GT creator completes 25-hour race

By Oli Welsh Published 22 December, 2009

Too much?

Gran Turismo helmsman Kazunori Yamauchi has taken his love of motorsport to the next level by completing a 25-hour endurance race, reports Kotaku.

Yamauchi was driving for the Spoon Sports team in the race at Thunder Hill Raceway in California, in what looks like a Honda Civic to us. He drove in shifts with two race drivers and a motoring journalist.

"Not having a lot of experience in circuit driving, and not knowing what to expect in a 25-hour race, I was very relieved to find that I was able to reduce the 20-second gap between my lap times and my team-mates' at the beginning of the practice to almost zero at the start of the final race", Yamauchi boasted.

"It was a great feeling to confirm first-hand that Gran Turismo has a positive effect in not just learning specific tracks, but also in raising the level of driving technique in the drivers themselves," added the on-message Polyphony Digital head.

Gran Turismo 5 is due out some time next year. There's a time trial demo currently available on PSN, which Digital Foundry has already taken apart, or you could wind the clock back to E3 for our interview with the man of the moment.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (66) Latest comment 2 years ago

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

  • cianchristopher #1 2 years ago

    So, is anyone working on the game at all?

    When can we expect it - for the Playstation 4, maybe?

  • Trinod #2 2 years ago

    Now he's just taking the piss.

  • 52pickup #3 2 years ago

    We know he likes cars, but please for love of all that is holy and GT5 and our sanity, GET ON WITH MAKING THE GAME! I had to vent for a minute...

  • Quixz #4 2 years ago

    LOL so 2011 then yes?

  • KayJay #5 2 years ago

    On form today lads...

  • NotSoSlim #6 2 years ago

    Roll on 2010 :o)

  • Quint2020 #7 2 years ago

    If it's for the Spoon Team it'll definitely be some kind of Honda, it's the only brand they make parts for.

  • gnrlstuart #8 2 years ago

    maybe if he spent more time working on the game rather than dicking about, the game would be out already.

  • Verminox #9 2 years ago

    Why do people make out that he's the only person making this game.

  • JahB #10 2 years ago

    Why do people make out that he's the only person making this game.

    well, he's in charge. given the fact that the game already has ridiculous delays, i find it odd that a project lead would take time off for endurance races during what's supposed to be crunch. but for some reason PD seem to get a lot more slack than any other studio in the world

  • Aname #11 2 years ago

    Some might think it would be a good idea for the people making a racing simulation to know quite well what it's like to actually, you know, race.. In cars.. No?

  • kangarootoo #12 2 years ago

    "He drove in shifts with two race drivers and a motoring journalist"

    I don't want to be a pedant here, but in what way does it qualify as a 25 endurance race if you are splitting the driving duties with 3 other people?

    That is just over 6 hours each. I've done that more times than I can count up the M1 over the last 10 years. I realise track racing is rather more tiring than just driving, but none the less. Shifts indeed.


    @JahB

    We say he is in charge, but I think he is proably more of a figure head these days. Sort of like Peter Molyneux - concepting and reviewing builds from time to time, but not really involved in the day to day stuff of making the game.

  • Instinct #13 2 years ago

    Jesus Christ, guys. Developers do work hard, but they do still have time off, y'know.

    I'm sure the rest of the Polyphony can cope just fine for 25 hours without their lead. Maybe he can leave some instructions and stick them on the fridge, or something.

  • ziggy_played_guitar #14 2 years ago

    Time off?! This was no time off, this was work, PR work.

  • GamesConnoisseur #15 2 years ago

    They can take time off as what is 25 hours to 4 years?! All funded by Sony and accolades of the GT fans, delays won't affect the sales. To be fair we all knew that the Creator was a Petrolhead, and draws positive attention to GT as per the PR spin.

    The game is out when it's finished.

  • JahB #16 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    clever as ever, but do you really think molyneux would not be around for fable 3 crunch if they had previously delayed 3 times already? he'd probably be yelling medieval swear words at his employees at that time.

  • Findus #17 2 years ago

    He must have shit himself when cars actually moved off the racing line

  • Aname #18 2 years ago

    Yeah exactly Instinct, and:

    "Maybe he can leave some instructions and stick them on the fridge, or something. "

    Haha +1 there for the first laugh of the day. :)

  • rotmm #19 2 years ago

    "He must have shit himself when cars actually moved off the racing line"

    Or that the tires didn't squeal when he turned the steering wheel 3% ;)

  • Greebo #20 2 years ago

    "I don't want to be a pedant here, but in what way does it qualify as a 25 endurance race if you are splitting the driving duties with 3 other people? "

    I think it's the endurance of the car?

  • TravisTouchdown #21 2 years ago

    If the big cheese is away knobbing about on a press tour, more work will get done. And all this "it's supposed to be crunch," nonsense - no it isn't, it's supposed to be the final phase of the project. If they're having to crunch after a 4 - 5? 6? - year dev cycle, something's gone very awry indeed.

  • superdelphinus #22 2 years ago

    i think it's the endurance of humanity

  • Aname #23 2 years ago

    Thinking about exactly what Kaz's role involves got me imagining a typical day at PD:

    PD coder 1:"Oh God, he's coming over."
    PD coder 2:"Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Fuckety fuck shit."
    Kaz:"Hi guys, how's it going?"
    PD coder 1:"Yep. Going good. Really good. Making good progress."
    Kaz:"Ah, you're working on the new Imprezza I see."
    PD coder 1:(worriedly)"Yes..."
    Kaz:"Don't mind if I try it out?"
    PD coder 1:(Gulps)"No, of course, Yamauchi-san."

    10 minutes later

    Kaz:"No. No, it's not quite right. It doesn't feel right."
    PD coder 1:"But we accurately modelled the responses based on the-"
    Kaz:"Are you a racing driver? Have you actually driven in a race? Any real-life racing experience?"
    PD coder 1:(looks down)"No, Yamauchi-san."
    Kaz:"Interesting. Well, as you know, I do have racing experience. I am a racing driver."
    PD coder 1:(still looking down)"Yes, Yamauchi-san."
    Kaz:"Do it again. It is not quite right."
    Edited by 2 at 22/12/09 @ 10:39

  • andywilkie35 #24 2 years ago

    25 hour endurance race? That must have been fucking boring.

  • kangarootoo #25 2 years ago

    @JahB

    In this instance, a driving day like this is probably good publicity done with the intention of calming fans that may be upset about the delays.

    And also, if I was a GT dev working hard on a delayed product, the last thing I would want is someone shouting at me. I'd probably be sat there thinking "oh bugger off and drive one of your 1400 cars or something" :)

    I don't really mind that this guy does this sort of thing, that is his job really. GT doesn't need "creating" anymore, so his job these days is to talk the talk.

  • kangarootoo #26 2 years ago

    @TravisTouchdown

    "And all this "it's supposed to be crunch," nonsense - no it isn't, it's supposed to be the final phase of the project. If they're having to crunch after a 4 - 5? 6? - year dev cycle, something's gone very awry indeed."

    You have a slightly odd idea of how the games industry works if you don't mind me saying. Where would you expect crunch to be if not at the end of the dev cycle?

    The length of the project isn't a guarantee that there is no need for crunch. A long delayed project is far more likely to be buried in crunch at the end than a short one that ran to schedule. And if a game is delayed, the focus will be to finish it asap, which means crunch. People don't delay games so that the team can have an easy life and avoid crunch - that just doesn't happen.

  • Felwyn #27 2 years ago

    aname..that is webcomic material right there xD

  • Aname #28 2 years ago

    :) Thanks Felwyn.. +1 for good taste there I think ;)

  • TravisTouchdown #29 2 years ago

    I'm familiar enough with it, kanga. I was really just reacting to the notion that "it's supposed to be crunch so what's the big man doing elsewhere." That's nonsense. And I suppose I disagree with the idea that this end bit must be *the* crunch phase - they've probably had a few (around each of the previously missed release dates, I shouldn't wonder).

    One might also argue that if you're this late and crunching on the fifth title in a long established series you really ought to try a different career; but most people in the industry don't tend to agree with that kind of thing.

  • kangarootoo #30 2 years ago

    "I was really just reacting to the notion that "it's supposed to be crunch so what's the big man doing elsewhere." That's nonsense."

    I agree with you on that. I don't think his jaunts really have any impact on getting the game made.


    "One might also argue that if you're this late and crunching on the fifth title in a long established series you really ought to try a different career; but most people in the industry don't tend to agree with that kind of thing."

    Its not often as straight forward as it appears, but to some degree, I agree with you on that one too. There are no hard and fast rules, but most of the time when a project gets delayed, it is someone's fault somewhere (how else could it be I suppose, given that its all people making the games in the first place).

  • GordonJ #31 2 years ago

    25 hours, must have been a close race with all that rubber banding.

  • Skooch #32 2 years ago

    "It was a great feeling to confirm first-hand that Gran Turismo has a positive effect in not just learning specific tracks, but also in raising the level of driving technique in the drivers themselves"

    Nothing to do with driving round the same circuit hours and hours on end practicing every corner over and over?

  • HistoryTeller #33 2 years ago

    @kangaarootoo

    You are aware, that even in Le Mans 24, the drivers do not sit in the car all 24 hours - they do split it between the 3 drivers. Jeez.

  • rprince #34 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo: most projects crunch because they are under publisher pressure to release within 18 months to meet their financial expectations. They end up cutting features and rushing the testing because they're under pressure, but *have* to release.

    Polyphony Digital are not under that pressure. Sony are not pressuring them to release. If they were, it would have been out for PS3 launch, instead of 3 years in. There are a couple of companies in the industry that refuse to allow crunch periods or overtime, and PD may be one of those companies.

  • El-Dev #35 2 years ago

    I suppose being able to take two days off for personal pursuits is a perk of being in a top job. Good to see he has a real interest in motorsport. The game would be nice but it's not too far away now.

  • Aname #36 2 years ago

    Why GT5 is taking so long:

    Christmas time at PD. The game is content complete! Now, just a few months of polishing here, optimising there, and GT5 is good to go. PD are having a little office party to celebrate, there's some champagne, there're nibbles, there's a great vibe. Everyone is happy.

    Kaz enters the office. He has taken to wearing a driver's helmet at all times now. People stifle their laughter.

    Kaz:"Good job everyone! Cheers!"
    All:"Cheers!"
    Kaz:"Well, as you'll no doubt have heard, I've just got back from my endurance race, it's good news all round!"
    Everyone lifts their glasses and cheers.
    Kaz:"To celebrate, I'm going to try out the Honda I've just raced in GT5!"
    Nervous glances all round.
    PD coder 1:"Come now, Yamauchi-san, why not wind down, have a drink-"
    Kaz takes to the controls.

    10 minutes later

    Kaz:"No. No, no , no! There's something off, it just doesn't feel right. Doesn't feel real!"
    PD coder 1:"But Yamauchi-san, the game is due for release, we've done all the content now, it's too late to-"
    Kaz:"Do you see this helmet I am wearing?"
    PD coder 1:(looks down)"Yes, Yamauchi-san. I see the helmet."
    Kaz:"Do you know where I got this helmet?"
    PD coder 1:(still looking down)"You got it at the endurance race, Yamauchi-san."
    Kaz:"At the endurance race. That's right. Where I raced. In a real car. At a real race. Because I, unlike you, am a real racing driver, you see."
    PD coder 1:(looks back up)"But please, Yamauchi-san, it's just a simulation, it will never feel completely real-"
    Kaz points to his helmet. PD coder 1 looks back down.
    Kaz:"It is not quite right. Do it again. All of it, again."
    Edited by 2 at 22/12/09 @ 19:06

  • Spekingur #37 2 years ago

    Saying that driving a track in a game is similar to driving it in real life is one of the most stupid things I have seen. Worse though are the people that will believe him.

  • dr_faulk #38 2 years ago

    "Research"

  • kangarootoo #39 2 years ago

    @HistoryTeller

    This is an outrage! Slackers, the lot of them.

    ;)

    @rprince

    I agree that Polyphony aren't under the same pressure as your average indie, but they will still be under pressure. They certainly have the benefit of trust based on a very successful record, but that won't mean they can just spend money unchecked for as long as they want. If anything, being in charge of one of Sony's most profitable ips will mean that they are under even more scrutiny from higher up the management tree than other projects.


    @Spekingur

    Its not that stupid. Its not exactly the same, but a good sim can teach you tings about the real life situation that is being simulated. A flight sim can tech you some aspect of learning to fly a real plane.

    It would indeed be foolish to say it is "identical", but you said it would be foolish to say it is "similar". I'm sure when you read it back you will realise that "similar" is EXACTLY what it is.

  • kangarootoo #40 2 years ago

    Am scooting off now.

    Merry Xmas everyone if I'm not in here before then. See you all next year for more of me throwing my weight around ;)

  • Cocytean #41 2 years ago

    @Aname

    I'm loving your fly-on-the-wall conversations! I strongly suggest you make a mini cartoon series, a la Penny Arcade. You could call it 'Kaz's Magical Racing Helmet of Unattainable Reality.'

    Kudos!

  • MiniAmin #42 2 years ago

    Aname you need to make more of these GT5 skits. They're quality.

  • Raziel #43 2 years ago

    Must be nice, working your ass off on GT5, sleeping under your desk to meet deadlines, while your boss flies around the world driving the worlds best and most exclusive cars...

  • freakzilla #44 2 years ago

    I think he's just taking advantage of his current position to race for real instead of making a game. Smart man.

  • SAH1977 #45 2 years ago

    You can see it now, a week before GT5's release next March in Japan, PD are doing PR for the game.

    Cue..........

    'Lol, they aren't working on GT5, lol, when is this game going to be released, lol, 2015, lol!!!!!!!!!!!'


    Meanwhile they've long since traded in their copy of Forza 3, but they don't quite get the irony.


    Edited by 1 at 23/12/09 @ 23:26

  • canIdoyabombsforya #46 2 years ago

    So he improved his lap times by 20 seconds per lap *during* the course of the race, but gives credit to GT5, what did he do play it during his break?
    I doubt very much the game gave him any significant performance advantage. TBH if you're going to give credit to a simulator you'd want to be quite near the pace from the start.
    Lets not get carried away, drivers like Kimi Raikkonen , Robert Kubica jumped out of a Kart and put a Formula BMW on pole at first attempt, there are better ways of becoming a quick racing driver, video games are a long way off, don't believe the hype.
    Please let the game be a lot fun though.

  • SAH1977 #47 2 years ago

    'Saying that driving a track in a game is similar to driving it in real life is one of the most stupid things I have seen. Worse though are the people that will believe him.'

    Tell that to every major manufactuer and team who use simulations for set-ups and driver training. These days very little time is spent on track setting up cars, the majority of work is done back at the factory, with tweaking at the circuit.

    Notice I said simulations, not Grid, Burnout etc.

  • davisorle #48 2 years ago

    What I first have to note from his stamtement in the article is that he is completely against the mature and more apropriate strategy and responsibility every other company follows by pointing out that : "a game isnt capable to represent the real life driving and encourage rectreating the gaming races in streets and all that kinda bullshit" but also in the shae of grabing some extra sales he thinks that the buyer is that stupid and naive and that we will gain any kind of respect torwards him and his opinion cause now he is THE driver due to the 25hour race..? This gives him credibility? Sure, Tony Hawk is selling the only close to realistic skating game with an actual skateboard lookalike piece of crap yet we know the game sucks neither he is gaining any respect from the gamer and/or the rest of the people that know of him or were and have been interested into skateboarding in any kind of way. I think it actually works the other way around ever since that, at least for sure from my point of view.

    Anyhow, like i said last time again and already said in the first comment here, they have probably already been considering the possibility of taking another year off or an whole console gen and release the damn game with a PS4 if it is to ever happen in the future. I can not understand at all the strategy they are trying to pull off but I really am not liking it. In fact I think they rather pull a lame simple damn trick with signed copies from actual racing legends or even curent big names, instead of what I just read.

    You would think that people should get insulted when told things that someone only, lets just say the least, too naive would actually just listen ( read ) and accept that kind of bullshit o.O

    P.S.And for the love of God Eurogamer, I dont know if its your fault again with the missleading titles but isnt the already built up hype and bullshitting enough? Like kangaroo pointed out , 25hour race is really not the way to call your achievement of 5-6 hour driving. Even if the race was indeed the 25hour race.

  • canIdoyabombsforya #49 2 years ago

    SAH1977
    "Tell that to every major manufactuer and team who use simulations for set-ups and driver training. These days very little time is spent on track setting up cars, the majority of work is done back at the factory, with tweaking at the circuit.

    Notice I said simulations, not Grid, Burnout etc. "

    Completely different, they involve real physics and motion applied to the actual F1 car's tub and are suspended on a hydraulic rig, use a curved screen with large field of view, cost about 30 million dollars, using the data they have collected themselves, sometimes updated back to the simulator in realtime(don't forget to vote me down again for presenting the facts)

    The OP was right, our games and so called sims are nothing like driving a car in real life, we drive using real physical forces and senses which is light years ahead of what a PC or console can do. All a game does is lets you remember which way the track tunrs at computer speeds on a 2D monitor.That's exactly why the designer was 20 seconds slower per lap, he blatantly had to learn all over again.
    Burnout is closer to GT5 and any other so called PC or console sim, than GT5 is to real life, by miles.
    'sim snobs' always fob off arcade games, but it took PCs and consoles years before they could do anything near excilerating as Daytona in the aracdes, yet the snobs were still claiming they had the real deal.

  • dylman #50 2 years ago

    We all know the handling model will be identical to GT1 anyway. Accelerate into the first bend without braking, smash the cars ahead of you out of the way and accelerate out. Repeat if necessary at corner 2, win race.

  • El-Dev #51 2 years ago

    "We all know the handling model will be identical to GT1 anyway. Accelerate into the first bend without braking, smash the cars ahead of you out of the way and accelerate out. Repeat if necessary at corner 2, win race."

    Indeed, if you are a shit gamer. Guessing we can put you in that category.

  • Spekingur #52 2 years ago

    @kangarootoo:
    The experience can never be identical or similar. The one thing that Flight Simulator does well is showing all the instruments. At most, you can study the tracks in racing games - that is, those tracks that are copied exactly from the real track to the game. Most of the time you will recognize landmarks and certain turns but you will never be able to experience a simulation. The only way that'll happen is if someone invents some proper Holodecks (and even that might not be proper, seeing as you need programming and programming doesn't compare well to the mechanical).

  • Murton #53 2 years ago

    A lot of people getting on the guy's case for particpating in an endurance race during what could have been his time off for all we know.

    GT5 is going to be one of the biggest selling games of this gen, that's pretty much certain and as for the length of the dev cycle, no other game has build quality that compares to Gran Turismo, GT offers a huge amount of content with exquisite visuals with zero issues, no gamebreaking bugs, no frame rate issues, no crashes, how many modern games offer that?

  • ebony69 #54 2 years ago

    Sony haven't a clue have they. The X360 has already been established in the market for 4+ years (longer than the original Xbox ever got to live) and Sony still haven't even got their first driving game our of the door. Shameful.

  • busboy33 #55 2 years ago

    @kangartootoo:

    "a driving day like this is probably good publicity done with the intention of calming fans that may be upset about the delays."

    That I'm not following at all. Fans are upset about delays, so watching the face of GT driving around in a race would calm those fears? I would expect the exact opposite reaction. If Fable3 was delayed, and I saw Molineux at a Rennisance Fair, I wouldn't feel better about Fable3 . . . I'd be more anxious than ever for it to release, and I'd be annoyed that he's apparently having fun will I wait with baited breath for him to get back to work.

  • busboy33 #56 2 years ago

    "The OP was right, our games and so called sims are nothing like driving a car in real life, we drive using real physical forces and senses which is light years ahead of what a PC or console can do."

    *looks at GT box*

    "the REAL driving simulator"

    Well, there you go. Says so right there on the box, so it must be true.

    Check and mate.

  • Foxis #57 2 years ago

    I would definitely argue that the most advanced simulation-ish games at the moment can indeed improve real life driving performance. There are a few that do model the physics well enough that the car does respond like it would in real life.

    At that point you do get more out of it than just track layout practice, you learn to recognize and avoid bad habits and hopefully develop good skills like smoothness and weight managment. With a G25 or similar you can practice heal/toe, left foot breaking etc. which is all very helpful.

    Now, I am still not sure about GT5: GT5P is way off (which is logical since it is using the old physics engine IIRC?), the GT5 time trial demo is much closer to the real thing but instead a bit too sensitive. It handles fine within the envelope but as soon as you step over the limit it all goes weird. Very hard to recover what would have been very saveable in RL.
    Simulations like iRacing on the other hand are very close, extremely impressed with the handling and if GT5 gets to the same level it will be awesome.

  • Mark1412 #58 2 years ago

    "The game is out when it's finished."

    You know what else was 'out when it's finished'? Duke

  • SAH1977 #59 2 years ago

    'The OP was right, our games and so called sims are nothing like driving a car in real life, we drive using real physical forces and senses which is light years ahead of what a PC or console can do'

    There wouldn't be a sim genre if realistic driving models weren't possible on home consoles and PC's. G-force simulation will never be possible in the home, that's a given, but every other aspect can be simulated accurately, including feedback through the steering wheel. Anyone who owns a car that is in a simulation can report back how accurate, or not, it is, we're not just talking about out of reach race cars.




  • Caimbeul #60 2 years ago

    "Why do people make out that he's the only person making this game.

    isnt he? I thought that was the reason it was taking 6 years...?

  • stodge #61 2 years ago

    Do you think he noticed that the other drivers actually try to avoid you and don't just blindly follow the racing line? No? A man can hope eh??

  • SFG_Clan #62 2 years ago

    Anytime I see an article about GT, I actually doubt it's existence. I think it's a myth or only exists in another dimention

  • Aname #63 2 years ago

    @Coytean and MiniAmin

    Thanks :) And "Kaz's Magical Racing Helmet of Unattainable Reality" XD
    Edited by 3 at 28/12/09 @ 19:15

  • SpeedyThing #64 2 years ago

    It's Duke Nukem Forever all over again!

    http://ww w.wired.com/magazine/2009/12/fa...
    Edited by 1 at 29/12/09 @ 11:55

  • kangarootoo #65 2 years ago

    @Spekingur

    I think we are getting lost in semantics here. You seem to be denying that ANY simulation is possible, but clearly simulations of all sorts are commonly accepted as existing, so it can only be your definition of simulation seems to differ from the common usage.

    A simulation is NOT identical to the experience it simulates, but it is similar (ie it shares similarities). You say a driving sim can't be identical or similar to driving, as if they are the same thing. But they aren't the same thing at all. Similar is a subjective word, measured on a sliding subjective scale, and can frankly mean whatever I or anyone else wants it to mean. Identical is an objective word. Something either IS identical to something else or it is not.

  • Farzlepot #66 2 years ago

    Wait... Kazunori is the Stig! That's it! No wonder it's taking him so long to make the game if he has to bugger off to Britain for every episode of Top Gear!