Special Stage Route 7

Special Stage Route 7 is a high-speed battleground sure to please fans of highway battle. It was basically designed with that driving in mind. This course is not practical at all as there is no pit lane. It is 14.47 miles (approx. 23.29 km) long with 20 corners. Drag racing is often done here on some of the long straights of this course, usually where some of the long tunnels open up. Also, this is a course that can be run in dry weather or in wet weather. This post on John's Gran Turismo Space is a look at Special Stage Route 7.

--- Special Stage Route 7 ---

Special Stage Route 7 was one of the first original courses as Gran Turismo 5 was unveiled proper. The layout looks like a point-to-point course, but it is really an extremely long course. Laps here in the fastest cars will take anywhere between 5:15.000 and 5:30.000 to complete one lap around this course. You can easily earn the PSN Trophy for "111 Meters a Second" with (a certain car in stock trim) just by racing this course. With the Test Course not a part of Gran Turismo 5's track lineup, this track seems like the "replacement" of Test Course since it is so long and high-speed. The time around this course is told to be 2:10 AM. So you basically have this course to yourself in the early morning hours! As for setting your car up, this is where those high-end horsepower upgrades really come into play. Tune your car for a high-speed setup because you'll need it if you want to clear this course quickly. However, you need to have a good handling setup for those few occasions where you'll have to limit your speed and take on some tricky corners.

Your car WILL reach its top speed as you drive around this course. While this is a high-speed course, you still need to do a substantial amount of braking. Bear in mind that this course has about two hairpin corners. It can be very easy to go very wide in these corners after having your high-speed romp around the course. The first hairpin is especially difficult and may well be the most difficult corner on the track. It comes after you have to brake hard to negotiate a hard left-hand corner that goes a bit uphill. The second hairpin at the other end of the track is more like a roundabout than a razor-thin hairpin. If racing the wet version of this course, you will need to brake earlier since your tires don't have as much traction on wet roads as opposed to racing on dry roads.

When racing SSR7, the important thing to remember is to use drafting techniques at speed. Make the most of your passing opportunities when in the tunnels. The amount of turbulence at speed is much less in the tunnels compared to out in the open air. Smooth steering is another high-speed racing technique you must practice. Use smooth steering to cut down on wind resistance as you are racing at speed. Only a few corners require heavy braking, and you only need to use heavy braking in the vicinity of the two hairpins at either end of the course.

Video Preview.

Special Stage Route 7 can be seen below. Click on the link below this video to see it on YouTube (if you are unable to view Flash media). This drive was put on the Wet version of Special Stage Route 7:


^ "Gran Turismo 5 - Special Stage Route 7 (onboard; Calsonic Impul GT-R; no driving aids)"

Enjoy your time around Special Stage Route 7!





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