As we’re building up to the big event in Monaco later this week, there may be a little surprise on the cards. Polyphony Digital has released the schedule for the FIA-Certified GT Sport Championship World Final, and it looks like there’s a new track in the works.
You’ll find the clue nestled into the Nations Cup schedule. After a qualifying session on the Friday, the final 16 drivers head into a four-race showdown on Sunday. Before three races at Interlagos, Monza and Circuit de la Sarthe, the finalists will duke it out on a track listed as “TBD”.
It’s something we’ve seen before with new content. During the World Tour event at Red Bull’s Hangar-7 in Salzburg, PD teased us with a “TBD” track. This turned out to be Fuji Speedway, with both versions of the Dunlop Corner. The European Regional Final also teased the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in similar fashion.
The “TBD” teaser isn’t just limited to live events either. It’s also featured in some of the online rounds, with both Circuit de Sainte-Croix and Circuit de la Sarthe revealed this way.
This only leaves one question: What track is it?
In the early days of GT Sport content updates, Polyphony Digital alternated between real and fictional tracks. If it added a new fictional circuit or layout in one update, the next track would be a real-world one. However, since the Red Bull Ring arrived, all of the new tracks have been real circuits: Fuji and Catalunya.
For that matter, the three tracks revealed for final rounds are all also real circuits. This hints that the new track will also be an existing motorsport venue, rather than a Polyphony Digital “original circuit”.
There’s certainly a few possibilities too. Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is a firm fan favorite, and the first suggestion on most people’s lips when PD reveals a new circuit. Silverstone is surely another track that’s in the works, as one of the four circuits certified by the FIA as far back as Gran Turismo 6 in 2014 and the only one of the four not in GT Sport at launch.
Given the location for the World Finals, Monaco itself must be in the mix too. It’s a circuit that has, in a fashion, featured in Gran Turismo games since Gran Turismo 3 by way of a very close approximation named “Cote d’Azur”. The new FIA collaboration may have opened up an avenue for Polyphony to finally include the real thing.
GTPlanet will be on the ground at Monaco throughout the World Finals, with information and updates on this and all the on-track action.
See more articles on 2018 FIA GT Championship World Final and GT Sport Game Updates.
