This week’s Gran Turismo 7 Sport Mode Daily Races kick off with an exciting tuner battle on the little-used Special Stage Route X track, with standard Gr.3 and Gr.4 races filling out the week’s schedule.
With nearly 20 different road cars to choose from and tune, Race A offers more freedom than we’ve ever seen from GT7’s Daily Races in recent times, allowing players to use some classic nineties Japanese icons in the process.
We then finish off with a visit to Trial Mountain’s Reverse layout and Kyoto Driving Park’s Yamagiwa Reverse configuration in Races B and C respectively.
You can find GT7’s Daily Races in the game’s Sport Mode, offering online ranked racing where you will be placed within events based on your previous performances.
Race A
Special Stage Route X is a flat-out blast along two seven-mile-long straights bookended by two, two-and-a-half-mile banked turns. There’s no need to brake, so this race is all about horsepower and drafting.
The car of choice for this rather out-of-the-ordinary race is the Mazda RE Ameniya FD35 RX-7. Naturally, it’s a heavily tuned version of the (normally) rotary-powered Mazda RX-7 sports car – with a mind-boggling 1,024bhp – but you still need a little bit of handling stability to make it round Special Stage Route X’s two long, banked corners.
Tuning is allowed for Race A – a rare treat for GT7 fans – so the obvious thing to do is lower your car’s ride height to minimum values and run with as little camber and toe as possible. This makes your car slippier through the air and decreases rolling resistance, respectively. For more GT7 tuning tips check out our handy set-up guide (although it’s designed for front-wheel-drive cars some of the points are still relevant).
This particular RX-7, built by tuning shop Ameniya, can use the Roadster Shop Rampage engine swap, replacing the notoriously unreliable Wankel engine with a good ol’ V8. This opens up the possibility of achieving 250mph+ top speeds. Ooft. Best save up some in-game Credits and visit the Tuning Shop, then.
Another thing to remember is that wall collision penalties and damage have been disabled, so if you need to do a little ‘wall riding’ to escape a huge shunt, go for it.
As we went to press a new challenger emerged: the Nissan GT-R NISMO ’17. This has the added security of four-wheel-drive, with even with less horsepower than the RX-7.
Recommended car: RE Ameniya FD35 RX-7 (Brand Central, 100,000 Credits or free rental) or Nissan GT-R NISMO ’17 ((Brand Central, 187,000 Credits or free rental)
Race B
We’re off to the USA next, with a visit to Trial Mountain’s Reverse layout.
Race B is for Gr.3 cars, with Nissan’s real-world GT-R NISMO GT3 machine the weapon of choice for negotiating the fictional dips and dives of the popular Gran Turismo course.
It’s a straightforward sprint race, with four laps of intense action ideally suited to the Nissan’s deceptive nimbleness – the car is a gargantuan beast compared to most of its Gr.3 rivals. No wonder it’s been given the nickname ‘Godzilla’.
And speaking of beasts, watch out for the Loch Ness Monster at Turn 3…
Recommended car: Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3 ’16 (Brand Central, 450,000 Credits or free rental)
Race C
Gr.4 cars are the subject of Race C, as we visit Kyoto Driving Park’s Yamagiwa Reverse layout.
Race C features 1x fuel consumption and 3x tyre wear multipliers, with only Racing Medium compound tyres available. With no requirement to use a different tyre, this race should be a simple case of pitting halfway through – there are no real tyre worries here unless you’re particularly lead-footed.
Our car of choice for Race C is the McLaren 650S Gr.4. Based on the Woking firm’s follow-up to the MP4-12C, the 650S represented McLaren’s emergence as a major player in the supercar market, displaying a brand identity it still follows today. Its flat-plane V8 engine also creates a distinctive exhaust note, replicated nicely in-game.
In an interesting aside, recent NASCAR first-time winner Shane Van Gisbergen won the 2016 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in a GT3 version of the 650S, driving for the Garage 59 team.
Recommended car: McLaren 650S Gr.4 (Brand Central, 350,000 Credits or free rental)
Lap Time Challenges
Two Lap Time Challenges are available at the time of publication. One takes place with the Amuse NISMO 380rs Super Leggera at Broad Bean Raceway Reverse and the other is for the Aston Martin Valkyrie at the Red Bull Ring, the latter of which is about the end soon.
Race A
Race Information
Track: Special Stage Route X
Laps: One
No. Of Cars: 16
Start Type: Rolling Start
Duration: 15 Minutes
Fuel Consumption: 1x
Tyre Wear: 1x
Regulations
Useable Tyre and Types: Sports Soft
Regulations (Specified Car)
Honda NSX Type R, ’02, RE Ameniya FD35 RX-7. Nissan R32 GT-R NISMO ’90, Nissan R33 GT-R V-spec ’97, Nissan R34 GT-R V-spec II Nür ’02, Nissan GT-R NISMO ’17, Nissan Z Performance, Toyota Supra RZ ’97, Ferrari F8 Tributo ’19, Bugatti Chiron ’16, Pagani Huayra ’19, Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 SV ’15, Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series ’20, Corvette ZR1 (C6) ’09, Dodge Viper GTS ’13
Car restrictions
BoP/Tuning Forbidden: Off
Car Used: Event-Specified Car
Car Settings: Allowed
Race Settings
DR Updates: Off
SR Updates: Off
Mechanical Damage: None
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
Laps: Four
Track: Trial Mountain Circuit Reverse
No. Of Cars: 16
Start Type: Rolling Start
Duration: 15 Minutes
Fuel Consumption: 1x
Tyre Wear: 1x
Regulations
Useable Tyres: Racing Medium, Intermediate, Wet
Category: Gr.3
Wide Body: Prohibited
Nitrous: Prohibited
Car restrictions
BoP/Tuning Forbidden: Mid-speed (M)
Car Used: Garage Car, Event-Specified Car
Car Settings: Specified
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: 10
Track: Kyoto Driving Park – Yamagiwa Reverse
No. Of Cars: 16
Start Type: Rolling Start
Duration: 25 Minutes
Fuel Consumption: 1x
Tyre Wear: 3x
Regulations
Useable Tyres: Racing Medium, Soft, Intermediate, Wet
Category: Gr.4
Wide Body: Prohibited
Nitrous: Prohibited
Car restrictions
BoP/Tuning Forbidden: Mid-speed (M)
Car Used: Garage Car, Event-Specified Car
Car Settings: Specified
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: Off
Penalty for collisions with other cars: On
Pit Lane Line Cutting Penalty: On
