High Speed Ring

High Speed Ring is an original track that has appeared in every mainline GT game, except Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec and Gran Turismo Sport. The track returned in Gran Turismo 7 with a redesign.
==Overview==
It is located near a water dam. The track is well known for its fast, flowing nature, along with being a good beginner course. Variable weather conditions were made available in Gran Turismo 5. The first time the circuit was featured in the original Gran Turismo (PlayStation), it was in a partially cleared forest with a mountainous background. When it came to Gran Turismo 2, there were subtle changes made to the track other than small graphical boosts.
After being absent in Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, High Speed Ring got a major overhaul for Gran Turismo 4; the pit entry was extended to the entry of the final corner when going forwards, and the forest look was ousted for a plain with a lake on the inside of the track. There is a new bridge after the second turn, and there is a way to manually drive into the pit stop without actually pitting in.
In Gran Turismo 5, after the major overhaul in the previous game, the track design was refined again to make use of the PlayStation 3 console. This version of the track was originally included in Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. From Gran Turismo 5 onwards, the track can also be played in wet weather. In Gran Turismo 7, the track was given another redesign, with its main difference being the stretched second banked turn.
==Events==
===Gran Turismo===
GT League
*Sunday Cup; Race 2 - 2 Laps
*GT World Cup; Race 1 - 3 Laps
Special Events
*US vs. Japan Championship; Race 3 - 3 Laps
*US vs. UK Championship; Race 3 - 3 Laps
*UK vs. Japan Championship; Race 3 - 3 Laps
*Megaspeed Cup; Race 1 - 2 Laps
*Megaspeed Cup (reverse); Race 3 - 2 Laps 
*Hard-Tuned Car Contest (reverse); Race 1 - 5 Laps
===Gran Turismo 2===
====Special Events====
*Sunday Cup; Race 2 - 2 Laps
*MR Challenge; Race 2 - 2 Laps
*Luxury 4-Door Cup; Race 3 - 2 Laps
===Gran Turismo 4===
===Gran Turismo 5===
*Supercar Festival; Race 1
*MR Sports Cup; Race 2
*Race of Turbo Sports; Race 1
*NASCAR Series; Race 3
===Gran Turismo 6===
*Sunday Cup; Race 1
*Electric Circuits; Race 1
*Gran Turismo All Stars; Race 1
*Gran Turismo NASCAR Cup; Race 3
===Gran Turismo 7===
Licence Centre
*B-1: Starting & Stopping 1
**Gold: 0:20.000
**Silver: 0:20.600
**Bronze: 0:22.000
*B-2: Starting & Stopping 2
**Gold: 0:16.500
**Silver: 0:16.900
**Bronze: 0:18.100
*S-1: One Lap Time Attack
**Gold: 1:11.100
**Silver: 1:13.200
**Bronze: 1:18.400
*Master B-1: Starting & Stopping 1 (Wet Track)
**Gold: 0:17.980
**Silver: 0:18.600
**Bronze: 0:20.000
*Master B-2: Starting & Stopping 2 (Wet Track)
**Gold: 0:15.950
**Silver: 0:16.500
**Bronze: 0:17.700
World Circuits
*High Speed Ring Track Day; Race 1 – 2 laps
*High Speed Ring Track Day (reverse); Race 2 – 2 laps
*Japanese FF Challenge 450; Race 3 – 2 laps
*Japanese FR Challenge 450 (reverse); Race 3 – 2 laps
*GT Cup Gr.4; Race 1 – 5 laps
*Clubman Cup Plus; Race 5 – 3 laps
*American Clubman Cup 700 (reverse); Race 7 - 5 laps
*World Touring Car 800; Race 15 - 20 laps
*Schwarzwald League (reverse); Race 4 - 5 laps
Missions
*The Magic Mountain: Final Corner Speed Challenge
**The Pass; Porsche 911 Carrera RS (964) '92The stage is set on the latter section of the High Speed Ring. It will be important to maintain a high speed in the final corner.
***Gold: 1st
***Silver: 2nd
***Bronze: 3rd
*High Speed Ring – 30 Minutes: Combating Tyre Wear (Gr.3)
**High Speed Ring - 30 Minutes; Garage Car EventA high-speed battle in the rain. Use the weather radar and two different types of tyre and build the perfect race strategy.
***Gold: 1st
***Silver: 5th
***Bronze: 10th
==Layout & Sectors==
===Sector 1===
Accelerate down the main straight towards the long, banked sweeping turn 1. This turn gets ever so slightly tighter on itself in the latter stages; gradually move the car from the outside banking towards the inside apex, then allow the car to drift back towards the outside as you exit. If done correctly, you should be able to take this turn at full throttle without needing to lift off the throttle. Avoid reducing your speed as much as possible.
Turn 2 is the hardest braking point on the track. Start braking at the 100m marker board on the right to reduce the cars speed on approach. Turn 2 is banked, so it is possible to take it with more throttle than you otherwise would be able to. Use a high line to navigate this turn.
===Sectors 2 & 3===
Turns 3 and 4 form a long and wide S-bend. This is a deceptively simple section of the track, as it is easy to come down on the throttle early and understeer towards the outer wall. The trick is to control your throttle and treat both corners as if they were a large chicane.
Move from the right side of the track to the left, and begin braking at the 50m marker board. Set your apex late for turn 3 and aim to exit in a middle line for turn 4, and stay on the inside curb until you can see the tunnel. The ideal racing line here is out-in-middle-in-out.
(NOTE: In the PS1 Gran Turismo games, this section of the track is banked and therefore can be taken at a higher speed.)
Turn 5 can be taken flat out. Keep to the inside as you approach turn 6, or you will severely affect your time and exit speed onto the straight. Brake again at the 50m marker board, then enter turn 6 with the aim to go flat out. This turn is banked, but it can be easy to drift towards the outside and glance the wall. Stay off the wall and keep your speed up to maximize your speed down the straight.
==Trivia==
* High Speed Ring's GT7 design has extended the second and third straight, and sharpened the second corner, making it more like a hairpin. Grand stands were also added on the outside of turn 2, and the grass run-off was removed. The pit lane that starts at the end of turn 5/beginning of turn 6 was renovated, in favor for a pit lane that starts and ends on the first straight.
* Some menus in the PAL version of GT2's GT Mode disc incorrectly spelt the track's name as "High-speed Link". This might be due to a confusion between the Japanese words リング (ringu) and リンク (rinku); note the differences in the dakuten (diacritic) in the last letter between the two.
* The track is likely based from one of the tracks in Motor Toon Grand Prix, Polyphony Digital's first game.
* When playing the normal direction of the course in GT4, the pit lane exit for the reverse circuit was not blocked by a tire wall, only with a line of cones, so it is possible to enter the pits without making a stop.
** However, in Gran Turismo PSP, the line of cones was replaced with a tire wall.
* In the Test Drive demo build of the first Gran Turismo game, the course was originally set in the morning. This skybox was retained in license tests where sections of the course are used, and it is possible to restore the skybox to the full course using cheat devices.
** The course preview video in Gran Turismo 2s arcade mode also features the same morning skybox.
* This is only track to not have a course guide in GT5P.
* The location of High Speed Ring within Japan, according to the pre-race weather radar introduced in update 1.38 of GT7, appears to be between the two lakes at Teshikaga in Hokkaido, approximately 80 kilometers southeast of Kitami. This would mean that the dam supposedly feeds water westward to Lake Kussharo.
==Videos==
File:CGRHD reviews GRAN TURISMO 2 Part 4, High Speed Ring
File:Classic Game Room - GRAN TURISMO 5 PROLOGUE part 4, High Speed review
==Notes==
Category:Gran Turismo Circuits
Category:GT2 Circuits
Category:GT4 Circuits
Category:Tourist Trophy Circuits
Category:GT5 Prologue Circuits
Category:GT PSP Circuits
Category:GT5 Circuits
Category:GT6 Circuits
Category:Original Circuits
Category:Fictional Circuits
Category:Circuits with weather
Category:GT4 Prologue Hidden Circuits
Category:GT7 Circuits
Category:Japanese Circuits
Category:Circuits with time-change