Gran Turismo 7 Daily Races add Watkins Glen Gr.4 event with ASM enabled

Gran Turismo 7 has a new weekly Daily Races lineup live now, with three fresh events running through Monday, November 9, according to GTPlanet’s Jordan Greer.

The headline is Race C, an 11-lap Gr.4 contest at Watkins Glen’s Long Course that mixes heavy tire wear, boosted fuel consumption and a ruleset that is already drawing attention from ranked racers. ASM, or Active Stability Management, is allowed in the event, even though the assist is usually expected to slow cars down.

Watkins Glen becomes the centrepiece

Race C uses a rolling start under BOP (M), with brake balance the only adjustable setting. Fuel use is set at 3x and tire wear at 5x, and the race requires both Racing Hard and Racing Medium compounds during the run. GTPlanet notes that there is no formal mandatory stop listed, but a pit visit is unavoidable because both tire compounds must be used.

The field is limited to Gr.4 cars, and the event arrives after a turbulent stretch for the class. Greer wrote that the Hyundai Elantra N TC dominated category races for two months after the physics overhaul and BoP changes in Update 1.71, turning races into near one-makes. Last month’s 1.72 update revised the BoP, and the Audi TT Cup ’16 now appears to have stepped into that role. GTPlanet says the TT Cup was a popular pick at Willow Springs last week, with the Lamborghini Huracán Gr.4 the only other car showing a serious chance of fighting at the front.

The controversial piece is the assist allowance. Greer said the “conventional wisdom is that it costs you lap time,” but in this case players have found the opposite with the current crop of front-wheel-drive Gr.4 cars. Top replays from last week had ASM switched on, and many drivers reported quicker qualifying laps with the assist enabled.

GTPlanet’s explanation is that a stable FWD car gives ASM very little to correct, so rather than scrubbing speed it may simply smooth out the lap. The outlet also noted that the result is not universal, but it has already prompted grumbling in its forums about an assist becoming part of the fast setup in a ranked race. Whether Polyphony Digital changes that in a future BoP pass is not clear.

Race A brings a classic Corvette one-make

The other two races are more straightforward. Race A is a five-lap one-make at Dragon Trail – Gardens in the Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (C3) ’69. It runs on Comfort Soft tires, uses a grid start with the false-start check active, and keeps settings fully fixed. Power, weight and PP are all controlled by BOP (M).

As with other Daily Races in Gran Turismo 7’s ranked multiplayer rotation, results here feed into the game’s online progression system. Daily Races are the main ranked multiplayer events in GT7, updating Driver Rating and Sportsmanship Rating after each race and helping determine seeding for the game’s flagship esports series each season.

Race B heads to Grand Valley Highway 1

Race B sits between the extremes of the other two events, offering six laps of Grand Valley Highway 1 in Gr.3 cars on Racing Medium tires. It uses a rolling start under BOP (M), with brake balance adjustable and no pit stop requirement. Like Race C, it allows garage or specified cars rather than forcing a single model.

GTPlanet’s race listings show the full details for the week:

• Race A: Dragon Trail – Gardens, 5 laps, Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (C3) ’69, Comfort Soft, grid start, false-start check active, settings fully fixed.
• Race B: Grand Valley Highway 1, 6 laps, Gr.3, Racing Medium, rolling start, brake balance adjustable, no mandatory stop.
• Race C: Watkins Glen Long Course, 11 laps, Gr.4, Racing Hard and Racing Medium, rolling start, brake balance only, fuel 3x, tire wear 5x.

To enter Sport Mode in the first place, players need to clear Menu Book 9, “Championship: Tokyo Highway Parade,” in the GT Cafe, and a PlayStation Plus subscription is required to race online. With Daily Races rolling over every Monday, the next new set should arrive on November 9.