PH Does GT5 At M-B World

PH competition winners enjoy a closed-doors PlayStation event at Mercedes-Benz World

Our winner Andrew, going for it

The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG will be the star car of the new Gran Turismo 5 game when it is released, and when M-B was given the opportunity to share some unreleased circuits they allowed PHers to sample them before anyone else in the UK.

30 lucky PHers were plucked from the relative obscurity of the internet via a competition we ran recently, and our group of lucky winners joined us at Mercedes-Benz World to 'drive' the new SLS AMG on the as yet unreleased Gran Turismo 5.

The wait for GT5 has been long and painful, but what we saw on the night suggests the the game will be well worth the wait, with sharp graphics and great feedback for the 'driver'. The game also appeared to have the ability to make the 27 PHers (3 didnt make it) who drive real cars every day, look very nervous indeed!

Is it my go yet?

The M-BW team applied a 'first lap counts' rule, so players were straight into a do-or-die lap. All cars were set up the same for consistency and the tension mounted as everyone worked hard to win the first prize - a drive in a real SLS AMG. We witnessed some great driving, and some rather interesting ways of getting around the 'Ring as cars bounced from one barrier to the next! At the end of the evening we had a winner and the Top 10 league table looked like this:

1. Andrew O'Malley - 7.48.154
2. Martin Pett - 8.01.834
3. Anthiny Gnapp - 8.02.387
4. Rick Ware - 8.03.226
5. Si Banks - 8.07.630
6. Richard Philips - 8.14.643
7. Chris Farr - 8.19.051
8. Graham Hall - 8.30.505
9. Rupert Clark - 8.31.146
10. Dave White - 8.38.203

Concentrate!

Follow the cheat line.....

The driving pods were sensational, and as you can see from the pics, were not only fitted with a large LCD screen but also a genuine SLS AMG seat too. Best of all, the pods will be at Mercedes-Benz World for the next few weeks so make sure you pop along and have a go for yourself.

In addition to playing on GT5, we also had the whole of Mercedes-Benz World to ourselves as this was an after hours lock-in, so we spent much of the time looking at the display cars and wondering how we could divert the security guard's attention for long enough for us to replicate 'Gone in 60 seconds'. Sadly, we didn't quite pull it off and as a result the gold SEC lives to see another day. (As does the G-Wagen, which came a close second on my wish list).

Car of the night....for me

Words can't describe how tasty this was

In-between all of this (and playing in MLs on the off-road course) we were also fed by the same chaps who look after Lewis and Button in the F1 paddock on race day. It's fair to say that the team went above and beyond the call of duty with the food, as we were presented not only with a delicious PH burger from Jody Scheckters farm, but also a huge Smiley cake for desert too. It's a wonder that F1 drivers aren't much fatter with this level of catering!

As nights out go, this was one the best. Thanks to all the PHers who came along to join us, and thanks (as ever) to Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-Benz World for looking after us so well.