The first live Gran Turismo event of 2023 gets underway at 1700 UTC today, with the Manufacturers Cup at the World Series Showdown in Amsterdam.
Once again acting as the curtain-raiser for the event, the Manufacturers Cup is a team challenge that sees groups of three drivers — one from each of the three regions — representing their preferred brand for a one-off endurance race.
Each team consists of one driver from the Americas, one from Asia-Oceania, and one from Europe/Middle East/Africa, each being the top-ranked eligible driver for one of the 12 qualified brands from the online season held earlier in the year.
Series sponsors Genesis, Mazda, and Toyota were guaranteed berths in the Showdown, and they’ll be joined by the top nine points-scoring brands globally.
It’s an unusual line-up too, with some very rarely seen brands set to take part in both this and the World Final later in the year.
That includes McLaren, which has qualified for the second year in a row, and Lamborghini which previously appeared only in the 2020 final. Meanwhile Renault has never attended a full championship finals event.
However there are some stalwarts in the field too, and some very strong line-ups. Defending, and double, champion team Subaru returns with two of its drivers from last season as Kylian Drumont and Takuma Miyazono look to become the first to retain the crown — alongside ex-Volkswagen driver Roberto Sternberg.
Two-time winner Toyota looks to have a strong squad too, with Nations Cup champion Coque Lopez leading a team that also includes the exciting young driver Rikuto Kobayashi and the always entertaining Adriano Carrazza.
Probably the scariest-looking outfit on the grid is AMG, as the only team where you’ll wonder which of the three drivers will be fastest. Baptiste Beauvois, Lucas Bonelli, and two-time champion Tomoaki Yamanaka — formerly of Toyota — form this fearsome team
Porsche will only be fielding two drivers as Polyphony Digital has elected not to replace Angel Inostroza after his traffic accident last month. Takuma Sasaki and Jose Serrano will have a challenge on their hands for sure.
The race itself will be a 35-lap run around Suzuka in each manufacturer’s GT3-equivalent Gr.3 cars, following a qualifying session and a top-six superpole. Each team will be required to run every driver at least one, for a minimum of six laps, and the car must use each of the Racing Hard and Racing Medium tires at least once, and there’s a chance of some inclement weather…
Whatever the outcome, the points will be carried forward into the World Final in December, which will determine the 2023 champion team.
Don’t forget that there’s two ways to earn in-game prizes as a viewer of the Showdown. A special “Pick the Winner” campaign, accessible through the game, will allow you to pick which teams you think will win the Manufacturers Cup and Nations Cup this weekend, with one million credits per correct choice.
There’s also the “Viewer Gift” campaign, which will reward you for watching the event through Gran Turismo 7 itself. Tune in via the special tile on the World Map screen and you’ll receive a Six-Star Roulette Ticket (Engine).
The race will broadcast at 1700 UTC, and you can watch it in the embed at the top of the page or via one of the alternative language streams below:
Alternative Language Streams
- French language stream
- German language stream
- Italian language stream
- Japanese language stream
- Portuguese language stream
- Spanish language stream
Competitors
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