How many hours practice do you need before you can nail GPL!!

Hi .. I've been practicing a particular track (watkins) for over 30 laps with no (very little) improvements. I'm quite a persistent sim racer (i've raced in F1rs/Viper/nascar/etc. quiet extensively) and was wondering how many laps you gpl pros spend before you can really nail the track. Thanks.

Well, myself only, have done probably 50 laps a day for weeks on VROC and at home, and I am still tweaking my setup and driving style, still learning...I'll never be "done"

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>Hi .. >I've been practicing a particular track (watkins) for over 30 laps with >no (very little) improvements. >I'm quite a persistent sim racer (i've raced in F1rs/Viper/nascar/etc. >quiet extensively) and was wondering how many laps you gpl pros spend >before you can really nail the track. >Thanks.

I am not surprised you have had no real improvement after 30 laps. What sort of times are you getting? Are you able to lap consistently and not come off the track?? I found it took about 100 laps of Monza in any of the (fast) cars before I could post good laptimes consistently. However, I then started working on setup, etc, etc... In short, I would say it takes longer than 30 laps to nail it!! I've had the game since November and I've played it as often as possible and I still have not beaten the AI drivers yet (Has anybody else noticed that GPL makes it very satisfying to come 3rd?). Regards, Jon.

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>Hi .. >I've been practicing a particular track (watkins) for over 30 laps with >no (very little) improvements. >I'm quite a persistent sim racer (i've raced in F1rs/Viper/nascar/etc. >quiet extensively) and was wondering how many laps you gpl pros spend >before you can really nail the track. >Thanks.

> I've been practicing a particular track (watkins) for over 30 laps with > no (very little) improvements. > I'm quite a persistent sim racer (i've raced in F1rs/Viper/nascar/etc. > quiet extensively) and was wondering how many laps you gpl pros spend > before you can really nail the track. I've done literally thousands of laps in GPL. In fact, I've probably done over 1000 laps at some of the individual tracks. Thirty laps is barely enough to learn which way the next turn goes. If you are new to GPL, figure on 100 laps at Watkins Glen just to figure out what the car is doing. After a few hundred laps, you should be pretty consistent there. Stick to one track when you are starting, and really learn to drive the car consistently there. Once you know how to drive the car well at one track, learning another track is a lot easier. -- Pat Dotson IMPACT Motorsports http://www.impactmotorsports.com/pd.html

Just one question. Did you see how many laps a GP race is? If you see that just one single race consists of way more than 30 laps... how could you possibly expect to 'nail' GPL after 30 laps? // Johan

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> Hi .. > I've been practicing a particular track (watkins) for over 30 laps with > no (very little) improvements. > I'm quite a persistent sim racer (i've raced in F1rs/Viper/nascar/etc. > quiet extensively) and was wondering how many laps you gpl pros spend > before you can really nail the track. > Thanks.

Frankly, persistance with GPL requires 100s of laps when starting out to learn the driving dynamics, car setup, as well as track layout. Then 1000s of laps to be competative with the best racing online (if you have the talent :-) ). The beauty of this sim is the depth of the challange, which after months of regular play offers as much as now as the day I installed it on my computer. Marty

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> Hi .. > I've been practicing a particular track (watkins) for over 30 laps with > no (very little) improvements. > I'm quite a persistent sim racer (i've raced in F1rs/Viper/nascar/etc. > quiet extensively) and was wondering how many laps you gpl pros spend > before you can really nail the track. > Thanks.

> I've had the game since November and I've played it as often as possible and > I still have not beaten the AI drivers yet (Has anybody else noticed that > GPL makes it very satisfying to come 3rd?). Absolutely! When I race offline, I use the full field of un***erated AI (with the addition of Jackie Stewart and Mike Spence), including global hype, and I am just now finishing in the points. I spent months as a mid-fielder on most circuits. And just in the last couple of weeks I have been finally getting competitive. First, I finished 4th at Mosport in a Ferrari. That was kind of a fluke, however, since Siffert had stalled right after the 1st gear turn leading to the back straight causing a massive 10 car pile up. Then, shortly after switching to the Lotus using Alison's modified Coventry setups, I qualified 5th at Zandvoort and finished 4th (holding off Graham Hill for the last 10 or so laps). Man, was that fun! Last night I qualified 4th at Silverstone (the front row - on one of my worst tracks) behind Clark, Hill and Gurney. As you said, even these very modest results are really rewarding! Dave Ewing

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> Hi .. > I've been practicing a particular track (watkins) for over 30 laps with > no (very little) improvements. > I'm quite a persistent sim racer (i've raced in F1rs/Viper/nascar/etc. > quiet extensively) and was wondering how many laps you gpl pros spend > before you can really nail the track. > Thanks.

It depends on the track and the driver. I tend to learn tracks slowly. At least slower than others whom I regularly race with. The Glen and Monza took a several days to really nail down. While I was fairly consistent after a few hours of practice. Multiply your 30 by 10. Right now I'm trying to become consistent enough to race at Rouen online. After 2 days,I'm still all over the place when I try to pick up the pace. Joel Willstein

Yes, well said Pat. And I'd say the best way to learn GPL is to start at the Ring. It's a whole sim in itself and every lap is an adventure even after you get to know it fairly well. By the time you break the 8.30 or even 8.20 marks at the Ring, your ready to learn any track! :)

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> > I've been practicing a particular track (watkins) for over 30 laps with > > no (very little) improvements. > > I'm quite a persistent sim racer (i've raced in F1rs/Viper/nascar/etc. > > quiet extensively) and was wondering how many laps you gpl pros spend > > before you can really nail the track. > I've done literally thousands of laps in GPL. > In fact, I've probably done over 1000 laps > at some of the individual tracks. > Thirty laps is barely enough to learn which > way the next turn goes. If you are new to > GPL, figure on 100 laps at Watkins Glen just > to figure out what the car is doing. After > a few hundred laps, you should be pretty > consistent there. > Stick to one track when you are starting, > and really learn to drive the car consistently > there. Once you know how to drive the car > well at one track, learning another track > is a lot easier. > -- > Pat Dotson > IMPACT Motorsports > http://www.impactmotorsports.com/pd.html

HOURS??? You should calculate in weeks ;-) To quote Alison: "I only start feeling comfortable after a few hundred laps on a certain track" (or something similar) Jens On Tue, 09 Mar 1999 13:57:53 +0800, SARTONO

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>Hi .. >I've been practicing a particular track (watkins) for over 30 laps with >no (very little) improvements. >I'm quite a persistent sim racer (i've raced in F1rs/Viper/nascar/etc. >quiet extensively) and was wondering how many laps you gpl pros spend >before you can really nail the track. >Thanks.

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That is SO true! When I started on GPL I put many hours on Silverstone and then moved to Monza - I tried the Glen but initially found it too difficult. Then I moved to Spa and then to the Glen where I soon got into the 1:06's. From there I went to Zandvoort - oh god - what a mistake - leave it alone - what a frustrating track! On the other hand Rouen, which I left virtually to last to even go round once is a SUPERB track, it took me a while to find a setup I liked, having tried a few, Tadej's, AT's and a few others I finally got one that suited me and finally got into the 2:00's - with some more practise I know i can knock a lot more time off that, the problem is just as I start getting into training mode I look at the clock and think - hmmmm theres probably some online racing going on now and that blows practise for the night! I reckon I've done about 50 laps at Rouen to get to the 2:00 mark, many more at Monza to get a low 1:29 (1:28 proving elusive!) and about 300 at the Glen to be able to do consistent low 1:29's. Too many at Silverstone to count! -- Mike Buckley Cotswold Pig Development Co Ltd Tel: 44 (0)1472 371591 Fax: 44 (0)1472 371208 WWW: www.toastyhamster.freeserve.co.uk