GTPlanet

GTPlanet member Ahmed Al Azmi’s interview with Kazunori Yamauchi has really been making the international press rounds.  Just yesterday, Ahmed was cited in the latest episode of Inside Sim Racing, where they discussed his experience and the important bits of information that were gleamed from his time at Polyphony Digital.  ISR broadcasts weekly shows dealing with the sim racing world, although they typically focus on the PC market.  Regardless, thanks for the shout out, guys, and keep up the good work!  If you want to see more, check out their website at InsideSimRacing.tv.

GTPlanet user seizure originally discovered the official country abbreviations found in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue’s online mode.  However, they were tucked away in Polyphony Digital’s Japan website and written in Japanese – not very useful to most GTPlanet users.  Now, GTPlanet has translated that official list, and converted it into a printer-friendly PDF file and we’ve made it free to download at the link below.  Print it out, and know in exactly what language to yell when that guy passes you…

Download Country Code List (PDF, 98 KB)

Thanks to R0M of taxigamer.com for sharing this HD video of the new Citröen GT at Fuji Speedway!  Also watch this replay from the driver’s seat at Gran Turismo TV.

Thanks to R0M of taxigamer.com for sharing this HD video of the new Ferrari California at Suzuka!  Also watch this replay from the driver’s seat at Gran Turismo TV.

Thanks to R0M of taxigamer.com for sharing this HD video of the new Lotus Evora at High Speed Ring!  Also watch this replay from the driver’s seat at Gran Turismo TV.

Who could have imagined that a “demo” would be one of the year’s best selling PlayStation 3 titles?  Marketing research company NPD Group today released U.S. sales data for each console, and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue landed a spot in the PS3’s top 5.  This is fantastic result for the game, especially when you consider the ranking does not include PSN downloads.  While our recent poll indicated that most GTPlanet users bought the hard copy, it would still be interesting to see what the actual numbers look like…

Our own chief race organizer, Sphinx, has started things off with GTPlanet’s first officially-sanctioned GT5 Prologue race competition!  We begin with a run of the 1960 Art Morrison Corvette at the Daytona Speedway Road Course with “professional” physics.  The competition actually takes place within the S4 event in the game, so tire selection is pre-determined.  Other tuning options, however, are completely up to you.  Just remember to save your replay at the end of your best time, and have fun!  This competition is only open to GTP_Registry members.

Click for all the Stage One details…

Many GTPlanet members made it into the GT Academy’s final rounds, and we have anxiously awaited to hear the results from Silverstone.  Today, thanks to a heads-up by our own dark_ruffo, we can confirm the two winners are Lucas Ordoñez of Spain and Lars Schlommer of Germany.  These two lucky and highly skilled drivers will now continue their training for the 24 Hours of Dubai race in January of 2009.  Congratulations to both of you!  If you’re reading, please stop by our forums and make yourself known!  Of course, even those who won’t be driving in Dubai had an amazing experience, as reports have begun trickling onto our message boards as all the competitors arrive home.  Grandi, of Finland, has been posting details and fielding questions about the experience.  The drivers were pushed to their limits, with tests ranging from physical exams and karting endurance races to piloting a 350Z, Caterham 7, R35 Nissan GT-R, and open-wheeled formula car in nasty weather conditions around the famous British circuit.

The first photos from the event have been posted by danilc1007 in a Spanish PlayStation forum, so if you know the language you are sure to find his extensive write-up and photos very interesting.

More pictures after the jump!

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