The second online race in the 2022 GT World Series Manufacturers Cup will broadcast this weekend, on Sunday October 9.
It’s the second of the three online races of this year’s championship, although the third of the five rounds in total — marking halfway however you cut it. The online “Round 1″ was followed by the live World Series Showdown in Austria in July, and the top 12 drivers from that have qualified for this weekend’s race.
Each of the five events generates “World Series” points, with up to three in each of the online rounds and up to six in the Showdown. They carry through to the World Final in November, where more points will be on the table. The driver with the highest score across all five events will be crowned champion.
In pole position for that at the moment is 2018 champion Igor Fraga. He’s had the most consistent season so far, finishing in second place in both the Showdown and the online Round 1 to sit on seven points.
However a firm favorite will be Kylian Drumont. The young French driver comfortably conquered the field in his first ever live event to take maximum points — having been ineligible for the online event due to not racing in 2021 as he was too young.
The other race-winner this year is Lucas Bonelli. He was on hand to capitalize on the misfortune of Beauvois as he span while leading the last lap of Round 1. Bonelli is tied on points with Japan’s Ryota Kokubun, with Beauvois and Jose Serrano just behind.
Unfortunately, 2020 champion Takuma Miyazono missed the Showdown due to illness and is therefore not eligible for either Round 2 or Round 3. We’ll see him next in the World Final in November.
- Igor Fraga (Brazil) – 7 points
- Kylian Drumont (France) – 6 points
- Ryota Kokubun (Japan) – 4 points
- Lucas Bonelli (Brazil) – 4 points
- Baptiste Beauvois (France) – 3 points
- Jose Serrano (Spain) – 2 points
- Takuma Miyazono (Japan) – 1 point
The race itself will be the first to feature the Porsche 911 GT1 Strassenversion, a rare road car built by Porsche to homologate its GT1 race car in 1997. As with the Manufacturers Cup event, it’ll take place at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, using the 24hr layout.
Strategy might be peculiar here, as the cars are only using soft-grade race tires; wet and inter are available, although we aren’t sure if weather will be a factor. A 4x tire wear rate — so each lap generates four laps’ worth of wear — will make the 12-lap race tricky, and there’s a mandatory stop.
However there is a standing start with false start check. Pit lane penalties are also turned on, which scuppered the Mercedes of Baptiste Beauvois in the Manufacturers Cup last month.
Players can enter their guesses for who will take victory on a special in-game portal called “Bonus Campaign“. Pick the winner and you’ll earn 500,000cr for your GT7 bank balance.
The race will broadcast at 1300 UTC on Sunday October 9, with Round 3 in both Manufacturers and Nations Cups due towards the end of the month.
Competitors
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