2024 Gran Turismo World Series Round 2

The 2024 Gran Turismo World Series Round 2 was the second round of 2024 Gran Turismo World Series live events, which took place on August 10, 2024 at the Hybernia Theatre in Prague, Czechia. The event featured the second round of Nations Cup, featuring all qualified 12 drivers from all three regions, and Manufacturers Cup, featuring 12 drivers from the EMEA region. 
The event was open to the general public, much like GTWS live events since 2023, with general ticket sales beginning on July 6 for Gold (two-event admission) tickets and July 12 for single-event tickets.
==Manufacturers Cup==
The Manufacturers Cup portion of the event opened the show. As for the regional nature of the event, the event was primarily be contested with drivers from the EMEA region.
===Entry List===
The Manufacturers Cup race consists of the top 12 manufacturers in the GT1 League's Global Manufacturer Rankings of the 2024 Online Series, with the partner manufacturers being granted "immunity" from failing to qualify. Each manufacturer is represented by one driver for each region, chosen from the best driver in the EMEA region in GT1 League of the online series.
(P) indicates a partner manufacturer, which has a guaranteed entry regardless of if they finished outside of the top 12 in the online series. (fc) indicates a former champion team. (Defending champion Nissan failed to qualify.)
Team 	Number	Car 	Drivers
Porsche 	1 	Porsche 911 RSR (991) '17 	Benjamin Hencsei
Subaru (fc) 	2 	Subaru BRZ GT300 '21 	Kylian Drumont
Mazda (P) 	3 	Mazda RX-Vision GT3 Concept Stealth ModelThe Mazda team used the Stealth Model version of the car, although the car performs identically to the regular version.	Pol Urra
AMGAMG was referred as "Mercedes-AMG" throughout the event, except by commentators. 	4 	Mercedes-AMG GT3 '20 	Daniel Fenton
Chevrolet 	5 	Chevrolet Corvette C7 Gr.3 	Rayan DerrouicheAntonio Santos (ERM_AntonioSK) was the top scoring driver for Chevrolet in the EMEA region, but is ineligible to compete as he is underage. Derrouiche serves as his replacement.
BMW 	6 	BMW M6 GT3 Sprint Model '16 	Thomas Labouteley
Audi 	7 	Audi R8 LMS Evo '19 	Daniel Penco
Toyota (P, fc) 	8 	Toyota GR Supra Racing Concept '18 	Jose Serrano
Ferrari 	9 	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 '13 	Mohamed Buhdeima
Honda 	10 	Honda NSX Gr.3 	Mateo Estevez
Lexus (fc) 	11 	Lexus RC F GT3 '17 	Coque Lopez
Genesis (P)Genesis finished 17th in the online standings, therefore qualifying through partner immunity. This had the effect of Lamborghini, who finished 12th in the online standings, failing to qualify for the live events.	12 	Genesis X GR3 	Nicolas Romero
====Notes====
===Qualifying===
Qualifying took place amidst wet weather, setting up the stage for the race. Ferrari, despite having the oldest machinery on the grid, nabbed the pole position, the track and conditions being highly in favor of midship cars - the tie-in Lap Time Challenge, held in the same condition, were also dominated by the 458 GT3 Italia.
Pos	Team 	Time
1 	Ferrari 	1:38.035
2 	Porsche 	1:38.300
3 	AMG 	1:38.703
4 	Subaru 	1:38.740
5 	BMW 	1:38.748
6 	Mazda 	1:38.904
7 	Toyota 	1:38.946
8 	Chevrolet	1:38.992
9 	Genesis 	1:39.029
10 	Audi 	1:39.209
11 	Honda 	1:39.349
12 	Lexus 	1:39.366
===Race===
Mohamed Buhdeima found himself as the race's dark Prancing Horse by managing a dominant lead throughout the rainy race, holding off Porsche's Hencsei in his GTWS live event debut (and Ferrari's only second Gran Turismo live esports event race since the 2018 FIAGTC World Finals). Subaru, a wet-weather favorite, saw their hopes dashed following a contact by BMW's Labouteley at the fourth lap, not helped by their no-stop gamble by staying on wet tires - ostensibly to keep his track position as high as possible following the contact - backfiring as the track dried and rivals went for intermediate or dry (soft) tires.
AMG's Daniel Fenton, a live event rookie much like Buhdeima, was also set for a debut podium. However, a spinout with just three laps to go meant that he had to settle for last.
Pos	Team 	Time 	Points	Q Grid
1 	Ferrari 	45:27.496	6 	1
2 	Porsche 	+00.092 	5 	2
3 	BMW 	+08.069 	4 	5
4 	Genesis 	+17.715 	3 	9
5 	Mazda 	+19.263 	2 	6
6 	Lexus 	+19.739 	1 	12
7 	Honda 	+21.712 	 	11
8 	Toyota 	+21.793 	 	7
9 	Chevrolet	+23.620 	 	8
10 	Subaru 	+29.121 	 	4
11 	Audi 	+35.547 	 	10
12 	AMG 	+51.571 	 	3
Fastest Lap: Coque Lopez (Lexus) -- 1:30.195
==Nations Cup==
The Nations Cup portion of the event served as the main event of the show, with all twelve Nations Cup superstars present.
===Entry List===
The Nations Cup portion featured all the drivers from the previous round, as part of the 2024 season format.
(c) indicates drivers from the defending Nations Cup champion squad (due to previous year being a team-based format), while (fc) indicates a former champion.
Region 	Driver
Europe/Middle East/Africa	Jose Serrano (c)
Europe/Middle East/Africa	Valerio Gallo (fc)
Europe/Middle East/Africa	Kaj de Bruin
Europe/Middle East/Africa	Kylian Drumont
Europe/Middle East/Africa	Coque López (c)
North America 	Calen Roach
North America 	Robert Heck
Central/South Americas 	Adriano Carrazza
Central/South Americas 	Angel Inostroza
Asia 	Takuma Miyazono (fc)
Asia 	Takuma Sasaki
Oceania 	Guy Barbara
===Qualifying===
Pos	Driver 	Time
1 	Takuma Miyazono 	1:14.478
2 	Valerio Gallo 	1:14.513
3 	Calen Roach 	1:14.569
4 	Takuma Sasaki 	1:14.638
5 	Jose Serrano 	1:14.692
6 	Guy Barbara 	1:14.718
7 	Kylian Drumont 	1:14.736
8 	Angel Inostroza 	1:14.767
9 	Adriano Carrazza	1:14.818
10 	Kaj de Bruin 	1:14.926
11 	Coque Lopez 	1:14.934
12 	Robert Heck 	1:14.950
===Sprint Race===
A hard-to-master combo - even on the replica Daily Race C held the week of the event (and later the second round of the subsequent Nations Cup Exhibition Series) - and ostensibly emulating the dangerous environment of Formula One races of the sixties - saw several drivers struggle with the car's handling, with several drivers finding themselves on the wall in turn 7 (before what was the former tunnel in the PlayStation 3 version of the track). Most drivers retained the same order as with when they qualified, with Miyazono and Gallo finishing 1-2.
Pos	Driver 	Time 	Q Grid
1 	Takuma Miyazono 	8:30.457	1
2 	Valerio Gallo 	+00.076 	2
3 	Takuma Sasaki 	+01.472 	4
4 	Calen Roach 	+03.638 	3
5 	Guy Barbara 	+04.451 	6
6 	Kaj de Bruin 	+06.771 	10
7 	Adriano Carrazza	+08.900 	9
8 	Jose Serrano 	+10.365 	5
9 	Angel Inostroza 	+10.907 	8
10 	Kylian Drumont 	+11.629 	7
11 	Coque Lopez 	+13.211 	11
12 	Robert Heck 	+18.471 	12
Fastest Lap: Kylian Drumont -- 1:12.484
===Grand Final===
The grand final was set for a battle between the inside and outside pole sitters (Miyazono and Gallo). All drivers started to Medium tires, except for Lopez who opted to start on Softs.
Lap 5 saw Barbara spinning out in the turn entering the coastal section of the track, causing a large collision. Meanwhile, Lopez's gamble to start on softer tires propelled himself from starting last to be a threat for the lead; when Lopez had to switch back to Medium tires, Kaj de Bruin managed to take the lead for a while. 
On lap 15, Inostroza found himself in a contact against Lopez just before the coastal section. Lap 24 saw Miyazono taking the lead from de Bruin, who had become a threat to win the race, only to fell to seventh by three laps later. From Lap 27, a large crash involving Roach, Serrano, de Bruin, and Sasaki saw Sasaki struggling for the rest of the race, finishing last with a significant gap.
The final lap was a three-way battle between Gallo, Lopez, and Drumont, with Gallo winning the race as Drumont spins Lopez (but enough for the latter to retain his podium spot). Drumont was not penalized post-race for the final-stretch collision.
Pos	Driver 	Time 	Points	Q Grid
1 	Valerio Gallo 	41:17.716	6 	2
2 	Kylian Drumont 	+01.655 	5 	10
3 	Coque Lopez 	+04.536 	4 	11
4 	Robert Heck 	+05.043 	3 	12
5 	Kaj de Bruin 	+05.107 	2 	6
6 	Guy Barbara 	+08.322 	1 	5
7 	Takuma Miyazono 	+08.502 	 	1
8 	Calen Roach 	+08.743 	 	4
9 	Angel Inostroza 	+09.944 	 	9
10 	Jose Serrano 	+19.321 	 	8
11 	Adriano Carrazza	+22.524 	 	7
12 	Takuma Sasaki 	+1:01.175	 	3
Fastest Lap: Jose Serrano -- 0:59.249
==Winners==
Manufacturers Cup	Ferrari 	Mohamed Buhdeima
Nations Cup 	Valerio Gallo	Valerio Gallo
Players who entered the Bonus Campaign with the correct predictions will receive a Cr. 1,000,000 Credit Ticket for each correct prediction, for a total of Cr. 2,000,000 for those who correctly predicted both winners. The ticket(s) can be claimed starting August 13, 2024 and must be claimed before August 27, 2024.
==Michelin Driver of the Day==
Manufacturers Cup	Ferrari 	Mohamed Buhdeima
Nations Cup 	Valerio Gallo	Valerio Gallo
The single Michelin Driver of the Day introduced in Montreal was reverted for this round.
==Viewer Campaign==
An in-game Viewer Campaign event was also held, by simply watching the stream through the game. Delivery of prizes, a Genesis X Gran Racer Vision Gran Turismo Concept for the Manufacturers Cup stream and a Škoda Vision Gran Turismo for the Nations Cup stream, began on August 13, 2024 for those who watched the broadcast in-game by August 12 at 14:59 UTC, while those who watched later (no later than August 16 at 14:59 UTC) will receive them on August 19.Win Two VGT Cars Tickets With the 'Gran Turismo World Series' 2024 Rd.2 – Prague 'Viewers Gift' Campaign! - NEWS - gran-turismo.com
The prizes for either Viewer Campaigns must be claimed before August 27, if received on August 13.
==Trivia==
*The Red Bull Ring track featured in the Manufacturer's Cup race features some updated advertising banners. It is unknown if the updated branding will be released to the general public in a content update.
*For this round only, Dynamic Viewing is not available for the Nations Cup Sprint Race.
==Championship Standings==
;Nations Cup standings (Top 5)
Pos 	Driver 	Points
1 ⬆️	Coque Lopez 	8
2 ⬆️	Valerio Gallo 	7
3 ⬆️	Robert Heck 	6
= ⬇️	Takuma Miyazono	6
5 ⬆️	Kylian Drumont 	5
;Manufacturers Cup standings (Top 5)
Pos 	Manufacturer	Points
1 ⬆️	Porsche 	9
2 ⬇️	Lexus 	7
3 ⬆️	Ferrari 	6
4 ⬇️	Honda 	5
5 ⬆️	BMW 	4
==References==
==External links==
* GTWS Round 2 2024 on gran-turismo.com
* Race Report: Shocking the World, a Rookie Comes Out of Nowhere to Steal the Show and the Win! - gran-turismo.com
* Race Report: A True Race for the History Books in the Nations Cup Grand Final! - gran-turismo.com
Category:Esports race reports