Gran Turismo 5. While there may not be polygon representations of Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond; you do still get to enjoy going all out on the Top Gear Test Track. This Special features three racing challenges for you. Your goal is to try to finish high enough to complete each stage.

It may be sad that there could be more diversity among racing events, but what this Special provides is fun. I'll put it this way- you will be racing with two different oddball Volkswagen vehicles in addition to the lovely Lotus Evora. The challenges are all meant to be fun and engaging. It will take some effort on your part to get Gold for each event. I would even have liked maybe some Time Trial challenges to spice things up. I'm not saying "Beat the Stig's Time" time trials, but some more different items to make the experience more interesting.

FIXTURES:
• cars will be provided for you- no need to purchase a certain car beforehand.
• You must be at Level 4 or higher to compete in the Beginner event.
• You must be at Level 8 or higher to compete in the Intermediate event.
• You must be at Level 19 or higher to compete in the Advanced event.
• If you go off-course, crash hard, or knock over any [all-red] cones, you will be disqualified.

AMG Driving Academy (Level 6).

"Learn the techniques and rules necessary to take on the hallowed Nürburgring safely."

Not everyone can master racing the Nürburgring Nordschleife. So as a service for Gran Turismo racers, you will learn how to race the Nürburgring Nordschleife in a segment-by-segment basis. I personally loathe racing the Nürburgring Nordschleife or any configuration utilizing the Nürburgring Nordschleife. I have always been terrible at trying to master and race a 12+ mile course with two lanes of road and 70-something corners. The cars you will be using are from Mercedes-Benz, and you will even race against other Mercedes-Benz cars. There are four different levels of competition each with five different challenges. The first two require you to race on the Nürburgring Nordschleife under dry conditions, and the other two require you to race the same course but under wet conditions. Each of the individual challenges feature the course segmented in four different places. In the final challenge to each level, you must complete one full lap around the Nürburgring Nordschleife (that's right- all 12+ miles) while also navigating your way through traffic. Consider this your racing school for conquering one of the world's most grueling racing tracks.

This is an invaluable service for Gran Turismo racing. The way the track is segmented is a big help in trying to master this course. It helps you to understand how the course flows. Since you are not racing anything extremely fast, you are able to take on this course at a comfortable, almost casual level. Just remember to cross the line. It doesn't take much just to get even Bronze. Just pace yourself and learn the nuances of each segment of the track. Then for the final, just go all out while dodging other cars on the track. One other good thing about this Special- there are no penalties for crashing or going off-road.

FIXTURES:
• cars will be provided for you- no need to purchase a certain car beforehand.
• You must be at Level 6 or higher to compete in the Beginner events.
• You must be at Level 12 or higher to compete in the Intermediate events.
• You must be at Level 18 or higher to compete in the Advanced events.
• You must be at Level 24 or higher to compete in the Expert events.
• There are no penalties for crashing or going off-road.





Halfway through this blog post. I will include a Jump Break here for performance reasons. Read on (if you are not reading this specific blog post) after the Jump to see the remaining four Special Events and my commentary on each. If you are or are not reading the full post and like what you've read so far, please show me your support! Here's how:

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{Gran Turismo Rally (Level 10)}.

"The fastest overall time through all of the Special Stages will win in this realistic rally event."

Gran Turismo's best attempt at rallying was exhibited in Gran Turismo 5. Gone are the rallycross-type courses that have defined GT rallying since its Gran Turismo 2 debut. You will be racing on generated rally stages. Early on, the courses are pretty weak sauce. Just wait until you do the Intermediate and (especially) Advanced courses, though! Realistic weather and time changes also help make these events fun to race. Each event is a one-day rally with a different number of stages. The Beginner rallies feature three stages of competition. The Intermediate rallies feature five stages of competition. Finally, the Advanced rallies feature eight stages of competition. Three cars will all drive away from the starting line while you make your own way to the starting line. As you race away from the starting line, pay attention to your co-driver, as he will give important notes on upcoming corners and straights. You do not need to win every stage to win the individual rallies- you just need to have the best overall time to win. Each level of the Gran Turismo Rally requires your ability to successfully drive on three different surfaces- dirt, snow, and tarmac. You must have Dirt tires for the gravel rallies and Snow tires for the snow rallies. The tarmac rallies require Sports Soft tires or less for Beginner and Intermediate racing. However, Racing Soft or less are required for the Advanced tarmac rally. One last word of warning- collisions and going too far off course result in penalties.

The rallying gets more interesting as you compete in the tougher rally classes. You encounter more intense and longer roads in tougher stages as opposed to in the basic Beginner rally. I think if there was more variety in the surroundings and character of each generated course, the rallying would be much better. It's still very good for what it is.

FIXTURES:
• You must have Dirt tires for Gravel rallies and Snow tires for snow rallies.
• You must be at Level 10 or higher to compete in the Beginner rallies, and your car must have no more than 246 horsepower to compete. Sports Soft tires (or less) are required for the tarmac rally on this level.
• You must be at Level 15 or higher to compete in the Intermediate rallies, and your car must have no more than 345 horsepower to compete. Sports Soft tires (or less) are required for the tarmac rally on this level.
• You must be at Level 20 or higher to compete in the Advanced rallies, and it requires any proper rally car. There are no horsepower restrictions.
• Penalties will be enforced for collisions or wall-riding.

Grand Tour (Level 13).

"Go on tour and take part in a series of events stretching from Bern all the way down the Italian peninsula to Rome."

Of all the Special Events, perhaps the most fun and creative Special Event is the Grand Tour, taking you on a tour through mostly central and southern Europe. You begin in Switzerland at the Eiger Nordwand Short Track. Afterwards, you head into Italy. Along the way, you will unlock more Photo Mode locations and compete in a number of different challenges. It is a very fun and well-executed Special Event series. Challenges range from time trials to races. Best of all, no car is needed for any of the given challenges.

I think this is perhaps the best-executed of the Special Events. I want to blog more about the concept of this Grand Tour in a future post or two. This one is a lovely Special Event.

FIXTURES:
• cars will be provided for you- no need to purchase a certain car beforehand.
• You must be at Level 13 or higher to compete in any event in the Grand Tour.
• You will be disqualified in the time trials (first and fourth events) if you have a hard collision at any point of the races.

Sebastien Loeb Rally Challenge (Level 16).

"Learn some skills from 7-time WRC World Champion Sebastien Loeb."

NOTE: This Special has a video you can watch. When you play it for the first time, you get to see this video play. You can see it again by highlighting on the image in the bottom-left hand corner of your screen when you access this Special.

The rally racing is much improved in Gran Turismo 5 than in any other Gran Turismo, and you're going to learn this in the most intense way with this Special Event. Being at Level 16 will get you into this challenge. Three of the game's off-road courses will be made available to you. Your job is to try to drive fast enough to clear each prescribed time. These challenges can be pretty intense, so take your time and learn as you go. You will be racing the 2008 Citroen C4 WRC rally car in all three challenges.

I can say that this is very hard because I am not familiar with any of the featured courses. You run on Toscana, Eiger Nordwand Full Course, and Chamonix (not the GT4 version). The real challenge is in adjusting to these new courses and driving them as fast as you can.

• cars will be provided for you- no need to purchase a certain car beforehand.
• You must be at Level 16 or higher to compete in any challenge in this Special Event.
• You will be disqualified if you have a hard collision.


The final featured Special Event must be unlocked. Here it is...

Sebastien Vettel X Challenge (Level 30).

"Take on Sebastien Vettel in the X2010 - Red Bull and Gran Turismo's jointly-created dream machine."

NOTE: This Special has a video you can watch. When you play it for the first time, you get to see this video play. You can see it again by highlighting on the image in the bottom-left hand corner of your screen when you access this Special.

Get ready to race the most ridiculously capable race car ever conceptualized- the Red Bull X2010. Formula One racing requires a great level of fitness and performance to survive a basic Grand Prix weekend. Formula One race cars are built to a certain specification. Basically, F1 is a challenge of what a great race car should be like, and it is the job of every other F1 team to build cars to a certain specification. It is simply one of the most rigorous and most rewarding forms of motorsport in the world. But what happens (or what WOULD happen) when there are no rules or guidelines to adhere to in building a race car? The answer is with this car and this series of Special Event time trial races. You are asked to take the X2010 around three different Formula One race tracks while completing two laps around each. Each challenge begins in pit lane. From the pits, you must complete the rest of the first lap followed by completing a full lap in your second tour around each track. You will clear each challenge if you can clock lap times within the prescribed times. The X2010 takes some getting used to. Your reaction time and control of the car will be magnified when you do these challenges. According to my friends over on GTPlanet, you can have much better lap times if you race with a steering wheel rather than with the standard DualShock 3. This challenge will NOT be easy. My advice- learn the car's tendencies, take your time, and don't go all-out until you've mastered both the car and the given tracks.

And you thought video games were not capable at providing intense experiences... the mark of a great game (let alone racing) is to provide an exclusive experience only one specific game can offer. That exclusive experience is with the Red Bull X2010. As of this post, the X2011 was unveiled not too long ago for Gran Turismo 5. The insane racing originates with this X2010. The X2010 was offered as a free download as Sebastien Vettel recently clinched the 2011 Formula 1 World Championship. Racing the X2010 may be the scariest experience I've EVER had in any Gran Turismo game.

FIXTURES:
• cars will be provided for you- no need to purchase a certain car beforehand.
• You must be at Level 30 or higher to compete in any of the events in this Special.
• If you go off-course, crash hard, or knock over any cones, you will be disqualified.





And that will do it! Good luck to you in all Special Events!





Remember that I will post individual blog posts on each specific event as resources. So make sure to stay tuned to John's Gran Turismo Space for more on these events. Are you subscribed yet to JGTS? If not, you are invited to subscribe by clicking on the links below (including visiting my other blogs)! Thank you for reading!

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Ice Arena

The Ice Arena in GT4 is a simplistic race course at 0.64 miles (1.03 kilometers) in length. You can think of this as a course to practice racing on snow/ice. Gran Turismo 4 debuted snow and ice racing. While Ice Arena is nothing exciting, it is still a more than decent challenge to any rally racer in GT. Most people will probably agree that this course is MUCH easier among snow/ice courses than Chamonix in GT4. This post takes a look at the Ice Arena.

--- Ice Arena ---

Ice Arena is one of only two snow/ice courses in Gran Turismo 4. This course is a fairly basic course allowing you to get a feel for racing on icy/snowy roads. None of the corners are terribly difficult as you take on this course. Only thing you have to have are Snow Tires to race this course. Use Ice Arena to practice your snow racing skills because you'll need them for races at Ice Arena as well as at Chamonix.

One-Lap Description.

You begin on a sweeping long right straight. A fairly high snow bank is inside to your left along with a high snow bank on your right. Try to get a good slide into this corner as its radius expands as you go throught it. Get ready to take on a sharp right followed by a fairly sharp left. Then, get ready for the right-hand sweeper that leads into the first of two straight hairpins. The first on is a sharp left hairpin that has to be taken very carefully. After a brief straight, take on the right-hand hairpin with about a similar radius as the other hairpin. What follows is a sharp left-hand corner. While it is sharp, the road is fairly wide, so you can slide nicely without having to worry about not being able to cleanly escape this corner. A long and sweeping left follows. The final two corners leading to the Start/Finish line consist of a sharp right and a not-so-sharp left. Clear this section, and you'll be more than set to take on another lap around Ice Arena.

Video Lap.

Here is a lap around Ice Arena:


^ "Mr P WRS 111 @ Ice Arena"

Now that you've seen the course and read the post, go get sideways around Ice Arena!





This has been another JGTS post regarding a track in a Gran Turismo. Thank you for reading!

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Toscana

Toscana holds a place in Gran Turismo history as being the first track to feature realistic time cycles. It was at E3 2010 when the Italian countryside course featured these time cycles. Late afternoon became a starry night with the track shrouded in darkness. As for the track itself, get ready for an off-road challenge sure to throw you for a loop. When I usually think of Toscana, I usually think of Tuscany- home base to one of Olive Garden's culinary schools. But in the Gran Turismo realm, don't even think about Olive Garden here because you're going to be racing in Toscana rather than enjoy Olive Garden's delicious food. This blog post is all about Toscana.

PLEASE NOTE:
The blog post here is about the Toscana rally course and not any of the generated Toscana courses.

--- Toscana ---

At 2.12 miles (3.41 km) long and with 15 corners, Toscana is an imposing dirt circuit. It features a vast variety of corners ranging from sweeping long corners to tight and technical sections. There are a handful of elevation changes to keep navigating the track interesting. Do not be surprised if you spend most of your time on the outer edges of the track trying to keep your car stable in the corners. The time cycle at Toscana is beautiful in going from afternoon to evening to night. At night, be especially careful navigating this course. I would recommend you not race in Cockpit view in better seeing through the darkness. I especially would not recommend this view for cars that have cockpit views that obstruct the view above you (example: the Citroen C4 WRC in cockpit view).

It is tough to find speed early on in your lap around Toscana. You begin a normal direction lap with a quick chicane that leads to a sweeping right. That sweeping right leads to a sharp left. You must then try to build up enough speed to be able to slide effectively through an increasing radius right. That very long right goes uphill as you enter this zone. At the highest radius of this sweeping right, the radius decreases rapidly and goes downhill. The next section is a "W" like section. The first is a sharp left that leads to a smooth right-hand kink. That right-hand kink eventually leads to a somewhat sharp left. After clearing this sharp left, get ready to meet Toscana's super-sharp hairpin after a brief straight. Get full power out of the hairpin and set yourself up for a brief straight followed by a smooth kink to the left. A rather sharp left follows, and it is attached to a very sharp right-hand corner. Clear that section to make your run down the backstretch. A sweeping left-hand corner awaits you at the end of the backstretch. A long right follows after that. When you clear the long right, a sharp right-hand corner follows. A smooth right-left chicane leads to the finish line.

Lap times at or under 2:00.000 can be expected in some of the faster cars.

Video Preview.

This was the best one-lap video I could find that showcases the full course. This is more of a race than a lap completely run by just one driver. Still, you will get an idea as to what the course looks like:


^ "GT5 - 1 Lap (HD) - Toscana"

Do your best around this course!





That's all, folks! Thank you for reading!

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