We’re sure that most of you know that, the Goodwood Festival of Speed took place last week, with a number of number of rather special events taking place during the four days of automotive-related festivities at the Goodwood estate. Among those events was a rather special marketing stunt organized by Ford in collaboration with Gran Turismo, the famed Playstation racing franchise.
In short, a facelifted FordFocus ST – with none other than Ben Collins behind the wheel – was to go for a head-to-head race against a virtual Ford Focus ST – driven in Gran Turismo 6 by a hardcore game called Krisztian Somodi – up the Goodwood Hill.
Many of you will probably remember Ben Collins as being ousted from Top Gear after breaching a non-disclosure agreement, since one of his previous jobs was being the original “white Stig”. We’re not sure how many of you know Mr. Somodi, but we as far as we know, he pretty much plays games for a living, on a professional level, apart from working as a graphic designer.
While Ben Collins did not have a reset button in his car, Krisztian’s Gran Turismo 6 skills apparently weren’t enough to beat “the Stig” on the 1.16-mile Goodwood hill climb, despite having had the upper hand in practice.
“Racing the new Ford Focus ST against the virtual one was a first for me. I had no idea who was in the lead, so I was ecstatic when I realized I’d won,” Ben said. “The Focus ST has always been a great driver’s car but the new version is even more responsive and rewarding.”
For those of you who didn’t get to see the feat live on Goodwood’s official channel, here is the race in all its entirety.
By Alex Oagana
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