Manufacturer’s Cup Round Three Report

A rough & ready Group 4 sports car sprint!

A race containing more paint trading than a builder’s fair (Source: OptionZ)

November the 19th saw the third round of the Manufacturer’s Cup on Gran Turismo 7, and OptionZ McLaren was in action.

The race took place over 12 laps of Interlagos, and there was no need for strategy, it was all about pace. That, honestly, does not play into our hands, but that didn’t mean there was no chance of a good result. Group 4 machines at the Brazilian circuit almost always ends in automotive violence - think BTCC in the 1990s, but with less manners.

An unusual amount of space pictured here in the pack (Source: OptionZ)

Qualifying went fairly well, but quicker laps came in at the end dropping us from a top 10 to 13th on the grid. With that, the goal became clear - finish in the top 10 and get some healthy points for McLaren. After a few corners, the path towards that goal became clear. We had to stay out of trouble.

With a lack of pace in comparison to the cars ahead, we had to drive smart. In qualifying we were a full second away from pole, but during the race we achieved several purple sectors in the first sector, perhaps hinting that the car (or the driver - me!) was stronger in some places than others.

The battle scars kindly didn't impact the sponsor decals! (Source: OptionZ)

Immediately the race devolved into bumper cars, and barging became bedmates with late or over-ambitious overtaking maneuvers. Some competitors found the grass, some found penalties, and some found our McLaren. Thankfully, we managed to avoid major delays and managed to break away into 7th place - far higher than anticipated.

There, we got into a tight battle with a Ferrari 458. For three laps we remained in close pursuit, always threatening but never quite in position to overtake. It was fantastic racing, and reminded us that the best racing requires a dance partner. In a race full of contact and naughtiness, we found the kind of dance partner that reminds us what good racing, and those cat and mouse moves around braking zones, feel like.

Eventually we did manage to squeeze our way past into a remarkable 6th place, well above where we should be competing in terms of pace alone. Holding onto that would have been an exceptional result, but the faster cars behind eventually sorted themselves out…

The pacy Lexus ahead of us was one of the victims of the clashes (Source: OptionZ)

Over the last two tours of the course, three quicker cars passed us, and the finish ended up with us in 9th place. Little resistance to the quicker cars could be made, but the main objective of a top 10 had at least been reached, and in a race that doesn’t play to our strengths, we’ll take that.

The next event will be back in the Group 3 cars at the Red Bull Ring. Let’s aim for more solid finishes and see how many points we can rack up before the end of the championship.

Thank you for reading as always!