This was my 3rd time to run the 4 hour Nürburgring race. I always won by over 1 lap the previous runs and this time I wanted a closer race. I found a perfect car for the job, the BMW M3 GTR. I've used the M5 before but it was too fast. No wonder they use those for Ring taxis. The M3 was just what I was looking for, and it acts like it was made for ringing.
The Starting Grid
1.2000 Skyline GT-R V-spec II
2.2004 Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe
3.2004 Lotus Elise 111R
4.2002 ASL Garaiya
5.2002 Honda NSX Type R
6.2003 BMW M3 GTR
A-Spec Points: 71
Course: Nürburgring
Time: 4 hours
Pit Strategies
Skyline 5 Laps
GTO 6 Laps
Elise 5 Laps
ASL 6 Laps
NSX 6 Laps
M3 3 Laps
My Cars Setup
FC tranny, triple clutch, racing flywheel, brakes, and drive shaft. That's it. No muffler, chip, or any other mods, basically just the drivetrain.
The Race
As we leave the line, the Elise almost immediately takes the lead. I try to pass the NSX early but it is so large and the road has so many turns early on, that passing was nearly impossible. Around Hocheichen, I finally get an opening to pass the NSX. When I get into 5th, the ASL is right ahead of me trying to get around the GTO that looks to be intentionally blocking the ASL from passing. I find an easy line around both just as we go over the jump before Flugplatz and take 3rd. By this time, the Elise was already out of site, but after good hard run up the hill and past the Skyline, and I could just barely make out the black Elise in the lead. Amazingly, I caught up with him at Arembergkurve and and followed him up to Adenauer Forst. Like an idiot, I follow his lead into the turn way too fast and we both slide into the grass. We both recover and the chase is back on. At Breidscheid, I finally get to take the lead. I run through Karussell with perfect speed through the turn and expand my lead to 4 seconds. Near the end of the lap, I had my M3 maxed out at 275km/h at the end of the straight with a 7 second lead.
During the second lap, I extended my lead all the way up to 10 seconds but mistakes at Karussell and the Elise being what seems a little faster down the straight, I ended the lap 7.6 seconds ahead. I lose a couple of seconds at Arembergkurve during lap 3 due to over-testing the cars limits. My lead drops to 6 seconds. As I enter the straight, I have a 7 second advantage, but by the end, the Elise has proved to be a second faster and my lead is down to 6 as I enter the pits for the first time. The Elise keeps on and takes 1st. I exit the pits 12 seconds behind now and have a lot of ground to make up.
Lap 4 was my fastest yet at 7:45.344 and considering that was out of the pits, I should be able to lower that a lot more. I pretty much ran from Eiskurve to Schwalbenschwanz WOT. Still 9.6 seconds down as we start lap 5. Once again I get too aggressive though the 2nd half of the lap and lose precious seconds to add 2 more seconds to the Elise's lead. Luckily, he pits at the end of the lap and I'm able to lead a lap again.
Lap 6 was very exciting because it was my most perfect lap yet. The Elise exits the pits 7 seconds behind me, but has a lot of trouble getting going on his new tires. Early on as I come out of Arembergkurve, I realize that my lead is now 12 seconds. It only gets larger as the lap goes on. At Breidscheid it hits 17 seconds, before Karussell 24 seconds, and as I am coming to the pits a whole 30 seconds in the lead. I pit as scheduled and wait in anticipation as to whether or not the Elise will pass me.
I exit the pits and 9 seconds later, the Elise crosses the line and starts chasing me down. About a minute into the lap, the ASL (forgot about him) pits in. As I go through Adenauer Forst, I see the NSX pits in also a whole 2 minutes behind. The Elise though, is gaining fast with only 5 seconds to make up. The positions are: M3, Elise, ASL, NSX, Skyline, and GTO. As I drive through the final turns near the pits, I realize that the Elise has gotten warmed back up and ready to go as the lead drops to 4.7 seconds.
During lap 8 I started to zone, meaning I quit thinking about the track, didn't look at splits, just drove like it was natural. With this I was able to run a 7:45.614, 3/10's from my fastest lap and keep the Elise away from me and almost double my lead to 9.027 seconds. To my surprise, as I crossed the line and started lap 9, I realize the GTO is just a few seconds ahead of me and will be my first lap victim. We crossed the 1 hour mark during the last lap and as we start this next one, the clock reads 1:03:11.300. %25 there.
I lap the GTO 30 seconds into the lap with a clean outside pass in the 1st sharp right turn. The Elise also laps him, but seems to have difficulty getting by as he loses nearly 3 seconds early on in the lap. At the end of lap 9 I take a scheduled pit stop. The Elise is now back in first just as the crew finishes and the car is lowered by the jacks. The Elise has a schedule pit stop at the end of this next lap so I need to keep his lead to a minimum.
The Elise obviously gets a little too excited going up the hill before Adenauer Forst, because I pass him as he is reversing back onto the roadway from the guard rail. He was 6 seconds a head before this but now follows by just a second. Finally, some head to head racing. From Karussell to the end of the lap, we were never more than a second apart. Many corners resulted in a little bumper and fender kissing. He finally passed me halfway down the straight and I followed in his path. The draft allowed me to reach my max speed so far of 285 km/h as we went wide-open under the bridge and around the bends. As I was slowing down for the hard right at the end of the straight, I notice that the Elise isn't. He slams the guard rail once again this lap traveling at least 100 km/h. As I cross the line, I am notified that he is pitting. The race is almost 1/3 complete at 1:19:06 and my average overall lap time is 7:54.550. The standings are the same as they have been.
The Elise comes out of the pits trailing by 21 seconds. I extend the lead to 30 seconds by the end of the lap where I lap the Skyline that is in the pits. Lap 12 was an embarrassment of mistakes that cost me at least 10 seconds. After pitting at the end of the lap and getting back on the track, I was now in 2nd trailing by a second. The Elise was able to put the lead to 9.316 seconds by the end of the 13th lap. The ASL and the NSX pitted during lap 13, but considering how far behind they are, it really doesn't matter.
Lap 14 was spectacular. My fastest lap yet with a 7:42.061, over 3 seconds faster than my previous fastest lap. At Adenauer Forst I got within 5 seconds of the Elise and could finally see him. I followed closely and got within 3 seconds by the start of the long straight. I crossed the line just 4 seconds behind.
During lap 15, I got within a second of the Elise as he made his same stupid error of running off the road at Adenauer Forst. We ran bumper to bumper all the way through the rest of the track. With his tires being well worn, he loses control and I take the lead at Schwalbenschwanz. I screw up getting onto the straight by trying to carry to much speed and he takes me early on the straight. I draft behind and follow. At the right before the pits, the Elise runs off the road and does a donut. I swerved passed him barely and headed into the pits where he followed me. With me pitting more often than he, I am able to not take on as much gas and get out of the pits early with a 6.373 second lead. The time elapsed is 1:59:08.663. At this point, I consider the race half finished, and 1st and 2nd are pretty much neck and neck. This is gonna be fun.
I was surprised that during lap 16, I was able to take the lead to 18 seconds. That's pretty much an entire pit stop window. While coming down the straight at the end of lap 17, I lapped the GTO to put him 2 laps down. The Elise lost 3 more seconds from the lead during the lap. Lap 18 saw the Elise finally getting back up to speed. My largest lead was 21 seconds but after a pit stop, we started lap 18 with the Elise a half second ahead. The Elise has lead 7 laps, I have lead 11.
Lap 19 was one of my best out of the pits laps I've had in this race. I was able to take the lead at Sprunghugel after a sweet inside pass at the turn. The Elise has 2 Achilles heels on this track, Adenauer Forst and the right hand turn before the pit entrance. It seems like in previous races I've had against Lotuses, the brakes don't work too well. With just a 1 second lead, we will both be riding each others tails through lap 20.
The largest separation between us the whole lap before the Elise entered the pits was 3 seconds which happened right after Flugplatz. Afterwards, the Elise stayed with a second of me. I finally blew my lead when I lost control between Sprunghugel and Schwalbenschwanz. The Elise takes the lead by a second. It starts out on the straight with a fishtail and as smoke comes from his rear tires, I get behind and start drafting. For once, I actually pass him in the straight. As I pass the pit entrance, I have to check my mirror to watch his signature move, 360 before pit.
Exiting the pits, the Elise is 32 seconds behind. I will need to pit after this lap, but can I get enough of a lead to keep the lead starting the next lap. I get a 40 second lead on the Elise, which to find out, I was going to need since I was so hyped, I drove right passed the damn pit entrance. I had to brake quickly, slam it into reverse to get into the pits. This cost me about 4-5 seconds. Idiot, I yell at myself. Amazingly I start lap 22 in the lead and with a 11 second lead.
Just coming out of Sprunghugel during lap 23, I realize that the 3 hour mark is here and there is only an hour left. I also notice the Skyline is right in front of me and is a pain to get around. I had to follow until the straight to get around him. That put him 2 laps down with the GTO. All other cars are still on the lead lap, with the positions staying the same for the entire race. The only real battle is me and the Elise, and there's about 7-8 laps left. I have an 11.5 second lead when the Elise crosses the line.
I remembered to pit this time. Never thought it would be an issue until earlier. While the pit crew was putting new rubber on, the Elise passed by with over a 9 second lead. Since we have completed 24 laps, a few little stats for your. I have led 16 laps, the Elise 8, a 2:1 ratio. My overall average lap is 7:56.668. Elapsed time is 3:10:41.583. The GTO and Skyline are 2 laps behind. My favorite part of the track, Eiskurve to Schwalbenschwanz.
Near the pits at the end of lap 25, I saw something I had not see in over 3 hours, a blue NSX. He was following the Elise into the pits as I went by. That leaves the ASL as being to only car left on the lead lap with the Elise and myself. A lap time of 7:45.741 also pleases me for a lap out of the pits. The Elise is 15 seconds back as he starts his 26th lap. It looks as if I have 2 pits left and the Elise only has 1. We will both pit together on lap 30.
Lap 26 involved both me and the Elise lapping the GTO again. That car is know 3 laps or about 24 minutes out of the lead. I could stop at the end of the next lap and still beat him. The Elise is now 30 seconds back which isn't a whole lot as I have 1 extra pit stop.
After a quick pit stop, I start the 28th lap 17.052 seconds in the lead with around 25 minutes to go. I realize quickly that I start to choke under pressure. I run one of my worst laps of the race. The difference between 1st and 2nd is only 6.244 seconds. As I start lap 29, my tires are warmed up and I'm ready to leave that damn Elise behind me. As I cross under the bridge at Arembergkurve, I realize that I'm on a fastest lap pace. A few mistakes around Wippermann cost me a couple of seconds but I still finished the lap in 7:43.742.
There's 10 minutes, 2 laps, and 1 pit stop left. I have a 10 second lead so I gotta do these next 2 laps well. Lap 30 was right on pace for pit stop laps and allowed me to increase
my lead to 17 seconds by the time the Elise had completed its pit stop. With a comfortable lead, I start lap 31, the final lap. I knew that the Elise wasn't fast on new tires so I had plenty of time. By driving semi conservative, I was able to cross the finish line after 4:06:05.690 of racing with a victory by a margin of 21 seconds.
Final Results
1.BMW M3
2.Elise - +0:21.379
3.ASL - +1 Lap
4.NSX - +1 Lap
5.Skyline - +2 Laps
6.GTO - +3 Laps
Total Race Time: 4:06:05.690
Laps: 31
Fastest Lap: 7:42.061
Average Lap: 7:56.313
Laps Led: 23
Pit Stops: 10
The Starting Grid
1.2000 Skyline GT-R V-spec II
2.2004 Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe
3.2004 Lotus Elise 111R
4.2002 ASL Garaiya
5.2002 Honda NSX Type R
6.2003 BMW M3 GTR
A-Spec Points: 71
Course: Nürburgring
Time: 4 hours
Pit Strategies
Skyline 5 Laps
GTO 6 Laps
Elise 5 Laps
ASL 6 Laps
NSX 6 Laps
M3 3 Laps
My Cars Setup
FC tranny, triple clutch, racing flywheel, brakes, and drive shaft. That's it. No muffler, chip, or any other mods, basically just the drivetrain.
The Race
As we leave the line, the Elise almost immediately takes the lead. I try to pass the NSX early but it is so large and the road has so many turns early on, that passing was nearly impossible. Around Hocheichen, I finally get an opening to pass the NSX. When I get into 5th, the ASL is right ahead of me trying to get around the GTO that looks to be intentionally blocking the ASL from passing. I find an easy line around both just as we go over the jump before Flugplatz and take 3rd. By this time, the Elise was already out of site, but after good hard run up the hill and past the Skyline, and I could just barely make out the black Elise in the lead. Amazingly, I caught up with him at Arembergkurve and and followed him up to Adenauer Forst. Like an idiot, I follow his lead into the turn way too fast and we both slide into the grass. We both recover and the chase is back on. At Breidscheid, I finally get to take the lead. I run through Karussell with perfect speed through the turn and expand my lead to 4 seconds. Near the end of the lap, I had my M3 maxed out at 275km/h at the end of the straight with a 7 second lead.
During the second lap, I extended my lead all the way up to 10 seconds but mistakes at Karussell and the Elise being what seems a little faster down the straight, I ended the lap 7.6 seconds ahead. I lose a couple of seconds at Arembergkurve during lap 3 due to over-testing the cars limits. My lead drops to 6 seconds. As I enter the straight, I have a 7 second advantage, but by the end, the Elise has proved to be a second faster and my lead is down to 6 as I enter the pits for the first time. The Elise keeps on and takes 1st. I exit the pits 12 seconds behind now and have a lot of ground to make up.
Lap 4 was my fastest yet at 7:45.344 and considering that was out of the pits, I should be able to lower that a lot more. I pretty much ran from Eiskurve to Schwalbenschwanz WOT. Still 9.6 seconds down as we start lap 5. Once again I get too aggressive though the 2nd half of the lap and lose precious seconds to add 2 more seconds to the Elise's lead. Luckily, he pits at the end of the lap and I'm able to lead a lap again.
Lap 6 was very exciting because it was my most perfect lap yet. The Elise exits the pits 7 seconds behind me, but has a lot of trouble getting going on his new tires. Early on as I come out of Arembergkurve, I realize that my lead is now 12 seconds. It only gets larger as the lap goes on. At Breidscheid it hits 17 seconds, before Karussell 24 seconds, and as I am coming to the pits a whole 30 seconds in the lead. I pit as scheduled and wait in anticipation as to whether or not the Elise will pass me.
I exit the pits and 9 seconds later, the Elise crosses the line and starts chasing me down. About a minute into the lap, the ASL (forgot about him) pits in. As I go through Adenauer Forst, I see the NSX pits in also a whole 2 minutes behind. The Elise though, is gaining fast with only 5 seconds to make up. The positions are: M3, Elise, ASL, NSX, Skyline, and GTO. As I drive through the final turns near the pits, I realize that the Elise has gotten warmed back up and ready to go as the lead drops to 4.7 seconds.
During lap 8 I started to zone, meaning I quit thinking about the track, didn't look at splits, just drove like it was natural. With this I was able to run a 7:45.614, 3/10's from my fastest lap and keep the Elise away from me and almost double my lead to 9.027 seconds. To my surprise, as I crossed the line and started lap 9, I realize the GTO is just a few seconds ahead of me and will be my first lap victim. We crossed the 1 hour mark during the last lap and as we start this next one, the clock reads 1:03:11.300. %25 there.
I lap the GTO 30 seconds into the lap with a clean outside pass in the 1st sharp right turn. The Elise also laps him, but seems to have difficulty getting by as he loses nearly 3 seconds early on in the lap. At the end of lap 9 I take a scheduled pit stop. The Elise is now back in first just as the crew finishes and the car is lowered by the jacks. The Elise has a schedule pit stop at the end of this next lap so I need to keep his lead to a minimum.
The Elise obviously gets a little too excited going up the hill before Adenauer Forst, because I pass him as he is reversing back onto the roadway from the guard rail. He was 6 seconds a head before this but now follows by just a second. Finally, some head to head racing. From Karussell to the end of the lap, we were never more than a second apart. Many corners resulted in a little bumper and fender kissing. He finally passed me halfway down the straight and I followed in his path. The draft allowed me to reach my max speed so far of 285 km/h as we went wide-open under the bridge and around the bends. As I was slowing down for the hard right at the end of the straight, I notice that the Elise isn't. He slams the guard rail once again this lap traveling at least 100 km/h. As I cross the line, I am notified that he is pitting. The race is almost 1/3 complete at 1:19:06 and my average overall lap time is 7:54.550. The standings are the same as they have been.
The Elise comes out of the pits trailing by 21 seconds. I extend the lead to 30 seconds by the end of the lap where I lap the Skyline that is in the pits. Lap 12 was an embarrassment of mistakes that cost me at least 10 seconds. After pitting at the end of the lap and getting back on the track, I was now in 2nd trailing by a second. The Elise was able to put the lead to 9.316 seconds by the end of the 13th lap. The ASL and the NSX pitted during lap 13, but considering how far behind they are, it really doesn't matter.
Lap 14 was spectacular. My fastest lap yet with a 7:42.061, over 3 seconds faster than my previous fastest lap. At Adenauer Forst I got within 5 seconds of the Elise and could finally see him. I followed closely and got within 3 seconds by the start of the long straight. I crossed the line just 4 seconds behind.
During lap 15, I got within a second of the Elise as he made his same stupid error of running off the road at Adenauer Forst. We ran bumper to bumper all the way through the rest of the track. With his tires being well worn, he loses control and I take the lead at Schwalbenschwanz. I screw up getting onto the straight by trying to carry to much speed and he takes me early on the straight. I draft behind and follow. At the right before the pits, the Elise runs off the road and does a donut. I swerved passed him barely and headed into the pits where he followed me. With me pitting more often than he, I am able to not take on as much gas and get out of the pits early with a 6.373 second lead. The time elapsed is 1:59:08.663. At this point, I consider the race half finished, and 1st and 2nd are pretty much neck and neck. This is gonna be fun.
I was surprised that during lap 16, I was able to take the lead to 18 seconds. That's pretty much an entire pit stop window. While coming down the straight at the end of lap 17, I lapped the GTO to put him 2 laps down. The Elise lost 3 more seconds from the lead during the lap. Lap 18 saw the Elise finally getting back up to speed. My largest lead was 21 seconds but after a pit stop, we started lap 18 with the Elise a half second ahead. The Elise has lead 7 laps, I have lead 11.
Lap 19 was one of my best out of the pits laps I've had in this race. I was able to take the lead at Sprunghugel after a sweet inside pass at the turn. The Elise has 2 Achilles heels on this track, Adenauer Forst and the right hand turn before the pit entrance. It seems like in previous races I've had against Lotuses, the brakes don't work too well. With just a 1 second lead, we will both be riding each others tails through lap 20.
The largest separation between us the whole lap before the Elise entered the pits was 3 seconds which happened right after Flugplatz. Afterwards, the Elise stayed with a second of me. I finally blew my lead when I lost control between Sprunghugel and Schwalbenschwanz. The Elise takes the lead by a second. It starts out on the straight with a fishtail and as smoke comes from his rear tires, I get behind and start drafting. For once, I actually pass him in the straight. As I pass the pit entrance, I have to check my mirror to watch his signature move, 360 before pit.
Exiting the pits, the Elise is 32 seconds behind. I will need to pit after this lap, but can I get enough of a lead to keep the lead starting the next lap. I get a 40 second lead on the Elise, which to find out, I was going to need since I was so hyped, I drove right passed the damn pit entrance. I had to brake quickly, slam it into reverse to get into the pits. This cost me about 4-5 seconds. Idiot, I yell at myself. Amazingly I start lap 22 in the lead and with a 11 second lead.
Just coming out of Sprunghugel during lap 23, I realize that the 3 hour mark is here and there is only an hour left. I also notice the Skyline is right in front of me and is a pain to get around. I had to follow until the straight to get around him. That put him 2 laps down with the GTO. All other cars are still on the lead lap, with the positions staying the same for the entire race. The only real battle is me and the Elise, and there's about 7-8 laps left. I have an 11.5 second lead when the Elise crosses the line.
I remembered to pit this time. Never thought it would be an issue until earlier. While the pit crew was putting new rubber on, the Elise passed by with over a 9 second lead. Since we have completed 24 laps, a few little stats for your. I have led 16 laps, the Elise 8, a 2:1 ratio. My overall average lap is 7:56.668. Elapsed time is 3:10:41.583. The GTO and Skyline are 2 laps behind. My favorite part of the track, Eiskurve to Schwalbenschwanz.
Near the pits at the end of lap 25, I saw something I had not see in over 3 hours, a blue NSX. He was following the Elise into the pits as I went by. That leaves the ASL as being to only car left on the lead lap with the Elise and myself. A lap time of 7:45.741 also pleases me for a lap out of the pits. The Elise is 15 seconds back as he starts his 26th lap. It looks as if I have 2 pits left and the Elise only has 1. We will both pit together on lap 30.
Lap 26 involved both me and the Elise lapping the GTO again. That car is know 3 laps or about 24 minutes out of the lead. I could stop at the end of the next lap and still beat him. The Elise is now 30 seconds back which isn't a whole lot as I have 1 extra pit stop.
After a quick pit stop, I start the 28th lap 17.052 seconds in the lead with around 25 minutes to go. I realize quickly that I start to choke under pressure. I run one of my worst laps of the race. The difference between 1st and 2nd is only 6.244 seconds. As I start lap 29, my tires are warmed up and I'm ready to leave that damn Elise behind me. As I cross under the bridge at Arembergkurve, I realize that I'm on a fastest lap pace. A few mistakes around Wippermann cost me a couple of seconds but I still finished the lap in 7:43.742.
There's 10 minutes, 2 laps, and 1 pit stop left. I have a 10 second lead so I gotta do these next 2 laps well. Lap 30 was right on pace for pit stop laps and allowed me to increase
my lead to 17 seconds by the time the Elise had completed its pit stop. With a comfortable lead, I start lap 31, the final lap. I knew that the Elise wasn't fast on new tires so I had plenty of time. By driving semi conservative, I was able to cross the finish line after 4:06:05.690 of racing with a victory by a margin of 21 seconds.
Final Results
1.BMW M3
2.Elise - +0:21.379
3.ASL - +1 Lap
4.NSX - +1 Lap
5.Skyline - +2 Laps
6.GTO - +3 Laps
Total Race Time: 4:06:05.690
Laps: 31
Fastest Lap: 7:42.061
Average Lap: 7:56.313
Laps Led: 23
Pit Stops: 10
