Kyle Patrick

We’re entering the final day of April now, and I’m seeing my favourite number everywhere. I’m writing this in the twilight hours of the 29th day of the month. GT6 will celebrate it’s 29th month on the market next week. Oh, and it’s the 29th iteration of Track of the Week!

As Sony and Microsoft both continue to challenge the idea of traditional console experiences, Turn 10 has released the latest batch of info in the latter’s campaign. Forza Motorsport 6: Apex (first officially announced last month) is a cut-down, “curated” version of the expansive Xbox One title launched last year. As it turns out, those looking to get a taste of the game have only one more week to wait, as it will be launching in Open Beta status next Thursday, May 5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uz8BM0yfdw

While we put the finishing touches on the TOTW 27 video – coming at you soon – it’s that time again: voting time. Who will win the title of GTPlanet’s Track of the Week this time?

There’s no such thing as “too many tracks”. Any sim racer will tell you that. Of course, just like the available garage that ships with a new title, the track roster is always going to be limited by time. Developers have to walk a fine line, including tracks that (hopefully) please as much of the player base as possible. Some, as it turns out, will end up more popular than others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOYRkQRdl7k&feature=youtu.be

In the words of R. Kelly, it’s the freakin’ weekend! Here in Toronto, the snow has finally disappeared and temperatures look to be holding in the double digits. Spring has truly sprung.

After the challenge of trying to perfectly land all the jumps at Oakhill Road, the 25th GTP TOTW, it’s with a slight sigh of relief that we arrive at this week’s featured track. Crafted – as many replicas are – on Eifel Flat, we’re at the lush Yas Marina Circuit, care of member Cole Morgan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_FJ1_nX7IM

If you’re one of those people on the fence about VR headsets, you might want to look away now, for your wallet’s sake. Youtuber Marcel Pfister has unleashed two videos that combine green screen techniques with Oculus Rift to convincingly drop viewers into the driver’s seat.

Kazunori Yamauchi will be returning to the gruelling Green Hell this year. Polyphony’s man in charge took 2015 off, after an accident during the qualifying session the year before. In a surprising turn, however, Yamauchi will be slotting in behind the wheel of a Bavarian motor for the ADAC qualifier this weekend.

Just last week, we brought you images of the Gran Turismo Hot Wheels collections set to arrive in stores later this year. What we overlooked at the time was that the site responsible for the sneak peak (the T-Hunted blog) also had a smaller, interesting look at the other big console racing tie-up with the diecast giant: Forza.

Sundays are meant for relaxing. Maybe that’s taken the form of playing your favourite PS4 game straight on your PC. That game might even be DiRT Rally (read Brendan’s excellent review here). Or perhaps you’re still trying to tame a car’s airborne tendencies at Oakhill Road, last week’s Track of the Week.

We’re a little late this week, but have no fear: the Track of the Week is here! Last week’s Complex String turned out to be a big hit, and the community has followed it up with a decidedly different track: Oakhill Road.

More news on the Gran Turismo collection from Hot Wheels: It looks like even the world of diecast cars can receive expansion packs!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrnjQA7vAnE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvzKST-O_lw

Pull yourself away from running more laps around Complex String for a minute (if you can manage): it’s time to vote on the next GTPlanet Track of the Week!

The roll call of names for high level racing drivers who’ve learned their craft on Gran Turismo is impressive – Jann Mardenborough, Lucas Ordóñez, Wolfgang Reip, Florian Strauss – but from 2016 though it seems we’ll have to add a new name to that list: Bob.

Hold on to your butts. Hot on the tail of an earlier report on the rumoured “PlayStation 4.5” (or the more succinct “PS4K”), another story has emerged, potentially shedding light on new details of the machine that could break the traditional console cycle.