GC GTR2 SEASON 5 PREVIEW!
Also Includes: The News GT Legends Roundup
ISSUE 1 FREE AIR BISCUIT
Contents The News ... Page 3 GTL Roundup ... Page 4 Season 5 Preview ... Page 6 Cars and Schedule ... Page 9 League by League ... Page 10 The Rear View ... Page 18
Hello and welcome to the first issue of Gamers-Crib news. The aim of this bi-weekley magazine is to provide news coverage of what is happening on the Crib and other features of interest to the community. What is there to talk about then well this is the great thing about Gamers Crib, we are not limited to the driving games. We have a strong community who now play Project Reality, a group of us who play Company of Heroes, more players on Pro Evolution as well as a few people who like to jump into CS once in a while. Additionally there is a mystery group of gamers which no one seems to know what they do, some think they are responsible for all the Internet Epic Fail meme, others say they are into a World of Witchcraft all we know is they are in there own room in TS all the time. The main focus at the moment is on the GTR2 League now entering Season 5 this is the Cribs main event and this season promises to be the most interesting yet! We focus on Season 5 in this magazine providing an insight into what the changes and new driver line ups will offer! HJ
Thank-you to all our interviewees. GC E-Mag in no way represents the views and opinions of www.gamers-crib.com or the GC FIA. Editor: [GC]Howard Contributors: [GC]Howard [GC]Trusler Screen grabbers: [GC]Howard Contact us at: gc.emag@googlemail.com Layout and PDF created in Scribus - open source DTP software. GC E-Mag was bought to you this week by the letters F and O and the number 8
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The News VHR Mod 2.0 Released
Drivers Association?
The new version of the VHR Stock Car racing mod was realeased on Febuary 1st for RFactor. This mod is a must for fans of turning left featuring 3 classes of cars and all the top ovals. The physics on this is a stand out feature, you can race ovals on other games but the drafting requirement, throttle steering and general feel of the circuit is lost. In addition VHR adds a spotter to the game, a pace car and proper flag rules. Several Gamers-Crib members have taken on this mod and the general view is that the 2.0 update has bought out a whole load of physics improvements. The mod is availible from www.vhrracing.net and it is reccommended to uninstall previous versions prior to installing the new mod. Gentlemen start your engines.
Discussions continue about the formation of a GC Drivers Association for Season 5. Some feel one voice to represent the drivers views to the GC FIA would be an effective tool when lobbying for changes. This idea has come about to the GC FIA announcing the dropping of changeable weather for all races in Season 5. This is something that was promised to the racers and was being looked forward to. Additionially a proposal for one of the races to become an endurance race could also be discussed. However not all racers are behind the idea "I think it's just another layer of bureaucracy/red tape." the association if it was started would be the required method of lobbying the GCFIA which may not be ideal.
Above: VHR Mod Below: Problems ahead for Season 5?
GC Race 07 League Abandoned? Rumours continue about the status of Season 2 WTCC League. The season started with a strong grid that was quickly depleted due to accidents and other problems. Now neither of the rounds in January have not taken place although there has been no announcment to the status
of the series. Late last year a new Race 07 / GTR Evo league was in the planning stages using the GT cars. Talk however has died down and now with the GTR2 league switching to the big GT cars planning may have to be restarted from scratch. HJ
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GT Legends Roundup This section is for the round up of what is going on in the world of GT Legends. In this first issue we are stuck with the exploits of the hugely competitive GC Mini league. This league is now on it's tenth season and is has been the stating point for sim racing online for many people on GC. The cars are may be simple and slow but it means the driver is responisble effort to go
quicker. This Monday evening league is well organised by Remco and runs both a skin pack and predominantly add on tracks. The other major League runs on Thursdays with the GTC-65 and a couple of add on cars is on the last race of season 3. We hope to bring a full round up feature on season 3 in the next issue. This season evens the races up by only allowing the
driver to race a specific car in one race, choosing a different car for each of the races. Additional on GT Legends is the add on evening which runs every Friday night. At the moment this is a series of individual races with add on cars and circuits. Organisers are planning to turn this into a league at some stage. For more details visit the forums.
Joni Jurmu and Vfast1 win at Zolder The mini league headed to Belgium on Feb 2nd for an 8 lap double sprint round. Race 1 qualifying was hard fought but Joni Jurmu took pole from vfast1 and Kartoffel. 13 racers were due to start however Vfast1 had to pull out with a steering problem. Turn 1 saw Ron Burgandy spin out from 11th place and in the end he retired on lap 4. The race went well for JJ as he led from lights to flag, one of the great mini league battles raged between Peter Close, Geoffers, DannyWilde, and Kartoffel. Battle raged with these 4 drivers never getting more than 1.4 seconds between them. First Kartoffel then Peter Close, then Danny Wilde and lastly Geoffers got second place. On the penultimate lap Kartoffel picked up a stop and go penalty dropping him to last place. Behind them the other racers tightened up for the last laps, Howard held on to 5th with Mikko_Skinnari in 6th,
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Laverda in 7th and Tokin back in 8th. Race 2 qualifying was a different affair with the top 5 finishers sitting it out. Vfast1 took pole with Ron Burgandy close behind and Laverda in 3rd. The race was between the front two and they got away from the pack at the start. Behind them the close dicing racing between racers kicked off. Peter Close and Danny Wilde worked there way from the back to finish 3rd and 4th. JJ and Geoffers got past Howard who was struggling. At the front vfast1 managed to hold off Ron Burgandy for the win. An error towards the end saw JJ and Geoffers get passed by Howard and a battle to hold on for the line commenced Howard eventually held on for 6th place. Both Mikko_Skinnari and Geoffers picked up last lap stop and go penalties. Right: Joni Jurmu (above) and Vfast1 (below)
Race 1 Results 1.Joni Jurmu 2. Geoffers 3. Danny Wilde 4. Peter Close 5. Howard 6. MikkoSkinnari
15:41.153 +0:16.882 +0:17.015 +0:19.292 +0:23.573 +0:26.430
Race 2 Results 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Vfast1 Ron Burgandy Peter Close Danny Wilde Laverda Howard
15:42.621 +0:07.707 +0:15.019 +0:18.046 +0:18.349 +0:20.162
GT Legends Roundup Ron Burgandy Prevails at Knockhill Cut Fest The home of Scottish Motorsport at Knockhill has always provided a stern test everytime the leagues have visited. The track is short with lots of gradient and most of the corners are taken at high speed. This leads to many off track excersions and the stewards are always very tough on cutting. Many people argue that they are to tough but most racers have raced here many times an know the form. With 25 laps in one race on a tough track this was always going to be an eventful rac with staying on track being most important. Qualifying was a surprise no in terms of positions but because the session was shortened to only 5 minutes leaving some drivers having not set a competitive time and one person starting from the back. Ron Burgandy as he has so many times took pole position from Joni Jurmu in 2nd, Danny Wilde in 3rd and Howard in an excellent 4th.
Off the line position was held for the first few laps as everyone picked up a pace and adjusted to full tanks of fuel. Howard was the first to slip back running wide a the hairpin and losing out to Remco, then shortly afterwards losing positions to Jimmy and Vfast1 and being the first one to pick up a stop and go. Back at the front Ron Burgandy steadily pulled to win despite a cut track away while the chasing pack looked once again to knock the stuffing out of each other. Remco and DannyWilde eventually passed JJ on lap 8 and went to finish 2nd and 3rd. Vfast1 came in 5th amd Tokin in 6th after steady races moving up after other racers made errors. Kartoffel had an eventful race and was up from 9th to 6th but unfortunatly two late S&G penalties put him to the back. 40 cut track warnings and 15 S&G penalties were handed out to the field, a lot of extra problems
coming from getting the pit limiter to work. As usal Knochill provided very good entertainment. Race Results 1. Ron Burgandy 2. Remco 3. Danny Wilde 4. Joni Jurmu 5. Vfast1 6. Tokin 7. Jimmi 8. Laverda 9. Howard 10. Kartoffel 11. R Bhamb
25:49.378
+0:11.405 +0:14.182 +0:14.703 +0:18.809 +0:42.139 +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +1 lap +2 laps
Mini League Season 10 Standings after Knockhill 1. [GC]vfast1 - 94 2. Ron Burgundy - 91 3. Joni Jurmu - 84 4. [GC]Remco - 65 5. Danny Wilde - 53 6. Geoffers - 43 7. [GC]Howard - 35 8. [GC]Laverda - 34 9. Peter Close - 26 10. Jimmy - 24 11. Tokin - 22 12. Mikko_Skinnari - 19 13. Swanny - 18 14. Kartoffel - 7 15. Paul Cowan - 4 16. Richard Bhamb - 2 16. Nick - 1 17. Pizzaman - 0 17. PIPPIE - 0 17. GTL R Brown - 0 Far Left: Ron leads to turn2. Above Left: Remco and Danny Wilde. Below Left: Tokin and Kartoffel
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GC GTR2 SEASON 5 PREVIEW
Gamers-Crib is currently in pre season fever awaiting the start of the GTR 2 League's 5th Season. We now have an official entry list totalling an incredible 83 drivers, a skin pack and a track list so everything is nearly ready to go. This is the most exciting part of the season as everyone shows off their new cars and tries to get up to speed onece again. The big change for Season 5 is the switch to the faster GT specification cars. All the previous seasons we have used the NGT and G2 cars excluding the Corvette. This has produced great racing with the majority of people using the Ferrari 360 GTC,
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Porsche 911 RSR and a huge number of BMW GTR's. The new regulations have opened the door for many more different cars and six different models are racing. Pre season testing showed the Ferrari 550 had a large speed advantage and it has been excluding as we do not want a single make series. Variety is the spice of life after all. Track choices went to a vote this season, 5 add-on tracks were chosen and 5 standard tracks. Some of the add ons were a fairly obvious decision with Suzuka, Interlagos and Silverstone all being played and enjoyed regularly on GC. However we also have Austrias A1
ring making the calendar, this short track with it's short sharp corners will provide a good test. The last add on chosen was Laguna Seca, the highlight here is the Corkscrew bend which I am sure will catch out drivers at various times. The standard tracks are obvious again, the absolute popularity of Donnington Park and Spa saw them make the list easily. This season the series visits Hockenheim once again, this track is a great technical test with both high speed and slow corners. Two suprise tracks are here in the from of the opener in Zuhai which is another tight test and also with Brno.
The long winding Czech track will certanly test drivers on their concentration. With 83 drivers we cannot all race in one race due to lag and stability issues. Season 5 has once again been split into 4 divisions based on past performances and attendance. Attendenace was taken into account so we do not have a situation like League B last year where only half the drivers raced regularly. Additionally the Premier league will for the first time be forced to drive using the cockpit view, initally some drivers were upset and not going to sign up but I am pleased to announce that most are back racing with us. The races will be run for each division every fortnight, League A & C will go first from the 15th Feburary and the Premier League B will race from the 22nd Feb.
The first race will be on the Zuhai circuit in China. The newly named Premier League contains the creme of the crop from previous seasons and is the place to watch if you want to see clean and very fast racing. The previous League B has become League A and contains a variety of racers with a lot of people working their way up the ladder and other dedicated drivers from last years League C. The new League B is possibly the most interesting League of all, containing some very fast names from Season 4 League D and some newcomers who have really shaken up some of the off season races and tests. League C this season is made up of mainly newcomers but also has the very experienced Supra 4 who has dropped down due to choice. A few of the newcomers have been
on TS and in the tests so the league will have the right racing spirit. There are a few slots left free to join league C and hopefully the slots will be filled up. All the races this season will be raced over the same distance or 240km. Last season League C and D raced a shorter distance because of the expected slower racing however with the same distance across all divisions everyone will be able to directly compare race times and strategies. Variable weather was to be included in Season 5 however testing has shown some issues that need to be resolved with items such as pit boxes and adequate forcasting. Some protests were launched about this with drivers threatening to boycott races but because time is short a likely resolution to include weather in Season 5
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is unlikely to be found. This incident has again started talk amongst drivers about starting a drivers association to lobby the GC FIA for changes to deliver their promises. Also put forward late into this pre season is the posibility of one round being a longer endurance race, voting and discussions are on going. Season 5 is again going to be a teams championship and drivers are encouraged to team up with another driver in a the same car. Points are to be scored by each driver based on their position at the finish with an extra point for pole. Qualifying is once again 20 minutes long, followed by a 5 minute warmup then a race from a standing start. Pitstops for this season are free across all leagues which is possibly the reason we see the Viper entered being good with tyres and fuel. Drivers are reminded that chat is prohibited in the qualifying and race sessions apart from to say "LAG" or "Attention RC". While many people would like to apolgise for incidents immediatly after they happen all chat is prohibited and drivers will be punished. The pre season is one of the most pleasing periods of the season. We all have the new skin pack and have spent recent times admiring the skills of the skinners as well as testing. So Season 5 is shaping up to the be the brightest yet, turn the page to get full information on every league and views from the competitors. 8
Season 5 Entered Cars
Ferrari 575 GTC Front Engined Rear Drive 6.0 Litre V12 4 valve 610hp 730nm
Lambourghini Murcielago R-GT Mid Engined Rear Drive 7.0 Litre V12 4 valve 610hp 700nm
Chevrolet Corvette C5-R Front Engined Rear Drive 7.0 Litre V8 2 valve 610hp 774nm
Saleen S7-R Mid Engined Rear Drive 7.0 Litre V8 2 valve 620hp 785nm
Dodge Viper GTS-R Front Engined Rear Drive 8.0 Litre V10 2 valve 630hp 800nm
Lister Storm Front Engined Rear Drive 7.0 Litre V12 4 valve 595hp 775nm
Season 5 Race Calendar As you can see Season 5 has 10 rounds for each of the 4 divisions. The races stretch from the 15th Feburary through to the end of June. The number of laps were calculated by getting the approximate race distance of 240km. League A & C Circuit Premier League & League B dates Number of Laps dates 22nd Feb 15th Feb 1. Zhuhai 57 Laps 1st Mar 8th Mar 2. Suzuka 45 Laps 3. Brno 22nd Mar 15th Mar 45 Laps 4. A1 Ring 5th Apr 29th Mar 56 Laps 19th Apr 12th Apr 5. Hockenheim 53 Laps 6. Donington 3rd May 26th Apr 60 Laps 17th May 10th May 7. Silverstone 47 Laps 31st May 24th May 8. Interlagos 62 Laps 9. Laguna Seca 14th June 7th June 67 Laps 21st June 10. Spa 28th June 35 Laps 9
Premier League Preview So here we are the cream of the crop, the drivers who have earned their place in the top league through speed and dedication. As is to be expected this group of players is the most focused and organised of the leagues, nearly everyone is in a two car team, everyone has selected a car from the three cars expected to be quickest and everyone has a skin subimitted. Highlights here are last seasons champions, the season befores champions and League B champions from S4. An extra rule is added for these premier guys, the cockpit is forced but will it slow anyone down. Premier League Entry List 1. Michael Stephen - Racing Bro's - 575 2. Graham Stephen - Racing Bro's - 575 3. Dennis Zimmermann - FP1 Racing - S7-R 4. Enzo - FP1 Racing - S7-R 5. Filip - 3 Kings Racing - 575 6. Tlars - 3 Kings Racing - 575 7. Vfast1 - Team Tits Up - Lambo 8. Awaiting position promotion. 9. Trevor Catt - Team Batfink - Lambo 10. Batfink - Team Batfink - Lambo 11. Choss - Van Der Poel Racing - Lambo 12. Hecto - IP-Racing/Woodlanders Coop team - 575 13. Henny - IP-Racing/Woodlanders Coop team - 575 14. Legod - M&D Racing - 575 15. MactheKnife - M&D Racing - 575 16. Julian Fournet - Arverne Racing - 575 17. Arnaud R - Arverne Racing - 575 18. Fernando Rees - F&J Racing - S7-R 19. Johhny Dee - F&J Racing - S7-R 20. Tom Goodall - Cyber Racing - 575 21. Brad Johnson - GMT-DHR - S7-R 22. Leviathan - Backwoods Racing - 575
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Top - Devending Champions Team Racing Bros Above - Vfast1 in Team Tits Up Below - S3 Champions 3 Kings Racing are hoping for a return to the top.
Team View: OMG! Its Dees and Rees - F&J Racing USA and Brazil team up to form team F&J Racing again in 2009 for season 5. This time they are back in style in the Saleen and look fight for the top standings. ‘Premier League will be incredible. There are 10 or so drivers capable of winning races and fighting for podiums, and other 10 not far behind. It will be a great challenge.’ An excited Fernando said. ‘Again, this is a big challenge for me, competing with the fastest guys in GC. I expect this season to be a time of much learning, which never stops, really. Just about everyone on the grid is someone I can learn from, most especially my teammate.’ Dee said respectfully. Season 4 was stop/start for Rees, he missed 4 rounds due to his real life racing commitments and this left it virtually impossible to win the championship. But still he enjoyed season 4, ‘It was a great season for learning. Although League B had a very low turn-out, drivers like Tom Goodall, Brad Johnson and Michael Rasmussen made competition great.’ Johnny agrees, ‘Season 4 was awesome!.. Our main strategy of no pitstops was completely new to me and required a different kind of vehicle management than I was used to,’ However Season 4 did a have a low point for Johnny. ‘I was really disappointed to suffer a disconnect at Barcelona as I felt very confident there, heading for a good result that I really needed for the season. The races after that were all very difficult for me but I'm glad the season worked out.’ After a strong season 4, GT’s became the car for 2009 just like everyone else this pair have to adapt their driving of the change. ‘So far so good. ‘ Rees continued, ‘I still need some more practice to develop setups for long runs. My greatest strength is always the good car for old tyres, something I still need to find for the Saleen.’ Dee has a much more excitied comment to make, ‘I have always loved the GT cars! Before joining The Crib I did some heavy workout in a Formula One mod for rFactor and was quite pleased with my abilities there. Then when the GC servers were down for a while I hopped in a Lambo and got some decent GT time on my own. We've also had a little fun with the ALMS mod and I felt right at home there as well. Really great stuff! I fit right in with these cars. Our selection of the Saleen for Season 5 was a bit daunting early on but I've come to love that car and am doing well with it in the quick pick-up sprint races.’ Every great driver and team has challengers, for F&J Racing, this is no different. ‘Too many to mention by name!’ exclaimed Rees. Dee went on to name them, ‘Once again the RigaFouj team from Season 4, now Averne racing for Season 5, consisting of Julien Fournet and Arnaud Rigaudiere, I expect will be big competition for me personally. I had many great battles with those guys in Season 4, both in the races and over the season itself. Mac, Le, Henny, Choss, Batfink, Trevor, Willow (now withdrew) ... all those guys will be stiff competition. The rest of the grid are really much faster than I, but I expect my teammate will be giving all of them, especially Michael, Graham, Filip, daen, and Levi a big run for their money.
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League A Preview This season will probably be a League of two parts for League A. There are some very quick and commited drivers determinied to reach the top. Some are down from last years League A, others were competing in B last season and in addition there are the champions from League C and D who have shown form. In contrast the whole of the regulars in League C last season have moved up to race here. These deditcated racers did not always have the ultimate speed of other dfrivers but they all raced hard and with the change to the GT cars the form book can be thrown out the window. League A Entry List 1. RS - RS Motorsport-A - 575 2. Grinsomat - RS Motorsport-A - 575 3. BigG - RS Motorsport-B - 575 4. Segnit - RS Motorsport-B - 575 5. Nanno - Van Der Poel Racing - Lambo 6. Joosto - Van Der Poel Racing - Lambo 7. Malcolm - Remus Racing - Vette 8. Gassniffer - Fumes - Vette 9. Pedro Dawes - C.B.R - Vette 10. Dav_ral - C.B.R - Vette 11. Alex White - AwBl Racing - 575 12. Ben - AwBl Racing - 575 13. Kevs - Gamers Crib - 575 14. Whoopster -Gamers Crib - 575 15. Michael Rasmussen - IP Sneak Vitesse - Viper 16. Rob Blandford - Smooth Torque - Lambo 17. Dentproof - IP Racing - S7-R 18. Sam - Mojo Risin - S7-R 19. Howard - Red and White - Lambo 20. Pat[FR] - Bearn Racing - Lambo 21. Chris[FR] - Bearn Racing - Lambo 22. Lee Johnson - Monster Energy Racing - Lambo
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Top - IP Sneak Viper Above - Team Fumes Corvette Below - RS Motorsport 575
Team View: Team AwBl League C champions Team AwBl are back again for another season this time in League A. Drivers Alex and Ben made sure AwBl dominated the S4 League with Alex coming home as drivers champion and Ben coming in 3rd. "(Season 4 went) Rather well, enjoyed my league and team championship victorys" said Alex. Both drivers are looking forward to the new season in a league with some more competitive drivers and both in the Ferrari 575. Ben wil be driving car 28 with the red mirrors and Alex in car 29 with the green mirrors. Alex said he wasn't adapting as well as some but is still confidents, Ben was more reserved "(I'm) Not too bad, I don’t think I’ll be as fast in the GT cars, I much prefer the NGT/G2 class." When asked about the track list Alex was very precise "shit shit shit good good good good good good good good" someone who is not a fan of heavy braking or of Brnos unique challenge. Ben meanwhile complained then Mid Ohio did not make the cut. When asked about favorites, Alex mentioned the technical challenge at Hockenheim while Ben chose closer to home with Donnington and legendary Belgian circuit Spa. Alex only rates three drivers in this season as rivals "Segnit, Prodrive, Dav_Ral" which is a big thing to lay down when moving up a division and expecting to "Win...Lots" Ben was more modest expecting to rival everyone possibly because of the unknown form coming to the new division and cars. Bens expectaions are "To have a good time!" and for other racers to "Play nice. " - would we do anything else? The last word to Alex then, any messages for the other racers "Ha! ...you need luck, lots of it if you wanna beat me." - Alex White public enemy number 1!
Team View: Team Red and White [GC]Howard was surprisingly promoted up the ladder to League A at the end of season 4. While at times showing good form in his Porsche RSR the results never came througout the season. "Last season was meant to be a year of learning in the RSR to make a proper challeng in season 5, with the new cars I will be learning again most of this year" Now in a tougher devision what does he feel about the new cars "I think the newer cars are harder to get 100% out of, with the Lambo while outright performance is good reliability and fuel consumption could make life difficult." "My expectations for this season are to get up to pace and avoid relegation" said Howard when asked about rivals he mentioned the usual suspects form the core of league C "hopefully I will be up there racing with Kevs, Whoopster, Dentproof, Sam, Dav and Pedro, I think most of the rest will be up the road in the distance" "Pretty much every track I voted for came out so I am happy, I am particularly looking forward to racing the A1 ring" When asked about a favorite he quickly replies "Interlagos I have good memories of racing here in one of my first GTR2 league races and it is a test to be smooth all the time." Howard wished everyone well in the new season.
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League B Preview This League promises to be one of the most interesting this season, the bulk is made up of racers from League D. At times last season this league was more competive then the League above it and although some drivers have moved up there is a good quick core for this season. In addition we can add some new names who are proven to be fast in other series and some old names returning to the GTR league who will surely mix things up. League B Entry List 1. Berger R -74 - Team VTR - 575 2. Morg - Devil Fox Racing - S7-R 3. Richard Hounslow - Crazy Racing - 575 4. Data - Team VTR - 575 5. XXX-ZAC444 - SOHO II - Lambo 6. Michael Trusler - RAW Rothmans - Lambo 7. LV Nemeth - Marlboro Racing - Lister 8. David kennard - Team Kennard Motorsport - S7-R 9. Alex Gibbons - RAW Rothmans - Lambo 10. Duane Kennard - Team Kennard Motorsport - S7-R 11. XXX-WSL999 - SOHO II - Lambo 12. MacMac - SOHO - 575 13. Soho - SOHO - 575 14. BOZZ - SOHO III - Lambo 15. Blaarontjes - Devil Fox Racing - S7-R 16. Micke_K - Mad Homer Racing S7-R 17. Paul Cowen - Wheres Ringo Racing - 575 18. Radilson - RADILSON RACING TEAM - Lambo 19. ManicRS - 222R Competition - 575 20. Rossi - 222R Competition - 575 21. Gaiajohan - Groningen Racing - Lister 22. Mikko Korkiakoski - GMT-DHR - S7-R
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Top - Team VTR Above - Devil Foc Racing Below - LV Nemeth returns!
Team View: RAW Rothmans Season 4 was the first season that Gamers-Crib saw the debut of two friends and drivers in the name of Alex Gibbons and Michael Trusler. The pair missed out on 3rd in the team championship in the final round much to their disappointment. ‘I had some good races and some bad races,’ explained Alex ‘Unfortunately I had a habit of getting into contact with other cars through no fault of my own.’ Mike agreed, ‘Really we should have taken 3rd place last season, matters like Alex’s never ending bad luck and my own problems like a disconnect from 4th with 7 laps to go and the unfortunate crash with one of the Kennards at the final round. It just wasn’t to be’ Despite this disappointment, both drivers are quietly confident with the switch to GT’s. ‘I think I'm doing OK,’ said a confident Alex, ‘There's the occasional spin when asking too much of the rear tyres, but I'm confident that with sufficient practice, podiums are achievable.’ Mike has a different view, ‘I think I’m not to bad in them. I’m not blindingly quick and I’m not expecting high placing but I’m expecting consistency and hopefully that will pay off.’ With this comes a high expectation from Alex, ‘I hope to qualify in the top 5 for every race. With my launching technique which can gain me up to 4 places from the line, this will be a good place to start.’ Mike agrees, ‘I think I have a good start which should some what make up for my low qualifying. I think I’m just looking to improve my consistency and become more of a force with always being there and not spinning.’ Alex agreed, ‘ Race-wise aiming for podiums, but keeping the car on the track and securing any points possible in hope of doing well in the team and drivers championship.’ The team championship will be up for grabs by many teams this season. ‘Berger and Mikko are the fastest guys,’ exclaimed Alex, ‘, I'm usually competing closely with Zac and Blaarontjes, and not to mention my team mate. Beating those guys is key.’ Mike reflects, ‘ last season it was tough in the BMW’s. We were quick there was no doubt about that and often mixed it with the eventual winner. Rivals? Im not sure. I haven’t seen enough. Obviously I’d love to beat or match Alex but I’m not sure if I will, not every round anyway.’
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League C Preview Finally on to League C, once again the lowest League of the tree is mainly compromised of newcomers to GC. However many of the racers have already proved their credentials to the league participating in tests and practice races. With 14 out of the 18 racers submitting new car skins and the widest range of models in any league it promises to be very colourful. Hopefully all the racers will consistant throughout the season and maybe a couple of late addtions as well. League C Entry List 1. Conman14 - CS Motorsport - Lambo 2. Tudyman - Team Apache - Lambo 3. Jökull Sigurðsson - Iceland Racing - S7-R 4. Jens Hegmann - S7-R 5. Úlfur Steindórsson - Iceland Racing - S7-R 6. Goofy - Van Der Poel Racing - Lambo 7. Peter Munkholm - IP Sneak Vitesse - Viper 8. Greg Metcalf - Kronenbourg - 575 9. Zvonky - RFC - Lambo 10. Elviswl - Team VTR - 575 11. Henrik Hoier - IP Sneak Rapidité - Viper 12. Fernando Roseiro - ESR - 575 13. Augustin Canapino - A1 Team New Zealand - SR-7 14. Professor - Team RSA - 575 15. NoSpeed - RS Motorsport-C - 575 16. Supra - Azuma Clan - Vette 17. Simon Fillingham - Adrenaline Junkie - 575 18. RonB1969 - Ron Brown Motorsports - Lambo 19. Zyzio Ziom - Zyzio Racing - Lister
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Top - Supra's late entry Vette Above - Another IP Sneak Viper Below - Greg Metcalf's Kronenbourg Ferrari
Team View: CS Motorsport Conor Swain is a young Northern Irishman who is looking forward to season 5. He has been racing at NAGP for a few years and is considered a fast driver. Many driver who have taken part in both NAGP and GC events have a reasonably high regard for him. Season 5 will be his first season in GC and he us looking forward to it greatly. ‘ I have never raced GTs competitively in a league for a whole season, but so far it has been pretty smooth.’ said a seemingly confident Conor, ‘Hopefully there would be good racing’. Conor has high expectations and hopes for top 6’s in a majority of rounds. Being new to GC and In the bottom league he knows few of the drivers and their potential. ‘The only people I know in Division C are Fernando Roseiro and Greg Metcalf (from NAGP). They usually beat me over there, but I think I've improved a lot since then, so hopefully I can give them a good run.’ When asked about the track list for season had this to say, ‘Nice variation, The only track I'm not a fan of is Hockenheim, but apart from that it's pretty cool.’ ‘To be honest, I have no idea (What my strongest track will be.) If I had to pick, I would go with Silverstone.’ This season Conor doesn’t have a team mate and will be one a few drivers going it alone. The major problem with not having a team mate is the team championship, or a high ranking is near impossible. However Conor isn’t fazed by this, ‘I'm used to it. Most of the racing I've done at NAGP has been without a team-mate, so I'm pretty used to it. I'd like to think I'm at no big disadvantage being by myself.’ Conor left this finial message for every in season 5; ‘Hope you guys enjoy the season. I know I will, and hopefully I can make a lot of friends in my first season here.’
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The Rear View So thats all folks - the end! We managed to get here without resorting to page 3s but will I get enough Zuhai practice in now? What we want now from you is some feedback as to how the magazine was, any suggestions for future content or simply if your want to get involved in writing a report or feature. Please send your letters to gc.emag@googlemail.com. In particular we are looking for people to write reports from the premier and league C races and possibly a tracks guide for the next race.
Issue 1 has been a bit of a slog to get finished but we are here now. This issue has been very Gamers Crib centred with the new GTR2 leagues about to start. In the future we hope to bring more articles and interviews of general gaming interest. Being new to the magazine format this has been a learning process and we have many ideas that had to be left out due to time. I have a better use for this rear page in the for the next issue for example. I'll leave you then with some funny pictures.
A bonnet cam drivers first real life driving lesson.
Irony: The car with the flames is on fire. Note this is not a season 5 Lambo.
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Xavier works on new Season 6 car - this time with special dragon nitrous