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Here's the write-up of a 10-lap race at Special Stage Route 11 in the Arcade Mode on Professional difficulty. It turned out to be a pretty fun (and challenging) race. I was using an Acura RSX with various upgrades (list below) and was pitted against the likes of some Class-B cars.
The parts:
Full Suspension
Sports Brakes
Brake Balance Controller
Sports Muffler
Port Polish
Full Engine Balancing
Triple Plate Clutch
Racing Flywheel
Sports Transmission
1-way Limited Slip
Normal Tires
Power: 230hp
Weight: 1249kgs
The competition:
Renault Clio Sport
Nissan Silvia Spec-R
Subaru Legacy GT-B Touring Wagon
Nissan 240SX K's Aero
Honda S2000 Type-V
My car had superb braking and handling, but since I was on normal tires, it didn't last forever. I could only go about 2 1/4 laps before my fronts became red, while the Clio could go a full 4. The bright spot though was that I completely owned the Clio while my tires were fresh, so I was able to jump out to multi-second leads before my tires wore out.
On to the action!
The race started and the Clio Sport jumped out to an early advantage, beating everyone off the line from his pole position and taking an early 1.509-second lead over the Legacy Wagon. My failure to qualify started me off in 6th, forcing me to pick my way through the traffic. I managed to get by the 240SX on the straight after the chicane at the beginning and close in on the Legacy, S2000, and Silvia Spec-R at the 180-degree left following the straight. They were lined up in a triangle in front of me. On the next double-right, I moved to the inside to pull alongside the S2000 while the Legacy and Silvia copied our actions in front of us. We navigated through the tight tunnel left looking very much like the wheels of a car. As we moved uphill, space opened up on the inside. I didn't hesitate in putting my nose there. The Legacy, Silvia, and I entered the sweeping right 3-wide, but I was able to pull ahead as I had the inside position. The Legacy dropped back and the Silvia smacked the outside wall. From here, I said goodbye to this group as I went Clio-hunting. At the end of the 2nd sector, I was 2.72-seconds behind. I wasn't as familiar with the track as I would like to be, due to the fact that it rarerly holds a race in Simulation Mode. By the end of Lap 1, I was down 2.3-seconds. This wasn't ideal because my whole strategy depended on me being able to get a good lead before my tires gave out. Since I had to deal with the back-of-the-pack traffic, I was gonna have to make up 2.3-seconds over 1 lap with already-yellow tires.
By the end of the Sector 2 of the 2nd Lap, I had chopped off a full second from my deficit. I slowly and methodically closed in further and further. By the start of the 3rd Lap, I was down 0.7-seconds but had my beams right on his taillights. Coming off the 180-degree left, I gave him a slight nudge. I had a chance to make a move for the lead here but my unfamiliarity with the track kicked in and I unnecessarily braked for the first of the double-right. Exiting the tunnel left, my car went straight towards the outside wall. Thats when I new that my tires were through. I could only watch as all my hard work became nullified. The Clio opened up a 2-second lead by the end of T2, a 3-second lead by the end of the 3rd Lap. As he stayed on the track for another lap, I began to wonder if my chance to win was over already, seeing as how I was falling behind quick and the Clio would be torturing me for another lap. I considered pitting but knew that for me to have any chance to win I'd have to run his pit schedule.
By the start of T3, I was down 4.2-seconds. But then his handling faded. He crawled through the two 180-degree turns at a snail's pace and wasn't much faster on the two 90-degree turns either. At the end of T3, I closed to within 3.5-seconds. It turns out I could drive my car better on reds than he could drive his on oranges. As we started the 5th lap in the pit lane, I was shown as being 2.7-seconds behind. After we exited the pits, I went on a tear and ran him down. Due to my car's splendid braking, I could really get into the corners hard. On the back straightaway, I could hit 107mph (in comparison, he only did 103mph). A 2.7-second advantage became 1.6-seconds by the end of T2. As I closed to within a second, I could almost taste it. Coming off the last left before the main straightaway, my quicker revs, shifting, and better transmission enabled me to overtake him. We started the 6th lap neck and neck, with me having a slight 0.073-second advantage. By the start of the next lap, I was up 1.6-seconds. It was a nice lead, but I felt that I would need a bigger lead for me to hold him off for the next 2 laps. My unfamiliarity w/ the track was still resulting in unnecessary braking and late throttle returns off the corners. I rarely was able to actually hit the apex of any of the turns.
From here I went into defense mode. Even though he wasn't actually on my bumper, I was constantly using my rear-view and noting the time differentials between the Clio and I. He never really got close enough to make a move until the chicane at the end. He let off the gas while I barreled through full speed, and he was late getting back on the throttle coming off the last corner. Thus I was able to maintain a 0.5-second lead to start the next lap. From here he played it pretty conservatively. He closed in several times but never made a move for the lead. By the end of the first half of the 8th Lap, his tires faded again and the win was virtually a lock for me. As we started the 9th lap in pitlane, he was shown 2.1-seconds down. From here I cruised on to a 6.572-second victory.
The results:
Acura RSX Type-S: 24'15.703 (pitted laps 4 and 8)
Renault Clio Sport V6 24V: 24'22.455 (pitted laps 4 and 8)
Honda S2000 Type-V: 24'58.591 (pitted laps 4 and 8)
Nissan Silvia Spec-R Aero: 25'00.578 (pitted laps 4 and 8)
Nissan 240SX K's Aero: 25'54.122 (pitted laps 3, 6, and 9)
Subaru Legacy Touring Wagon GT-B: 26'16.699 (pitted laps 3, 6, and 9)
All in all, it was a fun race. Maybe if I had taken off the sports muffler the race would have been a little tighter, but nonetheless some nice action.
The parts:
Full Suspension
Sports Brakes
Brake Balance Controller
Sports Muffler
Port Polish
Full Engine Balancing
Triple Plate Clutch
Racing Flywheel
Sports Transmission
1-way Limited Slip
Normal Tires
Power: 230hp
Weight: 1249kgs
The competition:
Renault Clio Sport
Nissan Silvia Spec-R
Subaru Legacy GT-B Touring Wagon
Nissan 240SX K's Aero
Honda S2000 Type-V
My car had superb braking and handling, but since I was on normal tires, it didn't last forever. I could only go about 2 1/4 laps before my fronts became red, while the Clio could go a full 4. The bright spot though was that I completely owned the Clio while my tires were fresh, so I was able to jump out to multi-second leads before my tires wore out.
On to the action!
The race started and the Clio Sport jumped out to an early advantage, beating everyone off the line from his pole position and taking an early 1.509-second lead over the Legacy Wagon. My failure to qualify started me off in 6th, forcing me to pick my way through the traffic. I managed to get by the 240SX on the straight after the chicane at the beginning and close in on the Legacy, S2000, and Silvia Spec-R at the 180-degree left following the straight. They were lined up in a triangle in front of me. On the next double-right, I moved to the inside to pull alongside the S2000 while the Legacy and Silvia copied our actions in front of us. We navigated through the tight tunnel left looking very much like the wheels of a car. As we moved uphill, space opened up on the inside. I didn't hesitate in putting my nose there. The Legacy, Silvia, and I entered the sweeping right 3-wide, but I was able to pull ahead as I had the inside position. The Legacy dropped back and the Silvia smacked the outside wall. From here, I said goodbye to this group as I went Clio-hunting. At the end of the 2nd sector, I was 2.72-seconds behind. I wasn't as familiar with the track as I would like to be, due to the fact that it rarerly holds a race in Simulation Mode. By the end of Lap 1, I was down 2.3-seconds. This wasn't ideal because my whole strategy depended on me being able to get a good lead before my tires gave out. Since I had to deal with the back-of-the-pack traffic, I was gonna have to make up 2.3-seconds over 1 lap with already-yellow tires.
By the end of the Sector 2 of the 2nd Lap, I had chopped off a full second from my deficit. I slowly and methodically closed in further and further. By the start of the 3rd Lap, I was down 0.7-seconds but had my beams right on his taillights. Coming off the 180-degree left, I gave him a slight nudge. I had a chance to make a move for the lead here but my unfamiliarity with the track kicked in and I unnecessarily braked for the first of the double-right. Exiting the tunnel left, my car went straight towards the outside wall. Thats when I new that my tires were through. I could only watch as all my hard work became nullified. The Clio opened up a 2-second lead by the end of T2, a 3-second lead by the end of the 3rd Lap. As he stayed on the track for another lap, I began to wonder if my chance to win was over already, seeing as how I was falling behind quick and the Clio would be torturing me for another lap. I considered pitting but knew that for me to have any chance to win I'd have to run his pit schedule.
By the start of T3, I was down 4.2-seconds. But then his handling faded. He crawled through the two 180-degree turns at a snail's pace and wasn't much faster on the two 90-degree turns either. At the end of T3, I closed to within 3.5-seconds. It turns out I could drive my car better on reds than he could drive his on oranges. As we started the 5th lap in the pit lane, I was shown as being 2.7-seconds behind. After we exited the pits, I went on a tear and ran him down. Due to my car's splendid braking, I could really get into the corners hard. On the back straightaway, I could hit 107mph (in comparison, he only did 103mph). A 2.7-second advantage became 1.6-seconds by the end of T2. As I closed to within a second, I could almost taste it. Coming off the last left before the main straightaway, my quicker revs, shifting, and better transmission enabled me to overtake him. We started the 6th lap neck and neck, with me having a slight 0.073-second advantage. By the start of the next lap, I was up 1.6-seconds. It was a nice lead, but I felt that I would need a bigger lead for me to hold him off for the next 2 laps. My unfamiliarity w/ the track was still resulting in unnecessary braking and late throttle returns off the corners. I rarely was able to actually hit the apex of any of the turns.
From here I went into defense mode. Even though he wasn't actually on my bumper, I was constantly using my rear-view and noting the time differentials between the Clio and I. He never really got close enough to make a move until the chicane at the end. He let off the gas while I barreled through full speed, and he was late getting back on the throttle coming off the last corner. Thus I was able to maintain a 0.5-second lead to start the next lap. From here he played it pretty conservatively. He closed in several times but never made a move for the lead. By the end of the first half of the 8th Lap, his tires faded again and the win was virtually a lock for me. As we started the 9th lap in pitlane, he was shown 2.1-seconds down. From here I cruised on to a 6.572-second victory.
The results:
Acura RSX Type-S: 24'15.703 (pitted laps 4 and 8)
Renault Clio Sport V6 24V: 24'22.455 (pitted laps 4 and 8)
Honda S2000 Type-V: 24'58.591 (pitted laps 4 and 8)
Nissan Silvia Spec-R Aero: 25'00.578 (pitted laps 4 and 8)
Nissan 240SX K's Aero: 25'54.122 (pitted laps 3, 6, and 9)
Subaru Legacy Touring Wagon GT-B: 26'16.699 (pitted laps 3, 6, and 9)
All in all, it was a fun race. Maybe if I had taken off the sports muffler the race would have been a little tighter, but nonetheless some nice action.
