Our penultimate Gran Turismo 7 Online Time Trial for 2026 is now available, offering players a chance to rack up some quick cash with a spin around a short track.
There’s actually three events running simultaneously right now, with two entering their final weeks alongside today’s newbie which is a Group 4 all-comers event in Spain — the nation we’re expecting to produce a GT World Series world champion this coming weekend.
Naturally that means Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is on hosting duties as the only Spanish track in the game right now, and it’s the truncated National layout you’ll be aiming to conquer. That’s a rare variant in the game wherein the shortening happens on the main straight, cutting through just after the pit lane exit and leading into the turn seven/eight complex. It also includes the RACC chicane before the final straight.
You can select any of the Gr.4 cars for this one, with the standard Racing Hard tires required, but at present this isn’t a particularly well-balanced group and the usual suspects are really the only cars you should go for. That means the Citroen GT by Citroen which has been dominating Gr.4 Daily Races recently is the top choice, but there’s a couple of others capable of decent leaderboard placings.
At present the record for this event is wandering down into the middle of the 1:14s so, depending on how much the top time triallers are going to want to take it on over the GTWS/Christmas/New Year period, we could see times falling into the lower reaches.
With the top time determining the reward brackets lower down, gold is currently a 1:16.770. We’re not confident that’s going to stick, so aim for a 1:16.3 or better if you want some breathing room.
Last week’s Tsukuba time trial in the new Mine’s GT-R is still in place and the times are proving really rather competitive. Players already needed to beat the real-world record set by the car just to get gold and that’s gone further down — and right into our predicted zone.
Right now, the world record sits at a 56.781s, putting gold at a 58.484s time. We did say to aim for at least a 58.4, and chances are if you can get down to the bottom of that or break into a 58.3 you should be fine for the two-million credit prize.
That leaves the special GTWS tie-in time trial, which sees you taking on the fearsome Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in your choice of one of 12 Gr.1 cars. There’s actually not that much choice, as it’s only the two 2016 cars — the Audi R18 and Porsche 919 Hybrid — that are setting the most competitive times and locking out the top 100 right now.
The global record here is now a 1:58.293, setting gold at 2:01.841 — again right on our prediction of needing to break into the 2:01s. We’re not sure how much time is left though, so look at getting into the 2:01.6 area as there’s not likely enough for anyone to set a 1:57.
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 — doubled to 500,000cr at 20% for the GTWS tie-in.
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 December 25.
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge December 18 – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
Track: Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya National
Car: Gr.4 – Garage/Rental Car
Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (M)
Tires: Racing Hard
Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge December 11 – Tsukuba
Track: Tsukuba Circuit
Car: Mine’s BNR34 GT-R N1 Base – Garage/Rental Car
Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (L)
Tires: Sports Medium
Settings: Fixed
Gran Turismo 7 Lap Time Challenge World Finals – Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Track: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Car: Gr.1 Selection – Garage/Rental Car
Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (H)
Tires: Racing Soft
Settings: Fixed
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