We had the opportunity to talk with GTB,
currently ranked as the #3 NFS Underground Free Run player on NFS.onl
about his driving philosophy, competitive mindset, and experience with the game…

General

1. Please introduce yourself and tell us how you first got into Need for Speed: Underground.

I am GTB aka GamerTheBanning, though I only use that for YT.
I have been playing casually for a long time, I can't remember a time that I didn't know about this game to be honest.
in the context of competitive play I first heard about this Underground scene after I spent a bit of time on RRP,
I randomly stumbled upon this channel when playing another game on RRP.

2. Since when have you been active in the NFS Underground scene?

I would say it started with my first hotlapping session on NFS.onl, that was in April 2024.

3. How often do you play NFS Underground nowadays, and what motivates you to keep coming back?

I play whenever I feel like it, it can be long or short sessions but I try not to stay away for it for over a month so I dont have to relearn everything.
I keep coming back because I think Underground is a perfect game that rewards good driving. In short, the skill cap is very high,
so if you are good enough there will always be more pace to find.

Driving Style and Setup

4. You're currently one of the best Underground players worldwide and recently set an overall record on Olympic Square (forward, no NOS).
What, in your opinion, makes a perfect hot lap run?

What makes a lap perfect is more that it has no flaws than just being good. You can't just go
"I could have done that better" and stuff like that and call it perfect,
but, of course even on the good parts of the lap you can get even more speed if you keep on trying.

5. You drive with a Gamepad identified as Wheel. How does that influence your driving style compared to other input devices?

It definitely is a huge advantage over a normal controller. I would say that over wheel it also has its advantages.
Nothing can beat the smoothness of wheel,
but on controller it's easier to lock the input so we can do most of what wheel can do + a lot more that wheel can't.
Overall it is the one best (fastest) method to play the game.

6. Would you describe yourself as someone who drives by instinct, or do you take a more analytical approach when chasing records?

That would totally depend on the track to be honest. I do see where my weaknesses are in a lap, and to fix them I need to be analytical.
To go even further beyond my expectations of a lap I do need to use instinct, though.
A lot of things are based on things you just can't replicate each lap,
so those are just done by feel and instinct.
It ends up with me being more instinct based on tracks like OS and more analytical on tracks like NR.

7. You rarely use the Integra, unlike many top players. What's your reasoning behind that, and which cars do you prefer for competitive runs?

The Integra is a very reliable car to play in online, but its ceiling is quite low, meaning that once you have figured it out,
there is not much time to gain at the top, compared to my other picks.
RX-7 and Neon have a lot more potential on most tracks.

Cars and Strategy

8. Are there cars that require more skill to be effective, which is why they're rarely seen in top-level runs?

There are a few cars that are pretty hard to drive, but those are not really viable to play in top level (best example is the 240).
I would say, however, that some track/car combos are not preferred online due to them being very hard to control.
The RX-7 has some unfilled potential on TR because the corners can be done faster than Integra, but at the moment no one has tried to dethrone it.

9. Are there tracks where you feel forced to use a certain car/setup to stay competitive?

Unlike most of the other top players, I have at least 2 cars I can pick on any given track.
I can abuse this to make it a lot more annoying for anyone who plays against me.

Motivation and Experience

10. What keeps the game fresh for you after all this time?

The playerbase and my own improvement over time makes me always feel that I am opening the game for the first time again.
Also the fact that I don't play every day so I don't get sick of the game as much.

11. What's your personal favorite track and favorite car in the game?

Favorite car in the game is the RX-7 for sure
and for track, I have many but I like racing on MSR a lot.

12. You've played other racing games as well. How does NFS Underground compare to those, and what makes it special to you?

It is pretty difficult to find a community that has people willing to always push times without any form of incentive.
Players here always come back, we are loyal to the game and the game is pretty good as well.
The tech is also a lot better and has more depth than just "driving better".

NFS.onl and Community

13. How do you find NFS.onl as a platform for rankings and hotlaps? Any features you appreciate or miss?

I think it's great. Only thing missing is either an ingame replay function or a telemetry function,
so every lap gets recorded in some way regardless of if it has a YT video or not.

14. What do you think would attract more players to take hotlapping seriously?

We as the players need to just make people learn the game to play with people on their level.
It should also be easier to see what the top players are doing.

15. What advice do you have for players who want to improve their skills in NFS Underground?

Watch the best players and even mid-table ones. Play until you fully grasp the car/track before complaining.
Play with others online to improve your skill and consistency.
Be open to change how you play if your current method isn't able to keep up.

Many thanks to GTB for this exclusive interview.
We appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. Best of luck on your upcoming runs.