Season 1 of the Gran Turismo World Series Nations Cup 2022 Series got underway on the 28th of May. The event would take place in Gran Turismo 7's Sport mode for the first time, and would therefore be a test of how quickly the drivers could adapt to a new environment.

The Season's first race took place at the Suzuka Circuit. It saw Japan's veteran yamado_racing38 going pole-to-win, and claiming 382 points in the process.

Round 2 took place at the Autopolis International Racing Course, a technical circuit in Japan. The top scorer in this race was ox14445. ox14445 has been active in Sport mode since the very first season, and can therefore consider himself one of the scene's true veterans.

The super-high-speed layout of the 24 Heures du Mans Racing Circuit was the setting for Round 3. yamado_racing38 won again, continuing to add points to his total.

yamado_racing38 was also particularly impressive in Round 4. He defeated his younger rivals V1_CRV-KRT86 and TX3_tokari71 to emerge victorious again, finally grabbing a score of over 400 points for his trouble. This meant that he had a vice-like grip on first place, the title all but his with just two races remaining.

In the Manufacturers Cup, yamado_racing38 had narrowly lost out to his fellow Toyota driver and great rival Akagi_1942mi, but in the Nations Cup he was unstoppable, with none of his younger rivals standing a chance against him.

Round 5 took place on the Alsace - Test Course, a track with a tricky layout and many elevation changes. The race was won by saika159-, a veteran driver from Hong Kong.

The last race took place on the Watkins Glen Long Course, a track that was added in a recent update. In a race between drivers who had very little experience of the track, LG-TakuAn_, who had done well the previous season, emerged victorious. LG-TakuAn_ had struggled to score points in the early part of the season, but put on a stunning performance in the final race, going pole-to-win and showing that his confidence—and his speed—were back.

Looking back on the Season overall, it was certainly a real show of strength from yamado_racing38, who had the title all but wrapped up after Round 4. However, there were also impressive and eye-catching performances from LG-TakuAn_, who shone in the final race, and V1_CRV-KRT86, who finished second overall.

■GTWS Nations Cup - 2022 Series - Season 1
1st / Japan / T. Yamanaka (yamado_racing38) / 1181 Points
2nd / Japan / CRV (V1_CRV-KRT86) / 1163 Points
3rd / Japan / ox (ox14445) / 1125 Points