It's been a couple of days since I finished this race, and I just got back from work (5:30 in the morning 
) so I hope I can remember at least some of the details!
I've always had a strong affinity for the newer RX-7s, mainly because my mother owns one
and no, I've never gotten the chance to drive it 
she's very protective of her baby. Out of all the RX-7s I've driven in GT4, the Bathurst is an absolute hoot to drive. After previewing this particular enduro and seeing the competition, I figured I would have a chance with my ride.
For upgrades, I had: racing exhaust, racing brakes with the controller, RSH tires on the front and back, fully customizable transmission and suspension, a stage 2 turbo (I think!), and the rigidity refresh. I tweaked the suspension a bit and set the transmission so I would have some really good acceleration since this course has no real long straights. I also added approximately 100 ballast weight to the car and gave the car an oil change. I think I had about 355-360 hp, and after a few test laps with my setup, I was ready for action.
Having tried this race once before, I knew that I didn't want that cursed Saleen in my group...but now that I look back on it, if I was a more consistent driver, I think my RX-7 could've dusted the S7. Whatever. After four tries, I got this lineup:
Chevrolet Corvette GRAND SPORT (C4) '96 Pitted every 18 laps
Dodge VIPER SRT10 '03 Pitted every 20 laps
Dodge VIPER GTS '99 Pitted every 18 laps
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 Pitted every 21 laps
Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 Pitted every 16 laps
Mazda RX-7 Type R Bathurst R (FD) '01 Pitted every 22-24 laps
I know...not the most exciting group of cars, but I just wasn't confident in my driving abilities! I've been away from the game for too long But hey, I still was offered 200 A-spec points!!! Mine for the taking 
So, rolling start and here we go. Having only practiced the course two or three laps prior to this, I decided to take it easy and watch the AI's driving lines. After two or three laps, I made my move and easily passed the two slower Chevrolets. I hung around in the 4th spot for three more laps as I slowly gained on the GTS and SRT. On the 7th lap, I passed the GTS and thought to myself, "damn, this is going to be a pretty easy race for 200 A-spec points." Well, I was wrong, and I only had myself to blame. Around the 10th lap, even though my tires were warm and I should've been having my best laps, I was worrying too much about the split times and not watching the track. I got into the sand several times in laps 10-20 and lost an incredible amount of time! I remember I was in 6th until well after my first pitstop.
I even debated just quitting out and retrying since I had lost so much time, but hey, that isn't the way it goes!!! So I exited the pits after 22 laps with a 12 second deficit between myself and the Camaro SS. I knew that I would have to plan out the pit strategies of all the cars and have a pretty flawless race to have a chance of winning, and that's pretty much what I did. Although the GRAND SPORT was leading for a good portion of the race, I noticed that he was pitting far too often to win the race or even come in second place (if I had anything to do about it!) If I'm correct, I think the AI will pit even on their very last lap, and considering he was pitting every 18 laps, that would mean he would have to pit on lap 90
Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the mindset I had for the entire race: DON'T worry about the Grand Sport, figure out who you have to really worry about. Well, after the Camaro pitted a second time, I realized it would be me and the SRT for the #1 and #2 spots. Time to figure out who would be FIRST!
After I had passed the two slower Chevies again, I figured it was time to run my OWN lines and stop watching what the other cars were doing. Best choice I could've made. Although I was probably at least a minute behind the SRT, I started gaining about 1-1 and a half seconds per lap! Well that's good, because there were about 60 laps left and just enough time (or so I thought) to catch up.
Around lap 40-45, I put up my fastest lap which was 1'31.352! I gained about two full seconds in that lap and knew that this wasn't going to be as close as I thought. By this point, my average lap was either 1'32 or 1'33, and I still was gaining on the SRT.
I also realized that if I pitted every 22 laps like I had planned, I would still have to pit four times. Knowing that I could very easily get into the sand again and lose valuable time, I decided to change the pit strategy a bit: it had to be every 23-24 laps from this point. That would involve me running a few laps on burnt tires, but in the end it saved me a good amount of time. I can't remember the exact laps that I passed the GTS, Grand Sport, and SRT, but once I got into 1st place I stayed there. I was still putting about a second per lap between myself and the SRT so I kind of went into sleep mode. Bad choice: At around lap 80, I went off the track again and recovered with only a 10 second lead. But that's okay, because the SRT had to pit again and I didn't I knew I had the race, so I just relaxed and made SURE I didn't go off the track again!
I crossed the finish line after 2:23'51.593 with the SRT about 32 seconds behind me. Not a real barn-burner, but 200 A-spec points and 200,000 richer with a beautiful car to add to my collection! Results from the race are as follows:
Mazda RX-7 Type R Bathurst R (FD) '01 - 2:23'51.593
Dodge VIPER SRT10 '03 - about 32 seconds back
Dodge VIPER GTS '99 - about 36 seconds back
Chevrolet Corvette GRAND SPORT (C4) '96 - if he was on the same lap, he was only about 38-39 seconds back
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 - same deal, if he was on the same lap as us, he was only 40-41 seconds behind
Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 - definitely at least two laps back, but still on the final straight when everybody else was finishing
I didn't get any exact times except for my own because I hit start right after the race was done...don't ask my why, I'm a silly boy at 7 in the morning after racing for an hour
Either way, it was cool checking the mini-map and seeing everybody on the final straight
Even though the MoV was pretty decent, I still enjoyed myself immensely. I learned a LOT about Laguna Seca, a ton about my beautiful Bathurst, and am starting to feel pretty confident again
I had originally decided to go right down the enduros in order, but I just can't get myself excited for four hours of a Mazda MX-5 or Miata or whatever I think I will do the Nurb 4h enduro because that's easily my best track and where I enjoy myself the most I've got the day off tomorrow and my girlfriend isn't going to be around so hopefully I can get a good chunk of racing in 👍
Once again, I'm still new at this write-up process and will try to have more exact details for everybody in the future write-ups! Thanks for reading and I hope you can look forward to the rest of my journey through these races!
edit: it's way too early and I don't want to proof-read this entire thing! if there are any typos, I apologize!!!
) so I hope I can remember at least some of the details!I've always had a strong affinity for the newer RX-7s, mainly because my mother owns one
and no, I've never gotten the chance to drive it she's very protective of her baby. Out of all the RX-7s I've driven in GT4, the Bathurst is an absolute hoot to drive. After previewing this particular enduro and seeing the competition, I figured I would have a chance with my ride.For upgrades, I had: racing exhaust, racing brakes with the controller, RSH tires on the front and back, fully customizable transmission and suspension, a stage 2 turbo (I think!), and the rigidity refresh. I tweaked the suspension a bit and set the transmission so I would have some really good acceleration since this course has no real long straights. I also added approximately 100 ballast weight to the car and gave the car an oil change. I think I had about 355-360 hp, and after a few test laps with my setup, I was ready for action.
Having tried this race once before, I knew that I didn't want that cursed Saleen in my group...but now that I look back on it, if I was a more consistent driver, I think my RX-7 could've dusted the S7. Whatever. After four tries, I got this lineup:
Chevrolet Corvette GRAND SPORT (C4) '96 Pitted every 18 laps
Dodge VIPER SRT10 '03 Pitted every 20 laps
Dodge VIPER GTS '99 Pitted every 18 laps
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 Pitted every 21 laps
Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 Pitted every 16 laps
Mazda RX-7 Type R Bathurst R (FD) '01 Pitted every 22-24 laps
I know...not the most exciting group of cars, but I just wasn't confident in my driving abilities! I've been away from the game for too long
But hey, I still was offered 200 A-spec points!!! Mine for the taking So, rolling start and here we go. Having only practiced the course two or three laps prior to this, I decided to take it easy and watch the AI's driving lines. After two or three laps, I made my move and easily passed the two slower Chevrolets. I hung around in the 4th spot for three more laps as I slowly gained on the GTS and SRT. On the 7th lap, I passed the GTS and thought to myself, "damn, this is going to be a pretty easy race for 200 A-spec points." Well, I was wrong, and I only had myself to blame. Around the 10th lap, even though my tires were warm and I should've been having my best laps, I was worrying too much about the split times and not watching the track. I got into the sand several times in laps 10-20 and lost an incredible amount of time! I remember I was in 6th until well after my first pitstop.
I even debated just quitting out and retrying since I had lost so much time, but hey, that isn't the way it goes!!! So I exited the pits after 22 laps with a 12 second deficit between myself and the Camaro SS. I knew that I would have to plan out the pit strategies of all the cars and have a pretty flawless race to have a chance of winning, and that's pretty much what I did. Although the GRAND SPORT was leading for a good portion of the race, I noticed that he was pitting far too often to win the race or even come in second place (if I had anything to do about it!) If I'm correct, I think the AI will pit even on their very last lap, and considering he was pitting every 18 laps, that would mean he would have to pit on lap 90
Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the mindset I had for the entire race: DON'T worry about the Grand Sport, figure out who you have to really worry about. Well, after the Camaro pitted a second time, I realized it would be me and the SRT for the #1 and #2 spots. Time to figure out who would be FIRST!After I had passed the two slower Chevies again, I figured it was time to run my OWN lines and stop watching what the other cars were doing. Best choice I could've made. Although I was probably at least a minute behind the SRT, I started gaining about 1-1 and a half seconds per lap! Well that's good, because there were about 60 laps left and just enough time (or so I thought) to catch up.
Around lap 40-45, I put up my fastest lap which was 1'31.352! I gained about two full seconds in that lap and knew that this wasn't going to be as close as I thought. By this point, my average lap was either 1'32 or 1'33, and I still was gaining on the SRT.
I also realized that if I pitted every 22 laps like I had planned, I would still have to pit four times. Knowing that I could very easily get into the sand again and lose valuable time, I decided to change the pit strategy a bit: it had to be every 23-24 laps from this point. That would involve me running a few laps on burnt tires, but in the end it saved me a good amount of time. I can't remember the exact laps that I passed the GTS, Grand Sport, and SRT, but once I got into 1st place I stayed there. I was still putting about a second per lap between myself and the SRT so I kind of went into sleep mode. Bad choice: At around lap 80, I went off the track again and recovered with only a 10 second lead. But that's okay, because the SRT had to pit again and I didn't
I knew I had the race, so I just relaxed and made SURE I didn't go off the track again!I crossed the finish line after 2:23'51.593 with the SRT about 32 seconds behind me. Not a real barn-burner, but 200 A-spec points and 200,000 richer with a beautiful car to add to my collection! Results from the race are as follows:
Mazda RX-7 Type R Bathurst R (FD) '01 - 2:23'51.593
Dodge VIPER SRT10 '03 - about 32 seconds back
Dodge VIPER GTS '99 - about 36 seconds back
Chevrolet Corvette GRAND SPORT (C4) '96 - if he was on the same lap, he was only about 38-39 seconds back
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 - same deal, if he was on the same lap as us, he was only 40-41 seconds behind
Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 - definitely at least two laps back, but still on the final straight when everybody else was finishing
I didn't get any exact times except for my own because I hit start right after the race was done...don't ask my why, I'm a silly boy at 7 in the morning after racing for an hour
Either way, it was cool checking the mini-map and seeing everybody on the final straight Even though the MoV was pretty decent, I still enjoyed myself immensely. I learned a LOT about Laguna Seca, a ton about my beautiful Bathurst, and am starting to feel pretty confident again
I had originally decided to go right down the enduros in order, but I just can't get myself excited for four hours of a Mazda MX-5 or Miata or whatever
I think I will do the Nurb 4h enduro because that's easily my best track and where I enjoy myself the most I've got the day off tomorrow and my girlfriend isn't going to be around so hopefully I can get a good chunk of racing in 👍Once again, I'm still new at this write-up process and will try to have more exact details for everybody in the future write-ups! Thanks for reading and I hope you can look forward to the rest of my journey through these races!
edit: it's way too early and I don't want to proof-read this entire thing! if there are any typos, I apologize!!!
