Endurance Events

[Moloch_horridus]

Amazing to see there are still some mad buggers chasing a-spec points and finding new ways to do it. Very cool

 

[GTsail]

Nurburgring 4 Hour Endurance race - for 200 A-spec points

It took me a while to find another car but once I did, it was choice! Sitting in my garage was a bruised, battered, and multi-colored Crossfire, sitting on N tires. Discarded after its tough battles in the One-Make Races.

I gave it some new parts, painted it "Blaze Red", re-installed S1 tires, and performed some minor tuning adjustments and took it to Nurburgring to give it a new lease on life. My Crossfire had 222 horsepower and 32kgs of ballast.

Sitting on the line were the following competitors who did not know what was about to hit them

Audi RS 4 '01
Corvette Grand Sport
BMW M3 '04
Mazda RX-8 Type S
Fiat Coupe Turbo Plus
Chrysler Crossfire '04 (me)

The flag drops, 200 points are flashed on the screen, and the race begins!

I push hard at the beginning of lap 1, so as I drive thru Adenaur Forst, I take over 2nd place in the race, and I'm just behind the leading Audi RS. I draft the Audi for the rest of lap 1. Down the long straight, the Corvette bumps my rear bumper, but is not allowed to pass.

Lap # 2 goes the same, with me drafting the Audi RS. As we go down the long straight, both the Corvette Grand Sport and the Mazda RX-8 blow my doors off and I drop back to 4th place.

Lap 3 is all about hitting my marks thru the turns. I pass the Audi RS4 going thru Adenaur Forst. I next pass the Corvette going thru Breidscheid and pull up on the Mazda's rear bumper going thru Ex-Muhle. I draft the Mazda for the rest of the lap and all of lap 4 and the first half of lap 5. When we get to the Karussel on lap 5, I can tell that the Mazda's tires are showing signs of excessive wear. So I pounce going thru the Karussel and take over the lead of the race! I build up a 4 second lead over the Mazda when I pit for tires at the end of lap 5. The Corvette drives by and into the lead, while my Crossfire is up in the air getting new tires. The Mazda pits in behind me.

As I begin lap 6, I see that the Corvette has a 13 second lead over me. I push hard during lap 6, so by the T11 checkpoint I've narrowed the Corvette's lead to 8 seconds. The Corvette pits at the end of the lap and I take over the lead of the race again.

By the T10 checkpoint on lap 7, I've built up a 35 second lead over the Corvette. I can see that the Mazda is only a second or two behind the Corvette on the track.

On lap 10, as I fly thru the Eiskurve, I pass the Fiat Coupe Turbo with ease since it has touched the grass and spun out. Once I lap the Fiat Coupe I check my lead and see that the T10 split shows me 55 seconds ahead of the 2nd place Corvette!! The cheeky Fiat drafts me down the long straight and actually passes me as we go under the bridge at Antoniusbuche!! I re-pass the Fiat going thru the final esses at Hohenrain, but this is short-lived since I take to the pits at the end of this lap.

On lap 11, going thru Wehrseifen, I catch and pass the Fiat again and put it one lap down for good.

On lap 14, as I begin the blast down the Kesselchen back straight, the news is flashed that the Mazda has taken over 2nd place in the race, some 90 seconds behind my flying Crossfire.

2 HOUR MARK

The order at the two hour mark is as follows:
1st -- Chrysler Crossfire (me)
2nd -- Mazda RX-8 --- 1 minute, 35 seconds back
3rd -- Corvette GS --- 1 minute, 40 seconds back
4th -- BMW M3 --- 2 minutes, 30 seconds back
5th -- Audi RS 4 --- 3 minutes, 15 seconds back
6th -- Fiat Coupe --- 1 lap, 4 minutes back

I pit at the end of lap 15 and so does the Mazda RX-8, so the Corvette takes up the chase in 2nd place. When I exit the pits, my lead has shrunk to 1 minute and 20 seconds over the Corvette GS. I push hard for the next 3 laps to build up my lead again.

The Corvette pits at the end of lap 18. The Corvette is able to exit the pits in front of the hard-charging Mazda. I would say that the Corvette has a 10 second lead over the Mazda RX-8.

As I charge up the hill upon the exit from the Karussel on lap 19, my lead has ballooned out to 2 minutes and 15 seconds over the Corvette whose tires have not fully warmed up, so he's going slowly.

While I'm sitting in the pits on lap 20, getting new tires, I can see that the Mazda has pulled up on the Corvette's back bumper. The Mazda also pits on lap 20, still in 3rd place, because it was unable to pass the Corvette down the long straight. It did look like they were having a drafting battle down the long straight. As I pass the T5 checkpoint, I'm informed that my lead has fallen to 2 minutes and 8 seconds over the 2nd place Corvette due to my recent pit stop.

I drive thru Klostertal on lap 21 and watch the Fiat Coupe once again mow some grass. This allows me to make an easy pass and put the Fiat two laps down.

I pit at the end of lap 25 with a 3 minute and 15 second lead over the Corvette Grand Sport. I check the race time, and see that 3 hours, 26 minutes, and 50 seconds have elapsed since the start of the race. I wonder if I can get in 30 laps before the end? I also wonder if I can lap the Fiat Coupe for a third time.

I push hard for the next four laps. The race clock shows 3h,59m,30secs as I cross the start/finish line to begin lap 30!! YEAH!!

All that's left is to catch the Fiat Coupe

What do you think?

Do I have a chance?

The Fiat is about 20 seconds ahead of me on the track.

I'm pushing hard on lap 30 even though my tires are beginning to turn orange and my fuel gauge has turned red. As I drive up the hill just before the Karussel, I see the brake lights of the Fiat Coupe as it drops into the Karussel.

As I go up the hill on the exit of the Karussel, I've gained considerably on the Fiat Coupe, and I can just barely see the Audi RS4 as well as it makes the left at the top of the hill and goes out of sight. The Fiat slides off into the grass as we both go thru Wippermann, so it gets lapped a 3rd time!!

I charge right up the the Audi's rear bumper as we both go thru the Kleine-Karussel. I latch onto the Audi's bumper going down the long straight and get a great draft up to 151mph.

I drive aggressively thru the Hohenrain esses and scrape past the Audi RS4 just before the pit entrance!!

I cross the finish line after 30 laps and the checked flag in un-furled after 4 hours, 7 minutes and 32 seconds.

The finishing order was:
1st - Chrylser Crossfire (me)
2nd - Corvette Grand Sport --- 3 minutes, 45 seconds back
3rd - Mazda RX-8 Type S --- 4 minutes, 30 seconds back
4th - BMW M3 '04 --- 6 minutes, 15 seconds back
5th - Audi RS 4 --- 1 lap, 1 second back
6th - Fiat Coupe Turbo --- 3 laps, 10 seconds back

As you can see, the competition was really given a pounding! The Crossfire drives very well and is fast!

my Crossfire's specs:
Horsepower: 222
Weight: 1393
Sports exhaust
Tires: S1/S1
Racing brakes
Brake controller: 8/9
Semi-racing suspension
Custom transmission, auto slider # 9
Twin-plate clutch
Semi-racing flywheel
Carbon driveshaft
Aids: 0,0,1
1.5 way Ltd Slip
Ballast: 32, and +5 to the rear

Enjoy the racing,
GTsail

 

[PF]

Good job GTsail! I had to google the 'Chrylser' (as in the finishing order) Crossfire cause I haven't driven it, or even heard of it. And whaddaya know? It's 80% Mercedes Benz! Can't say I blame you for loving the German cars.

Also, can we assume new and no oil for the setup? Assuming this because the only way you can 'paint' a car in the game is to buy a new one.

 

[GTsail]

Good job GTsail! I had to google the 'Chrylser' (as in the finishing order) Crossfire cause I haven't driven it, or even heard of it. And whaddaya know? It's 80% Mercedes Benz! Can't say I blame you for loving the German cars.

Also, can we assume new and no oil for the setup? Assuming this because the only way you can 'paint' a car in the game is to buy a new one.

Thanks PF

Yes, you are correct. I purchased a new Chrysler Crossfire. A new Crossfire comes with 218 horsepower which I upped to 222 by the addition of the sports exhaust (no oil change). I was taking a little artistic license with the beginning of my story I was trying to get a red one, to run against my favorite lineup. However, I guess that since the Crossfire is "Blaze Red Crystal Clear Coat", the game does not consider it "Red", so I did not find my favorite lineup and ran against the cars mentioned. My Blaze Red Crossfire now has 388 miles on the odometer (all from my 30 lap race). I also have a Black Crossfire and a Sapphire Silver Metallic Crossfire, both of which were used during the One-Make Races, and are battered and bruised from AI impacts. The Black Crossfire has some 12,000 miles, so it did most of the heavy lifting during the One-Make Races.

Respectfully,
GTsail

 

[-raVer-]

4hr Nurburgring 200 A-Spec


Lineup

1 Holden Commodore SS `04
2 Mercedes CLK 55 AMG `00
3 Chevrolet Corvette GRAND SPORT (C4) `96
4 Nissan SKYLINE GT-R V-spec II `00
5 Chevrolet Camaro SS `00


Car: Volkswagen Golf IV R32 `03
Color: Reflexsilber Metallic
238HP 1660kg PWR 6.97


Mod:
FC-Tranny
Triple Clutch
Racing Flywheel
Shaft
FC-Suspension
VCD-Controler
S1/S1 Tyres
Ballast 200


Pit: every 3 Laps
Best Lap: 8'13.352
Total Time: 4:04'01.766
MoV: 24.8 seconds over the Corvette




raVer

 

[GTsail]

..
4hr Nurburgring 200 A-Spec.....
Car: Volkswagen Golf IV R32 `03
Color: Reflexsilber Metallic
238HP 1660kg PWR 6.97

*snip*

Pit: every 3 Laps
Best Lap: 8'13.352
Total Time: 4:04'01.766
MoV: 24.8 seconds over the Corvette.....

raVer

Nicely done raVer:tup:

You were having to take the VW Golf to the pits every 3 laps? That must have been painful since the Corvette only pits every 6 laps!

Respectfully,
GTsail

 

[-raVer-]

Nicely done raVer:tup:

You were having to take the VW Golf to the pits every 3 laps? That must have been painful since the Corvette only pits every 6 laps!

Respectfully,
GTsail

Thanks GTsail for the 👍

Yes I took it every 3 laps to the pits.It wasn´t that painful,I rather call it challenging.

The only painful things were the dumb mistakes I made (losing at least 1minute).



Respectfully

raVer

 

[Austin343]

I found another race that can be won for 200 points on N1 tires: the New York endurance. The Shelby Series 1, completely stock, against an appropriately slow field (Elise, M5, SL 65, Viper GTS, Vantage - it took a very long time to get, although I now realize that I didn't need to be so selective), can win without excessive difficulty. It also takes beautifully to the N1 tires and the New York course, which makes the two hours and twenty minutes very enjoyable. 👍 Waiting for the tires to warm up does take patience, and you will fall behind the field for a while; I languished in fifth place, ten to fifteen seconds behind the leader, for the majority of the first twenty laps, but then cars started to pit. You only need one pit stop, because the tires have such remarkable longevity: even at the halfway point, the right front, which had suffered the most wear, was barely even yellow! They would last for at least fifty laps, and probably closer to fifty-five, but you would have to pit for fuel well before that time. Currently, I'm halfway through the race, just after my pit stop, and I'll finish tomorrow (because it's very late here right now ).

 

[GTsail]

Nice going Austin343:tup:

The Shelby Series 1 is a wonderful car

Did you switch to N2 tires at the first pit stop or have you stayed on N1 tires?

GTsail

 

[Austin343]

Nope, I stayed on N1s. The idea of the race for me was to use the worst possible tires (and, I think, the most realistic ones on this car) on a car with much less power than the opponents. However, changing to N2s still wouldn't have been "cheating," because I checked how many points were offered if you started the race with them, and it was still worth 200.

I've now finished, and I really enjoyed the race, because the car is easily controllable and yet still lets you induce oversteer to your advantage.

1. Shelby Series 1 Supercharged '03: N1 tires, no driving aids, otherwise stock; total time 2:22'09.803, fastest lap 1'50.271, pit on lap 38.
2. BMW M5 '05: +31 seconds, pits every 23-24 laps.
3. Mercedes-Benz SL 65 AMG (R230) '04: +37 seconds, pits every 18-19 laps.
4. Dodge Viper GTS '99: on lead lap, pits every 23 laps.
5. Lotus Motor Sport Elise '99: on lead lap, pits every 23 laps.
6. Aston Martin V8 Vantage: +1 lap (perhaps 2 laps), pits every 17 laps.

After pitting, I was still in the lead, but other cars began to reel me in as my tires warmed, and ended up passing me. I was relegated to fourth for a while, and was still in second on lap 70, when the M5 pitted, and then was only a couple of seconds ahead of the Mercedes until it stopped three laps later. I think I'll record a video of the fastest lap that I got while the replay was still recording, which was a 1'50.672, but it's a pity that I drove that 1'50.271 on lap 74, because I was very pleased with it. I did make wall contacts every three to four laps, and I made accidental contact with AI cars three times, but I was mostly pleased with the cleanliness of the race.

If anyone is interested in replicating this race, be forewarned that you will need a lot of patience to find an acceptable grid. The only cars that you can face are the M5, the SL 65, the Mustang, the Callaway, the ZR-1, the Viper GTS, the Vantage, the Elise, and, I now know based on my margin of victory and Digital Nitrate's list, the T350C. If you're absolutely perfect, you might be able to beat the Grand Sport, but I don't recommend it. Also, it's definitely necessary to push hard; this race can't be won with casual, relaxed driving, because the opponents are just too fast.

The Laguna Seca endurance is another race that can be won with N2 tires (or perhaps even N1s), even though the opponents are on R2s. You can't get 200 points, but you can get at least 100 in the Ford GT and still win if you avoid the four fastest cars, which are the Shelby, the other GT, the Saleen, and the Spirra. If you cherry-pick the field even more carefully, it might be possible to win on N1s in the GT, the Nardo, or a couple of other cars, although you would be likely to get many fewer points.

Edit: Here's that fastest lap video.

 

[shepzki]

Tsukuba 9hr Endurance Race - 200Pts
Car: Lotus Elan S1 '62
Mods: S1/S1, RC Exhaust, Chip, NA1, NOS (Optional), Aids @ 0, 0, 1, Ballast @ 2, Auto tranny @ 7 - 135BHP Total
Lineup #1 NTSC:

1) Nissan SKYLINE GT-R V-spec II '00
2) BMW 330i '05
3) Mazda RX-8 Type S (J) '03
4) Subaru Legacy B4 2.0GT '03
5) Mazda RX-7 Spirit R Type A (FD) '02

Note, my Elan had 980 miles on the clock before the start of the race, finished with 1630.8 on the clock.

Total Time: 9:00'30.136
Fastest Lap: 1'03.116
# of laps complete: 500
MOV over the RX-7 Spirit: +11 laps
Pitted for tires every 35 laps, only needed to take on any fuel at 140 laps and then only 18-19 units was needed for every 35 lap stint, but I took on 25 just incase I decided to run more laps which was possible, only pitted every 35 laps to give myself a few more breaks from the race.

I was going to use this race to write my first proper race report, however after 2 laps it was fairly obvious this was not a race, my Elan, although about 40 years older and with half the horsepower of some of the others was far superior in almost every respect apart from straight line speed but this was not a problem. I was going to spread the race out over today and tomorrow but had nothing else to do so did it all in just under 11hrs (realtime) which is pretty good considering all my breaks for coffee, meatball sandwiches and nicotine.

Sadly the race was a dull, uninspiring chain around my neck all the way through. Time did not fly at all and am so pleased it is done. The 1 good point was the Elan, it is an amazing little car and i'm sure it would have won with a lot less power and probably on N1 tires. Infact, at times it was so unbearably dull I thought about doing a few laps in reverse, or stopping and letting the AI catch up and the only thing that stopped me was wanting to hit a pre-race target of 500 laps.

So, looking back I would rather have watched my beard grow for 11 hours than do this race, yes, next time I shall do that instead, and enjoy it.👍

 

[GTsail]

Nicely done nemesis01:tup:

500 is a nice round number of laps!

I imagine a co-driver would be nice for a cakewalk like this.💡

Respectfully,
GTsail

 

[shepzki]

Le Sarthe II 24HR Endurance 200Pts
Car: Audi R8 Race Car '01 - Used, 11,345 Miles On The Clock Before The Race Started.
Mods: R1/R1, NOS (Optional), Downforce @ 60/75, Old Oil - 717BHP
Lineup #9 NTSC:

1) Nissan R92CP Race Car '92 - Pit lap 8
2) Nissan R89C Race Car '89 - Pit lap 8
3) MINOLTA Toyota 88C-V Race Car '89 - Pit lap 8
4) Sauber Mercedes C 9 Race Car '89 - Pit lap 8
5) Jaguar XJR-9 Race Car '88 - Pit lap 8

Total Time: 24:00'47.016
Best Lap: 2'59.519
Number Of Laps Completed: 460
Miles Run: 3880

Like Dotini, in his run on this track with the Pescarolo Judd (that inspired my setup btw thanks ), this race is purely for the thrill of being able to run on super grippy tires and totally demolishing your opponents. As you can see above, 460 laps completed, so nearly a 26 lap victory over the Sauber as he was about 1 second in front when I crossed the line and that was more annoying than you may think. Started the race on R1/R1 and pitted from 1st place at the end of lap 1 and switched to R3/R2, was thrilled that I could actually manage 9 laps on those tires no problem at all, maybe even 10 but I knew from testing the fuel only lasts 9 and a half laps.

Was going great guns for the 1st 7-8 hours, then chassis wear started to affect the handling, and it was very bad. The Slightest wayward movement at anything over 180mph would see the car swerve all over the shop, it took a few laps of practise but I eventually managed to curtail it and didn't really bother me much after that, although I still went off the track plenty of times.

Started the race on Monday night, did 3 hours that night and has taken me until midday today (Thursday) to finish which is not bad. Only 2 more 24HR races todo on my NTSC game now, probably be a couple of weeks before I start the next one however, but I will be running Le Sarthe I in the same car and then retiring it for good as it owes me nothing now.

 

[PF]

@ nemesis:

User fliyingkiwi could use this info. He seems like a good bloke (for a kiwi) but has had trouble with this race.

 

[Dotini]

Le Sarthe II 24HR Endurance 200Pts

Total Time: 24:00'47.016
Best Lap: 2'59.519
Number Of Laps Completed: 460
Miles Run: 3880

Like Dotini, in his run on this track with the Pescarolo Judd (that inspired my setup btw thanks ), this race is purely for the thrill of being able to run on super grippy tires and totally demolishing your opponents. As you can see above, 460 laps completed, so nearly a 26 lap victory over the Sauber as he was about 1 second in front when I crossed the line and that was more annoying than you may think. Started the race on R1/R1 and pitted from 1st place at the end of lap 1 and switched to R3/R2, was thrilled that I could actually manage 9 laps on those tires no problem at all, maybe even 10 but I knew from testing the fuel only lasts 9 and a half laps.

Was going great guns for the 1st 7-8 hours, then chassis wear started to affect the handling, and it was very bad. The Slightest wayward movement at anything over 180mph would see the car swerve all over the shop, it took a few laps of practise but I eventually managed to curtail it and didn't really bother me much after that, although I still went off the track plenty of times.

Nice going nemesis01, it's always great to put one of these 24hr marathons behind you. I'm flattered that you emulated my high-grip maximum attack strategy, and I feel for you about missing the 26 lap gap by mere meters. Records are made to be broken.

In my setup (page 19, post #368, http://www.gtvault.com/gt4/setup-view/s_sid::7957/Pescarolo-PlayStation-C60-Judd-Race-Car/), I pre-tuned my Pesky to handle well with worn out stiffness, and my pitstops were very brief as it needed to be fueled only long enough to swap the R4/R4 boots.

I've used the Pescarolo-Judd for the GTWC, FGT and both la Sarthe events, Now I can appreciate that the Audi R8 is a similarly capable ride. Congratulations on a job well done! 👍

All the best,
Dotini

 

[shepzki]

Thanks Dotini, as I have said before i'm not much into tuning, usually I just get in a car and off I go. However, I am planning to do Le Sarthe I before I retire the R8 so while it still has a worn out chassis i'll play around with it some and see if I can improve it, maybe i'll get some more inspiration form the changes you made to the Pescarolo as they are quite similar cars.

Also, has to be said just what a phenomenal points gatherer the R8 is, I have managed so far with it:

FGT as individual races, then repeated it as a championship for 3000Pts
Super Speedway 150 Miles for 200Pts (how many other cars can say that)
Like The Wind 200Pts
Infineon World Sport Car Race 200Pts
Real Circuit Tours, as a championship 1600Pts
Gran Turismo All Stars as a championship 2000Pts
Le Sarthe II 24Hr of course 200Pts
Gran Turismo World Championship, as a championship 2000Pts

Fairly confident it will win Le Sarthe I 24Hr aswell.

 

[RVDNuT374]

Here's the first ever 200 A-spec point win of the Super Speedway 150 without wallriding, AI interference, or nitrous!!! 👍

The car I used is the venerable black Mazda 787B with this setup:

Downforce- 63/63
Ballast- 18 @ 0
LSD- 12/5/17
Transmission autoset-15
Brake balance controller- 6/6

This setup is tailhappy at high speed through the corners, meaning strict concentration for 100 laps. Otherwise, the race is relatively simple to complete against the 4th lineup after reset (NTSC/USA).

R1 tires must be equipped before the start to ensure full A-spec points. At the start, draft the Minolta as he picks his way from 5th position to the two leading Nissans, but do not pass him or any other AI car entering turn 3 at any point in the race, as they seem to think ramming you is an acceptable form of braking. For the first 15 laps it is possible, but not necessary to battle with the Minolta and Nissans for the lead because of their slower speed on cold tires compared to you. Lap times in a draft on cold R1 tires should be between 29.9-30.2 seconds. As the tires come to full temperature, the AI will start to pull away to the point where you lose the draft, but the 787B is still capable of running laps in the 29.8-29.9 second range. Keep running consistent laps until lap 34, when it is necessary to pit.

Switch to R2 tires and take no fuel. You will come out of the pits in 6th place nearly 2 laps behind, but the AI still have to make their first pit stops. The extra grip of the R2's is immediately obvious, as the first full lap out of the pits will more than likely break the fastest lap set on R1 tires. Laps on R2 tires will be more than a second quicker, meaning laps should range from 28.6-28.9 seconds on warm tires. After all the pitstops cycle through, you should be very close to taking the lead. As you pass the leading AI car around lap 45 or so, keep pushing hard, as one extra pitstop is required over the other cars.

Pit on lap 56 after running 22 laps on the R2 tires and fill up to 33 units of fuel. You'll exit the pits in 4th place nearly a lap behind, but should be able to gain 0.5-1.0 second a lap over the leading Minolta. As the final pit stops approach, the interval should be somewhere around 15 seconds to the leader.

Come into the pits for the final time on lap 78, changing tires and filling up to 33 units of fuel. After this pit stop, you should gain close to 2 seconds a lap over the leading AI car for the first 10 laps of the stint, as they are slow on cold tires. The interval will peak at about 21 seconds, then start to fall as the tires wear. After approximately 50 minutes of racing, 200,000 credits and a Honda NSX-R Prototype LM Race car should hopefully be yours!

Race Results

1. '91 Mazda 787B Race Car (black, no oil)
2. '89 Minolta Toyota 88 C-V (20.406 seconds behind at last seen checkpoint)
3. '92 Nissan R92CP
4. '89 Nissan R89C
5. '03 Bentley Speed 8 Race Car
6. '03 Pescarolo Judd Race Car (4 laps behind)

Facts of Interest

My fastest lap on R1 tires was 29.651 seconds, while my fastest lap on R2's was 28.360 seconds.

The Minolta hit the end of the pit wall head on coming in for his final pit stop, essentially handing me the race victory. 👍

The Pescarolo crashed into the turn 2 wall on lap 43, then again as he was trying to enter pit road.

 

[shepzki]

Here's the first ever 200 A-spec point win of the Super Speedway 150 without wallriding, AI interference, or nitrous!!! 👍

Congratulations on that, it's a hard race to win as it is but winning cleanly makes it even more impressive. Surprised nobody has actually done it before with the calibre of drivers that reside on GTP. I was just glad to do it at all, not caring too much how it was done like many others I suspect.

My respects.👍

 

[Dotini]

Here's the first ever 200 A-spec point win of the Super Speedway 150 without wallriding, AI interference, or nitrous!!! 👍

Hats off to RVDNuT374! 👍
My comments:
1) It's always better to do these things in the best possible style.
2) Records are made to be broken.
3) It's a testament to the quality of this game and to those devoted to playing it that GT4 continues to be pursued, discovered and perfected after so many years.

With highest respect,
Dotini

 

[RVDNuT374]

Thanks everybody for the kind comments! My first 200 point run through the SS150 late last year involved wallriding. 👎 But after a nearly 2 lap margin of victory, I thought to myself that it must be possible to do this in OLR-type driving, as Smallhorses always does with any race. I firmly believe that there are other races which involved dirty driving tactics that can be completed in this style.

 

[shepzki]

Nurburgring 24hr Endurance Race - 200Pts
Car: Shelby Series 1 Supercharged '03
Mods: Non Power Mods, R1/R1, Aids @ 0, 0, 5, Ballast @ 86 & 15 Balance To The Rear - 324BHP Total
Suspension:
Spring Rate 11/11, Ride Height 95/95, Shock (Bound 4/4), Shock (Rebound 4/5), Camber Angle 2.4/1.2, Toe Angle 0, -1, Stabilizers 6/4
Lineup: #1 NTSC:

Toyota Superautobacs Apex MR-S '00
AMG Mercedes 190 E Evol Touring Car '92
Nissan C-West Razo Silvia JGTC '01
Nissan Falken GTR Race Car '04
Opel Calibra Touring Car '94

Total Time: 24:00'55.562
Best Lap: 7'17.019
MOV: +2 Laps
# Of Laps: 193
# Of Miles Ran: 2492
Pitted Every 5 Laps
42-43 units of fuel required, I topped up to 45 just to be sure.

Sadly, not an exciting race in the slightest, my car was just too good which is odd considering it's an American road car up against top European & Japanese racing cars.

Started the race at around 7am on Thursday, did 7 hrs 30 minutes that day. Friday I could only do 4hrs & 30 minutes to round it off to 12hrs as I had to spend most of day helping sister move house. Saturday however was a different story, got up at 6am, had coffee and a sausage roll for breakfast and got stuck in again and by 1:40am this morning had the race finished after a hugely impressive 12hrs in 1 day, the most I have ever done.

I don't like leaving the PS2 on even though i'm sure it will be fine, it's not the point.

But not for 2 things this race would have been very good, those 2 things were:

1) The Nissan Falken, if it had started in 1st place instead of near the back it could have got away from me quite early on I suspect.

2) If the same car did not lose between 10-20 seconds on his 5th lap (his in lap) I would have probably struggled right until the end.

In the end I lapped him twice and the others I lapped...I dunno, a lot. Chassis wear kicked in on the car around the 21hr mark but luckily it didn't really effect the car too much, infact it seemed to make the steering lighter and the brakes more responsive so it actually helped kind of.

Got myself a lovely 1.2 million credits which was badly needed as I had almost run out of cash after buying and upgrading the shelby, also got a silvery/grey F1 car which I am about to sell for 1.6 million credits as I don't like, or find them useful to have.

Car was a pleasure to drive, by far the easiest American car to use in the game IMO.

 

[Austin343]

If anyone wants to try the Nurburgring 24 hour race in a stock road car that isn't the M5 that I already used, all of the following seem possible, albeit much more difficult:

-The Shelby Series 1 on S2 tires against the first lineup (Falken, Calibra, 190E, MR-S, Silvia), with credit to nemesis for the idea
-The slowest Zonda on S1 tires with a small amount of ballast against the ninth NTSC lineup (M3, A4, Falken, Calibra, Silvia)
-The R390 GT1 Road Car with ballast on S1 tires against the ninth lineup
-The RUF RGT on S1 tires against the first lineup
-M3 CSL on S1 or S2 tires against the first lineup

I'm sure that there are a host of other options, particularly with the all-touring-car grid that PAL drivers get to utilize. I had been hoping that a car could win with N tires for 200 points, but the closest that I came was a Ford GT Concept with ballast on N2 tires against the ninth lineup, and it just wasn't quite fast enough.

 

[-raVer-]

...

I'm sure that there are a host of other options, particularly with the all-touring-car grid that PAL drivers get to utilize. I had been hoping that a car could win with N tires for 200 points, but the closest that I came was a Ford GT Concept with ballast on N2 tires against the ninth lineup, and it just wasn't quite fast enough.

I´m sure NTSC has a similar lineup if you search long enough.

Maybe The AMUSE S2000 GT1 can do it on N1 or N2 Tyres.



raVer

 

[Austin343]

Believe me, I've been through a huge number of lineups (far more than a hundred, for sure), and there simply isn't a good one among them. The closest that exist contain four touring cars, but then either a Chaparral or a JGTC car. The Amuse would earn only 140 points against the ninth lineup, which is the best that exists. It's possible that Dotini's trick would make accessible some balanced lineups, but I'll leave that task to him.

 

[Dotini]

It's possible that Dotini's trick would make accessible some balanced lineups, but I'll leave that task to him.

Allow me to briefly explain my best trick. A brief preview of the Sarthe I 24hr prior to entering your desired event will often bring an immediate and improved selection of starting lineups. A preview of the Nurburgring 24 Hr will also have a similar though less powerful effect. Previewing any event at all will bring a different lineup to your targeted event, though of what merit is difficult to say without actually trying it.

In some events, like the Nurburgring 4hr, lineups will vary according to your car color, with red being the best choice I've found. Some events, like the Pan-Euro, have a lineup system so complex that I haven't figured it out.

With highest regards to all A-spec nutters,
Dotini

 

[tmtk]

This is my first try at endurance event around the Nurburgring, the track I feared when began playing GT4 few months ago, but slowly I get to grips with it.

So I decided to go for the Nurburgring 4hrs endurance and tried to go for the maximum 200 A-Spec points. At first I thought I'll go with my trusty GSXR4, but after some on-track tests it appeared that the line-ups I liked (those that are not too difficult) required me to go with the N tires and I suck on N tires around the Ring. So I decided to buy some other car that handles well and is easy on tires.

I chose Lotus Elise 111R. I upgraded fully the transmission, bought the sports suspension, racing brakes, NOS (just in case) and S1 tires, otherwise the car was stock (no oil change). Choosing the right colour of the car (thanks to brilliant piece of intelligence from Mr Dotini) allowed me to access the fantastic Grid #2 on the NTSC version.

To make it 200 points worth I had to put 119 kgs of ballast. Auto set tranny at 11.

I worked out my way through the field in about 1/2 lap and was never bothered again, concentrating myself on working out the right pace, meeting braking points and finding out best lines through the corners. I lapped all the oponents except the Camaro, but I was close to catching him.

So the final results were:

1. Elise 111R 4:06,58.246 (30 laps)
2. Camaro SS +7,34.837 (last displayed split)
3. Lancia Delta HF +1 lap
4. Audi RS4 +1 lap
5. Ford Focus RS +1 lap
6. Pontiac GTO 5.7 +1 lap

Pitted every 5 laps.
My best lap was 8,02.635 (I clocked one lap at 7,59, but it was at the end of the last stint when I played with NOS on the straights a little, so it doesn't really count).

I'm really starting to like the Nurburgring and those 4 hours helped a lot to understand the flow of that track.

I'm at 86.9% completion and something over the 61 thousand A-Spec points (although I started to really care about the amount of points after the 50% mark). The most difficult stuff is still ahead.

Thanks for reading. Greets!

 

[Dotini]

Highest regards and welcome to the A-spec nutter's quest, tmtk.

Your race report makes perfect reading in this thread. Your red Lotus Elise 111R is a good car for the Tsukuba 9-hr, Pan-Euro and others, and you've got it going well.

All the best,
Dotini

 

[jbrennen]

Tsukuba 9 hour

I took the suggestion mentioned in post #2 and used the Nissan Silvia 240RS. I'm not as good as route_66, so I wasn't fast enough to keep up using stock power and S1 tires for 200 points (getting that many required having fast cars in the lineup). I instead found a slow lineup and added NA1 and a semi-racing exhaust (just for the sake of listening to for nine hours), all nonpoint mods, and did not change the oil or refresh the chassis. I started on N1 tires and swapped for N3s on the first lap, and then pitted every 22 laps thereafter. I completed 487 laps with a 7.8 lap MOV. Lineup (in finish order): Mazda RX-8 Type S (pits every 30 laps), Subaru Impreza '02, Toyota Supra RZ, Audi A3, Alfa Romeo 147 GTA. Fastest lap 1'04.493.

Thanks for this tip -- I found this lineup (at least it looks like this one) about a dozen lineups after restart on NTSC, and went with your exact specs.

You must be a better driver than I... (Or you put a better setup on your car...) Because I'm three hours into the 9 hour race and holding less than a one lap lead over the RX-8; I've only broken 1'05 once, and for that 1'04.8, I leaned on the Subaru in one corner and drafted another car down the long straight... I guess a 1'04.4 is just not in the cards for me, but even so, looks like I should be able to hold for the win as long as I don't get sloppy.

Instead of pitting every 22 laps, I've been pitting every 30 minutes (which works out to about 27 laps or so. Easier for me to remember to pit on the half hour, and the tires go off so gradually that the car's not really suffering much on the 27th lap on N3s.

 

[AMG.]

Hi Jack, so ...... how may A points do you have? 10,807 or 102,485


(check your sig)

AMG.

 

[jbrennen]

Hi Jack, so ...... how may A points do you have? 10,807 or 102,485

Different game saves, of course... And updated now, since I've done three endurance races since then...