1000 Miles! - FAILURE!
Let's see if I can shorten up the notes enough to put an entire series in one post.
Race 1 - Nurburgring Nordschliefe
The first stop of the 1000 Miles! series is Nurburgring Nordschleife, for 25 laps around the grand old track. I lucked out as there is no AC Cars 427 S/C on the grid. The challenge for the 1954 Mercedes 300 SL Coupe, the 1963 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale, the 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA 1600 and me will be to not punt the 1965 Fiat 500F and the 1963 Nissan Skyline 1500Deluxe (S50D-1).
The question is whether I should qualify to get the backmarkers to the back or not. Since this is an almost-13-mile track, I decided to pass. That leaves the lineup, for 10 A-spec points, as:
1965 Fiat 500F
1963 Nissan Skyline 1500Deluxe (S50D-1)
1963 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale
1954 Mercedes 300 SL Coupe
1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA 1600
Me
Talk about your uncontrollability, especially on these S1 tires I put on because of the distance - I found grass at Hatzenbach on lap 1 as the G4 doesn't want to turn at first, and then when it turns, it wants to keep turning until the back end is out front. I pass the 500F for the first time in Quiddelbacher Hohe, and get by both the Skyline and the 1963 Giulia in Kottenborn. I get past the 1965 Giulia at Ex-Muhle. The bumps in Pflanzgarten really upset the car, but I barely keep the 300 SL in sight as I head off to Dottinger Hohe. Lap 1 went in the books as a 9:37.033 lap, 6.104 seconds behind the SL 300, with the back tires starting to warm up.
On lap 2, the SL 300 stretched out his lead to over 7 seconds before something happened to him between Klostertal and Hohe Acht. Unfortunately, when my crew told me I was less than 5 seconds back, I lost concentration and almost wiped out at Wippermann. After catching sight of the SL 300 again at Schalbenschwanz, I took the Kleine Karrussell a bit too high and jumped out of the banking early. Still, I kept sight of the SL 300 up until he ran away at Antoniusbuche. The 9:10.333 lap left me 4.642 seconds behind, with the back tires fully-green, and the front tires starting to warm up.
On lap 3, I was able to catch up to the 300 SL at Klosteral as my front tires finally warmed up. Pflanzgarten caught up with me again as I kissed the guardrail. Still, I was close enough to draft between Dottinger Hohe and Antoniusbuche. A lap of 9:06.524 left me 1.209 seconds back.
I decided to hang back to see the 300 SL's pit strategy, even as he had problems coming out of Flugplatz. Disaster struck at Drei-Fach Rechts on lap 4, as I hit hard into the inside berm (or at least it would have been disastrous if damage were possible). The 300 SL, however, returned the favor with another disastrous Klosterol-Hohe Acht run, which allowed me to catch back up. The crew yelled that the 500F was taking his good-natured time on the straight between Dottinger Hohe and Antoniusbuche, so I hung back a bit to make sure the 300 SL got by cleanly. It didn't quite happen as I saw a bunch of smoke ahead as German engineering met Italian slow cooking about 3/4ths of the way down. Lap 4 ended at the 9:16.783 mark, with me 1.429 seconds behind, and the 500F a lap down.
The replay recorder ended as the 300 SL and I entered the Karussel on lap 5, about 42:38 in. Otherwise, it was an uneventful 9:14.157 lap, with me 1.370 seconds back.
On lap 6, I braked way late (or the 300 SL braked way early) going into Aremburg, and we were unintentionally side-by-side. Another fit of a loss of concentration found me in the grass at Kallenhard (side note; this will be the last race of the night). Meanwhile, the 300 SL is also all over the track, but I don't think that's from a lack of concentration. Yep; he's very loose and slow off the corners, as he flies off the track at Wippermann. I've seen enough of it to know all I have to do is hang on until lap 7 to make it a 3-stop race for me, and my tires are still green all the way around. Still, I can't safely pass until he hits the pits, making for a slow 9:39.931 lap, just over 20 seconds ahead of the 300 SL as he rejoins the race.
As I unpaused after recording the lap time, the steering wheel display popped up, and distracted me enough to put me back on the grass at Hocheichen. Turned a 9:11.307 lap, lead 34.090 seconds.
Late-night driving is not conducive to good driving. On lap 8, I hooked the inside curb in Hatzenbach and smacked the wall. Brakes and back tires are fading; scared some kitty litter at Aremburg. Lap the Skyline neat-as-can-be in Klosteral, and the 500F a second time just short of Antoniusbuche. Head in for some more S1 tires and fuel (25 units' worth). I'm glad the race organizers are picking up the tab; things could get very expensive. Exit the pits with a 9:29.571 lap.as the 500F temporarily gets one of its laps back and the 300 SL closes to 19.342 seconds.
That moment of triumph for the 500F didn't last long; he's 2 laps down again before we reach Hocheichen on lap 9. Quiddelbacher Hohe is as good a place as any to pause for the night. I picked up right where I left off last night in the middle of lap 9, with an ugly lift-throttle oversteer spin at Schwedenkreuz that felt a lot like an early Porsche 911 Turbo. I still put in a 9:24.154 lap to stay 9.403 seconds ahead of the 300 SL.
I finally started hitting my marks on lap 10, which was lean, clean and green at 9:08.444 (up 11.751 seconds). Got just a little antsy on lap 11, and just missed the best lap so far with a 9:06.662 (up 18.409 seconds).
The bumps at Pflanzgarten got me again on lap 12 to ruin what promised to be a fast lap. When am I going to learn this slightly-overgrown go-kart hates bumps? At least I lapped the 500F again and turned a 9:13 lap (didn't pause in time to catch the fractions). Fortunately, the 300 SL pitted again, putting him 1:01 back.
Turned another 9:13 lap on lap 13 as I started to save the tires to make this a 2-stop race, with the SL 300 now 1:11 back.
On lap 14, I lapped the 1963 Giullia in Tiergarten on the way to another 9:13 lap. The effects of fresh tires on the SL 300 and the starting-to-wear tires on my car left him 1:08 back.
I knew I should've waited until after Kottelborn to lap the Skyline again on lap 15 - I got a bad entrance into Schwedenkreuz with predictable results. I finally put him down 2 laps for good in Fuchsrohre. The rear tires turned to lime as I put down a 9:15 lap, with the SL 300 1:06 back after receiving some drafting help on the last straight.
Blasted by the 500F (again) at Klosteral on lap 16. What is that, 4 times now? Who let this guy into the race? Despite the rear tires going to yellow, I decide to stay out to do the necessary 9-lap run, and turn a 9:11 lap. The 500F served as a rolling roadblock on the last straight for the SL 300, who is now 1:11 behind.
I came in to the pits for the last time on lap 17, which would have been one of my faster laps had I not pitted. The crew convicned me to not take fuel this time to see if the lower weight would improve the handling. 4 fresh tires later, I was out of the pits to complete a 9:23 lap.
The good news; there's less oversteer. The bad; it's even harder to get the car to turn. Some minor lawn-mowing in Tiergarten left me with a 9:20 lap on lap 18.
Dare I think about lapping the 1965 Giulia? Lap 19 found him less than 2 minutes ahead of being lapped after pitting on what was for him lap 16. Speaking of pitting, the SL 300 did so again to start his 19th lap 1:35 behind. Getting whipped into the wall at Wippermann (again) didn't help. A 9:11 lap for a 1:47 lead over the SL 300 did.
This is a broken record - passed the 500F a fifth time comiing out of Muttkurve on lap 20. What the heck does Pflanzgarten mean, lap-killing bumps? Dreams of lapping the 1965 Giulia begin to fade as I put down a 9:13 lap.
On lap 21, a trip through the grass as I took Schwedenkreuz too wide led into a wall bounce headed into the chicane before Adenaur Forst, and a trip into the kitty litter at the start of Pflanzgarten. Still, I see the 1965 Giulia and the Skyline on the last straight; guess the Skyline held up the faster Italian for quite a while. The Skyline went a third lap down at Antoniusbuche on the last leg of a 9:14 lap.
As the crew threatens mutiny on lap 22, I catch the 1965 Giulia at Breidscheid. I shoot back that B-Spec Bob would have stuffed it into the wall 100 times and a couple at Lauda Linkskinck as I put the Italian a lap down there. I hear them bet I can't complete the last 4 laps cleanly. Though I'm a gambling man, or perhaps because I am one, I decline to get in on the action. It merely encourages me to set a new fast time of 9:06.101.
I resisted the urge to shout, "Zwei!" as I finished lap 23 in 9:05.364 because I knew I had 2 more laps to go and probably 2 cars to lap again. I slowed at the end of Fuchsrohre to make sure I got by the 500F cleanly for a sixth time, and when I took the white flag with a 9:07 lap, I couldn't help myself - DREI!
I flew over Flugplatz, slid through Aremburg, and weaved through Adenaur Forst. Back in the pack, the 300 SL decided to take the white flag in the pits. I went on past Breidscheid and Bergwerk, rode the Karussel one more time, and whipped past Wippermann, where the back end really stepped out. The crew "helpfully" told me the 1963 Giulia was having some problems in the Kleiner-Karussel while I was bouncing through Pflanzgarten. I paid them no mind because I knew I couldn't catch him one more time. As I entered the Kleiner-Karrussel, they told me I should be able to see him on the last straight in one last attempt to get me off-track, and it almost worked. As I crossed the line at 9:05.579, the cheers thundered down.
I completed the race in just over 3 hours, 51 minutes. The 300 SL was the only car on the same lap, and he was about 3:20 behind. The two Giulias were both a lap down, with the 1965 taking point. The Skyline finished 3 laps down, and the 500F finished 6 laps down.
The points standings are:
Me - 10
300 SL - 6
1965 Giulia - 4
1963 Giulia - 3
Skyline - 2
500F - 1
Next stop - Paris. I hope the crew members that bet against me brought their Diners' Club cards.
Race 2 - Opera Paris
After a celebratory beer-and-brat bash, the merry band of vintage racers found themselves in Paris for 95 laps around the Opera House. The lineup got shuffled a bit in the draw because we didn't feel like qualifying, but nobody knew how the rolling roadbl...er, 500F drew the pole again. Behind him, things more-or-less made sense, as the 300 SL, the 1965 Giulia, the 1963 Giulia and the Skyline lined up in their order of ranking. Typical of my luck, I drew the short straw. Oh well; as long as the cobblestones aren't too rough, my car's light weight ought to be enough of an advantage. The race stewards agree, as they're only going to give me 10 A-spec points if I win.
Even before the start, I weaved past the Skyline. Headed off of Rue di Rivoli, I overdrove while trying to pass the 1963 Giulia, so he hung on to 5th going into the Place Vendome chicane. Both the Giulias got scared near the end of Rue de la Paix, so I took advantage and whipped by as we saw the Opera House for the first time. Surprisingly, the 500F hung onto the lead until after the second checkpoint on Boulevard de la Madeleine, when the 300 SL and I both got by. Lap 1 went by in 1:58.898, with me hounding the 300 SL.
I thought better of sticking my nose in front of the 300 SL to start the second lap. If I wanted to further wreck my paint job, I could have probably pulled right alongside him, though. He still has a major power advantage he used to full effect on the Boulevard. Side note - I'm going to have to fire whoever set up the brakes; I almost wrecked at the end of Rue Royale because the G4 just wouldn't slow down. However, I took advantage of the 300 SL's hesitation in the last 180 to take the lead with a 1:49.923 lap.
I had a mirror full of Mercedes going into the Place Vendome chicane after overdriving turn 3, but I was smoother than he was through there. The oversteer returned coming onto Rue Royale, but I was ready for it. What I wasn't quite ready for was a nasty pothole in turn 8 - whoever is in charge of roads in Paris needs to be fired. A lap in the 1:50 range left the Mercedes in the dust. I thought to myself, "As long as I don't do anything really stupid like trying to knock walls down or pitting every 10 laps, I should have this one in the bag."
I forgot, however, the 300 SL's tires warm up faster than mine, and he can blast down the Boulevard faster than I can. The good news for me is he isn't all that aggressive, so laps in the 1:50 range are good enough for now. The back tires fully-warm up on lap 5, which with the still semi-cold tires, gave me a 1:49.058 lap to mark a new low time. Even better, I'm starting to put some more daylight between the 300 SL and myself.
As the front tires warmed up enough to allow me to simply lift on the bender between the Boulevard and Rue Royale, I settled into a routine of lap times around 1:47.5, which proved to be about a second faster than the 300 SL.
The routine was slightly interrupted as I lapped the 500F at the end of the Boulevard on lap 9, which disrupted my preferred line into Rue Royale. No matter; the 300 SL had a harder time because he caught him at the end of Rue Royale and had a heck of a time getting by in the tight turns of Place de la Concorde.
I'm shocked when my crew tells me I turned a 1:46.610 lap on lap 10 and mess up the first couple turns. I yell at them to not tell me the time before I'm on Rue di Rivoli. Still, I lap the Skyline for the first time on the Boulevard on lap 11.
On lap 14, I had my first "incident" after hitting a bump wrong in turn 6 and careening down Rue Royale. That cost me about 2 seconds, but my lead over the 300 SL remained at a bit over 14 seconds.
On lap 16, I lapped everybody's "favorite" roadblock a second time at the same place I did the first time. I reminded myself to remain consistent as the average lap time fell below 1:47.
I found the 1963 Giulia in my windshield headed into Place de la Concorde on lap 17, and put him a lap down as he didn't realize he can stand on the gas coming out of the last 180 all the way to the start/finish line.
The heavy weight of the 300 SL caught up to him as he pitted at the end of his 18th lap. He came back onto the track 43 seconds down. I was starting to think about not taking any fuel as my digital gas gauge still has 9 bars showing. Right about then, I find myself airborne and headed into the wall on Rue Royale. The crew said, "See what thinking gets you, Egg? Let us handle the pit strategy."
The Skyline was very discourteous as I lapped him a second time on lap 21 at the Opera House. He first gave me the inside going into the hairpin, then decided to try and bodyslam me. Still, I set a new best time of 1:46.296, and this time the crew waited until I'm on a straight to tell me. They also mentioned the SL 300 is now a half-lap back.
I'm surprised when I see the 500F become the next car to pit on what is his 19th lap, which put him a third lap down. I wondered what tires he was using, because he wasn't going fast enough to wear them out. The crew started taking bets on how many laps he'll be down at the end, with the over/under being 14. I told them to put me down for the over.
The 1963 Giulia was the next to pit road on his 21st lap. Meanwhile, my back tires were starting to turn lime while I work my 23rd lap, with 8 bars showing on the gas gauge. That didn't stop me from setting another low time of 1:46.149 on lap 24.
The 1965 Giulia hit the pits on his 24th lap just ahead of me, so I put him a lap down as well. The only two who had not come down yet were the Skyline, who was working his 24th lap, and me, working my 26th lap. The crew told me they'd like to see if I can wait until lap 32 to come down to make it a 2-stop race just before the Skyline decided 24 laps is enough on his set of tires. The G4 responded by kissing the left wall in Rue Royale, so I told them I'm coming this time.
We rolled the dice and decided to leave the fuel cans on the far side of the wall. Unusual for us, our pit stall was beyond the start/finish line, so lap 27 began before the crew could put fresh tires on. After an admonishment from the crew to let the tires warm up before really racing, I came out barely ahead of the 1965 Giulia. I didn't feel like letting him back on the lead lap, so I threw caution to the wind and decided the best way to warm up the tires was to run hard. When he didn't catch up by the time I got past the Opera House, I knew he would remain a lap down until I caught him again. Back in the pack, the 300 SL remained 43 seconds down in second.
On lap 29, I got some serious air in the chicane past the start/finish line and gave the crew a real loud show. Still, I put the Skyline a third lap down just before the start/finish line, followed by a 4th lapping of the 500F at the Place Vendome chicane on lap 30. I'm starting to regret taking that over.
Still, I settled back into the sub-1:47 lap routine as the tires warmed up. At the end of Lap 33, I lapped the 1963 Giulia a second time. On lap 34, I broke the 1:46 barrier with a 1:45.726, but followed that up with a shave of the walls in the back half of the Place Vendome chicane the next lap. How did I forget I was driving a right-hand-drive car?
The 500F went a 5th lap down on lap 36 in Rue Royale in the midst of another low lap (1:45.684). Meanwhile, the 300 SL pitted for a second time on his lap 36, and came out about 1:20 behind me. Meanwhile, I outbraked the Skyline coming out of Rue Royale to put him a 4th lap down on lap 38, and lowered the lap time to 1:45.595.
I marginally improved on that low time on lap 41, with a 1:45.584. The crew told me I should be able to see the 300 SL shortly, but I remembered that he already pitted twice, and I'd be making my second stop in 10 laps.
I saw the 500F again first at the end of lap 42, and after a 1:45.426 lap for another low time, I caught the wildly-fishtailing backmarker at a bad spot - the entrance to Rue de Rivoli, which slowed me down as I had to wait for him to pick a lane so I could put him 6 laps down.
I hung onto the back bumper of the 300 SL throughout lap 45, watching helplessly for a bit as he pulled away on the Boulevard. My better cornering ability, and his continued ineptness in the last 180-degree left-hander, allowed me to put him a lap down at least temporarily, as well as the pitting 1963 Giulia for a third time.
The 300 SL was a sore lapee, using his speed to catch me on Rue de Rivoli and his bumper to punt me in turn 3 on the following lap. I repeat the previous lap, this time lapping the 500F for a 7th time as he left pit road while putting the 300 SL a lap down again. The Fiat was helpful in allowing me to keep enough daylight to get off of Rue de Rivoli a lap ahead of the 300 SL.
I had a bit of a problem getting by the Skyline at the start of lap 48 because of the twists just past the start/finish line. I finally get him a 5th lap down in the Place Vendome chicane.
Halfway through, I had the field covered, with the 300 SL a lap down, the 1965 Giulia in sight and in danger of being 2 laps down, the 1963 Giulia 3 laps down, the Skyline 5 laps down, and the 500F 7 laps down. The gas was holding up very well, with 7 bars showing on the gauge.
On lap 49, I put the 1965 Giulia a second lap down on the Boulevard, but the bumps on the Boulevard/Rue Royale bender got me again. Still, I hung on to keep him behind me.
I received a bit of good news as I completed lap 50 - the 1965 Giulia hit the pits for a second time on his lap 48, so the only car that would likely get a lap back when I pit on lap 52 is the 300 SL, who was about a lap and 8 seconds back.
As predicted, the 300 SL got his lap back when I pitted on lap 52 for tires (the fuel was still good, with over half a tank remaining), but I came out with only about 10 seconds separating me from a fully-lapped field.
On lap 55, I put the 500F 8 laps down coming onto the Boulevard. Visions of wine and cheese from the crew started dancing in my head. Meanwhile, the 300 SL pitted for the 3rd time on his 54th lap, putting him a lap down again.
Lap 57 saw the Skyline go 6 laps down at the Opera House hairpin. On lap 58, I broke the 1:45 barrier for the first time, with a 1:44.303 lap.
The familiar routine of sub-1:47 laps continued, with the 500F going 9 laps down on lap 61, the 1963 Giulia going 3 laps down on lap 63, and the Skyline going 7 laps down on lap 65.
The 500F didn't want to go 10 laps down on lap 67, but his attempt to pinch me into the left wall on Rue de la Paix failed. Did the crew tell him about the bet?
The 1965 Giulia went 3 laps down on lap 70, and after yet another pit stop for him, I put the 500F 11 laps down on lap 71. 4 more laps down, and I'm enjoying some wine and cheese. The only question is whether I can do it in less than 25 laps.
The 1963 Giulia went 4 laps down on lap 73, and the Skyline went 8 laps down on lap 74. Lap 75 saw the best lap yet at 1:44.294, with me catching a glimpse of the 300 SL again.
On lap 76, I briefly passed the 300 SL to put him 2 laps down, but because I saw him coming hard down Rue de Rivoli on lap 77 and I was planning to pit on lap 78, I decided to ride behind him until I came down to pit. Still, we got by the 500F again (for the 12th time) at the end of the lap.
On lap 78, I told the crew to hurry up with the last pit of the day because I didn't want to give the lap back to the 500F, but he got it back anyway. He permanently went 12 laps down on the Boulevard on lap 79.
I got back into the sub-1:46 routine quickly. The Skyline went 9 laps down on lap 83, the 500F went 13 laps down on lap 85, and the 300 SL went 2 laps down on lap 86.
The end of lap 89 and the beginning of lap 90 saw me put both Giulias another lap down, with the 1965 car going 4 laps down on 89 and the 1963 car going 5 laps down on 90.
I was glad it was a closed course on lap 91 as I used the bus lane on Rue Royale to put the 500F 14 laps down. On the same lap, I put the Skyline 10 laps down. I realized that unless the 500F pitted again, I wasn't going to catch him one more time.
That didn't stop me from trying, as I turned a 1:43.788 lap on lap 92. On lap 94, I got the news I wanted to hear as I entered the Boulevard - the Fiat was pitting once more, and there would be no traffic between him and me once he left the pits.
As I took the white flag, he was halfway down Rue de Rivoli. I got my first sight of him as I exited the Place Vendome chicane and he was exiting Rue de la Paix. Some fancy driving got me to hailing distance down the Boulevard, and I had to slow to make sure I both cleared the 500F and got onto Rue Royale cleanly. The checkered flag merely ensured an enrichment beyond the $150,000 for the race.
The final results:
Me - 2:50:38.083
300 SL - -2 laps
1965 Giulia - -4 laps
1963 Giulia - -5 laps
Skyline - -10 laps
500F - -15 laps
The points standings after race 2:
Me - 20 points
300 SL - 12 points
1965 Giulia - 8 points
1963 Giulia - 6 points
Skyline - 4 points
500F - 2 points
Time to go to the place champions win and see if I can follow in their tire tracks.
Race 3 - Cote d'Azur
I'm not much for wine, but the cheese from the crew was very good. After I grabbed a couple of Tylenol to handle the hangover, the gang headed to Monaco for 99 laps around the toughest track Formula One races today.
The lineup was the same as it was in Paris, which wasn't exactly fun. Even though I have 490 miles on the G4, the race stewards didn't up the A-spec points any, so along with the promise of $150,000 for winning, there were only 10 A-spec points on the line.
I blasted past the Skyline climbing Beau Rivage for the first time, and outbraked the 1963 Giulia into the Casino turn. The 1965 Giulia and the 500F were dispatched in a 3-wide move in the tunnel. Lap 1 went into the books at the 2:21.136 mark, with me 4.927 seconds behind the 300 SL.
Lap 2 was completely uneventful, with a 2:09.856 time halving the 300 SL's lead to 2.493 seconds. On the next 3 laps, I could close to the bumper at the Loews hairpin, but the 300 SL's superior power and the G4's inability to turn quickly in the Nouvelle chicane allowed the Mercedes to keep the lead at a bit over 2 seconds at the start/finish line.
My rear tires finally came in at the end of lap 5, as I finally bested my previous low lap with a 2:08.641. Unfortunately, the 300 SL was still 2.160 seconds ahead, and thanks to me overdriving Sainte Devote, he extended his lead to just over 3 seconds on lap 6.
Even though the front tires came in on lap 7 to allow me to set a 2:08.121 lap, the 300 SL still extended his lead to 3.751 seconds. The crew started plotting pit strategy because the race began to take on the look of needing one to win.
At that point, things started to click. A 2:05.994 lap on lap 8 got me within 0.980 seconds of the 300 SL, but I couldn't get by. The 300 SL would pull away on the straights, and I'd close back up in the corners. We started lapping cars on lap 10. Surprisingly, the Skyline was the first victim headed into Sainte Devote, with the 500F quickly joining him a lap down on Beau Rivage.
We caught the 1963 Giulia at the start of lap 16, but it took the 300 SL until the Mirabeau corner and me until Loews to lap him. The good news is the brakes are holding up so far.
The Skyline fell another lap down at the end of lap 18. Could the 500F actually not finish last in a race? It took until the tunnel in lap 19 to put him a second lap down.
The 300 SL pulled into the pits on lap 20, giving me the lead for the first time. He came out about 21 seconds back, which means I just have to make it to lap 25 to win on pit strategy. My first lap clear of the 300 SL, lap 21, was a slightly-disappointing 2:07.485, but my lead stretched out to about 24.5 seconds as the 300 SL was still on cold tires.
Lap 23 saw me set a new low-lap of 2:05.669 and stretch my lead out to 35.530 seconds. The 500F pitted on his 22nd lap, giving 5th place to the Skyline.
The crew and I debated on whether to pit on lap 25 for a 3-stop race or attempt to stretch it out to lap 33 for a 2-stop race. We decided it would be safer to come down early for both tires and fuel. We probably could have skipped the fuel as I still had 64 units left in the tank, but better safe than sorry. I came out about 13 seconds ahead of the 300 SL.
The 500F went a third lap down at Casino on lap 28, and the Skyline followed at the same spot on lap 29. The 1965 Giulia also went a lap down on lap 29 as he pitted on his lap 28. The Skyline pitted on his lap 26 to give 5th place back to the 500F.
The 1963 Giulia went a second lap down on lap 31 while climbing Beau Rivage as my tires started coming in. When they did a lap later, I started turning laps between 2:06 and 2:07.
I shot inside the Skyline to put him 4 laps down just before the start/finish line on lap 35, and did the same to the 500F at the end of lap 36. On lap 38, I set a new low time of 2:04.574 to extend my lead over the 300 SL to 29.104 seconds, and better it on lap 39 with a 2:04.376 lap. The 300 SL pitted for the second time on his lap 40, exiting almost a full minute behind.
Laps 43 and 44 were Lap-O-Rama. On lap 43, I put the 1965 Giulia a second lap down in the tunnel, and his older cousin went down a third lap at Tabac. The following lap, the Skyline went a 5th lap down on Beau Rivage, and the 500F went a 5th lap down at La Rascasse. Only the 300 SL, 1:16.388 behind, remained on the lead lap with me.
The 500F gave up 5th again to pit on his lap 42. The next to the pits was me on lap 50 for just a new set of tires. As I left, the crew started singing "99 Bottles of Beer". With the 300 SL and me both pitting twice, my lead shrunk to 1:05.
I don't know if it was the tires or the brakes, but I completely blew the Nouvelle chicane on lap 51. I probably was a bit aggressive lapping the 500F a 6th time headed into Piscine, but I had the run. The Skyline went a 6th lap down in the tunnel on lap 54. I began to think the 500F wouldn't get out of the bottom the next time the Skyline pits, which screwed up the entrance to Nouvelle chicane again and allowed the 300 SL to close within 58 seconds.
That, however, is as close as he would get. By the end of lap 56, my tires had warmed up fully, and to celebrate, I put the 1963 Giulia down 4 laps as we approached the start/finish line. The Skyline pitted on his lap 51, but beat the 500F out of the pits.
The 500F went 7 laps down at the end of lap 60, and the Skyline followed suit on Beau Rivage the following lap. Meanwhile, the 300 SL pitted on his lap 60, but I wasn't quite close enough to put him a lap down, as he exited about 1:50 behind.
The 1965 Giulia fell a third lap behind in the tunnel on lap 63. I catch my first glimpse of the 300 SL in many laps on Beau Rivage on lap 65, and catch up by the end of lap 67. However, the same problem of actually passing him cropped up again, even when the 500F and the 1963 Giulia formed the front half of a conga line headed up Beau Rivage on lap 69. It took until the tunnel for both of us to clear them (with the 1963 Giulia down 5 laps and the 500F down 8) and because the 300 SL took my line headed in, I couldn't get alongside him. We also put the Skyline down another lap (8 total) at the end of lap 69.
I grabbed tires for the last time on lap 75, giving up a windshield full of Mercedes. Another sign could have made it on one tank of gas - I still had more than half a tank even though I last filled up on lap 25. I rejoined the race with the 300 SL 1:48 behind, losing about 19 seconds in the pit.
I lost another 8 seconds of my lead on the track because of cold tires by lap 78, when I lapped the 500F for the 9th time entering the tunnel. I did the same to the Skyline on Beau Rivage on lap 80.
Coming out of Piscine on lap 81, I heard the news I wanted to hear - the 300 SL was pitting again. The question became, was I close enough to take advantage? It was not to be; the Mercedes came out right in front of me. I used my now-warmed tires to effect coming out of Portier, pulling to the inside going into the tunnel. The 300 SL slammed into me to keep ahead after 82 laps.
I decided I had to get by on lap 83 or not get by at all. I lagged back a bit headed into Casino to get the run headed into Mirabeau. This time, the attempted block by the 300 SL came too late, and I finally put the 300 SL a lap down. I flew through Loews and out of Portier as fast as I could, hoping I could maintain the lap lead through the tunnel. I had to remind myself that smooth was fast, and the G4 somehow knew it was crunch time. Through Nouvelle, Tabac and Piscine, my warm tires held, and by the time I reached La Rascasse, I knew I had the lap. When the crew said, "Clear by 6 seconds" at the end of the lap, I felt a weight lifted from my aching shoulders.
I started humming "99 Bottles of Beer" at the end of lap 84, changing the words slightly to "15 laps to go on the track." Perhaps I shouldn't have, because I cooked the brakes going into Sainte Devote on lap 85 and stuffed it into the guard rail. Instead of lapping the 1963 Giulia on Beau Rivage for the 6th time, I had to cool my heels until the tunnel. Fortunately, the 300 SL still wasn't fully up to speed, so I maintained my lap-plus-6 second lead.
I finally got back into the sub-2:07 routine on lap 86. The backmarkers fell 10 laps down between lap 87 (the 500F in the tunnel) and lap 88 (the Skyline at Casino), while the 1965 Giulia went a 4th lap down as he pitted at the end of his lap 84. All the traffic put the 300 SL a lap plus 27 seconds behind by the time he cleared it all at the end of his 89th lap.
One last round of lapping began on lap 95, with the 500F going 11 laps down in the tunnel. The Skyline followed suit on Beau Rivage on lap 96, which also saw the fastest lap of the race at 2:04.149. The 1963 Giulia went a 7th lap down in the tunnel on lap 97 to earn the distinction of being the last car lapped.
I saved the best lap for last, as I finally broke the 2:04 mark on lap 99 with a 2:03.366. After 3:32:17.308 on the track, I stepped onto the podium where Graham Hill and Ayrton Senna once stood. The rest of the field was as one would expect, with the 300 SL finishing a lap down, the 1965 Giulia 4 laps down, the 1963 Giulia 7 laps down, and the Skyline and 500F 11 laps down.
I won't have long to enjoy the latest win and the $150,000 that came with it; tomorrow we head to the Sarthe district, where I expect to have to use a lot of cunning to overcome the 300 SL's superior power and speed. Even though I've already clinched the series with a 30-18 point lead, the race directors said I could not lose a race.
Circuit de la Sarthe II - a straight too far
We pulled into Le Mans bright and early, just the way I like it. I thanked my crew chief for suggesting the Sunday Cup instead of Isuzu Sports Classics as the opening race because the race directors informed us that, in honor of our vintage vehicles, the chicanes on the Mulsanne Straight would not be in use today for the 35 laps.
The lineup for all the marbles and another 10 A-spec points was the now-familiar 500F on point, the 300 SL second, the 1965 Giulia third, the 1963 Giulia 4th, the Skyline 5th, and me 6th. The Skyline just didn't get going, and I got by for 5th almost as soon as the green flag dropped. The same was true for the 500F, only he trapped the 1963 Giulia behind him, so I passed both of them before Dunlop Curve. The 1965 Giulia went down before the L'Arche chicane would be if we were using it. Despite me hitting 138 mph, the 300 SL extended his lead from 7 seconds just past the L'Arche chicane and the la Florandiere chicane.
I held my breath as I hit the brakes for the Mulsanne corner for the first time. Fortunately, they got me slowed down enough to take the corner. I slid off the outside of Maison blanche, turning a 15-second lead by the 300 SL at the Porsche curves into a 17.759-second lead at the start/finish line. I'm definitely going to have to do better than the 5:22.756 opening lap.
The second time through, I made it cleanly through Maison blanche, but my 5:12.163 lap left me 29.953 seconds behind the 300 SL. I was left to hope that he would pit and have problems with the lapped traffic. Unfortunately, he had no problems the lapping the 500F the first time around just after Mulsanne on lap 3. I did the same between Armage and the Porsche curves, and ended the lap 42.294 seconds behind.
The end of lap 4 saw me 55.313 seconds behind, with perhaps an opportunity to catch up as the 300 SL caught the Skyline just past the start of the Mulsanne Straight. Judging by the splits down the Straight, he did. Meanwhile, I lap the Skyline out of Maison blanche and finish the 5th lap 1:02.138 behind.
On lap 6, the 300 SL had all kinds of problems with the 500F on the Mulsanne straight, while I cleanly lapped the 500F for a second time just past Mulsanne. The gap at the line was 1:03.397, but now the 300 SL had a clear track ahead of him. He took full advantage to extend his 7th-lap lead to 1:10.828 and his 8th-lap lead to 1:17.143.
On lap 9, the 300 SL didn't seem to have too many problems with either the 500F, who I lapped for a third time in the middle of Mulsanne Straight, or the Skyline, who I lapped for a second time just before the Mulsanne Kink on lap 10.
On lap 12, which started 1:30 behind the 300 SL, I lapped the 500F for the 4th time coming out of Terte Rouge, and on lap 13, I lapped the 1963 Giulia approaching the Mulsanne Kink, which allowed me to hit 142 mph,
On lap 14, I slid past the 500F on the last right-hander before Indianapolis to put him 5 laps down, the 300 SL hit the pits, and I passed the Skyline to put him 3 laps down. The bad news was I was still behind the 300 SL by 55 seconds entering Tetre Rouge on lap 15. Meanwhile, I lapped the 1965 Giulia just before the Porsche curves.
On lap 17, I whipped past the 500F for the 6th time in the middle of Mulsanne Straight, thanking him for holding up the 300 SL for just a bit. Just a bit was right because I finished the lap 53 seconds behind.
Desperation set in as the 300 SL continued to pull away. I lapped the 500F for the 7th time and the 1963 Giulia for the second time in the Porsche curves on lap 22, but the 300 SL was 1:11 ahead.
An ugly mishap in the Dunlop esses on lap 23 put me further behind, but I lapped the Skyline for the 4th time in Indianapolis. The 500F went down for the 8th time at the Mulsanne Kink on lap 25, and the 1965 Giulia went a lap down in the Dunlop chicane on lap 26. The Skyline went a 5th lap down as he headed to pit road on his 22nd lap, and the 500F went a 9th lap down at the start of the Mulsanne Straight on lap 28.
My last shot to win presented itself when I heard the 300 SL was pitting as I exited Arnage on lap 28. Unfortunately, 32 seconds in the middle of Mulsanne on lap 31 would be as close as I got as the rear tires burned away.
Still, I pressed on just to finish this sad chapter of the narrative, lapping the Skyline in the Ford chicane on lap 31 to put him 6 laps down, and lapping the 1963 Giulia and the 500F on Muslanne Straight to put them 3 laps and 10 laps down respectively on lap 33. On lap 34, I spun out in Indianapolis to put the exclamation point on the disaster, so I was black-flagged. The 1963 Giulia got one of his laps back while I got fresh tires, but I passed him again headed onto Muslanne Straight.
The sad results:
300 SL - 2:56:12.286
Me - -1:49.695
1965 Giulia - -? laps (I seem to have missed a couple lappings in the narrative)
1963 Giulia - -? laps
Skyline - -8laps
500F - -13laps
Fortunately, the hypersonic transport also has a "rewind" feature, so it's back to the shop to figure out whether to try this again with some additional power or raise money another way.
