Today, Kazunori Yamauchi, the President of Polyphony Digital took to the PlayStation Blog and announced that the 2018 FIA-certified Gran Turismo Sport Championships have started.

The Gran Turismo SportChampionships are open for anyone to participate in and the online season lasts from June until September. It concludes with the Regional and World finals in October and November. More details can be found on the website, but if players wish to participate in the online season they can do so by going to the Sport Mode on Gran Turismo Sport.

The final match-ups for the Gran Turismo Sport Championships will be hosted in various locations around the world and will be streamed live. Yamauchi-san says that it will be just like their first ever live event exhibition last month. The Gran Turismo Sport World Tour at the Nürburgring which saw thirty Gran Turismo gamers from eleven countries race against one another.

A brand new Star Player system is being introduced which will find players that qualify and in the top 200 season point rankings —or the top ten of their country or chosen manufacturer— will be able to register for the Star Player title. Those who do get the Star Player title will find their in-game driver rating will be displayed as an "S". They will also be able to take part in the Top 24 Superstar Races to earn bonus points, here's a snippet from the site:

"In some rounds during the Online Race seasons, there will be a 'Top 24 Superstars' round where only the top players will be matched together in the race. Bonus points are awarded in this race, allowing players to acquire more points than in a standard race."

For those that wish to watch the event can download the Gran Turismo Sport Companion app for iOS or Android and see new decals, stats for their favorite racers, highlights, and more.

Gran Turismo Sport gained over one-million players for the beta last year, and when it launched it dominated the UK sales charts and PS4 digital download sales chart in Japan.

Gran Turismo Sport Championships Season One has started and Season Two will begin in July. August and September will see the final seasons of the online season. Starting from October the events will take place live for the Americas Region Final, EMEA Region Final, and Asia/Oceania Region Final. November will see the World Final take place.

Gran Turismo Sport is available on PS4.