I want to thank Sony Computer Entertainment of America for organizing the GT5 Time Trial Competition and allowing people from all over North America and the world to compete in this event and get a glimpse of what lies ahead in Gran Turismo 5.

I would also like to thank Kazunori Yamauchi and the rest of the team at Polyphony Digital for creating such a great series of games, and for giving players from all over the world the opportunity to compete against each other. This event has been great fun.

In order to win the competition, first and foremost, I spent a lot of time practicing, using my Logitech G27 wheel.

I guess you could say that through a trial and error process, I eventually developed a few main strategies for both cars. I always tried to make a habit of minimizing tire spin/ squeal as much as possible. Generally speaking, if the tires are squealing, you are losing traction and losing time. At almost every corner, my aim was to use the absolute minimum amount of braking possible, and when I had to brake I made sure I did so as smoothly as possible. I use my left foot for the brake pedal, because it allows me to apply brake and throttle simultaneously when necessary. It also makes trail braking, a smooth braking technique, very easy to pull off. This helps the car turn better through the corner and helps keep the car more stable. The third main thing that really helped me was “slow in, fast out.” It’s simple and obvious, but it’s absolutely crucial to fast lap times.

I also like to race against ghost replays from faster times than mine to race against and keep me on my toes. Not everyone does this, but for me it kept me motivated and helped me know if I was having a good lap or not.

When I was "in the zone" I was able to remember these important tips, and they all helped me to achieve the fastest time in the U.S. Gran Turismo 5’s driving physics are very realistic, so my previous practice with other Gran Turismo games (I hold quite a few #1 lap times in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue) also helped prepare me to do well in this competition.

I am very thankful to have been selected as the Grand Prize winner for the Gran Turismo 5 Time Trial challenge.

I think what helped me the most in being successful in this Time Trial is my past experience with the series. Gran Turismo 4 is the game that got me started, but the time and effort I put into Gran Turismo 5 Prologue was especially helpful. I never thought I could improve that much in one month by playing several hours a day on average. And I was even able to put skills learned and refined in Gran Turismo to use in real life, when I graduated from Bridgestone Racing Academy's "Advance to Racing" course, racing a 2008 Van Diemen formula car.

After the Gran Turismo 5 Time Trial Challenge, I am very excited about Gran Turismo 5 and how it will help me become a better driver in the game and on the real track.