2024 Gran Turismo World Series, Round 1 – Montreal – GTPlanet

July 6, 2024

Later in the day, live racing returns to the Gran Turismo World Series, with the first of four rounds in 2024 taking place at a brand new venue in Montreal, Canada.

It will be an action-packed evening as both the Manufacturer Cup and Nations Cup take place – with just an hour between the two in the schedule – as well as the live reveal of the contents of Gran Turismo 7that we expect during the last stream.

A format change for 2024 has seen the Nations Cup revert to being an individual championship following Spain’s victory in the only team event. We’ll also see the Manufacturers Cup become regional, with the American representatives of each brand competing here before the EMEA qualifiers in Prague and the Asia and Oceania riders in Tokyo later this year. Well, mostly…

In the 2024 season, players can earn World Series points at each round that can be carried over to the World Finals, so there’s something at stake at every race this year.

Gran Turismo World Series 2024 R1 – Montreal – Manufacturers’ Cup

We will see 12 brands competing in the manufacturers’ cup again and a different result is guaranteed in 2024 as defending champion Nissan did not qualify at all. Two of its winning drivers did, albeit for different teams.

Each of the three live rounds will feature a different driver line-up this year, with the qualified drivers from the Americas region taking part in Montreal. However, due to other commitments and visa issues, there are a few substitutions – perhaps most notably at top qualifier Porsche, where ASOC representative Takuma Sasaki (who is also conveniently racing in the Nations Cup) will take Arthur Mosso’s place.

Apart from Nissan, all the former champion teams are back. Two-time winner Subaru will have Angel Inostroza at the wheel, while fellow two-time winner Toyota will have Adriano Carrazza in the driver’s seat. Lexus, which won its first ever title, is back and must be among the favourites as three-time champion Igor Fraga has switched to his real racing car brand.

The race consists of a qualifying run at Interlagos for the Gr.3 cars, followed by a 30-lap race with the same combination and any necessary tyre changes. It will certainly be a marathon for the drivers doing double the work!

You can tune in to the stream from 21:00 UTC on Saturday, July 6 (convert to your time here) and alongside the usual streams in additional languages (French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish) there will also be a stream with live timing for the first time.

Don’t forget that you have until the start of the last race to choose the winner and win 1,000,000cr. You can also watch the stream on your Gran Turismo 7 You will receive a six-star ticket (car) for the game.

Competitors

Gran Turismo World Series 2024 R1 – Montreal – Nations Cup

The same dozen players will compete in all three rounds of the continental live events as well as the World Finals later in the year, and the field is quite strong with the final five champions of the series all participating.

This includes the only double winner, Coque Lopez, who confirmed a controversial 2022 win as part of the Spanish team victory in 2023. He is joined by fellow countryman Jose Serrano – but not fellow champion Pol Urra, who failed to qualify – as well as 2021 winner Valerio Gallo, who takes the double shift, and 2020 winner Takuma Miyazono.

There are eight other riders all looking to claim their first title, and none of them are outsiders. Angel Inostroza – another rider competing in both events – would be a crowd favourite, motivated by the events of the 2022 World Final and his recovery from injury, but we also wouldn’t be surprised to see lightning-fast qualifier Kaj de Bruin, perennial leader Kylian Drumont or American Calen Roach take the chequered flag first.

The format of the event is wild: the traditional X2019 Competition is used for the first qualifying round and the final 35-lap race at Road Atlanta. However, there is a qualifying race between the two races where drivers select one of 12 pre-tuned street cars for a seven-lap race at Watkins Glen. They are seeded according to the qualifying round and race results form the final starting grid.

After a short break following the Manufacturers Cup award ceremony, the Nations Cup stream will begin at 23:30 UTC on Saturday 6 July (convert to your time here). Live timing will also be available, as will streams in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.

You have until the start of the last race to choose your winner and win 1,000,000cr. This way you can be the first to watch the qualification and the qualifying race and even take a look through the special tile in Gran Turismo 7 will also award you a six-star ticket.