The DGTC?

First of all, hi!

This is my first attempt at a write-up, oops sorry, race report so please bear with me and don't bite my head off for corny writing and such. I would consider myself an average driver, having been humbled quite a few times in the WRS and do this purely for fun, not trying to break any records.. Please excuse all misspellings and such as english isn't my first language..

I have maybe 3 weeks ago started GT4 over, this time a-spec only (So I guess no 24h endurances) and was looking for a good race with the JGTC cars. After reading through a few of you guy's reports I got very inspired (especially by Old Geezer's writing and a few others) and decided to use a car I'd been looking for a race to, but so far to no avail. How would an old(er) DTM car do in a modern JGTC line-up? So I brought out my AMG Mercedes 190E EvoII ´92 (actually ZZII got me "into" this car with his DTM race on the ring), changed the oil, and entered the JGTC series! The car is stock (as won), apart from the oil change and I'm leaving the tyres on that came with the car.

This is the line-up:

Nissan MOTUL PITWORK Z ´04 (Ooo, I suspect I'm in trouble!)
Toyota au CERUMO Supra ´01
Toyota DENSO SARD Supra GT ´00
Nissan PENNZOIL NISMO GT-R ´99
Honda RAYBRIG MSX ´00 (for some reason one of my favourites from GT3)

Race 1: Tokyo R246 - 5 laps - 126 points

I decide (wisely) to qualify for the race and manage to get pole position fairly easy, but I already think the race wil be quite a different matter.. The MOTUL PITWORK Z qualify in second and I fear he will be my worst enemy for the next 10 races or so..

Time for the race and almost before I see the lights turn green, the MOTUL has passed me with ease and is racing away from me down into turn one. I try to regain some confidence and put my foot down (or well finger - i use a ds2..) I quite soon though (to my great relief) see that I'm considerably faster on the twisty parts (bad AI - nothing else) and I pass the MOTUL in the hairpin leading out to the main straight. This is where my troubles begin. Down the start-finish straight I have NOTHING on the MOTUL car. He has way better "oomph" at those speeds and closes in FAST! This is a pattern that will repeat itself.. During lap 2 and 3 I manage to hold on to a good lead of 1.5 seconds and feel confident, so confdent in fact that I start doing silly mistakes, costing me precious time! However, the MOTUL stays calmly just over a second behind me. BUT when i break for turn one on lap 4 i suddenly realise that he is now only 0.2 seconds behind, or two car lengths, as it feels atleast.. I manage a so-and-so lap, briefly losing the lead only to regain it in the difficult left before the last turn ( the hairpin). Now for the final lap! Into turn one, we are LITTERALLY side by side and I slip in front! I have a poor 5th lap as I spend more time looking backwards than forwards but I'm still in the lead as I turn out of the hairpin onto the straight, allready certain of that I'll have to do more than a fair amount of blocking to be able to win this. The MOTUL closes in very fast again but seems to have gotten a poor exit out of the last turn as he never reaches me and I win the race!

Result 1st! (yay!)
Margin of win: 0.218 seconds.

I hope to have the time to race and write down the next race soon, so be sure to tune in for updates! BTW I fully expect to lose this series, but aleast hopefully with a bit of grace..

Cheers!

Update!

Race 2: Suzuka East short course - 12 laps - 150 points

This was one I actually thought I'd have no problem winning, as it is a twisty course with many turns that are medium-fast.. How wrong I was..

Started the qualification with my RM:s on all round and set the fastest lap right away making more test laps redundant, or so it would seem.. This was the line-up:

AMG Merc 190E EvoII (Me for you who are just joining us)
MOTUL PITWORK Z (Was there any doubt?)
au CERUMO Supra
DENSO SARD Supra GT
PENNZOIL NISMO GT-R
RAYBRIG NSX

Now for the race. I put RH in the front and kept the RM in the back as I had seen the front tyres fade horribly in the last 3-4 laps before.. BRIGHT red when starting lap 12 creating a disaterous (sp? )understeer.. This ought to fix that, I thought..

Well it did. But of course it is a standing start and me with no driving aids what so ever, don't like them, and standing starts is the only place where I might need a TCM setting of 1 to help me get of the line easier.. The green light goes on and again I am overtaken by the MOTUL Z and the au CERUMO right away. . Ok, I had expected this, on with the race. I quickly catch up to the 2 cars in front and overtake the Supra somewhere in "mid-esses" and I also fly past the Z in the last S turn (Anti-bank - Dunlop curve). Away I go as my tyres obviously are much warmer that the Z's.. By lap 5-6 I have a good lead of 2,5 seconds but now comes the difficult part. The MOTUL Z has now got his tyres up to temperature and cathces up to me very quickly.. I spend lap 9-12 trying to keep him behind me and actually succeed, he's faster but not enough to overtake! 👍 However, this is where he realises this and resorts to cheating.. 👎 Lap 9-12 he simply refuses to break for the anit-bank curve and hits me from behind, HARD almost throwing me off the tarmac, I have to save the car EVERY lap with some fancy driving.. Bastard Z.. Then on lap 12 the inevitable happens, he hits me again, this time catching me out and throwing my left tyres into the kitty litter, enough for him to sneek by while I try to recover and not spin.. I have NO chance what so ever to catch him in the last curve and I have to settle for 2nd place, with the strong wish to pull the MOTUL Z over and rip his heart from his chest.. (I know, I have issues..)

Results 2nd
Margin of loss: 3,2XX seconds

The points are now:
AMG Merc 16 pts
MOTUL Z 16 pts
au CERUMO forgot to note
DENSO forgot to note
PENNZOIL forgot to note
RAYBRIG forgot to note

On to race 3, and I have a new-found disrespect for the MOTUL team..


Race 3: Seoul Central - 10 laps - 129 points

In this race I thought I'd get killed by the much more powerful JGTC cars, seeing as this venue has alot of long straights. Again, I was wrong. I qualified into pole and as this course has a rolling start I also managed to keep me lead into turn one (the city gate). Point of interest here is that the MOTUL only managed to qualify 3rd and I instead had the au CERUMO Supra breathing down my neck for the first lap. However, I expected again to get an early lead as my tyres warm up fast but then have a serious fight on my hands for the second half of the race or so.. Wrong, wrong, wrong. I got my early lead allright and the au CERUMO slipped to 3-4 seconds behind me by lap 4. By lap 6-7 he was 7,5 behind and the gap never got smaller or stopped growing. Farily un-interesting race for you to read about, I won by an amazing 15 seconds or so, but what was even better was that the au CERUMO managed to keep the MOTUL at bay, refusing him 6 points, something I was very thankful for..

Result 1st!
Margin of win: 15.XXX seconds

Points:
AMG Merc 26
MOTUL Z 20
au CERUMO 13
DENSO 10
PENNZOIL 6
RAYBRIG 3

Surprising but not boring race.

Race 4: Fuji speedway 90s - 6 laps - 129 points

Again a race I (and ZZII?) suspected I'd lose considering the lack of power. Got pole in qualification and had the dreaded MOTUL sitting a few yards behind me on the grid in second. Standing start again. Everything repeats itself. Slipped down to 3rd before turn one but over took the au CERUMO quickly and took the lead by the hairpin (just before T2). On my warm tyres my lead extended to 4 seconds by lap 3 but now the MOTUL gained on me again. The gap closed by .4 seconds on lap 4 but then he got a poor exit out of the hairpin and obviously lost concentration and/or rythm. He never put up a fight again and I won by again a surprising 12 seconds..

Result 1st!
Margin of win: 12.XXX seconds.

Points:
AMG Merc 36
MOTUL Z 26
au CERUMO 17
DENSO 13
PENNZOIL 8
RAYBRIG 4

What has happened to my opposition here? They don't feel like putting up a fight anymore?

Race 5: Twin ring Motegi Super speedway - 12 laps - 129 points

Now here I was SURE I'd lose. Lack of top end power and no turns to make up for my lack of speed, but again I qualified in pole but thought I'd been lucky as I slip streamed the PENNZOIL my entire qualification lap. Surely they would KILL me as soon as the start came? Rolling start and the MOTUL Z in second keep up with me through turn 1 and 2 of lap one. Then he slips to 1 second behind, the 1.5 by lap 3 and 2 seconds by lap 4. After 12 laps I pass the line 8 seconds before anyone else. BTW I even forgot to remove the downforce for this race.. Ran with full DF front and back..

Result 1st!
Margin of win: 8.XXX seconds.

Points:
AMG Merc 46
MOTUL Z 32
au CERUMO 21
DENSO 15
PENNZOIL 11
RAYBRIG 5

Up next, Laguna Seca!

Race 6: Laguna Seca - 7 laps - 129 points.

Never liked Laguna Seca since the rebuild in GT4. Had it fairly well "down" in GT3 but the changes (now more correct, I hear) throw me off, litterally.. Pole position again and I start to think they are letting me win now. Consider to use RH in front to avoid understeer on the last lap(s) but opt against it, risk-taking is a part of the fun? Uneventful race, I never lose the lead as it is a rolling start and they gradually slip further and further back, only closing in slightly as I make mistakes and take detours in the kitty litter.. Again the au CERUMO takes second, robbing the MOTUL of precious points, serves him well..

Result 1st!
Margin of win: 14.XXX seconds.

Points:
AMG Merc 56
MOTUL Z 36
au CERUMO 27
DENSO 18
PENNZOIL 13
RAYBRIG 6

Now I actually think I'll be able to win this series!

Race 7: Hong kong - 9 laps - 129 points.

Again a venue I've never liked. Too "choppy" (is that even a word? ) and no rythm for me. Nothing new under the sun, qualify in front and keep the lead the entire race. The au CERUMO did close the gap by a second or so in the last 3 laps but never theatened me really..

Result 1st!
Margin of win: 9.XXX seconds

Points:
AMG Merc 66
MOTUL Z 40 (Now you see what happens to cheaters, MOTUL team??)
au CERUMO 33
DENSO 21
PENNZOIL 15
RAYBRIG 7

Three races to go and I feel confident!

Race 8: Twin ring Motegi Road course - 6 laps - 129 points.

A fantastic track I think! Don't really know it all that well but it just "flows" and I enjoy it very much! My first qualifying lap gets me pole and from a standing start away I go! ...straight down to thrid place again. As I now know how this will evolve I can laugh about it. In the final bends of lap one I retake the lead from the MOTUL Z and build up a 3 second lead by lap 3. During lap 4 and 5 the MOTUL Z gains some serious ground on me and by turn one of lap 6, he's 0.4XX seconds behind me.. Time to concentrate I tell myself and put in a decent lap, opening the gap to the Z to almost a second at the finish line! A very good race, enjoyed it! 👍

Result 1st!
Margin of win: 0.9XX seconds.

Points:
AMG Merc 76
MOTUL Z 46
au CERUMO 39
DENSO 24
PENNZOIL 17
RAYBRIG 8

I keep telling myself now that I don't have to win all the races to take the series win, but I'm still going to try!

Race 9: Fuji Speedway 2005 GT - 6 laps - 129 points.

Oooh.. I don't know this course at all! The guided run in the licence test really says it all, "It may look the same bt all the details are different" - indeed. I think to myself that I'll do my best and by now after qualifying in pole yet again I am conviced the other guys have given up. I manage 6 fair laps with not to many run-offs and finish about 3,5 seconds ahead of the MOTUL Z, getting another beuatiful 10 points!

Result 1st!
Margin of win: 3,5XX seconds.

Points:
AMG Merc 86
MOTUL Z 52
au CERUMO 39
DENSO 28
PENNZOIL 20
RAYBRIG 9

On to the last race - Suzuka Circuit!

Race 10: Suzuka Circuit - 5 laps - 129 points.

Again I consider my RH:s in front but choose not to after my pole in qualification. I'll live with the understeer on lap 5, I tell myself. Standing start, slip to thrid, block the DENSO and retake lead by Degner curve. Slowly build up a 3 second lead and ralise that the tyres will go the distance without turning blood-red.. I'm in the clear! The MOTUL Z does try to do something about my cheerful mood on lap 4 but fails and ends up in second, about 3 seconds behind me, again, serves him well. I still haven't forgiven him for crashin into me when we last visited this venue. Bastard!

Result 1st!Margin of win: 3.XXX seconds.

Final points:
AMG Merc 96 (argh, really want those 4 last points now!)
MOTUL Z 58 (WAY behind, eat my dust!)
au CERUMO 42(un-even performance, could do better?)
DENSO 30
PENNZOIL 24
RAYBRIG 10 (My poor favourite!)

Final notes:
VERY fun series albeit that I thought I'd get murdured on te track, especially the ones with long straights. I'm not sure what the AI cars lack but what seem to be fairly consistent is that I win in the slow corners and lose time in the long, sweeping ones. What the reason for this is I'll let someone who is "wise in the ways of sience" explain to me (Scaff perhaps?) as I don't know enough about race cars..

I am a bit dissapointed that the opposistion couldn't put up more of a fight once I had won the opening races but nevermind, had GREAT fun driving aswell as writing this fairly long-winded report (Sorry 'bout that! ) and in closing I can really recommend this combo for others to try but as I could win it quite easily, you hardcore racers (you know who you are!) will get bored with it quickly I think. Try something slower..

BTW, older DTM cars are my favourites right now (partly because of this series), can anyone recommend me a close race (or series) using the Alfa 155 TI DTM car? Gorgeous looking!

Cheers, thanks for reading!

/PanzerFaust

Update: Added picture of me crossing the finish line to win the series..

Nice race! I just tried it out as an individual race (starting from 6th). I was able to make it past the Z, but I made a few mistakes and his tires warmed up I guess so he smoked me on the front stretch of lap four and never looked back. I lost by a bit over 4 seconds. Not sure if I could win it starting from first on my first try, but certainly it is possible. The 190 Touring Car can definitely carry it's weight and you should have a fighting chance on slower tracks. In fact, Tokyo is one that I would think would be harder than the rest because of the long front stretch. Pure speculation: You should be able to take Suzuka East, Laguna Seca, and Hong Kong. The Montegi Road Course, Fuji's, Seoul, and straight Suzuka I'm less sure about but you'll only need to get one or two of them, and Super Speedway I think it's safe to say you won't win. But in short: Winning the series is possible. I'm tempted to do it myself now...I know it can be done and it sounds like a lot of fun. Good luck and enjoy!

You're quite welcome to try! I did some testing and I hade the samt thoughts that you had, that twisty, slow tracks would be what could "save" me, but I'm not so sure anymore. Suzuka short (west I think) I thought would be ideal for the AMG but it eats through the front tyres just in time for the MOTUL to get up to perfect temperature. In testing I lost 5 seconds on one lap, the last..

Oh well.. Maybe should have bought more sets of tyres?



Update:

Currently about to race the last 3 races in the series. Started over with RH tyres bought, but didn't seem to need them in the end.. Same line-up otherwise except for suddenly I am offered 129 a-spec points instead of 126 , should I win that is..

Be back later today with the rest of the series report.. Wish me luck!

Cheers!

Updates above!

Nice work in this series! The AMG 190 never ceases to amaze me. In the hands of a skillful driver, it can do great things. I was just guessing at the tracks you might win, but apparently I was quite wrong. I guess if you can take down Tokyo, one of the fastest, you can probably take down any of the others. As far as Super Speedway, the only explanation I can think of is that the AI cars do the sliding stuff that I have seen them do on that track before.

I love the close races and am always seeking them out. (There used to be a thread somewhere dedicated to reporting close races, but I don't know where it is anymore.) Unfortunately, due to the somewhat disappointing AI in GT4, you have to look for them by putting yourself in underdog positions that seem impossible in real life (DTM vs. JGTC, JGTC vs. LMP, etc.). But I guess if they made the AI better, less experienced GT players would say that the even matches are too hard. I still prefer realism.

Again, great job and nice report!

A great write-up indeed.
I didn't even realize that you could enter non-japenese cars in that series.

A great write-up. A pity you didn't have as much competition. When I did this championship with a DTM car, I used the Opel Astra and had a better fight than the one you talked about (I believe the lack of 4WD was the problem). Only halting the stereotype that the JGTC cars are worth the money. Anyways, a good race for the Alfa 155 is the Tokyo Endurace race. The Mazda RX-7 LM will give you nightmares the whole race.

Thanks for the feedback guys! 👍

The Merc can really hold its own actually and it surprised me too that it could win against the JGTCs that easily.. I bet in the hands of a skillful driver, it could accomplish even more.

Just now reached the 25% mark and opened up endurance hall again so I guess it won't be long until I bring my beloved Alfa to Tokyo!

Cheers!

Nice writeup dude, Very cool... 👍

Another cool close race is the Grand Valley 300 in an Altezza Touring Car with Stage 2 or 3 Turbo (The smallest one you can buy)... You get hell from the RX7 LM Car, the Supra's and the Motul Pitworx if they're in it... 135 A-Spec points too..

Again, NICE WRITE UP!!! 👍

Thanks again..

Have been doing a bunch of "boring" races now to unlock the extreme hall but have to start with my favourite part of the game again soon (endurances). Both suggestions sounds nice, I love the GWS and Tokyo is nice aswell.. Oh well, will have to make my mind up..

Cheers!

Since the wonderful AMG 190 got me hooked on The Ring for the time being, I just did the Nurburgring 4h and finished with a margin of victory of 8.3 seconds. My 338 HP Mustang GT vs. the NSX Type R '02. I did not expect it to be that close. I attribute it to my horrible pit strategy, inefficient use of tires, and inability to sit through four hours of racing at this time of night without an iPod to distract me and increase my lap times by 5+ seconds. But if anyone wants to try a well-matched endurance race, this seems good.

That's quite a small margin ZZII.. 👍

Just had to abandon the GTAS series TWICE due to not having done any tyre-wear testing and found myself driving on ice on lap 6-8 of 10 and watching the Audi R8 zooming past me.. I'm such an idiot..

Now think I'll do the El Capitan endurance with something fun I'll look for in my garage but I really don't want to cave in to the temptation to use the Minolta in the GTAS! Oh well..

EDIT:

Did the El Capital endurance in my NA level 2 tuned Honda NSX '90 (about 370 hp I think - something like 158 a-spec points). Did not install the race exhaust as it completely ruined the engine noice.. Wanted to listen to that NSX's growl at 4000 rpm, lovely.. 👍 Got the Zonda as main competition. Neither the Corvette Z05 or the Grand Sport could match my pace. Noiced that the Zonda didn't even seem to had brought his pit-team with him. Didn't pit until lap 19 (or was it 18?)! I had to pit every 10 (streched it to 12 in a vain attempt to change strategy but lost 15-20 seconds on that last lap! 👎 According to every calculation I did in my head I would lose the race but thanks to the Zonda's TOTAL inability to handle cold tyres, I still took the flag almost a minute ahead of him. Was actually hoping for a closer finish, but hey, I got my Minolta and 250k cash.. Now let's see where I'll put that Minolta to use.. (Didn't mean for this to be a mini-write-up! Honestly! )

Cheers!

Pics of me and my competition and my not so very smooth line passing the Zonda on lap one (plus different angle)..

lol, That's my B Spec money making enduro PanzerFaust, hehe, I be Spec it overnight to win the Minolta to sell to build drift cars... hehe...

I'm really looking forward to A-Specing it fully soon, and I found the perfect car for a fun ride on it too... The Sileighty @275KW (I think that's everything modded with a stage 2 Turbo... Gives you 130 points or so and a close race... sept I used sports mediums and retired early, Still need to fit the sports hard and give it a bash... Racing the Zonda and Elise is fun!!!

Yep, that endurance is really entertaining! 👍 Especially with a tail-happy car as it keeps you on your toes when the rear suddenly breaks free! I have no idea how to drift properly so it's even more challenging for me..

Next up the GTAS and I'm afraid it will be with the Minolta even though I know it's overkill.. 👎 Just can't wait to open up extreme hall..

Cheers!

Love that 3rd pic Panzer. 👍

GREAT Races... GREAT Write-Up! Even though I've been out of town I don't know how I missed this thread! Keep 'em coming! 👍 ...O.G.

Thanks you guys, I'm glad you liked it!

Cheers!