Exhibition 2 of the Manufacturers Cup in the Gran Turismo World Series 2026 is here, running from Saturday 22 August through to Saturday 12 September. It's a four-round championship, each round featuring a Qualifying and a Final race, and this time every round is run in Gr.3 machinery.
The Four-Round Schedule
The championship visits four circuits over four consecutive Saturdays, and it's a nicely varied selection. Round 1 kicks off on 22 August at Suzuka Circuit, one of the finest tracks in the game and a proper test of Gr.3 pace. Round 2 follows on 29 August at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, the stop-and-go Montreal layout where slipstream and the Wall of Champions come into play. Round 3 lands on 5 September at Mount Panorama, the fearsome Bathurst circuit where the run over the mountain punishes any mistake. And the finale, Round 4, takes place on 12 September at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on the Grand Prix Layout with no chicane, where the long straight and final-corner exit decide everything.
Every round is Gr.3, with BoP and tuning locked off, garage cars, and car settings limited to brake balance only. So this is a pure test of driving and racecraft across four very different circuits.
Round-by-Round Regulations
The format shifts round to round, which keeps things interesting. Round 1 at Suzuka is 20 laps with a rolling start and a 7-minute qualifying window, running Racing Mediums or Softs as the required tyres, with race fuel at 1x but tyre wear at a steep 2x, and no mandatory pit stop.
Round 2 at Gilles-Villeneuve is 15 laps on Racing Hards with standard 1x fuel and wear and no forced stop, so it's more of a flat-out sprint where slipstream tactics rule.
Round 3 at Bathurst is 15 laps and the most demanding on strategy, with race fuel at 2x, tyre wear at a brutal 4x, and a single mandatory pit stop, so tyre management over the mountain will be everything.
Round 4 at Barcelona is the longest at 18 laps, running Racing Hards or Mediums with 1x fuel and 2x wear and no mandatory stop, so tyre choice and degradation management will shape the finish.
Every round uses a rolling start, a 16-car grid, normal track limits, light shortcut penalties, and has DR and SR affected, so these count towards your ratings. Wall collision penalties are off across the board, which is worth knowing at a wall-heavy circuit like Bathurst.
Entry Slots
The clever part of the World Series format is that the same race is held at multiple times, so you pick whichever slot suits you. You can enter from 15 minutes before your chosen start time, and the "Now Accepting Entries" message appears at the start time itself.
The GT1 League runs three slots in the evening at 18:00, 20:00 and 22:00 BST. The GT2 and GT3 Leagues have far more flexibility, with morning slots at 9:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 and 13:00, then evening slots at 18:00, 19:00, 20:00, 21:00 and 22:00 BST. So whichever league you're in, there should be a time that fits your schedule.
How the Points Work
The overall ranking uses an effective points system, and there's one crucial rule to understand: while you can join multiple race slots in a single round, only the points from the last race you entered will count. So if you have a great result early and then jump into a later slot and have a shocker, that later result is the one that sticks. Choose your slots wisely.
At the end of Round 4, the scores from all four rounds are combined for the final standings. If competitors are tied on points, the game breaks it with a series of tiebreakers: highest individual points across all rounds first, then highest points in a single round, then Driver Rating, then Sportsmanship Rating, and finally whoever started playing GT7 earlier according to their PSN record.
There's also a points adjustment coming in for this exhibition. For top-tier matchmaking in the GT1 League, the number of Points Ranking awarded is being changed, effective from this Exhibition 2 onwards, with further adjustments planned for future competitions.
Final Thoughts
This is a strong exhibition. Four excellent and varied Gr.3 circuits, a flexible slot system that fits around your day, and a rewards structure that pays out to three-quarters of the field. Bathurst in Round 3 with its 4x tyre wear and mandatory pit is the standout challenge, and the Barcelona finale should make for a tense end to the championship.
Whether you're a GT1 alien chasing 4 million credits or a GT3 racer just after the Bronze payout, there's genuinely something here for everyone. Get your slots picked and your Gr.3 car dialled in.
Let us know which round you're most looking forward to, and how you're getting on across the four weeks.
Gran Turismo World Series 2026 Exhibition 2: Manufacturers Cup Schedule and Rewards
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