With two sets of champions crowned already in Barcelona, the season-ending Nations Cup is now upon us as the top 12 teams from countries around the world prepare for four final races in this new-look event.

For the first time, the championship is a team event in 2023 as drivers now race as part of a three-member squad representing their nations. That means there’s no longer a single individual champion, nor is it everyone for themselves.

Each of the three drivers on each team will race in one of three separate races, consisting of a road car challenge at Trial Mountain, the Honda RA272 F1 car at Watkins Glen, and the Peugeot 908 HDI at the local Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The races are worth up to 12 points apiece.

That leads into the grand final, which will see all three drivers on each team taking part in the traditional X2019 finale which visits the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps with driver swaps in the pits. Each driver must drive at least once, and each of the tire grades — Hard, Medium, and Soft — must be used for at least six consecutive laps.

There’s plenty of stacked lineups, with one of the strongest being the local favorite Team Spain. The squad features defending champion Coque Lopez, Toyota Cup champion Pol Urra, and Jose Serrano who is well overdue a title.

We’d also look towards the exceptional Team France lineup of Baptiste Beauvois, Kylian Drumont, and Thomas Labouteley, Team Brazil’s lineup of Lucas Bonelli, Adriano Carazza, and quad-champ Igor Fraga. Marco Busnelli, Valerio Gallo, and Giorgio Mangano of Team Italy have plenty of speed and World Tour-winning experience too.

One team that might be up against it is Team Japan. With the withdrawal of Takuma Sasaki, the squad is down to two so Rikuto Kobayashi and Seiya Suzuki will have to pull extra stints to make up for the absence. That said, two-driver teams have won two out of three previous live finals in which they’ve appeared…

Races

Qualifying – TBA
Race 1 — Road Cars (TBA), Trial Mountain
Race 2 — Honda RA272, Watkins Glen
Race 3 – Peugeot 908 HDI, Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya GP (No Chicane)
Grand Final – Red Bull X2019 Competition, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

It’s not just a vicarious event either, as viewers can also pick up in-game prizes for both watching and predicting the championship winners through two special tiles on the Gran Turismo 7 World Map.

Watching any part of the stream through the in-game tile, at any time up to 2359 UTC on Sunday December 10, will award you with a free Mazda LM55 Vision GT car in your garage. Meanwhile there’s 1,000,000cr on offer if you’re able to predict the winner of the event — which you can do at any time up to the start of the Grand Final itself.

Viewers will also be able to catch the unveiling of the new Bulgari Vision Gran Turismo, a concept car created by the famous jeweler for a future game update.

The racing begins today, Sunday December 3, at 1600 UTC (convert to your time here) and we wish all of the competitors the best of luck!

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Competitors

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