Repetition, Repetition, Repetition: 9 hours of Tsukuba {A-Spec}

[Storm_SP17]

So, I was thinking of what to do to break in one of my new cars for a Spot Race later on next month. I looked at my endurance events on B-Spec, thinking that I'd might as well grind the daylights out of another event that I could easily win. However, upon seeing 9 hours of Tsukuba, and remembering that I hadn't done it on A-Spec yet, because of how desperately agonising the 4-hour Tsukuba enduro was with the Mazda MX-5's, I was always severely put off....

I decided to do it anyway, given I'm nearly level 40 and this'll pretty much bump me up.

The Car:
A Race Modified Acura NSX '91

Racing Specifications:
Power: 294 bhp / 7300 rpm
Torque: 30 kgfm / 5800 rpm
Weight: 1045 kg
Transmission: Manual (MT)
Top Speed: 168 mph (~270 km/h)
Performance Points: 495

Tyres Used: Racing Hard
Aids: All off, except ABS at 1

Overview:
Because the car would be stock and Racing Hard restricted in the Spot Race, I decided that I'd go with the same setup (none!) for this event also. I kinda knew that I may be faster than the opposition, despite knowing that I really shouldn't given the lower power, torque and lack of tuning, as well as Racing Hards.

I decided to have two other tyre options, for if the situation on the current tyres is too easy or too difficult. I have Sports Soft tyres for much less grip, meaning slower laps times if I end up being too quick, and Racing Softs for if Racing Hards prove too slow and I need the help.

Opposition and Grid:

1. V.Finley - BNR34 Skyline GT-R V.spec N1
2. P.Montoya - CT230R
3. T.Morelli - Amemiya FD3S RX-7
4. R.Eichel - Amuse S2000 GT1
5. G.Valentine - Stage II R32
6. G.Walsh - G37
7. D.King (Me) - NSX RM '91
8. W.Cole - IS F Racing Concept
9. L.Guillot - Gran Turismo 350Z RS
10. U.Esposito - BNR34 Skyline GT-R N1 Base
11. A.Fowler - FT565 twin turbo Audi TT
12. E.Eriksson - Nismo 380RS Super Leggera

Starting at 7:45pm, and there will be breaks in between to write, sleep and whatnot. Wish me luck! I'll keep ya all posted.

 

[Storm_SP17]

Chapter One: The first Hour.

The start of the race was as I expected, easily overtaking the other cars while some close enough on the back straight had enough power to charge past me en route to the last corner and to the finish line. The Acura's handling made up for the lack of pace though, but with second place under wraps after 6 laps, but 9 or so seconds to make up, it was bound to be tough. It seemed as though I was breaking even every lap, only really gaining in the middle sector by a fair amount, only to lose out on the first and last sectors.

On a good run, I gain 0.1 or 0.2 seconds at most per lap, but then I suddenly noticed that the gap dropped by a couple seconds in a single lap, to 6 seconds. Was it possible that the Mediums were starting to drop off already? However, the car struggled as per usual to gain time, so I just put it down to a poor lap from Finley.

On lap 30, I started to noticed Finley and I were coming round to the back markers; traffic was going to start piling up now. Glorious, my chance to gain time was fast approaching. As Finley in his BNR34 lapped the last place car, I wasn't sure if it were Eriksson or Guillot. It was confirmed later on that Guillot had moved down to 12th, with Eriksson in 11th, as the bright orange Audi TT stood before Finley at lap 37. Sweeping on the outside of the Super Leggera at the second hairpin at turns 5 and 6, I noticed that Finley had trouble getting past Fowler, shaving the time down to little more than a second going into lap 40. Traffic was obviously playing havoc with Finley around lap 37-39, where I noticed the gap drop from 6 seconds to less than 3 seconds.

Lap 41, the gap was now 0.5 seconds, and I was now within spitting distance of an attack. My NSX overtook Finley's custom tuned Skyline for the lead after having to shave off an initial gap of 10 seconds at the start of the race. Now it was time to use the traffic, thick as syrup, to cut away from Finley's BNR34 Skyline. If I could do that, chances are I could definitely have a shot of winning...

Laps 44 and 45 ended up being less than satisfactory, as firstly the other BNR34 of Esposito put up a fight through the first 7 turns, before eventually my NSX won out and took the lead from half a second to nearly 2, but lost 2 seconds on my current pace in the process. On lap 44, after easily dispatching the IS-F Concept of W.Cole to lap him, the G37 of G.Walsh refused to yield the outside line on the final straight. This resulted in the NSX having two wheel completely on the grass until the final corner, where my Acura nearly ran into the start of the pit guardrail in a fight to remain on track. Again, 2 seconds of pace was lost, but the lead had increased to 4 seconds.

The traffic was doing its job, and after the first hour, the gap had pulled to a steady 9.849 seconds, with 60 laps under my belt in the first hour. The other cars had started to pit, although Finley was still trying to chase me down. His car was probably extremely good on its tyres thanks to the 4WD capability; as I noticed in the 4-hr Nurburgring Type-V event. Not only would it be a case of who blinks first, but if the lower bhp and torque meant that my fuel efficiency was better. All I knew was that I was bound to pit soon; my Racing Hards were almost shot to pieces on the left side now....

 

[Storm_SP17]

Chapter Two: Three Hours In, Nothing But Plain Sailing.

At the start of the next couple hours, my times were definitely no longer lasting against a fast closing Finley, who went from nearly 10 seconds down to less than 7 second in a few laps, and by lap 70, I decided that enough was enough and pitted, taking on 62 litres of fuel. I went for Racing Hards again, and as Finley went past, I cursed a little; maybe I was not driving cleanly enough. My only saving grace is that I somehow managed to get close to an 8 second gap before the end of my stint.

I exited the pits with a 42.7 second gap between myself and the now-leading Finley. The Following lap, however, Montoya took 1st over Finley, who had clearly pitted, allowing me to jump to 2nd just 2 seconds behind the leading CT230R. Miraculously, the next lap saw a lead jump from 3 seconds to 33 seconds. By the end of the second stint at around lap 135 and 2 hrs and 16 mins into the race, the lead was comfortably a lap over V.Finley. Even with a fill of 57 litres, the gap after I pitted was 18 seconds ahead of V.Finley, with the BNR34 V.spec still to pit.

On lap 150, my consitency and concentration faultered, and how I never ended up in the barriers at the last turn I do not know, but I managed to brake hard enough to turn, burn the tyres fighting the car's understeer, but just slowed it enough to trickle it back onto the track without going more than halfway off. That'll teach me to zone out....

At the three hour mark finally, I decided to call it a night and get some rest. I'll be up relatively early, and with no work tomorrow, I can focus on plugging another 4 hours out of the race before lunchtime. I'm currently on lap 179 with 3:00:33.383 on the clock and though my gap is only 1 lap technically, it is probably closer to 2 laps. I am contemplating running the Sports Soft tyres for my next stint, which isn't quite over yet. I can probably get another 15-20 laps out of the tyres, but I'll see how it goes.