Following an initial introduction within GT Sport, the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Cup is the Japanese car manufacturer’s championship that’s open to anyone with Gran Turismo 7 on PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5.
There will be seven online qualifying rounds, held in-game, before a live in-person grand final in November, as part of the Gran Turismo World Series World Finals.
The results of the seven qualifying rounds will be collated via a combination of ranking and region, with the final 24-driver line-up will be sent to the World Finals location to compete for the overall title.
In 2021, Tomoaki Yamanaka took the inaugural title during an online final, and in 2022 at the Monaco in-person event, it was three-time Gran Turismo champion and real-world SUPER GT driver Igor Fraga who took home the crown.
The competition formerly ran under the GR Supra GT Cup moniker in 2019 and 2020 but then expanded to include more than one Toyota model.
That continues this season, with the Sprinter Trueno / Corolla Levin (AE86), GR Yaris, GR010 Hypercar, GR86, GR Supra Race Car ’19, 86 Gr.4 and GR Supra Racing Concept ’18 all part of the line-up. The platform-sharing Subaru BRZ is also included in road and race variants, and in one round, the MAZDA RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT joins in.
Free GR010 Hybrid Hypercar
For all those who enter will be gifted an in-game Toyota GR010 Hybrid Hypercar, worth 3,000,000 in-game credits.
This will come equipped with a unique livery commemorating five years of Toyota-based Gran Turismo racing esports competitions.
Does the schedule indicate new content?
If you look at the schedule announcement for the 2021 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing GT Cup, it included the first-ever reference of the then-new Toyota GR86 sportscar, which then arrived within GT Sport in time for the seventh round.
The same pattern happened with last year’s announcement, with a ‘TBD’ track for the seventh round. However, it simply turned out to be the existing GR Yaris around Sardegna Windmills.
This time around, both the car and track combination for the seventh round are once again ‘TBD’. While this could potentially indicate new Gran Turismo 7 content arriving before 27th August 2023, it’s far from confirmed.
2023 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing GT Cup schedule
| Round | Date | Car | Track |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rd.1 | 30 April | Sprinter Trueno / Corolla Levin (AE86) ’83 | Fuji International Speedway |
| Rd.2 | 14 May | GR Yaris ’20 | Sardegna – Road Track – B |
| Rd.3 | 4 June | GR010 HYBRID ’21 | 24 Heures du Mans Racing Circuit |
| Rd.4 | 25 June | Virtual GR86/BRZ Cup | Autopolis |
| Rd.5 | 16 July | GR Supra Race Car ’19 86 Gr.4 (Gr.4 Select) | Nürburgring Sprint |
| Rd.6 | 6 August | MAZDA RX-VISION GT3 CONCEPT SUBARU BRZ GT300 ’21 GR Supra Racing Concept ’18 (Gr.3 Select) | Grand Valley – Highway 1 |
| Rd.7 | 27 August | TBD | TBD |
| Grand Final | November | TBD | TBD |
