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Finally! I've completed the nurburgring nordschliefe 24 hour, all A-spec.
Did it in a new Woodone GT500 Supra. Stock power, just tuning. RSH tires always. Averaged 5 laps per set of tires, usually in the 7.00 range for full fuel load, and cold/ or really hot tires. Or in the 6:45-6:50 range for warm tires with a lighter fuel load. Best lap was 6:40.55. Keep in mind I never shot for a best lap with fuel/pit strategies.
In end I did 202 laps, in a total time of 24:06.xx.xx . Saved replay data, but I'm too lazy to look it up. Based on some simple math:
7 Minutes, 16 Seconds Average Per Lap, Including All Pit Stops
2615.9 Miles Traveled, (Also confirmed by the Vehicle Mileage, which includes 5-10 miles of tuning/practice laps)
This equates to an OVERALL VEHICLE SPEED, (Including all pit stops!), of 109 MPH for the entire 24+ hours... !
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The vehicle held up superiorly well. After the race, the Oil Light still was not on, and the vehicle power only dropped to 486HP. It initially starts at 500+HP, and drops to 495HP after only 4-5 laps (which I know from several restarts).
The opposing field included...
2) Audi ABT TT-R, finished down 7 laps
3) BMW M3 GT-R, finished down 12 laps
4) Audi A4 Touring Car
5) ASL Garaiya
6) Toyota GT300 Autobacs MR-S
I did over 40 restarts to compete with BOTH the M3 GT-R, and Audi TT-R. The Audi sustained LONG lap sets, usually 7-8 laps between pits, and the M3 fared well with 5-6 lap sets between pits.
TIPS TO FINISH A 24 HOUR A-SPEC
1. More then ever, power is not everything! And, power is nothing without control! It is the nurburgring north loop. Vehicle selection and tuning is critical.
2. Do not pick a street car. The chassis will simply fall apart after 12 hours and several crashes, which WILL OCCUR often. Also, downforce is key. I maxed the downforce on the Woodone Supra, which although wore the tires quickly, maximized high-speed stability, especially over bumps.
3. Balance! Pick a well balanced 500-600HP race car to do this endurance. All the GT500 cars, and DTM cars are excellent. IMO, LeMans and Prototypes (Minolta 88C-V, Nissan R89, R92), are simply WAY, WAY too powerful. Even the Audi R8 is a hassle to drive, it takes a lot of energy and focus. You may lap marginally faster per lap, in the low 6 minute range, but at the cost of energy and focus, much more important then the cost of pitting often. To my next point:
4. Pitting in the North Loop circuit is FAST! Do not hesitate to pit often to help tire wear, and to always have a safe fuel load. Don't run out of fuel on hour 23! The easiest way to exit the pit smoothly is to hold the brakes on exit, and downshift immediately to 2nd gear, and turn left full lock.
5. Picture in picture! Without this neat TV feature, I would have never survived the race. Basically, after 10-12 hours, you should be able to lap the north loop with your eyes closed (well not really), but, it is really easy, even without the sound on, and possibly on a small screen (with the TV in PIP mode). I waste my money on gadgets, so on my 60" widescreen, it is no problem.
Use this PIP to your advantage, to rid the boredom. This is the most important part in completing the Nurburgring 24 hour endurance. I watched the NBA playoffs, Golf Tournemants, even F1 races and some GT racing on SpeedChannel.
My point is, do anything to 'multitask'. Call a friend on the phone, or watch another channel, or even movie silmultaneously. Without this, you would be really lucky (or determined) to survive a 24-hour.
6. Use your fascination with the Ring! I am obsessed with the Nurburgring, for its historical roots and great advances it has provided in racing and street-cars. I now know every turn's name by heart, so I practically could drive the north loop in real life, and say the turn names. There are multitudes of service roads, and watch towers, signs, and interesting graffiti that you start to LEARN and MEMORIZE once you have lapped over 100 times. I can tell you every place on the north loop that says " 'heart' BRITTA" , with a heart symbol, nearly 10 times on the track. Interesting... maybe. Psychotic... well yes.
7. Use your GT-friends to your advantage! My nutty little group of track/tuning buddies all play GT4, so nevertheless whenever I'm not at work, I would be here playing, usually with a friend. Trading off in 20-30 minute sessions while talking about cars and racing really kills time fast. I did one 4 hour session while watching 5-6 best motoring and option dvds with a friend. Piece of cake. Doing a 30 minute session alone was more tiring.
Even an inexperienced driver can do an 8 minute lap EASY, and figuring the 2nd positioned car laps an average of 7 minutes, it would take 8 laps minimum for the 2nd placed car to gain back a one lap position. Hence, I would not let a friend who is inexperienced do some laps unless you have a +5 Laps completed position on the 2nd place car. This will come after 10 hours or so if you drive well, or depending on your competitors.
8. Restart the race many times! I don't mean start, drive, and then exit, but rather enter the race to see opponents, and exit if you want another set. It does not count against race winning percentage. You can get an extraordinarily easy easy field, of 300hp race cars, which makes the enduro even easier, with less pressure to lap quickly to maintain a good lead (remember, PIP).
9. Drive the proper line! Contrary to popular belief, doing 50 laps in the ring will not teach you the proper line. Many turns are fastest off-line, and run-offs and marbles are strategically placed to increase speeds. In particular, after the first Carousel, this section requires precision driving, but is SO SO entertaining if taken perfectly. A great way to learn the line is to download the video of Hans Stuck lapping the Nurburgring Nordschliefe in the M3 GT-R. Please don't ask me where to find it, I really don't know, I sourced it a long time ago. BMW motorsport should have it online still, as well as fastdrive.org, and other racing video sites.
Hans first does a lap through the new nurburgring, and connects onto the northloop. In the entire video, he is passing traffic, as it is a public day on the north loop, and on the new circuit. He still drives a perfect line, and takes the car to the edge every time, using every run off. He FLIES by a red race porsche 911 on his way into the Adndlngewhatever Forest. Awesome stuff. HJ Stuck actually completed a 24hour at the north loop in the M3 GT-R, which is a winning car at the north loop, which I also specifically restarted the race many times to compete against.
Also notice Hans Joham Stuck has 'autographed' the ring many times, it says H.J. Stuck in graffiti many times.
10. Count Laps, Not Time! If possible, put a piece of paper taped over the overall time counter on the upper-right hand corner. The first 12 hours are livable, but each remaining hour after seems as long as all the prior combined. Hours 17-20 were particullarly difficult for me, but after hour 20, it was more or less gung-ho to the end. Counting laps, figuring an average of 200 laps in 24 hours, gives a much more attainable and realistic goal. Do laps in 20 lap sets, or even just 10 laps. That was easier for me then doing say... a 3 hour session, or a 2 hour session. Watching the clock just prolongs the process.
11. Vehicle selection again. My advice is go with a rear-drive only. Front and AWD will wear tires quickly, and extra weight of AWD is a burden when you are doing 200 laps. Most race cars are RWD anyway.
12. THE REWARD. The reward for this race was my motivating factor. The F1 car. 550KG. 900 HP. 7-Speed. The car simply rips. I have no shame in using it, since I won it, entirely A-Spec. B-Spec'ers are not cheaters by my books, but getting the F1 car B-Spec, then using it to beat the whole game... now there is no fun in that. Plus over 1 million credits as well. Also, you will theoretically (in GT4 world), have a race car that not only competed, but WON in a 24 Hour LeMans, at the nurburgring. Wish my WoodOne Supra showed exhaust burns and endurance race wear. Oh well.
13. Time. Plan to have your PS2 on for a long time. Atleast a week if you are hardcore. I work nearly 60 hours a week, so it took me close to 4 weeks to complete. I kept my PS2 in an open area, generally always cool, and it seemed to have no problems. Anxiety from fear of a power-outtage or power surge really starts to kick in after hour 15 or so. I almost used my computer's battery backup/surge protector before I started the race, given the choice now, I probably would. One surge, or quick out-on, which happens with my power a lot, will lose all progress.
Remember from my other thread, that I started the 24 hour once, to have my progress demolished by none other then... my cat! He stepped on the controller like he always does when playing with it, and I had it paused on hour 8-9. Half a day passed and I was over 20 laps down, which is impossible to recover from.
Inform others! Tell your roommates to NOT TOUCH the PS2! People often see a paused game and will turn it off. If you live at home, tell your parents to leave the ps2 alone. Shiny blue lights probably really bother moms when they are cleaning the home before nightfall. They will turn it off!
I left a post-it on top of my PS2 and told all my roommates in advance as well. I also unplugged the controller between lapping sessions, to make sure my pets wouldn't unpause the game, or to make sure someone wouldn't just pick up and start playing (and losing).
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Lastly, my advice is, take caution in embarking on other enduros, particullarly the 24 hour sarthe races. Yes I know it is the current le mans... yes the mulsanne is oh-so cool (chicanes blow IMO, Derek Bell would prob agree, who has been clocked doing 246MPH down the mulsanne in a porsche 956, equiv to say a nissan r89 in power/weight etc).
The Ring is an interesting, interesting, LONG track. It takes over 10 laps to start feeling repetitive, and fatigue kicks in usually around, or before then. Even the 9 hour race at tsukuba would be 100 times more boring then the 24 hour Nurburgring endurance, simply because each lap is so short.
And I'd like to chime in on the ring. Its clearly the fascination of GT4 and Forza (mine too). There is a great article in this months CAR magazine (U.K. magazine) with the new M6 on the cover. This opinion article brings back in perspective what a holy grail the north loop is to racing enthusiasts everywhere. In its life, the north loop has unofficially taken hundreds of lives. In one accident, a porsche engineer crashed so severely, the 911's flat-6 engine was found over a metal barrier, several hundred yards in another part of the track. Point being, even if you lap the north loop in under 6 minutes in the Polyphony digital or a 1000+ hp Prototype car, keep your egos in the GT4 world.
The author of the article felt some of the spirit of the ring was being taken in people who feel the ring is a cake walk now that they can lap it perfectly in GT4. If the 24-hour required a restart every crash, I think no one would complete it in A-spec, ever. Unless they spent weeks and weeks. You will notice on the Ring that many graffiti spots are common places cars and bikes go off-track. Many of these are dedications to the people who have died.
If you complete this enduro, and are a club-racer, or even auto enthusiast like myself, you will want to drive the north loop one day. It is a mere 15 euros per lap. Remember though... the ring in GT4... is not the ring in real life.
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Anyway, best ringing! (Oh lord I'm a ring-nerd now, otherwise known as a 'Ringer'). For great Ring' info, visit ben lovejoy's nurburgring site (find it on google or yahoo).
Also, I'm really not taking pictures and posting them to 'prove' my completion. Do you really think I'd write all this after 200 laps, and leaving my PS2 on for 3 weeks!
-Mr. North Loop
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. that race sucks. But you gotta do wat you gotta do. 
THIS GAMES GREAT!!!!!!!!! 
Maybe throw in a little rain too... Fog... Hmmm the possibilities are endless!
Thanks! 
