I've spent the majority of this week trying to hunt down quality (free) web video of the Britcar 500 event that rocked Silverstone Circuit roughly a week ago. So far, the best I've come up with is an in-car cam vid of the first lap around the storied Silverstone track. I mean, it's OK but not quite as eye-appealing as I would prefer. On the other hand, I did dig up a video that served as a preview for the Britcar 500, courtesy of PitLanePro on good ol' YouTube. And here it is...
The inaugural Britcar 500 was held over the first weekend in October of this year, and is unique in that is a 6-hour endurance race that doesn't even begin until 6 in the evening and stretches deep into the night. This video is obviously produced by professionals, and the imagery of all these beautiful sports cars racing into the night is quite a sight. What we see here is but a sampling of roughly 50 multinational GT and sports cars that were slated to participate in the Britcar 500, and oh how I wish I could be there to enjoy it in person...or at least can a brotha get a highlight video on the Web, please???
(Credit:
Polyphony Digital/Toyota)
Toyota is calling the FT-86 concept, which is due to be introduced at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, a production concept. Which means that it is more than likely that we'll see the neo-hachiroku (or something similar it) on showroom floors in the near future. But, what if you can't wait for the rumored 2011 launch? Well, just fire up your PS3 and take the FT-86 for a spin in the upcoming Gran Turismo 5 racing sim. (Unless, of course, GT5 is delayed again. In which case you may come out better just waiting for the car itself.)
Check out the video after the jump to see the Toyota FT-86 concept in the digital sheet metal in a Gran Turismo 5 promo spot.
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To close out this week's series of wild police videos, we got the mother of all police chase videos. This video features Omaha police in pursuit of a robbery suspect. At about the 3-minute mark, gunshots are fired from the pursued vehicle. Eventually, the suspect tries going off road to elude the cops, but it doesn't work. At about the 7-minute mark, a standoff ensues with more gunfire, and the suspect takes five bullets before police finally manage to apprehend the suspect.
Today's video blog features a carjacker who decides to run from the law anyway he can. At first, he takes a sedan from an unlucky motorist, and about a minute later, the driver crashes into a minivan on the freeway. Seeming undeterred, the carjacker runs across traffic and darts toward a pickup truck as the vehicle's driver flees in terror. Cops shooting at the truck seem not to phase this guy one bit, but soon enough he loses control of the vehicle and fishtails into another truck. Cop cars swarm then the area and make the arrest.
We've seen some thrilling police chase videos this week thus far. Today, I've decided to inject a little humor into this week's blog theme by bringing you video of an indecisive driver who can't seem to make up his mind about how to escape the Omaha police.
The driver of this box on wheels goes from driving opposite of incoming traffic (yikes!), does some circling around, and at the 1:28 mark (or so), this jackass stops the car and gets out in the middle of the highway for some unfathomable reason. Eventually, the police manage to trap this foolish driver as he exits the freeway. This video is hilariously awesome, and it boasts "Yakety Sax" by Boots Randolph as the soundtrack to boot (a song that many of you may recognize as being the theme music for late British comedian Benny Hill...rest in peace, funny man).
In this second installment of some of the wildest police chase video, we go to Westchester County (just north of New York City, my old stomping grounds) where a police officer is in pursuit of a runaway limousine recklessly weaving around other vehicles and running from the law at up to 150 miles per hour. At around the 1:30 mark, the transmission blows on the limo and (this is the craziest part of the video) the driver begins running from the police IN REVERSE! Totally unbelievable driving...check it out!
As you probably know by now, I'm a sucker for videos full of fast cars. And as you may have noted a couple of weeks ago, I'm also a fan of the show "Jesse James is a Dead Man" on Spike TV. In a recent episode, Jesse takes his custom-modified muscle car on a chase through the desert, with the object being to see if the police can actually catch him. Apparently, real police officers from Orange County were used in performing this stunt, and sure enough, the police finally catch Jesse when his tires give out and ends up riding the last part of this chase on his rims.
So as you may have guessed by now, those police chase shows that are on late-night cable are a guilty pleasure of mine. And with this timely prompting I have determined that this week's video blog will be dedicated to some crazy yet awesome police chase videos.
Since I thoroughly enjoyed the scenic southern California desert setting for Jesse James' race against the police, I sought out a similar police chase video to kick things off. As originally presented on "World's Wildest Police Videos" (incidentally, another program on Spike TV), we see a stolen Corvette speeding through the Arizona highway at speeds close to 200 mph. When the Corvette begins weaving through traffic lined with huge semitrucks, the car begins to fishtail and smacks right into the rear of a third tractor truck. Despite being hurled at triple-digit speed, the driver somehow manages to escape with little damage.
(Credit:
Turn 10)
Turn 10, developer of the upcoming Forza Motorsport 3 for Xbox 360, has released a new batch of screenshots highlighting a few of the vehicles we can expect to see when the racing sim is released.
Among the GT cars and LeMans racers, we find more familiar models, such as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Subaru's WRX STI, the Mazdaspeed3, and the Toyota Yaris S. Wait, Yaris?!
Browse our gallery to see what other vehicles we can expect to pilot around Forza 3's digital raceways when it's released in October. We've driven the real-world counterparts of many of these polygon racers, so be sure to check out our impressions while you're there.
Drivers compete in the SSCA Pro Racing Jetta TDI Cup driver selection.
(Credit: Volkswagen)First things first: racing cars of any sort is an expensive, time-consuming sport. Many drivers begin their training when they outgrow their Big Wheels (although a previous CNET post shows that size doesn't matter when it comes to Big Wheel racing), but just because you weren't born into a racing family or started karting when you were 6 doesn't mean it's too late to become a professional race car driver.
Volkswagen has teamed up with iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations to develop an online racing simulator video game of its SCCA Pro Racing Jetta TDI Cup series. The video game--set to release in September--will help train current Jetta TDI Cup drivers, and it will also help Volkswagen recruit new drivers, opening up the sport to any gamer with a PC, pedal and steering wheel, and Internet connection.
The winner of the 2009 online Jetta TDI Cup series will earn a spot in the 2010 driver selection event and compete for the chance to receive a fully funded ride in the 2010 SCCA Pro Racing Jetta TDI Cup series driving the iRacing.com car, according to a VW press release. Details of the online series have not been released.
iRacing.com is a membership-based online service that simulates driving in more than a dozen series. It offers realistic digital versions of real-world racecars on millimeter-accurate virtual versions of physical race tracks. Players compete against each other online, and members include Dale Earnhardt Jr., Justin Wilson, Alex Gurney and A.J. Allmendinger, enabling gamers to hone their skills against real-world champions.
Ferrari is offering a free downloadable racing video game for PC.
(Credit: GT Channel )I finally found something useful on Twitter. Ferrari is offering a free downloadable video game for PCs on their Web site (thanks @GTChannel).
In Ferrari Virtual Race, players can choose a car from a lineup of Ferraris, consisting of the 599 GTB Fiorano, 612 Scaglietti, and 430 Scuderia. Gamers can customize their selected car in the Atelier to get it race ready, and test their driving skills on the Mugello circuit.
For the moment, players race against the computer. However, Ferrari plans to release an online version that enables people to compete against friends over the Internet.
To download the game, visit the Ferrari Web site. Stay tuned for a review.
(Source: GT Channel)
