Smallhorses
Staff Emeritus
- 7,260
Infineon World Sport Car Race (2:45'00.000)
This is the 3rd (technically 4th, but my first attempt was annulled by a PS2 crash, see: Smallhorses' A-Spec Endurance Companion for details) running of this race for me, and although it's the second time I've gone for 200 A-spec points here, I forgot to save the replay for pictures last time, and the report ended up in my Endurance Companion without it's own report.
This time round though, the brain is in gear,
(More of my stand-alone reports can also be found here: Smallhorses' Race Report Link Dump.)
Credit for inspiration must go to Vash666, who was the first person to report a stock win in the Viper here, and he provided a wonderfully illustrated report too! 👍 :
Infineon Endurance - 200 A-spec using Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca **PICS ADDED**
Car:-
Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00 (R2 tyres) / FR / ?HP (597HP using garage value) / 1150kg / ?kg/HP (1.9kg/HP using garage value)
which, when pitted against the following lineup, yields:
200 A-spec points!
Grid:-
1st
Jaguar XJR-9 Race Car '88
2nd
BMW V12 LMR Race Car '99
3rd
PlayStation Pescarolo C60 Race Car '04
4th
Bentley Speed 8 Race Car '03
5th
Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car '98
6th
Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00
Hour 1:
Dodge Viper GTS-R Team Oreca '00 (R2 tyres) / FR / ?HP (597HP using garage value) / 1150kg / ?kg/HP (1.9kg/HP using garage value)
which, when pitted against the following lineup, yields:
200 A-spec points!
Grid:-
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
Hour 1:
Pass Nissan into turn 3 on the first lap, and also dive cleanly inside the Bentley at turn 6, able to hold him off without contact down to the braking area for turn 7. Passed the Pescarolo cleanly into turn 3 on lap 2 and immaculately out-accelerate the BMW out of turn 7a, leaving just the Jaguar ahead of me.
Passed the Jaguar into turn 3 on lap 3 without incident and set about pulling away. Open the gap up to 4.5s by lap 11 when I make a mistake into turn 2, and leave the track, regaining it without touching anything, but having the lead cut to 1.6s at T1. The Jaguar's tyres go off during lap 12 and he spins out
The Jaguar pits ending his 12th lap, and my tyres are looking pretty awful too, but I opt to risk another lap. The BMW closes to 8.6s behind at T2 before I dive pitwards with 13 laps and under 20 minutes gone. Take tyres, but no fuel and opt to stick to a 12-lap strategy from here on in. Dropped back to 4th place and finish outlap 19.7s behind the leading BMW. Nissan's first stop comes ending lap 15, but he's down in 6th place and likely to remain there.
Close the gap by 2s before the BMW pits ending lap 17, from 17.6s lead at T2, and he's followed in by the 3rd placed Bentley, while the Pescarolo takes over the lead for a lap, pitting himself from 13.6s lead at T2 ending lap 18 and allowing me to resume the top slot after a new fastest laptime of 1'23.248. 👍
The Pescarolo manages to make it out of the pits in 2nd place, directly ahead of the BMW whom it holds up for the next few laps and allows the Bentley to catch up to them. At the end of his outlap, the Pescarolo was 17s behind, a gap which grows to 23s beginning lap 22, which sees me have my 2nd off-track moment as I ran a little wide over the kerb exiting turn 4 as I'm pushing to beat the fastlap time.
Catch up to the Nissan beginning lap 24 and he hold me up throughout the lap before finally going a lap down temporarily into turn 3 on lap 25, while the Jaguar pits ending his 24th lap. The Pescarolo has now warmed his tyres and gains back to 27s behind by the time I pit ending lap 26 having decided that the lighter fuel load I've been carrying for this stint has been kinder to the tyres and I can stick to my original plan of pitting every 13 laps.
The Nissan takes back his lap for the time being. I've got 12 fuel units left after 26 laps, meaning I'm going through 34 units per stint, and therefore top up to 40 units to be on the safe side. Manage to get out with my lead intact, but only just!
The Pescarolo on nicely warm tyres is 1.4s behind at T1, 1.1s behind at T2 and just 0.8s behind at the end of my outlap as I try to warm my tyres. Thankfully it's the closest he gets as I'm able to get back up to speed quickly, lapping within 2/100ths of my fastest lap by lap 30, which widens the lead to 3.8s again. The Nissan stops a 2nd time ending his 30th lap, and is lapped permanently while he's stopped. The Bentley's 2nd stop from 4th place occurs ending his 34th lap, consistent with his 17-lap strategy, while the 3rd placed BMW opts to go an extra lap this time, pitting ending lap 35 following an 18-lap stint.
The Pescarolo has an incident at turn 6 on his inlap, dropping back from 5.4s behind at T1 to 14.3s by T2 before he stops ending his 36th lap. He's still just about able to get away in 2nd place although the BMW is very close behind him! I lap the Jaguar on lap 37 while he's regaining the track just after turn 6, following another inlap spin. The fact that he pits ending his 36th lap confirms he'll be staying a lap down.
Pitted in ending lap 39 for my 3rd stop and have extended the gap to the 2nd placed Pescarolo to 47.8s at T2, although I'm going to be pitting again before he does now. End my outlap with my lead cut back to 24.8s, but not too much to worry about at this point.
Hour mark passes 41.427s into lap 42. In 1st place, 24.5s ahead of 2nd placed Pescarolo.
Hour 2:
The BMW takes over 2nd place during lap 42, showing a gap of 24.1s behind at T2 having gotten by the Pescarolo who seems to take an age to warm up his tyres to hotlapping temperature. Nearly lose it coming out of turn 10 on lap 43 when I get 4 tyres onto the grass/sand, and as I regain the track I have 2 massive swerves before I hit the brakes for turn 11, getting the car past 90-degrees sideways,
but working out beautifully as it happens to launch out of the hairpin in a sort of unintentional drift! Hope the tyres will forgive me later on! 
No contact with walls occurs either so it's still good and clean. 
A lap down, the Nissan stops on his usual 15-lap schedule ending his 45th lap. Catch up to the Nissan at turn 7a on lap 49 while the Jaguar is having his prerequisite off-roading expedition on his inlap before he pits ending lap 48. I have to follow the Nissan until turn 3 on lap 50 before he's passed and it costs me a few seconds, the gap to the 2nd placed BMW dropping from 28s to 26s.
The Nissan's 2nd lapping will be a temporary fixture at the moment though as I'm due a stop myself in a couple of laps time. The Bentley stops from 4th place ending his 51st lap, which is then followed by myself and the BMW stopping 27.5s apart (in my favour) ending our 52nd laps (The BMW dropping back to a 17-lap pit interval again.)
I lose the 2nd lapping of the Nissan in the process, but not the lead as the Pescarolo takes over 2nd place, closing from 3.7s behind to just 3.0s by the end of my outlap and then dropping back by 0.3s in 2 laps before he heads pitwards ending his 54th lap, maintaining his 18-lap pit window and getting away again in 2nd place just ahead of the BMW who is unable to pass despite the Pescarolo dropping back from around 30s to 40s behind in the next 3 laps!
The Nissan loses his 2nd lap to the leader permanently on lap 58 at turn 3, while the BMW finally manages to pass the Pescarolo that's been holding him up since lap 55!
The Jaguar stops ending his 60th lap, getting out just ahead of the Bentley who has fallen way off the pace of the 2nd & 3rd placed cars that he was hanging with for a while. The Nissan also pits ending his 60th lap, and more frustratingly for the 2nd placed BMW, escapes the pitlane before the BMW & Pescarolo cross the startline. He holds them up a little, eventually being passed by them both, but leaving me with a 51s lead at T2 before I head into the pits for my next stop ending lap 65. The BMW has closed to within 26s ending my outlap, but it's a gap that grows to 29s before he pits ending his 69th lap to maintain a 17-lap window, as did the Bentley who stopped ending his 68th lap and was lapped by my Dodge as he left the pitlane on my 70th lap.
It's probably only temporary, as I'm due another stop way before the Bentley is, and I don't believe I'll have time to build a 30s lead on him by then! The Pescarolo pits from 2nd place, 34s behind, ending his 72nd lap, and once again manages to get out ahead of the BMW, putting them over a minute behind by the end of his outlap. The Jaguar seems to have got the hang of not spinning out on his inlaps now,
and stops at the end of his own 72nd lap, being passed for a 2nd lapping while he's stopped and I enter my 75th lap. Again, I'm unsure if this'll be a permanent arrangement as my own stop is due in 3 laps time.
The Pescarolo & BMW come upon the Nissan which does little to aid their cause, and they get by eventually having dropped to over 1'10 behind, and the BMW finally goes by into 2nd place during lap 77, before I pit ending my 78th lap from 1'15 lead! The Nissan is directly in front of me as I go in, making his 75th lap stop and he makes his getaway before I do, while the Jaguar and Bentley claim their respective laps back from me, meaning I'll spend the best part of the next session trying to put the Nissan 3 laps down, the Jaguar 2 laps down and the Bentley a lap behind. 
The Nissan falls by the end of my outlap, taken under acceleration from the hairpin into turn 12. Have another off-track moment on lap 81 when I catch too much kerb inside turn 3a and go off to the left of the large rumble strip, although it's saved easily and without incident.
Follow that mistake with a new fast lap, 1'23.108 ending lap 82, and the end of the hour approaching. Hour mark passes 14.621s into lap 84. In 1st place, 45.7s ahead of 2nd placed BMW.
Hour 3:
The Bentley succumbs into turn 3 on lap 86, going a lap behind before he pits at the end of his 85th lap, following the Jaguar who stops ending his own 84th lap and getting lapped a 2nd time in the process. The BMW pits from 47s behind ending his 86th lap, handing back 2nd place to the Pescarolo, and as I complete a new lap record on lap 87 of 1'23.038, I can see the BMW up the hill entering turn 2!
I catch the BMW and lap him into turn 3 on my 91st lap, however, since I'm due to stop ending this lap it'll be a very temporary arrangement. The Pescarolo pits from 51s behind ending his 90th lap, and exits the pits more-or-less as I go in.
This time there's quite a gap developed between the Pescarolo & the BMW, as the former pulls out of the pitlane while the BMW exits turn 11, and claims back his lap from me in the process. The Nissan makes his 90th lap pitstop and manages to get away from the pitlane before the Pescarolo and BMW exit the hairpin, although he'll provide a roadblock for them both sooner or later.
On cold tyres the Pescarolo is once again hideously slow, being easily caught by the BMW who is right on this tail as I complete a blistering fastest time of 1'22.771
ending my 95th lap. The BMW sneaks back into 2nd place during lap 95 but then catches the slow Nissan which doesn't do wonders for his hopes of pulling out a gap over the Pescarolo. They both dispose of the Nissan pretty quickly and press on, albeit now 1'10 behind. The Jaguar makes his 96th lap stop from 2 laps behind. Passed the Nissan a 4th time ending lap 101 at turn 12, but it'll be a temporary displacement as I'm due another stop soon. The Bentley goes in at the end of his 102nd lap, followed by the BMW ending his 103rd lap and my own 104th lap stop which allows the Nissan back through to a mere 3-lap deficit! 
The 4-lap margin is restored as the Nissan pits at the end of his 105th lap, following the Pescarolo's 108th lap stop. I've caught the BMW by this point, but he's got his tyres up to ideal temperature and is lapping quickly, which means he's difficult to pass! The Pescarolo still holds 2nd place, but he's 1'18 behind ending his outlap, on cold tyres and has the 3rd placed BMW and leading Dodge bearing down on him with just 7 minutes of race left to go...will he hold onto his 2nd place, and lead lap?
The Jaguar stops again ending his 104th lap, as the BMW & I surge up on the Pescarolo who loses 4s to us in the last lap alone! I opt to hang back a little to observe and to avoid becoming an innocent victim of a direct clash between the 2 rivals as they fight for 2nd place.
The BMW performs a delightful clean outbraking manoeuver into the turn 11 hairpin on their 111th lap, taking his deserved 2nd place while the Pescarolo flounders in 3rd place on his cold tyres, also losing his lap to me on my 113th lap as I squeeze by cleanly into turn 3! I hang right with the BMW but can't find a way by, stupidly getting target fixation 
2:45'00.000 passes with 42.888s of lap 115 completed.
Result:-
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
Musical Accompaniment (Artist - Album): They Might Be Giants - Cast Your Pod To The Wind; They Might Be Giants - Here Come The ABCs; They Might Be Giants - NO!; They Might Be Giants - Lincoln; They Might Be Giants - They Got Lost
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