Gran Turismo 6 versus the real world

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Brands Hatch, late November. It's an overcast Saturday afternoon, the tarmac looks damp and there's a serious chill in the air. On track, it's the Britcar Winter Warmer. Spectators are thin on the ground but they're dedicated.

I'm not here to watch, but to do something totally unique: racing Brands' Indy circuit in Gran Turismo 6, competing lap-for-lap against this year's GT Academy champions as they tackle the real-world Britcar night race out on track.

Words: Tony Coles 

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For the 2013 GT Academy drivers, the Britcar night race is a vital step in their journey from PlayStation to professional racing. Under the tutelage of RJN Motorsport, their target is the Dubai 24 Hours - and this will be their first time racing for real in the dark. A arse-clenching prospect for mere mortals at the best of times, these four young men will be fighting against a icy track as well as limited visibility. They'll be driving two production-spec Nissan 370Zs, with race tyres, uprated brake discs and a sequential gearbox.

I'm teamed with Krisztian, a seasoned Gran Turismo player. We'll be racing the same virtual 370Z against AI traffic, no driving aids and on a pro-spec racing sim with a Thrustmaster t500 RS wheel. Krisztian's a graphic designer with some serious Gran Turismo skills, and he's already putting in fast laps as I arrive.

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Watching are the Nissan PlayStation GT Academy winners: Miguel Faisca, 2013 European Champion; Florian Strauss, the German champ; Lee Cunningham, the US winner.; and Stanislav Aksenov, overall 2013 GT Academy champion. 

None have the money or backing to enter via motorsport's more traditional routes, so GT Academy was their golden ticket. But for Stanislav, it's more than golden - it's his only option: "There is no way I'd be able to do this without GT Academy," he says. "Russia has almost no motorsport for beginners, and nothing near where I live."

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I ask Florian and Miguel about the difference between sim and reality. Does the g-force come as a shock? "Not in these cars," says Miguel. "We only pull about 1.2g in the turns, so it's not too bad. We drove GT3 cars earlier this year and they were amazing. The g-forces were a real step up. I can't imagine what an LMP2 must feel like."

"The toughest part is the endurance training," explains Florian. "It's things like strength and cardio that we really need for Dubai, as well as coping with the temperature. It's going to get so hot in the car."

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Krisztian and I are suited up in Nissan race overalls. These are part fun for the hell of it, part protection against the elements: we're in an open garage in November darkness. Warming my hands up, I board my rig to see how Gran Turismo 6 simulates Brands Hatch. Krisztian's pace is bang on - putting in 0:54s and 55s, he's right up there with the quickest real-life racers. On my first lap, I put in a blistering 1:19. I'm into the gravel on nearly every turn, and banging off armco elsewhere.

It's Gran Turismo 6's new suspension model taking me by surprise. Brands Hatch's undulations and cambers have been immaculately modelled, so the fearsome Paddock corner is just as challenging as in real life, pulling the car around as you plunge down the hill.

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The Indy circuit's transition from Surtees, through McLaren and Clearways to Clark, is a series of kerb-bumpers before, all of a sudden, you're heading straight for some cones, with the car needing to be settled and ready to turn for Clark's blind apex. I've got it switching spring compression from left to right, and can feel the car driving me, rather than I driving it.

I need some guidance. RJN's Bryce Wilson takes the wheel for a demonstration lap.

A veteran of Brands in sports and touring cars, Bryce's gentle third-gear tour is a masterclass in braking points and turn-ins. All his pointers from real life are there in the game - the 50m board for Paddock is bang on, and the car reacts with total realism as he dives into the apex on a turn that demands total commitment.

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At the Druids hairpin, he takes late braking and a wide entry, clearing the near-180 degree corner with minimal wheel turn. At the tortuous Surtees-Clearways-Clark sequence, he remarks on an easily-missed change in the kerb brickwork that tells you when to floor it on the way out. Sure enough, there it is. And there's the tiny patch of mud that everyone catches as you speed onto the start straight.

With just a few minutes to go before official qualifying, I get back on to try and piece together something that's not an embarrassment. Miguel, who had previously been giving tips to Krisztian, is right beside me. With his and Bryce's pointers, I start to get that Senna feeling. I get a clean 1:03, then, between the odd overcooked corner, a 0:58, 0:56, 0:54.

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Krisztian's going quicker, though. With his 15 minutes of qualifying over, he steps from the pod with a smile on his face and a best lap time of 0:53.304 seconds. In the end, I throw caution to the wind and miraculously pull out my own 0:53, but it's much closer to a 0:54. Out on the track, the GT Academy cars put in 0:53.613 and 0:53.807. They're top of their class, but, with Krisztian's blistering time, we're on virtual pole. Score!

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The race proper. Krisztian, we decide, will do the first 45-minute stint and I'll take the car to the finish. Out in the real world, the field roars past our garage on full-throttle, and Krisztian heads off on a most serious test of our Gran Turismo skills. Not wanting to hover over my team-mate's shoulder, I head out back to watch the real cars fight it out. On track, the Academy cars are pulling away slightly from the field, but they're yet to get into backmarker traffic. Krisztian's doing well in the garage. Our strategy is pure consistency. Aim for 0:55 laps and keep it tight.

Within what feels like a minute, the real-world cars are coming in to pit. I'm up. Krisztian pulls into the virtual pit lane and pauses. Our driver change is a touch more leisurely than the frenzy of refuelling and last-second checks going on behind us. I settle into the seat and am counted down. As the game channels me out of the virtual pitlane, it's my turn to put in 45 minutes of professional-standard laps.

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Keep wide, down to 2nd, dive in, keep the angle shallow, floor it on the way out. I'm through. Now it's Hill. Dab the brakes, down to 2nd, power before the apex. We're bombing towards Surtees now. All I can think of are the dreaded cones at Clearways. There's the 50 board. Lift off, turn in, floor it through McLaren.

Position for the cones, brake, turn hard for Clark. There's the change in the kerb. Floor it, head out to the left, then right for the dirt patch. Keep on the right, keep on the power, let the car drift to the left and phew - we're over the line, and haven't spun.

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I haven't got time to reflect on another 45-odd laps of this, as I'm braking for Paddock again. Easier this time, but slower. Must improve, but most of all, don't spin out.

Amazing how focused you can be when the situation around you encourages it. It's nervy enough to race Gran Turismo 6's version of one of the world's best race tracks. Doing it in a real racing garage, against real competition, is something else. There's nothing like racing with the smell of petrol and rubber in the air.

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Everything else narrows down into tunnel vision, but that smell is still there, and your entire universe is the wheel, the pedals and the track. You don't notice the cold and you don't even notice the race cars tearing down the straight. Le Mans veterans always talk about the rhythm that comes with endurance racing, especially at night. I'm slipping into that rhythm at last.

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My laps start as solid 0:56s, then 0:55s, with the odd 0:58 for AI traffic reasons. As I settle into the zone, my hands relax and the times slowly, but steadily fall. I'm putting in consistent 0:54s and inching towards 0:53s when I'm told I'm on my last lap. The 45 minutes have flown by and I want another 45, at least. Most pressing, I want to know how we've done against the real-world boys.

We lost.

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But not by much - after 90 minutes of racing and 95 laps, we'd finished just 30 seconds down on the lead GT Academy car, driven by Florian and Stanislav. That's just 0.3 seconds a lap slower, on average. Krisztian's fastest lap was a blinding 0:52.949. The Academy's was 0:52.394.

It seems our virtual challenge was the talk of the pitlane, with people checking up on our progress and even marshalls popping in to see how we're doing. The biggest reward for me was to have Bryce, my tutor for the day, compliment me on my consistency. I was surprised that I'd kept it together. The relief was just settling in as the cramp in my right leg started.

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My day with RJN was fantastic, and our result apposite. We shouldn't have beaten the real racers, the cream of the eligible Gran Turismo players, but it was fun giving it a go. As for Gran Turismo 6, it was one of the real winners of the day. Its recreation of Brands Hatch is superb and its handling model is utter, utter joy.

Here's hoping that one day, we'll all get to face off again. The real-world Nurburgring 24 Hours against a Top Gear virtual team? Who's with me?