The previous Gran Turismo 7 update brought a new type of event added to Sport Mode: a bi-weekly online time trial, which can net you a pretty hefty credits bonus if you can beat the gold time.
As classic as it may seem, there is a twist there: the bronze, silver and gold times are calculated based off the world record. To get those medals, you'll need to have posted a time within respectively 110%, 105% and 103% of the best lap time registered by players around the world when the challenge ends.
Achieving gold may prove to be quite the task for some of the more casual players out there, but the payouts are definitely worth the effort, considering how harsh the game's economy can be. Moreover, it's a great opportunity to push and improve yourself while measuring your skills to those of the very best simracers on the platform, but since it's always better with a bit of help, I will provide guides for each of those challenges, backed up by onboard videos with inputs.
We're starting off in quite a spectacular fashion, with the first combo putting you at the wheel of the iconic Pikes Peak version of the Suzuki Escudo, on what is quite the unusual track: Alsace Village.
You will have to master the beast wearing soft slicks with its default setup. This means having to deal with the following things:
Other than that, the brakes are quite powerful, and the massive amounts of downforce will give you plenty of grip, so the key here is to master getting just that little bit of extra rotation under braking and time it right to get good exits.
Here's a more precise rundown of how to tackle the lap, and the video of my attempt below:
This time trial ends on the 7th of July so only have a little of time still to register a time, do you best.
Tell us if you like it and if you found this helpful. And don't hesitate to post your times, especially if you beat my 1'37.170 !
As classic as it may seem, there is a twist there: the bronze, silver and gold times are calculated based off the world record. To get those medals, you'll need to have posted a time within respectively 110%, 105% and 103% of the best lap time registered by players around the world when the challenge ends.
Achieving gold may prove to be quite the task for some of the more casual players out there, but the payouts are definitely worth the effort, considering how harsh the game's economy can be. Moreover, it's a great opportunity to push and improve yourself while measuring your skills to those of the very best simracers on the platform, but since it's always better with a bit of help, I will provide guides for each of those challenges, backed up by onboard videos with inputs.
We're starting off in quite a spectacular fashion, with the first combo putting you at the wheel of the iconic Pikes Peak version of the Suzuki Escudo, on what is quite the unusual track: Alsace Village.
You will have to master the beast wearing soft slicks with its default setup. This means having to deal with the following things:
- Some power under-steer under full power, thanks to a pretty center biased 4WD differential engineered more for dirt than asphalt.
- A tendency to over-rotate under braking, which is amplified by the bumps, hills and camber of some corners. This can be used to your advantage if you manage to keep it limited, especially to combat the previous point and allow you to get full throttle earlier, but it will send you in a barrier if you find yourself braking hard at the wrong moment.
- Last but not least, an extremely peaky power curve and massive turbo lag. The engine barely delivers any power below 6000 rpm, and the turbo takes a bit of time to spool. Getting a great time will require you to exert specific throttle control in corners, putting enough pressure on the throttle to keep the turbo pressure up for the exit, but not too much to avoid wheelspin and understeer. If you have to choose though, always favor dropping a gear down to remain in the powerband, the power drop at low rpm being far worse than any wheelspin you'll get. Finding the right balance and timing between partial and full throttle will take a few attempts, so keep practicing.
Other than that, the brakes are quite powerful, and the massive amounts of downforce will give you plenty of grip, so the key here is to master getting just that little bit of extra rotation under braking and time it right to get good exits.
Here's a more precise rundown of how to tackle the lap, and the video of my attempt below:
- Turn 1: brake at the 50m marker, or a tad before the left side curb. Stay hard on the brakes while you turn in until you start getting that little extra rotation. Immediately apply partial throttle to build turbo pressure. T1 is pretty good on my lap, any gains here will come from better execution and more risks.
- Turn 2/3: T2 is an easy flat out left hander, but you want to turn in late into it as it conditions the next right hander. If you stick to the left too early, you will be thrown off the racing line by a bump. T3's braking zone makes a compression, which will easily send the car into a drift if you're not smooth enough. For a safe braking marker, use the arrow signs on the left. Move it closer towards the Alsace banner as you get more confident in your ability to keep the oversteer in check. You can see on my lap I'm getting too much entry rotation, which makes me lose a bit of apex speed. My throttle input could have been a bit more progressive here as well.
- Turn 4: this long left hander opens up, so you only really need a small tap on the brakes to get the car to reach the inside, avoid turning in too late as you'd be losing a lot of time from that. The end of the guardrail on the right is a good marker as to when you want to dive in. Trust your downforce and your tyres from there.
- Turn 5: brake about when the curb on the left begins. Keep your braking straight for as long as possible as the road camber increases there, which means you might get more rotation than you'd think. I got on the power a bit too much too early there so I'm losing time on the exit.
- Turn 6/7: the right hand kink is trickier than it looks: there's a hard dip at the apex, which will lift your front wheels off the ground if hit at the wrong angle at full throttle. Lifting slightly there is a safe bet (going flat out is possible but quite risky). As for your braking point, again, a safe bet is using the arrow signs on the right. Again, the elevation change here will unsettle the car easily, and the corner is tighter towards the apex, so you really want smooth inputs there. Keeping it in 4th gear is the better option if you carry enough speed through it, as thesmall crest at the exit can also induce extra understeer right as you reach the edge of the track.
- Turn 8/9: this high angle banked turn is probably the most unique feature of Alsace Village, as it tightens at the end. There are two schools in how to tackle it. While I usually go for the double apex approach personally, the sheer amount of downforce and speed you reach here with the Escudo make the alternative approach easier to handle : stay high - mid from entry while letting the car roll off throttle, and aim for apex after the inside curb ends. The following kink can be cut quite a lot so don't be too afraid of a penalty there.
- Turn 10/11: this is the trickiest part of the lap. The left hand kink is right in the braking zone for the right hand hairpin that immediately follows, and again, a dip at the apex here makes the Escudo want to go sideways under braking there. The issue is the car will be sent to the left when you need to turn right, so I advise taking it easy at first. I suspect there is still quite a bit of margin in my lap there, but here's how I mitigate the phenomenon: I start with about 50% brake pressure, and keep a small amount of throttle applied at the same time to keep the rear end in check (this is known as left foot braking), and only apply full brake pressure after clearing the bump.
- Turn 12: use the hole in the right hand side guardrail as your marker, and with just a short tap on the brakes and a gear drop, flick the car to the inside. The elevation and camber profile will help you get more grip there.
- Final chicane: the sudden change to a heavy downhill slope makes for another tricky braking zone. You want to settle your direction as much as possible before the crest, and straighten your steering wheel while braking, even if that means you're leaving a bit of space between you and the outside edge of the road. The chicane being pretty slow, you can use your brakes for rotation as you get close to the first apex, and do the same again for the second part. Driving as if you wanted to keep hugging the left side there will be key for a good exit, as veering to the right will force you to keep more steering angle while powering out, which will induce wheelspin.
This time trial ends on the 7th of July so only have a little of time still to register a time, do you best.
Tell us if you like it and if you found this helpful. And don't hesitate to post your times, especially if you beat my 1'37.170 !
