Real Racers Actually Use Gran Turismo To Train

**_skitzo_** · 06/01/08, 16:14

You’ve heard rumors before that Gran Turismo was used as an actual training tool but have you ever seen proof? Well thanks to the Japan Times we now have quotes from big time racers that actually use it to memorize the curves of tracks they haven’t been to in awhile.

“Formula 1 racing drivers such as Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and BMW’s Kazuki Nakajima have been seen practicing in front of a console. Whenever a new track comes onto the racing calendar, like Fuji Speedway did last October after a 30-year absence, and drivers cannot get there to practice for real, many fire up “Gran Turismo.” They say it’s the only way to memorize the track layout and braking markers — the points where you must start killing the speed to take an upcoming corner.”

Now while that’s impressive on its own, the next bit this interview presents is even more incredible. Apparently GT creator Kazunori Yamauchi clocked over 1,000 laps on a famous German track and then had a go at it in real life. In his first 12 laps he was driving at 90% capacity and after a few more he was clocking times that rivaled that of the pack. This test and interview definitely shows that Gran Turismo has finally come of age as more than a game and can be considered a real-life simulator.

Here’s one more test that will boggle the mind:

“And how did Yamauchi do in his first race driving the Mazda MX-5? Not bad at all. Having done more than 2,000 laps of the Tsukuba Circuit in his game, Yamauchi only needed a dozen laps of real-world driving before he was clocking the same times as the rest of the field — many of whom had been circling that track regularly for years. But then, as I mentioned, Yamauchi is a good driver. The same year, he was only 0.4 secs behind Loeb’s best Le Mans lap time when they battled it out on “Gran Turismo” at maker Polyphony Digital’s Tokyo headquarters. “

Source : www.jgadgets.com