MONTREAL, Canada (6 July 2024) — This past weekend marked the beginning of a new Gran Turismo World Series live event season, with Round 1 taking place in the picturesque city of Montreal, Canada. On the heels of a thrilling Manufacturers Cup race was the much-anticipated Nations Cup, in which drivers compete for their home country or territory. For 2024, the Series returned to an individual format, where 12 drivers chosen from the Online Qualifiers compete in three World Series live events (Montreal, Prague, and Tokyo) and the World Finals. First up was Round 1, where the fastest Gran Turismo 7 drivers fought in front of a sold out audience at the Usine C theater to see who would be setting the pace for the new season.

Sprint Race: Watkins Glen International - Long Course

While no points were up for grabs in this race, it was nevertheless vital in that it decided the starting grid positions for the Grand Final, the main event of the Nations Cup Round 1. The venue for the Sprint Race was Watkins Glen International in New York, U.S. with the drivers piloting different cars with similar balance of performance (BoP). The favorite to win this race—and the season championship—was France’s Kylian Drumont (R8G_Kylian19), who was paired with the Chevrolet Corvette C7 Stingray; however, it was 2020 Nations Cup champion Takuma Miyazono (Kerokkuma_ej20) who set the fastest lap in qualifying, earning him and his Ferrari F50 pole position for the Sprint Race, while his Japanese countryman Takuma Sasaki (SZ_TakuAn22) secured P2 in a Maserati MC20. Starting in the 3rd position was Drumont, while the Netherlands’ Kaj de Bruin (R8G_Kajracer) piloting a Ferrari F40 sat in P4.

The race began with Drumont sneaking into the slipstreams of both Sasaki and Miyazono, executing a graceful double pass on the back straight to grab the overall lead. By lap 4, Drumont had extended his lead to two seconds, showcasing his and the Corvette's synergy with the track.

Behind him, Sasaki overtook Miyazono for P2, while a fierce battle raged for P4 between Valerio Gallo (OP_BRacer), in a Ford GT, fended off relentless challenges from de Bruin, Spain's Jose Serrano (TDG_JOSETE) in a Lexus LFA, USA’s Calen Roach (CalenJRoach) in a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, and 2022 Nations Cup champion Coque López (coquelopez14) in a Porsche 911 GT3.

In the closing laps, Miyazono and Sasaki engaged in a dramatic duel for P2, exchanging positions multiple times. Ultimately, Miyazono emerged victorious, crossing the line just ahead of Sasaki. Drumont, however, was in a league of his own, cruising to a dominant 6-second victory and firmly establishing himself as the favorite for the Grand Final and the season championship.

Grand Final: Circuit Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta

Like the Sprint Race, the main event of the weekend, the Nations Cup Grand Final, was held on the U.S. soil, at the Circuit Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. However, for this contest, the drivers were required to use three different tyre compounds for at least one lap each during the 35-lap marathon, meaning pit stop strategy was to play a vital role in the race’s outcome. Each competitor was strapped into identical Red Bull X2019 Competition machines, leveling the playing field for a pure test of skill and strategy.

Starting from pole position, Frenchman Kylian Drumont (R8G_Kylian19) opted to begin the race on soft-compound Michelins, hoping to pull away from the pack and build an insurmountable lead. Meanwhile, the Japanese duo of Takuma Miyazono (Kerokkuma_ej20) and Takuma Sasaki (SZ_TakuAn22), along with most of the field, opted for medium-compound tyres, saving the fastest soft tyres for a critical stint later in the contest.

As the green lights signaled the start of the race, Spain’s Coque López starting from P4, rocketed off the line, overtaking Sasaki at the first corner. By the next lap, a boundary violation penalty for Miyazono allowed López to seize 2nd place. Miyazono, undeterred, reclaimed P2 on lap 3 with a blistering 330 km/h pass of the Spaniard on the long straight. Despite being on the fastest tyres, Drumont struggled to extend his lead, pitting on lap 7 with only a 1.0-second advantage, rejoining the race in a disheartening 8th place.

Miyazono capitalized on this opportunity, taking the lead with a 2.5-second gap over Kaj de Bruin of the Netherlands. Italy’s Valerio Gallo made his move, snatching 4th place from López on lap 12, only for López to reclaim it a lap later. Meanwhile, American driver Calen Roach, despite being a lap down, fiercely battled López to get himself on the lead lap, hampering the Spaniard’s progress.

While López, Roach, and Gallo scrapped in close quarters, Spain’s Jose Serrano, who started the race in P10, quietly made his way up the leaderboard and caught the mid-pack crowd, making a surprise pass to claim P4.

On lap 16, Miyazono pitted for soft tyres, rejoining the flock in 8th place, seven seconds behind Drumont, who was putting in stellar laps on his soft tyres. With Sasaki, López, and Serrano yet to pit by lap 18, they found themselves having to contend with cars with two pit stops already under their belts, who were trying to unlap themselves. In this mix was Guy Barbara (OP_Twitchy) of Australia in P9, the aforementioned Roach in P10, Angel Inostroza (Veloce_Loyrot) of Chile in P11 and Robert Heck (SV-RobbyHeck) of the U.S. who brought up the rear.

Lap 21 saw a flurry of pit stops from López, Serrano, and Drumont, allowing Miyazono to reclaim the lead with a 5.6-second margin after Sasaki pitted. Drama struck on lap 27 when Drumont, after his second pit stop, crashed into the barrier, dashing his podium hopes.

Miyazono’s second stop for saw Serrano overtaking de Bruin for the lead, with his countryman López in second, both still needing a stint on hard tyres.

The first of the Spaniards to pit was López, who came in on lap 31. However, he returned to the track 2.9 seconds behind Miyazono. On lap 32, Serrano ducked into the pits and returned to the track in P1, a second ahead of Miyazono! But that lead was short-lived as Serrano’s tyres were still cold, allowing Miyazono to pass him on the front straight on lap 33. Serrano made a valiant effort to retake the lead, but the Japanese ace proved too fast, claiming the win and the early lead in the Nations Cup championship.

The Spanish duo of Jose Serrano and Coque López finished in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively, with the Flying Dutchman, Kaj de Bruin taking 4th.

An elated Takuma Miyazono said after the race: “My pace was good, but I had some penalties, so I thought partway through the race that I couldn’t win this one. But in the end, I’m glad I was able to catch up to Jose. I wasn’t surprised when he came out of the pits in front of me because of where Coque came out the lap before. Jose came out about a second ahead of me, and I felt I could overtake him. Also, I forgot to bring my driving gloves, so I borrowed Igor’s for this race. They brought good luck, I think.”

Gran Turismo World Series 2024 Round 1 - Nations Cup
Grand Final Results