The regular events return to their staggered weekly rotation, with the second of last week's two new events — prompted by the physics engine change in the 1.49 update — remaining in place.
That's the time trial challenge using the new Subaru Impreza Rally Car '98 around the also-new Eiger Nordwand circuit, harking back to a promotional video for Gran Turismo HD back in 2006.
Currently the world record for that event is a 1:02.675, so if you want to hit the gold bracket you'll need to at least match a 1:04.555 (most appropriately!). That may yet fall a little further, so aim for a low-1:04 for safety.
This week's new event brings out one of the famous Gran Turismo Award-winning cars from the SEMA show. These have traditionally been high-performance tuner cars, and the vehicle used in this week's challenge is no exception.
The Roadster Shop Rampage is a highly modified, second-generation Chevrolet Camaro which won the award in 2014. It sports a custom, carbon-fiber body wrapped around a largely custom chassis, into which is stuffed a Thomson Racing Engines-tweaked, 427ci LS7 V8 packing some 750hp.
You'll be trying to get all that power to the ground, through the car's custom suspension and aided by some pretty wild aero add-ons, around the reverse layout of Trial Mountain. It's a tricky prospect, even on grippy Sports Soft tires.
It's early days in the event, but the world record sits at a mid-1:51 right now. That means the gold time target has just slipped into the 1:54.9s, but there's not much chance that it'll stay there despite the relatively large gap between first and the rest. Figure on a very low-1:51 being the final record, and therefore something in the 1:54.3s for gold; aiming for a 1:53.9 is probably wise.
You can select from any of the 12 cars represented at this event, being the Gr.3 vehicles from the qualified manufacturers. One curious note is that the cars, whether your own or borrowed for the event, must be equipped with wet-weather racing tires: either Intermediates or full Wets.
That's because you'll be racing around a wet Red Bull Ring, with the surface water very much indicating that Intermediate is the right choice. It's going to be a slippery challenge, and the best times are looking close to breaking into the 1:36 range. That means you'll need probably need to break under 1:40 to score gold and the 2m credit reward.
There's also an adjustment on the targets for this event, with bronze moved out to +20% instead of the regular +10% and the reward for this doubled. In essence then, if you can break under two minutes you'll be in line for a 500,000cr payout.
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 usually 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 August 8.
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge August 1 – Trial Mountain
- Track: Trial Mountain – Reverse
- Car: Roadster Shop Rampage – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
- Tires: Sports Soft
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Special Lap Time Challenge August 1 – Red Bull Ring
- Track: Red Bull Ring
- Car: Gr.3/Specified Car – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
- Tires: Racing Intermediate, Racing Wet
- Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge July 25 – Eiger Nordwand
- Track: Eiger Nordwand Full Course
- Car: Suburu Impreza WRC '98 – Garage/Rental Car
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (L)
- Tires: Racing Hard
- Settings: Fixed
