200 a spec Infineon Enduro in Dodge Viper GTS-R- Updated every (race) half hour

OK then. I am starting a 200 a spec run of Infineon World Sports. My car (like most people's) is the Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00. I will be updating every half hour, but this may not be finished until tomorrow (I'm racing in my free time).

At the start, the grid looks like this:
Bentley Speed 8 Race Car '03
Pescarolo Courage C60 Race Car '03
Audi R8 Race Car '01
Nissan R92CP Race Car '92
Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '99
Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00
This line up proved unworkable, see below for the new line-up
By my standards (pretty low) this will be a monumental task. I will start on R2s, and switch to R1s after the first stint. The research I gain from this will affect what I use for the rest of the race. I drove this race yesterday in the Bentley and therefore the track is fresh in my mind. Comments, suggestions and support would be greatly appreciated. The first half hour should be up in an hour or two.

OK then, the new line-up is as follows

Chevrolet Corvette C5R9 (C5) '00
BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99
Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '99
Jaguar XJR-9 Race Car '88
Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00
Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00

Update 1: 25 minutes in- 18 laps 12 seconds ahead of 2nd

i don't like that LMR BMW! I managed to pass the whole field by the end of the second lap, but as I am a DS2 using Jeremy Clarkson my tyres lasted only 10 laps (R2s). I tried to stretch them out for one more lap but found the lead that I had gained (8 seconds) shrivelling to a mere 5 seconds from the BMW. I pitted, filling the tank to 50 units and cursing as I fell back to fourth. I pulled out and on my outlap gained back third from the Jag, which had a balet moment in the grass. I passed the GT-ONE and LMR when they went in to pit, and am currently 12 seconds ahead of the LMR. I have to pit in 3 laps, while the LMR should last about 5 or 6 more... The other Dodge and Corvette have each been lapped by me once.

Update 2: 1hour 10 minutes in- 47 laps 18 seconds ahead of 2nd

That LMR is such a hassle! I have had 35 minutes of sheer joy, this Viper is sooo nice. The LMR seems to hit lapped traffic each time his tyres heat up, and I have managed to build enough of a buffer that I had to pit twice during one of his stints and even after the second stop was only 8 seconds behind him. Lost a few seconds when I nipped a curve and took up rallying, but so far, all is well. This is looking to be a two horse race.

Update 3: 1 hour 35 minutes in-66 laps 20 secconds ahead of 2nd

Well, at the halfway point I was ahead-just. That annoying LMR and I pitted 1 lap apart, but I had the edge on cold tyres. Every other competitor is but a distant memory.

Update 4: 1 hour 55 minutes in- 80 laps about 20 seconds ahead of 2nd

I have only one fear now: that I pit near the end and he doesn't. I am contemplating going onto R1s in three pitstops time to prevent that. I just don't want it to end badly. Please, help me driving gods.

Update 5: 2 hours 32 minutes in- 105 laps 18 seconds behind 1st

Disaster! First, the rest of the time. On Lap 82 I pitted and managed to come out in front, but realised that I would pit one more time than the LMR if I were to pit every ten laps. I had to pit every 11 laps. The pit stop on lap 93 went well, but then on lap 104 disaster struck! I spun on entrance to the pits, and the LMR got ahead! T1 places me 18 seconds behind the damn BMW!

Update 6: 2 hours 34 minutes in- 106 laps 8 seconds ahead of 2nd

Thank the driving gods! The LMR pitted! I am now only going to have to defend my position for 11 minutes...

End of Race: 2hours, 45 minutes, 34.405 seconds 113 laps

I did it! Those last 11 minutes were a dream! I will go into more detail later, but what a race! Thank you to those who supported me in this effort!

The final standings were:

Me in the Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00 113 Laps
BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99 27.374 seconds behind at T2 last lap
Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '99
Jaguar XJR-9 Race Car '88
Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00
Chevrolet Corvette C5R9 (C5) '00

I would recomend this race to anyone, novice or expert! Thanks again for the support, with thirteen minutes to go I think I needed it!
And Smallhorses, do I need proof to be in the club?


Happy Hunting!

AMMT

Good luck buddy!

I'll also wish you good luck with this. 👍
It'll be a very, very tough race with the R92CP in the field.

How're you running the Viper? If you've changed only the oil & tyres and settings that the car came with as standard (e.g. brake balance, downforce, etc.), then it'll be eligible for hispeed's Stock Car thread that is linked in my signature.

Amending-I am now half an hour in and have decided to search for a field without the R92CP. Any suggestions? I can run high 1:24s on R2s so could anyone give me a hint as to whether that is good or bad?


Happy Hunting!

Check out these 2 reports: details are Here & Here.

Both Vash666 & I ran a fastlap (on low fuel) of around 1'22.7xx on R2 tyres, and were averaging in the mid-1'23 to mid 1'24s.

It may take a long time (20 - 40 enter / exits) to find a good lineup, but steer clear of the Group C cars (Sauber, 787B, R89C, R92CP) except the Jaguar XJ-R9 & Peugeot 905 (who are easily beatable.) Also beware of the Audi R8.
Vash666 was only just able to stay ahead of the Mazda 787B, and I opted not to include him in my lineup. You can find our respective lineups in those report links.

Possible cars you'll face here (HP values in [Square Brackets]):

Nissan R92CP [939]
Sauber Mercedes C9 [927]
Jaguar XJR-9 [914]
Nissan 89C [908]
Peugeot 905 [799]
Pescarolo Playstation C60 [794]
Pescarolo Courage C60 [789]
Nissan 390 GT1 [789]
BMW V12 LMR [787]
Bentley Speed 8 [785]
Audi R8 [783]
Toyota GT-One [765]
Panoz Esperante GTR-1 [741]
Chevy Corvette C5R [610]
Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca [588]

Hope this helps

OK then. New grid, having fun. Please tell me how I am going.

I'm surprised the new lineup with both the Corvette and another Viper is giving 200 points, but given that the Jaguar is in there I guess it's possible.
If your 12s up after 8 laps this should be good progress, although you're going to be pitting almost twice as often as the BMW, so look out for him later on.

Good luck. 👍

Just 1 note, the white & yellow colours here don't show up well on the grey background. Suggest changing that to orange & blue instead. (Even if it does ruin your car colour scheme based lineup.)
Alternatively try making the white & yellow bolder & slightly larger size to allow them to stand out.

OK then, the first hour is done! Fastest lap so far= 1:23.675. Average on good tyre= 1:24.5ish. Thank you guys, keep the advice and encouragement coming. May not be able to update to the next half hour/ full hour until tonight, but if there is a wait you will get two updates instead of one.


Happy Hunting!

50 minutes left!

Edit: sorry for double post. Didn't mean to.

Nice work Senamic, I followed the first two hours and am glad it worked out for you, though it sounded pretty terrifying toward the end, spinning out on lap 104.

Well done, senamic 👍 Looking forward to seeing your next Race Report ..

Best wishes,

S-Line Audi Fan

Wow, what is going on lately? Seems like people are finally writing a proper race report instead of stories in the forums. Good job, senamic! 👍 If you ever write something as inspiring as this again, be sure to let me know.

Thanks guys, I'm thinking of doing GVS 300km next, but with what car? Any suggestions? RWD suggestions only please!

Any JGTC300 car is great there, as is the Toyota Altezza Touring Car. All of those can win completely stock and give a fun race. 👍 Nice job on this race, too. My 200 point runs at it were nowhere near as close!

Thank you for the advice. Which ones will yeild 200 a spec points? They'd still need somespeed due to GVS's main straight.


Happy Hunting!

You would be surprised how well they accelerate compared to the JGTC500s, even with so much less power. You will lap faster because you make up so much through the turns and don't lose a lot on the straights. I believe all of them will earn 200 points on sufficiently hard tires against any balanced grid - go for as many JGTC500s as possible, and avoid the LM cars and cars like the Calibra.

Thanks again for the advice. JGTC300s? Their the ones that are around Cr500,000, aren't they? Not the 1million+ ones. Am I correct?

Exactly. The Toyota Wedssport Celica is the best of the class by a significant margin, and the ASL Arta Garaiya, Cusco Subaru, and Amemiya RX-7 are pretty good, too. The Toyota Superautobacs MR-S is a little slower than those, although it has great handling. Unless you want a really good challenge, don't use the Nissan C-West Razo Silvia - it's total crap compared to the others. Also, I forgot to mention that the Honda S2000 LM (450,000 Cr.) is another good choice. Whichever you choose, I hope you have a great race. 👍

OK then the next Enduro will be The Grand Valley 300km (60 laps of GVS). Our car will be the Toyota WEDSSPORT CELICA (JGTC) '03. We will run the car stock, with TCS and ASM set to 0, and R2 Tyres. The field we will run against will be (subject to change):


Nissan XANAVI HIROTO GT-R (JGTC) '01
Nissan XANAVI NISMO GT-R (JGTC) '03
Honda TAKATA DOME NSX (JGTC) '03
BMW M3 GTR Race Car '01
Nissan CALSONIC SKYLINE GT-R (JGTC) '93
Toyota WEDSSPORT CELICA (JGTC) '03


Our research shows the NISMO GT-R as our main threat, and a new thread will be started when the race begins. Any pre race pep talks on this thread please!


Happy Hunting!

AMMT

Nice writeup(s) 👍 I'll eventually get to all the endurance races i've to this day never done yet.

OK then the edited Lineup:

Honda TAKATA DOME NSX (JGTC) '03
Toyota Castrol Tom's Supra (JGTC)'01
Honda LOCTITE MUGEN NSX (JGTC) '01
Toyota au CERUMO Suora (JGTC) '01
Vauxhall Astra Super Touring Car '00
Toyota WEDSSPORT CELICA (JGTC) '03

This line up is workable, worth 200 a-spec, and on R1s should be fun. R2s are unfair on this field though.

Will start a new thread in an hour or two.


Senamic

OK then. I will be unable to do the GVS Enduro for quite a while (snowed in with work) but I will put this report and any further reports on a new thread. I intend to use that thread to store all of my race reports.

Senamic