Forza Motorsport 3

LONDON, 12 JUNE 2009 – This weekend in Le Mans, Sarthe, France, the world’s best drivers and their finely tuned race cars will compete in the oldest and most prestigious endurance race in the world, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

To celebrate the 77th 24 Hours of Le Mans, Xbox 360 has partnered with Peugeot Sport to host a press event at the Le Mans circuit together with Peugeot Sport’s top driver, Stéphane Sarrazin. The event, held in Peugeot Sport’s Hospitality at Le Raccordement announces the debut of the famed Le Mans Le Sarthe and Bugatti circuits as well as a new multi-class racing mode, all to be included in “Forza Motorsport 3”, when the game launches exclusively on Xbox 360 in October. A consultant to developer Turn 10 on the re-creation of the track for Forza Motorsport 3, Stéphane took some laps on the in-game version of LeMans with press prior to joining his Peugeot 908 teammates to prepare for Saturday’s race.

In the true spirit of motorsport, no “Forza Motorsport 3” experience is complete without the inclusion of the finely tuned and highly engineered racing machines designed by the world’s most prestigious racing teams. To that end, Xbox 360 also announces at Le Mans the first set of more than 100 race cars that will be featured in the game. For the first time in Forza Motorsport history, fans will be able to get into the cockpit of some of the world’s most famous race cars including the Peugeot Sport 908, the Audi FSI Champion Racing R8 and the Ferrari MOMO Doran Racing F333 SP. With the best graphics and most realistically performing cars in gaming, “Forza Motorsport 3’ will let racing fans worldwide live out their love of motorsport like never before.

In the U.S. this weekend, Xbox 360 and Audi North America invite motorsport fans and media to the Audi Forum New York City for a host of activities celebrating Le Mans. Among them, Xbox 360 and Audi North America are hosting the AXF-24 Audi-Forza Challenge where nine of North America’s top “Forza” drivers as determined by rankings on Xbox LIVE will compete in a simulated 24-hour endurance competition complete with regular pit stops to refuel and replenish as that challenge themselves and each other on the just debuted Le Mans Le Sarthe circuit in "Forza Motorsport 3." The competition runs concurrent to the actual race in France with gamers being split into three teams of three drivers, just like Le Mans racing teams then compete to win an all-expenses paid trip for them and a guest to the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans race hosted by Audi. Other activities for media and guests include taking their own turns on Lemans in the Forza Motorsport 3 racing pod, witness pit stop demonstrations featuring the real-world Audi R8 and R10 Le Mans race cars as well as view a live broadcast of the race from France. For more info or to register to attend the events taking place at the Audi Forum New York in Manhattan, visit http://audiexp.com/axf24.html

With unparalleled physics, stunning graphics and more competition and variety than any game before, “Forza Motorsport 3” captures the thrill of Le Mans and brings it from the track to your living room this October. For more information or to download in-game screen shots and video showcasing some of the hottest race cars on the Le Mans in the game, visit http://forza.xbox.com, or http://edelmanadmin.psni.com/public/Forza%20Motorsport%203/

Among the more than 100 race cars in “Forza Motorsport 3” announced today:

Manufacturer

Model

Audi

#2 Audi Sport North America R10 TDI

Audi

#2 FSI Champion Racing R8

Bentley

#7 Team Bentley Speed 8

BMW

#15 BMW Motorsport V12 LMR

Cadillac

#6 Team Cadillac Northstar LMP-02

Ferrari

#30 MOMO Doran Racing F333 SP

Peugeot

#8 Peugeot Sport 908

Peugeot

#3 Peugeot Talbot Sport 905 EVO 1C

Porsche

#17 Racing Porsche AG 962c

Toyota

#3 Toyota Motorsports GT-ONE TS020

Audi

#8 Audi Sport Team Joest Audi R10 TDI

Ferrari

#12 Risi Competizione F333 SP

- Ends -

For more information, press only:

Nik Thakkar / 020 3047 4087 / nik_thakkar@jcpr.com

Georgina Edwards / 020 3047 4057 / georgina_edwards@jcpr.com

About Xbox 360

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About Microsoft

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1Full details, including prize rules, are available at http://www.xbox.com/1vs100.

2 Xbox LIVE Gold Membership required for online multiplayer. “Halo Reach” beta will require a hard drive and Gold membership.

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