Smallhorses' A-Spec Endurance Companion.

Super Speedway 150 miles. (MkIII!) (118 A-Spec points)

Toyota GT-One Race Car (TS020) '99 (New from dealer, no oil change) / MR / ?HP (776HP on garage screen / 900kg / ?kg/HP (1.2kg/HP using garage value)

Result:-

1st Toyota GT-One Race Car (TS020) '99 50'032.632 Pitted on laps 34 and 68.
2nd MINOLTA Toyota 88C-V Race Car '89 50'47.843 (+15s) Pitted on laps 38 and 78.
3rd Nissan R92CP Race Car '92 +1 lap Pitted on laps 38 and 78.
4th Nissan R89C Race Car '89 +1 lap Pitted on laps 39 and 80.
5th Pescarolo Courage C60 Race Car '03 +4 laps Pitted on laps 45 and 90.
6th Bentley Speed 8 Race Car '03 +4 laps Pitted on laps 44 and 87.

Same lineup as the first time I attempted this race, but almost 4 times as many A-spec points on offer this time for my stock Toyota GT-One. The car has a tremendous appetite for front tyres, but if you keep the lines smooth through the turns and do your best to avoid screeching the tyres they're realistically good for 33 laps per set. Pushed the first two sets out for an extra lap to avoid losing time at the end if the Toyota 88C-V happened to be close. Actually a reasonably enjoyable race this time around, as I knew that a big mistake (heavy wall or AI contact or a spin) would cost me the race, which kept me on my toes. Best lap was 29'004, and average was around 29.5xx until front tyres wore, at which point a few 30.xxx and 31.xxx saw me through to the pitstop.
 
Grand Valley 300km (MkIII!)

200 A-spec points!

Car: Toyota SuperAutobacs Apex MR-S (JGTC) '00 (Oil changed) / MR / 316HP / 1125kg / 3.6kg/HP. (302HP at the end of the race, 3.7kg/HP. )

Starting Grid:-
1st Honda Takata Dome NSX (JGTC) '03
2nd Toyota au Cerumo Supra (JGTC) '01
3rd Nissan Xanavi Hiroto GT-R (JGTC) '01
4th Audi A4 Touring Car '04
5th Honda Loctite Mugen NSX (JGTC) '01
6th Toyota SuperAutobacs Apex MR-S (JGTC) '00

Full race report with pictures and map is here!!! (Enjoy!!!)
Grand Valley 300km. 200 A-spec points in stock Toyota SuperAutobacs Apex MR-S (JGTC)

Result:-
1st Toyota SuperAutobacs Apex MR-S (JGTC) '00 1:58'45.826
2nd Nissan Xanavi Hiroto GT-R (JGTC) '01 +6.166s
3rd Toyota au Cerumo Supra (JGTC) '01 +11.457s
4th Honda Takata Dome NSX (JGTC) '03 On lead lap
5th Honda Loctite Mugen NSX (JGTC) '01 On lead lap
6th Audi A4 Touring Car '04 On lead lap
 
Laguna Seca 200 miles (MkII!)

200 A-spec points! (Again!)

Car: Honda NSX '01 (R1 Tyres, oil changed) / MR / 291HP / 1340kg / 4.6kg/HP. ( 277HP at the end of the race, 4.8kg/HP.)

Starting Grid:- [HP in square brackets]
1st Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (C4) '90 [493HP]
2nd Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 [494HP]
3rd Callaway C12 '03 [493HP]
4th Dodge Viper GTS '99 [499HP]
5th Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 [498HP]
6th Honda NSX '01 [291HP]

Full race report with pictures and map is here!!! (Enjoy!!!)
Another 200 A-spec Laguna Seca 200 miles. (Stock Honda NSX '01)

Result:-
1st Honda NSX '01 2:2x'xx.xxx, 200.8 miles.
Didn't record full finishing time! :dunce:
2nd Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 +4.410s
3rd Dodge Viper GTS '99 ~+25s
Based on track position.
4th Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (C4) '90 ~+1'35 Based on track position.
5th Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 +1 Lap
6th Callaway C12 '03 +1 Lap
 
Tokyo R246 300km (MkIII!)

200 A-spec points!

Car: Toyota Wedsport Celica (JGTC) '03 (R1 tyres, Downforce F/R 25/41 ) / FR / 307HP / 1050kg / 3.4kg/HP

Starting Grid:-
1st Nissan Pennzoil Zexel GT-R (JGTC) '01
2nd Honda Mobil 1 NSX (JGTC) '01
3rd Honda Takata Dome NSX (JGTC) '03
4th Toyota au Cerumo Supra (JGTC) '01
5th Nissan Xanavi Hiroto GT-R (JGTC) '01
6th Toyota Wedsport Celica (JGTC) '03

Full race report with pictures and map is here!!! (Enjoy!!!)
Tokyo R246 300km. 200 A-spec points in stock Toyota Wedsport Celica (JGTC)

Result:-
1st Toyota Wedsport Celica (JGTC) '03
2nd Nissan Pennzoil Zexel GT-R (JGTC) '01
3rd Honda Mobil 1 NSX (JGTC) '01
4th Toyota au Cerumo Supra (JGTC) '01
5th Nissan Xanavi Hiroto GT-R (JGTC) '01
6th Honda Takata Dome NSX (JGTC) '03

Once again I failed to record my finishing time. :dunce:
 
El Capitan 200 miles (MkV!!) (200 A-spec points)

Car: Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II N1 '00 (Tyres F/R S1/S2) / 4WD / 328HP / 1550kg / 4.7kg/HP

This is now the 5th time of running this race for me, and it's no less enjoyable than the first time! :D Having run this in a selection of FR cars and an MR Lotus Esprit, I took a look through the Stock car race challenge/comparison thread to see if anyone had managed to overcome the chronic front tyrewear suffered by 4WDs in GT4 and pull off a win in one here. Sure enough, such esteemed members as Vash666, alhajoth & Tired Tyres have already cracked it, and for 200 points to boot. I had to get on that 4WD wagon, and since I've only got one roadgoing Nissan Skyline left to buy & drive, it seemed the perfect choice for this race.

Grid:-

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Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 Pits 16 laps
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Aston Martin V8 Vantage '99 Pits 11 - 12 laps
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TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97 Pits 12 laps
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Dodge Viper GTS '99 Pits 13 laps
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Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96 Pits 14 laps
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Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II N1 '00 Pits 8 - 9 laps

Race Highlights:-

Lap 1: Pass Viper, Aston & Grand Sport cleanly. 👍
Lap 2: Pass Z06 cleanly and take the lead without incident or contact from TVR. :)
Laps 3 - 9: Pulled away from pack, pitting from 10s lead and exiting in 4th place.
Lap 12: TVR pits from lead, allowing Z06 into 1st place and me into 2nd.
Lap 13: Cleanly pass Z06 for the lead again.
Lap 16: New fast lap of 1'56.892 as Z06 pits from 2nd place.
Lap 18: 2nd pitstop from 36s ahead of TVR, exit in the lead.
Lap 22: New fast lap of 1'56.109 and 15.8s lead over TVR.
Lap 24: Lapped Aston as he makes 2nd pitstop. TVR also pitted from 20s behind.
Lap 27: Make 3rd stop, and get away in the lead again having topped up fuel to 25 units.
Lap 31: New fast lap of 1'55.760 is extending lead over 2nd placed Z06.
Lap 32: Z06 pits from 2nd place, 53s behind.
Lap 36: Pit a 4th time from 1'06 lead over TVR who also pits in.
Lap 44: Pit a 5th time, a lap earlier than before, and maintain 8-lap strategy to the end of the race. :sly:
Lap 47: Lapped Aston a 2nd time.
Lap 52: 6th pitstop.
Lap 53: Lapped Viper.
Lap 54: Lapped Grand Sport.
Lap 55: Now lead 2nd placed TVR by 1'34.
Lap 60: Make 7th & final pitstop.
Lap 62: Lapped TVR and gave Aston it's 3rd lapping! :ouch:
Lap 63: Fastest lap of the race, 1'55.473. :bowdown:
Lap 65: Lapped Z06 as he makes a pitstop ending his 64th lap.
Lap 66: Win! :D

Result:-
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1st
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Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II N1 '00 2:12'38.137
2nd
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TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97 +1 Lap
3rd
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Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 +1 Lap
4th
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Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96 +1 Lap
5th
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Dodge Viper GTS '99 +1 Lap
6th
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Aston Martin V8 Vantage '99 +3 Laps
 
El Capitan 200 miles (MkVI!!) (200 A-spec points)

Car: BMW Z4 '03 (Oil changed, S2 tyres) / FR / 239HP / 1365kg / 5.7kg/HP (228HP and 6.0kg/HP at end of race)

This is now the 6th time of running this race for me, and it's become something of a challenge between alhajoth & I, to see who can win this race in the stock car with the worst Weight to Power ratio possible over in the stock car thread. This is my latest effort, which trumps his Nissan 350Z Roadster (Z33) effort by 0.2kg/HP (5.7kg/HP for the BMW vs. 5.5kg/HP for the Nissan) but I fully expect him to nick back his record in style soon and make me try to beat it again! :bowdown: 👍

Grid:-

1st
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Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96 Pits every 13 - 14 laps
2nd
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Aston Martin V8 Vantage '99 Pits every 11 laps
3rd
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Mercedes Benz SL 65 AMG (R230) '04 Pits every 11 - 12 laps
4th
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Dodge Viper GTS '99 Pits every 13 laps
5th
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TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97 Pits every 12 laps
6th
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BMW Z4 '03 Pits every 11 laps


Laps 1 - 11:

Passed Dodge & Aston coming up hill out of tunnel & over crest.
curvy.gif
Down inside the TVR in the downhill left hander, before cleanly taking 2nd place under braking for the Yosemite Lodge Hairpin from the Mercedes. Finish the lap in 3rd as the TVR sneaks back past on the straight. He's taken again in the same place as before on lap 2, and I hold onto 2nd for a while, right on the tail of the Chevy. Take the Chevy in the same fashion as the TVR on lap 3 and take the lead. Cannot pull away much, but clean laps culminate in a first foray into the sub-2 minute laptimes ending lap 7 in 1'59.648. 👍 The TVR takes over 2nd place from the Chevy on lap 9, but the status quo is maintained as I keep the gap at around 3s. Pit in ending lap 11 to make this a 5 stop race as my right front tyre is getting dark orange. Took on new tyres but no fuel, and drop to 4th place. The Mercedes also pits in, followed sometime later by the backmarking Aston.

Laps 12 - 22:

Finish outlap in 4th place, but cleanly negotiate the TVR as he exits pits following his 12th lap stop under braking for turn 1 of lap 13 and go on to begin lap 14 in 2nd place as I pass the stationary Dodge who pits ending his 13th lap. The Chevy make his first pitstop ending lap 14 from around 22s lead, leaving me to take back the lead as he is coming towards the pitlane exit.
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The AI are slow on cold tyres, and I'm able to extend my lead, helped out by a new lap record of 1'59.068 ending lap 16, and the fact that the Chevy and TVR are fighting for 2nd & 3rd place now. Dropped that to 1'59.035 on lap 17 which leaves me 13.4s ahead of the 2nd placed TVR. Continue to scrape closer to the 1'58 domain with a 1'59.012 :D on lap 19, but those final hundredths remain elusive for now. The TVR starts to edge closer as his tyres are warmer and mine are wearing. Stop from a little over 11s lead ending lap 22, having only used 38 units of fuel so far no more is taken.

Laps 23 - 33:

Dropped to 3rd while pitted and lose that to the Dodge who passes me cleanly over the bridge before turn 1 as I get back up to speed. Even on warm tyres he's still slow through the sector after the tunnel, and is easily outbraked for the Yosemite Lodge Hairpin. I'm powerless to pull away though and he takes 3rd place back with ease down the mainstraight as I end my outlap 19.5s behind the leading TVR. :indiff: Pass the Dodge in the downhill left after the tunnel on lap 24, and am able to pull away just enough that he's unable to pass back down the straight as we pass the TVR stationary in the pits at the end of this lap. It leaves me in 2nd place, around 9s behind the leading Chevy. Finally break into the laptimes I'd been chasing ending lap 26 in 1'58.779 :drool: having put a little gap between the 3rd placed Dodge & I before his 2nd pitstop. The Chevy loses a lot of time on lap 27, and heads pitwards at the end of it, allowing me to resume the lead. The TVR takes over the 2nd place chase, but is now some 20s behind, although unfettered by the Chevy and on warm tyres, he's able to drop the gap to 15s by the time I stop ending lap 33 & within sight of lapping the Aston!

Laps 34 - 44:

Taking tyres & no fuel again, I'm out in 2nd place, completing the outlap around 16s in arrears of the TVR & lapped the stationary Aston in the pits too. Take over the lead again ending lap 36 when the TVR makes his 3rd stop having complete a new fast lap of 1'58.757. It's followed up with a 1'58.416 :bowdown: which leaves me almost 9s clear of the 2nd placed Chevy. The Dodge completes his 3rd stop ending his 39th lap, but he's back in 4th place and no longer a threat. The Chevy loses 2nd place to the TVR when he stops at the end of lap 40, and the TVR resumes the chase 26s behind. Once again he's on optimal tyres as mine wear out, and he closes to 23s back by the time my 44th lap stop comes around. Take tyres and put in fuel
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for the first time, topping up from 4 remaining units to 23 units leaving me a little safety net.

Laps 45 - 55:

Accelerate away down the pitlane but lose the lead to the TVR who flies past at full tilt. End my outlap around 8s behind the leader. End my 48th lap just 2/1000ths off the fastest lap so far, :crazy: and go back into the lead as the TVR pits. The TVR finishes his outlap about 26s behind in 2nd place, but proceeds to drop back on cold tyres, holding up the 3rd placed Chevy in the process, and is 32s back beginning lap 53. The Dodge pits ending his 52nd lap from a safe 4th place. The Chevy makes his final stop ending lap 54, and the TVR is on the charge again, beginning what'll be my final inlap at 28s behind my BMW. :nervous: Stopped ending lap 55 and had a repeat of my previous pitstop.

Laps 56 - 66:

Once again I exit the pitlane just in time to watch the TVR take the shallow righthander onto the bridge at full pelt, and get dropped back to 2nd place again. The Mercedes in 5th place bucks his usual trend of pitting every 11 laps, and goes for a 12 lap stint ending on lap 56, and he exits the pits within sight of me crossing the line to begin my 58th lap, in other words not so far away from a lapping! :sly: The TVR's lead is now up to 8s as he uses his warm tyres to good effect. The lugubrious Mercedes is cleanly lapped over the crest following the tunnel on lap 58. Following the Aston's final stop from a lap down already he's put within lapping distance again and is duly dispatched under braking for the Yosemite Lodge Hairpin. By the end of lap 60 when the TVR pits again I've got 177 miles on the clock and the magic GT Auto oil HP boost has worn off the BMW, leaving me at 228HP and unable to put in 1'58 laps anymore. :grumpy: The TVR was 12s ahead when he stopped and we've 6 laps to go, but critically the lapped Aston & Mercedes get between my leading BMW & his TVR! Ease away from the cold-tyred TVR, and begin my final lap with victory certain, he's 23.5s behind, and has 2 backmarkers in front of him! The Dodge performs a final act of utter stupidity, pitting at the end of lap 65 of a 66 lap race! :dunce:

Result:-

1st
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BMW Z4 '03 2:14'34.483
2nd
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TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97 +23s
3rd
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Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96
4th
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Dodge Viper GTS '99
5th
mercedes.gif
Mercedes Benz SL 65 AMG (R230) '04 +1 Lap
6th
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Aston Martin V8 Vantage '99 +2 Laps
 
Well done, Smallhorses!👍
Another impressive effort, and a great read as always.:)

My master thesis is due june 1st :scared:, so I don't have much time for GT4 at the moment, but I will have a go at this over the summer. I think there are cars over 6.0 WPR that can do this..:sly:
 
Well done, Smallhorses!👍
Another impressive effort, and a great read as always.:)

My master thesis is due june 1st :scared:, so I don't have much time for GT4 at the moment, but I will have a go at this over the summer. I think there are cars over 6.0 WPR that can do this..:sly:

Thanks alhajoth! 👍 I had to keep the competition flowing! :mischievous:
I also have my eye on a couple of cars, out of the 116 that I've yet to acquire, that have the potential to stretch the record into the low 6.x kg/HP WPR range. Watch this space & the stock car thread!
Good luck with the Master's Thesis too.
Been there, done that. Well worth the effort in the long run! 👍
 
Trying to find the line up you had in the Tsukuba 9 hours but it's not showing up at all. Trying to find a line up minus the Elise 111R is so far proving difficult and I've not found anything yet that hints at even a close win at 200 points matching you power to weight ratio of 5.4. Think at the moment I'll just settle at 181 points which has been my best find so far, after this race I'll 100% GT4 anyway so I'll come back later for the full points.
 
FLK, I think Smallhorses has the NTSC version of the game, while you probably have PAL. The lineups are not the same between the two; you could search forever and not find "his" lineup. This has been especially well documented in the 200 points classic car races, where there is a particular "magic" lineup in one version that does not exist in the other.
 
Yeah I know he moved continents (from UK) just not sure when and wondered if he did this before moving, which now he clearly didn't. :)
 
As far as I know the AI opponents are the same in PAL & NTSC, although the lineups which seem to be random-ish based on the vehicle you're entering and the current game day you're on, may not occur in the same order. If I recall correctly, I must've cycled through at least 45 - 60 lineups for Tsukuba 9hr before I found that one, it took me over an hour of enter/exiting.
I know AMG. has also had issues finding listed lineups in the past, and I know that some of the tricks that I've listed to find a special lineup that I raced at a given time cannot be repeated now even within the same gamesave. I tried to find the same lineup I raced at Motegi 8hr the other day, cycled through over 100 lineups :eek: and still didn't find it, which is why I suspect game day may have something to do with it.
Sadly with such a broad spread of opponents for the Tsukuba 9hr, you've got about a 1/140000 chance of getting the right 5 cars to appear! I knew there's a lineup that's beatable in a stock Renault 5 Turbo '80, but I didn't find it and quit looking after 100 attempts to find it after I sat down and worked out what my chances of coming across it actually were! :scared:
The first AI lineup for a given race is usually always the same after a console reset, but it may then randomly diverge at any given time for a particular car entered, or game day, unless it's something like Polyphony Digital Cup or Gran Turismo World Championship, where lineups have been proved to be reproducible, give or take an odd car swap here and there between the PAL & NTSC games.
Unfortunately for the Endurance races it seems to be a lot more random, and therefore very difficult to predict. Sorry I can't be more help, and good luck with your search for the perfect Tsukuba race. 👍

I moved continents before the advent of the PS2 & GT3, so I've only ever done GT1 & GT2 in PAL format. GT3 & GT4 I've done all in NTSC. :)
 
El Capitan 200 miles (MkVII!!) (200 A-spec points)

Car: Citroen Xsara Rally Car '99 (S1 Tyres, downforce 13/14) / FF / 295HP / 960kg / 3.3kg/HP

Fitted with Sports Hard tyres and with a small reduction in rear downforce, this car lines up against the following field for 200 points, hoping to become the first reported stock FF car to clinch a 200pt endurance race win on these forums. :D

Grid:-

1st
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Callaway C12 '03 Pits every 16 laps
2nd
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TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97 Pits every 11 - 12 laps
3rd
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Dodge Viper SRT10 '03 Pits every 16 laps
4th
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TVR T350C '03 Pits every 11 - 12 laps
5th
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Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96 Pits every 13 - 14 laps
6th
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Citroen Xsara Rally Car '99 Pits every 9 - 10 laps

Laps 1 - 11:

Left for dead at the start in a cloud of tyre smoke as my FF fails to create the traction of my FR racemates. :grumpy: Catch up to them by the start of the tunnel, and pass the 'Vette up the hill and the T350C on the downslope. Complete lap 1 in 4th place but outbrake the Viper & C12 into turn 1, go round the outside, and accelerate cleanly out of the turn in 2nd place. Catch the leading Cerbera and pass him in the downhill bend after the tunnel on lap 3. Break through the 2-minute barrier on lap 4, followed by a 1'58.776 on lap 5. Drop that to a 1'58.708 ending lap 8, and have a relatively stable 1.5 - 2s lead over the Cerbera. Pit in ending lap 10 as my front right tyre is decidedly orange. Take on tyres but no fuel and exit down in 6th place. End a clean outlap in last position, 26.173s behind the leading Cerbera.
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Laps 12 - 22:

The TVR pairing pit ending lap 12, the Cerbera from the lead, and T350C from 5th place. Both are passed while stopped handing me back 4th place. Close up on 3rd placed 'Vette for the next 2 laps, passing him in the downhill turn after the tunnel on lap 14, which he pits at the end of. I'm maintaining a steady 23s gap to the leading Viper, :indiff: and gaining on the 2nd placed C12. Passed the C12 over the crest following the tunnel on lap 16, and the leading Viper and 3rd placed C12 pit ending this lap. Passed the Viper in the pits and he exits in 2nd place, completing his outlap 9s behind my Citroen. During the first stages of lap 19, the Cerbera takes back 2nd place, now 14s behind, and it's with that lead that I pit ending lap 20, again taking tyres but no fuel, and relinquishing the lead. Exit in 3rd place and complete my outlap a little under 16s behind the leading Cerbera. Complete this batch of 11 laps in 3rd place, 16.077s behind the leading Cerbera.
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Laps 23 - 33:

The Cerbera stops ending lap 24, handing the lead to the Viper and I take over 2nd place, 10s behind the new leader. The T350C also follows in to continue his 12-lap pit window. Continue to lap well, but can't reduce the gap to the leader below 9s despite a new fast lap of 1'58.266 ending lap 28. The 'Vette stops again ending lap 28, right on schedule, as do I ending lap 30, once again taking tyres but no fuel, from 9s behind the Viper. Drop from jacks in 2nd place, but the Cerbera sprints by,
greencar.gif
dropping me to 3rd as I exit the pitlane. Complete my outlap a despairing 36s behind the leading Viper, but within sight of the Cerbera. The Viper pits ending his 32nd lap from 35s lead, and is able to emerge in front before the Cerbera and my Citroen can catch up as the C12 also pits from 5th place. The Viper is tediously slow on this outlap, allowing us to catch right up to him, and I finish lap 33, in 3rd place, just 0.433s behind the leading Cerbera who has just nosed ahead of the Viper. :mischievous:

Laps 34 - 44:

Doesn't take long to recover the lead, outbraking Viper on the outside into turn 1, and passing Cerbera in the usual place after the tunnel. He retakes the lead down the straight beginning lap 35, but he's easily outbraked into turn 1 and his challenge ends for now, as he pits from almost 3s behind ending lap 36, leaving the Viper to take over the chase. :) The T350C pits on schedule too from back in 4th place. Make a first, and possibly last foray into the sub-1'58 arena with a 1'57.992 fastlap on lap 38. Pitted from 14s lead ending lap 40, losing the lead to the Viper again as I take on tyres, and top off fuel to 20 units. Finished my outlap 15.3s behind, but set about trying to reduce that. It's not easy. The 'Vette pits ending his 42nd lap from 4th place. I'm driving the wheels off the Citroen to try and make an impression, and drop the gap to 13.672s ending lap 44 with a new fastest lap time of 1'57.757.
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Laps 45 - 55:

The Viper begins to suffer with tyre wear towards the end of his latest 16-lap stint, as I drop the gap to around 10s when he stops ending lap 48. :sly: The TVR pair also pit, the Cerbera & T350C stopping from 3rd and 4th places respectively, and finally the C12 also pits from 5th place. I decide to make my last stints shorter, and pit from 22s ahead of the Viper ending lap 49 in order to capitalise on his slowness on cold tyres. Tyres on and fuel back up to 16 units I'm underway again, as the Viper flies by. He's still slow though, and I'm just 0.388s behind him at the end of my outlap! Passed the Viper under braking and around the outside of turn 1 on lap 51, and pull away to open up a gap. Another dropping of the fastest laptime with the last lap of the set of 11 sees the time tumble to 1'57.656 and the lead over the Viper extended to 7.312s. :bowdown:

Laps 56 - 66:

The 'Vette pits from 5th place a little off-kilter with his usual 14-lap window ending lap 55. Keep lapping cleanly and creep away from the Viper a fraction of a second at a time, making my last pitstop ending lap 58 from just under 9s ahead of the Viper which screams by as I'm stopped. Tyres on and fuel back to 16 units I begin my charge to the finish line, and hopefully victory! :nervous: Complete my outlap in 2nd place, 17.822s behind the leader, which is good news given that he's got another stop to make, although he's in the prime of his tyres right now and lapping quickly. The TVR pairing do their choreographed pitting ending lap 59 this time, also stopping a lap earlier than usual, like the 'Vette did before. The Viper edges the gap out to just over 20s, but it drops back to 18.3s going into lap 64. Sure enough he stops at the end of that lap and allows me to pass him while he's stopped! The C12 also stops from last place ending his 64th lap, and I'm close enough behind that as I begin my final lap he's exiting the pits and he's passed to go a lap down, while the Viper finishes his outlap 16s behind. Roll on to the chequered flag!
checkeredflag.gif


Result:-

1st
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Citroen Xsara Rally Car '99 2:14'06.129
2nd
dodge.gif
Dodge Viper SRT10 '03 +18s
3rd
tvr.gif
TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97
4th
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TVR T350C '03
5th
chevrolet.gif
Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96
6th
callaway.gif
Callaway C12 '03 +1 lap
 
Fantastic work Smallhorses!
These have been very useful, although I can't see myself doing an A-Spec 24 hour endurance.
 
Fantastic work Smallhorses!
These have been very useful, although I can't see myself doing an A-Spec 24 hour endurance.

:cheers:!

As far as the 24hr races go..... Oh go on! You know you want to! :)
Just pause the game overnight and race a few hours a night for a couple of weeks! It's fun & very rewarding! I'm looking forward to going back for my leftover A-spec points at Nurburgring 24h Endurance at some point soon! :D
 
Roadster 4hrs Endurance (MkIII!) (147 A-spec points)

Car: Mazda MX-5 Miata 1600 NR-A (NB,J) '04 (N1/N3 Tyres) / FR / 124HP / 1050kg / 8.5kg/HP

Third time of running this race, and I wanted to up my points from my previous best of 104, in a mostly unmodifed car. Some research reveals a lineup that's beatable by using N tyres (ineligible for the stock car thread :() and I started the race on N1 tyres on the front to up the points tally to 147. On N3 tyres front and rear I'm able to run quicker than the AI cars, so a 1st lap pitstop sees me change to N3s all round, while still maintaining the points total! :D No other modifications were necessary, the car runs as it came from the Mazda dealer with the exception of turning off the driving aids completely.

Grid:

1st Mazda MX-5 Miata SR-Limited (J) '97 (Pits every 42 laps)
2nd Mazda MX-5 Miata S-Special Type I (J) '95 (Pits every 41 - 42 laps)
3rd Mazda MX-5 Miata 1.8 RS (J) '98 (Pits every 41 - 42 laps)
4th Mazda MX-5 Miata J-Limited II (J) '93 (Pits every 42 - 43 laps)
5th Mazda MX-5 Miata V-Special Type II (J) '93 (Pits every 42 - 43 laps)
6th Mazda MX-5 Miata 1600 NR-A (J) '04 (Pits on lap 1 & every 36 laps thereafter)

Race Highlights:

Hour 1:

Pitted ending lap 1 to change front tyres back to N3s, still keeping the A-spec points high, but allowing much better laptimes. :sly: Ended outlap 32s behind the leader and set about catching the pack as the SR-Limited begins to edge away from them. Drop into the sub-1'13s on lap 9, and have reduced the gap to 23s with my 1'12.805. By lap 20 the gap to the leader is down to 15.5s and the fast laptime down to 1'12.379. I have caught up to the backmarkers, and it takes me until lap 23 to pick a way past the last placed car, going by out of the 2nd hairpin. Stuck behind yellow J-Limited for a few laps but leader doesn't pull away too much, and I eventually make a clean pass under braking for the 3rd hairpin on lap 26. Catch the next two runners and pass one on each of laps 33 & 34 while the gap to the leader drops into single digits at 9s. Rear left tyre is starting to wear though so I make a pitstop after losing 2s to the leader ending lap 37. :irked: Dropped back to 6th place and ended outlap 35s behind the leader. Leader pits ending lap 42, followed by the S-Special, 1.8 RS, allowing me to take back 4th place. The J-Limited & V-Special pit ending lap 43, and allow me to take over 2nd place again. Catch right up to the leader as the hour ends. :mischievous:

Hour mark passes 16.727s into lap 49, in 2nd place, 0.277s behind the leader.

Hour 2:

Finally took the lead round the outside of 2nd hairpin on lap 50 and set about pulling away. :) Set a new fast lap time on lap 59, coming in at 1'12.171 and growing the lead to 14s. By the time I pit again ending lap 73, I've stretched the lead to 27s over the SR-Limited in 2nd place, also having dropped the fastest laptime again (on lap 63) to 1'12.125 as I've edged close to breaking the 1'12 barrier. 💡 Taking tyres but no fuel, I get underway again with my lead just about intact, but cut down to under 2s. The S-Special pits ending his 83rd lap from 3rd place, while the 2nd placed SR-Limited pits ending his 84th lap from 12s behind. The 1.8 RS also stops at the end of his 84th lap, while the J-Limited that's temporarily taken over 2nd place pits ending lap 85 and the V-Special is the last to stop ending lap 86 and the first to be lapped beginning lap 89. The J-Limited is lapped on lap 91, and that's the last action of the hour as I close up on the 1.8RS. 👍

Hour mark passes 13.457s into lap 98, in 1st place, 53.414s ahead of 2nd placed SR-Limited.

Hour 3:

Lapped 1.8RS out of 2nd hairpin on lap 99. Lapped S-Special on lap 105, but spin out coming out of Dunlop Bridge turn on lap 109 while running on very orange left rear tyre that's due for a pitstop! :dunce: Lost laps to 3 cars in the process, and pitted in. Take on tyres and lose the lap to the last placed car too, but still lead by 17s at the end of my outlap. Start to lap consistently in the mid-1'12 range once the tyres warm up, and by the time I complete a new fastest laptime of 1'12.061 ending lap 125, the gap to 2nd placed SR-Limited is 32s. The S-Special makes his 3rd stop from 3rd place, ending lap 125 getting re-lapped whilst stopped as I drop the fastest laptime again to 1'12.036 ending my own 126th lap. The SR-Limited pits from 2nd place ending his 126th lap, followed by the 1.8 RS who pits from 3rd place and gets re-lapped while stopped. J-Limited pits ending his 127th lap and is promptly re-lapped while stopped, while the V-Special goes for the embarrassment of being re-lapped on track on my 129th lap before he makes his 128th lap pitstop. Edge marginally closer to the elusive sub-1'12 range on lap 131 with a 1'12.034! Lapped the SR-Limited in 2nd place under braking for the 3rd hairpin on lap 132 to go a complete lap up on the entire field. Lap 133 drops the time again, a 1'12.013 this time, and creeping closer to my goal! With the fuel gauge into the last red bar, the breakthrough
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comes ending lap 137, with a 1'11.966! Pitted in ending lap 145, with just 3 units of fuel remaining, and take on new tyres and fuel up to 23 units before getting away again just as the sneaky SR-Limited manages to unlap himself! :grumpy:

Hour mark passes 1'15.421 into my outlap on lap 146, in 1st place, 1'12.382 ahead of 2nd placed SR-Limited.

Hour 4:

Manage to re-lap the SR-Limited around the outside of the 2nd hairpin on lap 148. Lap 154 sees some more milestones, literally as it happens, the 200 mile mark coming up as I enter the final turn, and a new fast laptime of 1'11.928 which stands until it plummets
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again to 1'11.836 ending lap 158. The light fuel load is rewarding me with consistent low 1'12 laps and the occasional dip into the 1'11s, a new fastest 1'11.792 arriving on lap 162, followed by a 1'11.748 on lap 163! The 3rd placed 1.8RS is the first to make a final pitstop ending his 167th lap and he's followed in by the 4th placed S-Special, the latter getting a 2nd lapping while he's stopped. The 2nd placed SR-Limited pits ending his 168th lap, while the J-Limited pits from his temporary 3rd place spot ending lap 169, and goes 2 laps behind in the process. The V-Limited is also lapped a 2nd time towards the end of lap 172 just before he heads into the pits for his final stop ending his 170th lap. Put a 2nd lap over the 1.8RS in 3rd place under braking for the 3rd hairpin on lap 173 and make it a full house passing the SR-Limited into the first bend on lap 176. Make another dent in the fastlap time with a 1'11.703 on lap 178, before my tyres go away and I pit in again ending lap 181 with under 18 minutes remaining. New tyres and fuel topped off to 11 units, I've lost the 2nd lappings to the SR-Limited & 1.8 RS. Took back my 2nd lap from the 1.8 RS under braking for turn 1 on lap 189. A new fastest lap, this time draft assisted as I catch up to the 2nd placed SR-Limited out of the 3rd hairpin on lap 193, sees a 1'11.686 registered, :bowdown: and with just over 2 minutes of the race remaining I'm shaping up to take back the 2nd lap from him again, which happens under braking for the 3rd hairpin on the following lap. ;)

Hour mark passes 6.320s into lap 196, in 1st place, 2 laps ahead of 2nd placed SR-Limited.

Result:

1st Mazda MX-5 Miata 1600 NR-A (J) '04 4:01'06.767 (196 laps completed, 254.9 miles)
2nd Mazda MX-5 Miata SR-Limited (J) '97 (+2 Laps)
3rd Mazda MX-5 Miata 1.8 RS (J) '98 (+2 Laps)
4th Mazda MX-5 Miata S-Special Type I (J) '95 (+2 Laps)
5th Mazda MX-5 Miata J-Limited II (J) '93 (+2 Laps)
6th Mazda MX-5 Miata V-Special Type II (J) '93 (+2 Laps)
 
:cheers:!

As far as the 24hr races go..... Oh go on! You know you want to! :)
Just pause the game overnight and race a few hours a night for a couple of weeks! It's fun & very rewarding! I'm looking forward to going back for my leftover A-spec points at Nurburgring 24h Endurance at some point soon! :D

Yeah, I will probably get around to doing at least one, but I need some sleep first :P
 
Fuji 1000km (MkII!) (82 A-spec points)

Having bought the PlayStation Pescarolo C60 / Judd Race Car '04 for 4,500,000Cr to attempt the FGTWC in for 200 points in stock form as has been achieved by 2 of our members in the PAL version of the game, I was disappointed to discover that due to different pit strategies for the FGTs in the NTSC version of the game it simply isn't possible to pull of the wins there. :grumpy: Hence I'm left with a great car and a huge dent in the bank balance. Looking around for somewhere to recoup some of my losses without running a 24hr shot at Le Sarthe (again!) I cast my gaze upon the prizes for the Fuji 1000km race. A little under 5hrs of racing gives almost the same reward (give or take a 1/4 million or so) as the Sarthe races, for a 1/4 of the effort, so I sought what I believed would give my pesky Pescarolo a run for it's money. How wrong I was....

Grid:

1st Sauber Mercedes C 9 Race Car '89 Pits every 15 laps
2nd Audi R8 Race Car '01 Pits every 20 - 21 laps
3rd Nissan R390GT1 Race Car '98 Pits every 18 laps
4th Nissan R89C Race Car '89 Pits every 14 - 15 laps
5th Peugeot 905 Race Car '92 Pits every 21 - 22 laps
6th PlayStation Pescarolo C60 / Judd Race Car '04 Pits every 20 or 25 laps

Hour 1.

1 AI contact (Audi turns into me on S/F straight while heading for the pitlane as I lap him.), 1 off-track incident (touched grass into turn 1 while lapping R89C and spin into sandtrap.), otherwise clean with no barrier contacts.
Car is monstrously fast & easy on the tyres. Fastest lap so far is 1'12.805.

Hour mark passes 3.743s into lap 48. Leading Sauber by 2 laps, last placed R390 is 4 laps down already.

Hour 2.

1/4 distance comes up at the end of lap 57.

Standings:

1st PlayStation Pescarolo C60 / Judd Race Car '04 1:13'10.083
2nd Sauber Mercedes C 9 Race Car '89 +2 Laps
3rd Nissan R89C Race Car '89 + 3 Laps
4th Audi R8 Race Car '01 +3 Laps
5th Peugeot 905 Race Car '92 + 3 Laps
6th Nissan R390GT1 Race Car '98 + 5 Laps

3 off track incidents (Ran wide in loopy turn 8 over grass twice and once ran wide at turn 1 after lapping Peugeot.), no barrier contacts, no AI contacts.

Hour mark passes 1'00.456 into lap 94. Leading Sauber by 4 laps, last placed R390 is 9 laps back.

Hour 3.

1/2 distance comes up at the end of 114.

Standings:

1st PlayStation Pescarolo C60 / Judd Race Car '04 2:26'02.042
2nd Sauber Mercedes C 9 Race Car '89 +5 Laps
3rd Nissan R89C Race Car '89 + 6 Laps
4th Audi R8 Race Car '01 +7 Laps
5th Peugeot 905 Race Car '92 + 7 Laps
6th Nissan R390GT1 Race Car '98 + 10 Laps

2 off track incidents (Ran wide onto grass exiting 100R turn & ran wide over kerb at turn 1. :dopey:), 3 AI contacts (Audi taps the back of me braking for turn 1 as I'm careful to avoid running into the back of the R390 and the R390 then tags me as I pass him on the run down to turn 3. Peugeot also taps the back of me into turn 1 on lap 136 after being lapped.), no barrier contacts, new fastest lap is 134 at 1'12.436.

Hour mark passes 1'09.451 into lap 141. Leading Sauber by 7 laps, last placed R390 is 13 laps behind.

Hour 4.

3/4 distance comes up at the end of lap 171.

Standings:

1st PlayStation Pescarolo C60 / Judd Race Car '04 3:39'08.284
2nd Sauber Mercedes C 9 Race Car '89 +8 Laps
3rd Nissan R89C Race Car '89 + 9 Laps
4th Audi R8 Race Car '01 +10 Laps
5th Peugeot 905 Race Car '92 + 11 Laps
6th Nissan R390GT1 Race Car '98 + 16 Laps

2 AI contacts (Tapped back of Audi after abortive outbraking attempt into turn 3, R89C forces me off track while passing R390 causing spin & barrier contact. :mad:) 6 off track incidents (Exiting the last turn onto grass, exiting 100R onto grass, exiting Hairpin turn onto grass, forced off track while lapping R390 & R89C together exiting hairpin turn, passing both when R89C pulls out to pass R390 too, spinning me onto grass and into barrier, slithered onto grass on inside of exit to Hairpin turn on cold tyres on outlap, ran wide onto grass exiting Hairpin turn.), including 1 barrier contact (When R89C spins me off track.)
New fastest lap is 184 at 1'11.876. :bowdown:

Hour mark passes 1'08.650 into lap 188. Leading Sauber by 10 laps, last placed R390 is now 19 laps behind.

Hour 5.

1 AI contact (R89C runs into back of me at turn 7 as I'm turning in.), 3 off track incidents (Run wide on cold tyres on outlap at loopy turn 8, run wide onto grass exiting last turn twice, once resulting in barrier contact.), 1 barrier contacts (Big wiggle after running wide at last turn results in skewing across track and briefly contacting barrier. :dunce:)
Race ends at the conclusion of lap 228.

Results:

1st PlayStation Pescarolo C60 / Judd Race Car '04 4:50'37.392 228 laps completed
2nd Sauber Mercedes C 9 Race Car '89 +13 Laps
3rd Nissan R89C Race Car '89 + 14 Laps
4th Audi R8 Race Car '01 +14 Laps
5th Peugeot 905 Race Car '92 + 16 Laps
6th Nissan R390GT1 Race Car '98 + 23 Laps

Not even a race per se
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but coffers are swelled by almost 1.5 million Cr after collecting the prize money and parting with the prize car. This concludes my 39th A-spec endurance race, and therefore I feel something special should be done to commemorate the 40th endurance race! 💡
Watch this space.... :mischievous:
 
Do I sense a 200 point Nurburgring 24 Hour attempt coming on? That'll be fun! I hope you get around to 200-pointing Motegi also at some point.
 
Nurburgring 24h Endurance (MkII!)

200 A-spec points! :D

Since I left 62 A-spec points begging here first time round, I've had my eyes on a car for this race for a long while but I've been putting off since I've been trying to buy & race the remaining cars in the game that I don't own. With only 50 cars left to buy & drive, and the prospect of my 40th enduro to do, what better way to combine my 50th-to-last car to my 40th enduro report than this!!!! It's also delightfully fitting that the stock car I used to achieve 200 A-spec points at Nurburgring 4hr was a used Nissan Silvia!

Car: Nissan C-West Razo Silvia (JGTC) '01 (Downforce F/R 22/34, R1 tyres) / FR / 297HP / 1150kg / 3.9kg/HP

Grid (in starting order):-
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Audi A4 Touring Car '04
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Opel Calibra Touring Car '94
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BMW M3 GTR Race Car '01
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Nissan C-West Razo Silvia (JGTC) '01
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Nissan Falken*GT-R Race Car '04
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Nissan C-West Razo Silvia (JGTC) '01

Since this is an awesome racing prospect, this race will get a full report of it's own along with pictures....
Nurburgring 24hr. 200 A-spec pts in stock Nissan C-West Razo Silvia (JGTC)...Hourly Updates in Progress :)
 
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Nurburgring 4hrs (MkIV!) (165 A-spec points)

Having conquered El Capitan 200 miles in a stock FF car, I turned my attention to some of the cars left on my "To Buy List" and what they could possibly bring in racing terms. With a rapidly dwindling surplus cash-flow and still over 15,000,000Cr to try and earn with my remaining unpurchased cars so that I can afford everything, it's sort of necessary to avoid making a loss on a car at the moment, and something that'll earn several times it's own value is a useful asset. I desperately wanted to beat this race using the Dodge SRT4 '03, but I auditioned many lineups, and it's capable of beating only about 8 of the 27 possible AI opponents here. I spent almost 24hrs in total of going in and out of the race to find a lineup with 5 out of those 8 cars, but it's nigh-on impossible to find. When I sat down & worked out the probability of finding that magic lineup being something of the order of 1:9,600,000 I promptly abandoned hope and found something more suited to the Dodge's tastes. The next car on my list though was the Spoon Civic Type R (EK) '00 and I figured it'd have a shot at the Motegi 8hrs for more points than I already got there. Wrong again. Low points even against relatively tough opposition, and with an FF drivetrain consuming tyres like they're going out of fashion it was never going to be competetive. So back to the Nurb' 4hr race it was, and this is what happened......

Car:
Spoon Civic Type R (EK) '00 (S1/S3 tyres) / FF / 214HP / 820kg / 3.8kg/HP

The car's thirst for front end rubber is slaked somewhat by replacing the stock S3 tyres with S1s, but it still manages to wear them out before the S3s that're left attached to the rear wheels! :eek:

Grid:
1st
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Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR GSR '04
2nd
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Mercedes CLK 55 AMG '00
3rd
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Chevrolet Camaro SS '00
4th
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Ford Focus RS '02
5th
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Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00
6th
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Spoon Civic Type R (EK) '00

Hour 1:

Passed Mustang out of Flugplatz as he slowed unnecessarily, but give back place after backing off to avoid contact with the 3 car gaggle of the the Chevy, Focus & Merc who're very slow and in each other's way into Adenauer Forst. Take the Mustang again just after Metzgesfeld, and then outbrake the Chevy & Focus into Wehrseifen, followed by the Merc into Breidscheid. :)
Gain on the Mitsubishi, and catch his draft out of Galgenkopf, going by at Tiergarten. Pull away during the next 2 laps and lap cleanly before pitting from ~8s lead ending lap 3 (Focus also stops.) Mitsubishi takes over the lead, but I'm able to exit in 2nd place, some 16s behind at Quiddelbacher Hohe checkpoint, a gap which drops to 8s by Antoniusbuche before the Mitsubishi pits ending lap 4 and allows me through into the lead, with the Mustang taking over 2nd place until he stops ending lap 5, as do the Chevy & Merc from further back. The Mitsubishi is 28s behind by the time I make my lap 6 pitstop, and I'm able to get away in the lead, pulling away a little towards the end of my outlap and leaving the gap at 9.3s ending the first hour's action.
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Hour mark passes 1'24.014 into lap 8. In 1st place, 9.3s ahead of 2nd placed Mitsubishi.

Hour 2:

Head into pits ending lap 9, following a lap which featured my first off-track experience (into the sandtrap outside Brunnchen) and barrier-brush (outside Galgenkopf) :ouch: and have a 46s lead over Mitsubishi. Able to take tyres and still not top off fuel, with only 59 units so far consumed, exiting with the lead intact. Maintain a gap of over 20s to 2nd placed car, throughout the next phase but as we both pit ending lap 12, he's about 30s behind and staying there!
The FF cars continue a 3-lap pit window, our sole 4WD runner is doing 4-laps per pit and the 3 RWDs are running 5-laps between stops. The Mustang is holding 3rd place, while the Camaro has consolidated 4th and the last 2 spots are chopping & changing between the Focus & Merc with every pit interval, the Focus faster but pitting more often. Lap 11 has been the fastest clean lap so far at 8'13.339 and I have 1 other barrier touch on lap 14 while pushing hard to break the fast lap time, outside Drei-Fach-Rechts which although the laptime is ultimately the fastest of the race so far actually means it won't count in the listings. :guilty:

Hour mark passes 2'47.841 into lap 15. In 1st place, 47.3s ahead of 2nd placed Mitsubishi.

Hour 3:

An hour of scrappy outlaps. Have a few very-close-to-off-track moments during lap 16, before finally going over the kerb and into the barrier at Bergwerk. On my next outlap on lap 19, I take the fast left before Aremburg a little toooo fast, touch the grass and end up skidding back across the track to finish up in the sandtrap on the outside of Aremburg. Didn't spin though, which is good, 👍 and keep some momentum going so it's easy to get out of there. I also left the track at Mutkurve but avoided the barrier and then almost spin out exiting Karussell, stopping the car
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at 90-degrees to the direction of the track before recovering!
The highlight though, is lap 17, which comes in as a new clean fast lap at 8'11.854! The Mitsubishi drops a long way back during this hour, despite closing to within 21s at the beginning of lap 16, he's left way behind after his next pitstop and drops back to over a minute behind after my first fastlap. He gains, of course, when I pit in, and make the mistakes on lap 19, but drops almost 15s on lap 20 before going into the pits while I smash the lap record again with a 8'10.085.
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Hour mark passes 3'45.790 into lap 22. In 1st place, 54.4s ahead of 2nd placed Mitsubishi.

Hour 4:

This time it's the middle lap of my 3 that suffers, while the outlap & inlap are clean, having had abundantly grassy
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although very unbarriery experiences at 2 fast sections of the course, just after Flugplatz & Pflanzgarten III respectively, on lap 23. Pit from over a minute ahead of the Mitsubishi ending lap 24, with him due to stop as well. An awesome session follows, 3 completely clean laps with a flying middle lap which clocks 8'09.959.
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Stopped ending lap 27 for an 8th time, while the Mitsubishi stops a 7th time ending lap 28, leaving him around 1'35 behind.

Hour mark passes 5'25.461 into lap 29. In 1st place, 1'45.9 ahead of 2nd placed Mitsubishi.

Suddenly catch a slow moving Focus at Eschbach on lap 29, and follow him through Brunnchen, going by cleanly at the exit of Eiskurve as he touches the grass and weaves back and forth across the track now one lap behind and go on to complete another fastest laptime of 8'08.539 to end the race in style!
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Result:
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1st
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Spoon Civic Type R (EK) '00 4:02'43.078 (375.0 miles)
2nd
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Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR GSR '04 ~+1'44
3rd
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Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00
4th
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Chevrolet Camaro SS '00
5th
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Mercedes CLK 55 AMG '00
6th
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Ford Focus RS '02 + 1 lap
 
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Infineon World Sport Car Race (MkIII!)

200 A-spec points! (Again!)

Car: Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00 (R2 tyres) / FR / ?HP (597HP using garage value) / 1150kg / ?kg/HP (1.9kg/HP using garage value)

Starting Grid:-
1st Jaguar XJR-9 Race Car '88
2nd BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99
3rd PlayStation Pescarolo C60 Race Car '04
4th Bentley Speed 8 Race Car '03
5th Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car '98
6th Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00

Full race report with pictures and map is here!!! (Enjoy!!!)
Infineon World Sport Car: 200 A-spec points, stock Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00

Result:-
1st Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00 2:45'45.206
2nd BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99 (+1'24)
3rd PlayStation Pescarolo C60 Race Car '04 (+1 Lap)
4th Bentley Speed 8 Race Car '03 (+1 Lap)
5th Jaguar XJR-9 Race Car '88 (+2 Laps)
6th Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car '98 (+4 Laps)
 
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Fuji 1000km (MkIII!) (101 A-spec points)

Once again I'm using cars up that I've not yet bought or driven, and the 1,000,000Cr Gillet Vertigo is pretty expensive. In doing the Fuji 1000km though, it'll pay for itself and leave almost 500,000Cr extra in my bank account for around 5 hours work. 👍

Car: Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04 (R1 Tyres) / FR / 889HP / 780kg / 0.9kg/HP

Grid:
1st Panoz Esperante GTR-1 Race Car '98 (Pits every 17 laps)
2nd Mazda 787B Race Car '91 (Pits every 19 - 20 laps)
3rd Pescarolo Courage C60 Race Car '03 (Pits every 22 laps)
4th Nissan R89C Race Car '89 (Pits every 15 laps)
5th BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99 (Pits every 21 laps)
6th Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04 (Pits every 20 laps. (*14 lap window at last stop*))

Laps 1 - 20:

Moved up into 3rd place relatively quickly and cleanly, but continued to lag behind the Mazda & Nissan who're setting the pace. Lapped the Panoz on lap 14 before taking 2nd place from the Nissan when he stops ending lap 15. Lapped cleanly until lap 17, when I slithered out of Hairpin turn and put 4 wheels onto the grass on the inside. :yuck: The Mazda's lead is built up to 17s when he pits ending lap 19, and I stop myself, surrendering the lead to him again, ending lap 20, having just passed the Panoz a 2nd time. Fastest lap so far is lap 9 at 1'18.166.

Lap 21 - 40:

Exit the pits in 5th place, having gone in in the lead! Take back 4th place when the BMW pits ending lap 21, and finish outlap 13.3s behind leading Mazda. Pescarolo rescinds 3rd place as he pits ending lap 22.Lapped Panoz again cleanly during lap 25. Take back 2nd place from Nissan when he stops ending his 30th lap, and show 11s gap to the leading Mazda at this point. Passed the hapless Panoz a 3rd time ending lap 36 and have shaved a couple of seconds from the Mazda's lead. Mazda's 2nd stop ending lap 38 from 11s lead sees me take 1st place again until lap 40 when I stopped from 27s lead and exit pits in 3rd place. Fastest lap so far is lap 32 at 1'17.948. Great clean session! :D

Laps 41 - 60:

Have a 2nd off-track moment at the tight turn 3 on my outlap, putting 4 wheels just beyond the kerb into the dirt. BMW's 2nd stop comes ending his 42nd lap. Repeated the same off-track move on lap 44. The Pescarolo stops ending lap 44, followed the next lap by the Nissan's 3rd stop which sees him lose 2nd place to me. Was just over 12s behind leader into lap 47, but a major off-track moment at 100R loses me 6s, as I struggled to slow down almost to a stop and avoid barrier contact. Lapped 6th placed Panoz a 4th time during lap 49, followed by 5th placed Pescarolo on lap 50. Having clawed back a few seconds from the leader, I repeat the mistake at 100R again, and lose what I've gained on lap 55. Also overshoot braking for turn 1 on lap 56, running over the dirt strip, but thankfully avoiding a costly trip into the sandtrap. Panoz pits ending his 51st lap and loses another lap to me as I begin lap 57, at the end of which the Mazda pits from 23s lead. Pit in myself ending lap 60, and am followed in by the Nissan making his 4th stop and exit in 2nd place. Fastest lap so far is lap 53 at 1'17.467. Disappointingly careless session! :mad:

Laps 61 - 80:

14s behind Mazda ending outlap and lost the lapping of the Pescarolo while I was stopped. Run out over the dirt at turn 3 on lap 64, just before BMW pits at the end of his 63rd lap. Lap the BMW ending lap 67, and the Pescarolo as I begin lap 68 while he's pitted at the end of his 66th lap and he loses 4th place to the BMW in the process. New fastlap (69) of 1'17.441 is followed by 1'17.442 on lap 70, showing good consistency! :eek: Gap to leader is now down from 17s to 12s as he lost some time passing the Panoz again, which I also lap a 6th time during lap 71. The Panoz pits 4 laps later from the end of his 68th lap, while the Nissan stops again ending lap 75. Mazda pits from 13s lead ending lap 76, as I pass the Panoz again, this time probably temporarily as I'm due a stop in 4 laps. Pitted ending lap 80, losing the lapping of the BMW, 2nd place to the Mazda and the 7th lapping of the Panoz in the process.

Laps 81 - 100:

Exited in 2nd place, re-lapped the Panoz during my outlap and finished it 8s behind leader. BMW's lapping is confirmed when he stops ending his 84th lap and I begin my 86th passing him in the pits. Pescarolo is next in ending his 88th lap. Lapped Pescarolo again on lap 92, followed by Panoz again & again on lap 93 and 98! The Mazda stops from 13s lead ending his 95th lap and we trade places for a while until my 100th lap stop. The Panoz & Pescarolo each take a lap back while I'm stopped.
Good clean session again. 👍

Laps 101 - 120:

Mazda takes back lead as I'm leaving the pitlane. Confirm the 9th lapping of the Panoz ending lap 103, and am now just 2s behind the leader. Make this a "dirty" session as I leave the track outside turn 8 after clipping the kerb on the inside, on lap 105. Mercifully there's still been no contact with barriers or AI though. :nervous: Add another trip to visit the dirt at turn 1 on lap 109. Take a 10th lap from the Panoz beginning lap 113 while he's pitted, and also confirm the Pescarolo's 2nd lapping as he's stopped too. The Mazda pits from about 3s in front ending lap 114, allowing me to take the lead as he's slowing down.

Standings at 1/2 race distance:
1st Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04 2:33'49.517
2nd Mazda 787B Race Car '91 +4.3s
3rd Nissan R89C Race Car '89 ~+55s
4th BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99 +1 Lap
5th Pescarolo Courage C60 Race Car '03 +2 Laps
6th Panoz Esperante GTR-1 Race Car '98 +10 Laps

Pitted from 44s lead ending lap 120 having briefly shown the Panoz what it's like to be 11 laps behind.
Fastest lap so far is lap 112 at 1'17.056.

Laps 121 - 140:

Exited pits with lead intact, and completed clean outlap with just under 6s lead over Mazda. He's cut that back to under 2s :scared: by the time I do put the Panoz 11 laps behind on lap 126. The BMW emerges from the pits after his 126th lap stop as I begin lap 129, and I have to follow him round the lap, closing the Mazda back up to within 1.3s by the beginning of lap 130. The Panoz does the same thing as I began lap 132, but it's easy to blow cleanly by him between turns 2 & 3 while he's adjusting to cold tyres. Mazda stops from ~4s behind ending lap 133. Put the Pescarolo 3 laps down temporarily on lap 136, and lap the Nissan in the pits beginning lap 137, which will also be a temporary thing as I'm due a stop soon. Pit in ending lap 140 from 49s lead, and 3 cars pass me while I'm stopped, believed to be Nissan, Pescarolo & BMW all taking a lap back from me.

Laps 141 - 160:

Mazda closes to within 8s in the laps after my pitstop and unfortunately as I'm catching the Panoz & Pescarolo on lap 148 I drift off-track at 100R again, this time brushing the tyrewall outside the bend. :ouch: Make it a 13th lapping for the Panoz by the end of lap 148. The BMW pits ending his 147th lap and is put 2 laps behind as I begin lap 150. The Pescarolo's 3rd lapping occurs during lap 151 and the Nissan pitting at the end of his 150th lap ensures he goes a lap behind as I begin lap 152. The Mazda is about 7s behind when he stops ending lap 152. The Panoz gets his 14th lapping ending lap 153. Keep things tidy until I pit ending lap 160 from 53s ahead of the Mazda, which allows the Nissan to unlap himself again.

Laps 161 - 180:

Have another visit to the grass outside 100R on lap 164. :dopey: The Nissan pits ending his 165th lap, allowing me to re-lap him again, this time for good, as our next pitstops will both come at lap 180. Lapped the Panoz a 15th time while he's pitted and I begin lap 169. The Mazda goes an extra lap this time, pitting at the end of lap 172 after a 20 lap stint from 24s behind. Lapped the Panoz again ending lap 176 leaving him 16 laps adrift. Pitted in from just over 1 minute lead over 2nd placed Mazda ending lap 180. The Panoz & Nissan take back their laps while I'm stopped.

Laps 181 - 200:

Reconfirm the 16th lapping of the Panoz ending lap 181, and pass the pitted Nissan beginning lap 182. Have a quick visit to the dirt outside turn 3 on lap 186 as I'm catching up to the Pescarolo again before he's passed ending lap 187. Pass the Panoz in the pits for a 17th lapping beginning lap 188 which also turns out to be the new fastest lap at 1'16.829. :bowdown: The Mazda reverts to his usual 19-lap window, pitting from almost 40s behind ending lap 191. The BMW is passed in the pits as I begin lap 193. Catch and lap the 2nd placed Mazda beginning lap 196, but that'll be temporary as I'm due a stop soon. Have my first AI contact on lap 197 as my slippery, worn tyres fail to stop me in time as I catch a slow-moving Panoz again at turn 3. Very, very light tap on his rear end, but it's contact nonetheless and a contact-free race is no longer possible. :guilty: Pit in ending lap 200 and this allows Mazda, Panoz, Pescarolo & BMW to claim back a lap each while I'm stopped.

Lap 201 - 220:

Pass the Panoz permanently for an 18th time ending lap 202, and as I begin lap 203, the pitted Pescarolo is handed his permanent 4th lapping. Pass the Panoz & BMW together for their respective 19th & 3rd lappings ending lap 208. Have a careless moment exiting turn 8 as I run over too much kerb, and the resulting slide swings me into the barrier inside the turn, for just my 2nd barrier contact of the race. :grumpy: Passed the Mazda again ending lap 212, but I elect not to run this set of tyres to raggedness, and pit in after 14 laps ending lap 214, leaving 14 laps to go to the end of the race on new tyres and the Mazda unlaps himself again. Make it 2 barrier contacts in this session as I leave the track again in much the same way as my first barrier contact occured back on lap 148. The most disappointing session so far. :dunce:

Laps 221 - 228:

The lapping of the Panoz for the 20th time ending lap 223, the 5th lapping of the pitted Pescarolo beginning lap 226 and the 21st lapping of the Panoz ending lap 228 are the only noteworthy action of the final 8 laps.

Result:
1st Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04 5:07'26.998
2nd Mazda 787B Race Car '91 +50s
3rd Nissan R89C Race Car '89 +1 Lap
4th BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99 +3 Laps
5th Pescarolo Courage C60 Race Car '03 +5 Laps
6th Panoz Esperante GTR-1 Race Car '98 +21 Laps

Just 12 off-track moments in 228 laps, 621.3 miles & over 5 hours of racing, only 3 of which resulted in any barrier contact, and a single brief nudge of an AI car make this one of the cleanest endurance races I've ever run. :embarrassed:
 
New York Streets 200 miles (Mk V!)

200 A-spec points! (Again)

Car: Proto Motors Spirra 4.6 V8 '04 (S1 tyres) / MR / 320HP / 1205kg / 3.8kg/HP

Grid:
1st Lotus Motor Sport Elise '99 Pits every 23 laps
2nd Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00 Pits every 18-19 laps
3rd TVR T350C '03 Pits every 18-19 laps
4th Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG (R230) '04 Pits every 18 laps
5th Lotus Esprit Sport 350 '00 Pits every 23-24 laps
6th Proto Motors Spirra 4.6 V8 '04 Pits every 19 laps

The Action:

Follow the Esprit up through the field, passing Merc onto 6th Ave. on lap 1, TVR in the same place on lap 2, although he forcibly takes back the position on lap 3. The Elise is passed on lap 3 too, having hit the barrier at W. 55th St., with a little assistance from the TVR who is taken at 6th Ave. again. Demoted to 5th again on lap 4 as first the TVR and secondly the Elise try to force my Spirra through the W. 55th St. barrier. :grumpy: Take 4th back from the Elise at Columbus Circle as he hits the inside and bounces wide as we end the lap. Dispatched the Ford at 6th Ave on lap 5 and have my first sub-1'50 laptime.
Passed the TVR on W. 55th St. after he runs into the barrier and set off in pursuit of the leading Esprit who is only 1.4s ahead as I round out lap 7 with a 1'47.122 laptime. Shadowed him around the next few laps trying to spot a weakness, and finally pass him on W. 55th St. after he runs into the barrier too on lap 11, going on to complete the lap with a 1.2s lead. Establish a pattern for the next few laps as he's able to run me down before the W. 42nd St. hairpin, I'm able to get out of it quicker & cleaner, but he's able to pass just before we brake for W. 55th St., before he ploughs into the barrier leaving me to take back 1st place and pull away through the turns. Put a little distance between us on laps 14 & 15, continuing to edge away into lap 19. Mercedes pitted ending his 18th lap from 4th place. Pit myself from 6s lead ending lap 19, splitting the race into 4 even segments as I'm fairly certain I can't extract another 7 laps from this set of tyres in order to do a 2 stop race. ;)
Exit in 2nd place as TVR also stops from 3rd place ending his 19th lap as does the 4th placed Ford. The Elise running in 3rd place pits ending his 23rd lap while I'm holding 2nd place, about 20s behind the Esprit who has yet to pit. I steal back the lead as the Esprit pits ending lap 24. Nothing much happens for the next 10 laps as I continue to lap cleanly and eventually catch the backmarking Elise, which is lapped on W. 55th St. on lap 35. The Mercedes pits again ending his 36th lap and is passed to go a lap down as he exits the pitlane. The Ford lasts a lap less this time, stopping after 18 laps ending lap 37, exiting the pits as I go in from 24s lead ending lap 38, losing laps to the Mercedes and Elise in the process, and also 1st place to the Esprit as I exited the pits. The TVR stops on schedule ending his 38th lap too. The Esprit & I play a cat-&-mouse game for the next few laps, I'll pass him out of W. 42nd St. hairpin after he's blown by me on Broadway, and the he'll go by again before W. 55th St. but allow me by as he brakes too late and slides barrierwards. :P
Lapped the Elise permanently on lap 43 onto W. 55th St. but the Esprit has taken over the lead again and is a little too far ahead to catch. Passed Esprit at W. 55th St. on lap 47 as we catch up to the Mercedes, and as it turns out the new lap record drops to 1'47.060. The Elise pits from a lap down ending his 46th lap and the Esprit pits on schedule ending his 48th lap from 2s behind my leading Spirra. Lapped the Mercedes out of W. 42nd St. hairpin on lap 50, and catch the Ford 3 laps later at 6th Ave. Drop the fastlap time by 14/1000ths to 1'47.046 ending lap 54, with the TVR in sight. The Mercedes makes his 3rd stop ending his 54th lap, and is followed by the TVR & Ford ending their 56th laps and my 57th lap stop from 31s ahead of the Esprit. Lapped the TVR at 6th Ave. on lap 60, and have the Esprit breathing down my neck as my last set of tyres warm up.
He viciously assaults me to take the lead on lap 62, braking for W. 55th St. I'm just getting ready to turn in when he steams up into the back of me with no hope in hell of stopping and it breaks my back end loose into a 360-degree spin into the barrier. :mad: Of course he's unaffected, continuing on his merry way like nothing has happened, while I'm left about 5s behind him after a 1'52.638 lap. The following lap compensates a little as I gain back 3s on him, dropping the fastest laptime to 1'46.872. :D Retake the lead on lap 67 at W. 55th St. as he once again runs well wide into the barrier, but was savvy enough to move well out of his way this time. The Esprit is struggling with worn tyres now, and drops back to about 7s behind by the time the Elise is lapped a 2nd time, pitting from the end of his 69th lap as I begin my 72nd. The Esprit's challenge ends when he stops again ending lap 71, a lap earlier than normal, but still pretty silly with just 5 laps of the race remaining! The Mercedes also makes a last ditch pitstop ending his 72nd lap. Make a final interesting stat on lap 75 with a new fastlap of 1'46.719. :drool: I'm actually proven wrong about the final stat, as the TVR pits ending his 74th lap, just 2 laps from the end, even though he's a lap down too! :dunce:

Result:
1st Proto Motors Spirra 4.6 V8 '04 2:19.18.785
2nd Lotus Esprit Sport 350 '00 +47s
3rd Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00 +1 Lap
4th TVR T350C '03 +1 Lap
5th Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG (R230) '04 +1 Lap
6th Lotus Motor Sport Elise '99 +2 Laps
 
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I looked at this race when I did El Capitan and Laguna Seca in that car, but couldn't find a lineup that gave 200 points without the Zonda, so I left it for a later day and decided to try my hand at the Formula GT using the Audi R8 instead. Had some great races so far, but it is taking me ages to finish.

How did you find the car? I thought El Capitan was a nightmare, the rear end felt like it was on ice.:scared:
I'm guessing the flat streets of New York was somewhat easier to handle?


Anyhoo, great report as always!👍
 
El Capitan 200 miles (MkVIII!) (200 A-spec points)

Car: Acura NSX '04 (S2 Tyres) / MR / 281HP / 1430kg / 5.1kg/HP

Grid:

1st Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (C4) '90
2nd Pagani Zonda C12 '00
3rd Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00
4th Lotus Esprit Sport 350 '00
5th Dodge Viper SRT10 '03
6th Acura NSX '04

Race Highlights:

Passed the FR cars cleanly during lap 1, as the MR cars head for the front, Pagani leading, followed by Lotus. Take 2nd from Lotus after tunnel on lap 2. Took lead from Pagani on lap 4 and continue to lap cleanly, lap record dropping to 1'56.475. Pitted from just under 4s lead ending lap 11 as right side tyres are starting to develop an orange hue. Drop back to 3rd place. 24.4s behind leader at the end of my outlap.
The C4 'Vette stops ending lap 12. Take 2nd back from Lotus when he stops ending lap 14, having dumped the lap record down to 1'55.618. The C5 'Vette stops ending lap 16 & the Dodge ending lap 17 leaving only the leader yet to stop. Pagani finally stops ending lap 19 from just under 20s lead, losing top spot to me in the process. Pagani is incredibly slow on cold tyres allowing me to extend the lead from 10s at T1 on his outlap (20) to 26s at T2 on lap 22 when I pitted for a 2nd time.
Able to exit pits in time to see Pagani pass, but take back the lead again in the downhill turn after the tunnel. C4 'Vette stops ending lap 24, and by the time I complete a new lap record of 1'55.572 on lap 26 he's within sight. Lapped C4 'Vette in the downhill turn after the tunnel on lap 27, continuing to creep away from 2nd placed Pagani a fraction of a second at a time. Lotus pits from 3rd place ending his 29th lap. C5 'Vette pits ending his 32nd lap shortly before I make my 3rd stop ending lap 33 from just under 10s ahead of Pagani who resumes the lead.
The Dodge makes his 2nd stop ending his 33rd lap. Lapped C5 'Vette over crest after tunnel on lap 37, while continuing to close on the Pagani who was 15s in front after my outlap. 1 lap down, the C4 'Vette stops a 3rd time ending his 36th lap. Take back the lead when the Pagani makes his 2nd stop ending lap 38. Lapped Dodge in the downhill turn after the tunnel on lap 40. My 4th stop ending lap 44 from 45s ahead of Pagani sees me lose the laps I'd taken from the Dodge and C5 'Vette, while the Lotus also pits ending his 44th lap. With the Pagani still trailing by 18s, I'm able to take back my lap from the C5 'Vette on lap 47. C5 'Vette pits from a lap down ending his 48th lap and sometime later the C4 'Vette follows suit, making his 4th stop at the end of his 48th lap. The Dodge pits ending his 49th lap allowing me to take back the lap from him as he enters the pitlane. Lapped the C4 'Vette a 2nd time as we pass over the crest after the tunnel on lap 51. Make my 5th and final stop ending lap 55 from just under 26s ahead of 2nd placed Pagani, dropping back to 2nd place myself as I exit the pitlane.
Take back the lead as the Pagani pits ending lap 57. The Lotus makes his last stop ending lap 59 and the C4 'Vette makes a 5th stop ending his 60th lap. The C5 'Vette makes a final stop ending his 64th lap, as I ratchet down the fastlap a couple of notches to 1'54.980 ending lap 65. Finish the race within sight of the Lotus, around 55s ahead of Pagani.

Result:

1st Acura NSX '04 2:11'18.849
2nd Pagani Zonda C12 '00 ~+55s
3rd Lotus Esprit Sport 350 '00 ~+1'48
4th Dodge Viper SRT10 '03 +1 Lap
5th Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 +1 Lap
6th Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (C4) '90 +2 Laps
 
Smallhorses,

wich of these couple of cars would you suggest to use for the El Capitan 200 miles?

Ford Focus RS
VW Golf R32
Mazda Mazda6 MPS(my favorite)

What's your opinion?

Thanks,
Maas
 
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Hmm that's a good question.
None of those cars would win in stock form, which is how I've raced most of my cars, and I'm not much of a tuner to determine which've those would be best setup for El Capitan.
Since there's 2 FFs and a 4WD there, they'll all eat front tyres with a voracious appetite unless you do some suspension trickery, and even then front tyre wear will be an issue. (I speak from experience having won this race in a stock FF car, the Citroen Xantia Rally Car.)
I'd probably say from personal preference that the Ford Focus is the best looking and probably easiest to dial a setup into for this race (but I've not tuned one myself), however, if the Mazda is your favourite and you just want to be able to win this race with no regards for A-spec points, then I'd say go ahead and choose whatever upgrades and settings will allow the Mazda to compete fairly with the AI here and give you a good, tight, exciting race without decimating the field in the first lap and spending the next 65 laps going "God this is sooooo boring" or suchlike!
Spend a little time working with the Mazda in practice / time trial mode adjusting your setup until you can run relatively consistent laps in the 1'57 - 2'01 range while making your front tyres (probably S1s) last about 8 - 10 laps per set.
I'd have a look for Digital-Nitrate's thread (stickied at the top of the main GT4 board) for info about the AI here and try to select a field without the obvious fastest cars here such as the Pagani Zonda, Shelby Series 1, Lotus Motorsport Elise and Protomotors Spirra if you're to stand a chance.

Whatever you choose to do there's no right or wrong way to go about this, and it's your game to do with what you wish. If you find a fun race and have the ability to record the data and perhaps some pictures, then why not put up your own race report on the board here, I'd enjoy seeing it! 👍
 
Ooh 🤬...
I just remembered the Mercedes E190 Evo II!
The street version that is...
FR, ~230 BHP, maybe I'm gonna put a Racing Exhaust and Racing Chip, and maybe a stage 1 turbo...
I'm sure I can record 2'00 at El Capitan, since I've had a lot of experience at this track, and am pretty fast on it.

But, as you may or may not know, my PS2 died, and It's being repaired right now...

Regards,
Maas
 
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