Time trial enthusiasts have a lot to look forward to this week, with a new event arriving on schedule and accompanied by another special challenge to make for a rare line-up of three.
The latest regular event is a rare off-road challenge, and it brings together what was supposed to have been a rally homologation special with one of the game’s three dedicated dirt tracks.
Colorado Springs hosts the event, and it’s still one of the most curious locations in the game. Since the addition of the Alsace Test Course alongside the original Village track for Gran Turismo 7, it’s now the only location that has a single, specified variation outside of its displayed World Circuits name: the “Lake” course.
You’ll be rallying about the Lake course but in the opposite direction than usual, making some of those jumps a little dicey as the landing zone is a lot shorter on the reverse track. Nonetheless, you’ll have the perfect car for it, in the shape of the Toyota GR Yaris.
Of course you’ll want Dirt tires for the tiny, AWD rocketship to take part in this event, but quite what your target time should be is a mystery. The loose surface, tight corners, and different driving styles make estimates very tricky, as does that fact that that top two global times right now are a full second faster than the third-placed one.
We’d say that the current top time might be around for a while, but not to discount the fact that a rally specialist might pop along and carve a good chunk out of it. Figure on 1:24s by the end of the two weeks, requiring something in the order of a 1:27.1 to net gold — but we’ll re-assess this one next week.
Last week’s event in the BMW Z8 has become something of a mission for some players eager to grab vital thousandths from each other, with the short and relatively easy to repeat (except the final corner) lap providing a lot of incentive.
That’s meant that times at the never-before-used Blue Moon Bay Infield B Reverse track have dropped a little further than we’d expected, but there’s probably also not so much left on the table. Currently you’ll need a 57.098 lap to secure gold — just below our 57.1 estimate — but it’s unlikely that this will drop too far and any 56-second lap will be safe already.
There’s a third event too, as part of the festivities around the upcoming final preliminary round of the GT World Series in Los Angeles.
Using the same combination as will comprise the Nations Cup qualifying race in LA, you’ll be setting your fastest laps around the Watkins Glen Long Course, using the famous — or infamous — Chaparral 2J ground-effect racer.
It’s a car that takes a bit of getting used to, with its three-speed gearbox and massive active downforce fans, but you’ll be hustling it on Racing Soft tires so there’ll be plenty of grip available. Again, there’s a big enough gap at the top of the leaderboard to make estimates tricky, but we’d say to aim for something in the mid-1:30s if you want gold in two weeks’ time.
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 — with that final prize and margin doubled for the special event.
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 November 6.
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge October 30 – Colorado Springs
- Track: Colorado Springs Lake Reverse
- Car: Toyota GR Yaris ’20 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (L)
- Tires: Dirt
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge Special Event October 30 – Watkins Glen
- Track: Watkins Glen Long Course
- Car: Chaparral 2J ’70 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
- Tires: Racing Soft
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge October 23 – Blue Moon Bay
- Track: Blue Moon Bay Infield B Reverse
- Car: BMW Z8 ’01 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (H)
- Tires: Sports Hard
- Settings: Fixed
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