Races and Event Types

0:50 Forza Horizon 6 sorts its races into three paths: official Horizon Festival events (Road, Dirt and Cross Country races, Time Attack Circuits, Drag Meets, PR Stunts and Bonus Boards), Wristband events (Showcases and Horizon Rush), and the unofficial Discover Japan events (Street Races and Touge Battles), as Playground Games set them out on May 12, 2026. Festival races fill the meter toward your next Wristband; Discover Japan events earn Stamps in the Collection Journal. The longest race of all is the Colossus, a Goliath on Legend Island that loops the whole map. This page covers each type and how to set one up; the meetups, stunts and multiplayer modes each have their own page.

Quick facts

Sources: Playground's progression post, May 12, 2026; Playground's campaign post, Feb 23, 2026; forza.net achievements list.

Festival races: Road, Dirt and Cross Country

0:37 Road, Dirt and Cross Country races are the core of the campaign: curated events that ask for a specific set of cars, so the car theme of each one decides what you bring. Until the first (Yellow) Wristband, only C class cars can enter Festival events, and each later Wristband raises the cap. Hypercars stay out of Festival races until at least the Purple Wristband. Classes are explained on Car Classes and Performance Index.

Cross Country races leave the road altogether, as in the cross-country race over rough terrain and water that Xbox Wire described before launch (Apr 8, 2026). Within those types the starter events show the subtypes: the first six events are River Split (a Speed Trap), Airfield Trail (a Trail Race), Shirakawa Circuit (a Circuit Race), Highway View (a Speed Zone), Wind Farm Cross Country and Hokubu Time Attack, playable in any order.

A race holds 12 racers on a course cordoned off from the open world, PC Gamer found in review (May 14, 2026). Winning matters for more than the trophy: the achievements "On The Board" and "Racing Aficionado" ask for your first and 57 Festival Race wins. Earning a Wristband repopulates explored areas with new races, Eurogamer noted.

Street Races and Touge Battles

Street Races and Touge Battles are the Discover Japan side of racing: unofficial, at night, and counted toward Stamps, not Wristbands. Street Races are the place to race cars you cannot yet use in Festival events, hypercars included. Touge Battles are head-to-head night races against one opponent down narrow mountain roads. Both have their own page: Street Races and Touge Battles.

Showcases and Horizon Rush

10:47 Each Wristband is won at a Wristband Event once you have banked enough Festival progress: either a Showcase or a Horizon Rush. The two Showcases are "Mech My Day", against Chaser Zero, Horizon's racing mech, and "Flight Club", against stunt planes (achievements list; PC Gamer). Horizon Rush is new: timed obstacle courses with splits and three-star goals at Tokyo City Docks, Sotoyama Ski Resort and Irokawa Space Center. Both are on Showcases and Horizon Rush.

Goliaths and the Colossus

0:09 Goliaths, Horizon's longest races, return. The one Playground has described is the Colossus on Legend Island, the "longest Goliath event ever", which loops the entire map on the freeway and suits R class cars. It opens only with the Gold Wristband, when you become a Horizon Legend (progression post). Playground's posts read for this page name no other Goliath and give no length in miles or kilometers for the Colossus, as of Nov 3, 2026, so this page does not list them.

Time Attack, Drag, Drift and PR Stunts

The rest of the Festival's events happen in the Shared World without a loading screen (features post, Feb 9, 2026):

Sources: Playground's car culture post, Mar 20, 2026; Drift Attack post, Aug 26, 2026; Series 7 blog, Nov 2, 2026; achievements list.

Seamless races

Races sit in the open world itself. Before launch Xbox Wire described challenging "a passing player's Drivatar to a quick battle" while simply driving (Apr 8, 2026, pre-release build), and the meetups (Time Attack, Drag Meets, Car Meets, Drift Attack) start by driving into them, with no loading screens. Festival races are still entered at their map markers.

Race Customizer and Drivatar settings

1:03 Finish an event once and its Race Customizer opens. Playground lists what it changes: up to 11 Drivatars, season, weather, time of day, time progression, the number of laps, Rewind, camera lock and traffic. The car theme defaults to your current car, or a ready-made class, a type-based rule, or a hand-picked list of cars. Replays of a finished event can use any car in your garage. Opponent skill is set separately, under difficulty; see Drivatars and Difficulty.

In a Convoy, the leader's event settings apply to everyone, which is how friends play the campaign together (Multiplayer).

New permanent routes

4:16 Playground adds permanent races with some updates. The City Life update of Nov 2, 2026 added two in Tokyo City, the Edo Circuit Road Race and the Shuto Charge Street Race, and Playground's teaser for Horizon Holidays in December 2026 promises another "permanent race route". Weekly Festival Playlist challenges also point to named races, such as the Sekibe Scramble (Oct 29, 2026). The full schedule is on Updates and Series.

Frequently asked questions

What race types are in Forza Horizon 6? Forza Horizon 6 has Road, Dirt and Cross Country Festival races, Street Races and Touge Battles in Discover Japan, Showcases and Horizon Rush as Wristband events, Goliaths, Time Attack Circuits, Drag Meets, Drift Attack and PR Stunts. Multiplayer adds Horizon Play modes such as The Eliminator and Touge Showdown.

Is there a Goliath in Forza Horizon 6? Yes. Forza Horizon 6's Colossus on Legend Island is Playground's "longest Goliath event ever", looping the whole map on the freeway; it opens with the Gold Wristband.

How many racers are in a Forza Horizon 6 race? A Forza Horizon 6 Festival race holds 12 racers, and the Race Customizer lets you fill up to 11 opponent slots with Drivatars.

Can you use any car in Forza Horizon 6 races? Not the first time. Forza Horizon 6's Festival races ask for a car theme and a class cap tied to your Wristband, but once you finish an event its Race Customizer lets you replay it in any car in your garage.

How do you unlock the Race Customizer in Forza Horizon 6? Complete a Forza Horizon 6 event once; its Race Customizer then unlocks for that event.

Where are the Cross Country races in Forza Horizon 6? Forza Horizon 6's first one is Wind Farm Cross Country, among the six starting events; more appear on the map as you earn Wristbands.

Sources

• Meet the Three Pathways of Progression in Forza Horizon 6, Playground Games, May 12, 2026
• Earn Your Gold Wristband and Become a Horizon Legend in Japan, Playground Games, Feb 23, 2026
• First Drive: A Forza Horizon 6 Starting Guide, Playground Games, May 15, 2026
• 10 Incredible New Features Coming to Forza Horizon 6, Playground Games, Feb 9, 2026
• How Forza Horizon 6 Creates a Festival of Car Culture, Playground Games, Mar 20, 2026
• Shift Into High Gear with Drift Attack!, Playground Games, Aug 26, 2026
• Embrace the City Life in Forza Horizon 6, Playground Games, Nov 2, 2026
• Series 7 Patch Notes - November 2nd, Playground Games on Steam, Nov 2, 2026
• Australian Power & American Muscle Collide During this Week's Festival Playlist, Playground Games on Steam, Oct 29, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6 Achievements List, Playground Games
• Forza Horizon 6: Collectibles, Seamless Races and Open World Design Make for the Most Explorable Adventure Yet, Xbox Wire, Apr 8, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6 review, PC Gamer, May 14, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6 review, Eurogamer, May 14, 2026
• Forza Horizon 6: Everything You Need to Know Before You Play, IGN, May 14, 2026 (video)
• A Beginners Guide to Forza Horizon 6!, Dec Games, May 18, 2026 (video)
• Forza Horizon 6 Review, IGN, May 14, 2026 (video)
• Forza Horizon 6 - The Colossus, Gauntlet, Titan & Horizon Kaido Trailblazer, IsuckAtDriving, May 15, 2026 (video)
• City Life Adds My Favorite Kei Car, a Group B Legend, & Some Good QoL | FH6 Series 7 Update Summary, HokiHoshi, Nov 2, 2026 (video)