A GT Race Report: "All Night" in a Toyota Chaser LM

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A Most Unusual Endeavor: “All-Night I” in a Toyota Chaser LM

After going back and enjoying GT2 again (Thanks in part to jeffgoodin’s “GT2 Lap Time Challenge” ), I thought ”I wonder how I’d fare racing GT1? Have my driving skills improved enough to try something as off-the-wall as my GT2 race report thread?” So, on one rather boing night it was decided: I would take a car and race one of GT’s Crown Jewels: The “All-Night I” Endurance event on the infamous Special Stage Route 11.

Not just any car, though…My ride for the night had to be something unique, interesting; A car you don’t get to talk about very much, but one that still has an outside chance of Victory. Naturally, my prerequisites lead me to an oft-maligned Race Car: The Toyota Chaser LM.

The Chaser LM has the dubious distinction of being the slowest out of all of Gran Turismo’s “LM” Model Racing cars, one that can win easily in the lower caliber UK Vs. Japan & US Vs. Japan events, but nothing else…Well, at least that’s what 11+ Years of conventional wisdom says. I, on the other hand, was out with a point to prove…Ultimately, I ended up GREATLYunderestimating the abilities of the Chaser LM, but I’ll get to that later.

The Entry List:

[R]Toyota CHASER LM Edition
[R] Nissan GT-R LM
[R] Subaru Impreza RLY Edition
[R] Toyota Celica GT-Four (With a FF Drive-train???)
[R] Mitsubishi Lancer EvoIV GSR
[R] Honda Accord Sedan

Looking at the entry list, it seemed that the real competition would come from the Impreza “RLY” Edition (Which the mechanics dubbed the “ORLY?” Edition). The Original Route 11 is a course where 4WD comes in handy, since it’s ‘Flow” resembles that of a rally stage more than a racing circuit; The Impreza is naturally in it’s element and has a good chance of spoiling anyone’s plans for victory. Also a possible factor is the factory-spec Nissan GT-R LM, though that car’s sheer physical size and relatively bad tire wear could make it a bit of an also-ran.

After doing some set-up work during the various practice sessions, It was decided that the car would run the race on the Bridgestone “Soft” Compound Tire on all four corners and that the Turbo Boost pressure would be set at Stage 3, dropping Horsepower down to 630 @ 7800 RPM and Torque down to 434.6 Lb-Ft @ 7300 RPM. The drop in power also necessitated a higher final drive (3.820 from 3.670). As for the race, the strategy was to make two stops for tires and fuel, the first stint 11 laps to be sure, 10 Laps for the second stint and 9 Laps for the run to the finish.

Initially, I had some concerns about the drop in boost pressure, but they all went away during my last practice run in the car before qualifying: The drop in Torque really made the car much more controllable in the tight corners and hairpins that mark Route 11. Combined with the Higher Final drive and a noticeably faster-spooling Turbocharger meant that my fastest lap over 15 laps in practice was a 1’43.097, nearly a full second faster than the official lap record! With my confidence Sky-High, I pulled into the pits, parked the car in the garage and waited as the crew swapped on a fresh set of tires for my qualifying run…

Chapter 2: Qualifying and the Pre-Race

Qualifying in GT is a little bit different than in any of the other series that followed it: Each car is lined up at the Start/Finish Line and the driver is given one lap from a standing start to set their qualifying time. The pressure was quite intense as I lined up, waiting for the starter’s signal to begin my one qualifying lap…

Up through the gears as I headed down towards turn 2 at around 150-Something in 5th gear, slam on the brakes and downshifting to 3rd to get the car just a little bit sideways as to set up the right line through the chicane (Turns 3 & 4) that followed. After nearly straight-lining the chicane and nearly clipping the tire barriers to my right, the Chaser LM was perfectly set up to take an outside line through the 5 & 6 complex, another slow, tight chicane that spits the cars out onto a short straight that leads to the first of three Hairpins on Route 11. I went to the outside of the Turn 7 Hairpin and dove towards the inside curbing, hugging the apex and getting a lit bit sideways on exit (Though down slightly on Torque, there’s more than enough to light up the rear tires, let me tell you!)

The Chicane underneath the Start/Finish line was a bit of a non-event as I safely negotiated it at around 130+ MPH, going up through the gears as the track rises uphill and curves to the right leading up to the Turn 13, 14 & 15 section. Nothing too serious through there, though the car was a little "Squirrelly" over the bumps as the track rose and then plunged into Turn 16, the hairpin in the tunnel (That later became a Cafe/Night Club[?] in GT3).

From that Hairpin through the Double-Apex Turn 17 down to the 4th (And Last Hairpin) of SSR11, Turn 18. Though the the Chaser LM again got a little sideways on exit, it was only one brute of a chicane and an uphill, slightly off-camber right-hander leading up to the finish line of the toughest Circuit in Gran Turismo.

Through that final uphill corner and across the timing beam…And it's good enough for…





POLE POSITION!!! At a new record of 1’52.239, nearly 4 and a half seconds quicker than the second-place Nissan GT-R LM! Also, a surprisingly quick time from the Toyota Celica in third and a surprisingly slow one from the Prodrive-Entered Impreza “ORLY?” Edition in fourth.

The Starting Line-Up:

1) [R] Toyota Chaser LM Edition
2) [R] Nisan GT-R LM
3) [R] Toyota Celica “GT-Four”
4) [R] Subaru Impreza “ORLY?” Edition
5) [R] Mitsubishi Lancer EvoIV GSR
6) [R] Honda Accord Sedan

Lining up on the grid was a bit nerve-wracking as I knew for a fact that the Subaru behind me would probably jump out into the lead or, at worst, slam into me trying to get away. The Chaser LM, though surprisingly fast once on the move, wasn’t the best car for standing starts as I mentally prepared to begin the long, long night ahead of me.

Taking a parade lap around SSR11, I couldn't help but notice how feverent the fans in the grandstands were, most of them decked out in the colors of their brand of choice. Lining up at the start-line, I could see that there was a row five lights hanging above the Start/Finish line. Just like an F1 telecast from back in the early 90’s, the voice of Murray Walker popped into my head as I watched them go out one-by-one: “One light! Two Lights! Three Lights! Four Lights! Five Lights! Pause…”

Chapter 3: The Race Begins; The start of a long night…

Lap 1-12

The lights turned green and it was, for a better phrase or term, “GO GO GO!!!” (Again, I’ve been watching too much of the BBC’s older F1 coverage, so take it as you will). As expected, the Subaru Impreza rocketed out into the lead, with the Nissan GT-R LM slotting into second with my Chaser LM back to third as we raced down towards the first “Real” corner of SSR11 (The end of the main straightaway technically being Turn 1). I got the inside line on the Nissan and pulled ahead for a brief moment, but the GT-R LM’s superior power delivery put me back into third once more.

Through the Chicane going into the Turns 5 & 6 complex, I dove towards the inside of the GT-R LM, certain the Chaser I was driving could stick the line and make the pass. Sure enough, it did: I was past the Nissan clean and right up on the Black Impreza’s bumper heading towards the Hairpin at Turn 7. That was when the Nissan’s pure Horsepower advantage allowed it to pull alongside me…All while I was trying to pass the Subaru!

Yep, it was three-wide going into Turn 7 with yours truly stuck in the middle…Shoot, the sound of the crowd nearly drowned out the sound of the engines around me! Instinctively, I braked slightly earlier than normal and ducked towards the inside curbing, hugging the apex as the Nissan & Subaru out-braked themselves (Naturally), giving me the lead as I headed down towards the underpass section featuring the dreaded Turn 10 Chicane, the most dangerous part of the course and the Original SSR11’s distinguishing feature, the Nissan GT-R LM along side until I out-braked him going into Turn 9 underneath the main straight.

To my surprise, I was able to take that infamous chicane with some slight braking entering it and a lift off the throttle to keep the Chaser LM’s speed around 130-35 MPH through that section. That alone allowed me to open up a fairly big gap as I tackled the next sequence of corners following the curving, uphill semi-straightaway leading into the Turns 13, 14 and 15.

There weren't any other surprises in store for me as I ended finishing the first lap in the lead with a pretty big gap back to the second-placed car (Again, GT didn’t feature timing splits back to the cars behind you, so it was always hard to gauge how far ahead you are). Even at this early of a stage in the race, it was simply a matter of hitting my marks and making sure I didn’t over-drive the car too much, setting what would turn out to be the fastest lap of the race on Lap 4 (A 1’44.272! Yet another new lap record…) and going into the pits on Lap 12 for my first routine stop for tires and fuel.

What surprised me throughout the stint was the Chaser’s predictability; Despite being a large 4-door sedan, it felt like I could chuck it around corners like a high-powered formula car, the slight lack of power actually improving throttle response and power delivery coming off of and going through corners.

Also of note was that in spite of the Chaser LM’s lap times dropped from the 1’44-45 range down to 1’47-48.xxx’s during the stint, the car didn’t seem to drive any different as I was able to increase my gap over the second-placed car at a steady rate.

Lap 12-23

I was able to hold onto the lead as I headed out of the pits. I went back out onto the track with the mindest that I had to simply keep the car together and “Hold ‘er steady” until the second stop. I think I did well for myself in that regard; My best lap during the stint was a 1’45.325 on Lap 15, the slowest laps again coming out to 1’47-48.xxx second laps near the end of the stint. Otherwise, no real trouble…Not even any lap traffic to trip up on. This was starting to look like a serious case of over-preparedness in light of how fast the Chaser LM seems to go (Despite the comparisons it gets to “Looking like a St. Bernard in a Greyhound race“). I pulled into the pits for the last stop of the night at the end of Lap 23.

Lap 24-The Finish

Once again, the lead was kept as I headed out of pit-lane, tires screeching as the Supra-Sourced, Turbocharged Inline-6 bounced off the 7000 RPM Redline the Speed Limiter imposed on the engine in second gear. The Engine Note Wailed up to 8000 RPM as I headed back out onto the track, nearly colliding with the Honda Accord Sedan. After giving a him(/Her?) a bit of a fist-shaking out the side window and passing him(/Her?) going down into Turn 2, It was simply steady, smooth sailing until the finish line, the Chaser LM surprising and impressing me with every lap.

The Results:

1) [R] Toyota Chaser LM Edition 54’53.714 (New Total Time Record!)
2) [R] Nissan GT-R LM Running… (Nearly 1 Lap down at the end)
3) [R] Subaru Impreza RLY Edition Running… (1 Lap Down)
4) [R] Toyota Celica “GT-Four” Running… (1 Lap Down)
5) [R] Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV GSR Running… (2 Laps down)
6) [R] Honda Accord Sedan Running… (2 Laps down)

Chapter 4: Post-Race Thoughts.

So…How did this happen? How did the Toyota Chaser LM, out all of the possible LM Race Cars, actually win this race? Was it due to a superior race strategy? Surprisingly good tire wear? The Nature of the Circuit not putting much emphasis on aerodynamics, but instead on having a good suspension set-up? Spirited Driving?

As these questions were asked aloud, in my mind there was only one true answer: “All of the above”. The Chaser LM, despite it’s large size and aerodynamic inefficiencies, is perfect for a rough-and-tumble street circuit like Special Stage Route 11. As it stands, the Chaser LM IS a purpose-built racing car with more downforce, an arguably better power band and slicker gearbox by default than, say, a Racing Modified Toyota Mark V Tourer or Mazda Cosmo Type E.

Overall, I’d say that I’ve greatly underestimated this car’s potential…And there is now proof that even the Chaser LM, sticking out like a sore thumb compared to be-winged, low-line missiles like the Honda NSX-R or Mazda RX-7LM CAN win races in the right hands…Once again, it looks like I’ll have to do this race again some time in the future with an even more unlikely car to try and get the maximum amount of challenge out this classic game. Not that I’d mind, of course…

Until Next time…
 
Nice! Great writing, especially the first lap. Old games can still be great, the only thing newer games can promise is to be more "flashy!" And thanks for the plug for my GT2 race series!

PS, where's Parnelli? As another avid race reporter/storyteller, I'd expect him to show here sooner of later.
 
Newer games can also promise to be more tedious and time-consuming to complete.
 
The Chaser LM has the dubious distinction of being the slowest out of all of Gran Turismo’s “LM” Model Racing cars, one that can win easily in the lower caliber UK Vs. Japan & US Vs. Japan events, but nothing else…Well, at least that’s what 11+ Years of conventional wisdom says. I, on the other hand, was out with a point to prove…

Well, you got my attention. 👍 Nicely detailed write-up KoW. :) I think I dabbled with the Chaser back in the day (my Yuppy Scum driver probably, since the Chaser is a sedan-ish vehicle) but I have no recollection of my experiences with it. Anyways, good job.

Nice! Great writing, especially the first lap. Old games can still be great, the only thing newer games can promise is to be more "flashy!"

There's still a lot of good gaming to be had with GT5 despite what you may have heard. I will never turn my back on earlier games, though, that I can promise. That's why I'm here reading the OP. :)

PS, where's Parnelli? As another avid race reporter/storyteller, I'd expect him to show here sooner of later.

Yup, I'm here. Haven't been cruising these forums much since online racing has returned, after the big hack of Spring 2011. :grumpy:
 
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