Is the Pikes Peak Rally Course Making a Comeback to Gran Turismo 5?


A post on the official Red Bull blog has set the GTPlanet forum on fire, as it features a discussion with rally driver and drifting star, Rhys Millen, about the best way to take on the Pikes Peak rally course in the recently released Playstation 3 exclusive, Gran Turismo 5. While that doesn’t sound like a capital sin, the only problem is that Pikes Peak is not on GT5’s track list and hasn’t been in a GT game since the days of Gran Turismo 2.

Consequently, this is either an error on Red Bull’s part or the famous climb will make a comeback to GT5 at some point in the future.

Truth be told, Red Bull has released precious inside information about GT5 in the past. A video published last fall revealed two cars, the Lexus LF-A and X2010, which later on transformed into the X1 Prototype. Eventually, the clip was quickly pulled upon Sony’s request, therefore something could be definitely up with this post.

Strangely enough, when GTPlanet users questioned the post’s accuracy, their first comments were deleted, but the article was never corrected nor removed. Other comments that followed were left approved.

No one can tell for sure if this is a confirmation that gamers will be able to race on the Pikes Peak track once again, but the interview with Rhys Millen is thorough, and that's certainly a good sign.

As for the actual tips, Mr. Millen thinks that “the hardest part about Pikes Peak is course memorization, with its 156 corners over 12.5 miles – although many sections that repeat in look, they are totally unique in execution. The key as on any course is to know what's around that blind corner and carry speed onto the straightaways.”

That’s why gamers should study the surroundings and pick reference points for certain corners to help them prepare for what’s coming.

Millen also offered some advice that applies to any mountain courses in general: “If you are travelling around the right face side or face of a mountain, you can pretty much bet the left hand corners are a larger radius and rights are tighter purely based on the nature of rain runoff and valley shapes. This is the opposite for travelling clockwise”.

And what about his choice of cars? Well, he went for top dogs only, such as the Ferrari F40, Ferrari 599XX and Porsche Carrera GT. The actual car in which he attempted to climb Pikes Peak in 2010 in less than 10 minutes was a 775 hp Hyundai Genesis prototype.

By Csaba Daradics

Source: Red Bull via GT Planet