The FIA Gran Turismo Online Championship has received a makeover for 2021. Here are all the details.
Photo credit: Gran Turismo
On 5 April, Polyphony Digital announced a new tournament to make up part of its FIA approved Gran Turismo Championships Series, as well as revealing details about the competitive calendar for Gran Turismo throughout 2021. The new competition will be called the “World Series” and it will run alongside the Nations Cup and Manufacturer Series as the various aspects of the Gran Turismo Online Championship.
World Series
The new World Series will consist of four regular events, with a World Series Showdown playoff event and the world finals on top. The first of these events takes place on 6 June, and the finals are set to take place over 3-5 December. Each of the World Series events, including the mid-season playoffs, will yield points to the drivers which will carry through to the overall finals.
Participating in the World Series will be a number of established Gran Turismo talents in the form of the top sixteen Nations Cup drivers from 2020 and also the top twelve individual performers from that year’s Manufacturer Series. The likes of reigning Nations Cup champion Takuma Miyazono will be eligible to take part. For the mid-season Showdown, more drivers will join the fray that is the World Series. The top sixteen drivers from the Nations Cup’s online qualifiers, with a certain number of slots available per region, will compete alongside the established World Series competitors.
Get ready to gear up for the 2021 FIA Certified Gran Turismo Championships!
— Gran Turismo (@thegranturismo) April 5, 2021
Details on its new format and upcoming events: https://t.co/dw5oQqkdJA#GTSport #FIAGTC pic.twitter.com/u4Wm9cvZN1
This is a little different for the Manufacturer Series side of things. Here, the teams will be drawn entirely from the Online Qualifiers. The top twelve teams from these qualifiers, including Toyota and Mazda who are guaranteed slots, will be able to field their three-driver rosters in the Showdown event.
World Finals Qualifications
For the Showdown itself, there are decidedly high stakes. Not only will drivers be able to score points which will contribute to their overall totals going into the World Finals, but there is an elimination aspect as well. The top sixteen drivers in the Showdown will advance to compete in the final two regular World Series events, whereas the bottom sixteen will be locked out of these races. All sixteen drivers who progress from the Showdown are thereby guaranteed a slot in the World Finals, while the others will have to battle their way back in via the second set of Online Qualifiers.
As for the Manufacturer Series, the best performing driver from each team will be allowed to participate in the remaining World Series events on behalf of their manufacturer. However, these drivers and teams are not then guaranteed World Finals admission like the Nations Cup victors are. Instead, the same selection process as with the Showdown will be applied, and the teams will be selected that way.
Are you looking forward to the new World Series? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
