Stupidity & a Comeback (SS 150 mile)

Last night, I decided to do the Super Speedway 150 mile endurance race. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, so I entered with my R92CP Race Car,

The Field:
1. Chevrolet Corvette C5R '00
2. Bentley Speed 8 Race Car '03
3. BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97
4. Mercedes-Benz AMG Mercedes CLK-GTR Race Car '98
5. Toyota MINOLTA Toyota 88C-V Race Car '89
6. Nissan R92CP Race Car '92 [me]

I took the lead early and was leading by about 10 seconds at Lap 20. This continued on for another 20 laps. The C5R was the 'snail' in this race, as expected - I lapped it about 5 times in this span, the McLaren and the CLK once or twice each (can't remember). The Minolta pitted at Lap 41 and me, being foolish, paid no attention to the fuel gauge, only the tires (which were barely orange at the time). My car died coming off turn 4 and began coasting around the track at 50mph, out of fuel. It hurt even more because I could have pitted that lap and not had this happen. Guess what I'll never forget to do from now on. I ended up a lap and a half behind the Minolta as I came back out on the track on Lap 44.

I knew I had to drive my absolute best to be able to pull this off. I was slowly gaining about a second a lap, but I knew this wasn't enough. I tried racing harder, but I only managed to pass the Minolta and was still 23+ seconds behind. I figured had a chance to catch him with 25 or so laps left, but that would mean almost no mistakes.

It was time to pit again at Lap 82, I dove in right after the Minolta. I remembered a few bits of past knowledge - this car used up 80 gallons (or whatever) in 43 laps - I figured 40 would be enough to last the 19 laps. I also swapped my R1's for R3's, hoping they would last the distance as well. I also remembered that the AI is stupid when it comes to pitting - they refuel all the way. So I knew I had a much better chance of coming back now. I trailed by only about 13 seconds now, with 18 laps left.

Sadly, I looped it on the backstretch on the next lap (Lap 84) after bouncing off the wall and losing control of this 1000HP beast. I never thought my chances were completely gone, but at this point, I could feel them slipping down the drain. Surprisingly, I only lost about five seconds from this mess - I later realized it could have been much worse.

I underestimated how effective the R3 tires where compared to (I assume) the Minolta's R1's. I was turning laps that were at the least, a half a second, and at times, a second a half faster than with the R1's. I caught the Minolta just as the Bentley, a long way's behind, pitted again on Lap 91 and never looked back. Won by about 12 seconds. Don't remember the exact win margin.

Final Results:
1. Nissan R92CP Race Car '92 [me]
2. Toyota MINOLTA Toyota 88C-V Race Car '89
3. Bentley Speed 8 Race Car '03 +1 LAP
4. BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97
5. Mercedes-Benz AMG Mercedes CLK-GTR Race Car '98
6. Chevrolet Corvette C5R '00

I found it slightly annoying that the race results freeze after a set period after the lead car crosses the line and you can't see how far behind everyone else was. It would be kind of funny to see how many times we lapped the C5R.

And most of you know this, I'm sure, but DON'T do something stupid like I did in any endurance race! It nearly cost me the race and made this hour a complete waste.

Great write-up there! I enjoyed reading it. 👍

Duck7892

I tried that race 3 times on B-Spec. Each time the tit lost. So I did it myself. It is a great race. And you do lose surprisingly little time spinning.

It's almost like a Mystery/Suspense book!

Very interesting and entertaining write-up. Thanks for sharing with us. Now you'll probably be driving with one eye on the road and one eye on the fuel.

One of the Japanese designers of the Nissan Group C and IMSA GTP cars once said that he would love to have seen those cars race on a high-banked superspeedway. This is about as close as we can get to that dream. Not a bad race to win. If you don't have a car that's vastly superior to the competition, as it seems most people do around here, it's actually very entertaining.

Bonedwarf

I tried that race 3 times on B-Spec. Each time the tit lost. So I did it myself. It is a great race. And you do lose surprisingly little time spinning.

Click to expand...

Minor apologies for the resurrection here.

Had an interesting experience with B-Spec Bozo here. Took my fully worked Pescarolo Peugot in for some high speed fun, having already won this with my black Nissan R92CP first time around. I'm a tad vague on the details, i should have kept a log. Forgive me for any obvious discrepancies in my recall.

Started on R2's with A-Spec Al, and had to pit on 31 with my tyres going red, so I changed to R1's to give myself the luxury of just the one more pit. A spin on the reds just prior to pitting meant i came out of the pits a lap down to the Sauber and the Audi R8. Soon picked them both up after they pitted, and the knowledge that i had an extra stop up my sleeve due to their 3 pit strategy meant i could push hard with some impunity. Had to pit on 66 due to front right going off and low on fuel, but knew i had a 34 lap run in to the finish and knew that with the extra stops for the Sauber and Audi i would have an easy 2 lap victory.

This is where things got interesting. Darling wifey needed my services (No, not that, thankfully. reasons why shall become obvious very shortly). I had to let B-Spec Bozo loose, and figured i could do so with a good degree of surety. I let him loose with a lap lead and the extra up his sleeve, set to pass, and on medium pace at real time(another reason to be thankful). Came back in room to find Bozo on lap 98 and having lost it 3/4 of the way round the wide bend with blood red front and rear rights. By the time he got under way and i had worked out what the **** was going on, it was too late to bring him in. I set him to pit at the end of lap 99, but on the way round he gives a repeat of the performance and spins out again. Now i am starting to get nervous as the Sauber is gaining time at a great rate of knots. As he hits the pits, i quickly give the order to change to R3's, and tell the crew chief to get that idiot out of my car. I grab him by the shoulder and toss him out my seat.

Watching nervously from my seat as the tyres are changed, my worst fears are realised as i exit pit lane to see the Sauber round me and take first position. I was saved by the fact that i had R3's, and due to him being at less than top speed as the pit lane exit gave me a boost out right behind him as he went through the curve with a not overly great speed differential. With the draft he was able to give me, i was able to go into the tight final curve with a slight lead which he took back as i found that he went in quicker and deeper than my own 'early brake, early accelerate out of the turn' approach. This gave me the chance to accelerate quicker and straighter out of the turn to take the chequered flag by 0.2 of a second for an exhilerating and breathless finish. By the time my heart rate had subsided to healthy levels, i had picked up a nice cheque for $200,000 which turned out to not be as comfortable than first anticipated. Relief never felt so good.

ktaylor57

My car died coming off turn 4

Click to expand...

cool i never knew you could run out of fuel on turn 4 when there are only two corners on the entire track =]

Ehh, that would be the second half of the "second" corner.

There's four corners on any oval.

What was your fastest lap time during the race?

gt4 addict

cool i never knew you could run out of fuel on turn 4 when there are only two corners on the entire track =]

Click to expand...

A couple of things here, gt4 addict:

Firstly, please don't dig up old threads just to add an inane comment like this. We call this gravedigging, and it's not warmly welcomed so we'd ask that you don't do it in future unless you've something of value to add to the thread.

Secondly, please work on you capitalisation of the first words in a sentence and personal pronouns. This is not a request, but a requirement. Lazy posting isn't welcomed or tolerated here. Consider this your first polite warning and act upon it as you continue to post around the forums here.

flyingkiwi

What was your fastest lap time during the race?

Click to expand...

Unfortunately flyingkiwi, you're unlikely to get a response to this question, as the original report was posted back in April of 2005, and the user hasn't visited here since March 2006.

This is another good reason that gravedigging of old threads by old users isn't a good idea as it causes confusion to newer active members, and illustrates perfectly why I've chosen to warn gt4 addict about it above.