TuneGT

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVgBFBNyxS0

In case you missed the live stream of the Mercedes Live Race yesterday, here’s a video recap of what went down at what turned out to be an enjoyable event to watch.

David Coulthard eventually came on top against the live racers who were not able to best his real-world lap time of 1:16.32. That time quickly fell, though, once the corresponding Seasonal Event went live in Gran Turismo 5. There was initially confusion over the Seasonal Event’s availability in North America, though I am now happy to confirm it is available in all regions. Head on over to our GT5 Seasonal Events forum for more discussion.

Let’s hope the success of the event inspires Mercedes and other automotive manufacturers to use Gran Turismo as a creative and interactive marketing platform. Congratulations once again to Jason Birt, winner of the trip to the 2011 F1 Brazilian Grand Prix, and all who took part!

Related posts:

1. Mercedes Live Race in Gran Turismo 5, Live Video Stream (Coulthard Wins!)
2. “Mercedes Live Race” GT5 Competition with David Coulthard
3. Special Mercedes GT5 Seasonal Event Coming Monday

The live stream has finished. Video highlights will be available shortly.
If you’re having any trouble viewing the stream, view the alternate feed here.

The Mercedes-Benz Live Race is almost here, and GTPlanet is proud to be an official streaming video partner for the event! The live broadcast begins at 3:00PM in the UK and will be hosted by popular F1 television commentator Martin Brundle.

As you’ve probably heard by now, the premise of the Live Race is simple: former F1 driver David Coulthard is going head-to-head against a select group of Gran Turismo 5 gamers in the same car, on the Top Gear Test Track, at the same time.

I’m happy to report that many of the contest finalists are from GTPlanet – user “thefraggle” is live-blogging the entire event here in our forums, offering a unique perspective of the competition.

At stake for the fastest gamer is a 5-star trip to the 2011 Formula One Brazilian Grand Prix, and for David, his reputation! Meanwhile, Europeans will be able to take a shot at David’s live lap times in a special GT5 Seasonal Event.

Keep an eye on the video player above for the start of the broadcast, or visit DCLiveRace.co.uk for a back-up stream. Good luck to everyone!

UPDATE: The event went off without a hitch and was great fun to watch. David Coulthard set an early hot lap of 1:16.32, besting the fastest gamer Jason Birt by half a second! Here’s the final results:

David Coulthard: 1:16.32 
Jason Birt: 1:16.86 (+0.548)
Rob Woodhouse: 1:17.53 (+1.214)
Andy Sawley 1:17.88 (+1.564)
Jamie Lunn 1:18.73 (+2.411)
John Morshead 1:19.27 (+2.955)
Keith Brown 1:19.90 (+3.587)

Highlights from the day’s events will be available soon in cased you missed anything. Thanks to all of you who tuned in for the live stream, and congratulations to David and Jason!

Related posts:

1. “Mercedes Live Race” GT5 Competition with David Coulthard
2. Special Mercedes GT5 Seasonal Event Coming Monday
3. Marco Calvo Wins a Real-World SLS AMG in Mercedes’ GT5 Driving Challenge