The latest new Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trial is now available, with an American track and manufacturer meeting in a challenging combination.
You’ll be heading to the twisty Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta for the event which runs over the next 14 days, and sets you the task of getting as close to the best players in the world as you can manage.
The rapid-fire undulations and bends of the circuit, in Georgia, suit something lithe, lightweight, and mid-engined, but you’re not going to be getting that. Instead the car required is the 2018 Ford Focus RS, an all-wheel drive hot hatch.
In combination with the required Sports Hard tires then, this event is going to be all about managing understeer as you set off after the world’s fastest players — with the record currently sitting at a 1:31.716. That means you’ll need to be beating a 1:34.467 to get gold, but there’s not much chance that’s going to remain the case.
We’d reckon on a 1:31.3 or better as the eventual record, so you’ll need to be breaking into the 1:33s if you want to walk away with the 2m credit bonus for setting a gold-standard time.
There’s still a week to go on the classic GT500 time trial at Spa, and times are almost exactly where we were expecting them to be. Currently the record is a 2:16.859, setting the gold marker at a 2:20.964. It’s a fun combination — and the NSX is the clear form car — so there may be some more to come here but it looks unlikely to be a lot. Any 2:20.8 is probably safely gold.
In order to access the Online Time Trials, you’ll need to unlock Sport Mode, by completing Menu Book 9 (“Championship: Tokyo Highway Parade”) in the GT Cafe single player hub. As it’s just you against the clock and not a direct, head-to-head multiplayer event, PlayStation Plus is not required.
You’ll usually need to be within 3% of the fastest time globally once the event finishes in order to secure “gold” status and a 2m credit bonus prize. There’s smaller prizes of one million for being within 5%, and 250,000cr for bronze at 10% off.
The events update every Thursday, with each individual challenge usually remaining available for two weeks and the oldest of the two events being replaced each week. You can look forward to the next new Time Trial arriving at 0700 UTC on Thursday January 16.
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge January 9 – Road Atlanta
- Track: Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
- Car: Ford Focu RS ’18 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
- Tires: Sports Hard
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge January 2 – Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
- Track: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
- Car: Honda/Nissan/Toyota GT500 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (H)
- Tires: Racing Hard
- Settings: Fixed
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