Gran Turismo Sport: 5 tips to get faster and dominate the competition

Being as fast as possible in Gran Turismo Sport is the quickest route to success - no pun intended!

So here we're looking at five basic ways you can improve your lap times and overall speed in the game.

1. Switch to manual transmission

With everything that might be going on during a race, the last thing you want to worry about is changing gear, right? Wrong!

Sure, you can get by by using automatic transmission to begin with, but you should really consider switching to manual as soon as you're comfortable racing against other players. 

Manual transmission makes it easier to take advantage of your car’s engine, and generally you can push the revs into the red for longer before shifting, which aids in acceleration. Shifting down when braking also helps the car to slow down faster, while using a higher gear when taking a long turn helps to maintain control by not over-throttling.

2. Master your braking points

Hitting the brakes at the right point before turning into a corner is crucial if you want to improve your entry and exit speed. 

Not only will this help you be smoother going into and out of corners, it also minimises mistakes. The best way of getting to grips with every corner of every track is to practice! But perhaps a simpler way is to look at the braking boards at the side of the road. Roughly every corner in the game will have braking boards at the side, counting down 150m, 100m and then 50m. Braking when you reach the 100m marker should work nearly every time. 

Another simple way of learning braking points is by switching the cone markers on at each corner. You can do this from the Racing Options menu. This will add cones to each corner indicating four spots: the braking area, where you should start steering, the innermost point of a corner, and the corner's exit point. There are two cones indicating the braking area.

3. Circuit experience

Practice makes perfect and the best way to practice is by spending plenty of time in the Circuit Experience mode. 

Basically, this mode will help you learn every course sector-by sector, and makes learning each corner and each sector fun. And best of all, you stand a chance of winning a random prize car for getting all-gold on a track!

4. Watch the best

This might not be a particularly game-changing tip, but watching the best do what they do can certainly help you. When you enter the race menu - which is planned for a specific hour - have a look at the table with the best qualifying times. Here, you can view each competitors lap.

Next, you'll want to turn on all information about the race and observe the data at the bottom of the screen. Here you can analyse which gear to use when entering a corner, where to brake and where to cut the corners.

5. Make your car faster

Being faster and making your car faster are two different things, but setting up your car to be as fast as possible - especially if you're competing at a circuit with lots of fast sections (such as Monza, for example) - will give you an advantage.

Check out our simple guide on how to make your car faster in Gran Turismo Sport, including lessons in transmission, tyres and downforce!