We head to the verdant hills of Alsace in this week’s Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races, with an appropriately French sportscar taking centre stage in Race A.
The Alpine A110 re-imagines the Renault-owned manufacturer’s rear-engined rally challenger from the ’60s and ’70s, offering a modern take on the nimble machine. Released in 2017, the A110 retains the low-slung looks of the original, with a focus on low-weight, low-inertia performance.
For Races B and C we head to Fuji International Speedway and Sardegna respectively, with Gr.4 and Gr.3 events on the agenda.
You can find GT7’s Daily Races in the game’s Sport Mode; offering online ranked racing with players of a similar skill level based on previous performances.
Race A
The Alpine A110 is a lightweight sportscar developed jointly by Renault and Nissan with final sign-off by Alpine’s engineers and mates a 1.8-litre four-cylinder engine to a lightweight 1,100kg chassis.
Rivalling the Porsche Cayman, Audi TTRS and Toyota GR Supra, the Alpine punches well above its weight, churning out less than 300bhp but still able to compete with its more expensive and powerful rivals.
Gordon Murray, the famed Formula 1 designer behind the Brabham ‘fan car’, is a huge fan of the Alpine using one as his daily driver. And that’s high praise from a man who believes that lightweight car design is the best way to achieve driving perfection – just look at his incredible T.50 supercar for proof…
Alsace is in many ways the idea circuit to use the Alpine’s cornering ability, the fictional French street circuit providing plenty of direction changes, tight hairpins and flowing corners that play to the A110’s strengths.
Recommended car: Alpine A110 ’17 (Brand Central, 80,000 Credits or free rental)
Race B
We’re off to Fuji International Speedway’s Short course for Race B, with Gr.4s taking centre-stage. Limited to hard compound racing tyres, mid-engined cars appear to have an advantage around the Toyota-owned venue, with our pick of the bunch being Ferrari’s fictional 458 Italia Gr.4.
Although the Maranello manufacturer campaigned the 458 in GT3 racing, a GT4 equivalent was never made – but why would it, considering its focus on the customer-focused ‘Challenge’ series?
The 458 was the final naturally-aspirated supercar from the Scuderia, so its exhaust packs a visceral punch, one we’ll likely never hear again.
Other contenders in a finely-balanced Gr.4 Balance of Performance roster are the McLaren 650S Gr.4 and
Also, for the second week in a row players can adjust the brake balance of their cars in the set-up screen. In our opinion, setting this slightly rearwards helps rotate the car into corners better but experiment to find your own preference.
Recommended car: Ferrari 458 Italia Gr.4 (Brand Central, 350,000 Credits or free rental)
Race C
Race C’s track choice is an unusual one, in that we’ve been tasked with completing 20 laps of Sardegna’s incredibly short Road Track C Reverse layout.
Again, like last week, Polyphony Digital has opened up set-up options for the Gr.3 cars, with ‘natural frequency’ settings freely adjustable. Essentially deciding how stiff the springs are, higher settings across the front axle can help sharpen up turn-in, while lower settings across the rear enhance traction and reduce oversteer.
For a better understanding of the effects of altering natural frequency settings take a look at our GT7 set-up guide.
Race C requires one mandatory pitstop with soft tyres the only dry compound available. It might be tricky keeping these alive long enough for 20 laps – especially with a 6x tyre wear multiplier in force – so we reckon the four-wheel-drive Hyundai Genesis X GR3 is the best car to take.
Total traction eliminates wheelspin and aids deceleration into Sardegna’s tighter corners, making the Hyundai a sensible choice on two fronts.
Recommended car: Hyundai Genesis X GR3 (Brand Central, 450,000 Credits or free rental)
Lap Time Challenges
Race A
Race Information
Track: Alsace – Village
Laps: Three
No. Of Cars: 12
Start Type: Grid Start
Duration: 15 Minutes
Fuel Consumption: 1x
Tyre Wear: 1x
Regulations
Useable Tyre and Types: Sports Hard
Regulations (Specified Car)
Alpine A110 ’17
Car restrictions
BoP/Tuning Forbidden: Low-speed
Car Used: Garage Car, Event-Specified Car
Car Settings: Specified
Race Settings
DR Updates: Off
SR Updates: Off
Mechanical Damage: Light
Minimum No. of Pit Stops: None
Track Limit: Normal
Penalty Settings
Shortcut Penalty: Light
Wall Collision Penalty: Off
Penalty for collisions with other cars: On
Pit Lane Line Cutting Penalty: On
Race B
Race Information
Track: Fuji International Speedway (Short)
Laps: Four
No. Of Cars: 16
Start Type: Rolling Start
Duration: 15 Minutes
Fuel Consumption: 1x
Tyre Wear: 1x
Regulations
Useable Tyres: Racing Hard, Intermediate, Wet
Category: Gr.4
Wide Body: Prohibited
Nitrous: Prohibited
Car restrictions
BoP/Tuning Forbidden: Mid-speed
Car Used: Garage Car, Event-Specified Car
Car Settings: Partially Allowed | Brake Balance
Race Settings
DR Updates: Yes
SR Updates: Yes
Mechanical Damage: Light
Minimum No. of Pit Stops: None
Track Limit: Normal
Penalty Settings
Shortcut Penalty: Light
Wall Collision Penalty: Light
Penalty for collisions with other cars: On
Pit Lane Line Cutting Penalty: On
Race C
Race Information
Laps: 20
Track: Sardegna – Road Track – C Reverse
No. Of Cars: 16
Start Type: Rolling Start
Duration: 25 Minutes
Fuel Consumption: 2x
Tyre Wear: 6x
Regulations
Useable Tyres: Racing Soft, Intermediate, Wet
Category: Gr.3
Wide Body: Prohibited
Nitrous: Prohibited
Car restrictions
BoP/Tuning Forbidden: Low-speed
Car Used: Garage Car, Event-Specified Car
Car Settings: Partially Allowed | Brake Balance
Race Settings
DR Updates: Yes
SR Updates: Yes
Mechanical Damage: Light
Minimum No. of Pit Stops: 1
Track Limit: Normal
Penalty Settings
Shortcut Penalty: Light
Wall Collision Penalty: Light
Penalty for collisions with other cars: On
Pit Lane Line Cutting Penalty: On
