AMG.
Staff Emeritus
- 3,116
- NL, Leiden
- GTP_AMG
It’s only a couple of hours to drive to Nürburg from where I live and following my success on Sarthe I am again invited to
participate in a race. It’s the 24 hour Green Hell battle. I arrive in the town and make my way to the Am Tiergarten hotel.
The rooms are very comfortable and the restaurant Pistenklause is excellent. The atmosphere is good and there’s a feeling
of expectancy.
Sabine frequents the establishment regularly. A few days prior to this race I’d been testing a brand new Amuse on
recommendation by Nige; another GTP racer. He suggested this car and has booked a very good result with this car. I knew
I’d be up against the ‘King of Nürburg’ a Merc 190 Evo. His laptimes are my yardstick. However a week just wasn’t enough
for me to get to grips with the Amuse enough to ‘make it happen’. I was still recovering from Sarthe 24h.
Don’t get me wrong I really like it but the car needs a lot more time to get the best out of me. So I fall back on one of my
four Suzuki GSX R4s. Thankfully the weather is going to be fine for the next few days as I take the Suzuki for a testdrive. It’s
done 10.455 miles and hasn’t even had an oil change. It’s fast, a bit too fast so I detune the car a bit and add some
additional weight to match the performance of the ‘King’.
Well I certainly have my work cut out as the driver of the Evo is a professional and he can run perfect laptimes over and over
again. I on the other hand am known to make mistakes and I really can’t afford too much of these or the King will have me
for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I call Nige for a bit of insider information as how best to dethrone the King. He tells me that
his 6th lap is not so good and that will be my chance take advantage IF (and that’s a pretty big if) I manage to keep on track
and turn in reasonable laptimes. I am to aim for 7m 35s.
Race
Hours 1-2.
I start off on RSH tires and manage to take the lead approx 0.5 way down the track. The AMG is held up by the others a bit
and this is to my advantage. The only real competition is the ‘king’ and he’s hot on my heels throughout the 6 laps that we
both last on our tires. On his 6th lap he is slower. This allows me to increase my lead a bit and as I exit the pit on a set of R2
tires and a half full tank he enters the pit. Over the next 6 laps I manage to increase the gap quite a bit. Lap 9 sees me
overtaking the Spoon whilst he exits the pit. First of many.
Lap 12 and I’m in for another set of tires. The worn out R2s are replaced by R1s again. The R2s didn’t give me any
significant lead and are quite orange on their last lap. Lap 15, I mess up big time twice and throw 20 seconds away.
A few more of these and I might as well go back home and call it a day. Lap 18. Take on 31 units of fuel and fit R1s again.
I’ll stick with these for the rest of the race. Lap 19 and the Spoon exits the pit as I shoot up the small straight. It takes up to
Karussell to lap him for a 2nd time. Lap 20 The Razo exits the pit and I overtake him for the 1st time just before Flugplatz.
Hours 3-4.
Lap 24. Again R1s and topped up to 41 units. I’ve put a minute between me and the 190. Our gap remains the same during
the first 5 laps. His every sixth lap is bad; I increase the margin by 9-10 secs. Lap 26 and I lap the Cusco whilst he’s in the
pit. Lap 28 I overtake the Spoon between Eiskurve and Schwalbenschwanz without any trouble.
Lap 30 the Autobacs is ‘mine’ as I overtake him. He too is in the pit. So far most of the cars have been overtaken whilst
pitting. Race wise this is no fun but on the other hand I can keep my distance between the ‘king’ and myself healthy. Lap 30
fill up from 8 to 38 units and take on R1s. I’ve increased the gap to 1’35. Lap 36 6-46 units + R1 and this is the time where I
decide to go for a 7 lap strategy. The RSH tires last for 7 laps without any problems.
Lap 37 and I meet up with the Spoon again (now 4 laps down). He must be getting very frustrated being the token 6th car to
make up this race. On lap 38 the Razo falls victim to me for a second time.
Hours 5-6.
I pass the S/F line for lap 40 right on the hour mark. On lap 42 fill up from 8 to 44 units and fit R1 tires. My top speed at the
very end of the straight (T11) is 150/151 mph. Lap 46 and the Spoon is overtaken again just before I enter the Karussell.
The Cusco is overtaken just before Aremburg and on lap 47 I set my fastest time of 7m31.xxx. (or so I thought). Lap 53 I’m
about to overtake the Autobacs at Karussell, but that is a tricky area to overtake cars, it takes a while but I manage to slip
by and show him my exhaust.
Hours 7-8.
On lap 55 the Spoon and soon after the Razo are overtaken as well. I’m at Klostertal on lap 63 when the 0800 hour mark
passes. One third of the race now done. Eight minutes later and the Spoon is again lapped. Who let this guy in, it must be
very frustrating. It’s nearing the 9 hour mark and I set a record lap of 07’28.145.
Now if only I can remember how I did that.
Hours 9-10.
On lap 72 the Razo is passed again at Karussell and the Spoon falls victim again at the start of lap 73. Lap 74, I’m flying.
Lap time 7’27.453. Lap 76 a 7.28.xxx lap. Lap 77 The Autobacs sees my behind but as I pit he unlaps himself only to be
humiliated at Karussell. Strange how all my overtaking manoeuvres happen at more or less the same place. Lap 79 and yet
another sub 7.30 time set. Lap 80 time 7’26.605. I’ve worked out that braking early really makes a difference. I’m flying,
yeehah. Now if only I can keep this up. Still every so often I fall back in to my old routine and have to kick myself to drop
this bad habit of braking too late.
Even my outlaps are now much better. At first this would easily be a 7’42 - 7’48 time. Now my best outlap was a 7’35.
That’s a big difference. I’m at the end of lap 84 and go for some fresh rubber and some fuel. I’ve managed to increase my
lead over the King to 6’45 or so. He’ll be pitting on this lap and it’s his inlap (evil smile). Here’s my chance to overtake him
and put him 1 lap down.
He makes it to the pit and manages to exit the pit before I get to him on my 86 lap. It’s not until Adenaur Forst that I get my
first opportunity to pass him. I’m too eager and spin out at the top of the dip before your make a couple of tight bends at
Adenaur. I mess up again a bit later and still don’t get a good shot at him. Slow down, keep your
I say to myself, you
still have 13 hours to go. Just before the Karussell I pounce on him and cleanly overtake him. I’m on a roll.
Hours 11-12.
The following 14 laps or so see me overtaking the Razo on the straight, I get a nice 13mph boost from drafting. The Spoon is
overtaken twice and the Autobacs also falls victim to being lapped. Various lousy laps follow.
Hours 13-14.
The Spoon is lapped twice, the Razo once and so is the Cusco.
Hours 15-16.
The Spoon is lapped twice, the Razo once and so is the Cusco and the Autobacs.
Hours 17-18.
On lap 135 I overtake the Razo yet again and at 17h 42m on lap 139 I set a best lap of 7.23.945. The Spoon is lapped twice
again, the Cusco and the Autobacs once. By lap 146 I’m 1 lap and 6’19 ahead of 190 Evo. On lap 147 I get some new tires
and fill up from 3 to 41 units. Then comes lap 149, I must have been on steroids as I set a best ever laptime of 7’23.407
Hours 19-20.
Lap 151 Overtake Razo just after Adenaur and a lap later the 190 Evo is overtaken in a brilliant move just before the Kleine
Karussell. The Spoon also falls victim again.
Hours 21-22.
The Spoon is overtaken twice, the Autobacs, Razo and Cusco once. At 21 hours and 40 minutes I’m ahead of the #2 by 2
laps, 2 minutes and 22 seconds. Most of the time now I’m 🤬 about, I cant concentrate well enough and make lots of
5 to 10 second mistakes.
Hours 23-24.
Lap 183 and I overtake Spoon at Adenaur. The Razo falls victim on lap 184 just after the Start Finish line. The Cusco bites
the dust at Bergwerk and the Autobacs at Eiskurve. Nearly done.
23:56 Lap 188 I go in for fresh rubber; the tires are turning orange. I have 7 units of fuel left but fill up to 15 units anyway.
The Autobacs unlaps himself but I manage to catch up with him at Bergwerk and overtake when the clock strikes 24.
I slow down a bit so he’s within the 10 second margin when we cross the finish line for the last time.
This race is over! One more 24 hour race to go. What I have to do to get a measly 200 points
Line up.
Cusco Subaru Advan Impreza
Toyota Superautobacs Apex MR-S
Nissan C -West Razo Silvia
AMG Mercedes 190 E Evo11 Touring Car
Spoon S2000 Race Car
Suzuki GSX R4
Finish.
Suzuki GSX R4 189 laps 24:04’07.429
AMG Mercedes 190 E Evo11 Touring Car 186 laps and 3.5 mins behind.
Toyota Superautobacs Apex MR-S 181 laps 24:04’07.428
Cusco Subaru Advan Impreza 24:04’20.428
Nissan C -West Razo Silvia
Spoon S2000 Race Car 168 laps
Tuning.
One scratched and battered 10.000 mls GSXR4 no oil changed before hand and it was already really old oil.
Added FC LSD 10 40 20
Ballast 140
RC suspension 66/52, 90/90, 4/4, 8/8, 2/1, 1/0, 3/6
RSH tires
NA2
Race brakes + controller 5/5
Aids 001
Race flywheel & triple clutch, wing at 15/30
Body refresh.
Pit strategy, at first every 6 laps, same as the 190, on lap 42 decide to switch to 7 laps.
Winnings.
1 Formula GT car, red.
1.2 million credits.
200 A-spec points
Lesson learnt.
Brake earlier
Lesson applied.
Tried to, most of the time, but not always successful.
AMG.
participate in a race. It’s the 24 hour Green Hell battle. I arrive in the town and make my way to the Am Tiergarten hotel.
The rooms are very comfortable and the restaurant Pistenklause is excellent. The atmosphere is good and there’s a feeling
of expectancy.
Sabine frequents the establishment regularly. A few days prior to this race I’d been testing a brand new Amuse on
recommendation by Nige; another GTP racer. He suggested this car and has booked a very good result with this car. I knew
I’d be up against the ‘King of Nürburg’ a Merc 190 Evo. His laptimes are my yardstick. However a week just wasn’t enough
for me to get to grips with the Amuse enough to ‘make it happen’. I was still recovering from Sarthe 24h.
Don’t get me wrong I really like it but the car needs a lot more time to get the best out of me. So I fall back on one of my
four Suzuki GSX R4s. Thankfully the weather is going to be fine for the next few days as I take the Suzuki for a testdrive. It’s
done 10.455 miles and hasn’t even had an oil change. It’s fast, a bit too fast so I detune the car a bit and add some
additional weight to match the performance of the ‘King’.
Well I certainly have my work cut out as the driver of the Evo is a professional and he can run perfect laptimes over and over
again. I on the other hand am known to make mistakes and I really can’t afford too much of these or the King will have me
for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I call Nige for a bit of insider information as how best to dethrone the King. He tells me that
his 6th lap is not so good and that will be my chance take advantage IF (and that’s a pretty big if) I manage to keep on track
and turn in reasonable laptimes. I am to aim for 7m 35s.
Race
Hours 1-2.
I start off on RSH tires and manage to take the lead approx 0.5 way down the track. The AMG is held up by the others a bit
and this is to my advantage. The only real competition is the ‘king’ and he’s hot on my heels throughout the 6 laps that we
both last on our tires. On his 6th lap he is slower. This allows me to increase my lead a bit and as I exit the pit on a set of R2
tires and a half full tank he enters the pit. Over the next 6 laps I manage to increase the gap quite a bit. Lap 9 sees me
overtaking the Spoon whilst he exits the pit. First of many.
Lap 12 and I’m in for another set of tires. The worn out R2s are replaced by R1s again. The R2s didn’t give me any
significant lead and are quite orange on their last lap. Lap 15, I mess up big time twice and throw 20 seconds away.
A few more of these and I might as well go back home and call it a day. Lap 18. Take on 31 units of fuel and fit R1s again.
I’ll stick with these for the rest of the race. Lap 19 and the Spoon exits the pit as I shoot up the small straight. It takes up to
Karussell to lap him for a 2nd time. Lap 20 The Razo exits the pit and I overtake him for the 1st time just before Flugplatz.
Hours 3-4.
Lap 24. Again R1s and topped up to 41 units. I’ve put a minute between me and the 190. Our gap remains the same during
the first 5 laps. His every sixth lap is bad; I increase the margin by 9-10 secs. Lap 26 and I lap the Cusco whilst he’s in the
pit. Lap 28 I overtake the Spoon between Eiskurve and Schwalbenschwanz without any trouble.
Lap 30 the Autobacs is ‘mine’ as I overtake him. He too is in the pit. So far most of the cars have been overtaken whilst
pitting. Race wise this is no fun but on the other hand I can keep my distance between the ‘king’ and myself healthy. Lap 30
fill up from 8 to 38 units and take on R1s. I’ve increased the gap to 1’35. Lap 36 6-46 units + R1 and this is the time where I
decide to go for a 7 lap strategy. The RSH tires last for 7 laps without any problems.
Lap 37 and I meet up with the Spoon again (now 4 laps down). He must be getting very frustrated being the token 6th car to
make up this race. On lap 38 the Razo falls victim to me for a second time.
Hours 5-6.
I pass the S/F line for lap 40 right on the hour mark. On lap 42 fill up from 8 to 44 units and fit R1 tires. My top speed at the
very end of the straight (T11) is 150/151 mph. Lap 46 and the Spoon is overtaken again just before I enter the Karussell.
The Cusco is overtaken just before Aremburg and on lap 47 I set my fastest time of 7m31.xxx. (or so I thought). Lap 53 I’m
about to overtake the Autobacs at Karussell, but that is a tricky area to overtake cars, it takes a while but I manage to slip
by and show him my exhaust.
Hours 7-8.
On lap 55 the Spoon and soon after the Razo are overtaken as well. I’m at Klostertal on lap 63 when the 0800 hour mark
passes. One third of the race now done. Eight minutes later and the Spoon is again lapped. Who let this guy in, it must be
very frustrating. It’s nearing the 9 hour mark and I set a record lap of 07’28.145.
Now if only I can remember how I did that.
Hours 9-10.
On lap 72 the Razo is passed again at Karussell and the Spoon falls victim again at the start of lap 73. Lap 74, I’m flying.
Lap time 7’27.453. Lap 76 a 7.28.xxx lap. Lap 77 The Autobacs sees my behind but as I pit he unlaps himself only to be
humiliated at Karussell. Strange how all my overtaking manoeuvres happen at more or less the same place. Lap 79 and yet
another sub 7.30 time set. Lap 80 time 7’26.605. I’ve worked out that braking early really makes a difference. I’m flying,
yeehah. Now if only I can keep this up. Still every so often I fall back in to my old routine and have to kick myself to drop
this bad habit of braking too late.
Even my outlaps are now much better. At first this would easily be a 7’42 - 7’48 time. Now my best outlap was a 7’35.
That’s a big difference. I’m at the end of lap 84 and go for some fresh rubber and some fuel. I’ve managed to increase my
lead over the King to 6’45 or so. He’ll be pitting on this lap and it’s his inlap (evil smile). Here’s my chance to overtake him
and put him 1 lap down.
He makes it to the pit and manages to exit the pit before I get to him on my 86 lap. It’s not until Adenaur Forst that I get my
first opportunity to pass him. I’m too eager and spin out at the top of the dip before your make a couple of tight bends at
Adenaur. I mess up again a bit later and still don’t get a good shot at him. Slow down, keep your
I say to myself, you still have 13 hours to go. Just before the Karussell I pounce on him and cleanly overtake him. I’m on a roll.
Hours 11-12.
The following 14 laps or so see me overtaking the Razo on the straight, I get a nice 13mph boost from drafting. The Spoon is
overtaken twice and the Autobacs also falls victim to being lapped. Various lousy laps follow.
Hours 13-14.
The Spoon is lapped twice, the Razo once and so is the Cusco.
Hours 15-16.
The Spoon is lapped twice, the Razo once and so is the Cusco and the Autobacs.
Hours 17-18.
On lap 135 I overtake the Razo yet again and at 17h 42m on lap 139 I set a best lap of 7.23.945. The Spoon is lapped twice
again, the Cusco and the Autobacs once. By lap 146 I’m 1 lap and 6’19 ahead of 190 Evo. On lap 147 I get some new tires
and fill up from 3 to 41 units. Then comes lap 149, I must have been on steroids as I set a best ever laptime of 7’23.407
Hours 19-20.
Lap 151 Overtake Razo just after Adenaur and a lap later the 190 Evo is overtaken in a brilliant move just before the Kleine
Karussell. The Spoon also falls victim again.
Hours 21-22.
The Spoon is overtaken twice, the Autobacs, Razo and Cusco once. At 21 hours and 40 minutes I’m ahead of the #2 by 2
laps, 2 minutes and 22 seconds. Most of the time now I’m 🤬 about, I cant concentrate well enough and make lots of
5 to 10 second mistakes.
Hours 23-24.
Lap 183 and I overtake Spoon at Adenaur. The Razo falls victim on lap 184 just after the Start Finish line. The Cusco bites
the dust at Bergwerk and the Autobacs at Eiskurve. Nearly done.
23:56 Lap 188 I go in for fresh rubber; the tires are turning orange. I have 7 units of fuel left but fill up to 15 units anyway.
The Autobacs unlaps himself but I manage to catch up with him at Bergwerk and overtake when the clock strikes 24.
I slow down a bit so he’s within the 10 second margin when we cross the finish line for the last time.
This race is over! One more 24 hour race to go. What I have to do to get a measly 200 points
Line up.
Cusco Subaru Advan Impreza
Toyota Superautobacs Apex MR-S
Nissan C -West Razo Silvia
AMG Mercedes 190 E Evo11 Touring Car
Spoon S2000 Race Car
Suzuki GSX R4
Finish.
Suzuki GSX R4 189 laps 24:04’07.429
AMG Mercedes 190 E Evo11 Touring Car 186 laps and 3.5 mins behind.
Toyota Superautobacs Apex MR-S 181 laps 24:04’07.428
Cusco Subaru Advan Impreza 24:04’20.428
Nissan C -West Razo Silvia
Spoon S2000 Race Car 168 laps
Tuning.
One scratched and battered 10.000 mls GSXR4 no oil changed before hand and it was already really old oil.
Added FC LSD 10 40 20
Ballast 140
RC suspension 66/52, 90/90, 4/4, 8/8, 2/1, 1/0, 3/6
RSH tires
NA2
Race brakes + controller 5/5
Aids 001
Race flywheel & triple clutch, wing at 15/30
Body refresh.
Pit strategy, at first every 6 laps, same as the 190, on lap 42 decide to switch to 7 laps.
Winnings.
1 Formula GT car, red.
1.2 million credits.
200 A-spec points
Lesson learnt.
Brake earlier
Lesson applied.
Tried to, most of the time, but not always successful.
AMG.
I'm flattered. 
