Third Attempt
I have purchased a Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca, inserted a Stage 4 turbo upgrade, and a soft setup which I hope will be good enough to last the distance this time. I actually attempted the race with a Stage 3 NA upgrade the night before but I found I was losing too much time on the straights.
The Grid: 191 A-spec points (
)
Nissan R92CP Race Car 1001hp, 900kg
Mazda 787B Race Car 843hp, 830kg
Nissan R89C Race Car 968 hp, 900kg
Minolta Toyota 88C-V Race Car 965hp, 850kg
Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car 987bh, 893kg
Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca 913hp, 1150kg, Stage 4 turbo, no oil change (newly purchased)
Car Settings
Spring rates: 10.3/9.9
Ride Height: 80/80
Gear Ratio: 20
Dampers: 5,5/6,7
Camber: 2.0/1.0
Stablisers: 4/4
TCS: 7 (to help reduce tyre wear)
ASM: 0
LSD: 10/40/20
Downforce: 38/53
Tyre Rule
Each set of tyres (R1, R2, and R3) must be used for at least 100 laps, which is roughly 25% of the race distance.
Hour 1, Wednesday, January 25, 2012, 19 laps completed
I start with Super-hard tyres.
Out of Control!!! is how I would describe the first lap, which will go down in legend. It begins with everyone slipstreaming everyone else. I get up to 398 km/h as I dodge and weave my way past the entire field up the Mulsanne. I get a hit up the rear under braking for Mulsanne corner, which means that I miss the apex of the turn, allowing the R92 to get back past me. The Minolta and the Sauber also work their way past me down the long narrow run towards Indianapolis. The entire field is nose to tail as we fly down towards the Porsche Curves. I give the Sauber a hit in the side which sends him onto the grass but he makes it back on without loss of position, and in fact makes his way past the Minolta as we exit the Porsche Curves. I also try to find a way past the Minolta but he sends me onto the grass and I just about get back onto the track before we brake for the first of the Ford Chincanes. But I still get unsteady under braking, which sends the R89 off the track and thankfully back on again. I end the lap in 4th. Phew!
The next 3 laps are not as action-packed but it still involves the first five cars nose-to-tail and battling for position. Immense fun. We have left the 787B far behind but I am the first to blink when I run wide exiting the Porsche Curves on lap 4, which drops me some 6s behind the leading Minolta.
I spend the next two laps in the 3:15s, which is the same pace as the leaders. I catch up to the R89, who has dropped back from the leading pack. I stay behind him, not wanting to risk any spins or getting hit up the rear.
My fuel tank is showing empty as we go through the Porsche Curves for the 7th time, which indicates that the Viper is one thirsty beast. I arrive in the pits for the change to R2 tyres with 4 units of fuel remaining (with a fair bit of slipstreaming in that stint). Hmmm...
My outlap is ruined by a lose at the first of the Porsche Curves, which sends me to the end of the sandtrap where there is luckily a side road which I used to rejoin the track. This means that instead of stealing a march on the cars in front, I actually have to pass them all in order to take the lead.
I begin with passing the two Nissans on lap 9. By the end of the next lap, I am right on the leading pair and I pass the Minolta under the Dunlop Bridge. I sit in the slipsteam of the Sauber from the Mulsanne before taking the lead in the middle of the Porsche Curves.
The car is handling well and the tyres are hanging in there. I complete a 7 lap stint and pull into the pits 4s ahead of the Sauber, who is lapping in the 3:14s. The Minolta is a further 2.5s back from the Sauber, and matching him for lap times.
I pit for more R2s and this time I keep it smooth and tidy on my outlap and when the AIs in front of me pit on lap 16, I am able to sail by into a clear lead, which I extend to 19s over the Sauber by the end of the hour. Apart from the two mishaps in the Porsche Curves, I couldn't have asked for a better start to the race.
Hour 2, Friday, January 27, 2012 - 36 laps completed
Open up my lead to 23s before pitting for more R2s on lap 21. I resume in 3rd, about a couple of seconds behind the Minolta, who has dropped back to 9s behind the Sauber. After the Sauber and Minolta pit, I regain the lead, extending it to just under 40s before pitting for R1 tyres on lap 28. The Viper is very smooth to drive, and can do 3:13s comfortably.
I rejoin just in front of the Sauber, but I let him through and proceed to stay in his slipstream down the Mulsanne for three consecutive laps, hoping to save enough fuel to complete an 8-lap stint on my R1s. In the end, I couldn't save enough to do an extra lap, having used 4 less units of fuel than in previous stints, and I pitted on lap 35 for more R1s, this time resuming with a 9s cushion.
Hour 3, Friday, January 27, 2012 - 54 laps completed
The Sauber closes down the gap whilst I warm up my tyres, but I hold onto a 2-3s lead for a couple of laps before he finally gets into my slipstream down the Mulsanne on his in-lap. I let him go and retake the lead when he pits.
This pattern continues for the rest of the hour. I love this sort of racing, where the laptimes between me and the Sauber are very close, and yet neither of us are blinking. Meanwhile, if the Sauber does pass me, I stay behind him for the remainder of the stint in order to use less fuel. The hour ends with the Sauber leading me across the start-finish line to begin another lap.
Hour 4, Saturday, January 28, 2012 - 72 laps completed
Very good hour. Change to R2 tyres on lap 63 and proceed to pull out a 27s lead on the Sauber before pitting again for more R2s on lap 70. No incidents to speak of, apart from braking slightly too late at Mulsanne corner. Things going very well. The Sauber pits at the end of the hour to hand me back the lead. My fastest lap so far has been a 3:11.518. The 787B is now a lap down, with the R89 about to be lapped also.
Hour 5, Saturday, January 28, 2012 - 91 laps completed
Another good hour, apart from a lazy spin after Indianapolis and a quick detour through the sandtrap at the same corner. I change over to R3s on lap 77 and I manage to get 6 good laps out of them per stint. I do my fastest lap so far on lap 85 (3:09.556), and at the end of the hour, I am 1:23s ahead of the Sauber. The 787B, R89 and R92 are all a lap down now.
Hour 6, Saturday, January 28, 2012 - 109 laps completed
Apart from a spin at Indianapolis and at times some sloppy driving due to loss of concentration, it is another good hour. I extend my lead to 2:20s, despite making one more pitstop in the hour than the Sauber.
Standings after 6 hours
Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca (16 stops)
Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car +2:20s (13 stops)
Minolta Toyota 88C-V Race Car +1 lap (13 stops)
Nissan R92CP Race Car +1 lap (13 stops)
Nissan R89C Race Car +2 laps (13 stops)
Mazda 787B Race Car +2 laps (11 stops)
Hour 7, Sunday, January 29, 2012 - 127 laps completed
I continue to consolidate and build on my lead. I get the chance to put a lap on the Sauber on lap 122. After getting in his slipsteam on the Mulsanne and on the run down to Indianapolis, I push my way past him before we get to Arnage. He gets the lap back when I pit three laps later, but so far so good for Team Viper.
The R92 and the 787B are now 2 and 3 laps down respectively.
Hour 8, Sunday, January 29, 2012 - 145 laps completed
Another good hour. The Sauber goes a lap down and this time he stays behind me even after I make my pitstop. The R89 is also lapped for the third time. I am lapping in the 3:11s for the most part. My only blemish was hitting the wall in the Porsche Curves on lap 143.
Hour 9, Monday, January 30, 2012 - 163 laps completed
Another good hour, made somewhat exciting by battles with the R92 and the Minolta, which I eventually lapped. The R92 and I touched on the Mulsanne at over 300km/h and I almost spun, but luckily I kept it together. I am cruising around in the 3:11s and 3:12s on my R3s, which is still much too fast for the Sauber, who is now one-and-a-quarter laps behind me. The 787B was also lapped for the fourth time.
Hour 10, Monday, January 30, 2012 - 182 laps completed
Gun it for the last few obligatory laps on the R3 tyres and do some laps in the 3:09s, without improving on my best lap. I have a couple of offs during the hour. The car is getting slightly twitchy but nowhere near the horrible unstableness I have experienced here before at about the same stage of the race with the MR cars. The Viper is still very driveable and I change back to R2 tyres on lap 179. The R89 was lapped for the fourth time.
Hour 11, Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - 200 laps completed
The highlight of the hour was running side-by-side with the 787B down the Mulsanne and becoming slightly tangled with him at Mulsanne corner. I keep the car on the track, but later in the hour I run off the track and into the sandtrap at Indianapolis after the car got twitchy. However, the unstableness on the run down to Indianapolis is still a rare phenomenon and is dependent on how I position the car through the right-hand kinks. The 787B was lapped for the fifth time.
Hour 12, Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - 218 laps completed
Lapping in the 3:13s and 3:14s. Not a single AI car in sight during the hour. Have a couple of mishaps due to listening to podcasts and not really concentrating as hard as I was before. The car is getting a little unstable, but since I have a full lap and three-quarters lead over the Sauber, I am not too concerned. So, as the first month of 2012 draws to a close, I am halfway through this mother of a race!
Standings after 12 hours
Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca (33 stops)
Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car +1 lap (27 stops)
Minolta Toyota 88C-V Race Car +2 laps (26 stops)
Nissan R92CP Race Car +3 laps (26 stops)
Nissan R89C Race Car +4 laps (26 stops)
Mazda 787B Race Car +5 laps (23 stops)
Hour 13, Wednesday, February 1, 2012 - 235 laps completed
Once again, I don't see another car until the last lap of the hour before I dive back into the pits. The hour's driving was average. The car is now definitely unstable on the run down to Indianapolis, and even down the Mulsanne at times. In fact, I spin halfway down the Mulsanne on lap 228 and have another lose entering the Porsche Curves. This race is far from over.
Hour 14, Wednesday, February 1, 2012 - 253 laps completed
Another average hour, but I have adjusted my driving style to compensate for the unstableness in the Viper's chassis. I am now keeping the car in 5th gear on the run down to Indianapolis, which does help to keep it in a straight line! Nevertheless, I have one or two hairy moments, but the Sauber is a lap and 2 mintues behind me so it will take a lot of spins and excursions for him to catch me up over the remaining 10 hours of this race. The two Nissans and the 787B were lapped again.
Hour 15, Friday, February 3, 2012 - 271 laps completed
Quite a boring hour. Nothing much happening apart from a couple of hairy moments near Indianapolis and entering the Porsche Curves. Car definitely unstable now. If I wasn't in the lead, I probably would have thrown in the towel. So, I'm pleased with myself for putting on the R3 tyres early in the race to get a good lead.
Hour 16, Friday, February 3, 2012 - 289 laps completed
Start the hour off by having a couple of spins, including one entering the Porsche Curves where I end up against the wall and spend a good 10 seconds trying to turn myself around. But I pull it back over the next 45 minutes of so. The Sauber has gained about a minute over me in the past four hours, but he is still a full lap and a minute behind me. At the rate he is gaining on me, it will take him another 16 hours to be on my tail. Thankfully, there is only one third of the race left.
Hour 17, Saturday, February 4, 2012 - 307 laps completed
A huge 720 degree spin on the Mulsanne is the "highlight" of this hour. When I get things right, I can lap in the 3:13s. But those lap times are becoming few and far between. The Sauber must have also slowed down, because he only gained 10s on me during the hour.
Hour 18, Saturday, February 4, 2012 - 325 laps completed
As a sample of my pace at this stage of the race, I am recording the laptimes for this hour:
Lap 308: 3:15.279
Lap 309: 3:16.188
Lap 310: 3:15.447
Lap 311: 3:17.372 (car got unstable on the run down to Indianapolis and I took to the grass)
Lap 312: 3:18.665*
Lap 313: 3:52.173* (went into the sandtrap at Indianapolis)
Lap 314: 3:14.172
Lap 315: 3:15.185
Lap 316: 3:15.115
Lap 317: 3:15.744
Lap 318: 3:14.726
Lap 319: 3:14.683*
Lap 320: 3:49.172*
Lap 321: 3:13.622
Lap 322: 3:14.271
Lap 323: 3:16.369 (got a bit taily at Indianapolis)
Lap 324: 3:13.125
Lap 325: 3:13.391
As you can see, a fairly consistent hour of driving. The gap to the Sauber remains a lap and approx. one minute. I lapped the Minolta and the 787B again this hour.
Standings after 18 hours
Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca (48 stops)
Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car +1 lap (40 stops)
Minolta Toyota 88C-V Race Car +3 laps (40 stops)
Nissan R92CP Race Car +4 laps (40 stops)
Nissan R89C Race Car +5 laps (40 stops)
Mazda 787B Race Car +7 laps (35 stops)
Hour 19, Saturday, February 4, 2012 - 342 laps completed
I change over to R1 tyres on lap 326. My laptimes drop to 3:16s-3:18s and I have a couple of spins as well. The Minolta also gets one of his laps back, so all-in-all, it's a very average hour.
Hour 20, Saturday, February 4, 2012 - 360 laps completed
Another hour of hard slog on the R1 tyres. The Sauber keeps closing in and halfway through the hour he is only 10s behind me on the road. Then, on lap 360, 19 hours and 59 minutes into the race, the Sauber unlaps itself just before Mulsanne corner. He has four hours (or approx. 72 laps) to make up about 195 seconds on me (which works out at about 2.7s a lap). It can't be done, surely?
Thankfully, I only have 23 laps left to do on the R1s.
Hour 21, Saturday, February 4, 2012 - 378 laps completed
I follow the Sauber under the Dunlop bridge and then onto the Mulsanne. I get into his slipstream and pull out to pass him in the narrow gap between him and the wall. But the car of course gets unsteady and I hit the wall before spinning across the track and ending up resting against the inside wall.
Thus, I lost the chance to relap the Sauber and, another spin later in the hour, my lead has been reduced to 2:48s.
Hour 22, Sunday, February 5, 2012 - 396 laps completed
The Sauber must have had a spin in the first lap of the hour, as my lead suddenly increased to 3 minutes. However, I am really struggling for grip on the R1s and the gap is soon under 3 minutes and even under 2 minutes at one stage when I made a pitstop. Thankfully, I could change back to R2 tyres on lap 389 and I immediately get my head back down and lap in the 3:13s and 3:14s. The gap increases to 2 minutes and 52 seconds by the end of the hour.
Hour 23, Sunday, February 5, 2012 - 413 laps completed
Not a very good hour of driving. A couple of spins lose me some time and, having made one more stop than the Sauber during the hour, my lead has been cut to 2:20s. The 787B is lapped for the 8th time. I am just winding down the clock now. 60 minutes to go!
Hour 24, Sunday, February 5, 2012 - 431 laps completed
LET'S FINISH THIS!!!
Winding down the minutes, the gap to the Sauber stays constant at about 2 minutes and 20 seconds. After a spin in the Porsche Curves, I come in for my final pitstop on lap 424 with 22 minutes and 30 seconds to go. Perfect for a 7 lap stint. The final laps go by without incident and I slow down to negotiate the Ford chicanes for the 431st and final time and cruise across the final line to the roar of the crowd. It is complete!

Final Race Results
Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca 431 laps 24h00m21.945s (63 stops)
Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car +2m40s (53 stops)
Minolta Toyota 88C-V Race Car +2 laps (53 stops)
Nissan R92CP Race Car +4 laps (53 stops)
Nissan R89C Race Car +6 laps (53 stops)
Mazda 787B Race Car +8 laps (46 stops)
Race Fastest Laps
Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca 3:09.556
Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car 3:13.828
Minolta Toyota 88C-V Race Car 3:14.181
Nissan R92CP Race Car 3:15.156
Nissan R89C Race Car 3:16.631
Mazda 787B Race Car 3:18.182
Last edited: Feb 12, 2012