Laguna Seca 200 miles - Premium Ford Mustang

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GTsail

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Looking for some additional XP I decide to have another go at the Laguna Seca 200 miler.

I check out the Ford dealership and chance upon a nice looking Ford Mustang V8 GT Coupe Premium '07 (Black). After some friendly negotiating, I write a check and get handed the keys to a new Mustang!

Thinking ahead to my upcoming race, I decide to leave the Mustang over-nite at the Ford dealer so they can install some go-fast parts. After taking a good look at the lengthy parts list, I decide on the following upgrades:

Single plate clutch
Sports flywheel
Fixed sports kit suspension
ECU tuning computer
Sports air filter
Sports exhaust
Custom transmission
Sport Medium tires

The next day, I'm back at the Ford dealer just as they open the doors. They have my Mustang ready so I jump in and leave a nice set of black streaks as I leave the Ford dealer's parking lot.

After a quick flight to California, I drive up to the Laguna Seca track.

During the pre-race tech inspection I find out that my Premium Mustang weights in at 1630kg and has 322HP.

Since I have the appropriate racing license for this race, the track stewards allow me to pick a pit in the middle of pit lane, and then they tell me to que up for the up-coming 12 car race.

With me on the track are the following cars:
Chevy Corvette Z06 C5 '00
Chevy Corvette Stingray '69
Chevy Camaro SS '69
Chevy Camaro SS '00
Ford Mustang GT '05
Dodge SRT4 '03
Plymouth Cuda 440 Six Pack
Dodge Charger Super Bee 426
Chevy Corvette Coupe '63
Chrysler Prowler '02
Ford Mustang V8 GT Premium '07 (a red one)


The flag drops and we're off!

For the first 14 laps it is a 5-way battle between the Chrysler Prowler, the C5 Corvette, the Dodge SRT4, the '69 Corvette and me. They all have the legs on me down the straights, but I can catch up with them in the corners.:)

By lap 5, I've reached 3rd place in this battle and I settle in there for a while to conserve my tires. I know I could probably push and take the lead, but I feel that this would shorten the lives of my tires too much, so I decide to just settle in and cruise. The leading car is the Prowler, who is about 2 seconds ahead of me with the C5 Corvette in 2nd place.

On lap 15, I partake in some liquid refreshments and drive off into the sand on the uphill leading up to the corkscrew.:dunce:

I get dropped into 4th place by the '69 Corvette while executing this surf-n-turf maneuver.:ill:

The '69 Corvette that passed me latches on to the C5 Corvette who is still in second place. I follow closely in 4th for the next few laps (about 2.5 seconds behind the leading Prowler).

On lap 18, I can see that we are coming up on the back markers. I wonder if they have already pitted, which would explain why we are catching up with them, or if they are just that slow. GT5 does not give us any in-race pit information, so I just have to speculate.

On lap 19, the 1st place Prowler gets by the last place Ford Mustang V8 GT Premium going thru turn six. The second place C5 Corvette and the third place '69 Corvette both pass the last place Premium Mustang on the steep uphill leading up to the corkscrew. Realizing that I can't aford to lose touch with the leaders, I too put the last place Premium Mustang a lap down as I drive tightly thru turn # 9, cutting the apex.:sly:

On lap 20, the 1st place Prowler laps the 11th place Plymouth Cuda going thru turn # 5. Both Corvetts lap the "Cuda" as they go into turn # 6. I chase the "Cuda" up the hill and pass it as well as we brake for the corkscrew.

If you've been paying attention, you may have noticed that I haven't mentioned the 5th place Dodge SRT4. The SRT4 had been following me fairly closely for the first 18 laps (giving me about a 1.5 second cushion). However, this changed as we started to lap the two back-markers. The SRT4 was a little slow getting past them, so he's now about 5 to 6 seconds further back.

On lap 24, the C5 Corvette somehow gets by the leading Prowler as they go thru turn # 5. I wonder if this means that the Prowler's tires are shot, and if the Prowler might need to pit shortly?💡

As we begin lap # 25, I check my fuel gauge and see that I still have more than half a tank. My tires still look ok, but I can see that the fronts are more than half-way gone, so I expect that I will shortly need to pit to replace them. My last lap was a 1.45.666, so I will have to watch for a significant drop-off in my lap times.

On lap # 26, the '69 Corvette passes the 2nd place Prowler as they go thru turn # 5. The first place C5 Corvette has stretched his legs on us, so I'm now about 5 seconds back in 4th place. I'm starting to feel some increased understeer, so I know that I will have to pit shortly if I want to stay in touch with the leading Corvettes. A bit worried about losing touch with the C5 Corvette, I execute a clean pass on the Prowler myself as we go into turn # 10.

On lap # 27, the leading C5 Corvette catches and passes the 10th place 1963 Corvette Coupe. Watching the C5 Corvette make its pass, I'm encouraged by my pit boss to make a pass of my own. So I hit my marks correctly and excute a nice pass of the '69 Corvette as we brake for the corkscrew. I'm now in 2nd place in the race (for the first time), some 5 seconds behind the leading C5 Corvette.

As I begin lap # 30, I've fallen 7.5 seconds behind the leading C5 Corvette and the '69 Corvette in third is chewing mightly on my rear bumper. My last lap was a 1.45 flat, which isn't bad, but I'm really starting to notice my worn front tires. By the end of the lap, I'm down a full 9 seconds to the leading C5 Corvette.:nervous: So I decide its time, and I dive into the pits for another set of sport medium tires and 35 liters of fuel.

At the first time check on lap # 31, I see that I'm in 4th place some 50 seconds behind the leading C5 Corvette.:yuck: The reason I didn't fall to 5th place was that the SRT4 joined me in the pits on lap # 30. The 6th place Mustang GT '05 was a further 30 seconds back, so he wasn't a concern. This pit-out lap took 2 minutes and 20 seconds (which is really pretty good). The pit stop was only about 35 seconds long since I short-filled the fuel tank.💡

On lap # 33, I re-pass the '63 Corvette (who had un-lapped himself when I was in the pits), going into the corkscrew.

Things are looking pretty good as I begin lap # 35 since I can see that I've cut significantly into the C5 Corvette's lead. The checkpoint split is flashed on my HUD display as a 35 second deficit to the C5 Corvette. I suspect that the C5 Corvette was held up by a back-marker or two.:)

The Prowler pits for the first time on lap # 36, so I see him recede from my rear-view mirror. About five seconds up the road, I now see a four-car pack of cars (back-markers and possibly the 2nd place '69 Corvette). I intend to catch them and find out.💡

Two cars from this pack pit at the end of my lap # 37. One of them is the 2nd place 1969 Corvette, because suddenly I'm back into second place in the race! The other car is probably the 9th place '69 Camaro.

By the end of lap 3 38, I have caught up with the remaining two cars from the 4-car pack. They are the 7th place 2000 Camaro SS and the 6th place Mustang GT '05.

I out-brake the 7th place 2000 Camaro going into turn one on lap # 39 and put him a lap down. I do the same to the 6th place Ford Mustang '05 going into turn # 3. However, he fights back and passes me back going down the straight between turns four and five.:ouch: We go into turn # 5 side-by-side, neither giving an inch. I have the outside line coming out of turn # 5, which must have slowed him down somewhat, because by turn # 6, I have completely cleared the Mustang and I'm on my way.:)

On lap # 40, I catch and pass the last place Premium Mustang again, and put him two laps down going into the corkscrew.

On lap # 41, I catch and pass the 11th place "Cuda" 440, and put him two laps down as well.

At the end of lap # 43, the first place C5 Corvette finally pits. WOW! How does he make his sport soft tires last so long? The C5 Corvette still had about a 15 second lead over me when he pitted.

I cruise over the hill and down the front straight and take over first place in the race for the first time as I begin lap # 44.

The C5 Corvette must have run his fuel tank dry because he takes an inordinant amount of time in the pits.:)

As I begin lap # 45, the news is flashed that I have a 40 second lead over the 2nd place car, and the second place car is the Dodge SRT4!!!

The C5 Corvette has fallen back to 3rd place with his lengthly pit stop. The '69 Corvette is in 4th place having pitted as well.

The Dodge Charger is in 5th place, the '69 Camaro is in 6th place, the Prowler is in 7th place, the 2000 Camaro is in 8th place and the Ford Mustang '05 is in 9th place.

On lap # 46, I catch and pass both the Premium Mustang and the "Cuda".

On lap # 47, I catch and pass the 2005 Mustang GT.

For the next few laps I just cruising on my own, since none of the other cars are nearby and I have the track to myself.

Even so, as I begin lap # 55, the news is flashed that I have built up a full 60 second lead over the 2nd place Dodge SRT4. The C5 Corvette is still in 3rd place (but I imagine that he will be able to pass the SRT4 at some point). Just before the end of lap # 55, I get the news that the C5 Corvette has taken over 2nd place and dropped the SRT4 to 3rd.

As I begin lap # 57, I see that the C5 Corvette is now 62 seconds behind me.:) I'm starting to get more understeer than I would like, and my lap times have started to fall off, so I know that I've worn out my tires again. I will try to stretch them to lap # 60 (which would make the race a two-stopper) if I can.

By the end of lap # 60, my lead over the 2nd place C5 Corvette has shrunk to 51 seconds, so I know its time to pit!:eek: I pull in for new sport medium tires and add 27 liters of fuel. The 2005 Mustang blasts past while I'm sitting stationary in the pits.

By the second checkpoint on lap # 61, I'm up to speed and see that I now have only a 12 second lead over the 2nd place C5 Corvette.:nervous:

On lap # 63, I catch and pass the 2005 Mustang who has un-lapped himself while I was in the pits.

On lap # 66, the news is flashed that my lead over the 2nd place C5 Corvette has grown to 14 seconds. Looking back I see that the C5 Corvette had a tough battle with the 2005 Mustang before getting past.

On lap # 68, I pass the Plymouth Cuda who has just pitted for tires.

On lap # 69, I catch and pass the '63 Corvette Coupe again. On the same lap, I'm also able to catch and pass the 2000 Camaro SS.

On lap # 70, I catch and pass the Premium Mustang again!

On lap 3 71, I'm following closely, and I get to watch a nice battle between the Prowler and the Dodge SRT4. They leave an opening for me going into turn # 4, so I pounce and pass them both! Up ahead is the '69 Camaro. He slows considerably for the corkscrew, so I pass him quite easily.:)

On lap # 72, I catch and pass the 440 Cuda going into the corkscrew (late braking into the corkscrew has been my best place for passing all race long).

As I begin lap # 73, I see that my lead over the 2nd place C5 Corvette has grown to 18 seconds. So even though my last few laps were slightly compromized due to all the back-marker passing, I have stretched out my lead. The C5 Corvette is now stuck behind them as well, so I should be able to increase my lead.:)

On lap # 75, I catch and pass the Dodge Charger going into the corkscrew. I have increased my lead over the C5 Corvette to 27 seconds.

As I begin lap # 78, I glance into the pits and see the '69 Corvette. The '69 Corvette is the 3rd place car in the race, so I've now lapped everyone in the race except for the C5 Corvette, who is about 36 seconds behind me, and is battling thru all the heavy traffic.

At the end of lap # 80, I catch and pass the 2005 Mustang GT again.

As I begin lap # 82, I pass both the '63 Corvette and the 2000 Camaro who are both in the pits for tires and fuel.

On lap # 83, I catch and pass the Premium Mustang again.

On lap # 84, the '69 Corvette (who is on fresh tires, but one lap down) is constantly filling my rear view mirror.

A sure sign that my tires are getting worn out is when the '69 Corvette passes me going thru turn # 6 on lap # 85.

During lap # 86, I try to stay with the '69 Corvette, but just can't. Even though I run a 1.44.622 lap, I get gapped by the '69 Corvette by about 2 seconds. That's the bad news....The good news is that my lead over the C5 Corvette has grown to 41 seconds.:)

On lap # 87, I catch and pass the "Cuda" again.

As I end lap # 88, my HUD flashes the news that the C5 Corvette has fallen 1 minute and 5 seconds behind me. This means that the C5 Corvette has just pitted for a second time. Two laps to go.....Should I pit again?.....Or should I try to stretch my tires?

I decide to go for it......
..... Lap # 88 is a 1.46.443
..... Lap # 89 is a 1.47.299

After 90 laps, I cross the finish line with the 2000 Chevy Camaro right on my tail! My last lap on very worn tires was a 1.48.672.

The 2000 Chevy Camaro passes me during the cool down phase in an effort to un-lap himself. Too late buddy, it doesn't count!

Finishing order:
1) me in Ford Mustang V8 GT Premium '07
2) Chevy Corvette C5 '00..... about 1 minute back
3) Chevy Corvette '69......... 1 lap back
4) Dodge SRT4 '03..............1 lap back
5) Chevy Camaro '69...........2 laps back
6) Chrysler Prowler..............2 laps back
7) Chevy Camaro '00...........3 laps back
8) Ford Mustang '05............3 laps back
9) Dodge Charger Super.......4 laps back
10) Chevy Corvett '63..........4 laps back
11) Plymouth Cuda 440.........5 laps back
12) Ford Mustang Premium.....5 laps back

The fastest lap of the race was turned in by the '69 Chevy Corvette with a 1.40.696
My best lap was a 1.40.918, which I did on lap # 34.
The C5 Corvette turned in a best lap of 1.42.044
Everyone was on sport soft tires except for me.

Enjoy the racing!
GTsail
 
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