European Events

[GTsail]

1000 Miles @ Nurburgring - for 200 A-spec points

I finally won!!!

My margin of victory was 2 seconds!

I gave up looking for something original and raced against lineup # 1. I used the tried and true Nissan Skyline Sport Coupe '62. My Nissan Sport Coupe had 95HP and 50kg of ballast (10 to the rear). I started on N1/N3 tires and switched to N2/N3 tires at my first pit stop on lap 8. All non-power modifications. I tweaked the suspension a little (some rear brake bias helped nicely). Tranny trick then Final at 4.900

The main competition of course is the Alfa Spint GTA and the Mini Marcos GT. I had to block the GTA, the Marcos and the Honda S800 for the first 6 laps. After the Mini Marcos pits on lap 6, I used half my NOS to build up a margin so when I pitted on lap 8 with the Sprint GTA just behind me, I was able to exit the pits still just in front of the Mini Marcos. The Honda S800 also pits on lap 8, but is never again a factor since it fades for the rest of the race. I blocked like crazy for the next 9 laps and pitted on lap 17 to split the difference between the GTA's pitstop on lap 16 and the Mini Marcos's pit stop on lap 18. I came out of the pits just behind the Mini Marcos (about 3 seconds). I passed the Mini Marcos at the second grasscut. I then blocked both the GTA and the Marcos until lap 22 when they both snuck by (due to a feint by the Marcos that I fell for). I didn't panic knowing that they both would pit on lap 24 (well maybe I did a little). So I buckled down and ran my best laps of the race (on lap 23 I did a 9.48.653). The GTA built up a 25 second lead at the end of lap 23. By the end of lap 24, I dropped this down to 23 seconds, so when both cars pitted on lap 24, I drove past them into the lead!! Yeah!!

I only had to block the GTA on the final lap twice (the Mini Marcos had finally fallen back, and is 12 seconds down by the end of the race). I blocked once a bit after Kesselchen on the back stretch and once on the final straight just before the bridge.

What a battle! I almost can't believe I won. I have previously won races for 180 and 187 points but lost at least ten races during testing.

....From my experience in Arcade Mode, the S500 and S600 seem to handle much more easily than does the S800. However, it's very possible that their lack of power and super-tall transmissions are responsible for that, and the cars would become just as unwieldy in a high state of tuning. Also, neither of those cars will reach the power levels of the S800 (so you can't race the super-fast field you encountered), and they certainly won't solve the last problem you mentioned. I encourage you to try them out, though, if you haven't already; for all we know, they could be hidden gems that vastly simplify this race against the right lineup. Your best bet is probably still the BLRA, though, especially since it's had so much written about its performance in this race.

Austin343 - I tried the Honda S600, and found that it does handle better than the Honda S800. However it is also blocking challenged, so I was unable to win with it.

GTsail290

 

[AMG.]

Well done GTSail

AMG.

 

[Austin343]

Indeed! 👍 Winning two full races and losing ten full or partial ones shows incredible perseverance - with such dedication, you can't stop short of 111813.

 

[Open Addict]

Indeedy 👍👍 for GTsail.

What's your total now if you don't mind us asking?


I tell you, the feeling I got winning the 1000 miles was almost as good as my phone call on saturday night telling me I had won, (yes won ) a 2009 Mitsi Colt in a raffle.

 

[GTsail]

Well done GTSail

AMG.

Indeed! 👍 Winning two full races and losing ten full or partial ones shows incredible perseverance - with such dedication, you can't stop short of 111813.

Thanks AMG and Austin343 for your encouragement and help.

I completed the races for fewer than the maximum points because I was worried that I would not be able to win the 200 point race and wanted to maximize the points that I could get. I think I spent as much time winning this race as I spent on Mission 34.

My 187 point win was against an easier lineup that had the VW Karmann Ghia, the Isuzu 117 coupe, the Alfa GSS, the Alfa Spider Duetto, and the Honda S800 which was the main competition. The race was a breeze after the first pit stop on lap 8. My final MOV was about 40 seconds. If I wore down my Nissan Sport Coupe to about 90HP, I think that this lineup would cough-up 200 A-spec points nicely. I ran with 93HP and 120kg of ballast.

I even ran a race for 196 points against a strong lineup with the Nissan Fairlady 2000, the Alfa Sprint GTA, and the Mini Marcos but lost on lap 12 when the Fairlady got by.

Indeedy 👍👍 for GTsail.

What's your total now if you don't mind us asking?


I tell you, the feeling I got winning the 1000 miles was almost as good as my phone call on saturday night telling me I had won, (yes won ) a 2009 Mitsi Colt in a raffle.

Open Addict - I completely agree with you, my win was extremely satisfying.

My A-spec total is now 109300.

Progress is slow but continues. I have run into a couple of races that may prevent me from reaching max, but 110000 will surely be passed.

GTsail290

 

[nige]

GTsail congrats 👍👍 do try for max
nige

 

[SuperCobraJet]

Big congrats GTSail 👍

That 1000 Miles @ Nurburgring is a tuffy for 200.

Dittos on the go for max. You can do it!



AMG. I always use the post # or the link.

 

[GTsail]

GTsail congrats 👍👍 do try for max
nige

Thanks Nige. I doubt I will be able to reach the max points (especially since I am struggling to win some of the tough races like Nurburgring in the 1000 Mile Series, see the picture below of my 2 second win at Nurburgring, Yeah!). But the challenge to get as close as possible is quite fun. Even if I fall somewhat short, the quest will have been worth it since my driving skills have improved a ton. Since you have to push hard in so many races, your skills naturally improve. Its amazing what's possible in a race once you get the feel for the car and the track.

Edit update: Thanks SuperCobraJet for your encouragement as well. I did not mean to overlook your post. You posted while I was online writing my own post. Its great to still hear from those that have maxed the game! All your posts have been a great help to me.

Happy A-spec hunting!

GTsail290

 

[alhajoth]

Indeedy 👍👍 for GTsail.

What's your total now if you don't mind us asking?


I tell you, the feeling I got winning the 1000 miles was almost as good as my phone call on saturday night telling me I had won, (yes won ) a 2009 Mitsi Colt in a raffle.

Congrats on your new car mate! How much did the ticket cost you?
Probably a sound investment regardless..👍

Oh, and congrats to GTsail too. 2 seconds over that long a race, I'd have had a heart attack going down that final straight..

Haven't played the game in several months now, but I'm planning on giving the 1000 miles another go within the next month or so..

 

[Open Addict]

Congrats on your new car mate! How much did the ticket cost you?
Probably a sound investment regardless..👍

Oh, and congrats to GTsail too. 2 seconds over that long a race, I'd have had a heart attack going down that final straight..

Haven't played the game in several months now, but I'm planning on giving the 1000 miles another go within the next month or so..

Thanks for the congrats on the car. the ticket actually cost me $0 (yes that's right) it was given to us by the Wife's, Mother (isn't she 🤬)

We did however buy 5 other tickets at $25, so all up a very good investment.

 

[shepzki]

Euro Classics Nurb 200 points.

Finally 200 points. I was stuck on 145 points since Aug 2006. I have attempted to better this but so far failed miserably.
However today I must have had some luck.
I pulled the Beetle out of the garage and qualified a couple of times but no deal. Finally I thought I'd try without qualifying and try my luck.
So PAL lineup 6. GSS, Elan, GTA, Ginetta & Duetto.

Started off with 69hp, N3 100NOS and all the usual nonpower upgrades.
Tweaked the tranny
1-Moved final to 5
2-Set auto to 8
3-tweaked 5th gear to 0.533 (higher top speed)

Suspension 3.6 3.8/151 151/5 5/8 8/2 1/0 0/4 4
BrakeCtrl 3 3

On N3s 69hp I made 150 points.
On N3 and dropping to 63 hp I made 167 points.
On N2/N3 63hp made 184 pts (5.7s mov)
N2/N3 +48 weight made 192 pts (5.5s)
N2/N3 + 96 weight failed 1st time, retried and made 200 pts 3.4s Mov.

This series is now complete for a 1000 points. What a relief
Cut 1 corner just before T3 (the big grassy area on the right)

AMG.

Well, since I recently started my game again (PAL version this time) I thought I would make a start on some of the more difficult eventsearlier than usual, this being one of them for me last time. Used the exact same setup as AMG has listed above for all 5 races.

I am still amazed how easy this was for 1000 points, took less than an hour to finish all 5 races. I had 1 practise on the ring before I attempted any of this and failed because I used the wrong settings, I had 66BHP and had to use ballast and failed by about 4-5 seconds. So I decided to run the other 4 races before the ring, won them all very easily much to my own delight.

Then I had an attempt at the ring, took the lead just before the T3 mark by doing what AMG did and cutting the grass to the right side, never lost the lead after that or if I did I don't remember. Had to conserve NOS in places as needed all I could spare for the last stretch, romped home just a tad under 3 seconds in the lead.

Very very pleased with myself, was one of those races I never thought I would be able to do so I marked the occasion by recording my replay incase anyone else is attempting this using this setup.👍

 

[nige]

Nemesis01 - great driving and great win 👍. Keep going with those points!
nige

 

[Dotini]

I found a remarkably easy grid to battle for the 1000 Miles! event at the Nurburgring. After a console reset and a brief Preview of La Sarthe I 24hr, I selected the 33rd grid: Isuzu Bellet 1600 GT-R, Alfa Duetto Spider, Honda S800, Nissan Silvia CSP311, and Fiat 500F.

My Skyline had 92 Hp, 198 KG ballast, and started on N1/N3 tires, with a manual shift and tranny trick, final 4.70.

Despite a massive accident and a compromised pit schedule, I finished with an MOV of 1:09 to the 2nd place Isuzu. The Honda was the fastest, and he got by me for a 30 second lead when I pitted for N3 tires on Lap 8. Eventually, he pushed his tires too far and lost almost a lap. My N3's wore out by lap 13, so I stopped for N2/N3. I pitted once again lap 21 for fuel and N3/N3 for the easy romp to the finish. My FL was 9:41. Fun stuff!

 

[AMG.]

Nice going Nemesis 👍 ..... just remember to use your indicators when overtaking


AMG.

 

[SuperCobraJet]

I found a remarkably easy grid to battle for the 1000 Miles! event at the Nurburgring. After a console reset and a brief Preview of La Sarthe I 24hr, I selected the 33rd grid: Isuzu Bellet 1600 GT-R, Alfa Duetto Spider, Honda S800, Nissan Silvia CSP311, and Fiat 500F.

My Skyline had 92 Hp, 198 KG ballast, and started on N1/N3 tires, with a manual shift and tranny trick, final 4.70.

Despite a massive accident and a compromised pit schedule, I finished with an MOV of 1:09 to the 2nd place Isuzu. The Honda was the fastest, and he got by me for a 30 second lead when I pitted for N3 tires on Lap 8. Eventually, he pushed his tires too far and lost almost a lap. My N3's wore out by lap 13, so I stopped for N2/N3. I pitted once again lap 21 for fuel and N3/N3 for the easy romp to the finish. My FL was 9:41. Fun stuff!

Congrats on a very rare find.
Did you still have to use Nos to win?

 

[Dotini]

As I was merely surfing through the line-ups, I did not qualify, so used nitrous to get into the lead when I tried for the race immediately rather than going back to square and going through another 33 grids just to qualify.

I make no claims about my own driving or tuning skills, but it seems to me that a really good driver might be able to qualify on pole and win this race in an exceptionally clean way. It seems the S800 will self-destruct by missing a crucial stop, but it's unpredictable which stop he will mess up. The true class of the field is the Isuzu, so that's the one to pace to, and he's easy to block when you're on N1's, and he's slower than you when you're on N3's.

My engine had very worn oil, plus port polish and engine balancing. The expanded power band, enhanced further by manual shifting, helped the car to be very drivable.

My chassis setup was not so good for this race, as it was engineered to put heat into N1's, and chewed up N3's too fast when the changeover came. The better setup for this race will have the pit strategy and the car balanced better than I did in the event. Even so, I'm delighted to have found this grid, which should have the effect of democratizing this event so that ordinary mortals can hope and expect to earn their 200 points here.

Score another win for humans over AI. The war goes on.

 

[imtheleprechaun]

1000 Miles! - 731 points (3x200) 800 points!
Car (race 1-3): Nissan Skyline Sport Coupe BLRA-3 '62
Soundtrack: : Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Rage Against The Machine, Add N To (X)
Lineup: NTSC/NA #48 (only on day 1445?? I'll post when I know more -edit: still don't know for sure)
Opponents:
Lotus Elan S1
Chevrolet Corvette Coupe (C2)
Toyota SPORTS 800
Nissan Fairlady 2000
Mercedes 300 SL Coupe

Setup: N1/N2, 138HP w/no oil, NA2, Chip, 35+kg, FD@4.275, and Dotini's supension/ballast balance settings. My Sport Coupe had 0 miles on it.

Race 1 - Nurburgring Nordschleife - 200 points!
Finding that lineup was a godsend, I was having real trouble believing I could win the whole series without enough HP to accelerate up the slightest of inclines. Even with 138HP she tops out near the end of the Kesselchen "straight" at only 97MPH, and then starts decelerating through Mutkurve until Klostertal. Still, 125MPH before braking for Aremburg and 116MPH before the final straight starts to incline, and 120 at the bottom of the following dip, all not too shabby.

So! The race! The first 4 laps were a blocking-fest through Kesselchen and the Dottinger (?) straight, but the rest of the lap I could maintain a couple seconds at least to the Corvette. The trouble was that the 'Vette took about 4-5 seconds off me on each of the 2 straights and I was only taking back the full 5 seconds between Karussel and Dottinger Hohe. From Dottinger Hohe to Kesselchen, I was only ever able to get back 2-3 of the 4-5 seconds the 'Vette was taking out of my lead. Without blocking, I would have been losing a lot of time.

I thought the Corvette was pitting on lap 4, so I opted, somewhat fortuitously I later realized, to pit for N2/N3 tires at the end of that lap also. The Corvette actually pitted at the end of lap 5, but all was well in the end because the N2's lasted 7 laps which meant I ended up only pitting twice more, on lap 11 and 18. I had been passed by the Corvette immediately upon pitting, and the 300 SL got by too a bit later. With N2/N3 tires however, I was ready to put in lap times fast enough to best them both and I passed the 300SL on the start/finish barely-a-straight straight at the end of lap 5.

I had been limiting myself to 1 bar of NOS per lap, on the Kesselchen straight, as the car just would not accelerate at the end of that one, but I used a bit of the laughing gas to catch up the Corvette a bit better. I only saw it again once after this point because we were always out of sequence with each other, and because it makes so many pit stops. I was right behind the 'Vette when it pitted on lap 10, having caught up mostly as its tires wore out, and when it emerged from its stop, it was about 26 seconds behind. From this point the race was just a matter of putting in consistent laps and I was only ever threated by the Corvette one time, sometime before one of its stops. I was taking back basically all the lost time from Kesselchen on the second half of the lap, but on the first half of it I couldn't undo the entire 5 seconds the 'Vette would gain on the Dottinger straight, usually giving up 2 or 3 seconds a lap (except on the 'Vette's in/out laps). So there was this one lap where the Corvette got as close as 11 seconds at the Antoniusbuche split, but that must have been its 4th lap of the stint because the next lap I pulled away quite a bit before it pitted.

The pattern basically was, Corvette pits and give me a pit-stop's lead, I get an out and an in lap where I can actually put in faster laps, then the 'Vette slowly takes a couple seconds a lap out my lead until pitting again before I pit myself. Every pit stop it would be a bit further behind me and only gain as much as it did before. I screwed up pausing the game at the finish to get some paper or something to write down the final gaps (hit start just after the finish line, d'oh!), but at the start of lap 25 I had a 39 second lead. The last split time I saw before the end showed a 50+ second lead (typical of a Corvette inlap).

My best lap on the N1/N2 combo was a 9:10, but I quickly completed a 9:02 after getting the softer rubber of a N2/N3 setup, and my eventual, out-of-NOS fastest lap was an 8:58 (.3 IIRC) - pretty sure that was the lap I got to draft the 300SL up the Dottinger straight's incline, 122MPH instead of 116 and slowly decelerating to 112/113 before picking up again for the dip. Given the number of pitstops the Corvette does, this race was a lot easier than I expected. If you can drive a 140HP car around the 'Ring without going off all the time, this race is a piece of cake. Almost worth 48 level loads!

Race 2 - Opera Paris - 200 points!
Setup: changed FD to 5.5. Should have gone with 5.4 or 5.45 - but it hits the limiter just a few metres ahead of braking zone so no biggie.

First few laps the gap to back to Corvette was steady at around 2-3 seconds. Around lap 5-8 I used NOS on the straight for 3rd and 4th gear and built up a solid 5 second lead. Once the 'Vette was no longer close enough to hound me on the straight, I started pulling away without the NOS.

'Vette pits every 15 laps. I decided to go 20 laps for my first stint with N1/N2 before switching to N2/N3 and subsequently destroying all competition. I pitted again on lap 50 and 75. The Lotus took 2nd from the Corvette when the C2 made its 2nd stop on lap 30. I only noticed the Lotus pitting once, on its 53rd lap, and the Corvette got back past at that point. It pitted on lap 90 though, giving the Lotus back 2nd place, by just a few car lengths!

I ended up lapping the Corvette and the Elan 3 times! This was an extremely easy race. Best lap on N1/N2 was a 1:45, on N2/N3 a 1:42.3. Most laps between 1:42 and 1:45.

Final order behind me was:
Lotus Elan +3L
Chevrolet Corvette +3L
Mercedes 300SL +?? >3L
Nissan Fairlady 2000 +?? >3L
Toyota SPORTS 800 +?? >3L

Bodes extremely well for Cote d'Azur. I'm thinking Le Mans will be the most difficult race...

Race 3 - Cote d'Azure - 200 points!
Setup: FD@5.5

I originally had a go at this one without qualifying, considering how well I managed to do at Opera Paris. 7 laps in and the Corvette was over 30 seconds ahead of me. I decided to try it again from pole, and it turned into another pretty easy race. The 300SL held up the Corvette for the first 10 laps, and by the end of lap 2, the gap from me to them was already 7.9 seconds. It steadily went up to 10 seconds, before I assume the 300SL's tire's heated up and then laps 5-10 I really had to push to keep the gap around 9-10 seconds. The lap the Corvette got by the 300SL, it immediately cut my lead in half, but somehow I managed to keep it over 3 seconds, and it would fluctuate between there and 5 seconds through the laps until the Corvette pitted on lap 17. I pitted the next lap for N2/N3 and from then on I was able to at least match the Corvette for pace, and increased my lead by a little bit each lap. At first it was just by a few tenths or a 1/2 second, but by the middle of the race I was able to add 1 or 2 seconds per lap to my lead.

I lapped the 'Vette on my lap 68, and put another 10 seconds or so into my lead before pitting myself on lap 73(3rd pitstop btw, pitted also, I think on L40). By lap 78 I re-lapped the Corvette and by the last lap I had added 1m09s to that lead. My best lap was 2:02.3, I did maybe 5 or 6 more 2:02's, and the majority of my laps after donning N2/N3 tires were 2:03's and 2:04's, with a few 2:05's and one or two 2:06's also.

Just Le Sarthe left to do now! I'm really hoping it's the one with chicanes, and that I don't get the same refusal to accelerate I got going through Kesselchen in the first race. Fingers crossed!

edit:
Race 4 - Circuit de la Sarthe - 200 points!
Soundtrack: Tool, Tool and more Tool. mmmmTool.
Car: Isuzu 117 Coupe '68
Setup: FC Transmission, Triple Plate Clutch, Racing Flywheel, FD@4.025(w/"tranny trick"), N1 to start, 98+kg, otherwise stock
Lineup: 9th, after a single Sarthe I 24hr preview, NTSC/NA (on day 2157)
Opponents:
Lotus Elan S1
Mini Marcos GT
Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale
Ginetta G4
Isuzu Bellett 1600 GT-R
MOV: ~33 seconds over the Lotus Elan.

L1, I'd made it up to 3rd by Mulsanne Corner, but I didn't make the braking point so I'm P6 and 14.8s back from the Ginetta at the Porsche Curves intermediate, before pitting for N3s. 18s back crossing the line in the pitlane. 5'45.794

L2, There's already a gap visible on the track map between the Ginetta and the rest of the pack. Short trip through the sand on the outside of the esses just before Tetre Rouge. Gap to Ginetta at Tetre Rouge's split: 49.2s, 57.2s after Mulsanne Corner. 5'57.661

L3, 54.6s to Ginetta. 5'25.411

I'm losing big time down the straight, but seem to gain most of it back through the Porsche Curves through to Tetre Rouge. The gap gets up as high as 1'08 at Mulsanne Corner (around L7ish), but at the finish line it's always around 1 minute or so.

L4, The Ginetta already has a gap to the pack at least as long as the stretch from Mulsanne Corner to Indianapolis, and coming out of Mulsanne Corner I get my first glimpse of the last car in the pack - the Ginetta is already through Arnage by then. 5'24.589

L5, 1'03.6 to the Ginetta. Pass the Bellett for 5th down the Mulsanne straight, it drafts me back and we're even right down to Mulsanne Corner where I out-brake it taking 5th back.


The Bellett takes it back from me again heading down to Indianapolis, but I out-brake it there too and keep 5th this time. The Mini Marcos takes a trip through the gravel trap surrounding the Ford Chicane and I pass it too, as I start L6. 5'22.532


L6, gap to Ginetta: 1'01.9 at Tetre Rouge, 1'08.4 at Mulsanne Corner. I'm in P4 with the P3 Alfa in my sights. I take P3 at the end of the lap through the Ford Chicane. 5'23.678


L7, gap to Ginetta (@start/finish): 1'05.2. The Lotus is about as far ahead as the Alfa is behind. I catch its draft between the two absent chicanes on the straight and pass it going by the second. 5'22.201


L8, and I had barely had a chance to savour sitting in P2 before the Ginetta began to slowly take itself out of contention. Suffering apparently from a total loss of the ability to brake, it started going into the sand traps almost constantly. The Ginetta lost 16s to me in the sand around the Dunlop chicane, and another 4s (after gaining back as much as 8s) through the Ford chicane. By the end of the lap I had the gap under a minute again, at 50s.

L9, the Ginetta loses another 7 seconds between start/finish and Tetre Rouge, for a 43.2s gap. It must have really screwed up Tetre Rouge too(I wish the replay rewinded!) because by the first non-chicane the gap was down to 29.8s. 5'22.116

L10, the gap is now 24.6s after the Ginetta missed Indianapolis and the Ford Chicane. 22.9s by the first non-chicane. It continues to fluctuate either way over the lap. 5'21.599

L11, gap is 21.7s at start/finish. 17.9s at Tetre Rouge. Tires are still green but are just barely showing some yellow tinges. Ginetta gains at least 7s down the straight, loses about a second from Mulsanne to the Porsche Curves (for a 24s gap), and bites it through the Ford Chicane again to leave the gap at 6.6s(!) at the start of lap 12. 5'22.126

L12, I can see the bugger! And there I go!

The Ginetta got past me down the straight, but then... whoopsie!

It got past me again on the run to Indianapolis; even though it fell into the sand trap there, and hit the wall at Arnage too, that only served to get me close enough to draft down to Porsche Curves. The Ginetta fell of at the first of those and I got by through the second.

L13, the Ginetta falls off the Dunlop Chicane the exact same way as when I first passed it, and the gap is suddenly 14.0s at Tetre Rouge. It does 140mph(!) down the straight but can't catch me. It goes straight into the gravel at Mulsanne anyway. Gap is 8.4s at Mulsanne, no draft for you this time, Ginetta! It smashes into the wall at Indianapolis and Arnage again. 8.1s at the Porsche Curves. Unfortunately for the Ginetta, its attempt to go through those curves can only be described as epic fail. 5'22.349


L14, gap to Ginetta is at 28.2s after it fails at the Ford Chicane again. The Elan is now hot on the heel of the Ginetta and it takes second going into the Esses. The Ginetta takes it back down the straight and keeps it despite hitting the wall at Indianapolis and Arnage, going off road at Mulsanne, Indianapolis, the first Porsche Curve and the Ford Chicane. The last two gravel trap outings had the Lotus getting blocked by the Ginetta and the Ginetta staying ahead.

L15, The Lotus and Ginetta follow almost the exact same pattern as the last lap, only the Lotus gets by when the Ginetta fails at the first Porsche Curve and keeps the lead thanks to the Ginetta's dismal performance through the Ford and Dunlop chicanes. 5'24.131 - 43s lead back to the Elan.


L16, The Ginetta gets pointing in the wrong direction coming out of Tetre Rouge, and it's finally over the once promising contender. The Alfa even takes 3rd just before the replay ends. 46s ahead of the Elan at the end of the lap.

L17, both front tires are very orange, but I need to go a couple more laps so as not be in the same situation at the end of the race.

L19, pit stop, 37 units of fuel remain. I calculate I need 41 units to finish, and fill it to 50 units just to be safe (2 bars remained at the finish). LF was fully red, and RF was just about there, LR was light orange. All good now!

L20, coming out of the pits I'm 6.2s behind the Elan.

L21, starting the lap I'm still in P2, 2.5s behind the Elan.

L22, P1, 3s ahead.

L26, lapped Mini Marcos GT.

L31, best lap: 5'20.556

L33, LF going yellow/orange

L35, gap to the Lotus at Indianapolis is 36.749s. At the Porsche Curves it's 33.388. My tires are pretty much gone, I'm cornering at 5-10 less mph than usual. And I win! 200 points I wasn't sure I'd have the patience for.

Total race time: 3:10'22.460
Best lap: L31 5'20.556

I thought I'd be able to increase the gap to the Lotus a lot more, but it took me a number of laps to get back into the 5'23s and 22s after sleeping. With a 5'26 the Lotus catches you up ever so slightly. I didn't need to pit again so it didn't really matter. I'd be happier if PD had made it so I could have done this race without having to check 49 lineups first. Still, eventually, good times. But damn you, GT4 lineup voodoo!

 

[imtheleprechaun]

In the "I spent more time figuring this out than I spent doing the races" category, maybe this info will help the 3 other people in North America who haven't done this festival yet. The existing posts were a good starting point, but were all European and the lineups didn't quite match up.

La Festa Italiana - 600 points
Car: nothing new here: Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA 1600 '65
Lineups: NTSC/NA #1-3 after reset
Setup constants:
-started with 0 miles, no oil
-racing exhaust, NA1
-These suspension and brake balance settings
-basically all non-power mods. kept original gearbox and added a 1.5-way LSD, no weight reduction
-in retrospect, a fully-customizable transmission might have been quite useful, and possibly higher brake force as well
-NOS@70
-S2 tires

Field 1: Fiat Coupe Turbo Plus, Alfa Romeo 147 GTA, Lancia DELTA HF Integrale Evoluzione, Alfa Romeo Spider 3.0i, Alfa Romeo GTV 3.0
Setup: 158HP (NA1, RE, Chip), 142+kg, used 1 bar NOS

Field 2: Alfa Romeo GTV 3.0, Alfa Romeo 156 2.5, Alfa Romeo GT 3.2, Alfa Romeo 147 GTA, Alfa Romeo 166 2.5
Setup: 152HP (NA1, RE), 141+kg, used 1 bar NOS

Field 3: Lancia DELTA HF Integrale Evoluzione, Fiat Coupe Turbo Plus, Alfa Romeo 147 GTA, Alfa Romeo Spider 3.0i, Alfa Romeo 156 2.5
Setup: 158HP (NA1, RE, Chip), 123+kg, used 1/2 tank of NOS

I ran the Autumn Ring and Infineon races against the 1st and 2nd fields, thinking that 20 less kg of ballast would be useful around Monaco. After using half a tank of nitrous to catch the Lancia that starts first in lineup 3 however, I'm thinking that the all-Alfa 2nd lineup is best for Cote d'Azur. Apart from that race, I mostly just used the nitrous to counteract the bogus rolling start system at Autumn Ring and Infineon. Could maybe even get by with none at those two. Going up the hill at Monaco I'm not so sure about, especially if the Lancia's starting first.

Pretty easy to stay in the lead without NOS once you've got there at all 3 races.

---

In a similar vein, here's what I used to max out the British Lightweight series in an Elise Type 72. Post #2 is rather misleading, I'm guessing due to a typo. NA2 is surely meant to read N2 - I had to put 9000 miles on my Type 72, adding power was definitely not do-able for me. Maybe there's a great lineup further down the list? Anyway, here's my solution:

British Lightweight Series: - 600 points
Car: Lotus Elise Type 72 '01
Lineups: NTSC/NA #2 and #3 after reset (both have the same cars in different order)
#2: Lotus Elan S1 '62, Lotus Elise '00, Lotus Elise Type 72 '01, Ginetta G4 '64, Mini Marcos GT '70
#3: Mini Marcos GT '70, Ginetta G4 '64, Lotus Elan S1 '62, Lotus Elise '00, Lotus Elise Type 72 '01

Setup: N2/N3, 110HP (9000+miles w/no oil), 144+kg
-these suspension and brake balance settings
-all non power mods
-NOS@100
-I didn't make a note of the final drive so I'm assuming what it's set at now is what I used for all three races: 4.55

Again, pretty easy to stay ahead without NOS once in front. Did this one a while back so that's all for notes on this one. The hard part was retrying the 2 fields over and over to arrive at the correct ballast/tire settings.

 

[RVDNuT374]

Europe Classic Car League- all races

Car: '68 VW Karmann Ghia with Dotini's awesome setup: http://www.gtvault.com/gt4/setup-view/s_sid::7376/Volkswagen-Karmann-Ghia-Coupe-(Type-1)/

His setup turns the Karmann Ghia from an oversteering pig into a very nice track machine more than capable of easily defeating the AI in this notoriously difficult series. 👍 However, I did make a couple of minor changes due to a different and much stronger AI grid:

Ballast reduced to 0 @ -20
6th gear lengthened to 0.790
Final Drives revised to 3.55, 3.85, and 4.15 respectively

If anyone is wondering what magic grid I used to be able to run 0 ballast, it's actually the first one that appears after a Nurburgring 4 Hour Endurance preview off of a reset (NTSC-USA). The lineup includes the 3 Alfa Romeos, a Lotus Elan, and the Mercedes 300 SL. The Mercedes is not as difficult to beat as people might think. With good blocking and nitrous management, he can be defeated at all 5 races, including the difficult Nurburgring, without qualifying. 👍

Individual Race Tips

Nurburgring: nitrous @ 65, final drive to 3.55; cut Hatzenbach esses only to pass Mercedes, use nitrous to take lead, then block well and conserve nitrous for Bergwerk-Hohe Acht and Galgenkopf-Tiergarten

Fuji 80's: nitrous @ 80; use nitrous at start to take lead, then block well and conserve nitrous for the run from turn 5-turn 8

Opera Paris Reverse: nitrous @ 80, final drive to 4.15; same strategy as Fuji

Suzuka: nitrous @ 100, final drive to 3.85; use nitrous at start to take lead, then block and conserve nitrous for Hairpin-Spoon Curve and Spoon Curve-130R, no grass cutting required

Deep Forest Reverse: nitrous @ 100; use nitrous at start only to take lead, then block well from there

 

[Dotini]

Thanks very, very much for the props, RVDNuT374!

It's quite nifty that you used the Preview function to find such a magic field of competitors. 👍

May the power be with you.

 

[RVDNuT374]

Thanks very, very much for the props, RVDNuT374!

It's quite nifty that you used the Preview function to find such a magic field of competitors. 👍

May the power be with you.

Thanks for the kind words. I don't think I'll ever get my A-spec count as high as you, but I'll see how close I can get. If you dig deep down inside, I believe you can get those final 20 A-spec points and become an exclusive member of the 111,813 Club. 👍

 

[Dotini]

Thanks for the kind words. I don't think I'll ever get my A-spec count as high as you, but I'll see how close I can get. If you dig deep down inside, I believe you can get those final 20 A-spec points and become an exclusive member of the 111,813 Club. 👍

RVDNuT374, thanks for your kind words of encouragement. At this time I am ambivalent about doing what it takes to acquire those final 20 points. The view from a step below the summit is, after all, mighty fine. Since GT4 is essentially a game for those who are young and gifted with good thumbs, I am astonished and more than gratified to have achieved what I have. Part of the process of aging, both as an individual and as a species, is learning to gracefully accept our natural place in the great order of things. I see myself as something of an interloper in this A-spec points thing, a geezer in a young man's game. My greatest source of satisfaction has been in developing and sharing setups which make the game easier and more accessible to those who don't have the greatest thumbs. I just love helping humans defeat AI/computers.

PS: I've been posting in the GTPlanet opinion/current events area lately. Drop by and say hello.

 

[Austin343]

NTSC/USA /1000 miles / 200 pts. (800 pts. total Championship Series)
Having done this series about a year ago originally for 200, I had always thought there were probably some doable alternate cars and/or lineups that could be flushed out from additional experimentation trials.
With my quest for max pts now complete, I had some time to go back and pursue this.
These are my findings thus far:

62 Skyline coupe (BRLA)/150hp/63 ballast
Lineup: (about 20-30 guesstimate NAver)
Jaguar E type 61
Corvette coupe 63
Mercedes 300 SL 54
Lotus Elan S1 62
Isuzu 117 coupe 68

54 Corvette convertible (C1)/152hp/15 ballast
lineup: (about 20-30 guesstimate NAver)
Jaguar E type 61
Corvette coupe (C2) 63
Mercedes 300 SL coupe 54
Ginetta G4 64
Alfa Romeo spider 1600 duetto 66

The 62 Skyline is of course, well known in this series and of the two cars a little better with six gears as opposed to the 5 speed 54 Corvette. At the Nurb, Opera, and azure this is not much of a facture, however at Le Sarthe it is a more significant handicap. Handling on N1s is about the same, with a slight edge to the Skyline. Both cars are equally stable and one, as good as the other at blocking and shoving. Likewise tire wear is almost identical.

Having run this series with many cars and lineups, I found these two cars and lineups to be (I wouldn't say EASEY) as doable as any other, with one exception. As mentioned already, the 54 Corvette at Le Sarthe was slower adding significantly to the difficulty of that race.
Otherwise the Jag and the 63 vette didn't seem to be any harder to block and ram than any of the others I've done. Another plus is you run faster and the race is over sooner.

If you would like to complete this series for 200 ea. and use a car other than the 62 Skyline, the 54 Corvette is the most comparable alternative I have found so far.


Edit: I recently came across this in one my many games replay theater. I had forgot about it since over time, I have run this series numerous times against many lineups with practically every enterable car in the game. It's postworthyness is due to the fact that, to date, it is the most on par with using the 62 Skyline that I have tried and completed.
I found it to be very much on the same difficulty level.
Due to the fact it was done some time ago I'm sorry I don't have more details.

Honda S 800 66 used, old oil, all upgades, adjust HP and ballast for 200 points
Line up:
(white) Alfa Romeo Guilia Sprint GTA 1600 65
(blue) Mini Marcos GT 70
(gold) Isuzu Bellet 1600 GT-R 69
(red) Honda S 800 66
(silver) Toyota Sports 800 65

I have some findings to add, too. I don't think it's a coincidence that SCJ's first two cars are two of the three grippiest classic cars. So, predictably, the one I'm going to suggest is the last of the three: the Elan. Of course, it's been used for initial, 160ish point runs through this series many times, but I've found that it is quite capable of earning the full 200. With either of SCJ's first two lineups, which are both excellent and are equivalent in terms of points, the Elan on N1 tires with 200 ballast and no mileage, plus all nonpoint modifications (and no setup of the suspension, etc.) can be offered the full complement. The appeal of using this method is that the first three races could be won without nitrous or shortcuts; Opera and Cote d'Azur would be trivial, while the Green Hell might yet necessitate a little bit of blocking of the Jaguar. But it's possible that it could be won with no questionable tactics at all: on my first practice lap, I set a 9'00, whereas the E-Type's best is 8'47 (according to Digital-Nitrate), with the other laps surely being noticeably slower. And, since I would need to pit at most once while the Jaguar stops six times, the total projected race times look very similar. Of course, La Sarthe would be hopeless; my practice lap was around 5'05, while the best of the E-Type is 4'47. So I think that the BLRA Skyline is still the car of choice there; when paired with a very evenly balanced lineup, I suspect that it, too, can be won cleanly without nitrous. But something unusual like the Isuzu 117 Coupe could also be capable, and I would explore that possibility before resorting to the easy way. Redoing these four races cleanly might be one of my next "projects" in GT4, but probably only in a month or two.

Edit:

Something I dont want to repeat. Gave me a bit of headache. I have some more happy news.
==============================================


Sarthe 1000 miles obliterated

PAL (#10) Elan (does not pit), Marcos (p 15/30), GSS (p17), Ginetta(p24-26), Bellet (p19).

1st attempt and I lost to the Elan by 17.xx secs.
Restarted and qualified.

I blocked the Ginetta (a wonderful towtruck) on Mulsanne straight and then let him pass me at the 2nd chicane to catch a long draft. Caught a draft after T4 and for a bit after T5 (the longish straight) leading up to T6. Repeated this process for 7 laps and then he disappeared. By lap 11 Ive got a healthy lead and thank you GSS for holding up the Elan.
On my first attempt I pitted on lap 17. (Mistake )

This time I stayed out till lap 29 (arbitrary choice) and as you can see not a lot of NOS used. Switched to N3/3. I blew 2 units for fun after I exited the pit. Still had a healthy lead of 45 secs on the Elan. Over the next 6 laps I managed to increase that to approx 1m 20 secs. But due to having my finger on the camera to take the pics I messed up the last section a bit so the MoV is around 1m17s or so.
The N1s last the entire race, Im sure but alas the gas tank only hold 80 units, 90 would've been nice.

So the easiest 200 point race I have ever won (despite doing it twice)

BLRA 12k miles old oil. N1/2 108bhp on toolkit screen.
20 ballast.
Tranny trick final 4.072 auto 1.
Top speed 116 mph.
All non power mods and tweaked the suspension, lowered to 106 and firmed up the first settings to 10/10.
3 units of NOS.

AMG.

Edit: 1000 miles all done.

Indeed, the Isuzu appears capable of defeating this lineup or a similar one for 200 points without necessitating shortcuts. Slightly blocking the Elan might be necessary from time to time, but I can do 5'28 laps on N1s (in a 200 point configuration) and 5'19 on N3s. The question is whether a lineup like this will only show up 200 enter/exits in.

Edit 2:

After carefully wearing out and tuning my BLRA-3 for the Sarthe round the 1000 miles, I set down to test as many grids as possible before attempting the race. I'm on NTSC NA. When I reached the ~69th grid and found the wayward Ginetta, and very slow Silvia, Toyota S800, Skyline Deluxe1500 and Fiat 500F were actually worth 200, I knew instantly my ship had come in, and hit the gas pedal.

Horsepower 101 before and after, 113kg ballast, N1/N3, geared 4.22.

For the first few laps, I blocked the Ginetta on principle, but often he would slip by inside on the grass or simply powering around the outside. Everytime afterwards, he would soon spin deep into the sand, often going head-on into the barriers, and be behind again. By lap 14 he was permanently behind. I pitted on lap 18 for N3's and a dash of fuel. MOV was over 3 minutes, and the also rans lapped many times over. Fastest lap 5:25.389

Complete setup notes can be found at the GTVault, setup 6725, but this grid was so straightforward to defeat, I'm fairly confidant it could be done by something other than the BLRA-3.

http://www.gtvault.com/gt4/setup-view/s_sid::6725/Skyline-Sport-Coupe-(BLRA-3)-Dotini2001/

I found a remarkably easy grid to battle for the 1000 Miles! event at the Nurburgring. After a console reset and a brief Preview of La Sarthe I 24hr, I selected the 33rd grid: Isuzu Bellet 1600 GT-R, Alfa Duetto Spider, Honda S800, Nissan Silvia CSP311, and Fiat 500F.

My Skyline had 92 Hp, 198 KG ballast, and started on N1/N3 tires, with a manual shift and tranny trick, final 4.70.

Despite a massive accident and a compromised pit schedule, I finished with an MOV of 1:09 to the 2nd place Isuzu. The Honda was the fastest, and he got by me for a 30 second lead when I pitted for N3 tires on Lap 8. Eventually, he pushed his tires too far and lost almost a lap. My N3's wore out by lap 13, so I stopped for N2/N3. I pitted once again lap 21 for fuel and N3/N3 for the easy romp to the finish. My FL was 9:41. Fun stuff!

Dotini, these grids are great finds, but unfortunately, they just don't work with any car other than the BLRA. The main problem is that there are no cars with a lower stock A-Spec value that weigh anywhere near as much as the Skyline does. That's important because no matter how much ballast you add, you will be unable to use more than about 75 HP, which simply isn't enough. I've tried several cars - the Skyline 1500 Deluxe, the Silvia, the S800 - and in a 200-point configuration, they all simply lack the power necessary to ascend the hills of Nurburgring or to reach a competitive speed on the straight of La Sarthe. So from what I can tell, if you want to be able to win the series cleanly without resorting to the car that everyone else uses, racing the Elan against a very strong grid will work in the first three races, and using the Isuzu against a moderately fast and evenly balanced grid will work at La Sarthe.

Edit 3: Actually, testing more thoroughly, the Silvia might work with Dotini's La Sarthe field. I think I'd prefer to use the Isuzu, though.

 

[GTsail]

1000 Miles! @ Le Sarthe - for 200 A-spec points

Reading all the recent activity in the 1000 mile races made me feel that I should complete the series. At Le Sarthe my game was showing 195 points, so those last 5 points were tantalizing.

So borrowing AMG's lineup (thanks), I dusted off the old reliable Nissan Sport Coupe '62, and took a trip to Le Sarthe for a nice relaxing vacation from running on-line races. My competition was as follows: Lotus Elan S1, Alfa Romeo Guilia Sprint Speciale '63, Isuzu Bellett 1600 GTR, Ginetta G4 '64, Mini Marcos GT '70.

I start the race on N1/N3 tires with 111HP and 64kg's of ballast. I have installed all non-point upgrades and tweeked the suspension and transmission somewhat. Top speed is 116mph without a tow.

I get off to a good start and for the first 9 laps I trade first and second place a number of times with the Ginetta G4. Sometimes drafting, sometimes the Ginetta would get away (one time the Ginetta built up a 25 second lead before playing some golf in the sand traps). The Ginetta had some sort of major problem with the Ford chicanes on lap 9 and he got passed by the Lotus Elan. I had a small lead at this time which ballooned to 18 seconds over the Elan. For the next 18 laps I just cruise, maintaining a lead over the Elan of around 15 to 20 seconds (the Elan runs the rest of the race in second place, since we never again hear from the Ginetta who continues to struggle the rest of the race and falls further back into the clutches of the Isuzu Bellett and the Alfa Romeo GSS). On lap 26, I lap the Marcos, who recently pitted and must be struggling, so I decide to pit myself on lap 27 with a 15 second lead over the Elan (I take on fuel and N3 tires). When I exit the pits the Elan has pulled out a 15 second lead over me. It takes five laps to catch the Elan using about half of my NOS. On lap 34 I catch and lap the wayward Ginetta. I actually get a nice tow from the Ginetta on lap 35 down the straights, before it decides to take one more trip to the beach. My final winning margin over the Lotus Elan was about 15 seconds. My fastest lap with NOS was a 5.18.676. The 1000miles! series is now complete.

Boy, the Nissan Sport Coupe is just a joy to drive for four hours!

Respectfully,
GTsail290

 

[Austin343]

Congratulations on that, GTsail. 👍 I'm glad you've completed this series; where are your remaining points? I assume that some are in the FGT championship and the rest are in manufacturers races, so in finishing this race, you've sort of gone from the frying pan to the fire.

Meanwhile, I did, in fact, find a suitable lineup for the Isuzu 117 Coupe for this exact race after about 45 minutes of entering and exiting; I'm glad that I got a 200-point one for this car because I like the handling and sound much more than I do those of the Silvia that I would use against a slower field. I'm not even sure if the lineup is repeatable, but it's pretty good: the Elan, the Ginetta, the Duetto, the Sports 800, and the 500F. The Isuzu can defeat it with relative ease with fairly minor modifications, and I've tried, as much as possible, to keep it vaguely realistic. I started with the one bought from the used car lots and did not change the oil or refresh the chassis, and the only changes I made were to add N1 tires (I will change to N3 on the first lap) and 131 ballast and replace the drivetrain: a racing transmission (it now has six gears and reaches a top speed on the straight of 125 mph), a triple plate clutch, and a racing flywheel. I avoided the carbon driveshaft because it seems to ruin the performance of some cars while making only a small difference with others, and I didn't bother to test on the Isuzu. I didn't buy a racing suspension or brakes, so as to retain the car's authenticity to some extent, and I'm doing my best to complete avoid using the redline. Unfortunately, because 108 HP cars aren't especially good at accelerating, staying within the curbs costs about eight seconds per lap, so my version of clean driving for this race means keeping all four tires on hard surfaces (in addition to avoiding walls and AI cars). I don't doubt that the BLRA can win even more cleanly, by virtue of superior handling, but it's nice to have a contact- and NOS-free race in a more unusual car selection. I wish that this car and lineup worked for the other races, but when it isn't primarily a top speed contest, the Elan is just too fast for this somewhat boat-like car.

By the way, even though it's possible that nobody else will pursue maximum points in this series any longer, I do have some helpful information concerning the AI cars. I'm sure that some of you have wondered how lineups containing cars like the Fiat can possibly yield 200 points. The fact is that the slower cars are all modified, as I know from a document that another member gave me that lists the AI cars that appear in each race along with the power of each one (and if you're wondering, yes, it's extremely useful!). So, here's that list for this race, with the stock power included for comparison, and what I roughly estimate to be the actual A-Spec value for each in addition to its stock value, based on Wild Cobra's list.

Car                           Power  Stock  A-Spec (est.)  Stock
AC Cars 427 S/C '66            478    478       1244       1244
Jaguar E-Type Coupe '61        265    265       1079       1079
Chevy Corvette Coupe '63       249    249       1049       1049
Mercedes 300 SL Coupe '54      212    212       993        993
Nissan Fairlady 2000 '68       141    141       932        932
Nissan Skyline 2000GT-B '67    123    123       861        861
Isuzu 117 Coupe '68            118    118       858        858
Isuzu Bellet '69               118    118       868        868
Alfa Sprint GTA 1600 '65       113    113       888        888
Alfa Sprint Speciale '63       112    112       851        851
Mazda 110S '67                 109    109       861        861
Alfa Spider Duetto '66         108    108       844        844
Lotus Elan S1 '62              104    104       934        934
Ginetta G4 '64                 99     90        965        935
Honda S800 '66                 99     69        875        758
Mini Marcos '70                98     76        925        846
Nissan Silvia '65              97     88        850        812
Nissan Skyline Sport '62       97     93        800        784
Nissan Skyline 1500Deluxe '63  96     69        850        742
Toyota Sports 800 '65          96     44        900        712
VW Karmann Ghia '68            87     43        800        681
Fiat 500F '65                  78     17        850        542

The 110S's power is not listed, presumably because it never appeared sixth in the lineup in a preview, but I have no reason to believe that it has been modified, so I took the liberty of representing it as having its stock 109 HP. Keep in mind that my estimated values are quite rough, especially in the super-highly modified cars like the Fiat. I hope this helps somebody, and if not, then at least explains some perceived oddities. 👍

 

[Tetraeder]

Austi343 wrote:

"By the way, even though it's possible that nobody else will pursue maximum points in this series any longer, I do have some helpful information concerning the AI cars."

(Sorry for that, but in this case I had problems using the quote button)

Thank you Austin343 for this useful list. Until now I finished Sarthe and Opera for 200 points, Cote d´Azur I have for 109 and NR I didn´t even try until now. But I will have some time around christmas. Probably Cote d´Azur won´t be that difficult, NR will be another matter I suppose. Wish me luck (with the lineup)

 

[GTsail]

Congratulations on that, GTsail. 👍 I'm glad you've completed this series; where are your remaining points? I assume that some are in the FGT championship and the rest are in manufacturers races, so in finishing this race, you've sort of gone from the frying pan to the fire.
......

Thanks Austin343 -

I quite enjoyed my race at La Sarthe with the Nissan Sport Coupe '62.

You are mostly right about my missing points. Though I have completed the entire Formula GT series for 200 points (I just have not yet posted my final two races). I'm missing 97 points in the hard One-Makes, 50 with the Miata Roadster for 4 hours, 193 at Nurburgring for 24 hours, and 195 points at La Sarthe I for 24 hours (total of 536 points).

Thanks for sharing the 1000 miles! list of competitors and calculated values. The one thing that stands out (and you mentioned it) is that the Fiat 500F does not bring down your points as much as would be expected. I've always thought that having the Fiat in the lineup just crushed your points, and I would not even enter the race to check. But now I see that it might give you slightly higher points than the VW Karmann Ghia, the Alfa Spider Duetto and the Nissan Sport Coupe. This is very interesting!

Good luck with the Isuzu 117 Coupe at La Sarthe.

Respectfully,
GTsail290

 

[Austin343]

Thanks for sharing the 1000 miles! list of competitors and calculated values. The one thing that stands out (and you mentioned it) is that the Fiat 500F does not bring down your points as much as would be expected. I've always thought that having the Fiat in the lineup just crushed your points, and I would not even enter the race to check. But now I see that it might give you slightly higher points than the VW Karmann Ghia, the Alfa Spider Duetto and the Nissan Sport Coupe. This is very interesting!

Again, they're very rough estimates, based on power and weight and not on empirical data. I thought that the Fiat should have approximately the same value as the stock Marcos, since it weighs slightly less and is a little more powerful. I used similar reasoning with most of the rest of the modified cars, with the exception of the cars with only slightly more horsepower, because that increase can be deduced from the reduction in points from the 9.75% loss of power when the car is used (does that make sense?). The main point of the list was, of course, to demonstrate that slow cars can be very good for points because their speed is limited only by their transmissions.

Good luck with the Isuzu 117 Coupe at La Sarthe.

Thanks. It's going well so far, as I'm well ahead after lap 13. I was starting to worry a little when the Ginetta seemed to be losing too little time, but on lap 8, the computer evidently moved its pace meter from 3 to 4 and it started burying itself in the sand traps rather than briefly skipping through them. So far, I've only touched sand or grass twice: at Tertre Rouge on cold tires, I set two wheels in the gravel, and at the final chicane, I cut it too far and put the left side of the car in the grass on the entrance. I lost a lot of speed in the former case and gave myself a penalty (an extended throttle lift on the straight) in the latter, so I can claim that I have gained no time through "unclean" driving. Also, I've avoided AI contact through some wise braking maneuvers well before corners when the Ginetta has been closing. Braking normally and taking a normal line, I would simply be punted into the sand while it braked way too late, so I prefer to let it pass and then let it spin in the sand on its own.

Edit: I finished the race with a 2'05 margin over the Elan and a fastest lap of 5'16.972. Although I did have a few more touches of grass and sand, it was all very minor, and I still avoided any AI contact. Unfortunately, I did have my clean race (by OLR standards - two wheels on the track, no wall or AI contact) ruined on lap 34 () between Mulsanne and Indianapolis. I had let the Ginetta, which I had passed earlier in the lap, pass me back on the Hunaudieres, and although it ran wide, as usual, into the sand at Mulsanne, I elected to lift in order to stay behind because the track in the following section is so narrow and the risk of contact so great. But the Fiat happened to be a little bit ahead of us, and as we approached one of the kinks in the straight, the Ginetta hit it, but in a glancing collision. It went to the left side of the track while the Fiat fishtailed from one side to the other. I had to brake to avoid the Ginetta at the same time that I veered left to avoid the Fiat, and because this happened at one of the kinks, I wasn't looking at the direction of the road and the left rear tire caught the grass, skewing me into the guardrail on the opposite side of the track. Nevertheless, the "clean" spirit of the race was maintained, and I think that this is a significantly more satisfying way to earn 200 points here than is using nitrous, shortcuts, blocking, and bashing in the Skyline.

 

[GTsail]

..... I finished the race with a 2'05 margin over the Elan and a fastest lap of 5'16.972.....

Nicely done Austin343 with the Isuzu 117 Coupe!

Last night I was able to win at La Sarthe in the 1000 miles! series with another infrequently used car in a 190 point tune (a fairly comfortable race with a MOV of over a minute).

So this morning I added some ballast and restricted the car's horsepower, so it will now give me 200 A-spec points, and re-entered the race. I'm not sure that I can win, but I'm going to give it a try.

I have finished one lap and currently have a small lead over the field, which I obtained by cutting the Ford chicanes.

Unlike your race, mine will involve AI blocking, paint transfer, fender rubbing, opponent punting, off-roading, and any other unfair and devious scheme that I can think of to stay in front.

First stint:
After 15 laps, I have a 10 second lead. This lead was larger than normal. My main competitor was encouraged to check out some of the sand in the Porsche curves and lost about 5 seconds.

Second stint:
After 30 laps, things are looking good. I now have a 20 second lead, and I am expecting my main competition to pit. Just cruising now since I am on decent tires at last.

Final stint:
See my post below

Respectfully,
GTsail290

 

[Austin343]

I'm very interested to hear what car you're using. I like originality, so something like a tuned Fiat 500 would intrigue me.

I've found (yet) another car that I think could win the first three races of the 1000 Miles! championship: the Mazda 110S (L10A) '67. With a single, simple power modification, such as a racing chip or a sports exhaust, plus the drivetrain modifications, N1 tires, and 200 ballast, it can (if I've made correct assumptions with my list above) earn 200 points against a tantalizing grid that I found while looking for a good lineup for the Elan: the Ginetta, the Elan, the Marcos, the Alfa Guilia Sprint GTA, and the Fairlady 2000. Such lineups are clearly rare, and I doubt it would arise using a different car, but the 110S would be able to win cleanly at all three tracks. So I'm torn as to which car to use to redo these races; the 110S is much more fun to drive for me, and doesn't feel like a "cheater" car (the Elan has an absurd amount of grip), but the Elan leaves open many more lineup possibilities, is a more certain victor, and gives the option of doing the races on N1 tires throughout rather than switching to N3s on the first lap.