Gran Turismo 7 is a circuit racing game with a bit of rally on the side. There are no point to point stages. What you get is a handful of closed dirt and snow courses, and they are a very good place to learn car control.
Here is every one of them, what you need to drive there and the order I would learn them in.
Every rally track in GT7
| Track | Surface | Length | Reverse layout | Tyres you need |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sardegna Windmills | Dirt | 3.31 km | Yes | Dirt |
| Fishermans Ranch | Dirt | 6.89 km | Yes | Dirt |
| Colorado Springs Lake | Dirt | 2.99 km | Yes | Dirt |
| Lake Louise Long Track | Snow | About 3.70 km | Yes | Snow |
| Lake Louise Short Track | Snow | About 2.57 km | Yes | Snow |
| Lake Louise Tri-Oval | Snow | About 3.07 km | Yes | Snow |
So four venues and six base layouts. Count the reverse versions and you have 12.
The three dirt courses have been in the game since launch. Lake Louise came later, with update 1.40 (the Spec II update) in November 2023, and it is the only snow venue.
Which one to drive first
| If you want | Go to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Your first laps on dirt | Colorado Springs Lake | Short, wide and fast. You learn the slide without a wall at every exit |
| To learn car control | Sardegna Windmills | Hairpins and elevation. It teaches you to rotate the car on the brake |
| A real test | Fishermans Ranch | Almost seven kilometres with blind crests. One mistake costs a lot of time |
| To practise drifting on low grip | Lake Louise Tri-Oval | Three corners, nearly flat out, the car sideways the whole lap |
| The hardest surface | Lake Louise Long Track | Snow has even less grip than dirt, and the track has 11 corners of every speed |
Colorado Springs Lake
The shortest dirt course at 2.99 km, set around a lake in Colorado. The corners are open and the track is wide, so the speed is high and the car spends long moments in a gentle slide.
This is where I would start. You have room to make mistakes, and the lap is short enough that you repeat each corner often. It is also the home of the World Rally Challenge for Gr.B cars, so sooner or later the game sends you here anyway.
What to work on: one clean slide per corner. Turn in early, let the car rotate, then hold it with the throttle. If you are sawing at the wheel, you went in too fast.
Sardegna Windmills
3.31 km on the island of Sardinia, and the opposite of Colorado. It is narrow, it climbs and drops, and it has proper hairpins.
In a hairpin on dirt you cannot wait for the front to grip, because it never does. You brake in a straight line, then turn while you come off the brake so the rear comes around. It is the same idea as trail braking in a kart, only slower and with more angle. Get that right here and every other loose surface gets easier.
The same venue also has three tarmac layouts, Sardegna Road Track A, B and C. Those are normal circuits and need normal tyres.
Fishermans Ranch
The big one: 6.89 km through the American desert. It is more than twice as long as the other two, with blind crests, jumps and long fast sections between slow corners.
It is the closest thing in GT7 to a real rally stage, and the one I would pick of the three for that reason. It is also the one that punishes you. You cannot see many of the corners before you arrive, so you have to know the track. Do slow laps first and learn where the road goes after each crest.
One warning about the jumps. Land with the wheel straight and the car settled. If you land while turning or braking, the car does strange things.
Lake Louise
The only snow in the game, on packed snow in the Canadian Rockies, with lights for night sessions. Three layouts, each with a reverse:
- Long Track. About 3.7 km and 11 corners, slow and fast, plus a long straight. The complete one.
- Short Track. About 2.6 km of tight corners one after the other. Busy hands.
- Tri-Oval. About 3.1 km and three corners. You can be nearly flat the whole lap with the car sliding. Great for learning to hold a drift.
You need snow tyres here. Dirt tyres are not accepted.
Snow has less grip than dirt, and everything happens later: the car takes longer to turn, longer to stop and longer to come back from a slide. Do everything earlier and smaller.
Tyres: the thing that blocks most people
The game does not let you on a loose surface with the wrong tyres.
- Dirt courses: dirt tyres.
- Lake Louise: snow tyres.
The Gr.B rally cars have dirt tyres as standard. For any other car you buy the tyres in the Tuning Shop, and not every car can fit them. If you do not see them in the list for your car, that car cannot go off road.
For the car itself, I ranked the whole class in the best GT7 rally cars. The short version: the Ford Focus Gr.B is the safe buy.
How to unlock them
The dirt courses open as you work through the Cafe menu books in the early part of the campaign. The game takes you to the dirt licence tests and events on its own, so you do not have to do anything special. My guide to unlocking tracks in GT7 has the full order, and the GT7 track list has everything else in the game.
Is rally in GT7 realistic?
It is fun, and it is not a rally simulator. The cars slide in a believable way, and what you learn about weight transfer is real. The jumps and landings are the weak part, and the walls give you penalties in events. If you want proper stages with a co-driver, that is a different kind of game. I compared the two in GT7 vs WRC 10.
For what it is, a place to learn to control a car that is moving around under you, I rate it. Half an hour at Sardegna Windmills makes you smoother on tarmac too.
FAQ
How many rally tracks are in Gran Turismo 7?
Four venues: three on dirt and one on snow. That is six base layouts, or 12 with the reverse versions.
What are the dirt tracks in GT7?
Sardegna Windmills, Fishermans Ranch and Colorado Springs Lake. Each has a reverse layout.
Does GT7 have a snow track?
Yes, Lake Louise. It was added with update 1.40 in November 2023 and has a Long Track, a Short Track and a Tri-Oval.
What is the longest rally track in GT7?
Fishermans Ranch at 6.89 km.
What is the best rally track for beginners?
Colorado Springs Lake. It is short and wide, so you can learn to slide the car with room for mistakes.
Do I need special tyres for rally tracks in GT7?
Yes. Dirt tyres for the three dirt courses and snow tyres for Lake Louise. You buy them in the Tuning Shop if your car does not have them.
Can I drive any car on the dirt tracks?
No. Only cars that can fit dirt tyres. The Gr.B rally cars are made for it, and many road cars can take them too.
Are there point to point rally stages in GT7?
No. Every dirt and snow course is a closed lap.