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This is my first race report so bare with me please. Here is a link to the potential competitors and the data for them (thanks to Digital-Nitrate):
Ranking & Data on all the AI Cars for Endurance Event: El Capitan 200 Miles
The starting grid:
1. Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96
2. TVR T350C '03
3. BMW M5 '05
4. Pagani Zonda C12 '00
5. Corvette Z06 (C5) '00
6. Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00
My car:
I got the low mileage (46 miles) SVT Cobra from the used car lot. With an oil change, the car had 390HP and a 4.378 PWR at the beginning of the race. Besides the oil change and turning off all driving aids, the car was bone stock. The cars I will be racing against are all near 500HP with PWR's in the range of 2-3. This looks like it will be quite the challenge.
The start, Laps (1-3):
Ugg, a standing start. I always manage to spin the tires on standing starts, especially with 0 TCS. Luckily I dont spin em this time, but it is clear that my car doesnt have the HP to keep up on the long straightaway. By the tunnel leading to the hill, I am caught up with the back of the pack. I cleanly pass the C5 Vette and the M5 on the downhill side of the rough hill to gain 4th place. It turns out that this will be an important passing point throughout the race. Through the first few turns of lap 2 Im neck and neck with the Zonda, managing to pass him just before the tunnel and then passing the TVR on the downside of the rough hill. Now Im in 2nd right behind the Corvette Grand Sport and draft behind him all the way down the straightaway. Again, I take advantage of the AI slowing down on that rough hill, and pass the Vette to take 1st place on lap 3.
Laps 4-14:
I keep a steady pace, not pushing too hard to keep the tires in good shape, and maintain a constant 1-3 sec lead over the Grand Sport Vette. This was a bad idea and could have costed me the race. By running such a slow pace the tires lasted too long and I underestimated the number of pitstops I would need. I make it easily through 12 laps but I hit the wall at the end of the straight going into lap 13. The tires are starting to wear and my lap times are dropping into the 2 min+ range. By the end of lap 14 I decide to pit for some new tires, no fuel,. The Grand Sport Vette and the M5 follow me into the pits. The Zonda and the Corvette Z06 '00 pass me while im in the pits, and I come out in 3rd place. Making it 14 laps on Sport Hard's, I figure Ill only need to pit 4 times total in the race: laps 14, 28, 42, 56. Sounds good.
Laps 15-21:
By lap 15, the Zonda is 27 secs ahead of me and pulling away, things arent looking good. "When is this guy gonna pit?!?", I ask myself. To make matters worse I crash again at the end of the straight on lap 16. The 00' Vette pits on lap 16 and I regain 2nd place but Im now 30 secs behind the Zonda. On lap 18, he finally starts to show some tire wear and I start gaining on him. On lap 20, the Zonda FINALLY pits. Unfortunately he exits the pit right in front of me and I slam into the back of him. Were neck and neck through the next few turns. This is some damn good racing right here, but his tires are cold and it shows. By the end of lap 21 Im 4.3 secs ahead of the Zonda.
Laps 22-27:
Ive been pushing a pretty hard pace to put some distance in between me and the Zonda since I figure hes only going to pit 3 times in the race. I have around a 16 sec lead on lap 25. But this causes my tires to wear quickly and by lap 25 my tires are in pretty bad shape. Meanwhile, the Zonda's tires are just starting to warm up and he starts gaining on me again. I dont think Im going to make it to my next planned pit at lap 28, so I pit on 27 with a 13 sec lead on the Zonda. Im in the pits for awhile for fuel since I didnt refuel on my last stop, and the Zonda passes me.
Laps 28-39:
The Zonda gets a pretty big lead on me, 30+ secs at times. Im pushing extremely hard to catch up with him but my tires are wearing quickly. This time I only get 12 laps out of the sport hards and have to make my 3rd pit stop 3 laps early, on lap 39. Coincidentally, the Zonda pits on the same lap with a 16 sec lead. At this point I realize theres no way I can make the rest of the race with only 1 more pit stop. Im getting less and less laps out of the sport hards, meanwhile the Zonda will only need one more pit and hes still putting in better lap times. This looks pretty bleak and I have to do something different. I decide to switch to sport medium tires even though I never tested them and have no idea how many laps ill get out of them or what laptimes Ill get.
Laps 40-49:
Well Im putting in lap times around 1'56 now that Im using mediums, and Im quickly gaining on the Zonda, but Im worried about how quickly they are wearing. By 41, I catch and pass the Zonda. Things are going pretty good now, but by lap 47 the mediums are quickly going bad. I lose control at one point and go completely off the track. I maintain the lead, but I realize Im going to have to make my 4th pit stop soon. On lap 49 I pit and the Zonda passes me while im in the pits. Again, Im in the pits for awhile since I didnt get fuel on the last pit stop. By the time I leave the pits, im 13 secs behind the Zonda.
Laps 50-54:
This will be the stretch that decides the winner. Will I be quick enough on my medium tires or will the Zonda's hards outlast me? Im quickly gaining on the Zonda again with medium tires. Even better, he gets stuck behind a backmarker: the third place TVR. The TVR is just fast enough to keep the Zonda from passing him for a few laps and I come up right behind the two by the end of lap 54.
Laps 55-58:
I pass both the Zonda and the TVR nearing the end of lap 55, but they overtake me again on the straightaway. I manage to pass the Zonda and regain the lead at my favorite hill-top passing point on lap 56, but now I cant get past the TVR and the Zonda stays right behind us! Keep in mind that the TVR is a lap behind at this point, but he is still giving both me and the Zonda plenty of trouble. A lap later on lap 57, I finally pass the TVR, again at the hilltop. At the end of lap 57, the Zonda is still behind the TVR, but only 1.7 secs behind me. Luckily, the Zonda finally has to make his 3rd and final pit stop on lap 58, with only a 3 sec gap between us.
Laps 59-66:
Unfortunately, my tires are wearing out too and I make my final pit on lap 59. I enter the pits with a 36 sec lead and luckily I only need a little bit of fuel. I leave the pits with a 16 sec lead on the Zonda. By the end of lap 60, he has closed the gap to only 11 secs. But my tires start to warm up and I quickly expand the lead back to 13 secs by lap 62. By lap 65, I have a 20 sec lead and the race in the bag. I cruise through the last lap at an easy pace and rejoice in the glory of my victory!
Conclusions:
Wow, this is one of, if not THE best race Ive ever ran in GT4! Certainly its the best endurance race. There were so many lead changes, it was realy back and forth the whole race with me and the Zonda. By my third pit, I really didnt think I had any chance of winning this thing. So I gambled on the medium tires and luckily it paid off. This is the first race Ive ever ran where pit stragety and tire wear really mattered. I must say it was enjoyable to win by using pit strategy, not by being a better driver or using a better car.
Ranking & Data on all the AI Cars for Endurance Event: El Capitan 200 Miles
The starting grid:
1. Corvette Grand Sport (C4) '96
2. TVR T350C '03
3. BMW M5 '05
4. Pagani Zonda C12 '00
5. Corvette Z06 (C5) '00
6. Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R '00
My car:
I got the low mileage (46 miles) SVT Cobra from the used car lot. With an oil change, the car had 390HP and a 4.378 PWR at the beginning of the race. Besides the oil change and turning off all driving aids, the car was bone stock. The cars I will be racing against are all near 500HP with PWR's in the range of 2-3. This looks like it will be quite the challenge.
The start, Laps (1-3):
Ugg, a standing start. I always manage to spin the tires on standing starts, especially with 0 TCS. Luckily I dont spin em this time, but it is clear that my car doesnt have the HP to keep up on the long straightaway. By the tunnel leading to the hill, I am caught up with the back of the pack. I cleanly pass the C5 Vette and the M5 on the downhill side of the rough hill to gain 4th place. It turns out that this will be an important passing point throughout the race. Through the first few turns of lap 2 Im neck and neck with the Zonda, managing to pass him just before the tunnel and then passing the TVR on the downside of the rough hill. Now Im in 2nd right behind the Corvette Grand Sport and draft behind him all the way down the straightaway. Again, I take advantage of the AI slowing down on that rough hill, and pass the Vette to take 1st place on lap 3.
Laps 4-14:
I keep a steady pace, not pushing too hard to keep the tires in good shape, and maintain a constant 1-3 sec lead over the Grand Sport Vette. This was a bad idea and could have costed me the race. By running such a slow pace the tires lasted too long and I underestimated the number of pitstops I would need. I make it easily through 12 laps but I hit the wall at the end of the straight going into lap 13. The tires are starting to wear and my lap times are dropping into the 2 min+ range. By the end of lap 14 I decide to pit for some new tires, no fuel,. The Grand Sport Vette and the M5 follow me into the pits. The Zonda and the Corvette Z06 '00 pass me while im in the pits, and I come out in 3rd place. Making it 14 laps on Sport Hard's, I figure Ill only need to pit 4 times total in the race: laps 14, 28, 42, 56. Sounds good.
Laps 15-21:
By lap 15, the Zonda is 27 secs ahead of me and pulling away, things arent looking good. "When is this guy gonna pit?!?", I ask myself. To make matters worse I crash again at the end of the straight on lap 16. The 00' Vette pits on lap 16 and I regain 2nd place but Im now 30 secs behind the Zonda. On lap 18, he finally starts to show some tire wear and I start gaining on him. On lap 20, the Zonda FINALLY pits. Unfortunately he exits the pit right in front of me and I slam into the back of him. Were neck and neck through the next few turns. This is some damn good racing right here, but his tires are cold and it shows. By the end of lap 21 Im 4.3 secs ahead of the Zonda.
Laps 22-27:
Ive been pushing a pretty hard pace to put some distance in between me and the Zonda since I figure hes only going to pit 3 times in the race. I have around a 16 sec lead on lap 25. But this causes my tires to wear quickly and by lap 25 my tires are in pretty bad shape. Meanwhile, the Zonda's tires are just starting to warm up and he starts gaining on me again. I dont think Im going to make it to my next planned pit at lap 28, so I pit on 27 with a 13 sec lead on the Zonda. Im in the pits for awhile for fuel since I didnt refuel on my last stop, and the Zonda passes me.
Laps 28-39:
The Zonda gets a pretty big lead on me, 30+ secs at times. Im pushing extremely hard to catch up with him but my tires are wearing quickly. This time I only get 12 laps out of the sport hards and have to make my 3rd pit stop 3 laps early, on lap 39. Coincidentally, the Zonda pits on the same lap with a 16 sec lead. At this point I realize theres no way I can make the rest of the race with only 1 more pit stop. Im getting less and less laps out of the sport hards, meanwhile the Zonda will only need one more pit and hes still putting in better lap times. This looks pretty bleak and I have to do something different. I decide to switch to sport medium tires even though I never tested them and have no idea how many laps ill get out of them or what laptimes Ill get.
Laps 40-49:
Well Im putting in lap times around 1'56 now that Im using mediums, and Im quickly gaining on the Zonda, but Im worried about how quickly they are wearing. By 41, I catch and pass the Zonda. Things are going pretty good now, but by lap 47 the mediums are quickly going bad. I lose control at one point and go completely off the track. I maintain the lead, but I realize Im going to have to make my 4th pit stop soon. On lap 49 I pit and the Zonda passes me while im in the pits. Again, Im in the pits for awhile since I didnt get fuel on the last pit stop. By the time I leave the pits, im 13 secs behind the Zonda.
Laps 50-54:
This will be the stretch that decides the winner. Will I be quick enough on my medium tires or will the Zonda's hards outlast me? Im quickly gaining on the Zonda again with medium tires. Even better, he gets stuck behind a backmarker: the third place TVR. The TVR is just fast enough to keep the Zonda from passing him for a few laps and I come up right behind the two by the end of lap 54.
Laps 55-58:
I pass both the Zonda and the TVR nearing the end of lap 55, but they overtake me again on the straightaway. I manage to pass the Zonda and regain the lead at my favorite hill-top passing point on lap 56, but now I cant get past the TVR and the Zonda stays right behind us! Keep in mind that the TVR is a lap behind at this point, but he is still giving both me and the Zonda plenty of trouble. A lap later on lap 57, I finally pass the TVR, again at the hilltop. At the end of lap 57, the Zonda is still behind the TVR, but only 1.7 secs behind me. Luckily, the Zonda finally has to make his 3rd and final pit stop on lap 58, with only a 3 sec gap between us.
Laps 59-66:
Unfortunately, my tires are wearing out too and I make my final pit on lap 59. I enter the pits with a 36 sec lead and luckily I only need a little bit of fuel. I leave the pits with a 16 sec lead on the Zonda. By the end of lap 60, he has closed the gap to only 11 secs. But my tires start to warm up and I quickly expand the lead back to 13 secs by lap 62. By lap 65, I have a 20 sec lead and the race in the bag. I cruise through the last lap at an easy pace and rejoice in the glory of my victory!
Conclusions:
Wow, this is one of, if not THE best race Ive ever ran in GT4! Certainly its the best endurance race. There were so many lead changes, it was realy back and forth the whole race with me and the Zonda. By my third pit, I really didnt think I had any chance of winning this thing. So I gambled on the medium tires and luckily it paid off. This is the first race Ive ever ran where pit stragety and tire wear really mattered. I must say it was enjoyable to win by using pit strategy, not by being a better driver or using a better car.
