My FM Log: The Unrivaled

The Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR and the Lamborghini Reventon made their way back to Forza Motorsport's Update 10 and having won these two timeless exotics, it's time to have a word with them.

Let's begin with the Lamborghini Reventon that I won by completing Update 10's Open Tour until the August 14, 2024 deadline.

Unveiled at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show and limited to 20 units, costing about two million dollars each, the Reventon is one of the rarest and most unique Lamborghini models ever made, using some of the components from the Murcielago LP640. It was named after a fighting bull famed for the death of Mexican bullfighter Felix Guzman in 1943 and heavily inspired the design of the fighter jet.

The 6.5L V12 derived from the LP640 Murcielago gave a 10HP boost, therefore it has 650HP of power and 660Nm of torque. When it was driven somewhere in Dubai, it achieved 356 kilometers per hour (221.2 mph) of top speed.

Of 20 made, 10 were delivered to the United States, 7 to Europe, 1 to Canada, and 2 to Asia. Notable owners include Khalid Abdul Rahim of Bahrain, Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov, and Ken Lingenfelter who is a car collector in Michigan. 

Lastly, let's get to know the Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR, the one that I got from Update 10's Nemesis Tour until the August 28, 2024 deadline.

Introduced in 1997, the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR is a GT1-class racing machine that is made to compete in the FIA GT Championship. A year later, it spawned its road-legal homologated equivalent.  Powering the road car is a 6.9L V12 engine that produces 604HP of power, making it capable of going from 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds and has a top speed of 198mph.

Only 26 road cars were made and sold, making it one of the most exclusive and desirable Mercedes-Benz models ever produced. 20 were coupes and 6 were roadsters. Two of them, a coupe and a roadster, were RHD models built for the 29th Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah. The other two coupes left the factory with SuperSport specifications powered by the 7.3L V12 engine that would later power the Pagani Zonda.

Let's take these two iconic supercars for a quick spin around South Africa's Kyalami GP Circuit. We'll see how fast they can go and how much power they have.

These cars really are in a class of their own. They are unrivaled from the way they look to the way they feel.

Enjoy your new rides!

Let's Do The News! (August 13, 2024)

 

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- 1st District Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte filed House Bill 10744 that requires elected and appointed public officials, including the President of the Philippines to undergo mandatory drug testing.

- The Office of the Ombudsman has officially dismissed Alice Guo from being Bamban Mayor after a guilty verdict for grave misconduct. Senator Risa Hontiveros praised the dismissal, saying that a Chinese national has no right to be a Philippine Mayor.

- The Philippines filed a diplomatic protest against China Air Force's "dangerous actions" in the Scarborough Shoal.

- Ukraine claims to control 1,000 sq km of Russian territory. President Vladimir Putin described the offensive as a "major provocation". Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had brought war to others and now it was coming back. The local Russian governor said some 28 villages in the region had fallen to Ukrainian forces.

- The male suspect who stabbed a woman and a child at London's Leicester Square is charged with attempted murder, according to police.

- The White House warns that an Iranian attack on Israel could come this week.

- Tango Gameworks is now under new management by South Korean game publisher Krafton.

- Apple has informed Patreon that it will be kicked out of the App Store unless it pays the 30% tax for all donations. Patreon began its migration process which will take until November 2025 to transition all creators to the Apple billing system and make less money.

- SM Entertainment collaborates with TV Chosun for the launch of the "Trot Idol" project. SM's new trot idol group will consist of five members, including singers from “Mr. Trot,” global K-pop trainees, and actors. Renowned composer Cho Yeong Su, known for his work on the “Miss Trot” and “Mr. Trot” series, will produce the group, setting high expectations for its success. The progress will be televised on TV Chosun.

- Five-time Olympic diving medalist Tom Daley confirms his retirement.

- Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby filed a federal lawsuit against the WNBA and her former team, the Las Vegas Aces, regarding her treatment from the Aces after revealing she was pregnant.

- Actor Jericho Rosales admits to dating Janine Gutierrez.

TTFN.

Let's Do The News! (August 12, 2024)

           

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- The siphoning of over 5 thousand liters of diesel from the submerged MTKR Jason Bradley at Mariveles, Bataan has commenced. The Philippine Coast Guard is monitoring the ongoing "seawater siphoning" to save the sunken tanker in the waters of Bataan.

- The Department of National Defense and the Armed Forces of the Philippines are expected to follow China's recent harassment in the airspace.

- The NCRPO ensured justice in the Percy Lapid slay case even though a suspect committed suicide.

- Meralco will implement a 0.0327 peso electricity surcharge this August.

- Moscow says Ukrainian troops are now up to 30km inside Russia. A senior Ukrainian official has said that thousands of troops were engaged in the operation.

- Microsoft Windows 11 21H2 & 22H2 editions will reach the end of servicing this October 8th, 2024.

- The final season of Dr. Stone will air next year across three split quarters.

- The LIV Golf League has suspended Graeme McDowell for one tournament and fined him $125,000 for using a nasal decongestant that contained a banned substance.

- Anson Dorrance, whose 21 NCAA championships are the most by a head coach in any Division I sport in college history, is retiring after 45 seasons directing the women's soccer program at North Carolina.

- Two "independent contractors" of GMA-7 denied the sexual assault complaint against actor Sandro Mulach. 'WE STRONGLY DENY ALL DESTRUCTIVE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST US', one of the contractors said. ''WE ARE GAY, YES, BUT WE DON'T DO BAD TO EACH OTHER", Jojo Nones admitted that they are gay but they are not abusers and strongly denied the accusations against them by Sandro Muhlach. 

- Stand-up comedian Didong Dumadag passed away at the age of 47.

TTFN.

2024 NASCAR Cup Series - Cook Out 400

The Olympics are over, and that can only mean one thing: NASCAR is back! The summer of NASCAR racing action continues in Richmond for the Cook Out 400.

As the green flag waved, NASCAR is back in business at Richmond. As Christopher Bell wins Stage 1, Daniel Suarez wins Stage 2. All is well until the climax that turns the tables for the drivers. Ryan Preece spun by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with the race only having two laps to go, triggering the most dramatic overtime in NASCAR history.

Courtesy of NASCAR

In the final lap during overtime, Austin Dillon pushed away Joey Logano and shoved Denny Hamlin off to win the Cook Out 400 of the NASCAR Cup Series. That's NASCAR to you, folks.

The next race is at Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400 this August 18th, 2024.

Paris 2024 Highlights - FINAL DAY

        

August 11, 2024 - FINAL DAY

After a total of 17 days of witnessing athletes from many countries competing in different sports not just for medals but for the honor of their home countries, not to mention the heated rivalry between the US and China in terms of medal counts, the Paris 2024 Olympics has come to an end.

Here are the final medalists of the day;

• Sifan Hassan (NED) - Women's Marathon
• Michelle Gulyas (HUN) - Women's Individual Laser-Run
• Kotaro Kiyooka (JPN) - Men's Freestyle 65kg
• Akhmed Tazhudinov (BRN) - Men's Freestyle 97kg
• Yuka Kagami (JPN) - WOmen's Freestyle 76kg
• Li Wenwen (CHN) - Women's +81kg Weightligting
• Italy - Women's Volleyball
• Harrie Lavreysen (NED) - Men's Keirin
• Denmark 0 Men's Handball
• Jennifer Valente (USA) - Women's Omnium Points Race
• Serbia - Mne's Water Polo
• United States - Women's Basketball

And now at the final medal tally; The United States scored 40 golds out of 126, China with 40 golds out of 91, and Japan with 20 golds out of 45. In conclusion, the US and China ended the Paris 2024 rivalry in an honorable draw in terms of gold medals but the real winner goes to Team USA for scoring the most medals in the Paris 2024 Olympics with 126 medals.

With the games finished, here comes the closing ceremony. In contrast to the opening ceremony that took place at the Seine, the farewell celebration took place inside Stade de France with musical performances by Billie Eilish, Snoop Dogg, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, among many others. It concludes with passing the torch to the host city of the 2028 Summer Olympics; Los Angeles.

URL: https://olympics.com/en/news/paris-2024-olympics-bid-farewell-paris-closing-ceremony-stade-de-france

The Paris 2024 Olympics may be over, but the long wait for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics is somewhat mired with concerns and uncertainties. Regardless of who wins the November 2024 US Presidential Elections, let's hope that geopolitical concerns and uncertainties don't get in the way of the long wait for the Los Angeles games.

Until then, merci beaucoup Paris!

My FH5 Log: Getting Infested

The Cars and Coffee update on Forza Horizon 5 is a disaster. The game is now infested with old cars swarming all over the Horizon Mexico grounds. These old cars are like disease-carrying insects ruining everyone's summer vacation.

Our first offender is the Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae that I've obtained from the Wet Season Playlist. Lamborghini said goodbye to the Aventador with the LP780-4 Ultimae, the final special edition that combines all the greatest feats from the normal Aventador to the SVJ. It's limited to 350 coupes and 250 roadsters, and features an updated 6.5L V12 engine producing 780PS of power, making it the most powerful Aventador ever made.

Our second offender is the so-called Volkswagen SP-2 that I won from the Storm Season Playlist. Developed by Volkswagen do Brasil, the SP-2 runs on the chassis of the Brazil-spec Type 3. Despite its sleek looks, sales were drastically poor and 10,205 cars were built with 681 exported to Nigeria, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East.

The "brood mother" of the Cars and Coffee infestation is the Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato that I won as the overall prize car of the update. Unveiled at the Concourse d'Elegance event at Lake Como, this limited-to-99-unit collectors' model is the fifth car that emerged from the ongoing partnership that spans back from the DB4 GT Zagato, the barn find that you got since you first moved to Horizon UK. Although based on the Vanquish S underneath, the 6.0L V12 engine has been uprooted to produce 600PS of power, which allowed the Vanquish Zagato to get from 0-60mph in three and a half seconds, and it features a more comfort-oriented suspension setup for a more GT feel, unlike most ultra-expensive sportscars. Apart from the Coupe, the Vanquish Zagato has spawned various variants such as the open-top Volante, the Speedster, and the Shooting Brake. Combining the "family" of four Vanquish Zagato models, all 325 cars have been sold before being shown to the world.

Finally, the mole rat of the horde is the Volkswagen Type 181 that I won from the Hot Season Playlist. Called by the Americans as the VW Thing, this vehicle was originally made for the German army, this military vehicle has been sold to the general public as the Kurierwagen in the country where it was made and has some of the major components from the People's Car, the VW Beetle. This peculiar vehicle lasted until production ended in the early 80's.

Let's take the recent horde of disease-carrying vermins on various races to prove how much of a vermin they really are. Roll the tapes.

Old cars are a scourge that swarm the festival like disease-carrying insects. These old cars ruin everyone's summer vacation and that's the bottom line. It's the halfway point of 2024 and a game like Forza Horizon 5 is still spreading old cars to the roster like The Plague 

This plague is far from over if you catch my drift. Be warned.

Enjoy your new rides!

Let's Do The News! (August 11, 2024)

          

Your daily round-up of today's news...

- Former YouTube chief Suzan Wojcicki passed away at the age of 56. Wojcicki spent nearly two decades helping transform Google into a global tech behemoth. She had been living with lung cancer for the last two years.

- An Israeli air strike on a school building in Gaza has reportedly killed dozens of people, drawing strong condemnation from the international community.

- Russia steps up evacuations of the Kursk region following the cross-border attack by Ukraine.

- In Bangladesh, the chief justice of the Supreme Court has become the latest senior official to resign in the face of large demonstrations.

- Japan urged people to avoid hoarding despite concern about the possibility of The Big One.

- The main staff of The One Piece Netflix anime was revealed with Masashi Koizuka helming the anime reboot project by Wit Studio.

- TOEI revealed the full cast of the upcoming Kamen Rider Gavv TV series airing on TV Asahi this September 1st, 2024. Joining Hidekazu Chinen, who plays Shoma/Kamen Rider Gavv, are Yusuke Hino as Hanto Karakida/Kamen Rider Valen, and Nozomi Miyabe as Sachika Amane. Takashi Tsukamoto, Machi Chitose, Ryo Takizawa, Houka Kawasaki, and Ru Koga will be playing the villainous Stomach family consisting of Rango, Grotta, Nielve, Theta, and Jeep.

- Angelo Leo knocked Luis Alberto Lopez to win the IBF featherweight title in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

TTFN.