9 Hours of Tsukuba - Saturday June 16th 2012
The Drivers
Our normal 2 man crew (Brian - Platinum , Pete - Gold) is again joined by our normal 3rd driver Pops - Bronze who now has 2 full enduros under his belt. With the extended length of the event (and the fact he'll be over for the Le Mans party) we also have a 4th driver on the team, GT5 Rookie, Josiah. This will be the first enduro for Josiah.
The Car - RKM KIA Impreza Touring Car
Audi TTS Coupe '09 After testing multiple cars and before we even found out exactly how fast we needed to go we kinda fell in love with
this car the Audi TTS Coupe. Come to find out even though she handles like a dream on sports tires and has plenty of power, slap on some slicks and she makes a sharp right hand turn when your braking.
Mine's Lancer Evo '00 This was our next choice as we saw the awesome tire wear we got from the AI during the testing for this event. Car handles like a dream and unlike the Audi it does so across all the different tire grades. Unfortunately even though it has more hp than the Audi it doesn't have the same top end and even on the race softs it just wasn't going to be fast enough to keep all of us competitive enough.
Ahh the KIA Impreza. RKM did such an amazing job with this car. It grips for days, and I mean days, and has as much power as you could ask for. The perfect combination of the two cars above all in a pretty white package. The car gave our drivers so much confidence, and they don't know this yet, but we're going to be putting it up against not just the mid level cars but two of the three rabbit S2000's.
Lineup and Targets
Using the data I collected which is now stored at the
9 Hours of Tsukuba Compaion we were able to determine which lineups were the closest and what the target times we need to achieve to compete.
The 2nd lineup seems to be the most compelling going against the RE Amemiya and Mine's Skyline who should both finish with 520 laps under their belts. Knowing this we determined our race average would need to be around 1:02.1. After some testing my average lap time was 1.6 seconds slower than my fastest lap through 4 runs.
The 21st lineup is the one I'm after now that we have this beautiful beast in our corner. The S2000 GT1 starts 7 places ahead of the quicker AEM S2000 and both cars have been found to do 527-528 laps. Also in the event and quite capable of reaching 520+ laps are the RE Amemiya FD3S RX-7, Mine’s BNR34 Skyline GT-R V.spec N1 base ‘00 and Lexus IS F Racing Concept ‘08 making this probably the fastest lineup without the S2000 GT1 Turbo.
The lead pace for the race should be somewhere between 61.3 and 61.8 with pit stops included, 60 dead - 60.1 race pace. With the RKM KIA Impreza in race spec (settings posted later) I was able to rip off an average of 61 dead with sports hard tires, 59.8 race pace, while our rookie driver was able to do a 61.6 average with racing soft, 59.6 race pace. It's going to be close.
Tire Testing
Wow. I thought the tire test for the Audi went well. Remember I said this KIA gripped for days? 40 laps all within a second of each other on sports hards, my first time in the race spec car! Color me impressed. Our Rookie driver should be in the 16-20 range on racing soft, our bronze driver 20-24 on race medium and our gold driver 35 on sports medium.
Morning Practice
Morning practice was scrubbed due to the fact that someone had the brilliant idea to rebuild the chassis!
So we took it all apart.
And made it wider while also raising the seat and the wheel.
We also left the ****er box un attached so we could move the rig a bit easier.
And trimmed the side panel and it's now much nicer to get in and out of.
Qualifying
Qualifying was exciting as we each did an out lap, 8 flying laps and an in lap with other cars on the track. Josiah impressed big time with his improved consistency citing the extra room in the cockpit as the reason. We ended up putting him on the Racing Hards and he was still the quickest driver of the session. Pops was out getting beer and liquor so no time was set :-p
Pete - 58.5 - Sports Medium
Brian - 59.0 - Sports Hard
Josiah - 58.4 - Racing Hard
Pops- No Time Set - Racing Medium
Race
Start Time - 3:35 PM EST
Starting Lineup
A. Loiseau Nissan Gran Turismo Skyline GT-R ‘01
S. Boni Amuse S2000 GT1 ‘04
P. Nagel Amuse Nismo 380RS Super Leggera
H. Herzog Mine’s BNR34 Skyline GT-R V.spec N1 base ‘00
T. Alexander Nismo Skyline GT-R R-tune (R34) ‘99
O. Winkler Nissan Option Stream Z ‘04
B/P/J/P RKM KIA Impreza TC
F. Huber RE Amemiya FD3S RX-7
N. Turunen AEM S2000
C. Barroso Mine’s Lancer Evolution VI ‘00
K. Schulthe Nismo Skyline GT-R S-tune (R32) ‘00
T. Messina Lexus IS F Racing Concept ‘08
First Stint - Josiah - Racing Hards - 27 Laps - 27:05.118 Total - 60.190 AVG
Josiah qualified fastest and gets to start in the car and what a start he is off to. 3 Laps under our belt and he's in front of the pack as S. Boni and his GT1 got stuck behind the Skyline of A. Loiseau. After 10 laps the S2000 has gone through to 2nd and is just 1.3 seconds behind us. Josiah was able to stay just in front of the S2000 GT1 by about 2.3 seconds until we pitted on lap 27. We took tires only and got Pete into the car.
Second Stint - Pete - Sport Medium - 37 Laps - 37:14.438 Total - 60.388 AVG
With Pete in the car we came out second but the S2000 pitted on the follow lap. Since we took tires only we ended up with a 26 second lead on the S2000. Approaching the hour mark and we have added 5 seconds to our lead up to 31 seconds. From now on we'll have to take on fuel so our 1 advantage is now gone. Pete finished up on lap 64 and we had a solid lead.
Third Stint - Brian - Sport Hard - 41 Laps - 41:50.579 Total - 61.234 AVG
I jumped in the car on lap 65 and it was a pretty uneventful stint, went a little slower than I thought we might with the lower fuel, actually in 41 laps was a bit slower than my average in my test but we'll chalk it up to lap traffic. I came in at lap 105 with a 1 lap lead over the Amuse S2000 and 2 laps over the AEM S2000 who was right on my ass. We put 40 liters of fuel in the car, four fresh tires and Pops hopped in the drivers seat.
Fourth Stint - Pops - Racing Hard - 39 Laps - 39:29.796 Total - 60.762 AVG
Pops hopped in and started lap 106. During the first part of his stint he posted the fastest lap of our race 58.001. On lap 122 he posted a new best lap of 57.176. Looks like we might have to slow him down during his next stint. Lap 130 he made a sweet pass 3 wide through the giant tire, can't wait to get a snap shot of that one. He finished out an awesome stint after 39 and pitted in for tires, 50 liters of fuel and a driver change on lap 144.
Fifth Stint - Josiah - Racing Hard - 29 Laps - 30:10.664 Total - 62.437 AVG
Early on Josiah was a little out of rhythm with a couple costly off's losing about 15 seconds on track. He settled down after the few offs and with the Amuse S2000 right on his tail he pitted in after 29 laps at the end of lap 173. We pit for fuel tires and a driver change.
Sixth Stint - Pete - Sport Medium - 36 Laps - 36:43.914 Total - 61.220 AVG
Pete looked motivated when he got in (perhaps the jack n coke kicked in!) ripped off 3 58.5xx laps in the first 10. During those hot laps he re lapped the Amuse S2000.
Sports Hards next time for sure. With everyone getting more comfortable with the car the lap times just keep dropping. The early quick laps seem to have worn out his tires a bit earlier than the last stint as the 1:01's have come in the first 30 laps. We pit for fuel and tires and driver chance after 36 laps on lap 208.
Seventh Stint - Brian - Sport Hard - 44 Laps - 45:18.745 Total - 61.790 AVG
Brian took over at lap 209 and after 15 re lapped the S2000 after a good 5 lap battle. It was other lap traffic slowing up the S2000 that allowed him to catch up. After that it was a long and pretty even stint ending with about 10 1:01.xxx's. I pitted for 4 fresh sports softs tires, 50 liters of fuel and Pops jumped into the car.
Eighth Stint - Pops - Sport Soft - 38 Laps - 39:33.460 Total - 62.459 AVG
After Pops' extremely sucessful first stint we decided to slow down his average lap time but putting him on the sports soft tires. It sure didn't slow down his fastest laps as his 2nd lap out was a 58.8xx and his 6th lap was a 57.9xx. In the first 15 laps we would see another 57, another 58, a ton of 59's and a 1:02 when he was going through traffic. The end of the stint though you could tell he was getting frustrated and it started to cause some offs in the final turn which turned laps that would have been 1:00 even into 1:01's and 1:02's. A snafu when we were trying to enter the pits kicked him back out onto the track so we had to complete 1 more lap than we wanted to. 4 tires, fuel and driver change.
Ninth Stint - Josiah - Racing Hard - 28 Laps - 28:48.128 Total - 61.719 AVG
Josiah took the wheel on lap 292 and the lead was somewhere around 35 seconds to the Amuse S2000. A few 57's and no mistakes later it was still dead even but the S2000 should be pitting in the next few laps. Somehow we missed when the S2000 pitted but the gap seemed to stay the same until the tires started to go away. After a few 1:02's we decide to pull it into the pits after a 28 lap stint. 4 tires, fuel, driver change.
Tenth Stint - Pete - Sports Medium - 39 Laps - 39:33.538 Total - 60.860 AVG
Pete jumps in the cockpit and we've got a 24 second lead on the S2000. Consistent 59's keeps the gap the same through the first 6 laps. 24 laps into the stint Pete has been perfect gap remains 24 seconds. The S2000 pits and when he does our gap was up to 30 seconds which after the stop puts him about 10 or so seconds behind us. He pulls up behind us as pete's tires start to wear and we head into the pits after a 39 lap stint.
Eleventh Stint - Brian - Sports Hard - 42 Laps - 42:57.733 Total - 61.375 AVG
I pulled out of the pits and the screen flashed that I was only 12 seconds ahead of the Amuse. The gap stayed steady while I was warming up my tires but I was able to pull it out to a 30 second lead as his tires wore and he ran in to traffic. He pitted on lap 378 and the rest of my stint was about being smooth. By the time my tires wore he was on my bumper and he got his lap back as I pulled into the pits on lap 400.
Twelfth Stint - Pops - Racing Hard - 46 Laps - 48:09.732 Total - 61.484 AVG
We option to put the option tire on Pop's run as the day is wearing on all of us. Consistent 59-1:00 lap times proved we made the right choice. The S2000 started 12 seconds back of us but pitted shortly after and showed up only about 5 seconds ahead of pops around lap 410. Pops re laps the Amuse and rides out consistently in the 59 and in the later laps 1:00. Annnnd Forty effing Six laps later while still running under 1:01 he pulls into the pits... That my friends is how you treat your tires well.
Thirteenth Stint - Josiah - Racing Hard - 30 Laps - 31:05.833 Total - 62.194 AVG
A very consistent first 20 laps led up to 3 offs on consecutive laps including a head on into the tire barrier, our only major incident of the day. In the midst of that happening Turunen passed Boni putting his AEM S2000 into second place and on lap 475 we have a 51 second lead on him with a pit stop coming up shortly. The now 3rd place S2000 passes us as we pull into the pits on lap 477 preparing for our last two stops. Pete hops in with 35 liters of fuel and fresh Sport Mediums.
Fourteenth Stint - Pete - Sports Medium - 25 Laps - 25:11.511 Total - 60.460 AVG
It's a mad dash to the finish and we decided to split up the last 50 minutes into 2 stops giving us our lowest fuel loads of the day on fresh tires. With the AEM S2000 and GT1 unlapping them selves we come out with an 18 second lead of the AEM. Pete quickly bumps that up to 24 seconds in his first 5 laps hitting a 57.9 easily his best lap of the race. He finished his stint strong and came in at lap 502.
Final Stint - Brian - Sports Hard - 25 Laps - 26:37.407 Total - 61.439 AVG
35 liters of fuel and fresh sports hard and I was out, attacking the track with a low fuel load. 59's and 3 58's, my first of the race. The lead was 19 seconds and I was able to re lap the Amuse S2000. 10 laps later I was still flying and the lead over the AEM S2000 was 29 seconds before he pitted. I took a nice leisurely final lap (1:07) and we cross the line after 9 Hours of racing having completed 528 laps and only using 14 pit stops.
*Due to the timed race glitch the AEM S2000 which was in front of me had taken the checkers first, under normal scoring he would have finished at 528 laps about 53 seconds behind me.
Race Results
Code:
RKM KIA Impreza Touring Car 528 0:57.576
AEM S2000 527 0:57.567
Amuse S2000 GT1 ‘04 527 0:58.031
Lexus IS F Racing Concept ‘08 522 0:58.439
RE Amemiya FD3S RX-7 521 0:58.666
Mine’s BNR34 Skyline GT-R V.spec N1 base ‘00 518 0:58.694
Amuse Nismo 380RS Super Leggera 514 0:59.638
Nismo Skyline GT-R R-tune (R34) ‘99 514 0:59.208
Nissan Gran Turismo Skyline GT-R ‘01 506 0:58.414
Nismo Skyline GT-R S-tune (R32) ‘00 503 1:00.409
Mine’s Lancer Evolution VI ‘00 492 1:02.454
Nissan Option Stream Z ‘04 490 1:01.575
Closing Thoughts
Everyone involved had an incredible time. I have to give major props to RKM's Roj as he took some time out to tweak the car for me to suit our unique needs for this event. If anyone hasn't done at least one of the endurance races like this I seriously suggest you do as it is a blast to go through the strategy and teamwork aspect like you would in a real endurance race.
I can't complain about the race itself. After 9 hours we were 53 seconds ahead of one of the 2 cars we expected up front. I wasn't even sure he would make it up there it wasn't until an hour and a half left did he finally get in range of the Amuse S2000. It looks like the stop we made without taking fuel was the biggest difference in the race so to anyone out there doing something similar I suggest slowly lowering the amount of fuel in your tank or only using it as a means of catching up. All in all everyone contributed, everyone ran fast laps, and everyone got to over take a ton of cars on the track.
Awesome.
We celebrated the rest of the night by having some drinks, playing some music and watching the remaining 9 hours of the Le Mans 24. 6 am the drinks were gone and the crew was crashed out! We all woke up for the final hour of Le Mans and parted ways until next time.
