Smallhorses
Staff Emeritus
- 7,260
Circuit de la Sarthe II 24hr
200 A-Spec points!
Since I did my last report from Sarthe I and hexed myself into losing, I'm very tentative once again about posting this!
I'll be going back to win the Sarthe I race in the Toyota GT-One Race Car '99 when this one is over and I've had a couple of weeks vacation, and hopefully done a couple of GT4 LAN meetings!
My ride for this challenge, with an eye on a submission for the stock car race thread I'm so fond of, and a maximum haul of A-spec points is:-
Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car '98 (Black used, no oil, no chassis refresh) / MR / R2 tyres all round / Downforce F/R 46/67
I've taken the spot at the back of the grid, versus the 7th or 8th (?) lineup after a console reset, and having tweaked the downforce to give a full 200 points, the field looks like this:-
Peugeot 905 Race Car '92 (Pits every 9 laps.)
Jaguar XJR-9 Race Car '88 (Pits every 8 laps.)
MINOLTA Toyota 88C-V Race Car '89 (Pits every 8 laps.)
Nissan R92CP Race Car '92 (Pits every 8 laps.)
Nissan R89C Race Car '89 (Pits every 8 laps.)
Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car '98 (Pits every 9 laps.)
Circuit Map:- (Thanks AMG.! 👍)
Hour 1.
Get up into 3rd place by lap 3, and pull away from Jaguar and R89C which're slowing themselves down battling for 4th place. R92CP and Toyota are scrapping for 1st place for the next few laps which allow me to stay within 3s of them, but unable to catch up entirely. On lap 5, the Toyota seems to have broken away, and builds around 10s lead over my 3rd placed R390 before the 4 of the Group C cars all pit ending lap 8 (Toyota, R92CP, R89C and Jaguar.) I take over the lead, and the Peugeot takes 2nd place from the Toyota during lap 9, before I pit from a 24s lead over the French car, exiting the pits just as the half hour mark passes. Wage a good battle for 2nd place with the R92CP for a bit, while the Toyota maintains around an 8s lead over us. They pit from 1st and 2nd ending lap 16, which also thanks to drafting the R92CP through most of it registers as a new lap record of 3'10.999
as I cross the line ready to steal the lead from the stationary Toyota. Have a 32s lead when I'm coming round on my inlap, but lose control out of Maison Blanche and have my first spin of the race. D'oh. 
Drop back to 3rd while pitted.Hour mark passes exiting the pitlane, 37s into lap 19, in 3rd place ~15s behind Toyota.
Hour 2.
Took over the lead again when the Toyota & R92CP pit again ending lap 24, the Toyota having escaped the attentions of the Nissan, and extended his lead to 31s. I hold a 9s lead at the end of his outlap, with my own stop to make in 2 laps time. Foolishly I make errors in the Porsche Curves on both lap 26 & 27, allowing the Toyota to pass me as I'm entering the pits, nothing like throwing an advantage away is there?
He's got a 40s lead ending my outlap, which grows to 45s before he catches the Peugeot at Porsche Curves on lap 31. On his worn tyres versus the Peugeot's new ones, he's unable to find a way by, and concedes 5s of his lead to me before he pits in. 
Still gets away in 1st place, but I take 2nd from the R92CP, and I'm able to bring a 4s advantage down to a 1/4s lead by the end of the Toyota's outlap. Take the lead, but can't pull away, pitting myself just before the end of the hour, handing back 1st place to the Toyota, and 2nd to the R92CP while I'm stopped.Hour mark passes exiting Dunlop Curve, 51s into lap 37, in 3rd place ~36s behind Toyota.
Hour 3.
Lapped the Peugeot during lap 40, which helped me gain a little on the leader before his next pitstop, from a 44s lead. Once again he gets away in 1st place, but the R92CP surrenders 2nd to me. Have a 6s deficit to the leader ending lap 41, but drag that down to under a second over the next few laps. Actually take 1st place briefly during my inlap, but the Toyota bullies his way past before Indianapolis,
and I'm not going to risk a visit to the sand traps trying to argue! 
Hour mark passes on Hunaudieres Straight, 1'26 into lap 55, in 3rd place ~41s behind Toyota.
Hour 4.
First action of this hour is my first mistake in 29 laps when I pay a brief visit to the sand outside Dunlop Curve after riding up over the rumble strips. It costs me about 5s on the leader, raising the gap from 43s at the line to 48s by the Tertre Rouge Esses checkpoint. The leaders stop on lap 56, again the R92CP reliquishes 2nd place to me while the Toyota still leads the way after his stop, 13s ahead ending his outlap and the Jaguar is handed a permanent lapping as he exits pit row on lap 58. Pit from 25s behind Toyota ending 63rd lap, after a series of niggly little errors, touching tyres in sand outside Dunlop Curve, Tertre Rouge and Mulsanne Hairpin on different laps.
Jaguar's lapping isn't so permanent after all, he takes it back while I've stopped, and the R92CP drops me to 3rd place again. Toyota's lead is over a minute by his 64th lap stop, and I get back 2nd place, dropping the Toyota's lead to 23s before a howler on lap 67 costs me 10s! Dipped tyres in sand at Tertre Rouge costing me vital speed down the straight, then pushing too hard in the fast right before Indianapolis, trying to atone for the earlier error, 2 wheels on grass = 360 degree spin, and lots of time lost! 
We all pit ending lap 72, the Toyota from a 37s lead over me.Hour mark passes on Hunaudieres Straight, 1'18 into lap 73, in 2nd place ~37s behind Toyota.
Hour 5.
Lapped Jaguar, hopefully for good this time, in the pits beginning lap 74. 37s gap to Toyota had been maintained and hadn't really stretched much going into lap 80, when he'd pit again, just 43s at the beginning. What I hadn't bargained for was 3 altercations with the dastardly Peugeot
Catch the Toyota througout his outlap, and pass him on my inlap, diving for the pitlane from under 1s lead. The R89C who'd been passed while he was stopped at the beginning of my 89th lap, makes temporary amends, delaying the inevitable for a little while longer.Hour mark passes on Hunaudieres Straight, 1'55 into lap 91, in 2nd place ~33s behind Toyota.
Hour 6.
Immediately forget I'm on cold tyres, locking them up into Mulsanne Hairpin sandtrap, and handing the Toyota an extra 5s to add to his lead. Humph.
The gap is up to 50s at Porsche Curve checkpoint by the time his 96th lap stop rolls round, and he's able to get away with a double-digit lead. I put in a series of stellar laps (mostly in the 3'12 arena, and not draft-assisted!) to close the gap down to under 3s by the time my 99th lap stop occurs. The R89C was re-lapped at the beginning of my 97th lap. Keep gap which starts at 40s to the Toyota ending my outlap down to 44s by the time he pits. Catch right up to him and trade places throughout laps 107 & 108, but he gets away at Porsche Curves, and I have to pit from 3s behind ending lap 108. He's catching the Jaguar again, which will either help him pull away, or hopefully hinder him if it happens that he pulls right up to him in a twistier section of the track. 
Hour mark passes just after Mulsanne Hairpin, 2'27 into lap 109, in 2nd place ~38s behind Toyota.
Hour 7.
Toyota makes some time up until he catches the Jaguar, and then the gap drops a little before opening to 42s when he gets by and makes his next stop. I've still got a few good laps left in my tyres while he's on cold ones, so I close to within 0.1s by the time his outlap is finished.
We're gaining quickly on the Peugeot again, so hopefully I can blast past while the Toyota will struggle on his warming tyres. Probably not though. I put an awesome passing manouever on the Toyota, clean as you like, in most unlikely place, between the first two Porsche Curves, where he usually gains a lot of time on me! 
Hour mark passes approaching Porsche Curves, 3'08 into lap 127, in 2nd place ~36s behind Toyota.
Hour 8.
Toyota pits ending lap 128 from 39s lead at Porsche Curve checkpoint. He just gets away from the pitlane with his lead intact, but I tail him out of Tertre Rouge and blast by before the checkpoint where the first chicane is place on Sarthe I circuit. 👍 End lap with 3.6s lead and an opportunity to pull away. Gap grows to 9s before dropping to just over 5s when I stop again ending lap 135. Toyota pulls into the pits from 35s lead nearing the end of my outlap, and this time I'm able to go through into 1st place before he gets out of the pitlane. Ending his outlap I hold a 6.5s lead, and having started the race with black treacle for oil, and a chassis more bent than George W. Bush's motives for invading Iraq,
I have no surprises in store for me, unlike the Toyota! Oddly enough, at 200mph on Hunaudieres straight, on lap 140, the "wrong direction" No Entry sign flashes up for a fraction of a second! It's happened at some point in every 24hr Sarthe race I've done so far. Weird. 
Hour mark passes in the first Ford Chicane, 3'41 into lap 145, in 1st place ~3s ahead of Toyota.
Hour 9.
Lose the lead again on lap 148 after entering Tertre Rouge with a 4s advantage. 3 wheels into the sand rob me of a tonne of momentum and allow the Toyota to sneak back into the draft which he uses to pass me.
Compound the error on lap 149 when I'm tailing Toyota up toward Porsche Curve, miss the correct braking zone and almost spin out after catching tyres in the sand. Toyota pits from 9s lead ending lap 152, and I pit from 28s lead a lap later, giving him 1st place back again. The Peugeot which had held me up a little while lapping it again during lap 151 also takes it back while I'm stopped. Have a great battle for the lead on lap 155, but we approach the R89C at the end of the lap, and going into Tertre Rouge Esses, we're right on his tail, sadly I spin out trying to avoid making contact with the Toyota as he tried to pass the R89C, and he gets away with about 9s lead again! 
Peugeot is lapped again undoubtably beginning lap 157, and R89C is passed ending lap 158, but that'll be a temporary thing, since I'm due a stop before he is. Toyota pits from 11s lead ending lap 160, handing me back 1st place for a few laps until I stop ending lap 162, just inches away from lapping the Jaguar again. R89C's lapping is then confirmed as real, not temporary, as he pulls into the pits behind me.Hour mark passes just after S/F line, 1s into lap 164, in 2nd place ~3s behind Toyota.
Hour 10.
I get a huge shock on lap 167, when just after seeing the split-time flash up that there's 11.2s gap to the leading Toyota, I slam into a more-or-less stationary car at over 200mph! The gremlins have got to the Toyota! He gets away with it better than I do, shooting off into the distance having stolen all my momentum!
Hour mark passes approaching Ford Chicanes, 3'35 into lap 181, in 2nd place, ~42s behind Toyota.
Hour 11.
Nothing happens now until Toyota's 184th lap stop from 46s lead. Obviously he gets away still in 1st place, but I close to within 5s by the end of his outlap, with 4 more laps to go until my next stop. More action of the wrong sort on lap 186, when I get too far over under heavy braking for Mulsanne Hairpin, miraculously I prevent a full spin, but come to a dead stop just short of the sandtrap,
Hour mark passes braking for Tertre Rouge Esses, 23s into lap 200, in 2nd place ~37s behind Toyota.
Hour 12.
A bit of excitement to begin the hour, Toyota stops ending lap 200 from a little under 40s lead, gets away from the pits in 1st place still but I catch him throughout lap 201, eventually sneaking by at the 2nd Ford Chicane. Lose the lead again almost immediately as he cruises past towards Dunlop Curve, but then is repassed braking for Tertre Rouge Esses. Pull away a little to pit from 2s lead on lap 207, leaving the Toyota to lead us round until he stops from 36s lead ending lap 208. He's away from the pitlane just as I pass it, and leads us into Dunlop Curve, change places throughout the lap, finally holding the lead after a pass at Ford Chicanes. Pass Jaguar a 4th time beginning lap 213 while he's pitted, it'll be a make-shift arrangement as we're due to stop again ending lap 216 and he'll take it back for a while then!
Sure enough, as I pit from 4.8s lead ending lap 216, the Toyota follows me in, and the Jaguar takes back his lap just as I'm dropping off the jacks. Leave the pits in the lead and head off to round out the hour. A huge dust cloud is visible exiting Dunlop Curve as I approach it, and the Jaguar is soon caught, catching it's draft out of Tertre Rouge. Swap places several times throughout lap 217, finally giving him his 4th lapping permanently as we brake for the Ford Chicanes. 
Hour mark passes on Hunaudieres Straight, 55s into lap 218, in 1st place ~11s ahead of Toyota.
Hour 13.
First action of the hour comes with over 1/4 hour gone, when I pass the Peugeot exiting the pits on lap 223. He gets between me and the Toyota, but since we're both due a stop within the next 2 laps it'll be a temporary arrangement. Toyota stops on lap 224 from a hair under 6s behind, affording me the luxury of a 43s cushion when I stop at the end of the following lap. As predicted the Peugeot passes again temporarily. Dive inside the Peugeot at Tertre Rouge Esses on lap 228 after he came slowly out of the sand exiting Dunlop Curve, and he's
Hour mark passes on Hunaudieres Straight, 1'15 into lap 236, in 1st place ~11s ahead of Toyota.
Hour 14.
Make my first real error in ages, a full 360 degree spin on the approach to Indianapolis.
Hour mark passes approching Mulsanne Hairpin, 1'30 into lap 254, in 1st place ~7s ahead of Toyota.
Hour 15.
Toyota is a smidgen over 6s behind when he stops again ending lap 256. Pass the Peugeot again on lap 260, but I'm due to stop ending 261, so it's a bit premature to call it the definitive 7th lapping. Stop from 45s lead, and sure enough the Pug nicks back his lap for a while. Toyota is showing no signs of gremlins striking again, must've learned from his first mistake, and is lapping like he's on fire,
Hour mark passes midway between Mulsanne Hairpin & Indianapolis, 1'55 into lap 272, in 1st place ~5s ahead of Toyota.
Hour 16.
Toyota grabs the limelight first in this hour too, pitting from a tad under 3s behind on lap 272. A spin going into Indianapolis
on lap 279 allows the Toyota to close to within 27s when I stop ending the lap, and I lose the lead for the first time in a while, however, he's due to stop at the end of the next lap so I'll soon have it back! He stops from 11s in front ending lap 280, handing me back 1st place while he's stopped. Pit from 24s lead ending lap 288, and the Toyota follows me in. That's about it for this uneventful hour! 
Hour mark passes midway between Mulsanne Hairpin & Indianapolis, 1'59 into lap 290, in 1st place ~27s ahead of Toyota.
Hour 17.
First action of this hour is the lapping of the R92CP, who is passed moving very slowly exiting the Dunlop Curve, he must've gone off into the sand here, since he was about 7s ahead of me when we began the lap, my 293rd, his 292nd. Doesn't last too long though, he comes back past before Porsche Curves, gets passed again when he touched the sand at Dunlop Curve on laps 294 and 295, but is able to unlap himself down the Hunaudieres Straight both times putting his extra HP to good use.
Meanwhile beginning lap 295, the Jaguar is handed another temporary lapping while he's pitted. R92CP is finally passed for good under braking for the first Ford Chicane ending lap 295, while the Peugeot is passed in the pits again when I begin lap 297, although, like the Jaguar this'll also be a temporary thing as I'm due a stop now. The Toyota stops from 33s behind at the end of his 296th lap, which effectively puts an end to his challenge unless I make a lot of serious mistakes. Pit in at the end of lap 297, followed in by the R92CP ending his 296th lap and confirming him as a permanent lapee! As predicted the Jag and Pug pass us in the pit, going by in formation. Peugeot's resistance doesn't last long, passed out of Dunlop Curve on lap 300. For the first time in ages, all 6 cars are on the mainstraight at the same time on lap 302, at the end of which the Jaguar is passed in the pits, confirming his 6th lapping, and I'm hot on the heels of the R89C who is determined not to be left out of this hour's lapping frenzy! He's passed a 4th time during lap 303 approaching Indianapolis, but it may have to be repeated after my pitstop that's due at the end of lap 306. The Toyota stops from 36s behind ending lap 304, and I make my 306th lap stop from 1'17s lead, allowing the R89C to temporarily rescind his 4th lapping, and that's the last action of the most exciting hour yet! Hour mark passes approaching Porsche Curves, 2'30 into lap 308, in 1st place ~43s ahead of Toyota.
Hour 18.
The R89C is passed in the pits again beginning lap 309, but I'm still not sure if he'll stay 4 laps down.
Playing in the sand outside the Mulsanne Hairpin on lap 310 doesn't help my quest to pull away though! Toyota is 23s behind going into the pits ending lap 312. Make my next stop ending lap 315, leading by 1'04 from the Toyota. As expected the R89C isn't staying where he's put, passing me while I'm stopped to go back to 3 laps down for a while. It lasts only 1 lap, he pits as I complete my outlap, meaning there's no way back for him, he'll stop when I next stop, so he's now confirmed as 4 laps behind. Toyota pits ending lap 320, from 23s behind. I stop from 1'04s lead ending lap 324 and as predicted, the R89C stops behind me from 4 laps down.
Hour mark passes entering Porsche Curves, 2'36 into lap 326, in 1st place ~23s ahead of Toyota.
Hour 19.
Another long gap without a serious error ends on lap 328, spinning coming out of Tertre Rouge Esses when I catch too much kerb. Allows the R92CP to close up to within unlapping distance, and the Toyota to drop the gap to 13s, although he pits at the end of this lap. Finally break the fastest lap record which has stood since hour 1 on lap 329, ably draft-assisted by the R92CP who I swapped places with throughout the lap before he pits to go back down a lap. New record is 3'10.235!
Toyota's next stop comes on lap 336, from 17s behind me. Pitted again ending lap 342 from just over a minute in front. Hour mark passes exiting Maison Blanche, 2'55 into lap 344, in 1st place ~20s ahead of Toyota.
Hour 20.
Toyota stops just as the hour begins from 20s back in 2nd place, ending lap 344. Catch Jaguar again at Tertre Rouge Esses and spin out trying to pass him on the exit of the turn. 👎 It's a nice controlled 360 degree spin, and I never actually leave the tarmac! It costs me just 4s of lead over the Toyota, and I eventually catch and repass the Jaguar on lap 346 before Mulsanne Hairpin. Stop for tyres and fuel again ending lap 351 from 57s lead, and the Jaguar follows me in, confirming that his 346th lap passing was indeed a definitive 7th lapping. Toyota's next stop comes from about 20s behind ending lap 252. Stop again ending lap 360, followed in 1'07 later by the Toyota. Lap the Peugeot a 10th time ending lap 362, under braking for the Ford Chicanes, just before the hour mark goes by.
Hour mark passes just after S/F line, 3s into lap 363, in 1st place ~1'10 ahead of Toyota.
Hour 21.
Toyota takes a break again ending his 368th lap, going in from 1'10 behind my R390 GT1. Stop myself ending the following lap, now from a 1'49 lead according to the time checkers at Porsche Curve split. Passed R89C again, exiting the pits as I begin lap 374, but since I'm due to stop in 4 laps, this'll probably be a holding pattern, as he's bound to re-pass when I pit. Toyota stops ending lap 376, still well over a minute back, and allows me to pit from a 2'03 lead,
according to those good folks at the Porsche Curve checkpoint, ending lap 378. The Jaguar was passed again at Tertre Rouge Esses at the beginning of this lap, but it doesn't take a clairvoyant to forsee that he repassed me while I was stopped! 
Hour mark passes at Tertre Rouge, 34s into lap 381, in 1st place ~1'28 ahead of Toyota.
Hour 22.
R89C lapped again in pits beginning lap 382. Should be 5 laps back for good this time!
Hour mark passes on Hunaudieres Straight, 57s into lap 399, in 1st place ~1'33 ahead of Toyota.
Hour 23.
Nothing happens until the Toyota stops on his 400th lap, from 1'31 behind. Another 2 hours without a spin ends at Porsche Curves on lap 402, another 360 degree rotation costing me a bit of time. My pitstop on lap 405 comes from a 2'10 lead. Have another weird "wrong direction" icon flash on lap 407, at 202mph on Hunaudieres Straight.
Hour mark passes on Hunaudieres Straight, 1'20 into lap 417, in 1st place ~1'38 ahead of Toyota.
Hour 24.
Is begun by the Toyota pitting under half a minute into the hour, stopping from 1'38 behind. Passed the Jaguar in the pits starting lap 418, but again this'll probably take another round of pitstops to become a permanent 8th lapping. Peugeot is also given the temporary lapping treatment ending lap 421 approaching Ford Chicanes, but he take it back when I stop ending lap 423, from 2'23 ahead of the Toyota. The Jaguar, however, has had a shocking session, and doesn't get close to stealing back his 8th lap from me!
Hour mark passes midway between Mulsanne Hairpin & Indianapolis, 1'53 into lap 435, in 1st place ~2'42 ahead of Toyota.
Result:-
1st
Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car '98 24:01'21.xxx
2nd
MINOLTA Toyota 88C-V Race Car '89 +2'43.505
3rd
Nissan R92CP Race Car '92 +1 Lap
4th
Nissan R89C Race Car '89 +6 Laps
5th
Jaguar XJR-9 Race Car '88 +8 Laps
6th
Peugeot 905 Race Car '92 +11 Laps
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
So that's it, 200 points claimed!
Have saved replay so expect pictorical embellishment after I get back from my vacation on May 15th! 👍
