The latest Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trial challenge is now available, bringing an interesting dilemma of sorts as Polyphony Digital opens an entire category for selection in the new event.
After the grip-fest event in the Pagani Zonda R has rotated out of the challenges, it’s been replaced with another as you’ll be racing some of the highest downforce cars in the game while shod with Racing Soft rubber.
You can pick any car of any kind from the Gr.1 category this week, which covers a pretty wide range from Group C classics through LMP1, LMP1-H, and LMH cars, right the way up to fictional concepts inspired by top-class prototypes. As you can imagine, that makes it a pretty hard class to balance so even though BOP is in effect there’s going to be some favorites.
Power would seem to be key to this one, with the event taking place at the Daytona Road Course — ahead of the famous 24 Hours of Daytona in just over a week’s time. Although the track has a technical infield section covering the first couple of sectors, it’s defined by the time spent on the high-speed Tri-Oval.
There’s a few cars capable of setting competitive enough times, but it seems that if you want the absolute maximum you’ll need the Genesis Vision GT X Gran Racer for your lap. We’re already seeing times breaking into the 1:30s, setting gold at a 1:33.7 at present, but we’re going to say you’ll need something a lot closer to a low-1:33 by the time the two weeks are up.
There’s quite a handling contrast to last week’s event, which still has a week to run as you aim for the fastest lap possible in the two-ton Lexus LC500 at Watkins Glen.
We’ve not quite seen the movement we’d expected early on in this one, with the top players still yet to break into the 2:00 range. They’re getting close, with a few 2:01.1s on the board, but it’s still a fair way off — at least until the road car specialists show up.
The gold target is therefore still well into the 2:04s, but we’re still going to suggest making it into the 2:03s for security as you can never guarantee that someone isn’t going to snipe a ridiculous time right at the finish.
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 January 22.
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge January 15 – Daytona
- Track: Daytona Road Course
- Car: Gr.1 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (H)
- Tires: Racing Soft
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge January 8 – Watkins Glen
- Track: Watkins Glen Long Course
- Car: Lexus LC500 ’17 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
- Tires: Sports Hard
- Settings: Fixed
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