- 8,598
- Oklahoma
Ladies and gentleman, I am back at Seattle, driving in the Seattle Endurance once again. Though this time, it is for a different team, as Seattle has these races pretty often; for whatever reason them being so often, I do not know. This time around I will be driving for Team Hachi Roku. They have prepared a Hachi Roku for my driving at the Seattle race. The car is definitely a solid car. The carbon fibre hood looks nice and the wheels fit the car well too. So it should definitely be a crowd favourite at the race.
Now onto to qualifying. The Hachi Roku runs very well and manages to take P2. The Hachi Roku just does not have enough speed to keep up with the Shelby Cobra, but both myself and the team suspect the Cobra to be running extremely soft tyres.
Qualifying Results:
1. Shelby Cobra 140.821
2. Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex S.S. (AE86) the car will be referred to as either Hachi Roku or Eight-Six 144.157
3. Chevrolet Corvette Z06 144.407
4. Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R 144.625
5. Dodge Viper GTS 144.923
6. Chevrolet Camaro SS 150.704
As you can see by the qualifying results, the Cobra is extremely quick; this speed is most likely due to an extremely too soft tyre choice. From my position in P2 to P5, the times are really pretty close and hopefully this will make for a close race.
Now off to the race! Surprisingly the American Monsters do not completely overpower me at the start of the race. Though the Z06 Corvette does make his way through me at the hairpin, along with the Mustang and Viper. I guess these guys think they can just try and run me over or off the track.
By drafting down the back straight, I can stay close to the pack running up front.
The front pack is somewhat leaving me behind, though not by a terribly fast pace. At this point, I am learning that I need to be more sensitive with my throttle inputs; the Hachi Roku has a tendency to like to let its tail out with too much throttle coming out of a turn.
The Cobra pits in at the end of the second lap and both the teams and my guess about the Cobras tyres is correct.
The race pace is already faster than that of in qualifying, as I have already ran a lap faster than my qualifying one with a 143.936. And now I have learned that the Cobra, Viper, and Corvette all have me beat in a straight line; but through the twisties, I have the advantage, along with being able to brake into a corner much later. The Hachi Roku still has some throttle tail out problems as the tyres start to come on and I am hoping that as the tyres get more heat they will be able to better lay power down.
On Lap 4, I manage to pass the Viper on the corner leading to the back straight. I hold third place until I make a mistake through the bus stop like corners because of being under the Mustang and not being able to see when to turn in to one of the corners. This causes me to lose third place back to the Viper and lose a little bit of time, though this mistake does not hurt my confidence.
By half-way through Lap 5, the spot I lost to the Viper has been regained and I now have my sights set on the Mustang. I make an attempt down the inside of the Mustang on the corner before the chicane leading onto the front straight. This is really not an attempt to pass him, but really just letting him know I am there and gunning for his spot on the track. And wouldnt you know it, I take the spot from him coming out of the chicane faster. Another personal fast lap is set with a 143.772.
Much like I did on the Mustang on the previous lap with the corner before the chicane, I make a run down the inside. Though this time I am close enough to the car in front of me to actually make the pass and I do so. I have taken P1 from the Corvette and I hope to be able to hold this position. But before the Corvette can give up its spot so easily, the driver has to rear end me as he is coming into the corner I just passed him in. Hopefully his shenanigans have not damaged my car too much. Yet another fast lap with a 143.333.
Now that the rear tyres are up to temperature, the Hachi Roku handles much, much better and the throttle oversteer at exit is not as near as much present.
The Corvette, Mustang, and Viper all pit in at the end of Lap 6. I now know I need to do my best to be like Michael Schumacher and create a good amount of space between myself and the three cars behind me. Hopefully my best Schumi impression can put enough time between me and my competitors so that I am still in the lead after having to make a pit stop for tyres and petrol.
Lap 9 and another fast lap, this being a 143.046.
Lap 14 and another fast lap being a 142.222.
End of Lap 16 and the tyres have had it, so I pit in for the mechanics to put on a fresh set of tyres and give me enough fuel for the next scheduled pit stop at around Lap 32. Having the rest of the field, that I was following before my Schumi act, pitted twice already, my lead is safe and means that barring any huge failure, I should be able to cruise to the victory.
New fastest personal lap with a 141.915 on Lap 19.
Another personal fast lap on Lap 20 with a 141.424.
On Lap 21, the Shelby Cobra goes down a lap with myself almost setting another personal fast lap.
Lap 22 and yet another personal fast lap with a 141.249.
Lap 23 and still another fast lap with a 141.099, along with putting the Camaro SS a lap down and him costing me precious tenths, hundredths, and thousandths of a second by me having to let for a very brief moment in the final chicane as to avoid destroying his rear end.
Lap 24 and I break into the 140s with a 140.841 and set yet another fast lap.
Lap 26 and, go figure, another fast lap with a 140.457.
On Lap 30, the Mustang and Viper both go a lap down. Now, the only other car on the lead lap is the Corvette and I am very close to being right on his tail, thus almost putting him a lap down too. Though all three of these cars should get their lap back when I have to come in for my second and final pit stop. The Corvette ends up going a lap down towards the very end of Lap 30.
Well instead of pitting on Lap 32 as scheduled, I pit in on Lap 31. The earlier lap than schedule is down to me running fast lap after fast lap, as this caused the front left tyre to wear a little faster than on the first stint. Like I said before, the Viper, Mustang, and Corvette all get their laps back because of my pit stop.
At the start of Lap 35, the Cobra is in the pits and goes down yet another lap . . . poor Cobra!
On Lap 36, the Viper, Mustang, and Corvette all go back down a lap; also, I am now hot on the tail of the Camaro SS, which would mean he would also go two laps down like the Cobra.
And I have now won!
Results of Seattle Endurance:
1. Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex S.S. 1:0925.802
2. Chevrolet Corvette Z06 +1lap
3. Dodge Viper GTS +1lap
4. Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R +1lap
5. Chevrolet Camaro SS +2laps
6. Shelby Cobra +2laps
Well there you have the Seattle Endurance was won by me in the Hachi Roku. Team Hachi Roku did an absolutely wonderful job of preparing the car for this race and I would like to thank them for giving me this opportunity to show my skills as a driver.
Overall, I would have to say that this race was a lock from the beginning. The car was just so well prepared and just had too much modification for the other cars to keep up, even with only the Hachi Roku around 250 horsepower. But I will say I actually was not bored with the race at all. It was a blast to put in fast lap after fast lap and from doing that I now kindaok I know this is a stretch, but come on at least give me a little creditknow what Michael Schumacher feels like when he puts in fast lap after fast lap after fast lap. It was also fun to run this race because I did not have to fight the car at all. There was never any understeer present and once I figured how much throttle I could use, the throttle oversteer was not a problem again. The only disappointment I have with this race is that I could not run a completely perfect lap; I swear there is at least a whole second left in the Hachi Roku, if not more. But this little disappointment is the only niggle I have with this race and was otherwise really actually very fun though the other cars were never really competing with me.
Oh and not only did I have fun with this race, I also picked up a cool 150,000 credits, along with winning a Tommy kaira ZZII in yellow. I got the car I wanted to win, though I would rather have had it in blue or black, or even red for that matter; but I am not going to complain about it too much.
Now onto to qualifying. The Hachi Roku runs very well and manages to take P2. The Hachi Roku just does not have enough speed to keep up with the Shelby Cobra, but both myself and the team suspect the Cobra to be running extremely soft tyres.
Qualifying Results:
1. Shelby Cobra 140.821
2. Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex S.S. (AE86) the car will be referred to as either Hachi Roku or Eight-Six 144.157
3. Chevrolet Corvette Z06 144.407
4. Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R 144.625
5. Dodge Viper GTS 144.923
6. Chevrolet Camaro SS 150.704
As you can see by the qualifying results, the Cobra is extremely quick; this speed is most likely due to an extremely too soft tyre choice. From my position in P2 to P5, the times are really pretty close and hopefully this will make for a close race.
Now off to the race! Surprisingly the American Monsters do not completely overpower me at the start of the race. Though the Z06 Corvette does make his way through me at the hairpin, along with the Mustang and Viper. I guess these guys think they can just try and run me over or off the track.
By drafting down the back straight, I can stay close to the pack running up front.
The front pack is somewhat leaving me behind, though not by a terribly fast pace. At this point, I am learning that I need to be more sensitive with my throttle inputs; the Hachi Roku has a tendency to like to let its tail out with too much throttle coming out of a turn.
The Cobra pits in at the end of the second lap and both the teams and my guess about the Cobras tyres is correct.
The race pace is already faster than that of in qualifying, as I have already ran a lap faster than my qualifying one with a 143.936. And now I have learned that the Cobra, Viper, and Corvette all have me beat in a straight line; but through the twisties, I have the advantage, along with being able to brake into a corner much later. The Hachi Roku still has some throttle tail out problems as the tyres start to come on and I am hoping that as the tyres get more heat they will be able to better lay power down.
On Lap 4, I manage to pass the Viper on the corner leading to the back straight. I hold third place until I make a mistake through the bus stop like corners because of being under the Mustang and not being able to see when to turn in to one of the corners. This causes me to lose third place back to the Viper and lose a little bit of time, though this mistake does not hurt my confidence.
By half-way through Lap 5, the spot I lost to the Viper has been regained and I now have my sights set on the Mustang. I make an attempt down the inside of the Mustang on the corner before the chicane leading onto the front straight. This is really not an attempt to pass him, but really just letting him know I am there and gunning for his spot on the track. And wouldnt you know it, I take the spot from him coming out of the chicane faster. Another personal fast lap is set with a 143.772.
Much like I did on the Mustang on the previous lap with the corner before the chicane, I make a run down the inside. Though this time I am close enough to the car in front of me to actually make the pass and I do so. I have taken P1 from the Corvette and I hope to be able to hold this position. But before the Corvette can give up its spot so easily, the driver has to rear end me as he is coming into the corner I just passed him in. Hopefully his shenanigans have not damaged my car too much. Yet another fast lap with a 143.333.
Now that the rear tyres are up to temperature, the Hachi Roku handles much, much better and the throttle oversteer at exit is not as near as much present.
The Corvette, Mustang, and Viper all pit in at the end of Lap 6. I now know I need to do my best to be like Michael Schumacher and create a good amount of space between myself and the three cars behind me. Hopefully my best Schumi impression can put enough time between me and my competitors so that I am still in the lead after having to make a pit stop for tyres and petrol.
Lap 9 and another fast lap, this being a 143.046.
Lap 14 and another fast lap being a 142.222.
End of Lap 16 and the tyres have had it, so I pit in for the mechanics to put on a fresh set of tyres and give me enough fuel for the next scheduled pit stop at around Lap 32. Having the rest of the field, that I was following before my Schumi act, pitted twice already, my lead is safe and means that barring any huge failure, I should be able to cruise to the victory.
New fastest personal lap with a 141.915 on Lap 19.
Another personal fast lap on Lap 20 with a 141.424.
On Lap 21, the Shelby Cobra goes down a lap with myself almost setting another personal fast lap.
Lap 22 and yet another personal fast lap with a 141.249.
Lap 23 and still another fast lap with a 141.099, along with putting the Camaro SS a lap down and him costing me precious tenths, hundredths, and thousandths of a second by me having to let for a very brief moment in the final chicane as to avoid destroying his rear end.
Lap 24 and I break into the 140s with a 140.841 and set yet another fast lap.
Lap 26 and, go figure, another fast lap with a 140.457.
On Lap 30, the Mustang and Viper both go a lap down. Now, the only other car on the lead lap is the Corvette and I am very close to being right on his tail, thus almost putting him a lap down too. Though all three of these cars should get their lap back when I have to come in for my second and final pit stop. The Corvette ends up going a lap down towards the very end of Lap 30.
Well instead of pitting on Lap 32 as scheduled, I pit in on Lap 31. The earlier lap than schedule is down to me running fast lap after fast lap, as this caused the front left tyre to wear a little faster than on the first stint. Like I said before, the Viper, Mustang, and Corvette all get their laps back because of my pit stop.
At the start of Lap 35, the Cobra is in the pits and goes down yet another lap . . . poor Cobra!
On Lap 36, the Viper, Mustang, and Corvette all go back down a lap; also, I am now hot on the tail of the Camaro SS, which would mean he would also go two laps down like the Cobra.
And I have now won!
Results of Seattle Endurance:
1. Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex S.S. 1:0925.802
2. Chevrolet Corvette Z06 +1lap
3. Dodge Viper GTS +1lap
4. Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R +1lap
5. Chevrolet Camaro SS +2laps
6. Shelby Cobra +2laps
Well there you have the Seattle Endurance was won by me in the Hachi Roku. Team Hachi Roku did an absolutely wonderful job of preparing the car for this race and I would like to thank them for giving me this opportunity to show my skills as a driver.
Overall, I would have to say that this race was a lock from the beginning. The car was just so well prepared and just had too much modification for the other cars to keep up, even with only the Hachi Roku around 250 horsepower. But I will say I actually was not bored with the race at all. It was a blast to put in fast lap after fast lap and from doing that I now kindaok I know this is a stretch, but come on at least give me a little creditknow what Michael Schumacher feels like when he puts in fast lap after fast lap after fast lap. It was also fun to run this race because I did not have to fight the car at all. There was never any understeer present and once I figured how much throttle I could use, the throttle oversteer was not a problem again. The only disappointment I have with this race is that I could not run a completely perfect lap; I swear there is at least a whole second left in the Hachi Roku, if not more. But this little disappointment is the only niggle I have with this race and was otherwise really actually very fun though the other cars were never really competing with me.
Oh and not only did I have fun with this race, I also picked up a cool 150,000 credits, along with winning a Tommy kaira ZZII in yellow. I got the car I wanted to win, though I would rather have had it in blue or black, or even red for that matter; but I am not going to complain about it too much.
.
The Eight-Six definitely had too many modifications for the race and I definitely think it could do this race with just the power upgrades to give it 250 horses, though I do not know how well the car would handle then. But the one thing that made me pretty quick is how easy it was to be consistent with the car. Once I found out about the throttle oversteer, it made for easy adjustment and very easy for me to repeat fast lap after fast lap. Not once did I ever have a problem with understeer--unless it was just right before a pit stop and the tyres being too worn--and the time I would have a problem is if I tried to put down too much throttle; otherwise, the Eight-Six would stay extremely balanced and of a neutral way of handling. And even if I gave the car too much throttle, the oversteer was extremely easy to catch and control.
