Laguna Seca 200mls - 200pts. race
This is actually my second attempt at this race, I ended up losing the first one by a mere 6 seconds to the Saleen S7.
Atleast I got 2 hours and 21 mins worth of practise. This is the same lineup and setup as in the earlier race. Prepare for a nailbiting writeup... 
Here is the track, big thanks to AMG. 👍
Car: Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00
Lineup:
Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe '04 - pits every 15 laps
Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 - pits every 16 laps
Saleen S7 '02 - pits every 22 laps
Ford GT '05 - pits every 12-13 laps
Shelby Series 1 Super Charged '03 - pits every 17-18 laps
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 - pits every 18 laps (R1's, 40 units of fuel, laps ~1'31-1'32's (best lap 1'31.217)
Setup: Stock, R1 tires, 379hp, 334 kilometers driven (my previous unsuccesful attempt)
Laps 1-18:
I started the first laps cautiously and it took me 4 laps to get to the 2nd place, the Ford GT remaining ahead of me. I spent the next 8 laps chasing him with no success. He was slightly quicker than the rest but I knew he was going to pit in by the end of lap 12. As the Ford pitted in I took the 1st place with a three second gap to the 2nd place Saleen. On lap 16 I lapped the backmarker Pontiac for the first time. Lap 18, I pitted in for the first time and I saw the Saleen taking the first place as my pitcrew changed new tires for the car. I came out in 3rd place +35 seconds behind the leading Saleen and the Shelby right behind me. My teammate (Camaro SS) couldn't keep up at all and was about a half lap behind at this point. 👎
Laps 18-36:
After the Saleen's pitstop on lap 22, the fight for the 1st place begun. I made some small mistakes (I often ran wide in corner 4 right after T1) and dropped to 3rd place momentarily with the Saleen and Shelby in 1st and 2nd places. I also lapped the Camaro on lap 30. The Ford GT's faster pace didn't help him in the long run because his 12-13 lap strategy was too short compared to the others.
Laps 36-54:
After my pitstop at the end of lap 36 I came out in 2nd place, 18 seconds behind the Saleen who pits on lap 44. The Shelby still lurked in my rearview about 2-3 secs behind.
On lap 44 the Saleen made his pitstop and I took the 1st place with a three second gap to the Shelby behind me. On lap 48 I once again lapped the Pontiac and two laps later the Camaro had the same fate.
Laps 54-72:
I made my next pitstop on lap 54 from a 17 second lead over the 2nd place Saleen (Shelby pitted in earlier). I came out of the pits +11 seconds behind the Saleen. On the following laps the gap increased to +18 seconds as the Saleen had warm tyres versus my cold ones. Lap 64, I lapped the Pontiac again. The Pontiac's lapping had a clear pattern as I passed him during his pitstop every 16 laps and this happened thorough the race. On lap 66 the Saleen pitted in and regained the 1st place. The Shelby had also appeared back to my rearview about 2 secs behind. Laps 69 and 70 were horrible (1'35's), during both of the laps I made a mistake on the 4th corner and the Shelby quickly overtook me leaving me to 2nd place.
He didn't have the lead for long though, as he pitted in at the end of lap 70. On the next lap my lead over the 2nd place Saleen was 16 seconds.
Laps 72-90:
The final stage started off with me pitting in on lap 72. I came out on 3rd place +17 seconds behind the Saleen and a second behind the Shelby. For the next 8 laps I tried to overtake the Shelby but it was very difficult because we had the exact same pace. On lap 80 my gap to 1st place Saleen was +18 seconds and guess what... I lapped the Pontiac once again during his pitstop (every 16 laps).
Then on lap 82 I succesfully slipstreamed the Shelby and overtook him in the 10th corner right before pit in entrance.👍 On the next lap I lapped the Camaro SS, the Saleen's lead was now +20 seconds. The race went on and on lap 87 the 3rd place Shelby decided to pit in once more and then on lap 88 the leader Saleen S7 pitted in. Thats was the moment I had been waiting for the whole race and when I started lap 89 I waved to the Saleen driver who sat in the pits with only 2 laps to go.
My front tires were in bad shape during the last laps but I avoided mistakes and won the race.
Final standings:
1st Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00, racetime: 2:20'52.275, 90 laps
2nd Saleen S7 '02, +12 secs behind
3rd Shelby Series 1 Super Charged '03, +25 secs
4th Ford GT '05, +55 secs
5th Chevrolet Camaro SS '00, +3 laps
6th Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe '04, +5 laps
For winning the race I was rewarded with a 200000 credits, Ford GT40 Racer '69 and 200 A-spec points. What a truly magnificent race!
This is actually my second attempt at this race, I ended up losing the first one by a mere 6 seconds to the Saleen S7.
Atleast I got 2 hours and 21 mins worth of practise. This is the same lineup and setup as in the earlier race. Prepare for a nailbiting writeup... Here is the track, big thanks to AMG. 👍
Car: Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00
Lineup:
Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe '04 - pits every 15 laps
Chevrolet Camaro SS '00 - pits every 16 laps
Saleen S7 '02 - pits every 22 laps
Ford GT '05 - pits every 12-13 laps
Shelby Series 1 Super Charged '03 - pits every 17-18 laps
Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00 - pits every 18 laps (R1's, 40 units of fuel, laps ~1'31-1'32's (best lap 1'31.217)
Setup: Stock, R1 tires, 379hp, 334 kilometers driven (my previous unsuccesful attempt)
Laps 1-18:
I started the first laps cautiously and it took me 4 laps to get to the 2nd place, the Ford GT remaining ahead of me. I spent the next 8 laps chasing him with no success. He was slightly quicker than the rest but I knew he was going to pit in by the end of lap 12. As the Ford pitted in I took the 1st place with a three second gap to the 2nd place Saleen. On lap 16 I lapped the backmarker Pontiac for the first time. Lap 18, I pitted in for the first time and I saw the Saleen taking the first place as my pitcrew changed new tires for the car. I came out in 3rd place +35 seconds behind the leading Saleen and the Shelby right behind me. My teammate (Camaro SS) couldn't keep up at all and was about a half lap behind at this point. 👎
Laps 18-36:
After the Saleen's pitstop on lap 22, the fight for the 1st place begun. I made some small mistakes (I often ran wide in corner 4 right after T1) and dropped to 3rd place momentarily with the Saleen and Shelby in 1st and 2nd places. I also lapped the Camaro on lap 30. The Ford GT's faster pace didn't help him in the long run because his 12-13 lap strategy was too short compared to the others.
Laps 36-54:
After my pitstop at the end of lap 36 I came out in 2nd place, 18 seconds behind the Saleen who pits on lap 44. The Shelby still lurked in my rearview about 2-3 secs behind.
On lap 44 the Saleen made his pitstop and I took the 1st place with a three second gap to the Shelby behind me. On lap 48 I once again lapped the Pontiac and two laps later the Camaro had the same fate.
Laps 54-72:
I made my next pitstop on lap 54 from a 17 second lead over the 2nd place Saleen (Shelby pitted in earlier). I came out of the pits +11 seconds behind the Saleen. On the following laps the gap increased to +18 seconds as the Saleen had warm tyres versus my cold ones. Lap 64, I lapped the Pontiac again. The Pontiac's lapping had a clear pattern as I passed him during his pitstop every 16 laps and this happened thorough the race. On lap 66 the Saleen pitted in and regained the 1st place. The Shelby had also appeared back to my rearview about 2 secs behind. Laps 69 and 70 were horrible (1'35's), during both of the laps I made a mistake on the 4th corner and the Shelby quickly overtook me leaving me to 2nd place.
He didn't have the lead for long though, as he pitted in at the end of lap 70. On the next lap my lead over the 2nd place Saleen was 16 seconds.
Laps 72-90:
The final stage started off with me pitting in on lap 72. I came out on 3rd place +17 seconds behind the Saleen and a second behind the Shelby. For the next 8 laps I tried to overtake the Shelby but it was very difficult because we had the exact same pace. On lap 80 my gap to 1st place Saleen was +18 seconds and guess what... I lapped the Pontiac once again during his pitstop (every 16 laps).
Then on lap 82 I succesfully slipstreamed the Shelby and overtook him in the 10th corner right before pit in entrance.👍 On the next lap I lapped the Camaro SS, the Saleen's lead was now +20 seconds. The race went on and on lap 87 the 3rd place Shelby decided to pit in once more and then on lap 88 the leader Saleen S7 pitted in. Thats was the moment I had been waiting for the whole race and when I started lap 89 I waved to the Saleen driver who sat in the pits with only 2 laps to go. My front tires were in bad shape during the last laps but I avoided mistakes and won the race.
Final standings:
1st Chevrolet Corvette Z06 (C5) '00, racetime: 2:20'52.275, 90 laps
2nd Saleen S7 '02, +12 secs behind
3rd Shelby Series 1 Super Charged '03, +25 secs
4th Ford GT '05, +55 secs
5th Chevrolet Camaro SS '00, +3 laps
6th Pontiac GTO 5.7 Coupe '04, +5 laps
For winning the race I was rewarded with a 200000 credits, Ford GT40 Racer '69 and 200 A-spec points. What a truly magnificent race!
