The FIA-Certified Gran Turismo Championships is a series of professional Gran Turismo Sportworld championshipesports tournaments, managed directly by Japanese game development studioPolyphony Digital and by France-based international motorsport governing body FIA. The series uses Polyphony Digital's latest racing gameGran Turismo Sport, and the championship contains two series that are held concurrently throughout the year: the Nations Cup and the Manufacturers Series. The winners of each series are given a TAG Heuer watch, and a glass plaque, and are also honoured at the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony. All virtual races in the tournament take place in specified locations all around the globe. In addition to the live studio audiences at the specified locations, the tournaments are streamed live in YouTube through several languages. The series is currently sponsored by Toyota, TAG Heuer, and Michelin, and the series is provided with clothing by Puma and peripherals by Thrustmaster. The series has since made an impact in real-world motorsport, serving as a basis for virtual players in terms of possibly starting a career in esports before jumping into real-world motorsport.
Format
Before the "Online Series" is started, every season begins with a "World Tour" event, containing the top drivers from the season prior. The winner from the World Tour event gains direct access to the "World Final" event. 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. 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. 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. The Online Series goes on for five to seven months. The "Live Events" begin after the Online Series. The Nations Cup category includes the top 90 players 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 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. The winners of their respective series at the "World Final" are crowned either Nations Cup champion or Manufacturer Series champion.
Media coverage
The FIA GTC races are usually streamed live in YouTube under the official Gran Turismo channel, and is available to watch through several languages. The commentator duos for the livestreams are Jimmy Broadbent and Tom Brooks, Rene Buttler and Florian Strauss, Donald Reignoux and Pierre-Oliver Valette, Emilio Cozzi and Andrea Facchinetti, Alberto Perez and Lucas Ordóñez, and Duarte Félix da Costa and Filipe Albuquerque.
Event winners
There have been several event winners since the start of the FIA GTC at the "GT World Tour" event at the Nürburgring. Giorgio Mangano was the first Nations Cup event winner, and Philippe Nicolay, Matthew Thomas, and Anthony Duval were the first Manufacturers Series Cup regional event winners. Formula Regional driver and former USF2000 driver Igor Fraga became the first ever FIA Certified Nations Cup World Champion, and Kanata Kawakami, Vincent Rigaud, and Tyrell Meadows became the first ever FIA Certified Manufacturer Series World Champions for Lexus at the "World Final" event in Monaco 2018. Fraga is the only FIA GTC event winner who has won both the Nations Cup and Manufacturer Series championships. He is also the only event winner to have won a championship in both FIA GTC and in real world motorsport.
