Four Hours: The Nürburgring 4Hr Companion & Competition

GTsail290 and I have decided to make our combined Nürburgring 4Hr race experiences into a single, definitive thread on the race - but we're not limiting this thread to just our races, no sir. The idea behind the thread is to provide not only a handy reference tool for anyone who's interested in taking part in the race - an AI guide, reports from those who've gone before, a clue as to what cars to use to make it interesting and fun - but also as a place for those people to share their experiences too. And, while we're at it, we can make it into a sort-of contest too, ranking results by various criteria.


Rules
1. Please use this thread responsibly. Your home may be at risk if you do not keep up repayments.
2. Please post a race report in this thread - this does not preclude you posting one in your own Race Report forum thread too. Look, here's mine and here is GTsail290's. Copy & paste is fine. Even barebones will do - what AI you faced, how they finished, how fast you went and by how much you won.
3. Stomping the opposition is not interesting, nor will it help anyone so, please, no X2010s, no F1s, no FGTs and no top tier race cars.
4. There are no prizes and so there will be no particular vetting of results. If you want to provide replays and pictures, please do but they are not mandatory.


Known AI

Audi R8 LMS Race Car '09

• Best observed average laptime - 8'51.893 (102.7mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 8'52.071 (102.7mph)
• 5 lap pit sequence

Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo

• Average laptime - 8'52.679 (102.6mph)
• 5 lap pit sequence

Ruf CTR2 '96

• Best observed average laptime - 9'15.692 (98.3mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'19.462 (97.7mph)
• 5 lap pit sequence

HKS CT230R '08

• Best observed average laptime - 9'17.692 (98.0mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'18.301 (97.9mph)
• 6 lap pit sequence

HPA FT565 Twin Turbo Audi TT

• Best observed average laptime - 9'18.350 (97.9mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'18.462 (97.9mph)
• 5 lap pit sequence

Amuse S2000 GT1 '04

• Best observed average laptime - 9'18.654 (97.8mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'21.231 (97.4mph)
• 6 lap pit sequence

Mine's BNR34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec N1 Base '00

• Best observed average laptime - 9'19.231 (97.7mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'20.769 (97.5mph)
• 5 lap pit sequence

Mine's BNR34 Skyline GT-R N1 Base '06

• Average laptime - 9'21.538 (97.3mph)
• 5 lap pit sequence

Nismo Fairlady Z Z-tune (Z33) '03

• Best observed average laptime - 9'19.038 (97.8mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'21.923 (97.3mph)
• 5 lap pit sequence

Amuse Nismo 380RS Superleggera

• Best observed average laptime - 9'22.500 (97.2mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'23.692 (96.9mph)
• 6 lap pit sequence

Lexus IS F Racing Concept '08

• Average laptime - 9'22.769 (97.1mph)
• Unknown pit schedule

HPA Stage II R32

• Best observed average laptime - 9'24.808 (96.8mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'26.846 (96.4mph)
• 5 lap pit sequence

Nismo Skyline GT-R R-tune (R34) '99

• Best observed average laptime - 9'24.808 (96.8mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'27.692 (96.3mph)
• 5 lap pit sequence

AEM S2000

• Best observed average laptime - 9'25.077 (96.7mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'28.462 (94.5mph)
• 5 lap pit sequence

RE Amemiya FD3S RX-7

• Best observed average laptime - 9'25.462 (96.6mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'26.615 (96.4mph)
• 7 lap pit sequence

High End Performance G37

• Average laptime - 9'29.692 (95.9mph)
• Unknown pit schedule

Amuse Carbon R R34 '04

• Best observed average laptime - 9'30.846 (95.7mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'31.385 (95.6mph)
• 4 lap pit sequence

Nismo Skyline GT-R S-Tune (R32) '00

• Average laptime - 9'32.000 (95.5mph)
• Unknown pit schedule

Nissan Gran Turismo Skyline GT-R '01

• Best observed average laptime - 9'33.500 (95.3mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'34.038 (95.2mph)
• 5 lap pit sequence

Nissan Option Stream Z '04

• Average laptime - 9'38.880 (94.4mph)
• 5 lap pit sequence

Opera Performance 350Z '04

• Average laptime - 9'40.280 (94.2mph)
• 6 lap pit sequence

Gran Turismo Amuse/Opera Performance Gran Turismo 350Z RS

• Best observed average laptime - 9'42.000 (93.9mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'42.080 (93.9mph)
• Unknown pit schedule

Ruf CTR "Yellow Bird" '87

• Average laptime - 9'43.800 (93.6mph)
• 3 lap pit sequence

Nismo 400R '96

• Best observed average laptime - 9'45.600 (93.3mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'48.880 (92.8mph)
• 5 lap pit sequence

Art Morrison Corvette '60

• Best observed average laptime - 9'49.200 (92.7mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 9'50.680 (92.5mph)
• 5 lap pit sequence

Mine's Lancer Evolution VI '00

• Best observed average laptime - 9'57.600 (91.4mph)
• Worst observed average laptime - 10'20.417 (88.1mph)
• 8 lap pit sequence

The following are my race notes for my Nurburgring Race with the Lotus Elise 111R '04:

My garage already had a Lotus Elise 111R that I've used for some on-line racing so it had a few parts already installed plus the wing. So my Lotus has 187HP, weighted in at 900kg, showed a PP value of 435, I had both RH and RM tires installed, but would race on the RM tires, and since I had a wing installed, I lowered the DF to "5" which is the lowest it would go.

On the starting grid were the following cars:
High End G37
AEM S2000
RUF CTR2 '96
Mine's BNR34 Skyline GTR
Lexus ISF Racing Concept
Nissan Skyline GTR S-tune
(me) in the Lotus Elise 111R
RE Amemiya FD35 RX-7
NISMO 400R
Amuse S2000 GTI
Nissan Gran Turismo 350Z
Amuse Carbon R

From the start I get dropped down the order to last place as everyone beats me off the line! No worries, I pass the NISMO 400R going into turn # 1. I next pass the Nissan Gran Turismo 350Z going thru turn # 3. I also quickly pass the Carbon R going thru turn # 5. And just as we leave the GP circuit, I pass the RE Amemiya RX-7 and take over 8th place in the race. At the end of lap 1, I'm 28 seconds behind the leader (who is unknown at this point).

During lap 2, I catch and battle both the AEM S2000 and the High End G37, and actually pass them both by the Kleine-Karussel. However, they are both able to blast past me on the long straight, so at the end of lap 2 I'm still in 7th place, now 38 seconds behind the leader.

At the beginning of lap # 3, I pass the AEM S2000 by out-braking it going into turn # 1. A bit later on lap 3, going thru the Hatzenbach esses, I pass the High End G37 and take over 5th place in the race. The next checkpoint says that the leader is some 39 seconds up the road. I now know that the leader is the RUF CTR2.

As I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 4, I get passed by both the AEM S2000 and the High End G37. Again, no worries, since I re-pass them both going thru turn # 1. The Hud now says that the leadig RUF has a 51 second lead over me. The rest of lap # 4 was un-eventful.

When I begin lap # 5, the news is flashed that the RUF has a 52 second lead, so I was able to hold my own thoughout the lap. As I get to Brunnchen on lap 5, I catch and pass the Lexus ISF Concept, who is moving fairly slowly on its worn tires. I'm now in 4th place!! At the end of lap 5, the leading RUF pits, and it gets followed into the pits by the 2nd place Mine's BNR34 and the 3rd place car.

I welcome the clean air and an empty track, so I head off on lap # 6 in the lead of the race! At the second checkpoint on lap # 6, I see that I have a 9 second lead over the AEM S2000, who is now in 2nd place because he did not pit yet. The RUF CTR2 is in 3rd. The Amuse S2000 GTI is in 4th, the RE Amemiya RX-7 is in 5th, the Mine's BNR34 is in 6th and the Lexus ISF Concept is in 7th place. I see that the RUF takes over 2nd place in the race as it blasts past the AEM going down the Kesselchen curves. The RUF eliminates my lead almost entirely as we go down the long straight at the end of lap 6.

The RUF CTR2 passes me as we cross the S/F line to begin lap 7. I re-pay the favor and pass him right back going into turn # 1. Going down the long straight at the end of the lap, I get passed by both the RUF and the Amuse S2000 GTI, so when I enter the pits at the end of the lap I've fallen to 3rd place in the race. While I'm in the pits the Mine's BNR34 drives on by and drops me to 4th place.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 8, I see that the Amuse S2000 (who has taken over the lead of the race) has a 33 second lead over me. Not too bad, it could have been worse, but I only took on limited fuel so I saved considerable time in the pits.

When I begin lap # 9, the leading Amuse S2000 is shown as being 48 seconds ahead of me, so I lost some ground during lap # 8 on the cold tires.

At the beginning of lap # 10, the leading Amuse S2000 has a 58 second lead over me. It was much closer during the lap, but I always lose a huge amount of time going down the long straight at the end of each lap. At the end of lap 3 10, the RUF pits again from 2nd place, and again is followed into the pits by the Mine's BNR34 who was in 3rd, so I neatly slide into 2nd place in the race at the beginning of lap # 11.

The leading Amuse S2000 now has a 62 second lead over me. On lap # 11, I can see that the leading Amuse S2000 has slowed considerably (it must ve on very worn tires by now). By the end of the lap, the Amuse only has a 15 second lead over me when he enteres the pits for some new tires. I'm surprised that the Amuse S2000 has pitted on lap # 11, because in all previous races that I've run, the Amuse would not have pitted until lap 3 12 (since he has always been on 6 lap stints). Thinking back, the Amuse may have pitted for some reason on lap # 5, so he had to pit on lap # 11 (I wish the game would tell us when the other AI pits (like GT4 did), but alas it does not).

So I begin lap # 12 with a 10 second lead over the RUF CTR2 who has regained 2nd place in the race. Once again the RUF essentially eliminates my lead as we go down the long straight, so he easily blasts past me as we cross the S/F line at the end of the lap.

I quickly re-pass the RUF CTR2 as we go thru turn # 1 at the beginning of lap # 13. I have a small lead over the RUF as I begin my drive down the long straight, so I hope to be able to draft behing the RUF down the straitht, but the RUF drives by at such a huge speed differential, that I'm unable to catch and hold his draft. Rats!

As we both begin lap # 14, I can see that I've fallen 5 seconds behind the RUF. I push hard during lap #14, so I'm able to catch and pass the leading RUF as we go thru Wehrseifen. Going down the Kesselchen curves, I have to block the RUF a few times to keep him behind me. This allows the 3rd place Mine's BNR34 to catch up with both of us. Going down the long straight I employ a few more blocking manuevers, so the 4th place Amuse S200 catches up as well! My tires are still ok, but since I'm on a 7 lap stint cycle, I pit at the end of the lap and immediately fall down to 4th place in the race as all the trailing cars stream on by.

The Amuse S2000 takes over first place, the RUF CTR2 is shown in 2nd, and the Mine's BNR34 has dibs on third place. The news at the 1st checkpoint on lap # 15 shows that I have fallen 48 seconds behind the Amuse. At the end of lap 15, both the RUF and the Mine's BNR34 pit, so as I begin lap # 16, I pass them both and re-gain 2nd place in the race. I'm some 53 seconds behind the leading Amuse S2000.

Lap # 16 goes well, so as I begin lap # 17, I see that the Amuse has only been able to increase his lead by 4 seconds to 57 seconds over me. The leading Amuse S2000 really struggles on its worn tires during lap 17, so by the Galgenkopf curve I've caught and passed him! I've re-taken the lead of the race! The Amuse obviously needs new tires, so it pits at the end of the lap.

This allows the RUF CTR2 to regain 2nd place and the Mine's BNR34 takes over 3rd. The RUF is shown as being 9 seconds behind me as I begin lap # 18.

As I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 19, the 2nd place RUF is just behind me (less than a second back). I'm able to stay in front fo the RUF due to my serpentine path down the S/F straight!
As I continue driving on lap # 19, I see that the 3rd place Mine's BNR34 is gaining on us again and is about 3 seconds behind the RUF.

As I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 20, I see that there is a car in the pits who gets put a lap down to my streaking Lotus. My lead over the 2nd place RUF is just over 1 second! Once again the RUF is able to blast past me on the S/F straight only to be out-braked going into turn # 1, so I maintain my slim lead as I begin lap 20.

As I begin lap # 21, I can see that the 2nd place RUF and the 3rd place Mine's BNR34 both pit. This allows the Amuse S2000 GTI to take over 2nd place in the race. At the first checkpoint on lap 21, the Hud tells me that my lead over the Amuse is 23 seconds. As I continue driving on lap 21, I can tell that my tires are getting quite worn out, so I make sure to be extra careful with my racing lines and slow down a bit to stay off the grass. This allows the Amuse S2000 to make up quite a bit of time on me, so by the end of the lap, when I pit for tires, the Amuse is only 8 seconds behind me. So of course, the Amuse steams on by when I'm in the pits for tires, and he takes over 1st place in the race. Looking at the race clock, I see that there are only 45 minutes left in the race. Can I pull out the win?

Just as I exit the pits to begin lap # 22, the last place NISMO 400R blasts on by. I quickly re-pass the NISMO 400R going thru turn # 1, and put it a lap down again. At the first checkpoint on lap # 22, I see that the leading Amuse S2000 has a 37 second lead over my Lotus Elise.

Lap # 22 goes well because I'm back on fresh tires, so when I begin lap # 23, I'm still in 2nd place, only 36 seconds behind the leading Amuse S2000.

I begin lap # 23 just in front of the 11th place Nissan Gran Turismo 350Z who has just exited the pits. As I get to Eiskurve on lap 23, I've caught up with the leading Amuse S2000, who is struggling again on worn tires. It only takes one more corner to pass the Amuse and take over the lead of the race! Looking back thru the rear-view mirror (I was watching to see if the Amuse would also get caught by the 3rd place RUF) I put some tires on the grass while under full throttle......... and totally lose control and smack the nearby armco. By the time I get sorted and underway again, the RUF, who has passed the Amuse (unseen by me because I was checking for missing body parts (both mine and my cars)) is right on my rear bumper! I have to employ some blocking down the long straight to maintain my lead.

As I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 24 the RUF drives past me, but again it gets out-braked by me going into turn # 1. I've re-gained my composure on lap 24, so by the T10 checkpoint I have a 8 second lead over the 2nd place RUF. As usual the RUF eliminates my lead as I drive down the long straight, so when I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 25, I only have a 1.1 second lead.

The RUF blasts right past me on the S/F straight, but again is re-passed going thru turn # 1. Looking at the track map I can see that the 3rd place Mine's BNR34 is only about 3 seconds behind the RUF, so it has a chance of catching the RUF during this lap.

When I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 26, the race clock shows exactly 8 minutes left, and I have a 5 second lead over the everpresent RUF. I then watch both the RUF and the Mine's BNR34 enter the pits for their final stop (since they are on 5 lap tire stints). The Amuse S2000, who was in 4th place, passes them both before they exit the pits, so the Amuse takes over 2nd place in the race, but is shown as being 49 seconds behind me as my Lotus passes the 2nd checkpoint.

After 4 hours, 1 minute and 23 seconds I cross the Finish line and win another 'Ring race!

My margin over the Amuse S2000 was 41 seconds.

The Elise 111R was great fun to drive on the 'Ring. I just needed to be fairly careful to stay off the grass because it was pretty un-forgiving if you did not have all four tires on the paved tarmac when under full power.

Enjoy the racing!
GTsail

The following are my race notes for my 4 Hour Nurburgring Race with my Toyota FT-86 Concept '09:

I have searched my garage high and low for another car that can be used to take on the 4 hour 'Ring race. After quite a few aborted attempts I come upon a very nice looking Toyota FT-86 that is in desparate need of a race. I check its odometer and see that it reads zero, so I guess it must be a prize car or something!

I grab the Toyota and have my mechanics take a look. After some upgrades and downgrades my Toyota has the following spec's:

Horsepower: 215
Weight: 1010kg (some ballast was added)
PP value: 430
Tires: Race mediums
Custom trans: 174 mph

I get behind the wheel of the FT-86 and give it a short test drive. Its apparent that its a great car to drive, but it does exhibit a bit of understeer so I have my pit crew adjust some of the suspension bits. I then head on down to the Nurburgring track and see who has shown up for a nice 4 hour drive.

Sitting on the starting grid are the following usual suspects:
1) High End Performance G37
2) NISMO Skyline GTR S-tune
3) Amuse S2000 GT1
4) Lexus ISF Racing Concept
5) Opera Performance 350Z
6) Art Morrison Corvette
7) (me) Toyota FT-86 Concept
8) GT Gran Turismo 350Z RS
9) NISMO 380RS Super Leg
10) NISMO Fairlady Z Z-tune
11) HKS CT230R
12) AEM S2000

The flag drops and from the start I get dropped to last place as the rest of the field shows off their horsepower advantage.

Going thru turn one, I dive in tight to the apex and pass the AEM S2000, the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune, the NISMO 380RS, the Gran Turismo 350Z RS, and the Opera Performance 350Z! Going thru turn two I also pass the HKS CT230R and take over 6th place in the race. Up next is the NISMO GTR S-tune which gets passed going thru turn five. Going thru the last left-hander on the GP circuit, I pass the 4th place Art Morrison Corvette. Somewhat further on, I go up the inside of the Lexus ISF Concept going thru Ex-Muhle. Driving down the long straight the Lexus ISF Concept catches me, so I let it pass and get in its draft for a while before it pulls away at the end of the straight. At the end of lap # 1, I'm shown in 4th place some 28 seconds behind the leading Amuse S2000 GT1. The High End G37 is in 2nd, and the Lexus ISF Concept is in 3rd place.

On lap # 2, going down the Kesselchen straight, the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune catches and passes me. I immediately jump into his draft a get a speed boost for about half of the Kesselchen back straight. I dog the Fairlady Z-tune thru the Karussel and stay close so I'm able to re-pass the Fairlady going thru Brunnchen. Continuing on I'm at full throttle as I pass the 3rd place High End G37 going thru the Pflanzgarten III high-speed esses. Driving down the long straight, I get caught and passed by the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune and the High End G37. I jump in their draft for a tow for about half of the straight.

When I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 3, I see that I'm in 5th place some 44 seconds behind the leading Amuse S2000. Going thru the last left-hander on the GP circuit, I pass the 4th place High End G37.

When I begin lap # 4, I see that I'm 59 seconds behind the Amuse S2000.

At the beginning of lap # 5, I'm 69 seconds behind the Amuse S2000. As I get to Streilstreke, I catch the Lexus ISF Concept and pass it going down the short chute befor the Karussel since the ISF Concept was moving pretty slowly on worn tires. I've climbed into 3rd place in the race, but I'm still 72 seconds behind the leading Amuse S2000 who has pulled a rabbit on me! Going thru Pflanzgarten III, I catch and pass the 2nd place NISMO Fairlady Z-tune without any fanfare.

When I begin lap # 6, I see that I'm 1 minute and 18 seconds behind the Amuse S2000. Looking back I see that most of the field enters the pits at the end of lap five. This gives the HKS CT230R a chance to take over 3rd place in the race because it does not pit at the end of lap # 5. The HKS CT230R is about 12 seconds behind me. As I drive thru Wipperman I see that the margin to the leading Amuse S2000 is now only 45 seconds. Great! The Amuse is finally struggling on it tires! I'm also starting to drive somewhat slower because my tires are presenting evidence that they've been used past their prime, so I intend to pit at the end of this lap. Up ahead on the track map, I see the Amuse S2000 enter the pits, so 35 seconds later, I do the same. I take on only 20 liters of fuel because my Toyota gets great gas mileage, so I have a very short pit stop.

This short pit stop enables me to exit the pits before the Amuse S2000, so I take over the lead of the race!! When I got past the 1st checkpoint on lap # 7, I see that I have a 14 second lead over the Amuse S2000. The NISMO Fairlady Z-tune is in 3rd. The HKS CT230R is in 4th. The NISMO 380RS Super is in 5th, and the AEM S2000 is in 6th place. Going down the long straight the Amuse S2000 catches and passes me! He made up 14 seconds on me during the lap! Yikes! I elbow the Amuse S2000 aside going thru the Hohenrain esses, but then get re-passed going up the S/F straight.

Going thru turn one on lap # 8 I out-brake the Amuse S2000 and re-take first place in the race. Driving nearly full -speed thru Kottenborn, I get passed by the Amuse S2000 who's really flying! I do what I can to stay with the Amuse S2000, but once we get to the Kesselchen backstraight, I have no chance and the Amuse immediately gaps me by 5 seconds. At the end of the Kesselchen curves, the 3rd place NISMO Fairlady Z-tune has reached my rear-bumper and gives me a love-tap to remind me that he would like a chance to chase the leading Amuse S2000 as well. As we go down the long straight, the 3rd place NISMO Farilady Z-tune catches and easily passes me.

When I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 9, I see that I'm 14 seconds behind the leading Amuse S2000 and now about 5 seconds behind the 2nd place NISMO Fairlady Z-tune. For some reason the Fairlady Z-tune goes really slowly thru Adenaur Forst, so I go ahead and pass it and take over 2nd place again. The Fairlady Z-tune stays in my mirrors for most of the lap, but then once we get to the long straight, he blasts on by again, which gives me a bit of a boost as I follow in his draft. I rub some paint off the Fairlady Z-tune going thru the Hohenrain esses, and re-gain my position, but then immediately get dropped behind as we both accelerate up the S/F straight.

As I begin lap # 10, I see that I'm 31 seconds behind the leading Amuse S2000. I out-brake the Fairlady Z-tune going into turn one, and immediately re-take 2nd place in the race. Going down the long straight at the end of the lap, I look around for the expected Fairlady Z-tune, but don't see him. What's the story? I look back at the track map and see that he's fallen into the clutches of the 4th place HKS CT230R. The Fairlady's tires must be worn out, so I shortly see that the HKS CT230R takes over 3rd place in the race. They are about 15 seconds behind me.

When I begin lap # 11, I see that I'm now 43 seconds behind the leading Amuse S2000.

At the beginning of lap # 12, I'm 52 seconds behind the leading Amuse S2000. Towards the end of lap # 12, I notice that the leading Amuse is coming back to me. He must have pushed his tires too hard! Since I expect that we will both pit at the end of this lap, I look forward to taking over the lead of the race again (for the sake of my sponsors, of course) after this round of pit stops. As I swing around Galgenkopf, I get a glimpse of the leading Amuse S2000 who is only about 3 seconds ahead of me at the T10 checkpoint. When I dive into the pits at the end of lap # 12, I can see the Amuse S2000 who is still driving down the pit lane toward his pit stall. I add 40 liters of fuel and get going again before the Amuse does, so as I start lap # 13, I'm back in the lead of the race again!

At the 2nd checkpoint on lap # 13, I see that I've pulled out to a 31 second lead over the 2nd place Fairlady Z-tune. The Amuse S2000 is in 3rd, the HKS CT230R is in 4th, and the NISMO 380RS is in 5th place.

When I begin lap # 14, I have a 21 second lead over the Fairlady Z-tune.

When I begin lap # 15, I have a 13 second lead over the Fairlady Z-tune, who is just ahead of the 3rd place Amuse S2000. About half-way thru lap 15, I see that the Amuse S2000 passes the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune (who must be struggling again on worn tires because he should be pitting this lap).

When I begin lap # 16, I see that I have a 6 second lead over the Amuse S2000. As I drive up the Kesselchen backstraight the Amuse S2000 drives right up to my rear-bumper. The Amuse follows me closely for the next few minutes and then once again drives past me going down the long straight. I get a tremendous draft up to 158 mph (which is about 14 mph faster than my normal speed down this straight). I can't hold the draft, so the Amuse S2000 pulls away a bit. When we cross the S/F line at the end of the lap, the Amuse has a 2 second lead over my Toyota.

As I begin lap # 17, I see the 12th place Art Morrison Corvette exit the pits. The leading Amuse S2000 passes the Corvette going thru turn # 1. I pass the Corvette as well going thru turn # 3. Much later on the same lap I catch the leading Amuse going thru Ex-Muhle. The Amuse S2000 returns the favor going down the Kesselchen backstraight. I stay close to the Amuse and then execute a clean pass going thru Schwalbenschwanz. The Amuse S2000 powers pon past me going down the long straight, so I immediately latch on his draft and get pulled up to 158 mph again. I late brake going into the Hohenrain esses, and re-take the lead of the race from the be-dazzled Amuse.

The Amuse S2000 drives past me again as we cross the S/F line to begin lap # 18. Closely following the Amuse is the lapped Art Morrison Corvette who also drives past me going down the S/F straight. I out-brake both cars going into turn one and re-take 1st place in the race! Looking at the track map, I also see that the 3rd place HKS CR230R has caught up with the AM corvette as well. For a few turns there's a nice three car pack that begins to fall back from my streaking Toyota. By the time I get to Bergwerk, the HKS CT230R has passed the Amuse S2000, and taken over 2nd place about 10 seconds behind me. Their three car battle must have slowed them all down, which gave me a chance to pull away a bit. My tires are beginning to show evidence of being worn out, so I pit at the end of the lap with a 12 second lead. While I'm in the pits the Art Morrison Corvette drives past and un-laps himself.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 19, I see that I have a 12 second lead over the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune, who has leap-froged the other AI who just pitted. The HKS CT230R is in 3rd and the Amuse S2000 is in 4th place. I push hard on lap # 19 so that by the time I get to Galgenkopf I've caught up with the Art Morrison Corvette. The Corvette does a 180 going into Galgenkopf, which makes him hard to miss..... so I don't.... I get bye with some minor fender damage, but probably lose about a second or so, since I had to brake heavily to avoid a major impact. The Art Morrison Corvette catches me towards the end of the long straight and we go side-by-side under the Antoniusbuche overpass. The Corvette side-swipes me just past the overpass and spins me out into the grass! Once I'm finished moving the armco back a foot or so, I get going again, but not before the 2nd place NISMO Fairlady Z-tune has a chance to motor by.

When I begin lap # 20, I fully 5 seconds behind the leading Fairlady Z-tune. I lost about 12 seconds because of the AM Corvette!! A bit annoyed, I go charging off after the Fairlady and the Corvette. I catch the Fairlady Z-tune by the Hocheichen corner, and easily pass it because its tires are worn out. I catch the AM Corvette just after Flugplatz and see that the Corvette is swerving all over the track. I just squeeze past when the Covette goes off into the grass on the right side of the track and get lightly tagged for my troubles by the Corvette who comes right back on the track as I pass by. I have to make a few steering-wheel corrections in order to stay on the tarmac, but thankfully pull it off without another disaster. As I drive thru Wipperman, I see that the HKS CT230R has been able to catch and pass the Fairlady Z-tune and take over 2nd place. The HKS CT230R is about 19 seconds behind me.

When I begin lap # 21, I still have a 14 second lead over the HKS CT230R.

As I begin lap # 22, I have a 10 second lead over the HKS CT230R.

When I begin lap # 23, I have a 6 second lead over the HKS CT230R.

At the beginning of lap # 24, I have a 3 second lead over the HKS CT230R. The HKS CR230R stays with me thoughout the lap, and closely follows me into the pits at the end of the lap for our final pit stops.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 25, I'm told that I have a 27 second lead over the 2nd place Fairlady Z-tune, who has leap-froged over the HKS CR230R during the pit stop exchange. About half-way thru lap # 25, I see that the 3rd place HKS CT230R has caught and passed the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune, and is shows as being 43 seconds behind me.

At the beginning of lap # 26, I see that I have a 39 second lead over the HKS CT230R. And since the race clock says that there are only 7 minutes and 15 seconds to go before the 4 hour mark, I have started my final lap.

Looking ahead on the track map, I can see that I'm catching the 11thh place car who is about 20 seconds ahead of me on the track. I will see if I can catch this car. By the end of the lap, its apparent that the 20 second margin was too much because I've only halved the margin to this 11th place car. The 11th place car is the Opera Performance 350Z. I find this out when it crosses the finish line and drops me to 2nd place. Ten seconds later I cross the Finish line and win the race!

Total race time was 4 hours 1 minute and 35 seconds.

The HKS CT230R ends the race in 3rd place, about 40 seconds behind me.

The Toyota FT-86 Concept does very well at this level of tune. It has a bit too much understeer, but overall its a great car. Top speed without a draft was only 144 to 145 down the long straight before the overpass.

Enjoy the racing!
GTsail

I decided that it was time to shift gears, well maybe shift drivetrains, so I did a search of my garage and for my first Nurburgring race with an FF car, I've settled on a nice Ford Focus RS '02 that's only slightly used.

Since the car was slightly used, before any hot laps are attempted on a track I take the Focus to the local Ford dealer and have them rebuild the engine and install a few parts. After the engine rebuild my Ford Focus RS has the following basic specs:

Horsepower: 241
Weight: 1060kg (10 kg's were added)
PP value: 450
Tires: Race mediums

I take my Ford Focus to the 'Ring and after handing over a small entrance fee (made smaller by the volume discount that they give me), I check out the following cars that are on the starting grid:

1) Nissan Gran Turismo Skyline GTR
2) High End G37
3) Amuse S2000 GT1
4) NISMO Fairlady Z Z-tun
5) Mine's Lancer EVO
6) Opera Performance Gran Turismo 350Z
7) me (in the Ford Focus)
8) Opera Performance 350Z '04
9) NISMO Skyline GTR S-tune
10) AEM S2000
11) RE Amemiya FD35 RX-7
12) NISMO 380RS Super Leggera

From the start, as usual I get dropped to 12th place. I out-brake the RE Amemiya RX-7, the NISMO 380RS and the AEM S2000 going into the first turn and I immediately get into 9th place. Going thru turn # 3, I pass the NISMO Skyline S-tune and going thru turn # 5, I pass the Mine's Lancer EVO and re-gain my 7th place starting position in the race. Going thru Hocheichen the first time I pass the Opera 350Z '04. A bit further along on lap one I pass the Opera GT 350Z RS going thru Speigelkurve. Next up is the Nissan Gran Turismo Skyline GTR which I pass going thru Schwalbenschwanz. I can now see who is the leader of the race. Its the Amuse S2000 GT1, and he has a 24 second lead over my Ford Focus. Lap # 1 ends after 9 minutes and 27 seconds and I see that I'm 30 seconds behind the leading Amuse S2000.

Lap # 2 is uneventful since my position in the race does not change. After a 9:10 lap I begin lap # 3 some 51 seconds behind the leading Amuse S2000.

Lap # 3 is also quiet, so after a 9:09 lap I begin lap # 4 a full 67 seconds behind the leading Amuse S2000.

On lap 4, I'm starting to get in contact with the 3rd place High End G37. The G37 slows a bit too much going into Eschback, so I pounce and take over 3rd place in the race. The G37 is able to re-pass me going down the long straight. Taking up the challenge, I trade a little paint going thru the Hohenrain esses and regain my 3rd place position at the end of lap 4.

As I begin lap # 5, I see that I'm 1 minute and 20 seconds behind the Amuse S2000. Lap five goes pretty well, but by the end, I can tell that my tires are starting to slow me down (so they must be pretty worn out). I decide that I will have to pit at the end of this lap. So I enter the pits at the end of the lap and see that the 2nd place NISMO Fairlady Z-tune is already there. The Fairlady Z-tune takes its time on its re-fueling so I get underway just in front of it and begin lap # 6 in 2nd place.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 6 I can see that the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune has re-joined the race in 4th place. The NISMO 380RS has taken over 3rd place since it has not pitted. The AEM S2000 is in 5th place (also without a pit stop). The leading Amuse S2000 is now 1 minute and 59 seconds in front of me!! During lap # 6 I get hounded every step of the way by the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune. Thought thankfully, at every checkpoint I'm finally making major in-roads into the Amuse's lead. When we get to the long straight, I let the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune drive past so I can get a decent draft. The T11 checkpoint shows that I'm only 1 minute and 8 seconds behind the Amuse S2000 who will pit at the end of this lap.

As I start lap # 7, I see that I'm about 5 seconds behind the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune who has just passed the Amuse S200 who is still in the pits. The Amuse S2000 finally exits the pits after quite a long pit stop, and takes us the chase about 5 seconds behind my 2nd place Ford Focus. The RE Amemiya RX-7 is shown in 4th and the High End G37 is shown in 5th place. Lap seven goes well, and the 3rd place Amuse does not catch me until the long straight. At this point, the Amuse drives past me and gives me a nice boost for the rest of the lap.

When I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 8, I'm in 3rd place some 18 seconds behind the leading NISMO Fairlady Z-tune.

When I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 9, I see that I'm still some 26 seconds behind the leading NISMO Fairlady, and about 13 seconds behind the 2nd place Amuse S2000.

As I begin lap # 10, I see that I'm 37 seconds behind the leading NISMO Fairlady Z-tune, so is only about 3 seconds ahead of the Amuse S2000. The Amuse is likely to catch the Fairlady this lap. As I drive thru Wipperman, the news is flashed that we have a new leader in the race! The Amuse has passed the Fairlady Z-tune! They must have had a tough battle for a while, which slowed them down because I'm now only 24 seconds behind the Amus S2000. My tires look ok, but I'm starting to slow down again, so I will pit at the end of the lap. When I get to the pits I see that the 2nd place NISMO Fairlady Z-tune is already there. I join the Fairlady and take on 30 liters of fuel.

When I exit the pits to begin lap # 11, I've been able to pass the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune who is still taking on fuel. At the 1st checkpoint on lap # 11, I see that the leading Amuse S2000 has pulled out a 68 second lead over me.

Lap # 11 goes very well, and the 3rd place Fairlady Z-tune does not catch me until the long straight. It drives past me gives me a nice boost up to 160mph so I'm able to re-pass the Fairlady Z-tune going thru the Hohenrain esses. The Fairlady re-passes me on the S/F straight.

As I begin lap # 12, I see that I'm in 3rd place 68 seconds behind the Amuse S2000. I brake late going into turn # 1, but can only get to the rear-bumper of the 2nd place NISMO Fairlady. I'm going to stay close and see if he makes a mistake that will enable me to get past. I get close to the Fairlady Z-tune going thru Ex-Muhle but then get gapped by 4 seconds by the NISMO Fairlady going down the Kesselchen straight. That's the bad new! The good news is that the leading Amuse S2000 is only 48 seconds ahead of me! I've taken 20 seconds off his lead this lap! At the T10 checkpoint, I'm only 15 seconds behind the leading Amuse. Obviously, the Amuse has pushed his tires too far! When I get to the end of the lap I see that the Amuse S2000 has pitted and has given the lead of the race to the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune.

As I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 13, I see that I'm now only 13 seconds behind the leading NISMO Fairlady Z-tune.

When I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 14, I see that I'm 28 seconds behind the leading Fairlady Z-tune. I have a little trouble getting thru Bergwerk -- I drive too deep and slide off into the grass. This probably costs me 2 seconds.

As I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 15, I've fallen 42 seconds behind the Fairlady Z-tune. Near the end of Kesselchen, the 3rd place Amuse S2000 latches on to my rear-bumper and stays there until we get to the long straight, where he easily motors on past. I jump into his draft and get a decent tow, and then pit for new tires at the end of the lap. The leading NISMO Fairlady Z-tune is already in the pits, so he falls to 2nd place when the Amuse S2000 continues on without a pit stop.

When I exit the pits I beat the Fairlady Z-tune out, so I'm back into 2nd place in the race. At the first checkpoint on lap # 16 I see that I've fallen 40 seconds behind the leading Amuse S2000. And the Fairlady Z-tune is about 12 seconds behind me. The AME S2000 is in 4th place. I push my Ford Focus pretty hard for most of lap # 16 in an effort to stay in front of the 3rd place Fairlady Z-tune. At the end of the lap, I see that I've run a 9:41 lap, which is pretty goood for an pit-out lap. But even so, as I go down the S/F straight to end the lap, my mirrors are completely filled by the Fairlady Z-tune.

The margin to the leading Amuse S2000 is 47 seconds as I begin lap # 17. The NISMO Fairlady has pulled along-side me as we enter turn # 1, but he doesn't have a chance as I easily beat him thru the corner. The Fairlady Z-tune dogs me for most of the lap and almost pulls alongside going down the Kesselchen backstraight. Thankfully he pulls back or someone might have done some grass-cutting! The Fairlady Z-tune backs off a bit after that, but then powers past me going down the long straight. I get a good draft up to 162mph and hit my re-limiter. My tires still have decent grip, so I out-brake the Fairlady and slide past him going thru the Hohenrain esses.

Just as I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 18, the Fairlady Z-tune comes past me again, but I just repay the favor and out-brake him in turn one. I notice that the Amuse S2000 is 48 seconds up the road. During lap # 18, once again the NISMO Fairlady hounds me the entire first part of the lap. As we get to Klosteral, he actually pulls even with me on my right side. I brake a little later than him so I'm able to stay in front for the drive up the short chute towards the Karussel. Pushing so hard to stay ahead of the Fairlady has made me miss the fact that we are catching the 1st place Amuse S2000 at a speedy rate. As I drive thru the Kleine-Karussel, I can see a very slow Amuse S2000 just ahead! The Amuse's tires must be really shot because we've made up 45 seconds during this lap. I get to the Amuse's rear bumper going into Galgenkopf and give him a light tap because he's in the middle of the road and didn't give me any room to get by. The Amuse gets my signal and moves over so I power past and head down the long straight with the lead of the race. As I motor down the straight, I look back and see that the Amuse and the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune are side by side, about 2 seconds back. I know that this gap won't be enough! Both cars easily catch me and blast on past, one on each side! As the three of us get to the Antoniusbuche overpass, the Amuse and the Fairlady smack each other, door to door. This impact is too much for the Amuse (whose tires are shot), so the Amuse starts a tank-slapping weave. I ease off the accelerator and try to decide which "hole" to drive thru. Luckily I guess correctly and drive smoothly past the Amuse who is in the process of doing a 180 and sliding off into the grass. I look back and see that the Amuse is a good 10 seconds back, so sadly for him, his race may be over.

At the beginning of lap # 19, I'm shown in 2nd place, only 2 seconds behind the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune. I push hard during the first part of lap 19, so I'm in the Fairlady's draft going down into Quiddelbacher Hohe. I stay with the Fairlady thru Flugplatz and thru Kottenborn, so I pull right up to the Fairlady as we get to Aremburg. The Fairlady slows a bit too much at Aremburg, so I drive around the outside of the Fairlady and take over the lead of the race. I'm able to pull away from the Fairlady over the next few turns, but then going down the Kesselchen curves, the NISMO Fairlady is right back on my rear bumper. After the Karussel I pull away again, and actually have a 2 second lead at the T10 checkpoint. This won't be enough! As expected the Fairlady comes past me a bit before the Antoniusbuche overpass. I follow for the draft and re-pass the Fairlady going thru the Hohenrain esses.

As I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 20 I'm side-by-side with the NISMO Fairlady. This means that its pretty easy to out-brake the Fairlady in turn one, so I quickly get back in the lead of the race. About half-way thru this lap I get the feeling that my tires are pretty much worn out, so I will pit this lap. The 2nd place NISMO Fairlady is also on its 5th lap with its current tires so he starts to fall behind a bit. He's suffering more than me. NICE! I continue on and start to build up a lead over the Fairlady which grows to 15 seconds by the time I pit at the end of the lap.

When I exit the pits to begin lap # 21, who do I see come whistling by? The 3rd place Amuse S2000, who jumps into the lead of the race! I follow the Amuse for the first few minutes of the lap, sometimes getting a nice draft. When we get to the Adnaur Forst, the Amuse takes a very conservative line thru the second part, and I'm able to drive up the inside of the turn and accelerate away as we leave the Forst and head towards Metzgesfeld. The Amuse is all over me going up the Kesselchen curves so I let him by and get a tow. I hound the Amuse for the next few turns so when he slows early for the Schwalbenschwanz bend I'm able to slide past and regain the lead of the race. The Amuse S2000 comes on past me going down the long straight but I stay close and I'm able to re-pass him going thru the Hohenrain esses. The Amuse must be a little shocked that I got past because he's a little slow to chase after me, so I make it to the end of the lap with a 1 second lead!

Immediately after beginning lap # 22 I get passed by the Amuse, so once again I use turn # 1 to out-brake an opponent and re-take the lead. About 30 seconds later, I look back and see the 3rd place Fairlady Z-tune cross the S/F line. The 4th place car is the NISMO 380RS Leggera who is over a minute further back. During lap 22 I can always see the Amuse S2000 who is lurking in my mirrors but he is never really close enough to try to get past. Finally though, going down the long straight, the Amuse makes his move and motors past my Ford Focus. I get another good tow but can't catch the Amuse going thru the final esses, so I end lap 22 with a 2 second deficit.

This makes the margin too great in turn one, so I can't pull off one of my pattened turn one over-taking moves! So the early part of lap 23 sees me in the chase mode again. When we get to the Hatzenbach esses I've closed up on the Amuse's bumper, and get a nice draft down into Quiddelbacher Hohe. Looking ahead on the track map I can see another car who is likely to be the 12the place car. I expect to find out who it is shortly. I'm close behind the Amuse for a while longer but then get gapped going up the Kesselchen curves by 5 seconds. I'm back on the Amuse's rear-bumper when we get to Brunnchen because the Amuse has gotten stuck behind the Opera 350Z RS. I don't hesitate, so I pass them both going thru Eiskurve! All this side-by-side racing has slowed me down somewhat, so when we get to the long straight, I see that we've been caught by the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune who blasts past both of us!

When I begin lap # 24, I've fallen to 2nd place some 2.8 seconds behind the NISMO Fairlady. The Fairlady pulls away from me a little a the beginning of the lap, so it takes me until Ex-Muhle before I'm able to catch and pass him again. The Fairlady fills my mirrors going down the Kesselchen straight but does not make a strong move to get past. At the T10 checkpoint I have a 1.5 second lead which I know is about to evaporate. I check my tires and see that the tire bar is about half gone. I know that this would mean my next lap would be somewhat compromised by worn tires, so I decide to pit this lap for fresh tires. As usual the NISMO Fairlady blasts past me down the long straight, but I'm ready for this, so I re-pass him going thru the Hohenrain esses. When I enter the pits for my final stop I have a slim lead. I only take on 20 liters of fuel which should be enough to get me to the end of the race since there are only 16 1/2 minutes left.

While I'm in the pits I get passed by the 12th place Opera 350Z RS. At the first checkpoint on lap # 25 I see that I've fallen 30 seconds behind the NISMO Fairlady. Since I have fresh tires, lets see what kind of damage I can do to the Fairlady's lead. I make short work of the Opera 350Z RS when I catch him going thru Steilstreke, so I continue after the leading NISMO Fairlady with a full head of steam. The Fairlady now has only a 22 second lead over me. I push on and get a glimpse of the leading Fairlady when I get to the Kleine-Karussel. I catch the Fairlady just before Galgenkopf and easily slide past because he's really moving slowly on his worn tires! Going down the long straight, I get caught and passed by the Fairlady, and then out of nowhere, I get passed by the Amuse S2000! I was not expecting the Amuse S2000 because I thought he would have had a slow pit stop and lose too much time to me. The NISMO Fairlady is not a problem because he immediately pits, but the Amuse S2000 is!

I'm 5 seconds behind the Amuse S2000 when we begin lap 26. I push all lap long to catch the Amuse, but can never quite get in touch. Down the final straight the Amuse just powers away into the distance and leaves me sucking his exhaust!

At the end of the lap, 4 hours have been reached so I cross the finish line about 10 seconds behind the Amuse S2000 GT1, and take second place honors. My lap lap was my fastest lap, a 9:04, but it wasn't enough!

Post race notes: the Ford Focus RS does quite well at the 'Ring. It of course wears out its front tires, but I was getting decent laps for 4 1/2 laps, and the 5th lap was not entirely compromised. I want to re-run the race against the exact same lineup and find the 10 seconds, but alas, my Ford Focus now has only 229 horsepower, so I can't rerun the race with the same horsepower, I need another trip to the garage.

Enjoy the racing!
GTsail

I decided to give my Ford Focus RS another chance for some champagne, so I've given it a few upgrades and taken it back to the 'Ring for another go...

After the upgrades my Ford Focus RS '02 had the following specs:

Horsepower: 286
Weight: 1060
PPvalue: 475
Tires: Race Hard (these will be used throughout the race)

On the starting grid are the following competitors:
HPA FT565 Audi TT
RE Amemiya FD35 RX-7
Opera Performance 350Z
HKS CT230R
NISMO Fairlady Z Z-tune
RUF CTR2 '96
NISMO Skyline GTR R-tune
NISMO 380RS Super Leg
Opera Performance Gran Turismo 350Z
AEM S2000
Mine's BNR34 GTR N1 base

From the start I get dropped to 9th place. I take the apex thru turn # 1 and pass the NISMO 380RS. I then go around the outside of the NISMO GTR R-tune going thru turn # 2. I then out-accelerate the Opera Performance 350Z as we both exit turn # 5. When we get to Aremburg I'm able to drive around the outside of the RUF CTR2. On the exit from Wehrseifen I'm able to pass the NISMO Fairlady Z Z-tune. Up next is the RE Amemiya FD35 who gets passed going thru Ex-Muhle.

I give the 2nd place HKS CT230R a slight tap on its rear-bumper when he slows excessively in the Kleine-Karussel, but there isn't room to get past, so the HKS powers away towards Galgenkopf. As we start the run down the long straight I've pulled right up on the rear-bumper of the HKS CT230R again and get a good draft down the entire straight....hitting my rev limiter at 168mph a couple of times. Just before the Antoniusbuche overpass the RUF CTR2 and the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune both catch me, and blow past me, one on each side! When I cross the S/F line at the end of lap # 1 I see that I'm 9 seconds behind the leading HPA FT565 Audi.

Immediately as I begin lap # 2 I get passed by the trailing RE Amemiya RX-7, which drops me to 6th place in the race. I out-brake the RE Amemiya RX-7 going into turn # 1 and re-take 5th place. Going thru Aremburg for the 2nd time I drive around the outside of both the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune and the RUF CTR2. Next up is the HKS CT230R who I'm able to pass going thru the sweeping Drei-Fach Rechts. I'm now in 2nd place with a clear track ahead because the leading Audi is some 9 seconds up the road. Going down the long straight I get passed by the 3rd place RUF CTR2.

Just as I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 3 I get passed by both the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune and the HKS CT230R. The HPA Audi has a 11 second lead over me at this point. I brake very late for turn # 1 and re-pass both the HKS CT230R and the NISMO Fairlady, so I'm back in 3rd place again. The 2nd place RUF CT230R is passed when I drive around the outside of turn one on the Nordschleife track proper. Going down the long straight, I get passed by the RUF CTR2 and get dropped back to 3rd place.

As I begin lap # 4 I see that I'm 19 seconds behind the leading HPA Audi. Going thru the last left-hander on the GP circuit I'm able to pass the 2nd place RUF CTR2.

When I begin lap # 5 I get the news that the leading HPA Audi has a 22 second lead over me. A second later the 3rd place RUF CTR2 flashes by on my right side! and the 4th place NISMO Fairlady Z-tune flashes past on my left side! I out-brake and pass the RUF CTR2 in turn # 1. In turn # 3 I'm able to re-pass the NISMO Fairlady Z-tune. My tires are pretty shot by about half-way thru lap # 5, so I have to be extra careful not to overcook some of the turns towards the end of the lap. I follow the HPA Audi into the pits about 29 seconds in arrears. Just as I pit we get passed by the HKS CT230R who takes over the lead of the race since he's on a 6 lap tire stint. A few seconds later we also get passed by the NISMO 380RS Leggera and the RE Amemiya RX-7.

Just as I exit the pits, the AEM S2000 whistles past and drops me to 5th place. It takes me until turn # 5 before I'm able to re-pass the 4th place AEM S2000. At the first checkpoint on lap # 6 I see that I'm 26 seconds behind the leading HKS CT230R. At Kallenhard I catch and pass the RE Amemiya RX-7. I then catch and pass the NISMO 380RS going thru Wippermann.

When I cross the S/F line to end the lap, I see that I'm 15 seconds behind the leading HKS CT230R, who has just entered the pits. So by the time I get to turn one, I take over the lead of the race for the first time! At the first checkpoint on lap # 7 I see that I have a 14 second lead over the HPA FT565 Audi. The RE Amemiya is in 3rd, the HKS CT230R in in 4th, the RUF CTR2 is in 5th, and the Mine's BNR34 GTR is in 6th place. Lap # 7 goes well with clean air, so by the end I have a 15 second lead over the HPA FT565 Audi.

I have a minor off during lap # 8, so as I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 9 I only have a 10 second lead over the FT565 Audi.

At the start of lap # 10 my lead over the very strong FT565 Audi is only 5 seconds. My tires are pretty well used up during most of lap # 10, so I know its past time for another pitstop. The orange Audi catches me and power's past going down the long straight, so I get a decent draft down most of the straight. I just have to follow the FT565 Audi thru the Hohenrain esses because my tires are way too far gone to pull off any heroics. I follow the FT565 Audi into the pits and take on 50 liters of fuel. While we are in the pits we get passed by the HKS CT230R.

So when I exit the pits to begin lap # 11 I'm 10 seconds behind the HKS CT230R. The HPA FT565 Audi resumes the race in 3rd. The NISMO 380RS is in 4th and the AEM S200 is in 5th place. The Mine's BRN34 is in 6th, while the RUF CTR2 has fallen all the way to 7th place, which is quite surprising. During lap # 11, I'm able to narrow the gap to the leading HKS CT230R so by the end of the lap I'm only 2 seconds behind.

Lap # 12 should be the leading HKS's last lap of a 6 lap tire stint, so I expect to be able to catch and pass him once he begins to slow on his worn tires. I get a great run thru Flugplatz and Kottenborn so I'm right on the HKS's rear-bumper going into Aremburg. So when he slows, I drive around the ourside of the turn and take over the lead of the race again! Looking back at the track map it looks like the 3rd place HPA FT565 Audi is about 10 seconds behind us.

As I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 13, I have a 8 second lead over the FT565 Audi and see that the HKS CT230R has entered the pits. The RUF CTR2 is in 4th place and is about 60 seconds behind me.

As I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 14 I have a 5 second lead over the FT565 Audi and just as I enter turn one, the 2 hour mark is reached, so I'm half-way home! When I get to the long straight, the FT565 Audi is able to catch and pass me and gives me a speed boost once he comes past, so I'm able to re-pass the Audi going into the Hohenrain esses.

I have a 0.082 second lead at the end of the lap # 14, but immediately get passed by the Audi going up the S/F straight. I go deep into turn # 1, so I'm able to re-pass the FT565 Audi again and re-gain first place. On lap # 15 when I get to the Karussel the FT565 Audi has taken up residence on my rear-bumper. Its clear that I've pushed my tires too hard and can no longer carry any speed thru the turns. The Audi powers past my Ford Focus going down the long straight, so I get a decent draft for the rest of the lap, and then follow the Audi into the pits for some much needed tires. With only 20 liters of fuel remaining, I take on 40 liters of additional fuel.

I beat the FT565 Audi out of the pits and take over the lead of the race again! I make a note to myself that I should take my pit crew out to dinnner for all the excellent pit stops during the race, since time-and-time-again they save me gobs of time in the pits! At the first checkpoint on lap # 16 I see that I have a 10 second lead over the HKS CT230R. The HPA FT565 Audi is in 3rd and the Mine's BNR34 is in 4th place. The RUF CTR2 has fallen back to 5th place.

At the beginning of lap # 17 I have a 16 second lead over the HKS CT230R.

At the beginning of lap # 18 I have a 21 second lead over the FT565 Audi, who has demoted the HKS CT230R to 3rd place after a drafting duel down the long straight.

The HPA Audi is only 17 seconds behind me at the beginning of lap # 19. Since I expect that I will only need to drive 7 more laps, I decide to split the remaining laps with my pit stops, so I go ahead and pit for new tires at the end of the lap. After 9 seconds the FT565 Audi streams on by and drops me to second place.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 20 I see that the leading FT565 Audi has a 25 second lead over me. The 3rd place RUF CTR2 is about 27 seconds behind me. By the T11 checkpoint I have reduced the Audi's lead to about 15 seconds. At the end of the lap I see that the FT565 Audi has pitted, so when I begin lap # 21 I re-take the lead of the race.

At the 2nd checkpoint on lap # 21, I get the news that I have a 56 second lead over the FT565 Audi.

At the beginning of lap # 22 I see that I have a 59 second lead over the FT565 Audi. As I drive down the long straight I can see that I'm about to catch the 12th place car. I wonder who it might be. When I get to the end of the lap I see that the 12th place car has entered the pits, so I'm un-able to tell which car it might be.

At the beginning of lap # 23, I see that I have a 48 second lead over the FT565 Audi. Sticking with my plan, I pit at the end of the lap for 20 more liters of fuel and some new RH tires.

I don't need very much fuel, so my pit stop is pretty quick. I leave the pits before the 2nd place FT565 Audi can catch up with me, but my lead has shrunk to 3.5 seconds.

At the beginning of lap # 25 I see that I have a 7 second lead over the FT565 Audi.

When I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 26, I see that there are 9 minutes and 7 seconds left before the 4 hour mark. I also see that the 11th place car is in the pits, but because the game does not tell us when each AI pits, I remain in the dark as to who it might be.

I head off on lap # 26 and can see that the FT565 Audi has pitted one final time. He was about 15 seconds behind me in the Ford Focus. The FT565 Audi has a very long pit stop because by the 2nd checkpoint on lap # 26 my lead has grown to 1 minute and 24 seconds!

After 4 hours and 2 seconds my Ford Focus drives across the Finish line and takes the win!

Great fun! The Focus RS does quite well and doesn't use up its front tires too badly. You just have to watch them so you don't forget to pit after 5 laps.

After the race I check the my Ford's specs and see that the horsepower is down to 272 and the PPvalue is now 468.

Enjoy the racing!
GTsail

Taking a look at Famine's Leaderboard above, I see that there are few entry's with race hard tires so I have given this another go.

I have gone back to my garage and had my pit crew give my Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A FD '02 an overhaul, and had the specs changed to the following:
HP: 299
Weight: 1300kg
Wing: @ 5
PP value is: 470
Tires: only used race hards

After a nice race mainly against the RUF CTR2 '96, I have chaulked up another 'Ring win and head back to the Winners Circle for some champagne.

Detailed race write-up is linked here:https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=5543294#post5543294

Enjoy the racing!
GTsail

4 Hours of Nurburgring - Friday June 24th

Encouraged by GTSail's and Famine's reports on their experience with the 4 Hours I was really excited to finally do the event. They've used mostly Racing tire compounds so I wanted to give it a go with Sports tires, Sports Hard to be exact. So I set off building a car pretty evenly matched with the competition while using a much harder compound to try and counter act the cornering ability, or lack there of, of the ai.

What I came up with was an Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro with 525 HP, weighing 1350 kg's and coming in around 570 pp. I used a setup from JG's Tune Shop and my test resulted in laps just above the 9 minute mark so I deemed it race worthy. I did put ballast in the car and moved it to the front to try and balance the weight some more (47, 53).

Here is the JG Tune Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro



Starting Lineup (First Reset)
HPA FT565 Twin Turbo Audi TT
Mine's BNR34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec N1 Base
Amuse S2000 GT1
Nismo 400R '96
HPA Stage II R32
HKS CT230R
JG Tune Audi R8 5.2 FSI quattro '09
Nismo Skyline GT-R R-Tune R34
NISMO Fairlady Z Z-tune
Mine's BNR34 Skyline GT-R N1 Base '06
Nissan Gran Turismo Skyline GT-R '01
NISMO 380RS Super Leg

Lap 1 - 1st - 9:10.284
I get a really good start off the line and pass two cars straight away. Down into turn one a couple of the other cars got tangled on the outside leaving room for me to dive deep into one and I come out of there the leader. The Amuse S2000 stayed right with me through the GP Strecke and once we get on the Nordschleife we put a few car lengths between us and the rest of the field. A slip up in Bergwerk (@#$@) allowed the S2000 to jump ahead of me but it was short lived as I was able to get around him keeping the power down through Kesselchen. The S2000 wouldn't back down however staying with me through Pflanzgarten until I could pull a few car lengths staying flat through the next section of s-turns. I ran wide through the first part of Schwalbenschwanz and he snuck in front just to get passed back on the concrete exit. When I went by him he checked up a bit causing the now close Audi TT to go wide and catch some grass, giving me some time to get on the straight without them catching my draft. The Audi TT however was able to draft the S2000 and brought the Mine's V-Spec with it and the Mine's V-Spec passed the Audi for 2nd before Tiergarten.

Lap 2 - 1st - 9:09.170
The battle for 2nd second became a 4 way affair in the GP Stecke adding the Fairlady Z to the mix. Good news for me as I was clean through Kallenhard with about an 8 car length advantage. As soon as I start to rest I brake too late down into Wehrseifen and catch the barrier. The Mine's V-Spec was able to get around and almost the TT as well but I was able to get the power down in time. Side-by-Side with the V-Spec on the run up to Bergwerk he came up and touch my door panel at which point I should have let off but the frustration of my off's got to me and cause another one. On entry to Bergwek I had the outside line and apparently he wanted it, pushing me off and I tagged the gaurdrail. Off goes the V-Spec and I try to get back on the tarmac as the Audi slips by. I pull the belts tight knowing I had the advantage through K&K, then I fly by the Audi up through the s-turns and out brake the V-Spec on the lead up to Klastetal. "Breathe" I said trying to will myself to regain my composure, "this is a 4 hour race." I was clean for the rest of the lap but my focus wasn't quite yet restored.

Lap 3 - 1st - 9:13.464
About this time my long time co-pilot dating back to the original GT showed up and I started to regain my focus. I ran clean up till Bergwerk (#$%#@) but it was only a slight off and still had a few car lengths lead on the Audi. He was however close enough to draft and pass me down the straight, but down the hill I was able to regain the lead. The top 10 cars were all on the front straight at the same time and I crossed the line with under a second lead. My front tires were more than half way gone and even though it was the cleanest lap so far it wasn't the fastest.

Lap 4 - 8th - 9:26.260
The GP Strecke seemed to be the toughest part of the track for my Audi with less grip than the rest of the field and I was passed by the TT into the 3rd turn. I fought with the Fairlady all the way until we got onto the Nordschleife but was able to keep in front of him. I bit it hard into Adenauer-Forst falling back to 6th and really beating up the car and what rubber I had left. Certainly not going to make it another lap on these tires. I was able to keep in front of the CT230R for 6th and made it to the pits for a driver change, new rubber and fuel.

Lap 5 - 4th - 9:49.153
My co-pilot "Jesus" Pete jumped in and usually we're about 1 tire grade difference in speed so I put him on Sport Soft tires, the race being on Green Hell and all. I sit back and try to calm myself down after a very disappointing run and he drives off. We come out of the pits in 11th and he knows he has some work to do. He catches the GT Skyline and battles with him till Aremberg where he puts a good distance between them. A bit sloppy but finally we're clean through Bergwerk and the Skyline is nowhere in sight. The high speed section before Schwalbenschwanz was an adventure catching some grass and going around. As we cross the line most of the field is pitting so we jump up to 4th.

Lap 6 - 3rd - 9:13.110
Lap six was clean up until Wippermann when the 3rd place S2000 was insight. It seemed like he started to push more and more to track him down and went off. He was able to get by him at Brunchenn but spun a few seconds later and the Audi TT came out of nowhere to close down on his tail. Pflanzgarten was clean and both he and the TT got by the S2000 for good with the Audi sticking to him down the front straight.

Lap 7 - 9th - 9:52.718
We passed two people in the pits to jump into 1st place. The tires aren't looking like they'll last 2 more laps so I told him to use them up to keep ahead of the TT and that was a mistake. Late braking into turn 1 caused a slight off but he did hang onto the position. Clean until Bergwerk (@#$%) which cause a spin and we fell to 4th with the Audi and two skylines jumping ahead. From there we did ok until Gatgenkopt where a spin dropped us to 6th and ate up the rest of our tires. Another spin down the hill at Tiergarten dropped us to 8th and we had to pit as the tires were gone.

Lap 8 - 10th - 9:29.016
I took the wheel in the pits and slapped on sports soft tires to try and make up some time. The pit strategy is going all to hell so I figured I could at least make up some track position. I come out of the pits in 11th and the GT Skyline is in sight by the time I get off the GP Strecke. I follow him through Hocheichen and make an outside pass through Quiddelbacher-Hohe. The car feels really sticky with the Sports Soft rubber on it and I start getting into a groove. Clean through Bergwerk for what feels like the first time this race and fly up through K&K. About 10 mph faster through the Karussell with these babies! Clean the rest of the way till Galgenkopt where I came off slightly but recovered and blasted through Dottinger-Hohe. Still in 10th as I cross the line but it looks like all of the competition is on the GP Streke so they are within 1:30.

Lap 9 - 10th - 8:46.378
I get through the GP-Strecke rather quickly in about 1:30 and continue the quick pace onto the Nordschleife. Clean through Bergwerk and I close the gap down considerably up K&K. I can see them once I hit the straight to the Karussell not in reach yet though. Slight off on the exit of Pflanzgarten slows me but right back on and still can see them as I hit the mini Karussell. A quick exit and I see 4 cars ahead of me on the straight but not close enough to draft them. Next lap I'll get 'em.

Lap 10 - 5th - 8:54.897
As soon as we hit the Nordschleife I'm on the 380 Super Leg's tail. By him through Hatzenbach and right on the HPA R32. Dust him through Hocheichen. The Nismo is in sight too and he gives me an opening on Quiddelbacher-Hohe. 7th place, I'm flying and feeling confident. The Amuse is next but I can't see him until Ex-muhle. Fly up the first K and pass him on the lead up to the second. Clean track for now as it looks like the next cars I'll pass will be in the pits. Had to slow quite a bit through Eschbach as all that flying has seem to taken the grip away but I need to make it another lap on this set. The Fairlady must have had an incident on track because I pass him on Dottinger-Hohe. 5th place.

Lap 11 - 3rd - 9:11.950
3 of the leaders were in the pits so I land in second. The CT230R is ahead and he's just barely out of sight. Our other co-pilot from the 4-Hour Roadster event showed up and asked to join in on the fun so we planned on pitting this next lap and getting him some seat time. "Pops" is not an experienced driver and he's only completed 3 laps on the ring but he's part of the team that lead us to victory at Tsukuba. Back on track I start to see the tail lights of the CT230R through K&K but he's not in reach. I try to stay with him through Hohe-Acht and Wippermann but the grip is gone. Clean through the rest but not making time on the CT230R. As I go to enter the pits I catch the pit wall and bang up the car ever more... So disappointing after such a great stint. I hit the pits in 3rd and select Racing Softs for Pops and put in a half a tank of fuel for a quick 3 lap stint. I get out and pops is nowhere to be found! "Jesus" I yell, "take the wheel!"

Lap 12 - 3rd - 9:29.034
Jesus pulls out of the pits in 7th place and has the super soft tires on. Wasn't planned that way, but hey we should make some headway. The GP-Strecke is clean and by Quiddelbacher-Hohe we can see one of the Mine's cars. In fact once we get to Wehrsefien we realize it's both Mine's cars. He gets by the first one on exit and the second at Ex-Muhle. Slight off at Bergwerk barely slows him on super softs and he has the Amuse 380 in sight by the top of Klostertal. A great exit and good braking into the Karussell allows him to get by the 380 and next up his is teammate in the Amuse S2000 who gets dispatched by Wippermann. The Audi TT is in sight now and it looks like he might be close enough to draft him through Dottinger-Hohe, but he's just out of reach once he gets there.

Lap 13 - 1st - 8:44.764
The TT is 5 tenths of a second ahead and the lead CT230R is in the pits so this is a battle for the lead! Jesus out brakes the TT to the outside and passes him in turn 1. For the first time in a while the JG Tune Audi is in front. Except for an off at Bergwerk and a tag of the wall at Galgenkopf it was a clean, fast lap which is what we needed. The lead over the TT is 17 seconds.

Lap 14 - 1st - 8:42.397
Jesus slides through the first turn after braking late but gets through the rest of the GP-Strecke clean. Pretty uneventful round with no traffic in sight except for a small off at the exit of Klostertal. Another fast lap from Jesus and the gap over the TT is now 36 seconds.

Lap 15 - 10th - 12:26.356
GP-Strecke was clean but the Nordschleife started to become an adventure with the tires starting to show some wear. That wasn't our biggest problem though. "Brian!" Jesus said as he entered Adenauer-Forst. "We're going to run out of GAS!" Crap. I had planned on Pops taking a 3 lap stint and only filled half a tank of fuel and with the last minute confusion on who was getting in the car I didn't think about it. Do what you can was all I said to him but by the Karussell we were limping back to the pits at 50 mph...By Pflanzgarten the gap over the TT was gone. 4 more passed by Schwalbenschwanz and 4 more down the straight. By the time we reached the pits we were in 10th.

Laps 16, 17, 18 - 11th - 11:43.6390, 10:27.527, 11:05.462
Pops got in during the pit stop and we all sat and waiting while a full fuel load went into the car taking no chances... 1:12 later and the adventure began. Pops, bless his heart, did what he could but it wasn't fast and it wasn't clean. His best lap at the ring (in this config) is 11 minutes in the BMW I've been prepping and he said this car was no where near as good. It showed as he clipped the grass and spun on several occasions. If our R8 wasn't a wreck in the first place it certainly was after. Valuable seat time none the less.

Lap 19 - 11th - 8:38.590
There was plenty of life on the tires but when Pops put it in the ditch in turn one and we were down by 8 minutes we paused it and pulled him out of the car. I had 1 hour and 5 minutes to try and make up the time but I knew if I wanted to get close I'd have to push. I put the hammer down and immediately started seeing large gains but I felt uncomfortable because of the super sticky rubber. 2-3 and 4 seconds I was gaining per sector but we had 7 and a half laps left on tires that could probably only go another lap or 2. I decided to get as much out of them as I could and pit twice. This endurance race just turned into a sprint. The gap that was 7:56 was down to 7:17.

Lap 20 - 11th - 8:34.720
Still not a soul in sight as I tried to make up the ground lost. I had one big off through Adenauer-Forst but kept in the pedal through the grass. With the sticky rubber I was able to hit 190 mph on the base of Tiergarten. The gap as I entered the pits for tires and fuel was 6:42. The math on this did not look too favorable.

Lap 21 - 11th - 8:46.120
The GT Skyline was the car ahead of me but he was still a sector ahead so I pushed on with clean track. Taking metzgerfeld at 125 mph. 165mph up through K&K. Gaining about 5 seconds per sector on the Skyline but still 30 seconds back at sector 12. At the line I was 5:34 back of the leader and 23 seconds back of 10th.

Lap 22 - 10th - 8:10.200
By the end of sector 4 I was 10 seconds back of the skyline and he was in sight at Aremberg. I was in 10th before Metzgerfeld. The track was again lonely as the other 9 cars were within 2:15 of each other after 3 hours and 24 minutes, about 4 sectors ahead of me to 9th. Blistering lap and boy would I need more of that. Gap was 4:37.

Lap 23 - 10th - 8:30.229
I'm absolutely chewing up the front tires but I knew I'd have to pit again anyway. Gap after the lap was 4:00.

Lap 24 - 10th - 8:47.939
Lost 30 seconds in the pits so it's back up to 4:30. I think I took on too much fuel but considering how this race has gone... I'd gained 14 seconds by sector 5. Another 22 seconds by sector 10. Still nothing but an empty track and the sound of my tires squealing. At the line the gap is down to 3:44 and I really don't like this math.

Lap 25 - 9th - 8:20.148
Two laps left and they all will have to pit. More pushing this lap and we'll see what happens. 19 seconds gained in the first 5 sectors. Sector 6 I gained 3 seconds, then I lost it in sector 7 and gained 0. Out of the karussell I can see I'm closing in on 9th place. 13 seconds gained in sectors 8,9,10. I draft by the Amuse 380 on the straight and cross the line in 9th, 2:55 back. Crap.

Lap 26 - 4th - 8:27.009
A lot of people are pitting so I'm into 6th by turn one. There are two other cars on the GP Strecke so they're in striking distance but the 3 leaders are checked out. By Dottinger-Hohe I'm in 4th and depressed. Our beat up Audi R8 finishes 4th. 1:14 seconds behind the leader at 4:03:10.376.




Race Summary
Well what started as a single man attempt turned into a team event and we obviously were not prepared for that. Looking back there were so many things we could have done differently to close the gap at the end, namely put enough fuel in the car. We did get everyone some seat time at the Green Hell which is a plus for the future and I got to do an extended session with the R8 to see how the tire/fuel consumption is so I can better plan my lone attempt. Disappointing yes, but pressing this car the last hour was exhilarating. I got out of the race seat and felt quite a bit of adrenaline. Sounds like mission accomplished for a night of racing

The Mazda RX-7 that I just used above at the 'Ring is very strong.

So I immediately decided to give it a second chance! I take a short break and then run another 4 hour race without exiting the track, so I could run against the exact same competitors.

I change my Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A FD '02 specs to the following:

Horsepower: 285
Weight: 1302kg (32kg of ballast was added)
PP value: 465
Wing: at 5
Tires: Race hard tires used throughout race

After a very nice and competitive race, my Mazda RX-7 takes the win by 65 seconds over the RUF CTR2. I have a short write-up of this race as well that I will add to my thread when I get the chance. Here is the link to my detailed post: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=5562320#post5562320


For reference about my first run with the Mazda on RH tires, see my earlier post:

GTsail290

....
my Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A FD '02 an overhaul, and had the specs changed to the following:
HP: 299
Weight: 1300kg
Wing: @ 5
PP value is: 470
Tires: only used race hards

Detailed race write-up is linked here:https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=5543294#post5543294

Click to expand...

Enjoy the racing!
GTsail

Continuing on with my 'Ring attempts with race hard tires, I decide that its time to try a 4WD vehicle. I check my garage, and see a slightly used Nissan Skyline GTR Vspec II Nur R34 '02. I have my pit crew give it some attention, so after some fine-tuning it has the following spec's:

Horsepower: 335
Weight: 1500kg (wgt reduction then added back some ballast)
PP value: 475
Tires: race hards (used throughout the race)

Up against the usual suspects, I have a very close race against a very strong RUF CTR2 '96. So strong is this RUF, that I have to employ some late race grass-cutting to manage the win. After 4 hours and 44 seconds, I was able to win by 4 seconds! The Nissan Skyline is a decent car to drive, its just that in my hands, I found it a little slow to accelerate with all the weight that it carries.

Here's the link to my detailed report:https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?p=5581253#post5581253

Enjoy the racing!
GTsail

👍 Brilliant thread. I won't bother quoting my IS-F RM stats though but this thread inspired me to run the 4 hours again with a much lower PP car!

Is the general consensus of opinion that if there is a Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo in the race it's pointless to bother an attempt, due to the car being so much faster than any other in the race?

(the car I'm intending to use is a S2000 '06 modified to around 500PP on Racing Hard tyres)

Tiddy

Is the general consensus of opinion that if there is a Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo in the race it's pointless to bother an attempt, due to the car being so much faster than any other in the race?

(the car I'm intending to use is a S2000 '06 modified to around 500PP on Racing Hard tyres)

Click to expand...

I'd say yes, and it's not only the GT1 Turbo the Audi R8 LMS is a beast as well. For my first two attempts I used the 1st reset lineup which is a pretty close grouping of cars aside from the bottom two.

To you other racers, have you found another lineup that produced a closer grouping than the 1st reset?

Tiddy

Is the general consensus of opinion that if there is a Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo in the race it's pointless to bother an attempt, due to the car being so much faster than any other in the race?
....

Click to expand...

Anytime the Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo shows up I've been exiting the race and re-starting to get a different line-up.

Its not that the Turbo can't be beaten, its just that it is faster than the other AI cars, so your race will only be against it.

I have found that the races are much more fun if many of the AI cars are fairly equal.

I have found the following cars to be the strongest, and fairly equal:
Amuse S2000 GT1
HKS CT230R
HPA FT565 Audi TT
Mine's BNR34 Skyline GTR N1 base
NISMO Fairlady Z Z-tune
RUF CTR2 '96

The above list is in no particular order, because their speed does vary a little. Usually the Amuse S2000 GT1 will fall away and cease to be a threat about half-way thru the race, but in one of my races it ended up being 2nd, so there is a bit of variation from race to race in the AI's speed during this endurance race.

The perennial back-markers are the following:
Mine's Lancer Evolution VI '00
NISMO 400R '96
Nissan Option Stream Z
Opera Performance Gran Turismo 350Z RS
RUF CTR Yellow Bird

And there is a good chance that you will lap one or more of these slower AI cars during the race. The RUF Yellow Bird is very fast and will blow your doors off going down the long straight. However, everywhere else the Yellow Bird drives like he's on his iphone texting, and isn't watching where he's going, and doesn't care if he smokes his tires, so he's quite entertaining to watch (hopefully in your mirrors, because if he's in front of you, he will end up perpendicular to the track, and you will have to use some of your race winnings to repair the damage to the Yellow Bird's doors, that will have been caused by your front bumper).

Good luck,
GTsail

Ok so I'm about to embark upon my race, I wont have time to finish it in one night (it's already 10:45pm) but i'll update the post as and when I complete sufficient laps and such.

The car I will be using is a 2006 Honda S2000 (modified to 495PP on RH tyres, 340Bhp/1060Kg)
This is my first attempt at the race and as such I've chosen what I believe to be a rather good safe bet for a decent result

The AI I'm facing are:
Mines Nissan Skyline BNR34 '00
HPA Audi TT
Amuse S2000 GT1 '04
Nismo 400R
VW Golf R32 HPA Stage II
HKS CT230R '08
Nissan Skyline GT-R R tune '99 (I love this car so I'm glad I'm up against it)
Nissan Fairlady Z Z-tune '03
Nissan Skyline BNR34 N1 base '06
GT Skyline GT-R '01
Nismo 380RS Super Leggera

First thoughts - Wow I'm up against a lot of Nissan's here

Now onto the race, I'll update after each lap (or two)

Lap1:

The start goes well with me immediately jumping up a few positions through the complex, I proceed to make it up past the HKS Evo into 5th before a scary moment through the double left at Metzgesfield which drops me behind him. I re-overtake to move back into 5th at Wehrseifen hairpin. From there on I stay ahead through past karussell and gain up to the Golf R32 in 4th place, I make a pass at mini karussell before an absolutely frightening moment at Gaigenkopf where the S2000 is completely sideways before brushing a wall with the front. I get back going again but I drop to 10th on Dottinger-Hohe as the multitude of Skyline's and the HKS Evo fly past (partly due to an inherent speed disadvantage and also to my 6th gear being too short ), I manage to repass a few cars before the startline to finish the lap 7th and a full 17 seconds down on the lead car

Lap2:

Bloody awful lap, tipped into a spin at Flugplatz by the HKS Evo, another 2 spins elsewhere, dropped to 10th place 35 seconds down at the end of the lap, hopefully the third lap will be the beginning of a comeback.

Lap3:

A near perfect lap, I pass the GT-R R Tune midway through the lap, only a small scary moment under braking for the final complex. The car is beginning to understeer upon corner entry and is very twitchy under braking. The gap to the lead is now 36 seconds, although I had it down to 33 before Dottinger-Hohe

Lap4:

Another good lap, I catch the Amuse 380RS and pass him at the end of the lap, the gap to the leader reached as low as 29 seconds before rising to 33 by the line again so a total gain of 3 seconds that lap, I'm unsure as to do a 5 lap or 6 lap stint on these tyres. As of writing this the Amuse 380RS is currently lining me up for a pass into the first corner

Lap5:

These tyres are gone! I finish the lap after two spins after good early progress and nearly catching the Golf, however the tyres are just ruined by the end of the lap, so I finish a full 50 seconds down on the lead. The pitstop has managed to bring me out 6th though after I elected to take tyres only since I had over a half tank left

Lap6:

I start the lap with a 1m 30s deficit to the leader although it becomes apparent he's gone too far on his tyres, by the end of the lap after a spin I managed to drag the gap down to 50s which is equal to the pre-pitstop gap, I think this is going well for me, I'm currently into 3rd place 55minutes in

Lap7:

A fun lap that see's me catch and pass the Mines R34 N1 just before the Dottinger-Hohe, I manage to keep him behind me to the line and cross a mere 14 seconds behind the lead car which I presume is the HPA TT. I'm beginning to think I have too much car for this event as I posted a 8:49.729 on this lap which is far quicker than I expected to be going. We'll see how this pans out but it's looking good for a victory as it stands 1 hour and 4 minutes in. Anyway, I'm off to bed for the night but I'll continue this tomorrow

Lap8:

An eventful return to the race with a full 360 spin at Hatzenbach followed by numerous offs around the lap, I keep my 2nd place with the Mines R34 close behind but lose 8 seconds to the leader so the gap across the line is 22 seconds. I was gaining but the spin and a scary moment in the final corner drop me further back.

Lap9:

After a good lap a what would be race ending crash occurs just after Tiergarten and pretty much destroys the back of the poor S2000. It's starting to look a bit beaten up now although this was my biggest crash of the race so far. I cross the line 22 seconds behind the leader

Lap10:

The tyres hang on much better than expected and both me and the HPA TT pit at the end of the lap, I'm pretty sure I closed in but I'm not sure by how much. A slow stop ensues though as the wheel gives me a bit of hassle selecting the 'ok' option after I chose to put in 50 litres of fuel. I think 50 is too much but I was running out of time to select so I chose a safe option even though I know I could have probably managed with taking only 40. I leave the pits in 3rd position overtaking the HPA TT that is still filling its tank to the brim, I'm not sure of the two cars ahead although I believe one to be the Amuse S2000.

Lap11:

An opportunity to make a big gain is thrown away due to an unusual spin leading up to the Karussell the gap at the end of the lap is 32 seconds to the lead, I presume the Amuse S2000 will enter the pits at the end of the next lap and I may take the lead for the first time in the race, although the TT is close behind me.

Lap12:

I take 2nd from the Amuse S2000 just after the Karussell and the lead at mini Karussell from the CT230R, there tyres are clearly gone by this stage and I have the lead for the first time as I cross the line. The time I post crossing the line is a 8:50.942 which makes me realise I'm correct in that this car is too much for this race even if it can be a handful on old tyres. I'm 90% sure I'm going to win this one now but I'll keep up the report none the less. I'm likely going to detune the car next race and possibly try some Sport Softs for a closer race. This race has been pretty close so far though although most of that is down to error on my part (it's been a while since I've played GT and this is my first race back) as a lot of accidents and spins have happened.

Lap13:

I finish the lap with a 13 second lead with another two laps until my pitstop, the race is 13 seconds off the 2 hour mark now so I reckon a 26 lap race is going to unfold. I predict a relatively boring race from here on but we'll see.

Lap14:

I cross the line once again with a 13 second lead despite a minor tank slapper before the mini Karussell. Pit in at the end of the next lap

Lap15:

Pit in at the end of the lap with a around 15 second lead. I take on 35 litres of fuel so I have 50 in total, I reckon I can manage a 5 lap stint with 45 but I took on extra just in case. I'm also coming out of the pits to retake my lead

Lap16:

I finish the lap with a 43 seconds lead, I think it's just more of the same until my last stop on Lap 20 where I'll attempt a 6 lap stint to the end.

Lap17:

Quite boring, normal average lap and the gap increases slightly, that's about it.

Lap18:

More of the same.

Lap19:

I lap the Nismo 400R and the gap stretches to 1minute +

Lap20:

Uneventful, I pit at the end of the lap filling the tank to 66 litres which should be enough to not take fuel at my final stop and just have a quick tyre change. I think the last lap will be lap 27

Lap21:

This is beginning to get slightly monotonous although the S2000 is a fun car to drive, 46 minutes remain as I cross the line

Lap22,23,24 & 25

All go smoothly my lead is 1:30 as I enter the pits for the last time to take on tyres. 9 mins and 56 seconds remain as I leave the pits, I hope that with my lead advantage I can slow down and only complete one more lap to take the win

Lap26:

I finish the race in the lead 3 seconds after the timer expires

The 2nd place car was the HPA Audi TT a full 2 minutes behind. I'm sorry I didn't manage to get a full run down of the AI I enjoyed this race although the S2000 is far too much car for the race with this much power although it's quite a handful on old tyres. A good car to use though if you're wanting a challenge yet still have enough in hand to win the race

Awesome thread! I loved reading the (insane0 race with the purple S2000 I'm nearing the 4hour race myself, (I'm at Level 28 A-Spec and you need to be 35), but when I do I'll consider using a weaker car (and maybe even writing about it)! How would an unmodified (other than with Racing Hard/Medium/Soft Tyres) 600BHP Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR '10 fare in this race? i assume it may just end up being an overkill? As for other Endurance races, here's how they went:

Grand Valley 300km
Ferrari 512BB '76 unmodified other than Racing Medium Tyres.
Final Result - 1st after 2h16m, 1 Lap ahead

4H Tsubuka
Mazda MX-5 '07 unmodified other than Racing Hard Tyres
Final Result - 1st after 203 Laps, 2 Laps ahead

200 miles of Laguna Seca
Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR '10 unmodified other than Racing Hard Tyre
Final Result - 1st after 2h49m, 1 Lap ahead

I therefore assume the Viper would be overkill, so any other suggestions? I'd prefer a Premium car so I can use more views to make it more interesting and realistic.

Finished my race with the S2000 full report above.

What is a good average lap time for this race? I tried with a Ferrari 512BB unmodified with RH Tyres and got 10:15, then with a Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR unmodified in about 9:45, then with a Honda EPSON NSX (GT500 car) in about 9:00. I'm not great at Nurburgring, so I'd like a good average benchmark for a lap time so I can decide on my vehicle. I'm thinking 9:00-9:15 is a good benchmark in which case I'd need to use the Honda, but I fear that may be overkill.

bonobo4

What is a good average lap time for this race?

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Since most of the AI will run 26 laps during this 4 hour race, to beat them you will need to have an average lap time (including pit stops) of 9 minutes and 14 seconds (4x60=240/26=9.23, convert 9.23 to minutes and get 9min 14sec lap times).

Generally, this race requires either 4 or 5 pits stops, and these pit stops will cost you about 3 1/2 minutes, so taking this into consideration, your car must be capable of running average lap times of 9 minutes and 6 seconds when you are not pitting (4x60=240-3.5=236.5/26=9.1, convert 9.1 to minutes and get 9min 6sec lap times).

So if during testing/practice, your car runs less than 9 minute laps on the 'Ring, your car will be too strong to have a close race!

Good luck!
GTsail

Thanks for the help. This is what I feared. I either use a car that is too powerful (the Honda) or a car too slow (the Viper). I'm curious as to how the jaguar XJ13 would fare. Yes, it is a top-tier race car, but it is also from 1966, but even so I feel that'd be too powerful. 9:06 is tough for me, I'm no Ring master. I can do a clean(ish) lap, but it's usually too slow (AMG challenges are very hard, I only just got Silvers on all parts of each tier, let alone Golds).

I tried building a car similar to the ai's and then choose some tires that allowed me to compete with them and then fine tune the hp/weight from there. It proved to be a good place to start and you can decrease the pp each time around to push yourself!

With silver times try something near their hp/weight/pp tune it and put sports softs on it. If it's too much drop to sport mediums.

bonobo4

What is a good average lap time for this race? I tried with a Ferrari 512BB unmodified with RH Tyres and got 10:15, then with a Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR unmodified in about 9:45, then with a Honda EPSON NSX (GT500 car) in about 9:00. I'm not great at Nurburgring, so I'd like a good average benchmark for a lap time so I can decide on my vehicle. I'm thinking 9:00-9:15 is a good benchmark in which case I'd need to use the Honda, but I fear that may be overkill.

Click to expand...

The Ferrari is a bit of a handful, I found it rather tricky to save slides with a DS3 because of the snap back. So maybe not the ideal car for a 4 hour race to start with.

If you feel comfortable with the Honda GT500, go for it. You can always downgrade tyres if you feel you are gaining too much time on the AI during pit stops.

ItsHim

The Ferrari is a bit of a handful, I found it rather tricky to save slides with a DS3 because of the snap back. So maybe not the ideal car for a 4 hour race to start with.

If you feel comfortable with the Honda GT500, go for it. You can always downgrade tyres if you feel you are gaining too much time on the AI during pit stops.

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I love driving the Ferrari, but I know it won't win this race, nor come close. The Honda may be overkill, but I can always reduce power/increase weight. I don't want to use anything other than RH Tyres for endurances to reduce lost pit stop time.

As an aside, I just won the Indy500 and am now Level 30, I tried the Vettel challenge and the X1 is insanely hard to drive, any tips? (I'm not using it for racing if I get it).

bonobo4

I don't want to use anything other than RH Tyres for endurances to reduce lost pit stop time.

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It doesn't really work as well as you'd think. The tires seem to wear pretty similarly across the different grades, the only difference being the amount of consistent lap times and the grip. So I've started viewing tires strictly as a handicapping strategy. For instance for my friend to be as quick as me he needs to have a tire 1-2 grades better. For instance me on sports hard and him on sport soft.

Bri-Y

It doesn't really work as well as you'd think. The tires seem to wear pretty similarly across the different grades, the only difference being the amount of consistent lap times and the grip. So I've started viewing tires strictly as a handicapping strategy. For instance for my friend to be as quick as me he needs to have a tire 1-2 grades better. For instance me on sports hard and him on sport soft.

Click to expand...

Are you saying then that (for this race at least) I should just use Soft Racing Tyres?

Hi all,

I would like this post to be a race report however for that I need some advice.

The car of my choice is Ferrari F430.

Tuning I used was:

- racing gearbox for better acceleration;
- engine tuning lvl1 for more smooth acceleration (or this is just placebo...)
- racing soft tries

333BHP and 1450kg which would give me #5 in HP/1kkg leaderboard

The car with this setup goes perfectly around the ring.

However there are two "small" issues:

First - tires wear...

LAP1: 9'04.xxx
LAP2: 8.50.xxx
LAP3: 8.57.xxx
LAP4: 9.17.xxx (around)
LAP5: 10'.00.xxx - with entering pit but I did not know where the pits are! and missed it which cost me about 20s

Lap times after LAP2 might have even been longer I don't remember them exactly.
The issue is that with such a tires wear I would need to PIT in every 4 laps ... - 6PIT stops ?
Is this a normal tire wear for RS tires in this race ? - front tires were at 0% after 2min in LAP5 and rear tires were at about 30% or 40% if I remember correctly.

The second issue is fuel consumption - I used 34liters in 5 laps - seams quite an amount for only 5laps doesn't it ?

I am thinking about 3 solutions:

1. Less weight and less power to keep the power/weight ratio - this way i might get less fuel consumption and less tire wear ?
2. Raw power tuning and PIT in every 4 laps.
3. Changing car to something 4x4 - to get more equal and possibly less tires wear - I have my favourite yellow R34 waiting for me...

Which solution would you recommend ? - any other ideas ? - would suspension and other tuning help my F430 with its issues ?

The issue is that with such a tires wear I would need to PIT in every 4 laps ... - 6PIT stops ?
Is this a normal tire wear for RS tires in this race ? - front tires were at 0% after 2min in LAP5 and rear tires were at about 30% or 40% if I remember correctly.

The second issue is fuel consumption - I used 34liters in 5 laps - seams quite an amount for only 5laps doesn't it ?

Click to expand...

Pitting every 4 Laps seems about right for RS Tyres. Remember a lap is about 15.1 miles, so you're doing 60 miles which is about right for RS Tyres (RH do between 80 and 100). As for fuel, using 34 Litres in 5 Laps (75.5 miles) gives you 7.5 Gallons per 75.5 miles, or 10MPG. This is great, as I find many of my cars do around 6MPG, with an MX5 at Tsubuka doing 9MPG. So, you have no problems.

bonobo4

pitting every 4 laps seems about right for rs tyres. Remember a lap is about 15.1 miles, so you're doing 60 miles which is about right for rs tyres (rh do between 80 and 100). As for fuel, using 34 litres in 5 laps (75.5 miles) gives you 7.5 gallons per 75.5 miles, or 10mpg. This is great, as i find many of my cars do around 6mpg, with an mx5 at tsubuka doing 9mpg. So, you have no problems.

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So - are you saying I could win the race with current steup ?
This will be my first attempt so I would like to win it

I think you're definitely in with a shot. But who knows?