- 52
- Germany
- emmetbrown1955
This is my first race report.
I decided to make the 9 hours at Tsukuba a challenge for me. I went for the 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2.
It may not be the car you'd expect in a race among tuner cars on the tuner track at Tsukuba. But I simply love the Giulia for its superb (250 GTO lookalike) looks, its sound and its handling.
Being an average driver and using a DS3 please be merciful with my lap times. I think anyone can adjust the choice of tires and upgrades of the car to their abilities to get a challenging race at the 9 hours of Tsukuba in the Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2. I equipped the car with a stage 3 turbo and sport soft tires for starters. All other parts and settings remained untouched. So the car is a little underpowered but makes up for it being light as a feather weighing in only 630 kgs (1389 lbs).
Grid:
BNR 34
CT230R
Amemiya
S2000 GT1
Stage II R32
G37
IS F
350Z
BNR 34
FT 65 Audi TT
Nismo 380RS
First stint lap 1-13 Sport soft tires
I fall back after running wide in the second corner. Being in 9th place I manage to hold back the Lexus IS F for 10 laps before running wide again, this time in the last corner. I get passed by the other two cars. I am now in 12th place. I struggle to achieve 1:03 laps and quickly lose roughly 25 seconds on the 1st place. I decide that sports soft won't get me anywhere. I head to the pits in lap 13.
Lap 13-70. Racing soft.
In the pits I get lapped by the Amuse S2000 and a few others. Having much better grip with the new tires I manage to unlap myself after semingly endless laps around the small circuit. I can put down consistent 0'58 laps and close the gap lap by lap by 1 or 2 seconds. After 50 laps the first opponents get their first new set of tires. After 60 laps I pass the first placed S2000 while he pits. Only a few laps later my tires start to deteriorate and since I could use a break I head to the pits a bit earlier than necessary in lap 70. Entering the pits I lead by ~30 seconds.
Third stint. Lap 70-132. Racing medium, 20 litres.
I decide to use racing medium tires since the soft compound proved to be overkill. I am 7 seconds behind after taking in 20 litres of gas for good measure. The following laps I spend chasing down the first placed Amuse S2000 that is only a few seconds ahead. Since he gets stuck in traffic a little I am finally able to close the gap and pass to first place! The Amuse pits approximately lap 90 and the BNR 34 takes second place 30 seconds behind. I lap a few others before my lap times increase and I have to fight off a lapped car on the back strait for several laps before he finally passes me for good. Soon after that the blue RE Amemiya FD3S RX-7 that is in 4th place and also a lap behind approaches in my rear mirror. I try to fight him off as well on the long straight but braking into the final corner he hits me in the back and I roll out into the grass losing a few seconds.
Regarding tire wear I notice the front left tire suffered considerably more than the others. I decide to head to the pits for my third pit stop to grab a fresh set of racing medium tires which put me on par with the competition. I expect to lose my 28 second lead on the BNR 34. I also put in some fuel for the next stint.
132-192. Racing medium, 25 litres.
The BNR 34 Skyline passes me while I am getting fresh tires and some fuel. I leave the pits 2 seconds behind and need one lap to overtake. I'm first place again. 2nd placed BNR 34 eventually pits and loses 2nd place to the Amemiya which is 30 seconds behind myself. I achieve very consistent 1'00 laps and build a gap of over 50 seconds on the Amemiya while in the rear mirror the S 2000 GT1 approaches, which is in third position and one lap behind. Just when I can see the 2nd placed blue Amemiya before me on the long straight he heads into the pits. The S2000 GT1 and my Alfa pass the pitting Amemiya wheel to wheel in lap 183. S 2000 GT1 is now 2nd again and tries to get past, but I block him for several laps not always abiding to the one move rule. He eventually unlaps himself as I run wide due to deteriorating tires in lap 187. Again the front left tire is worn out while the rear tires are almost good as new. The S2000 pulls away quickly and my lead shrinks. I head to the pits in lap 192 to get new race mediums. 3 hours 16 minutes into the race I am 50 seconds ahead. I will keep first place for the first time after pitting. Still almost 6 hours to go.
Before my pit stop this is the leaderboard:
Position Car Gap
1st Alfa Giulia
2nd S2000 50"
3rd Amemiya 1 lap
4th BNR34 >1 lap
192-251 RM 15 litres
Not much happening. I leave the pits some 20 seconds ahead of the S2000. I increase the lead to 30 seconds before S2000 pits and hands 2nd place over again to the Amemiya who is 1 lap behind. After the Amemiya's stop the S2000 is 2nd again and 1 lap behind. Around lap 240 my lap times drop to 1'01, the S2000 unlaps itself just as I head into the pits to get some fuel and racing hard tires for the first time.
251-300 Racing hard. 30 litres
I leave the pits with fresh RH tires and a 20 second lead. I now have to really pay attention in every lap to secure my lead. I struggle to drive 1'00.5 which keeps my lead constant. But then I run wide in the first hairpin and lose a whopping 5 seconds in the sand. My lead has shrunk to under 15 seconds and each time I miss a braking point I lose another half a second while in my best laps I can only increase the lead by 2 or 3 tenths. This is going to be an intense stint. I already lost 6 seconds and I am only 10 laps in.
Lap 267: The S2000 pits and keeps 2nd place now one full lap behind myself again. I realize I had been struggling preserving my lead on fresh tires vs the S2000's worn out ones.
Meanwhile the Stage II R32 that had been in 8th place seems to have run out of fuel and obstructs the road with its slowness. He pits every lap now but never stops. I assume that the endurance save glitch has got him! I lap him roughly every two laps.
I fight for every tenth of my lead with the result of me landing in the gravel pit before S/F-straight and losing 5 seconds. Twice. My lead has diminished to 33 seconds. My lap times now reach 1'01 and eventually 1'02 before the fuel gauge turns red and I decide to call it a day and head to the pits in lap 300. My lead has shrunk to a meagre 10 seconds. Had it not been for my detours in the sand I might have held enough time to stay ahead after the pit stop. So I decide that I will do another RH stint and see if I can't improve my performance and actually gain some time on an RH tires stint. But I need more fuel this time.
300-358 Racing hard. 37 litres.
The Stage II R32 seems to have recovered from his inability to pit since the last race suspension and is back on track at racing speed.
The S2000 is 28 seconds ahead when I leave the pits. It's 30 seconds after my outlap. I put down some good laps (low 1'00) but I only gain a few seconds the S2000 lost in traffic until he pits in lap 319 (42 lap stint). I retake the lead. As I pass S/F-line I get notified that I am now 31 seconds ahead.
As I progress doing 1'00.5-1'01 laps the S2000 gains one, sometimes two seconds a lap. In lap 332 I am just 6 seconds in the lead and can see the S2000 in the rear mirror on the long straight. He must be doing 0'58-0'59 laps on his fresh tires. This is when I begin to realize that I probably won't be able to pull off the win on racing hard and decide to change back to racing mediums on the next stint.
The S2000 closes the gap quickly and threatens to overtake on the long straight. But I decide that this won't be over quickly. I do not exactly abide to the one move rule on the long straight to fight him off. I manage to keep him behind until lap 336 when we pass the S/F line wheel to wheel and I lose a position on track for the first time since lap 5 or so. I regain first place under braking into the first corner. A fierce battle for first place ensues where I gain a few tenths under braking and have to block on the straights. We exchange positions a few times. My laptimes suffer from the fight to high 1'01s and 1'02s.
Lap 353 I lose temper and brake too late into the final turn, running wide and into the sand. Again! After 6 hours and more than 350 laps I am down to 2nd place again. I try to keep up with the new race leader for a few laps before an empty tank forces me into the pits trailing by 12 seconds in lap 358. The 3rd place Amemiya passes me to unlap itself.
After 6h 7' these are the standings:
1st S2000 GT1
2nd Alfa Giulia 12"
3rd Amemiya ? laps.
4th BNR 34 ?? laps
5th BNR 34 #2 ??? laps
UPDATE:
Lap 358-423 Race medium, 45 litres.
I leave the pits placed 2nd trailing by 58 seconds. On the RM tires I begin my stint with low 1'00 laps and, getting used to the new braking points and cornering speeds, high 0'59s, begin closing my gap on the S2000. I reduce the S2000's lead to 46 seconds by lap 372 before he heads to the pits (after 53 laps). Passing S/F-line in lap 372 I lead the race again! With the euphoria of being the race leader I do low 0'59 laps and my fastest lap on RM being 0'59.1. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop the S2000 from getting closer again. My lead shrinks from 18 to ten seconds in lap 382. Luckily, the S2000's catching up is hindered now by traffic and my lead increases to 14 seconds by lap 384. In the same lap I accelerate too early in the last corner and crash into the boundaries, losing another 4 seconds. Had I been riding a real car in a real race, it would now be totaled. My 10 second lead doesn't hold for long. From lap 390 onwards I am back in the "block on straight/pass under braking"-business. I pray for traffic but to no avail. Lap 400, the S2000, still big in my rear mirror, begins to show slight signs of tire wear and his attempts at overtaking become less frightening. Lap 408 we finally get some traffic! The S2000 loses 4 seconds lapping the 350Z the Stage II R32 and one of the BNR 34s.
Lap 416 I am 4 seconds ahead and beginning to think about my next pit stop. I reckon I will need to stay ahead of the S2000 so I can block him on his very fast first 10 laps of the stint. I expect him to pit around lap 425. I head to the pits lap 423. I can not make mistakes on my first two laps of the next stint, otherwise the S2000 will pull away and build a lead quickly.
7h 13'. Standings before pit stop:
1st Alfa Giulia (me)
2nd S2000 1"
3rd Amemiya X laps
Lap 423-476 Race medium, 39 litres.
I leave the pits 2nd trailing by nearly 40". The S2000 pits in lap 427. As I cross S/F he is some 20" behind. Traffic helps me a lot this time. I am doing 0'59.7 laps as the S2000 struggles to lap the other cars and doesn't get closer than 12 seconds for 20 laps. Around lap 460 he is in clean air, but his tires are already worn, so that he can't get closer than 7". I pit a little early in lap 476, hoping that I can put down some solid laps that will secure my victory in the last stint! I actually consider changing to the race soft tire compound as I definitely want to win. But I eventually decide otherwise and go for
Lap 476-528, RM, 33 litres.
As I leave the pits I am trailing by 28". The S2000 heads to the pits 3 laps later. Lap 479, only 50 minutes to go. I am 30 seconds in the lead. As expected, my lead shrinks. But I am lucky again as the S2000 gets held up in traffic. At 30 minutes to go, he trails by 28"; 25 minutes to go, my lead is 23 seconds. If he continues closing in at this rate he will be on my tail 2 minutes before the finish!
But I am lucky again, since the S2000 gets stuck in traffic again. Phew! Only 13 minutes to go, the lead still being 20 seconds, I finally am confident that I will win the 9 hours of Tsukuba!
After 528 laps I win some 20 seconds ahead of the S2000, 4 laps ahead of the Amemiya, which also earns me 7 mio exp. And Level 40 A-spec!
I decided to make the 9 hours at Tsukuba a challenge for me. I went for the 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2.
It may not be the car you'd expect in a race among tuner cars on the tuner track at Tsukuba. But I simply love the Giulia for its superb (250 GTO lookalike) looks, its sound and its handling.
Being an average driver and using a DS3 please be merciful with my lap times. I think anyone can adjust the choice of tires and upgrades of the car to their abilities to get a challenging race at the 9 hours of Tsukuba in the Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2. I equipped the car with a stage 3 turbo and sport soft tires for starters. All other parts and settings remained untouched. So the car is a little underpowered but makes up for it being light as a feather weighing in only 630 kgs (1389 lbs).
Grid:
BNR 34
CT230R
Amemiya
S2000 GT1
Stage II R32
G37
IS F
350Z
BNR 34
FT 65 Audi TT
Nismo 380RS
First stint lap 1-13 Sport soft tires
I fall back after running wide in the second corner. Being in 9th place I manage to hold back the Lexus IS F for 10 laps before running wide again, this time in the last corner. I get passed by the other two cars. I am now in 12th place. I struggle to achieve 1:03 laps and quickly lose roughly 25 seconds on the 1st place. I decide that sports soft won't get me anywhere. I head to the pits in lap 13.
Lap 13-70. Racing soft.
In the pits I get lapped by the Amuse S2000 and a few others. Having much better grip with the new tires I manage to unlap myself after semingly endless laps around the small circuit. I can put down consistent 0'58 laps and close the gap lap by lap by 1 or 2 seconds. After 50 laps the first opponents get their first new set of tires. After 60 laps I pass the first placed S2000 while he pits. Only a few laps later my tires start to deteriorate and since I could use a break I head to the pits a bit earlier than necessary in lap 70. Entering the pits I lead by ~30 seconds.
Third stint. Lap 70-132. Racing medium, 20 litres.
I decide to use racing medium tires since the soft compound proved to be overkill. I am 7 seconds behind after taking in 20 litres of gas for good measure. The following laps I spend chasing down the first placed Amuse S2000 that is only a few seconds ahead. Since he gets stuck in traffic a little I am finally able to close the gap and pass to first place! The Amuse pits approximately lap 90 and the BNR 34 takes second place 30 seconds behind. I lap a few others before my lap times increase and I have to fight off a lapped car on the back strait for several laps before he finally passes me for good. Soon after that the blue RE Amemiya FD3S RX-7 that is in 4th place and also a lap behind approaches in my rear mirror. I try to fight him off as well on the long straight but braking into the final corner he hits me in the back and I roll out into the grass losing a few seconds.
Regarding tire wear I notice the front left tire suffered considerably more than the others. I decide to head to the pits for my third pit stop to grab a fresh set of racing medium tires which put me on par with the competition. I expect to lose my 28 second lead on the BNR 34. I also put in some fuel for the next stint.
132-192. Racing medium, 25 litres.
The BNR 34 Skyline passes me while I am getting fresh tires and some fuel. I leave the pits 2 seconds behind and need one lap to overtake. I'm first place again. 2nd placed BNR 34 eventually pits and loses 2nd place to the Amemiya which is 30 seconds behind myself. I achieve very consistent 1'00 laps and build a gap of over 50 seconds on the Amemiya while in the rear mirror the S 2000 GT1 approaches, which is in third position and one lap behind. Just when I can see the 2nd placed blue Amemiya before me on the long straight he heads into the pits. The S2000 GT1 and my Alfa pass the pitting Amemiya wheel to wheel in lap 183. S 2000 GT1 is now 2nd again and tries to get past, but I block him for several laps not always abiding to the one move rule. He eventually unlaps himself as I run wide due to deteriorating tires in lap 187. Again the front left tire is worn out while the rear tires are almost good as new. The S2000 pulls away quickly and my lead shrinks. I head to the pits in lap 192 to get new race mediums. 3 hours 16 minutes into the race I am 50 seconds ahead. I will keep first place for the first time after pitting. Still almost 6 hours to go.
Before my pit stop this is the leaderboard:
Position Car Gap
1st Alfa Giulia
2nd S2000 50"
3rd Amemiya 1 lap
4th BNR34 >1 lap
192-251 RM 15 litres
Not much happening. I leave the pits some 20 seconds ahead of the S2000. I increase the lead to 30 seconds before S2000 pits and hands 2nd place over again to the Amemiya who is 1 lap behind. After the Amemiya's stop the S2000 is 2nd again and 1 lap behind. Around lap 240 my lap times drop to 1'01, the S2000 unlaps itself just as I head into the pits to get some fuel and racing hard tires for the first time.
251-300 Racing hard. 30 litres
I leave the pits with fresh RH tires and a 20 second lead. I now have to really pay attention in every lap to secure my lead. I struggle to drive 1'00.5 which keeps my lead constant. But then I run wide in the first hairpin and lose a whopping 5 seconds in the sand. My lead has shrunk to under 15 seconds and each time I miss a braking point I lose another half a second while in my best laps I can only increase the lead by 2 or 3 tenths. This is going to be an intense stint. I already lost 6 seconds and I am only 10 laps in.
Lap 267: The S2000 pits and keeps 2nd place now one full lap behind myself again. I realize I had been struggling preserving my lead on fresh tires vs the S2000's worn out ones.
Meanwhile the Stage II R32 that had been in 8th place seems to have run out of fuel and obstructs the road with its slowness. He pits every lap now but never stops. I assume that the endurance save glitch has got him! I lap him roughly every two laps.
I fight for every tenth of my lead with the result of me landing in the gravel pit before S/F-straight and losing 5 seconds. Twice. My lead has diminished to 33 seconds. My lap times now reach 1'01 and eventually 1'02 before the fuel gauge turns red and I decide to call it a day and head to the pits in lap 300. My lead has shrunk to a meagre 10 seconds. Had it not been for my detours in the sand I might have held enough time to stay ahead after the pit stop. So I decide that I will do another RH stint and see if I can't improve my performance and actually gain some time on an RH tires stint. But I need more fuel this time.
300-358 Racing hard. 37 litres.
The Stage II R32 seems to have recovered from his inability to pit since the last race suspension and is back on track at racing speed.
The S2000 is 28 seconds ahead when I leave the pits. It's 30 seconds after my outlap. I put down some good laps (low 1'00) but I only gain a few seconds the S2000 lost in traffic until he pits in lap 319 (42 lap stint). I retake the lead. As I pass S/F-line I get notified that I am now 31 seconds ahead.
As I progress doing 1'00.5-1'01 laps the S2000 gains one, sometimes two seconds a lap. In lap 332 I am just 6 seconds in the lead and can see the S2000 in the rear mirror on the long straight. He must be doing 0'58-0'59 laps on his fresh tires. This is when I begin to realize that I probably won't be able to pull off the win on racing hard and decide to change back to racing mediums on the next stint.
The S2000 closes the gap quickly and threatens to overtake on the long straight. But I decide that this won't be over quickly. I do not exactly abide to the one move rule on the long straight to fight him off. I manage to keep him behind until lap 336 when we pass the S/F line wheel to wheel and I lose a position on track for the first time since lap 5 or so. I regain first place under braking into the first corner. A fierce battle for first place ensues where I gain a few tenths under braking and have to block on the straights. We exchange positions a few times. My laptimes suffer from the fight to high 1'01s and 1'02s.
Lap 353 I lose temper and brake too late into the final turn, running wide and into the sand. Again! After 6 hours and more than 350 laps I am down to 2nd place again. I try to keep up with the new race leader for a few laps before an empty tank forces me into the pits trailing by 12 seconds in lap 358. The 3rd place Amemiya passes me to unlap itself.
After 6h 7' these are the standings:
1st S2000 GT1
2nd Alfa Giulia 12"
3rd Amemiya ? laps.
4th BNR 34 ?? laps
5th BNR 34 #2 ??? laps
UPDATE:
Lap 358-423 Race medium, 45 litres.
I leave the pits placed 2nd trailing by 58 seconds. On the RM tires I begin my stint with low 1'00 laps and, getting used to the new braking points and cornering speeds, high 0'59s, begin closing my gap on the S2000. I reduce the S2000's lead to 46 seconds by lap 372 before he heads to the pits (after 53 laps). Passing S/F-line in lap 372 I lead the race again! With the euphoria of being the race leader I do low 0'59 laps and my fastest lap on RM being 0'59.1. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop the S2000 from getting closer again. My lead shrinks from 18 to ten seconds in lap 382. Luckily, the S2000's catching up is hindered now by traffic and my lead increases to 14 seconds by lap 384. In the same lap I accelerate too early in the last corner and crash into the boundaries, losing another 4 seconds. Had I been riding a real car in a real race, it would now be totaled. My 10 second lead doesn't hold for long. From lap 390 onwards I am back in the "block on straight/pass under braking"-business. I pray for traffic but to no avail. Lap 400, the S2000, still big in my rear mirror, begins to show slight signs of tire wear and his attempts at overtaking become less frightening. Lap 408 we finally get some traffic! The S2000 loses 4 seconds lapping the 350Z the Stage II R32 and one of the BNR 34s.
Lap 416 I am 4 seconds ahead and beginning to think about my next pit stop. I reckon I will need to stay ahead of the S2000 so I can block him on his very fast first 10 laps of the stint. I expect him to pit around lap 425. I head to the pits lap 423. I can not make mistakes on my first two laps of the next stint, otherwise the S2000 will pull away and build a lead quickly.
7h 13'. Standings before pit stop:
1st Alfa Giulia (me)
2nd S2000 1"
3rd Amemiya X laps
Lap 423-476 Race medium, 39 litres.
I leave the pits 2nd trailing by nearly 40". The S2000 pits in lap 427. As I cross S/F he is some 20" behind. Traffic helps me a lot this time. I am doing 0'59.7 laps as the S2000 struggles to lap the other cars and doesn't get closer than 12 seconds for 20 laps. Around lap 460 he is in clean air, but his tires are already worn, so that he can't get closer than 7". I pit a little early in lap 476, hoping that I can put down some solid laps that will secure my victory in the last stint! I actually consider changing to the race soft tire compound as I definitely want to win. But I eventually decide otherwise and go for
Lap 476-528, RM, 33 litres.
As I leave the pits I am trailing by 28". The S2000 heads to the pits 3 laps later. Lap 479, only 50 minutes to go. I am 30 seconds in the lead. As expected, my lead shrinks. But I am lucky again as the S2000 gets held up in traffic. At 30 minutes to go, he trails by 28"; 25 minutes to go, my lead is 23 seconds. If he continues closing in at this rate he will be on my tail 2 minutes before the finish!
But I am lucky again, since the S2000 gets stuck in traffic again. Phew! Only 13 minutes to go, the lead still being 20 seconds, I finally am confident that I will win the 9 hours of Tsukuba!
After 528 laps I win some 20 seconds ahead of the S2000, 4 laps ahead of the Amemiya, which also earns me 7 mio exp. And Level 40 A-spec!
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