“Formula 1 racing drivers such as Toyota’s Jarno Trulli and BMW’s Kazuki Nakajima have been seen practicing in front of a console. Whenever a new track comes onto the racing calendar, like Fuji Speedway did last October after a 30-year absence, and drivers cannot get there to practice for real, many fire up “Gran Turismo.” They say it’s the only way to memorize the track layout and braking markers — the points where you must start killing the speed to take an upcoming corner.”

Now while that’s impressive on its own, the next bit this interview presents is even more incredible. Apparently GT creator Kazunori Yamauchi clocked over 1,000 laps on a famous German track and then had a go at it in real life. In his first 12 laps he was driving at 90% capacity and after a few more he was clocking times that rivaled that of the pack. This test and interview definitely shows that Gran Turismo has finally come of age as more than a game and can be considered a real-life simulator.