http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFZZ0Fjtb94

Kazunori Yamauchi added yet another event to his motorsport resume earlier this month when he competed in the 25 Hours of Thunder Hill in California. Yamauchi drove an N-spec Honda Civic for Spoon Sports along with several experienced teammates including Tatsuru Ichishima, Naoki Hattori, and journalist Sam Mitani. The all managed a clean drive, but their performance was unfortunately hampered by penalties for improper fueling and (interestingly) a too-loud exhaust. Nevertheless, it was a great experience for Yamauchi-san who is learning much from all this track time:

Before the Gran Turismo 5 Time Trial Demo was released to the public, it was open to a few members of the press and special VIPs involved with the GT series. While their hot laps and replays were taken offline when the leader boards were reset, they live on thanks to more videos via TaxiGamer. Below you’ll find clips of Kazunori Yamauchi and the first GT Academy winner, Lucas Ordonez. Six-time WRC champion Sebastian Loeb was also spotted in the rankings, though I can’t find any video footage of his lap at the moment. If you have it, please share the link below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfeYSAmlUvg

A writer with the Globe and Mail, Chad Sapieha, got the opportunity to try out the Gran Turismo 5 demo (the one that’s been shown off at shows, not the one we’re getting next Thursday), and he’s shared a fascinating conversation he had with a “Polyphony Digital delegate”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGNeHlfJU6I

Other than my article on Gran Turismo 5’s mysterious head-tracking feature, it hasn’t managed to get much press (though, admittedly, it’s only been mentioned once). However, it’s back in the spotlight once again after a Kotaku editor tried a GT5 demo with a Sony representative. Although the demo did not include head-tracking itself, the Sony rep tried to describe how its implemented as best he could:

When Lucas Ordonez won the first GT Academy, we all knew he had a lot of expectations riding on his shoulders. He would be given the opportunity to enter a 24 hour endurance race with world-class drivers and sim racers everywhere watched closely as he lived the dream. Since then, we’ve seen him win races and fight for the FIA GT4 driver’s championship around the world. He made it look all too easy, but as this latest interview shows, his accomplishments are the result of a lot of determination and hard work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmx9QITCfyY