The last set of Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races before the GT World Series gets underway this week begin today, giving you a final chance to get your Driver Rating where you want it to be before the flagship esports series kicks off.

We’ve got a pretty expected line-up this week, with a one-make road car event in Race A featuring some of the new content from update 1.57, and a pair of race car events in Gr.4 and Gr.3 in Race B and Race C respectively.

It’s the Aston Martin Vantage which stars in the first race, making a competitive multiplayer debut for the latest, AM6-generation model in GT7 following its Time Trial appearance last week. You’ll be taking the AMG V8-engined Aston out for a six-lap blast on Sports Hard tires at Fuji Speedway’s “Short” configuration.

“Short” is a generous term here, as the track only cuts out the Dunlop Chicane and converts it into an 80-degree right-hander, reducing the total circuit length by a whopping 40 yards. It does eliminate the slowest corner on the lap though.

As usual, whether you use your own car or borrow one for the event, you’ll need Sports Hard tires fitted for the race. Driver Rating (DR) updates are once again turned off for this event, but your DR may be affected due to Sportsmanship Rating (SR) updates remaining active — if you SR falls too far, your DR may be reset to join it.

Race B remains its usual short-form sprint, this week comprising a six-lap race for the Gr.4 cars around the “No Chicane” variant of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya GP course.

It’s a free-choice format this week, so you can select any of the Gr.4 cars. AWD again seems to be the dominant layout, with 97% of the top 100 times using one or other of the four-paw cars. Whichever you pick, you’ll need Racing Hard tires for the race.

This week’s Race C throws a strategy choice at you with some unusual regulations, in a nine-lap race around Grand Valley Highway 1.

You’ll be using the Gr.3 cars which were subject to a massive Balance of Performance change in the last update, dramatically slowing the cars — though the relatively varied nature of the current top 100 leaderboard suggests that there’s still plenty of different options this week.

The strategy comes by way of two mandatory tires: Racing Soft and Racing Hard. You’ll need to use a full set of each for at least a single lap apiece, coming in anywhere between the end of lap one and the start of lap nine to make the swap. Somewhat superfluously the pit stop is also mandatory, but failing to make the stop will cost you a two-minute penalty after the race.

A relatively high tire wear multiplier of 6x means that the Softs won’t last long here, so you’ll need to pick your moment and make sure you’re not running them so far that they’re slower than fresh Hards. Be wary of the pit entry and exit as well, as crossing either earns you a three-second, on-track penalty.

Daily Races are the main ranked multiplayer events in GT7. Your Driver Rating (DR) and Sportsmanship Rating (SR) are determined by your performances, updating after each race, and these are used to set your ranking and league for the game’s flagship esports series each season.

In order to access the Daily Races, you’ll need to unlock Sport Mode, by completing Menu Book 9 (“Championship: Tokyo Highway Parade”) in the GT Cafe single player hub. A PlayStation Plus subscription is required to take part.

With GT7’s Daily Races updating every Monday across the game’s life to date, the next new set should arrive on Monday, April 7.

Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races March 31: Race A

Track: Fuji International Speedway Short – 6 laps
Car: Aston Martin Vantage ’18 – Garage/Specified Car
Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
Tires: Sports Medium
Settings: Specified
Start Type: Rolling Start
Mandatory Pit Stop: 0
Fuel use: 1x
Tire use: 1x

Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races March 31: Race B

Track: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya GP No Chicane – 6 laps
Car: Gr.4 – Garage/Specified Car
Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
Tires: Racing Hard
Settings: Partially Allowed – Brake Balance
Start Type: Rolling Start
Mandatory Pit Stop: 0
Fuel use: 1x
Tire use: 1x

Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races March 31: Race C

Track: Grand Valley Highway 1 – 9 laps
Car: Gr.3 – Garage/Specified Car
Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
Tires: Racing Hard†, Racing Soft†
Settings: Partially Allowed – Brake Balance
Start Type: Rolling Start
Mandatory Pit Stop: 1
Fuel use: 3x
Tire use: 6x

† denotes mandatory tire

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