Weekly Challenge Discussion Thread

[Lightpilgrim]

This is great, thank you

But what is it?

 

[sirjim73]

But what is it?

It is a site which gives you random car selections for the weekly challenges. Players have been liking it because you end up driving cars you might not have selected otherwise.

(Personally, I achieve a similar result by sorting cars by "last used" and selecting something at the bottom of the list).

 

[Lightpilgrim]

It is a site which gives you random car selections for the weekly challenges. Players have been liking it because you end up driving cars you might not have selected otherwise.

(Personally, I achieve a similar result by sorting cars by "last used" and selecting something at the bottom of the list).

Ah, I see. Good idea. I was hoping it is a site that tells you what to do got get what you want from tickets that you receive as part of weekly challenges:-)

 

[gkgamer]

YES!!! This title!

...
Iconiq?

 

[2cam16]

Well that was an ok group of races.
WTC900- now I know why I haven't completed the series, it was THIS race. lol Could only muster 5th in one of my tries. I'll try a GT500 car sometime. Was on track to probably podium but after I pitted for RS on lap 8 it POURED and that was it. Spun out.
Anyway....
Bathurst was in one of my Subies seen here leading the Subaru train. Easy win.
Mount Panorama Motor Racing Circuit_ (9) by 2cam16, on Flickr
Another easy win at Nurburgring. Won by around 30 seconds.
Nürburgring Sprint_ (5) by 2cam16, on Flickr
Saint Croix B was another easy one. This in another Hyundai.
Circuit de Sainte-Croix - B_ (7) by 2cam16, on Flickr
Kyoto I used the car I usually run in the Kei races. It was right at the suggested PP but it went up 30pp with the new update! Will still be legal for any Kei race that pops up though. Easy win over the CHR.
Kyoto Driving Park - Miyabi_ (4) by 2cam16, on Flickr

 

[Tommy_D]

The first 4 races are all very easy to win, even on hard difficulty. The WTC900 is a good battle, though. I took out the ‘08 NSX on RM tires and the big turbo. It drives well and I was able to lap in the 1:49’s with it, but I still only took 3rd place being behind by 6 seconds. I’ve already won the race previously. Can’t remember what I used. Probably a Gr.C car.

Anyway, my parts ticket was for stage 5 weight reduction on the GT-R Safety car (I’ve never driven it) and my car prize was the Skoda VGT. Sold it for ~650k credits.

 

[DriveSpark]

Better set of races this week, the Suzuka one I used the Porsche 919, Fm5, no stop for a simple win, should have probably used a lesser car to be honest as it was far quicker even turned right down.

I actually got a 6* ticket for the daily marathon as well, possibly for the first time ever I think. Ended up with $1m, a '16 GTR and a bore up kit for the delorean from the 3 tickets.

 

[ROCKET JOE]

In hindsight this set of races went a bit strange somehow. All the events have been fairly easy and I’d almost say race 1 was the hardest of the batch, at least for me.
Although I had equipped the Beat ( beware of the loose rear under braking ) with a turbo charger, the car was barely quick enough and the race was the closest of them all.
The Toyotas at Mt. Panorama and St. Croix were great although both have very soft stock suspension settings - anyway, fun races and St. Croix with its fabulous final sector will see me some more times soon.
The Ioniq is … well, the Ioniq. A boat for sure which lets you feel its weight all the time. But as soon as you slap on SM tires it really becomes manageable. Mine was and the wing looks cool, doesn’t it !
Race 5 at Suzuka, now this one saw me struggle in the beginning for the setup on my Audi which was all over the place. Had to return to quasi stock and two laps of adapting before things ( and my performance ) improved. After six laps I still felt like having lost the race but the three leading cars got inexplicably slow on the final laps and I was able to catch up and take the win. Just like that.
Received four clean race bonuses as well for races 1 - 4 …

Here's some pictures from the races :

🙋‍♂️

 

[Lomic]

Did Suzuka with the Audi RS5. She lost some PP, not able to reach 900PP now (with my current tune). But easy victory anyway.

6* car brought a Lexus RC F GT500 '16, sold for 341k.

 

[venom85]

Is there a way to contact PD without any social media platform?

 

[MIE1992]

Is there a way to contact PD without any social media platform?

I would argue that the best method is the one you're using right now. I heard they do poke their heads in here from time to time. Not sure if they have any accounts, though - let alone if they post.

 

[GTvsForza]

Well, now that PSN is working again...

• Sunday Cup - C-HR S 🚫
• Japanese 4WD Challenge - HiMedic 🚫
• IONIQ 5 N Special Event - 🚫
• Turbo Sports - VIZIV GT VGT 🔰
• WTC900 - 908 🚫

Interesting rewards:

• Stage 5 Weight for SRT Demon from 4⭐️ Daily
• Stage 5 Weight for GranTurismo S from 6⭐️ Part
• Dupe Genesis X Racer from 6⭐️ Car

 

[2cam16]

PSN couldn't return sooner. Took one of my favorite racecars, the Audi,to Suzuka. Fun race. RH, FM1, pit at the end of 6. Pit out in 5, was in 4th but 19 seconds behind but the top 3 hadn't pitted yet. They went in at the end of 8. I was in 1st and thinking, easy now. Then it started raining after T1 on the last lap. Tires were 3/4th gone. Had to tip toe most of the way and won by about 3 or 4 seconds.
Suzuka Circuit_ (12) by 2cam16, on Flickr

 

[Kita Kangaroo]

These were a pretty fun and painless set of races.
First one up was the Sunday Cup at Kyoto Park, ran the EG Civic for a quick and easy 1st place finish

Next up was the 600pp 4WD Challenge at Mount Panorama, one of my all time favorite tracks to race on in both irl and in video game land~ Ran the GR Corolla with the Rookie Racing livery to spice up the grid for another easy win

Headed over to Sainte-Croix-B for the turbo sports car race, decided to run something different for a change; pulled out the 22 Civic Type R for a bit of a challenge instead of smashing the Ai with a 600hp R34 Skyline Had a nice battle for 1st with the blue AMG GT on the corners for a 4+ sec win

Crossed the border over to Germany for a electrified race at the Sprint circuit Nürburgring layout. Another easy win, the Ioniq 5 rotates pretty damn good for a brick around corners; even did a bit of trail-braking round the 2nd hairpin to sling myself into 1st~

Gonna finish the last race in the morning before work

 

[RACECAR]

And the car from the 6-Star Ticket for me is:

Looks like my Strakka Racing and Vitaphone Racing liveries are officially back now.

 

[rheinaoi]

Summary of my feelings for this week's challenges in one sentence:

I will make the Renault Gordini go faster.

RACE 5 – RNG900 WTC900 at Suzuka
As usual with WTC900 races, it was time to make up 35+ seconds in 10 laps against front runners who may or may not pit

I chose the Chaparral 2J because I love the story of the car and its handling.

• 878pp with the Fully Custom Transmission
• 1 stop strategy
• Racing Medium tires, initially - Racing Softs for second stint
• Fuel Map 4 with short shifting
• Pit at the end of lap 5

The Racing Medium tires held up well, but I switched to Racing Softs after pitting because the leaders were 10 seconds away and I got desperate. The leaders pit in around laps 7 and 8. I got the win by driving on 90% worn out tires.

Running entirely on Racing Softs, I could have finished 3-7 seconds faster... Buuuuuut, the front runners could have just decided to not pit and find an extra 20-30 seconds

Bring a Group 1 or Formula car and get this one over with unless you REALLY love Group 2 cars.

Plan a 1 Stop Strategy just in case it rains.

RACE 4 – Race of Turbo Sports at Sainte Croix - B
My favorite race of this bunch by far. I agree with the sentiment here; this layout has marvelous flow.

This race was my excuse to tune my swapped, 533hp, and horribly liveried Renault R8 Gordini. And I am dangerously close to spending the rest of my GT7 time this week here because I adore this little rear engine goofball.

647-652pp on Racing Softs

My first few runs were without the Alfa Romeo that tries to race with 10000000hp on Sports Hard tires. So, I went looking for him. Whatever total time you finished with, subtract 20 seconds from that if the Alfa shows up. He has great brakes too, but ultimately his car is useless below 120mph / 193kph. I now pass him regularly on lap 2 and never look back.

I think buffed 600pp Tokyo grind builds would work here. Switch to Sports Medium or Soft tires, fit the Fully Customizeable Racing Transmission and run a higher Final Drive. Done.

Alternatively, you could use your Le Mans 700pp grind builds with, again, shorter gearing.

The frontrunners here are on Sports Hards (and Comfort Softs ). Solis in the RCR Civic has Sports Mediums, but he’s stuck in the middle of the pack 90% of the time. The Alfa Romeo and the BMW M2s are the rocket sleds cars to beat.

I also tested my swapped Alpine A110 and immediately felt the difference that the extra 50pp makes...

Viva la France and rear weight bias!!!

SPECIAL EVENT – Hyundai Ioniq Race at Nurb Sprint
I like this car A LOT (also a lot more than the F3500). I had a 600pp Racing Hard tires build from last week ready to go. And despite Sector 1 being the bane of my existence, I... like this layout.

The AI seemed to have upgraded brakes, but, ironically Ioniq-ly, over-braking in Sector 2 and Sector 3 -- especially in the gentle right before the final chicane -- was their downfall.

Challenge yourself with the stock car on any of the Sports tires. If things get annoying, reduce weight and upgrade the brakes. Note that a fully upgraded Ioniq bullies the Hypercar Parade on medium length tracks.

Giant Wing (that makes surprisinly little downforce...) is mandatory

RACE 2 – 600pp Japanese 4WD at Bathurst
600pp suggested... 👀

I chose the Mazda Atenza XD (let's go diesel torque!!):
550pp, Racing Transmission, Sports Softs and the Low RPM Turbo.

7.5 second victory. I lost time on the straightaways, but clobbered the AI in the corners. My opponents had top speeds around 160mph / 257kph.

An otherwise hohum race saved by the fact that I got to drive AWD cars at Bathurst.

RACE 1 – Sunday Cup at Kyoto
Did anyone get flashbacks of My First Gran Turismo? I used the recently added Civic; bone stock.

The worst part of the race was feeling the suffering of the driver stuck with new Toyota crossover thing. I have spent ~400,000 credits trying to make the Prius fast, and was defeated (and deafened) by that engine + CVT - I know his pain.

Easy victory. The Civic was a lot of fun.

 

[Met Entso]

Summary of my feelings for this week's challenges in one sentence:

I will make the Renault Gordini go faster.
View attachment 1427526

RACE 5 – RNG900 WTC900 at Suzuka
As usual with WTC900 races, it was time to make up 35+ seconds in 10 laps against front runners who may or may not pit

I chose the Chaparral 2J because I love the story of the car and its handling.

View attachment 1427529

• 878pp with the Fully Custom Transmission
• 1 stop strategy
• Racing Medium tires, initially - Racing Softs for second stint
• Fuel Map 4 with short shifting
• Pit at the end of lap 5

The Racing Medium tires held up well, but I switched to Racing Softs after pitting because the leaders were 10 seconds away and I got desperate. The leaders pit in around laps 7 and 8. I got the win by driving on 90% worn out tires.

Running entirely on Racing Softs, I could have finished 3-7 seconds faster... Buuuuuut, the front runners could have just decided to not pit and find an extra 20-30 seconds
View attachment 1427527

Bring a Group 1 or Formula car and get this one over with unless you REALLY love Group 2 cars.

Plan a 1 Stop Strategy just in case it rains.

View attachment 1427528

RACE 4 – Race of Turbo Sports at Sainte Croix - B
My favorite race of this bunch by far. I agree with the sentiment here; this layout has marvelous flow.

This race was my excuse to tune my swapped, 533hp, and horribly liveried Renault R8 Gordini. And I am dangerously close to spending the rest of my GT7 time this week here because I adore this little rear engine goofball.

View attachment 1427530

647-652pp on Racing Softs

My first few runs were without the Alfa Romeo that tries to race with 10000000hp on Sports Hard tires. So, I went looking for him. Whatever total time you finished with, subtract 20 seconds from that if the Alfa shows up. He has great brakes too, but ultimately his car is useless below 120mph / 193kph. I now pass him regularly on lap 2 and never look back.

View attachment 1427533

View attachment 1427534

I think buffed 600pp Tokyo grind builds would work here. Switch to Sports Medium or Soft tires, fit the Fully Customizeable Racing Transmission and run a higher Final Drive. Done.

Alternatively, you could use your Le Mans 700pp grind builds with, again, shorter gearing.

The frontrunners here are on Sports Hards (and Comfort Softs ). Solis in the RCR Civic has Sports Mediums, but he’s stuck in the middle of the pack 90% of the time. The Alfa Romeo and the BMW M2s are the rocket sleds cars to beat.

I also tested my swapped Alpine A110 and immediately felt the difference that the extra 50pp makes...

View attachment 1427543

Viva la France and rear weight bias!!!

View attachment 1427544

SPECIAL EVENT – Hyundai Ioniq Race at Nurb Sprint
I like this car A LOT (also a lot more than the F3500). I had a 600pp Racing Hard tires build from last week ready to go. And despite Sector 1 being the bane of my existence, I... like this layout.

The AI seemed to have upgraded brakes, but, ironically Ioniq-ly, over-braking in Sector 2 and Sector 3 -- especially in the gentle right before the final chicane -- was their downfall.

Challenge yourself with the stock car on any of the Sports tires. If things get annoying, reduce weight and upgrade the brakes. Note that a fully upgraded Ioniq bullies the Hypercar Parade on medium length tracks.

Giant Wing (that makes surprisinly little downforce...) is mandatory

View attachment 1427535

RACE 2 – 600pp Japanese 4WD at Bathurst
600pp suggested... 👀

I chose the Mazda Atenza XD (let's go diesel torque!!):
550pp, Racing Transmission, Sports Softs and the Low RPM Turbo.

7.5 second victory. I lost time on the straightaways, but clobbered the AI in the corners. My opponents had top speeds around 160mph / 257kph.

An otherwise hohum race saved by the fact that I got to drive AWD cars at Bathurst.

View attachment 1427536

RACE 1 – Sunday Cup at Kyoto
Did anyone get flashbacks of My First Gran Turismo? I used the recently added Civic; bone stock.

The worst part of the race was feeling the suffering of the driver stuck with new Toyota crossover thing. I have spent ~400,000 credits trying to make the Prius fast, and was defeated (and deafened) by that engine + CVT - I know his pain.

Easy victory. The Civic was a lot of fun.

View attachment 1427537

That R8 looks awsome! Do you think it could win La Sarthre grind race?

 

[Nakano219]

So I'm currently about halfway through updating all the PP values on the randomiser (doing it alphabetically by manufacturer, just finished Mazda).

I'm going to be honest, if PD change these again in a future update I'll be very tempted to just not fix them next time, I really don't want to spend a good part of another day on numerical data entry...

 

[Lomic]

I feel your pain. Thanks for the time spent on this.

 

[rheinaoi]

That R8 looks awsome! Do you think it could win La Sarthre grind race?

I just tried it. The Gordini wins on hard difficulty! But...

It's was a struggle. Braking distances, and above all else, tire wear were this car's worst enemy. Two laps was the best that I could manage on Racing Hards. The fronts were pristine (perhaps 1 set could last the whole race ), but the rears were 90% gone as I reached the pits.

The AI bullied me in the braking zones and high speed corners; because tiny 1966 brakes, no front aero and lower grip from the Racing Hards.

The bright side? No need to worry about fuel management: Fuel Map 1 and slam the engine to redline. 190+mph / 305+ kph down the straightaways with or without the draft.

My lead would have had another 10 seconds had I not gotten greedy and ran Racing Softs for the last lap. Predictably, I looped it half way through then slid the rest of the way. My track knowledge here in road cars is also a bit lacking.

If only we could widebody the Gordini / get much, MUCH chunkier tires.

My Endurance Setup
Edit: Wide Wheels / Wide Offset from GT Auto

 

[Met Entso]

I just tried it. The Gordini wins on hard difficulty! But...

View attachment 1427618

It's was a struggle. Braking distances, and above all else, tire wear were this car's worst enemy. Two laps was the best that I could manage on Racing Hards. The fronts were pristine (perhaps 1 set could last the whole race ), but the rears were 90% gone as I reached the pits.

The AI bullied me in the braking zones and high speed corners; because tiny 1966 brakes, no front aero and lower grip from the Racing Hards.

The bright side? No need to worry about fuel management: Fuel Map 1 and slam the engine to redline. 190+mph / 305+ kph down the straightaways with or without the draft.

My lead would have had another 10 seconds had I not gotten greedy and ran Racing Softs for the last lap. Predictably, I looped it half way through then slid the rest of the way. My track knowledge here in road cars is also a bit lacking.

If only we could widebody the Gordini / get much, MUCH chunkier tires.

My Endurance Setup
View attachment 1427619

View attachment 1427620

View attachment 1427621

Amazing, thanks for all the information, I just checked and I have that engine, I'd love to try it!

I totally get that about being bullied in the braking zone, this is one if my main concerns when using older cars, and AI cars just don't get affected by contact, it's like the weight 10 tons.

 

[jrbabbitt]

Not my usual report on my weekly races but I did post pics...

 

[RACECAR]

 

[DDK-Racing]

Here is my list for, mostly, easy wins.

• Sunday Cup - VW Golf I GTI '83 (STOCK)
• Japanese 4WD Challenge - Nismo 400R (Weight reduction), love this car. Great handling and fast enough on the straights.
• IONIQ 5 N Special Event - Couldn't be bothered -> fully tuned, smashed opposition.
• Turbo Sports - KTM X-Bow R '12 - tuned with turbo, RS,... around 690-700PP. Used it ages ago so it was time to blow of the dust! Suprised how good this car was/is, will use again
  
• WTC900 - Toyota TS050-Hybrid '16 -> Started on RS and went for 1 stop. Pit after lap 4 for RM. Hybrid runs out fast and doesn't recharge quickly. Took the lead at the end op lap 9. Fun race...

Rewards:

• 100K from 4⭐️ Daily
  
• Shaft for the Subaru BRZ S '15 from 6⭐️ Part
  
• McLaren P1 GTR from 6⭐️ Car I had it already so sold for 1,8Mil

 

[lilcat89]

It took all weekend, but I did complete all the races. My theme for this set was “Powered by Le Mans”, so engines that have been used in Le Mans race cars.

• Sunday Cup: 356A Carrera Coupe
• Japanese AWD 600: Nismo 400R
• Ioniq 5 Race: Ioniq 5N, threw all the weight reduction at it with brakes and upgraded suspension.
• Turbo Sports: 911 GT1 Strassenversion, tried to replicate the 97 race car in specs, but actually pretty fun race.
• WTC900: I did attempt it in my CLK-LM, but was never close to winning. I did win easily in the F3500, but I will go back at some point and try with the TS030 or C9 to go with the theme.

 

[TomBrady]

View attachment 1427112

Another easy week, I didn't do WTC900, because I don't have the time.

1. To begin the week, I used a car I haven't used in a race before, the Mazda Demio. The only modification was that I put on sport tyres, which made it go over recommended PP. 1st place.
2. For the second race, I used the Mitsubishi GTO, which I used in week three of 2025, again, pretty easy. 1st place.
3. For the third race, I used the hyundai ioniq 5, as it was the only car I could use, I will admit, I maxxed the thing out, but it wasn't very easy, especially around pole position. 1st place.
4. Normally, I would use my ford RS500 cosworth for ROTSC, but I decided to use the Amuse S2000, this was the hardest to control, as it's very understeery. Anyone got any tuning setups to make it handle better? 1st place.

I also used the Amuse S2000 as I finally bought it recently and absolutely loved it in previous games. I loved how it handles. There were a few times I gave it too much throttle but otherwise I was really impressed with the grip it had.

Race 5 I tried using a Chaparral 2J. It's fast enough but not fast enough to do 3 stops which you kind of have to because of how fast it eats fuel. Ended up going with a Porsche 962 instead.

What I was curious about this week though is why did some of the AI Hyundai Ioniq's have a totally different front diffuser than I was able to buy. I only saw 1 available.

If anyone knows what's up with that let me know.

 

[jlbmel]

I also used the Amuse S2000 as I finally bought it recently and absolutely loved it in previous games. I loved how it handles. There were a few times I gave it too much throttle but otherwise I was really impressed with the grip it had.

Race 5 I tried using a Chaparral 2J. It's fast enough but not fast enough to do 3 stops which you kind of have to because of how fast it eats fuel. Ended up going with a Porsche 962 instead.

What I was curious about this week though is why did some of the AI Hyundai Ioniq's have a totally different front diffuser than I was able to buy. I only saw 1 available.

If anyone knows what's up with that let me know.

Wide body has other option.