- 1,051
- London
- JohnsonCapote
This topic was put on hold for a bit, but now the race is being run, the race report is in post #5 
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Toro! Toro! Toro! - Suzuka 1000km (200 A-Spec Points)
- Thread starter Falcon787B
- 10 comments
- 3,052 views
- 10,544
- Columbia, MD.
- Parnelli_Bones
Hurry up man, we ain't got all day.
- 1,051
- London
- JohnsonCapote
Haha! Good to see you still here dude. I really want to nail this race in one day, so I'm waiting for a day to come up where I've got the chance to race it in one hit. My car choice is sorted, as are the settings for what should be a close race
- 10,544
- Columbia, MD.
- Parnelli_Bones
I did this race for the first (and probably last) time in the RX-7 Spirit R. I wrote it up; it's around here somewhere. Since my wrist was hurting at the time, I managed to get Bob doing racing shifts along with me. Amazingly, he rose to the occasion. 👍
I think with his help I managed to get the entire race done in about 6 hours, maybe a little less, and that's with minimal speeding up of Bob's racing shifts.. It's not something you just do on a whim, for sure, so take your time.
I think with his help I managed to get the entire race done in about 6 hours, maybe a little less, and that's with minimal speeding up of Bob's racing shifts.. It's not something you just do on a whim, for sure, so take your time.
- 1,051
- London
- JohnsonCapote
I return once again folks, Mr Inconsistancy himself - that's me! 
Sorry about that...life has a habit of interrupting my Gran Turismo career. So I'm gonna make it up to you all, and pick up where I left off on my quest to hoover up the remaining 200 A-spec point races 
Ladies and gentlemen, time to welcome you to a track I've always respected and feared in equal measure. Time to tame it once and for all, as I compete in...
Suzuka 1000km
'Toro! Toro! Toro!
(The standard tip of el hat for AMG for the track map.)
Race Distance: 172 Laps, 999.32km (
)
And that means that, once again, one of my favourite cars of all time will be required to do battle in an arena most would dare not tread...so it's time to welcome back my Toyota Wedssport Celica! 💡
2003 Toyota Wedssport Celica (JGTC)
Engine: 2.0L L4 DOHC
Horsepower: 327hp (after oil change)
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: 1050kg
Tyres: R2s front and rear.
Downforce: Maximum (30 Front, 50 Rear).
This is a race I've seriously never attempted in A-spec before, let alone on a crusade for 200 A-spec points and some seriously red faces from the opposition. But having faced down and defeated similar opposition back at Grand Valley at the start of the year, the omens are stacked a little in my favour. It seems the organisers got wind of that race, too - have a look at the grid they've assembled to greet me...
1. 2000 Ford Falcon XR8 Race Car
2. 2003 Mazda RX8 LM Edition Race Car
3. 2002 Abt Audi TT-R Touring Car
4. 2003 Audi A4 Touring Car
5. 2000 Mercedes CLK Touring Car
Only ONE Japanese opponent here, and no JGTC cars! Someone definitely heard about their misrable failure at GV, and have called for the Teutonic cavalry!
The crowd are getting quite partisan, too - there's a collection of Australians with mullets, beer bellies and crates of lager in one corner of the grandstands chanting rude stuff at us (presumably rather happy that their representative has taken pole 
) and there's many happy German DTM fans waving Mercedes and Audi flags around the circuit.
Amidst this hostile atmosphere, I do however have the support of the always-knowledgable home crowd - not only am I running a Japanese car, but I'm the underdog, by far. I appreciate their support, but it doesn't stop me getting a touch nervous in the garage pre-race. This is a step up from Grand Valley, or indeed anything me and my humble Toyota have faced before - and on a track that I've had a...how shall we say...love-hate relationship with over the years. I love it, but it doesn't particularly like me. Unforgiving isn't the word
So, after a minute's silence for the victims of the earthquake/tsunami in March, engines fire on pit road and we're ready to go. I'm loaded up with various crates of Pepsi and snacks in the garage, and a strong, but beatable field...the crowd are going wild at the prospect of an intercontinental showdown of makes in this great endurance race...see you back in the pits in 6 hours, chaps! Tally-ho!
Lap 1-43
The traditional charge down to the first corner (imaginatively titled in this case, 'first and second curve' - seriously guys, you couldn't come up with anything BETTER?) is as entertaining as ever, and initially I hold back and make a pledge to let the mess of bent door panels and screeching tyres sort itself out - up until the CLK jumps on the brakes to avoid nerfing the A4, and I slip up the inside on the corner exit!
From there, the A4 swiftly falls away up the inside of the Dunlop Curve, and the TT-R comes under fire at the hairpin. Missing my chance there, I shadow him round the next few corners, slipping by through the Spoon curves - only for him to predictably breeze back by up towards 130R. But before he has time to gloat and guffaw at my lack of power, my strongest overtaking point on the entire circuit arrives - the Casio Triangle! 💡 It's almost frightening just how much better my car is under braking than my opponents, and I'm going to need this car's slot-car style handling and braking characteristics in abundance if I'm to have a shot at this race.
Unfortunatly, another straight bit of track beckons, meaning the TT-R swoops back by on the run down to the first and second curves - but not for long! Our brief duel is settled under braking, and upon corner exit I chase off after the leading Falcon and the 2nd place RX8, who've moved out to about a 6-7s lead whilst I've been swatting off the attentions of the Germans.
It's pretty nip-and-tuck, as the front two definitely have pace in abundance, and are a cut above the German tin-tops in terms of pace. Having said that, on cold tyres I still chomp into this lead faster than a fat guy through a Big Mac, and by lap 4 the 6s gap to the 2nd place RX8 is no more. Time to do battle
He's a worthy opponent, the Mazda, as I just cant' find a way around him for long enough! My first dive comes at Degner 2 on lap 5, and then under braking I snatch the position for good - or so I thought, as he breezes by under acceleration towards the Spoon Curves. More battling ahoy, as I re-pass him, he returns the favour towards 130R, and I do so once again through the Casio Triangle. Great, a nice little duel to get the blood pumping early on 👍
Sadly, the battle is brought to an abrupt end on the next lap, as the track demonstrates it's unforgiving nature. On the run to 130R, I give the RX8 the outside line, which he doesn't take. I'm watching so closely in my mirror, however, that I just miss the apex of the corner at near-flat out 150mph. My right rear wheel slips onto the rumble strip, and away goes all grip, and before I know it, the car is looping around and flying towards the armco barrier! Disaster! 
Somehow, and I'm not quite sure how, I avoid the barrier, but head back onto the track with a severely red face. My annoyance at this mistake hasn't been purged, either, as to compound matters I run spectacularly wide at Dunlop Curve on the next lap, and cede 3rd to the TT-R! 
Even at this early stage, mistakes like this cannot be afforded, so I quickly get my head together, calm down and settle into a groove. This track does not suffer fools, or overdrivers, or especially frustrated drivers - it'll chew you up and spit you out if you dare try and overdrive it. A cool head is the order of the day here, as it should always be in racing.
With some choice expletives littering the inside of the car, I've purged the frustration from my system, and tear after the TT-R. A nice battle with him develops through lap 8, and I hold onto the position for good after finishing the move under braking for Casio Triangle. This lap also, despite my battles with the TT-R, becomes my fastest yet, with an early 2'04.492. I can see that reducing steadily as the race goes on - this car's got a bit more to give, and it's up to me to unlock the potential...crikey, I sound like I'm playing an MMORPG here?!
Up front, an interesting development occurs - during lap 9, the RX8 takes the lead, as the Falcon suddenly starts sinking without trace, and to compound the problem, he actually pits at the end of lap 9 - two whole laps earlier than expected! I knew he was on a similar strategy to me, as in, pitting around every 10-11 laps, but surely this is a gunshot wound to the foot of his chances of victory early doors?! We'll have to wait and find out - my tyres are looking angry red by the end of lap 10, so I pit in for the first stop of the day. I emerge in 5th, with the Falcon now behind me on the track - considering I was trailing by about 5s from him as he went in, that's a near-10s swing - not bad 👍
No time for me to be proud of myself just yet, though - there's still three German taxi-cabs standing between myself and my rival in the RX8, all of which are due to stop in the next few laps. The RX8 does so at the end of lap 12, setting him up for the race - worryingly, that means that by lap 60, he'll have pitted one less time than me...which makes this race kinda interesting. Normally my underdog Celica relies on better tyre wear and pitting less times than my opponents - not today. As I explained earlier, any time I gain on my opponents will be made the hard way - on the track
Annoyingly, the RX8 gets out a good 10 seconds ahead after his pitstop, but my strategy of making up time when my opponents are on cold tyres works perfectly, and that gap swiftly vanishes down to nothing within a couple of laps. Time to battle once again, but before that, we've got the Teutonic Trio ahead of us due to stop in a few lap's time, and the A4 has slipped into our clutches! As the RX8 gets held up behind the lumbering A4 through the Degners, I make a lunge at Hairpin Curve (which, interestingly enough, is actually a hairpin curve - they were gonna call it the Watashiwa Nomimura Sensai Burger corner, but you know how people are, have to spell everything out ), trading paint with the A4 upon exit before being muscled aside by the RX8.
Sorry about that...life has a habit of interrupting my Gran Turismo career. So I'm gonna make it up to you all, and pick up where I left off on my quest to hoover up the remaining 200 A-spec point races Ladies and gentlemen, time to welcome you to a track I've always respected and feared in equal measure. Time to tame it once and for all, as I compete in...
Suzuka 1000km
'Toro! Toro! Toro!
(The standard tip of el hat for AMG for the track map.)
Race Distance: 172 Laps, 999.32km (
)And that means that, once again, one of my favourite cars of all time will be required to do battle in an arena most would dare not tread...so it's time to welcome back my Toyota Wedssport Celica! 💡
2003 Toyota Wedssport Celica (JGTC)
Engine: 2.0L L4 DOHC
Horsepower: 327hp (after oil change)
Drivetrain: FR
Weight: 1050kg
Tyres: R2s front and rear.
Downforce: Maximum (30 Front, 50 Rear).
This is a race I've seriously never attempted in A-spec before, let alone on a crusade for 200 A-spec points and some seriously red faces from the opposition. But having faced down and defeated similar opposition back at Grand Valley at the start of the year, the omens are stacked a little in my favour. It seems the organisers got wind of that race, too - have a look at the grid they've assembled to greet me...
1. 2000 Ford Falcon XR8 Race Car
2. 2003 Mazda RX8 LM Edition Race Car
3. 2002 Abt Audi TT-R Touring Car
4. 2003 Audi A4 Touring Car
5. 2000 Mercedes CLK Touring Car
Only ONE Japanese opponent here, and no JGTC cars! Someone definitely heard about their misrable failure at GV, and have called for the Teutonic cavalry!
The crowd are getting quite partisan, too - there's a collection of Australians with mullets, beer bellies and crates of lager in one corner of the grandstands chanting rude stuff at us (presumably rather happy that their representative has taken pole ) and there's many happy German DTM fans waving Mercedes and Audi flags around the circuit. Amidst this hostile atmosphere, I do however have the support of the always-knowledgable home crowd - not only am I running a Japanese car, but I'm the underdog, by far. I appreciate their support, but it doesn't stop me getting a touch nervous in the garage pre-race. This is a step up from Grand Valley, or indeed anything me and my humble Toyota have faced before - and on a track that I've had a...how shall we say...love-hate relationship with over the years. I love it, but it doesn't particularly like me. Unforgiving isn't the word
So, after a minute's silence for the victims of the earthquake/tsunami in March, engines fire on pit road and we're ready to go. I'm loaded up with various crates of Pepsi and snacks in the garage, and a strong, but beatable field...the crowd are going wild at the prospect of an intercontinental showdown of makes in this great endurance race...see you back in the pits in 6 hours, chaps! Tally-ho!
Lap 1-43
The traditional charge down to the first corner (imaginatively titled in this case, 'first and second curve' - seriously guys, you couldn't come up with anything BETTER?
) is as entertaining as ever, and initially I hold back and make a pledge to let the mess of bent door panels and screeching tyres sort itself out - up until the CLK jumps on the brakes to avoid nerfing the A4, and I slip up the inside on the corner exit! From there, the A4 swiftly falls away up the inside of the Dunlop Curve, and the TT-R comes under fire at the hairpin. Missing my chance there, I shadow him round the next few corners, slipping by through the Spoon curves - only for him to predictably breeze back by up towards 130R. But before he has time to gloat and guffaw at my lack of power, my strongest overtaking point on the entire circuit arrives - the Casio Triangle! 💡 It's almost frightening just how much better my car is under braking than my opponents, and I'm going to need this car's slot-car style handling and braking characteristics in abundance if I'm to have a shot at this race.
Unfortunatly, another straight bit of track beckons, meaning the TT-R swoops back by on the run down to the first and second curves - but not for long! Our brief duel is settled under braking, and upon corner exit I chase off after the leading Falcon and the 2nd place RX8, who've moved out to about a 6-7s lead whilst I've been swatting off the attentions of the Germans.
It's pretty nip-and-tuck, as the front two definitely have pace in abundance, and are a cut above the German tin-tops in terms of pace. Having said that, on cold tyres I still chomp into this lead faster than a fat guy through a Big Mac, and by lap 4 the 6s gap to the 2nd place RX8 is no more. Time to do battle
He's a worthy opponent, the Mazda, as I just cant' find a way around him for long enough! My first dive comes at Degner 2 on lap 5, and then under braking I snatch the position for good - or so I thought, as he breezes by under acceleration towards the Spoon Curves. More battling ahoy, as I re-pass him, he returns the favour towards 130R, and I do so once again through the Casio Triangle. Great, a nice little duel to get the blood pumping early on
👍Sadly, the battle is brought to an abrupt end on the next lap, as the track demonstrates it's unforgiving nature. On the run to 130R, I give the RX8 the outside line, which he doesn't take. I'm watching so closely in my mirror, however, that I just miss the apex of the corner at near-flat out 150mph. My right rear wheel slips onto the rumble strip, and away goes all grip, and before I know it, the car is looping around and flying towards the armco barrier! Disaster!
Somehow, and I'm not quite sure how, I avoid the barrier, but head back onto the track with a severely red face. My annoyance at this mistake hasn't been purged, either, as to compound matters I run spectacularly wide at Dunlop Curve on the next lap, and cede 3rd to the TT-R!
Even at this early stage, mistakes like this cannot be afforded, so I quickly get my head together, calm down and settle into a groove. This track does not suffer fools, or overdrivers, or especially frustrated drivers - it'll chew you up and spit you out if you dare try and overdrive it. A cool head is the order of the day here, as it should always be in racing.
With some choice expletives littering the inside of the car, I've purged the frustration from my system, and tear after the TT-R. A nice battle with him develops through lap 8, and I hold onto the position for good after finishing the move under braking for Casio Triangle. This lap also, despite my battles with the TT-R, becomes my fastest yet, with an early 2'04.492. I can see that reducing steadily as the race goes on - this car's got a bit more to give, and it's up to me to unlock the potential...crikey, I sound like I'm playing an MMORPG here?!
Up front, an interesting development occurs - during lap 9, the RX8 takes the lead, as the Falcon suddenly starts sinking without trace, and to compound the problem, he actually pits at the end of lap 9 - two whole laps earlier than expected! I knew he was on a similar strategy to me, as in, pitting around every 10-11 laps, but surely this is a gunshot wound to the foot of his chances of victory early doors?! We'll have to wait and find out - my tyres are looking angry red by the end of lap 10, so I pit in for the first stop of the day. I emerge in 5th, with the Falcon now behind me on the track - considering I was trailing by about 5s from him as he went in, that's a near-10s swing - not bad 👍
No time for me to be proud of myself just yet, though - there's still three German taxi-cabs standing between myself and my rival in the RX8, all of which are due to stop in the next few laps. The RX8 does so at the end of lap 12, setting him up for the race - worryingly, that means that by lap 60, he'll have pitted one less time than me...which makes this race kinda interesting. Normally my underdog Celica relies on better tyre wear and pitting less times than my opponents - not today. As I explained earlier, any time I gain on my opponents will be made the hard way - on the track
Annoyingly, the RX8 gets out a good 10 seconds ahead after his pitstop, but my strategy of making up time when my opponents are on cold tyres works perfectly, and that gap swiftly vanishes down to nothing within a couple of laps. Time to battle once again, but before that, we've got the Teutonic Trio ahead of us due to stop in a few lap's time, and the A4 has slipped into our clutches!
As the RX8 gets held up behind the lumbering A4 through the Degners, I make a lunge at Hairpin Curve (which, interestingly enough, is actually a hairpin curve - they were gonna call it the Watashiwa Nomimura Sensai Burger corner, but you know how people are, have to spell everything out ), trading paint with the A4 upon exit before being muscled aside by the RX8.
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- 1,051
- London
- JohnsonCapote
Cool race report so far. Hope you win.
Thanks man
Things are going well so far, apologies for a lack of live updates, having to hustle along with the race as time ticks on here - trying to avoid having to spread it across multiple days, but it looks like I might have to...this race seems to bloody go on forever!!!
Christ, I dont think the Nurb 24 hours felt like it was this long...
- 1,051
- London
- JohnsonCapote
Thanks man
It's getting a bit of a slog. I've only just made it past 3/4s distance...feels like this race is going on forever. I won't spoil how the race is going, though - I've just hit lap 140, and should be done soon, at which point I'll write up the entire race report
- 10,544
- Columbia, MD.
- Parnelli_Bones
Aussie mullets!
- 1,051
- London
- JohnsonCapote
Haha...well, yknow...have you SEEN some of the V8 Supercars at the top of the mountain at Bathurst every year?!
I guess some of the hardcore Ford nuts turned up for the race...not that it's made much difference though On that note - race complete, at last! No idea why, but this one just seemed to drag on and on. Updated race report to come, sadly with no photos - my memory card has no room after Colin Mcrae Rally 2005 decided to eat up 3/4s of the free space on there
