2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship - Rolex 24 at Daytona

The 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship kicked off with the first endurance racing event of 2024, the Rolex 24 at Daytona. With an eclectic mix of veterans and rookies assembled in this 59-car grid representing four different classes such as the GTP, LMP2, GTD, and GTD PRO, the first endurance racing event of 2024 is a stunner from dawn to dusk to dawn again.

Screengrab from IMSA

After 24 hours of intense Daytona thriller, the #7 Porsche Penske Motorsports 963 of Matt Campbell, Felipe Nasr, Dane Cameron, and Josef Newgarden made headlines as the overall winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The #18 Era Motorsport Oreca LMP2 07 wins the LMP2 class, the #62 Risi Competizione 296 GT3 for the GTD PRO class, and the #57 Winward Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 for the GTD class.

The next race is the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 16 at Sebring International Raceway.

WRC 2024: Rallye Monte-Carlo

The 2024 World Rally Championship has officially begun with the Rally Monte-Carlo. With tactical twists to the points structure, driver line-up shuffles, and more, this season opener is a thriller from start to finish.

As Ott Tanak topped the shakedown on his return to being a Hyundai driver, Elfyn Evans defied the freezing odds to score his lead until his drama with Sebastien Ogier gave Thierry Neuville, a Hyundai driver, a chance to slip into the lead.

 

Screengrab from WRC

In the end, Thierry Neuville drew first blood with his 20th WRC career win at the rate of 3:09.30.9, 16.1 seconds ahead of Ogier. Elfyn Evans completes the podium with a third-place finish.

The next event is the Rally Sweden from the 15th to the 18th of February, 2024.

ABB FIA Formula E S10 - Diriyah ePrix

Despite worsening clashes in the Middle East, that didn't stop the ABB Formula E from hosting a race in Saudi Arabia as its 10th-anniversary celebration continues in the streets of Riyadh for its two-parter.

Screengrab from Formula E

In the first part of the Diriyah ePrix, Andretti's Jake Dennis defeated two-time champion Jean-Eric Vergne on a race toward victory lane while Nick Cassidy of Jaguar finished 3rd. In the final part, meanwhile, Cassidy steered his way toward his first win as a Jaguar driver. At the same time, Robin Frijns of Envision finished 2nd and Oliver Rowland of Nissan completed the podium with his third-place finish.

The next race will be in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 16th, 2024.

Rea Gen Villareal wins IT'S SHOWTIME's TNT Year 7

The grand finals of IT'S SHOWTIME's Tawag Ng Tanghalan Year 7 saw a three-way fight between Rea Gen Villareal, Vensor Domasig, and Eunice Encarnada. The fight to determine this season's champion.

Image: ABS-CBN Studios

With a score of 97.4, Rea Gen Villareal from Caloocan City blew the competition to become TNT Year 7 grand champion. She will receive a talent management contract with Star Magic's Polaris, a contract with ABS-CBN Music, and one million pesos.

Rea joins the ranks of past TNT champions from Noven Belleza to last year's Lyka Estrella.

Congratulations to Rea Gen Villareal for becoming the seventh Tawag Ng Tanghalan grand champion!

My FH5 Log: Community Day Classic (PART 4)

The Fiat Dino coupe and the GTA Spano are the highlights of the final playlist of the Forza Horizon 5 Community Choice series update.

First up is the GTA Spano, which I snagged after hitting the 20-point mark on the Hot Season Playlist.

First debuted at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, the Spano is powered by a turbocharged version of the 8.4L V10 engine sourced from the Dodge Viper, producing 900PS of power and 1000Nm of torque. Mated to a 7-speed gearbox, it sprints from 0-100kph in 2.9 seconds and has a top speed of 350kph. The Spano was updated in 2015 with a new and improved exterior design, aerodynamics, extensive use of graphene, and a 25PS increase to the V10 engine, improving its top speed by 20kph more. The Spano is limited to 99 units.

Lastly is the Fiat Dino 2.4 Coupe, which I snagged after hitting the 40-point mark on the Hot Season Playlist.

Designed by Giugiaro and Marcello during their early days at Bertone, the Fiat Dino, hence the name, is powered by Ferrari's Dino V6 engine in 2.0L and 2.4L configurations with the latter producing 180hp. The Dino is mated only with a 5-speed manual gearbox.

Using my final days of community service, I've sent the Spano and the Dino through challenges set by certain Forza fans with the Dino slipping through the metropolitan twists and turns while the GTA Spano tackles a handmade circuit made by one of Forza's number one fans. Let's roll the tapes.

With the Community Choice prize cars, the FH5 car roster is now 799. The "A Purrrfect Collection" badge requires players to collect 800 unique cars, no duplicates, meaning there's one car missing for this task, but not to worry, the 30th series update of FH5, titled Lunar New Year, will put a closure to that with the Chinese Stars Car Park, available this Tuesday.

In the meantime, let's all enjoy the greatest hits from the world of Forza Horizon while celebrating all the hard work we've done as a community. In fact, we're the reason why we keep Horizon Mexico rolling for more. It's starting to feel like a happy neighborhood for Horizon festivalgoers and game masters everywhere if you catch my drift.

Truth be told, we're the main reason why Forza Horizon 5's with us. That's a Community Choice for you.

Never stop partying, folks. Never stop partying.

TEKKEN 8

Tekken is back in its most explosive installment welcoming new and returning players back to The King of Iron Fist Tournament. Ready for another balls-to-the-walls brawl with TEKKEN 8?

TEKKEN 8

TEKKEN 8 is the latest installment of Bandai Namco's hard-hitting TEKKEN franchise and the first for the latest generation of consoles, the PlayStation5 and the Xbox Series X|S. All bets are off as this newest installment showcases the Tekken franchise at its peak performance.

Featuring a roster of returning favorites such as Kazuya Mishima, Jin Kazama, Xiaoyu, Lili, Asuka, and others, as well as newcomers such as Victor Chevalier and Reina, it's all about fighting who's the favorite and, best of all, all of them can be personalized with various costumes and accessories you bought or unlocked.

This is just the start because post-launch, expect new and returning characters joining in the action soon, as well as special guest appearances that remain a secret until announcement. Be prepared.

Tekken 8 features new areas to interact with other players online, with the use of customizable avatars. You create your own and then jump into various modes such as Arcade Quest and Tekken Fight Lounge, interacting with other players as you please. You can even do a shoutout while in the middle of a fight as well. 

The Ghost Battle mode from the previous installment has evolved with the new Super Ghost Battle mode, an endless mode where an AI will memorize every move as you progress. You better need to step up if you want to rack up some cash and unlockable items for your characters. Best of all, you can even challenge other players' ghost data. A great way to warm up before taking on Online Battles.

If you get bored with all the bruising, you can play a game of Tekken Ball with either a CPU opponent or a buddy.

This new installment welcomes players to its Story Mode titled The Dark Awakens. In this explosive story mode, fans will witness the climactic showdown between Kazuya Mishima and Jin Kazama. The bloody father and son conflict has reached its endgame and it's going to be an edge-of-your-seat thriller until the finale.

With a roster of new and returning characters, new ways for player interactions, the father-and-son endgame story, the new Super Ghost Battle feature, and the return of Tekken Ball, TEKKEN 8 is the most explosive installment built for the new generation of consoles and once enjoyed, you can't stop demolishing the competition by all means necessary. This game is truly a show of force and with your friends' ghost data and rankings all over, what are you waiting for?

GET READY FOR THE NEXT BATTLE!

The beginner's guide to the Pretty Series

With the recent announcement of the new Pretty Series installment titled Himitsu no AiPri, it's about time the Pretty Series returned after over a year since the Waccha PriMagi! series finale. In celebration of the newest installment, let's take a quick history lesson about the Pretty series.

Pretty Series

The Pretty Rhythm Saga (2010-2014) - The Pretty Series saga began on July 15, 2010, with the arcade game titled Pretty Rhythm Mini Skirt. Made by Takara Tomy and developer SynSophia, this arcade game pits players in the role of Prism Stars, performing Prism Jumps, and collecting Prism Stones.

While the one that started it all made a slow start, the folks from Takara Tomy wanted to do more with the Pretty Rhythm saga, and with that, a TV anime titled Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream was made. Aired on TV Tokyo on April 9, 2011, for 51 episodes, this anime is the fruit of Japan-Korea collaboration, thanks to Japan's Tatsunoko Production and South Korea's Dong Woo Animation. The TV anime is all about Aira, Rizumu, and Mion in their quest to take on the prestigious Prism Queen Cup.

As Aira Harune's journey to become Prism Queen is completed, Mia Ageha takes the baton as the star of the next Pretty Rhythm story, Dear My Future. Aired on TV Tokyo on April 7, 2012, for 51 episodes, Dear My Future centers on the rivalry between Prizmmy☆ and the K-Pop group PURETTY. Believe it or not, there are real-life versions of the groups as seen in the anime. There's even a live-action segment featuring Prizmmy☆ as well.

As Mia Ageha's road to Grateful Symphonia is well and truly over, Naru Ayase steps into the spotlight in the third and final chapter of the Pretty Rhythm saga, titled Rainbow Live. Aired on TV Tokyo on April 6, 2013, it features an original storyline unlike the previous two. It's about Naru, An, and Ito, who are working together at the Prism Stone Shop while trying to take good care of a mysterious girl named Rinne.

Although the Pretty Rhythm saga ended, the story continues with the KING OF PRISM spinoff films featuring male characters from the Pretty Rhythm saga. They even got a 2019 anime show, showcasing the rise of the boys who would become Septentrion.

The PriPara saga (2014-2018, 2021~) After the end of the Pretty Rhythm saga,  the folks of Takara Tomy prepped up what it seems to be the second generation of the Pretty series. It's called PriPara, and it aired on TV Tokyo in the Summer of 2014, lasting for three seasons, four if you count Idol Time PriPara, of course. This anime series centers on the life and times of Laala Manaka, a little girl who wants to be the best PriPara idol. Together with Mirei Minami and Sophy Hojo, they became SoLaMi Smile, and they fought their way against the best idol teams of PriPara, especially Dressing Pafe, consisting of Dorothy, Reona, and Sion, Tricolore, and Gaarmageddon, among many others. PriPara is a huge win for the people behind it, and such success prompted the show to spawn four movies and outrageous merchandising rights.

In the spring of 2017, the next chapter of PriPara begins with three new main characters penning the final pages of this saga. Titled Idol Time PriPara, it's all about Yui Yumekawa, whose fateful encounter with Laala Manaka changed everything following an accident. With Nino Nijiiro and Michiru Kouda joining, the MY☆DREAM trio made the best closure to this saga.

Although the PriPara TV series is finished, the story continues with Idol Land PriPara. First announced in December 2020, it was originally slated to be released in the spring of 2021 until it became subject to long gestation and delayed launch dates. It was released on August 17, 2023. It is the second official PriPara app game after the defunct PriPuz puzzle app game. This app game also features an original anime series set moments after the events of Idol Time PriPara. It introduces new characters such as Amari Katasumi, Mario, and Pololo, among others.

The Kiratto PriChan years (2018-2021) - Aired on TV Tokyo since April 2018 for three seasons, Kiratto PriChan is set in a world where fame comes from social media, just like in the real world. It's about a group of girls who call themselves the Miracle☆Kiratt,s who are striving to become the best PriChan idols above the rest. For three seasons, we watched Miracle Kiratts taking on big challenges such as heated competition with rival teams such as Meltic StAr and Ring Marry, the jewel idol competition, saving the world, the road to the Queens Grand Prix, and saving the world...again, while they do what they do best; showcasing the world that they're the best PriChan sensations ever known.

PriMagi (2021-2022) - Waccha PriMagi! is the fourth installment of the Pretty Series that revolves around the lives of Primagistas striving to become the best of the best. The show is about Matsuri Hibino, a middle-schooler who dreams of being the best, just like her idol, the legendary Jennifer Sumire Sol.

AiPri - After over a year of void, the Pretty Series has returned with the newest installment coming to TV Tokyo this April 2024. Titled Himitsu no AiPri, the new series stars Minori Fujidera as Himari Aozora and Sae Hiratsuka as Mitsuki Hoshikawa. For the first time in the Pretty Series, the animation sequences were provided by OLM, the studio behind the Pokémon and Yo-Kai Watch anime series, while South Korea's Dongwoo A&E returned to cooperate for it.

Himitsu no AiPri

Welcome back, Pretty Series! The world can't wait for the franchise's comeback show this April.