Forza 3 has Le Mans tracks, modes

By Robert Purchese Published 12 June, 2009

Le Womans will be pleased.

Microsoft has confirmed the inclusion of notorious and prestigious endurance race 24 Hours of Le Mans in Forza Motorsport 3.

This is the real-life event where drivers race over the course of an entire day, taking frequent stops at Welcome Inns up and down the M1.

Le Mans circuits Le Sarthe and Bugatti will be included, as will the 24 Hours of Le Mans multi-class racing mode.

Microsoft also announced an enormous garage of over 100 cars for Forza Motorsport 3, which launches exclusively on Xbox 360 this October.

Developer Turn 10 revved the Forza Motorsport 3 engine loud and proud at E3 this year, promising "the best simulator on any console". Yamauchi! That's bold.

Luckily, we had plenty of hands-on time with Forza Motorsport 3 to test the claims.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (57) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • steoc4 #1 3 years ago

    Does any game not have Le Mans these days? It's the new Nurburgring.

    /is sick of doing the Le Mans 24 hour every four races in GRID

  • b00n #2 3 years ago

    I'm HAPPY it doesn't have F1, WRC or Nascar, because i don't want it in Forza. If i'd want it, i'd buy a Nascar game, or a F1 game.

    And the article talks about 100 cars, wasn't it 400 cars and 100 tracks instead?

  • Ryze #3 3 years ago

    Any more info on supported steering wheels? I've not heard enough good about the MS wheel and its support in games to splash out on one.

  • ScottyXTUK #4 3 years ago

    Excellent, glad my fave track is in the game. This is shaping up to be one hell of a racer.

  • Eraysor #5 3 years ago

    100 cars?

    Should be fun. I'd love to see an actual 24 hour mode.

  • BlackANUS #6 3 years ago

    @evilfoxhound

    I don't give a shit if it doesnt include F1, WRC or NASCAR.

    What I give a shit about is that it's SHIPPING SOON and it is a significant upgrade to the prior release.

    So let's say that a rival game in this genre does ship with F1, WRC and NASCAR in the next few years. What's to say that a new Forza will be released 1 year after said rival game and only 2 years after the release of Forza 3? You can hold your breath waiting but I'd rather be playing.

  • Darren #7 3 years ago

    NASCAR is boring IMO, racing around loops with no right hand bend is not my idea of fun at all, so I'm glad it's not included in Forza 3. As for F1, Codemasters are releasing a proper simulation with ALL the licenses, tracks and cars so that's that covered. WRC...? DiRT 2 is on the way, no doubt with lots of rally cars and dozens and dozens of long and interesting tracks like DiRT.

    While it's commendable that GT5 will include a variety of racing types, if nothing else they add some variety, they'll only be samples of what the full thing offers, a handful of tracks and cars at most. Personally I'd rather have full games based on each type... at least that way I can avoid NASCAR!!! ;)

  • Darren #8 3 years ago

    P.S. @evilfoxhound - I own the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC so no sour grapes here, buddy!

  • BlackANUS #9 3 years ago

    Hey! I own a Nintendo DS and have a PS2 somewhere in my parents garage (I live in the basement), so I know my stuff when it comes to owning multiple consoles!

  • betahoven #10 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:36:16 17-12-2011

  • BadDevotions #11 3 years ago

    please let there be brands hatch gp circuit

  • chronom4n #12 3 years ago

    If GT5 has day/night cycles with the Le Mans, than i can say that F3 will be losing. I am looking forward to both consoles and assuming that they are worth their weight in gold, than i will buy both games.

  • RobotRocker #13 3 years ago

    If Turn 10 really loved us. They would include Brands Hatch, Catalunya, Suzuka, Bathurst Mt.Panorama, Istanbul, Infineon Raceway and Spa Francochamps.

    And Bring Back the point to point races from Forza 1. The Japanese Mountain tracks were awesome fun.

  • Widge #14 3 years ago

    Nascar is terrible! Lets drive round in a circle for 500 laps!

  • miiiguel #15 3 years ago

    Nascallol. Evildude, you must be joking right?, turn left, left, left, then more left, then left again.

    Or maybe it's something else... Meh... 2005 called they want their system-warz back.

  • RedSparrows #16 3 years ago

    Evilfoxhound:

    'Just a few sour grapes in here, jesus LOL I guess only owning one console makes you very bitter. '

    I guess you're just a fanboy for...no reason then? Enlighten me.

    /yawn

  • Tetsuo_Shima #17 3 years ago

    Le Mans is nice, at least Circuit de la Sarthe, one of my favourite tracks from GT4, is making an appearance. As RobotRocker says, though, they should really get Infineon, Spa, Istabul et al in a about it as well. It's shaping up reasonably nicely now, probably not gonna best GT5 but we'll see. Something to keep me busy in the meantime anyhow.
    Edited by 2 at 12/06/09 @ 21:32

  • milky_09 #18 3 years ago

    gt already has this. no biggie.

    i think where ps3 and gt excell is any wheel will work with it. (including the awesome g25)

    and 360 players are forced to use a handful of half decent wheels.

    in terms of content forza will never match gt. ok it has the ability to slap decals on ur car. nice. but not all that...

  • woodnotes #19 3 years ago

    milky_09 lol

  • LOLLERS #20 3 years ago

    I'd rather just have the track and race on it for however long I want in daytime, than a simulated 24 hour cycle, it's a great track.

    Looking forward to more great track announcements....

    also, WRC, F1 and NASCAR misses the point of Forza a bit, it's more about GT and road racing cars done REALLY well, than having lots of gimmicks because you get bored easily.
    Edited by 1 at 12/06/09 @ 22:24

  • CreepinJesus #21 3 years ago

    After playing this circuit on GRID I understand now why it's such a tough race... it's the most boring track I've ever raced on.

  • CHAZBIGPOTATO #22 3 years ago

    A sphincter says what?

  • Widge #23 3 years ago

    something stuff belgium lol moo moo moo? lol!

  • Machiavellian #24 3 years ago

    Forza will have F1 cars and probably some tracks since there where some screens released showing F1 cars in the game. They looked absolutely great (even though they could be just bull shots)
    Edited by 1 at 13/06/09 @ 00:18

  • dylman #25 3 years ago

    Bathurst! Please. :)

  • BBIAJ #26 3 years ago

    @ steoc4:

    I thought that GRID was the first game to feature Le Mans in ten years?

    Or at least, that's what Codemaster's PR people would have you believe anyway...

  • Steroyd #27 3 years ago

    NASCAR is boring IMO, racing around loops with no right hand bend is not my idea of fun at all

    I'm sure Daytona has an alternate course to it, that has some nasty right turns.

    The Nascar liscence is all about trying to appeal to the American market, because for GT in terms of sales Europe and Japan are king, so it's no surprise PD wants to expand on their market.

  • El-Dev #28 3 years ago

    It's all about the TopGear track these days, that makes a definative racer.

  • PlaysK #29 3 years ago

    100 RACE cars in Forza Motorsport 3 :)
    300 production cars.
    More than 100 tracks.

    and my 80 euros for this one.

    As for the Race cars, believe me, that is from the original press article, so ... :)
    Edited by 1 at 13/06/09 @ 09:35

  • Raziel #30 3 years ago

    @BBIAJ

    Gran Turismo 4 already did Le Mans, including the track, the cars and the actual 24 hour race.

  • El-Dev #31 3 years ago

    squarejawhero, takes one to know one(or several as you see it).

  • dirk_aircool #32 3 years ago

    Squarejawhero .
    I agree. but at least they are not arguing about spelling and grammar . they are arguing and having opinions on a game they havent played and have only seen brief video's of . only on eurogamer .

    teamxbox.com have a picture of a porsche steering wheel controller in the pictures of Forza 3 . for anyone thats interested in the game .
    Edited by 1 at 13/06/09 @ 11:39

  • Psychotext #33 3 years ago

    The steering wheel that's being mentioned is the Fanatec 911 Turbo S wheel. Compatible with the 360, PC and PS3... but not cheap (or even close to being cheap): http://ww w.fanatec.de/html/index.php?id=...

  • MMJoe #34 3 years ago

    Milky_09 - you're bringing shame to the Milky Moniker.

  • dirk_aircool #35 3 years ago

    Psychotext

    Thanks . I'll have a look at that it looks pretty cool .
    Edited by 1 at 13/06/09 @ 13:40

  • JasonB81 #36 3 years ago

    yeah, that Fanetic steering wheel is nowhere in the atmosphere of being cheap. But it's still a great looking wheel none the less....

  • zabeu #37 3 years ago

    It's La Sarthe, not Le, Miss Purchese.

  • linea #38 3 years ago

    There'll be oval racing apparently, so there will be some 'racing round loops with no right turn' action... hopefully not too much though.

    Personally I think this is shaping up to be quite an exciting release.... I never really liked any 'sim' racing games prior to Forza 2 but I loved that, mainly due to the fact that they seem to have got the physics right enough to make driving something approaching a 'physical' experience. Maybe I'm easy to please but a few more tracks, upgraded graphics and a cockpit view would be more than enough to satisfy me. The upgrades to the driver AI look good as well.

  • FooAtari #39 3 years ago

    There is only ONE wheel, The G25

    I love my G25, but the new Fanatec 911 wheel betters it, and a version is being released for the 360.

  • dirk_aircool #40 3 years ago

    got nascar 09 for £10-00 today . its great . yes you do turn left a lot but your doing it at 170mph+ inches from cars all around . great game .

  • lcmnick #41 3 years ago

    Reading this thread is hilarious. Neither FM3 or GT5 is out yet comparisons are already being made.

    Tres amusant.

  • El-Dev #42 3 years ago

    Nascar and the Indy series are both considered a joke outside of America. In my eyes the best motorsport is F1 and at the minute the best F1 game is F1 Championship Edition, most of the criticism of it is that it's too much of a sim unless you drive a F1 car which most people haven't had a chance to do.

    What amuses me the most about this entire situation is that we have an American company(Turn 10) talking about how their racing sim is the "definative" racing sim. Considering the Yanks have only made one car that knows what a corner is(the 'Vette Z01";) as well as the whole GMC situation(Yanks have bought Japanese cars for years as they are much better),it's pretty funny they think they know how to make the best racing sim. Japan(Polophony Digital) and Europe(the old Studio Liverpool F1 games) have the most racing pedigree. A lot of older F1 drivers cut their teeth in Japanese series and the European F3000/Formula Renault.

    I hope Forza3 is a great game that I will enjoy but for me GT is still the best about, GT4 took hours from my life and I really enjoyed GT5P as a glimpse of what was to come. For me damage isn't a big deal because a racing sim shouldn't be about damage, it's about racing. Yes the AI in the previous GT's was a bit robotic and weren't the greatest at over taking, but in racing the racing line is the most important thing and for those who have seen a race at a track they will know that it is almost robotic looking as the drivers keep completely to the line at all times.

    Looks aren't everything in racing games but when you see how good GT5P looks it takes something spectacular to make you take notice and after playing the demo of Forza2(I've only had my 360 less than 2 weeks), I don't think Forza will take GT's crown.

    My favourite racing game was F1 by Psygnosis, Mansell on a PS...awesome.
    Edited by 1 at 14/06/09 @ 03:04

  • o_ci2007 #43 3 years ago

    @el-dev
    therefore the germans and italians make the best racing games as they make the best cars and have a lot more racing pedigree i.e. Ferrari, Mercedes, Bugatti, Maserati, BMW.

  • FooAtari #44 3 years ago

    @El-Dev

    I don't think I have seen so much drivel in one post...

    Nascar and IRL considered a joke outside US? Only by ignorant people who don't know any better. Ususally the same people that think the best motorsport is F1. NASCAR is bit of an aquired taste to be fair, however it's not easy. It requires a lot of skill. Just look at Montoyas record there so far, adpating to Nascar has not been easy for him. Trouble with F1 is that it's missing the sport part of the equation.

    at the minute the best F1 game is F1 Championship Edition, most of the criticism of it is that it's too much of a sim unless you drive a F1 car which most people haven't had a chance to do.

    It's the best F1 game? Really? And to much of a sim, what the hell? It's no where near being a sim. The best modern time F1 game currently available is probably CTDP's F1 2006 mod for rFactor or maybe FSOne's 2008 mod. Although the GP 1979 mod is better than both.

    I really enjoyed GT5P as a glimpse of what was to come.

    What more of the same? GT4 HD? I hope GT5P is not a glimpse of what is to come. I hope there is much much more. I got very tired with GT5P pretty quickly, returning to rFactor and GTR:E after a few hours. From what I have read on sim sites Forza is shaping up much better than I thought it would be. Sadly I don't have a 360 anymore, although since starting iRacing I doubt Forza would appeal to me enough to pull me away from it anyway.

    Yes the AI in the previous GT's was a bit robotic and weren't the greatest at over taking, but in racing the racing line is the most important thing and for those who have seen a race at a track they will know that it is almost robotic looking as the drivers keep completely to the line at all times.

    Oh man, it just gets better. Yes the racing line is the fastest route around the circuit. However drivers do not completly ignore the other cars around them. If another car is on their inside the generally will not turn in on them. Unline GT's A.I. I don't think the AI in GT even pass each other ever. They go into what seems like some pre-programmed formation and stay that way, each car progressivly faster than the car behind it. Rather than providing competion, they just serve as something to get in your way. Instead of comparing GT to F1 (where due to the terrible areo rules passing is very hard), compare it to touring or gt cars where the racing is closer

    Anyway you lost all credibility when you said a racing sim isn't about damage. Do you see the contradiction there? It isnt a simulation if doesn't simulate the important aspects of racing. One being not crashing and damaging your car! I hate that fanboy argument. It's 2009, there is NO excuse for not having damage in a game. One of the most important aspect of racing is "to finish first, first you have to finish". Where is that element in GT, it isnt threre. Without it a large part of the skill of racing is removed. When you can make a serious mistake and hit the wall, or another car, and keep on going as if nothing happened it's not a simulation, rather a bit of a joke.
    Edited by 3 at 14/06/09 @ 11:05

  • dirk_aircool #45 3 years ago

    EL-Dev . Have you tried any of papyrus ( ancient PC game dev ) old PC games . Grand Prix Ledgends , Indy car or any of the many NASCAR games they made ? If you like car race sims they were the best of the time . I dont see how you can knock stuff if you aint tried it . anyway , if your new to 360 and like driving and aren't bothered about graphix and presentation Try Race Pro and turn off all assists . I think its propably the best driving model on the 360 to date but the games a bit crap and the AI is a contradiction of its own name . but its a great Hottlaper . you may even find somone to play against online ( if it works ) and its down to £10-00 at my local ASDA .

    FooAtari
    What is GP 1979 mod a mod of ?. please tell me it for on of the EA F1 games 'cos I still got them from the simbin mod days . Havent played Pc for a long time wouldnt mind having a go again .

  • milky_09 #46 3 years ago



    i cant wait for both, theyll both sell really well, but gt5 for me. i think the psp version will be quite interesting too. 800 cars/ god knows how many tracks on a single umd is an amazing achievement. id be interested to see if top gear test track is on psp version or is just kept to ps3.

  • chronom4n #47 3 years ago

    I agree with the issue of damage, but there is one point that people have forgotten to mention. In the GT games the races where there was tyre wear, if you set up your car all wrong than you got increased tyre wear then that could mess up your whole race. An example of this was on the NY track in GT4, i had set up the car in such a way that about 2 laps from the end my car was more or less undriveable and then there was the strategy element involved in GT. As for cars swapping positions in GT5, I have witnessed this happen on the Fuji racetrack. In personal opinion I think that some of you guys out there are a little bit harsh on the GT game. As for the dynamic weather, I think GRID does a fantastic job of portraying that because it showed me how difficult it could be from driving in daylight and then as the sun sets going into nightime driving. never have i been so pleased to see the sun come up on the LeMans track. made me appreciate how difficult motorsports can be esp. endurance racing.

  • FooAtari #48 3 years ago

    @dirk_aircool

    It's for rFactor I'm afraid

    Here are some videos of me driving it

    Knockhill
    Monaco
    Kyalami

    The tracks are not the best representation of rfactor graphically. There are newer versions of the tracks in my videos, and also some really high quality tracks.
    Edited by 1 at 14/06/09 @ 20:20

  • Rodchenko #49 3 years ago

    It's the best F1 game? Really? And to much of a sim, what the hell? It's no where near being a sim. The best m

  • dirk_aircool #50 3 years ago

    FooAtari

    Thanks . whatched the vids and the silverstone 88 one . super impressed . I will think about rFactor . it looks versatile . and by whaching your driving it looks pretty realistic ( power oversteer at Kyalami out of a bend ) . also looked at what you're using to drive , clutch and gated gears . very impressed . I'm not too botherd about graphix . it looked good enough to me .

  • j1m.ch053n #51 3 years ago

    yes! mulsanne straight time!

  • FooAtari #52 3 years ago

    @dirk_aircool

    Check out rfactorcentral.com to see what content is available. Being mods the quality is all over the shop. But there is easly enough high quality stuff to make the purchase worth it.

    One mod I would highly recommend is the Historic GT and Toruing Cars. Although it requires a copy of GT Legengs for some of the models.

  • homerramone #53 3 years ago

    , I don't think Forza will take GT's crown.
    Maybe it will, maybe it wont. But at least we will get to play it and find out. GT5 Prologue has been around for 18 months, and whilst its pretty and all...I found the gameplay was average at best.
    Also the online was very cobbled in and had zero features. TBH ill prolly get them both anyway - unless $ony release GT5 at the same time as forza.. in which case ill get forza.. 360 online just seems to work better than PSN. (Maybe thats just me - but hey, im the one thats going to be playing :-) )

  • sharky_ob #54 3 years ago

    @ dirk_aircool

    Please stop putting spaces before your full stops.

  • dirk_aircool #55 3 years ago

    FooAtari . Ok thanks again . Will do .


    sharky_ob
    who are you , the grammar and spelling police ? . twat . stop telling people what to do . go stalk some other discusion with your crap.
    saying please dont help , its a bad prefix for an order , like your trying to be nice , just makes you seem a bigger twat . if your gonna boss people about at least do it with authoroty , ( yeah I know thats spelt wrong and I bet U can't resist the temptation to prove yourself right )
    Edited by 2 at 15/06/09 @ 18:29

  • SomaticSense #56 3 years ago

    Considering the focus on prototype LM and GT2 and GT3 cars in Forza 2 in the latter quarter of the career mode, the lack of Circuit la Sarthe was a huge oversight, so it's fantastic news that it's in this one.

    Hopefully they'll also have made an effort to get Spa and the DBR9 in this time as well (two other massive oversights). Oh, and have the AI on Normal and above NOT behave like a cunt this time, maybe help by actually having a fair and proper penalty system in place...

  • sharky_ob #57 3 years ago

    @ dirk_aircool

    Nice post. Will you please stop putting spaces before all of your punctuation? It's unnecessary.