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Gran Turismo World Series 2026 came to Singapore – and it was as good as real racing

Just in time for the Singapore Formula 1 night race, the virtual Gran Turismo World Series 2026 esports racing tournament on Oct 3 delivered exciting overtakes and nail-biting finishes to delight the crowd.

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Aloysius Low

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As far as esports events go, the third leg of the Gran Turismo World Series 2026 that took place in Singapore on Saturday (Oct 3) at the Marina Bay Sands Theatre was quite the experience.

Unlike your normal Dota 2 or Mobile Legends event where two teams of five battle it out with PCs or phones, the Gran Turismo World Series 2026 uses racing simulator rigs powered by Sony PlayStation PS5 Pros, and features 12 sim racers battling it out over multiple laps in the Gran Turismo 7 game.

Polyphony Digital’s GT7, as it’s also called, is a realistic driving game that features the ability to model track surface temperatures, dynamic weather, wind vectoring, downforce, and fuel economy. Basically, it’s almost like racing in real life, and some sim racers have moved on to professional racing careers (which was also the inspiration behind 2023’s Gran Turismo film starring Orlando Bloom and David Harbour).

And the one thing that sets this esports tournament apart from others? There’s no massive prize pool – but they do get a cool looking trophy. Participants get to travel for free, and “drivers have the opportunity to visit many countries, such as Singapore, and to raise their profiles in the sim racing world,” said a Polyphony Digital spokesperson.

WATCHING THE RACE

The car-on-car action was easy to watch, even for laymen, since all you needed to know was which cars were in front and whether they crossed the line first. Compared with more complex team games like the aforementioned Dota 2, which usually feature multiple skills and objectives, or even shooter games like Valorant that usually feature movements that are too fast to catch for the average viewer, the Gran Turismo World Series 2026 hooks you in right from the start.

For the Gran Turismo World Series, the Singapore leg featured three different races, starting with an exhibition race, the Singapore Regional Gran Turismo Cup, followed by the Manufacturers Cup, and then the highlight event, the Nations Cup. 

Singaporean Fadtris Isa took first place while starting from pole in the exhibition race.

Meanwhile, the Manufacturers Cup featured a format where drivers used cars from different brands, such as Porsche and Ferrari, to compete. Drivers have to use all three types of tyre compounds (soft, medium, and hard), which means making pit stops over a 20-lap race.

It was an emotional win for Subaru’s Daniel Solis, who managed to beat Ferrari’s Nicolas Arriagada by just 0.1 seconds after Solis went wide at the second last turn, allowing the Ferrari driver to close in and almost overtake at the end. It was Solis’ first win with Subaru, and also happened on his birthday weekend, which made it all the more special.

“I raced Nico in practice like twenty times, and in every single race that I did, I could not keep him behind me for the life of me,” said Solis, in the post-race interview.

THE THRILLING NATIONS CUP

But it was the Nations Cup that had viewers sitting at the edge of their seats with an amazing nail-biting finish that saw Japan’s Takuma Miyazono clinch victory despite starting from sixth.

Unlike the Manufacturers Cup, the Nations Cup had all racers driving the standard Gran Turismo Red Bull X2019 Competition car on the Circuit de Sainte-Croix. They needed to pit for fuel and change tyres, as the rules required them to also use all three tyre types.

The veteran Japanese driver used a daring strategy of stretching out his tyres, and even pitting with an almost empty tank with his fuel gauge showing zero. But the plan worked, and he was able to lead the pack even after pitting in the second-to-last lap to come up just one second ahead.

While he crossed the line first, a last-minute collision near the finish line meant that his win was in contention, but unlike real-world racing incidents, the Gran Turismo World Series has a dedicated full-time steward panel that can assess incidents with the in-game engine for immediate playback and multiple angles to quickly make a decision.

Luckily for Miyazono, it was ruled as a racing incident with no penalties, and he took first place over Spaniard Pol Urra and defending champion Jose Serrano in third.

“My only regret was to have that collision with Pol at the very end on the last lap, it’s a lack of skill on my part, having him catch up was another thing I need to work on,” said Miyazono, who also made the transition to real-world racing with the Ring Racing team.

“From the opening round this year, I was busy with real racing, I did not want to make that my excuse, but with this result, I know what I still need to work on, I’m going to keep going and try harder for the world final.”

Lastly, Polyphony Digital’s CEO Kazunori Yamauchi also took the stage to announce that the fully electric Xiaomi Vision GT concept car, which made its debut in Barcelona earlier this year, will soon be drivable in the game at the upcoming October update. It will also include the classic Ferrari F355, an iconic entry-level supercar. If you have ambitions of becoming a racing driver, this could be a good time to jump in.

The Gran Turismo World Series will culminate in Tokyo on Dec 5 and 6 at the brand-new Shibuya Lovez multipurpose venue. Spaniard Jose Serrano still leads by just one point over his rivals, but he will need to secure first position if he wants to win the world title again.

Source: CNA/mm

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