The Gran Turismo World Series moves into its European round later today, as a second entirely new city (and country) prepares to host the second round of the championship.
After an enthralling event in Montreal, half of the drivers and teams have got championship points on the board already and they’ll be looking to preserve their statuses ahead of the final preliminary round in Tokyo next month.
If you’ve not kept up with the 2024 season, the Nations Cup has reverted to a solo championship event — meaning that Spain will be the one and only team champion — with a dozen qualified racers going at it in all four live events this year. The Manufacturers Cup remains a team event, but with only one driver per squad at each event — largely running along regional lines.
With only one more chance after this to score World Series points to carry into the World Final, it’s sure to be another hard-fought event, and here’s everything you need to know to keep up with it today.
Gran Turismo World Series 2024 R2 – Prague – Manufacturers Cup
The 12 brands that raced back in July remain, but it’s all-change on the driving front. Across the three preliminary events, each of the three drivers on each team will drive once — pending any further attendance issues.
That means a very different field this time round, which also includes a number of newcomers. While Lexus took a solid win with Igor Fraga last time out, the outcome could be quite different — even if the second driver is two-time world champion Coque Lopez.
Honda finished runners-up in Montreal, and have defending champion Mateo Estevez in the seat this time round. He’s the only non-EMEA racer in the event, and has switched from his championship-winning Nissan; in fact Nissan failed to qualify at all.
There’s four other champions racing here too, with 2023 Nations winners Pol Urra and Jose Serrano at Mazda and Toyota, 2022 Manufacturers Champion Kylian Drumont at Subaru, and a surprise return of one of the first Manufacturers Champions as Ryan Derrouiche takes to the track in the unfancied Chevrolet.
The race itself is a 28-lap run around Red Bull Ring in what’s likely to be — given the special online time trial — mixed weather conditions.
Gran Turismo World Series 2024 – Manufacturers Cup Standings
- Lexus – 6 points
- Honda – 5 points
- Porsche – 4 points
You’ll can able to tune into the stream from 1500 UTC on Saturday, August 10 (convert to your time here) and along with the usual additional language streams in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish, there’s a live-timing stream too.
Don’t forget that you’ll have up until the final race starts to select who you think will win the race for the chance to earn 1,000,000cr — and watching any amount of the stream through your Gran Turismo 7 game will award you a Genesis Vision Gran Turismo.
Competitors
Gran Turismo World Series 2024 R2 – Prague – Nations Cup
All 12 of the racers from Round 1 return, as the Nations Cup line-up is set in stone right through to the World Final later this year. It’s an extremely strong field, with at least one champion from each of the last five season taking part in the finals this year too.
One of those is the only double-winner, Coque Lopez, who’s aiming for an unprecedented three-in-a-row. After taking a controversial win in 2022, he was part of Spain’s victorious team last season too. Jose Serrano, who was also a part of that squad, is in the line-up here, although Pol Urra — the third man in the team — didn’t qualify this year.
They’re also joined by 2021 champion Valerio Gallo and the 2020 winner Takuma Miyazono, who both earned their Nations Cup titles online, in the forced hiatus of live events, and are looking to claim a first in-person trophy each. Miyazono got off to the best start with a solid win in a sometimes chaotic race at Road Atlanta.
We’ll again see a hot-lap qualification to set the grid for a qualifying race, comprising a seven-lap run around the new Eiger Nordwand course in the classic Honda RA272 — similar to this week’s Daily Race C. That’ll set the grid for the final, points race, which will be a 32-lap race around Dragon Trail Seaside in the traditional X2019 Competition.
Gran Turismo World Series 2024 – Nations Cup Standings
- Takuma Miyazono (Japan) – 6 points
- Jose Serrano (Spain) – 5 points
- Coque Lopez (Spain) – 4 points
The stream for the Nations Cup begins at 1630 UTC on Saturday, August 10 (convert to your time here), after a short break following the Manufacturers Cup podium celebrations. Live timing is also available, as well as streams in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.
You’ll once again have up until the final race starts to select your choice of winner, with the chance to earn 1,000,000cr — giving you the opportunity to watch qualifying and the qualifying race first — while tuning in for even a glimpse through the special tile in Gran Turismo 7 will award you a Skoda Vision Gran Turismo too.
Competitors
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