A new Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trial with a slight nod towards this weekend’s famous endurance race is available from this morning, as players worldwide try to one-up each other in pursuit of the top spot.
Replacing one of the longest circuits in the game with another, even longer one, this week’s event heads to the Nurburgring. That is, of course, the host of an eponymous 24-hour race, but we’ll be in something a tad slower than the vehicles pounding round the course in the real world.
In fact it’s a fun little warm hatch that’s required, as the Suzuki Swift Sport takes on the Green Hell. An enjoyable car in the real world, the 130hp front-wheel drive sub-compact won’t pull up any stumps but it is an exercise in preservation of momentum and isn’t so overpowered as to be frustratingly over track limits at the most inopportune times on your hot lap.
These attributes, along with the stickier Sports Medium tires will probably make it relatively easy to get close to the top times this week — in percentage terms, rather than raw time — with the record just breaking under 8:20 early this morning. That sets the gold time at present at just under 8:35, but there’s probably a couple of seconds to come off that yet.
Two other Time Trials are still available too, comprising the regular event and a special challenge that also acts as a qualifier for an esports event.
The former is the open Gr.3 challenge at the Red Bull Ring which began last week, and it seems that top players have found some special sauce — or at least an overwhelming favorite vehicle, in the shape of the Mitsubishi Lancer — and dropped the times more than expected.
Currently the record for the event is a 1:28.591, setting the gold target at 1:31.248. There’s still time for that to move of course, so get yourself near a 1:31.0 for a little safety.
Our third active event is the Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Virtual Championship qualifier, which can be dispatched with as a regular time trial if you’re not bothered about the esports aspect.
Times here have fallen into the low 1:46s, setting gold at a 1:49.537 at present. There’s more on the line here than usual, as the top 24 eligible times globally go into the series’ online events so we’re expecting a fair bit of competition to lower that bar. Also note that the bronze award, for a time within 10% of the record, is twice its usual value at 500,000cr.
In order to access the Online Time Trials, you’ll need to unlock Sport Mode, by completing Menu Book 9 (“Championship: Tokyo Highway Parade”) in the GT Cafe single player hub. As it’s just you against the clock and not a direct, head-to-head multiplayer event, PlayStation Plus is not required.
You’ll usually need to be within 3% of the fastest time globally once the event finishes in order to secure “gold” status and a 2m credit bonus prize. There’s smaller prizes of one million for being within 5%, and 250,000cr for bronze at 10% off.
The events update every Thursday, with each individual challenge usually remaining available for two weeks and the oldest of the two events being replaced each week. You can look forward to the next new Time Trial arriving at 0700 UTC on Thursday June 26.
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge June 19 – Nurburgring
- Track: Nurburgring Nordschleife
- Car: Suzuki Swift Sport ’17 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (H)
- Tires: Sports Medium
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge June 12 – Red Bull Ring
- Track: Red Bull Ring
- Car: Gr.3 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
- Tires: Racing Medium
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Mercedes-AMG Special Event – Monza
- Track: Autodromo Nazionale Monza
- Car: Mercedes-AMG GT3 ’20 – Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (H)
- Tires: Racing Soft
- Settings: Fixed
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