A professional racer and a GT fan share tips ahead of Gran Turismo 7

Gran Turismo 7 is coming soon, and ahead of the launch, PlayStation blog revealed a post that also had two fascinating videos. Using a classic Gran Turismo race track, a comparison was performed on how similar the tracks are in the virtual world and in reality.

This was done by a pair of drivers, one a professional racer, and one a Gran Turismo superfan, as Gran Turismo 7 looms in the distance.

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Strategies for Willow Springs in Gran Turismo 7 from a professional and a fan

The testing ground for this pair of PlayStation videos was Willow Springs International Raceway, a 2.5 mile, nine-turn circuit that has been home to some of the most intense Gran Turismo races of all time. This includes the FIA GT Championships 2021.

This is a track that many players are intimately familiar with, but it’s not an easy course to master. In the blog, Ken Chan, Senior Product Manager of SIE broke down who the racers are. The professional driver is Dai Yoshihara, who used an Evasive Motorsports’ Tesla Model 3 Performance vehicle.

On the other side, there was Steve Brown, AKA “Super GT”, who has a modified Tesla Model S. He offered his own insights from the virtual world of Gran Turismo as he has already had some time spent with Gran Turismo 7.

Super GT used a baseline Tesla Model S (PP 440.2) and added a few very important upgrades to make it all work. Dai Yoshihara said the tires are very important, not just for this car, but for all cars, since that is the only part of the car touching the road.

Steve Brown referred to Willow Springs as 'ominous,' and it’s the perfect word for the track. In the videos, the racers offer their advice on how to take several of the turns on the intense 'Big Willow' racetrack.

Since the track is very open and wide, the racers carry a lot of speed with them while driving. The first turn seems relatively simple enough and grants the racer enough speed to keep going to the next, more dangerous turns.

Turn 3 in particular is a very difficult part of the track, which is uphill, and players go left then right on it. It leads to one of the most iconic parts of the track, and players will see a lot of skidmarks leading off the road. While looking at the skidmarks on the actual track, Yoshihara advised:

“Don’t wanna do that”

For turn 5, Super GT advises giving a lot of room while coming in on the left, to give plenty of power on the back straight.

Dai Yoshihara offers the most important advice for the track though. He says that players can keep their foot on the gas most of the track, so he said:

“Just be brave.”

A second video was offered, where the two racers have a side-by-side comparison, with both driving on the Willow Springs track. In the fascinating but brief video, the two drivers take the course nearly identically, showing just how true-to-life Gran Turismo 7 is.