I know nothing about cars. Until last Friday I knew nothing about torque, slipstreaming, tires or drifting.

And, I'll be honest, the only the reason I do now is because of Wikipedia.

Polyphonic Digital's selling point for GT5P has been that it is "The Driving Simulator". All credit to them, the physics and mechanics of the game try so hard to share the subtlety and complexity of the real thing that sitting in front of the My Garage screen for the first time can be just as outfacing as sitting in front of a steering wheel for the first time.

Don't get me wrong, I've not been as impressed with visuals and game play since I first played Motorstorm on March 23 2007. The game is beautiful to play, and even more beautiful to play back. Not only that, but unlike every single other racer on the market this game kills that boy racer attitude and replaces it a mature racing experience that still captures a romance and excitement of competitive driving.

The fact your can't corner at 80mph with your foot flat on the gas is a testament to any en devour for authenticity. This is a great incentive for sensible drivers and a huge deterrent to the testosterone fueled maniacs who have just graduated from Burnout academy.

However, these subtleties have to be discovered by a little trial and a lot of error. You wont know what speed to take a corner at until you've messed it up a good few times.

The fact of the matter is, It's impossible to know just how authentic the physics are in a game unless we are told. I had no knowledge of the usefulness of slipstreaming in real world racing, and I certainly wouldn't have known it was included in the game or that is was practically essential to win a lot of events unless it was for a number of helpful forum goers.