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MissionsupportingSide missionModerate

The Beast in Me: Santo Domingo

A Santo Domingo street race in Claire Russell's The Beast in Me series, where V helps Claire pursue victory while learning more about her grudge against Sampson.

RoleSide-mission race in Claire Russell's The Beast in Me questline
StatusAvailable in Cyberpunk 2077
Importancesupporting
RewardRace completion reward and progression in The Beast in Me
TimeOne race, plus pre-race and post-race conversations
  • Mission typeSide mission
  • Primary activityStreet race
  • DistrictSanto Domingo
  • QuestlineThe Beast in Me
  • Combat focusNone
  • Vehicle focusThe Beast and race driving

The mission's practical difficulty comes from vehicle handling and route hazards rather than enemy combat. Exact completion time varies with driving skill, crashes, and retries.

Key takeaways

Use the race to learn the district's turns and preserve your vehicle's momentum rather than treating every corner as an overtaking opportunity.

  • Follow Claire's race invitation This is a driving mission within The Beast in Me, not a normal combat job. Meet Claire at the marked Santo Domingo starting point and enter the race when the event is ready.
  • Brake before corners The industrial route rewards early braking and a stable exit. Hitting barriers or other cars can throw the vehicle wide and cost more time than a cautious approach.
  • The personal conflict continues Claire's history with Dean and Sampson gives the race added context, but Santo Domingo does not by itself settle the later choice connected to Sampson.
  • Retry rather than restart the story A poor finish is a race failure, not a permanent story lockout. Reattempt the event after adjusting your speed into corners and your approach to overtakes.

The Beast in Me: Santo Domingo overview

The Santo Domingo round is one of the organized street races that V enters with Claire Russell during The Beast in Me.

The Beast in Me: Santo Domingo is the Santo Domingo leg of Claire Russell's racing storyline in Cyberpunk 2077. Claire invites V to take part in a sequence of illegal races, and this mission asks V to compete in a high-speed circuit through Santo Domingo rather than fight through a conventional combat encounter. The immediate goal is simple: stay with the pack, avoid a crash, and reach the finish line ahead of the other drivers.

The mission is primarily a driving test. Santo Domingo mixes long high-speed sections with industrial streets, hard turns, barriers, and traffic hazards, so a clean line is usually more valuable than reckless attempts to overtake on every corner. Claire's Beast is the default vehicle associated with the quest, but the important practical concern is control: braking before a turn and recovering quickly after contact can matter more than trying to maintain maximum speed at every moment.

Claire's personal motivation becomes increasingly important across The Beast in Me. She presents the races as competition, but conversations with V reveal that her anger toward is tied to the death of her husband, Dean, during an earlier race. This Santo Domingo event develops that conflict without resolving it; the major decision about whether V prioritizes the race or Claire's pursuit of Sampson occurs later in the questline. Keep the final-race consequences in mind if you are playing for a particular outcome.

The mission does not use the usual stealth, hacking, or enemy-arena structure. Its hazards are environmental and vehicular: sudden corners, roadside objects, other racers, and loss of control. If the race is failed, V can normally retry rather than permanently lose the mission, making this a forgiving section for learning the route and Claire's driving-race rhythm.

Where this sits

Claire's racing seriesMeet Claire and enter the sequence of races
Santo DomingoCurrent race
Later The Beast in Me eventsContinue the storyline and its personal conflict
  1. 1The Beast in MequestlineThe overarching Claire Russell side-mission chain
  2. 2The Beast in Me: City CentermissionEarlier race in the series
  3. ●The Beast in Me: Santo DomingomissionThe Santo Domingo race covered here
  4. 4The Beast in Me: BadlandsmissionAnother race associated with Claire's series
  5. 5The Beast in Me: The Big RacemissionLater event where the quest's major personal decision becomes relevant

The Santo Domingo event is one stage of Claire Russell's multi-race side quest.

Requirements

Progress through Claire Russell's The Beast in Me questline until she contacts V about the Santo Domingo race.

  • RequiredStart The Beast in MeV must have met Claire Russell and accepted her invitation to participate in her racing series.
  • RequiredComplete the preceding race progressionThe Santo Domingo event becomes available as Claire's questline advances; it is not a standalone race selected from the main menu.
  • RequiredReach the marked meeting pointTravel to the Santo Domingo race start when the mission objective appears and speak with Claire before entering the event.
  • RecommendedUse a controllable vehicleThe mission is built around a driving race. Familiarity with acceleration, braking, steering, and recovering from collisions is recommended.

Objectives

  1. Meet Claire Russell at the Santo Domingo race locationFollow the mission marker to the starting area and complete the pre-race conversation.
  2. Take part in the Santo Domingo raceEnter the event and drive through the marked checkpoints without losing the route.
  3. Finish the raceReach the finish line while avoiding enough crashes or route errors to keep the race active.
  4. Speak with Claire after the eventThe post-race conversation advances The Beast in Me and provides further context for Claire's motivation.

Walkthrough

  1. 01

    Meet Claire Russell

    Travel to the Santo Domingo starting point

    Open the mission tracker and follow the marker to the Santo Domingo meeting point. The route leads V to the race staging area, where Claire is waiting with The Beast and the other racers are preparing to start.

    Location: Santo Domingo

    TipArrive before moving away from the marker; the race begins from the event area rather than from an arbitrary point on the district map.

  2. 02

    Talk to Claire Russell

    Talk to Claire before the race

    Speak with Claire to confirm that V is taking part in the Santo Domingo round. The conversation establishes the event as another stage of her racing series and gives Claire space to discuss the race and her reasons for continuing it.

    Location: Santo Domingo race start

    Watch outDo not leave the marked start area after the conversation if the race prompt is active, or you may need to return to the vehicle and rejoin the event.

  3. 03

    Get in the vehicle

    Enter The Beast and prepare for the launch

    Get into The Beast and wait for the race to begin. Use the opening seconds to line up with the road instead of trying to force an immediate pass, because contact with nearby vehicles can send V into roadside objects before the route opens up.

    Location: Santo Domingo race start

    TipKeep the vehicle pointed toward the first checkpoint and avoid sharp steering during the starting acceleration.

  4. 04

    Follow the race route

    Follow the checkpoint route through Santo Domingo

    Drive through each marked checkpoint and stay on the intended streets. Santo Domingo's industrial setting makes barriers, buildings, parked objects, and changes in road direction easy to misread, so use the checkpoint indicators as the authority when the road appears to split.

    Location: Santo Domingo

    TipIf the next checkpoint disappears from view, reduce speed briefly and use the minimap rather than guessing at the next turn.

  5. 05

    Stay in the race

    Handle the first sequence of turns cleanly

    Approach the early corners with controlled braking and turn only after the vehicle has slowed enough to stay within the road. A late correction can produce a spin or a collision with the pack, while a slightly slower exit still leaves room to recover on the following straight.

    Location: Santo Domingo race circuit

    Watch outRepeated impacts can leave V facing the wrong direction or outside the checkpoint path; correct the vehicle before accelerating again.

  6. 06

    Compete in the race

    Overtake where the road widens

    Pass rival racers on straights or on sections with enough lateral space to leave a recovery lane. Avoid squeezing between another car and a wall, because a risky pass can cost more time than remaining behind the racer until the next open section.

    Location: Santo Domingo race circuit

    TipDrafting behind a rival through a straight can make the next safe passing opportunity easier to judge than weaving through the pack.

  7. 07

    Remain on course

    Recover after a collision or missed line

    If V clips a barrier or another racer, straighten The Beast before attempting to regain speed. Rejoin the marked route through the nearest checkpoint; cutting across a side street can leave V off course and may fail the race if the required markers are skipped.

    Location: Santo Domingo race circuit

    Watch outA missed checkpoint is more damaging than losing a position temporarily, so return to the route rather than taking an unmarked shortcut.

  8. 08

    Finish the race

    Finish the Santo Domingo race

    Continue through the remaining checkpoints and cross the finish line to complete the event. The result advances Claire's storyline, while a failed attempt can be retried so that you can learn the difficult corners and choose a safer pace.

    Location: Santo Domingo finish line

    TipPrioritize a clean finish over a dramatic last-second overtake if the pack is close near the final turns.

    Checkpoint
  9. 09

    Talk to Claire Russell

    Speak with Claire after the finish

    Remain with Claire after the race and complete the follow-up conversation. This is the point where the mission hands its narrative progress back to The Beast in Me and continues building the connection between the races, Dean's death, and Claire's hostility toward Sampson.

    Location: Santo Domingo finish area

    Watch outThe Santo Domingo race does not resolve Claire's later decision; continue the questline if you want the consequences of her conflict with Sampson.

Mission mechanics

The event uses Cyberpunk 2077's vehicle controls and checkpoint racing structure. The next checkpoint is the most reliable navigation aid, especially when the surrounding industrial roads look similar. Treat the race as a sequence of braking zones and exits: slow before the corner, rotate the vehicle smoothly, then accelerate once the front of The Beast is aimed down the next section.

Rivals create moving obstacles as well as competition. A car can block the ideal line, but forcing it toward a wall often creates a larger problem for V. Hold position when the road is narrow, then pass when the route widens or the rival loses speed through a turn. This approach also reduces the chance of spinning and having to recover while the rest of the field pulls away.

The mission does not ask V to dismount and clear enemies from the route. Vehicle damage, collisions, missed checkpoints, and loss of control are therefore the meaningful risks. If the race goes badly, a retry is usually more useful than trying to improvise an off-road shortcut, since the event is designed around its marked course.

What works and what does not

Strengths

  • The race gives Claire Russell's side story a distinct gameplay identity instead of presenting it as another walking combat mission.
  • Santo Domingo's industrial roads create clear driving hazards and make route awareness important.
  • The event can generally be retried, allowing players to learn the course without treating one mistake as a permanent story failure.

Weaknesses

  • Vehicle handling can make close racing feel less predictable than combat encounters, particularly after contact with barriers or rival cars.
  • The race offers limited value to a player looking specifically for loot, hacking, stealth, or build experimentation.
  • The mission's immediate objective is straightforward, while much of its narrative weight depends on the later development of Claire's conflict with Sampson.

Best uses

  • Play it as a progression step in The Beast in Me rather than as a source of combat rewards.
  • Use the event to practice braking, checkpoint reading, and controlled overtaking in Santo Domingo.

Race phases

  1. 1

    Staging and launch

    Starts: After V meets Claire and enters The Beast

    Vehicle condition is not presented as a conventional combat health bar

    The racers assemble at the Santo Domingo start and the event begins once V is in position. The opening is crowded, so stable steering is more important than an immediate aggressive pass.

    • Point toward the first checkpoint before accelerating fully.
    • Avoid turning sharply into neighboring vehicles at the launch.
  2. 2

    Industrial circuit

    Starts: After the starting section

    No enemy health phase

    V follows the marked course through Santo Domingo while navigating corners, barriers, traffic, and rival racers. The route alternates between opportunities to build speed and sections where braking is necessary.

    • Use the minimap and checkpoint markers when the streets look alike.
    • Pass on open road and leave room to recover from contact.
  3. 3

    Finish and debrief

    Starts: After V crosses the finish line

    No combat phase

    The race ends when V reaches the finish. Claire's follow-up conversation then advances the wider questline and its personal storyline.

    • Complete the post-race conversation before assuming the entire questline is finished.

Checklist

  • Confirm that The Beast in Me is active in the journalThe Santo Domingo race is part of Claire's questline rather than a freely selectable activity.
  • Reach the Santo Domingo meeting markerClaire's pre-race conversation takes place at the staging area.
  • Enter The Beast before the event beginsThe race objective starts from the vehicle.
  • Drive through every marked checkpointDo not rely on unmarked shortcuts when the route turns through industrial streets.
  • Avoid unnecessary barrier and racer contactClean exits from corners preserve more time than risky passes.
  • Cross the finish lineA completed race advances the mission.
  • Finish Claire's post-race conversationThe wider Beast in Me storyline continues after the driving section.

Failure conditions

  • Failing to complete the raceThe event can be failed by falling too far behind or otherwise not completing the course. Restart the race and use a more conservative pace through difficult corners.
  • Missing or skipping checkpointsLeaving the marked route or taking an unmarked shortcut can prevent progress and may cause the race to fail. Use the minimap to return to the required checkpoint.
  • Losing control after a collisionA crash can spin The Beast, send it into barriers, or leave it facing away from the route. Straighten the vehicle and rejoin the course before accelerating hard.

On failure

The race itself is the practical checkpoint: after a failed attempt, retry the event rather than abandoning Claire's questline.

Rewards

  • Race completion reward
    Completing the Santo Domingo event provides the normal reward associated with advancing this side mission.
  • The Beast in Me progression
    Finishing the race unlocks the next stage of Claire Russell's racing storyline as the questline continues.
  • Claire Russell relationship progression
    The post-race exchange adds context to Claire's motivations and her conflict with Sampson.

Characters in this mission

AftermathSpoilers

The race is not Claire's real end goal

The Santo Domingo event advances Claire's personal storyline but does not settle what happens with Sampson. Continue The Beast in Me to reach the later race where V's decision about pursuing Sampson or prioritizing the competition affects the quest's outcome.

Trivia

  • The mission is named for its district rather than for a separate opponent or combat arena.
  • Claire's racing questline uses driving events to reveal her history with Dean and Sampson over several conversations.
  • The Beast is Claire's signature racing vehicle and is closely associated with the mission series.

Relationships

Characters