Flyingkiwi's Tsukuba 9 hour experience

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This race could very well be an exercise in boredom, folks. But that doesn't mean I won't try my hardest to make it competitive. I felt I needed a car that could do 1:06s consistent laps without being much faster.

So, I chose...

Nismo 270R 1994

And my opponents are on this cold March afternoon are...

Nissan Fairlady Z Version S 2002 301hp, 1450kg
BMW 320i 2005 272hp, 1525kg
Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II 2000 353hp, 1560kg
Honda NSX Type R 2002 310hp, 1270kg
Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A 2002 312hp, 1270kg
Nismo 270R 1994 284hp, 1240kg, S1 tyres

105 a-spec points


A good, competitive field it seems. By the looks of it, the BMW and the Fairlady will be the snails, and the Skyline will be my main challenger. Here we go!

Hour 1 - 53 laps completed

Pass the RX-7 at turn 4 but he gets me back on the final sweeper as I tried an ambitious move around the outside of the NSX. End lap 1 with a 1:16.207, 4.5s down on the leading Fairlady.

The Skyline and the NSX are being held-up by the BMW so I take all three of them on lap 2 and set about catching the Fairlady. I pass him at turn 7 (before the back straight) on lap 5. So far I am lapping in the 1:08s and everyone else seems to be doing 1:09s as their tyres warm up.

The order after five laps is myself, the Fairlady, Skyline, RX-7, NSX, and BMW.

By lap 10, the gap is 10s back to the Fairlady. I am now lapping in the low 1:07s on average, with a fastest lap so far of 1:06.688. The RX-7 and NSX are being held up something terrible by the Skyline and are now 15s behind me. By lap 15, they have caught the Fairlady and a 4-way battle for 2nd place commences, 15s behind me.

On lap 18, the RX-7 passes the Fairlady and starts lapping in the 1:05s, including a 1:05.378, the fastest lap of the race so far. By lap 25, the gap is only 5s, as I lap the BMW. The RX-7 is right on my tail as I pit on lap 27, my left-front pleading for rest. No fuel top-up is needed, and I emerge in 4th, about 2s behind the Fairlady and NSX, and 24s down on the leading RX-7. The Skyline is the next to pit on lap 28. So far he is slower than I expected. The BMW pits on lap 32. By now the gap is out to 31s to the leading RX-7, who is doing it easy. He gets momentarily held-up lapping the Skyline but is soon past him. I pass the NSX and the Fairlady on laps 35 and 36 respectively. The NSX actually finally gets past the Fairlady one corner after I do. We will see what lap times the NSX will do now.

The Fairlady pits from 4th on lap 36. He held down 2nd or 3rd for a number of laps, but now it seems the big boys are going to leave him behind.

The RX-7 pits on lap 39 and he emerges about 5s in front of me. As expected, the NSX is matching my lap times and is right behind me. He would be well in contention if he hadn't of been stuck behind the Fairlady for so many laps. The NSX pits on lap 41. Time will tell if he can yet be a contender in this race.

I pass the RX-7 and move into the lead on lap 43. We also lap the BMW for the 2nd time. So far the RX-7 is having relatively little trouble lapping the BMW.

I extend the lead to 4s but the RX-7 is quickly baaxk onto his lightning pace. I pit from a slender 1.5s lead on lap 52 and by the end of the first hour I am 25s down with the NSX some 5s down on me in 3rd (the trouble for the NSX is that his tyres take a long time to warm up for him to get down to the 1:06s and eventually the 1:05s. He also hits traffic problems a number of times). The Fairlady and the Skyline are about to be lapped by the RX-7.

Hour 2 - 107 laps completed

Some good news at first as the RX-7 is held up behind the Fairlady for a number of laps. I reduce the gap to 18s at one stage, before the RX-7 breaks away to a 23s lead. He definitely has a speed advantage when we are both in clean air. :( Again, I reduce the gap to 19s as his tyres go off slightly. He pits on lap 77 and I follow him. Basically I must do 3 stops to his 2 stops. That, coupled with his speed advantage, means that this is not looking good.👎

I resume 20s down in 3rd (the NSX briefly holds 2nd before pitting a couple of laps later). The RX-7 is then held up by the BMW and I charge and reduce the gap to 3s. He then begins to pull away but I am now in the zone, and reel off a succession of mid 1:05s laps, including a 1:05.266 (the fastest lap of the race) that see me gradually, lap-by-lap reduce the gap. Finally, we come up to lap the Fairlady and I take my chance, diving under brakes at the hairpin to take over the lead on lap 97!:)

However, it isn't long before my tyres go off and I pit on lap 103, the RX-7 right on my rear-bumper.

I exit 25s down and am 28s down by the end of a very enthralling hour. In hindsight, that period where I chased down the RX-7 when he was on warm tyres gave me confidence and was probably the key moment in the race.

Hour 3 - 160 laps completed

The RX-7 pits on lap 115 and emerges about 3s in front of me. I get a good run out of the last turn and pass him at turn 1 on lap 118. We both lap the Skyline for the 3rd time.

The RX-7 gets stuck behind the BMW for a few laps so I extend my lead. Meanwhile, the NSX pits on lap 121 and emerges some 55s down on me, and I lap him just before I come into the pits.

The gap is 13s back to the RX-7 as I pit on lap 128. I emerge 11s down.

By lap 136, the gap is under 10s, as the RX-7 catches up to the Fairlady and the NSX. By the end of lap 140, the gap is 2.4s as the RX-7 has lapped the NSX, but cannot get past the Fairlady:sly: I lap the NSX but give the RX-7 a tap into the hairpin.:crazy: I let him back past on the straight for that unsportmanlike move, but I get him again, this time cleanly, into turn 1 on lap 142.

By the end of lap 146, the gap is out to 10s, as the RX-7 still can't get past the Fairlady:cool: The news gets worse for the RX-7: the Skyline has just pitted and is about to be caught by the Fairlady, so that is another obstacle for the RX-7 to get by.:sly:

The gap extends to 20s but the RX-7 finally breaks away from the pack and gets the gap down to 17s before I pit on lap 154. The RX-7 pits at the same time. We both emerge on cold tyres, and by the end of the hour, I have extended by lead to 24s, with the NSX a lap down in 3rd. I estimate that I have 12 stops left, compared to the RX-7's 8, so I really must take advantage of the luck I am having with lapped traffic.

No big mistakes so far, apart from going off the circuit slightly under the Dunop bridge a few times. I also had a moment coming out of the last turn, when I got all four wheels on the dirt and hit the outside wall:crazy: It was all good, though.

Hour 4 - 214 laps completed

More good fortune at the start of this hour as the RX-7 gets held up by more lapped traffic. The gap is 35s by lap 168. It remains that way until I pit on lap 180. Meanwhile, the NSX, who finally has some clean air, is doing 1:05s/1:06s. If only he hadn't of been held up so much in the early part of this race.

I rejoin 8s in front. Despite being on cold tyres, I extend this lead to 12s before the RX-7 pits on lap 193. In clean air, I now have his measure. When you add in lapped traffic, I definitely am faster. But am I fast enough to make up for the extra pitstops? I'm feeling confident at the moment, as the RX-7 rejoins some 38s behind me, once again with traffic in front of him.:sly:

The gap is 55s as I pit on lap 207. I almost had the RX-7 in my sights. As it is, I rejoin 28s in front.

The gap is 24s at the end of the hour, as I put the NSX 2 laps down.

Hour 5 - 267 laps completed

The NSX stays on my tail for the rest of my stint, doing the same lap times as me. Meanwhile, the RX-7 gets the gap down to 22s before, you guessed it, he gets stuck behind a lapped car. :rolleyes: Hilariously, its the Fairlady yet again. I thus extend the gap to 39s despite going off at the last corner. :yuck:I was looking in my rear-view mirror to see if the NSX could lap the BMW down the straight. I lose about 5 seconds.

The RX-7 pits on lap 232 and I follow suit on lap 233. The net result is a lead of 39s.

I cruise for a few laps with the stereo on and the gap comes down to 37s before I pit on lap 259.

I emerge 12s in front but the RX-7 gets stuck behind the Fairlady, the bane of his life, once again.

By the end of the hour, my lead is 22s, with the NSX 1 lap behind in 3rd.

Hour 6 - 321 laps completed

The RX-7 pits on lap 270 and emerges about 48s behind me. I have laps in hand before my pitstop so I inch up to him to try to get a lap ahead.

Before I can do that, the NSX pits just ahead of me and thus goes 2 laps down.

The RX-7s tyres warm up so he pulls away from me and I pit on lap 285, emerging 31s ahead.

The RX-7 pits on lap 307, and I do so on lap 311. The net result is that at the end of the 6th hour, my lead is 38s, with the NSX 2 laps down in 3rd.

Hour 7 - 374 laps completed

Okay, it took 6 hours, but I am a little bored now.

My boredom is not relieved by the fact that the RX-7 is refusing to give me a decent race. He has been stuck behind, you guessed it, the Fairlady for lap after miserable lap. I pit on lap 337 and now have a 19s buffer. The RX-7 finally breaks free and reduces the gap to 10s before pitting on lap 347.

I am in cruise mode by this point and my motivation is low, hardly getting below a mid-1:06. My motivation is rekindled when the NSX blasts past me on the straight to take one of his laps back. I put the foot down again and have to do high 1:05s just to stay with him. We have a good battle for some 20 laps before he pits on lap 359.

I pit on lap 363 and this time the RX-7 is on a charge. After all his problems with lapped cars in the race, this time he passes two on one lap! :crazy: By the end of the hour the race is alive again because my lead is a slender 7s and getting smaller by the lap.

Hour 8 - 427 laps completed

The RX-7 charges along and gets the gap down to 5s before he pits on lap 385. I pit on lap 388 and emerge with near-on 10s lead.

This time the RX-7 seems to have no trouble passing lapped cars and, after a period of warming up his tyres, starts an immense charge at the lead. 9 seconds. 8 seconds. 7 seconds...Finally, the lead is 5 seconds as I head of the pits on lap 414. That stop completed, I resume in 2nd for the first time since the third hour. We both have two more stops to do. I have an ace up my sleeve though: my last stint will be consideriably shorter, so I can stick on S2 tyres.

Meanwhile, the RX-7 camp will be praying their boy can keep up his recent form with lapped traffic.

I push hard straight away on my new set of tyres and when the RX-7 pits on lap 423, I inherit the lead by a few seconds.

By the end of the hour, I have stretched my lead to 8s. This race should be mine as long as I can keep my head...

Hour 8 - 481 laps completed

So here we are on this sunny Saturday morning. The last hour.

I extend my lead to 16s at one stage before the RX-7 fights back and cuts it to a 10s lead as I make my way into the pits for my penuilimate stop on lap 441. I come out of the pits 14s down with work to do. There is 43 minutes left on the clock...

The RX-7 extends his lead to almost 16s but he then comes up behind the NSX, who is still warming up his tyres. He loses some crucial seconds before the NSX's tyres get warm enough to lap in the 1:06s. 12 seconds. 30 minutes...

Do near on my fastest lap of the race: 1:05.3 as I chase down the lead. The RX-7 pits on lap 461 and now is my chance to put in some really fast laps before my last stop. I extend the lead to 17s. 20 minutes...

I then have two realisations: 1. I don't want to change to S2s. I want to win this all the way on S1s. 2. I want to pass the RX-7 on the track.

So I pit earlier than expected, on lap 464 for my last set of S1s, and a little top up of fuel.

I emerge 5s behind on cold tyres. Have a made a dreadful mistake!? Has arrogance got the better of me? Slowly but surely I inch my way up to the RX-7, but I am very nervous. :nervous:One mistake and it's all over. It's only a matter of time before his tyres warm up. Inch by inch. Tenth by tenth. At the hairpin on lap 468, I am right on him and ever so slightly rub his rear bumper. 15 minutes...

I get a great run out of the sweeper and the gap across the start-finish line is 0.2s. I get up the inside of turn one but he comes back and briefly takes back the lead on the run to turn 4 but I am back up the inside again.

I pull away to a 3s lead but the RX-7s tyres are now up to the challenge and as I enter the back straight on lap 472, the gap is 3.6s as we approach the BMW. 10 minutes...

I pass the BMW but lose a little bit of time doing so. At the first split of lap 474, the gap is 2.0s!!!:scared:

The RX-7 spends half a lap behind the BMW, and it is enough to allow me to extend my lead to 4s.

On lap 477, I do a 1:06.0. Not good enough! The RX-7 does a 1:05.6 and the gap is 3.6s. 5 minutes...

In the final couple of laps I hold my nerve and as I slide my way over the finish line, the final margin is 4.098seconds

A really good race and I was pleased with my efforts after putting a lot of pressure on myself in the final 30 minutes.

Time for some cycling to get rid of that adrentlian!]

Catch ya later!

Flyingkiwi

:gtpflag:
 
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You've had quite a battle so far Flyingkiwi -- KEEP IT UP!!

I was very worried for you during the first two hours!

Things got a lot brighter during hour three. You must have found your rhythm, plus the RX-7 got caught behind enemy lines!

Good luck,
GTsail
 
Final Results
1. Nismo 270R 481 laps
2. Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A +4.098s
3. Honda NSX Type R +2 laps
4. Nissan Fairlady Z Version S +11 laps (estimate)
5. Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II +12 laps (estimate)
6. BMW 320i +23 laps (estimate)


Fastest laps of the race:

Nismo 270R 1:05.266
Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A 1:05.340
Honda NSX Type R 1:05.621
Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II 1:06.731
Nissan Fairlady Z Version S 2002 1:07.033
BMW 320i 2005 1:09.176
 
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Wow that was tight! It's a shame the GT-R only beat the 320i...:(
 
I did this race a few days ago, with a Tommy-Kaira ZZ-II stock, with S3 tyres behind and S2 in the front. I even forgot to change the oil :D

The Tommy-Kaira is amazing! It's a really enjoyable car, and rocks it in the corners. I did laps around 1:04, a bit faster than the RX-7 (the thoughest rival). My best lap was 1:03.100. The rivals were (by speed order): Mazda RX-7, Mazda RX-8, Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R, Subaru Legacy B4, BMW 330i. I think it was 132 A-Spec points but don't remember exactly...
 
In fact they are 9 hours...

Yes it may be boring but I just tried to make every lap faster than before, and other times I just played without really being concentrated. It took me about 4 days, playing a few hours each :)
 
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