Tahiti Road

Paradise for Gran Turismo fans is Tahiti in French Polynesia. The road racing version of paradise was Tahiti Road. This course was a fairly simple romp around the island with very few challenging corners. It is a very beginner-friendly racing course that yields high speed thrills with only smooth corners. Of all the corners, only one requires heavy braking. The rest of the course is just smooth sailing for the most part. This blog post is my introduction to Tahiti Road. It's a one-hit-wonder, having only been in Gran Turismo 2.

--- Tahiti Road ---

Welcome to paradise:

French Polynesia's most popular island is your paradise of speed in Gran Turismo 2.

In my view, it was strange not to include a proper French venue. It was smart, however, to include Tahiti. Tahiti is the most popular of the islands which comprise French Polynesia. So therefore, it's smart that French Polynesia was featured to represent France. Tahiti Road is used as the site of the French Nationals in Gran Turismo 2. The thing that still spellbounds me is... Gran Turismo has featured Tahiti, but NEVER any Australian or New Zealand venues. That doesn't sound right.

One-Lap Description.

The track itself is nothing too challenging. If anything, a car with a poor suspension setup will find it difficult to go around this track. The first three corners are a smooth set of uphill right-left-right corners. The road from Intermediate 1 to Intermediate 2 is a chicane followed by a sharp right. As you enter the chicane, the road dips downward and has a little banking as you make the right-hand corner followed by an uphill left to complete this chicane. The sharp right hander does not really require braking- just good throttle control is just as effective as braking here. Heading into Intermediate 2, the road ahead is a very long sweeping left that leads to the toughest corner on the entire track- a very sharp right-hand corner. There are NO turn markers to help you here, so you'll need to properly judge your distance to attack the corner properly. After this decisive turn is a straight leading to Intermediate 3. An uphill left-hand kink is connected to an uphill right-hand kink. Once you go over the crest of the right-hand kink, you get a glimpse of the final corner. All you need to do here is left off the throttle and steer hard to the right. This track is all about speed. Perhaps not Test Course or Super Speedway speed, but you'll only have to do so much braking if you are in a very fast car or a powerful race car. It is very simple to learn your way around this high-speed paradise.

Video Demonstration.

Here is a video lap of this course. I must warn you- you may need to turn down the volume:






You know, I really think it's a shame this track hasn't returned for any other tours of duty. The only Tahiti action you'll get in future GTs is on the two rally courses. This track is actually quite fun. I often imagine how this would look and ride in future GT titles, and perhaps even if this was in Tourist Trophy. Yeah. Tahiti Road. Give her a try and enjoy paradise!

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Special Stage Route 11 (GT1 Version)

Gran Turismo 1's ultimate challenge besides Grand Valley was Special Stage Route 11. It was a long race course that dared test you to go fast around the tricky city streets and highways properly while trying to stay away from those walls. GT1's Special Stage Route 11 challenge involved going underneath the Start/Finish highway to take on a tricky bus stop chicane. Because GT1's version of SSR11 is different from GT3's version, this blog post ONLY focuses on the GT1 version of this course.

--- Special Stage Route 11 (GT1 Version) ---

Special Stage Route 11 is below:

^ from: gtplanet.net, by way of holomedia.com

The highways and streets of Special Stage Route 11 are the ultimate challenge outside of Grand Valley. You are in for quite a fight when you race here.

(Thanks to a loyal reader for correcting this error for me)

This is a race track for primetime performers. The action happens during blue hour- the sun has gone down, but the skies aren't totally dark. The city opens itself to a nighttime festival of speed that Special Stage Route 5 has absolutely NOTHING on. The corners are slow. The speeds are fast. This is a no-holds-barred street fight. How do you attack the course? Do you go all out by going with aggressive powerslides? Do you try to race this professionally and properly? Or... do you combine (but not compromise) both styles? SSR11 is meant for the Gran Turismo adept. Go hard or go home.

One-Lap Description.

The journey begins down the long front stretch. No braking is needed for the right-hand kink that follows, but the sharp right-hander surely requires some braking when you get somewhere between the 100-meter and 50-meter mark. Depending on how fast your car is, you may or may not have to brake heading into the chicane. You can just let off the throttle somewhat. The next two corners are 90° corners with the same level of challenge. It's best to aggressively slide through the corners rather than try to attack the very inside. In fact, this course's design basically makes you try to attack the corners using powersliding. Get up to speed after the second 90° corner because up next is a sharp right-hand hairpin. Go for an aggressive slide or try to attack the very inside mid-turn. Up next is a trip under the Start/Finish highway. It begins with a dip in the road that does not require braking. The second little section may require some braking just to keep the car straight and away from the walls. When you're under the highway, the bus stop chicane awaits, and it can mean the difference between a fast lap time and a slow one. If you misjudge the speed and distance for which to enter and exit the section, your lap time will suffer. You may lose several positions if in a race (or have your leading margin shrink if leading the race. So be absolutely careful here. The best advice I can recommend is to avoid being overaggressive- just take the corner professionally without trying to do any drifting. You go uphill from the Start/Finish highway into a left-hand kink followed by a right-hand kink. Two straight sharp corners are next- a sharp right connected to a sharp left. Powerslide through the right-hand corner and then attack the very inside of the following corner. What follows is a smooth left that has a little banking to it. Outside-inside is the way to go. Swing outwards on entry and hug the inside without getting too friendly with the inside wall. Take the right-hand bend at full speed and cross the bridge into another critical part of the track. Think ahead because once you go over the crest of the bridge, you'll have only seconds to think about how to attack the hairpin. Your car will be off-balance heading into the turn because the hairpin is linked to a brief left-hand kink when entering the tunnel. Try to drift here, and you'll probably see your car get spun out. Get up to speed quickly so you can take on the two sharp left-hand corners out of the tunnel. You can take on both of them individually, or you can aggressively slide to treat both sections as one big corner. Get up to speed a little bit so you can take on the final hairpin on the track. Next, go full speed down the industrial section as you blast down backstretch into the final chicane. The chicane is very blind and dark. Therefore, you will need to attack quickly and carefully to avoid losing too much time. Get up to speed again to take on the long uphill right-hand corner that leads to the Start/Finish line. The laps may be the longest here, but this track is not impossible to tame.

Video Lap.

This video demonstrates a lap of Special Stage Route 11 (GT1) after attempting to describe one lap around SSR11:






Thank you for reading! A post on GT3's version of SSR11 may be in the future. I really need to post more often for this blog to keep it fresh. If you want to offer suggestions, you may either email me directly or post suggestions to my Facebook fan page.

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Gran Turismo 4 - Gran Turismo World Championship Advice

(UPDATED: March 25, 2014)

If you made it to the Gran Turismo World Championship in Gran Turismo 4, congratulations! Now how do you win this one? The GT World Championship in GT4 is tough. I will share some personal insight to maybe give you some advice as to how I ultimately conquered Gran Turismo's signature championship series. I've created this blog post per the request of a Facebook friend of mine.

LATEST UPDATE(S)/REVISION(S):

MAR 25 2014 - made several edits; changed link later in post

--- GT4 GT World Championship Advice ---

The headings will tell a piece-by-piece story. They will help you to realize what must be done to win this championship.

GT World Championship at a Glance.

The Gran Turismo World Championship is the ultimate championship in Gran Turismo racing. The GT4 version encompasses the fastest racing machines on ten of the toughest tracks in Gran Turismo 4. It is a tough tour of some tough street courses (except Seoul) and competitive road courses.

Make sure you have won all of the Beginner and Professional races and championships before attempting this championship. Also, make sure you have your International A license prior to entering.

You NEED a Prototype.

If you don't have a GTP or LMP prototype race car, you stand a snowball's chance in Hell of winning the Gran Turismo World Championship. You see how easily high-powered GT cars get lapped here. DO NOT bring a GT car to this championship! I remember when I completed 50% of GT4 and got that Jaguar XJR9. I was competitive with the XJR9, but I suffered a rare fate- finishing lapped. That's right. I was lapped in the Hong Kong round. Disappointed with the performance of the XJR9, I sold it after feeling like I stood no chance of winning the GTWC. So what I did was invest enough money in the game to get the 2005 Pescarolo Courage (the white one with blue and green accents). The way I invested my Credits was by doing the Special Condition races and selling off the different cars I had won. I went with the Pescarolo because it is a beautiful car and a capable car. I felt it gave me the best chance of winning the big races (any race that features prototypes).

If there is a worthy alternative, I'd recommend either the Toyota 88C-V (commonly called the "Minolta Toyota") or especially the Nissan R92CP. I personally like the R92CP because it is incredibly fast and powerful. I even tempted to use this car in the Formula GT Championship since it was about the only car in my collection even on pace with F1 cars (I do have a Formula Gran Turismo car in GT4). The good thing is that you don't have to pay 4.5 million Credits just to buy one. All you have to do is earn the 88C-V or the R92CP in (the races where you can unlock the respective cars).

So those are three cars I recommend- the 2005 Pescarolo Courage, the Toyota 88C-V, or the Nissan R92CP. I may also recommend the very fast (and very loud) Mazda 787B.

Getting Through the Races.

Here is a look at each of the races of the GTWC:

• Tokyo R246 - You can go very fast around this 3-mile street course, but how you handle the tricky corners can mean the difference between victory and defeat.

• Twin Ring Motegi - Superspeedway - if you have invested in a Stage 3 NA or a Stage 4 Turbo (or whatever the highest engine/turbo tuning is available), use that to give yourself the edge. This is really the only course you're going to need big horsepower and a very good top speed setup.

• Hong Kong - this track is slow and narrow. You may have to play a little rough just to get a small edge.

• Seoul Central (Reverse) - this street course is short and fast, but you still need a good setup for the corners. Passing shouldn't be too difficult since most of the course consists of some rather wide roads. Make sure you do most of your passes before some of the roads narrow.

• El Capitan - I personally think of this course as one of my Test Tracks in GT4. Be alert at all times and don't try to push too hard when trailing, especially on this course.

• New York - the many 90° corners will really test you here. You need to drive hard and fast down the speedy sections, especially down the two stretches as well as the backstretch around Central Park.

• Opera Paris (Reverse) - since this track can be nightmarishly slow, you may want to qualify strong. If doing this a a single race, you're going to need to drive consistently and attack only when the opportunities present themselves.

• Suzuka Circuit - I love Suzuka. However, the biggest nerve-racking section is the Casio Triangle. This track is tough. You need to be patient and drive aggressively to have any chance of winning.

• Grand Valley (Reverse) - Gran Turismo's signature racing facility is raced in reverse. Therefore, you are faced with the super-slow chicane first. Victory is not impossible as long as you have a solidly set-up car as well as proper knowledge of tackling this course.

• Circuit de la Sarthe 1 - since this is a high-speed racing course, you must keep mistakes to an absolute minimum. The 8.5-mile course will wreak havoc on your car's suspension and tires. Go for speed here. The only real concern of this track is the second half of the course (from the Mulsanne kink to the Ford Chicane). This track is not difficult to win on. Just drive fast and smart.


(edited: March 25, 2014)
For a little more insight on the Professional Hall or on almost anything related to Gran Turismo (which includes the GT World Championship), why not check out GTPEDIA by GTPlanet. It is a tough championship, but not impossible to win. You just need to use your best racing skills and also have a solid car to take on the challenges of this championship. A basic rule of thumb after racing and losing in certain championships is to try to get any of the better race cars in the championship to have the best chance of winning. You know if you brought a great enough car if the A-Spec is between 5 to 25. Go hard or go home!





Thank you for reading! Good luck to you racing the GT World Championship in GT4!

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A GT Admittance of Mine

Not having Gran Turismo 5 and/or a PS3 has really handicapped my ability to effectively keep this blog going. I still created this blog to compliment my Gran Turismo fans. There is one thing to take note of with all of my work on JGTS (John's Gran Turismo Space)- I will NOT do any Gran Turismo 5-themed blog posts until I have actually PLAYED GT5, and I will need to play GT5 for a good amount of time to truly and professionally discuss matters of Gran Turismo 5. Professionalism is what I work towards in all of my blog posts. On top of this, I can't be professional about a game I haven't played or have enough experience with to share in a quality manner. That is why you don't see as many blog posts regarding Gran Turismo 5 so far. When I do get to play GT5 (and likely to own and play GT5), I will work to make more content regarding Gran Turismo 5 both here on JGTS and on John's Blog Space.

I am not getting as many views for John's Gran Turismo Space, but at least appreciate that I am trying to make this blog work for myself and for all of you reading. Never create ANYTHING for the Internet if you don't feel it will be of any use or value to others. This blog was created for Gran Turismo fans featuring commentary from me. At least I am someone who properly keep something like this going. Also, I at least know I can do much more to make it work. Regardless, I think not being able to play/own GT5 has really crippled the hopes of this blog becoming just a tad more popular.

I am letting you know in advance- I am still working on getting my PS3 and GT5 to make more quality content for this blog and for my primary blog at John's Blog Space. This blog post is just to say that I am sorry that I cannot supply GT5-themed material as of yet. I cannot make blog posts and videos on a game I don't have or don't know about that much. That is why I haven't made as many posts or videos on GT5, especially lately. However, I am definitely working on getting a PS3 and GT5. So just know this- John's Gran Turismo Space will NOT die out in obscurity. More content will be provided to keep this blog going strong. Have patience, everyone. You had patience waiting for Gran Turismo titles; patience is appreciated for this blog.



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