Happy New Year! Although quite some time has passed since the year began… (laughs) I hope to continue updating this blog with fun content throughout the year, so thank you for your continued support.

GT Players Descend

Previously, I had the chance to interview Ms. Rico Otsuka, the MC of the YouTube channel “GTSport Broadcast Station,” and Tatsuya Sugawara, a world-class GT player. Thanks to that connection, the two of them actually came all the way to our home at the end of last year.

今、PS4「グランツーリスモSport」が面白い – GT SportプレーヤーとMCにインタビューしてきた！

GT SportプレーヤーとMCにインタビュー – GTが日本の自動車産業の救世主になる！？

Beforehand, we decided, “Since they’re coming all this way, let’s have a match on our Gran Turismo SPORT wheel setup,” and my husband said:

“We can’t have top GT players driving on such an uncomfortable seat at our place!”

and went ahead to get a new seat.

A bit over the top (lol)

On the day, when they arrived and we started playing GTSport, Sugawara-san took one look at the wheel setup and said, “This steering wheel is a bit hard to drive with. The wheel is more important than the seat, and just switching to a proper wheel with no play will improve your lap times.”

I see~ Hearing that, my husband said, “Let’s switch to the wheel they recommended right away” (laughs).

We started by driving the Porsche 911 RSR at Suzuka Circuit. My husband went first, and after Sugawara-san watched him drive, Sugawara-san took the wheel and gave advice as he drove.

My husband was nervous but driving, and Sugawara-san said, “Your racing line is pretty good—you’re genuinely skilled.” which seemed to make him quite happy (lol).

After that, Sugawara-san took over driving and shared various tips on how to drive on the circuit in GT, which I’d like to share here.

Circuit Driving Tips from GT

Brake firmly on tight corners

For sharp corners like hairpins, it’s important to brake firmly and reduce speed sufficiently.

Even though you have some brake left, your speed isn’t dropping enough, so you spend too much time turning the wheel. Slow down properly, quickly change the car’s direction, and then you can step on the accelerator aiming for the corner exit. This means your cornering speed drops a bit, but you more than make up for it on the exit with acceleration, resulting in faster lap times.
You might think, “Should I brake earlier?” but that’s not necessary. It’s okay to brake later. The key isn’t the braking point but to brake firmly until your speed drops. This will make a big difference.

Rev the gears to the limit

I thought the timing to shift gears in GTSport was when the central light-blue gauge starts flashing, but you can actually push it further.

In a real car, you’d worry about damaging it, but in GT, there’s no such risk (laughs). You can push it well beyond the flashing light. It’s faster to rev almost to the redline.
Of course, fuel consumption worsens, but when practicing, you don’t need to worry about that.
For this car, for example, you can remember approximate speeds like “1st gear can be pushed to 120 km/h,” “2nd gear to about 160 km/h, 3rd gear to about 200 km/h,” and try to push to those speeds. This helps you build speed and drive faster. It’s a GT-specific technique since it’s impossible in a real car (laughs).

Eliminate unnecessary information

In GT, your past best lap appears as a semi-transparent ghost, which I often find “annoying!” Some say it motivates them to beat the ghost, but Sugawara-san turns it off because the ghost obscures the racing line.

I always turn it off. Since the line is hidden, you can’t take the line you want. Also, I turn off the red “BRAKE!!!” warning in the center. Everyone’s different, but I try to drive without being distracted by unnecessary info.