- 23
Hello kind reader and vicarious racing fan, please allow me to introduce myself, my name is John. Ive decided to stop lurking and put up a post to repay all those Ive enjoyed reading myself. After a scant eighteen (or so) game years, Ive finally accomplished three of the many goals Ive established for my GT4 career, strangely enough, all within about a month of each other. The hat-trick of which Im so proud is; reaching 100K A-spec, a 200 point Nurburgring 24 hour win and beating Mission 34 (NTSC) to get 100%. The subject of this particular post will be a recap of my twice around the clock battle at the Green Hell. Perhaps, if I dont burn myself out creatively, Ill recount my success in the SLR, after months of repeated failure, but thats the subject of another post altogether. Hopefully, this one isn't unbearably long.
I must admit, I hadnt considered attempting the 24 hours before I started reading some of the posts here at the planet about this challenge. I had run the race two or three dozen times in B-spec with my trusty R8, whilst collecting the spectrum of Formula GT livery, all the while ignorant of the physical and psychological challenge of running it in real time. Thanks to CRXnut 👍 I decided to break through the perfectly retentive 100,000 point mark on the status screen, if I could only survive the race and beat the AI. I had previously read an account by a poster Miko
on another site who originally sparked my interest in reaching 100K, and said to myself; Self, one would have to be crazy to A-spec that race! Well, I was right and Im expecting them to show up at my door with the white canvas coat with the really long sleeves any day now.
Alleged mental impairment notwithstanding, it was off to the foothills of Germany; helmet in hand with a well sorted out Suzuki GSX-R/4 on the trailer. I had become very familiar with this twin-engine pocket-rocket, after posting 200 point wins at several other endurance events around the world. At this point, the odometer read well over 1,000 miles and the chassis and oil had been refreshed too many times to remember. In Dark Grey, with 5-spoke Charcoal Speedline wheels and a monster rear wing, this car has earned a permanent spot as one of my favorites in the game.
At full down-force, fully lightened, with 220 Hp and a seemingly limitless supply of Racing Super Hard compound tires, it took a mere 6 Kg of ballast to put the A-spec rating right at the 200 point mark. The racing transmission was set to a conservative, yet sporty ratio of 12 with the sixth gear opened up slightly to an even 1.000. All the non-Aspec mods had been applied but the racing suspension remained just as the shop had originally installed. Minimized, but not eliminated driving aids suited the car well, oversteer was dialed up to a setting of three to keep the car only slightly loose. The nitrous bottle in the trunk was full and jetted up to 100 Hp, an oversight on the part of the crew, but whos to complain. Realistically though, an event this long would make the juice pointless. A brief test session revealed no obvious deficiencies; it was time to sign up for the race.
Even after polishing up on my best Hoch Deutsche, it took about a week of negotiating with the officials and waiting for the right field to pursue. Luck was on my side when the blue Audi A4 DTM pulled into the paddock, followed closely by a BMW M3 GTR Racecar and a Nissan Falken GTR. Finally, there was a group that would be challenging but not impossible. Two last minute entries to fill the six car grid were an Opel Calibra DTM and another Nissan, this one a Silvia from the tuners at C-West Razo, straight from last week's JGTC event. With the field set, last minute thoughts couldn't avoid the consideration that we were somewhere between one and two hundred ponies short. Hopefully, better handling and braking from less weight would play into our favor.
Just before the green flag dropped, a quick debate broke out between the driver and team owner. Whether to use the DFP or cordless DS2, both courtesy of Logitech, saw the DS2 win out since it has served so well for thousands of miles. This would add to the challenge, since the DFP provided better throttle and steering control, but the DS2 afforded the luxury of a more comfortable driving position, in the LazyBoy, for the long haul. The Playseats racing seat, though supportive, can tend to tweak the back after a few hours. Lessons learned after running the 4 hour race at this same track more than once.
Precisely at the crack of noon, the start of the race was marked as the Audi crossed the line and roared off while the Suzuki idled along in sixth place.
Short work was made of the fourth place Silvia and fifth place Falken, when they were both passed before Hocheichen.
The BMW fell back to P4 at the exit of Adenauer Forst.
The Calibra was quickly passed after the apex at Metzgesfeld.
When the corner workers radioed back to Race Control that the Audi was passed for the lead at the exit of Wehrseifen, a smile came across the crew chief's normally grim face.
The rest of the crew pulled out the folding chairs and put up their feet. The Suzuki continued to pull away from the field even before the tires came up to temperature.
At the end of the fifth lap, the rear tires on the Suzuki were yellow and the rear grip had fallen off even though the front tires were still solid green. Not wanting or needing to push one lap too many, a call was made to the crew as the Suzuki raced towards a 164mph top speed, exiting Dottinger Hohe. A fresh set of RSH tires were set around the pit stall while the crew waited for their car to enter the pits. Even thought they would last five laps, the crew chief was concerned that the additional grip of RH tires might make the rear too loose. Taking note that only twenty-six liters of fuel had been consumed, the gas man was instructed to not re-fuel the car. Another set of five laps could be taken with the remaining fifty-four liters and the reduced weight wouldn't hurt none either. The driver was given a full water bottle before heading back out on track with cold blue tires.
The gap established after only five laps was sufficient to hold the lead and the sixth lap was taken easy as the tires gradually came up to temperature. At the end of lap ten the Suzuki pulled into the pits with a +2'20 lead with the P6 Razo down a full lap. Since there did not remain enough fuel for another five lap stint, the tank was brought up to forty liters. This would be sufficient for another stint, allow for the possibility of an extra lap without running dry and minimize the fuel weight load. Race time was 1:13'22 and the current fast lap (FL) had been set at 7'00.570.
And thus a comfortable schedule was established. A five lap stint gave four good laps after an easy out-lap. Twenty some-odd second pitstops were short enough to eliminate the necessity to minimize time off the track. The Audi and occasionally the BMW would push a six lap sequence, but in the long run, they likely lost as much time as they saved. The best times were had on lap three, where the tires were at their best. By the pitstop on lap 20 at 2:2405 the Suzuki had a 526 lead, the P5 Calibra had been lapped and the Razo was down by two laps.
Lap 26 saw the P3 M3 GTR and P2 Audi fall behind one lap. Pitting in after lap 30 at 3:3539 showed the F/L had fallen below the seven minute mark to 659.321 with the Razo, dubbed Roadblock three laps behind. Some quick math determined that the second place car could eventually finish somewhere around seven laps back and Roadblock would get in the way almost twenty times. Not bad for the 200 point underdog the bookmakers had scoffed at before the start. This was going too well
It was the start of lap 36 where things got interesting. After nearly five hours, the Suzuki driver needed refueling. While in the pits after lap 35, a time-out was called and miraculously the other five cars stopped exactly where they were on the track. The driver got out of the car and headed over to the Chinese takeout stand located just outside the pits. The pit crew decided to follow suit and everyone took a break for dinner. It was almost forty minutes later when someone realized that nobody had pulled the E-brake on the Suzuki. When the car rolled out of the pits and stopped in the grass, all the other drivers continued racing. Nearly five laps were now lost and the crew had almost thrown in the towel.
However, the Suzuki driver knew better. Even though he was just about four laps behind, he was confident that there was enough time left in the race to make up for the deficit. Newly refreshed and optimistic, the little grey car motored off after the field into the echoing Teutonic landscape. Just like that, the race had changed from a monotonous routine of repeated lapping while marking hour after hour to an interesting catch the leader scenario. And so the laps and hours clicked off, five laps per stop, hour after hour.
Pit lap 55 at 7:1428 marked a new F/L of 658.681 and the Suzuki was now in fifth place since passing Mr. Roadblock, previously three laps behind. Pit lap 65 at 8:2635 marked a slight F/L improvement to 658.397 as well as a pass on the first place Audi to move up to two laps down. The Suzuki driver started to believe that this just may work. Lap 80s pitstop at 10:1343 cut the F/L down to 658.072 and the Suzuki was now only one lap behind. The Calibra had been lapped to move into P4 by pit lap 90, just thirty-five minutes short of half-way and the F/L had been slashed to 657.409. Sometime before pit lap 120 at 15:0354 the Audi had been lapped again to move back onto the lead lap. The Suzuki was now just 509 behind, trailing only the A4 and M3 in third place.
The excitement of the chase was evident when the Suzuki pulled into the pits on lap 130 with a new F/L of 656.404 a full second improvement over his previous best, now only 210 behind the leader. Remarkably, the car was still holding up well after the constant abuse of sixteen and one quarter hours of white-knuckle driving. The chassis seemed to be as solid as it was on the first lap, but the power output was somewhat diminished. Where the first ten laps or so saw 164mph by the bridge on the back straight, top speed was now down to 160 to 162 depending upon the line through Dottinger Hohe. Regardless, the lap times kept improving, mostly from increased familiarity with the racing line and a fearless charge through various sections faster and faster.
You would have thought the race had ended when the crew celebrated the move into first place. By pit lap 140 at 17:2603 the Suzuki was now 146 ahead of the Audi and continuing to pull away. A new F/L of 655.138 surprised even the Suzuki driver since he was so focused on finally regaining the lead. The race, however, was far from over. Somewhat relieved and regaining his professional composure, the Suzuki driver continued to push the limits of his finely tuned vehicle on this constantly demanding circuit.
Pit lap 150, 18:3728, P1 +502. Pit lap 160, 19:4853, +1 lap and still pushing even though the previous F/L remained unchanged. Pit lap 170, 21:0051, +1 lap, less than three hours to go. Oddly enough, throughout the excitement, no one had noticed that the day had actually passed. Dusk, nighttime and dawn were curiously absent from the past twenty plus hours. It must have somehow been a misalignment of the earths axis. Cosmic anomalies aside, the race continued on through the most difficult last three hours. A lesser driver would have been emotionally crushed several hours ago, but this was not the case.
Pit lap 180, 22:1208, +1 lap. You could tell the driver had backed off somewhat. Ten lap segments were now taking about seventy-two minutes each, giving an average of 712 per lap including stops, but the lead continued to increase. Pit lap 190, 23:2334, +2 laps adding insult to injury for the Audi driver. Was it a sign of respect or disgust shown by a gesture out the window of the A4 during the last pass with under an hour left on the clock? When the Suzuki driver pulled into the pits after lap 195, less than fifty seconds remained on the official timekeepers watch. The pit crew serviced the car as slowly as they could to try and save the driver from having to take another lap, but the officials would not comply.
What amounted to a victory lap was begun as the Suzuki left the pits behind the fourth place Falken GTR. Pacing the car ahead, not unlike the licensing test on this very same track previously in his career, the Suzuki driver followed the GTR around the 12.94 mile course for one final time. As they crossed the line together, the pit crew roared their approval and the officials declared the Falken behind by four full laps. The chief had lost track of how many laps the Razo was behind, it must have been fourteen or so. The Audi and BMW were two laps short and the Calibra finished the race ahead of the Falken, probably on the same lap.
Post race dyno testing showed that the Suzuki had fallen to 206Hp after being pushed to its limits for 2536.24 miles. Not a remarkable deficit, considering all the redline up-shifts made while averaging 105.179 mph for an entire day. Sure the Suzuki driver was tired and sore, his thumbs would need at least a week to recover. The satisfaction this win would provide made it all worth the effort. The brand new red, white and green Formula GT and 1.2M credits only added to the win. This one would be a keeper, representing the accomplishment of a race to remember.
The crew couldnt believe it when they heard the driver talking about another race of this magnitude he had been considering in a little town just South of Paris, France. There remained, however, one challenge at this location in a beautiful, over-powered and under-tired AMG Mercedes which continued to elude the drivers grasp. Perhaps the lessons learned after nearly two-hundred laps around the Ring would provide the missing piece for that race.
First lap video --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD07fMFNEZk
I must admit, I hadnt considered attempting the 24 hours before I started reading some of the posts here at the planet about this challenge. I had run the race two or three dozen times in B-spec with my trusty R8, whilst collecting the spectrum of Formula GT livery, all the while ignorant of the physical and psychological challenge of running it in real time. Thanks to CRXnut 👍 I decided to break through the perfectly retentive 100,000 point mark on the status screen, if I could only survive the race and beat the AI. I had previously read an account by a poster Miko
on another site who originally sparked my interest in reaching 100K, and said to myself; Self, one would have to be crazy to A-spec that race! Well, I was right and Im expecting them to show up at my door with the white canvas coat with the really long sleeves any day now. Alleged mental impairment notwithstanding, it was off to the foothills of Germany; helmet in hand with a well sorted out Suzuki GSX-R/4 on the trailer. I had become very familiar with this twin-engine pocket-rocket, after posting 200 point wins at several other endurance events around the world. At this point, the odometer read well over 1,000 miles and the chassis and oil had been refreshed too many times to remember. In Dark Grey, with 5-spoke Charcoal Speedline wheels and a monster rear wing, this car has earned a permanent spot as one of my favorites in the game.
At full down-force, fully lightened, with 220 Hp and a seemingly limitless supply of Racing Super Hard compound tires, it took a mere 6 Kg of ballast to put the A-spec rating right at the 200 point mark. The racing transmission was set to a conservative, yet sporty ratio of 12 with the sixth gear opened up slightly to an even 1.000. All the non-Aspec mods had been applied but the racing suspension remained just as the shop had originally installed. Minimized, but not eliminated driving aids suited the car well, oversteer was dialed up to a setting of three to keep the car only slightly loose. The nitrous bottle in the trunk was full and jetted up to 100 Hp, an oversight on the part of the crew, but whos to complain. Realistically though, an event this long would make the juice pointless. A brief test session revealed no obvious deficiencies; it was time to sign up for the race.
Even after polishing up on my best Hoch Deutsche, it took about a week of negotiating with the officials and waiting for the right field to pursue. Luck was on my side when the blue Audi A4 DTM pulled into the paddock, followed closely by a BMW M3 GTR Racecar and a Nissan Falken GTR. Finally, there was a group that would be challenging but not impossible. Two last minute entries to fill the six car grid were an Opel Calibra DTM and another Nissan, this one a Silvia from the tuners at C-West Razo, straight from last week's JGTC event. With the field set, last minute thoughts couldn't avoid the consideration that we were somewhere between one and two hundred ponies short. Hopefully, better handling and braking from less weight would play into our favor.
Just before the green flag dropped, a quick debate broke out between the driver and team owner. Whether to use the DFP or cordless DS2, both courtesy of Logitech, saw the DS2 win out since it has served so well for thousands of miles. This would add to the challenge, since the DFP provided better throttle and steering control, but the DS2 afforded the luxury of a more comfortable driving position, in the LazyBoy, for the long haul. The Playseats racing seat, though supportive, can tend to tweak the back after a few hours. Lessons learned after running the 4 hour race at this same track more than once.
Precisely at the crack of noon, the start of the race was marked as the Audi crossed the line and roared off while the Suzuki idled along in sixth place.
Short work was made of the fourth place Silvia and fifth place Falken, when they were both passed before Hocheichen.
The BMW fell back to P4 at the exit of Adenauer Forst.
The Calibra was quickly passed after the apex at Metzgesfeld.
When the corner workers radioed back to Race Control that the Audi was passed for the lead at the exit of Wehrseifen, a smile came across the crew chief's normally grim face.
The rest of the crew pulled out the folding chairs and put up their feet. The Suzuki continued to pull away from the field even before the tires came up to temperature.
At the end of the fifth lap, the rear tires on the Suzuki were yellow and the rear grip had fallen off even though the front tires were still solid green. Not wanting or needing to push one lap too many, a call was made to the crew as the Suzuki raced towards a 164mph top speed, exiting Dottinger Hohe. A fresh set of RSH tires were set around the pit stall while the crew waited for their car to enter the pits. Even thought they would last five laps, the crew chief was concerned that the additional grip of RH tires might make the rear too loose. Taking note that only twenty-six liters of fuel had been consumed, the gas man was instructed to not re-fuel the car. Another set of five laps could be taken with the remaining fifty-four liters and the reduced weight wouldn't hurt none either. The driver was given a full water bottle before heading back out on track with cold blue tires.
The gap established after only five laps was sufficient to hold the lead and the sixth lap was taken easy as the tires gradually came up to temperature. At the end of lap ten the Suzuki pulled into the pits with a +2'20 lead with the P6 Razo down a full lap. Since there did not remain enough fuel for another five lap stint, the tank was brought up to forty liters. This would be sufficient for another stint, allow for the possibility of an extra lap without running dry and minimize the fuel weight load. Race time was 1:13'22 and the current fast lap (FL) had been set at 7'00.570.
And thus a comfortable schedule was established. A five lap stint gave four good laps after an easy out-lap. Twenty some-odd second pitstops were short enough to eliminate the necessity to minimize time off the track. The Audi and occasionally the BMW would push a six lap sequence, but in the long run, they likely lost as much time as they saved. The best times were had on lap three, where the tires were at their best. By the pitstop on lap 20 at 2:2405 the Suzuki had a 526 lead, the P5 Calibra had been lapped and the Razo was down by two laps.
Lap 26 saw the P3 M3 GTR and P2 Audi fall behind one lap. Pitting in after lap 30 at 3:3539 showed the F/L had fallen below the seven minute mark to 659.321 with the Razo, dubbed Roadblock three laps behind. Some quick math determined that the second place car could eventually finish somewhere around seven laps back and Roadblock would get in the way almost twenty times. Not bad for the 200 point underdog the bookmakers had scoffed at before the start. This was going too well
It was the start of lap 36 where things got interesting. After nearly five hours, the Suzuki driver needed refueling. While in the pits after lap 35, a time-out was called and miraculously the other five cars stopped exactly where they were on the track. The driver got out of the car and headed over to the Chinese takeout stand located just outside the pits. The pit crew decided to follow suit and everyone took a break for dinner. It was almost forty minutes later when someone realized that nobody had pulled the E-brake on the Suzuki. When the car rolled out of the pits and stopped in the grass, all the other drivers continued racing. Nearly five laps were now lost and the crew had almost thrown in the towel.
However, the Suzuki driver knew better. Even though he was just about four laps behind, he was confident that there was enough time left in the race to make up for the deficit. Newly refreshed and optimistic, the little grey car motored off after the field into the echoing Teutonic landscape. Just like that, the race had changed from a monotonous routine of repeated lapping while marking hour after hour to an interesting catch the leader scenario. And so the laps and hours clicked off, five laps per stop, hour after hour.
Pit lap 55 at 7:1428 marked a new F/L of 658.681 and the Suzuki was now in fifth place since passing Mr. Roadblock, previously three laps behind. Pit lap 65 at 8:2635 marked a slight F/L improvement to 658.397 as well as a pass on the first place Audi to move up to two laps down. The Suzuki driver started to believe that this just may work. Lap 80s pitstop at 10:1343 cut the F/L down to 658.072 and the Suzuki was now only one lap behind. The Calibra had been lapped to move into P4 by pit lap 90, just thirty-five minutes short of half-way and the F/L had been slashed to 657.409. Sometime before pit lap 120 at 15:0354 the Audi had been lapped again to move back onto the lead lap. The Suzuki was now just 509 behind, trailing only the A4 and M3 in third place.
The excitement of the chase was evident when the Suzuki pulled into the pits on lap 130 with a new F/L of 656.404 a full second improvement over his previous best, now only 210 behind the leader. Remarkably, the car was still holding up well after the constant abuse of sixteen and one quarter hours of white-knuckle driving. The chassis seemed to be as solid as it was on the first lap, but the power output was somewhat diminished. Where the first ten laps or so saw 164mph by the bridge on the back straight, top speed was now down to 160 to 162 depending upon the line through Dottinger Hohe. Regardless, the lap times kept improving, mostly from increased familiarity with the racing line and a fearless charge through various sections faster and faster.
You would have thought the race had ended when the crew celebrated the move into first place. By pit lap 140 at 17:2603 the Suzuki was now 146 ahead of the Audi and continuing to pull away. A new F/L of 655.138 surprised even the Suzuki driver since he was so focused on finally regaining the lead. The race, however, was far from over. Somewhat relieved and regaining his professional composure, the Suzuki driver continued to push the limits of his finely tuned vehicle on this constantly demanding circuit.
Pit lap 150, 18:3728, P1 +502. Pit lap 160, 19:4853, +1 lap and still pushing even though the previous F/L remained unchanged. Pit lap 170, 21:0051, +1 lap, less than three hours to go. Oddly enough, throughout the excitement, no one had noticed that the day had actually passed. Dusk, nighttime and dawn were curiously absent from the past twenty plus hours. It must have somehow been a misalignment of the earths axis. Cosmic anomalies aside, the race continued on through the most difficult last three hours. A lesser driver would have been emotionally crushed several hours ago, but this was not the case.
Pit lap 180, 22:1208, +1 lap. You could tell the driver had backed off somewhat. Ten lap segments were now taking about seventy-two minutes each, giving an average of 712 per lap including stops, but the lead continued to increase. Pit lap 190, 23:2334, +2 laps adding insult to injury for the Audi driver. Was it a sign of respect or disgust shown by a gesture out the window of the A4 during the last pass with under an hour left on the clock? When the Suzuki driver pulled into the pits after lap 195, less than fifty seconds remained on the official timekeepers watch. The pit crew serviced the car as slowly as they could to try and save the driver from having to take another lap, but the officials would not comply.
What amounted to a victory lap was begun as the Suzuki left the pits behind the fourth place Falken GTR. Pacing the car ahead, not unlike the licensing test on this very same track previously in his career, the Suzuki driver followed the GTR around the 12.94 mile course for one final time. As they crossed the line together, the pit crew roared their approval and the officials declared the Falken behind by four full laps. The chief had lost track of how many laps the Razo was behind, it must have been fourteen or so. The Audi and BMW were two laps short and the Calibra finished the race ahead of the Falken, probably on the same lap.
Post race dyno testing showed that the Suzuki had fallen to 206Hp after being pushed to its limits for 2536.24 miles. Not a remarkable deficit, considering all the redline up-shifts made while averaging 105.179 mph for an entire day. Sure the Suzuki driver was tired and sore, his thumbs would need at least a week to recover. The satisfaction this win would provide made it all worth the effort. The brand new red, white and green Formula GT and 1.2M credits only added to the win. This one would be a keeper, representing the accomplishment of a race to remember.
The crew couldnt believe it when they heard the driver talking about another race of this magnitude he had been considering in a little town just South of Paris, France. There remained, however, one challenge at this location in a beautiful, over-powered and under-tired AMG Mercedes which continued to elude the drivers grasp. Perhaps the lessons learned after nearly two-hundred laps around the Ring would provide the missing piece for that race.
First lap video --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD07fMFNEZk
we've another serious contender to the throne of "Race Report" King here! 
?
lol. def +rep
