Gran Turismo World Championship
By using shortcut to get AI lineup of non-Group C Le Mans cars, I decided to complete GTWC with car of lower rank. My choice of weapon was stock BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97. I gave it nice, warm bath, new set of tires and went to compete against:
Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04
Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98
Toyota 7 Race Car '70
Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01
AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98
Each race offered me 172 A-spec points. I didn't post qualification results and overall time results, but I hope split times of closest AI opponent (in case I won the race) or distance from the leader (in case AI won the race) will be sufficient. Below you can also read interesting interview I come up with.
1.) Tokyo Route 246 (10 laps):
1. Toyota 7 Race Car '70
2. Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98
3. BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97 
-------- + 0'30.793 sec.
4. AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98
5. Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04
6. Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01
A course where AI runs extremely fast. I managed to keep up with the two Toyota models, but after two laps, they just vanished from my screen. I wasn't really threatened by Vertigo or AMG either, so you could say my position was secured, in spite I was very sad being lonely on the track...
2.) Twin Ring Motegi Super Speedway (21 laps):
1. Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98
2. Toyota 7 Race Car '70
3. AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98
4. BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97 ------- + 0'29.256 sec.
5. Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04
6. Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01
On this race everything can happen. Very dynamic and quite hard to track down position of your opponents on map, given the length of the circuit. I hoped the 7 would spin out and allow me to take advantage of that occurrence, but it didn't happen. The last 3 I fought neck and neck against the AMG. On the last corner of the last lap I was so nervous that I applied brakes in a way I shouldn't have applied them, allowing the AMG to monitor my spin on the track. Luckily, other opponents were still far away, so I finished fourth.
3.) Hong Kong (18 laps):
1. BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97 ------- cca - 20 sec.
2. Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98
3. AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98
4. Toyota 7 Race Car '70
5. Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04
6. Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01
This was the first race during which I noticed my rear tires are warming more than the front ones, something I missed to deduce during qualification. I went into pits before half of the race and switched tires on the rear axle to harder compound. This allowed for loose entries on sharp corners, and I learned how to use it to my advantage. Toyota 7 allowed spectators some entertainment by slamming straight into wall at the end of the longest straightway. Luckily, I dodged this suicide attack by keeping myself on the left side of the section. The AMG was always around 6 to 9 seconds behind me, but once it decided to pit twice along with the Vertigo, I realized I'll be able to celebrate my first victory.
Standings after Round 3:
Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98 --- 22 pts
Toyota 7 Race Car '70 --- 19 pts
BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97
--- 17 pts
AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98 --- 11 pts
Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04 --- 6 pts
Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01 --- 3 pts
4.) Seoul Central Reverse (19 laps):
1. Toyota 7 Race Car '70
2. BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97 ------- + 0'18.289 sec.
3. Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04
4. Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98
5. AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98
6. Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01
I would have won the race if the Toyota 7 had pitted, but its good tire life didn't allow me to withstand another celebration of my victory. Other than that, the setup supporting my car was good enough for setting competitive laps. Tire wear on this track is very modest, I could run on R3 compound more than usual.
5.) El Capitan (11 laps):
1. BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97 ------ cca - 0'37 sec.
2. Toyota 7 Race Car '70
3. Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98
4. AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98
5. Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04
6. Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01
Very tricky track. You are required to drive using softer suspension settings, but if you overdo it, you can disturb chassis of MR car on approach to a corner. I managed to find good balance by altering anti-roll bars. I thought the light Toyota 7 won't be very competitive on this bouncy course, but I was wrong. It went into pit box one lap prior the finish. I do admit I was sweating a lot before that moment because all indicators were implying it would complete the race without visiting pit crew. Usually it is very easy to score victory here and get away from others quickly while their tires are still cold. This was another race where different tire combo was required, but luckily, this time there wasn't any surprises, I noticed their wear progress on time.
6.) New York (15 laps):
1. BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97 ------ cca - 0'11 sec.
2. AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98
3. Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98
4. Toyota 7 Race Car '70
5. Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04
6. Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01
This course was AMG's turf. It managed to stay 4 to 6 seconds behind me all the time and went into pit box at the same time I did. After switching my tires, I spend next two laps trying to overtake the Toyota 7, which was occasionally hitting walls and blocking my polite and desperate moves to overtake it. To visualize how fast that machine really is, imagine you have to slipstream it just to keep up with it! Again, it went into pits two laps before the race finished, allowing other cars to take advantage of that. The worst thing on this track is to worry whether AI will slam into you when coming from two high-speed sections or not. I used inside lines on first two laps to make sure such foolishness wouldn't happen.
Standings after Round 6:
BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97
--- 43 pts
Toyota 7 Race Car '70 --- 38 pts
Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98 --- 33 pts
AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98 --- 22 pts
Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04 --- 14 pts
Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01 --- 6 pts
7.) Opera Paris Reverse (18 laps):
1. BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97 ------- - 0'09.942 sec.
2. Toyota 7 Race Car '70
3. Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98
4. Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04
5. AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98
6. Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01
It was supposed to be an easygoing race, but when there is no trouble on horizon, you have to make on by yourself, no? Using suspension setup of the El Capitan race proved to be overly stiff for Opera Paris. The car was very nervous on bumps and I also had trouble accelerating given that I also had to use R2 tires on the back. The Toyota 7 managed to reduce distance between us up to the point where it was 0.500 sec behind me. Luckily, after I went into pit box, I find enough time to compose myself and start building distance again. I managed to win, but it wasn't easy at all. The AMG asked for pit crew assistance twice, I was quite surprised with that.
8.) Suzuka Circuit (9 laps):
1. BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97 ------- cca - 0'13 sec.
2. Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98
3. AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98
4. Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04
5. Toyota 7 Race Car '70
6. Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01
Drivers operating MR cars should be careful on this track as poor brake balance and suspension settings can throw you out of the race quickly. At first, the AMG was keeping up with me, but after pitting procedure, the GT-One's little picture on split time sequences replaced AMG's. I wasn't really threatened by anyone, but I still had to be careful not to launch myself into sand traps. The Toyota 7 and Vertigo poorly acted on this stage, too bad the Camaro didn't overtake them both and score some points.
9.) Grand Valley Speedway Reverse (11 laps):
1. BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97 ------- - 0'07.756 sec.
2. Toyota 7 Race Car '70
3. Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98
4. AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98
5. Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04
6. Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01
The Toyota 7 was very fast on this course, I barely managed to keep it off my vicinity. After I went into pit box to give my crew some business to take care of, the Toyota 7 started getting away step by step. I'm not sure how I managed to overtake it during pitting procedure, must have had problems with cornering once its tires became very hot.
Standings after Round 9:
BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97
--- 73 pts
Toyota 7 Race Car '70 --- 52 pts
Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98 --- 47 pts
AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98 --- 31 pts
Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04 --- 22 pts
Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01 --- 9 pts
10.) Circuit de la Sarthe I (4 laps):
1. BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97 ------- - 0'10.023 sec.
2. Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04
3. Toyota 7 Race Car '70
4. AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98
5. Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98
6. Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01
Because I already had enough points to brag about my victory, I decided to enter the race without qualifying and verifying my tire wear. As a result, I experienced another interesting race. Even though the Toyota 7 managed to run away from the pack I still had enough fun with the AMG, Vertigo and GT-One. It was a great slipstream between the three until one of these guys decided I should collect some sand particles for my pit crew to analyze. It happened during second lap on the second corner of the Mulsanne Straight when I got bumped from behind. Did I mention I hate AI in this game?
Surprisingly, on third lap both Toyota 7 and Vertigo went into sand traps at those S-curves before pit box. Mind this, the GT-One also went into pit box even though I was positive it could handle the race on R3 tires (I did)!! Now I just had to catch the AMG. I was lucky that round because that guy also went into sand trap at the same place where the two had been playing during previous lap! I crossed the finish line and completed the championship happily.
Final Results:
BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97
--- 83 pts
Toyota 7 Race Car '70 --- 56 pts
Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '98 --- 49 pts
AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR Race Car '98 --- 34 pts
Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04 --- 28 pts
Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01 --- 10 pts
Some journalist Biston visited me the other day and, I quote, 'demanded' some answers to his questions. Can you believe this impudence?!
Hey, what is wrong with you. The F1 is certainly not slow, as you can see from my results. I just wanted to experience competitive racing. I turned out, I could have and should have used even slower vehicle.
Both 'yes' and 'no' is correct. Oversteer issues aren't as dangerous as on other MR cars and the could keep tire wear fairly equal on both sides. On the other hand, understeer is often very annoying and more inherent than I would like. The car isn't bad, but it requires more pampering than one would think considering its reputation.
Certainly not enough. I used around 4 to 5 laps in total to find good setup and prepare for the race. I learned my lesson after Opera Paris though.
I doubt it. We are talking about consistent driver with harder tires, but overly too slow to use any of these advantages. Nevertheless, I believe in right hands it could be very dangerous opponent. I recall it being more friendlier in handling department than the C5R, another LM machine.
Did I say I was going to use the Camaro? I don't remember saying such thing. This is the second time I hear you putting words into my mouth. Please, stop it.
We're done talking about the Camaro. Next question or I leave.
Toyota 7. It was always the 7, even though both AMG and GT-One had their own moments of fame. I would say they attack from shadow when the 7 is not capable of keeping constant pressure on you.
Um, what do you want to know? The Motegi can be quite difficult if you drive sensitive high-powered cars. While El Capitan is technically very advanced course, it can hardly beat Suzuka or La Sarthe, courses where one mistake can jeopardize your entire race.
Yes, but I need to rest for a while. This victory gave me enough peace not to look at LM machines for some time. Once I return, I'm going to use cars with different drivetrain. The GTS-R and C5R could be interesting choices.
People appreciate 4WD cars only when traction becomes important factor. Outside that universe, they deliver nothing but understeer and inadequate tire wear. I haven't driven such LM machine on which lack of traction was that intolerable.
Good question. When you're nervous, fighting for every millisecond and corner to beat your opponents, it can become very difficult to control acceleration and braking carefully. In such circumstances driving aids may be useful, otherwise they are just getting in your way.
Cars slightly slower than the F1 GTR should give you the intense battle you always wanted to have. Maniacs should also consider upgraded JGTC or DTM cars.
That went only for 4WD machin... You know what, we're done with this interview!
Yeah, yeah...
Comments, please.