Lexus IS-F

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Onboard with Yamauchi at the Nurburgring 24h Race

As you may recall, GT series creator Kazunori Yamauchi joined the Team World Car Awards for the 24-Hour Nurburgring race just a few weeks ago. Despite some mechanical troubles, they finished fourth in their class, with Yamauchi himself setting the team’s second-fastest lap at 9:48. Check out on-board video of one of his laps below, featuring his signature smooth-and-steady driving style. Congratulations to the whole team, and thanks to all who sent this in!

Nürburgring at Night Confirmed for Gran Turismo 5

There’s some good news confirmed in a new article from Auto Express – a “secret” demo was apparently at last weekend’s 24-hour race, which showed the Green Hell at night. They were also able to confirm that the race-spec Lexus IS-F which Yamauchi drove in the event will be included in the game:

Kazunori Yamauchi Competes in 24-Hour Nurburgring Race

As many of you know, the father of the Gran Turismo series is competing in the Nurburgring 24 Hours race, going on right now. He’s driving the #72 Lexus IS-F with teammates Hideshi Matsuda, Owen Mildenhall, and Peter Lyon (learn more about them here). You can monitor their progress live on the race’s official website – they’ve even got streaming video coverage available right here. For audio coverage in English, tune in to Radio Le Mans (thanks for the shout-out on the air , guys!). I’ll update this post when the results are in. Good luck, Yamauchi-san!

Gran Turismo 5 Sound Check: Lexus IS-F

Sound is often considered one of Gran Turismo’s weaker points, and we’re all looking for the series to make big strides in this area for its fifth installment. So, as we get the opportunity to hear more and more car’s in-game engine noise, I’ll be putting together some “sound checks” to see how they compare to their real-life counterparts.

Gran Turismo 5’s Nurburgring on Video

Some rare video has emerged from Finnish gaming magazine Pelaajalehti who has shared raw footage from their tour around Polyphony Digital’s studio. The part that’s getting the most attention is Yamauchi’s 3-minute demonstration of the Nurburgring Nordschleife in what’s described as the company’s primary “cockpit” where they “check the driving physics of the car while developing the game”. As we can see from the beginning of the clip, Yamauchi digs through many different options – a close-up shot would have been amazing, but it’s hard to make anything out from what we have. Regardless, you’ll still get a good look at how the IS-F handles, though Yamauchi’s smooth driving makes it look quite easy (much like when he drove the real thing).

Kazunori Yamauchi Goes Racing on ‘Ring

Kazunori Yamauchi’s participation in the VLN’s BFGoodwrich Langstreckenmeisterschaft event on the Nurburgring Nordschleife last month is carefully documented in the latest issue of Auto Express. Editor Owen Mildenhall, who shared the car with Yamauchi and Peter Lyon during the 4 hour endurance race, has posted about the experience on the magazine’s website. Unfortunately, the differential on the team’s Lexus IS-F wasn’t up to the task, forcing Yamauchi to retire the car after just 40 minutes behind the wheel.