GTPlanet Weekly Rewind: No Escape, It’s Only Just Begun

This has been the weirdest Formula One season in years. At the top stands Mercedes AMG Petronas with a commanding lead in the driver’s and constructor’s standings, all at the behest of the new formula being used this year. Mercedes has been a considerable threat since their constructor debut in the 2010 season, with their worst finish being 5th in the standings at the end of the 2012 season.

Daniel Ricciardo, who sits in sixth position behind his senior Red Bull teammate, has been able to come to grips with the car whilst his teammate struggles and as a result has been able to consistently finish in a higher position – often at the command of team orders since his pace has often been greater than that of Vettel’s. If it weren’t for his disqualification at the Australian Grand Prix he would sit in third with a total of 49 points.

This season has thus far been one of the best in recent memory because it’s been a toss-up from the beginning, and with the next race taking place in a little over two weeks time at Circuit de Catalunya, there’s no telling who will take the win. It’s apparent that while the season has just begun, there’s plenty in store capable of providing succulent news pieces on their own merit.

GTPlanet Picture of the Week

This week’s featured image, courtesy of Hoodboi, features the 2013 Lotus E21 in a scenic view taking on the challenging twists and turns of what appears to be Road Atlanta.

Have a suggestion for next week’s featured image? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Picture of the Week”, and fill it out with your two choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.

GTPlanet Quiz of the Week

The ninth week is upon us, and the question is and forever will be, how much do you know?

1. Charged by 4 with the power of 12, if this car had seen the light of day it would have been the fastest American production vehicle in the world.

2. What is the model code for Toyota’s GT-One prototype?

Clues will be provided if necessary. The official thread is up and running and has finally been updated but there’s still work to be done. Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Quiz of the Week”, answering in the comments section does not count, and share your answers.

Pushing the Virtual Divide Wins GMA 2014 Award

The Gran Turismo documentary KAZ: Pushing the Virtual Divide has taken top honors at the 2014 Gaming Marketing Summit.

Gran Turismo received another nomination at the GMAs for the GT6 “First Love” marketing campaign, which featured Mario Andretti and a five-day, live-streamed rebuild of his first race car.

SCEA’s Ken Chan, who was instrumental in commissioning Tamir Moscovici to produce and direct the film, accepted the award at a special event in San Francisco yesterday. Congratulations to everyone involved in the production!

Stop by the original post here for more, as well as the featured documentary if you haven’t seen it already.

GTPlanet Member of the Week

The prized status and stardom that only the Member of the Week can bring has once again arrived and thus, it is once again time to acknowledge a member of the GTPlanet community; a member who has stood out among the hundreds of thousands of members already here, both old and new alike for all that they’re worth and all they have contributed to the community.

Yet another Junior member is among the ranks, and this particular member has quickly made his rounds, so let’s welcome the terrifying Slender_Man to the ever-expanding MotW madhouse!

The interview is now live and provides the usual share of laughter, but more importantly provides the medium of getting to know your fellow GTP members a little bit better. For the whole kit-n-kaboodble be sure to stop by the official Member of the Week thread.

Anyone you’d like to see recognized as the Member of the Week? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Member of the Week”, and fill it out with your choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot nominate yourself.

GTPlanet Vehicle of the Week

This week’s featured vehicle, recommended to us by Tokyoracer247, was the end result of the hostile takeover of Vector Motors Corporation by then Indonesian parent company Megatech LTD, the Vector M12.

The vehicle itself was a loose interpretation of the Vector AWX-3, and was ultimately a rebodied Lamborghini Diablo with a chopper gun fiberglass body on a lengthened chassis. Powered by a 5.7L Lamborghini V12 engine, the M12 produced 492 horsepower and 425 lb-ft of torque and as a result was capable of accelerating to 60 from a standstill in 4.8 seconds and would go on to a top speed of 189 mph.

Have a suggestion for next week’s featured vehicle? Drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Vehicle of the Week” and fill it out with your two choices and they’ll be featured in upcoming Rewinds. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.

GTPlanet Tune of the Week

This week’s featured tune, recommended to us by tuning aficionado danbojte and courtesy of Ridox2JZGTE of RIDOX Replicas Garage, features the 2009 Ferrari 458 Italia.

“It all started with a message from a fellow member Danbojte. Then I saw the red car in action at the track and I realized I have the car in the garage, sitting there in stock form with over 200km from lapping Bathurst.

The Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 was bornIt’s a loosely based on real life car, not a full replica so to speak, as detailed information are hard to find, but I do have some of the most important information at hand. I spent a good hour or so to find the needed information, and tuning/testing around 2 hours.

First is power and weight, there are many level of power and weight for this car, due to various competition rules and balancing purposes. This build is Blancpain / AVON British GT spec GT3 replica, with less power than other events. Power is at 500HP with 550Nm/405lb-ft of torque and 1250kg. To achieve the torque, I have to use isometric exhaust manifold to bring the torque up at 406.5.”

Victory is the name of the game as usual and if it’s a deserving victory that you’re after and you want to do so while while using a makeshift GT3 replica, then you’ll want to stop by and see the tune for yourself!

Exactly like the Picture and Vehicle of the Week features, if you have any suggestions for the upcoming Rewinds be sure to drop me a private message, entitle it “GTPlanet Tune of the Week” and let me know. NOTE: You cannot elect your own work.

GTPlanet Photomode Competitions

We’ve reset the counter for the sixth chapter in the Gran Turismo series and the photomode competition is back and better than ever.

In Week 20 of the Standard and Advanced competitions for GT6 you are to put your best foot forth and show the community just how seriously you take your in-game photography. All you need to know is as follows:

Week 020, Standard: Classic vs. Modern (Head 2 Head) – “The age old question continues. Take any car before 1980 (Classic) or any car after 2000 (Modern) and prove which era is the best.”

Week 020, Advanced 2.0: Abstract Angles – “As a counterpoint to the Perfect Curve theme, this week’s comp is all about straight lines and corners. Car or no car – that’s up to you. I’m looking for clean lines, interesting corners and lots of angles. If we have to guess the car or location then you’re on the right track!”

For all of the relevant information pertaining to this week’s challenges be sure to stop by here and here.

Closing Thoughts

After what seems to have been an entire decade in the making, I have finally purchased Formula One Championship Edition and I can’t wait to play a proper F1 game that takes full advantage of the licensing, unlike a certain other series of officially-licensed F1 games out there.

I remember playing the demo often when I first picked up my PS3 but I never took the plunge and actually picked the game up, largely because it continually slipped my mind – I know, shame on me. It’s all been rectified now so there’s nothing to worry about!

Look at that, official overlays and all! This should keep me well occupied in the hiatus until the Spanish Grand Prix.

That’s about all from me for this week, so you’ll excuse me while I sit patiently in front of my door waiting for the mail to arrive. Until next week, keep racing!

GT6 Photomode images by The R!CE Guy, GT5Redsucker23, Trux.

See more articles on GTPlanet Member of the Week and GTPlanet Weekly Rewind.