Road cars take a week off for the latest set of Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races, which bring three racing categories and the rare appearance of an off-road course this week.
Race A brings us into the rough-stuff with a race for the Gr.B cars — GT7’s catch-all class for loose-surface racers at the fictional Sardegna Windmills course. This was previously part of a unified location with the Sardegna Road Track in GT Sport, with the two sites sharing no portions of each other’s track but set in a similar spot around a wind farm, but split out for GT7.
You can use any of the (13) cars in the class for this race, which runs over a total of six laps and requires Dirt Tires. Don’t be fooled into thinking that these off-road racers come with them as standard though; if you’re using a garage car you’ll need to buy them first, but the loaners are pre-equipped — and the Pikes Peak Audi is a popular option this week.
Unusually, this week’s race also features the False Start Check function on a grid start. This requires you to keep the car motionless until all the lights go out to start the race (you only gain control when the final light comes on). Any movement will earn you an on-the-spot power penalty which lasts for as long after the start as the amount by which you jumped it.
As is almost always the case, Race A has Driver Rating (DR) updates turned off. Beware though that Sportsmanship Rating (SR) updates are turned on, and a rally course invites so much more contact with track edges and rivals that it’ll be very easy to lose a lot of it. Should your SR fall too far, it can also drag your DR down with it.
For Race B we’re back to a fairly regular state of affairs with a Gr.4 race at Autodromo de Interlagos. It’s open-class, so you can select any car in the Gr.4 range this week — though AWD looks to be the way to go as usual, with 97% of the top 100 using four-paw cars and largely the GT-R.
It’s a five-lap race on Racing Hard tires, and with no other regulations to worry about it’ll be a straightforward sprint from lights to flag.
Once again, Race C features the Gr.3 cars for a race with a little bit of a strategic element to it — though how you plan your race may be determined by what other drivers are doing too.
You’ll be visiting the Daytona Road Course for a ten-lap race in any Gr.3 car of your choice (the Viper proving a common choice), on Racing Medium tires. A 6x tire wear multiplier will make the ten laps feel like 60 for your rubber though, and it’s a bit off a toss-up whether they’ll manage the whole race or not.
Just to complicate factors, there’s a mandatory pit stop which requires you to dive down the pit lane at any time between the end of lap one and the start of lap ten. You don’t have to take on fuel or new tires when you do so, as long as you make the stop; failing to stop scores you a one-minute penalty after the race.
The nasty, blind pit entry could also cost you time, as failing to get into the pipe will reset your car out on track, and at rest. Crossing either the pit lane entry or exit will also earn you a three-second penalty each time, which you’ll need to serve on-track in the penalty zone — and watch out for cars on the racing line as you exit the pits too.
There’s a mild time loss for swapping tires in the pits, which you’ll need to judge against how much time the worn tires will cost you on the final laps. Additionally you won’t want to lose the slipstream, or become the lead car in a train too early, as it’s pretty powerful on this track which uses a good portion of the Tri-Oval, so when you opt to pit might be dictated by the cars ahead of you.
Daily Races are the main ranked multiplayer events in GT7. Your Driver Rating (DR) and Sportsmanship Rating (SR) are determined by your performances, updating after each race, and these are used to set your ranking and league for the game’s flagship esports series each season.
In order to access the Daily Races, you’ll need to unlock Sport Mode, by completing Menu Book 9 (“Championship: Tokyo Highway Parade”) in the GT Cafe single player hub. A PlayStation Plus subscription is required to take part.
With GT7’s Daily Races updating every Monday across the game’s life to date, the next new set should arrive on Monday, May 19.
Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races May 12: Race A
- Track: Sardegna Windmills – 6 laps
- Car: Gr.B – Garage/Specified Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (H)
- Tires: Dirt
- Settings: Partially Allowed – Brake Balance
- Start Type: Grid Start with False Start Check
- Mandatory Pit Stop: 0
- Fuel use: Off
- Tire use: Off
Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races May 12: Race B
- Track: Autodromo de Interlagos – 5 laps
- Car: Gr.4 – Garage/Specified Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
- Tires: Racing Hard
- Settings: Partially Allowed – Brake Balance
- Start Type: Rolling Start
- Mandatory Pit Stop: 0
- Fuel use: 1x
- Tire use: 1x
Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races May 12: Race C
- Track: Daytona Road Course – 10 laps
- Car: Gr.3 – Garage/Specified Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (H)
- Tires: Racing Medium
- Settings: Partially Allowed – Brake Balance
- Start Type: Rolling Start
- Mandatory Pit Stop: 1
- Fuel use: 2x
- Tire use: 6x
See more articles on Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races.
