Smallhorses
Staff Emeritus
- 7,260
Tokyo R246 300km
This is the 3rd running of the Tokyo R246 Enduro for me, and the previous attempts for lower A-spec points can be found in: Smallhorses' A-Spec Endurance Companion, but neither warranted a report to itself as I'd used an overkill car (albeit the only unused one I had available at the time) first time through, and I forgot to save the replay for the more exciting Mitsubishi FTO Super Touring Car race!
This time round though, the gloves are off, I'm gunning for a full complement of A-spec points, and what follows is that story!
(More of my stand-alone reports can also be found here: Smallhorses' Race Report Link Dump.)
Car:
Toyota Wedsport Celica (JGTC) '03 (R1 tyres, Downforce F/R 25/41 ) / FR / 307HP / 1050kg / 3.4kg/HP
from the JGTC300 category, which, when pitted against the following lineup of JGTC500 machines yields:
200 A-spec points!
Grid:-
1st
Nissan Pennzoil Zexel GT-R (JGTC) '01
2nd
Honda Mobil 1 NSX (JGTC) '01
3rd
Honda Takata Dome NSX (JGTC) '03
4th
Toyota au Cerumo Supra (JGTC) '01
5th
Nissan Xanavi Hiroto GT-R (JGTC) '01
6th
Toyota Wedsport Celica (JGTC) '03
Toyota Wedsport Celica (JGTC) '03 (R1 tyres, Downforce F/R 25/41 ) / FR / 307HP / 1050kg / 3.4kg/HP
from the JGTC300 category, which, when pitted against the following lineup of JGTC500 machines yields:
200 A-spec points!
Grid:-
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
Thanks again to AMG. for the excellent track map! 👍 (Once again edited to remove reverse direction turns.)
Race Highlights:-
Laps 1 - 10:
Predictably left trailing by the more powerful JGTC500 cars from the start, but under braking, (oh my word...
I think you'll hear a bit about the brakes on the Celica!) for turn 1, I'm able to close up to the pack, and hang on round to turn 7 where I slip past the Xanavi GT-R. He's able to go past down the long mainstraight on Aoyama Dori, National Road #246, before we begin lap 2. 
He's able to keep me behind going into lap 3, so I'm still holding 6th place, but he loses 5th place to me at turn 7 again, only to blow by on the straight once more. What I'm losing on the straights I'm gaining in braking though, 
the Celica stopping like it's hit a wall each time the brake pedal is depressed! 
the Takata NSX is passed cleanly into turn 7 and 3rd place is mine! Just over 1.5s behind the leader beginning lap 7, and I'm somehow able to negotiate turn 1 cleanly after receiving a nudge from behind under braking from the Takata NSX. 
Take 2nd from the Mobil 1 NSX under braking (Did I mention how good the Celica's brakes are yet?!!! 
) for turn 7 on lap 7. This leaves me tailing the Pennzoil GT-R through lap 8, and we pull out a little gap over the chasing pack. My fastlap time drops to 1'42.156 and that's then dropped to 1'42.118 ending lap 10, but I'm still in 2nd place about 1s behind the leader.
Laps 11 - 20:
I'm forced to follow the Pennzoil GT-R around for a few laps, staying within a second of him, but since he's now on warmer tyres, he's somewhat more difficult to pass than the other cars.
The opportunity comes when he's cleanly outbraked at turn 10 on lap 14, and while I make no attempts to block him down the straight, keeping off the usual AI line, he twice pulls right up to the back of the Celica, and drops back without passing before turn 1, 
leaving me with the lead and a new fast lap of 1'41.752. 
I hang with the leaders until the end of lap 20, by which time I've decided that my front tyres which're beginning to show signs of orangeness, won't last another 10 laps for a single stop race, and I'll be making 2 stops, dividing the race neatly into 3 x 20 lap sessions. 
Laps 21 - 30:
Having pitted from 3rd place, I'm quickly dropped to 6th again as the remainder of the field pass my stationary car. Topped up fuel to 45 units and take on fresh tyres. By the end of my outlap I trail the leading Mobil 1 NSX by 36s.
The replay ends just after this, but I'm able to pull away massively as their tyres warm up, ending lap 30 with a 7s lead over 2nd placed Pennzoil GT-R. 👍
Laps 31 - 40:
On warmer tyres I'm able to lap cleanly and pull away from the scrap for 2nd place, which beginning lap 34 is lead by the Mobil 1 NSX again, and he's now 16s behind.
Laps 34 through 37 are ticked off in the low 1'42 to 1'43 range, and the gap to the 2nd placed Pennzoil GT-R has stabilised at around 17s. An impressive un-draft assisted 1'42.1xx on lap 39 grows the gap to 17.9s when I pit ending lap 40. Take on fresh tyres, top fuel back up to 44 units and get underway again as I'm dropped down to 4th, 5th and finally 6th place again. 👎 
Laps 41 - 50:
Lap 41 is my outlap, and I complete it in 1'52.206, 14.2s behind the leading Pennzoil GT-R, which means there's under 15s separating the whole 6 car field with over 40 laps completed!
I'm within sight of the 5th placed Takata NSX too. My first full flying lap on new tyres is a 1'43.613, and suddenly there's been a lead change that is unexpected! It's now the Supra that I'm trailing by 15s! 
A couple of mid-1'42s follow, only allowing the Supra to stretch the gap by a second and a half, and then entering lap 46 it's the Mobil 1 NSX who leads again, this time by 17.2s. There's a right old scrap going on for the lead by the looks of things! 
Take a couple of laps to get back into the groove after an overnight break at this point, a couple of mid-1'43 laps allow the Mobil 1 NSX's lead to grow to 18.7s, but a new fast lap of 1'41.521 on lap 48 shows I'mstraight back into the swing of things, 
and 17.2s behind the Pennzoil GT-R who is leading going into lap 49. Round out the latest 10 lap stint with a couple of high-1'42-ish laps, and the lead is once again with the Mobil 1 NSX, 18.3s ahead of my 6th placed Celica.
Laps 51 - 60:
10 laps to go, over 18s behind the leader and in last place. Not a promising position. Or is it?
I'm home & dry as far as I can tell, since although I'm trailing the field, I've already made my 2nd stop, and the 5 imbeciles in front are all due another stop, some with as little as 4 laps of the race remaining! 
Lap in the mid-1'42s for a while, allowing the lead group headed at this point by the Mobil 1 NSX to pull away to a 20s advantage by the start of lap 54. The Mobil 1 NSX, Supra and Takata NSX all pit at the end of lap 54, the Mobil 1 NSX having held a 22s lead before going in. The Nissan pairing keep on going though, stopping together ending lap 55, the Pennzoil GT-R a lap later than expected, and the Xanavi GT-R a lap earlier than expected. 
The Pennzoil GT-R is able to rejoin the fray in 2nd place, and completes his outlap 23s behind my, now leading, Celica. Put in a series of mid to high-1'42 laps to steadily bring it home for the win, pulling away from the chasing pack who're on cold tyres 
Result:
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
Sayonara Tokyo!
