- 762
Once again I found myself not wanting to spend any of my 17 odd million credits on a race so I did what I always do and embarked on a $0 win quest. I though that I wouldn't have much of a problem since I have plenty of fast prize cars that can haul a$$.... but as fate would have it speed don't mean jack without tyres!
THE HOTSHOTS(S)
**NOTE: All of my cars are on the stock tyres (Which happens to be RS for most of the fast ones)
R92C: I knew tire wear would be a problem and I knew that I'd be lucky to get to the third lap. I figured I'd get enough advantage on the others to squeeze in a pit stop. If any onther fast cars are in the race I would just have to keep them behind. Guess what? IT DIDN'T WORK Finished 3rd a good 25 seconds behind because the Bentley didn't pit....
C9: Pretty much a repeat of the race with the R92C. Xcept that I didn't loose so much time on lap 3 (pit lap) as the tires didn't wear out so much. Once again the Bentley did not pit.... 2nd by 19 seconds.
Bentley: I had to try! If he didn't pit in the other races... maybe I would get lucky... YEAH RIGHT!... I was able to pit on lap 4 with a 12 second lead though... finished 3rd by 16 seconds as the Jag XJR-9 and the R390 didn't pit. Missed out on 2nd by 0.5 seconds (Behind the R390)
F1: Didn't want to try this one because it tops out at 210 and wouldn't be able to keep up with the non-pitting AI bastards (even when you draft the rev limiter can make you drop off). Maybe playing with the gears.... Decided to leave it as a last resource as I wasn't sure the tyres were up to it anyway.
THE UNDERDOG
SUZUKI ESCUDO: I figured I'd give it a go since it almost as light as the F1 and has almost the same HP as the others. That, plus I had never driven it since winning it. I let out a big "Ohhh Babyyyyy!!" when I saw it comes with Racing Hards stock. If it wasn't because I was alone in the house I would have been really stuck trying to explain my extreme pleasure over a set of tyres...
First try: This thing takes off like a hare with a bad case of 'the runs'. Leaves everybody behind, even takes a 2 second lead on pos 2... until it hits top speeed of 204MPH and gets overtaken by the other fast runners. Didn't need to pit but the rev limiter made me drop off the drafting half way the back straight on the first lap. After that it was more a matter of 'how small' my margin of defeat was going to be....
Second try: OK. So the tyres last the distance (they stay blue until lap 3) but the speed is lacking. Only choice : GEAR CHANGES!
. Once again I take off leaving everybody behind. Once again I get overtaken by the faster cars before the end of lap 1. Once again I finish a handful of seconds behind. But the car was topping out at 212 and just didn't have the speed.
Third try: Some more mucking around with the gears. Car tops out at 225, car gets left behind by the others, car finshes 3rd... but by less than 6 seconds. Grrrrrrr
Fourth try: Yet some more mucking around with the gears. Car can't sustain last gear (not enough HP) but it tops out at 255MPH when drafting. However the loss of speed on the turns is quite dramatic and the AI always manages to pass me before crossing the finish line (on each lap). Finished 2nd by 2.5 seconds.
Fifth try: I take a deep breath and review my notes from Mission 23. Re-live the mission in my head... passing the yellow skyline on the last turn.... yes, it will come down to the last turn, the last draft. But once again the 905 manages to screw me by decelerating too much before his last pass and making it too hard for me to draft once he's through on the high lane. 2nd by 0.303. Victory is soooooooo close I can taste it!
Sixth try: Gears unchanged. This has come down to race craft. Changed the plan a little. Instead of being nice and playing leapfrog with the 905 and the McLaren F1 (Which always pits on lap 4 and drops off) I decide to go flat out and out of the racing line to make it harder for them to draft me. The hope is that when they catch up to me on the turns I will be far enough into it that I can either block them or let them by before loosing too much speed and do a 'draft to the wire'.
First lap I managed to stay in front until the end of turn 1. Then drafted them a little but I had been to far in front so I didn't build up enough speed to get away before turn 2. I tried blocking then but it just didn't feel right. Crossed the finish line on first (just barely).
Second lap I decided to let them pass so I can draft enough speed from them out of turn 1 and have a good lead before turn 2. It sort of works and I reach 245 MPH before coming out of slipstream. Try to block again on turn 2 but since there is two of them I get bumped off the racing line and overtaken so I decided to switch to plan b.
Third lap. Try perfecting the slingshot manouver out of turn 1 and attempt it on turn 2. Goes fine on 1 not so good on 2 but feels more comfortable than trying to block them.
Fourth lap. Turn one slingshot down pat. Turn 2 is better but i bump the 905 as I didn't pull out of slipstream soon enough.
Fifth lap. This is it! Turn 1 goes as planned... I pull off the racing line on turn 2 to let the 905 pass and pull behind him perfectly. I am doing about 215 and he must be doing 225. Buttocks clenched, holding my breath, foot flat on the accelerator I inch towards his rear end, go past the PIT sign on the road, getting real close to his butt... swerve to the left and close my eyes... I don't wana see red time splits!!!
When I finally opened my eyes I saw I won but not by how much. Had to watch the replay... It didn't look like I won but sure enough: Nice blue time split reading - 0.073.
Best fun I've had in a while!
BTW: Tranny set on auto 15 and final gear on 2.207
THE HOTSHOTS(S)
**NOTE: All of my cars are on the stock tyres (Which happens to be RS for most of the fast ones)
R92C: I knew tire wear would be a problem and I knew that I'd be lucky to get to the third lap. I figured I'd get enough advantage on the others to squeeze in a pit stop. If any onther fast cars are in the race I would just have to keep them behind. Guess what? IT DIDN'T WORK Finished 3rd a good 25 seconds behind because the Bentley didn't pit....
C9: Pretty much a repeat of the race with the R92C. Xcept that I didn't loose so much time on lap 3 (pit lap) as the tires didn't wear out so much. Once again the Bentley did not pit.... 2nd by 19 seconds.
Bentley: I had to try! If he didn't pit in the other races... maybe I would get lucky... YEAH RIGHT!... I was able to pit on lap 4 with a 12 second lead though... finished 3rd by 16 seconds as the Jag XJR-9 and the R390 didn't pit. Missed out on 2nd by 0.5 seconds (Behind the R390)
F1: Didn't want to try this one because it tops out at 210 and wouldn't be able to keep up with the non-pitting AI bastards (even when you draft the rev limiter can make you drop off). Maybe playing with the gears.... Decided to leave it as a last resource as I wasn't sure the tyres were up to it anyway.
THE UNDERDOG
SUZUKI ESCUDO: I figured I'd give it a go since it almost as light as the F1 and has almost the same HP as the others. That, plus I had never driven it since winning it. I let out a big "Ohhh Babyyyyy!!" when I saw it comes with Racing Hards stock. If it wasn't because I was alone in the house I would have been really stuck trying to explain my extreme pleasure over a set of tyres...
First try: This thing takes off like a hare with a bad case of 'the runs'. Leaves everybody behind, even takes a 2 second lead on pos 2... until it hits top speeed of 204MPH and gets overtaken by the other fast runners. Didn't need to pit but the rev limiter made me drop off the drafting half way the back straight on the first lap. After that it was more a matter of 'how small' my margin of defeat was going to be....
Second try: OK. So the tyres last the distance (they stay blue until lap 3) but the speed is lacking. Only choice : GEAR CHANGES!
. Once again I take off leaving everybody behind. Once again I get overtaken by the faster cars before the end of lap 1. Once again I finish a handful of seconds behind. But the car was topping out at 212 and just didn't have the speed.Third try: Some more mucking around with the gears. Car tops out at 225, car gets left behind by the others, car finshes 3rd... but by less than 6 seconds. Grrrrrrr
Fourth try: Yet some more mucking around with the gears. Car can't sustain last gear (not enough HP) but it tops out at 255MPH when drafting. However the loss of speed on the turns is quite dramatic and the AI always manages to pass me before crossing the finish line (on each lap). Finished 2nd by 2.5 seconds.
Fifth try: I take a deep breath and review my notes from Mission 23. Re-live the mission in my head... passing the yellow skyline on the last turn.... yes, it will come down to the last turn, the last draft. But once again the 905 manages to screw me by decelerating too much before his last pass and making it too hard for me to draft once he's through on the high lane. 2nd by 0.303. Victory is soooooooo close I can taste it!
Sixth try: Gears unchanged. This has come down to race craft. Changed the plan a little. Instead of being nice and playing leapfrog with the 905 and the McLaren F1 (Which always pits on lap 4 and drops off) I decide to go flat out and out of the racing line to make it harder for them to draft me. The hope is that when they catch up to me on the turns I will be far enough into it that I can either block them or let them by before loosing too much speed and do a 'draft to the wire'.
First lap I managed to stay in front until the end of turn 1. Then drafted them a little but I had been to far in front so I didn't build up enough speed to get away before turn 2. I tried blocking then but it just didn't feel right. Crossed the finish line on first (just barely).
Second lap I decided to let them pass so I can draft enough speed from them out of turn 1 and have a good lead before turn 2. It sort of works and I reach 245 MPH before coming out of slipstream. Try to block again on turn 2 but since there is two of them I get bumped off the racing line and overtaken so I decided to switch to plan b.
Third lap. Try perfecting the slingshot manouver out of turn 1 and attempt it on turn 2. Goes fine on 1 not so good on 2 but feels more comfortable than trying to block them.
Fourth lap. Turn one slingshot down pat. Turn 2 is better but i bump the 905 as I didn't pull out of slipstream soon enough.
Fifth lap. This is it! Turn 1 goes as planned... I pull off the racing line on turn 2 to let the 905 pass and pull behind him perfectly. I am doing about 215 and he must be doing 225. Buttocks clenched, holding my breath, foot flat on the accelerator I inch towards his rear end, go past the PIT sign on the road, getting real close to his butt... swerve to the left and close my eyes... I don't wana see red time splits!!!
When I finally opened my eyes I saw I won but not by how much. Had to watch the replay... It didn't look like I won but sure enough: Nice blue time split reading - 0.073.
Best fun I've had in a while!
BTW: Tranny set on auto 15 and final gear on 2.207
:tup:
...haven't seen a differential that low in a long while. Great race!
at least I got a new best lap with 1,39,677 and a top speed of 410 kmh. Then B-Bob gave it a try........ 
wath a laugh.... he realy sucks on slipstreaming 
maybe they should have made a "split point" system for the two cars, in this kind of situation...! 💡 
