Images courtesy of GP3Series.com.

We’re on the tail-end of yet another weekend of the motorsport circus known as Formula 1, but I’m not here to talk about this weekend’s outing in Spain. After looking over the calendar for this year I noticed something with a familiar ring to it (you’ll soon see that pun was intended), for on the 22nd of June the circus travels back to Austria for the returning Austrian Grand Prix to be held at the Red Bull Ring, known previously as the A1 Ring and Österreichring.

The latest Seasonal Events are now available in Gran Turismo 6, featuring three new time trial events exclusive to the Pagani Huayra, Suzuki Cappuccino, and the Renault Megane R.S..

GTPlanet is partnering with GTChannel and PlaySeat USA to host a special online race event – streamed live on GTChannel’s popular YouTube network – and there are over $1,000 in prizes up for grabs.

With GT Academy now two weeks old, the second round gets underway today.

Today, as I’m writing this, marks the 20th year since the unfortunate passing of one of Formula One’s greatest drivers, Ayrton Senna. Senna is often looked upon as one of, if not the greatest driver known to the sport courtesy of his outright uncanny ability to wring the most out of the car, for the uncanny skill of being able to take off into the distance on a wet race day unlike anyone else at the time; the proverbial “rain master” as it’s known in the world of F1.

In memory of the 20th anniversary of the passing of Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna, Polyphony Digital have formally unveiled their plans to support the Ayrton Senna Institute, developed in close cooperation with Senna’s family.

With Gran Turismo 5’s online services set to be discontinued on May 31, 2014, Polyphony Digital have announced they will be hosting one last special event to celebrate the title.

Nissan GT Academy U.S. champions Bryan Heitkotter and Steve Doherty will team up behind the wheel of a Nissan Altima for the remainder of the 2014 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (CTSCC) racing season in the No. 34 Street Touring (ST) class CA Sport/Skullcandy machine. This weekend, the duo will take on an always crowded field at the Monterey Grand Prix at historic Laguna Seca Raceway in California.

Nissan today announced that it is bringing back the Nissan GT-R to the Nordschleife with an assault on the 2014 Nurburgring 24 Hours. The event, held on 21-22 June, is one of the toughest endurance races in the world, providing the ultimate test of man and machine as they compete on the daunting Nurburgring Nordschleife.

Sharing and discussing car set-up configurations has always been a significant part of GTPlanet’s community since the site first began back in 2001.

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.

Nominated in the “Best Long Format Featuring Promotional Content” category, KAZ went up against several other documentaries, including Forza Motorsport’s collaborative film with Audi.

The latest Seasonal Events are now available in Gran Turismo 6, featuring three new time trial events exclusive to the Land Rover/Range Rover Evoque, Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32, R33, R34) non-racing cars, and the Shelby GT350.

The latest Seasonal Events are now available in Gran Turismo 5, featuring a series of four expert level racing events exclusive to NASCAR, with no more than 650PP and no better than Racing/Hard compounds or less.

On the weekend of May 3rd, WRS online will host its second special event on the GT6 platform.  Titled “Moff’s Triple Mix“, the event will feature 3 races of 18 laps each, at the DTM layout of the Nurburgring GP circuit.  But wait, there’s more!  The catch is that participants will use a different car in each race, with each car having a different drivetrain layout.  Cars featured are the MR Layout ’99 Lotus Motorsport Elise, the FR Layout Mazda Roadster Touring Car, and the FF Layout Honda CR-Z Touring Car.  The cars will carry stock configurations, and tuning is prohibited for this event.

This guest contribution is by Nick McMillen, 2013 United States GT Academy Champion. This is the account of his journey as one of the newest Nismo Athletes. Look out for future articles from our racing driver contributor coming soon as he experiences and progresses through his professional career.

We’re two weeks away from what could possibly be – and I can’t stress that “possibly” enough – the most profound Gran Turismo 6 update yet involving the career of Ayrton Senna. May 1st will mark the 20th anniversary of his passing, and it’s on record that Polyphony Digital has plans laid out to celebrate the anniversary with Senna-related content.