I knew this season would be tough for me on account of not doing Sunday league for about 2 years I believe. The fact that the physics changed before the opening race did not help on account of me not being able to play the game as frequently as I used to. To this day, this league's races are the only multiplayer races I've done on the new physics. Secondly, I think the physics have been supremely neutered by lowering rear axle weight distribution. The former physics very much felt like iRacing which I'm familiar with but now the rear-end is planted just like it's been in Gran Turismo since GT5. That's a massive step back for a game and a franchise that is losing its relevance among stiff competition in the modern racing sim marketplace. I hoped GT7 would be a step forward but after the physics patch it's been nothing but a step back since GT Sport, which already took a step back after its own physics patch (in 2018 I think it was?).
For my own season, I started poorly in the open races by dipping tyres in the dirt and spinning. Of course, these results were my own doing and I'm not making excuses for those but moreover I want to provide an explanation for the teething issue I had in the opening two races; my personal opinion is that the regulations for x1 tyre wear means racing in Division 1 is an elongated sprint race from start to finish. Any limited semblance of tyre conservation that may exist in this game on higher wear rates are completely gone at x1 on hard tyres, leaving zero scope to drive at anything less than 100% all the time. Fuel wear is just a meta-game that does not impact how hard you push the tyres, but at least fuel wear did have some relevance this season. The problem with Gran Turismo at the moment is the lack of tyre temperatures. After the initial sector on cold tyres, the tyres never go cold or overheat. That means there is no risk or reward for pushing your tyres at certain points in a race. When you compare that to iRacing where driving style and setup determines whether tyres are in the temperature window for optimal grip, it's hard to consider x1 wear anything but sprint racing. Those are my honest excuses for my poor form in the opening races; the guys in this division that can stay in the zone mentally for 45 minutes to drive at 100% are supremely skilled and I have nothing but respect for everyone in division 1 this season. This is a hard season to drive at peak performance. I knew all this going into the season and deliberately wanted to improve my mental stamina so I have unfinished business in that regard.
From round 3 onwards, I will say that the turnout for the sprint round was very disappointing. Something needs to be done because ROOZ has had attendance issues to varying extents for the last decade, but I can't remember anything quite as dire as the top division in the opening season on a new game entry having such a drastic collapse after two rounds. Of course, the update had a lot to do with it, but I do not believe that other leagues have this problem to the same degree that we do, and I may be wrong in that assessment. The fact that drivers cannot show up despite the issues with the latest update just because they feel a moral obligation to show up for their fellow drivers is the main issue, I think. The fact that there's a livestream of our league and we can't field a grid in division 1 yet division 2 seems to be full indicates to me that there is something wrong with how we entice and motivate top drivers in Gran Turismo. The regulations have been stagnant for about 11 years or so and while this season might be sufficient for lower divisions, maybe division 1 needs innovation and fresh ideas to separate Sunday league from racing that we do routinely in Sport mode (ie. Gr4, Gr3) every other day. Gran Turismo is a sandbox game with huge potential for variety. Many of you here already know how strongly I've advocated for innovation for years and years. You could see my GT7 ideas thread here:
http://raceonoz.com/forums/index.php?threads/gt7-future-seasons-ideas-thread.4211/
To that end, I have been cooking up a community series for the past year, and I'll be sharing that with the community after I return from the United States. That'll be several months away but hopefully should be run around Christmas 2022 pending a variety of factors including patches. Unfortunately, the game needs many more patches to be in a proper state to run a community series so there's a lot more waiting to be done.
I really hoped to put in a strong performance personally at the sprint round, but that couldn't happen. It sucks not being able to address the teething issue I had with mental stamina in the opening rounds by attending the sprint round with the race length cut in half and being held at a track without grass/dirt but that's life. With the fourth round also postponed, my season was decidedly below par and I wish I could have put in a performance at least somewhat indicative of my pace. It's a massive shame, but I wonder whether this season is a complete wash for all division 1 drivers at this point anyway. I doubt rounds 3 or 4 will be re-run at all and I hope this season and the game generally gets into better shape sooner rather than later.
