0 0The Fanatec GT7 Eifel Cup is live at the Nürburgring GP until 16 November. Over 7,700 drivers set a time on the first day, and the leader is on 1:57.187.
The Fanatec Gran Turismo Eifel Cup 2026 opened on Monday 2 November, and the first day already tells us a lot about how hard this leaderboard is going to be. Everyone drives the same Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) '22, on the same Racing Hard tyres, with the same fixed settings. There is nowhere to hide.
The Eifel Cup is open
You'll find the event in the Online Time Trials menu in the Sport pavilion, and there's nothing to sign up for. The leaderboard closes on Monday 16 November at 03:59 PST, which is 12:59 in Central Europe. We covered the full rules, the eligible countries and the prizes when the event was announced, in our Eifel Cup preview, and Polyphony Digital's announcement has the official regulations. You can also see it next to the other current events on the GT7 Sport Mode page.
In short, the fastest eligible driver in each of the three regions (Europe, Middle East and Africa, the Americas, and Asia-Oceania) chooses either a Fanatec Gran Turismo DD Pro (8Nm) or a set of Fanatec Podium Pedals Sport. Wall contact and shortcuts both invalidate the lap, so a clean lap is the only lap that counts.
What the first day tells us
On the evening of the first day, 7,751 drivers were already on our Eifel Cup leaderboard. T. Kaewchot leads with a 1:57.187. To be in the top 100 you need a 1:59.246, which is just over two seconds off the lead, and the top 1,000 starts at 2:00.890, 3.7 seconds behind.
After one day, only 0.15% of the field is within half a percent of the leader.
That's the platinum time of 1:57.773, and only about a dozen drivers have it. Gold, at 3% off the lead, is 2:00.703, and 10.81% of the field is inside it. Most drivers sit in silver, between three and five percent off. In a one-make event like this the car can't explain any of that gap, so all of it comes down to the driver.
What it takes to be in the fight
The Nürburgring GP is a circuit of heavy braking zones and slow exits, and the 911 GT3 R (992) rewards a precise stop and a patient throttle. On Racing Hards there's less grip to lean on, so overdriving the entry costs more here than it would on Mediums.
Remember that the times will keep dropping. There are still two weeks left, and the fastest drivers usually find most of their time in the second week, once they've learned the combination. A two-second gap to the top 100 sounds like a lot, but over 5,148 metres it's still mostly braking points and exits. Share your times and what's working for you in the Eifel Cup forum thread.
Final Thoughts
The Eifel Cup has started strongly, with thousands of drivers on day one and a leaderboard that's already very tight at the top. Even if a DD Pro or a set of Podium Pedals Sport is out of reach, the leaderboard shows you exactly how far you are from the fastest drivers in the world in the same car. Check the leaderboard again in a week, because the top of it will look very different.
Let us know what you think about this combination. It looks like it could be a very interesting one.
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