Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trial: Sparring Partner

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A new Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trial is now available, giving players a choice of car to take on one of the world's most famous race tracks.

The venue for the event, covering the next two weeks, is Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It's a tricky ribbon nestled in the Eifel region that straddles Belgium and Germany, often made more treacherous by complex weather patterns in the area.

You won't have to deal with the rain this week though, with the time trial taking place in ideal conditions. That may be something of a relief as the event centers on Gr.3 cars.

Unlike many recent events, you'll have a free choice of any car from this category which more-or-less mimics the GT3 class of the real world. There are some vehicles from the similar GTE class, as well as some fictional cars that are mostly based on Vision Gran Turismo machinery and adapted for the Gr.3 requirements.

Whatever your choice of Gr.3 car — and you can borrow any of them for the event, which is handy if you want to quickly test them all out — it'll be fitted with Racing Hard tires and subject to the "High Speed" power and weight settings under the game's Balance of Performance regulations.

It's early days in the event but we're already seeing the top times breaking into the 2:16s — if only just — making the gold marker a flat 2:21. Mid-engined cars appear to be the preference too; most top players are going for the Audi R8 LMS Evo, but the current top time was set in the new Honda NSX GT500.

We don't think that's going to remain the case, but unless someone finds something remarkable — like a new "meta" car — big gains aren't too likely. A mid-2.20 is probably going to be good enough, while anything better than 2:19.9 should guarantee the 2m credit reward.

There's still a week remaining on the Barcelona time trial with the Mercedes-AMG GT R. Right now the record for that sits at 1:49.420, meaning that you'll need to be at 1:52.702 or better to be in the gold bracket. The gap from first to second is relatively healthy, so there's a good chance that it'll hold but we'd aim for a 1:52.5 for a little extra security.

In order to access the Online Time Trials, you'll need to unlock Sport Mode, by completing Menu Book 9 ("Championship: Tokyo Highway Parade") in the GT Cafe single player hub. As it's just you against the clock and not a direct, head-to-head multiplayer event, PlayStation Plus is not required.

You'll usually need to be within 3% of the fastest time globally once the event finishes in order to secure "gold" status and a 2m credit bonus prize. There's smaller prizes of one million for being within 5%, and 250,000cr for bronze at 10% off.

The events update every Thursday, with each individual challenge remaining available for two weeks and the oldest of the two events being replaced each week. You can look forward to the next new Time Trial arriving at 0700 UTC on Thursday June 27.

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Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge June 20 – Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

• Track: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
• Car: Gr.3 – Garage/Rental Car
• Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (H)
• Tires: Racing Hard
• Settings: Fixed

Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge June 13 – Barcelona-Catalunya

• Track: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya – No Chicane
• Car: Mercedes-AMG GT R '17 – Garage/Rental Car
• Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
• Tires: Sports Medium
• Settings: Fixed