Shifters are sometimes forgotten in the sim racing hardware market today. Unlike the Logitech G25 and G27, which dominated the landscape in years’ past, few wheel sets include an independent shifter accessory nowadays, relying on paddles instead.

It’s not everyday you find yourself browsing countless threads, countless galleries, and a countless number of user posts looking for those that stimulate intelligent and thoughtful discussion, are helpful, and everyone walks away knowing more than they did beforehand. It’s no easy task looking for members that present themselves in such a fashion to the community at large that they stand out among that same community – and there’s where this new feature comes in. Someone has to make sure some of the very best that GTPlanet has to offer is highlighted in a consistent and well laid-out fashion.

Nissan Motorsports announced today a partnership with Always Evolving (AE) to campaign two GT Academy-NISMO Nissan GT-R GT3 racing cars for the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge season.

A new batch of seasonal events are now available in Gran Turismo 6, featuring your choice of non-racing cars, 2-wheel drive racing cars, and 4WD non-race cars. This week’s challenges are as follows, and remember to stop by our GT6 Seasonal Events forum for in-depth analysis and discussion, and tips and tricks.

The Thrustmaster T300RS wheel is a great piece of hardware, but as I noted in my review last week, the pedals it comes with can leave you wanting a bit more – and they don’t include a clutch. That’s where the T3PA pedal set comes in, providing a plug-and-play upgrade that’s compatible with the rest of the company’s ecosystem of wheels.

The Vision GT project – which invites the world’s automotive companies to design their version of the “ultimate” Gran Turismo car – has given us some fairly incredible concepts, but the designers are rarely bold enough to show off designs that were left on the cutting room floor.

Top Gear recently published an interview with Kazunori Yamauchi after speaking with him at the reveal of the Alpine Vision GT in Paris.

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. Stay tuned for future articles from our racing driver contributor coming soon as he experiences and progresses through his professional career.

A new batch of seasonal events are now available in Gran Turismo 6, featuring beginner, intermediate, and expert level challenges including city, classic sports, and mid-engined cars. This week’s challenges are as follows – remember to stop by our GT6 Seasonal Events forum for more analysis, discussion, tips, and tricks!

GP3 race winner Jann Mardenborough was revealed as one of the drivers of Nissan’s LM P1 racing car at the Chicago Motor Show today. At the same time in Yokohama, Japan, it was announced that fellow GT Academy winner, Lucas Ordoñez, had also been selected to race the Nissan GT-R LM NISMO, along with NISMO racer Michael Krumm.

http://vimeo.com/117585188

Over the past few weeks, users in our forums have been discussing a few seconds of video from the Alpine Vision GT trailer which was released during the car’s recent reveal in Paris.

When Thrustmaster released the T500RS as the officially-licensed wheel for Gran Turismo 5 back in 2011, it made quite an impact on the sim racing hardware market. Featuring sturdy construction, high-quality materials, and wide availability among retailers around the world, it got the attention of many enthusiasts looking for a PS3 and PC compatible wheel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y458x27461M

The 2014 Bathurst 12 Hours didn’t end so well for the GT Academy team. After a strong qualifying performance, a colossal accident for Katsumasa Chiyo at Skyline in the third hour ended their race.

2013 GT Academy Germany champion Florian Strauss will replace Alex Buncombe in the NISMO Athlete Global Team at the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour. Buncombe had been confirmed to drive the #35 Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3, alongside fellow NISMO Athletes Katsumasa Chiyo and Wolfgang Reip.

The first gameplay and replay videos of the newly revealed Alpine Vision GT concept car have hit the web thanks to French website Mensquare, who attended the reveal event in Paris last week.

A new batch of seasonal events are now available in Gran Turismo 6, featuring your choice of European non-racing cars, GT3-class racing cars, compact cars, and two-wheel drive race cars. This week’s challenges are as follows, and remember to stop by our GT6 Seasonal Events forum for in-depth analysis and discussion, and tips and tricks.