Ormai da una settimana sono iniziati i test pre stagione della Formula 1, cosi anche la Codemasters ha iniziato i propri test in pista (virtuale) per il suo prossimo F1 2017, il gioco con licenza ufficiale FIA Formula 1. La software house inglese ha quindi invitato presso la propria sede un discreto numero di appassionati testers, che hanno provato una versione beta del software, con le vetture graficamente del 2016, ma con gomme e fisica delle monoposto aggiornata alle nuove regole 2017.

A questo link trovate il resoconto completo della giornata in Codemasters, che ha raccolto moltissimi suggerimenti ed indicazioni dai testers, che si sono ovviamente divertiti come matti! Molto interessante è il resoconto in video che ci viene raccontato in italiano da Sutil69, uno dei fortunati selezionati per la giornata.

Last week was a very good week, as the brand new F1 cars hit the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for their first spin out on track this year. It wasn’t just the real-life cars that were being put through their paces, of course – you may have seen that we had some VIP playtesters visit Codies HQ to put their virtual counterparts to the test… but more on that later!
The second week of testing is underway, and it’s Williams on top of the timesheets, with both Massa and Vettel driving over 100 laps in the first day. For those of you who missed the first pre-season test of the year, though, we thought we’d give you a whirlwind recap of what happened out on track...

Slightly Mad Studios ci presenta oggi una nuova supercar con licenza ufficiale che sarà protagonista del prossimo Project CARS 2: si tratta della spettacolare McLaren 720S che potete ammirare negli screens e nel video di anteprima qui sotto. La vettura è stata appena presentata al Salone dell'auto di Ginevra.

Experience the new McLaren 720S for the first time on PS®4, Xbox One, and PC in the highly-anticipated Project CARS 2
The McLaren 720S that had its official public debut earlier today at the Geneva International Auto Show will be available in late 2017 in Project CARS 2 for the first time on PS®4, Xbox One, and PC platforms.

This marks months of close collaboration between the teams at McLaren Automotive and Slightly Mad Studios in developing the virtual car whilst still developing the real car—a first for both. As the successor to the 650S, the McLaren 720S shifts McLaren’s Super Series into its second generation and comes with high expectations. If you’re not one of the lucky few to have managed to order the 720S, you’ll have to wait until late 2017 to get the exclusive sim racing opportunity of pushing it to its astonishing limits in Project CARS 2. It won’t take long to appreciate that the expectations for the 720S have not been met—they’ve been surpassed by quite some measure.

McLaren describe the 720S as ‘revolutionary’. It’s easy to see why. The chassis is an all-new, active carbon-fiber structure known as the ‘Monocage II’. This is the core of the 720S. Aside from the handling and performance benefits of the rigid system, it also allows the 720S to come in on the scales with a dry weight of only 1,283kgs (2,825.5lbs). That’s compared to the 1,301kgs (2,868lbs) from the 650S. Even more impressive is the centre of gravity that is now a full three percent lower than the 650S. This has allowed McLaren to create a car that boasts double the aero’ efficiency of its predecessor, the 650S. The aero’ is even further enhanced with the introduction of the full-width aerofoil profile-wing that delivers 30 percent more downforce than its predecessor. The wing, hydraulically-operated, does more than just offer downforce though, and you’re going to have some serious fun messing about with this system in Project CARS 2.

The wing operates in three key conditions. Hit the ‘Aero’ button, and the 720S will automatically operate the wing in ‘Driver Downforce’ configuration by ‘opening’ it to 70-80 percent deployment (depending on your speed) for optimum downforce. The wing also comes with F1-derived DRS (30 percent deployment) which will reduce drag for acceleration and top speed. The final configuration, however, is also the coolest: the wing will automatically deploy to 100 percent for ‘High Speed Braking’—and that happens in less than half a second.
You’ll appreciate that safety-belt-contracting assistance when you stand on the carbon-ceramic brakes because the engine on the 720S has been upped to an all-new twin-turbo 4-litre V8 pushing out (in line with the car’s name) 720ps (or 710hp). What does that equate to? An unrivalled power-to-weight ratio (561 PS per ton), power and efficiency up 10 percent from the 650S, 0-100kmh (62mph) in 2.9 seconds, and 0-200kmh (124mph) in a grin-to-mildly-panic-inducing 7.8 seconds. The 720S will then just keep accelerating through its seven-speed seamless-shift ’box to a top-end speed of 341kmh (212mph). The turbines in the turbochargers and intercoolers on the 720S are capable of spinning at an almost unbelievable 160,000RPM, while the red-line on your dash’ comes in at over 8000RPM through all seven gears.And yes, just as you’d imagine, a throaty rasp of authority that sounds as distinctive as the 720S looks comes standard.

Getting the 720S on track is where you’ll soon discover the pure joy of a car that has been built for performance. McLaren’s ‘Proactive Chassis Control’, a unique control software allied to new suspension hardware, is based on advanced mathematical research initiated by McLaren at the University of Cambridge that involves advanced algorithms that assess inputs from crucial vehicle parameters, all analyzed and reacted to in two milliseconds. But you don’t even need to know how to count when you stick the 720S into a turn and realize its grip far exceeds your expectations. The Variable Drift Control, meanwhile, lets you decide the degree of stability control desired. In Project CARS 2, zero is your mode of choice for instant hero.

The Proactive Chassis Control II also features hydraulically-interlinked dampers at each corner which removes any need for anti-roll bars, standard across the McLaren range. In Track mode, where you’ll be spending all your time in Project CARS 2, the dampers are continuously adjusted for firmness to ensure the contact patch of the bespoke Pirelli tyres are always in optimal contact with the road. McLaren’s F1-derived Brake Steer system is back, too, and refined to imperceptibly brake the inside rear wheel, thereby reducing understeer, or transferring power to the rear wheel with more traction on corner-exits.

This results in the 720S rendering the limited-slip diff’ into obsolescence.No anti-roll bars, no limited slip-diff’, active aero-chassis, a profile-wing, and brake-induced steering—did McLaren say revolutionary? The Full Display Mode that shifts into Slim Display Mode for the track—where you’ll be racing the 720S in Project CARS 2—is a thing of sheer wonder, displaying only essential information for both maximum visibility, and minimal distraction.
The new McLaren 720S: experience the raw power and thrill of true authenticity from one of the world’s purest supercars only in Project CARS 2.

Emerson Fittipaldi, leggenda della F1 e campione della Indy 500, ha presentato la sua auto da corsa dei sogni, l'attesa Fittipaldi EF7 Vision Gran Turismo by Pininfarina, il 7 marzo 2017, durante il Salone dell'automobile di Ginevra.

Gli appassionati di supercar e i videogiocatori avranno l'opportunità di guidare la EF7 nel mondo virtuale, dove l'auto sarà disponibile in esclusiva per "Gran Turismo Sport", videogioco di prossima pubblicazione per sistema PlayStation 4. L'attesissimo titolo di Polyphony Digital Inc. aprirà una nuova era nel mondo dei giochi di corsa, grazie alle modalità per giocatore singolo e online fruibili da tutti, fra le quali i nuovissimi Campionati FIA Gran Turismo, creati in collaborazione con la Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. I Campionati FIA Gran Turismo daranno vita a una nuova ed esaltante arena degli sport motoristici e la EF7 Vision Gran Turismo by Pininfarina virtuale ne farà parte, mettendo in mostra esattamente le stesse caratteristiche della sua controparte reale.

Tutti i dettagli a questo link del forum.

Il team di iRacing rilascia oggi la nuova build Season 2 2017. L'update, oltre al consueto numero di bugfix e perfezionamenti, fra le novità e migliorie più interessanti, ci offre il tracciato Bullring del Las Vegas Motor Speedway, dedicato alle vetture Nascar ed importanti upgrades alle gomme delle vetture GT3, compresa la Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Tutti i dettagli sul forum.

The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is coming as a new piece of content, and provides another short track for those who like rough and tumble left turn-only racing. On the features side, the most impactful update for the most amount of people will be the GT tire update. Taking lessons learned from the sweet feeling Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, a lot of the other "tin-top" cars will receive the same treatment in Season 2, making for a more forgiving and realistic feeling experience.

Per quanto riguarda invece l'attesa modalità sterrato, spostata in rilascio a fine marzo, ci viene mostrato oggi uno spettacolare video di anteprima con la Sprint Car sul circuito dirt di Williams Grove, utilizzando il visore Oculus VR.

La NVIDIA ha pubblicato sul proprio canale Youtube ufficiale un nuovo video di anteprima nel quale viene mostrata la versione PC di Project CARS 2 a settaggi ultra: le immagini sono renderizzate 4K e girano su una GeForce GTX1080 a 60fps. Un bel vedere vero? Immagini in game inedite sono invece disponibili a questo link del forum.

Vi abbiamo parlato tempo fa in questo articolo della nuova opzione Your Stage presente nel prossimo DiRT 4. Dopo averci mostrato un video di anteprima dedicato al suo prossimo titolo rallystico, con protagonisti persino Petter Solberg e Kris Meeke (che collaborano allo sviluppo), oggi la Codemasters tramite il blog ci presenta la nuova modalità denominata Landrush, che ha per protagonisti in pista i divertenti dune buggy!

Il team di iRacing ci presenta in video una delle prossime novità del simulatore americano: si tratta del veloce tracciato speedway sterrato di Volusia che, come potete notare dal trailer, sarà parecchio divertente. Un paio di giorni fa, sempre in video, ci è stato presentato anche il piccolo ovale in asfalto di Las Vegas. Vi ricordiamo che la nuova build di iRacing sarà rilasciata il 7 marzo.

Announcing Volusia Speedway Park as the latest addition to iRacing's dirt track lineup. Coming Soon.

Con un nuovo messaggio sul blog, accompagnato da vari screens, il team Slightly Mad Studios ci presenta ufficialmente una nuova vettura con licenza che sarà a disposizione degli appassionati in Project CARS 2: si tratta della Nissan GTP ZX, storico mostro anni 80 da più di 1000 cavalli!

The 1980s were the glory years of international motorsports—with massive turbos pushing horsepower into the four figures, ground-effects, terrifying cornering speeds, and safety still in its infancy, this was an era of heroes and legends, courage and tragedy. All of this combined to make the IMSA GTP Championship and its savage, fire-spitting, monster-horsepower cars like Nissan’s GTP ZX-Turbo an extraordinary moment in world motorsport …

Con un semplice screenshot invece, viene confermata anche la presenza della splendida Ferrari 488 GTE !

Lo sviluppatore italiano Milestone annuncia questa mattina il suo nuovo titolo, che sfrutta il potente engine grafico Unreal Engine 4. Gravel, questo il titolo del gioco, uscirà quest'estate su PC, Xbox One e PlayStation 4: focalizza l'attenzione sulle corse fuori strada, guidando diversi tipi di veicoli in condizioni estreme, con tracciati ambientati in fitte foreste, montagne innevate, tra le dune del deserto. Gravel simulerà quattro discipline: Wild Rush, corse fuori strada, Cross Country, mappe aperte con gare a checkpoint, Speed Cross, circuiti fuoristrada reali e Stadium Circuit, per gare acrobatiche, con salti spettacolari.

Sempre Milestone, ci presenta con un trailer di lancio le nuove moto 2 tempi che saranno presenti nel prossimo MXGP3, titolo confermato in uscita per il 12 maggio.