Drumont and Sasaki
The 2026 Gran Turismo World Series resumed on Saturday, with Round 2 broadcast from Polyphony Digital’s headquarters in Koto-ku, Tokyo. It was a different kind of event to the season opener in Milan: no theatre, no tickets, and no public crowd, with the only spectators being the Polyphony employees who make the game itself.
That difference was hard to ignore. After years of live events, it was surprising how much of the show’s energy turns out to come from a few thousand people in a room, and how noticeable it is when they’re not there.
Tom Brooks and Jimmy Broadbent called the races from off-camera, so the broadcast never had a chance to build any of the on-screen chemistry between its usual English-language presenters.
Of course, this event had to be hastily put together after the season opener in Abu Dhabi was cancelled due to security concerns, so we were lucky to have this round at all, and it certainly didn’t affect the racing!
Less News Than Expected
Mazda RX-Vision GT3 Evo
The show’s one piece of content news came from Mazda, which used the broadcast to reveal the RX-Vision GT3 Evo, an updated take on its long-serving RX-Vision concept racer that’s confirmed as coming to GT7 “soon”.
That was it for announcements, which is surprising because Polyphony has plenty to talk about, especially considering what’s in store for GT7 later this year.
New Cars in GT7’s August 2026 Update
A new GT7 update is confirmed to arrive next Thursday, August 20, bringing the Toyota Chaser and Mark II Tourer V, the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N, and the Caterham Seven Superlight R500. There’s also mounting evidence it will include physics changes, with the Online Time Trial schedule trimmed to a single week in exactly the way it was ahead of the physics-altering Update 1.49.
With the update just five days out, the World Series stage would have been the natural place for a teaser, and getting nothing at all was disappointing for eager viewers. Of course, there’s a likely explanation: a pre-recorded show with dozens of competitors likely made Polyphony more worried about leaks than showmanship.
Manufacturers Cup: Sasaki Delivers in the Rain
The Manufacturers Cup put the championship’s 12 Asia-Oceania drivers behind the wheel, and handed them a difficult challenge: 27 laps of Fuji International Speedway, starting in heavy rain.
Qualifying belonged to the rookies. Sota Moriyama, an 18-year-old making his World Series debut, put the Audi R8 LMS on pole through the Top 6 Qualifier, with Takuma Sasaki’s Porsche 911 GT3 R alongside and Yuki Kodaka’s Lamborghini Huracán GT3 in third.
Moriyama had a rough start in the rain. The teenager ran wide on the soaked surface at Turn 1, handing Sasaki a lead he would never really give up.
The top seven had all started on intermediates (a few further back gambled on full wets), and Sasaki managed the spray and the standing water with the kind of calm that wins these races.
The decisive moment came as a dry line formed around Lap 10. Nissan’s Okumoto and Lexus driver Kanata Kawakami jumped first, taking mediums on Lap 12. Sasaki and Moriyama answered a lap later with softs, while Kodaka played it safe.
The soft tire was the right call. Sasaki was immediately quickest on the drying track and simply drove away, while Moriyama faded and Kodaka came through for second.
Moriyama held on for third. A podium from pole position, in mixed conditions, on debut, is exactly the kind of performance that had everyone talking about rookies after Milan. The kids, it seems, are still alright.
Kodaka, Sasaki, and Moriyama
The bigger picture is that Porsche is now two-for-two. Jose Serrano won Milan, Sasaki won Tokyo, and the manufacturer sits on a maximum 12 points, five clear of Ferrari, with Lamborghini, Audi, and Mazda tied for third on five.
Manufacturers Cup Grand Final Results
Manufacturers Cup Point Ranking
Nations Cup: Drumont Answers Back
The Nations Cup brought back the same 12 drivers who raced in Milan, and it belonged entirely to Kylian Drumont.
The Frenchman left Milan with nothing to show for genuinely front-running pace, after contact with Jose Serrano dropped both drivers down the sprint race order. In Tokyo, he won everything he entered.
The eight-lap sprint took place at Suzuka in a delightful grid of 1990s and 2000s sports cars. Drumont started from pole in a Honda NSX Type R and controlled the race throughout, with Serrano’s Skyline GT-R R34 taking second from Valerio Gallo’s S2000 on Lap 2 but never threatening the lead.
Samuel Moreno, the Milan sprint winner, briefly ran fourth in his Lamborghini Diablo before running wide at Turn 1 and collecting a one-second penalty that dropped him out of contention.
The 35-lap Grand Final moved to the reversed Deep Forest Raceway in the Red Bull X2019 Competition, with all three tire compounds mandatory.
It turned into the race of the day. Serrano drafted past Drumont for the lead on the opening lap, lost it a corner later, and the two spent the rest of the race locked together through the tire strategies. The boldest call came from Gallo, who burned his soft tires in the middle stint to build a lead he’d defend on hards, and with a few laps remaining the Italian was out front with Drumont and Serrano closing fast.
Then came Lap 33. Serrano forced his way past Gallo in the horseshoe, made contact doing it, and the stewards handed the defending champion a one-second penalty.
When he slowed to serve it on the final lap, Drumont, Gallo, Moreno, and Kokubun all streamed past, dropping Serrano to fifth. The top four crossed the line covered by less than two seconds.
Gallo, Drumont, and Moreno
Drumont took the flag to complete a perfect Tokyo sweep. Gallo’s second place was a small piece of justice after his heartbreaking final-lap spin in Milan, and Moreno’s third was his first Nations Cup Grand Final podium, a much cleaner weekend from the 18-year-old after his messy debut. Kokubun took fourth in front of his home crowd, while Milan winner Pol Urra salvaged the last points available in sixth.
The result reshuffles the championship entirely. Drumont leaves Tokyo as the points leader on nine, with Serrano and Urra tied on seven, Gallo on five, and Moreno and Kokubun on four apiece. Half the field is within five points of the lead with two rounds to run.
Nations Cup Grand Final Results
What’s Next
The next round should have a more familiar feel, even if it does take place in the most exotic locale to host a Gran Turismo event: Singapore.
The championship heads to the Sands Theatre on October 3, in front of a real, ticketed crowd, with the Americas drivers taking their turn in the Manufacturers Cup and the new Regional Cup making its debut. The World Finals then return to Tokyo (this time with an audience) on December 5-6.
In the meantime, it’s worth remembering that watching the Tokyo broadcasts is what qualifies you for the two “Stealth Model” cars, including the Mazda 787B, with distribution set for September 1. And with next Thursday’s update looming, we may not have to wait long for Polyphony’s next announcement after all.
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