OK, I've done some more research on this quirk, so I'm going to throw caution to the wind and post some more info.
With some trepidation
, nervous that another comic book reference may get thrown my way
I have gone back and re-run the 9 hour Tsukuba Endurance race and saw the same quirk that I mentioned above.
I engineered it so on my last lap, after the 9 hour mark was reached, I was dropped down in the order from 1st to 4th place as the other cars crossed the S/F line after the 9 hour mark. I then regained 1st place, and took the WIN once I came around and crossed the S/F line myself, because I had just under a one lap lead. So the game is being consistent, and exhibited the same quirk at Tsukuba as the quirk that I noticed at Nurburgring.
So this got me thinking about the 24 hour race at La Sarthe. So since it was time to run this anyway, I decided to give it a go and engineer the finish as well.
So after 378 laps in my Sauber Mercedes C9, I cross the S/F line with 30 seconds left before the 24 hour mark. I have a bit more than a full lap lead, so I throttle back on the next lap and let a few of the cars un-lap themselves.
At the 24 hour, 3 minute and 12 second mark, the Toyota GT-ONE crosses the S/F line from 2nd place and gets temporarily shown in 1st and drops me down to 2nd place. I quickly get dropped down to 7th place
as a few other cars all cross the S/F line. I get back on the gas and cross the S/F line and jump back into 1st place and WIN the race.
So the game is consistent at La Sarthe in regard to this quirk.
Now, as you may know, I've been running a few cars in the 4 Hour Nurburgring Race, so I've had time to experiment with the quirk some more.
Just for kicks, I ran the race and built up a full lap lead over the entire field and then crossed the Finish line just before the 4 hour mark was reached.
I then waited for the other cars to start crossing the S/F line. Since the 4 hour mark was reached, these cars all throttle back to 50 mph once they cross the S/F line. So I then positioned my car in front of them and blocked them and pushed them off the track
After a while I had blocked the 1st three cars enough so that the 4th place car had caught up and passed us all (even though it was only going 50 mph).
Once this happened (which took about 3/4 of a lap), I stopped my fender rubbing tactics and just let everyone continue on their way and finish the race.
What I noticed was that even though I had re-sorted the cars on the track, the cars continued to be listed on the grid in the same order as they had originally crossed the S/F line on the prior lap. The car that happened to cross the S/F line first after the 4 hour mark was reached, always continued to be shown in 1st place, even though I had blocked him enough on the track that he was in 4th place!!
So do what I might, I could not change the grid order for a car that crossed the S/F line after the 4 hour mark!
I have saved the best for last......
I have been trying various cars at the 'Ring with low PP values, so I happen to be running a low powered Mazda RX-8 in the 4 Hour Race. After 3 1/2 hours its apparent that I can't win, so I start thinking about this quirk again.
So at the beginning of lap # 25, I'm in 3rd place behind the Amuse S2000 and the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune, and there are 9 minutes to go before the 4 hour mark will be reached.
So since I have no chance in catching the two leaders, I decide to cut my losses and aim for 2nd place earnings.
How am I going to earn 2nd place winnings if I'm in 3rd place you ask?
Has GTsail been inhaling too much exhaust?
The answer: By Slowing Down!!💡
My plan is to cross the S/F line just after the leader crosses the Finish line, even though I will be one lap down!
So I throttle back and get caught by the 4th place NISMO 380RS as I go thru Pflanzgarten III at 50mph. Next, going thru Galgenkopf, I get caught by the 5th place High End G37. Next, just before the T10 checkpoint, I get caught and passed by both the 6th place RE Amemiya RX-7 and the 7th place AEM S2000. About half-way down the long straight, I get passed by the 8th place NISMO Skyline GTR S-tune. A bit further along I get passed by the 9th place Nissan Skyline GTR. So with one minute left before the 4 hour mark, I've fallen down to 9th place in the race.
I continue on and complete my 25th lap, just about 5 seconds after the clock reaches the 4 hour mark. The game immediately says FINISH, and puts the car grid up in the middle of the TV screen, and it shows my Mazda RX-8 as the 1st place car!!
The game takes over the driving of my car, and throttles back to the 50mph finishing speed. After 30 seconds of this, and since no other cars have come by and crossed the S/F line, the race ends and I get awarded the
1st place earnings of $481,000!!!
The game also awards me the the 1st place XP points of 2,063,947 (which are of no use to me since I'm level 40), even though I was in 9th place before I crossed the S/F line!
NICE!
Shocked as I was, nevertheless, somehow I was able to gather up my wits. and gather up the cash, and scurry off before any of the track stewards could catch up with me
Enjoy the racing!
GTsail
