- 715
Amateur Deutsche Grand Touring Car
Earlier today in the thread Challenging Series? neon_duke threw out the challenge for running the Amateur Deutche Grand Touring Car challenge in a stock Clio racecar. I was intrigued by the thought so when I got home tonight I set aside some time to give it a go.
neon_duke had given me the clue that I might want to consider trying some softer tires for qualifying and then switch back to T-5 for the race. I did just that for about an hour of tweaking and twisting wrenches in the Trial Mountain pits. The best I seemed to be able to manage was a 129.xxx. After trying about 10 gazillion setup combinations I realized, that Stock Clio Racecars dont come with the fully customizable suspension that I had switched into my Clio ages ago.
Frustrated, I put in the semi-racing that came with the little runt originally, set everything else back to original and started over. My first pass around the circuit with the actual stock configuration netted me a 128.xxx. Go figure.
Drop the suspension just a little here, add a little downforce there, and tweak the tranny settings so my 6th gear ends up a 1.000 with the final at 4.60 and POOF, Im first place on the grid with a 125.112 with the stock T-5. Now mind you, the Astra is sitting there in second with only a +.004 but I figure I can whoop him. I have, by now, run enough qualifying laps while tuning that he has surely given me his best shot.
EDIT 1/26: (Just for the record) At this point I figured I had my setup right (finally) and so I saved the settings for when I could come back later and start fresh. Finished what I had to do elsewhere, came back, requalified and started the series on the pole.
Out of the chut when the bells toll and "POOF", Im back to third place with a CLK climbing up my backside. This Clio is a puss! Into the tunnel, the CLK gives me a nudge and Im on the outside looking up his backside now. Quick shift back into track position, slip under the CLK on the first sharp right out of the first tunnel and Im looking at stereo Astra butts.
One of the Astras (couldnt tell you which, they all look the same to me) "doinks" the rocks on the next corner and he is handily mine before the second tunnel. Maybe the Clio isnt such a puss after all, Im thinking as I shift back left and sweetly miss the exit of the second tunnel climbing up the back of the other Astra as we enter the third tunnel. Nope the Clio is a puss, I am told by the Asta AI as he dusts me down the backstretch.
Not to worry, the Clio, being the puss that it is, cant get up enough speed down the backstretch to even slide out to the embankment on the hairpin at the end of the straight. On the other hand it appears the Astra can get enough speed up to do that and I pass deftly to his left.
First place at this point, of course, lasted only about ½ way up the hill, but not to worry, Clio takes him to the inside at the next sharp right, holds first until the next straight. I catch and pass the Astra at the next tunnel, out-maneuver him through the sharp right, watch him hit the rocks in my rearview on the next right (just outside the second tunnel) and then ride a variable 1 to 3 second lead for the next couple of laps to the finish.
Best Lap- 125.425
Me- 424.451
Astra- +2.293
CLK- +3.122
Astra- +4.798
Calibra- +7.649
Calibra- +8.782
Midfield:
Here was a squeaker. I wasnt sure I would even be able to be in the running. Tweaked the final to 4.40, ran one qualifier, got 4th and accidentally hit go instead of settings. Im committed cause I didnt save after Trial Mountain.
Entering the first corner I am already in 6th place. Exiting the corner Im third. The Clio may be a puss but shes got claws baby!
Whoops! By the top of the hill, Im sixth again! Bump the brakes, hit the gas, enter the tunnel full tilt and dont get off the gas until never! I exit the sweeping corner after the tunnel in the lead. (A couple of them sitting in the sand because of it but, better them than me.)
Down the front straight, twin Astras literally push me all the way down the straight ahead of them. What BOZOS!!! Then, when I just tap the brakes, turn right and hammer the corner at the end of the straight, its like the AI forgot the corner was there. BAM!!! Twin bloody noses for the Astras and nobody to compete with for two more laps really that is unless you call +.772 competition to a blocker of my caliber. I like the straight away assist thing from the Astras.
I cant believe it!!! I win midfield in a French Milk Truck with a number on the side!!!
Best Lap- 115.269
Me- 353.550
Astra- +.772
Astra- +1.403
CLK- +1.760
Calibra- +2.393
Calibra- +3.126
Ownage of AI at Deep Forest: (Well ownage for a Clio pilot anyway)
Hit the gas and no brakes anywhere but for the first corner.
Qualified first (one try)- 116.608
Best Lap= 115.472
Me-353.477
CLK- +2.54
Astra- +2.936
Astra- +3.874
Calibra- +5.872
Calibra- +6.640
Laguna:
All I can say is watch out for the curb at the top of the hill before the corkscrew! (I might add to that I am currently considering revising my personal rule of running series races straight through without saving. I kinda think I could win this race.)
CLK- 420.345
Astra- +.507
Me- + 2.916
Astra- +5.062
Calibra- +5.527
Calibra- 6.618
Ownage of the User at Tokyo:
I qualified sixth somewhere a couple seconds south of Tokyo proper.
This was a dismal display of French lack of connection. I tried using the force. I tried therapy. I even tried driving the Clio.
Best lap- 141.658
CLK- 505.205
Astra- +.049
Astra- +.732
Me- +2.05
Calibra- +9.196
Calibra- +11.544
On lap two, I was brilliant! In fact I was so bright, my mama called me son. Now for those of you who are mathematicians here, you will realize that had I carried the lap of brilliance to fruition, I could have won this race by .2xx. Unfortunately instead, the equation worked out to a loss strictly because of lack of driver in the Clio.
The upside is, I still won the series by a whoping 4 points or some such number which netted me some extra cash plus one of the twins.
My after thoughts are that although this permanently spoils my 100% in this game save, I am saving this anyway because I had a blast with this series! Thank you Mr. Duke sir for pointing this one out! At least as much fun as I have ever had with this game! Plus, I have a huge respect for the Clio that I never had before.
Earlier today in the thread Challenging Series? neon_duke threw out the challenge for running the Amateur Deutche Grand Touring Car challenge in a stock Clio racecar. I was intrigued by the thought so when I got home tonight I set aside some time to give it a go.
neon_duke had given me the clue that I might want to consider trying some softer tires for qualifying and then switch back to T-5 for the race. I did just that for about an hour of tweaking and twisting wrenches in the Trial Mountain pits. The best I seemed to be able to manage was a 129.xxx. After trying about 10 gazillion setup combinations I realized, that Stock Clio Racecars dont come with the fully customizable suspension that I had switched into my Clio ages ago.
Frustrated, I put in the semi-racing that came with the little runt originally, set everything else back to original and started over. My first pass around the circuit with the actual stock configuration netted me a 128.xxx. Go figure.
Drop the suspension just a little here, add a little downforce there, and tweak the tranny settings so my 6th gear ends up a 1.000 with the final at 4.60 and POOF, Im first place on the grid with a 125.112 with the stock T-5. Now mind you, the Astra is sitting there in second with only a +.004 but I figure I can whoop him. I have, by now, run enough qualifying laps while tuning that he has surely given me his best shot.
EDIT 1/26: (Just for the record) At this point I figured I had my setup right (finally) and so I saved the settings for when I could come back later and start fresh. Finished what I had to do elsewhere, came back, requalified and started the series on the pole.
Out of the chut when the bells toll and "POOF", Im back to third place with a CLK climbing up my backside. This Clio is a puss! Into the tunnel, the CLK gives me a nudge and Im on the outside looking up his backside now. Quick shift back into track position, slip under the CLK on the first sharp right out of the first tunnel and Im looking at stereo Astra butts.
One of the Astras (couldnt tell you which, they all look the same to me) "doinks" the rocks on the next corner and he is handily mine before the second tunnel. Maybe the Clio isnt such a puss after all, Im thinking as I shift back left and sweetly miss the exit of the second tunnel climbing up the back of the other Astra as we enter the third tunnel. Nope the Clio is a puss, I am told by the Asta AI as he dusts me down the backstretch.
Not to worry, the Clio, being the puss that it is, cant get up enough speed down the backstretch to even slide out to the embankment on the hairpin at the end of the straight. On the other hand it appears the Astra can get enough speed up to do that and I pass deftly to his left.
First place at this point, of course, lasted only about ½ way up the hill, but not to worry, Clio takes him to the inside at the next sharp right, holds first until the next straight. I catch and pass the Astra at the next tunnel, out-maneuver him through the sharp right, watch him hit the rocks in my rearview on the next right (just outside the second tunnel) and then ride a variable 1 to 3 second lead for the next couple of laps to the finish.
Best Lap- 125.425
Me- 424.451
Astra- +2.293
CLK- +3.122
Astra- +4.798
Calibra- +7.649
Calibra- +8.782
Midfield:
Here was a squeaker. I wasnt sure I would even be able to be in the running. Tweaked the final to 4.40, ran one qualifier, got 4th and accidentally hit go instead of settings. Im committed cause I didnt save after Trial Mountain.
Entering the first corner I am already in 6th place. Exiting the corner Im third. The Clio may be a puss but shes got claws baby!
Whoops! By the top of the hill, Im sixth again! Bump the brakes, hit the gas, enter the tunnel full tilt and dont get off the gas until never! I exit the sweeping corner after the tunnel in the lead. (A couple of them sitting in the sand because of it but, better them than me.)
Down the front straight, twin Astras literally push me all the way down the straight ahead of them. What BOZOS!!! Then, when I just tap the brakes, turn right and hammer the corner at the end of the straight, its like the AI forgot the corner was there. BAM!!! Twin bloody noses for the Astras and nobody to compete with for two more laps really that is unless you call +.772 competition to a blocker of my caliber. I like the straight away assist thing from the Astras.
I cant believe it!!! I win midfield in a French Milk Truck with a number on the side!!!
Best Lap- 115.269
Me- 353.550
Astra- +.772
Astra- +1.403
CLK- +1.760
Calibra- +2.393
Calibra- +3.126
Ownage of AI at Deep Forest: (Well ownage for a Clio pilot anyway)
Hit the gas and no brakes anywhere but for the first corner.
Qualified first (one try)- 116.608
Best Lap= 115.472
Me-353.477
CLK- +2.54
Astra- +2.936
Astra- +3.874
Calibra- +5.872
Calibra- +6.640
Laguna:
All I can say is watch out for the curb at the top of the hill before the corkscrew! (I might add to that I am currently considering revising my personal rule of running series races straight through without saving. I kinda think I could win this race.)
CLK- 420.345
Astra- +.507
Me- + 2.916
Astra- +5.062
Calibra- +5.527
Calibra- 6.618
Ownage of the User at Tokyo:
I qualified sixth somewhere a couple seconds south of Tokyo proper.
This was a dismal display of French lack of connection. I tried using the force. I tried therapy. I even tried driving the Clio.
Best lap- 141.658
CLK- 505.205
Astra- +.049
Astra- +.732
Me- +2.05
Calibra- +9.196
Calibra- +11.544
On lap two, I was brilliant! In fact I was so bright, my mama called me son. Now for those of you who are mathematicians here, you will realize that had I carried the lap of brilliance to fruition, I could have won this race by .2xx. Unfortunately instead, the equation worked out to a loss strictly because of lack of driver in the Clio.
The upside is, I still won the series by a whoping 4 points or some such number which netted me some extra cash plus one of the twins.
My after thoughts are that although this permanently spoils my 100% in this game save, I am saving this anyway because I had a blast with this series! Thank you Mr. Duke sir for pointing this one out! At least as much fun as I have ever had with this game! Plus, I have a huge respect for the Clio that I never had before.
Somehow missed "Dukes" report, glad I found yours. Looks like a very interesting challenge. The Clios (either one) are favorites of mine to help introduce the game to new players after they've mastered the "Mini." Sweet handling & just enough HP, IMO...UB57 
I guess I should have asked.
I always seem to beat myself
