2018 FIA GTC season

The 2018 FIA GTC season was the inaugural season of the FIA-Certified Gran Turismo Championships (FIA GTC), a professional esports league for the racing video game Gran Turismo Sport, managed by Japanese developer Polyphony Digital and French governing body Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. The series concurrently runs two championships in the duration of the season, in the form of the Nations Cup (entrants from their respective countries will represent them) and the Manufacturers Series (entrants will race for and represent their chosen manufacturer).

2018 FIA GTC season
League	FIA-Certified Gran Turismo Championships
Sport	Gran Turismo Sport
Duration	10 May – 18 November
Number of matches	6 events
Nations Cup
Champion	Igor Fraga
Manufacturer Series
Champions	Lexus Kanata Kawakami Tyrell Meadows Vincent Rigaud

The season opening event began in 10 May at Nürburg, and concluded at Monaco with the season world final. Igor Fraga was crowned the inaugural Nations Cup champion, and the trio of Kanata Kawakami, Tyrell Meadows, and Vincent Rigaud became the inaugural Manufacturers Series champions with Lexus at the World Final event.

Format

A phase dubbed as the "Online Series", which is essentially a qualification phase to decide the participants that will race in the live events of the championship tournament, kicks off every season. The Online Series is divided into four stages, with each stage hosting ten rounds.[1] By the end of each stage, another World Tour event is hosted, which includes the top players from that stage instead of the top drivers from the previous season.[1] The top players who are selected after the series must sign an application form in order to be able to participate for the World Tour events, and they must also be over 18.[1][2] The Online Series goes on for five to seven months.[1] The winner from the World Tour event gains direct access to the "World Final" event.[3]

The "Live Events" begin after the Online Series. The Nations Cup category includes the top 90 players (30 per region) with the highest points across all four stages. Three different live events occur, with each live event carrying a specific world region. The top 10 players from those regions enter the "World Final" event, a championship stage to decide the number one player. The Manufacturer Series category includes the top 48 players (three players per region) and 16 manufacturers with the highest points across all four stages. The top players and manufacturers participate in the "World Final" event, to decide the top three players and the number one manufacturer.[4] The winners of their respective series at the "World Final" are crowned either Nations Cup champion or Manufacturer Series champion.

Series calendar

The series was set in six locations around the world.

Round	Title	Location	Date	Ref.
1	World Tour 2018 - Nürburgring	Nürburg	10-13 May	[5][6]
2	GT World Tour | Red Bull Hangar-7	Salzburg	22 September	[7]
3	Nations Cup Asia/Oceania Final 2018	Odaiba	06-7 October	[8]
4	Nations Cup European Final 2018	Madrid	19-20 October	[9]
5	Nations Cup Americas Final 2018	Las Vegas	31 October	[10]
6	World Finals 2018	Monaco	16-18 November	[11][12]

Series results

World Tour 2018 - Nürburgring

Round Title Circuit Class Nations Cup 1 Nations Cup Semi-Final Group 1 Nürburgring GP Circuit Gr.X Anthony Duval 2 Nations Cup Semi-Final Group 2 Edward Williams 3 Nations Cup Semi-Final Group 3 Kimmo Kaisla 4 Nations Cup Final Race 1 Gr.4 Anthony Duval 5 Nations Cup Final Race 2 Autódromo José Carlos Pace N300 Patrik Blazsán 6 Nations Cup Final Race 3 Autodromo Nazionale di Monza Gr.1 Giorgio Mangano 7 Nations Cup Final Race 3 Autodrome Lago Maggiore Gr.3 Giorgio Mangano

Round Title Circuit Class Manufacturers Series 1 Manufacturers Series Race 1 Autodromo Nazionale di Monza Gr.3 Kimmo Kaisla Markus Kononen Thomas Compton-McPherson Nissan 2 Manufacturers Series Final Nürburgring 24H Circuit Philippe Nicolay Matthew Thomas Anthony Duval BMW

GT World Tour | Red Bull Hangar-7

Round Title Circuit Class Nations Cup 1 GT World Tour 2018 - Red Bull Hangar-7 Race 1 Fuji Speedway N300 Tomoaki Yamanaka 2 GT World Tour 2018 - Red Bull Hangar-7 Race 2 Circuit de la Sarthe Gr.1 Benjamin Bader 3 GT World Tour 2018 - Red Bull Hangar-7 Race 3 Willow Springs Raceway N500 Adam Tapai 4 GT World Tour 2018 - Red Bull Hangar-7 Final Red Bull Ring Gr.X Benjamin Bader Patrik Blazsán Adam Tapai

Round Title Circuit Class Manufacturers Series 1 Manufacturers Series Semifinal A Autodromo Nazionale di Monza Gr.3 Patrik Blazsán Tomoaki Yamanaka Toyota 2 Manufacturers Series Semifinal B Circuit de Sainte-Croix B Mikail Hizal Andrew McCabe Nissan 3 Manufacturers Series Final Red Bull Ring Mikail Hizal Andrew McCabe Nissan

Nations Cup Asia/Oceania Final 2018

Round Title Circuit Class Nations Cup 1 FIA GT Championship 2018 Asia/Oceania Final - Race 1 Suzuka Circuit N500 Ryota Kokubun 2 FIA GT Championship 2018 Asia/Oceania Final - Race 2 Dragon Trail - Gardens II Gr.3 Jonathan Wong 3 FIA GT Championship 2018 Asia/Oceania Final - Final Race Fuji Speedway Gr.1 Ryota Kokubun

Nations Cup European Final 2018

Round Title Circuit Class Nations Cup 1 FIA GT Championship 2018 European Final - Race 1 Alsace - Village N500 Mikail Hizal 2 FIA GT Championship 2018 European Final - Race 2 Dragon Trail - Seaside II Gr.3 Mikail Hizal 3 FIA GT Championship 2018 European Final - Final Race Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya Gr.X Mikail Hizal

Nations Cup Americas Final 2018

Round Title Circuit Class Nations Cup 1 FIA GT Championship 2018 Americas Final - Race 1 Blue Moon Bay - Infield A I N500 Fabian Portilla 2 FIA GT Championship 2018 Americas Final - Race 2 Mount Panorama Circuit Gr.3 Igor Fraga 3 FIA GT Championship 2018 Americas Final - Final Race Autódromo José Carlos Pace Gr.X Igor Fraga

World Finals 2018

Round Title Circuit Class Nations Cup 1 2018 FIA GT Championship World Final - Race 1 Tokyo Expressway - South Inner Loop N500 Igor Fraga 2 2018 FIA GT Championship World Final - Race 2 Autódromo José Carlos Pace Gr.3 Tomoaki Yamanaka 3 2018 FIA GT Championship World Final - Race 3 Autodromo Nazionale di Monza Gr.1 Tomoaki Yamanaka 4 2018 FIA GT Championship World Final - Final Race Circuit de la Sarthe Gr.X Igor Fraga

Round Title Circuit Class Manufacturers Series 1 2018 FIA GT Championship World Final - Final Race Nürburgring Nordschleife Gr.3 Kanata Kawakami Vincent Rigaud Tyrell Meadows Lexus

References

1. "FIA Certified Gran Turismo Championships 2019 Series Overview - gran-turismo.com". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
2. "Star Player Registration Form". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
3. "Nicolas Rubilar Wins GT Sport World Tour Nations Cup Final". GTPlanet. 2019-03-19. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
4. "FIA-certified Gran Turismo Championship 2018 Series Overview - gran-turismo.com". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
5. "'Gran Turismo World Tour 2018 - Nürburgring' Race Report (4/4)A miraculous race only made possible by master artists - gran-turismo.com". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
6. "'Gran Turismo World Tour 2018 - Nürburgring' Race Report (2/4)A miraculous race only made possible by master artists - gran-turismo.com". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
7. "Gran Turismo World Tour 2018 - Red Bull Hangar-7 - gran-turismo.com". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
8. "Nations Cup Asia/Oceania Final - gran-turismo.com". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
9. "Nations Cup European Final - gran-turismo.com". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
10. "Nations Cup Americas Final - gran-turismo.com". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
11. "The First Nations Cup Champion is Crowned! - gran-turismo.com". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
12. "The First Manufacturer Series Champion is Crowned! - gran-turismo.com". www.gran-turismo.com. Retrieved 2019-03-28.