For coverage of the Official Test Day Lobby, visit http://forums.theonlineracingassociation.com/t7687-msa-tora-gt-test-day-1-report

The fun did not stop when the Europeans went to bed.

At 3am BST, an alternative to the Official Test Day was presented for those of whom who reside in the Western Hemisphere. The MSA TORA GT North American Test Day 1 commenced with the same questions of its official counterpart: Who was going to find the dominant car first? Some suggested the GT1-spec Aston would have an edge, others thought that the unrestricted GT3-spec cars would prevail, and others yet assumed that the neutral-ground of the GT2-specs were the way to go.

As in the European lobby, there was no conclusion.



Unlike the European lobby, the NATD1 would be ran in heads-up exhibition races to fully simulate the stresses that the cars and drivers would be exerted under in a points race during the season. Some drivers, such as WCM Outlaw, Hailfire97x, and HR test driver Mopar4t4 would take well to the pressure, each capturing "wins." Others, such as newcomer CRC DanTheMan, would find some of these variables to go against their liking, as the aforementioned CRC driver rolled his Abruzzi over at the Veedol chicane whilst leading at Nurburgring GP.

Footage of DanTheMan's scary moment at Nurburgring:


From here, the drivers hopped over to Laguna Seca for a few rounds, netting valuable laptimes around a circuit with fewer bumps, but higher elevation changes. The rugged machines once again proved up to the challenge, as racing around the historic Monterey circuit was as close as ever. At times, however, racing would prove to possibly be too intense, as teammates Red Dirt Bandit and Hailfire97x had their own little incident which sent the number 9 Corvette off into the gravel.

Clip of Red Dirt Bandit's and Hailfire97x's accident at Laguna Seca:


Throughout the test, various cars would prove competitive. From Aston Martin to Z4, every car entered into the test proved to be a venomous option, further proving the theory brought on by the European lobby earlier in the day:

If it is legal, it is equal.



The attention of the TORA GT car selection now shifts from the test day to the future, with more speculation on the horizon (no pun intended). With at-least one future DLC pack all-but confirmed (SRT), and a glaring omission from the GT class existing already (Aston Martin Vantage), could these possible inclusions shift the fragile balance that currently exists?



And, as an aside similar to that of my companion CMGraphix, I don't know which car I want anymore.