The Nations Cup category flagship FIA-Certified Online Championship feature for GT Sport is already well underway for a second season. Now the Manufacturer Series is set to join it.
In case you’re unfamiliar with the format of the Manufacturer Series, it’s an event where you represent a vehicle brand. You’ll sign an in-game contract with your chosen marque and then pick which of the Gr.4 and Gr.3 cars it offers to race with. You’ll need to pick carefully, as you’ll be with that brand right through the 2019 season, and the Balance of Performance and drivetrain types on offer may help or hinder your performances.
The new season gets underway on May 1, and Polyphony Digital has just released all of the details. Officially it’s called the “Pre Season”, but don’t be fooled by the name — there’s a place at the New York World Tour event at stake. The races and dates announced for the Manufacturer Series are as follows:
-
- Round 1 — May 1
- Track: Kyoto Driving Park – Yamagiwa+Miyabi, 7 laps)
- Car: Gr.3 – Garage Car
- Tires: Racing Hard, Racing Medium
- Fuel use: 4x
- Tire use: 17x
- Round 2 — May 4
- Track: Fuji International Speedway, 11 laps
- Car: Gr.3 – Garage Car
- Tires: Racing Medium, Racing Soft
- Fuel use: 3x
- Tire use: 17x
- Round 3 — May 8
- Track: Red Bull Ring, 11 laps
- Car: Gr.4 – Garage Car
- Tires: Racing Medium, Racing Soft
- Fuel use: 4x
- Tire use: 16x
- Round 4 — May 11
- Track: Brands Hatch – Grand Prix, 11 laps
- Car: Gr.4 – Garage Car
- Tires: Racing Hard, Racing Medium
- Fuel use: 7x
- Tire use: 19x
- Round 5 — May 15
- Track: Tokyo Expressway – East Outer Loop, 9 laps
- Car: Gr.3 – Garage Car
- Tires: Racing Medium
- Fuel use: 5x
- Tire use: 12x
- Round 6 — May 18
- Track: Nurburgring – 24h, 2 laps
- Car: Gr.3 – Garage Car
- Tires: Racing Hard, Racing Medium
- Fuel use: 3x
- Tire use: 19x
- Round 7 — May 22
- Track: Willow Springs – Big Willow, 13 laps
- Car: Gr.4 – Garage Car
- Tires: Racing Hard, Racing Medium
- Fuel use: 4x
- Tire use: 19x
- Round 8 — May 25
- Track: Suzuka Circuit, 9 laps
- Car: Gr.3 – Garage Car
- Tires: Racing Medium, Racing Soft
- Fuel use: 3x
- Tire use: 15x
- Round 9 — May 29
- Track: Autopolis International Racing Course, 9 laps
- Car: Gr.4 – Garage Car
- Tires: Racing Medium, Racing Soft
- Fuel use: 5x
- Tire use: 16x
- Round 10 — June 1
- Track: Autodrome Lago Maggiore – GP, 9 laps
- Car: Gr.3 – Garage Car
- Tires: Racing Medium, Racing Soft
- Fuel use: 3x
- Tire use: 15x
- Round 1 — May 1
There’s three slots for each round, starting at the top of the hour after the Nations Cup race. In the European region that would be at 1800, 2000 and 2200 UTC. The exception is Round 8, where a Superstars race occurs for the top 16 players in each region (up to two per manufacturer) in the middle time slot — the regular race starts ten minutes later. You may participate in all three races each round, but only your last race result counts towards your score.
At the end of the ten rounds, the game will tally your best three results. However, because the Manufacturer Series is a team event, there’s a complicating factor that determines whether you’ll qualify for the World Tour event or not.
Of the 25 manufacturers, only the top 12 will be eligible for representation at the World Tour event. Polyphony Digital will determine the manufacturer ranking by scoring the positions of the top driver for each manufacturer in each of the five regions. The top three drivers from those five then get to represent the brand at the World Tour, with the other two acting as stand-ins if a driver withdraws. One exception to this is the 2018 World Final runner-up Toyota, who, as series partner, will be one of the 12 brands regardless of ranking.
There’ll be further chances to qualify to World Tour events later in the year. The first stage of the Manufacturer series starts on June 8, and we’ll bring you details on those races as we get them.
Featured image courtesy of zeptrans.
See more articles on FIA Online Championship and GT Sport Manufacturer Series.
