It was victory for the Conservative Party when Members of Parliament from across the political spectrum competed in their very own F1 2013 GRAND PRIX at the Houses of Parliament recently. Codemasters premiered the new F1 2013 game at Westminster Hall and invited politicians to race for the best lap time at Monza in the F1 2013 MPs’ GP.
Using the PC edition of F1 2013, the MPs experienced the full effect of racing a FORMULA ONE™ car thanks to being strapped into a Vesaro advance simulation rig, complete with hydraulic movement and its “Buttkicker” tactile feedback system.
With everyone’s eyes on the real-life lap time of 1’25.849 set by Lewis Hamilton at the FORMULA 1 GRAN PREMIO D'ITALIA 2013 at Monza, the MPs were eager to show their competitive side as Codemasters had them under starters orders for what proved to be an intense competition.
Taking pole position was Mark Spencer, Conservative, MP for Sherwood with a winning lap time of 1’40.012.
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The second and third podium places went Gavin Barwell, Conservative, MP for Croydon Central with a best time of 1’43.207 and Karl McCartney, Conservative, MP for Lincoln, who came in just under one second later at 1’44.027.
The F1 2013 MPs’ GP was not an all-male affair as MPs Sheryll Murray (Con, SE Cornwall) Heather Wheeler (Con, South Derbyshire), Luciana Berger (Lab Co-op, Liverpool Wavertree) and Tracey Crouch (Con, Chatham and Aylesford) took their places on the grid.
With Ms Berger’s position as Vice Chair of the Video Games All Party Parliamentary Group the challenge was on, but it was Tracey Crouch that sped over the finishing line with a best time of 1’49.200, which placed her fifth position in the overall driver rankings and the highest placing female driver.
The best time by a Labour MP was set up Gerry Sutcliffe, MP for Bradford South, but at 2:12.826 placed him in unlucky 13th position in the final standings.
The top 10 ten racers in the F1 2013 MPs’ GP were:
1 Mark Spencer - 1.40.012 - Con, Sherwood
2 Gavin Barwell - 1.43.207 - Con, Croydon Central
3 Karl McCartney - 1.44.027 - Con, Lincoln
4 David Davies - 1.46.898 - Con, Monmouth
5 Tracey Crouch - 1.49.200 - Con, Chatham and Aylesford
6 Andrew Percy - 1.49.360 - Con, Brigg and Goole
7 Jeremy Wright - 1.52.032 - Con, Southam and Kenilworth
8 John Hemmings - 2.01.036 - Lib Dem, Birmingham Yardley
9 Andrew Bingham - 2.02.878 - Con, High Peak Derbyshire
10 Paul Uppal - 2.06.379 - Con, Wolverhampton SW
Gamers don’t need a parliamentary seat to play F1 2013 – the game will be published by Codemasters on October 4th for the Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 and Windows PC.
