The 2021 edition of the FIA Certified Gran Turismo Championships ended with the triumph of Valerio Gallo in Nations Cup (the first Italian to win this title) and the victory of the Toyota team, which won the Manufacturer Series Champions.
At the height of a simply extraordinary season, the Italian was the favorite for the final victory, with a lead of six points over the Spaniard José Serrano, while the Japanese Ryota Kokubun it was 8 points away.
After an extraordinary season Valerio Gallo wins the Gran Turismo Championships 2021
During the final, Gallo was immediately able to take the lead on the first lap, with however the great unknown of the different pit-stop strategies, which would have made the result uncertain until the end. During the 18th of 22 laps, a mistake by Miyazono allowed Gallo to regain the lead, leadership maintained until the end, also resisting the final attack of the French Baptiste Beauvois.
Finally, it’s my turn:
NATIONS
CUP
WORLD
CHAMPION !!!I just can’t… 🥲
Thank you for believing in me, since the beginning. I’d celebrate with you all again to share this crazy feeling.
A long, hard climb, i won’t ever regret, NEVER ❤
THANK YOU! 🏆 #FIAGTC #GTSport pic.twitter.com/uv9Ssuz9RE
– Valerio Gallo (@Williams_BRacer) December 5, 2021
These are the words of the new champion:
It has been a great season. Having won the Nations Cup, four rounds and the Olympic Virtual Series was magical.
I don’t really know how to describe my feelings right now, but I want to dedicate this championship to all the people who have supported me.
The FIA Certified Gran Turismo Championships
The FIA Certified Gran Turismo Championships were launched in 2018 by Sony Interactive Entertainment and the developer of Gran Turismo Polyphony Digital and certified by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (the governing body of world motor sport). The exciting new sport is an eSport and motorsport hybrid played on the hit game Gran Turismo Sport.
The Championships consist of two series. The Nations Cup is an individual competition with players competing on behalf of their countries. For the Manufacturer Series, players compete on behalf of their chosen manufacturer.
The 2021 FIA Certified Gran Turismo Championships finals were also the scene of the presentation of the new car Porsche Vision Gran Turismo, available in Gran Turismo 7 since its release, set for March 4, 2022.
TOYOTA GAZOO Racing GT Cup
An undoubtedly incandescent weekend that just ended: we started on Friday 3 December, the day on which the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing GT Cup.
It was an exciting race on the Le Mans circuit, in which the experienced Japanese driver Tomoaki Yamanaka crossed the finish line first a only four tenths from fellow countryman and last year’s champion Takuma Miyazono (Kerokkuma_ej20) and impressive 16-year-old rookie Rikuto Kobayashi.
Manufacturer Series World Final
Saturday 4 December, then, it was the turn of Manufacturer Series World Final, with Team Toyota and Team Mazda paired at 13 points before the final competition, four points ahead of last year’s Team Subaru champions. Thanks to the extraordinary placings obtained in all three races, the Toyota team – made up of the Brazilian Igor Fraga, the Spanish Coque López and the Japanese Tomoaki Yamanaka – managed to conquer the top step of the podium. For Fraga and Yamanaka this is the second Manufacturer Series victory for the Toyota team, having already lifted the Boccioni-inspired trophy in 2019.
Team Mazda finished second in the standings, due to the difficulties encountered in recovering the disappointing seventh place in the opening round, despite an excellent third place in Race 2 and an excellent second place in Race 3. To complete the the trio, the Porsche Team, who finished with a point ahead of the Mercedes-Benz team who finished fourth.
Finally, on Sunday 5 December, the highlight of the Nations Cup World Finals, in which 32 competitors representing 18 different countries competed. The final portion of the tournament was divided into three regions: Asia-Oceania, EMEA and the Americas, with the aim of competing in the Grand Final with the top 16 finishers.
