Finally Going to A-Spec Sarthe 1 - Updates Hourly.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hyst
  • 46 comments
  • 3,265 views
Hyst

Hyst

Messages
345
I'll keep this brief -

I'm using the 1998 AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR, with 0km on the odometer and entirely stock but with increased rigidity and all 5 types of race tires used.

The Grid.

1 - Pescarolo Sport C60 04'
2 - BMW V12 LMR 99'
3 - Nissan R390 GT1 98'
4 - Chevrolet Corvette C5R '00
5 - Bentley SPEED 8 03'
6 - AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR.

Updates.

HOUR 1

Laps: 17
Distance Covered: 231KM
Exact Time: 1:01'41.066
Fastest Lap so Far: 3'28.561.
Position: 1
Split: - 0'02.687 (Bentley).

Notes:

Pulled away with the Bentley and the Pesky for the first few laps, with the BMW about 5 or 6 seconds back and the R390 and Corvette already out of it. Drafted whenever I could, coasting into corners to save fuel and see how far I could go on the first stint. Punted off by the Pesky on 3 different occasions, twice at Arnage, but a quick pit stop (putting R1s on the back, R2s on the front, and leaving with 60L in the tank) put me far enough ahead of the Pesky I haven't seen it since. It seems that the Bentley can go a lap farther than I can when I'm running Hards on the back and Mediums on the front (and drafting like hell), so my strategy an hour in is to run Super Hards on the back, hards on the front, and leave the pits with 50-55L in the tank.

HOUR 2

Laps: 35
Distance Covered: 475KM
Exact Time: 2:06'17.750
Fastest Lap so Far: 3'24.490.
Position: 1
Split: - 1'06.651 (BMW)

Notes:

- Lapped the Vette for the second time, and lapped the R390 while it was pitting.
- Haven't seen the Bentley since the last update; judging by the map, I'd estimate it's about 15 seconds behind the BMW.

HOUR 3

Laps: 50
Distance Covered: 678KM
Exact Time: 3:01'24.850
Fastest Lap so Far: 3'24.490.
Position: 1
Split: - 1'01.211 (BMW)

HOUR 4

Laps: 70
Distance Covered: 935KM
Exact Time: 4:10'21.350
Fastest Lap so Far: 3'24.485.
Position: 1
Split: - 0'54.226 (BMW)
 
Last edited:
Hyst
Wish me luck.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't need it. :) How close was the competition in your testing? Basically, are you doing this to have a really close race, or are you doing it to be able to say you A-specced a 24 hour race? Either way, have fun. :)

Edit: Whoops, it looks like you just erased your post! Any particular reason?
 
I did this race a couple of weeks ago.. and did more than 14 hours of driving... took me 5 days.. got so fed up!!!
 
Sorry, I've decided to just try it with the CLK-GTR first off. I was 10 seconds up on the Pesky at the end of the first lap and I don't want to just run away with this one. I'll edit the first post in a bit.
 
You'll have fun with this one, good luck 👍
The used Toyota that I ran here was very light on it's tyres compared to the AI, and if drafting for at least 1 of the laps was able to go 10 laps between pitstops. (Only 9 if you're not drafting, but it's usually the fuel that causes you to pit rather than worn tyres.

Look forward to seeing your outcome, and major kudos for A-speccing it all! :D
 
The CLK-GTR is definitely a good choice, at least in terms of the fun factor. 👍 It can even keep up with the Sauber, but that's definitely a harder race. How many A-spec points is this race worth? It's probably not very high with the Corvette in there, but the point total is probably irrelevant to the goal of doing a 24 hour race all yourself, right?
 
Kudos for running this all by yourself. 👍

I've done this before, too (actually, I've done all 3 in all A-Spec), so here's a little advice. During the slightly longer stints, make sure there's other entertainment handy; you'll get bored quickly, and that'll help push you to go further, since you're not completely focused on the game (IIRC, the CLK isn't all that hard to drive).

On the A-Spec count: If you ever got completely insane and decide to go for 200 points, the Mazda 787B is your friend. (I used it for both Le Mans races.)
 
Thanks, I've got the podcasts of a few of the radio shows my work does and those are keeping me entertained. Just over four hours in now, nearing 1000KM, and the BMW is still pretty close.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what happens when you run out of fuel mid-lap? I hit the pits with 3L (of the 80) left earlier in the race, anyone know what happens when you genuinely run out of fuel?
 
Hyst
Thanks, I've got the podcasts of a few of the radio shows my work does and those are keeping me entertained. Just over four hours in now, nearing 1000KM, and the BMW is still pretty close.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what happens when you run out of fuel mid-lap? I hit the pits with 3L (of the 80) left earlier in the race, anyone know what happens when you genuinely run out of fuel?
Click to expand...

You don't stop like you would in real life but instead the game limits you to 50kph which is very very slow at Le Mans against the prototypes your against.

Good luck on the race, I've never had enough faith in my playstation to run it for at least 24 hours.
 
And if you do run out, look forward to losing about a lap on the leaders; that could be a race-killer, too. I did it twice during my last 24h run; fortunately, I was a couple laps up on 2nd when I did it.

crooky's right; you will :banghead: multiple times if you do; especially if the race is that close.
 
My apologies for not continuing the hourly updates, I guess this was subconsciously a 'look at me and what I'm doing' thread. In any event, I'm a hair under 8 hours and 30 minutes in, with a 36 second lead on the BMW at the last sector and my Merc already feels like it's getting a bit looser. 1877KM in.
 
14 Hours in, 54 seconds up on the BMW, and I'd hazard a guess at about 2 minutes up on the Pesky. Bentley's been lapped once, the Nissan 4 or 5 times, and the Corvette at least 20 times by now. 3123KM, the car is definitely beginning to lose it. The runs down to Indianapolis and Mulsanne, I'm Gilles Villeneuving it through those corners now.
 
HOUR 16

Laps: 265
Distance Covered: 3588KM
Exact Time: 15:02'33.361
Fastest Lap so Far: 3'24.211.
Position: 1
Split: - 2'42.268 (BMW).

Lapped the Pesky and Bentley during this stint, the race now 2/3rds complete. On pace for 398 laps, 5382KM. The Merc has become very twitchy under braking, and unless I'm on a flat surface and going exactly straight ahead I don't feel confident applying full pressure to the brakes. That said, under acceleration (and even full throttle), the car hasn't missed a beat.
 
Nice work, keep it up! 👍

Not that I wish to worry you, but here's some thoughts from my first running of Sarthe 1 in an Audi R8 as the race wore on...:scared:

Smallhorses
Its happening.....:scared:.......as predicted. :(
I'm pretty sure that someone from Logitech broke into my apartment today while I was at work, and has installed 100 minature Kangaroos equipped with pogo-sticks and boxing gloves in my wheel! The shaking is intense above about 180 mph now, and braking from that speed is another adventure all together! :scared:
Begone you meddlesome marsupials!!!!:lol:
Click to expand...

Smallhorses
5 hours to go.....chassis wear is really starting to tell.
The guy from Logitech has sneaked back in again, and put some hornets in the wheel, along with the boxing, bouncing Kangaroos, just to keep them really really hopping! :eek: I have my cricket bat out now, just in case he comes and tries anything else! :rolleyes:
The stretch after the corner at the end of the Mulsanne has been transformed from an exhilirating 200mph+ dash through a couple of gentle curves and a crest, to a bone-jarring, white-knuckle, terror ride in a car that appears to have a very warped idea of what a straight line is, on every lap!:scared:
Click to expand...

:D
 
No. I ran mine for close to a month without any problems (slim model). All you need to do is keep good ventilation around it and you'll be fine.
 
I had a PS2 for about 3 years (one of the very earliest slim models), and it only finally died about 2 weeks ago, and to be honest it was probably my fault for messing with the laser. This is a brand new PS2, been on for what, 2 or 3 nights now? I've kept my room nice and cool (admittedly, not hard to do in Canada) and it seems to be running fine. Just got back in from work, by the way, I'll probably get a few more hours done tonight. Thanks for the support.

By the way, Smallhorses, that is almost exactly how I would now describe the section between the end of the Mulsanne straight and the sharp left Indianapolis. Absolutely terrifying, I've completely given up half-throttle drafting and I'm basically coasting with the brakes at about 1/10th pressure for the last half of that section.

And I know this rather random, but I was curious - to anyone else who has completed one of the 24 Hour enduros, what did you do with the car afterwards? I'm thinking there's a special place in my garage for the Merc, where it can sit, straight from the track, no oil changes, no rigidity refresh, for the rest of time...

..by which I mean, until the data corrupts.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Each of my cars that has run a 24hr race has a special "museum" place at the back of my 728 car garage, under a tightly fitted transparent dust sheet and has the proudly displayed Gold winner's trophy in a cabinet above it! :p

There's 6 of them all together:
Nissan R89C Race Car '89 / 3451.6 miles / Sarthe I 24hr
Audi R8 Race Car '01 / 3778.9 miles / Sarthe II 24hr
Renault 5 Maxi Turbo Rally Car '85 / 2504.0 miles / Nurburgring 24hr
Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car '98 (Black, Used) / Now has 26970.1 miles / Sarthe II 24hr (200 A-spec)
Toyota GT-One Race Car (TS020) '99 (Black, Used) / Now has 24649.2 miles / Sarthe I 24hr (200 A-spec)
Nissan C-West Razo Silvia (JGTC) '01 / 2505.0 miles / Nurburgring 24hr (200 A-spec)

They were all retired to the "museum" as they finished their race, nothing at all was done to them, no oil, chassis refresh or car wash so they retain their "Authentically Raced" feel. :D
 
Last edited:
I did the same thing (nearly) to mine.

CLK DTM-went straight into my garage, hasn't been back out. No oil or chassis stiffening.

Mazda 787B-After completing Sarthe 1, went to the same fate as the CLK... for a while. Brought it back out for the other half of the Sarthe races in the same state as it left the first one. Took home 200 A-spec points from that one. :)
 

HOUR 17

Laps: 283
Distance Covered: 3831KM
Exact Time: 17:07'21.833
Fastest Lap so Far: 3'21.219.
Position: 1
Split: - 2'58.318 (BMW)

No more updates tonight, hopefully I can get this race over with sometime in the next day or so.
 
Keep it up dude! You are doing great! :sly: I wish i had the skill and the guts to a-spec all the race in my Pescarolo :dunce:.

Which settings are you using for the car?
 
Thanks man. 19 hours in now, a lap and a half up on the BMW. I don't remember the settings off the top of my head, I'll have a look when the race is over.
 

Latest Posts

Back