GRAN TURISMO 3: COTE D'AZUR GUIDE By Wolf Feather/Jamie Stafford FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM FINAL-2 VERSION Completed September 14, 2001 ==================================== CONTENTS Spacing and Length Permissions Conventions Introduction Tips Sample Times The Circuit Wish List Contact ==================================== SPACING AND LENGTH For optimum readability, this driving guide should be viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier. Check for appropriate font setting by making sure the numbers and letters below line up: 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz ==================================== PERMISSIONS This guide may ONLY be posted on FeatherGuides, GameFAQs.com, PSXCodez.com, Cheatcc.com, Absolute-PlayStation.com, InsidePS2Games.com, RedCoupe, CheatPlanet.com, The Cheat Empire, a2zweblinks.com, Gameguru, cheatingplanet.com, vgstrategies.com, GT3TuneShop, hellzgate, ps2fantasy.com, GT3 High Speed, and neoseeker.com. Permission is granted to download and print one copy for personal use. ==================================== CONVENTIONS The course and segment names for this circuit include the use of characters which are not standard to the English language, on which the Internet and standard text-only documents are based. In order to eliminate the potential for 'strange characters' in a standard, text-only, Internet-distributed document, these characters have purposely not been used - much to the consternation of language purists, including myself. ==================================== INTRODUCTION Why a guide specific to a single circuit in Gran Turismo 3? As those familiar with F1 racing or F1-based games already know, the Cote d'Azur circuit (better known as the Monaco street circuit) is a tight and highly-technical course. In fact, in many F1-based games, the Cote d'Azur/Monaco circuit is by far the most difficult to play. Secondly, I wrote rather detailed driving instructions for the Monaco circuit in my driving guides for F1 2000 and F1 Championship Season 2000. The details listed here are taken from these driving guides, with appropriate modifications. ==================================== TIPS Most of the races at the Cote d'Azur circuit feature high- power cars, so a natural inclination is to obtain a car with as much horsepower as possible (especially the Suzuki Escudo with Level 4 Turbo, resulting in over 1800HP) and start racing. Unfortunately, that tactic backfires instantly at Turn 1. The Cote d'Azur circuit is so narrow and has so many tight corners that all that power is actually counterproductive; such high-horsepower vehicles are best suited for courses with many long straightaways, and especially for the oval Test Course. Opt for a lower-powered high-power car instead. In races for which tire wear is an issue (such as the Cote d'Azur Endurance Race, which is 78 laps long), the two most important decisions are: 1.) tires, and 2.) pit strategy. Actually, these two issues are obviously related. By choosing lesser-grip tires, your tires will not wear out as fast, enabling you to stay out on the circuit longer. This plays directly into pit strategy, as the longer you can stay out on one set of tires, the fewer overall pit stops you will need to make. In the Cote d'Azur Endurance Race, some cars change tires every 5-7 laps, while I have had one car change tires every 13 laps. Note that if driving an F1 car, you can ONLY use Medium tires, so trying to extend tire durability is extremely important. No matter what tire compound you use, see my GT3 Tires Guide (always available at FeatherGuides: http://www.angelcities.com/members/feathersites/) for tips on extending tire wear. Where possible, riding the rails can be very beneficial. This allows you to keep up your speed in cornering, and also seems to reduce tire wear since you aren't using the brakes quite as much - thus enabling you to stay on the circuit one or more extra laps before pitting to change tires. However, this is EXTREMELY difficult 'correctly' to do with an F1 car due to its open-wheel structure. If you can change your chosen car's downforce settings, use high downforce for both the front and rear of the vehicle. This will allow your car to corner much more effectively. Normally, a high-downforce set-up means a lower top-end speed, but there is really only one place where your car MIGHT reach the upper limit of its speedometer (The Tunnel), so this is really not an issue. If you have a fully-adjustable racing transmission, use a low gear ratio for this circuit. A low gear ratio provides more power for acceleration, and the number of tight corners and the lack of long straightaways render a high gear ratio completely impractical. Perhaps the greatest tip for the Cote d'Azur circuit is to take the time to qualify. The circuit is so narrow, especially in most corners, that passing is extremely difficult. By qualifying, you can hopefully place yourself on pole, and not need to worry for a while about trying to pass other cars; also, it will be difficult for other cars to pass you due to the tightness of the course. ==================================== SAMPLE TIMES At the (very good) suggestion by someone who had read this guide, I here add some sample times for the Cote d'Azur circuit: Celica SS-II 197HP 2:10.534 Corvette C5R 620HP 1:41.084 CTR2 512HP 1:54.995 Escudo Pikes Peak Version 981HP 1:47.573 F687/S* 914HP 1:28.618 Lancer Evolution VII 316HP 1:46.514 Rally Car Prototype MR-S S Edition 138HP 2:07.942 New Beetle Cup Car 201HP 1:59.942 Nismo GT-R LM Road Car 300HP 1:55.345 ZZII 542HP 1:41.368 *This is one of the F1 (open-wheel) cars in the game. The Cote d'Azur/Monaco circuit is specifically used for F1 racing in the annual Monaco Grand Prix. ==================================== THE CIRCUIT 'To finish first, first you must finish.' The Cote d'Azur circuit is a highly daunting temporary street course, especially from the Driver View, as the barriers are FAR too close for comfort, and passing is extremely difficult for even expert drivers. If there is a problem with a car, there are extremely few places to safely pull aside, so all drivers must be constantly wary of slow cars around the many blind corners. The most significant key to simply finishing a race at Cote d'Azur is SURVIVAL, which means a slow, methodical, patient race. While driving this circuit, players may want to have "I Will Survive" playing on auto-repeat!!! Pit Straight: Not straight at all, the 'Pit Straight' fades to the right along its entire length. Near the end, the Pit Lane rejoins the main course from the right. Turn 1 (Sainte Devote): This is a tight right-hand semi-blind corner; heavy braking is required long before reaching Sainte Devote. To the left on entering this corner is one of the few areas to pull off the course if there is a problem. Overshooting the corner results in smashing against the unmoving barrier, but if you slide into the barrier at a good angle, you can slide along it and around the corner. The uphill portion of the course begins here. Straightaway (Beau Rivage): Not really straight with its varying-direction fades, the circuit climbs steeply uphill here. Because of the fades, this is actually NOT a passing zone; you may think you have enough room to pass a slower car and actually pull up alongside it, but then you and the slower vehicle will end up bumping each other and/or a barrier because of a fade. Even worse, the sun is directly at the top of the hill here, making visibility very difficult for quite some time until your eyes can adjust to the brightness (another reason to try to qualify on pole before the race begins). Turn 2 (Massanet): This is a sweeping decreasing-radius left- hand blind corner requiring moderate braking on entry and light braking as you continue through the turn, unless you ride the right-side barrier. The exit of Massanet is the highest elevation of the circuitS which has only just begun, even if it IS all 'downhill' from here!!! Turn 3 (Casino): Hard braking will be needed for the right- hand Casino. This corner almost immediately follows Massanet, and begins the long downward trajectory of the course. This corner is actually wider than most, to the extent that a car in trouble may be running slowly along the barrier on the outside of the corner. Be careful not to scrape the left-side barrier while exiting Turn 3; similarly, do not overcompensate and scrape the right-side barrier at the apex of Casino, or ram into barrier of the tiny pull-off section to the right on exiting Casino. If you have extreme tire wear, brake VERY early for Casino, or else you will find yourself sliding into the wide paved recovery zone to the outside of Turn 3. Turn 4 (Mirabeau): Following a long downhill straightaway, heavy braking is needed for this right-hand blind 'J' turn. A small pull-off area is provided on the left on entry. If you miss the braking zone, your front end will be banging against yet another barrier. This corner continues the course's downhill slope, which adds to the difficulty of the turn. Turn 5 (Great Curve): Following an extremely short straightaway, this left-hand hairpin is one of the slowest in Gran Turismo 3 (rivaled only by certain segments of the Complex String circuit). If you have excellent braking ability, you can actually PASS (a rarity!!!) by taking the tight inside line, or you can pass by riding the right-side rail around Great Curve; otherwise, it would be best to drive through Great Curve single-file. Turns 6 and 7 (Portier): This pair of right-hand corners form a 'U' shape, but neither can be taken at any respectable speed without riding the left-side rails. Between these two corners is a pull-off area on the left. Turn 7 is the slowest of the two corners, and is the most difficult in terms of the almost-nonexistent view of the track. If you can accelerate strongly coming out of Portier, you can pass one or two cars entering and driving through The Tunnel. Straightaway (The Tunnel): This 'straightaway' is actually a very long right-hand decreasing-radius fade in a semi-tunnel (the left side provides a clear view of the water). Unlike the REAL Tunnel (or its versions in F1-based games), visibility here is excellent. Start braking for Nouveau Chicane shortly after entering back into the sunlight. Chicane (Nouveau Chicane): The course narrows as you come around the chicane, but then 'widens' back to 'normal' at the exit. Unfortunately, there is a barrier here to force you to keep to the official circuit; short-cutting is not possible. If your tires are very worn (tire indicators orange or red), Nouveau Chicane will cause you A LOT of headaches. If you happen to ride up on the rumble strips, you may find a corner of your vehicle banging the adjacent barrier at just the right angle to either bring your car to a standstill or tip the vehicle in a bad direction. Turn 8 (Tobacco): This left-hand corner is best taken with moderate braking. The barrier prevents a good view around the corner on approach, but taller vehicles can be seen nonetheless. Turns 9-12 (Swimming Pool): This is essentially a double chicane around the swimming pool in the classic 'bus stop' configuration. Turns 9 and 10 form a tight left-right combination, for which moderate braking is required. After an extremely brief straightaway, Turns 11 and 12 form the opposite configuration (right-left), but are even tighter. This opens out onto a short straightaway where you MIGHT be able to pass ONE car. Turns 13 and 14 (La Rascasse): This is a tight left-right chicane requiring heavy braking for Turn 13 and VERY heavy braking for Turn 14. Even worse, Turn 14 is a 'J' turn, so the racing line is also very important here. The Pit Lane begins to the right at the exit of La Rascasse. If you have very worn tires, La Rascasse will also cause you significant amounts of frustration as you slide toward the outside barrier. Turns 15 and 16 (Anthony Hoges): A tight right-left chicane, these are the final corners of the Monaco circuit. The course narrows here through the chicane, then 'widens' to 'normal' for the Pit Straight. Moderate or heavy braking is required entering Turn 15. Pit Entry: The entrance to the Pit Lane is to the right immediately after clearing La Rascasse. Given that La Rascasse is a blind corner, on every lap, expect a slower car here headed for the pits. Keep hard to the right to avoid the barrier on the left when entering Pit Lane. ==================================== WISH LIST Here are a few additions and changes I would like to see to the Cote d'Azur circuit in future incarnations of the Gran Turismo series: 1.) Please allow some races to be run in reverse (Cote d'Azur II). 2.) Acquire a license from FIA (governing body for F1 racing) to actually call this the Monaco circuit, thus eliminating any potential for confusion. 3.) Get rid of the @$#&$#&*$^#$%*#*$ sun at the top of Beau Rivage!!!!! ==================================== CONTACT For rants, raves, etc., contact me at FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM To find the latest version of this and all my other PSX/PS2 game guides, visit FeatherGuides at http://www.angelcities.com/members/feathersites/ ==================================== ======================================================================= Wolf Feather Jamie Stafford ======================================================================= Just as there are many parts needed to make a human a human, there's a remarkable number of things needed to make an individual what they are. - Major Kusanagi, _Ghost in the Shell_ ======================================================================= What isn't remembered never happened. - _Serial Experiments Lain_ =======================================================================