- 3,771
- Manning, SC
This is your race commentator RVD (I'm back
) to provide flag to flag coverage of the 4th edition of the Grand Valley 300 sponsored by PD and Sony. Over the past 3.5 yrs, PD has given this track a massive overhaul in the infield section, making it more technical and slowing the lap time by quite a bit. Let's hope the racing is not affected too much by the changes to this legendary track. The competitors and cars are ready and it's a beautiful day for racing. Let's take a look at the starting lineup:
Starting Grid
1. '03 Woodone Tom's Supra JGTC
2. '01 Pennzoil Zexel Skyline GT-R JGTC
3. '00 Opel Astra Touring Car
4. '01 Mobil NSX JGTC
5. '02 Honda NSX-R Prototype LM Race Car
6. '01 Toyota Altezza Touring Car (me)
This race is 60 laps (186.34 mi) long and has a Aspec point value of 200, meaning the fans will get one spectacular race. Enough pre race chatter, let's go racing!
Race Summary
The race has finally begun! Everyone is jostling for position in these early stages.I slipped by the backmarkers early on and starting hunting down the lead Supra. When the Altezza caught and passed him early into lap 3, a battle began that had everyone of the 100,000 people in attendance on their feet until the end of lap 12, when I had to make my first of 4 pit stops. During that 10 lap period, we were never more than 5 seconds apart. During the pit stop, I elect to only change front tires because the rears are still green, meaing they'll last 24 laps. The Supra finally pitted at the end of lap 13, followed by the NSX Prototype. 2 laps later, the Skyline, Mobil 1 NSX, and Astra make their first pitstops. The crews of the Supra and Altezza start to worry, because over the course of 60 laps, the Skyline will pit one less time, saving him 35 seconds, which could make for a nail-biting finish.
After the first round of pitstops was completed, the Supra held a slim lead over the quickly closing Altezza. The Supra is soon passed and begins falling back on cold tires. By the time the Altezza pits for the second time, the interval between him and the Supra was around 10 sec, so the fans didn't get a good battle like the one between laps 3-12. Once again after my pitstop I fell to last place, but this time I was only 30 sec down. Everyone pitted as usual except the Mobil 1 NSX, who pits on lap 29 instead of 30. This time after the stops, the Supra is nowhere near the Altezza's rear bumper, and falls to 13 sec back by lap 34. The Skyline doesn't seem to be on the pace of the Altezza or Supra, so he may not be as big of a factor as thought by the crews earlier in the race. After the 3rd pitstop for the Altezza, he falls back to 3rd place behind the Supra and Skyline. Going into turn 5, the Altezza makes a great overtaking move on the Skyline to take over 2nd spot. At the end of lap 39, the Supra makes his 3rd scheduled pit stop of the day. The Protype NSX should follow him in. After the Skyline's final stop, the Altezza holds a 19 sec lead over the Supra. It appears that the Altezza will win the race unless something happens to either the car or the driver. As it turns out, even after my extra stop over the Skyline I still exited the pits well in front of him. The race has really calmed down from the beginning parts where having the fastest car was important in holding off the field. Now in the closing stages, pit strategy is the key factor. The Skyline has taken over second place on lap 53 from the Supra who is warming up his tires. He's opened up a decent lead over the mostly dominant Supra who seems to be having car trouble. White flag, one more lap for RVD and the Toyota Altezza crew! As he comes off the final corner, the crowd is on his feet as RVD wins the Grand Valley 300!!!!!
Pit Stops
1. '03 Woodone Tom's Supra JGTC- 13, 26, 39, 52
2. '01 Pennzoil Zexel Skyline JGTC- 15, 30, 45
3. '00 Opel Astra Touring Car- 15, 30, 45
4. '01 Mobil 1 NSX JGTC- 15, 29, 43, 57
5. '02 Honda NSX-R Prototype LM Race Car- 13, 26, 39, 52
6. '01 Toyota Altezza Touring Car (me)- 12, 24, 36, 48
Race Results
1. '01 Toyota Altezza Touring Car- 1:58'30.499
2. '01 Pennzoil Zexel Skyline JGTC- 1:58'37.542 (+7.043 sec)
3. '03 Woodone Tom's Supra JGTC- 1:58'42.411 (+11.912 sec)
4. '00 Opel Astra Touring Car
5. '01 Mobil 1 NSX
6. '02 Honda NSX-R Prototype LM Race Car
Fastest Lap- 1:54.594
Average Lap- 1:58.508
Post Race Thoughts
I walk away with 200 A-spec points, 400,000 credits, and the Auto Union Car.
Overall, this was a good race requiring solid concentration throughout the 60 lapper. The Altezza handled fairly well for the majority of the race, although understeer showed up on the pit-in lap. This has been the Grand Valley 300 brought to you live by Time Warner Cable, Sony, PD, and Toyota.
) to provide flag to flag coverage of the 4th edition of the Grand Valley 300 sponsored by PD and Sony. Over the past 3.5 yrs, PD has given this track a massive overhaul in the infield section, making it more technical and slowing the lap time by quite a bit. Let's hope the racing is not affected too much by the changes to this legendary track. The competitors and cars are ready and it's a beautiful day for racing. Let's take a look at the starting lineup:Starting Grid
1. '03 Woodone Tom's Supra JGTC
2. '01 Pennzoil Zexel Skyline GT-R JGTC
3. '00 Opel Astra Touring Car
4. '01 Mobil NSX JGTC
5. '02 Honda NSX-R Prototype LM Race Car
6. '01 Toyota Altezza Touring Car (me)
This race is 60 laps (186.34 mi) long and has a Aspec point value of 200, meaning the fans will get one spectacular race. Enough pre race chatter, let's go racing!
Race Summary
The race has finally begun! Everyone is jostling for position in these early stages.I slipped by the backmarkers early on and starting hunting down the lead Supra. When the Altezza caught and passed him early into lap 3, a battle began that had everyone of the 100,000 people in attendance on their feet until the end of lap 12, when I had to make my first of 4 pit stops. During that 10 lap period, we were never more than 5 seconds apart. During the pit stop, I elect to only change front tires because the rears are still green, meaing they'll last 24 laps. The Supra finally pitted at the end of lap 13, followed by the NSX Prototype. 2 laps later, the Skyline, Mobil 1 NSX, and Astra make their first pitstops. The crews of the Supra and Altezza start to worry, because over the course of 60 laps, the Skyline will pit one less time, saving him 35 seconds, which could make for a nail-biting finish.
After the first round of pitstops was completed, the Supra held a slim lead over the quickly closing Altezza. The Supra is soon passed and begins falling back on cold tires. By the time the Altezza pits for the second time, the interval between him and the Supra was around 10 sec, so the fans didn't get a good battle like the one between laps 3-12. Once again after my pitstop I fell to last place, but this time I was only 30 sec down. Everyone pitted as usual except the Mobil 1 NSX, who pits on lap 29 instead of 30. This time after the stops, the Supra is nowhere near the Altezza's rear bumper, and falls to 13 sec back by lap 34. The Skyline doesn't seem to be on the pace of the Altezza or Supra, so he may not be as big of a factor as thought by the crews earlier in the race. After the 3rd pitstop for the Altezza, he falls back to 3rd place behind the Supra and Skyline. Going into turn 5, the Altezza makes a great overtaking move on the Skyline to take over 2nd spot. At the end of lap 39, the Supra makes his 3rd scheduled pit stop of the day. The Protype NSX should follow him in. After the Skyline's final stop, the Altezza holds a 19 sec lead over the Supra. It appears that the Altezza will win the race unless something happens to either the car or the driver. As it turns out, even after my extra stop over the Skyline I still exited the pits well in front of him. The race has really calmed down from the beginning parts where having the fastest car was important in holding off the field. Now in the closing stages, pit strategy is the key factor. The Skyline has taken over second place on lap 53 from the Supra who is warming up his tires. He's opened up a decent lead over the mostly dominant Supra who seems to be having car trouble. White flag, one more lap for RVD and the Toyota Altezza crew! As he comes off the final corner, the crowd is on his feet as RVD wins the Grand Valley 300!!!!! Pit Stops
1. '03 Woodone Tom's Supra JGTC- 13, 26, 39, 52
2. '01 Pennzoil Zexel Skyline JGTC- 15, 30, 45
3. '00 Opel Astra Touring Car- 15, 30, 45
4. '01 Mobil 1 NSX JGTC- 15, 29, 43, 57
5. '02 Honda NSX-R Prototype LM Race Car- 13, 26, 39, 52
6. '01 Toyota Altezza Touring Car (me)- 12, 24, 36, 48
Race Results
1. '01 Toyota Altezza Touring Car- 1:58'30.499
2. '01 Pennzoil Zexel Skyline JGTC- 1:58'37.542 (+7.043 sec)
3. '03 Woodone Tom's Supra JGTC- 1:58'42.411 (+11.912 sec)
4. '00 Opel Astra Touring Car
5. '01 Mobil 1 NSX
6. '02 Honda NSX-R Prototype LM Race Car
Fastest Lap- 1:54.594
Average Lap- 1:58.508
Post Race Thoughts
I walk away with 200 A-spec points, 400,000 credits, and the Auto Union Car.
Overall, this was a good race requiring solid concentration throughout the 60 lapper. The Altezza handled fairly well for the majority of the race, although understeer showed up on the pit-in lap. This has been the Grand Valley 300 brought to you live by Time Warner Cable, Sony, PD, and Toyota. 
I should give this a go sometime soon, GV is one of my favourite tracks.
