Work in progress image of Simraceway's MP4-12C

Ignite Game Technologies – developers of online racing game Simraceway – have confirmed a deal with McLaren that will give gamers the chance to drive 60 McLarens, including all of the company’s F1 cars.

This includes the current Formula One car – the MP4-26 – as well as the cars made famous my James Hunt, Emerson Fittipaldi and, of course, Ayrton Senna whose six season career with the team began driving the formidable MP4/4.

The 1988 design, driven by Senna and Alain Prost remains the most successful F1 car ever built after winning 15 of the 16 races that season as Senna won the first of his three World Drivers’ Titles. All McLaren’s F1 cars – save for the current car – will be exclusive to Simraceway.

“We’re equal parts proud and humbled that McLaren has chosen Simraceway to become the largest licensor of its vehicles and a virtual custodian of its rich racing heritage,” said Ignite CEO Jonathan Haswell. “Creating a playable library of McLaren’s complete line of celebrated race and road cars is a major step forward in our aim of pushing the racing game beyond the limits that have previously defined the genre.”

“In Simraceway we’re creating a living, constantly evolving, racing world that gives gamers access to authentic virtual models of the most powerful, beautiful and iconic machines on the planet. To achieve this we’re developing a lot of new and highly-innovative technologies, including simulation-grade vehicle physics and a proprietary skill quantification engine, so it feels appropriate to be associated with McLaren, a brand synonymous with innovation in motorsport.”

The deal will also put the full range of the manufacturer’s Can-Am and sportscar models into the game.

These include the M1A Can-Am car from 1964 – the first race car to carry Bruce McLaren’s now familiar name – and the variants of the M8 chassis that dominated the championship during the late sixties and earliest years of the 1970s.

Also included are the 24 Hours of Le Mans winning McLaren F1 and the McLaren SLR as well as both road and race variants of the carbon-fibre chassised MP4-12C, including the GT3-spec version that made its debut during the 2011 season.

“Choosing Simraceway as our licensor for all 60 McLarens makes perfect sense,” said Jonathan Neale, Managing Director of McLaren Racing. “We’re highly impressed with their gaming products, innovative technology and the drive of their people. We are very optimistic that this will represent the start of a successful co-operation between the two companies, and we look forward to seeing our rich and beloved heritage brought to life in the virtual world.”

McLaren join a number of other manufacturers, including Bentley, Bugatti and Saleen, in announcing agreements with Ignite Game Technologies for historic and current licenced content to appear in Simraceway.

Tyler Hudson was a front-running entry in the NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship in 2010, and after a statement he made to fellow online racers, revealing that if they supported him in anyway towards his dream, then he would deliver full commitment in each and every race.

His chance in Super Trucks has come from Lee Faulk Racing & Development, who offered Hudson a test last year, in which he performed well.

Despite the offer of a seat, Hudson was left the challenge of finding the budget, and his decision to appeal to his friends in the online racing community, literally paid off.

“I promised the friends I’d made on iRacing that if they’d help support me, I’d give 100% every lap of every race,” Hudson said in describing his effort to put together a budget to race with the Faulk organization. “My wife, Lisa, and I thought that if we could get 300 people to each contribute $100 we’d have enough to run the whole year. We didn’t reach that goal but we had a tremendous amount of response, and several of those donations were from fellow sim-racers I had never even met before,” said Hudson who has previously invested a lot of money in his own race car, but then had no budget to run it as he would have liked.

Support came in all forms, and Hudson has enough to complete the first half the season.

Hudson’s personal commitment to this chance is staggering. Each race meeting will constitute an 18-hour round-trip drive, which he will do once a week.

The Vice President of Lee Faulk Racing & Development said “This is a great partnership,” adding “Our role is to help young drivers advance their careers. It’s why we have ‘development’ in our name. So many drivers in the top NASCAR series, like the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck, enjoy using iRacing. I saw the video from last year of Michael Waltrip coaching Trevor Bayne around Daytona. Having access to iRacing’s super-accurate simulation right in our shop will be a big help to our drivers. In addition to doing a lot of laps, they can learn a lot about how a car responds to set-up changes.”

The initial stage of the competition will be played online on Gran Turismo 5 – the latest title in the massively successful series from Polyphony Digital which has sold over 3 million copies since being released last November.

“In Gran Turismo 5 we continue to bring the worlds of real and virtual racing closer together and the GT Academy programme, in partnership with our friends at Nissan, perfectly illustrates this ambition,” explained Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of the Gran Turismo games and Polyphony Digital president. “It is also a great showcase for the fact that GT5 will continue to offer players more than just the game they have bought. It fully utilises the online functionality of GT5 and highlights the community elements. I think that we shall see a lot of friends challenging each other to take part in GT Academy and seeing how good they are against others. I am sure that most people with an interest in motor sport have dreamt about having a go for real.”

The competition runs in ten European countries split into six territory groups; Germany and Austria, France and Switzerland, UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy and lastly the Netherlands. When the deadline for the online time trial passes the fastest 20 drivers from each territory will progress to a live online final.

The fastest two from each territory in the final will then take part in a six day, driver training ‘Race Camp’ at Silverstone, Nissan promising starring roles for the 370Z and GT-R cars. The eventual winner will continue their training as well as taking part in a number of national level races in order to gain the international license needed to take part in the Dubai event.

“GT Academy is even more special as we watch the incredible progression of somebody racing our cars in the game to enjoying great success racing them at full speed on international race circuits,” said Nissan International’s VP of Marketing, Vincent Wijnen. “GT Academy has become a great ‘grass roots’ mainstay of our international race programme and we enjoy the partnership with PlayStation very much.”

Over 1.2 million gamers took part in the 2010 GT Academy which was won by Frenchman Jordan Tresson. Tresson finished equal fourth in the European GT4 Cup, tied with Lucas Ordonez, winner of the first GT Academy. Both are expected to announce their 2011 racing plans soon, as they carve out a driving career after their GT Academy success.

The virtual part of the competiton begins on March 4, running until April 17 – more details of the initial part of the GT Academy process will be announced soon. All entrants must be over 18 and hold a full driving license, further terms and conditions can be found at www.gran-turismo.com.

A PC, a broadband connection and a love for motorsport is all that’s needed to head over to iRacing.com and sign up for the event.

iRacing.com has taken off in a massive fashion since it’ inception only a few years ago, and the iRacing.com director of marketing, Kevin Bobbitt was keen to point out the extremely close ties that the online racing simulator enjoys with the real-life motorsport community.

“Almost a dozen of the drivers who are expected to start the real-world Daytona 500 are iRacing.com members”, Bobbitt said, adding that the NASCAR drivers amongst them will probably be somewhat side tracked from the online event that weekend, “These guys probably are going to be otherwise occupied”

Each and every competitor in the online 500 will receive $5 in iRacing credit, and adding to the attraction of the online spectacle is the fact that iRacing.com is offering a special Daytona 500 $15.00 promotion, which includes everything necessary to try your hand at the iRacing Daytona 500, comprising a one-month membership to iRacing, the Daytona International Speedway and the NASCAR Sprint Cup car.

To find out more go to: http://www.iracing.com/daytona-500/

iRacing.com’s virtual Daytona International Speedway plays host to the season opener on February 15th, as drivers begin their quest to claim an increased prize fund.

Tony Gardner, iRacing.com’s president said “The 2010 season saw a great battle down to the wire between Rich and Brad” adding “The 2011 season should be even more exciting. Congratulations to everyone on great performances last year and to the drivers who’ve qualified for this year’s series”.

The top 30 drivers from the 2010 season make the lineup for the World Championship, and the final 20 places are made up of the best performers from the 2010 NASCAR iRacing.com Pro Series.

The 2011 NASCAR iRacing Series World Championship calendar is as follows::

February 15th – Daytona International Speedway
March 1st – Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 15th – Bristol Motor Speedway
March 29th – Martinsville Raceway
April 12th – Talladega Superspeedway
April 26th – Richmond International Raceway
May 10th – Darlington Raceway
May 24th – Charlotte Motor Speedway
June 7th – Pocono International Raceway
June 21st – Michigan International Speedway
July 5th – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 19th – Indianapolis Motor Speedway
August 2nd – Atlanta Motor Speedway
August 16th – Chicagoland Speedway
August 30th – Dover International Speedway
September 13th – Texas Motor Speedway
September 27th – Phoenix International Raceway
October 11th – Homestead-Miami Speedway

Coinciding with the season opener of the NASCAR iRacing.com Series World Championship, iRacing is offering a 5 USD offer for a month long trial of the online racing experience (See http://www.iracing.com/5-dollar-promo/).

The first event of the 2011 World Tour of iRacing, the iRacing.com GRAND-AM 2.4 Hours of Daytona, will see gaming enthusiasts given the chance to race around a virtual version of the Daytona International Speedway road course in copies of the Riley Mk XX Daytona Prototype and Ford Mustang FR 500S.

Kevin Bobbitt, iRacing.com’s director of marketing said: “Last year’s running of the iRacing.com GRAND-AM 2.4 was one of the most popular events on the World Tour of iRacing schedule. With the addition of multi-class racing we expect that even more of our members will participate.  While the Ford is of course not as fast as the Riley, many of our members love racing the Mustang, and they enjoy racing other Mustang drivers while dealing with the interesting traffic situations that multi-class racing produces.”

The 2011 World Tour of iRacing also includes:

February 19 – Daytona 500 – Daytona Int. Speedway – 500 miles (Chevy Impala SS NASCAR Cup)

April 9 – Ice Breaker at Thompson – Thompson Int. Speedway – Distance TBD (iRacing Street Stock)

May 28 – Indianapolis 500 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway – 500 miles (Dallara-Honda Indy car)

June 18—Michigan 400 – Michigan Int. Speedway – 400 miles (Chevy Impala SS NASCAR Cup)

July 16 – Radical Cup – Brands Hatch – 40 minutes (Radical SR8)

August 27 – Spa-Francorchamps GP – Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps – 44 laps (Williams-Toyota FW31)

September 30 – Petit Petit Le Mans – Road Atlanta – 120 minutes (mixed class TBD)

October 8 – Suzuka GP – Suzuka Circuit – 53 laps (Williams-Toyota FW31)

For more information go to http://www.iracing.com/wcrr/

“iRacing definitely made a difference,” said Hildebrand.  “I’d never driven any kind of car on the Phoenix oval.  But running PIR on iRacing definitely helped with my visual cues, like the turn-in for Turn One and also the sense of just how fast you get from Turn Four into Turn One.  It really helped me to get up to speed quickly.”

According to David Cripps (race engineer for Panther), the team knew the first morning of the two-day test that Hildebrand was their guy.

“Right from his out lap you’d have thought he had driven at Phoenix before,” Cripps said later.  “It was very impressive.  He got with the program very quickly . . . Out of the box, he definitely looked like he had been at that track before.”

The limited release ‘Signature Edition’ included a range of exclusive items, with a voucher code included in the GT5 leather wallet the key to entry into the competition. Signature Edition owners will need to ensure they have downloaded the latest updates to the game, redeem their voucher code via the PlayStation Store on their console and then register their details on Gran-Turismo.com.

Gamers who have completed these steps will then be able to access the Signature Edition Challenge from within Gran Turismo 5. The challenge takes place in the game’s B-spec mode, in which players take the role of team director with their own AI drivers doing the racing, and will be held over a series of five races on different circuits.

The entrants who have the fastest total time from each of the competition’s regions at the closing time (23:59 GMT on 31 January 2010) will then be invited to take part in the second phase of the competition – the Mercedes-Benz Driving Event. Here each of the winning entrants will compete against each other in a series of driving challenges, where they will be judged by a panel of judges, who will award points for each challenge. The winner will take home the SLS AMG.

Gran Turismo 5 has shipped 5.5 million copies worldwide since launching on 24 November. Limited copies of the Signature Edition were made available throughout the 22 countries participating in the competition, with the majority being snapped up on launch day.

Commenting on the Signature Edition Challenge, Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi said: “We have enjoyed a brilliant working relationship with Mercedes-Benz throughout the production of Gran Turismo 5 and the stunning prize that they have offered for this competition is a testament to that. I am particularly happy that we have developed such a balanced challenge which both newcomers to the Gran Turismo brand, and more experienced racers, will find equally enjoyable.”

Entrants to the competition must be aged 18 or over, resident in a participating country, hold a full driving licence and be in good general health. To see the full terms and conditions, visit www.gran-turismo.com.

While gamers across the world have been putting in endless hours on the game burning rubber in a variety of cars on a selection of tracks from various countries there has been one person who has done something a little different.

Caterham Japan approached Remi Schouten with the unique idea of recording a video around the infamous Route 246 track on the streets of Tokyo, check out the video below for the results.

Gran Turismo 5, which is exclusive to Playstation 3, will roar into stores on the 24^th of November, as the world’s best-selling driving simulator is back, seemingly bigger and better than before.

President of Polyphonic Digital Inc. and creator of the Gran Turismo series, Kazunori Yamauchi, is confident that the more in depth game will raise the bar in terms of design quality and physics technology.

“Gran Turismo 5 represents the latest milestone in a journey which has spanned a decade,” Mr. Yamauchi said, “The vision and the experience is such that it has attracted the attention of the whole motoring world. The result is a testing ground, a play ground and a showcase for motoring, built around the sport of racing. Today we blend reality with the virtual: from the painstaking re-creation of existing cars to the redefinition, in Red Bull X1, of the future of motorsports.”

The newest in the long line of racing simulation game features more than 1,000 fully licensed cars from the worlds best known and top manufactures. As well as this the game also boasts a huge rang of both old and new car models, everyday road cars and pure racing and supercars, recreated in breathtaking detail.

The line-up includes cars such as the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Ferrari 458 Italia, the Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce, GTbyCitroen, McLaren MP4 12C and Nissan GT-R, the only dilemma will be which one to power up first. Unless you prefer to try the VW Samba bus for a novel change.

In addition to the vast variety of vehicles from motoring past and present, Gran Turismo 5 also includes a fictional and futuristic car, the Red Bull X1. The X1 marks a unique partnership between Kazunori Yamauchi and Red Bull Racing’s design legend Adrian Newey. Their challenge was to build the ultimate racing car without the constraint of rules and regulations. The result was the conception of the “Red Bull X1 Prototype”. Red Bull Racing even drafted in Formula 1 World Champion driver Sebastian Vettel to perform the virtual shakedown test and give feedback on settings for this Gran Turismo 5 car. A full scale model of the car will be unveiled at the Gran Turismo 5 celebratory launch event in Madrid tomorrow.

As well as an impressive selection of cars, the game also includes 26 racing locations with more than 70 layout variations, which includes such legendary circuits such as Nürburgring and the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, all rendered in high definition.

As well as this, Gran Turismo 5 delivers Course Maker, giving you the power to generate your own bespoke circuits so that you can push yourself to the limit, or just choose your favourite location and enjoy the driving experience.

Like the pervious games in the series, Gran Turismo 5 also gives the race the opportunity to test their skill online against the rest of the world on the PlayStation Network.

Gran Turismo 5 introduces a vast variety of new technologies, but the most impressive are the visual effects. This is perfectly illustrated through the “transition of time” that transforms gameplay from a clear afternoon with the sun high in the sky, through dusk when the sun hangs low and the sky turns red, to the enveloping darkness of the night. The effects at night have a particular glamour as the scenery ahead is illuminated by your headlights and the dirt kicked up in your wake glows under the tail lights. These natural, every-day scenes are what bring the game that much closer to reality. Gran Turismo 5 also introduces all new damage modelling, and with a premium selection of almost 200 models in the game meticulously recreated both inside and out, each dent and scratch will be a painful experience.
The era of 3D has arrived and adds to the excitement and sensations of Gran Turismo 5. Using 3D-compatible televisions with 3D glasses, you can experience an ultra-realistic impression never seen before. The other major feature is a unique face tracking function using the PlayStation®Eye camera for PlayStation 3. By using facial recognition with the PlayStation Eye, you can move your face to the left and right to move your field of vision whilst driving at exhilarating high speeds.

Andrew House, President of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, added “Gran Turismo is more than just our most successful franchise, it is a showcase for gaming and for the pure excitement and fun available on PlayStation 3 and through the PlayStation Network.  If you have ever dreamed of that special car, and wondered what it would be like to get behind the wheel, then GT5 is the title for you.”

Gran Turismo 5 is Available in three different editions; Standard Edition priced at £49.99, Collector’s Edition at £59.99 and Signature Edition at £149.99.

The unique pink and green car can now be downloaded for Forza Motorsport 3 on the Xbox 360 after Turn 10 Studios tirelessly replicated the Collins ReDesign Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car.

Collins ReDesign Racing Team Designer, Dan Bream said: “We were contacted by Xbox 360 Forza enthusiasts, Ground Control Tuning, to let us know that they had replicated the car in the game.

“I was absolutely gobsmacked by the quality and realism of the design and to be exclusively selected out of the 28-car field in the Porsche Carrera Cup is a true honour.”

With news sponsors each race the design team chose to replicate the special edition version that drove exclusive laps around the Brands Hatch GP circuit with local youngster Drew James.

The car is available for download via Ground Control Tuning’s Storefront found within the Forza 3 game.

Along with the availability of the car an A and S class tune has been created which is currently topping the leaderboard times for the Nurburgring track.

Dan Bream concluded: “I think I’ll leave the driving to Tony, as I managed to prang the rear spoiler and front bumper on the first corner of the Silverstone track! – Luckily for me, I was able to just switch the TV off!”

Tony Gilham returns to the track this weekend as the series heads to Snetterton following the summer break.

All the info you need on the upcoming release can be found at http://world.needforspeed.com/

Development for the game this time around has been handed over to Criteron Studios who are behind Burnout Paradise, which can only be a good thing!

Check out the trailer below for yourselves…

In the latest developer diary from publishers codemasters the development team (which includes Anthony Davidson) revealed details of how the weather will effect gamers throughout the races.

Talking about how important the weather plays in the game Anthony Davidson revealed “The teams know by the radar where the weather is coming from and how long it’s going to last. You’ll be aware of what the weather’s doing roughly, and then you can make your call, just like you would in real life.”

“Players can be going along outside the points, and maybe they make a gamble. The clouds come in, the skies darken. Maybe you pre-empt that the rain’s going to come now and you change your tyres early. Player choice is going to be critical at those stages,” added Senior Producer Paul Jeal.

The long awaited sequel has also been given the release date of 2 November 2010 after being delayed numerous times.

We would love to know your thoughts on the new game, so check out the videos below and get back to us.

Set for a February release the Superstars Series latest release boasts new cars tracks and “Eye-candy graphics” and will be available on Xbox360, Playstation 3 and PC.

With the online mode wannabe-racers will be able to test their skills against others around the world as they come to grips with the 500hp cars with a new “realistic 3D damage system”, improved graphics, and an outstanding live track environment.

With development by Gianni Morbidelli it’ll be interesting to see if the game lives up to it’s promises or if it’ll just be another arcade racer, we’ll reserve judgement until we’ve played it!

Check out the promo video below: