24 Heures du Mans in the Tommykaira ZZII

V

von Stiefel

115
Denmark
Fyn
von Stiefel
For some insane reason I had decided to progress to the 24 hour Nürburgring - the ultimate purpose of this game - through the 24 hour le Mans using only a sports car in my garage, as low a PP as possible, only ABS of the available driver aids. And no heavy crashes into the barriers.
In my current garage are the TVR Speed 12, the Veyron and the ZZII.
I spent more than a month attempting the TVR and the Veyron. But I always crashed out. Always. Be it lap 45 or 6 hours into the race: I clip a barrier in a shortcut or brake too late in Indianapolis or Arnage, or put a wheel into the gravel in the Porsche curve: KABOOM.
A pity: the TVR has the noisiest exhaust of them all when shifting gears, and it is a pleasure to wobble down the Mulsanne Straight in the Veyron on the other side of 350 km/h. But I always crashed out.

Then comes the Tommykaira, sigh. Being a 4WD it really is almost a cheat, and while it is not a Nissan it comes very close. Perhaps it's a Nissan underneath. I spent several weeks pushing the PP below 600, below 590 and 580, until I reached 575 only just allowing me to keep up with the opposition and even add a little. I juggled downforce and power and fuel consumption until I had the right balance of grip and speed, fiddled the suspension into someting resembling sense. And decided to go for it.

Only to discover I couldn't really keep up with the opposition in the dark, and crashed out in the attempt. Several times.
"The heck with it" I said to myself, and started the final race in heavy rain and at 570 PP on Intermediates. 14 laps between pit stops. ABS and nothing else.
After a few restarts - I crashed out as per usual - I got the hang of it and drove on to the finish, accepting a few minor incidents.

377 laps, with a gap of 21 laps down to the C60 Hybride-Judd. A little less than 14 hours on intermediates, the rest on Racing Soft gaining 2 laps. Best lap was one at 3:31.200 early morning after the track had dried up and I caught some fine drafting down the Mulsanne: I avoided crashing through the Start/Finish line only by a lot of luck and never attempted to better it.

And I didn't reach level 40 anyway.
 
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So you never wanted to win the race? I mean with those cars you chose and these low PP numbers, your loss was obvious.

Maybe i missunderstood your report aswell.
 
I most certainly DID win, with a gap of 21 laps down to the 2nd placed car.

I only race for wins: I accept nothing else, but I also keep the PP lower than the weakest of the opposition. Up through the rankings - A-spec and Seasonals only - until I reached the Endurance races I stopped all races when the chances of a win seemed hopeless, and I only won them once so as not to grind for gold and XP on the more forgiving tracks.

I had spent a few months having fun testing and looking for the best set-up. In the end I simply wanted it done with and started the race during heavy rain. And the rain went on ...and on ...and on. The high-speed shortcuts give us an enormous advantage when the competition have to brake well in advance of the corners on a wet track.

Better drivers than I should have few problems driving the ZZII of 575 PP to a win on a dry track. The stock Veron and the TVR Speed Twelve have the speed but are trouble without driver aids.

I have tested a fully beefed up Veyron without any aids at all, IE no ABS etc. Should be fun! Perhaps on sports tyres!
 
Ah, so i really missread your thread :dopey:

I did the Le Mans 24h just once, so i was a bit surprised you can win in that low PP numbers.
So thanks for your report, maybe i'll do Le Mans in a C6 Vette RM if it is that "easy" 👍
 
Yes, I cut the corners whenever possible. Lol, it's the only way to win in a ZZII of this low a PP. AND preferably on a wet track.
 
If you did that race in the dry you would never have won in that car.
When in the wet the AI LMP cars are treachorously slow.
Thanks for posting but i really think you need to do a realistic 24 Hours Le Man's next time.

Try getting and using a Toyota GT-ONE or MINOLTA. Toyota 88C-VWith no cuts
 
3:30 in a ZZII seems illogical.
Prove me wrong if you have video evidence or do a lap with your ZZII and reach 4 minutes then show us.
 
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When I'm going steady i run 3:23'000 - 3:30'000 and when I'm on my pace i run 3:15'000 - 3:20'00 in my Minolta.

i can't see that happening in a Tommykaira ZZII
 
ElementRacer
If you did that race in the dry you would never have won in that car.
When in the wet the AI LMP cars are treachorously slow.
Thanks for posting but i really think you need to do a realistic 24 Hours Le Man's next time.

Try getting and using a Toyota GT-ONE or MINOLTA. Toyota 88C-VWith no cuts
Click to expand...

During daylight and after the track had dried up I did manage to put a little extra distance between them and me. It was a very slow process but to my surprise it COULD be done. Lol, this was really why I posted the race report at all: the Tommykaira at this PP and even on a dry track is able to keep up with the rest of them. Making full use of shortcuts and fuel economy, of course.
 
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RESHIRAM5
3:30 in a ZZII seems illogical.
Prove me wrong if you have video evidence or do a lap with your ZZII and reach 4 minutes then show us.
Click to expand...

The one lap of 3:31 was an exceptional one and I wrote as much: I twice had the luck to snug up behind another car right when it was needed. Entering the Mulsanne at full power through the curve and pulled into a very high speed by the car popping up ahead of me; then the first chicane: storming through the shortcut at full power again, narrowly avoiding the barrier and another car is placed just so ahead of me when I exit the shortcut. It was all great luck: I managed to keep the car on the track, I cornered just so, I caught two cars just so, I didn't clip a barrier and I carried a great amount of the excess speeed through the 2nd Mulsanne chicane. Not to mention new tyres and feeling confident! I knew I was heading for a best lap and pushed on for the second half.
The second-best lap was several seconds slower, by how much I cannot remember.
 
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