Gran Turismo 7 Custom Race thread

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Sophy 590 Cup: Gas Mileage, Cartoons and Comic Books (including Manga)

Ok, here's the next set.

Shinosuke.jpg

Shinosuke 1.jpg

Shinosuke 2.jpg


This car has the best gas mileage on the grid and - as a result - extending the lap count puts this squarely in the top 5 category depending on the track.

Next is a frustrating car (for me anyway)

Kayes Screenshot.jpg

Kayes pt 1.jpg

Kayes pt 2.jpg


Not good at the curves, but great on miles per gallon and straight line speed. Has a habit of ducking in and swiping paint w/ me from time to time, hence the frustration.

Cartoons and comics fill out the next few spots, beginning with a daydreamer.

Ralph Phillips.jpg

Ralph Phillips 1.jpg

Ralph Phillips 2.jpg


Ralph is also great on fuel and has one of the best stopping distances on the track. Handling is superb; the only issue in my mind is the top end. Similar to Shinosuke, both of my chosen cars can beat Ralph on the straight. Most of the others don't quite have that problem.

Next is a tag-team of somesorts.

Rally Vincent Headshot.jpg

Rally Vincent 1.jpg

Rally Vincent 2.jpg


This is a sneaky car on the grid. While the fuel range isn't there, Rally Vincent & Rahne Sinclair often keep this car in contention track after track. It pulls out of corners and handles better - way better IMHO - than it should. In fact I'd give this the "sneaky surprise" award were it not for the next entry.

And the last for this post . . .

Natasha Screen.jpg

Natasha 1.jpg

Natasha 2.jpg

DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS CAR. On more than one occasion Natasha has made it the full 10 laps at Spa and one time ran out of fuel at the last chicane. With fewer mods I suspect Sophy has an easier time extracting the maximum from this car than others on this list.

On a number of tracks I've found her pulling away by just staying right behind the leaders. Once a number of leaders pit, she would inherit the lead. While not the best 'Vette in the field, she's the most dangerous.

And yes, I did add a SHIELD plate on the back #CaptainAmericaWinterSoldier

So that's it for this post! Hope you have fun with this stuff.
 
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Sophy 590 Cup: For Real - An Eclectic Bunch

These are all Front Engine - Rear Drive cars, hence the For Real. Couldn't really get a good enough theme for this next set; they just tend to hang around one another on most tracks.

As with all cars, these folks are driving on SH tires.

Davison Screenshot.jpg

Davison Part 1.jpg

Davison Part 2.jpg


The Doctor (so named for Peter Davison) does what I'd hoped the Shelby GT 500 would. It's a solid mid-pack car and can occasionally challenge for a podium (but only occasionally.

This car does drive better since I put a Smith decal on it. (#Northampton)

Next, a German FR car.

Rosenblum Screen.jpg

Rosenblum 1.jpg

Rosenblum 2.jpg


Again, not a challenge to win. However this car does have a habit of getting in the way of me while I stalk my way up the order. He doesn't like to stay behind me and will take some chances to regain a spot or two.

Next come my favorite pair of FR cars in this group. They are both homages to cars I did a looooong time ago.

Raptor Screen.jpg

Raptor 1.jpg

Raptor 2.jpg


This is a throwback to cars I did for Gran Turismo 5 - specifically on the Tuners Pit Racing Association forum back in the day.

Mods did this car good. A bit thirsty, this car has plenty of power. The rear wing actually allows this car to get near the front most of the time. I think for most of the cars beginning with the next post, this is the one they have the most difficulty getting around.

And lastly for this group . . .

Azrael Screenshot.jpg

Azrael 1.jpg

Azrael 2.jpg


Azrael is actually dangerous. It's another car I can beat on raw pace but this car dives like no other on the track. The key thing here is this car can hold onto the apex and out-brake a number of cars. Fuel range is good too . . . but it has to pit around lap 9 at Spa.

During the "Great PSN Outage" this - along with my created track 'Endarkened Mistress' - got me through six weeks of non-online play.

I decided to add one more car to this mix who is not a FR car.

Koeing Screen.jpg

Koeing 1.jpg

Koeing 2.jpg


This one is named for Belina Koeing from the book "Bleeding of the Heart." She never has this car in the book; maybe later she will.

Depending on the track and lap count, Belinda is either a nuisance or a flat out threat. She has outstanding pickup but not great gas mileage. Solid braking and cornering, but not the most aggressive car out there.

But - and maybe this is just my luck - she always seems to find a way into the top half of the field by the end of the race. Often top 7. Sometimes she's earning points (and taking them from me a couple of times!)


So that's it for this one. From here on out I should mostly only have the heavy hitters in the room.

Thanks for reading,

Revengel
 
Sophy 590 Cup: Big Ol' Bullies.

Five cars. Six builds. Starting with a pair of entries that have massive power and are not shy about using muscle to you out of the way if you leave the door open and try to close it too quickly.

Cvalda Screen.jpg

Cvalda 1.jpg

Cvalda 2.jpg


The screen shots don't lie. This car is (in the shots) bone stock. I only recently added sports brake pads to elevate the car about .60 PP or so.

Forget gas mileage; this car has power and is not afraid to use it. Ms. Cvalda will walk you down on the straights, walk away from you exiting a turn and will place herself right in front of you . . . and you'll like it.

The way this car builds power on the Kemmel straight is absurd. It does weigh a ton, so that helps my cause.

Next we have two entries for the same car. For whatever reason I initially encountered a phenomena where the first version wasn't allowed but the second one was. Peculiar.

Ovi Custom.jpg

Ovi Custom 1.jpg

Ovi Custom 2.jpg


Man, this man is a monster . . . especially at Barcelona. Like the Great 8 on the ice (in admittedly slightly younger days) there is no fear of throwing his weight around. Coupled with the amazing power beneath the hood and you have your hands full. Fuel seems to be his weak point, but he didn't care at Barcelona.

But there's another version that's just as good . . .
Ovi Reserved.jpg

Ovi Reserved 1.jpg

Ovi Reseved 2.jpg


It's impressive that these two cars are so close in performance and rating . . . in spite of the changes. This car is stock other than the air filter, and it still rocks the house.

Ok, one more post after this and the grid will be complete. Hope this is at least amusing to some folks.

:)
 
Sophy 590 Cup: Ladies with an Attitude.

Ok these are the best of the grid and really only lose because fuel is a thing in this game.

First up for Ladies with an Attitude (fellas that are in the mood) Don't just stand there, let's get to it:

ROGUE.
Rogue.jpg

Rogue 1.jpg

Rogue 2.jpg



She's the top bully on track. When there's an opening, she will push right by you. She has the get up and go and can corner like she has wings.

As you can see, there aren't a lot of modifications in this build making it rather affordable. Sophy is also more aggressive with this car than any other in my experience. She dives like the Azrael build, will body check like Ovi and is the second or third best cornering car here. Gas is the one thing she can't overcome, however.

Next is the car I actually have the best time around Spa in (of the cars assembled)
A.K.A. BlutKat

Sonja Screen.jpg

Sonja 1.jpg

Sonja 2.jpg


I love this car to an unhealthy amount.

Again, not a lot of work for this car. Front aero and racing pads are all that was needed to bring it up to snuff. And man . . . did it ever work. "BlutKat" (for her bloodthirsty personality and her middle name - Katerina) handles this car the way an expert warrior swings a hatchet.

She's not quite as aggressive as Rogue is, but you can see it from there. She'd be the nastiest competitor were it not for her sister.

And lastly . . .

ELKA.

Elka.jpg


Elka 1.jpg

Elka 2.jpg


Some folks think that just because Elka's deaf (from birth) she somehow wouldn't be a good driver.

They could not be more wrong.

This is a fairly modified car; weight reduction being the largest factor. But for that this car is the quickest by far on the grid. When I say that fuel is the only think keeping her from the top spot on the podium . . . that's not always the case. If everyone has to pit once, she's winning. Sometimes, like when I stretched Spa out to 24 or even 36 laps, she was fast enough to account for the extra stops and wound up winning anyway.

Deep Forest, Dragon Trail . . . heck, any track is her home. But I have yet to beat her at Deep Forest. Normally without any accidents she and her sister finish 1-2 with me a distant 4th (behind Rally Vincent!)


And there, you have my Sophy Cup.

Thanks for your patience, and the internet space.



Happy Friday.
 
Making another Spec series.


IMG_6383.jpeg
IMG_6384.jpeg

Technical Specification (1999 MY):

Model - Renault Sport Clio V6 Trophy
Engine - L7X V6, 24 valves
Capacity (cc) - 2946
Bore x stroke (mm) - 87 x 82.6
Compression ratio - 11.2
Maximum power - 206 kW (285 bhp) at 7000 rpm
Maximum torque - 307 Nm (226 lb ft) at 5800 rpm
Transmission - 6-speed Sadev mechanical sequential gearbox
Suspension
Front - MacPherson-type with adjustable damping
Rear - Multi-links with adjustable damping
Brake callipers - Brembo, 4 pistons
Brakes - Ventilated discs - 320 mm
Tyres - Michelin
Front - 21 x 65 x 18
Rear - 24 x 65 x 18
Length - 3770 mm
Width - 1740 mm (front), 1760 mm (rear)
Top speed - 230 km/h (143 mph)
Fuel tank capacity - 70 litres
Weight - 1100 kg

We’ll see how it goes.
IMG_6387.jpeg

IMG_6386.jpeg
 
I've run a lot of races with Sophy and most of them have been great, but I just ran one that impressed the hell out of me it was that INCREDIBLE. It's the first race where I truly felt like I was racing other humans. V8 RWD Gr4 cars only, BOP -> OFF. I reduced the power of the Corvettes a couple clicks and then added my body weight in ballast to my car (81kg). 60 minute race at Suzuka, x2 for fuel and tires (RH), started P16 and set the gap between the cars at the start to maximum. (started 16 seconds behind the leader)

At half race distance I was in P11, 6.5 seconds behind the leader. Most of the lead group was bunched together so when I caught them with ~24 minutes to go I hit pit road. Came out 15th and progressed to P7 after the AI cars had all pit. Made up a few spots on pit road. Slowly picked a few off and got to P4 with 3.5 minutes left, but I made the biggest mistake you can make and short fueled the car by about 1.5 laps. Typical me. :lol: Had to dive for a splash with 2 laps to go. Finished P15.

Absolutely recommend doing this race for yourself. I was in the Jaguar, not sure if it matters. Going to run it back right now and make sure I put enough fuel in it this time....

20970450843874408.jpg



Edit: Race 2 I tried 20 cars on grid, same settings as before but changed time advance to x3 so it would be dark-ish at the finish. (Track lights never came on. Glitch?) Just barely put enough fuel this time and ended with 0.3 laps left. Made a mistake a lap after my pit stop and spun in T2. Recovered quickly but still finished P10. And I'm not even mad because this stuff is AMAZING. Best AI races I have ever had in a GT game...

Edit 2: Just ran the same settings at Brands Hatch. Racing just as good but felt like I had a bit more of an upper hand on the AI. Pit at half way mark from inside the top 10. After all AI pit stops I was in P2 and the leader was ~7 seconds ahead. Had just enough time pulling ~1 second per lap out of their lead to pass them in T8 (Stirling's Bend) on the last lap and crossed the line P1 with 0.1 laps of fuel left. :lol: If this was a real life race it would have been a nail biter with the broadcast talking about me being on fumes and pushing hard to catch the leader. Then the last lap pass and almost running out of fuel. Brilliant.
 
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I've run a lot of races with Sophy and most of them have been great, but I just ran one that impressed the hell out of me it was that INCREDIBLE. It's the first race where I truly felt like I was racing other humans. V8 RWD Gr4 cars only, BOP -> OFF. I reduced the power of the Corvettes a couple clicks and then added my body weight in ballast to my car (81kg). 60 minute race at Suzuka, x2 for fuel and tires (RH), started P16 and set the gap between the cars at the start to maximum. (started 16 seconds behind the leader)

At half race distance I was in P11, 6.5 seconds behind the leader. Most of the lead group was bunched together so when I caught them with ~24 minutes to go I hit pit road. Came out 15th and progressed to P7 after the AI cars had all pit. Made up a few spots on pit road. Slowly picked a few off and got to P4 with 3.5 minutes left, but I made the biggest mistake you can make and short fueled the car by about 1.5 laps. Typical me. :lol: Had to dive for a splash with 2 laps to go. Finished P15.

Absolutely recommend doing this race for yourself. I was in the Jaguar, not sure if it matters. Going to run it back right now and make sure I put enough fuel in it this time....

View attachment 1465976


Edit: Race 2 I tried 20 cars on grid, same settings as before but changed time advance to x3 so it would be dark-ish at the finish. (Track lights never came on. Glitch?) Just barely put enough fuel this time and ended with 0.3 laps left. Made a mistake a lap after my pit stop and spun in T2. Recovered quickly but still finished P10. And I'm not even mad because this stuff is AMAZING. Best AI races I have ever had in a GT game...

Edit 2: Just ran the same settings at Brands Hatch. Racing just as good but felt like I had a bit more of an upper hand on the AI. Pit at half way mark from inside the top 10. After all AI pit stops I was in P2 and the leader was ~7 seconds ahead. Had just enough time pulling ~1 second per lap out of their lead to pass them in T8 (Stirling's Bend) on the last lap and crossed the line P1 with 0.1 laps of fuel left. :lol: If this was a real life race it would have been a nail biter with the broadcast talking about me being on fumes and pushing hard to catch the leader. Then the last lap pass and almost running out of fuel. Brilliant.

Love to hear great experiences from top players using Sophy. I'd love to see some of your races, do you have a YT channel?
 
Love to hear great experiences from top players using Sophy. I'd love to see some of your races, do you have a YT channel?
I do but I stopped posting video game stuff on it because it was never popular. I tried to share a replay file last night but it was too large. I might try to make a highlight reel out of it at some point this weekend.
 
I do but I stopped posting video game stuff on it because it was never popular. I tried to share a replay file last night but it was too large. I might try to make a highlight reel out of it at some point this weekend.
That would be cool. What's your YT?
 
Going to have so much fun balancing the Gr.K grid. :sly:

N-One
Carry
Cappuccino
Beat
S660
Copen
Daihatsu VGT

As for the Renault Clio V6 Trophy. That's been hard work! Finished last at Sardegna. SOPHY just didn't budge. I tried to capitalise at a couple spots(T1 and the final ess). Wound up taking myself out on Lap4/7(paused the game to check something, came back and threw myself off rhythm).
Couldn't make ground on P19.

Second race at Dragon Trail, SOPHY was precise everywhere. I could just get a better braking line into T1, the Larini kink and slightly better run exiting the COD. Only got up to 13th.

Final race at Red Bull Ring was still tough, but got up to 8th. Gotta say SOPHY was enjoying the car. Kept the racing tight.
 
Going to have so much fun balancing the Gr.K grid. :sly:

N-One
Carry
Cappuccino
Beat
S660
Copen
Daihatsu VGT

As for the Renault Clio V6 Trophy. That's been hard work! Finished last at Sardegna. SOPHY just didn't budge. I tried to capitalise at a couple spots(T1 and the final ess). Wound up taking myself out on Lap4/7(paused the game to check something, came back and threw myself off rhythm).
Couldn't make ground on P19.

Second race at Dragon Trail, SOPHY was precise everywhere. I could just get a better braking line into T1, the Larini kink and slightly better run exiting the COD. Only got up to 13th.

Final race at Red Bull Ring was still tough, but got up to 8th. Gotta say SOPHY was enjoying the car. Kept the racing tight.
I think you're missing a keicar in that grid, the Jimny XC.
 
On track for the Integrale update release. Lot of Slip Risks and driver bio work to do but all the heavy content work is done. Sophy League, Arcade Mode, and Shuffle League docs are done.

Shuffle League just needs the 1.61 cars and potential GT Sophy compatible tracks, and the Manufacturer League needs new races for the new cars.

Spreadsheets need updating to support the new things but that won't take too long.

Pretty much all the documents have been edited in some way (a good portion is just a small piece of text for the tyre information drop down) but there's been changes to times of day for a lot of GT racecar series, and the fuel consumption for karts has been turned off.

Overall I would recommend re-copying all documents you're currently using (you can do so now if you want as the link in the spreadsheet is to a live edit version of the document, so it's always updated, and re-copying it will copy that updated version).

The updated Manufacturer League docs will be up near release, potentially release day.
 
Still tweaking the MX-5 races, but had one tonight that was AMAZING. Still playing around with specs but the AI cars are still 134hp and range from 2,002 to 2,039 pounds on RH tire. My car is ~141hp and I added the weight of a roll cage and an average male driver to the car in ballast to make it roughly 2300 lbs. On SS tire the racing is incredible depending on the circuit.

Here's the shared replay if you want to watch the whole thing. Best laps were probably lap 4 to lap 8.


And here's a snippet of laps 4 and 5.



I left a comment in your video, but figured it'd be easier to ask here:

What parts did you tune/ upgrade? I'm trying to put together the same Miata cup and am struggling with balancing the cars.

So far I have weight reduction 1, sports suspension and RH tires, but the AI struggles a bit with handling.
 
I left a comment in your video, but figured it'd be easier to ask here:

What parts did you tune/ upgrade? I'm trying to put together the same Miata cup and am struggling with balancing the cars.

So far I have weight reduction 1, sports suspension and RH tires, but the AI struggles a bit with handling.
I'll have to glance at it sometime this week. I haven't run any races with those cars in a while.
 
This is awesome. Great commentary too.

I was surprised to see that the leader didn't pull away, correct? The front pack held together until the end of the race.

Great stuff. Thanks for sharing.
Also loved the commentary! Regarding 'the pack,' @suomi1 did a great viz to capture the AI behavior (the video demonstrates the yellow scatter plot):
Here is a fictitious graph of the distribution of best laps for a grid of 10 AIs, assuming the human player is far ahead :

AIs.png


AIs we've got in Custom Race mode are "SOPHY + Rubberband" or "PD's + Cafe + Rubberband".
Boost is just another layer of setup for the rubber banding effect.
Suomi says "when the player is far ahead," but it's similar for when the player is far behind, too. As you get your nose up into the top 3, you can still create a few runaways, and then skilled driving should keep you in 1st once you're actually up there, the pack always nipping at your heels.

@bliprunner added a great suggestion of racing for 2nd place in a field of 19+runaway, to 'snap' the rubberband, so to speak.
Here's a suggestion to possibly make this work without rubber banding ruining it:

  • Use Sophy with Boost Weak.
  • If you want to drive in LMP1 add a "Special Prototype" entry that is so fast you'll never overtake it.
  • Or drive in LMGT so you'll never overtake the LMP1 leader.

With Boost Weak all car lap times should remain consistent and Sophy won't slow or speed up - as long as you don't take the lead - this is the key.
I wonder, @CodeRedR51, how the race difficulty/AI behavior changes (I assume you'll be running this grid all over the Sophy-eligible layouts) if you replace the lead car with a safetycar/redbull...ideally, something "too fast to ever be passed, but slow enough it's not tomahawking its way through the field every few minutes". Though truthfully, it didn't seem like you'd need any adjustments! Good driving, all around :)

I haven't done longer format or Gr. races in a while - chugging through 15min Integrale events - but have noticed a WAY meaner AI since slotting a safety car rabbit at the front!
 
I wonder, @CodeRedR51, how the race difficulty/AI behavior changes (I assume you'll be running this grid all over the Sophy-eligible layouts) if you replace the lead car with a safetycar/redbull...ideally, something "too fast to ever be passed, but slow enough it's not tomahawking its way through the field every few minutes". Though truthfully, it didn't seem like you'd need any adjustments! Good driving, all around :)

I haven't done longer format or Gr. races in a while - chugging through 15min Integrale events - but have noticed a WAY meaner AI since slotting a safety car rabbit at the front!
I think the circuit matters too. Suzuka seems to be great so far, the AI cars really only have one weak spot and that is through T7 into Dunlop curve. As you could see from the video I would get a good run on them through there. Almost impossible to pass anywhere else. I then tried Brands Hatch and was able to get a win fairly easily. Also tried Maggiore and got up into P4 after my pit stop but yet again I short filled and ended up spending the last half of the race saving fuel so ended up finishing in that position. Had the car in Map 2 and used the P3 AI car's slipstream for several laps as a fuel saver.

I might go back to Suzuka and give it another shot.
 
I think the circuit matters too. Suzuka seems to be great so far, the AI cars really only have one weak spot and that is through T7 into Dunlop curve. As you could see from the video I would get a good run on them through there. Almost impossible to pass anywhere else. I then tried Brands Hatch and was able to get a win fairly easily. Also tried Maggiore and got up into P4 after my pit stop but yet again I short filled and ended up spending the last half of the race saving fuel so ended up finishing in that position. Had the car in Map 2 and used the P3 AI car's slipstream for several laps as a fuel saver.

I might go back to Suzuka and give it another shot.
Yeah, even Reggy is pretty capable at Suzuka! One of the better ones, for sure. I hadn't really considered relative Sophy ability at the various layouts - she tends to be A+ in my book, especially when compared to my old report card! Plugging that, in case relevant, as a tab in my Integrale spreadsheet (sig) that attempts to grade Reggy's capability at each layout. Ol' boy's very quick in the right circumstances! I also always need help filling it out / crowdsourcing opinion!

Screenshot 2025-07-21 at 10.18.18 AM.png
 
I originally posted this in the "they made Sophy better" thread, but I figured I'd share it here as well:


I've been having a great time with my 89 Miata Cup - especially enjoying the AI battling each other.

All cars have weight reduction 1, full racing suspension, and RH tires. There's still room for more improvements in their tuning, but so far everything is looking promising. They have random ballast distribution, but all AI cars share the same suspension settings. One or two cars have a few extra HP.

My car has sports suspension, and I added significantly more weight to it, resulting in roughly 20 PP less.

Here's a couple of laps of Brands Hatch. I tried to focus on the AI racing each other. Sorry for the crappy video :crazy:
Nearly went off after the long straight, after the car behind bumped me!

 
Hi everyone - been awhile since I posted here.

Has anyone else encountered an issue where liveries for certain cars do not load? I went to create a custom race with a Sophy grid that I used to run with the normal AI to see how the racing compared.

See a couple of links below.

I tried clearing cache, restarting my system, reloading the game, and changing in-game custom settings to no avail. I end up with cars that show up as blank or without their respective liveries. Some cars don't even show their tile photo in the garage or on the grid once set. And once I change the in-game settings, i'm left with a black screen ane the spinning GT logo in the bottom right.





So yeah, anyone else encounter this and find a fix?

EDIT: restarted the game and this time (for the most part) the liveries and cars show up. There seems to be one pesky NISMO 90' GT-R that doesn't want to load still.
 
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Hi everyone - been awhile since I posted here.

Has anyone else encountered an issue where liveries for certain cars do not load? I went to create a custom race with a Sophy grid that I used to run with the normal AI to see how the racing compared.

See a couple of links below.

I tried clearing cache, restarting my system, reloading the game, and changing in-game custom settings to no avail. I end up with cars that show up as blank or without their respective liveries. Some cars don't even show their tile photo in the garage or on the grid once set. And once I change the in-game settings, i'm left with a black screen ane the spinning GT logo in the bottom right.





So yeah, anyone else encounter this and find a fix?

EDIT: restarted the game and this time (for the most part) the liveries and cars show up. There seems to be one pesky NISMO 90' GT-R that doesn't want to load still.

What I’ve done to remedy that is go to my garage and click on each car. It’s happened to me if If changed or slightly updated liveries and haven’t used some cars for a while. It’s like rebooting the livery in my garage.
Also, restarting a race and/or backing out of the race and reloading that race setting.
 
What I’ve done to remedy that is go to my garage and click on each car. It’s happened to me if If changed or slightly updated liveries and haven’t used some cars for a while. It’s like rebooting the livery in my garage.
Yes, have been trying that but for some the car just shows up without a livery once selected. Even reloading and saving the livery via the editor doesn't change anything. Quite strange.
 
Hi everyone - been awhile since I posted here.

Has anyone else encountered an issue where liveries for certain cars do not load? I went to create a custom race with a Sophy grid that I used to run with the normal AI to see how the racing compared.

See a couple of links below.

I tried clearing cache, restarting my system, reloading the game, and changing in-game custom settings to no avail. I end up with cars that show up as blank or without their respective liveries. Some cars don't even show their tile photo in the garage or on the grid once set. And once I change the in-game settings, i'm left with a black screen ane the spinning GT logo in the bottom right.





So yeah, anyone else encounter this and find a fix?

EDIT: restarted the game and this time (for the most part) the liveries and cars show up. There seems to be one pesky NISMO 90' GT-R that doesn't want to load still.

When this happens to me I just go into the race settings screen and hit the accept button and it fixes it.
 

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