DiRT3 is coming out next month and there are scores of Gymkhana and Rally fans waiting for its release with baited breath. Usually when a big game release is on the horizon there is some sort of “special edition” or bundle pack offered to those who really want something collectible when they pick up the game they’ve been waiting months for. It’s a common practice with popular shooter franchises like Halo and Call Of Duty. Now DiRT3 will be among that group as there will be a special bundle pack available now for pre-order in which buyers will get the game itself but also the popular Ken Block Traxxas R/C Gymkhana car. Awesome right?! The bundle pack will set you back $299 but before you scoff at the price you should know that the R/C car itself normally goes for 300 bucks. So instead of thinking of it as paying $299 a game you should see it more as buying a cool R/C car and getting a $60 game for free with it! If that wasn’t enough, pre-ordering with Game Stop will also get you several unlockable cars, tracks, and events right off the bat while the rest of the world has to earn them the legit way!
If that sounds like a good deal to you then head over to Game Stop and pre-order the bundle right now for Xbox 360 or PS3 before they run out.
DiRT3 Gymkhana Mode Trailer:
Bundle Pack Details:
Bonus Item
Instantly access all four cars
Gain Higher Drive Rep
Unlock four bonus racing events
Pre-Order Dirt 3 with GameStop and unlock the Exclusive Texaco Racing Superteam Unlock!
Instantly access all four cars from the Texaco Racing Line-Up
Gain Higher Drive Rep at start of play
Unlock four bonus racing events
Online Customers: A code with instructions will be emailed to you within 2 business days after your game ships.
Store Customers/In-Store Pickup Customers: A code with instructions will be printed on your receipt at time of game pick-up.
Product Details:
Race through the snow, rain and dirt and experience dramatic night races with the most rally content in the series yet. Express yourself in the stunning new Gymkhana mode, inspired by Ken Block’s incredible freestyle driving event, and upload your best runs direct to YouTube! Compete in iconic cars representing 50 years of racing, from the classic Audi Quattro to the 2011 Ford Fiesta WRC, and take on all game modes in split-screen and competitive online multiplayer. Competing as a professional you’ll enjoy intense racing across three continents – from the forests of Michigan to the infamous roads of Finland and the national parks of Kenya.
Experience night racing and dramatic snow courses.
Over 100 routes across 9 locations.
Experience jaw-dropping damage.
Rewind time with flashback.
Upload your best runs direct to YouTube!
About Ken Block Gymkhana RC Car Bundler: MODEL 7308: Traxxas Ken Block Gymkhana Fiesta, Fully assembled, Ready-To-Race®, with TQ AM radio, Titan® 550 motor, XL-5 Electronic Speed Control, 7.2 volt NiMH battery & charger, and ProGraphix® painted body.
Officially licensed Ford Fiesta body design and Ken Block/Monster Energy graphics
Officially licensed Volk Racing TE37 wheels (1.9″ diameter, 12mm hex)
Unique green pushrods and toe links, exclusive to the Ken Block Gymkhana Fiesta
Pre-glued, low-profile Gymkhana-compound slick tires molded in a specially formulated rubber compound for authentic Gymkhana performance and handling
Full-time 4WD
Powerful Titan® 12-Turn 550 modified motor
Includes Traxxas Power Cell battery pack and charger
TQ AM Transmitter
Waterproof electronics
Digital High-Torque Waterproof Micro Steering Servo
Rubber-sealed ball bearings
Impact absorbing foam front bumper
Race-winning, F1-inspired Revo® suspension technology and E-Revo integrated chassis design, perfectly optimized for 1/16 scale
In 1982 the FIA introduced a new rally class known as Group B. For the time, Group B contained some of the fastest most sophisticated rally cars ever built. Group B is the class where cars like the Ford RS200 and the Audi Quattro gained legendary status. Unfortunately, due to the outright speed and power of the machines in Group B there were many accidents, some fatal. In fact, it got so bad that the FIA was forced to take a step back at the monster they created and said “no more”. In 1986, just 4 years after it was born, the FIA killed the Group B rally class before there was any further lives lost. However, despite Group B being dissolved rally fans still speak of it as a defining era of rally racing history. Authentic Group B rally cars are highly sought after among motorsport collectors, some cars fetching millions of dollars. I am going to take a stab in the dark and say that a very small percentage of the people reading this post would be able to afford to put an honest to god Group B rally car in their private collection. This is why the news that Codemasters is deciding to add Group B rally to DiRT3 is freakin’ awesome! This is closest most of us will ever get to experiencing the era of Group B. Granted it will be in virtual form but hey these days that’s pretty damn good! Recently, Codemasters released an emotion stirring video trailer of what we can expect from the Group B mode when DiRT3 is released next month (May 24th to be exact). You’re gonna want to see this..
In this Dev. Diary for DiRT3 we find out how the guys at Codemasters reached the level of realism that will make DiRT3 true to rally racing while still keeping the game fun and accessible. They even enlisted some help from Gymkhana ”hoonigan” Ken Block. We can’t wait to get our hands on this!
According to a tweet by Alyssa Roenigk who is an ESPN Senior Writer for Action Sports. Snowboard/Skateboard double threat Shaun White AKA ”The Flying Tomato” has signed a deal with BF Goodrich to compete in Rally Racing in a car built by Vermont Sports Car which further suggests that if this is true Shaun White’s other partner in this deal will be Subaru. This makes a whole lot of sense since Travis Pastrana parted ways with Suby a few months ago to compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. With Pastrana going in circles (literally) Subaru needs another action sports hero who is just as popular as Pastrana to stay a favorite among the X Games skater/snowboarder demographic.
Although, I should tell you that so far there is no official confirmation from White’s camp, Vermont Sports Car, Subaru, or any rally racing sanctioning body on this matter. Which means despite this move theoretically making a whole lot of sense, it could all just be talk. If we find out any new information we’ll let you know!
UPDATE: Alyssa Roenigk released a full article with the details of this story. According to the article Shaun’s camp is currently downplaying any notion that he is looking to enter rally racing professionaly. Shaun’s agent was quoted in the article as saying “Ninety nine percent no. The goal is not to compete, but if he takes to rally like a fish to water, who knows?” Shaun’s camp is stating that the deal with BF Goodrich is for a series of commercials featuring White practicing drifting and driving at an abandoned airport in Orange County (AKA El Toro, maybe the Top Gear USA track?). If Shaun does decide to go full-on into rally racing it could be a steep learning curve for him. Shaun himself admitted during the BF Goodrich announcement that “My brother sold me out and told BFGoodrich I couldn’t drive stick.”
It looks like Shaun and his agent would like us to believe that any professional or competition-focused effort in rally by Shaun is highly unlikely at this point. I guess we will just have to keep our eye on this to be sure of that.
UPDATE 2: It looks like BF Goodrich has launched a Shaun White micro-site that has several videos of his “driver’s training” one of which has Formula Drift driver Sam Hubinette showing Shaun how to drift in his Dodge Viper!
Our buddy Bill Wood is working hard lately. He still does his radio show but now he is back to doing video as well! Check out his latest edition of “Things You Should Know This Week” full of tasty headlines about Tommy Kendall’s racing future and Tanner Foust’s 2011 plans. Check it out below!
Rally Racing and Gymkhana are a lot more popular in the states than they used to be a while back. Every day more and more people are finding themselves wanting to get involved. If you’re one of those people then you’re going to need a good helmet. Arai’s GP-5Wis a great helmet if you like to do Rally racing but also occasionally like to cross over into touring and/or stock car racing. Arai’s helmets aren’t cheap and the GP-5W is no exception at $849.99 but their helmets are top shelf stuff so it will be worth every penny.
This video has been floating around the interwebs for a little while now but I didn’t actually watch it until today. It was a given that his record breaking hill climb footage would be awesome but what really makes this video for me is the first half in which you see Travis and his co-driver Marshal Clarke create their custom pace notes during a pre-run in a stock Subaru WRX STi. It was pretty interesting to me to get a glimpse into how pace notes are created. Scroll down for 5 minutes of rally awesomeness.
I caught up with Ken Block as the X Games 16 Super Rally day was drawing to a close to get some more insight about his mechanical incident in the “Last Chance Qualifier”. In the process I got him to spill a few small tidbits about Gymkhana 3! Check it out.
Saturday was the second day and final day of X Games rally competition. Practice was over and there was no more warm ups. On this day every run counted. The pressure was definitely on each driver to get everything right so they could continue to advance. If the pressure of competition wasn’t enough there was another factor that added to the tension. The officials changed the layout of the track before competition began. The story we heard from various sources was that the original layout was too disconcerting to the drivers. As such, the officials changed the layout. However once the course was changed the drivers had little to no time to practice the new configuration. Then came news that if any driver deviated from the set course they would be red flagged and automatically DQ’d!
There was definitely a lot of drama throughout the rally racing and especially in the Super Rally Final. There will be more posts on all of that later. In the meantime check out some pictures from day 2 below and even more pictures in our GALLERY.
This year E3 had a ton of cool racing game products but one of my favorites was in the Playseat America booth. In case you are unaware Playseat America brought us theForza Motorsport 3 limited edition racing seat. However, the Forza 3 seat isn’t the only item in their line. They had a ton of awesome seats in their booth but to me the WRC edition seat was easily the best one, it was even upholstered in alcantara! Check out the video below for more info. We also may have a possible review coming on the Forza Motorsport 3 edition seat so stay tuned!
Loading ...
