In honor of the US release of GT4 coming near, I decided to do my first writeup and what better race than the Leguna Seca 200 featuring the best American Sports cars in the game. Remember this is my first writeup so bear with me.
The Starting Grid
1.1990 Corvette ZR-1
2.1994 Corvette Grand Sport
3.2004 Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe
4.2005 Ford GT
5.2002 Saleen S7
6.2000 Corvette Z06 (me)
A-Spec Points: 76
Laps: 90
Prize: 200,000 credits and a 1969 Ford GT40 Race Car
Pit Strategies
ZR-1 20 laps
Grand Sport 22 laps
GTO 19 laps
GT 17 laps
S7 23 laps
Z06 16 laps
Z06 Setup Since the S7 and GT have monstrous power compared to the Z06, I had to do a little tinkering to get the Z06 up to speed.
The resulting power was 558PS, the same as both the stock Ford GT and S7.
Ok, enough of the specs, let get down to the race.
Lap 1: The race starts from a rolling start. The GT immediately takes off and passes the GTO with ease through the first turn. The S7 tries to pass the GTO all though the turns without any luck. The GTO sticks to his lines and the S7 kicks up some dust. On the straight before the corkscrew, both the S7 and myself pass the GTO to put him in 6th place. While we are passing the GTO, the GT works past the Grand Sport to take 2nd and tries to close in on the leader, the ZR-1.
Lap 2: Starting the 2nd lap, the GT takes the lead down the straight. The S7 and myself pass the Grand Sport down the straight, and I continue and pass the S7 to take 3rd place. The top 5 positions continue around the track in a pretty straight line. The GT starts to move away from the pack coming up to the corkscrew though. I'm able to get around the ZR-1 at the corkscrew and start chasing down the leader.
Lap 3: I start this lap just a 1.5 seconds from the Ford GT. Me and the GT start widening the gap between us and the rest to about 5 seconds. The S7 is between the ZR-1 and the Grand Sport. I really thought that S7 would be knocking on our back door by now, but it's not as fast as I thought. At the corkscrew, the S7 overtakes the ZR-1 for 3rd.
Lap 4: While crossing the line I realize that I have taken the lead by a margin of 0.162 seconds. I seem to have better gearing than the Ford GT and am able to outrun it down the straights on pure acceleration. Coming out of the corkscrew, I got off my line and the GT seizes the opportunity and takes the lead back again.
Lap 5: Everybody seems to be getting into their positions. The S7 has left the other 2 Vettes behind, and starts looking for the leaders. At the start of the lap the leader board goes as follows: GT, Z06, S7, ZR-1. Grand Sport, GTO. I try to take back the lead from the GT, but keep braking too late in the corners and letting him keep the lead with ease.
Lap 6: Using the acceleration advantage I had on the GT, I try to retake the lead. We cross the line to start lap 6 dead even(photo). 0.000 seconds difference, but once again, my poor braking allowed him to keep the lead with ease. Finally at the last turn, I take a great line and regain the lead.
Lap 8: Nothing has changed much in the past couple of laps. My tires seem to be nice and sticky now and I'm starting to do some decent lap times. I achieved my fastest lap so far of 1:31.603 and extended my lead on the GT to 3.202 seconds.
Lap 12: Tires getting a little worn. Fastest lap time so far with a 1:31.373. The oversteer from the rear tires wearing a little faster helps some of the turns. The GT is now 4.454 seconds behind.
Lap 15: Seeing some traffic ahead already. From the color I'm sure it's the GTO.
Lap 16: Got right behind GTO at corkscrew but car is very loose now. Going to take my first pit at the end of this lap. With this pit, the GT will take the lead back from me.
Lap 17: I come out of the pits in 3rd behind the GT and the S7. The GT leads me by 17.345 seconds.
Lap 18: The GT pits at the end of lap 17 and the S7 now takes the lead. The GT gets out of the pits before me and I am stuck in 3rd trying to catch up to the GT. The S7 has extended it lead on me to almost 20 seconds by the end of the lap. I finally get past the GT still trying to warm its tires up. At the corkscrew, I am now in 2nd again.
Lap 20: As I start this lap, I realize that the the GTO just pitted and I have put him one lap down. My tires have gotten green and the lap times are starting to get back to normal. As I go through the last turn, I lap the ZR-1 as he enters the pits. I'm still in 2nd trailing the S7 by 18.918 seconds. I'm starting to worry about if he is ever going to pit.
Lap 21: Getting closer to the s7. I know I'll take the lead when he pits, but will I have to pit once more during the race than him. Could get close. Ford GT is at least 9 seconds back from me in 3rd and isn't posing any type of threat.
Lap 23: I lap to Grand Sport in the pits as I start this lap. I'm trailing the S7 by 12.785 seconds. He's starting to slow down. His tires must be blood red by now. Once again I make the final turn and realize that he has finally pitted. I take back the lead and my fastest lap of the day now with a 1:31.001.
Lap 25: The GT is now in second after passing the S7 a few laps ago while the S7 was pitted. The GT trails me by about 12 seconds now. The S7 isn't too much further behind though.
Lap 28: GT still in second ahead of S7 by what appears to be about a 10 second margin. The GTO is back ahead of me just waiting on me to lap him again to put him 2 down
Lap 29: Lapped the GTO on turn 4 and also achieved my fastest lap so far, 1:30.870.
Lap 33: I pitted after my last lap and gave the lead back to the GT. I figured the S7 would also pass me while in the pits, but he didn't. Near the last turn, he lapped the GTO and closed in on me. He follows me by about a second and I'm in following the GT by 10.436 seconds.
Lap 34: At the end of this lap, the GT pits as planned and me and the S7 take 1st and 2nd with only 1.668 seconds between us.
Lap 35: I mad a few mistakes during the first half of the lap and the S7 takes the lead from me. I end the lap trailing by less than a second though. The GT is still trailing behind us in 3rd.
Lap 39: The GTO pitted at the during this lap. I'm still trying to pass the Saleen but am still over 2.5 seconds back. Once he gets going, he's hard to catch.
Lap 41: Just lapped the ZR-1 as he had to pit. I'm 0.2 seconds behind the S7 now as we start the lap. I out break him at the first turns and take back the lead. He broke real early telling me that his tires are getting worn. At the end of this lap I lead the S7 by 2.682 seconds.
Lap 42: The S7 and I got slowed down by lap traffic. We lapped the Grand Sport and the GTO. The Grand Sport also got a lap up on the GTO on this lap also. 4 cars running together on 3 different laps.
Lap 44: I pulled away from the S7 this lap and extended my lead to 5.789 seconds.
Lap 46: Halfway there. Time elapsed already is 1:10:55.966. The leader board is as follows: Z06. S7, GT, Grand Sport, ZR-1, and GTO.
Lap 47: The S7 pitted at the start of this lap. Now my question is can the GT take back 2nd from the Saleen or was the gap just too much. I lead the GT by 31 seconds at the end of the lap.
Lap 48: I start to realize that my tires are in very bad shape and I take it easy this lap. I noticed that the GT did get 2nd place and that the S7 is following behind him by 3 seconds. That gap will probably get a little bigger since the S7 runs horribly on new tires. At the end of this lap, I pit as scheduled and needed.
Lap 50: After keeping in the lead even after pitting, the GT is coming on strong and is only 1.765 seconds behind me. He does have to pit though which should give me plenty of breathing room.
Lap 52: The GT pits in and the S7 is now in second. I lead the S7 by 21.426 seconds. It looks like a nice lead but I have to put 2 more times and the S7 only has to pit once more. It could still be close.
Lap 54: This lap should have been a lot faster. I hit the brakes late going into the corkscrew and ran off the road. I had nailed every corner on the lap before this. The S7 has a good 2nd place lead on the gt, about 10 seconds. I think the GT is going to stick the rest of the race out in 3rd place.
Lap 57: I put the Grand Sport another lap down by taking him cleanly on the inside of the next to last turn. I have been running a pretty consistent low 1:32 laps for the last 10 laps or so.
Lap 58: At the end of this lap, I once again lap that poor GTO. I also lapped the ZR-1 again this past lap. As I cross the line, I realize that I now lead the S7 by 28 seconds.
Lap 60: The ZR-1 pitted this lap. The last 3 laps were all 1:32.0xx laps. My consistency is getting better even if they are over a second slower than my best lap time.
Lap 65: I almost ran out of gas that last lap. I really was worried I would run out before the pits. I let the crew fill up the gas more than I usually do which cost me some time. As I start this lap, I have only a 11 second lead on the S7.
Lap 66: The Grand Sport pits this lap. The S7 has really gained on me. I lead him by just 5 seconds now. If my math is right, we both have 1 pit left, me at lap 80 and him at lap 69 which is coming up. This could still be close.
Lap 68: Our good old 3rd place buddy the Ford GT pits this lap. He enters in third and leaves in third. I think his fate has been sealed and is no longer a threat to anybody.
Lap 69: As I near the line at the end of this lap, I realize, the S7 didn't pit. He was supposed to pit. I have at least pulled away from him to make my lead 10.973 seconds over him.
Lap 71: The S7 finally pits. Speaking of pits, that GTO just sat there and watched my put him yet another lap down. As I cross the line, the S7 is now 40 seconds behind me. With one more pit left for me, I start to feel a little more assured that I will win this one.
Lap 72: Finally a sub 1:32 lap. This lap was a 1:31.430. The past 16 laps have been slower than I wanted them to be. Maybe I will be able to break that fastest lap of the day of 1:30.870.
Lap 73: Lapped the ZR-1 and the Grand Sport again. Normally lap traffic slows me down but I still ran a 1:31.831.
Lap 78: I decided to pit early at the end of the lap. The car was really loose and hard to control. This is my last pit so it's straight to the finish for me and the Saleen.
Lap 83: Now 6 laps down, the GTO gives me a simple hand gesture with one of his fingers and I lap him one more time in the last corner.
Lap 87: The S7 is currently 35.2 seconds back from me. He has to accept that silver is all he's going to get today. The gold is mine.
Lap 88: I lap the ZR-1 again before the corkscrew.
Lap 90: Last lap! I see a car ahead of me as I start this lap. I wanted to lap the GT but didn't have a clue as to where he was on the track. I ran hard and finally caught up with the car ahead when we got to the corkscrew. Unfortunately, it wasn't the GT, it was the Grand Sport. With pride though, I put him 5 laps down at the last corner before I took the checkered flag to win the race. The final results follows below.
1.Z06
2.S7 - 37.423
3.GT - ???????
4.GS - 5 laps
5.ZR1- 5 laps
6.GTO-6 laps
Total race time: 2:21:44.042
Fastest Lap: Lap 29 1:30.870
Average Lap: 1:34.519
Average NonPit Lap: 1:32.731
Laps Led: 72
Pit Stops: 5
Here are a couple of pictures also
Starting Grid
Dead Even
The Starting Grid
1.1990 Corvette ZR-1
2.1994 Corvette Grand Sport
3.2004 Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe
4.2005 Ford GT
5.2002 Saleen S7
6.2000 Corvette Z06 (me)
A-Spec Points: 76
Laps: 90
Prize: 200,000 credits and a 1969 Ford GT40 Race Car
Pit Strategies
ZR-1 20 laps
Grand Sport 22 laps
GTO 19 laps
GT 17 laps
S7 23 laps
Z06 16 laps
Z06 Setup Since the S7 and GT have monstrous power compared to the Z06, I had to do a little tinkering to get the Z06 up to speed.
- Computer Chip
- Sport Racing Muffler/Intake
- Computer Chip
- #2 NA Tune
- S2 Tires (F/R)
- Brakes
- Carbon Drive Shaft
- Racing Flywheel
- Triple Clutch
- Full Tranny
- Full Suspension
- Full LSD
The resulting power was 558PS, the same as both the stock Ford GT and S7.
Ok, enough of the specs, let get down to the race.
Lap 1: The race starts from a rolling start. The GT immediately takes off and passes the GTO with ease through the first turn. The S7 tries to pass the GTO all though the turns without any luck. The GTO sticks to his lines and the S7 kicks up some dust. On the straight before the corkscrew, both the S7 and myself pass the GTO to put him in 6th place. While we are passing the GTO, the GT works past the Grand Sport to take 2nd and tries to close in on the leader, the ZR-1.
Lap 2: Starting the 2nd lap, the GT takes the lead down the straight. The S7 and myself pass the Grand Sport down the straight, and I continue and pass the S7 to take 3rd place. The top 5 positions continue around the track in a pretty straight line. The GT starts to move away from the pack coming up to the corkscrew though. I'm able to get around the ZR-1 at the corkscrew and start chasing down the leader.
Lap 3: I start this lap just a 1.5 seconds from the Ford GT. Me and the GT start widening the gap between us and the rest to about 5 seconds. The S7 is between the ZR-1 and the Grand Sport. I really thought that S7 would be knocking on our back door by now, but it's not as fast as I thought. At the corkscrew, the S7 overtakes the ZR-1 for 3rd.
Lap 4: While crossing the line I realize that I have taken the lead by a margin of 0.162 seconds. I seem to have better gearing than the Ford GT and am able to outrun it down the straights on pure acceleration. Coming out of the corkscrew, I got off my line and the GT seizes the opportunity and takes the lead back again.
Lap 5: Everybody seems to be getting into their positions. The S7 has left the other 2 Vettes behind, and starts looking for the leaders. At the start of the lap the leader board goes as follows: GT, Z06, S7, ZR-1. Grand Sport, GTO. I try to take back the lead from the GT, but keep braking too late in the corners and letting him keep the lead with ease.
Lap 6: Using the acceleration advantage I had on the GT, I try to retake the lead. We cross the line to start lap 6 dead even(photo). 0.000 seconds difference, but once again, my poor braking allowed him to keep the lead with ease. Finally at the last turn, I take a great line and regain the lead.
Lap 8: Nothing has changed much in the past couple of laps. My tires seem to be nice and sticky now and I'm starting to do some decent lap times. I achieved my fastest lap so far of 1:31.603 and extended my lead on the GT to 3.202 seconds.
Lap 12: Tires getting a little worn. Fastest lap time so far with a 1:31.373. The oversteer from the rear tires wearing a little faster helps some of the turns. The GT is now 4.454 seconds behind.
Lap 15: Seeing some traffic ahead already. From the color I'm sure it's the GTO.
Lap 16: Got right behind GTO at corkscrew but car is very loose now. Going to take my first pit at the end of this lap. With this pit, the GT will take the lead back from me.
Lap 17: I come out of the pits in 3rd behind the GT and the S7. The GT leads me by 17.345 seconds.
Lap 18: The GT pits at the end of lap 17 and the S7 now takes the lead. The GT gets out of the pits before me and I am stuck in 3rd trying to catch up to the GT. The S7 has extended it lead on me to almost 20 seconds by the end of the lap. I finally get past the GT still trying to warm its tires up. At the corkscrew, I am now in 2nd again.
Lap 20: As I start this lap, I realize that the the GTO just pitted and I have put him one lap down. My tires have gotten green and the lap times are starting to get back to normal. As I go through the last turn, I lap the ZR-1 as he enters the pits. I'm still in 2nd trailing the S7 by 18.918 seconds. I'm starting to worry about if he is ever going to pit.
Lap 21: Getting closer to the s7. I know I'll take the lead when he pits, but will I have to pit once more during the race than him. Could get close. Ford GT is at least 9 seconds back from me in 3rd and isn't posing any type of threat.
Lap 23: I lap to Grand Sport in the pits as I start this lap. I'm trailing the S7 by 12.785 seconds. He's starting to slow down. His tires must be blood red by now. Once again I make the final turn and realize that he has finally pitted. I take back the lead and my fastest lap of the day now with a 1:31.001.
Lap 25: The GT is now in second after passing the S7 a few laps ago while the S7 was pitted. The GT trails me by about 12 seconds now. The S7 isn't too much further behind though.
Lap 28: GT still in second ahead of S7 by what appears to be about a 10 second margin. The GTO is back ahead of me just waiting on me to lap him again to put him 2 down
Lap 29: Lapped the GTO on turn 4 and also achieved my fastest lap so far, 1:30.870.
Lap 33: I pitted after my last lap and gave the lead back to the GT. I figured the S7 would also pass me while in the pits, but he didn't. Near the last turn, he lapped the GTO and closed in on me. He follows me by about a second and I'm in following the GT by 10.436 seconds.
Lap 34: At the end of this lap, the GT pits as planned and me and the S7 take 1st and 2nd with only 1.668 seconds between us.
Lap 35: I mad a few mistakes during the first half of the lap and the S7 takes the lead from me. I end the lap trailing by less than a second though. The GT is still trailing behind us in 3rd.
Lap 39: The GTO pitted at the during this lap. I'm still trying to pass the Saleen but am still over 2.5 seconds back. Once he gets going, he's hard to catch.
Lap 41: Just lapped the ZR-1 as he had to pit. I'm 0.2 seconds behind the S7 now as we start the lap. I out break him at the first turns and take back the lead. He broke real early telling me that his tires are getting worn. At the end of this lap I lead the S7 by 2.682 seconds.
Lap 42: The S7 and I got slowed down by lap traffic. We lapped the Grand Sport and the GTO. The Grand Sport also got a lap up on the GTO on this lap also. 4 cars running together on 3 different laps.
Lap 44: I pulled away from the S7 this lap and extended my lead to 5.789 seconds.
Lap 46: Halfway there. Time elapsed already is 1:10:55.966. The leader board is as follows: Z06. S7, GT, Grand Sport, ZR-1, and GTO.
Lap 47: The S7 pitted at the start of this lap. Now my question is can the GT take back 2nd from the Saleen or was the gap just too much. I lead the GT by 31 seconds at the end of the lap.
Lap 48: I start to realize that my tires are in very bad shape and I take it easy this lap. I noticed that the GT did get 2nd place and that the S7 is following behind him by 3 seconds. That gap will probably get a little bigger since the S7 runs horribly on new tires. At the end of this lap, I pit as scheduled and needed.
Lap 50: After keeping in the lead even after pitting, the GT is coming on strong and is only 1.765 seconds behind me. He does have to pit though which should give me plenty of breathing room.
Lap 52: The GT pits in and the S7 is now in second. I lead the S7 by 21.426 seconds. It looks like a nice lead but I have to put 2 more times and the S7 only has to pit once more. It could still be close.
Lap 54: This lap should have been a lot faster. I hit the brakes late going into the corkscrew and ran off the road. I had nailed every corner on the lap before this. The S7 has a good 2nd place lead on the gt, about 10 seconds. I think the GT is going to stick the rest of the race out in 3rd place.
Lap 57: I put the Grand Sport another lap down by taking him cleanly on the inside of the next to last turn. I have been running a pretty consistent low 1:32 laps for the last 10 laps or so.
Lap 58: At the end of this lap, I once again lap that poor GTO. I also lapped the ZR-1 again this past lap. As I cross the line, I realize that I now lead the S7 by 28 seconds.
Lap 60: The ZR-1 pitted this lap. The last 3 laps were all 1:32.0xx laps. My consistency is getting better even if they are over a second slower than my best lap time.
Lap 65: I almost ran out of gas that last lap. I really was worried I would run out before the pits. I let the crew fill up the gas more than I usually do which cost me some time. As I start this lap, I have only a 11 second lead on the S7.
Lap 66: The Grand Sport pits this lap. The S7 has really gained on me. I lead him by just 5 seconds now. If my math is right, we both have 1 pit left, me at lap 80 and him at lap 69 which is coming up. This could still be close.
Lap 68: Our good old 3rd place buddy the Ford GT pits this lap. He enters in third and leaves in third. I think his fate has been sealed and is no longer a threat to anybody.
Lap 69: As I near the line at the end of this lap, I realize, the S7 didn't pit. He was supposed to pit. I have at least pulled away from him to make my lead 10.973 seconds over him.
Lap 71: The S7 finally pits. Speaking of pits, that GTO just sat there and watched my put him yet another lap down. As I cross the line, the S7 is now 40 seconds behind me. With one more pit left for me, I start to feel a little more assured that I will win this one.
Lap 72: Finally a sub 1:32 lap. This lap was a 1:31.430. The past 16 laps have been slower than I wanted them to be. Maybe I will be able to break that fastest lap of the day of 1:30.870.
Lap 73: Lapped the ZR-1 and the Grand Sport again. Normally lap traffic slows me down but I still ran a 1:31.831.
Lap 78: I decided to pit early at the end of the lap. The car was really loose and hard to control. This is my last pit so it's straight to the finish for me and the Saleen.
Lap 83: Now 6 laps down, the GTO gives me a simple hand gesture with one of his fingers and I lap him one more time in the last corner.
Lap 87: The S7 is currently 35.2 seconds back from me. He has to accept that silver is all he's going to get today. The gold is mine.
Lap 88: I lap the ZR-1 again before the corkscrew.
Lap 90: Last lap! I see a car ahead of me as I start this lap. I wanted to lap the GT but didn't have a clue as to where he was on the track. I ran hard and finally caught up with the car ahead when we got to the corkscrew. Unfortunately, it wasn't the GT, it was the Grand Sport. With pride though, I put him 5 laps down at the last corner before I took the checkered flag to win the race. The final results follows below.
1.Z06
2.S7 - 37.423
3.GT - ???????
4.GS - 5 laps
5.ZR1- 5 laps
6.GTO-6 laps
Total race time: 2:21:44.042
Fastest Lap: Lap 29 1:30.870
Average Lap: 1:34.519
Average NonPit Lap: 1:32.731
Laps Led: 72
Pit Stops: 5
Here are a couple of pictures also
Starting Grid
Dead Even
.. er..strange..
Can't wait to get my hands on GT4 on Wednesday! 
