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MissionsupportingSide missionModerate

The Beast in Me: City Center

A street race in City Center that advances Claire Russell’s The Beast in Me quest line and tests your ability to follow checkpoints at high speed.

RoleOptional driving mission and part of Claire Russell’s racing storyline.
Statusavailable
Importancesupporting
RewardCash and progression in Claire Russell’s racing storyline
TimeVariable; depends on driving skill and whether the race is restarted
  • Mission typeSide mission
  • ActivityVehicle race
  • DistrictCity Center
  • Quest lineThe Beast in Me
  • Combat focusLow
  • Failure styleRace loss or missed route; restart available

Exact completion time and race placement depend on vehicle handling, driving style, and whether the event is restarted.

Key takeaways

Use the following points to prepare for the race without treating it like a combat mission.

  • Follow the checkpoints The objective is to complete the marked racing route, not simply to drive toward the finish shown on the minimap. A missed checkpoint can cost more time than braking early for a difficult corner.
  • Vehicle control matters more than character build Perks, weapons, and armor have little bearing on the core challenge. Acceleration, braking, steering, and knowing when to avoid collisions are the practical skills that determine the result.
  • Restarts are part of the solution If a turn, collision, or missed checkpoint ruins the run, restarting is usually more efficient than trying to recover from far behind. Use an early attempt to identify the course’s awkward sections.
  • This race advances Claire’s storyline Finishing City Center is one step in The Beast in Me rather than a self-contained combat encounter. Claire remains the important related character throughout the sequence.

The Beast in Me: City Center overview

The Beast in Me: City Center is one of the races in Claire Russell’s optional quest line in Cyberpunk 2077.

The mission places V behind the wheel for another race organized by Claire Russell. As with the other entries in The Beast in Me, the central task is not conventional combat or exploration: you must drive through the marked course, pass the required checkpoints, and finish ahead of the competing vehicles. The race takes place in City Center, where dense urban surroundings make the route feel more confined than an open-road event.

The main challenge is maintaining a usable racing line while the pack moves through turns, traffic, barriers, and changes in elevation. The game’s route marker remains the most reliable guide, but it can be easy to lose sight of the next checkpoint when several streets appear to converge. Slow down before sharp turns rather than trying to recover from a missed checkpoint at full speed, and use a restart when an early mistake leaves the vehicle badly positioned.

Completing the event advances Claire’s racing storyline and keeps the sequence moving toward its later missions. The City Center race itself is primarily a driving challenge and does not require a dedicated combat build. Players who are uncomfortable with vehicle handling can reduce frustration by learning the course through a cautious first attempt, then using the restart option to make a cleaner run once the turns and checkpoint placements are familiar.

Where this sits

Claire’s racing sequenceOptional vehicle events
  1. ●The Beast in Me: City CentermissionCurrent race
  2. 2The Beast in Me: BadlandsmissionAnother race in the same storyline
  3. 3The Beast in Me: Santo DomingomissionRelated race in Claire’s sequence
  4. 4The Beast in Me: The Big RacemissionLater race in the storyline

The Beast in Me is a sequence of optional races connected by Claire Russell.

Requirements

The mission becomes available through Claire Russell’s The Beast in Me storyline and is started by responding to her race-related contact and meeting the event conditions.

  • RequiredAccess to The Beast in MeV must have progressed far enough in Claire Russell’s optional quest line for the City Center race to be offered.
  • RequiredA usable vehicleThe mission is a driving event. The race supplies the relevant racing context, but players should make sure V can reach the meeting point and begin the event.
  • RecommendedDriving preparationNo particular combat weapon, cyberware setup, or character build is required. Familiarity with braking and turning is more useful than combat specialization.
  • OptionalManual save before startingA save gives you a convenient fallback if you want to retry the race or compare the result of a cautious run with a faster attempt.

Objectives

  1. Meet Claire Russell and prepare for the City Center raceFollow the active objective to the race start and interact with Claire when prompted.
  2. Complete the City Center raceDrive through the marked checkpoints and reach the finish without abandoning the event.
  3. Finish the event with ClaireAfter the race, follow the remaining objective markers and speak with Claire to close out this part of the sequence.

Walkthrough

  1. 01

    Meet Claire Russell

    Travel to the race start

    Use the mission marker to reach the City Center meeting point shown by the objective. Arrive with enough time to orient yourself, because the first checkpoint can be difficult to read if you accelerate immediately after the race begins.

    Location: City Center

  2. 02

    Talk to Claire Russell

    Speak with Claire before the start

    Interact with Claire to confirm participation in the event and trigger the race sequence. This is also the safest moment to make a manual save if you want to practice the course without losing your pre-race position.

    Location: City Center race start

  3. 03

    Start the race

    Enter the race and find the first checkpoint

    Once the event begins, use the route marker and checkpoint indicators to establish the correct direction before committing to full speed. Stay behind or alongside the pack if necessary; an early collision can leave the vehicle pointed the wrong way and cost more time than a cautious opening.

    Location: City Center race course

    TipPrioritize seeing the next checkpoint over gaining a position during the opening seconds.

  4. 04

    Pass the race checkpoints

    Follow the marked route through City Center

    Drive from checkpoint to checkpoint rather than choosing the shortest-looking street. Urban corners can hide the next gate behind buildings or road furniture, so check the minimap whenever the road branches and correct your line before the marker disappears.

    Location: City Center race course

  5. 05

    Remain in the race

    Manage turns and collisions

    Brake before tight corners and leave room around other racers when the road narrows. Ramming the pack may slow both vehicles, while clipping barriers or traffic can push the car away from the next checkpoint and force a costly correction.

    Location: City Center race course

    Watch outA missed checkpoint or unrecoverable crash can effectively end a competitive attempt even if the vehicle is still moving.

  6. 06

    Complete the checkpoint route

    Recover from a missed checkpoint

    If the route marker indicates that a checkpoint was missed, do not continue blindly toward the finish. Turn back through the gate or restart the race if the lost time and vehicle position make recovery impractical.

    Location: City Center race course

    TipA restart is usually preferable to spending the rest of the event far off the intended route.

  7. 07

    Finish the race

    Reach the finish

    Continue following the remaining markers until the race concludes. Keep driving after the final visible turn until the game registers the finish, since stopping early or taking an unmarked shortcut can leave the objective incomplete.

    Location: City Center race finish

  8. 08

    Talk to Claire Russell

    Rejoin Claire after the event

    After the race, follow the updated objective and interact with Claire to complete the mission segment. The conversation advances The Beast in Me and may point toward the next event in the sequence.

    Location: City Center

    Checkpoint

Mission mechanics

The race uses a checkpoint route rather than a freeform drive to the destination. Checkpoints communicate both the course direction and the intended order of travel, so the navigation display is more important than the road that looks fastest from the driver’s current position. When the next marker is obscured by the city layout, briefly reduce speed and use the minimap to identify the upcoming turn.

Vehicle momentum is the main source of difficulty. Braking too late makes a turn wider and increases the chance of hitting barriers, while overcorrecting after a collision can send the car across the route. Smooth steering and early braking are generally safer than repeated sharp inputs, especially when several vehicles occupy the same section of road.

The race is designed as a driving challenge, so V’s normal combat equipment is not the primary answer to failure. Treat the other racers as moving hazards as well as competitors: passing is useful, but forcing a gap at a corner can create a larger delay than staying in formation until the road opens.

What works and what does not

Strengths

  • The objective is clear once the race starts: follow the checkpoints and complete the course.
  • The event provides a change of pace from Cyberpunk 2077’s usual gunfights and exploration.
  • The race can be retried, allowing players to learn difficult corners without permanently losing the storyline.

Weaknesses

  • City Center’s dense streets can make the next checkpoint harder to read than a marker on an open road.
  • Vehicle collisions can cause disproportionate losses of time and control.
  • Players who approach the mission with a combat-first build receive little direct benefit from that specialization.

Best uses

  • Use a first attempt to learn the route and identify turns that require early braking.
  • Keep the minimap visible and avoid unnecessary contact with the competing vehicles.
  • Save before the event if you want a clean opportunity to retry it.

Checklist

  • Reach the City Center race startFollow the active objective marker.
  • Speak with Claire RussellConfirm the race and trigger the event.
  • Pass every marked checkpointUse the minimap when the next gate is hidden by buildings or turns.
  • Avoid avoidable collisionsBrake before corners and do not force risky passes in narrow sections.
  • Finish the raceContinue until the game registers the event as complete.
  • Speak with Claire after the raceComplete the post-race objective and advance the quest line.
  • Make a pre-race saveUseful for practicing the course or retrying a poor opening.Optional

Failure conditions

  • Failing to follow the checkpoint routeDriving toward the apparent finish without passing the required gates can leave the race incomplete or cost enough time to lose the event.
  • Losing control of the vehicleA hard collision, barrier impact, or overcorrection can point the car away from the route and make recovery difficult.
  • Abandoning the eventLeaving the race area or otherwise failing to continue the active objective can end the attempt and require a restart.

On failure

If an attempt goes badly, restarting the race is the practical recovery option. The exact checkpoint behavior and opponent timing can vary with the player’s position and driving errors.

Rewards

  • Cash
    Completing the race provides the mission’s monetary reward.
  • Quest progression
    The event advances Claire Russell’s The Beast in Me storyline and enables its later progression.

Characters in this mission

Aftermath

The race is part of a larger sequence

Completing City Center does not end Claire Russell’s storyline. Check the updated objective after speaking with her, then continue through the available The Beast in Me missions if you want to follow the full racing sequence.

Trivia

  • The Beast in Me is one of Cyberpunk 2077’s recurring optional activity chains built around vehicle racing rather than standard combat.
  • Claire Russell’s quest line gives the player a reason to revisit driving mechanics and vehicle handling in a structured event.
  • City Center contrasts with more open racing environments because urban road layouts can conceal the next checkpoint and punish late braking.

Relationships