There’s a return to convention in this week’s Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trial, after a couple of weeks of exploring the wider possibilities of the game’s car and track combinations.
We’re back on terra firma for a regular circuit event this week, and one which features some right-handed corners as well as the lefts as we return to North America — for the fourth week in a row — and the self-proclaimed “fastest road in the west” at Willow Springs.
The full, Big Willow course hosts the racing this week, in an open-class event for Gr.4 cars. This category is loosely based on the real-world GT4 class, using cars that are basically roadgoing vehicles stripped back of excess weight, strengthened, and boosted with race-grade components.
There is one exception in GT7, and that happens to also be the car that’s currently proving the most effective way to get a fast time in this event: the Renault Sport Megane Trophy V6. This madcap machine made for one-make racing only roughly looks like a third-generation Megane, comprising a custom space-frame chassis, composite body, and mid-mounted V6 engine.
However a lot of the early top times, including all of the top ten at time of writing, are using the car to great effect, with the pace in the first few hours settling into low 1:17s. We’re not expecting that to remain intact for long, and other cars may yet emerge with the leaderboard looking far from conclusive, so it’s likely we’ll see some high-1:16s before long, possibly even mid-1:16s when the two weeks are up.
That means that although the current gold target is a 1:19.539, it’s not going to be long before that starts looking like a flat-1:19. Aim for a 1:18.750 to be a little more certain, though we’ll need to revisit that estimate next week.
Ice enthusiasts will be happy to learn that there’s still a week left on the other event, sliding the Toyota GR Corolla around the Lake Louise Short Track reverse course, and times have fair tumbled.
We were expecting the top players to just nip into the 1:00 range, maybe by a couple of tenths, but the current record is a 1:00.387 — and it’s quite a margin quicker than second. While that does drop the gold marker to way less than we’d thought, now at a 1:02.198, it does also mean it’s not likely to fall any further from here.
That said, aiming for a 1:01.9xx will be good for your blood pressure come next Thursday, just in case someone finds some special sauce on this unusual combo.
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 April 24.
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge April 17 – Willow Springs
- Track: Willow Springs Big Willow
- Car: Gr.4 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
- Tires: Racing Hard
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge April 10 – Lake Louise
- Track: Lake Louise Short Track Reverse
- Car: Toyota GR Corolla Morizo ’22 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (H)
- Tires: Snow
- Settings: Fixed
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