El Capitan 200 Miles OR It's No Laughing Matter Part II

Thanks to AMG for the track map
At the Nurb 4 hours, the competition were running at around 350-400hp thanks to PD tuning. This time, it's a step up - think an average of 500hp per car. As usual, as I roll into the pits, the jeers and catcalls start from the opposition. One arrogant bloke with slick-back hair in his V8 Vantage rolls up, pulls the window down, and tells me in no uncertain terms what he thinks of my '🤬 little hairdresser's piece of 🤬'. Where am I, Need for Speed Carbon? Interestingly, the only two guys I am worried about here, the TVR T350C and the Proto Motors Spirra, are the quietest ones. In fact neither say a word to me. They obviously have confidence in their machines, unlike the others, who have just proven that they are worried. However, I was worried too - with every underdog race you run you always run the risk of winding up with egg on your face. Nevertheless, I've seen many many people succeed in many different cars here, so I was quietly confident that my little S2000 could do it. It all depended on the squigy organic thing behind the wheel - me.
Starting lineup:
1. Proto Motors Spirra 4.6 V8
2. TVR T350C '03
3. TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97
4. Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96
5. Callaway C12 '03
6. Amuse S2000 Road Version '04

As the starting start grid lines up, the roar from the other cars is deafening - the various V8s shaking the earth as they rev up. My S2000 can only offer a 2.4L VTEC bark in response, but they'll soon find out that this car's bite is worse than it's bark. Here we go, 3,2,1, GO!
Segment 1: Lap 1-11



Slip past the Callaway on the uphill esses, and then, in one move, I cleave my way into 3nd on the downhill right after coming out of the tunnel! That section is a strong point for me, as the Artificial Idiots (A.I.) brake a lot more for this corner than they need to.



I then take the T350C into the Yosemite Lodge Hairpin at the bottom of the hill, and the Spirra falls going through the downhill left after the bridge checkpoint. This is looking easy...but I'm not being lulled into a false sense of security just yet, as the Spirra reminds me who's boss when it comes to power as he surges by on the start-finish straight, only to be retaken up at the downhill right after the tunnel.

I then set about putting a decent gap between myself and the Spirra whilst everybody's tyres are warming up - a decent 2.5 second margin by lap 5 is the best it will get, because now our tyres are warmed up and the Spirra has the red mist!

Fortunatly, I've also found some pace, and I'm dipping below 2 minutes for the first time. By lap 7 I nail a 1:58.528, and that is the last time I gain anything on the Spirra for now - he's ready to rumble now. Lap 8, he shadows me through the first corner and tries an overtake going through the tunnel, but is denied.

By lap 9 I get a friendly shove on the start-finish straight, and once again he is shadowing me. This is where I begin to ignore my rear-view mirror - if I'm concentrating on where he is, I'm not concentrating on where I'm going. This is becoming like touge racing, with the Spirra looking for the chance to close the margin and squeeze by.

A 1:57.464 on lap 10 helps keep the gap relativly managable, as it peaks and troughs around the lap, from half a second at the tunnel to 1.3 seconds at the bridge, before shrinking again on the start finish straight. Coming into T1, he makes a desperate lunge for glory, and brings his right-front tyre right up alongside, but I hold him off through the corner.It looks like he might try again, but oddly, he falls back, and I even notice him squiggling drunkenly as we come down through the downhill left after the tunnel (T6). A quick check in my notes (left on the passenger seat) tells me that the Spirra averages about 11 laps on a tyre run, so this must be where he makes his first stop. I start lap 12 with the Spirra in the pits, my rear tyres on a bright yellow colour and with a little bit of breathing room - for now.
Segment 2: Lap 12-22
The T350C and the Cerbera join the Spirra in the pits, so I have a nice gap back to the Corvette Grand Sport (around 18 seconds). This gap counts for zilch though, because it's time for my first pit stop. My right rear tyre is angry orange now, and the rear end is beginning to get a little bit, erm, 'skittish', in the corners . I dive in, replace my tyres but do not take on any fuel (i still have well over half a tank left) and come out with the Corvette about 8 seconds ahead and with the angry red Callaway trying to nose it's way by going into T1!

Like the Spirra though, I hold him there, although I am annoyed at myself for making a couple of silly errors on my outlap on cold tyres . I keep the Callaway at bay, and retake the lead as the Corvette pits at the end of the lap fro ma 11-second lead. Through lap 15 the Callaway begins to drop back, and by lap 16, guess who has returned to 2nd place? Yup, the Koreans are back! The Spirra is 5.6 seconds back at the start finish line, and 4.8 seconds back by the time I hit the bridge checkpoint. Someone means business.

I also have figured out that if I want to assure my chances of victory, I'm gonna have to make this into a 4-stop race. By that, Im thinking maybe 14 laps on the next stint, followed by two 13-lap stints and a 14-lap run to the flag? The fuel should hold out well, and on pace alone I think I can just about edge out the 5-stop brigade of the T350C, Cerbera and the Spirra. The 4-stoppers - Corvette and Callaway - are the ones which may provide a problem if I continue with my 12-lap stints, as this would mean they have one less pit stop than I. I don't want to leave the fate of the race up to that possibilty, so hopefully my cunning plan should work....But right now, there are more important issues on my mind. Such as, the Spirra is chomping into my lead on warm tyres, and my error count is mounting . Time to focus. By lap 18, he's back on my tail, and lap 19 sees him snatch the lead! For all of five seconds, before I grab it back in T1 Yup, that entertaining game of cat 'n' mouse that made the first 10 laps so entertaining is back! My first 1:58 lap since pitting helps keep him at bay for now, but only just - the Spirra isn't a particularly attractive car, especially when it's gurning at you in your rear view mirror! The battle is really hotting up now - an error under braking for T1 puts him right alongside through the corner, but I just manage to snatch back the lead coming off. However, as he approaches his inlap, his times fade away, and I start lap 23 with a decent gap back to him and my tyres a sort of greeny-yellow colour on the back.
Segment 3: Lap 23-33
The Spirra/T350C/Cerbera all pit at the end of lap 23, leaving me out in front by about 22 seconds over the Corvette. Leading up to my pit stop on lap 26, this fluctuates between 18 and 24 seconds. I pit at the end of lap 26, take on new tyres and top up my fuel tank to about 70 units, and my gap back to the Corvette is not enough to stop him taking the lead of the race...if he wasn't now on the same pit stop strategy as me! He pits as well, leaving me coming back out in front of what I thought was the Callaway, but the Spirra has other ideas...he's about 8 seconds behind and hunting me down on cold tyres The mechanics also put some CDs in the autochanger on the last pitstop, which are:
Revolutions Per Minute - Rise Against
Liberation Transmission - Lostprophets
New Maps of Hell - Bad Religion
Once upon a Time in the West - Hard-Fi
You Could Have It So Much Better - Franz Ferdinand
Whatever People Say I Am, Thats What Im Not - Arctic Monkeys
With that on shuffle, I brace myself for the Spirra's oncoming onslaught. But nothing can prepare me for what happens next.
As we cross the line for lap 30, the Spirra slams straight into my left-rear quarter. Not nudge, not bump. Slam. I go sideways at 120mph, try desperatly to get straight again, but I can't do it, and I spin 360 He breezes past. I can't believe it. If I loose the race because of that, I don't know what I'd do. Which is why I'm determined not to let that happen. I take off after him, but he's already opened up a 5-second lead. Meanwhile, the T350C sniffs prey, and is closing in from behind. Despite my best efforts, the Spirra is pulling away at about a second a lap, so when I start lap 34, he leads by 8.6 seconds. The race is beginning to look lost....(dramatic music)
Segment 4: Lap 34-44
The Spirra, leading by nearly 10 seconds now, pits on lap 35. I storm past, and for the next few laps focus on setting the tarmac alight. If I'm to regain the lead of the race, I must put in a series of strong laps whilst the Spirra is getting up to speed on cold tyres, so that when I stop, he cannot take the lead back while I'm in the pits. I also gamble and dive into the pits a lap earlier than planned, lap 38. This is because my rear tyres are by this stage dark orange, and the Spirra is coming up to speed now, and I can't risk giving away ground that I've just gained by making errors on worn rubber. So I dive into the pits from a 33-second lead, and I come back out again with 5 seconds to spare 👍. I even had time to top up the fuel to maximum. So now the duel begins once again, hopefully more cleanly this time...on lap 41 he puts two wheels on the dirt and grit on the start-finish straight as he moves past me, but I stay calm, and return the favour at T6. I then go on to set my new fastest lap of the race (lap 42) with a 1:57.243. The Spirra continues the chase, but another 1:57 lap on lap 44 helps my case, and I start lap 45 leading by about a second.
Segment 5: Lap 45-55
The Spirra pits again on lap 47 as part of the usual triumvirate, leaving me with a chance to extend my advantage. On lap 49 the Callaway pits, and falls a lap down to me. I pit for the last time on lap 52, top off with fuel and new tyres, and get out just in front of the lapped Callaway, whom is about to become my new best friend, because guess who is just behind the Callaway and can't get by? Yup, the driver of the Callaway is definatly getting a beer after this race The Corvette pits on the same lap, and by this time he is well out of the race, as are both TVRs, who look to be around 20-30 seconds back after my pit stop.

So it's down to the wire, me versus the Spirra, with my ace card ready to come into play. I start lap 55 with a handy 3-second lead over the Spirra, who is starting to gnash his teeth a little as he can't get by the lapped Callaway. What goes around comes around, eh? 👍
Final segment: Lap 56-finish
The Spirra finally clears past the Callaway, and sets about eating into my lead, but not for long, as he pits at the end of lap 56, well before schedule. Is he planning something I wonder? No matter, this is where I need to do the real damage. Get a good gap between us so that when my tyres go off - and believe me, they will in the last few laps - I'll still have a healthy cushion. So off I go, on a spew of 1:58s and 1:57s - I post my 2nd best laptime of the race on lap 61 with a 1:57.303 - and it's only on lap 62 that the gap back starts to decrease instead of increase. However, I've done enough - he's over 40 seconds behind at this point. My car keeps me on my toes till the end though - I'm daydreaming coming into the Yosemite Lodge Hairpin on lap 64, and end up spinning under braking - how undignified . With the crowd at that corner in fits of laughter, I continue on my way, with a slightly red face . As I start the final lap, lap 66, I remember how many times I have simply overkilled this race just to get the money and prizecar. Racing it today, I've found out just how great this track is - a lovely mix of speed, fast corners, and flowing, meandering bends. The race itself was a fantastic challenge, and I've no doubts that my driving skill has improved as a result of those endless battles with the Spirra, whom as lap 66 starts is still 30 seconds behind. The feeling of satisfaction I'm getting now is also incredible, that irreplacable feeling of defying all odds, and though I'm not the first, and certainly not the last, to do so, it still feels fantastic nonetheless. I finish lap 66, and indeed the race, as the clear winner, and with the Spirra not even in sight. I'd probably have prefferred a closer finish, to reflect our ongoing battle, but still, a victory is a victory, and I definatly had to work hard for this one!

Final results
1. Amuse S2000 Street Version '04 - 2hours 13mins43.640
2. Proto Motors Spirra 4.6 V8 '04 - +27 seconds
3. TVR T350C '03 - +roughly 50 seconds
4. TVR Cerbera Speed Six '97 - +roughly 1 minute
5. Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96 - +over a minute
6. Callaway C12 '03 - +1 lap

So with 250,000 in the bank, plus the 743,749 bonus I get for selling the prizecar, the Minolta Toyota 88CV, I have more than enough money for my GT300 car now! What it will be, and where it will be racing at? Find out next time, but one thing's for sure - wherever I race next, it'll be a close one, for my overkilling days are well and truely behind me Thanks for reading! ​