Super Formula teasing the SF23 in Gran Turismo

SF23.jpg
The official Super Formula race series Twitter account just potentially teased the arrival of the latest version of their spec race car - the Dallara SF23 - in Gran Turismo 7, in a pretty unexpected fashion.

Everything started on january 9th when the community manager asked followers what they'd like to happen if they could have a wish granted related to Super Formula in 2023. One user replied they'd like to see the SF23 be included in GT7, and that reply has been quote retweeted by Super Formula, while tagging the official Gran Turismo account.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1612874553394597888

While this could just be a cheeky poke from one community manager to another, chances are this is less innocent than it appears when you consider Gran Turismo star Igor Fraga has been appointed as an ambassador for the series and has recently been testing the main series and junior series cars at Suzuka. Both companies also have pretty tight relationships with mutual sponsoring and Gran Turismo having hosted special events in Japan related to Super Formula. Additionally, the SF19 chassis has been included in GT Sport on its release year and has just been retired at the end of 2022, so everything points towards the tweet being quite possibly serious.

For those unfamiliar with the series, Super Formula is Japan's flagship open wheel single seater race series, with a spec chassis and a choice between Toyota or Honda turbo 2.0 inline 4 engines. The cars are faster than F2s or Indycars, which makes them the second fastest open wheelers in activity around the world. The SF23 features a new aero package made of bio-composite materials to get closer to carbon neutrality, but also to promote close racing and overtakes - which were already helped with a pus to pass function that increases max RPM and turbo pressure, with limited time of use per race. New tyres engineered by Yokohama will also be produced with 33% of recycled and renewable raw materials for more environmental friendliness.
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About author
GT-Alex
Alexandre Tonini
Global motorsports enjoyer, long time simracer, Gran Turismo veteran, I've been driving alongside top drivers since the dawn of online pro leagues on Gran Turismo, and qualified for the only cancelled FIA GTC World Tour. I've left aside competitive driving in 2020 to dedicate myself to IGTL, a simracing organisation hosting high quality events for pro racers and customers, to create with friends the kind of events we wished we could have had. We strive to provide the best events for drivers and the best content for viewers, and want to help the simracing scene grow and shine further in the global esports scene.

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Comments

T
Push to Pass is a sin.A crime against racing. It should be banned and those who introduced it should be forced to drive a Lada Samara for life.

Anyway,the engines these things use are weird. 15:1 compression and 3.5 bar turbo boost, on a custom built 2.0 inline 4 should make over 700hp but these make just over 550-650 depending the boost. I mean, a K20 makes this kind of power at a comfortable 9:1 compression, less than half the boost and no racing fuel. How did they manage to make such low power with those kind of numbers?
 
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GT-Alex
gamer19 said:
great, that was always the main reason why I watch racing
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It might not be the reason you watch, but it might be the reason you'll still be able to watch in the following years. The tyre will provide the same grip levels and general behavior as well so it's not like they're sacrificing anything here. Don't ditch innovation because it's not providing you a direct, immediate reward.

I for one welcome this very much, as european laws are preventing us from getting the best tyre compounds available for public roads in Japan or NA: we lost the AD08R which got replaced by the worse AD08RS, and we're not gonna be getting the new AD09, which I would have loved to rock on my car. Similar issue with the Brigestone RE71Rs or Hankook RS4.

So if Yokohama can translate this tech to performance road tyres, than means we can get more grip again on dual duty tyres or rally tyres.
 
Richard Wilks
turbo86 said:
Push to Pass is a sin.A crime against racing. It should be banned and those who introduced it should be forced to drive a Lada Samara for life.

Anyway,the engines these things use are weird. 15:1 compression and 3.5 bar turbo boost, on a custom built 2.0 inline 4 should make over 700hp but these make just over 550-650 depending the boost. I mean, a K20 makes this kind of power at a comfortable 9:1 compression, less than half the boost and no racing fuel. How did they manage to make such low power with those kind of numbers?
Click to expand...
Two words: Fuel efficiency.
 
David Mann
turbo86 said:
Push to Pass is a sin.A crime against racing. It should be banned and those who introduced it should be forced to drive a Lada Samara for life.
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Maybe. If it's just an artificial restriction/limit, then I agree. However, if it's a case where the engine blows up or wears out if you use it too much, then I think that's generally alright. Of course, it should be up to each team and driver when and how much to use it in that case, which is not the case here.
 
MJQT
Nice to see more love for Super Formula - especially officially licensed/partnered like this. :)

Even so, I wish Polyphony would take its license-holding role for Japanese series more seriously. I'd love to have more Super Formula circuits like Sugo, Okayama, and Motegi - and these would double to add to the Super GT simulation possibilities GT7 offers.

Honestly, I'm unlikely to ever pick up a PS5, and thus will probably never try GT7. But having the ability to run Super GT and Super Formula-esque leagues in the game on a full schedule of races in an officially licensed game would definitely add significantly to the appeal of GT7 for me.
 
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T
David Mann said:
Maybe. If it's just an artificial restriction/limit, then I agree. However, if it's a case where the engine blows up or wears out if you use it too much, then I think that's generally alright. Of course, it should be up to each team and driver when and how much to use it in that case, which is not the case here.
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In case you didn't know, the engine mapping can change on the fly. It's old tech actually. So what's the purpose of this button? To improve "efficiency". Being stuck behind somebody for 5 laps, trying to exploit aerodynamics and late braking in order to pass, ruins "efficiency" and wears out the useless ecofriendly modern tires faster.
So instead of letting drivers actually race eachother, they gave this stupid thing to reduce the time the engine and tires are under stress. It does the exact opposite of what you described. Of course it also helps make formula racing less boring because of this "efficiency" and "ecofriendlyness" gargabe.
 
ScrewCaptain27
turbo86 said:
Push to Pass is a sin.A crime against racing. It should be banned and those who introduced it should be forced to drive a Lada Samara for life.

Anyway,the engines these things use are weird. 15:1 compression and 3.5 bar turbo boost, on a custom built 2.0 inline 4 should make over 700hp but these make just over 550-650 depending the boost. I mean, a K20 makes this kind of power at a comfortable 9:1 compression, less than half the boost and no racing fuel. How did they manage to make such low power with those kind of numbers?
Click to expand...
To add to what you said, those who write BOP regulations that make GT cars have less power than the road-going versions should be sentenced to drive a Matiz 800cc. That's even stupider than push-to-pass.
 
GT-Alex
ScrewCaptain27 said:
To add to what you said, those who write BOP regulations that make GT cars have less power than the road-going versions should be sentenced to drive a Matiz 800cc. That's even stupider than push-to-pass.
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Current power level of GT race cars has various reasons, main one probably being keeping costs down while having reliable engines. It's not like these cars are slouching anyways. If anything, I think manufacturers making their road cars more powerful than the race cars is the stupid thing here. Nobody is going to do anything of those 700hp on road legal tyres anyway. A very skilled driver can extract 300 - 400hp car on street tyres, anything past that you won't be able to use in any meaningful way, unless your thing is highway pulls.
 

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