As the Virtual World Touring Car Championship reaches fifth stage of pre-qualifications, this is your last chance to compete for the grand prize: The Chevrolet HHR.

From now until September 5th you can prove your driving skills with RACE07 and set a competitive time at Anderstorp. The fastest drivers will advance to the series finale on site at Monza, fighting for the grand prize.

The V-WTCC champ will drive away in a Chevrolet HHR, the car has been equipped with a LPG installation as part of Chevrolet’s environmental efforts. To ensure a smooth start with the new car, the winner will also receive a 500€ LPG voucher. Visit the V-WTCC website for all info on Simbin’s and Eurosport’s virtual WTCC competition.

Simbin has released a new patch for their RACE07 simulation on Steam today. Patch 1.1.1.2 brings plenty of changes, most of them are preparing the game for the upcoming GTR Evolution expansion.

Even if you`re not planning on buying GTR Evolution, you will still benefit from it as the new patch introduces reworked pit stops, changeable weather and other stuff to RACE07.

Updating your RACE07 installation is as easy as starting Steam, currently there is no info available on a offline-version of the patch.

Changelog:

-Added support for the upcoming GTR Evolution expansion.
-Added texture garbage collection
-Added option to choose minutes instead of laps in dedicated server.
-Added “right-click to unbind control” in control settings. ESC will cancel instead of unbinding
-Added reworked pitstops logistics
-Added ‘automatic gear’ and ‘automatic clutch’ to in game host menu.
-Fixed mesh cache.
-Fixed description on Honda and Alfa 2007
-Fixed driver feet animations.
-Fixed helmet view FOV in rain.
-Fixed so category buttons in custom championship track selection won’t select the track.
-Fixed car alpha bug in replay
-Fixed . issue in foldername
-Fixed free flight cam in instant replay
-Fixed camera change bug after instant replay
-Fixed blue flag warning (24s before stop&go)
-Fixed virtual mirrors still showing when looking back
-Fixed time attack refresh button text (bug in non-english languages)
-Fixed bink clear backbuffer. (Steam Community popup getting stuck in intro movie)
-Disabled car collision in pit lane.
-Loading optimizations.
-Removed timings info from second race timings screen.
-Removed car class filter in lobby.
-Removed pit stop screen tint and added text shadow
-Reworked pit strategies for AI.
-AI code tweaks
-AI tweaks for Macau, Pau and Porto (reduced crashing)

My two stories on Simbin’s new XBOX 360 title created quite a stir, getting linked on various gaming websites and starting quite some discussion. 24 hours later, it looks like we´ve all been on the wrong path though as I´ve just received word from Simbin regarding the RACE 360 rumors.

”We are issuing this statement to counter false rumours currently circulating on the internet regarding a new X360 game,” Simbin’s Magnus Ling states.  “We do have plans for an upcoming X360 game and an official announcement from Simbin will follow shortly with correct information on title and publisher. The information currently circulating is incorrect.”

I have to apologise for the misleading information, THQ’s announcement was backed by quite some sites though. It does not seem to be all wrong as a XBOX 360 Simbin simulation will be coming…..and those screenshots are definitely not from GTR Evolution. Either way, I´m sure plenty of people are looking forward to the official announcement.

Gerrit has just send me the following shots via the Report News function, these seem to be the first screenshots of Simbin’s RACE 360 for XBOX360. Apparently, the shots have been scanned from paper, explaining the rather bad quality.

While the shot of the BMW is the old Lizard-promotional shot, the other shots are unseen material. Interestingly, they include both the Aston Martin DBR9 and a BMW Z4M Coupe, hinting that RACE 360 might even include content from the upcoming GTR Evolution simulation. The BMW Z4M is seen for the very first time in a Simbin game, it has not yet been included in any GTR Evolution screenshots.

The fact that the Lizard-promotional shot was used and that some pics feature motion-blur hints that RACE 360 will indeed use the Lizard engine. But remember, no sources have been giving for this one…it all just might be a hoax.

At the Interactive Digital & Entertainment Festival in Cannes, THQ revealed plans to bring Simbin’s RACE simulation to Microsoft’s XBOX 360 gaming console. Entitled RACE 360, the game will feature 350 cars and 15 tracks which sounds pretty much like the RACE 07 content. Furthermore, the game will feature 12-player online multiplayer feature via XBOX Live, offline racers will be giving a splitscreen mode to compete head to head

RACE 360 will be the first serious simulation for XBOX 360 owners, enriching the choice of racing games with a proven name in the simulation world. Scheduled to be released in November, this marks the second try to launch a Simbin product for the console market. GTR for XBOX was planned to feature the 2005 FIA GT season, the game was eventually dropped by THQ and probably scrapped by Simbin, even though this has never been confirmed.

Since the PC version of race uses Image Space Inc’s gMotor engine, this opens all doors for speculations if RACE 360 will be the first game to utilise Simbin’s much discussed new Lizard engine.

A few months ago, a so called Crowne Plaza Raceway Demo surfed on STEAM, leading us to believe that Simbin is working on a BTCC game. Now, Simbin has officially released the Andy Priaulx Crowne Plaza Raceway, a free addon for all RACE07 players who have STEAM Installed.

Featuring the BMW 320si of Andy Priaulx and Fabrizio Giovanardis BTCC Vauxhal Vectra VXR, the addon lets you race on the beautiful Crowne Plaza Raceway fantasy circuit which is located on a picturesque island full of palm trees and other stunning scenery.

Download Andy Priaulx Crowne Plaza Raceway Addon Here

As the WTCC season progresses, the V-WTCC competition starts to heat up. At Brno,  three drivers secured their spot in the series finale held at Monza, ten more spots are still open to be filled. The winner of the series will be rewarded with a prestigious prize.

The V-WTCC champ will drive away in a Chevrolet HHR, the car has been equipped with a LPG installation as part of Chevrolet’s environmental efforts. To ensure a smooth start with the new car, the winner will also receive a 500€ LPG voucher. Visit the V-WTCC website for all info on Simbin’s and Eurosport’s virtual WTCC competition.

After yesterday’s simultaneous release of Virtua_LM’s Mid Ohio, here comes the next mutli-platform release from the famed mod group.

Virtua_LM and DerDumeKlemmer bring you Le Mans 1972-1986 for GTR2, GT Legends and RACE07. The circuit is one of rFactors best tracks and is now finally available for all ISI-based simulations.

The track comes in two different versions, representing the 1977 and 1979 layouts of the famous French track. While most of the corners are the same, a few spots and plenty of billboards have changed between these two years.

With all the 70ies atmosphere it creates, this track is the perfect playing field for GT Legends. Le Mans breathes sports car racing history and Virtua_LM has succeeded capturing that spirit, bringing these exciting days right to your favorite simulation.

Download Le Mans 1977-1979 for GTR2 Here

Download Le Mans 1977-1979 for GT Legends Here

Download Le Mans 1977-1979 for RACE07 Here

For the first time ever, Virtua_LM is releasing a track not just for rFactor but for other ISI-based simulations. Below are the GTR2, GT Legends and RACE07 versions of the brand new track which have been converted by DerDumeKlemmer. The original rFactor download can be found here

Opened in 1962, the 3.8 kilometer track has seen its share of sports car history, hosting notable Group C, Camel GT, Grand Am and American Le Mans Series races just to name a few. Even open wheelers are no strangers to the track as the CART championship and the IRL have hosted races at Mid-Ohio.

The track comes in two variations, both with and without chicane. Like you would expect from Virtua_LM, Mid-Ohio is another masterpiece and belongs in every simulation. Modeling, texturing - Everything is top notch and incredibly detailed.

Download Mid Ohio Sports Car Course 1.00 for GTR2 Here

Download Mid Ohio Sports Car Course 1.00 for GT Legends Here

Download Mid Ohio Sports Car Course 1.00 for RACE07 Here

In anticipation of Simbin’s GTR Evolution and its Nürburgring Nordschleife, Com8 has painted up a bunch of cars that raced in the 2007 VLN series season and released them for RACE07.

Download VLN 2007 Skinpack Here

Virtua_LM’s excellent tracks are expanding quickly among all ISI-based simulations. After GTL and GTR2 previews yesterday, eric.bugs now shows us the legendary Le Mans track in RACE07.

In terms of modding, Simbin’s RACE07 is probably the least popular of all gMotor-based simulations. A few tracks and carsets have been released but the game never catched the modding buzz like its competitors rFactor or GTR2.

Meck2 fuels the RACE07 modding scene by releasing a few new track versions over at NoGripRacing, enriching the choice of tracks to race the game’s countless cars on.

Download Dijon for RACE07 Here

Download Birmingham for RACE07 Here

Download Enna Pergusa for RACE07 Here

Download Hockenheim 2004 for RACE07 Here

Download Nürburgring 2007 for RACE Here

Until now, Virtua_LM’s excellent tracks were only available for rFactor (and F1 Challenge back in the days). This changes now as the well-known modding team has joined forces with derDumeklemmer who will convert the tracks to GTL, GTR2 and RACE07.

Since converting stuff gets more and more easy even for inexperienced users, having official converts is the only way for the team to make sure that the converted versions retain all of the unique features that make them some of the best in the whole community.

This announcement is great news for all simmers in other simulations as they`ll be getting their hands on spectacular tracks such as Le Mans and Rouen. The team is planning on having simultaneous releases of future tracks and versions, giving no single sim a head start.

Genghis99 has released a beta version of the Nürburgring Nordschleife 2.0 for Simbin’s RACE07. The track is based off the GTR2 version of the popular Nordschleife and is meant to be a beta release.

Some bugs may still be in there so if you find one, let the folks know so they can make a perfect 2.2 release.

Download Norschleife 2.0 for RACE07 Here