Smallhorses
Staff Emeritus
- 7,260
Hot Rod Competition : El Capitan (3 laps)
My car is a Ford Taurus SHO '98 (Used, oil changed) which has a 3.4L V8 engine producing 234HP which will drag the 1509kg bodyweight around by driving the front wheels.
Lining up in competition with my family car are the following entrants: *
A Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00 with a 5.4L V8 pushing 396HP, but an even lardier 1628kg bodyweight from a smaller car than mine!
A Dodge Viper GTS '99 having an 8.0L V10 giving 449HP and 1569kg bodyweight, again heavier for a smaller car.
A Shelby Series 1 Super Charged '03 with its 4.0L V8 showing 393HP and a dainty 1202kg bodweight, surely making it favourite here!
A Callaway C12 '03 whose 5.7L V8 generates 432HP and weighing in at 1480kg.
A Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe '04 with a 5.7L V8 making 394HP and the fattest car here at 1690kg!
(*HP figures from the race previews, and bodyweights assumed unmodified gathered from the various dealer purchasing statistics screens)
The AI are a mixture of modified and stock cars from the US, but even though it's only a 3 lap race, they run on Sports Hard tyres.
My Taurus is in stock form, barring a last minute oil change, and over 19000 miles on the clock has warped the chassis somewhat, but I don't have 50 grand to spend on a refresh, so it'll run as it is. 
My one advantage though is that I've kept the stock Sports Medium tyres on, 
but even so, the fact that I'm running an ass-dragging, 4-door sedan, giving up between 159 and 215HP to a field of front-engine, rear-wheel drive monsters means I'm still classed as the 200 : 1 rank outsider. 
Grid:-
1st Callaway C12 '03
2nd Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00
3rd Dodge Viper GTS '99
4th Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe '04
5th Shelby Series 1 Super Charged '03
6th Ford Taurus SHO '98
1st Callaway C12 '03
2nd Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00
3rd Dodge Viper GTS '99
4th Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe '04
5th Shelby Series 1 Super Charged '03
6th Ford Taurus SHO '98
Starting in last place, as a late entrant, it's no surprise when all 5 of the other entrants disappear into the distance as my front-wheel drive, lugubrious-landbarge struggles to lay it's mediocre power onto the road. All driving aids had been turned to zero, apart from TCS which was left at 1 in anticipation of the standing start and wheelspin here.
The Taurus has body roll aplenty while cornering and the pitch and yaw from acceleration or braking is also readily apparent. They're illustrated here in 2 different views heading into the first bend!
Rounding the first turn, the looping hairpin, the field doesn't seem to pull away by much, and as we head back towards El Capitan, and the tunnel turns, the AI cars kick up a dust cloud as they catch the apex of one of the shallow turns. In the right/left flick climbing to the tunnel itself, I make up some ground on the 5th placed Pontiac, and go into the tunnel right behind him. He brakes cautiously before the steep uphill left turn, and I keep the throttle on the floor, passing by him on the righthand side as we crest the brow.
There's a bit of a gap to the remaining 4 cars now, but they're slow through the downhill right,
and throwing caution to the wind, I aim for the gap between the Shelby and the Dodge with no braking, just a lift of the throttle, and I dive inside the Shelby, passing cleanly across the front of him as I begin to plough wide, and this takes me past the Dodge too, on his lefthand side as we go into the gentle lefthander that leads us down towards the hairpin at Yosemite Lodge. The Callaway and Mustang ahead of me kick up trails of sparks as their race-tuned stiff suspension bottoms out through here, but the soggy standard ride of the Taurus absorbs the bumps with a sort-of wallowy grace! 
Hard on the brakes for the hairpin, and I'm able to nip inside the Callaway and into 2nd place. Easing back on the throttle to avoid contact, I follow the Mustang closely through the turn, keeping a close eye on the mirror to make sure the Callaway doesn't spring any surprise attacks to my rear bumper, which'd ruin the clean run I'm after.
Thankfully there's no such approaches, although as the Mustang pulls away through the turns towards the bridge, the Callaway and other pursuers gain on me. Some nifty left-foot braking means I can carry maximum speed onto the bridge, whilst skillfully avoiding a race-ending brush with the wall. Close right up to the Mustang through the series of bends after the bridge, and I've still got an eye on the mirror for signs of a lunge from the Callaway, but he's still a little too far back to try anything silly. 👍
He closes as the Mustang drags away through the bends that round out the lap, although going into the final bend, I'm surprised to gain time on both of them since they're slower through here than I am,
having used some off-on-off-on, throttle modulation to maintain a good line, sensible speed and minimise the inherent understeer that a heavy V8 powered front-driving barge is bound to encounter. Once we're back out onto the start/finish straight though, the other entrants have a chance to show off their power, the Mustang strolling away, and I move over to the right to avoid a shunting from the Callaway as he catches up to the back of my Taurus at an alarming rate. He gets alongside before the shallow right turn over the bridge, and he brakes much harder than I do, allowing my to maintain my 2nd place and pursuit of the Mustang unhindered.
I'm harried through the first turn by a spearhead of cars, the Callaway heading the Dodge and Shelby who're side-by-side through the turn, the Dodge's unorthodox outside line actually gaining him the advantage and 4th place as they exit the bend.
Once again in the run throughthe turns towards the tunnel I gain a bit on the Mustang, and by the left/right uphill flick before the tunnel entrance I'm right on his tail and scenting blood. 
The throttle stays mashed to the floor exiting the tunnel and as an enormous shower of sparks flies from the back of the Mustang, I've lined up the pass on his righthand side. 
A brief lift entering the downhill right, hugging the wall on the inside, before drifting understeerily out to the left, edges me away from my chasers and I'm now holding 1st place. Another lift-off to avoid the wall outside the bend straightens me up for the gentle left down towards the Lodge again. Once again keen throttle modulation and some left-foot braking allow a smooth negotiation of the turn and a last-second scare in which the dirt exiting the turn is neatly dodged!
I'm able to pull away a bit from the hairpin, and continue the wide-open throttle and left-foot brake tapping to see me safely onto the bridge again whilst avoiding the walls,
before clocking a 2.2s lead at the T2 checkpoint there. The remainder of the lap is seen out safely and cleanly, crossing the line still clutching my 2.2s gap, but the Mustang is much faster down the straight and is eating chunks of my lead all the time! The gains are apparent as we exit turn 1, the 2nd placed Mustang and 3rd placed Dodge having seemed to gain a lot through there as their tyres are now warmer and I battle with a tonne-and-a-half of understeer! 
Up into the tunnel and having negotiated all the bends leading up to it cleanly, it's a little scary that the Mustang clears the first checkpoint only 1.4s behind now, having gained 0.8s in the first sector. 
Once again, exiting the tunnel at full-tilt the Taurus is a little unstable over the crest of the hill, but easily stabilised with a few minor throttle corrections, and I get a good fast exit from the downhill turn before making throttle and braking adjustments throughout the gentle lefthander down towards the Lodge hairpin for a final time. I have a little breathing space again into the hairpin, but the other entrants warmer tyres are leaving them less cautious and much quicker through the next turns than they've been before. The turns before the next checkpoint are taken smoothly, and the split-timer shows 1.7s advantage in my favour over the Mustang. Will it be enough though with their improving tyres?
Got to keep my nerve, and 100% clean record in place for a few more turns yet before I can back down. 
Thankfully, although the field gains massively through the last stretch and onto the straight again, I've built enough of a cushion to hang on for an awesome, clean, but unexpected win, coming home 0.640s ahead of the Mustang who leads a pack of startled cars in his wake!
A shot back down the valley as we're slowing after the finish shows the splendid beauty of Yosemite, matched only by the beauty of taking home 200 A-spec points here, 100% cleanly, in a total underdog! 
Result:-
1st Ford Taurus SHO '98
2nd Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00
3rd Dodge Viper GTS '99
4th Callaway C12 '03
5th Shelby Series 1 Super Charged '03
6th Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe '04
1st Ford Taurus SHO '98
2nd Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00
3rd Dodge Viper GTS '99
4th Callaway C12 '03
5th Shelby Series 1 Super Charged '03
6th Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe '04
A MAXDrive NTSC/NA format replay is also attached below for your viewing pleasure and criticism! 
I thought you were a WRS racer, must've got you confused with someone else. 
I'm getting older.... it happens! 
