Rear View Mirror 7/2/12

Welcome to Rear View Mirror, ForzaMotorsport.net’s look back at all things racing both in the world of Forza and in the world around us.

Goodwood Festival of Speed 

From six-wheeled Formula 1 cars, to rally cars, to the most abundant display of supercars ever assembled, the Goodwood Festival of Speed is aptly named. Schaaaaawing! (If that doesn’t make sense to you, see here.)

Although I didn’t attend, I am still frothing at the mouth over the collection of videos I collected for this week’s Rear View Mirror. So much horsepower, so much beauty, such a display of well-spent wealth, it’s enough to make a man go tour his Forza 4 garage.

Check out this preview which features some radical sounds, exemplary moments, and an overview of the event.

Parade of Supercars 

Wow, what an amazing line up of automotive eye candy; the exhaust notes alone are enough to make you salivate. Watch for the guy in the BMW waving to the crowd as he curbs his ride. Doh! How many of these cars do you have in your Forza garage?

Here is a lead up to the hill climb. Again the audio is amazing; lots of burnouts too. It is so cool to see these cars being played with as they should be.

Watch this Porsche 911 Carrera S run the hill climb course. If that’s too tame for you, how about a Carrera Cup car?

Prefer rally? Check out this highlight video of the Forest Rally Event. You can definitely tell guest drivers from old pros. How many Forza cars can you count?

If you were lucky enough to attend this year’s Goodwood FOS, please post about it in the RVM thread. If you found other videos that knocked your socks off, post those as well.

DTM Norisring 

With just three laps left of the 75-lap race, Jamie Green in his DTM AMG Mercedes C-coupe overtook Bruno Spengler in his BMW, then hunted down current DTM champion Martin Tomczyk and his BMW, passing Tomczyk on the final corner to take the win at Norisring. This marks the tenth consecutive victory here for Team Mercedes.

Overall DTM points leader Gary Paffett drove a flawless race resulting in a fourth place finish after recouping from a mass collision at the beginning of the race.

Check out this video that shows what just one spin at the wrong moment can do to a race.

There is something about German race commentary that just cracks me up. I don’t understand a word they are saying, but I can’t help laughing out loud listening to them. Do you get what is tickling me or am I just crazy?

NASCAR Quaker State 400 

Brad Keselowski and the Miller Lite #2 Dodge pegged their third victory of the year; the most of any driver thus far in the race for the Sprint Cup. They did so in their back-up car, after wrecking the primary car in a tussle with Juan Pablo Montoya on the first lap of Friday’s practice. Much credit should be given to the Miller Lite crew, who put the back-up car together in less than an hour in the 100-degree Kentucky heat.

Kasey Kahne took second after recovering from an unscheduled pit stop to fix a loose wheel. He was followed by Denny Hamlin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 400-mile race.

Community member TGSHoss360 was at the race and contributed these race photos. He was happy to make it to the race this year after being sent him home last year, due to inadequate parking. Hoss sat in traffic for six hours trying to get in. Kentucky Speedway has since added 173 acres of nearby farmland for parking, almost 20,000 new spaces. Thanks Hoss!

 

 

Viper Impressions Contest 

Friday, I put the call out for impressions of the new Dodge, oops, SRT Viper GTS, now available as a free download in the Forza 4 Marketplace. After racing it a bunch in this month’s community rivals mode “Once Bitten,” I was captivated by its brutish, tail-wagging, tire-smoking personality, and wanted to see what you all thought of it. BTW, my best time in said rivals event is right around 1:20; that Top Gear track is tough.

I offered unicorns to community members for the best impressions of the Viper GTS and hoped for videos displaying the raw power of this American V10 beasty. The response was excellent and all who submitted before my closing post will receive unicorns. Below are my favorites. Thank you to all who contributed.

Thanks toTh3H3llDriv3R for this awesome promotional poster.

laZyTriP For his video featuring the three Vipers running Road America with 80s hair-band and  rock-gods, Whitesnake, background music. Too bad about David Coverdale’s cosmetic surgery, he looks like a chick now. Agree?

• ssrdemo  for his fictional tale of Viper obsession on page 1.
• FortuneGT  for a thorough coverage of the Viper with cool pics from page 4.
• Sadioki and his AC/DC themed video. Sadioki shared some humorous and well-done designs for this week’s Community Bounty as well. See the thread.
• emorphien for his cool pics and impression on page 2 

Featured Club Next Level Photography International 

This week’s featured club is all about photography or, as they call it, “Forzatography.” As a weekly judge of the photo competitions, I can say they are a talented bunch. These guys are also racers, and it is a sizeable club at 45 members. It’s always good to see a group that can do many things well.

In the words of club founder PSYCOT1C KILL3R:

“Back in March this year, after many months trying to find the right club for me, I decided to create [NLPi] Next Level Photography International. My aim was to create a small club of Forzatography enthusiasts who could share their work amongst each other, and share their tips and tricks. Initially, I didn't think the club would get very far. However, 3 months down the line, now 45 members strong, I was obviously wrong... Since I created the club, we have gained many highly talented Forzatographers from around the world, such as CutneckDog, Shuriken512, MeanJamiebro, Kesselring1987, TAIYAB786 among others... As a club, we have also received numerous T10 picks since March with 2 members in the picks for 3 weeks in a row”.

If you would like to have your club featured, send me (Gamertag johniwanna) a private message with a description of your club and why I should feature it.

Here is a photo from PSYCOT1C KILL3R’s storefront displaying a taste of their club’s mad “Forzatography” skillz. You can also see a photo from Kesselring1987 in the featured news section on the FM4 home page. Yes, I love VWs!

 

Photo from PSYCOT1C KILL3R of Next Level Photography International  

Virtual Motorsports 

VM Super GT Series Ends

 Racing GT500 cars on drag tires made for interesting racing and took pit strategy and tire management to a new level. Twenty-one laps at the Nürburgring GP course decided the final championship.

In the end, it was #266 EZT Gambit in his Lark GTR who took the win. Not surprising, as we have seen his Gamertag at the top of nearly every race in this series. We’ve got much respect for his skills behind the wheel (or controller).. Second place was earned by #892 VVV Micko, and the podium was filled out by his club mate #343 VVV Red Raven369. Congratulations to you and to all who participated. 

VM GP2 Series Winners Decided

Out of a total of 97 drivers that competed in eight very competitive rounds of racing, driving SEAT Leon Cup cars, consistent top contender #440 VVV Amarth, collected his second drivers’ championship. Congratulations Amarth on a well-earned victory. Close behind the champion was his club mate #321 VVV Axiom, who made sure Amarth had some competition. Third overall in the championship was taken by #29 F4H Diablo. Again, congratulations to all who competed!

Here is a video from the ongoing VM Spec Racing Series that displays the kind of track prowess these folks are capable of.

For the full story on all these series’ and to learn more about how to join the Virtual Motorsports racing action, check out the VM site and weekly newsletter.

RRR Really Rubbish Racing 

As their name suggests, these guys claim to not be very good, but one look at this video will show the competition is intense, and if Rob Halford bellowing “Turbo Lover” doesn’t excite you, it may be time to climb out of your coffin. These fellows have a great sense of humor.

Check out these highlights from week five, in the Mid-Eighties Mid-Engine Series.

Season six of their OSCAR (Open Season Championship Auto Racing) is coming up too, so check out their site for details if you’re interested.

TORA The Online Racing Association  

2012 TORA 24 Heures Du Mans

Giving race fans a couple weeks to recoup from the 24 Hours of Le Mans weekend and the associated official Forza Motorsport challenges, TORA conducted their own amazing endurance racing event. Twenty-six cars, eleven LMP, and fifteen GTE class cars, competed in a team race that lasted a full 24 hours.

In LMP, F4H Motorsports in their Acura ARX-02A driven by team members: F4H Bandicoot, F4H Bullet, F4H Chrisupra, and F4H Hamilton, managed the win. They clocked an awe-inspiring 3,262 miles over the course of 385 laps during the 24 hours.

In GTE class, M&M Racing piloted their Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 GT2 to victory. Team drivers: Ianmr, Richy59, and WWR Aero put together 2,768 miles and a total of 326 laps.

Congratulations to the winners and to all who participated and finished. That is an outstanding Forza 4 accomplishment.

If you want to see how the whole thing went down, TORA streamed and recorded the entire event. Nearly 100 spectators were watching the online race at any one time. To watch the event again, or join post-race discussion, check out the TORA site.

MSA TORA GT Championship - Season 9

There is less than one week left to sign up for the MSA TORA GT Championship. Rounds one and two will take place at Silverstone International. Already more than 140 entrants have signed up. The McLaren #59 MP4-12C GT3 will be available tomorrow to add to the mix of GT cars competing. So pick up the July Car Pack tomorrow and sign up to join the fray.

The winner of this event sponsored by GT Omega Racing will receive a full racing seat and rig.

Here is TORA’s latest promotional video:

Happy 4th of July 

To all of you who reside in the U.S. have a happy and safe Fourth of July. While in most communities fireworks are now illegal, I hope that, whether you are blowing up stuff or watching the local celebration on television, you enjoy the day.

Do you have something you would like to share with the community, events, contests, videos or whatever, post it in the RVM thread. I also always look forward to your comments about each week's content.