Famine's Endurance Companion
- Thread starter Famine
- 159 comments
- 39,682 views
- 86,854
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
I've always enjoyed the car, to be honest - I first used it in the GT World Championship on my NTSC-J game. It's a little ropey on bumps and can get tricky when asked to change direction quickly but it is relatively stable at speed and can run with much more powerful cars happily.
Would I do it again? Since I got 200 points, no. It was probably the dullest one of the three 24 hour races.
Would I do it again? Since I got 200 points, no. It was probably the dullest one of the three 24 hour races.
Cap'n Jack
Premium
- 10,105
- South of the South
- GoldMineGutted
Awesome write-ups, but I'd like to point out that the La Sarthe I link goes to the Nurburgring 24 hour post. 
Smallhorses
Staff Emeritus
- 7,260
Copycat! !!!
You might want to check this out too, so you'll know what you're up against. That RX-7 is very dainty on it's tyres.
!!! You might want to check this out too, so you'll know what you're up against. That RX-7 is very dainty on it's tyres.
Smallhorses
Staff Emeritus
- 7,260
Wow! What sort of laptimes are you running? I'm guessing 1'01 - 1'03s.
Only making mid 1'06 - 1'07s myself.....
Only making mid 1'06 - 1'07s myself.....
Smallhorses
Staff Emeritus
- 7,260
Any more news?
I'm currently just under 6 1/2 hours in and leading by a little over 5s! Fabulous race so far! I'm pleasantly shocked! Got to get this finished this evening before I head back to England tomorrow!
I'm currently just under 6 1/2 hours in and leading by a little over 5s! Fabulous race so far! I'm pleasantly shocked! Got to get this finished this evening before I head back to England tomorrow!
Smallhorses
Staff Emeritus
- 7,260
It's a possibility, although certainly more likely in March - April time when I'm back on my own for a couple of weeks. I'll have GTP access at my parents place, so I'll PM you for details if I can make it between Xmas & New Year, although several of our friends have been dropping sproglets all year, and they're keen to show them off, so we're somewhat duty bound.... given the choice of screaming infants and screaming engines though, you know where I'd prefer to be! 
I'm working on combining several training sessions at once during spring, if I can roll a GC/MS and MALDI course into one visit, it should free up plenty of space at the weekends for a GT Party.
I'm working on combining several training sessions at once during spring, if I can roll a GC/MS and MALDI course into one visit, it should free up plenty of space at the weekends for a GT Party.
- 86,854
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
I ran out of time and care with the last race, so I've started again with a different car...
30/12/05 - Tsukuba 9 Hours
I've chosen a different steed this time round. One used, slightly abused and sort of "fresh" from the Clio Cup, Renaultsport Clio V6 '00. Tar instead of oil helps it to 220hp...
Opponents:
AI 1: Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 (get an original idea, won't you?)
AI 2: Toyota Supra RZ '97
AI 3: Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00
AI 4: Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02
AI 5: Alfa Romeo 147 GTA '02
My Clio is on S2 booties and this means I've got a potential maximum of 200 A-spec points...
Hour 1
Unlike my previous quick thrap, the R34 starts at the tail and is easily taken at turn 2, followed by the Alfa at turn 3. A lap later and the Impreza is passed into turn 1, with the Supra following at turn 3. The superior-model Clio is harder to catch, but finally succumbs at turn 4 on lap 4.
Lap 8 sees my first sub 1'05 time - a 1'04.737 - and this is bettered by tenths on laps 11 (1'04.655) and 13 (1'04.584). Just 2 laps later I LAP the Alfa 147, who really doesn't like being here, as he ducks into the pits immediately after.
Lap 19 sees the Clio needing new shoes and so I duck into the pits with a 10s lead over Clio 2. This quickly evaporates as I spend 26 seconds in the pits - only 16 units of fuel used, so no refuelling for me - but I manage to re-pass him as he pits on lap 22. In the interim, the Subaru pits (21), and the Skyline (25) and Supra (28) leave it much later.
Lap 32 sees me lapping the Skyline - astonishingly, given the previous race - as he's lapping the Alfa (who dutifully pits again), but as I pit again on lap 38 he unlaps himself. Followed by Clio 2 who takes the lead again, but by just 6 seconds. Lap 42 is a new lap record - 1'04.494 - and lap 43 heralds the lapping of the Subaru. On 44, Clio 2 pits with just 3 seconds lead, allowing me to retake the lead again.
That's pretty much it for high drama as the hour closes out - the Alfa gets another lapping (46) and I manage to retake my lap on the Skyline (48), but that's about the lot.
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 54 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +0'27
3. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +1'04
4. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +1 lap
5. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +1 lap
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +3 laps
Hour 2
Hour 2 welcomes careful drivers - and me putting a lap on the Supra as he laps the Alfa, inside the first 25 seconds...
Of course I pitted soon afterwards (57) so, amazingly, the Alfa unlapped himself as the Supra followed me in... Nothing exciting happened until I relapped the Alfa on 62, then set a new lap record of 1'04.399 on 65. Then lapped the Alfa again on 71. And AGAIN on 85 (though I lapped the Impreza, on 80, and the R34, on 84, first). I managed to set another lap record on 87 of 1'04.332 and I think this is just about as low as I can go - maybe I can crack into 1'04.2 by the end of the race...
And, as if to prove me wrong, the car throws out a 1'04.203 on lap 92, followed by a 1'04.161 on lap 94. Don't give up the day job... I managed to lap the Supra and Clio in between all of this action too, but lost the laps - and the ones on the R34 and Impreza - as I pitted on 95. Lap 97 saw me relap the Impreza, followed by the Skyline on Lap 98 and another lap on the Alfa on 100.
Which, of course, reminds me...
100 laps - 1hr 50'42.037
Only 8 more laps are completed this hour - with the Supra getting relapped on 103.
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 108 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +0'55
3. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +2 lap
4. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +2 laps
5. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +2 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +7 laps
Hour 3
Hour 3 opens with a blistering lap 110 - 1'04.118 is the new mark, making a mockery of my earlier "1'04.2 minimum" comment. Thanks. Soon after, on 113, the Alfa falls prey again, followed by a pitstop on 114 (though the Alfa came in right behind me, so I maintained that lap). On 115 I notice that I'm catching the Clio again and on 116 he pits right in front of me. I'VE LAPPED THE CLIO! Gotcha. Interestingly - or not - this puts the two cars less than 1% apart in terms of time (1'05 difference in over 2 hours).
Not a lot else happened until the Skyline (124) and Impreza (129 - meaning that the Impreza has taken 4th place now) pit right in front of me, and hopefully I can make enough time up on them so that when I pit on 133, I preserve the lap advantage. Lap 126 certainly helps, with a truely astonishing 1'03.922. Lawks! The Alfa was lapped yet again on 127 and, when I pit on 133, only the Clio comes back past. Dang.
But not dang for long - again he pits on 136, giving me my lap back (and that's 1'05 difference in 2.5 hours - a difference of 0.7% in my favour)...
The rest of the hour is fairly tame - Supra AND Alfa lappage on 142, Skyline and Alfa on 149 and 150 (though they regained the lap when I pitted on 152, I recaptured them both on 156), and the hour mark 2 seconds into lap 164.
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 163 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +1 lap
3. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +3 lap
4. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +3 laps
5. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +4 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +11 laps
Hour 4
First action of hour 4? Lap the Alfa. What a surprise. And other than an awful lot of lappage, this hour was edging on the dull side. Mind you, we're at Tsukuba - dullness as standard.
The Supra got lapped on 169, recovered it when I pitted on 171 but fell victim again on 174 - not before the Scooby got lapped on 173. The Alfa got Clionated on 179, as did the other Clio on 183 - though my pittage on 190 saw him regain that lap. The Alfa was lapped yet again, for the 14th time, on 194, and the Skyline followed (but only for the 5th time) on 198. Which, needless to say, reminds me:
200 laps - 3hr 40'47.803
Gosh!
The Supra and Clio were both lapped as they pitted on 203 - the Supra taking the opportunity to unlap himself from the AI Clio while he was at it - and when I pitted on 209 I came out right behind the just-unlapped-himself Supra, but ahead of the Clio. Stitch that, Jimmy! In between that, I lapped the Alfa on 208, he unlapped himself when I pitted on 209 and I relapped him on 210. The Supra was eventually relapped when my tyres had got warm on 212 and the last action of the hour saw the Impreza go down on 215 - which means that after 4 hours of racing, he'd gone from 5th up to 3rd, ahead of the Supra and Skyline, both of which are more frugal on tyres...
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 217 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +2 lap
3. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +5 laps
4. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +5 lap
5. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +5 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +15 laps
Hour 5
Go on. Guess... Yep, Alfa on 223, followed by Skyline on 224, though he unlapped himself when I pitted on 228, to be recaptured on 239, followed by the Alfa again on the same lap... I SAY "when I pitted on 228". I actually mean 229, because when I entered the pits, slower than usual, on 228, the "Pit AI" drove me into the inside wall, got me sideways and spat me back out onto the track again. Cheers! The Supra got eaten on 247, along with the Alfa yet again, but both shook it off when I pitted on that same lap, to be retaken on 259 and 253 respectively.
The Clio and Impreza were lapped on 258 and 259, but again there was unlappage due to pitting (on 266), though the Alfa, lapped on 261, didn't make his lap back again.
The hour closed out in sight of the Impreza and Clio (who had just pitted) on 271...
Halfway occurred during this stint, at 244 laps and 43 seconds, indicating that the 9 hours will tick by on lap 490.
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 271 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +2 lap
3. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +5 laps
4. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +6 lap
5. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +6 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +19 laps
Hour 6
Hour 6 started off with a sound relapping of the Clio (273), followed by the Skyline (274) then a relapping of the Impreza (274). The Alfa followed (276), then again (291) and then the Supra (also 291). A brief flurry of lapping... The Impreza, not to feel left out, fell prey on lap 300. Which, it goes without saying, reminds me:
300 laps - 5hr 31'01.218
The Clio (301), Skyline (302) and Alfa (302) all follow the Impreza into the lap book, and all of them come straight back out as I pit on 304. It takes me 3 more laps to recapture the Alfa, another 6 to retake the Impreza, and just three more to take the Clio and Skyline again. The Supra is also lapped on 322, but unlaps itself when I pit on 323.
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 326 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +4 lap
3. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +7 laps
4. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +7 lap
5. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +8 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +22 laps
Hour 7
Busy little stint, this one. The Alfa starts off proceedings by being lapped on 331, followed by the Impreza and Supra, both on 339, and the Alfa again on 340, all of whom unlap themselves when I pit on 342. It only takes until lap 345 to re-retake the Supra (my third attempt to put an 8th on him), and a lap later the Alfa and Impreza both fall victim. Then the Clio goes down on 350, and the Alfa does again on 356 - why is he even IN this race? My pitstop on 361 allows the Clio to unlap himself.
A long flurry of nothing then is followed by the Clio falling prey on 366, followed by the Alfa yet again on 372, the Supra on 375 and the Skyline on 378. When I stop on 380, the Skyline manages to regain his lap, but the Clio fails by the narrowest of margins - coming alongside into turn 1, but failing to make it stick.
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 380 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +5 lap
3. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +8 laps
4. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +9 lap
5. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +9 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +26 laps
Hour 8
Started off by lapping the Impreza on 384 and then finally retaking the Skyline's lap on 394, 16 laps after originally lapping him. Damn pitstops! The Alfa follows on 398, but unlaps himself when I pit, slightly out of sequence, on lap 400. And that, of course, reminds me:
400 laps - 7hr 21'17.256
The Alfa got relapped on 404 (and also 413 and 426, just to save time and space). The Supra was lapped on 406, and this time it only took one attempt to take the lap. 412 saw the Clio go 6 laps down, but I had to pit on 418 so he unlapped himself. On 425 though I took it back and kept it, along with the Skyline in practically the same manoeuvre. Along with the aforementioned Alfa, the Impreza saw himself lapped on 426 too - and this lap was the second best of the race - a 1'03.996.
The hour closed out with me lapping the Supra on 436, though those of you au fait with your 19 times table will know that I'm pitting on 437, so it'll never stick...
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 435 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +6 lap
3. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +10 laps
4. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +11 lap
5. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +11 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +29 laps
Hour 9
And it didn't. In fact the Impreza nearly unlapped himself too. But on 442 I lapped the Alfa and the Skyline again (as they were tussling between themselves and just before both pitted in), with the second attempt to eleventh-lap the Supra on 448 (which was unsuccessful, as I pitted on 456... gaaaargh!) and the Alfa on 453. I finally manage to get eleven up on the Supra on 461, with the Impreza following on 466, along with the Alfa and Skyline as a pair again on 469.
I came out of the pits for the last time at the start of 476 with miles of empty tarmac in front of me - not a car to be seen. In fact it took until lap 482 to spot another vehicle... the Clio. He was swiftly dispatched, as was the Alfa again on lap 484 in what was to be the very last action of the race.
As predicted at halfway, the timer ran out nearly exactly halfway through lap 490...
Final Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 490 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +7 lap
3. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +11 laps
4. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +11 lap
5. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +13 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +33 laps
Final Race Time: 9hr 00'30.445
You'd think that if you were lapped 20 times by the second last car, you'd get the hint, wouldn't you?
Overall I enjoyed this MUCH more than I thought. I hate the track - this hasn't changed - but the car was a hoot. If only the AI were more aware when being lapped - as they were tough to catch and tough to leave behind, especially as the Clio I was in was hopelessly outclassed on the straights.
30/12/05 - Tsukuba 9 Hours
I've chosen a different steed this time round. One used, slightly abused and sort of "fresh" from the Clio Cup, Renaultsport Clio V6 '00. Tar instead of oil helps it to 220hp...
Opponents:
AI 1: Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 (get an original idea, won't you?)
AI 2: Toyota Supra RZ '97
AI 3: Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00
AI 4: Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02
AI 5: Alfa Romeo 147 GTA '02
My Clio is on S2 booties and this means I've got a potential maximum of 200 A-spec points...
Hour 1
Unlike my previous quick thrap, the R34 starts at the tail and is easily taken at turn 2, followed by the Alfa at turn 3. A lap later and the Impreza is passed into turn 1, with the Supra following at turn 3. The superior-model Clio is harder to catch, but finally succumbs at turn 4 on lap 4.
Lap 8 sees my first sub 1'05 time - a 1'04.737 - and this is bettered by tenths on laps 11 (1'04.655) and 13 (1'04.584). Just 2 laps later I LAP the Alfa 147, who really doesn't like being here, as he ducks into the pits immediately after.
Lap 19 sees the Clio needing new shoes and so I duck into the pits with a 10s lead over Clio 2. This quickly evaporates as I spend 26 seconds in the pits - only 16 units of fuel used, so no refuelling for me - but I manage to re-pass him as he pits on lap 22. In the interim, the Subaru pits (21), and the Skyline (25) and Supra (28) leave it much later.
Lap 32 sees me lapping the Skyline - astonishingly, given the previous race - as he's lapping the Alfa (who dutifully pits again), but as I pit again on lap 38 he unlaps himself. Followed by Clio 2 who takes the lead again, but by just 6 seconds. Lap 42 is a new lap record - 1'04.494 - and lap 43 heralds the lapping of the Subaru. On 44, Clio 2 pits with just 3 seconds lead, allowing me to retake the lead again.
That's pretty much it for high drama as the hour closes out - the Alfa gets another lapping (46) and I manage to retake my lap on the Skyline (48), but that's about the lot.
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 54 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +0'27
3. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +1'04
4. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +1 lap
5. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +1 lap
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +3 laps
Hour 2
Hour 2 welcomes careful drivers - and me putting a lap on the Supra as he laps the Alfa, inside the first 25 seconds...
Of course I pitted soon afterwards (57) so, amazingly, the Alfa unlapped himself as the Supra followed me in... Nothing exciting happened until I relapped the Alfa on 62, then set a new lap record of 1'04.399 on 65. Then lapped the Alfa again on 71. And AGAIN on 85 (though I lapped the Impreza, on 80, and the R34, on 84, first). I managed to set another lap record on 87 of 1'04.332 and I think this is just about as low as I can go - maybe I can crack into 1'04.2 by the end of the race...
And, as if to prove me wrong, the car throws out a 1'04.203 on lap 92, followed by a 1'04.161 on lap 94. Don't give up the day job... I managed to lap the Supra and Clio in between all of this action too, but lost the laps - and the ones on the R34 and Impreza - as I pitted on 95. Lap 97 saw me relap the Impreza, followed by the Skyline on Lap 98 and another lap on the Alfa on 100.
Which, of course, reminds me...
100 laps - 1hr 50'42.037
Only 8 more laps are completed this hour - with the Supra getting relapped on 103.
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 108 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +0'55
3. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +2 lap
4. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +2 laps
5. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +2 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +7 laps
Hour 3
Hour 3 opens with a blistering lap 110 - 1'04.118 is the new mark, making a mockery of my earlier "1'04.2 minimum" comment. Thanks. Soon after, on 113, the Alfa falls prey again, followed by a pitstop on 114 (though the Alfa came in right behind me, so I maintained that lap). On 115 I notice that I'm catching the Clio again and on 116 he pits right in front of me. I'VE LAPPED THE CLIO! Gotcha. Interestingly - or not - this puts the two cars less than 1% apart in terms of time (1'05 difference in over 2 hours).
Not a lot else happened until the Skyline (124) and Impreza (129 - meaning that the Impreza has taken 4th place now) pit right in front of me, and hopefully I can make enough time up on them so that when I pit on 133, I preserve the lap advantage. Lap 126 certainly helps, with a truely astonishing 1'03.922. Lawks! The Alfa was lapped yet again on 127 and, when I pit on 133, only the Clio comes back past. Dang.
But not dang for long - again he pits on 136, giving me my lap back (and that's 1'05 difference in 2.5 hours - a difference of 0.7% in my favour)...
The rest of the hour is fairly tame - Supra AND Alfa lappage on 142, Skyline and Alfa on 149 and 150 (though they regained the lap when I pitted on 152, I recaptured them both on 156), and the hour mark 2 seconds into lap 164.
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 163 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +1 lap
3. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +3 lap
4. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +3 laps
5. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +4 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +11 laps
Hour 4
First action of hour 4? Lap the Alfa. What a surprise. And other than an awful lot of lappage, this hour was edging on the dull side. Mind you, we're at Tsukuba - dullness as standard.
The Supra got lapped on 169, recovered it when I pitted on 171 but fell victim again on 174 - not before the Scooby got lapped on 173. The Alfa got Clionated on 179, as did the other Clio on 183 - though my pittage on 190 saw him regain that lap. The Alfa was lapped yet again, for the 14th time, on 194, and the Skyline followed (but only for the 5th time) on 198. Which, needless to say, reminds me:
200 laps - 3hr 40'47.803
Gosh!
The Supra and Clio were both lapped as they pitted on 203 - the Supra taking the opportunity to unlap himself from the AI Clio while he was at it - and when I pitted on 209 I came out right behind the just-unlapped-himself Supra, but ahead of the Clio. Stitch that, Jimmy! In between that, I lapped the Alfa on 208, he unlapped himself when I pitted on 209 and I relapped him on 210. The Supra was eventually relapped when my tyres had got warm on 212 and the last action of the hour saw the Impreza go down on 215 - which means that after 4 hours of racing, he'd gone from 5th up to 3rd, ahead of the Supra and Skyline, both of which are more frugal on tyres...
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 217 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +2 lap
3. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +5 laps
4. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +5 lap
5. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +5 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +15 laps
Hour 5
Go on. Guess... Yep, Alfa on 223, followed by Skyline on 224, though he unlapped himself when I pitted on 228, to be recaptured on 239, followed by the Alfa again on the same lap... I SAY "when I pitted on 228". I actually mean 229, because when I entered the pits, slower than usual, on 228, the "Pit AI" drove me into the inside wall, got me sideways and spat me back out onto the track again. Cheers! The Supra got eaten on 247, along with the Alfa yet again, but both shook it off when I pitted on that same lap, to be retaken on 259 and 253 respectively.
The Clio and Impreza were lapped on 258 and 259, but again there was unlappage due to pitting (on 266), though the Alfa, lapped on 261, didn't make his lap back again.
The hour closed out in sight of the Impreza and Clio (who had just pitted) on 271...
Halfway occurred during this stint, at 244 laps and 43 seconds, indicating that the 9 hours will tick by on lap 490.
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 271 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +2 lap
3. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +5 laps
4. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +6 lap
5. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +6 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +19 laps
Hour 6
Hour 6 started off with a sound relapping of the Clio (273), followed by the Skyline (274) then a relapping of the Impreza (274). The Alfa followed (276), then again (291) and then the Supra (also 291). A brief flurry of lapping... The Impreza, not to feel left out, fell prey on lap 300. Which, it goes without saying, reminds me:
300 laps - 5hr 31'01.218
The Clio (301), Skyline (302) and Alfa (302) all follow the Impreza into the lap book, and all of them come straight back out as I pit on 304. It takes me 3 more laps to recapture the Alfa, another 6 to retake the Impreza, and just three more to take the Clio and Skyline again. The Supra is also lapped on 322, but unlaps itself when I pit on 323.
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 326 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +4 lap
3. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +7 laps
4. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +7 lap
5. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +8 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +22 laps
Hour 7
Busy little stint, this one. The Alfa starts off proceedings by being lapped on 331, followed by the Impreza and Supra, both on 339, and the Alfa again on 340, all of whom unlap themselves when I pit on 342. It only takes until lap 345 to re-retake the Supra (my third attempt to put an 8th on him), and a lap later the Alfa and Impreza both fall victim. Then the Clio goes down on 350, and the Alfa does again on 356 - why is he even IN this race? My pitstop on 361 allows the Clio to unlap himself.
A long flurry of nothing then is followed by the Clio falling prey on 366, followed by the Alfa yet again on 372, the Supra on 375 and the Skyline on 378. When I stop on 380, the Skyline manages to regain his lap, but the Clio fails by the narrowest of margins - coming alongside into turn 1, but failing to make it stick.
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 380 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +5 lap
3. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +8 laps
4. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +9 lap
5. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +9 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +26 laps
Hour 8
Started off by lapping the Impreza on 384 and then finally retaking the Skyline's lap on 394, 16 laps after originally lapping him. Damn pitstops! The Alfa follows on 398, but unlaps himself when I pit, slightly out of sequence, on lap 400. And that, of course, reminds me:
400 laps - 7hr 21'17.256
The Alfa got relapped on 404 (and also 413 and 426, just to save time and space). The Supra was lapped on 406, and this time it only took one attempt to take the lap. 412 saw the Clio go 6 laps down, but I had to pit on 418 so he unlapped himself. On 425 though I took it back and kept it, along with the Skyline in practically the same manoeuvre. Along with the aforementioned Alfa, the Impreza saw himself lapped on 426 too - and this lap was the second best of the race - a 1'03.996.
The hour closed out with me lapping the Supra on 436, though those of you au fait with your 19 times table will know that I'm pitting on 437, so it'll never stick...
Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 435 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +6 lap
3. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +10 laps
4. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +11 lap
5. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +11 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +29 laps
Hour 9
And it didn't. In fact the Impreza nearly unlapped himself too. But on 442 I lapped the Alfa and the Skyline again (as they were tussling between themselves and just before both pitted in), with the second attempt to eleventh-lap the Supra on 448 (which was unsuccessful, as I pitted on 456... gaaaargh!) and the Alfa on 453. I finally manage to get eleven up on the Supra on 461, with the Impreza following on 466, along with the Alfa and Skyline as a pair again on 469.
I came out of the pits for the last time at the start of 476 with miles of empty tarmac in front of me - not a car to be seen. In fact it took until lap 482 to spot another vehicle... the Clio. He was swiftly dispatched, as was the Alfa again on lap 484 in what was to be the very last action of the race.
As predicted at halfway, the timer ran out nearly exactly halfway through lap 490...
Final Standings
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 '00 - 490 laps completed
2. Renaultsport Clio V6 '03 - +7 lap
3. Subaru Impreza WRX STi '02 +11 laps
4. Toyota Supra RZ '97 - +11 lap
5. Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 - +13 laps
6. Alfa Romeo 147 GTA - +33 laps
Final Race Time: 9hr 00'30.445
You'd think that if you were lapped 20 times by the second last car, you'd get the hint, wouldn't you?
Overall I enjoyed this MUCH more than I thought. I hate the track - this hasn't changed - but the car was a hoot. If only the AI were more aware when being lapped - as they were tough to catch and tough to leave behind, especially as the Clio I was in was hopelessly outclassed on the straights.
- 86,854
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
7/1/06 - Suzuka 1000km
I was tempted, given the predominantly touring car lineup, to use the Alfa 155 Touring Car again, but since the 'Ring I've left it well alone. So this time I'm using the Mercedes CLK Touring Car.
This car is running 450hp. A slight trim on the wing and R1 tyres means I'm on for 86 A-Spec points - not great, but enough to make it challenging, I hope.
Opponents:
AI 1: Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car (in black!)
AI 2: Vauxhall Astra Super Touring Car
AI 3: Nissan Motul Pitwork Z JGTC
AI 4: Honda Mobil 1 NSX
AI 5: Honda NSX-R Prototype LM Race Car (achingly gorgeous)
Aaaaand, they're off!
The CLK cuts right through the NSXs with disappointing ease. The Astra and Nissan Z are equally simple, but boy is that RX-7 motoring! Even so, I catch up to it by 130R. Problem is, he didn't seem to notice - going toward 130R I was on the racing line, alongside the RX-7 who had taken up a tighter line in the middle of the track. Just before entering the corner, he decides he wants the racing line after all and piles me into the barriers. Cheers for that. It takes me 3 laps to recover and pass the RX-7.
On Lap 10 I set a decent pace for my fastest lap - 2'01.526 - on orange front tyres... The CLK doesn't seem to mind front wear, which is odd given how fast it eats the fronts, until they're nearly blood red. So on Lap 12 I dutifully pit, to find I've used 36 units of fuel and to switch the rears to R2s, as these R1s are still green. And the RX-7 and Nissan Z both pass me. Swine.
The two NSXs pit nearly together on lap 13, followed by the Astra and Nissan Z on 14 and RX-7 on lap 15 - allowing me to regain the lead.
Laps 19-22 see an astonishing run, with only lap 21 not being a new lap record. 2'01.248 on lap 19 is followed by a 2'00.788 on lap 20 and, after a brief break, 2'00.567 on lap 22.
I pit again on lap 24 - another 36 units of fuel used, so I top up to 45 (since this also coincides with the exact moment the tyre guys finish doing their job) and head out again, with a 25 second lead still on the RX-7.
Lap 28 sees the two NSXs pit again (the end of their lap 26, when they pit, sees the end of my lap 27. I lap them in their pit boxes, at the start of lap 28) followed up by a new lap record of 2'00.304, the Astra falls at the start of lap 29, and near the end of it the first hour expires, 1'39.4 in.
Then a great deal of absolutely nothing happened. For a very long time. Until this:
1/4 distance standings:
1. Mercedes CLK Touring Car - 43 laps, 1 hour 29'21.132
2. Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car - +1'32
3. Nissan Motul Pitwork Z JGTC - +2'00
4. Vauxhall Astra Super Touring - +1 lap
5. Honda NSX-R LM Prototype - +1 lap
6. Honda Mobil 1 NSX JGTC - +1 lap
Average lap: 2'04.677
The Nissan Z final made his way into the lapped club on lap 44, emerging from the pitlane, along with the Mobil 1 NSX on 45 - the first LIVE lapping of the race (all the others were lapped in the pits!), the NSX-R on 46 and the RX-7 LM on 47, but all unlapped themselves when I stopped on lap 48. Gah! Never mind - all were recaptured in very short order. The Z gave his lap back on 51, followed by the Mobil 1 NSX on the same lap, the NSX-R yielded on 52 (though I SAY yielded - I mean "got in the way every time he could, to smash me into not lapping him") and the RX-7 got well and truely eaten on lap 55. The Astra was lapped for good measure on lap 56, sitting in the pits, and lap 56 also so the first new lap record in a while - a sizzling 1'59.673!
Another stop on lap 60 was followed by quite a while of bugger all, then a lapping of the the Mobil 1 NSX and NSX-R while they got new tyres. When I came back in on 72, the NSX-R unlapped himself - though the Mobil 1 didn't - to be relapped on 74, followed by the Astra on 79. Again, a large period of sod all until:
1/2 distance standings:
1. Mercedes CLK Touring Car - 86 laps, 2 hour 58'39.879
2. Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car - +1 lap
3. Nissan Motul Pitwork Z JGTC - +1 lap
4. Vauxhall Astra Super Touring - +3 laps
5. Honda NSX-R LM Prototype - +3 laps
6. Honda Mobil 1 NSX JGTC - +3 laps
That's an average of 2'04.650 per lap now - an improvement of 0.027s per lap! Pretty consistent, I thought...
Lap 88 saw the Nissan Z go down for a second time, followed by a huge spell of nothing. The Mobil 1 NSX was lapped on 94 (again), followed by the NSX-R the following lap. I had lapped the RX-7 on 93 but, as I pitted on lap 96, he regained the lap until lap 99. Oh, that reminds me:
Lap 100 - 3hr 27'27.707
The Astra swiftly followed on 101, then there was the biggest space of nothing yet. The NSXs broke up the 12 lap lull (that's nearly 30 minutes of encountering no other cars) by being lapped on 113 (Mobil 1) and 114 (NSX-R), with the Nissan on 116. Then another load of squat until the Nissan again on 125 and the Astra on 126. The RX-7 was taken on lap 129 which also saw a new lap record of 1'59.442
3/4 distance standings:
1. Mercedes CLK Touring Car - 129 laps, 4 hour 26'59.525
2. Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car - +3 laps
3. Nissan Motul Pitwork Z JGTC - +4 laps
4. Vauxhall Astra Super Touring - +5 laps
5. Honda NSX-R LM Prototype - +5 laps
6. Honda Mobil 1 NSX JGTC - +5 laps
Average lap: 2'04.182 - an improvement of almost half a second per lap over the last 43. Not bad at all...
After a quick pitstop on 132 - and losing the lap on the RX-7 - I came back out to lap the Mobil 1 NSX (135) and the NSX-R (137) before taking back the RX-7's lap on 137. The Astra soon followed on 141 but unlapped himself on 142 as I changed pit strategy - 12 lap stops would see me pitting on 168, 4 from the end and not making good use of that set of tyres. So from 132 on I'm stopping every 10 laps. Same number of stops, better use of tyres and less fuel on board. I soon relapped him on 144 though. Gross.
Another intense gap of nothing is followed by some lappings - the Mobil 1 NSX on 151, the Nissan Z and NSX-R on 152 - but all are undone when I stop on 152. The Mobil 1 NSX and NSX-R are recaptured on 155, with the Nissan Z taking a little longer, going down on 158. The RX-7 is lapped for the 4th time on 162, but again gets it back when I pit on the same lap. The Astra is taken on 168 and, in what is to prove the last action of the race, the RX-7 gives his lap back again later that same lap.
Final standings:
1. Mercedes CLK Touring Car - 172 laps, 5 hour 55'27.302
2. Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car - +4 laps
3. Nissan Motul Pitwork Z JGTC - +5 laps
4. Vauxhall Astra Super Touring - +7 laps
5. Honda NSX-R LM Prototype - +7 laps
6. Honda Mobil 1 NSX JGTC - +7 laps
Average lap: 2'03.996
I was tempted, given the predominantly touring car lineup, to use the Alfa 155 Touring Car again, but since the 'Ring I've left it well alone. So this time I'm using the Mercedes CLK Touring Car.
This car is running 450hp. A slight trim on the wing and R1 tyres means I'm on for 86 A-Spec points - not great, but enough to make it challenging, I hope.
Opponents:
AI 1: Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car (in black!)
AI 2: Vauxhall Astra Super Touring Car
AI 3: Nissan Motul Pitwork Z JGTC
AI 4: Honda Mobil 1 NSX
AI 5: Honda NSX-R Prototype LM Race Car (achingly gorgeous)
Aaaaand, they're off!
The CLK cuts right through the NSXs with disappointing ease. The Astra and Nissan Z are equally simple, but boy is that RX-7 motoring! Even so, I catch up to it by 130R. Problem is, he didn't seem to notice - going toward 130R I was on the racing line, alongside the RX-7 who had taken up a tighter line in the middle of the track. Just before entering the corner, he decides he wants the racing line after all and piles me into the barriers. Cheers for that. It takes me 3 laps to recover and pass the RX-7.
On Lap 10 I set a decent pace for my fastest lap - 2'01.526 - on orange front tyres... The CLK doesn't seem to mind front wear, which is odd given how fast it eats the fronts, until they're nearly blood red. So on Lap 12 I dutifully pit, to find I've used 36 units of fuel and to switch the rears to R2s, as these R1s are still green. And the RX-7 and Nissan Z both pass me. Swine.
The two NSXs pit nearly together on lap 13, followed by the Astra and Nissan Z on 14 and RX-7 on lap 15 - allowing me to regain the lead.
Laps 19-22 see an astonishing run, with only lap 21 not being a new lap record. 2'01.248 on lap 19 is followed by a 2'00.788 on lap 20 and, after a brief break, 2'00.567 on lap 22.
I pit again on lap 24 - another 36 units of fuel used, so I top up to 45 (since this also coincides with the exact moment the tyre guys finish doing their job) and head out again, with a 25 second lead still on the RX-7.
Lap 28 sees the two NSXs pit again (the end of their lap 26, when they pit, sees the end of my lap 27. I lap them in their pit boxes, at the start of lap 28) followed up by a new lap record of 2'00.304, the Astra falls at the start of lap 29, and near the end of it the first hour expires, 1'39.4 in.
Then a great deal of absolutely nothing happened. For a very long time. Until this:
1/4 distance standings:
1. Mercedes CLK Touring Car - 43 laps, 1 hour 29'21.132
2. Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car - +1'32
3. Nissan Motul Pitwork Z JGTC - +2'00
4. Vauxhall Astra Super Touring - +1 lap
5. Honda NSX-R LM Prototype - +1 lap
6. Honda Mobil 1 NSX JGTC - +1 lap
Average lap: 2'04.677
The Nissan Z final made his way into the lapped club on lap 44, emerging from the pitlane, along with the Mobil 1 NSX on 45 - the first LIVE lapping of the race (all the others were lapped in the pits!), the NSX-R on 46 and the RX-7 LM on 47, but all unlapped themselves when I stopped on lap 48. Gah! Never mind - all were recaptured in very short order. The Z gave his lap back on 51, followed by the Mobil 1 NSX on the same lap, the NSX-R yielded on 52 (though I SAY yielded - I mean "got in the way every time he could, to smash me into not lapping him") and the RX-7 got well and truely eaten on lap 55. The Astra was lapped for good measure on lap 56, sitting in the pits, and lap 56 also so the first new lap record in a while - a sizzling 1'59.673!
Another stop on lap 60 was followed by quite a while of bugger all, then a lapping of the the Mobil 1 NSX and NSX-R while they got new tyres. When I came back in on 72, the NSX-R unlapped himself - though the Mobil 1 didn't - to be relapped on 74, followed by the Astra on 79. Again, a large period of sod all until:
1/2 distance standings:
1. Mercedes CLK Touring Car - 86 laps, 2 hour 58'39.879
2. Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car - +1 lap
3. Nissan Motul Pitwork Z JGTC - +1 lap
4. Vauxhall Astra Super Touring - +3 laps
5. Honda NSX-R LM Prototype - +3 laps
6. Honda Mobil 1 NSX JGTC - +3 laps
That's an average of 2'04.650 per lap now - an improvement of 0.027s per lap! Pretty consistent, I thought...
Lap 88 saw the Nissan Z go down for a second time, followed by a huge spell of nothing. The Mobil 1 NSX was lapped on 94 (again), followed by the NSX-R the following lap. I had lapped the RX-7 on 93 but, as I pitted on lap 96, he regained the lap until lap 99. Oh, that reminds me:
Lap 100 - 3hr 27'27.707
The Astra swiftly followed on 101, then there was the biggest space of nothing yet. The NSXs broke up the 12 lap lull (that's nearly 30 minutes of encountering no other cars) by being lapped on 113 (Mobil 1) and 114 (NSX-R), with the Nissan on 116. Then another load of squat until the Nissan again on 125 and the Astra on 126. The RX-7 was taken on lap 129 which also saw a new lap record of 1'59.442
3/4 distance standings:
1. Mercedes CLK Touring Car - 129 laps, 4 hour 26'59.525
2. Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car - +3 laps
3. Nissan Motul Pitwork Z JGTC - +4 laps
4. Vauxhall Astra Super Touring - +5 laps
5. Honda NSX-R LM Prototype - +5 laps
6. Honda Mobil 1 NSX JGTC - +5 laps
Average lap: 2'04.182 - an improvement of almost half a second per lap over the last 43. Not bad at all...
After a quick pitstop on 132 - and losing the lap on the RX-7 - I came back out to lap the Mobil 1 NSX (135) and the NSX-R (137) before taking back the RX-7's lap on 137. The Astra soon followed on 141 but unlapped himself on 142 as I changed pit strategy - 12 lap stops would see me pitting on 168, 4 from the end and not making good use of that set of tyres. So from 132 on I'm stopping every 10 laps. Same number of stops, better use of tyres and less fuel on board. I soon relapped him on 144 though. Gross.
Another intense gap of nothing is followed by some lappings - the Mobil 1 NSX on 151, the Nissan Z and NSX-R on 152 - but all are undone when I stop on 152. The Mobil 1 NSX and NSX-R are recaptured on 155, with the Nissan Z taking a little longer, going down on 158. The RX-7 is lapped for the 4th time on 162, but again gets it back when I pit on the same lap. The Astra is taken on 168 and, in what is to prove the last action of the race, the RX-7 gives his lap back again later that same lap.
Final standings:
1. Mercedes CLK Touring Car - 172 laps, 5 hour 55'27.302
2. Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car - +4 laps
3. Nissan Motul Pitwork Z JGTC - +5 laps
4. Vauxhall Astra Super Touring - +7 laps
5. Honda NSX-R LM Prototype - +7 laps
6. Honda Mobil 1 NSX JGTC - +7 laps
Average lap: 2'03.996
- 86,854
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
13/1/06 - Motegi 8 Hours
The used Clio I bought for the Clio Trophy soaked up the Tsukuba 9 Hours happily, so I felt like inflicting another 8 hours on it.
A bit of oil, some S1s and a couple of transmission parts later it's running 253hp and the tuner car lineup sees me staring 144 A-Spec points in the face.
Opponents:
AI 1: Spoon S2000
AI 2: Spoon Civic
AI 3: Spoon Integra
AI 4: Trial Celica
AI 5: Tom's Chaser X540
Hurrah! A Nissan-Z-free lineup!
Hour 1
The race starts and almost immediately I'm up alongside the Chaser out of turn 1. Cripes. The Celica and Integra are having some kind of "see who can understeer most" contest at turn 2, so I breeze past them too. Turn 3 is eventless, then I pass the Civic in the esses. By the time the finish line comes, I'm 0.1s down on the Spoon S2000 and by the time the first corner has gone, I'm nearly a full second up on it. Blimey.
Lap 5 sees an early contender for fastest lap, with a 2'14.037 being laid down.
Not an awful lot else happens for the next 6 laps, reinforcing my opinion that this track is duller than a Dan Brown book. This race is going to be tough...
Lap 11 sees a new lap record - 2'13.749, breaking under 2'14 for the first time. On lap 12 I come flying down the back straight to find a near-stationary Integra. He's braking into turn 9 and, for some reason, every AI car gives this the longest period of braking known to man. Of course, this allows me ample opportunity to pass/lap here, so I do. He then drops into the pits as I steam down the start/finish straight and cross the line for a 2'13.612. Just over a lap later I find myself lapping the Civic too, just as he emerges from the pits, followed by the Trial Celica into turn 9 (this is going to be a theme, I think) and he too pits just after being lapped. I pit on lap 17 to find I've used 34/80 fuel units, so I don't bother topping up and just head out with some fresh rubber.
As I approach the finish of lap 20 I see the Tom's Chaser pitting in, allowing me to lap him before I reach the finish line. 3 and a half laps later I lap not the S2000 but the Integra again, going through the Esses - he runs a little wide mid-corner, allowing me to pounce. Lap 24 also sees the fastest lap I've yet recorded - 2'13.552 - but on lap 25 everything comes together and I manage a 2'12.754, following that up with a 2'12.810 on lap 26.
The hour finishes at T3 on lap 27 as I'm closing in on the Civic (again) and S2000.
Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 26 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +2'04
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +1 lap
4. Trial Celica - +1 lap
5. Spoon Civic - +1 lap
6. Spoon Integra - +2 laps
Hour 2
First action - lap the Civic. Second action - lap the S2000 (laps 27 and 28 respectively). Not a lot of interesting activity later I lapped the Trial Celica (30), who then proceeded to pit, and the Integra again on 33. I pitted on lap 34, to find I'd used 35/80 fuel units, so I topped up to 40/80 and left on my merry way - nearly allowing the S2000 to unlap himself. An awful lot of nothing then happened until it was time to lap the Chaser (39), Civic (41), Integra (44) and Celica (45). Busy, busy, busy. A quick pitstop on 51 followed - topping up again to 40/80.
The hour expired 3 seconds from the line on lap 53.
1/4 distance Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 52 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +1 lap
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +2 laps
4. Trial Celica - +3 laps
5. Spoon Civic - +3 laps
6. Spoon Integra - +4 laps
Hour 3
A very rapid blitzing through the pack - Integra on 55, Civic on 56, Chaser on 57, Celica on 60, S2000 on 61 and Integra again on 64. Crikey! I closed right up onto the tail of the Civic on 68, just as I dived into the pits. So I settled for lapping him on 71 instead. Arf!
The Integra, surprisingly, followed him into the Lap Book on 75, as did the Trial Celica - the former at turn 9, the latter while he was in the pits. On lap 76 the Chaser went the same way (lapped at turn 9) and that was pretty much it for the hour, finishing, as it did, at T3 on lap 80.
Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 79 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +2 laps
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +4 laps
4. Trial Celica - +5 laps
5. Spoon Civic - +5 laps
6. Spoon Integra - +7 laps
Hour 4
The hour starts off in spectacular style by... nothing at all happening. Have I mentioned how dull this track is?
Finally I see, and lap, the Civic on lap 83 and, after a quick pit stop on 85, catch and lap the Integra on 86. The S2000 follows suit on lap 90, as does the Celica who is, once again, caught napping in the pits. After nearly a quarter of an hour more nothing the Chaser gets a good lapping on 96, followed by the Integra and Civic on 97 and 98 respectively.
More absolute squat happens for the next 8 laps, so I'm now inventing little games to play to relieve the sheer tedium. One of which is:
100 laps = 3hr 46'32.484
(that's 2'15.925 average laps, including stops, for all you stat fans)
The hours clocks off at turn 9 on lap 106, and I can just make out a car I'm closing in on...
1/2 distance Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 105 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +3 laps
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +5 laps
4. Trial Celica - +6 laps
5. Spoon Civic - +7 laps
6. Spoon Integra - +9 laps
Hour 5
After a quick bout of near-excitement - lapping the Trial Celica (107) and Integra (109), then the Chaser and Civic (both on 113) - normal dull service resumed for a good 20 minutes. Not helped along by a stop on 119. I finally spotted another car - the Integra - on 121 and sent him to lap land that same lap. The Celica followed again on 123, with the S2000 and Civic being lapped at turn 8 as they were tussling with each other on 128. The Chaser and Integra followed similarly, at turns 8 and 9 on 131 and that wrapped it up for this section.
Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 132 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +4 laps
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +7 laps
4. Trial Celica - +8 laps
5. Spoon Civic - +9 laps
6. Spoon Integra - +12 laps
Hour 6
I swear this race is getting duller by the minute. No other cars even sighted until lap 140, when I lap the Celica. Then, after lapping the Civic (142) and Integra (143) - go on, act shocked - I didn't see another car for 7 whole laps. That's almost 16 minutes of nowt.
I lap the Chaser on 150 and the Integra and S2000 on 152 but have to make a stop on 153, allowing all three to unlap themselves - the first time that has happened in this race. The Chaser and Integra are recaptured at turn 8 on 154 - too busy fighting each other to notice me, so I got a couple of door dents from them - the Civic is lapped while pitted on 155 and the S2000 is retaken at turn 2 on 156. The Celica gets lapped coming out of turn 1 on the following lap, making for a full set in just over 3 laps, and the hour dies just short of T3 on 159.
3/4 distance Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 158 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +5 laps
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +8 laps
4. Trial Celica - +10 laps
5. Spoon Civic - +11 laps
6. Spoon Integra - +14 laps
Hour 7
Just SO boring... I didn't see a car until lap 163 (the Integra. Lapped) and then I didn't see another one until lap 167 (Chaser. Lapped). I lapped the Civic on 168 and pitted in on 169 - a switch to a 16 lap schedule, from 17 laps - and astonishingly the Chaser unlapped himself but the Civic didn't... The Chaser was quickly relapped (171) along with the Celica (173) and Integra again (174). Then there came another colossal wait for something interesting to happen... *yawn*... I finally caught the Civic and S2000 on 181, followed by the Integra on 183 and the Chaser on 184. I pitted at the end of lap 185 to watch the freshly lapped Chaser and S2000 take their lap back, just 20s before the hour expired...
Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 185 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +5 laps
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +9 laps
4. Trial Celica - +11 laps
5. Spoon Civic - +13 laps
6. Spoon Integra - +17 laps
Hour 8
Almost immediately I took the lap back from the S2000, followed up by reinforcing my lap on the Chaser. 2 laps later came the Celica and on 195, while they were both in the pits, the Integra and Civic. Full house! And, for reference:
200 laps = 7hr 33'19.960
(That's 2'16.000 dead, as an average)
My final pit stop on 201 saw me switch to T2 tyres as I was acutely aware that I wasn't going to get a full 16/17 lap stint and should instead try to go as fast as possible on the remaining time. Indeed it was no time at all before I caught and lapped the Celica (205), Integra and Chaser (206) and Civic (208), putting in a new and final lap record of 2'11.756 on lap 208 in the process - which shows just how good the previous lap record (2'12.144) on S1 tyres really was. The last action of the hour saw me lap the S2000 on 211, and the hour finished just 26s short of the finish line on lap 212. So I'm not going to bother with an "Hour 9" section.
Final Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 212 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +7 laps
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +11 laps
4. Trial Celica - +13 laps
5. Spoon Civic - +15 laps
6. Spoon Integra - +19 laps
Average lap time = 2'15.973.
The used Clio I bought for the Clio Trophy soaked up the Tsukuba 9 Hours happily, so I felt like inflicting another 8 hours on it.
A bit of oil, some S1s and a couple of transmission parts later it's running 253hp and the tuner car lineup sees me staring 144 A-Spec points in the face.
Opponents:
AI 1: Spoon S2000
AI 2: Spoon Civic
AI 3: Spoon Integra
AI 4: Trial Celica
AI 5: Tom's Chaser X540
Hurrah! A Nissan-Z-free lineup!
Hour 1
The race starts and almost immediately I'm up alongside the Chaser out of turn 1. Cripes. The Celica and Integra are having some kind of "see who can understeer most" contest at turn 2, so I breeze past them too. Turn 3 is eventless, then I pass the Civic in the esses. By the time the finish line comes, I'm 0.1s down on the Spoon S2000 and by the time the first corner has gone, I'm nearly a full second up on it. Blimey.
Lap 5 sees an early contender for fastest lap, with a 2'14.037 being laid down.
Not an awful lot else happens for the next 6 laps, reinforcing my opinion that this track is duller than a Dan Brown book. This race is going to be tough...
Lap 11 sees a new lap record - 2'13.749, breaking under 2'14 for the first time. On lap 12 I come flying down the back straight to find a near-stationary Integra. He's braking into turn 9 and, for some reason, every AI car gives this the longest period of braking known to man. Of course, this allows me ample opportunity to pass/lap here, so I do. He then drops into the pits as I steam down the start/finish straight and cross the line for a 2'13.612. Just over a lap later I find myself lapping the Civic too, just as he emerges from the pits, followed by the Trial Celica into turn 9 (this is going to be a theme, I think) and he too pits just after being lapped. I pit on lap 17 to find I've used 34/80 fuel units, so I don't bother topping up and just head out with some fresh rubber.
As I approach the finish of lap 20 I see the Tom's Chaser pitting in, allowing me to lap him before I reach the finish line. 3 and a half laps later I lap not the S2000 but the Integra again, going through the Esses - he runs a little wide mid-corner, allowing me to pounce. Lap 24 also sees the fastest lap I've yet recorded - 2'13.552 - but on lap 25 everything comes together and I manage a 2'12.754, following that up with a 2'12.810 on lap 26.
The hour finishes at T3 on lap 27 as I'm closing in on the Civic (again) and S2000.
Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 26 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +2'04
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +1 lap
4. Trial Celica - +1 lap
5. Spoon Civic - +1 lap
6. Spoon Integra - +2 laps
Hour 2
First action - lap the Civic. Second action - lap the S2000 (laps 27 and 28 respectively). Not a lot of interesting activity later I lapped the Trial Celica (30), who then proceeded to pit, and the Integra again on 33. I pitted on lap 34, to find I'd used 35/80 fuel units, so I topped up to 40/80 and left on my merry way - nearly allowing the S2000 to unlap himself. An awful lot of nothing then happened until it was time to lap the Chaser (39), Civic (41), Integra (44) and Celica (45). Busy, busy, busy. A quick pitstop on 51 followed - topping up again to 40/80.
The hour expired 3 seconds from the line on lap 53.
1/4 distance Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 52 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +1 lap
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +2 laps
4. Trial Celica - +3 laps
5. Spoon Civic - +3 laps
6. Spoon Integra - +4 laps
Hour 3
A very rapid blitzing through the pack - Integra on 55, Civic on 56, Chaser on 57, Celica on 60, S2000 on 61 and Integra again on 64. Crikey! I closed right up onto the tail of the Civic on 68, just as I dived into the pits. So I settled for lapping him on 71 instead. Arf!
The Integra, surprisingly, followed him into the Lap Book on 75, as did the Trial Celica - the former at turn 9, the latter while he was in the pits. On lap 76 the Chaser went the same way (lapped at turn 9) and that was pretty much it for the hour, finishing, as it did, at T3 on lap 80.
Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 79 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +2 laps
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +4 laps
4. Trial Celica - +5 laps
5. Spoon Civic - +5 laps
6. Spoon Integra - +7 laps
Hour 4
The hour starts off in spectacular style by... nothing at all happening. Have I mentioned how dull this track is?
Finally I see, and lap, the Civic on lap 83 and, after a quick pit stop on 85, catch and lap the Integra on 86. The S2000 follows suit on lap 90, as does the Celica who is, once again, caught napping in the pits. After nearly a quarter of an hour more nothing the Chaser gets a good lapping on 96, followed by the Integra and Civic on 97 and 98 respectively.
More absolute squat happens for the next 8 laps, so I'm now inventing little games to play to relieve the sheer tedium. One of which is:
100 laps = 3hr 46'32.484
(that's 2'15.925 average laps, including stops, for all you stat fans)
The hours clocks off at turn 9 on lap 106, and I can just make out a car I'm closing in on...
1/2 distance Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 105 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +3 laps
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +5 laps
4. Trial Celica - +6 laps
5. Spoon Civic - +7 laps
6. Spoon Integra - +9 laps
Hour 5
After a quick bout of near-excitement - lapping the Trial Celica (107) and Integra (109), then the Chaser and Civic (both on 113) - normal dull service resumed for a good 20 minutes. Not helped along by a stop on 119. I finally spotted another car - the Integra - on 121 and sent him to lap land that same lap. The Celica followed again on 123, with the S2000 and Civic being lapped at turn 8 as they were tussling with each other on 128. The Chaser and Integra followed similarly, at turns 8 and 9 on 131 and that wrapped it up for this section.
Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 132 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +4 laps
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +7 laps
4. Trial Celica - +8 laps
5. Spoon Civic - +9 laps
6. Spoon Integra - +12 laps
Hour 6
I swear this race is getting duller by the minute. No other cars even sighted until lap 140, when I lap the Celica. Then, after lapping the Civic (142) and Integra (143) - go on, act shocked - I didn't see another car for 7 whole laps. That's almost 16 minutes of nowt.
I lap the Chaser on 150 and the Integra and S2000 on 152 but have to make a stop on 153, allowing all three to unlap themselves - the first time that has happened in this race. The Chaser and Integra are recaptured at turn 8 on 154 - too busy fighting each other to notice me, so I got a couple of door dents from them - the Civic is lapped while pitted on 155 and the S2000 is retaken at turn 2 on 156. The Celica gets lapped coming out of turn 1 on the following lap, making for a full set in just over 3 laps, and the hour dies just short of T3 on 159.
3/4 distance Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 158 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +5 laps
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +8 laps
4. Trial Celica - +10 laps
5. Spoon Civic - +11 laps
6. Spoon Integra - +14 laps
Hour 7
Just SO boring... I didn't see a car until lap 163 (the Integra. Lapped) and then I didn't see another one until lap 167 (Chaser. Lapped). I lapped the Civic on 168 and pitted in on 169 - a switch to a 16 lap schedule, from 17 laps - and astonishingly the Chaser unlapped himself but the Civic didn't... The Chaser was quickly relapped (171) along with the Celica (173) and Integra again (174). Then there came another colossal wait for something interesting to happen... *yawn*... I finally caught the Civic and S2000 on 181, followed by the Integra on 183 and the Chaser on 184. I pitted at the end of lap 185 to watch the freshly lapped Chaser and S2000 take their lap back, just 20s before the hour expired...
Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 185 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +5 laps
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +9 laps
4. Trial Celica - +11 laps
5. Spoon Civic - +13 laps
6. Spoon Integra - +17 laps
Hour 8
Almost immediately I took the lap back from the S2000, followed up by reinforcing my lap on the Chaser. 2 laps later came the Celica and on 195, while they were both in the pits, the Integra and Civic. Full house! And, for reference:
200 laps = 7hr 33'19.960
(That's 2'16.000 dead, as an average)
My final pit stop on 201 saw me switch to T2 tyres as I was acutely aware that I wasn't going to get a full 16/17 lap stint and should instead try to go as fast as possible on the remaining time. Indeed it was no time at all before I caught and lapped the Celica (205), Integra and Chaser (206) and Civic (208), putting in a new and final lap record of 2'11.756 on lap 208 in the process - which shows just how good the previous lap record (2'12.144) on S1 tyres really was. The last action of the hour saw me lap the S2000 on 211, and the hour finished just 26s short of the finish line on lap 212. So I'm not going to bother with an "Hour 9" section.
Final Standings:
1. Renaultsport Clio V6 - 212 laps completed
2. Spoon S2000 - +7 laps
3. Tom's Chaser X540 - +11 laps
4. Trial Celica - +13 laps
5. Spoon Civic - +15 laps
6. Spoon Integra - +19 laps
Average lap time = 2'15.973.
- 86,854
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
16/1/06 - Fuji 1000km
Knowing in advance that the opponents will be primarily Group C/LMP/GT1 cars, I've decided to use my trusty Group C/LMP/GT1-slaying 200 point mobile, the CLK-GTR. Fuji has a big-ass straight that they'll be giving 10-15mph to me on, so it's good odds. Can't be bothered with an oil change, and can't be bothered switching the R1/R1 tyres either...
Opponents
1. Jaguar XJR-9 '88
2. Sauber C9 '89
3. Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot '03
4. Bentley Speed 8 '03
5. Playstation/Pescarolo C60/Judd '04
It's a 200 pointer. But the C60s are renowned long-pitters and the Sauber is devilishly fast, without the screwups that plague the AI on La Sarthe...
And they're off!
Hour 1
Jebus... where'd they go?
The Pescarolo C60 makes the usual AI mistake of getting too close to the car in front and having to dab the brakes, while every other bugger is hard on the gas, so is dispatched even before turn 1. The Bentley is next up, braking into turn 2. The Courage gets taken accelerating out of the hairpin turn 4 and the Jaguar is passed into the chicane. Easy peasy!
Errr, no. That Sauber is like lightning. He's exactly as far ahead out of the chicane as he is at the end of the lap. And at the end of the next one too. But gradually I start reeling him in until, on lap 4, I'm getting close out of the hairpin. I decide not to make an issue of it and just settle back, pass him on the straight but, for my trouble, get a damn solid punting which leaves me 3.6s off his rear wing. For the next EIGHT laps. This is going to be interesting.
But then, just as I start to make progress, he pits! He actually pits on lap 12! I feel cheapened - I've got a good 3-4 laps of tyres left and no worries on fuel. Nevertheless I plod on, with a 10s advantage over the surprise 2nd place Jaguar. Then blow me if he doesn't pit as well! On lap 14! So I'm now touring round with a 26 second lead on the now-second-placed Pescarolo C60 and, bafflingly, the BENTLEY pits as well on lap 15. They're dropping like flies.
My rear tyres start to go off a little on lap 16. The lap time doesn't seem to be suffering, but I decide to duck in rather than have a shoddy pit-in lap. I've used 47 fuelies and decide to top up to 60, or whatever the fuel guy gets to if the tyre guys finish, whichever is higher. I also switch to R2s on the nose - the CLK-GTR uses rears a lot more than fronts, as evidenced by my still-yellow R1s.
I pop out of the pits just FOUR seconds down on the Pescarolo C60, with the Courage C60 dead ahead and the Sauber 2 seconds behind me. The Courage is taken with ease on lap 18 - but the Sauber struggles behind it (AI passing AI is always a long drawn-out affair) handing more of the advantage to me every second until the two C60s dive into the pits, in formation on lap 19, coinciding with a quite brisk 1'17.794 fastest lap for me.
Now the advantage is mine. Even IF the Sauber has the pace to catch me (which he doesn't - we are exactly as fast as one another at our fastest), passing me will be a nightmare for him. Screw the two move rule. But I ram home my advantage yet more with a blistering 1'16.726 on lap 22.
At this point, with roughly 30 minutes (and 10% of the race) down I only have about a 7 second advantage on the second place car - and I've yet to make any serious error. Other than the Sauber's nudge on me on lap 4, I've kept four on the floor throughout. This suggests it's going to be rather closer than the other endurances thus far...
So, pressing on... It only takes 4 more laps to catch up the remaining gap to the 6th place Bentley and lap him - you might have won at Le Mans in real life, but you're woeful at Fuji in GT4... Even though I stop just 6 laps later, he doesn't come back past, by virtue of having to pit himself on lap 30. D'oh! The R2s wear badly on the last (16th) lap of this stint and my numbers say I'll need to make 4 17 lap stints, so next time I come in on 48 I'm going to switch to R1 fronts for a stint then back to R2s. I've used 46 fuelies (1 less than before), so top up to 67 again, leaving the tyre guys to sit around for a lengthy period doing bugger all, and go out for another run.
The Pescarolo and Courage pit together at the end of their lap 40, so I lap them at the start of mine, and the Jaguar follows suit on 44 (though will probably unlap himself when I pit on 48. As the hour dies, things look like this:
Current Standings:
1. Mercedes CLK-GTR - 44 laps completed
2. Sauber C9 '89 - +1'00
3. Jaguar XJR-9 '88 - +1 lap
4. Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot '03 - +1 lap
5. Playstation/Pescarolo C60/Judd '04 - +1 lap
6. Bentley Speed 8 '03 - +1 lap
Hour 2
As predicted, the Jaguar unlapped himself when I pitted - as did the Bentley I lapped at the start of 48 (he was also in the pits). The shock! I switched onto the R1 fronts for a 17 lap stint and set off on a trundle.
I relapped the Bentley on 55, on the main straight - a 20mph differential does that for you. Other than that, things proved quite uneventful until I next pitted on 65, apart from lapping the Sauber and the '04 Pescarolo (whichever one that is) on 64 and 65, only for them to unlap themselves. I then sat behind the Sauber - 1'13.5 behind the Sauber - for the next 10 straight laps. Nearly every lap was a 1'18.5 and the gap between us didn't budge a smegging inch in all that time. Then he pitted on 75. Just as well really. So it was rude not to lap him. The Bentley and '04 Pescarolo followed on 79 with the '03 Pescarolo being lapped on 80. I dipped back into the pits on 82, keeping the 17 lap stints going (last one will be 99-116) and came back out with my laps intact, 1'18.5ing my way to the end of the hour (just 3s from the line on lap 89)...
Current Standings:
1. Mercedes CLK-GTR - 88 laps completed
2. Sauber C9 '89 - +1 lap
3. Jaguar XJR-9 '88 - +1 lap
4. Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot '03 - +2 laps
5. Playstation/Pescarolo C60/Judd '04 - +2 laps
6. Bentley Speed 8 '03 - +3 laps
Hour 3
The hour gets off to a very dull start, with absolutely no action until I pit on lap 99 to start the final 17 lap stint. Seriously, that's how exciting it is. Of course, that prompts my memory...
100 laps = 2hr 15'08.133
Four laps later I lap the Jaguar XJR-9. And, stretching for something interesting, I set an R1/R1 record lap on 106 of 1'17.906 (previous best was the 1'18.226 on lap 9), all faster laps having come on the R2/R1 combination. 6 laps after that I lap the Bentley. Stop me if I'm boring yo... zzzzzzzzzzzz.
1/2 Distance Standings:
1. Mercedes CLK-GTR - 114 laps completed; 2hr 33'31.261
2. Sauber C9 '89 - +1 lap
3. Jaguar XJR-9 '88 - +2 laps
4. Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot '03 - +2 laps
5. Playstation/Pescarolo C60/Judd '04 - +2 laps
6. Bentley Speed 8 '03 - +4 laps
Of course, NOW the "excitement" starts... On 115 I lap the Sauber, though he regains it when I pit on 116 (and switch back to the R2/R1 mix). On 118 I lap the '04 Pescarolo, followed by the sister car on 120. The Bentley is eaten on 125, along with the Sauber on 126 and the Jaguar on 130. When I pit on 132 the Bentley and Jaguar - both of whom were passed on open track - regained their laps, but the Sauber's sticks as he was pitting in when lapped... The hour vanishes shortly after, at the hairpin on 134.
Current Standings:
1. Mercedes CLK-GTR - 133 laps completed
2. Sauber C9 '89 - +2 laps
3. Jaguar XJR-9 '88 - +2 laps
4. Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot '03 - +3 laps
5. Playstation/Pescarolo C60/Judd '04 - +3 laps
6. Bentley Speed 8 '03 - +4 laps
Hour 4
The Bentley is soon recaptured - on 136. From there another 6 laps go by until the Playstation Pescarolo is lapped (142), followed by the Jaguar again (143) and the Courage Pescarolo (144), but again the Jaguar unlaps himself when I pit on 148. How annoying... The Pescarolo pair follow again on 156 and 159, separated by the Jaguar on 157 and the Sauber on 159 - which incidentally sees a new lap record of 1'16.684 - but he unlaps himself when I pit 5 laps later.
Undaunted I press on, retaking the Sauber on 166 and following it up with a Bentley on 173 and a duet of Jaguar (173) and Playstation Pescarolo (177) before the hour passes on lap 179.
Current Standings:
1. Mercedes CLK-GTR - 178 laps completed
2. Sauber C9 '89 - +3 laps
3. Jaguar XJR-9 '88 - +4 laps
4. Playstation/Pescarolo C60/Judd '04 - +5 laps
5. Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot '03 - +6 laps
6. Bentley Speed 8 '03 - +6 laps
Hour 5
The hour starts off with me pitting on lap 180, allowing the Jaguar and Courage back past. Bugger. Have no fear though - the Courage is rapidly recaptured on 181, followed smartly by the Jaguar on 186 and the Pescarolo on 190. Spanking! The Bentley also gets a good lapping on 195 but as I pit on 196 both he and the Pescarolo come back past - gah! They were relapped on 201 and 203 though. A lo-o-o-o-o-o-o-ong gap of nothing saw my final pit stop on 212 followed by a triple lapping of the Courage, Jaguar and Sauber as the lay in the pits, with the Bentley getting lapped on on 220 and, in the final lapping action of the race, the Pescarolo '04 going down on 222. THe hour finished amid lap 224 and, since bugger all else happened until the finish line, I won't bother with hour 6...
Final Standings:
1. Mercedes CLK-GTR - 228 laps completed
2. Sauber C9 '89 - +4 laps
3. Jaguar XJR-9 '88 - +5 laps
4. Playstation/Pescarolo C60/Judd '04 - +7 laps
5. Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot '03 - +7 laps
6. Bentley Speed 8 '03 - +8 laps
Final Race Time: 5hr 06'21.752, an average of 1'20.622.
Knowing in advance that the opponents will be primarily Group C/LMP/GT1 cars, I've decided to use my trusty Group C/LMP/GT1-slaying 200 point mobile, the CLK-GTR. Fuji has a big-ass straight that they'll be giving 10-15mph to me on, so it's good odds. Can't be bothered with an oil change, and can't be bothered switching the R1/R1 tyres either...
Opponents
1. Jaguar XJR-9 '88
2. Sauber C9 '89
3. Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot '03
4. Bentley Speed 8 '03
5. Playstation/Pescarolo C60/Judd '04
It's a 200 pointer. But the C60s are renowned long-pitters and the Sauber is devilishly fast, without the screwups that plague the AI on La Sarthe...
And they're off!
Hour 1
Jebus... where'd they go?
The Pescarolo C60 makes the usual AI mistake of getting too close to the car in front and having to dab the brakes, while every other bugger is hard on the gas, so is dispatched even before turn 1. The Bentley is next up, braking into turn 2. The Courage gets taken accelerating out of the hairpin turn 4 and the Jaguar is passed into the chicane. Easy peasy!
Errr, no. That Sauber is like lightning. He's exactly as far ahead out of the chicane as he is at the end of the lap. And at the end of the next one too. But gradually I start reeling him in until, on lap 4, I'm getting close out of the hairpin. I decide not to make an issue of it and just settle back, pass him on the straight but, for my trouble, get a damn solid punting which leaves me 3.6s off his rear wing. For the next EIGHT laps. This is going to be interesting.
But then, just as I start to make progress, he pits! He actually pits on lap 12! I feel cheapened - I've got a good 3-4 laps of tyres left and no worries on fuel. Nevertheless I plod on, with a 10s advantage over the surprise 2nd place Jaguar. Then blow me if he doesn't pit as well! On lap 14! So I'm now touring round with a 26 second lead on the now-second-placed Pescarolo C60 and, bafflingly, the BENTLEY pits as well on lap 15. They're dropping like flies.
My rear tyres start to go off a little on lap 16. The lap time doesn't seem to be suffering, but I decide to duck in rather than have a shoddy pit-in lap. I've used 47 fuelies and decide to top up to 60, or whatever the fuel guy gets to if the tyre guys finish, whichever is higher. I also switch to R2s on the nose - the CLK-GTR uses rears a lot more than fronts, as evidenced by my still-yellow R1s.
I pop out of the pits just FOUR seconds down on the Pescarolo C60, with the Courage C60 dead ahead and the Sauber 2 seconds behind me. The Courage is taken with ease on lap 18 - but the Sauber struggles behind it (AI passing AI is always a long drawn-out affair) handing more of the advantage to me every second until the two C60s dive into the pits, in formation on lap 19, coinciding with a quite brisk 1'17.794 fastest lap for me.
Now the advantage is mine. Even IF the Sauber has the pace to catch me (which he doesn't - we are exactly as fast as one another at our fastest), passing me will be a nightmare for him. Screw the two move rule. But I ram home my advantage yet more with a blistering 1'16.726 on lap 22.
At this point, with roughly 30 minutes (and 10% of the race) down I only have about a 7 second advantage on the second place car - and I've yet to make any serious error. Other than the Sauber's nudge on me on lap 4, I've kept four on the floor throughout. This suggests it's going to be rather closer than the other endurances thus far...
So, pressing on... It only takes 4 more laps to catch up the remaining gap to the 6th place Bentley and lap him - you might have won at Le Mans in real life, but you're woeful at Fuji in GT4...
Even though I stop just 6 laps later, he doesn't come back past, by virtue of having to pit himself on lap 30. D'oh! The R2s wear badly on the last (16th) lap of this stint and my numbers say I'll need to make 4 17 lap stints, so next time I come in on 48 I'm going to switch to R1 fronts for a stint then back to R2s. I've used 46 fuelies (1 less than before), so top up to 67 again, leaving the tyre guys to sit around for a lengthy period doing bugger all, and go out for another run.The Pescarolo and Courage pit together at the end of their lap 40, so I lap them at the start of mine, and the Jaguar follows suit on 44 (though will probably unlap himself when I pit on 48. As the hour dies, things look like this:
Current Standings:
1. Mercedes CLK-GTR - 44 laps completed
2. Sauber C9 '89 - +1'00
3. Jaguar XJR-9 '88 - +1 lap
4. Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot '03 - +1 lap
5. Playstation/Pescarolo C60/Judd '04 - +1 lap
6. Bentley Speed 8 '03 - +1 lap
Hour 2
As predicted, the Jaguar unlapped himself when I pitted - as did the Bentley I lapped at the start of 48 (he was also in the pits). The shock! I switched onto the R1 fronts for a 17 lap stint and set off on a trundle.
I relapped the Bentley on 55, on the main straight - a 20mph differential does that for you. Other than that, things proved quite uneventful until I next pitted on 65, apart from lapping the Sauber and the '04 Pescarolo (whichever one that is) on 64 and 65, only for them to unlap themselves. I then sat behind the Sauber - 1'13.5 behind the Sauber - for the next 10 straight laps. Nearly every lap was a 1'18.5 and the gap between us didn't budge a smegging inch in all that time. Then he pitted on 75. Just as well really. So it was rude not to lap him. The Bentley and '04 Pescarolo followed on 79 with the '03 Pescarolo being lapped on 80. I dipped back into the pits on 82, keeping the 17 lap stints going (last one will be 99-116) and came back out with my laps intact, 1'18.5ing my way to the end of the hour (just 3s from the line on lap 89)...
Current Standings:
1. Mercedes CLK-GTR - 88 laps completed
2. Sauber C9 '89 - +1 lap
3. Jaguar XJR-9 '88 - +1 lap
4. Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot '03 - +2 laps
5. Playstation/Pescarolo C60/Judd '04 - +2 laps
6. Bentley Speed 8 '03 - +3 laps
Hour 3
The hour gets off to a very dull start, with absolutely no action until I pit on lap 99 to start the final 17 lap stint. Seriously, that's how exciting it is. Of course, that prompts my memory...
100 laps = 2hr 15'08.133
Four laps later I lap the Jaguar XJR-9. And, stretching for something interesting, I set an R1/R1 record lap on 106 of 1'17.906 (previous best was the 1'18.226 on lap 9), all faster laps having come on the R2/R1 combination. 6 laps after that I lap the Bentley. Stop me if I'm boring yo... zzzzzzzzzzzz.
1/2 Distance Standings:
1. Mercedes CLK-GTR - 114 laps completed; 2hr 33'31.261
2. Sauber C9 '89 - +1 lap
3. Jaguar XJR-9 '88 - +2 laps
4. Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot '03 - +2 laps
5. Playstation/Pescarolo C60/Judd '04 - +2 laps
6. Bentley Speed 8 '03 - +4 laps
Of course, NOW the "excitement" starts... On 115 I lap the Sauber, though he regains it when I pit on 116 (and switch back to the R2/R1 mix). On 118 I lap the '04 Pescarolo, followed by the sister car on 120. The Bentley is eaten on 125, along with the Sauber on 126 and the Jaguar on 130. When I pit on 132 the Bentley and Jaguar - both of whom were passed on open track - regained their laps, but the Sauber's sticks as he was pitting in when lapped... The hour vanishes shortly after, at the hairpin on 134.
Current Standings:
1. Mercedes CLK-GTR - 133 laps completed
2. Sauber C9 '89 - +2 laps
3. Jaguar XJR-9 '88 - +2 laps
4. Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot '03 - +3 laps
5. Playstation/Pescarolo C60/Judd '04 - +3 laps
6. Bentley Speed 8 '03 - +4 laps
Hour 4
The Bentley is soon recaptured - on 136. From there another 6 laps go by until the Playstation Pescarolo is lapped (142), followed by the Jaguar again (143) and the Courage Pescarolo (144), but again the Jaguar unlaps himself when I pit on 148. How annoying... The Pescarolo pair follow again on 156 and 159, separated by the Jaguar on 157 and the Sauber on 159 - which incidentally sees a new lap record of 1'16.684 - but he unlaps himself when I pit 5 laps later.
Undaunted I press on, retaking the Sauber on 166 and following it up with a Bentley on 173 and a duet of Jaguar (173) and Playstation Pescarolo (177) before the hour passes on lap 179.
Current Standings:
1. Mercedes CLK-GTR - 178 laps completed
2. Sauber C9 '89 - +3 laps
3. Jaguar XJR-9 '88 - +4 laps
4. Playstation/Pescarolo C60/Judd '04 - +5 laps
5. Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot '03 - +6 laps
6. Bentley Speed 8 '03 - +6 laps
Hour 5
The hour starts off with me pitting on lap 180, allowing the Jaguar and Courage back past. Bugger. Have no fear though - the Courage is rapidly recaptured on 181, followed smartly by the Jaguar on 186 and the Pescarolo on 190. Spanking! The Bentley also gets a good lapping on 195 but as I pit on 196 both he and the Pescarolo come back past - gah! They were relapped on 201 and 203 though. A lo-o-o-o-o-o-o-ong gap of nothing saw my final pit stop on 212 followed by a triple lapping of the Courage, Jaguar and Sauber as the lay in the pits, with the Bentley getting lapped on on 220 and, in the final lapping action of the race, the Pescarolo '04 going down on 222. THe hour finished amid lap 224 and, since bugger all else happened until the finish line, I won't bother with hour 6...
Final Standings:
1. Mercedes CLK-GTR - 228 laps completed
2. Sauber C9 '89 - +4 laps
3. Jaguar XJR-9 '88 - +5 laps
4. Playstation/Pescarolo C60/Judd '04 - +7 laps
5. Pescarolo Courage C60/Peugeot '03 - +7 laps
6. Bentley Speed 8 '03 - +8 laps
Final Race Time: 5hr 06'21.752, an average of 1'20.622.
- 86,854
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
I've just noticed that I never updated for the Infineon race. Bum.
More importantly, I'm bored and fancied bumping my A-spec points up a little, so...
17/6/06 Grand Valley 300
This time I entered with the extremely rev-happy Honda S2000 LM, in a fetching black/indigo livery (what else?). I'd bought it for use at UKGTPV, so felt I should get some track time out of it, at least. The opposition:
1. Abt Audi TT-R
2. Mercedes CLK Touring Car
3. Xanavi Hiroto Skyline GT-R JGTC
4. Takata Dome NSX JGTC
5. Esso Ultraflow Supra JGTC (be jealous, you NTSCers)
That mix, plus my S2000 stock, but on R1 front/R2 rear gives me... 200 A-spec points.
Lap 1: Where'd they go? Only the NSX is still visible after 5 seconds, but a slew of early braking into the first puts me ahead of the NSX and right up alongside the Esso Supra (mmmm... savour that car). A few practice laps earlier in the day showed me the fastest AI-avoiding line through the uphill chicane and a bold move there saw me fly straight past the Esso Supra and CLK, passing the Xanavi Skyline under braking for the hairpin at the bottom. The Abt TT-R was dispatched in quite a strange place - the left-right combo between the two tunnels before the bridge. Not a terrific first lap of 2'06, but pacey enough to put me first and keep me first - though the S2000 gives an awful lot away on the straights to the JGTC cars...
After three successive laps of taking 1.5s out of the Abt Audi, the CLK takes 2nd from him and, somehow, starts pegging me back - though it seems he's quite appalling at sector 1, so though the gap is decreasing, it isn't decreasing much.
Lap 6 sees the first time my laptime doesn't improve, so the best is currently posted at 1'56.676 - though my worst since then has been 1'57.171, so we aren't talking about a massive drop. The CLK is just over 5.5s behind at this point, but getting nearer...
Laps 9, 10 and 11 involve a bit of pack-weirdness - all of a sudden the TT-R is second, making my lead 6.3s, but HE starts gaining too... The CLK and TT-R continue to swap places regularly for the next few laps, as I dive into the pits at the end of lap 12, with just a 3.2s lead - so close that I can hear the TT-R coming out of the final chicane. The whole field goes by - the first pitter is the Takata NSX in a woefully last place on lap 13 - with the lead AI holding a 29s lead over me. The TT-R, Esso Supra and CLK pit in at the end of lap 14, with the Xanavi Hiroto Skyline keeping it going through to the end of lap 15 - he's going to be dangerous come the end as he'll pit one less time than anybody else - and I pass each of them before they emerge from the pit exit, now holding a lead of about 10s after everyone's back on the track again. Lap 15 is also, coincidentally, my fastest - a 1'56.651 - followed by yet another fastest lap of 1'56.649 immediately after and then a 1'56.641 on lap 19. Oh, and a 1'56.330 on lap 20.
But still that Audi is closing every lap until, by the time I come to pit (lap 24), he's barely 5 seconds away. When I come to rest I'm still in second - though the rest of the field will pass while I'm stationary - and have used 52 fuelies in my two stints, or 26 fuelies each time. I've got 28 left currently, but top up to 40 anyway, and come out in last. Bugger.
In my attempts to catch up, lap 27 is an absolute blinder, running in a 1'55.434 - almost a second quicker than any previous lap - and this session is enough to ensure that, by the halfway mark, I've got nearly 15s advantage on the Abt Audi TT-R and pass the pitted Xanavi Hiroto Skyline just before the end of the lap. It's going to be tight come the finish, as I'll have a margin to make up on the Nissan who only has one more stop left, even assuming I can finish ahead of the Audi...
1/2 Race Distance
1. Honda S2000LM - 0:59'46.359 (30 laps)
2. Xanavi Hiroto GT-R +10s
3. Audi Abt TT-R +15s
4. Mercedes CLK Race Car +22s
5. Esso Ultraflow Supra +24s
6. Takata Dome NSX +40s
A flurry of mid-1'55s saw me pit on 36 with a 15s advantage over the Audi - quickly wiped out, of course. The Honda was topped up to 35 fuelies and came out ahead of the 6th place Takata but, unfortunately, just behind the Supra and Skyline - the Skyline on which I have to pull out an entire pit-stop's worth of time in the next 24 laps. Gah! The fast Audi is no longer the problem - he's 19s up with 2 stops left for him and only 1 left for me and he's not pulling away any - the Skyline is.
Lap 42 proved to be a crucial one - I snicked past the fishtailing Esso Supra at the sharp left before the first tunnel, enabling me to close right up onto the back of the Skyline. The Abt Audi and CLK both dived into the pits, but the CLK momentarily got in the way of the not-pitting Skyline, allowing me to blast between the pair and take the place off the Skyline and the lead off the Audi right before the line. By the time he had to pit on 45 I'd pulled almost 6 seconds out of the Nissan, so that when I left the pits 3 laps later I was still clear of him and only a handful of seconds down on the Audi. The handful became 13.2 by the end of my pit out lap, and the chase began...
By the time the Audi came to his pit window on lap 56, I'd clawed his advantage down to just 7 seconds, including a new PB of 1'55.267 on lap 55... This left me just needing to stay in front of the Nissan, with a 17s gap to play with. Or would have done had the Nissan not inexplicably pitted at the end of lap 59. FFS! I ended up leading the Audi home by just over 32 seconds, from the Nissan and CLK quite close together, the Supra and the NSX last, waaay off the pace (but still on the lead lap)
Final Standings
1. Honda S2000LM - 1:59'01.570 (60 laps)
2. Audi Abt TT-R +32s
3. Xanavi Hiroto GT-R +45s
4. Mercedes CLK Race Car +50s
5. Esso Ultraflow Supra +1'00s
6. Takata Dome NSX +1'30s
200 points, thank you very much.
More importantly, I'm bored and fancied bumping my A-spec points up a little, so...
17/6/06 Grand Valley 300
This time I entered with the extremely rev-happy Honda S2000 LM, in a fetching black/indigo livery (what else?). I'd bought it for use at UKGTPV, so felt I should get some track time out of it, at least. The opposition:
1. Abt Audi TT-R
2. Mercedes CLK Touring Car
3. Xanavi Hiroto Skyline GT-R JGTC
4. Takata Dome NSX JGTC
5. Esso Ultraflow Supra JGTC (be jealous, you NTSCers)
That mix, plus my S2000 stock, but on R1 front/R2 rear gives me... 200 A-spec points.
Lap 1: Where'd they go? Only the NSX is still visible after 5 seconds, but a slew of early braking into the first puts me ahead of the NSX and right up alongside the Esso Supra (mmmm... savour that car). A few practice laps earlier in the day showed me the fastest AI-avoiding line through the uphill chicane and a bold move there saw me fly straight past the Esso Supra and CLK, passing the Xanavi Skyline under braking for the hairpin at the bottom. The Abt TT-R was dispatched in quite a strange place - the left-right combo between the two tunnels before the bridge. Not a terrific first lap of 2'06, but pacey enough to put me first and keep me first - though the S2000 gives an awful lot away on the straights to the JGTC cars...
After three successive laps of taking 1.5s out of the Abt Audi, the CLK takes 2nd from him and, somehow, starts pegging me back - though it seems he's quite appalling at sector 1, so though the gap is decreasing, it isn't decreasing much.
Lap 6 sees the first time my laptime doesn't improve, so the best is currently posted at 1'56.676 - though my worst since then has been 1'57.171, so we aren't talking about a massive drop. The CLK is just over 5.5s behind at this point, but getting nearer...
Laps 9, 10 and 11 involve a bit of pack-weirdness - all of a sudden the TT-R is second, making my lead 6.3s, but HE starts gaining too... The CLK and TT-R continue to swap places regularly for the next few laps, as I dive into the pits at the end of lap 12, with just a 3.2s lead - so close that I can hear the TT-R coming out of the final chicane. The whole field goes by - the first pitter is the Takata NSX in a woefully last place on lap 13 - with the lead AI holding a 29s lead over me. The TT-R, Esso Supra and CLK pit in at the end of lap 14, with the Xanavi Hiroto Skyline keeping it going through to the end of lap 15 - he's going to be dangerous come the end as he'll pit one less time than anybody else - and I pass each of them before they emerge from the pit exit, now holding a lead of about 10s after everyone's back on the track again. Lap 15 is also, coincidentally, my fastest - a 1'56.651 - followed by yet another fastest lap of 1'56.649 immediately after and then a 1'56.641 on lap 19. Oh, and a 1'56.330 on lap 20.
But still that Audi is closing every lap until, by the time I come to pit (lap 24), he's barely 5 seconds away. When I come to rest I'm still in second - though the rest of the field will pass while I'm stationary - and have used 52 fuelies in my two stints, or 26 fuelies each time. I've got 28 left currently, but top up to 40 anyway, and come out in last. Bugger.
In my attempts to catch up, lap 27 is an absolute blinder, running in a 1'55.434 - almost a second quicker than any previous lap - and this session is enough to ensure that, by the halfway mark, I've got nearly 15s advantage on the Abt Audi TT-R and pass the pitted Xanavi Hiroto Skyline just before the end of the lap. It's going to be tight come the finish, as I'll have a margin to make up on the Nissan who only has one more stop left, even assuming I can finish ahead of the Audi...
1/2 Race Distance
1. Honda S2000LM - 0:59'46.359 (30 laps)
2. Xanavi Hiroto GT-R +10s
3. Audi Abt TT-R +15s
4. Mercedes CLK Race Car +22s
5. Esso Ultraflow Supra +24s
6. Takata Dome NSX +40s
A flurry of mid-1'55s saw me pit on 36 with a 15s advantage over the Audi - quickly wiped out, of course. The Honda was topped up to 35 fuelies and came out ahead of the 6th place Takata but, unfortunately, just behind the Supra and Skyline - the Skyline on which I have to pull out an entire pit-stop's worth of time in the next 24 laps. Gah! The fast Audi is no longer the problem - he's 19s up with 2 stops left for him and only 1 left for me and he's not pulling away any - the Skyline is.
Lap 42 proved to be a crucial one - I snicked past the fishtailing Esso Supra at the sharp left before the first tunnel, enabling me to close right up onto the back of the Skyline. The Abt Audi and CLK both dived into the pits, but the CLK momentarily got in the way of the not-pitting Skyline, allowing me to blast between the pair and take the place off the Skyline and the lead off the Audi right before the line. By the time he had to pit on 45 I'd pulled almost 6 seconds out of the Nissan, so that when I left the pits 3 laps later I was still clear of him and only a handful of seconds down on the Audi. The handful became 13.2 by the end of my pit out lap, and the chase began...
By the time the Audi came to his pit window on lap 56, I'd clawed his advantage down to just 7 seconds, including a new PB of 1'55.267 on lap 55... This left me just needing to stay in front of the Nissan, with a 17s gap to play with. Or would have done had the Nissan not inexplicably pitted at the end of lap 59. FFS! I ended up leading the Audi home by just over 32 seconds, from the Nissan and CLK quite close together, the Supra and the NSX last, waaay off the pace (but still on the lead lap)
Final Standings
1. Honda S2000LM - 1:59'01.570 (60 laps)
2. Audi Abt TT-R +32s
3. Xanavi Hiroto GT-R +45s
4. Mercedes CLK Race Car +50s
5. Esso Ultraflow Supra +1'00s
6. Takata Dome NSX +1'30s
200 points, thank you very much.
- 1,003
one of the most impressive endurance races I've seen. 👍
- 86,854
- Rule 12
- GTP_Famine
It was a good laugh. I only doubted the win was possible twice - once when the CLK and Abt started gaining on me when their tyres heated up and once at halfway when I realised that the Nissan would stop one less time (though in the end he didn't - fool!).
I got 200 points, I got yet another Auto Union and I got to really duke it out with quicker-than-me AIs.
I got 200 points, I got yet another Auto Union and I got to really duke it out with quicker-than-me AIs.
- 1,003
I just tried it in the Opera S2000... a bit bummed, that darn Opel slaughtered me by 35 seconds! (was hoping he'd pit on 59)
