A new danger on the Nürburgring
 

“Playstation GT4 professional”

http://axisofoversteer.blogspot.com/2008/05/axis-ringball-08-part-i-pilgrimage.html

nice.

I understand that many of the newer games are pretty faithful to some tracks, but people that assume playing them makes them great drivers.

They are games, not sims.

BTW - Great 3 part series on that site about these guys trip from America to Germany to drive the ring for a couple of days, lots of Porsche content too including a 996 and a GT3 Cup car.

http://axisofoversteer.blogspot.com/

This is true. There was an episode of Top Gear where Clarkson drove a NSX in Gran Tursimo 3 and he got I think a 1:40ish and in real life all he could get was about a 1:58. These "sims" aren't really that accurate if its off by ~20s on a 2min lap.

But, you have to admit it will help you get familiar with a track layout.

Hamilton admitted he used a Playstation last year to get familiar with track he had no seen yet.

There is a guy on a local forum I frequent that has family near the ring and he went over last summer and rove it and said the Playstation was huge in helping him be familiar with the track layout. He did admit the elevation change changes the dynamic, regardless it still gave him a "look" at the track.

I can imagine it helps smart drivers, its the ego drivers that can take something good and make it into something bad.

It's easy to get good at the game.
Driving the real track is another story.

On the comparison of real life to the game, one day in an NSX at Laguna is hardly a comparison.

Give the guy a week and the lap times would be very close. ( Give me a week ) ;)

They don't have a 914-6 in the game, but my real world lap times are very close to a Miata, Elise or the RUF 'Boxster' in the video game at Sears and Laguna.


Playing GT4 was a great way for me to learn and memorize both tracks.



KT

I've driven the 'ring on GT4 enough times to know that I'd be too scared to drive it very fast in real life. Some of those fast but slightly twisty bits in the first half would terrify me.

It's funny, but it takes dozens of laps on a new track in GT4 to learn it. After having driven Sears one day in real life, I felt like I knew it like the back of my hand the first time on GT4. There was no learning curve whatsoever.