GTsail
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Continuing my fascination with German automobiles, I pull a beautiful red Mercedes SL 600 R129 '98 from my garage and after some testing and dealer upgrades, take it to the Nurburgring for some hot laps!
Since my Mercedes is red, sitting on the starting line are the usual suspects:
Ford Focus RS
Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe
Chevy Camaro SS
Audi RS 4
Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione
Mercedes SL 600 R129 '98 (me)
My Mercedes has 356 horsepower, N1/N3 tires, ballast of 50kg, and weights in at a scale flattening 2079kgs!!
The flag fly's, 200 points are offered, and the race begins!
I start the race on N1/N3 tires and hope that I can be somewhat competitive during the first lap. The Audi RS4 and I trade 5th place back and forth during the first half of lap one, but eventually, the Audi's tires warm up and it begins to pull away. I pit at the end of lap 1 from 6th place about 24 seconds behind the leading Ford Focus, and switch to N3/N3 tires.
I begin lap 2, and the news is flashed that the Ford Focus has a 43 second lead over me. Lap 2 goes pretty well, so by the T11 checkpoint I see that I've narrowed the Focus' lead to 39 seconds.
On lap 3, as I dive into the hole at T1, I see that the Lancia Delta has taken over the lead of the race. I suspect that the Focus is starting to struggle like always. When I exit Adenaur Forst, I catch a glimpse of the 5th place Pontiac. I blast down the Kesselchen straight, so by the time we get to the short shute just before the Karussel, I've been able to tap the rear bumper of the Pontiac GTO. The Pontiac must be nervous about the Karussel because he brakes early as he enters the turn. I take this opportunity to pounce and slide by into 5th place!! The T7 checkpoint shows that I still trail the leading Lancia Delta by 38 seconds. As I pass the T10 checkpoint, the news is flashed that the Camaro has taken over the lead of the race after a drafting duel down the long straight with the Lancia. The Lancia Delta pits at the end of lap 3, and is followed into the pits by the Ford Focus (about 15 seconds later). This allows me to pass the Ford Focus before it exits the pits.
So I begin lap 4 in 4th place. The T1 checkpoint on lap 4 shows me that the Camaro still has a 35 second lead over me. When I exit Adenaur Forst, I catch my first glimpse of the 3rd place Lancia Delta. The Lancia is moving pretty fast now, so it takes me until the exit from the Kliene-Karussel before I can get to the Lancia's rear bumper. My Mercedes is challenged by slow and medium speed turns, so when I slow down to negotiate the right turn just before the long straight, the Lancia pulls away. So I'm unable to draft the Lancia down the straight. The Audi RS pits as I drive thru the Hohenrain esses.
So I begin lap 5 in 3rd place. The Lancia Delta is about 1 1/2 seconds ahead of me on the track. As I drop into the hole at T1, I see that I've narrowed the Camaro's lead to 29 seconds. I'm able to dive inside the Lancia Delta at Adenaur Forst and take over 2nd place in the race. The T3 checkpoint shows that the Camaro still has a 27 second lead over me. When I get to the T8 checkpoint, my front tires are orange and the Camaro has stretched his lead to 29 seconds. The Lancia pulls up to my rear bumper going thru Kleine-Karussel. As I drive down the long straight, the Lancia drafts right on past me!! The nerve of the guy! I'm able to get a short draft off the Lancia and then follow it thru the Hohenrain esses. I enter the pits on screaming orange tires, while the Lancia continues on.
When I begin lap 6, I see that the Camaro has a 28 second lead over me. This confirms that the Camaro had pitted at the end of its 5th lap as well, its just that I missed the news during my drafting battle with the Lancia! While my speed is still limited by the pit road regulations, the Audi RS flashes by and snatches 3rd place from me! Yikes! This can not stand! The chase is on! Pushing hard to catch the Audi RS, I blow Aremburg, and do about 5 seconds of dune-buggying. I forgot that I was on blue N3 tires, and that I need to take it easy for the first lap until they warm up some more. This allows the Audi RS to get away. For the next few minutes, I slowly eat into the Audi's lead. Sometimes, I'm able to catch a glimpse of him on the exit from some of the turns. When I get to the T10 checkpoint, I see that I've narrowed the leading Camaro's lead to 19 seconds, and I can easily see the Audi RS4 ahead of me on the long straight. The Lancia Delta pits from 2nd place, so the Audi RS is able to take over 2nd place, and I'm able to take over 3rd place in the race as I cross the Start/Finish line.
I begin lap 7 about 4 seconds behind the Audi RS and about 17 seconds behind the leading Camaro. I gain ground on the Audi during the next few minutes, so that by the Karussel I'm about 1 second behind the Audi. The T8 checkpoint shows me that the Camaro's lead is now down to 14 seconds!! I get a good draft down the long straight behind the Audi RS, so I'm doing 164mph as we go under the Antoniusbuche overpass.
I begin lap 8 right on the rear bumper of the Audi RS4. The Camaro has a 12 second lead over me.
ONE HOUR MARK
Here is the race order at the one hour mark:
1st - Camaro SS --- leading
2nd - Audi RS 4 --- 11 seconds back
3rd - SL 600 (me) --- 12 seconds back
4th - Lancia Delta --- 24 seconds back
5th - Ford Focus --- 1 minute, 7 seconds back
6th - Pontiac GTO --- 2 minutes back
I drive past the Audi RS4 just after Flugplatz. Going up the hill on the exit from the Karussel, I get my first glimpse of the Camaro!! The T7 checkpoint shows that I've narrowed the Camaro's lead to 4 seconds.
I begin lap 9, only 3 seconds behind the leading Camaro. I catch the news that the Audi RS4 is pitting, so it won't challenge me on this lap even though my tires have now gone yellow. I pull up to the Camaro's rear bumper as we go up the hill thru Ex-Muhle. I draft the Camaro down the Kesselchen straight, and pass the Camaro by diving inside it as we go into the Karussel!! We exit the Karussel side-by-side, but I'm able to inch out a small lead going up the hill. I'm in 1st place for the first time!! YEAH! The Camaro re-takes the lead by driving past me at Hohe-Acht. I check my front tires and see that they are quite orange. I struggle thru the next few turns so the Camaro stretches his lead to 5 whole seconds by the T10 checkpoint. I dive into the pits for some fresh, and badly needed rubber, and see the news that the Lancia Delta does so as well, so second place seems secure.
I begin lap 10 some 25 seconds behind the streaking Camaro. The T5 checkpoint shows that I've narrowed the Camaro's lead to 23 seconds, so I've obviously been pushing hard. The T10 checkpoint is crossed, and the Camaro's lead has been reduced to 23 seconds. I'm expecting the Camaro to pit this lap, so its tires are showing evidence of being worn. Driving past the T11 checkpoint, I get the welcome news that the Camaro has entered the pits. Just before I cross the Start/Finish line, the position marker changes to 1!! I'm in the lead!! Its taken me 1 hour and 25 minutes!! (I don't count the 30 seconds I had the lead last lap, because the Camaro was able to drive right past me within two turns).
The T1 checkpoint on lap 11 shows my lead over the Camaro to be 10 seconds. The rest of the lap is uneventful.
I begin lap 12 with a 25 second lead over the Camaro. I pit at the end of lap 13 with a 33 second lead and on very orange tires.
I begin lap 14 on new tires, and my lead has been reduced to 16 seconds over the Camaro.
TWO HOUR MARK
The two hour mark is passed when I get about 1 minute and 25 seconds into lap 15. The order on the track is as follows:
1st -- Mercedes SL 600 (me)
2nd -- Chevy Camaro --- 17 seconds back
3rd -- Lancia Delta --- 52 seconds back
4th -- Audi RS 4 --- 1 minute and 6 seconds back
5th -- Ford Focus --- 3 minutes and 10 seconds back
6th -- Pontiac GTO --- 4 minutes and 35 seconds back
The Camaro pits at the end of lap 15, so by the time I reach the T3 checkpoint near Adenaur Forst on lap 16, I've increased my lead over the Camaro to 57 seconds.
I pit at the end of lap 17 with a 1 minute and 14 second lead over the Camaro. For a change of pace, I decide to try N2 tires on the front, since the N3 tires are only barely lasting 4 laps.
The T2 checkpoint on lap 18 shows that my lead over the Camaro has been reduced to 49 seconds due to my pit stop.
As I cross the Start/Finish line to begin lap 19, I get the news that the Camaro is 46 seconds behind me. This means that my experiment with the N2 tires has only cost me 3 seconds. It will be interesting to see how the N2 tires do on lap 19 because they are now fully green.
As I cross the Start/Finish line to begin lap 20, I get the news that the Camaro is 45 seconds behind me. My N2 tires cost me 1 second that lap. That's not too bad. My lead falls to 44 seconds at the T4 checkpoint. This is the low point this lap. My lead starts to increase slightly for the rest of the lap since the Camaro's tires are going off. The Camaro pits at the end of lap 20.
As I cross the T2 checkpoint on lap 21, I see that my lead has ballooned out to 1 minute and 12 seconds! My N2 tire experiment is going well
I begin lap 22 with a 1 minute and 22 second lead over the Camaro. I'm on my fifth lap for this stint, and my front tires are still lightly green! The N2 tires make me very slow thru some of the turns, but I will have saved an entire pit stop before the end of the race. Plus, I won't be driving with orange tires for half a lap.
3 HOUR MARK
The 3 hour mark is passed, and the order is as follows:
1st -- Mercedes SL 600 (me)
2nd -- Chevy Camaro -- 1 minute and 22 seconds back
3rd -- Lancia Delta --- 1 minute and 40 seconds back
4th -- Audi RS 4 --- 2 minutes and 25 seconds back
5th -- Ford Focus --- 4 minutes and 55 seconds back
6th -- Pontiac GTO --- 7 minutes and 10 seconds back
I'm blasting down the long straight at about 145mph when my Mercedes starts to slow. I press harder on the accelerator to no avail. My speed does not increase, instead, my speed slowly drops to 50mph.
What's the story? Have I broken the throttle linkeage?💡 I begin to wish that I was driving a Toyota, because I know that they don't slow down.
The T11 checkpoint says that my lead over the Camaro has fallen to 49 seconds.
I limp into the pits for fuel and tires. I hear laughter up and down the pit lane while my pit crew stoically gives me a thumbs-up and sends me on my way.
That N2 experiment was a disaster!!
I had been previously filling the gas tank to 50, which would give me enough fuel for 4 laps in my gas guzzling behemoth. I did not increase this level for my 5 lap stint. What a dunce!
Guess who is in my mirrors as I begin lap 23? A white Camaro!!
My lead is 3.6 seconds. I drive hard but smoothly during lap 23, so the Camaro does not get any closer than 2.6 seconds.
I begin lap 24 with a 5 second lead over the Camaro. I continue to drive hard to maintain this lead.
I begin lap 25 with a 7 second lead over the Camaro. Lap 25 goes well, so when the Camaro pits at the end, I have stretched my lead to 12 seconds.
By Adenaur Forst on lap 26, my lead has grown to 39 seconds. I'm worried that I've damaged the Mercedes engine running it out of fuel. On each of the last two laps, and again as I'm driving thru Speigelkurve on this lap, my engine goes dead and does not seem to accelerate for a few seconds.
Soldiering on, but very worried, I drop into Pflanzgarten I and just make the turn since my front tires are bright orange. The rumble strip is my friend! My lead over the Camaro has been extended out to 45 seconds as I begin the drive down the long straight. I check my fuel status as I cross the T10 checkpoint and see that all is well this time. Driving down the long straight at 150mph is a lot more fun than doing so at 50mph with your competition smoking down the track behind you! I drive into the pits one last time with 20 minutes left in the race.
Lap 27 is begun with a 24 second lead over the ever-present Camaro. I wonder how much of that lead I can keep, before my tires get up to operating temperature on this lap? The T11 checkpoint shows that I've maintained most of my lead since I'm still 22 seconds ahead of the Camaro.
Lap 28 begins and I see that the 6th place Pontiac GTO is about 30 seconds ahead of me on the track. I think there's a decent chance that I can catch it during the next two laps. As I careen around the Karussel, I'm informed that I have a 27 second lead over the 2nd place Camaro.
I begin lap 29 with a 29 second lead over the Camaro. How appropriate! The Pontiac GTO is about 10 seconds ahead of me. I catch a glimpse of the Pontiac as I exit the Adenaur Forst. I gain significantly thru Breidscheid and Ex-Muhle on the Pontiac. As I drive down the Kesselchen back straight, I'm able to catch the Pontiac's draft. I draft right on by the Pontiac doing 130mph. As I drive up the hill after the Karussel, I see that I've stretched my lead over the Camaro to 33 seconds. From then on, I just cruise to victory! After 4 hours and 5 minutes of racing, I win another Chaparral 2D. Yeah!
Approximate finishing order:
1st -- Mercedes SL 600 (me) -- 4.05.51.697
2nd -- Chevy Camaro SS --- 32 seconds back
3rd -- Lancia Delta HF --- 1 minute and 20 seconds back
4th -- Audi RS 4 ------- 2 minutes back
5th -- Ford Focus RS ----- 5 minutes and 45 seconds back
6th -- Pontiac GTO 5.7 ----1 lap, and 8 seconds back
Mercedes SL 600 stats:
HP: 356
Weight: 2097
Tires: N1/N3
Racing brakes
Brake controller: 8/9
Semi-racing suspension
Custom transmission: auto at 10
Twin-plate clutch
Semi-racing flywheel
Aids: 0,0,1
1.5 way Ltd Slip
Ballast: 50, and +5 to the rear
The Mercedes has good speed and is as fast as anyone down the straights and thru high-speed turns. However, thru low and some medium speed turns, the Mercedes is very slow because you must apply the brakes early and hard in order to make the turns. The behemoth's weight becomes very apparent during these turns! The Mercedes is decently gentle on its N3 tires, so you get 3 1/2 good laps, and then you need to drive carefully for 1/2 a lap (the fronts go first). On N2/N3 tires, you can get 5 1/2 good laps (if you have enough fuel on board). The Mercedes does consume more fuel than all the other cars I have run at the 'Ring recently, but not so much that its a problem if you watch the fuel gauge.
Enjoy the racing!
GTsail
Since my Mercedes is red, sitting on the starting line are the usual suspects:
Ford Focus RS
Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe
Chevy Camaro SS
Audi RS 4
Lancia Delta HF Integrale Evoluzione
Mercedes SL 600 R129 '98 (me)
My Mercedes has 356 horsepower, N1/N3 tires, ballast of 50kg, and weights in at a scale flattening 2079kgs!!
The flag fly's, 200 points are offered, and the race begins!
I start the race on N1/N3 tires and hope that I can be somewhat competitive during the first lap. The Audi RS4 and I trade 5th place back and forth during the first half of lap one, but eventually, the Audi's tires warm up and it begins to pull away. I pit at the end of lap 1 from 6th place about 24 seconds behind the leading Ford Focus, and switch to N3/N3 tires.
I begin lap 2, and the news is flashed that the Ford Focus has a 43 second lead over me. Lap 2 goes pretty well, so by the T11 checkpoint I see that I've narrowed the Focus' lead to 39 seconds.
On lap 3, as I dive into the hole at T1, I see that the Lancia Delta has taken over the lead of the race. I suspect that the Focus is starting to struggle like always. When I exit Adenaur Forst, I catch a glimpse of the 5th place Pontiac. I blast down the Kesselchen straight, so by the time we get to the short shute just before the Karussel, I've been able to tap the rear bumper of the Pontiac GTO. The Pontiac must be nervous about the Karussel because he brakes early as he enters the turn. I take this opportunity to pounce and slide by into 5th place!! The T7 checkpoint shows that I still trail the leading Lancia Delta by 38 seconds. As I pass the T10 checkpoint, the news is flashed that the Camaro has taken over the lead of the race after a drafting duel down the long straight with the Lancia. The Lancia Delta pits at the end of lap 3, and is followed into the pits by the Ford Focus (about 15 seconds later). This allows me to pass the Ford Focus before it exits the pits.
So I begin lap 4 in 4th place. The T1 checkpoint on lap 4 shows me that the Camaro still has a 35 second lead over me. When I exit Adenaur Forst, I catch my first glimpse of the 3rd place Lancia Delta. The Lancia is moving pretty fast now, so it takes me until the exit from the Kliene-Karussel before I can get to the Lancia's rear bumper. My Mercedes is challenged by slow and medium speed turns, so when I slow down to negotiate the right turn just before the long straight, the Lancia pulls away. So I'm unable to draft the Lancia down the straight. The Audi RS pits as I drive thru the Hohenrain esses.
So I begin lap 5 in 3rd place. The Lancia Delta is about 1 1/2 seconds ahead of me on the track. As I drop into the hole at T1, I see that I've narrowed the Camaro's lead to 29 seconds. I'm able to dive inside the Lancia Delta at Adenaur Forst and take over 2nd place in the race. The T3 checkpoint shows that the Camaro still has a 27 second lead over me. When I get to the T8 checkpoint, my front tires are orange and the Camaro has stretched his lead to 29 seconds. The Lancia pulls up to my rear bumper going thru Kleine-Karussel. As I drive down the long straight, the Lancia drafts right on past me!! The nerve of the guy! I'm able to get a short draft off the Lancia and then follow it thru the Hohenrain esses. I enter the pits on screaming orange tires, while the Lancia continues on.
When I begin lap 6, I see that the Camaro has a 28 second lead over me. This confirms that the Camaro had pitted at the end of its 5th lap as well, its just that I missed the news during my drafting battle with the Lancia! While my speed is still limited by the pit road regulations, the Audi RS flashes by and snatches 3rd place from me! Yikes! This can not stand! The chase is on! Pushing hard to catch the Audi RS, I blow Aremburg, and do about 5 seconds of dune-buggying. I forgot that I was on blue N3 tires, and that I need to take it easy for the first lap until they warm up some more. This allows the Audi RS to get away. For the next few minutes, I slowly eat into the Audi's lead. Sometimes, I'm able to catch a glimpse of him on the exit from some of the turns. When I get to the T10 checkpoint, I see that I've narrowed the leading Camaro's lead to 19 seconds, and I can easily see the Audi RS4 ahead of me on the long straight. The Lancia Delta pits from 2nd place, so the Audi RS is able to take over 2nd place, and I'm able to take over 3rd place in the race as I cross the Start/Finish line.
I begin lap 7 about 4 seconds behind the Audi RS and about 17 seconds behind the leading Camaro. I gain ground on the Audi during the next few minutes, so that by the Karussel I'm about 1 second behind the Audi. The T8 checkpoint shows me that the Camaro's lead is now down to 14 seconds!! I get a good draft down the long straight behind the Audi RS, so I'm doing 164mph as we go under the Antoniusbuche overpass.
I begin lap 8 right on the rear bumper of the Audi RS4. The Camaro has a 12 second lead over me.
ONE HOUR MARK
Here is the race order at the one hour mark:
1st - Camaro SS --- leading
2nd - Audi RS 4 --- 11 seconds back
3rd - SL 600 (me) --- 12 seconds back
4th - Lancia Delta --- 24 seconds back
5th - Ford Focus --- 1 minute, 7 seconds back
6th - Pontiac GTO --- 2 minutes back
I drive past the Audi RS4 just after Flugplatz. Going up the hill on the exit from the Karussel, I get my first glimpse of the Camaro!! The T7 checkpoint shows that I've narrowed the Camaro's lead to 4 seconds.
I begin lap 9, only 3 seconds behind the leading Camaro. I catch the news that the Audi RS4 is pitting, so it won't challenge me on this lap even though my tires have now gone yellow. I pull up to the Camaro's rear bumper as we go up the hill thru Ex-Muhle. I draft the Camaro down the Kesselchen straight, and pass the Camaro by diving inside it as we go into the Karussel!! We exit the Karussel side-by-side, but I'm able to inch out a small lead going up the hill. I'm in 1st place for the first time!! YEAH! The Camaro re-takes the lead by driving past me at Hohe-Acht. I check my front tires and see that they are quite orange. I struggle thru the next few turns so the Camaro stretches his lead to 5 whole seconds by the T10 checkpoint. I dive into the pits for some fresh, and badly needed rubber, and see the news that the Lancia Delta does so as well, so second place seems secure.
I begin lap 10 some 25 seconds behind the streaking Camaro. The T5 checkpoint shows that I've narrowed the Camaro's lead to 23 seconds, so I've obviously been pushing hard. The T10 checkpoint is crossed, and the Camaro's lead has been reduced to 23 seconds. I'm expecting the Camaro to pit this lap, so its tires are showing evidence of being worn. Driving past the T11 checkpoint, I get the welcome news that the Camaro has entered the pits. Just before I cross the Start/Finish line, the position marker changes to 1!! I'm in the lead!! Its taken me 1 hour and 25 minutes!! (I don't count the 30 seconds I had the lead last lap, because the Camaro was able to drive right past me within two turns).
The T1 checkpoint on lap 11 shows my lead over the Camaro to be 10 seconds. The rest of the lap is uneventful.
I begin lap 12 with a 25 second lead over the Camaro. I pit at the end of lap 13 with a 33 second lead and on very orange tires.
I begin lap 14 on new tires, and my lead has been reduced to 16 seconds over the Camaro.
TWO HOUR MARK
The two hour mark is passed when I get about 1 minute and 25 seconds into lap 15. The order on the track is as follows:
1st -- Mercedes SL 600 (me)
2nd -- Chevy Camaro --- 17 seconds back
3rd -- Lancia Delta --- 52 seconds back
4th -- Audi RS 4 --- 1 minute and 6 seconds back
5th -- Ford Focus --- 3 minutes and 10 seconds back
6th -- Pontiac GTO --- 4 minutes and 35 seconds back
The Camaro pits at the end of lap 15, so by the time I reach the T3 checkpoint near Adenaur Forst on lap 16, I've increased my lead over the Camaro to 57 seconds.
I pit at the end of lap 17 with a 1 minute and 14 second lead over the Camaro. For a change of pace, I decide to try N2 tires on the front, since the N3 tires are only barely lasting 4 laps.
The T2 checkpoint on lap 18 shows that my lead over the Camaro has been reduced to 49 seconds due to my pit stop.
As I cross the Start/Finish line to begin lap 19, I get the news that the Camaro is 46 seconds behind me. This means that my experiment with the N2 tires has only cost me 3 seconds. It will be interesting to see how the N2 tires do on lap 19 because they are now fully green.
As I cross the Start/Finish line to begin lap 20, I get the news that the Camaro is 45 seconds behind me. My N2 tires cost me 1 second that lap. That's not too bad. My lead falls to 44 seconds at the T4 checkpoint. This is the low point this lap. My lead starts to increase slightly for the rest of the lap since the Camaro's tires are going off. The Camaro pits at the end of lap 20.
As I cross the T2 checkpoint on lap 21, I see that my lead has ballooned out to 1 minute and 12 seconds! My N2 tire experiment is going well
I begin lap 22 with a 1 minute and 22 second lead over the Camaro. I'm on my fifth lap for this stint, and my front tires are still lightly green! The N2 tires make me very slow thru some of the turns, but I will have saved an entire pit stop before the end of the race. Plus, I won't be driving with orange tires for half a lap.
3 HOUR MARK
The 3 hour mark is passed, and the order is as follows:
1st -- Mercedes SL 600 (me)
2nd -- Chevy Camaro -- 1 minute and 22 seconds back
3rd -- Lancia Delta --- 1 minute and 40 seconds back
4th -- Audi RS 4 --- 2 minutes and 25 seconds back
5th -- Ford Focus --- 4 minutes and 55 seconds back
6th -- Pontiac GTO --- 7 minutes and 10 seconds back
I'm blasting down the long straight at about 145mph when my Mercedes starts to slow. I press harder on the accelerator to no avail. My speed does not increase, instead, my speed slowly drops to 50mph.
What's the story? Have I broken the throttle linkeage?💡 I begin to wish that I was driving a Toyota, because I know that they don't slow down.The T11 checkpoint says that my lead over the Camaro has fallen to 49 seconds.
I limp into the pits for fuel and tires. I hear laughter up and down the pit lane while my pit crew stoically gives me a thumbs-up and sends me on my way.That N2 experiment was a disaster!!
I had been previously filling the gas tank to 50, which would give me enough fuel for 4 laps in my gas guzzling behemoth. I did not increase this level for my 5 lap stint. What a dunce!
Guess who is in my mirrors as I begin lap 23? A white Camaro!!
My lead is 3.6 seconds. I drive hard but smoothly during lap 23, so the Camaro does not get any closer than 2.6 seconds.I begin lap 24 with a 5 second lead over the Camaro. I continue to drive hard to maintain this lead.
I begin lap 25 with a 7 second lead over the Camaro. Lap 25 goes well, so when the Camaro pits at the end, I have stretched my lead to 12 seconds.
By Adenaur Forst on lap 26, my lead has grown to 39 seconds. I'm worried that I've damaged the Mercedes engine running it out of fuel. On each of the last two laps, and again as I'm driving thru Speigelkurve on this lap, my engine goes dead and does not seem to accelerate for a few seconds.
Soldiering on, but very worried, I drop into Pflanzgarten I and just make the turn since my front tires are bright orange. The rumble strip is my friend! My lead over the Camaro has been extended out to 45 seconds as I begin the drive down the long straight. I check my fuel status as I cross the T10 checkpoint and see that all is well this time.
Driving down the long straight at 150mph is a lot more fun than doing so at 50mph with your competition smoking down the track behind you! I drive into the pits one last time with 20 minutes left in the race.Lap 27 is begun with a 24 second lead over the ever-present Camaro. I wonder how much of that lead I can keep, before my tires get up to operating temperature on this lap? The T11 checkpoint shows that I've maintained most of my lead since I'm still 22 seconds ahead of the Camaro.
Lap 28 begins and I see that the 6th place Pontiac GTO is about 30 seconds ahead of me on the track. I think there's a decent chance that I can catch it during the next two laps. As I careen around the Karussel, I'm informed that I have a 27 second lead over the 2nd place Camaro.
I begin lap 29 with a 29 second lead over the Camaro. How appropriate! The Pontiac GTO is about 10 seconds ahead of me. I catch a glimpse of the Pontiac as I exit the Adenaur Forst. I gain significantly thru Breidscheid and Ex-Muhle on the Pontiac. As I drive down the Kesselchen back straight, I'm able to catch the Pontiac's draft.
I draft right on by the Pontiac doing 130mph. As I drive up the hill after the Karussel, I see that I've stretched my lead over the Camaro to 33 seconds. From then on, I just cruise to victory! After 4 hours and 5 minutes of racing, I win another Chaparral 2D. Yeah!Approximate finishing order:
1st -- Mercedes SL 600 (me) -- 4.05.51.697
2nd -- Chevy Camaro SS --- 32 seconds back
3rd -- Lancia Delta HF --- 1 minute and 20 seconds back
4th -- Audi RS 4 ------- 2 minutes back
5th -- Ford Focus RS ----- 5 minutes and 45 seconds back
6th -- Pontiac GTO 5.7 ----1 lap, and 8 seconds back
Mercedes SL 600 stats:
HP: 356
Weight: 2097
Tires: N1/N3
Racing brakes
Brake controller: 8/9
Semi-racing suspension
Custom transmission: auto at 10
Twin-plate clutch
Semi-racing flywheel
Aids: 0,0,1
1.5 way Ltd Slip
Ballast: 50, and +5 to the rear
The Mercedes has good speed and is as fast as anyone down the straights and thru high-speed turns. However, thru low and some medium speed turns, the Mercedes is very slow because you must apply the brakes early and hard in order to make the turns. The behemoth's weight becomes very apparent during these turns! The Mercedes is decently gentle on its N3 tires, so you get 3 1/2 good laps, and then you need to drive carefully for 1/2 a lap (the fronts go first). On N2/N3 tires, you can get 5 1/2 good laps (if you have enough fuel on board
). The Mercedes does consume more fuel than all the other cars I have run at the 'Ring recently, but not so much that its a problem if you watch the fuel gauge.Enjoy the racing!
GTsail
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Anyways, good luck, GTsail. 👍
