Red Bull Says Pikes Peak is in Gran Turismo 5

Jordan Greer · · 135 Comments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGP28KzHZiM

A bizarre post on the official Red Bull blog is raising quite a few eyebrows around our forums – and for a good reason. It’s a substantial discussion with Rhys Millen (rally driver and Tanner Foust’s co-star in the U.S. Gran Turismo PSP commercial) about the fastest way up the Pikes Peak rally course in GT5. Of course, there’s just one big problem with that: Pikes Peak hasn’t been seen in a GT game since Gran Turismo 2, and it’s obviously not on GT5’s track list (yet?).

In other words, this is either a severe editorial mistake or a not-so-subtle hint the legendary hill climb track is coming to the game. Adding to the intrigue, observant users in our forums noticed the first round of comments questioning the article’s accuracy were deleted early this morning, yet the article itself remains unchanged. More comments have been posted since then, but as of yet have not been removed.

This wouldn’t be the first time the Red Bull blog revealed information about GT5. As you may remember, they published an exclusive GT5 video last fall which revealed the X2010, the Lexus LF-A, and El Capitan (another track which did not make it into the game). After only a few hours online, however, the video was quickly pulled and I cooperated with Sony’s request to remove it from GTPlanet’s blog, never to be (officially) seen again.

Hopefully, with this additional exposure, we’ll be able to find out exactly what this odd article is about and why it exists. Stay tuned for more developments, and thanks to everyone who sent this in. Here’s a complete copy of the original Red Bull post as of December 30th, archived for posterity just in case:

Did you find Gran Turismo 5 under the tree? Getting frustrated by the Pikes Peak International course? Well, even if you feel you’ve mastered it, Rhys Millen has a few tips that might help even the most experienced gamer squeeze a bit more speed out of their console.

With a new class world record in a modified Toyota Supra at the 1998 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in his pocket, there’s no doubt that Millen knows how to race to the clouds.

So, for gamers attempting to conquer the famed circuit in Gran Turismo 5, here are a few tips from a record setter on how to negotiate the 12.42-mile (19.99-kilometre), 156-turn course up the Colorado mountain that just might come in handy.

Millen says that the sheer length of the course on the mountain face is one of its biggest challenges. It rises almost a full mile — 4,721 feet to be precise (1,439 metres) — from its starting point on Pikes Peak Highway, which is already almost two-miles up at 9,390 ft (2,862 m), with both gravel and asphalt sections to keep things interesting.

“The hardest part about Pikes Peak is course memorisation, with its 156 corners over 12.5 miles — although many sections that repeat in look, they are totally unique in execution,” Millen said.

“Pikes Peak has several sections that repeat themselves in style and feel. The key as on any course is to know what’s around that blind corner and carry speed onto the straightaways.”

Millen recommends that gamers study the surroundings to help serve as memory markers to what’s coming up. A tree here or a boulder can help offer handy reference points for specific corners to help gamers prepare for what’s coming, something that’s been known to help a driver or two in actual race cars, he adds.

“As for picture painting, running most video-based course layouts will aid a driver in course recognition prior to laying sight on the course. This will also help in corner exit speed as to placing the car in the correct position on track.”

While Gran Turismo 5 gives an accurate reflection of the actual Pikes Peak circuit, there are some things that the video game simply can’t do. And, even though Millen sees the quality of the gaming experience increasing, he still thinks there’s nothing like the real thing.

“As far as a true dynamic sensation, the crossover from the virtual world to reality, although better, still has a large element of disconnect. This typically comes in the form of terminal speed,” he said.

In addition, the changing conditions typical at Pikes also makes things more interesting in the actual car: “You only get one chance around each of the corners and surface temp and grip levels change every minute in a mountain climate.”

But, having the next best thing isn’t so bad when you think about the fact that, as a gamer, you don’t have to deal with the sobering reality of cliffs and drop-off that are some of the biggest in the world — more than 2,000 feet in some spots — which would certainly not be fun to experience after a mistake.

That said, Millen insists that the prospect of diving over a cliff doesn’t scare him at speed in a race car.

“When you’re strapped in the race car your focus point is so intense you create tunnel vision blocking out the surroundings, cliffs included,” he says. “I get more freaked out driving up in the mornings before practice days in a rental car.”

Millen also offers some advice that applies to any mountain course that appears in any video game: “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 favourite cars would he love to try out on the challenging circuit given the chance? Unsurprisingly, it’s a stable of high-performance rockets that he’d certainly push pretty hard up the mountain: Ferrari F40, the Ferrari 599XX and the Porsche Carrera GT.

See more articles on , , and .

Comments (135)

  1. Mike712

    Oh gosh! I hope it makes it into the game, it’s one of the most dramatic races in motorsport, I’m off to Colorado to see it this year!!

  2. Gtr

    Maybe it’s from a cheat.
    remember gt5 prologue had the secret menu that let’s u get all the cars for free and 3 new tracks that unfortunately didn’t work

  3. BWX

    WTH happened to ‘point to point’ rally stages anyway? ————
    I know I heard people from Sony/PD confirm P2P randomly generated rally stages.. it was on one of those SimRacing Tonight shows last summer. Maybe GT5’s dirt physics sucked too bad and they had to settle for 300 foot wide blind turn roads for “rally” tracks.

  4. bachy

    I’m reminded of the article in some magazine or another that had a similar nonchalant reference to Hockenheim circuit being in the game, prior to release. Almost in passing, like blazay blah old news that everyone already knew about.

  5. AdNox

    I got a little hopeful when I saw that Pikes Peak was described in the APEX book, but now I’m damn sure it’ll come.

    1. crcn11

      Hi, if you happen to know what page number in the book, would you mind telling me? I’m trying to look for it now haha. Thank you.

  6. xxANDYxx

    i need some gt5 friends to race with if anyone wants to add me my screen name is billsfan291. Im level 25

  7. Brainfade

    In the words of James Hunt: “All I can say to that is bulls**t”

    It’s pretty clear, that this is a case of:
    1) Media reporters who don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.
    +
    2) Yet another driver who’s claiming to play a game that he quite clearly hasn’t played, hence why he mentioned the Porsche.

    If GT5 five had the rights to include Pikes Peak in the game then they would have to include the name in the credits for the game, same goes for Spa, so stop talking nonsense you guys because NEITHER is in the game AT ALL.

    1. Hanswurst2k

      Why shouldn’t he mention the Porsche? He simply answerd to the question

      “And what favourite cars would he love to try out on the challenging circuit given the chance?”

      It has nothing to do with the game…

    2. williamk_85

      And other tracks and options weeny available in gt5 prologue either, right? The menu and extras were in front of our face the whole time, we just couldn’t figure out where it was.

  8. Chicken

    I hope it comes to gt5 because I just bought a Suzuki escudo, tuned it has 1,045 hp and still remains 800 kg

  9. Antan

    I’m pretty sure we’ll get a car, track and event pack at some point. Spa is an obvious choice for most, and PP, could be sooner rather than later aswell.

  10. SlickitySlick

    I would love to see this track made available (on disk? or DLC) since the other rally tracks are rather boring and don’t have any real life counter parts.

    Pikes Peak will be the rally equivalent of Nordschleife both in terms of length and number of turns, and it will make a wonderful addition to this amazing game.

    1. billy323

      I would not be surprised if unfinished tracks and assets are already on the disc, cos i am yet to see 50 gigs worth of game and Kaz has said he has filled the disc.

    2. Hanswurst2k

      Kaz may be saying he has filled the disc, but its not even close to be full. The whole content actually hast ~19Gb of which at least 1 to 1.5gb is movies.

  12. Denz

    Don’t care about Pikes Peak but I would really love to see Seattle and El Capitan back in the series along with Midfield.

  14. Ferrari

    Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real Please be real

  15. LordVonPS3

    2010 Gran Turismo 5 released.
    2011 Gran Turismo 5 rumours continue.

    Epic release, made all the more epic by unfounded speculation, articles and rumours.

    We know other track models exist, but why not include them in GT5? More money to be made.

    Why sell DLC for £5 when you can sell a new game for £50?
    Wait for GT6.

    1. Strikey182

      Haha, yeah i like how even though we have the game in our hands we are still left guessing about it..

      But im not all that sure about them holding back to make more money. After all, Kaz has been offered money to put certain cars into his games, but has turned down the money so personally i can’t see it as a money grabbing scheme but who knows

  18. Tweety

    I think they’re getting ready to delete comments again. Every one is marked has being reported. Can’t see the point. Not like their getting massive nasty hatemail.

  19. Buttocks

    Well, they speak as if we’re all trying to shave time off our Pikes Peak personal bests. They are more than a little confused.

  21. Nevada

    All things considered, 608mb for the 1.05 update seems a little large for what it was – who knows, maybe we were slipped track data for Pikes Peak on the sly.

    1. Simon

      The 608Mb update included all previous updates. I know this because I got the game on Christmas day and only had to download the 608Mb update to get to 1.05.

    2. Brandon

      It’s always like that. You only have to download the mosgt recent patch for a game, not all the ones that came previous to it.

  22. Markyy

    OMG! I miss this Pikes Peak amazing track! I hope they will put this track in an update this coming year. If that will happen, I would love to drive my S2000 R1 Titan which produce a 443 Grip track monster.

  23. Tvensky

    thanks for the video jordan.. I just now downloaded ALL GT soundtracks so I can play them on my GT5.!!!

    PS. if you want to just search Google – torrent gran turismo 2 soundtrack mp3

    change it to GT4 and GT3 to download from other series!

  24. Praggia

    BORING BORING BORING ZZZZZZZ

    PD does not do Rally well admit it guys so why are they even bothering if they are really bothering, this is just speculation or a hoax or whatever. Fact of the matter is the Rally feel is just not there somehow. Why not skip Rally all together and focus on fixing the multitude of bugs in this game. How long does it take to fix the issue with the shadows?? Instead we get a 600+ mb update which basically or for the most part addresses online issues.

    Where is Midfield raceway? Apricot Hill? Why does the topgear test track have freakin cones all over the place? People who dont know the track can turn on the racing line isnt that what its there for? why are the sounds still so crappy? how hard can it be to fix that? NFS FORZA seem to get it spot on. Why isnt there an option to increase the volume for engine sound or rather exhaust note. The SFX sound audio adjustment just increases the volume of everything, tyre noise, wind,crowd and when driving over the rumble strips. I despise the NFs franchise but what i do like about them is the way they accurately recreate the authentic car sounds. PD catch a freakin wake up call…..and please get over yourselves we dont need 700 japanese cars.

    2. Ryan J.

      I’m fairly certain there’s also more reason than PD’s ability to “get over themselves” for there being 700 Japanese cars. Maaaayybee it’s the fact that Japanese cars play a huge role in Motorsport?

    3. Brainfade

      @Ryan J …if that was the case in motorsport then why has only one Japanese make won Le Mans? why is sportscar still dominated by the west?

    4. Brainfade

      90% of motorsport is based in Europe, UK and US, barely 10% is in Japan’s thin insular world of SuperGT, Super Taikyu and Formula Nippon

    5. Cod=best

      u r so wrong ryan j. i agree with brainfade motrsport is 4 white people. jap ruined it they can’t even make a game right i went to fm3 which is much better.

    6. brainfade

      Cod=best there is no need for blatant RACISM like that, you clearly have motorsport mixed up with NASCAR

  27. Craigles

    I dont understand why polyphoney dont put tracks from old gt’s into gt5. My 5 favourites in gt4 El Caption, The test course (to get to the top speed), costa di amalfi, seattle circuit and of course opera paris.

    I would love to see all those in an extension pack of some sort along with SPA and Porsche(s) then gt5 would be perfect.

  29. GTP_COBRA

    HOAX or not be great to have a couple of name tracks that was in the old versions of the game…maybe they just did’ny have time to finish some tracks before its rushed release date?

  32. PedanticNerd

    We’re getting more tracks!
    OK it’s not confirmed but more likely than ever!

    Here’s hoping for Pikes Peak, El Capitan, Midfield, Test Course, hey maybe even Grindelwald. It’s been a long time since I’ve played that one.

    Oh and how are they going to implement these tracks?
    MORE A-SPEC EVENTS!!!!!

  34. NEEDFORFISH

    I want SSR11, Pikes Peak, Seattle and test course.
    IF possible, I want japanese mountain roads too!!(e.g. Akina)

  36. Gaz

    Seattle would be an awesome addition. I think we need all previous gt series tracks in gt5. I’d be happy to wait for more cars if they gave us all the tracks. Can’t believe they missed out midfield raceway, that was my favourite track!!

    2. kekke2000

      Wishlists are stupid. Everybody wants different tracks. Would be better with a rumour list. Tracks that have been hinted. Like the weather things in GT5 Prologue or this article. I think we have more tracks than we can see. I wonder how you unlock it….. Up, Down, Up, Left, Left, X, X, O, X maybe…. hmmmm

  38. Tim

    Mmm intresting , this would not suprise me afterall , Kaz did say there is going to be serveral updates during the upcomming months, or did it get added in 1.05 and it is just locked , look at Prolouge ok we cant play them but that had a hidden menu which had more tracks.

    I always though 604MB is alot considering most of the other updates were only 140MB

  40. Gulyo

    In GT5 rally mod must fix : I push full the throttle in a sharp curve and NOTHING HAPPEN … I mean in the firts or second gear no acceleration AT ALL !!! WHY ???????
    Fix it please !!!

  43. apex28del

    Dear illuminary GT5P demo console finder(s),

    Dig this one up out of the labyrinth of GT5 BluRay goodness, please!? From the bottom of your heart?

    kthxbai
    ~Apex

  45. onearmbandit

    “quote” 7
    WTF?
    Kazunori Yamauchi 10:22 PM on December 30, 2010 “/quote”

    Lol, even Kaz is confused ha.

  46. stanger2125

    I’m curions: When was that interview made and that article written? Could it be that the whole thing was made when Pike Peaks was in plans for GT5 and they decided to not put it in the final version of the game? I loved Pikes Peaks in Dirt 1, I hope its coming.

  47. strtgng

    Sorry guys, here is the author’s response to my tweet:

    @jpappone Hill climb track in GT5 modelled on Pikes. I missed that in piece. Correction forthcoming. Thanks! RT @strtgng: Pikes Peak Track in GT5??

  48. RTSolvalou

    If it’s in the game, it’s in the game? lol

    lol, anyways, there was an F1 hoax recently, but on a spanish site about a sponsorship agreement for a team, apparently some spanish april fools type thing they do at this time of year. But Red Bull isn’t spanish, nor is their site located there, so I don’t think they are doing the same thing by hoaxing.
    However, the article was posted by Jeff Pappone, is that a spanish surname?

    I think it’s a hoax regardless.

  49. SuperDuperAWESOME

    Didnt GTP have a thread about Red Bull having its own GT Academy style competition half way thru the year???

  52. vic

    It’s obviously a mistake since the person also mentions Carrera GT not knowing that Porcshes arent in the game so theres a good chance he doesnt know that that track isnt in the game as well.

  53. CyborgGT

    God yes, please please please please PUUHHHLEEEEEEASE! I ****** love this road! Went to the Hill Climb this past summer, and bought Dirt just to race Pikes Peak Highway. Gonna have to visit it a few times before the races hit again to get my own runs in. I got in a slight race with an AE86 Corolla (through spectator traffic!) towards the bottom, but racing downhill there is just asking to be killed.

  55. L8 Apex

    I would hope that, if it is actually in the works, that it will be the real full-length version, and not a GT5 rework of the “compressed” GT2 version. I also hope it would include some famous cars, like the Audi Sport Quattro S1 Evo and the Peugeot 405 T16.

  56. occasionalracer

    The fact that Sony has asked for information to be removed indicates that this may in fact be true. Why they go out of their way if this “leak” didn’t have any substance to it?

    1. Beepbeep

      They only removed comments about the track not being in the game/accuracy of the article, then gave up doing that. The article itself remains on site currently, and without change. So Sony didn’t go out of their way has of yet…….

  57. KilzoneStrife

    Aeon, dude. Absolutly. Ive seen that before. I agree. These tracks will be paid DLC.Its on the freakin disc though. I bet theres enough hidden there to take the tally to 100 tracks/variations.

  58. Dustyr

    Looks cool but if this is in an update along with premo conversions for cars it might take days to download. They did say end of dec update so I wonder what tomorrow will bring

    2. Happy new year

      LOL, my favorite comment from the redbull blog:

      “Next up: More tips on how to race your favorite tracks from GTs of yesteryear, in GT5 but not included with GT5, featuring: (FILL IN YOU FAV HERE), and any other track you wanted, but didn’t make it in……GT5: The simulator with every track in the world, even the ones not included……….In stores now!”

      Not exactly sure this was the desired response RB was looking for….lol

  59. The_Aeon

    Jordan about the note of El Capitan in GT5 theres a little scene in the “Horsepower (the song) Trailer” where you can see a Ferrari Enzo taking a corner that LOOKS VERY SIMILAR to the second corner of El Capitan. Check it…

    2. Yaycandy69

      They probably took that and a couple tracks out of the game. The stig is not in the game either. From the stig challenge in special. PD added go karting into gt5 when it was originally for gt6. and they took alot out for to save memory on the disk

    2. occasionalracer

      What is it that you think sucks? I think it’s fun as hell if you know how to carry your speed. We need more tracks dirt tracks.

    1. Cat

      Nobody ever stops to consider that the cat might not consider it a bit early. Most cats prefer to be let out sooner rather than later……;p

    3. Sub-Zero Racing Team

      My cat HATES bags… Especially plastic ones… And even tho’ this bag is made of GT goodness, I’m sure this cat, and many others in the GT bag, want out…

    6. BWX

      My cat loves plastic grocery bags.. she likes to sit on them and naw on the handle part of the bag. She’s dethly afraid of large black plastic bags when you take them out of the box.. but if left on the ground she’ll cautiously go up to it and naw at the blue plastic hand strap (Hefty bags).. There’s definitely some connection to my cat and bags.. When I thow down a new plastic grocery bag for her it’s like Christmas morning and her birthday all in one.

      I want Pike’s Peak in GT5, that would be sweet. Soon the real Pike’s Peak will be completely paved over, no gravel. So GT5 could make one version with partial pavement, part gravel- then make an all paved version for when it’s completely paved. They could even make an all gravel version for when Pike’s Peak was all gravel decades ago and only let vintage cars run on that version.

  63. Don O'Hu

    Not that I don’t care about Pikes Peak, but I care more about the Porsche Carrera GT mentioned at the end of the post.

    1. Beepbeep

      They were talking about real racing by that point, and I think that was a real world wish list unfortunately, not a hint about the Porsche coming to GT5. :(

    4. occasionalracer

      I’ve played that game pretty hardcore…. Was it in Dirt 2 also? The first one was the best and I still have the tracks turns memorized. But of course the physics were unfortunately so unrealistic,in comparison to Codemasters last Rally game Colin McRae 2005 on PS2.

  66. Alex Leighton

    This sounds pretty legit to me, I would guess an article like this would come up with the release of the track, I don’t see any other reason why someone would have written this.

    Here’s hoping this is coming soon!!

    1. Beepbeep

      The way it’s worded, makes it seem hoax like, they way it refers to the track like everyones allready playing. Unless it’s because the article got released early, by accident, before the track gets unlocked, added in a patch, or simular, this just makes no sense. If it wasn’t for the source, i’d have no hope at all.
      Why do I have the feeling this is an accidental release of a promo planned before GT5 went gold, and the track was most likely removed prior……….

  69. Sele1981

    Mh I hope there is or would be an asphalt version also be in! I really like that Fuji mountain track in FM3… And I hate rally :D

    1. MrSkyline

      Part of pikes peak is gravel part is tarmac, so if pikes peak returns, prepare yourself for some kick ass rally racing :D

    2. L,ex zs

      I remember that article if I remember right they translated that print screen of which it mentions pikes peak, spa, valencia, erl caspian,n more, maybe that got another big ass patch coming w/ standard cars upgraded to premium

Comments on this post are now closed.

About the Author
More Videos
Subscribe to GTPlanet on YouTube!
Related Articles

Gran Turismo 5 Turns 10 Today

Andrew Evans · · Comments
November 24, 2010. That’s the day that Gran Turismo 5, the first full Gran Turismo release on the PlayStation 3, first launched.

The Real Story Behind the Mysterious Cat in Gran Turismo 5

Jordan Greer · · 30 Comments
When Gran Turismo 5 was released, something unusual in the game’s Kyoto Photo Travel Location caught the attention of our community: a curiously detailed little cat. He blinked, turned his head, looked around, and generally drove people crazy.