Circuit de la Sarthe I 24 Hours (MkII!)
200 A-spec points! 
Car: Toyota GT-One Race Car (TS020) '99 (Black used, no chassis refresh, no oil) / MR / R1 Tyres, Downforce 47/64 (F/R)
Grid (in starting order):- 
1st
Nissan R92CP Race Car '92
2nd
Nissan R89C Race Car '89
3rd
Sauber Mercedes C 9 Race Car '89
4th
Toyota GT-One Race Car (TS020) '99 (Red)
5th
Mazda 787B Race Car '91
6th
Toyota GT-One Race Car (TS020) '99 (Black)
Hour 1:-
Trundle round in 4th for most of hour. Nissans & Sauber pit ending lap 7, Mazda ending lap 8 & Toyota lap 9. Stop myself ending lap 10, relinquishing the lead I'd taken over. Drop back to 5th while pitted only rising to 3rd when the R89C & Mazda make their 2nd stops. Still behind leaders even after their 2nd stop. 
Hour mark passes 2'42 into lap 17, in 3rd place, ~12s behind leading R92CP.
Hour 2:-
Spent most of this hour in 3rd place, though it dipped to 5th when I made my second stop, and got as high as 1st when the leaders pitted ending lap 28. The R92CP & Sauber appear to be helping each other pull away, but they don't appear to be changing places, the R92CP having lead through every checkpoint so far. 
Hour mark passes 1'56 into lap 34, in 3rd place, ~33s behind leading R92CP.
Hour 3:-
Most of this hour still in 3rd place, although after R92CP and Sauber pit ending lap 35, I was able to get past Sauber into 2nd for a while, and had a brief sniff of 1st before pitting on lap 40. Lapped Toyota beginning lap 44 while he's stopped.
Lead for a full lap after leaders pit, before diving pitwards again myself on lap 50, and drop back to 3rd place while stopped.
Hour mark passes 1'48 into lap 51, in 3rd place, ~21s behind leading R92CP.
Hour 4:-
Once again most of the hour is spent cruising in 3rd place. Took the lead when leaders pitted ending lap 56, but only for a little while, stopping from ~2s lead myself on lap 60. Not sure what befell the R92CP on this lap, but the Sauber goes by him into 2nd place and proceeds to run away like a scalded cheetah!
Leaders stop again ending lap 63, but get out with their lead still marginally intact.
Hour mark passes 57s into lap 68, in 3rd place, ~12s behind leading Sauber.
Hour 5:-
All of top 3 stop on lap 70, the Sauber is 21s ahead of me in 3rd place. Keep gap fairly stable at around 19s and lap the Toyota a 2nd time beginning lap 76. Take over lead when Sauber & R92CP pit again ending lap 77. Drop back to 2nd when I pit myself ending lap 80, and lose 2nd to the R92CP before the end of my outlap, falling back to 21s behind Sauber again. Drop even further back after a mistake at L'Arche chicane,
but the 84th lap stop by leaders leaves me just a few seconds back.
Hour mark passes 26s into lap 85, in 2nd place, ~2s behind leading Sauber.
Hour 6:-
Spend much of this hour in 2nd place, should've been 1st, but a mistake right at beginning of hour while close to Sauber at Tertre Rouge costs me 8s!
Back to 50s behind after 90th lap stop, dropping to 3rd and leaves me still 15s behind after leaders pit on lap 91, but up into 2nd place. Take lead again on lap 98 when Sauber pits from 15s lead, but relinquish position again when I make my 100th lap stop. Also lapped R89C temporarily beginning lap 99, while he's pitted, but he gets it back during my stop for the time being.....
Hour mark passes 3'58 into lap 101, in 2nd place, ~14s behind leading Sauber.
Hour 7:-
An hour of which I spend a fair percentage in the lead. The Sauber makes good ground, pulling out to 35s lead before his 105th lap stop, leaving me with not much of an advantage when I go by him exiting the pits. Keep him behind to the tune of about 8s before making my next stop, passing the R89C to re-lap him again when he stops. He unlaps himself again during my 111th lap as I'm on cold tyres, but loses the lap permanently when he stops as I begin lap 113. The Sauber also drops back to 2nd place with his 112th lap stop, but eases down the gap to a little over 2s by the end of the hour. Lapped Toyata a 3rd time during lap 110 too, but not before he'd given me a vital fuel-saving draft down many of the straights! 
Hour mark passes 5s into lap 119, in 1st place, ~2s ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Hour 8:-
Sauber hand over lead again ending lap 119, but I only hold it for a lap before pitting myself. Drop back over then next 7 laps to around 22s behind before the Sauber's 126th lap stop. Keep ahead for the next 4 laps extending the gap to about 20s,
before my 130th lap stop, a lap during which I passed the Mazda to lap him, albeit briefly. After the Sauber's 133rd lap stop he comes out around 17s back, and we round out the hour with him getting tyres up to race temperature and beginning to gain again.
Hour mark passes 2'55s into lap 134, in 1st place, ~14s ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Hour 9:-
Stop together on lap 140, my Toyota leading the Sauber by under 2s. Able to stay in lead for much of the Sauber's next 7 lap stint, although he gets away toward the end of it, and pulls away to about 6s lead before stopping on lap 147. Pass the Mazda again, and the Toyota a 4th time,
although the Mazda takes his lap back again after my 150th lap stop.
Hour mark passes 2'11 into lap 152, in 2nd place, ~13s behind leading Sauber.
Hour 10:-
An hour in which the lead see-saws between myself & the Sauber swapping each time we pitted. Also passed the Mazda again as he stops, but it still appears only a temporary thing. Sauber catches & passes me on lap 167 at Porsche Curves, after an earlier mistake at Mulsanne Hairpin on lap 164, but leads for 1 lap only as he stops ending lap 168. The lead I show ending the hour is flattering to me, given that I've a stop to come in 1 1/2 laps time. 
Hour mark passes 1'57 into lap 169, in 1st place, ~35s ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Hour 11:-
Mazda's permanent lapping is confirmed as he stops ending his 168th lap, while I begin lap 170. No way back for him this time. Stopped from 37s ahead of Sauber ending lap 170. Passed during outlap, and lose about 8s with a mistake at Indianapolis on lap 172.
Take over lead again beginning lap 176 when Sauber stops. Passed R89C a second time during lap 179,but lapping is only temporary as I stop, relinquishing lead again, on lap 180. Pass Toyota a 5th time during lap 185, and R89C during 186, although since my stop is due soon this'll prove a temporary arrangement.
Hour mark passes 1'11 into lap 186, in 1st place, ~10s ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Hour 12:-
An awful hour, that should have seen my lead cemented, turns out to be a disaster.
Sauber stops ending lap 189, before I go in myself on lap 190, and I exit with the lead intact at around 7s. With next stop due for me at lap 200, and the Sauber at 196, I should be well away. Not so. Series of mistakes prove costly a spin at Porsche Curves letting the Sauber by, and a subsequent error exiting Maison Blanche trying to recover sees a 5s lead turn into a 13s deficit by the end of the lap. Pass him when he pits, but he gets the lead back when I pit having made a few more errors while being held up by R89C.
Exit pits on lap 201, and make a hash of Dunlop Curves, finishing my outlap 26s behind. Humph. 
Hour mark passes 11s into lap 203, in 2nd place, ~31s behind leading Sauber.
1/2 distance standings:-
1st
Sauber Mercedes C 9 Race Car '89 12:00'00.000
2nd
Toyota GT-One Race Car (TS020) '99 (Black) +31s
3rd
Nissan R92CP Race Car '92 ~ +2'00 (a guess based on track position)
4th
Mazda 787B Race Car '91 +1 Lap
5th
Nissan R89C Race Car '89 +2 Laps
6th
Toyota GT-One Race Car (TS020) '99 (Red) +5 Laps
Hour 13:-
Atone for the awfulness of the previous 60 minutes, by turning in nearly 16 laps of unmatched awesomenitude! Another mistake at Porsche Curves on lap 203, affords Sauber a 44s cushion as he pits in, escaping with his lead intact. However, for the next 7 laps I pursue him relentlessly, and by the time we both pit at then end of lap 210, he still has only a 4s lead. He's got a 7s lead by Tertre Rouge checkpoint on our outlap, but I reel him in while his tyres are cold, and we swap places over and over again, during the next few laps, even posting a new fastest laptime of 3'25.690.
His 217th lap stop from under 2s ahead ends the Cat'n'Mouse game, and again the lead I show as the hour passes is again flattering due to the fact that my next stop is imminent.
Hour mark passes 1'25 into lap 220, in 1st place, ~44s ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Hour 14:-
Another otherwise good hour that began badly! Pitted from 44s ahead of Sauber, and exited pits with lead intact. Sauber on warm tyres caught throughout lap, until after a bit of overenthusiasm on my part at Indianapolis, and the world goes blurry as I spin.
Gives Sauber the lead and we catch the Toyota again. Spend 3/4 lap behind the red roadblock, but save fuel in the process, eventually putting him 6 laps under.
Sauber stops from 10s ahead on lap 224, and I go through into lead again. My 230th lap stop gives back lead to Sauber for a lap, until he pits again ending lap 231, and we press on toward the hour's end.
Hour mark passes 3'23 into lap 236, in 1st place, ~27s ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Hour 15:-
Once again, with the Sauber not really a threat, and approaching a pitstop, I feel needless pressure to try and pull away & in doing so make a mistake, watching the timer to see the gap at Indianapolis checkpoint instead of looking at the track. Consequently a 27s gap turns into 8s, after I spin into the sand having hit the brakes for Porsche Curve with 2 wheels on grass!
Sauber stops on lap 238, and is 51s behind when I stop on lap 240, getting away with lead intact. Sauber closes to within 2s before 245th lap stop, and I spin out again at Indianapolis trying to lap R92CP.
Lose time, and therefore the lead when I stop on lap 250, but go back in front after Sauber's 252nd lap stop.
Hour mark passes 2'24 into lap 253, in 1st place, ~19s ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Hour 16:-
A great hour! Catching up to not one but two Nissans during laps 254 and 255, and set a blistering new fastlap of 3'25.256
on lap 256 with the R92CP in sight, but not drafted! Pass back and too with Nissans during lap 257 & 258 and the Toyota is lapped a 7th time while stopped. Sauber pits on lap 259, leaving him over a minute behind when I stop on lap 260, directly behind R92CP making his 259th lap stop. Sauber stops ending lap 266, and I pass the R92CP again when he stops almost a lap down. Sauber is 56s back as I go into lap 270, which I'll stop at the end of, probably losing laps back to the Nissan pair.
Hour mark passes 2'38 into lap 270, in 1st place, ~56s ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Hour 17:-
Stop with just 47s of the hour gone, losing back laps to the Nissans, but still emerging ahead of Sauber,
who gains through the next 7 laps while I duke it out with the R92CP attempting to permanently lap him.
His lapping is confirmed when he stopsending his 273rd lap while I begin my 275th.The R89C's 3rd lapping is confirmed after he stops ending his 273rd lap while I begin lap 277. Lap 280 stop for me from some 35s ahead of Sauber, who also pits in keeping the gap stationary. Lap Mazda a 2nd time out on the track a lap after he emerged from the pits, and since his next stop will coincide with mine it's a fixed arrangement!
Hour mark passes 1'56 into lap 287, in 1st place, ~35s ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Hour 18:-
Sauber pits ending lap 287, but my comments about permanently lapping Mazda have me "Murraying" * myself into a mistake at Tertre Rouge on lap 288, spinning out, letting the Mazda back through and costing myself 15s!
Still pitted ending lap 290 from over 50s lead, right behind Madza. Pass Mazda very permanently this time during lap 292, confirmed when he stops as I begin lap 299, and the Toyota takes an 8th lapping beginning my 295th lap. Sauber stops ending lap 294, leaving him over a minute down, but he gains a bit back at my 300th lap stop, before dropping back to around 1 minute with his 301st lap stop.
Hour mark passes 1'14 into lap 304, in 1st place, ~59s ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
* "Murraying" - Suffering from a case of the commentator's curse, best demonstrated repeatedly by the great Murray Walker, whose habit of managing to say just the wrong thing at the right moment, made him one of the most legendary of motorsports commentators. Observe......
Hour 19:-
All in all a dull hour, no action apart from pitstops!
Sauber stops from 47s back on lap 308, dropping him to almost 1 1/2 minutes behind after his outlap. Stop myself ending lap 310, allowing the Sauber to close within 40s, before his next pit visit ending lap 315. Make my second stop of the hour ending lap 320 from way over a minute ahead of the Sauber, and the hour ends shortly afterwards.
Hour mark passes 1'20 into lap 321, in 1st place, ~46s ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Hour 20:-
Again a relatively incident free hour. Sauber pits on laps 322, and 329, dropping him back to around 1'45 behind. Passed the Toyota again during lap 328, but pit ending lap 330, running out of fuel as I enter the pitlane!
Toyota is handed his 9th lapping, beginning lap 332 when he stops again. Sauber is back to under a minute behind when he's pitbound again ending lap 336, leaving the hour mark to pass with nearly 1 1/2 minute lead again.
Hour mark passes 27s into lap 338, in 1st place, ~1'28 ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Hour 21:-
A third consecutive hour of excitementlessness!
The gap between the Sauber & I see-saws one last time between the 40s & 1'20 marks, as I stop on lap 340, then he pits on lap 343. Since we both pit ending lap 350, the gap then stabilises around the 1'20 mark, since he'll stop again before I do.
Lapped and lost lapping to R89C again several times during this period too.
Hour mark passes 3'15 into lap 354, in 1st place, ~1'16 ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Hour 22:-
Something to do!
Sauber's 357th lap stop leaves him back at 1'46 in arrears. Stop ending lap 360 myself, having temporarily passed the Toyota again. Actually lap the Toyota during lap 367, confirming him as 10 laps down, so far down in fact that he'll need a snorkel!
Pretty embarrassing for a car identical to my own that started the race with the benefit of fresh, clean oil and an unbent chassis! The R89Cs 4th lapping is also cemented during this session, and the Sauber's 364th lap stop combined with my own ending lap 370, restores the status quo, at around 1 minute again after I lost time with an error at Dunlop Curves beginning my in-lap.
Hour mark passes 2'59 into lap 371, in 1st place, ~53s ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Hour 23:-
Not much passing during this hour, the Sauber dropping back further with 2 stops on lap 371 and 378 before I make my 380th lap stop. Sauber then goes in again ending lap 385 to leave him trailing by almost 2 full minutes. Catch right up within sight
of Mazda and R92CP towards the end of the hour, suggesting they'll both lose another lap each by the race finish.
Hour mark passes 2'30 into lap 388, in 1st place, ~2'00 ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Hour 24:-
Pitted ending lap 390, letting the Mazda gain back the lap I'd just taken from him. Sauber pits ending lap 392, and 399 dropping back to over 2 minutes again. Pitted ending lap 400 myself, but don't take on a full fuel load this time, only 42 units
which should be enough to see me through to the end. Lapped R92CP a 2nd time when he pits, Toyota again for an amazing 11 laps total
while he's stopped again, and Mazda stops as I begin lap 403, taking his 3rd lapping while stationary. Race on through the end of lap 405, dropping the fuel gauge down to nothing coming up to Porsche Curves.
Enough to see me home for the 200 point win though!
Race ends 24:01'22.635 405 laps completed, 1'52 ahead of 2nd placed Sauber.
Result:-
1st
Toyota GT-One Race Car (TS020) '99 (Black) 24:01'22.635 Pitted every 10 laps
2nd
Sauber Mercedes C 9 Race Car '89 +1'52 Pitted every 7 laps
3rd
Nissan R92CP Race Car '92 +2 Laps Pitted every 7 laps
4th
Mazda 787B Race Car '91 +3 Laps Pitted every 8 laps
5th
Nissan R89C Race Car '89 +4 Laps Pitted every 7 laps
6th
Toyota GT-One Race Car (TS020) '99 (Red) +11 Laps Pitted every 9 laps
Music during race:-
The Orb - Aubrey Mixes: The Ultraworld Excursions, Astralasia - Axis Mundi, The Charlatans - Between 10th and 11th, Morrissey - Bona Drag, Feeder - Comfort In Sound, Beth Orton - Comfort Of Strangers, Pet Shop Boys - Disco, Portishead - Dummy, (Sunderland 0 vs. 2 Liverpool - Liverpoolfc.tv live commentary), Snow Patrol - Eyes Open, Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain, Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand, Shed 7 - Going For Gold, Beta Band - Heroes To Zeroes, Ivy - In The Clear, (Liverpool 4 vs. 0 Toulouse - Liverpoolfc.tv live commentary), Phish - Junta (Disc 1), Kasabian - Kasabian, Mansun - Little Kix, They Might Be Giants - Mink Car, Roni Size - New Forms (Disc 1), Ride - OX4_ The Best Of Ride, Coldplay - Parachutes, Inspiral Carpets - Revenge Of The Goldfish.
Last edited: May 29, 2010