Races in GTA IV

"Prove you're genetically different. Beat the rest of the players to the finish. Race to the finish, passing through each checkpoint in order. Hold (which-ever button described ingame) to respawn your vehicle on the last checkpoint passed."

- Ingame Description.

A Race is a competitive multiplayer game in Grand Theft Auto IV. The race is customizable to suit the player in control's wants.

Variables
(Italics means that the player can choose regardless if they are the one in control or not)


 * Race Class (16 Vehicle Classes, Boats, Helicopters, Free Race or Cannonball Run)
 * Vehicle
 * Vehicle Color
 * Race Track
 * Number of Laps (1-8 or Random)
 * Vehicle Damage (Normal or Scrapes Only)
 * Traffic (Parked, Low, Medium, High or Off)
 * Pedestrians (Low, Medium, High or Off)
 * Gamertag Display (On or Off). Turning this feature Off removes your Gamertag over your car but the colored dot remains.
 * Voice Chat (On, Off or Proximity)
 * Time of Day (Morning, Midday, Evening, Midnight or Random)
 * Weather (Clear, Overcast, Drizzle, Rain, Foggy or Variable)
 * Description (On or Off) 
 * Radio Station (Choose from all the GTA IV radio stations)
 * Kick Player

Vehicle Class
The vehicles of the game are split into different classes. These are listed below with the fastest car of the class at the top, and the slowest at the bottom;

The Lost and Damned
The following race classes are exclusive to the first episodic pack, The Lost and Damned.

Note: the three bike-based classes in The Lost and Damned arm players with a Baseball Bat, similar to the single player races.

The Ballad of Gay Tony
The following race classes are exclusive to the second episodic pack, The Ballad of Gay Tony.

Note: all vehicles in The Ballad of Gay Tony's races are equipped with nitrous, similar to the single player Triathlon.

Note: the APC class is only available if GTA Races is selected.

In a race, the player may not exit his/her vehicle and can respawn to the last checkpoint, except in Free Race or Cannonball Run.

GTA Race
"Dominate competitors in an all out war to the finish. Race and fight your way through the checkpoints in order and then hit the finish. You can only hold one drive-by weapon at a time, hold (which-ever button described ingame)to drop your currently selected weapon when in an vehicle."

- Ingame Description

A GTA Race is essentially the same as a normal Race, but the competitors may use weapons to kill or slow down the competition. Players may also exit and enter other vehicles.

There are two additional features for a GTA Race, including which weapons will spawn on the track (All Weapons, Off, Health Only, Pistols, Shotguns, SMGs, All Guns or Guns & Grenades) and Auto-Aim (Allow or Disallow). The Rocket Launcher and Molotov Cocktails also appear, but only on the "All Weapons" setting.

If someone dies in a GTA Race, he/she will respawn at the last completed Checkpoint on a Faggio.

However, these races can be very cheap and turn into impromptu Deathmatches, as other players often block off the road near a weapon location and spawn kill many players, often getting more money than the winner of the race. Also, these players will be armed and protecting a checkpoint for a long period of time, interrupting everyone who would try to pass.