- 24,120
- Midlantic Area
- GTP_Duke
For no particular reason, I decided to run the Amateur Type R Meeting. My weapon was the yellow Honda Integra :r: I had bought for the Beginner series, and also used in the Amateur FF series. For those races it was nearly stock; using only lightweight 1, medium slicks, and sport suspension.
I knew from qualifying I needed more power. This is also the first series in which I remembered to have reserve upgrades waiting. I began with lightweight 2, sport I/E, chip, headwork, and LSD, for a total of 284hp with oil change. In reserve was race I/E, NA 2, and the race transmission.
Tokyo R246
I like this course. I managed to qualify 2nd, about 1.5xx" behind the NSX-R. I decided to go for it, figuring that some judicious rubbing might make up the difference. Wrong-o! What I couldn't know about was the huge power delivery advantage the NSX had. At the green, he simply put the balls to the wall and instantly grabbed a huge 4-5 second lead. The rest of the pack was FWD and we were left gasping at the line. I tried my best, but that plus my per-lap shortfall meant that I finished a lonely 2nd.
Power: 284hp
Best lap: 01':57.222"
Total: 09':57.280" (5 laps)
Margin: -15.35" NSX R
Field: +25.xx" (3rd) Civic R
Tokyo R11
I hate this course. However, the closest I've come to liking it is driving this little yellow hotrod there. I had meant to add the power upgrades, but somehow only managed to install the racing trans. This was a big help given the contrast between tight and long on R11. Because I was still down on power, the qualifying and results were very similar to R246.
Power: 284hp
Best lap: 02':13.861"
Total: 11':30.668" (5 laps)
Margin: -15.489" NSX R
Field: +36.xx" (3rd) Integra R
Super Speedway
I was extremely happy to find out that A) the next course was an easy one; and B) I had nearly 40 extra hp waiting patiently to be installed. The NSX still had an incredible launch advantage, but adjusting the 6-speed trans to a very tall final drive and dropping the car to the bump snubbers allowed me to blow by on the second lap and never look back. In fact I lapped 3 cars out of the field and was within seconds of lapping the other ITR in 3rd.
Power: 320hp
Best lap: 00':41.891"
Total: 07':08.019" (10 laps)
Margin: +11.958" NSX R
Field: +38.xx" Integra R (3rd), +1 lap Civic R and both Accords
Tokyo R246 II
Armed with my new power, I was able to put the 'Teg on the pole by alittle over 1 second. I still lost the lead milliseconds after the green, but not so badly this time. I diced with the NSX, having good racing fun, and passed him for good after coming out of the last turn on lap 2. I noticed the NSX went wide on track out nearly every turn, tagging the wall many times. My laps were not perfectly clean, but nothing that couldn't have been painted over. This was an excellent race. The long straights and sweepers minimized the NSX's superior power delivery. Winning this race tied me with the NSX at 32 points each going into the last race of the series.
Power: 322hp
Best lap: 01':56.592"
Total: 09':53.992" (5 laps)
Margin: +4.110" NSX R
Field: +1':01.3xx" Civic R (3rd)
Cote d'Azur (Monaco)
This one worried me from the outset. The medium-length straights really helped the NSX: not short enough that I could keep up, and not long enough that I could catch up. Plus I wasn't very experienced here. I ended up running the race twice to win.
In the first go-round, I claimed the pole by almost exactly half a second. Lost the lead on the launch, but I had caught the NSX and was dicing with him by the 3rd lap. Then he piledrivered me into the rail end at the inside of the hairpin, stopping me dead and making me grab reverse to back off the curb. I fought valiantly to reel him back in, going from 5+ seconds behind down to about a second over the last 4 laps. If I had another lap I probably could have pulled out a narrow victory, but time ran out.
So I reloaded the game (always remember to save between events, kiddies) and requalified for the last race. With a few more laps under my belt, I got the pole by about 1.1xx". As always, the NSX jumped out and took off, the uphill climb after the first turn letting him widen his lead a little. I was pressuring him heavily during the 2nd lap, and swapping the lead through the 3rd. By the middle of the 4th lap I decided to ensure victory rather than run this race yet again. Consequently I railgunned him into the tire wall at the chicane after the tunnel, figuring I owed him one from the first race. This allowed me to secure the lead, though he recovered quickly and was only 1.5 seconds down. I drove like the devil himself was after me, and widened that gap considerably over the last 3 laps. My 6th lap was not great but my 7th was a blistering (for me), clean run that was my fastest of the race by nearly a second.
Power: 324hp
Best lap: 01':49.945"
Total: 13':11.201" (7 laps)
Margin: +5.529" NSX R
Field: +58.407" Integra R (3rd)
This won me the championship by a narrow margin. Because we were tied after the 4th race, I couldn't be choosy about the prize car. Luckily I got the Mugen S2000 (already have a Spoon). An NSX-R would have been nice too but the MS2k will be more useful at the moment.
The little ITR endeared itself even further to me in this series. It handles well even on sport suspension, the brakes are fantastic, and it loves to be tossed around. After dialing in rear stiffness, the handling stayed neutral until I was making over 280 hp, and power-on understeer wasn't a serious issue until 320 hp.
It should be noted that in five races, neither of the two Accord Rs ever finished less than a minute out of first place.
aperbag:
I knew from qualifying I needed more power. This is also the first series in which I remembered to have reserve upgrades waiting. I began with lightweight 2, sport I/E, chip, headwork, and LSD, for a total of 284hp with oil change. In reserve was race I/E, NA 2, and the race transmission.
Tokyo R246
I like this course. I managed to qualify 2nd, about 1.5xx" behind the NSX-R. I decided to go for it, figuring that some judicious rubbing might make up the difference. Wrong-o! What I couldn't know about was the huge power delivery advantage the NSX had. At the green, he simply put the balls to the wall and instantly grabbed a huge 4-5 second lead. The rest of the pack was FWD and we were left gasping at the line. I tried my best, but that plus my per-lap shortfall meant that I finished a lonely 2nd.
Power: 284hp
Best lap: 01':57.222"
Total: 09':57.280" (5 laps)
Margin: -15.35" NSX R
Field: +25.xx" (3rd) Civic R
Tokyo R11
I hate this course. However, the closest I've come to liking it is driving this little yellow hotrod there. I had meant to add the power upgrades, but somehow only managed to install the racing trans. This was a big help given the contrast between tight and long on R11. Because I was still down on power, the qualifying and results were very similar to R246.
Power: 284hp
Best lap: 02':13.861"
Total: 11':30.668" (5 laps)
Margin: -15.489" NSX R
Field: +36.xx" (3rd) Integra R
Super Speedway
I was extremely happy to find out that A) the next course was an easy one; and B) I had nearly 40 extra hp waiting patiently to be installed. The NSX still had an incredible launch advantage, but adjusting the 6-speed trans to a very tall final drive and dropping the car to the bump snubbers allowed me to blow by on the second lap and never look back. In fact I lapped 3 cars out of the field and was within seconds of lapping the other ITR in 3rd.
Power: 320hp
Best lap: 00':41.891"
Total: 07':08.019" (10 laps)
Margin: +11.958" NSX R
Field: +38.xx" Integra R (3rd), +1 lap Civic R and both Accords
Tokyo R246 II
Armed with my new power, I was able to put the 'Teg on the pole by alittle over 1 second. I still lost the lead milliseconds after the green, but not so badly this time. I diced with the NSX, having good racing fun, and passed him for good after coming out of the last turn on lap 2. I noticed the NSX went wide on track out nearly every turn, tagging the wall many times. My laps were not perfectly clean, but nothing that couldn't have been painted over. This was an excellent race. The long straights and sweepers minimized the NSX's superior power delivery. Winning this race tied me with the NSX at 32 points each going into the last race of the series.
Power: 322hp
Best lap: 01':56.592"
Total: 09':53.992" (5 laps)
Margin: +4.110" NSX R
Field: +1':01.3xx" Civic R (3rd)
Cote d'Azur (Monaco)
This one worried me from the outset. The medium-length straights really helped the NSX: not short enough that I could keep up, and not long enough that I could catch up. Plus I wasn't very experienced here. I ended up running the race twice to win.
In the first go-round, I claimed the pole by almost exactly half a second. Lost the lead on the launch, but I had caught the NSX and was dicing with him by the 3rd lap. Then he piledrivered me into the rail end at the inside of the hairpin, stopping me dead and making me grab reverse to back off the curb. I fought valiantly to reel him back in, going from 5+ seconds behind down to about a second over the last 4 laps. If I had another lap I probably could have pulled out a narrow victory, but time ran out.
So I reloaded the game (always remember to save between events, kiddies) and requalified for the last race. With a few more laps under my belt, I got the pole by about 1.1xx". As always, the NSX jumped out and took off, the uphill climb after the first turn letting him widen his lead a little. I was pressuring him heavily during the 2nd lap, and swapping the lead through the 3rd. By the middle of the 4th lap I decided to ensure victory rather than run this race yet again. Consequently I railgunned him into the tire wall at the chicane after the tunnel, figuring I owed him one from the first race. This allowed me to secure the lead, though he recovered quickly and was only 1.5 seconds down. I drove like the devil himself was after me, and widened that gap considerably over the last 3 laps. My 6th lap was not great but my 7th was a blistering (for me), clean run that was my fastest of the race by nearly a second.
Power: 324hp
Best lap: 01':49.945"
Total: 13':11.201" (7 laps)
Margin: +5.529" NSX R
Field: +58.407" Integra R (3rd)
This won me the championship by a narrow margin. Because we were tied after the 4th race, I couldn't be choosy about the prize car. Luckily I got the Mugen S2000 (already have a Spoon). An NSX-R would have been nice too but the MS2k will be more useful at the moment.
The little ITR endeared itself even further to me in this series. It handles well even on sport suspension, the brakes are fantastic, and it loves to be tossed around. After dialing in rear stiffness, the handling stayed neutral until I was making over 280 hp, and power-on understeer wasn't a serious issue until 320 hp.
It should be noted that in five races, neither of the two Accord Rs ever finished less than a minute out of first place.
aperbag:
