Unlike Lucas Ordoñez who went from computer games to real life, driver Gunnar Jeannette has gone "from real to virtual". The American driver is actively involved in developing the game Forza Motorsport 4. 

Remember, in the final minutes of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2003, a 21 year old American driver was a sensation at the wheel of his Panoz Roadster ho;ding on to fifth place despite repeated assaults by Jean-Marc Gounon of Courage. Since then, Gunnar Jeannette has continued his career in endurance racing and won several class wins in ALMS.

His experience has earned him being named "test driver" of an unusual project. For several months he has assisted programmers of the game Forza Motorsport 4 that includes all the circuits of the ALMS and a 26 car "Le Mans" configuration. The technical team said they were delighted with the information supplied, shown by the reaction of one of the developers: "It was fascinating to watch Gunnar critique the tracks with our creative team, and he has provided detailed feedback that only a person benefiting from experience on these tracks in race conditions, and high speed can give you. I was struck by the accuracy of his comments, at one point, he mentioned that a set of orange cones at Sebring had to be moved a few metres from the edge of the track."

Forza Motorsport 4 will be released on 14th October on Xbox and will be sold for €65 for the classic version and €75 for the collector's edition.

Julien Hergault - Forza Motorsport

Photo : The stunning realism of the Muscle Milk Team's winning Aston Martin last weekend at Mid-Ohio.