This week’s new Online Time Trial certainly isn’t about top speed… Gran Turismo 7 drops the Renault R8 Gordini ’66 onto the short Horse Thief Mile layout at Willow Springs, running on Sports Soft tires.
The Gordini is one of the cheaper cars in the entire game when it cycles through the rotating Legend Cars dealer (don’t worry, you can rent it for this event if you don’t own one), and makes barely 100 horsepower. Amédée Gordini, the Italian-born tuner the French called “Le Sorcier” (the Sorcerer) for his uncanny engine wizardry, transformed Renault’s boxy little 8 saloon into a giant-killer that won the Tour de Corse three consecutive years, from 1964 to 1966. The model remains synonymous with its French Racing Blue paintwork and twin white racing stripes.
Horse Thief Mile suits it well. It’s a tight, mile-long narrow ribbon of a circuit carved into the canyons at Willow Springs, with enough elevation change to keep you honest. There’s nowhere to lean on power you don’t have, so the whole lap becomes a momentum exercise. A lap takes around a minute, which means you can rattle off plenty of attempts while you chase the last couple of tenths.
Mercedes-AMG Virtual Championship at Spa
There’s a bigger prize on the table this month, too.
The Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Virtual Championship is back for 2026, and it’s a multi-platform esports series that spreads across GT7, both versions of Assetto Corsa Competizione, iRacing and Le Mans Ultimate. The way into the GT7 field is a hot-lap qualifier: set a time in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 ’20 around Spa-Francorchamps on Racing Soft tires, with qualifying open until July 20.
The fastest GT7 qualifiers go straight through to Division One, while everyone else who sets a valid time drops into a raffle for the Division Two grid. You’ll need to register on the championship’s landing page and join its Discord to be counted, and entry is open to anyone aged 16 or over. The racing begins in August and runs through to late October, with the top three overall taking home the headline prizes. We covered last year’s running, and you can find the full rules and entry link for this year’s event here.
- Track: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
- Car: Mercedes-AMG GT3 ’20
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (High Speed)
- Tires: Racing Soft
- Settings: Specified
- Qualifying open until: July 20
One Week Left at the Red Bull Ring
There’s also still a week to run on last week’s event, which puts the Ford GT ’17 around the Red Bull Ring on Sports Medium tires. That one closes on July 2.
GT7 Lap Time Challenge June 25
- Track: Willow Springs International Raceway: Horse Thief Mile
- Car: Renault R8 Gordini ’66
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (Low Speed)
- Tires: Sports Soft
- Settings: Fixed
GT7 Lap Time Challenge June 18
- Track: Red Bull Ring
- Car: Ford GT ’17
- Power/Weight/PP Limit: BOP (Mid Speed)
- Tires: Sports Medium
- Settings: Fixed
Accessing Online Time Trials
If you’ve not jumped into one of these before, you’ll first need to unlock Sport Mode by completing Menu Book 9 (“Championship: Tokyo Highway Parade”) in the GT Cafe. There’s no need for a PlayStation Plus subscription to take part. See our full unlock guide here.
Once an event closes, prizes go out based on how close you got to the fastest lap: gold for anyone within 3% of the top time (2,000,000cr), silver within 5% (1,000,000cr) and bronze within 10% (250,000cr).
New events arrive every Thursday, and each runs for two weeks with the oldest dropping off as a fresh one appears. The next new Online Time Trial lands on July 2.
Online Racing Event
Want to go racing with this week’s combo?
Each week, the SNAIL Racing League organizes casual online races using the active Time Trial’s car and track. Anyone is welcome to join; head on over to our forums for more information!
