motorsport

I've previously confessed to being a fan of Fanatec's series of racing wheels, I even use its original Porsche 911 Turbo styled wheel, pedal, and shifter combo as my daily digital driver when piloting the virtual cars 'round the tracks of my racing sim du jour.

But my now-discontinued Fanatec kit sits at the bottom of manufacturer's line of racing peripherals and leaves much to be desired.The plasticy buttons on the wheel's face feel cheap with vague tactile feedback; the pedals, while accurate throughout their travel, are too light and mushy for furious racing; and the H-pattern shifter's poorly defined gates have cost me more races than I can count. Most of these issues have been addressed with subsequent versions of Fanatec's Porsche wheels and at the core of this kit is a fantastically accurate 900-degree racing wheel with strong force feedback, great sensitivity, and the ability to be customized on-the-fly to the user's needs. I always wondered, what would happen if you took that awesome core steering wheel hardware and upgraded the components and build materials?

This is the point in our story where the Fanatec Forza Motorsport CSR wheel and shifter kit and CSR Elite pedal set landed at my desk. These components aim to address each of the issues that I have with my current setup.… Read more

My initial introduction to the world of action cameras was through the lens of a GoPro Motorsports Hero. However, GoPro's camera system, while rugged in construction and versatile, hasn't been what you'd call "easy to use." So consider my interest piqued when GoPro called to inform me that it is pulling the wraps off of the GoPro HD Hero2: the sequel to the HD Hero boasting a simpler interface and increased performance.

GoPro would like us to believe that this sequel is twice as good as the previous-generation HD Hero, and it's got the … Read more

It's one of the last mutually exclusive genres left in gaming. PlayStation owners have Gran Turismo and Xbox 360 loyalists have Forza Motorsport. Both franchises are proven winners, and the latest incarnation on Xbox 360 allows Kinect users the chance to race controller free. But does that ambition steer Forza away from what it does best?

Jeff:Forza Motorsport 4 packs in such a shocking amount of content and detail, most racing buffs will salivate just at the introduction movie. Sure, it can be a bit overwhelming for people who don't have transmission fluid running through their veins, … Read more

I'm a huge fan of cars and a huge fan of video games. So it should go without saying that I spend a lot of time playing racing games. I was a bit late to the Forza Motorsport party, having spent a number of years as a faithful fan of the Gran Turismo franchise. However, last year I got hooked on Forza Motorsport 3 for the Xbox 360. Recently, I was slipped an early copy of Forza Motorsport 4, the next iteration of Turn 10's racing series promising more cars, more tracks, higher levels of realism, and, hopefully, … Read more

Turn 10 Studios has produced a live-action trailer for the upcoming Forza Motorsport 4 racing sim for Xbox 360, and it is officially the saddest thing I've seen this week.

Now, I don't mean "sad" as in poorly made. The trailer, titled "Endangered Species," is beautifully produced. It's narrated by Jeremy Clarkson, from the show "Top Gear"; the action follows an enthusiast's escape from a carpool and into an Aston Martin DB9 sports coupe and his subsequent attempts to outrun all those things that suck the joy out of driving. … Read more

Turn 10 Studios, developer of the Forza Motorsport series, has released a behind-the-scenes video of the step-by-step process that goes into translating a real-world racetrack into a fully digital track that players can experience in the upcoming Forza Motorsport 4 for Xbox 360.

It all starts with a visit to the track, in this case Hockenheim in Germany. Here, Turn 10's guys snap thousands of photos, record video of multiple laps from multiple angles, and collect sub-centimeter-accurate military-grade GPS data for the layout, elevation, and camber of the track. Next, the developers take the collected data and feed it … Read more

Customers who purchase a 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302 will be able to push the limits of the performance vehicle at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.

Ford on Thursday announced "Boss Track Attack" days, a program to provide comprehensive hands-on track experience for Boss 302 owners.

The program will be offered by Team Mustang and Ford Racing instructors at the Ford Racing High Performance Driving School at the high desert track.

The street-legal 2012 Boss 302 was announced last summer as a performance vehicle, but drivers may not get a chance to really test the limits … Read more

Looking to breathe a bit of excitement into its electric vehicle efforts, Nissan will be putting its Leaf of the race track--if but in name alone.

Debuting at the 2011 New York auto show, the 100% electric Nissan Leaf Nismo RC (Racing Competition) prototype shares little more than its lithium-ion battery technology, general styling cues, and its name with the Nissan Leaf we're familiar with. The RC wheelbase is 3.9-inch shorter wheelbase, overall height has been chopped by 13.9 inches, and there are two fewer doors. However, the racer is 0.8 inches longer overall and 6.… Read more

Huge drifts and squealing tires (in the video below) marked the launch of the new Mini WRC Team at the Mini Plant in Oxford, England. Mini shared that launch on the Mini motorsport Web site, Facebook and YouTube.

Monday's event marked the official launch of the team that will compete in six rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) with the Mini John Cooper Works WRC. Based on the Mini Countryman production model, the car is powered by the same 1.6-liter turbo engine used in Mini production vehicles.

The team's first chance at competition, with drivers … Read more