Gran Turismo Sport players will be a little spoiled for choice with time trial events this month. Not only is there an event offering direct qualification to the FIA Online Championship regional finals, there’s a new challenge from some of the fastest drivers in the world.
The event is called “Red Bull Beat the Pro”, and it’s a follow-up of sorts to something staged earlier this year. However, where that challenge featured Super Formula drivers and was restricted to Japan only, this one is a global contest, against Red Bull’s own F1 pairing.
Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon have set down markers for GT Sport players worldwide to challenge. All you have to do is beat them. That sounds pretty straightforward, but the duo is arguably as famous for their virtual exploits as their real-world racing. Verstappen in particular is a seasoned sim racer, and won the iRacing Petit Le Mans event only two weekends ago, while Albon was part of the summer’s F1 Virtual Grand Prix calendar — usually fighting for the win.
In addition to times set by Albon and Verstappen, there’s a third Red Bull driver to aim for. Yuki Tsunoda is part of the same Red Bull Junior outfit as Igor Fraga, and races in Formula 2. He has two race wins this year and sits third in the championship behind Mick Schumacher and Callum Ilott. Tsunoda also finished in fourth, behind champion Fraga, in this year’s Toyota Racing Series.
As for the challenge itself, it uses the Super Formula Dallara SF19, with the event providing the car for you. It’s a simple-sounding hot lap affair, running as fast as you can around Japan’s technical Suzuka Circuit. That’s a course that all three drivers should be familiar with, and Tsunoda has won there in the past in Japanese Formula 4.
You’ll be able to find the event in the Time Trials section of GT Sport’s Sport Mode. The challenge will run from October 14 through to November 1, so you have a little over two weeks to get your name to the top of the leaderboard. There’s no overall prize however, so this event is purely for pride!
See more articles on GT Sport Time Trial, Max Verstappen, and Red Bull.
