Smallhorses
Staff Emeritus
- 7,260
Hello again,
it's more super close racing action from Smallhorses time once more!
This time the Laguna Seca 200 miles race. Since the AI field here are a mixture of stock and modified US cars running on RH (R2) rubber, the Stock car race comparison/challenge thread modified it's rules a little regarding this race, and allows the use of RSH (R1) tyres to enable a stock car to keep up, which is almost impossible on SM (S2) tyres that most cars are equipped with as standard.
My weapon of choice is a Honda NSX Type R '92, which was rescued from the used car lot with 33611.3 miles on it. A car wash and an oil change later, and the addition of RSH tyres from Spoon Sports leaves the Neutron White Pearl coloured car with the following stats:-
Car: Honda NSX Type R '92 / MR / 283HP / 1230kg / 4.3kg/HP
Lineup starts this way:- [HP (from race preview/replay) in square brackets]
Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96 [501HP]
Dodge Viper GTS '99 [499HP]
Dodge Viper SRT10 '03 [504HP]
Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 [494HP]
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 [498HP]
Honda NSX Type R '92 [284HP]
This was the 6th lineup given after a console reset and yields 200 A-spec points!
Laps 1 - 3 Safely, cleanly round lap 1, holding 6th, but right with the pack. Grand Sport leads by 5.6s. Not attempting any silly passing moves until tyres are warm, and field is spread out a little. Still hanging in 6th after lap 2. Alongside Z06 out of last bend, but he's got an HP advantage for the straight.
Neatly executed pass on Z06 secures 5th braking into penultimate bend. Tidy line through last bend too means he's too far back to try anything down the straight. 
Laps 4 - 6 Another second quicker, laptime in mid 1'35s now, right on the back of Camaro, and could certainly go quicker if he wasn't blocking me all the way round.
Drop into 1'34s, on lap 5, passing Camaro in the same fashion as the Z06, in the same place. Grand Sport has opened up a 13s lead by now. Mid 1'34 closes gap to 3rd placed SRT10, but Grand Sport is pulling away. 
Laps 7 - 9 Into 1'33s and Grand Sport is still able to edge away, 14s the lead now. Mid 1'33 for lap 8 drops the gap to the leader by 0.6s. This is a heck of a pace to try and maintain!
Fast lap now 1'33.598 on lap 9. 👍
Lap 10 - 12 A high 1'34 followed by a mid 1'34 and then a new fastest lap on lap 12, of 1'33.518 👍 still sees gap extend to 15.7s.
Lap 13 - 16 4 laps in the 1'34s see gap pull out to over 17s and then shrink fractionally to 16.4s. The Camaro makes his first stop on lap 16.
Lap 17 - 18 Two laps in the 1'33s close down gap to 14.7s before the Grand Sport and Viper GTS both pit on lap 18. This leaves Viper SRT10 as the new leader, 4.3s ahead of me.
Lap 19 With left tyres yellow, and rights showing signs of orange, it's clear I'm going to need 4 stops, so I pit in earlier than expected, to ensure I don't finish with a dumb strategy like pitting 2 laps before the end of the race!
Lap 20 Exit in 5th right behind GTS. Clean outlap in 1'42 arena. SRT10 pits from 1st place, and Z06 takes over the lead, 14.6s ahead.
Lap 21 - 24 Take 4th from GTS at penultimate bend, before Z06 pits from first. Lap in mid 1'35s leaves a 7.5s gap to the leading Grand Sport, and I'm in 3rd place, having passed Z06 in pits. Mid 1'34 on lap 23 leaves me right on the tail of the SRT10, but Grand Sport is 10.4s ahead of that!
A low 1'36, on lap 24, took 2nd from SRT10 at penultimate bend, but ran wide trying to avoid being shunted at the last corner. 
Lap 25 - 32 Got it all to do again, have dropped back a little, high 1'35 leaves a 15s gap to Grand Sport now.
A mixed bag of laps follows from the mid 1'33s to low 1'35s which sees the gap pull out to 19.5s. 
The Camaro pits again.
Laps 33 - 35 Two consecutive 1'33s, one, the fastest lap so far at 1'33.331, 👍 followed by a 1'34 drops the gap back to 17.1s.
Lap 36 - 38 High 1'33 as Grand Sport pits, and I slip by into 2nd, 9.8s behind SRT10. A mid 1'33 follows and gap to SRT10 drops to 9.1s. The Viper GTS pits again on lap 37, and I pit from 2nd place myself on lap 38. Fuel added up to the 35 unit mark.
Lap 39 - 42 Exit in 4th, SRT10 leads by 35s at the end of a tidy outlap. Have Grand Sport in sight, and Z06 is some way ahead of that in 2nd. SRT10 pits on lap 40, leaving Z06 in the lead, 14.7s ahead. On the tail of the SRT10 as he leaves the pits.
Z06 pits on lap 42, allowing Grand Sport back into a 7.7s lead over me in 3rd place.
Lap 43 - 45 Low 1'34 and passed the SRT10 cleanly through the penultimate bend for 2nd place.
Gap to Grand Sport grows to 8.5s. Nice looking 1'33.333 lap 44 drops gap to 7.9s and a new fastest lap of 1'33.108 keeps the gap the same on lap 45.
Lap 46 - 48 High 1'33 brings gap down to 7.5s. Another high 1'33 and the gap drops a further 1/2 second and on lap 48 a mid 1'33, leaves the gap more or less stationary. Camaro pits again on lap 48.
Lap 49 - 51 High 1'33, gap has grown 0.2s per lap for the last 2 laps. Fuel drops into the red zone during this lap. It's followed by two more mid 1'33 laps and the gap decreases to 6.5s.
Lap 52 - 54 Low 1'34, Grand Sport has caught the backmarking Camaro, and struggles to pass. Another low 1'34 again, Camaro is pulling away from Grand Sport, gap down by 3s on lap 53 alone! Lap 54 is a low 1'35 after a scrappy lap following the Grand Sport around culminates in him pitting, so I take over 1st place for the first time!
Lap 55 Elect to pit early to get the best from the remaining 2 sets of tyres. 💡 SRT10 resumes the lead. Fuel up to 33 units whilst taking on tyres. GTS also makes a 3rd stop.
Lap 56 -60 Clean outlap after exiting pits in 2nd place leaves a 27.2s gap to the leading SRT10. It's followed by a 1'35 lap and 3 laps in the 1'34s before the SRT10 pits on lap 60.
Lap 61 - 64 High 1'34 after passing SRT10 exiting pits on the way down to turn 1. Leaves me in 1st place with 4.4s lead.
More 1'34s follow and the gap grows to over 8s while the SRT10's tyres warm up. In the meantime, the Z06 pits a 3rd time on lap 63, followed by the Camaro's 4th pit on lap 64. My fuel level also drops into the red on lap 64.
Lap 65 -67 Mid 1'35 to low 1'36s follow and gap is decreased to 6.9s. Camaro can be seen exiting pits during lap 65. Follow Camaro round lap 66, backing aff to avoid contact in several places,
and finally taking him at my favourite passing spot on lap 67, the penultimate bend.
Lap 68 -71 Drop back into the low 1'34s with nothing to block me now. Gap to SRT10 has reduced to 3s while I rounded the Camaro, but now he's got the same problem, and starts to drop back. SRT10 has used his superior HP to good effect to easily dispose of the backmarker. 3.6s is the gap at the end of lap 69. More 1'34 laps follow,fuel level drops into the last red bar and the SRT10 begins to gain on his now warmed tyres.
Lap 72 High 1'33 lap, and gap is exactly 2.400s.
Lap 73 Pit in after 17 laps on this set of tyres, leaving me another 17 on the new tyres which'll still be in good condition at the finish. Top up fuel to 35 units and relinquish 1st place. Grand Sport also makes another pitstop, as does GTS.
Lap 74 - 76 Exit pits in 2nd, as Camaro unlaps himself. Tidy enough outlap leaves a 28s deficit to leading SRT10 now. Follwed by 2 laps pushing too hard on cold tyres that almost sees me leave the track in some places, and allows SRT10 to pull away to 31s gap. 
Lap 77 - 79 Low 1'34, gap increases fractionally, but it's followed by two more 1'34 laps and the gap starts to drop by a second a lap, down to 29s.
Lap 80 SRT10 pits from 30s lead as I'm starting to descend Corkscrew, finish lap in mid 1'35 and SRT10 is visible exiting the pits. Camaro makes his 5th stop.
Lap 81 SRT10 exits pit lane as I exit turn 1, spend the lap glued to his rear end, until I pull the same passing move at the penultimate turn to re-claim 1st place.
Camaro is lapped for good in the pits. Gap at the end of the lap is 0.4s.
Lap 82 SRT10 takes back 1st into turn 1, his straightline advantage paying off. Hang with him and pass at penultimate turn again. High 1'36 lap leaves 0.3s advantage at the end of the lap.
Lap 83 Low 1'36 lap again after an almost carbon copy of previous lap's events.
Lap 84 This time through, the SRT10 isn't as careful down the start/finish straight, and despite moving well left and leaving the door open for him, he pulls out too late and tags the back of my NSX. I go into turn 1 still in 1st an begin to pull away now I'm unhindered. 
Z06 makes his final stop. High 1'33 lap leaves 2.2s gap to 2nd placed SRT10.
Lap 85 -87 Mid 1'34 lap sees gap stay the same. Another 1'34 on lap 86 and gap is lowered to 1.7s. It's going to be a tight finish,
as SRT10s tyres seem to have warmed to their task. A low 1'34 on lap 87, gives a gap of exactly 2.400s, 2nd time this race that that's happened!
Lap 88 -90 Three 1'34 laps and gap drops to 2.1s on lap 88. I'm starting to drink from the last red fuel bar on lap 89, and the gap increases by a 1/10th to give 2.2s cushion into the final lap. Finish with a mid 1'34 and a mere 2s lead over SRT10! Woohoo!
Result:-
1st Honda NSX Type R '92 2:23'57.545
2nd Dodge Viper SRT10 '03 -2.084
3rd Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96 ?
4th Dodge Viper GTS '99 ?
5th Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 ?
6th Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 + 1 lap
Prizes:-
200,000Cr & Ford GT40 Race Car '69.
it's more super close racing action from Smallhorses time once more!
This time the Laguna Seca 200 miles race. Since the AI field here are a mixture of stock and modified US cars running on RH (R2) rubber, the Stock car race comparison/challenge thread modified it's rules a little regarding this race, and allows the use of RSH (R1) tyres to enable a stock car to keep up, which is almost impossible on SM (S2) tyres that most cars are equipped with as standard.
My weapon of choice is a Honda NSX Type R '92, which was rescued from the used car lot with 33611.3 miles on it. A car wash and an oil change later, and the addition of RSH tyres from Spoon Sports leaves the Neutron White Pearl coloured car with the following stats:-
Car: Honda NSX Type R '92 / MR / 283HP / 1230kg / 4.3kg/HP
Lineup starts this way:- [HP (from race preview/replay) in square brackets]
Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96 [501HP]
Dodge Viper GTS '99 [499HP]
Dodge Viper SRT10 '03 [504HP]
Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 [494HP]
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 [498HP]
Honda NSX Type R '92 [284HP]
This was the 6th lineup given after a console reset and yields 200 A-spec points!
Laps 1 - 3 Safely, cleanly round lap 1, holding 6th, but right with the pack. Grand Sport leads by 5.6s. Not attempting any silly passing moves until tyres are warm, and field is spread out a little. Still hanging in 6th after lap 2. Alongside Z06 out of last bend, but he's got an HP advantage for the straight.
Neatly executed pass on Z06 secures 5th braking into penultimate bend. Tidy line through last bend too means he's too far back to try anything down the straight. Laps 4 - 6 Another second quicker, laptime in mid 1'35s now, right on the back of Camaro, and could certainly go quicker if he wasn't blocking me all the way round.
Drop into 1'34s, on lap 5, passing Camaro in the same fashion as the Z06, in the same place. Grand Sport has opened up a 13s lead by now. Mid 1'34 closes gap to 3rd placed SRT10, but Grand Sport is pulling away. Laps 7 - 9 Into 1'33s and Grand Sport is still able to edge away, 14s the lead now. Mid 1'33 for lap 8 drops the gap to the leader by 0.6s. This is a heck of a pace to try and maintain!
Fast lap now 1'33.598 on lap 9. 👍 Lap 10 - 12 A high 1'34 followed by a mid 1'34 and then a new fastest lap on lap 12, of 1'33.518 👍 still sees gap extend to 15.7s.
Lap 13 - 16 4 laps in the 1'34s see gap pull out to over 17s and then shrink fractionally to 16.4s. The Camaro makes his first stop on lap 16.
Lap 17 - 18 Two laps in the 1'33s close down gap to 14.7s before the Grand Sport and Viper GTS both pit on lap 18. This leaves Viper SRT10 as the new leader, 4.3s ahead of me.
Lap 19 With left tyres yellow, and rights showing signs of orange, it's clear I'm going to need 4 stops, so I pit in earlier than expected, to ensure I don't finish with a dumb strategy like pitting 2 laps before the end of the race!
Lap 20 Exit in 5th right behind GTS. Clean outlap in 1'42 arena. SRT10 pits from 1st place, and Z06 takes over the lead, 14.6s ahead.
Lap 21 - 24 Take 4th from GTS at penultimate bend, before Z06 pits from first. Lap in mid 1'35s leaves a 7.5s gap to the leading Grand Sport, and I'm in 3rd place, having passed Z06 in pits. Mid 1'34 on lap 23 leaves me right on the tail of the SRT10, but Grand Sport is 10.4s ahead of that!
A low 1'36, on lap 24, took 2nd from SRT10 at penultimate bend, but ran wide trying to avoid being shunted at the last corner. Lap 25 - 32 Got it all to do again, have dropped back a little, high 1'35 leaves a 15s gap to Grand Sport now.
A mixed bag of laps follows from the mid 1'33s to low 1'35s which sees the gap pull out to 19.5s. The Camaro pits again.Laps 33 - 35 Two consecutive 1'33s, one, the fastest lap so far at 1'33.331, 👍 followed by a 1'34 drops the gap back to 17.1s.
Lap 36 - 38 High 1'33 as Grand Sport pits, and I slip by into 2nd, 9.8s behind SRT10. A mid 1'33 follows and gap to SRT10 drops to 9.1s. The Viper GTS pits again on lap 37, and I pit from 2nd place myself on lap 38. Fuel added up to the 35 unit mark.
Lap 39 - 42 Exit in 4th, SRT10 leads by 35s at the end of a tidy outlap. Have Grand Sport in sight, and Z06 is some way ahead of that in 2nd. SRT10 pits on lap 40, leaving Z06 in the lead, 14.7s ahead. On the tail of the SRT10 as he leaves the pits.
Z06 pits on lap 42, allowing Grand Sport back into a 7.7s lead over me in 3rd place. Lap 43 - 45 Low 1'34 and passed the SRT10 cleanly through the penultimate bend for 2nd place.
Gap to Grand Sport grows to 8.5s. Nice looking 1'33.333 lap 44 drops gap to 7.9s and a new fastest lap of 1'33.108 keeps the gap the same on lap 45. Lap 46 - 48 High 1'33 brings gap down to 7.5s. Another high 1'33 and the gap drops a further 1/2 second and on lap 48 a mid 1'33, leaves the gap more or less stationary. Camaro pits again on lap 48.
Lap 49 - 51 High 1'33, gap has grown 0.2s per lap for the last 2 laps.
Fuel drops into the red zone during this lap. It's followed by two more mid 1'33 laps and the gap decreases to 6.5s.Lap 52 - 54 Low 1'34, Grand Sport has caught the backmarking Camaro, and struggles to pass. Another low 1'34 again, Camaro is pulling away from Grand Sport, gap down by 3s on lap 53 alone! Lap 54 is a low 1'35 after a scrappy lap following the Grand Sport around culminates in him pitting, so I take over 1st place for the first time!
Lap 55 Elect to pit early to get the best from the remaining 2 sets of tyres. 💡 SRT10 resumes the lead. Fuel up to 33 units whilst taking on tyres. GTS also makes a 3rd stop.
Lap 56 -60 Clean outlap after exiting pits in 2nd place leaves a 27.2s gap to the leading SRT10. It's followed by a 1'35 lap and 3 laps in the 1'34s before the SRT10 pits on lap 60.
Lap 61 - 64 High 1'34 after passing SRT10 exiting pits on the way down to turn 1. Leaves me in 1st place with 4.4s lead.
More 1'34s follow and the gap grows to over 8s while the SRT10's tyres warm up. In the meantime, the Z06 pits a 3rd time on lap 63, followed by the Camaro's 4th pit on lap 64. My fuel level also drops into the red on lap 64.Lap 65 -67 Mid 1'35 to low 1'36s follow and gap is decreased to 6.9s. Camaro can be seen exiting pits during lap 65. Follow Camaro round lap 66, backing aff to avoid contact in several places,
and finally taking him at my favourite passing spot on lap 67, the penultimate bend.Lap 68 -71 Drop back into the low 1'34s with nothing to block me now. Gap to SRT10 has reduced to 3s while I rounded the Camaro,
but now he's got the same problem, and starts to drop back. SRT10 has used his superior HP to good effect to easily dispose of the backmarker. 3.6s is the gap at the end of lap 69. More 1'34 laps follow,fuel level drops into the last red bar and the SRT10 begins to gain on his now warmed tyres. Lap 72 High 1'33 lap, and gap is exactly 2.400s.
Lap 73 Pit in after 17 laps on this set of tyres, leaving me another 17 on the new tyres which'll still be in good condition at the finish.
Top up fuel to 35 units and relinquish 1st place. Grand Sport also makes another pitstop, as does GTS.Lap 74 - 76 Exit pits in 2nd, as Camaro unlaps himself. Tidy enough outlap leaves a 28s deficit to leading SRT10 now. Follwed by 2 laps pushing too hard on cold tyres that almost sees me leave the track in some places,
and allows SRT10 to pull away to 31s gap. Lap 77 - 79 Low 1'34, gap increases fractionally, but it's followed by two more 1'34 laps and the gap starts to drop by a second a lap, down to 29s.
Lap 80 SRT10 pits from 30s lead as I'm starting to descend Corkscrew, finish lap in mid 1'35 and SRT10 is visible exiting the pits. Camaro makes his 5th stop.
Lap 81 SRT10 exits pit lane as I exit turn 1, spend the lap glued to his rear end, until I pull the same passing move at the penultimate turn to re-claim 1st place.
Camaro is lapped for good in the pits. Gap at the end of the lap is 0.4s.Lap 82 SRT10 takes back 1st into turn 1, his straightline advantage paying off.
Hang with him and pass at penultimate turn again. High 1'36 lap leaves 0.3s advantage at the end of the lap.Lap 83 Low 1'36 lap again after an almost carbon copy of previous lap's events.
Lap 84 This time through, the SRT10 isn't as careful down the start/finish straight, and despite moving well left and leaving the door open for him, he pulls out too late and tags the back of my NSX.
I go into turn 1 still in 1st an begin to pull away now I'm unhindered. Z06 makes his final stop. High 1'33 lap leaves 2.2s gap to 2nd placed SRT10.Lap 85 -87 Mid 1'34 lap sees gap stay the same. Another 1'34 on lap 86 and gap is lowered to 1.7s. It's going to be a tight finish,
as SRT10s tyres seem to have warmed to their task. A low 1'34 on lap 87, gives a gap of exactly 2.400s, 2nd time this race that that's happened! Lap 88 -90 Three 1'34 laps and gap drops to 2.1s on lap 88. I'm starting to drink from the last red fuel bar on lap 89, and the gap increases by a 1/10th to give 2.2s cushion into the final lap. Finish with a mid 1'34 and a mere 2s lead over SRT10! Woohoo!
Result:-
1st Honda NSX Type R '92 2:23'57.545
2nd Dodge Viper SRT10 '03 -2.084
3rd Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96 ?
4th Dodge Viper GTS '99 ?
5th Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 ?
6th Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 + 1 lap
Prizes:-
200,000Cr & Ford GT40 Race Car '69.
