The first Test Season for the Gran Turismo World Series esports championships has appeared within Gran Turismo 7 and it hints at some interesting developments.
For the past four years, with the first World Series happening in 2018, the official Gran Turismo racing esports competition has been Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile certified, with the winning drivers visiting the season-ending Prize Giving Gala.
It consists of two championships – the FIA Nations Cup and the FIA Manufacturer Series. Italy’s Valerio Gallo won the 2021 Nations Cup, while drivers Tomoaki Yamanaka, Igor Fraga and Coque López helped Toyota take the Manufacturer’s crown last season.
Announced earlier this month, this test season presumably puts the game’s servers, systems and race formats through their paces ahead of the ‘real’ events later this year.
Details and practice leaderboards for the inaugural test are now within Gran Turismo 7 simply by selecting the ‘Sport’ pavilion within the World Map.
Gran Turismo Nations Cup Test Season 1 format
The first test event will take place within Gran Turismo 7 on Monday 21st March 2022. There will be five times during this day you can take part: 4 pm GMT/5 pm CET, 5 pm GMT/6 pm CET, 6 pm GMT/ 7 pm CET, 7 pm GMT/ 8 pm CET and 8 pm GMT/9 pm CET.
If you miss one, you can still take part in the next one. Similarly, if you complete one of the earlier ones, you can always take part in a later one too.
The car will be a Mazda Roadster (read, Miata or MX-5) S (ND) from 2015. It will be with a fixed setup and no car tuning or modifications.
You’ll need to own the car. Thankfully, it’s readily available within the game’s Brand Cental for just 24,950 credits.
The diminutive Tsukuba Circuit just outside of Tokyo will be the virtual venue for this race, with a 20-car grid for seven laps. Comfort Soft tyres and a Grid Start will also be used.
The entry period starts 15 minutes before the race start times, and the grid will be set based upon a seven-minute qualifying session. The lobby split you are entered within is based upon your Driver Rating and Sportsmanship Rating carried across from GT Sport or built upon within Sport Mode races in Gran Turismo 7.
The qualifying session and the race will last approximately 25 minutes in total. Tyre Wear and Fuel Usage are both set to 1x, so you won’t have to worry about the ‘Pit Lane Line Cutting Penalty’, which is enabled.
Upon entry, you will be placed within a league, where you will score points, and this cannot be changed until the end of the season.
FIA approval absent
Perhaps most notably, there is a lack of FIA brand anywhere on the event’s information page.
The approval by the motorsport series governing body added an additional layer of credibility to the esports series. This is a test session, so the complete jettison of the FIA cannot be written off, but it’s also apparent that the road safety advocate is present in Brand Central area under the French section.
Michelin, Toyota, Mazda, Sony Alpha and BBS remain as partners.
Gran Turismo 2022 Exhibition Series: Test Season 1 – Round 1
Race Information
Car: Mazda Roadster S (ND) ’15
Track: Tsukuba Circuit
Laps: Seven
No. Of Cars: 20
Start Type: Grid Start
Duration: 15 Minutes
Fuel Consumption: 1x
Tyre Wear: 1x
Regulations
Wide Body: Prohibited
Tyre Choice: Comfort Soft
Race Settings
BoP/Tuning Forbidden: Apply
Car Used: Garage Car
Car Settings: Specified
Pit Lane Line Cutting Penalty: Enabled
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