ICYMI: This week in racing games – 17 February 2023

Welcome to Rear View Mirror, your weekly racing game news roundup. As we shift into reverse, these were the biggest racing game news stories that hit the headlines this week.

Thrustmaster T818 wheelbase review

Direct drive wheelbases are all the rage right now in professional sim racing, offering precise feedback and stronger torque than their belt-driven counterparts. Better late than never, Thrustmaster has entered the direct drive market with the Terminator-sounding T818 wheelbase.

But does it deliver or is it outclassed by its Fanatec and Logitech competitors? We’ve put Thrustmaster’s first-ever direct drive wheelbase through its paces to find out in our T818 wheelbase review.

Where is Forza Horizon 5 Expansion 2?

Playground Games has been promising Forza Horizon 5 Expansion 2 for a long time. Considering the main game has been out for over a year and the Hot Wheels expansion was released last summer, the second expansion is long overdue.

Yet Playground Games has stayed silent about Forza Horizon 5 Expansion 2 since the last update on the DLC in November 2022.

With no updates from Playground Games, we look at rumours surrounding the second expansion’s theme and ponder when it will likely arrive.

How Rennsport is revolutionising sim racing

PC sim racing is dominated by iRacing, rFactor 2 and Assetto Corsa, long established as the titans of the genre. But this year, a new challenger is coming to shake up the sim racing world: Rennsport.

Currently in development by Competition Company, Rennsport is already on a lot of sim racer’s radars thanks to its stunning Unreal Engine 5 graphics, realistic driving and exciting ESL R1 esports series.

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We caught up with Competition Company to find out how Rennsport is revolutionising sim racing.

In other racing game news…

It’s been a relatively quiet week for racing game news, but next week will see the first Gran Turismo 7 update since December last year. On 21 February, update 1.29 will add a free PSVR 2 upgrade, bringing a new level of immersion to GT7. You can look forward to our hands-on impressions of Gran Turismo 7 on PSVR 2 soon.

With Monster Energy Supercross 6 fast approaching, a new trailer showcases the new free-roaming Supercross Park environment where you can improve your skills with the help of your personal coach: seven-time champion Jeremy McGrath.

After an 11-year hiatus, Twisted Metal has been rumoured to make a comeback on PS5 for sometime. Now, job listings at Firesprite Games hint at PSVR 2 support for the Twisted Metal reboot, putting you in the thick of the action.

Do you own a Logitech G23 wheel but want to upgrade to Pro loadcell pedals without investing in a Pro wheel? The new Logitech G Racing Adaptor lets you mix and match wheels and pedals from Logitech’s ecosystem to customise your sim racing setup.

This week saw more Formula 1 team car reveals for the 2023 championship this week, previewing the cars we'll be driving in F1 23. But the standout was the Mercedes-AMG W14.

Mercedes’ new championship contender brings back the striking black livery from the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Thanks to exposed carbon fibre, it’s also significantly lighter than last year’s car – time will tell if the improvements are enough for Mercedes to reclaim the crown from Red Bull this year.

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