Gran Turismo World Series 2025 Round 1 recap – great racing in London

A sold-out 700-strong crowd at the BBC’s famous TC1 studio in West London’s Television Centre was treated to an awesome demonstration of racing on Gran Turismo 7 on Saturday, 7 June. With a display of stunning cars gracing the Helios Circle outside the iconic venue, and a big screen relaying the action to those without a ticket, there was a festival feel as some of the world’s fastest SIM racers gathered in the UK’s capital city for Round 1 of the Gran Turismo World Series 2025.

First up was the Manufacturers Cup, a team competition in which the drivers represent their favourite automotive marque. Present for Round 1 were the team members who had qualified online for the Asia-Oceania region. The combination was Gr.3 cars racing around the Tokyo Expressway – South Counterclockwise.

First blood went to Team BMW’s Seiya Suzuki who took pole position in a two-part qualifying session. Lining up alongside him was two-time Manufacturers Cup champion Takuya Miyazono representing Team Subaru. Lined up in P3 was Team Porsche’s 911 RSR, driven by Shota Sato.

The Grand Final saw strategy play a decisive role. Teams were required to make one pit stop and had to choose between soft- and medium-compound tires. The early stages of the race saw drivers hold their positions, assessing both the track and their rivals. But once all the competitors had completed their sole pit stops, the tone shifted dramatically. The gloves came off, transforming the contest into an all-out battle royale.

Lap 16 delivered a moment to remember. A fierce midfield battle involving multiple cars erupted, and in the chaos, the Porsche 911 RS was nudged from behind, sending it to the back of the field and effectively ending its race. The race culminated in a tense final showdown between Sato in the BMW and Miyazono in the Subaru. The two drivers traded the lead several times, but it was Miyazono who executed a flawless pass in his BRZ GT300 at the last hairpin, slipping by Sato’s M6 GT3 to take the checkered flag and the six championship points. BMW settled for five points, while Team Mazda, led by veteran Ryota Kokubun in the RX-VISION GT3, claimed the final podium spot and four points.

In the Nations Cup the Le Mans 24H track provided a fitting setting for the Sprint Race, a week before the 93^rd running of the famous race, and the Aston Martin Valkyrie the right car for the job. Spaniard Jose Serrano kept countryman Pol Urra at bay with a victory that rewarded him with pole position for the Gran Finale.

As is tradition in the Gran Turismo World Series, the drivers would switch to the Red Bull X2019 Competition cars adorned in their nations’ colours for the Grand Final race run around the reverse configuration of Gran Turismo 7’s Gran Valley Highway. Nearly every driver on the grid chose to start the 20-laps on medium-compound tyres. However, the Netherlands’ Kaj de Bruin, starting from P10, opted to gamble on softs. His bold strategy paid off early, propelling him into the lead by the fourth lap. Yet he struggled to maintain the pace under relentless pressure from Serrano, Urra, Kylian Drumont of France, Takuma Miyazono and Takuma Sasaki of Japan, and Italy’s Valerio Gallo.

Exceeding 320 km/h on the straights, the drivers left nothing on the table. Tyre strategy played a pivotal role: de Bruin made two stops, while most others managed with just one. Miyazono and Drumont chose hard-compound tires for their final stints, a gamble against the favoured mediums and softs. In the closing laps, a fierce wheel-to-wheel battle for the lead unfolded between the two Spaniards, each pushing the other to the limit. The fantastic sold-out crowd watching the action live was on the edge of their seats, gasping and cheering with every turn and attempted overtake.

Ultimately, Serrano emerged victorious, crossing the finish line first by just over two-tenths of a second. Urra settled for 2nd, with Gallo completing the podium in 3rd.

With a spectacular Round 1 complete, the action moves from London to Berlin where Round 2 will be hosted in the Uber Eats Music Hall close to the East Side Gallery.

Tickets are on sale now here. Round 3 tickets for The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles are also available here. Add the Gran Turismo World Series to your calendar and come and join us for more thrilling action.

~~Round 1 – London, UK | Saturday, 7 June~~
Round 2 – Berlin, Germany | Saturday, 20 September
Round 3 – Los Angeles, USA | Saturday, 8 November
World Finals – Fukuoka, Japan | Saturday, 20 and Sunday, 21 December