Smallhorses' A-Spec Endurance Companion.

At the risk of being called a copycat, I've done this, like Famine, not to show-off, but to give you good folks on the GTPlanet things to read and ideas for races, laptimes to compare and lineups to look out for for grabbing extra A-spec points. Wherever possible I'm going to seek out good close racing.

I've just run my first enduro, but unlike Famine's Endurance Companion, I'm probably not going to do them in order, though I shall be A-speccing them all. I posted a full write up of the race too, but I won't do it for all of them & don't expect everyone to read them either! This thread will be the short (much shorter!) version that'll list my car, some power, weight, modifications (if any) and A-spec points, as well as the results and opponent lineups. Here goes......

Nurburgring 4 Hours Endurance. (175 A-spec points)

6.2 mile used Honda S2000 Type-V '01 No oil change, SH (S1) tyres. 243HP, 1260kg, 5.185kg/HP

Result :-
1st Honda S2000 Type V '01 4:02'56.042 29 Laps completed. Pitted Lap 4, 9, 14, 19, 24.
2nd Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96 Approx 24s behind. Pitted lap 6, 12, 18, 24.
3rd Mazda RX-8 Type S (J) '03 Pitted Lap 5, 10, 15, 20, 25.
4th Mitsubishi Evolution VIII MR GSR '04 Pitted Lap 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28.
5th Clio Renault Sport V6 Phase 2 '03 Pitted Lap 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28.
6th BMW M Coupe '98 Pitted Lap 5, 10, 15, 20, 25.

A fun & exciting race with plenty of good battles throughout.
Full write up is here:- Nurburgring 4hrs! (Stock Honda S2000 Type-V '01)


More to come....

*edit* added Roadster 4 hours Endurance 06/26/2005
*edit* added El Capitan 200 miles 06/27/2005
*edit* added Infineon World Sport Car Race 07/09/2005 (I'll have to repeat the race since the PS2 froze before I got the prizecar & saved! )
*edit* added Infineon World Sport Car Race 07/10/2005 Completed properly this time!
*edit* added Grand Valley 300km 07/15/2005
*edit* added Sarthe I. Began hourly updates 07/17/2005. Finished 07/23/2005!
*edit* added Super Speedway 150 miles 07/28/2005
*edit* added New York Streets 200 miles 08/13/2005
*edit* added Motegi 8hr 08/24/2005 Finished 08/26/2005
*edit* added Sarthe II. Began hourly updates 09/03/2005. Finished 09/06/2005!
*edit* added Tsukuba 9hr. Began hourly updates 12/15/2005. Finished 12/20/2005!
*edit* added Laguna Seca 200 miles 03/19/2006
*edit* added Suzuka 1000km. Began hourly updates 04/28/2006. Finished 05/01/2006!
*edit* added Nurburgring 24hrs Endurance. Began hourly updates 07/14/2006.
*edit* added Tokyo R246 300km. 11/04/2006.
*edit* added Fuji 1000km. Began hourly updates 11/08/2006. Finished 11/10/2006.
*edit* added 200 A-spec points attempt at Nurburgring 4hr 12/16/2006.
*edit* added 200 A-spec points attempt New York Streets 200 miles 12/23/2006
*edit* added Higher point attempt at Roadster 4hrs Endurance 03/13/2007
*edit* added Another 200 point race at El Capitan 200 miles 04/14/2007
*edit* added 200 A-spec points attempt at Sarthe II 24hrs Endurance 04/27/2007
*edit* added Another 200 point race at El Capitan 200 miles 05/20/2007
*edit* added Higher point attempt at Super Speedway 150 miles 06/10/2007
*edit* added 200 A-spec points attempt at Infineon World Sport Car Race 07/02/2007
*edit* added Another 200 A-spec points attempt New York Streets 200 miles 08/15/2007
*edit* added Another 200 A-spec points attempt at Sarthe I 24hr. Began hourly updates 08/17/2007. Finished 08/30/2007!
*edit* added Higher point attempt at Tokyo R246 300km. 09/08/2007
*edit* added Another attempt at Grand Valley 300km. 11/10/2007
*edit* added Another 200 point race at El Capitan 200 miles 11/19/2007
*edit* added Another Nurburgring 4hr report 12/19/2007 (completed 12/05/2007)
*edit* added Another 200 A-spec points attempt New York Streets 200 miles (completed 01/04/2008)
*edit* added Higher point attempt at Super Speedway 150 miles 03/13/2008
*edit* added 200 A-spec points attempt at Grand Valley 300km. 03/16/2008
*edit* added Another 200 point race at Laguna Seca 200 miles 03/25/2008
*edit* added 200 A-spec points attempt at Tokyo R246 300km. 04/21/2008
*edit* added Another 200 point race at El Capitan 200 miles 04/27/2008
*edit* added yet another 200 point race at El Capitan 200 miles 05/08/2008 (Stock WPR record at time of running!)
*edit* added next 200 point race at El Capitan 200 miles 06/27/2008 (1st reported stock FF car to win 200pt enduro!)
*edit* added Another higher points race at Roadster 4h Endurance 07/07/2008
*edit* added Another running of Fuji 1000km 07/19/2008
*edit* added 200 A-spec points attempt at Nurburgring 24hr Endurance Began hourly updates 08/08/2008. Finished 08/18/2008.
*edit* added Another Nurburgring 4hr report 09/02/2008
*edit* added Another 200 A-spec points attempt at Infineon World Sport Car Race 09/13/2008
*edit* added Another running of Fuji 1000km 10/15/2008
*edit* added Another 200 A-spec points attempt New York Streets 200 miles 11/18/2008
*edit* added Another 200 point race at El Capitan 200 miles 11/28/2008
*edit* added Another higher points race at Roadster 4h Endurance 10/29/2009
*edit* added Higher point attempt at Super Speedway 150 miles 10/30/2009
*edit* added 200 A-Spec points attempt at Motegi 8hr Began hourly updates 11/07/2009. Finished 11/17/2009.

 

GREAT Idea Smallhorses! I think I B-Speced this the first time as I didn't yet have the "Feel" of GT4 well enough to find a good race. Will definitely have to give this one a shot! ...O.G.

 

Hmmm, trying a bit too hard for points at Roadster Endurance & I've been left with too much of a mountain to climb. Have to rethink this one before I try again....

Another try.
3hrs, 33mins in... 1s lead but 2nd placed car also has to pit. Can be quicker than him on cold tyres but he's faster on warm ones & I'm keeping fuel load light....
Pit in, start tyre change, then inadvertenly press accelerator which stops fuel going in as fire alarm in our building goes off. Managed to pause game and come back after firecrew stops very very noisy alarm going off.
Run out of fuel while 1s ahead of 2nd placed guy with 11 minutes of race remaining.
Bugger. I'm so at the moment its not .
Feck Feck Feck Feck Feck. 4hrs wasted. No points, no money.
Broken head. (beat it on steering wheel too hard!)

Note to self.....do not attempt to rev engine during pitstop for fuel, or the same thing will happen!
We learn from our mistakes, I'll not be such a baft dastard or fumb ducker again.

 

Roadster 4 hours Endurance. (76 A-spec points)

Used (44804 mile) Mazda MX-5 Miata V-Special Type II '93 (oil changed) , SH (S1) tyres. 130HP beginning, (124HP ending) , 980kg, 7.538kg/HP

Result :-
1st Mazda MX-5 Miata V-Special Type II '93 4:00'37.478, 198 Laps. Pitted 30,59,89,119,149,178.
2nd Mazda MX-5 Miata 1800 RS '00 +37s Pitted 39, 75, 110, 145, 180.
3rd Mazda MX-5 Miata SR-Limited '97 +4 Laps Pitted 42, 85, 126, 168.
4th Mazda MX-5 Miata 1.8RS '98 +4 Laps Pitted 42, 85, 127, 169.
5th Mazda MX-5 Miata VR-Limited '95 +4 Laps Pitted 45, 90, 135, 178.
6th Mazda MX-5 Miata S-Special Type I '95 +5 Laps Pitted 42, 85, 127, 169.

Thanks to Famine's thread, I knew the 1800 RS would struggle in traffic, and I knew I'd get away with a lesser car. In the race in which I ran out of fuel, it was going to the wire, only a couple of seconds gap projected at the end, however, this time the 1800 RS took 29 laps to get by the 3rd placed 1.8RS during the 1st stint which allowed me to build a 53s lead over 2nd place. He did go pretty quick when not in traffic though and was able to take 1-2s per lap off me on warm tyres.
I was able to hold him to a constant gap while we're both on cold tyres though.
I had 1 more pitstop and ultimately finished 37s ahead after he got stuck behind a backmarker for the last 18 or so laps. And I didn't run out of fuel this time!
Fastest lap was 1'11.026.
257.9 miles total driven, prize 100,000 Cr & a White/Blue Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car '01.
Fun race, my aim was to finish just a little ahead, not by laps & laps, and that's what happened. May have been closer if 1800 RS had a better overtaking strategy when it came to backmarkers though.

 

El Capitan 200 miles. (200 A-spec points)

Used (23653 miles) Toyota Supra RZ '97 (oil changed), SM (S2) tyres, 325HP beginning, (310 HP ending), 1510kg, 4.646kg/HP

Result:-
1st Toyota Supra RZ '97 2:14'48.918 Pitted 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 58.
2nd Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96 +13s Pitted 13, 27, 40, 53.
3rd TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97 Lap 66 Pitted 12, 24, 36, 48, 60.
4th Dodge Viper GTS '99 Lap 66 Pitted 13, 26, 39, 53.
5th Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG (R230) '04 + 1 Lap Pitted 11, 22, 33, 44, 55.
6th Aston Martin V8 Vantage '99 + 3 Laps Pitted 11, 22, 33, 44, 55.

Lap 10 pit in, take on tyres, drop back to 5th place.
Lap 20 pit in, take on tyres, drop back to 3rd place.
Lap 30, pit in with 13 units of fuel remaining. Therefore I'm using 22.3 units per 10 lap stint.
Change tyres and top up fuel to 26 units. Exit in 1st place.
Lap 40, pit in, take on tyres, top up fuel to 28 units. Exit in 1st place.
Lap 50, pit in, take on tyres, top up fuel to 28 units. Exit in 2nd place.
Lap 56, fastest lap of 1'56.686
Lap 58, pit in, take on tyres, top up fuel to 21 units. Exit in 2nd place.
Lapped Aston for 3rd time and Mercedes to put him a lap behind, just before the finish.
Totally fun race, 4 cars on same lap at the end, 200 A-spec points and a 13s winning margin. What more can you ask for? 250,000Cr & the Minolta Toyota 88C-V Race Car '89 to show for it too! A great night's racing!

 

Infineon World Sport Car Race (82 A-Spec points)

Toyota 7 Race Car '70 (Stock, no oil) RM (R3) tyres, 789HP / 620kg / 0.786kg/HP

Result:-
1st Toyota 7 Race Car '70 2:46'xx.xxx Pitted every 9 laps
2nd Audi R8 Race Car '01 +10.1s Pitted every 17 - 18 laps
3rd Bentley Speed 8 Race Car '03 + 1 lap Pitted every 16 - 17 laps
4th Toyota GT-One Race Car '99 + 1 lap Pitted every 16 laps
5th Jaguar XJ-R9 Race Car '88 + 1 lap Pitted every 12 laps
6th Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car '98 + 4 laps Pitted every 15 laps

What an excellent race! 10s gap at the end, and some marvellous strategy and racing involved. However, I don't have the final time for the finish since after watching a lap of the replay, then exiting and being given the prize money, I clicked OK and the game or the PS2 froze! No result screen, no prizecar, no GT loading screen, just a black screen. Tried cleaning disc and reinserting it, but nothing would happen. Had to reset PS2 in the end, and thankfully it came back to my status at the beginning of this race, I was my memory card might have been corrupted and I'd have lost everything! Time for a backup I think!
So that's it. The reason this is in another colour, I've done the race, finished the race, but I haven't saved with this result so it doesn't really count to my A-Spec total. Oh well, guess where I'll be racing again today? Link to full race report is here:-Infineon World Sport Car Race - Success & FAILURE!

 

Infineon World Sport Car Race (100 A-Spec points)

Toyota 7 Race Car '70 (Stock, no oil) RM (R3) tyres, 789HP / 620kg / 0.786kg/HP

Result:-
1st Toyota 7 Race Car '70 2:46'xx.xxx Pitted every 9 laps. 116 laps completed.
2nd Nissan R92CP Race Car '92 +40(?)s Pitted every 14 laps. 116 laps completed.
3rd Audi R8 Race Car '01 + 1 lap Pitted every 17 - 18 laps. 115 laps completed.
4th Bentley Speed 8 Race Car '03 + 2 laps Pitted every 17 laps. 114 laps completed.
5th Pescarolo Courage C60 Race Car '03 + 2 laps Pitted every 17 laps. 114 laps completed.
6th Toyota GT-One Race Car '99 + 2 laps Pitted every 16 laps. On lap 114 when race ended.

More or less same race as before, except this time the Nissan R92CP provided more competition (and points!) even though I beat him by further than the Audi R8 in the first attempt. 115 laps last night had made me a better driver of A) This circuit and B) This car! I was generally more consistent, but good fortune in that the R92CP got stuck in traffic and spun out twice under no challenge helped me to victory.
Got my prizemoney & prizecar this time.

 

Grand Valley 300km (145 A-Spec points)

Subaru Impreza Super Touring Car '01 (Stock, no oil) RSH (R1) tyres, 421HP / 1030kg / 2.446kg/HP

Result:-
1st Subaru Impreza Super Touring Car '01. 1:58'42.058. Pitted every 10 laps.
2nd Nissan PENNZOIL ZEXEL GT-R (JGTC) '01 +6.086s. Pitted every 15 laps.
3rd Honda TAKATA DOME NSX (JGTC) '03 on lap 60. Pitted every 15 laps.
4th Honda LOCTITE MUGEN NSX (JGTC) '01 on lap 60. Pitted 14, 29, 43, 57.
5th BMW M3 GTR Race Car '01 on lap 60. Pitted every 13 laps.
6th Audi A4 Touring Car '04 on lap 60. Pitted every 14 laps.

Pit from 13.1s lead on A4 on lap 10. Tyres, no fuel. Exit in 6th. 17.1s behind A4 at end of outlap.
Regained lead on lap 15 when GT-R and TAKATA NSX pit.
Lap 17, fastest lap of race, 1'54.112.
Pit from 31.8s lead on GT-R on lap 20. Tyres, no fuel. Exit in 1st, just ahead of GT-R. 0.998s ahead at end of outlap.
2 visits to sandtrap @ end of mainstraight on laps 22 & 23 give 1st place back to GT-R, who gets a 3s advantage.
2 consecutive sub-1'55s laps put me back to within 0.6s by the end of lap 25.
Pit from 1.1s lead on GT-R on lap 30. Tyres & fuel. Used 72 units in 30 laps. Equal to 2.4 units per lap or 24unit per 10 lap stint. Top up to 30 units. 7.4s ahead of GT-R at end of outlap.
String of 4 consecutive sub 1'54.5 laps (2 x 1'54.1xxs, 1'54.2xx and 1'54.4xx) sees lead on GT-R extended.
Pit on lap 40 from 24.2s lead on GT-R. Tyres & fuel. Top up to 31 units. Exit in 2nd. 10.1s behind GT-R at end of outlap.
Complete mess of high speed turns after hairpin 1 on lap 42 leads to a spin approaching hairpin 2. Lost 5s to GT-R.
Regain lead on lap 46 when GT-R pits from 13s lead. Lap of 1'54.183 helped to gain back some time lost in spin.
Pit in from 32.7s lead on GT-R on lap 50. Tyres & fuel. Top up to 28 units. Exit in 1st, just ahead of GT-R. 0.326s ahead at end of outlap!
Spin into sandtrap at hairpin 1 under pressure from GT-R on lap 53. GT-R passes into 1st. 4s behind at end of lap. Got some work to do! String of sub-1'55s laps put me back on his tail by lap 57. Both of us have deteriorating tyres. This should be fun!
Pass him through high-speed curves after 1st hairpin on lap 57. Pull away with another couple of 1'54s and calm it down with a 1'56 final lap to finish 6.086s ahead!

400,000Cr and the Auto Union V16 Type C Streamline to show for another exellent race!

 

Well, it'll be a while before the next update, I'm 3 hours into Sarthe I 24 Hours!
Using a R89C for a mere 10 A-Spec points , but I'm so skint after buying up a load of low mileage used cars that I haven't got anything else in the garage apart from the Minolta Toyota, that would be competetive here! No chance of buying any of the other Le Mans type cars , $4,500,000 a pop, you must be joking!
I have just over 7,000Cr (yes, seven thousand!) left in the bank after I bought RSH and RH tyres for the R89C! See why I need that prizemoney now?!!!!

 

Did you sell your prize cars??? (Jaguar, R92c, R8, Minolta, Merc CLK 98)

 

No,I just haven't completed most of the races to win those cars yet.
I'm only at 26.3% at the moment, did just enough single races in manufacturers halls, beginner hall and professional hall to hit 25%, then I could start the real racing!
That's the Jaguar XJ-R9 ruled out, won't own it until I get 50%.
R92C is won for Fuji which I haven't done yet, I thought about using the Toyota 7 there, but you yourself warned me off it as a complete whitewash and not very exciting at all!
Minolta I do have, but there's not much difference between the R89C and that one. The R8 is what you win for Sarthe I so I'll get one in another 21 racing hours! Merc CLK GTR is for the DTM races, and since I hadn't won a DTM yet I haven't entered!
Same old story as for GT3 in a lot of cases, where the car you need to win the race is the car you win for winning the race.
I have a slightly "mental" attitude to this game in that "If there's 700 cars in the game, then why not use all of them on the way to 100%?"
I know your Mr. Scrooge would definitely not approve! I've bought so many used cars I'm up to about 200 vehicles in the garage, and I've hardly bought any new vehicles at all! I also only like to use a car once, either for a single race or race series. If there's 5 single races in a cup then it'll get done with 5 different cars, unless its a restricted series like the Spitfire or A3 cup.
I don't sell vehicles unless they're duplicates, and I don't do B-Spec to make quick cash!
Glad you're enjoying my write-ups as much as I've enjoyed Scrooge's exploits

 

Circuit de la Sarthe 24h I (10 A-Spec points)

Cars (in starting order):-

Nissan R89C Race Car '89 Pits every 7th lap.
Mazda 787B Race Car '91 Pits every 8th lap.
Playstation Pescarolo C60 / Judd Race Car '03 Pits every 8th lap.
Audi R8 Race Car '01 Pits every 8th lap.
BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99 Pits every 8th lap.
Nissan R89C Race Car '89 Pits every 8th lap.

Hour 1.
Start at 8:20pm 07/17/2005. RSH tyres all round. Hit just about every sandtrap on lap 1 getting used to car & course! Leaves some catching up to do. Pit on lap 8 25s behind 787B. Take fuel (5 units remained!), switch front tyres to RH.
Catch to within 10s of 787B on lap 16, but orange/red rear tyres make for serious oversteer problems. Several altercations later I pitted in from around 25s down. D'oh. Drop to 3rd while in pits.
Hour mark passes while I'm 2'43s into lap 17, in 3rd place about 26s behind 787B. Fastest lap so far 3'25.978.

Hour 2.
Totally FUBAR lap 20, lost nearly 12s on leader! 36.1s behind 787B beginning lap 22. Horrendous oversteer back again by the time I pit on lap 24. Nudge from 3rd placed R89C didn't help either, spins me out!
Begin to lap consistently in 3'25 range. Fastest lap falls to 3'25.349.
Pit in on lap 32 from 16s behind 787B. Was wise to the wearing rear tyres this time and backed off a little to avoid having an incident! Few seconds lost being cautious easily make up for the ten seconds I lost last time by spinning!
Hour mark passes while I'm about 1'05s into lap 34, in 3rd place, about 19s behind R89C.

Hour 3.
Lost concentration on lap 38 & 39, 4 spins loses a ton of time & 2nd place. Pit from 40s behind 787B on lap 40.
Make up for earlier mistakes and start lapping quickly again. Gap falls to 13s when we pit on lap 48.
Hour mark passes just as I pass 787B for 1st place out onto backstraight, 48s into lap 51. 426 miles on the odometer and fastest lap has fallen to 3'23.958.

Hour 4.
Lap 52 sees me lap Pescarolo (+1) and finish a lap in 1st place for 1st time.
Lap 56, spin out at end of (rudely interrupted by 2 chicanes!) Mulsanne straight. 787B passes into 1st. Pit in together at end of lap 56, about 2s separating us, 787B in front.
Lap R8 (+1) on lap 62. Lap BMW (+1) on lap 63.Pit from 16s lead on 787B on lap 64.
Hour mark passes as I'm 13s into lap 68, in 1st place, about 13s ahead of 787B.

Hour 5.
2nd lap into the hour, lap 70 sees fastest lap fall screaming down to 3'21.701.
Really got the hang of car & course now, but it looks as if it'll be no contest, about what I expected with this car.
Oh well, sod it, desperately need the cash, had a mere 7,300Cr left going into this race!
Pit from 30s lead on lap 72. Pit from 50s lead on lap 80.
Hour mark passes as I'm 12s into lap 85, in 1st place, about 1'05 ahead of 787B.

Hour 6.
Pit from 1'13s lead on lap 88. Lap Pescarolo (+2) on lap 91 while he's in pits. New fastest lap on lap 94, 3'21.385! And again on lap 95, 3'21.047! Curiously enough these laptimes come just as I've finished my 1st beer of the evening, who says drinking & driving don't mix?! This is one seriously quick car! Dread to think what it could do in the hands of a really good driver! It does the 100 - 200 mph sprint quicker than a lot of road cars will do 0 - 60 mph!
Pit from 2'00 lead on lap 96. Lap R8 (+2) and BMW (+2) while they're pitted on lap 99. Lapped R89C while he's pitted on lap 100.
Hour mark passes as I'm 37s into lap 102, in 1st place, about 2'14 ahead of 787B.

Hour 7.
Pit from 2'17 lead on lap 104. Pit from 2'38s lead on lap 112. Lapped Pescarolo (+3) on lap 117.
Hour mark passes as I'm 26s into lap 119, in 1st place, about 2'53 ahead of 787B.

Hour 8.
Pit from 2'51 lead on lap 120. Pit from 3'16 lead on lap 128. Car is starting to wear tyres quicker now. Not sure if its 'cos of consistent quicker laps, or the chassis beginning to wear. Lap 787B (+1) on lap 131. Lap BMW (+3) on lap 132. Lap R8 (+3) on lap 134.
Hour mark passes as I'm 47s into lap 136, in 1st place, 1 lap ahead of 787B. 1146 miles on the odometer at 1/3 distance.

Hour 9.
Pit on lap 136. Pit on lap 144. Lap Pescarolo (+4) on lap 150 while he's pitted. Lap R89C (+2) on lap 151 while he's pitted. Pit myself on lap 152.
Hour mark passes as I'm 40s into lap 153, just exiting pits in 1st place, +1 lap on 787B.

Hour 10.
Absolutely unremarkable hour! Pit on lap 160. Pit on lap 168.
Hour mark passes as I'm about 3'53 into my outlap from pitstop, in 1st place, +1 lap on 787B.

Hour 11.
Lap BMW (+4) on lap 173 while he's pitted. Pit on lap 176. Lap R8 (+4) on lap 179. Lap Pescarolo (+5) on lap 182 while he's pitted. Pit on lap 184.
Hour mark passes, 3'07s into lap 186, in 1st place, +1 lap on 787B.

Hour 12.
Pit on lap 192. Pit on lap 200. Lap 787b (+2) on lap 202 while he's pitted.
Hour mark passes 4s before the end of lap 203, in 1st place, +2 laps on 787B.

Standings at half-distance:-
1st Nissan R89C Race Car '89
2nd Mazda 787B Race Car '91 (+2 laps)
3rd Nissan R89C Race Car '89 (+2 laps)
4th Audi R8 Race Car '01 (+4 laps)
5th BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99 (+4 laps)
6th Playstation Pescarolo C60 / Judd Race Car '03 (+5 laps)

Hour 13.
A slightly more eventful hour. Lap BMW (+5) on lap 206 while he's pitted. Lap R89C (+3) on lap 208 while he's pitted. Pit on lap 208. Lap R8 (+5) on lap 214 while he's pitted. Lap Pescarolo (+6) on lap 215 while he's pitted. Pit on lap 216, exit pits with all opponents beween 5s - 1min behind on the track (all several laps down though.) This means a lot of racing in clear air during the next hour, somewhat like hour 10!
Hour mark passes 2'50 into lap 219, in 1st place, +2 laps on 787B.

Hour 14.
As predicted, the 2 pit stops were the only highlights of this hour! Pit on lap 224. Pit on lap 232.
Hour mark passes 2'47 into lap 237, in 1st place, +2 laps on 787B. Just over 2000 miles on the odometer.

Hour 15.
Pit on lap 240. Car has begun to handle unusually, more surprise responses into and out of bends, and the straights have developed "suicide-Armco", it keeps jumping out at me! Or maybe the car just won't maintain a straightline anymore!
Other strange things :- brakes flickering between 5 & 10% for a few seconds every now & then, even while I'm not touching the pedals , and stranger still, while doing upwards of 190mph in a straight line, on the part of the track before the 1st chicane in the backstraight, the "no entry"/wrong direction light flickered on!!!
Lap BMW (+6) on lap 245. Lap Pescarolo (+7) on lap 247. Pit on lap 248. Lap R8 (+6) on lap 254.
Hour mark passes 2'58 into lap 254, in 1st place, +2 laps on 787B.

Hour 16.
Pit on lap 256. Pit on lap 264. As yet there's no adverse effects of handling changes on fuel economy or tyre wear . Lap R89C (+4) on lap 268.
Hour mark passes 2'45 into lap 271, in 1st place, +2 laps on 787B. 2/3 distance, 2296 miles on odometer.

Hour 17.
Pit on lap 272. Lap Pescarolo (+8) on lap 277. Lap BMW (+7) as he enters pits, on lap 279. Pit on lap 280. Lap 787B (+3) while he's pitted on lap 284. Lap R8 (+7) while he's pitted on lap 288.
Hour mark passes 2'43 into lap 288, in 1st place, +3 laps on 787B.

Hour 18.
Pit on lap 288. Pit on lap 296. New fastest lap on lap 304, 3'20.116! Pit on lap 304.
Hour mark passes 3'00 into lap 305, in 1st place, +3 laps on 787B.

Hour 19.
Lap Pescarolo (+9) on lap 306. Lap BMW (+8) on lap 308. Pit on lap 312. Lap R89C (+5) on lap 318 while he's pitted. Pit on lap 320.
Hour mark passed about 2'10 into lap 322, in 1st place, +3 laps on 787B.

Hour 20.
Lap R8 (+8) on lap 324. Pit on lap 328. Pit on lap 336. Lap Pescarolo (+10) while he's pitted on lap 339.
Hour mark passes about 2'50 into lap 339, in 1st place, +3 laps on 787B.

Hour 21.
Pit on lap 344. Lap BMW (+9) on lap 346. Lap 787B (+4) as he's entering pits on lap 348. Pit on lap 352.
Hour mark passes 2'00 exactly into lap 356, in 1st place, +4 laps on 787B. 3013 miles on the odometer.

Hour 22.
Pit on lap 360. Pit on lap 368. Lap R8 (+9) while he's pitted on lap 370. Lap Pescarolo (+11) on lap 372.
Hour mark passes 1'38 into lap 373, in 1st place, +4 laps on 787B.

Hour 23.
Pit on lap 376. Lap BMW (+10) on lap 379. Lap R89C (+6) on lap 381. Pit on lap 384.
Hour mark passes 1'51 into lap 390, in 1st place, +4 laps on 787B.

Hour 24!
Whooopeee! The last hour! Pit on lap 392. Pit on lap 400 - last pitstop hopefully. Lap R8 (+10) on lap 404. Lap Pescarolo (+12) on lap 405 as he exits the pits.
Hour mark passes 1'06 into lap 407, in 1st place, +4 laps on 787B.

Finish!

Result:-
1st Nissan R89C Race Car '89 24:02'31.041.
2nd Mazda 787B Race Car '91 (+4 laps)
3rd Nissan R89C Race Car '89 (+6 laps)
4th Audi R8 Race Car '01 (+10 laps)
5th BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99 (+10 laps)
6th Playstation Pescarolo C60 / Judd Race Car '03 (+12 laps)

407 laps completed in 24:02'31.041. 3451.6 miles raced. 1,200,000Cr prizemoney & a yellow Audi R8 Race Car '01 prizecar!

 

WAY KOOL! Go get 'em Nick! You drew a much better line-up than I did while testing for route_66 yesterday! I kept getting the Corvette (which pits on the 10s BTW) which I lapped TWICE in a 20 Lap test! As much as I love GT4 & Le Sarthe (either version) I really don't know about A-Specing the whole 24 hours! If there was a "Tip o' the Hat" smiley I'd use it here...but this'll have to do ...O.G.

 

Thanks O.G. I've updated post #1 of the AI pit schedules with the Corvette's 10 lap strategy! Its a shame I didn't have something a little more "competetive" in the garage, now I'm used to the car & track, I'm killing the competition. Not my ideal sort of race. Though I need the money & I'm 7hrs in, so no backing out now! Once I'm 100% I'll start going back like Route_66 is doing and finding newer and harder challenges to grab all those wasted A-spec points back!

 

You're STILL in for some "Excitement".. Believe Me! Wait 'till the Chassis starts "Going Away" (Probably about the 18-20 Hour mark) you're gonna have your "Hands FULL!"

BTW: I just found a rather "ODD" combo testing at Le Sarthe I...The Sauber/R89 & R92 ALL Pit in at the end of Lap #7. The Panoz & Corvette (Which I didn't catch this time) rounded out this field...O.G.

 

Oh no, does this mean I have to do 4 - 6 hours of racing in a car that starts to handle like a mule?
Has anyone got any information about what the factors affecting chassis wear depend on? Is it purely a mileage thing? If so when does it kick in? Does it also affect the AI?
Back in the driving seat again. At this rate it'll take me until this time next week to complete this race.

*edit* posting hourly updates in the same post as before. Check there for progress....

 

"Good News" & "Bad News" ...It didn't really affect my SAUBER below 200 MPH & the Chassis doesn't start "Going Away" until around the 2,000 Mile mark.

HOLD ON...That means you'll have to do about 1/3 of the race with what feels like a tyre going down! Sorry that's more like "Bad News" & "Bad News" ...O.G.

 

Uh Oh!
As I close in on the 14hr mark and 2000 mile mark almost simultaneously, I feel that I could be in for a rough 10 remaining hours!

It reminds me of a movie quote, Ewan McGregor as Mark Renton as he begins his heroin cold-turkey in Trainspotting.

 

I'll "Leave a Light On for YA!!!"...Good Luck! ...O.G.

 

Its happening............as predicted.
I'm pretty sure that someone from Logitech broke into my apartment today while I was at work, and has installed 100 minature Kangaroos equipped with pogo-sticks and boxing gloves in my wheel! The shaking is intense above about 180 mph now, and braking from that speed is another adventure all together!
Begone you meddlesome marsupials!!!!

 

I found that after the chassis goes it is very hard to brake at the end of musslane without going either way. In the end I resorted to lifting the foot of the accel at the first turn sign (car pointing slightly to the right) then brake hard at the second marker. It gave the R8 enough time to stop shaking before I applied the brakes. I used the same technique in any corner where the car was going fast enough to shake.. Worked 90% of the time and I didn't loose too much time, maybe 1-2 seconds per lap. But since I was already lapping 12-14 seconds faster than the 787 it was just a matter of patience...

 

I think it'll be the same here. The 787B is too far behind to be a threat anymore.
You're in Sydney right? Are these Kangaroos in my wheel anything to do with you?!!!!!

(Updates still going into Post #12.)

 

5 hours to go.....chassis wear is really starting to tell.
The guy from Logitech has sneaked back in again, and put some hornets in the wheel, along with the boxing, bouncing Kangaroos, just to keep them really really hopping! I have my cricket bat out now, just in case he comes and tries anything else!
The stretch after the corner at the end of the Mulsanne has been transformed from an exhilirating 200mph+ dash through a couple of gentle curves and a crest, to a bone-jarring, white-knuckle, terror ride in a car that appears to have a very warped idea of what a straight line is, on every lap!

 

HANG IN THERE Nick!!! I'm rootin' for you! At least when mine "Went away" racing the FGTs I was far enough ahead in points that I could exit the last race & still win the series. I KNOW you've NO choice but to bear with it. ...O.G.

 

Was too tired to post last night at 2am when I finished. Post #12 updated with Sarthe I result. R89C will now retire gracefully with over 3400 miles on it, to a "legend" status in the "museum" area at the back of my garage! Woohoo! Now for Sarthe II!

 

CONGRATS on a Job WELL DONE!!! ...O.G.

 

Well done!

Now you'll experience the 'slam the wall' problem in the flesh on Sarthe II. My R8 did it to me about 8 times during the race. Another part of the track where I decided not to go 'pedal to the metal' as it allowed me to just swing from side to side of the track without hitting the wall. Every time you hit the wall it costs you 10 seconds on your lap time.

 

Super Speedway 150 miles. (30 A-Spec points)

Result:-

1st MINOLTA Toyota 88C-V Race Car '89 50'27.786 Pitted on laps 35 and 68.
2nd MINOLTA Toyota 88C-V Race Car '89 + 15s Pitted on laps 39 and 76.
3rd Nissan R92CP Race Car '92 +1 lap Pitted on laps 38 and 76.
4th Nissan R89C Race Car '89 +1 lap Pitted on laps 40 and 80.
5th Pescarolo Courage C60 Race Car '03 +4 laps Pitted on laps 46 and 92.
6th Bentley Speed 8 Race Car '03 +4 laps Pitted on laps 44 and 88.

Event free and dull with a capital DULL. Just as one might expect from an oval race. 6 cars, 2 left turns. Hmmmm, not a recipe for entertainment really. Could have got more excited watching a group of pensioners having a knitting contest. Wanted it out of the way a.s.a.p. hence the MINOLTA Toyota as ride of choice. 200,000Cr and a Honda NSX-R Prototype LM Race Car '02 for a prize.

Next please.....

 

New York Streets 200 miles. (181 A-Spec points)

Result:-

1st Lotus Esprit V8 SE '98 2:20'09.067 Pitted every 19 laps
2nd Lotus Esprit Sport 350 '00 +4.917s Pitted every 24 laps
3rd Callaway C12 '03 On lap 76 Pitted every 26 laps
4th Mercedes SL 65 AMG (R230) '04 + 1 lap Pitted every 18 laps
5th Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (C4) '90 + 1 lap Pitted every 20 laps
6th Ford MUSTANG SVT Cobra R '00 + 1 lap Pitted every 19 - 20 laps

Another fun & exciting race! Makes up for the dullness of SS150!
Full race report can be found here:- An Englishman in New York