Welcome to the final round of the League racing, from Australia's own Bathurst. Being an enduro event, and still no word on the pit glitch (where the car is actually slower after fresh tyres) being sorted, it was eventually decided that a pit-stop was unavoidable for such a long event. There was some discussion about turning tyre and fuel wear off, but the Moderators decided to run the race 'as is'. The tyres themselves would be able to last the full distance but fuel-wise it had to happen. As it turned out it did not affect the racing too badly as it was right near the end anyway, and everybody was in the same boat so no-one was disadvantaged. So lets get into it. As always we will bring you the highest divisions first, starting with Division 1. Take it away warrior2167: The 7th and final round of the inaugural RaceOnOz GT6 league season had arrived and it was fittingly held at the best race track in the world, of course I'm talking about Mount Panorama Bathurst. 39 grueling laps were ahead of the drivers at the 6.2 km circuit and it would require supreme concentration to achieve top result. The championship may have been decide in the previous round, but the fight for 2nd was still on between Anon and Mustafur, Anon still had the advantage of being able to drop a non scoring round. Mustafur would have to win to guarantee the second place. With a time of 2:10.832, it was once again warrior winning the pole position for the 5th time this season. Joining him on the front row with a personal best start, was fastboysmith, setting a 2:10.9. The full grid was: warrior, fastboysmith, Mustrafur, Anon, Cyber, Zampli, Vendalism, thestig, comandgetme and Crunch. The lights go out and warrior consolidates his pole position to lead the field out of hell corner for the first of 39 laps. fastboysmith had a slightly sluggish start but was still able to maintain his place and slot onto the back of warrior. Lap 1. Unfortunately there is a lag incident between Vendalism and thestig so early into the race. Thestig's car is stopped dead in its tracks at the cutting. Lap 2. fastboysmith clips the inside wall onto skyline, sending his car on to grass. A few hairy moments as he tries to recover down the esses and into the dipper, he falls back to 6th but is still within sight of the lead. Also on lap 2 there's another lag incident. this time Crunch's car is punted by Vendalism into the barrier at the elbow. Lap 5. warrior and Mustafur have moved ahead of the field and are clear by 5 seconds. Anon has moved into 3rd after a few scary opening laps as the race has calmed down with 3rd to 7th places each about a second apart. Lap 6. Vendalism is disconnected from the race. Lap 7. 1st lead change when Mustafur drafts by warrior down conrod, the gap to Anon remains at 5 seconds. Lap 8. Cyber is disconnected and the field is down to 8 runners. Lap 10. Anon is putting down some impressive lap times and starts to close down the gap to 3 seconds. Lap 12. The catch is made and it looks like it will be a three way fight all the way to the finish. Lap 15. Smithy is having his best race of the season sitting in forth, just 9 seconds back from the leading trio. Lap 17. Zampli and Crunch have been having an entertaining race for the last 5 laps, plenty of action with respect and some unavoidable contact. Crunch is also trying to make the whole race without pitting for fuel. Lap 18. There's been no change of position at the front for some time as Mustafur and Anon are content to remain in position at this stage, until a possible loss of concentration sees Anon runs wide onto the grass at skyline. This then leads to another error at the dipper from dirty tyres. It's enough to fall outside the draft and he will need a super drive to rejoin back into the group. Zampli had been able to move away from Crunch only to be disconnected a lap later. It's been a high attrition rate so far with the field now down to 7. Halfway Leader board. 1. warrior 2. Mustrafur. +0.559 3. Anon +4.565 4. fastboysmith +19.441 5. thestig +43.068 6. Comandgetme +53.078 7. Crunch +1:50.570 Lap 25. warrior has been pushing as hard as he can to try and drop Mustafur, but has thus far been unsuccessful until Mustafur has too much wheel spin coming out of the dipper and glances the wall. Lap 30. The fuel for most drivers is starting to run out as they look to pit within 5 laps, knowing that there is time to be gained to stay out that extra lap. Lap 34. First stops of the season as Anon, Smithy, comeandgetme and thestig all pile in needing only a splash to make it home. Lap 35. Warrior and Mustafur are only just able to make the extra lap. Trying to make up time Mustafur goes in way too hot to end up in the gravel ala Marcos Ambrose in 2001, also in the #4. Lap 38. With that mistake, Mustafur came out of the pits just 2.5 seconds ahead of Anon who's been gaining a tenth every sector and 2nd is well within grasp. Final Lap. Anon had closed the gap to 1 second and coming out of forrest elbow is able to draft up to Mustafur and be a nose in front going into the chase. Mustafur is able to slow down the car to avoid any contact. Once warrior pulled away outside the draft it was eyes forward all the way to the finish and top off a terrific opening season with 5 wins, 5 poles and a fastest lap. Finishing in 2nd place 13 seconds behind was Anon who also claimed a fastest lap of 2:10.202. The result ensured 2nd place in the championship which consisted of 1 win, 5 podiums, 1 pole and 2 fastest laps. Completing the podium was Mustafur, who ran out of fuel just before the final corner to finish 25 seconds from the lead. The result meant he finished 3rd in the championship with 1 win, 5 podiums, 1 pole and 2 fastest laps. Fastboysmith came home in 4th 53 seconds from the lead. His results have been improving the whole season and he will look to improve on his 8th place in the championship in the next season. 5th went to thestig who also finished 5th in the championship featuring a podium result in the opening round. 6th today was comeandgetme who mostly had a lonesome yet solid race. 10th place in the championship is a great result coming in halfway through the season. 7th went to Crunch who was probably on the wrong strategy today trying to stretch his fuel. 9th is a solid place in the championship being your debut season. 8th today and 6th in the championship was Zampli. His best result was a 4th place in the previous round narrowly off the podium. 9th, and finishing the championship in 4th was Cyber. highlights were 2 excellent podium results. Vendalism was 10th today and 11th in the season. A valiant effort all season but the car just didn't suit his driving style. RACE QUOTES: warrior2167 (1st): Thanks everyone, it was a great season 1st season on GT6 with awesome battles in most of the races. Hopefully the tyre glitch is fixed up for next season so it opens up the strategy in the races. Anon666 (2nd): Well done again to Warrior, man he just knows how to put the foot down. Too many mistakes from me to worry him. Was gifted a chance at second due to some pit issue with Musta, but was a very tough race. Thanks for a great season lads, it has been awesome. Warrior had to settle for second a few times and we even kept him honest a few times. Crunch630 (7th): Good race, and great championship Warrior. Just wish I saw the front guys a lot more so I can appreciate what stellar performances they are... I'm hoping the new car is much easier to qualify in, because I don't have any one lap pace. I guess I'm the only stupid one on the whole website to try and stop 0 times? LOL. I wish I knew how impossible it was before starting. I felt I started well, but once again, I was disappointed to be in the same situation as every week getting stuck in the back group. I always reckon if I can just tag onto the end of the front pack, I can keep up, but I can't pump out laps to recover anything. Great report there warrior2167, and congratulations again on the win and pole position. Well done also to Anon666 and mustafur for the final podium positions Now for the Division 2 report, coming to you from Jono (N64TheStig007): With the championship already decided in N64's favour, the drivers traveled to the greatest country in the world, to race on the greatest track in the world. The ghost of Peter Perfect would watch over the heroes of Division 2 as they battled the fearsome Mt Panorama circuit 39 times which had claimed the lives of some talented drivers, and turned driving prodigies into household names and Motorsport Gods. Qualifying was an interesting affair, where Cob took out pole position. N64 had crossed the line to start his last lap with just 2 seconds left. He didn't blow his chance, moving from 6th on the grid to 2nd, just one tenth behind Cob. Stu had failed to set a competitive lap time due to being knocked around by lag, despite being nowhere near his rivals. Overdrivve joined at the last minute, and got a lap in for 6th. tb jumped into the pits, so he started in last place. Thankfully, there were no rocks or bouncing kangaroos to contend with during the event... The race was GO! Uncharacteristically, N64 jumped the start and was swamped into turn 1. Natman ran wide at turn 1, while N64 maintained 2nd, running side by side up Mountain Straight. Cob gained the initial advantage while N64, Joe and F1R3 were battling up to Sulman Park. He had already gathered a 2 second gap by the Dipper, while OverDrivve was clearly struggling. From this point on, it very quickly turned into a 2 car battle between Cob and N64 for the win. The battle for 3rd was heating up, between Joe, F1R3 and Natman. That battle would lose one when Natman tried to take advantage of Joe outbraking himself at the Cutting, but tapped the inside wall and spun down to 7th on lap 4. The battle for the lead suffered some controversy, as on this lap, Cob cut off N64 in the braking zone for Murray's and rather predictably, a punt was the nett result. In what was most likely confusion, N64 was squeezed against the pit wall, akin to the Barrichello-Schumacher battle of the 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix, only this time, N64 failed to pass. Disaster struck tb and Stu, as both drivers had disconnected in quick succession, leaving N64 the unenviable challenge of hosting. This disconnection had hurt the pair badly - tb couldn't salvage 2nd, and Stu's chances of propelling himself up the rankings were halted. There were more problems too. N64's sound began to glitch on lap 6 upon reaching Skyline. F1R3 and Joe were going hammer and tongs, Joe at one point launching up the inside at the fastest corner on the circuit! N64's sound had completely gone on lap 8. This threw him off initially, as it was very disorientating with a sense being nullified, allowing Cob to break away slightly. But, N64 overcame the lack of sound, and regained his pace. N64 had drafted Cob awesomely down Conrod Straight on Lap 10, but outbraked himself at the end of the Chase, and he had all that work to do all over again. F1R3 and Joe continued to battle each other like crazy, with Natman lurking behind. OverDrivve was lapped by Cob on lap 18, with Cob enjoying a 3 second buffer. The battle for 3rd ended for Joe when he clipped the stupidly placed tyre bundle at the exit of Forest Elbow. Natman was promoted to 4th. However, Natman had thought he had played a role in the accident, and waited for Joe briefly. With OverDrivve parked up, and everyone spread out, the only battle was for the lead. It seemed to be a foregone conclusion when Cob pulled the gap out to 4 seconds by lap 23. But in a BRZ, you can never count out N64. In the next 6 laps, he pulled the gap back to DRS range, with the clock ticking over for one hour's racing. F1R3 had made the first pitstop on lap 28, being the guinea pig for the glitched tyres and fuel. N64 was back in business when the final 9 laps begun, back on Cob's tail. He tried the impossible: overtaking around the outside of Cob at Griffin's bend. on lap 30. And it almost worked! But Cob was too smart to fall for that trick. They raged up the mountain, nose to tail. All the way for the next 2 laps. N64 had finally got past down Conrod Straight on lap 31. But the lag gremlin wasn't playing nice. As Cob fought back at Griffin's bend the next lap, he was punted. N64 naturally lifted to resume battle. Cob drafted the blue machine down Conrod, and broke in the middle of the road to combat and counter attack. However, Cob was launched into the safety barrier at tremendous speed. Both men had their hearts leap into their throats! N64 ceded position, but pitted anyway. The collision in reality made no difference to the race, as they had a whopping 50 second advantage over 3rd placed Natman, who had yet to pit. A true statement of pace. As the pit crew rushed to service N64, Cob had to get a perfect lap to create a new gap. But N64 had a perfect out lap, and as Cob exited the pits on lap 34, THEY WERE SIDE BY SIDE AGAIN! Cob cut the gap down to just 3 tenths of a second on lap 36. 3 to go. N64 outbroke himself at the Cutting, allowing Cob to eek ahead ever slightly. They were tied together by a rope. Both drivers narrowly avoided hitting the walls entering Sulman Park. But, exiting it was another story. Both drivers fought for the wide line entering McPhillamy Park, resulting in N64 losing time and in fits of rage. In spite of this, N64 caught up extremely quickly, but threw it all away on next lap, putting a wheel on the grass under braking for Griffin's bend, somehow avoiding contact with the wall. This gave Cob an insurmountable 5 second gap. Knowing he had enough fuel to make it, N64 pushed like he had never pushed before, but it was not enough. He had got the gap down to 3 seconds. An extra lap might have seen a very different result, as Cob ran out of fuel entering Hell Corner on the run down. 24 seconds back in 3rd was F1R3, who finished a long way ahead of natman and Joe. Natman's 4th place secured him 2nd in the standings. Once again, I spoke with some of the drivers, ask them their thoughts on the season finale. Stuart170773 (DSC): "Well, what an anti climax. I didn't qualify at all after getting hit by TB 3 times in 2 laps even though he was half a track away. Overdrivve got in to the room, so I parked it and thought, long race, will start at the rear and come through. Start comes, TB is as the back as well for some reason ( was sure you were up further than that) and then I fumble my way around for the first few laps. A few guys have a few moments and am up to 6th, with TB behind me, he gets the draft, so I let him go. On about lap 9 Nat and TB get together (I think) so I get past and TB disconnects, then get my head down to chase the cars on front, come to the end of mountain straight and see 3 cars slowing to the left, happy days, then bang, disconnected. At the time I thought the whole lobby must have been DSC, just by the way the three in front slowed, but it would seem it was part of the glitch on my screen. Stupid game." t_b_williams (DSC): "Sorry about the STUPID F@*^$&!G lag in qually Stu. Am going to throw this 'new' router in the bin and get out the other one I was using previously. As to my start position, yeah, I did actually qualify third, but in my confusion while typing a good luck msg just before the race started I managed to kick myself back to the pits, ala round 1. Nat and I didn't come together. ( I didn't come at all, don't know about Nat) Just like was discussed pre race, my game froze just before the dipper. game reset, which forced a system reset. Bugger. Was happy sitting 3rd in the standing, but after this, I can see myself falling way down the list. Congrats to Cob for taking the win over Jono and Fire. Natman Fastest lap." OverDrivve (6th): "I actually ran about 17 laps straight then parked it. I did take off again later but only ran 1 lap, so I finished at the start of the 19th lap. It probably seemed like I parked it earlier because i was going so slow lol" F1R3W1ND (3rd): "yay better late then never finally got a good clean race well nearly t.b got close and lag punted me and i got a penalty but nothing big enough to ruin my race for third. had a heaps good battle with joe for the first half and kept it consistant for third yay." TTR_joe90 (4th): "Thanks for an interesting season - can't say i enjoyed all of it but glad i stayed with it. Well done to Jono for the overall championship. Great drive from Cob. Wish i could have kept up with you Firewind but i clipped the tyre bundle at the end of the armco coming onto conrod and it stopped me dead, Nat had no where to go but to tbone me and it ended any challenge i might have put together. The difference in speed after pitting was just appailing and i stayed out as long as i dared, lap36 i think? The lag this season has obviously been the real downer and i almost choked when Stu disconnected and the room was handed over to N64 who kept warping back in front of me every time i entered the 'cutting' ( he was several Km's in front!!?). Real pleasure driving with you guys." N64TheStig007 (2nd): "That was a thoroughly enjoyable end to what has been a fantastic season for me. Congrats to Cob on scoring that elusive victory and keeping his head (Mc)Cool. Was quite surprised to get 2nd on the grid actually, I was in 6th and half a second down on Cob's pole lap, but I somehow recovered 4 tenths in the final sector. My start was uncharacteristically poor, and I was swamped at turn 1. Running side by side with Joe, I was scared of a lag punt that would ruin us. I broke a bit too late for Griffin's bend, but it gave me the inside line for The Cutting, and that was all she wrote. For the next 38 laps it was a head to head battle with me and Cob for the lead. On lap 5 I gave Cob a slight lag punt at Murray's as he cut me off. He must have thought I was trying to gain an advantage, as I was squeezed against the pit wall and had to take avoiding action. The battle raged on, but we were still pulling rapidly away from the rest of the field. On (I think) lap 6, the infamous Bathurst sound glitch struck and I had no sound for the rest of the race! It was extremely disorientating, and Cob pulled out a 3 second game while I was getting used to driving without sound. It made changing gears an absolute nightmare. But the gap shrunk eventually, and I had managed to get past at the Chase, but I outbroke myself and gifted Cob the lead back. Towards the end of the stint, we jostled for position numerous times after periods of gap maintaining. Unfortunately, on lap 32, the lap I intended to pit on, the lag gremlins struck, and Cob was cannoned into the wall at the Chase. I waited for him of course, and due to our 50 second gap to F1R3, it made no difference. The pit phase was unique, as the car felt completely different. Cob pitted a lap later and we came out of Hell Corner side by side! The advantage was with me, but 2 laps later, I broke too late at The Cutting, which put Cob side by side with me. Neither of us was giving an inch, but I was wedged into the outside wall at the top of Sulman Park, giving him a buffer. Hunting time once again. The gap closed down, but on lap 37, I put a wheel onto the grass at turn 2, snap oversteer, game over. Well almost. I still fought, and narrowed the gap down to 3 seconds by the races end. Cob drove superbly, and deserved victory. I had the pace to win, but Cob made no mistakes, whereas I did. Congrats to Natman for taking another fastest lap as well. It's been a real pleasure to drive this car on some of the best circuits in the game. And against some of the fiercest competitors here in ROOZ. I'm humbled to come away on top, as I've come close before but never reached the goal. Here's hoping that I do a better job in Div 1 than I did last time. Now, to secure the #1 before Warrior does...." Lap Times: Natmanscoop 2:11.643 N64TheStig007 2:11.693 CobMcCool 2:11.875 F1R3W1ND 2:12.024 t_b_wiliams 2:12.336 stuart170773 2:12.797 TTR_joe90 2:12.914 OverDrivve: 2:14.898 So, at the conclusion of an intense fight at racing heaven, it marked the conclusion of the inaugural Season for Gran Turismo 6. Packed full of controversy, speed and drama, it is only the curtain raiser for the game's life within ROOZ. With further updates, tracks and cars coming, who knows what we will have in store in Season 2? Cheers and many thanks, Jono (N64TheStig007) Nice report there Jono. Congratulations to CobMcCool on race victory, and also to N64TheStig007 with F1R3W1ND for the final podium positions. Stay tuned for Part 2!! Division 1 Reporter/Photographer: warrior2167 Division 2 Reporter/Photographer: Jono (N64TheStig007) Editor: Jamie (Ad2mny)
