A quartet of events awaits in the current Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trial challenges, bringing with them the chance to earn 8m credits for only a few minutes’ effort — if you’re quick enough.
The two regular events sit in their usual slots, with a new time trial each week and running for a fortnight before the oldest of the two is replaced. That’s seen the relatively easy challenge in the Renaultsport Clio swapped out for a slightly nervier event this week.
You’ll be taking on the tight and twisty Eiger Nordwand mountain route in its reverse direction — yes, the switchbacks become uphill, significantly altering the rhythm — and in the notoriously twitchy Lancia Stratos. There’s a little upgrade in grip, with Comfort Soft tires required, but otherwise it’ll be a challenge getting the Ferrari V6-engined classic pointing the right way most of the time.
The current record for doing that is a 1:14.711, setting gold at a 1:16.952 right now although it is a dynamic target of 3% slower than the world record time. All things considered, we’d say you should look to set a flat 1:16.7 or better if you want to keep hold of it, but we’ll re-assess next week.
An open Gr.3 challenge awaits in the other event, with Suzuka hosting this one for another week. You can select any of the 50 Gr.3 cars for this, with Racing Soft tires required, and there is a bit of a mixture up and down the leaderboard so there should be a few competitive cars.
Times have tumbled a little more than we expected from the early pace here, despite the familiarity with the combo. The record currently sits at a 1:57.482, bringing the gold target down to the very brink of a flat 2:01. You’ll definitely want to be in the 2:00s to keep gold, and another tenth or two can’t hurt…
Two special events are also available, highlighting Gran Turismo’s esports activities and featuring slightly increased payouts.
The Honda Racing eMS series Time Trial runs until September 28, and is the qualifier for the three online finals for the ten fastest eligible players in each region (nine in Asia-Oceania, with the defending champion taking the final slot). It’s a hot-lap challenge in the 2016 Honda NSX Concept-GT race car, on Racing Medium tires, at the full Autodrome Lago Maggiore Circuit.
Times are remaining pretty static at the top, with only a thousandth shaved off the record since last week at a 1:38.902. It’s increasingly looking like the best players are at the limit — though we’d never rule out a late charge from someone sniping a couple of hundredths, so if you can manage any 1:41.7 it’s likely to be enough to secure a gold here.
We’ve also got a tie-in Time Trial for the Gran Turismo World Series Round 2 event in Berlin this coming weekend. The setup is the same as the Nations Cup qualifying race, comprising a hot lap of the “No Chicane” version of Monza (only deleting the first chicane) in the Porsche 962C on Racing Soft tires.
This one’s seen times plunge a bit, as GTWS attendees get their collective eyes in, with a 1:24.257 now the record. That puts the gold bracket at 1:26.784 — a little lower than expected — and given that the top two seem to be having a private battle we’d say you probably won’t need much more to be safe by close of play.
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 — though the two special events right now offer 500,000cr for bronze, and the Berlin event has a more generous 20% limit.
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 September 25.
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge September 18 – Eiger Nordwand
- Track: Eiger Nordwand Reverse
- Car: Lancia Stratos ’73 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (L)
- Tires: Comfort Soft
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge September 11 – Suzuka Circuit
- Track: Suzuka Circuit
- Car: Gr.3 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
- Tires: Racing Soft
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge Special Event – GTWS Berlin
- Track: Autodromo Nazionale Monza No Chicane
- Car: Porsche 962C ’88 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (H)
- Tires: Racing Soft
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge Special Event – Honda Racing eMS
- Track: Autodrome Lago Maggiore Full Course
- Car: Honda NSX Concept-GT ’16 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
- Tires: Racing Medium
- Settings: Partially Allowed – Brake Balance
See more articles on Gran Turismo 7 Time Trial.
