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It took me some time to pick the right car. It looked like I was gonna need 1300kg car with abou 250 hp to get 200 A-Spec points. I decided to go with used Honda S2000 Spec V '00.
My first lineup had couple of NSXs and they took off from the start and disappeared in the distance. After two laps it was clear I can't catch them (I'm not very good at the Ring).
So I restarted and got totally diferent opponents:
Chevrolet Corvette Grand Prix (C4)
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII MR GSR
Mazda RX-8 Type S
Chevrolet Camaro SS
Jaguar S Type R
1st hour:
Everything looks good from the start. I catch up with the leaders before the end of first lap. But after minor off track excursion the Evo gets the lead and by lap 3 he is 9 seconds ahead with me in second place, Corvette just behind me followed by RX-8.
On lap 4 the tires on the Evo give up and I pass him before he pulls in to pits.
I pit on lap 5 with Mazda just behind me.
Corvette stays out and takes healthy 30 second lead.
At the end of lap 6 he pits as well and I take a lead again.
It looks like the Mazda and Evo are very fast but mess up on worn out tires on their last laps before pitting.
So it looks like it's gonna be between me and the Corvette
2nd hour:
I build about 15 second lead over Corvette but I'll have to make up twice this much because I have to make one pit stop more than him. The Mazda is still pretty close behind me but he is on the same pit strategy as me so I'm not worried about him.
3rd hour:
I messed up. I spun out, missed the pit entrance and ended up sideways between pits and final turn. As I was backing up the Mazda hit me and slowed me down even more. When I finally got to the pit lane I could see the Corvette zipping by. My lead is gone and I only have about 11 laps to close down 30 seconds gap
4th hour:
I seriously think about giving up. The Corvette is 20 seconds in the lead with about 7 laps to go and there is no lap traffic to slow him down. I decide to give it one more try and put down two fast laps.
On the lap 25 I have to pit and the Mazda on bad tires runs the Corvette off the track !
When I come out the Corvette is only 2 seconds ahead !!! I use his draft and pass him for the lead.
Laps 26-27: I can't shake him off ! I get away from him in technical parts of the track but he catches me on the straights.
Lap 29: Half way thru the lap the clock shows 4 hours. All I have to do is hold my slim lead. I'm about 3 seconds ahead when I enter the long straight before the finish. He drafts me just before the final series of turns but I brake late and take the win by 1.606 seconds !!!
This was should have been an easy 200 point race but with two costly mistakes it turned out to be my closest endurance win.
My first lineup had couple of NSXs and they took off from the start and disappeared in the distance. After two laps it was clear I can't catch them (I'm not very good at the Ring).
So I restarted and got totally diferent opponents:
Chevrolet Corvette Grand Prix (C4)
Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII MR GSR
Mazda RX-8 Type S
Chevrolet Camaro SS
Jaguar S Type R
1st hour:
Everything looks good from the start. I catch up with the leaders before the end of first lap. But after minor off track excursion the Evo gets the lead and by lap 3 he is 9 seconds ahead with me in second place, Corvette just behind me followed by RX-8.
On lap 4 the tires on the Evo give up and I pass him before he pulls in to pits.
I pit on lap 5 with Mazda just behind me.
Corvette stays out and takes healthy 30 second lead.
At the end of lap 6 he pits as well and I take a lead again.
It looks like the Mazda and Evo are very fast but mess up on worn out tires on their last laps before pitting.
So it looks like it's gonna be between me and the Corvette
2nd hour:
I build about 15 second lead over Corvette but I'll have to make up twice this much because I have to make one pit stop more than him. The Mazda is still pretty close behind me but he is on the same pit strategy as me so I'm not worried about him.
3rd hour:
I messed up. I spun out, missed the pit entrance and ended up sideways between pits and final turn. As I was backing up the Mazda hit me and slowed me down even more. When I finally got to the pit lane I could see the Corvette zipping by. My lead is gone and I only have about 11 laps to close down 30 seconds gap
4th hour:
I seriously think about giving up. The Corvette is 20 seconds in the lead with about 7 laps to go and there is no lap traffic to slow him down. I decide to give it one more try and put down two fast laps.
On the lap 25 I have to pit and the Mazda on bad tires runs the Corvette off the track !
When I come out the Corvette is only 2 seconds ahead !!! I use his draft and pass him for the lead.
Laps 26-27: I can't shake him off ! I get away from him in technical parts of the track but he catches me on the straights.
Lap 29: Half way thru the lap the clock shows 4 hours. All I have to do is hold my slim lead. I'm about 3 seconds ahead when I enter the long straight before the finish. He drafts me just before the final series of turns but I brake late and take the win by 1.606 seconds !!!
This was should have been an easy 200 point race but with two costly mistakes it turned out to be my closest endurance win.
Check out my Race report. 
