Badger's GT5 endurance races

[b_adger]

24 Heures du Mans: Race report.

It's the big day, and I mean a full day, 24 hours of racing at the Circuit de la Sarthe. I'm in France, but I'll be driving a British machine, the Bentley Speed 8.

Drivers no longer run across the track to get in their cars, start the engine and drive off, it's a rolling start these days, safer but not as cool. At the start I have the following opponents:

D. Fried: Audi R8 '01
E. Benton: Courage - Judd GV5 '04
P. Dupont: CLK-LM Race car '98
D. Abe: Bentley Speed 8 '03 (team mate)
C. O'Ryan: Viper GTS_R Team Oreca #51
M. Monti: BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99
Badger: Bentley Speed 8 '03
N. Bass: Audi R10 TDI '06
G. de Wit: C60 Hybride -Judd '05
R. Ferrand: Viper GTS-R Team Oreca #91
D. Banks: GT-ONE race car '99
I. Muller: Courage C60 - Peugeot '03

The race starts a bit later this year, at 18:00 due to some football game or something. We roll through the Ford Chicanes, the flag drops and we are away:

• 1: 3'39.116 | Not a bad start, passed Monti and O'Ryan into turn 1, O'Ryan hit me from behind into turn 2. Passed Dupont on the first part of the straight and into 4th behind Fried, Benton and Abe.
• 2: 3'35.621 | Small oversteer in Tetre Rouge Ess, recovered, but Monti and de Wit are now right behind me. Monti uses me as brakes in Mulsanne corner and pushes me into the gravel, but I pass him and de Wit into Indy. Much faster in Porsche and especially Karting than my opponents. Benton has passed Fried, and gap is about 6s
• 3: 3'34.813 | Abe is just ahead though Dunlop, but again I overcook it in Chapelle, need to calm down. I'm now 8s behind the leaders, but at least Monti is behind de Wit who is too far behind to pass, but he's got heaps of power.
• 4: 3'31.594 | Catch Abe on the first part of the straight, huge advantage to be able to sit in the draft and pass easily with much greater speed. Abe catches me under brakes, is he on medium tyres with more grip? But I get the power down out of the corners better and soon leave him behind, but there is a gap up to Fried who is ahead of Benton again. Fastest lap so far due to draft and I can see Benton and Fried ahead as I cross the S/F line
• 5: 3'32.684 | Not as tidy and no draft, but I'm catching Fried, now just 5s
• 6: 3'30.594 | I'm clearly getting a draft from the two up front even at 3 or 4s behind, and at the end of the lap it is now just 2s
• 7: 3'33.173 | I'm right behind Benton through Chapelle and the Ess, expecting to draft him on the straight, but he's much slower through Tetre Rouge and I pass him onto the straight. I'm not far behind Fried now and getting a good draft. I’m right behind into the first chicane, well over 385km/h on the first part (usual top speed is 372), then an easy draft pass before the 2nd chicane. Again I'm on the power earlier and now in the lead. He brakes late and hits me from behind at the Mulsanne corner and dives up the inside, but doesn't have the line to put the power down to get in front. Again I'm much faster at Porsche and Karting and soon I have over 2s lead, but soon I'll have to pit, as I've been working the tyres a lot.
• 8: 3'40.342 | The gap is out to 2.5s at the start of the straight, and I think he's too far behind now to catch me in the draft. Fried, Benton, de Wit then Abe and Monte. The tyres are just showing signs of being unhappy, so I decide to pit on lap 8, 65L used. PIT IN
• 9: 4'14.995 | I put 40L in and new RH tyres. I had 2s advantage when I pitted, this time will be a short fill, but let's see where the other's pit… The pit stop drops me back to 8th place, right behind Banks and Muller with a big gap to Monti in 5th. Weather is still dry, good to work out who's fast and who isn't. I'm soon up on Banks and Muller on the straight, and I'm 44s behind Fried.
• 10: 3'33.447 | As I cross the line I see de Wit in the pits after doing 9 laps, but the others are still ahead somewhere. As I enter the straight the gap has dropped to 40s, so I've gained 4s with the overlap, looking good. I'm trying to be easy on the tyres out of the corners to preserve them to do 9 laps - let's see. I'm still catching Fried, down to 36s at the line, but it's been 11 laps and he's yet to pit
• 11: 3'30.594 | I can see Monti up ahead, but not close enough to draft yet, but suddenly as I exit Tetre Rouge I see he is close and now I am getting some benefit. I catch him all the way down the straight, am right behind at the Mulsanne corner and take 4th under power out of the corner. I see another car up ahead - surely I can't have also caught Abe? No, this car is red, and it turns out to be the dodge viper twins, O'Ryan and Ferand, already being lapped. They are easily dispatched at Boisson and Karting, and as I cross the line I see Fried, Benton and Abe are in the pits, and Monti dives in as well.
• 12: 3'33.106 | De Wit has taken 2nd place while the others pitted, the gap back to him is now 40s, nobody to draft and looking after the tyres I'm still in the 3'33s. With my opponents on different strategies to me and each other, it will take a while to work out who's going to be fastest...
• 13: 3'30.067 | The gap back to De Wit is staying about 39-41s, which looks good for the rest of the race, but I don't know how close Fried is behind him. FASTEST LAP
• 14: 3'33.537 |
• 15: 3'39.074 | After an uneventful almost 2 laps, I push a bit hard out of Karting and lose the rear end, a bit a of a spin loses me 4 or 5 seconds. I'm trying to get 2 more laps out of these tyres, need to take it easy, It was still 41s back to de Wit, but now it's 36.
• 16: 3'38.06 | Tyres are going off, spinning the rears a bit out of the 1st chicane, but I didn't lose it. I should probably have pitted, but I've carried on to see how the 9th lap in the stint goes.
• 17: 3'44.544 | I haven't seen another car since lap 11, and now, just as I'm about to pit I see someone up ahead on the straight. Coming up to Musanne corner I see the car is red, and I'm lapping the Vipers again. No real problems with this lap, although it maybe wasn't so fast? I think about carrying on, but look at the fuel gauge - I don't have enough fuel for another lap, so I duck in to the pits. 2L left in the tank. The gap back to de Wit was about 31s last marker, so he'll pass me while I'm in the pits for sure. PIT IN
• 18: 4'44.861 | I put 85L in to make sure I can do 10 laps if needed, and a fresh set of RH tyres, but it doesn't seem worth trying to do 9 lap stints. The reduction in time in the pits for 9 laps vs 8 saves me about 0.3s per lap, but that's just 3s per stint and I surely lost more than that just in that last in lap. De Wit and Fried go past while I'm in t he pit, then Benton and Abe. I'm 44s behind after the pit stop.
• 19: 3'34.049 | At the start of the lap the gap is down to 38s, but De Wit is in the pit and I can see Abe and Benton up ahead. Fried can't have been far behind de Wit, as the gap only drops to 34s. I'm just getting a small benefit behind Abe on the straight, and at the line I'm right behind him.
• 20: 3'32.217 | I pass Abe in the Dunlop curve, and catch Benton on the straight, passing him in the 2nd chicane. I catch the other Viper coming up to Mulsanne, he moves out of the way and at the end of the lap Fried is just 28s up ahead…
• 21: 3'40.1 | Fried must be struggling on worn tyres, the gap has dropped down to 26s on the straight as I pass another Viper. I'm still gaining and thinking about how awesome I am and just put a wheel in the grass in the Porsche curves, spinning and losing about 6 or7 seconds... Behind me Benton pits early.
• 22: 3'32.413 | Fried is still slow and I quickly come back from a 30s deficit to 28s, but I need to stay focused and not push too hard. Still more than 22 hours to go. Abe and Fried pit, leaving de Wit with 2nd place and me back in the lead about 27s ahead of de Wit.
• 23: 3'36.608 | A tidy lap until the Ford chicane where I get a bit excited and spin the rears running from one chicane to the next. Loses me a second or two. I really need to be gaining time on de Wit, not losing it.
• 24: 3'36.125 | Lap is ok, but not fast, one more until I pit. Gap back to de Wit is now down to 21s.
• 25: 3'37.189 | Good in lap, pit in 22L left in the tank. I decide to add 55L just in case I forget to pit and do 9 laps, but this is still a shorter fill which might help me stay ahead of Fried or be right behind them get some drafting… PIT IN
• 26: 4'26.766 | De Wit passes me while I'm stopped in the pits, Fried goes past as the lollypop man releases me and I get out ahead of Benton. At the straight I'm 33s behind de Wit and I can see Fried just ahead. Both Fried and de Wit are faster on the straight so no draft until I can get close enough, I'm catching up in the last part of the track which is more technical.
• 27: 3'30.949 | I catch a backmarker who had helpfully held up Fried, but pass him at Tetre Rouge, so no drafting advantage to help catch up. The gap to de Wit is now down to 28s, then he pits.
• 28: 3'30.662 | Fried has caught up with a viper, I dispatch the viper in the Ess, and draft Fried down the straight. I sit behind him saving fuel and tyres until Mulsanne, then fly past before Indy and at the end of the lap I'm 1s ahead.
• 29: 3'34.172 | By Tetre Rouge I'm 2s ahead, and the grey skies have opened, it's started raining. I'm due to pit in 5 laps, but it's not really wet yet, let's see what happens… The lap is a bit slower as I'm being cautious, but still 2s ahead.
• 30: 3'33.651 | The rain is still lightly falling, maybe slightly less grip, or maybe just the tyres? My team tell me the track is still "dry". I'm now 5s ahead of Fried thanks to some help from a viper.
• 31: 3'32.106 | Still lapping well and the tyres seem to be holding up. Not sure if the rain helps to keep the temperatures down?
• 32: 3'39.199 | Not sure what happened to Fried, but the gap suddenly jumps from 8s to 11.5s. This distracts me enough to spin the rears in Chapelle and I promptly lose time to bring the gap back to 7s… I'm pitting in next lap, it's still not wet but still raining, what should I do? I think about medium tyres to be safe... This lap quite a bit slower, but the car is still behaving on RH, and the track isn't getting wetter, so I'll try RH again.
• 33: 3'38.587 | In lap is good, I'm back up to 12s ahead of Fried, it's only raining on part of the track, pit in and 14L left in the tank. The fuel economy is better, 2L of fuel saved by drafting Fried for 2/3 of the straight! 2 Hour mark has passed on lap 33 and I'm in the lead, but only until I pit... PIT IN
• 34: 4'33.646 | I add 63L, again letting me do 9 laps if needed, fresh RH tyres and away. Fried pits behind me, and de Wit flies past just as I'm released. PIT I start off gingerly on cold tyres and de Wit is 12s ahead and on worn tyres. The gap increases to 13s on the out lap, but the rain seems to be reducing a bit too.
• 35: 3'33.401 | A good lap and the gap is down to under 10s. De Wit is due to pit next lap, so it's unlikely I can catch him and get a draft - curses…
• 36: 3'30.126 | As I turn onto the straight I can see a car up ahead, De Wit is now just 7s ahead. I chase and chase and put in a great lap, just in time to see him pit in from about 4s ahead.
• 37: 3'33.866 | De Wit pitting leaves me in the lead with Fried in second place, and he's 32s behind me, but this drops to about 30.5 s during the lap as I'm taking it easy on the tyres.
• 38: 3'34.836 | I'm getting away from Fried slightly, the gap is up to 32s again, but I catch one of the vipers in the Porsche curves and lose a second or two
• 39: 3'33.9 | I think I can see the red of the second viper up ahead, but it seems he's just as fast as me on the straights, I catch up a bit at the back of the circuit and hopefully I'll be right behind him on the straight this time.
• 40: 3'39.536 | I catch the red car at Tetre Rouge and it turns out to be Bass in the R10. I sit behind him a bit on the straight to save fuel, but he's so slow out of the corners that in staying behind I've lost serious time to Fried - just 25s ahead now.
• 41: 3'31.92 | A better lap, the tyres are holding up so I decide to push for an extra lap before pitting. The gap to Fried has pushed out to 31s now.
• 42: 3'38.431 | This lap I catch Muller on the straight, and go past him on the way out of Mulsanne corner to take a lap. The tyres aren't their best and I'm wide and slow into the Porsche curve and he sails past again, but at Karting I pull ahead, and straight into the pits. 6L of fuel left. The track is now up to 1% wet, but I'll stick with RH. The 2L of fuel I saved while losing 3-4s behind Bass will save me about 1.2s of fuelling time in the pits - certainly not worth it! PIT IN
• 43: 4'37.31 | I put in 69L of fuel and the fresh RH tyres and head out. Fried passes me while I'm stationary, but no sign of de Wit as I am released, but he goes past while I'm in the exit and I come out a few seconds behind him. Gap to Fried is 33s as I tiptoe on cold tyres and 2% wet, but I press on and by the end of the lap it is down to 31s and I can see de Wit and Dupont just ahead - should get a nice draft on the straight.
• 44: 3'33.811 | De Wit pushes Dupont off the track at the Ess, I follow up the inside of Tetre Rouge and soon I'm drafting de Wit up the straight. He has much more power than I do, so I should gain time behind him. I follow him all the way to Mulsanne corner, then a better exit and drafting means I pass him well before Indy and he's soon 3 seconds behind me. Fried pits at the end of the lap so I'm back in the lead. It's hard to tell who's actually leading given the pit stops are so out of sync.
• 45: 3'35.976 | The track is now up to 7% wet, but it's not raining at all from Mulsanne corner to Buisson. This lap wasn't the fastest, but I'm looking after the tyres and pressing on. De Wit pits from a 3s deficit and gives Fried back second place, and my lead is now about 52s
• 46: 3'36.941 | A bit slower lap, track is now 11% wet, but I only lost 1s to Fried behind me, so it's probably the wet track rather than me. If it keeps raining then I might switch to medium tyres next stop
• 47: 3'35.239 | 15% now, still dry at the north of the track, the gap is still sitting at 50s
• 48: 3'39.079 | A bit slower now, gap is creeping down to 48-49s, 19% wet. Much wetter at Mulsanne corner, I'm having trouble slowing down enough to hit the apex.
• 49: 3'36.111 | A better lap, braked earlier at Mulsanne corner, cleaner through Porsche The 3 hour mark comes and goes.
• 50: 3'38.19 | Something's happened to Fried, the gap that was hovering around 48s is suddenly 55s at the start of the lap has he spun at Porsche or Karting? The track now up to 25% wet. At the next marker the gap is 1'45, so clearly Fried has pitted - for different tyres? I'm still doing fine on the RH, a bit slower but no obvious signs of wear, so one more lap and I'll come in.
• 51: 3'45.335 | I'm gaining on Fried a little, and then miss my braking marker for the 1st chicane, ending up in the gravel and it has to have cost me a few seconds. The tyres are behaving well though, and if I had the fuel I'd consider another lap, but I pit in as I have just 5L left. At 35% wet and climbing I'll switch to RM tyres and see how we do. PIT IN
• 52: 4'53.494 | I decide to fill up with 85L, as in the wet the tyres seem to be lasting longer before they go off. Not sure if the mediums will last 10 laps, but I'll have the fuel to try if it seems ok. After the long pit stop I'm still 39s ahead of Fried
• 53: 3'41.929 | I'm quite ginger at Dunlop and Chapelle where it is wettest, but it's working, the gap has increased to 44s by the start of the lap and 47 by Mulsanne. Nearly up to 47% wet though, so I'll see how it goes… Lap times are much slower but still acceptable
• 54: 3'44.232 | I see a car up ahead over the S/F line, it's hard to see with the spray out the back, and I realise it is Monti in the V12. With the draft up the straight I catch up and pass him between Mulsanne and Indy. Track at 55% now, lead up to 55s over Fried. De Wit is 2nd, then Abe, Benton, Monti, Muller and Banks. I need to build a lead because I'm expecting to be slower in the dark and it's getting dark early with the rain and black clouds...
• 55: 3'54.098 | It's still not obviously raining at the north end of the track, but there is spray coming off the road so it is getting wetter. I come up behind one of the Vipers at Golf, and just as I'm passing offline on the left he jinks left, causing a collision and an spin for me... I lose heaps of time, and resist the urge to return the favour as I pass him at Maison Blanche. The gap back to Fried was 65s, but drops to 58s
• 56: 3'47.287 | It's now raining over the whole track and up to 73%, but the medium tyres are still going well enough. If my lap times increase to above about 3'55 It will be time for inters as I know I can lap under 5'58 easily at 100% wet.
• 57: 3'56.544 | Right on cue, 3'56 with a little moment at Porsche spinning the rears up in 4th gear at 220km/h… I'll finish this lap and then pit in as the track is now 83% wet. I'll fill up with fuel as I expect the tyres may last the whole fuel load of 11 or maybe even 12 laps.
• 58: 4'0.62 | With the track now up to 89% wet, I'm now losing a bit of time to Fried, the gap is 1'17 down from 1'18. The tyres are struggling to find grip out of nearly every corner so I pit in for some inters. I still have 37L left in the tank, so brimming the tank will still be a fairly normal stoppage time. PIT IN
• 59: 5'5.189 | 63L and Inters put on and it seems like the inters have less grip than the Medium tyres did, a spin at Chapelle under power and squirmy under braking, but the track is now up to 98% wet so maybe it is just the water making it that slippery? Fried seems to have pitted too as the gap has increased to 1'30 instead of coming down.
• 60: 4'4.692 | I'm much slower than I was in practice in 100% wet conditions, I'm tiptoeing around at Dunlop/Chapelle and in the Porsche curves. I'm still making time, the gap to Fried is now up to 1'46
• 61: 4'0.706 | Going well, and tyres are staying cool - looks good for a long stint. Right at the S/F line I see I'm catching a few cars, the first is Dupont in the CLK. I’m now over 2m ahead of Fried.
• 62: 4'2.176 | I'm catching the next car on the straight, and can't see much ahead, I lift and brake early for the chicane when suddenly out of the spray Benton's GV5 appears going very slowly in the braking area! Has he locked up or had a spin? I can't avoid a glancing blow and he goes straight on into the gravel. The gap to Fried is out to 2'14, so he's over half a lap behind when I catch Abe at Ford to end the lap.
• 63: 4'7.188 | Suddenly there are heaps of cars around me! I pass Bass in the R10 at Tetre Rouge, and for the first time since lap 1 see Banks in the GT-ONE, catching him at Mulsanne corner. In the spray I lift off and brake early for Indy, but easily pass up the inside to be ahead for Arnage.
• 64: 4'3.723 | At the S/F I'm 2'25 ahead of Fried and right up on Muller in the c60. He's super slow out of the Dunlop chicane and I pass him through Chapelle. I catch the other Viper at Golf, and this time pass very cautiously with no incident. 2'32 ahead at the end of the lap.
• 65: 3'58.739 | A much faster lap, fuel is burning off but also it might be raining less, the sky is brighter. Out to 2'40 in front, but not long until it gets dark. I'm using less fuel too, after 7 laps the tank is just on half gone, I could do 13 laps at this rate...
• 66: 3'53.302 | Faster again, and the gap is blowing out, over 3'25 now, did Fried pit already?
• 67: 4'4.625 | The gap to Fried is increasing, over 3'30 now. It's getting difficult to see at Golf with the low sun in the mist rain and spray. The lap is going well when suddenly at Maison Blanche the rear steps out, and again on the front straight - have I cooked the tyres after just 9 laps? There is heaps of tread left, the wear markers show just 10% worn.
• 68: 4'7.162 | I cautiously pass a Viper at the first chicane, and catch de Wit again, hard to see in the spray and I eventually get past at Karting. It's now 3'52 back to Fried, and I fancy I can see him up ahead although he must be over 15s ahead.
• 69: 4'6.018 | It turns out to be Monti in the BMW up ahead, but during the lap my lead increases to over 4 minutes and now I can see Fried. I catch him in Porsche, but can't cleanly get past until leaving Ford where I get the power down much quicker and I'm soon a couple of seconds ahead. Tyres are still behaving and I have about 21 or 22 L of fuel left, maybe just enough for 3 laps, but two would be safer...
• 70: 4'23.51 | Seems like the tyres are going off? A spin out of the 1st chicane, not enough braking at Mulsanne corner - I probably have enough fuel for one more lap, but I pit in anyway to change the tyres. Next time I'll just do 11 laps. PIT IN
• 71: 5'10.517 | I add 82L to give me a buffer plus 11 laps. I go for Inters again - although full wets are suggested by the crew I think they would be slower. Might try them next stint. Fried also pits on this lap as does Monti who must be a lap down on Fried to be this close behind him on the lap.
• 72: 3'58.209 | It's still raining and still 100% wet, but I'm lapping under 4minutes again. The gap to Fried is out to 1 lap and 44s.
• 73: 3'59.265 | I pass Banks and one of the Vipers, at Tetre Rouge, both going very slowly, and catch Muller along the straight, easily going past under acceleration out of the Mulsanne corner. Another sub 4minute lap and I'm now 1lap and 1min ahead.
• 74: 4'1.234 |
• 75: 3'59.057 |
• 76: 3'54.954 | A fast lap, I pass a Viper at the 2nd chicane, and easily pass Benton under acceleration out of Mulsanne corner. My set up gives me heaps more rear grip than the others, or I'm braver in the wet...
• 77: 3'59.139 | It's getting darker now and still raining, I come up on a car but my lights in the spray make it nearly impossible to pass safely on the straight, I go past at the first chicane instead and see it is Abe in the sister car waving me through. No beautiful sunset today, and I'm now 1 lap and 2min ahead of Fried.
• 78: 3'53.108 | A lonely lap in the gloom, but quick. The lights are on everywhere now, the Ferris wheel looks great all lit up. FASTEST LAP (100% WET).
• 79: 4'7.709 | A slight spin out of the 1st chicane makes for a slow lap, but still going well, 1lap 2m44 ahead
• 80: 3'57.729 | Now a lap and 2'52 ahead, I'm gaining a lot of time on these tyres. I might switch to full wets next stop to try them out.
• 81: 3'59.549 | I catch Bass and Monti at Ford, and accelerate past them on the front straight like they are standing still. The gap back to Fried is now 1Lap 3m 13
• 82: 4'1.006 | Tyres feel good and plenty of fuel for another lap, I push on…
• 83: 4'10.223 | 5L left as I pit in, tyres were feeling a bit squirmy on that last lap, and a bit slow as I was delayed by catching a Viper at Porsche. Gap to Fried is 1 lap 3'30. PIT IN
• 84: 5'28.128 | I put in the full 95L to brim the tank and take the full wets. Let's see what they are like. In that last stint the fuel economy and lap times were much better than the previous - usually the two don't go together… My lead is 1lap 4:10 as I go over the line into the pits, but it will drop back to about 1lap 3m with my stop. First impressions of the wets is that they don't work as well under brakes, but seem controllable. I'll give them a few laps to get the feel and see how they go...
• 85: 4'15.478 | As I start lap 85, Fried comes out of the pits right next to me, he barges my out of the way at the Dunlop chicane, but I easily take him in the Ess and by the straight I'm long gone. I catch Bass in the R10 at Golf, but take it cautiously and go past out of Indy. I'm then blocked by Dupont through Porsche and Karting before he pits. Not a representative lap? Very slow though...
• 86: 4'5.046 | Start out 2lap and 8s ahead of Fried. Lap was ok and pretty clean, although braking still an issue, especially into Indy where I'm not washing off enough speed for the fast entry, and squirmy under power even in 4th gear… 4'05 isn't a bad lap, but the average for my previous stint on inters was 3'59.17. Wets clearly don't work as well. I'll do a couple more laps then pit in for inters again
• 87: 4'11.18 | At the start of the lap 2lap and 20s ahead of Fried. Wets still unhappy, braking much earlier and still not happy. Will pit in in a couple of laps to swap - if I'm losing 10s/lap it's not worth staying out.
• 88: 4'11.09 | Tried adjusting the brake bias for the front, and the ABS, maybe the fronts are locking up? Didn't seem to help, still terrible under brakes.
• 89: 4'14.333 | Pit in, add 32L and back onto inters. I come out right behind Fried who is now only 1 lap down, but I quickly catch him on the straight and pass under acceleration out of Mulsanne corner. It also seems like there is a bit less spray than before? Maybe the rain is easing off? I hope so. PIT IN
• 90: 4'43.338 |
• 91: 4'1.064 | Going well, much happier with tyres that work under brakes!
• 92: 4'4.355 | Not as fast as previous stints, am I tired, is the track colder now it's night?
• 93: 3'57.379 | Apparently not, I'm still sub 4 min even after 6 hours at the wheel.
• 94: 4'3.217 | What looked like a nice lap was slowed by catching Bass in the Porsche curves, had to wait until the Dunlop chicane to dispatch him. No fireworks tonight because of the rain? I'm up to 2 laps 1'11 ahead of Fried.
• 95: 4'0.388 | Not bad, caught Benton in Porsche curves and he slowed me in the last section.
• 96: 4'1.224 |
• 97: 3'58.039 | 2 laps plus 3'31 ahead of Fried, he must have pitted again.
• 98: 4'7.13 |
• 99: 4'1.103 |
• 100: 4'0.589 | Pit in next lap
• 101: 4'13.860| Spin at Tetre Rouge, got a wheel on the paint under power. Tyres a bit rough, time to pit. 4L left in the tank. PIT IN

(NOTES: This started as my trial race - planned to do 2-3 stints to check out the AI pace, but since I was competitive and fighting for the lead I decided to keep going. It started raining just before the 2 hour mark, and has been raining ever since, which kind of spoils things because I'm much faster in the wet. I started out keeping detailed notes, but it takes quite a lot of time - 10-30s per lap to write the notes, so I'm going to be a bit more terse from now on, just record the lap times and important things. 6.5 hours in and I'm going well - it's about 0030 now and it should start getting light about 0515, so about another 5 hours of driving in the dark. )