Today one of the most ambitious xbox live tournaments begins, and I for one am excited. The PGR3 tournament is a Global event (think of it as the world cup for Geeks).
In preparation for this world wide event MSFT has done some major work to PGR3, including a massive update (patch) to the game.
On Friday a new set of cars was made available for download form the xbox live marketplace. This “speed pack” available for 400 msft points, includes cars that appear to be specifically for this weeks qualification rounds. The cars included in the speed pack are:

Aston Martin V8 Vantage (FREE)
RUF RT12
Saleen S7 Twin Turbo
Audi RS 4
Chevrolet Corvette Z06
Dodge Viper SRT-10 Coupe
Ferrari 612 Scagliett
Lamborghini Gallardo SE
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII
Nissan NISMO R34GT-R Z-Tune
Pontiac GTO
Radical SR8

Starting today all registered participants begin time trials on one of my favorite courses

Tokyo Nishigushi:

During the qualification period all participants are allowed unlimited attempts to get into the top 64 players in their region. Also all players who qualify will receive 50 points to their gamer score.
To be honest I am happy to see that the qualification round is not massive 8 player races. One of my chief complaints about online play in PGR3 is the online log jam at the beginning of each race. What tends to happen is all players hit the first turn and spin out/ collide. whoever makes it out of the turn first usually wins the race (because everyone is always using the same car).
The time trials ensure that only skilled drivers will make it into the semi-finals.
Players lucky enough to make it to the finals in the PGR3 tournament will have the privilege of racing each other at the Lamborghini factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy.
Will I make it that far, probably not, have i been training for the past week HELL YES!. If you have an 360, and PGR3 keep an eye out for “Gadgetron” on Gotham TV, as I will be flying around the streets of Tokyo every free moment I have!