Brucie's Races

After the mission No. 1 in Grand Theft Auto IV, Brucie Kibbutz tells Niko Bellic to call him whenever he wanted to enter a race. There are nine races that can be accessed through the phone by going to Phonebook - Brucie - Race. The races are given to the player in a random order, but all nine must be completed before repeating one. It is required to win all nine races at least once for completion. Each race consists of the player and five other vehicles. Niko is always the last car to arrive and therefore always gets the rearmost starting position. The races are given dependent on the player's location on the map; if the player is in Broker, for example, only races pertinent to Broker will be given. Also, unlike the races in the GTA III era, vehicles are not supplied; it's up to the player to obtain a suitable vehicle if the Comet obtained in "No. 1" has not been kept.

The AI in these races is extremely variable. It's not uncommon for all competitors to wipe themselves out in the first few moments of the race, leaving Niko to "race" alone for the remaining laps. This is in stark contrast to the races in the GTA III-era games.

Name Location Map Laps
South Broker South Slopes, Broker 3
Airport Run Willis, Dukes 3
Dukes Boulevard East Island City, Dukes 3
South Algonquin Castle Garden City, Algonquin 3
Road to Bohan North Holland, Algonquin 3
Star Junction Star Junction, Algonquin 5
Elevated Alderney Alderney City, Alderney 3
South Alderney Tudor, Alderney 3
North Alderney Westdyke, Alderney 5

All races award the player $500. Achieving first place in 20 races will award the player the achievement or trophy Genetically Superior.

Trivia

  • At the start of the race, you can call Brucie to forfeit the race. When you do, cancel the phone call as it is ringing. You then would notice all the other competitors have started to drive of leaving you able to proceed with the race whilst the other drivers are gone or in some cases they have to do an extra lap.
  • The best time to attempt the races is at night when there is less traffic, especially with some of the Algonquin races and Bohan. That said, if the AI is able to keep up with you, odds are heavy traffic will be enough to waylay the competition.
  • Many vehicles work well in the races, including unexpected choices such as the Cognoscenti. The Infernus is arguably one of the best due to its general stability and fast take-off speed (the only catch being its rarity compared to other vehicles).
  • If Brucie indicates that no races are available, drive into one of the other boroughs and call him again, remembering that Brucie only assigns races pertinent to Niko's location at the time he calls and a race may be available in another part of the map.