Gran Turismo 7’s latest Online Time Trial puts the Lexus RC F ‘14 on Dragon Trail – Seaside Reverse, and that combination is more notable than it sounds. According to GTPlanet, this is the first time the reverse layout of Seaside has shown up in the Time Trial rotation at all. The event runs on Sports Medium tires, which is a modest grip level for a heavy front-engined V8 coupe on a track full of long, loaded corners.

Dragon Trail has been a fixture of Gran Turismo’s fictional circuits since GT Sport, and the forward Seaside layout is one of the most familiar in the game. Running it backwards changes the rhythm considerably. Braking zones land in different places, the chicane section works against you from the other direction, and the elevation changes that you have memorized in one direction feel unfamiliar the other way. Pairing that with the RC F on a middling tire means the fastest laps will come from patience on corner entry rather than raw pace.

For sim racers, the appeal here is straightforward. Time Trials are the cleanest measure of driving in GT7, with no traffic, no penalties handed out by other people’s mistakes, and a global leaderboard that does not care how you qualified. A brand new layout in the rotation resets some of the accumulated knowledge that regulars lean on, so the gap between veterans and newer drivers should be narrower than usual for the first few days. The RC F is not a car most people spend much time in either, which levels the field a little further.

If you have been waiting for an excuse to learn Seaside Reverse properly, this is it. Expect the leaderboard to shuffle as people find where the time is hiding.

Originally reported by GTPlanet.