Rear View Mirror 9/10/12

Welcome to Rear View Mirror, Forza Motorsport’s look back on the weekend in racing and what’s going on in the world of Forza. Read on for race highlights, details, as well as fun Forza community content.

NASCAR – Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway 

Well, the Chase for the Sprint Cup is set. Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon netted the two wild-card spots. That put Kyle Busch just out of contention, and he was not happy about it. It was very close, but a race complicated by weather forced Busch’s crew chief to make a call to stay out under caution. That call, combined with Gordon’s performance cost Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing the points needed to beat out Gordon for the last spot. Dave Rogers, Busch’s crew chief, took all the responsibility saying it was “One hundred percent my fault.”

Clint Bowyer scored his second win of the season, the seventh of his career. Gordon fought hard, got fuel and tires in the weather-related caution, and earned second. Mark Martin followed in third behind his Michael Waltrip Racing team mate.

So it is on to the Chase. The top 12 NASCAR Drivers now have ten races to determine who is top dog. Check out the NASCAR site for the full standings to see where your favorite driver ended up.

Photo submitted by Tuff Puppers from the Chico Concourse D'Elegance

Formula 1 Italian Grand Prix 

Coming back from last week’s Romain Grosjean-inflicted wreck last week in Belgium, Fernando Alonso took a happy third place at Monza. Massa was right behind him for fourth and helped Alonso slightly by giving him position to take third. This keeps Alonso in the lead for the driver’s championship and puts Ferrari back in third place on the constructor’s points standings.

Ferrari was beaten on their home turf by Sergio Perez in the Sauber. Perez was on fire, first battling and defeating Kimi Raikkonen before blowing past the Ferraris and ending up in second place. This guy seems to improve week by week and is a driver to watch.

Lewis Hamilton and his McLaren dominated and got him his first win at the hallowed Italian track. That makes for McLaren’s third victory this year, and keeps them in a solid second in the constructor’s points table.

Red Bull still holds the lead for constructors, but both of their cars failed to finish at Monza. Sebastian Vettel, after climbing to third, was assessed a drive-through penalty for forcing Alonso off course. Later he had to shut down to avoid an engine failure. Team mate Mark Webber spun out and retired as well.

Zanardi Takes Paralympic Hand-Cycling Win at Brands Hatch 

CART racing champion Alex Zanardi won gold in the Paralympic hand-cycling race around Brands Hatch on September 5. This is the win at Brands Hatch that rounds out a full podium for Zanardi, considering his second- and third-place finishes here more than 20 years ago.

Of Zanardi, Chip Ganassi said, "He is a tremendous person and true ‘racer’ at heart.  Whether it’s Indy cars or hand bikes, Alex has always been a terrific competitor.” Zanardi has won in everything he has competed in, be it CART racing, WTCC, or handbikes. He lost his legs in a horrific Champ car crash in 2001, but that tragedy has seemingly not slowed him down a bit.

And on to the world of Forza…

That Voodoo that You Do… 

This last week’s Community Bounty brought the top racing talent here at Turn 10 to Mugello for a hot-lapping session that is now marked in history as one of the toughest ever. Christian--aka VoodooUomo--battled his way to number 94 at the close of the challenge. This was a challenge that almost had him posing in a Smart car in his racing helmet if he lost the side bet. As a consolation prize I got him to pose by his car in the helmet. In addition to the message on his shirt, he provided answers to several interview questions.

VooDooUomo posing next to his car instead of inside a Smart car.

 RVM: So Christian, you ended up in the top 100 out of more than 21,000 players, how does it feel?

Read the rest of the interview with VoodooUomo in the Turn 10 Community Bounty Thread here. 

Primo Drift Rivals and Side Contests 

Have you tried this month’s special Rivals competition “Primo Drift?” You should, because not only will you be competing against Rob Primo, one of the new 2013 Formula D Drift racers, but apparently Primo has been telling his friends to give it a try. Guess who some of his friends are, professional drift racers, Pro-Am drift racers, and grassroots drift racers. A great chance to test your drifting mettle against some of the best in the business! 

The event will be up all month and Primo recently decided to throw down for the whole month (originally it was only going to be two-weeks). We have also been gifting unicorns to all those who post a cool tune, pic, or comment in his thread. 

Virtual Motorsports 

If you are looking for another venue to show off your track prowess in organized racing, Virtual Motorsports is a respected provider of Forza Motorsport 4 league racing. Check out what happened this past week:

VM GP2 Series 3

This week it was high downforce and ultra-close quarters at Tsukuba in Mazda Superlights. Qualifying was super tight and, with such a short track, the difference between drivers was miniscule. #83 VVV Nonni D captured pole, just ahead of his ever-dominating team mate #440 VVV Amarth. 

A 17-lap sprint race followed by a 26-lap feature race with a mandatory pit stop ensued. In Race One  #83 VVV Nonni D took advantage of his pole and captured the win. In Race Two, #955 FMS Takumi came from fifth place to win. Check out the race results from all six rooms in the VM Newsletter.

VM Knockout Tournament Finale

Two names often seen here in the VM section of RVM are #955 FMS Takumi and #440 VVV Amarth. It’s no wonder they were the finalists in the knockout tournament who competed in three ten lap races at Bernese Alps Stadplatz. They competed in the 2009 Ferrari California tuned to a max PI of S673. Who won? You have to read the VM newsletter to find out.

Here is brief clip of their final race:

VM Super GT Series 3

There’s still time to sign up for this event sponsored in part by Turn 10. Eight weeks of racing high performance GT cars for credits and unicorns. The competition will be fierce. Sign up now if you want to participate in the first race September 16.

VM NASCAR Series 2

Keep an eye on the VM site for their latest NASCAR racing series. Sign up is only days away.

And closing this week’s VM section in Rear View Mirror is their calendar (photo) contest winner. It’s interesting to note the different style from Forza Motorsport Community Contest winners. What do you think of it. Comment in the RVM thread.

Virtual Motorsports Calendar contest winner.

Forza Car Ezine 

What do you do when you love cars, love Forza and want to express yourself? Create your own e-zine. After reading the last edition of Forza Nation these guys put together their own version of what’s going on in the world of Forza. They announced the first issue here and would appreciate your comments.

Read the first issue of Forza Car. It was created by Timebomb 572, Chaotic GTS JA 37 Viggen and HUSTLERSTILL 

They have a ways to go to match Forza Nation, but their content is solid and you have got to appreciate the effort they put into creating this first foray into publishing.

Heavy Metal Affliction Car at Chico Concours d’Elegance 

Community Member Tuff Puppers who was featured in a previous edition of Heavy Metal Affliction was invited to show his super sweet 1973 Dodge Challenger at the Chico Concours D’Elegance in California. Check out the shots of his car and the other amazing rides featured at this car show.

Spread the Word 

We have got some great things planned for Rear View Mirror and Heavy Metal Affliction in the weeks going forward. So spread the word to your Forza friends. I recently messaged with a painter who didn’t know what RVM and HMA were. So tell a Forza friend about RVM and HMA then post in the RVM thread whom you told and I will gift you a unicorn of choice. Tell two people and I’ll give you two. Post their GT’s in your post. I will be randomly PMing invitees to make sure no one is cheating. Thanks for spreading the word. I will check the thread through Friday and gift unicorns then.