As with the Gr.1 combo, there are two versions to pick from, so a look at the leaderboard will tell you which one the quick drivers have settled on.

Racing Softs give you the most grip GT7 offers, and the X2019 will use every bit of it. The difficulty is the speed. Braking points arrive sooner than your instincts expect, and a 7 km lap gives you plenty of chances to get one wrong. Brake early, then move the marker later a few metres at a time once the lap is clean. If you put laps into the X2019 at Deep Forest Reverse in August, some of that feel will carry over.

How to Approach Both

Run ghost laps from the top 100 rather than chasing the world-record ghost. A gold-pace reference is far more useful, and far less demoralising, when you're learning where the time is.

Update 1.71 is still the latest physics change, and it changed tyre behaviour when slipping, heating and wear, throttle control, steering geometry, and how traction control and ABS step in. If you haven't driven a high-downforce prototype since it landed, give yourself a session to recalibrate before you start chasing tenths in earnest.

Final Thoughts

A strong fortnight for anyone who likes their cars quick and their downforce high. Road Atlanta in Gr.1 is the precise one, a short lap with gold at 1:10.4 where the Esses and Turn 12 decide most of it. The X2019 at Sainte-Croix B Reverse is about speed and nerve, with a 1:37.6 target on a layout running the wrong way round.

Let us know what you think about these combinations, and which car you ended up running in each.

GT7 Online Time Trials: Gr.1 at Road Atlanta and the Red Bull X2019 at Sainte-Croix B Reverse (24 September 2026)

GT7 Online Time Trials: Gr.1 at Road Atlanta and the Red Bull X2019 at Sainte-Croix B Reverse (24 September 2026)

Two prototype combos this fortnight: Gr.1 on Racing Mediums at Road Atlanta, and the Red Bull X2019 on Racing Softs around Sainte-Croix Layout B Reverse.

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