It’s a mixed bag in this week’s Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races, with a couple of well-trodden circuits alongside a trip to the Circuit de la Sarthe in Race C.
Race A sees players behind the wheel of a future classic – the Audi TT Coupe in its 3.2 litre V6 guise – with Race B providing regular Gr.3 thrills.
Race C is the main event, however, with the fearsomely quick Gr.2 cars providing the goods around the famous venue of the 24 Hours of Le Mans motor race.
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 original Audi TT was a bit of an enigma on its release in 1998: its looks were perhaps too cutesy for the sportscar market and its front-wheel-drive chassis was too conservative compared to its rear-driven rivals (despite a notable and controversial high-speed handling imbalance).
But it was still popular – the model is still in production today, after all.
The TT came out of Ingolstadt (or Audi’s Hungarian factory, to be precise) in front-wheel-drive form only, but this changed in 2003 with the release of the 3.2 litre, four-wheel-drive quattro version. Helped by its 246bhp VR6 engine, the TT could jump to 60mph from rest in a not-too-shabby 5.5s, making it quick even by today’s standards.
The total traction also gave it a sure-footedness it previously lacked, so although it still wasn’t the most exciting sportscar to drive on the market it was pacey in all conditions. It’s therefore in its element around the tight twists and turns of Autodrome Lago Maggiore’s West Reverse layout.
Recommended car: Audi TT Coupe 3.2 quattro ’03 (Used Cars, 41,600 Credits or free rental)
Race B
We’re off to Kyoto Driving Park’s Yamagiwa configuration for Race B, with a standard sprint race for Gr.3 cars. Once again, players can freely change brake balance on their cars – our advice is to go one or two clicks rearwards to help turn the car – but there’s no chance to fiddle with the suspension this time round.
Our car of choice for Race B is the Porsche 911 RSR. Conceived as a GTE class contender for IMSA and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) series, the RSR swept the board in sportscar racing, becoming one of the most successful GT cars ever produced.
All-in-all, the 911 RSR won 20 of its 48 races across IMSA and WEC, with its rasping, naturally-aspirated flat-six engine providing an awesome victory soundtrack.
Recommended car: Porsche 911 RSR ’17 (Brand Central, 450,000 Credits or free rental)
Race C
We’re off to the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit for Race C, with an interesting Gr.2 event featuring dynamic weather closing off this week’s GT7 Daily Races.
Gr.2 consists of classic Le Mans racers from yesteryear like the AMG CLK-LM and McLaren F1 GTR. However, the class also contains Super GT and DTM monsters like the Honda NSX Concept-GT, Lexus RC F GT500 and Audi RS 5 Turbo.*
For Race C though, we recommend using the Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500. The GT-R is the most successful model in Super GT history, with titles in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. Although the days of highly-tuned V8 engines are gone, the GT-R packs an impressive punch from its two-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder engine, producing over 600bhp (but much less in its re-balanced form here).
Players can not only change the brake balance of their cars in Race C, but also a chunk of suspension options; including natural frequency and the damping ratio expansion and compression (essentially, the stiffness of the springs and the rebound and bump level of the dampers respectively).
For Le Mans, it’s advisable to go with fairly stiff suspension due to the high aerodynamic loads inflicted on the cars, with softer than default settings for expansion and compression. Remember to make your expansion settings higher than compression for optimal performance! For more set-up information, check out our GT7 set-up guide.
Fuel and tyre multipliers are unusually set to 1x, with medium compound race tyres the only dry option. So, this should be a straightforward sprint race around the long straights and sweeping turns of the Circuit de la Sarthe.
Well, unless it starts raining halfway through, then you should visit pitlane and switch to intermediates and flick the brake balance rearwards to prevent front brake lock-ups. Good luck… you’ll need it!
*If you fancy trying the Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM bear in mind its trick DRS system won’t be available due to Race C’s nitrous restrictions. Shame, that would’ve come in handy down the 3.7-mile-long Mulsanne straights…
Recommended car: Nissan GT-R NISMO GT500 ’16 (Brand Central, 800,000 Credits or free rental)
Lap Time Challenges
Race A
Race Information
Track: Autodrome Lago Maggiore – West Reverse
Laps: Four
No. Of Cars: 12
Start Type: Grid Start
Duration: 15 Minutes
Fuel Consumption: 1x
Tyre Wear: 1x
Regulations
Useable Tyre and Types: Comfort Soft
Wide Body: Prohibited
Nitrous/Overtake: Prohibited
Regulations (Specified Car)
Audi TT Coupe 3.2 quattro ’03
Car restrictions
BoP/Tuning Forbidden: Mid-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: Kyoto Driving Park – Yamagiwa
Laps: Five
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.3
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: Off
Penalty for collisions with other cars: On
Pit Lane Line Cutting Penalty: On
Race C
Race Information
Laps: Five
Track: 24 Heures du Mans Racing Circuit
No. Of Cars: 16
Start Type: Rolling Start
Duration: 25 Minutes
Fuel Consumption: 1x
Tyre Wear: 1x
Regulations
Useable Tyres: Racing Medium, Intermediate, Wet
Category: Gr.2
Wide Body: Prohibited
Nitrous: Prohibited
Car restrictions
BoP/Tuning Forbidden: Hugh-speed
Car Used: Garage Car, Event-Specified Car
Car Settings: Partially Allowed | Suspension (Partial), 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: Off
Penalty for collisions with other cars: On
Pit Lane Line Cutting Penalty: On
