- 180
Well, here I am, back at the Nurburgring again. In between the 24 hour victory and now, I have had failed attempts to win the All-stars and Dream-car championships in a Honda Mobil 1 NSX and a Mazda6 Touring Car respectively.
Now, it's time to jump in my completely stock Lotus Elise Sports 190 and battle at the Ring again.
190hp, sports hard tyres, oil change, no other modifications
The Lineup: 145 a-spec points
Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R 2000 371hp, 1628kg
Mercedes CLK 55 AMG 2000 369hp, 1620kg
Opel Speedster Turbo 2000 210hp, 1005kg
Renault Clio Sport V6 2003 273hp, 1,400kg
Honda NSX Type R 2002 310hp, 1270kg
Lotus Elise Sports 190 1998 192hp, 670kg
Hour 1 - 8 laps completed
Lap 1 8:27.287 +10.6s 2nd
Gingerly go around the first lap. By Wehrseifen I am in 2nd place. The Opel speedster is, ummm, speeding away and I end the lap over 10 seconds behind him. He gains 3 seconds on me on the Antoniusbuche alone.
Everyone else seems to be lagging behind at this point. My rears are wearing much quicker than the fronts. The fronts are still very green after lap 1!
I predict about 4 laps out of these rears. We will see.
Lap 2 8:04.727 +19.3s 2nd
All I can say is that the Speedster better stop the next lap otherwise I am screwed
Lap 3 8:02.939 +22.4s 2nd
Well, the speedster didn't stop
so all I can hope for is that his tyres go off badly on the next lap and I make up ground before he pits. I have driven faultlessly so far, and that last lap time is about all the Elise can give.
Lap 4 8:00.170 +26.0s 2nd
The Speedster rolls on relentlessly. Am feeling slightly depressed. In my frustration, I went on the grass at Pflanzgarten II. Still going quicker. But not quick enough. The Renault pits in from 4th place, about 1 minute behind me.
Lap 5 8:27.079 +2.6s 2nd
Change is upon us!!! I was 25s down at Aremburg. Then at the next split I am only 12s down! The Speedster must have had a spin. The gap stays the same until he spins again at Klostertal. I stalk him for a while whilst my own rears start to go off a little. I pass him at Eschbach and go into the lead. The Honda NSX also passes the stricken Speedster at Kleine-Karussell. I pit in from the lead and rejoin behind the NSX. The speedster pits in for some much needed rubber and the Mercedes pits in from 6th, about 2:35 behind me.
Lap 6 8:14.090 -31.1s 1st
The Honda's rear tyres go off about halfway round lap 6, and I stalk him for the rest of the lap before he has a massive lose just before the pit entry. I have retaken the lead. The Mustang pits from 5th, about 2:25s behind me.
Lap 7 8:06.130 -47.0s 1st
Not a very tidy lap. Had an off at Adenaur Forst and also a small off near the pits. No real damage done though.
Lap 8 8:01.748 -52.9s 1st
Another good lap. The Honda is holding up the Opel something terrible. He has been on the NSX's tail all lap. I feel confident now that this car can do a sub 8-minute lap. I will try. Hour One completed!
Hour 2 - 15 laps completed
Another good hour. The Speedster momentarily gains 2nd place but loses his rear tyres again on lap 10. His chances of winning the race are now gone. The NSX is now 1:18s behind me. I lapped the CLK 55.
Hour 3 - 22 laps completed
An hour of cruisy but scrappy driving. Listening to some podcasts and interviews with Hunter S. Thompson whilst driving so I was not at my best. Anyway, I am still 1:16s ahead of the NSX. I lapped the Ford Mustang.
Hour 4 - 30 laps completed
I win by about 1:20s after largely just crusing for the final hour. To add interest, I stuck medium sports tyres on when I pitted on lap 25. I got a 7:55 lap out of them. Had to pit again on lap 28 as the rears were starting to go red. Cruised after that.
Final Standings:
Lotus Elise Sports 190 30 laps completed
Honda NSX Type R +approx. 1:20
Opel Speedster Turbo +approx. 3 minutes
Renault Clio Sport V6 +approx 7 minutes
Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R +1 lap
Mercedes CLK 55 AMG +2 laps
Final thoughts: wasn't as competitive a race as I thought it would be. I didn't study the different lineups as much as I usually do before entering. This lineup was the first one that came up. If I do this race again, I will try to get a more competitive lineup. Having said that, the Opel would have cleaned this race up if he had stopped every 4 laps instead of 5. Hate it when the A1 does that.
As a point of reference for those who are interested, here are the fastest lap times for the A1 cars (taken from laps 2/3/4 of the race; they shouldn't vary too much from these times):
Lotus Elise Sports 190 7:55.557
Opel Speedster Turbo 7:56.021
Honda NSX Type R 8:04.421
Renault Clio Sport V6 8:15.152
Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R 8:32.092
Mercedes CLK 55 AMG 8:38.825
Now, it's time to jump in my completely stock Lotus Elise Sports 190 and battle at the Ring again.
190hp, sports hard tyres, oil change, no other modifications
The Lineup: 145 a-spec points
Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R 2000 371hp, 1628kg
Mercedes CLK 55 AMG 2000 369hp, 1620kg
Opel Speedster Turbo 2000 210hp, 1005kg
Renault Clio Sport V6 2003 273hp, 1,400kg
Honda NSX Type R 2002 310hp, 1270kg
Lotus Elise Sports 190 1998 192hp, 670kg
Hour 1 - 8 laps completed
Lap 1 8:27.287 +10.6s 2nd
Gingerly go around the first lap. By Wehrseifen I am in 2nd place. The Opel speedster is, ummm, speeding away and I end the lap over 10 seconds behind him. He gains 3 seconds on me on the Antoniusbuche alone.
Everyone else seems to be lagging behind at this point. My rears are wearing much quicker than the fronts. The fronts are still very green after lap 1!
I predict about 4 laps out of these rears. We will see.
Lap 2 8:04.727 +19.3s 2nd
All I can say is that the Speedster better stop the next lap otherwise I am screwed
Lap 3 8:02.939 +22.4s 2nd
Well, the speedster didn't stop
so all I can hope for is that his tyres go off badly on the next lap and I make up ground before he pits. I have driven faultlessly so far, and that last lap time is about all the Elise can give.Lap 4 8:00.170 +26.0s 2nd
The Speedster rolls on relentlessly. Am feeling slightly depressed. In my frustration, I went on the grass at Pflanzgarten II. Still going quicker. But not quick enough. The Renault pits in from 4th place, about 1 minute behind me.
Lap 5 8:27.079 +2.6s 2nd
Change is upon us!!! I was 25s down at Aremburg. Then at the next split I am only 12s down! The Speedster must have had a spin. The gap stays the same until he spins again at Klostertal. I stalk him for a while whilst my own rears start to go off a little. I pass him at Eschbach and go into the lead. The Honda NSX also passes the stricken Speedster at Kleine-Karussell. I pit in from the lead and rejoin behind the NSX. The speedster pits in for some much needed rubber and the Mercedes pits in from 6th, about 2:35 behind me.
Lap 6 8:14.090 -31.1s 1st
The Honda's rear tyres go off about halfway round lap 6, and I stalk him for the rest of the lap before he has a massive lose just before the pit entry. I have retaken the lead. The Mustang pits from 5th, about 2:25s behind me.
Lap 7 8:06.130 -47.0s 1st
Not a very tidy lap. Had an off at Adenaur Forst and also a small off near the pits. No real damage done though.
Lap 8 8:01.748 -52.9s 1st
Another good lap. The Honda is holding up the Opel something terrible. He has been on the NSX's tail all lap. I feel confident now that this car can do a sub 8-minute lap. I will try. Hour One completed!
Hour 2 - 15 laps completed
Another good hour. The Speedster momentarily gains 2nd place but loses his rear tyres again on lap 10. His chances of winning the race are now gone. The NSX is now 1:18s behind me. I lapped the CLK 55.
Hour 3 - 22 laps completed
An hour of cruisy but scrappy driving. Listening to some podcasts and interviews with Hunter S. Thompson whilst driving so I was not at my best. Anyway, I am still 1:16s ahead of the NSX. I lapped the Ford Mustang.
Hour 4 - 30 laps completed
I win by about 1:20s after largely just crusing for the final hour. To add interest, I stuck medium sports tyres on when I pitted on lap 25. I got a 7:55 lap out of them. Had to pit again on lap 28 as the rears were starting to go red. Cruised after that.
Final Standings:
Lotus Elise Sports 190 30 laps completed
Honda NSX Type R +approx. 1:20
Opel Speedster Turbo +approx. 3 minutes
Renault Clio Sport V6 +approx 7 minutes
Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R +1 lap
Mercedes CLK 55 AMG +2 laps
Final thoughts: wasn't as competitive a race as I thought it would be. I didn't study the different lineups as much as I usually do before entering. This lineup was the first one that came up. If I do this race again, I will try to get a more competitive lineup. Having said that, the Opel would have cleaned this race up if he had stopped every 4 laps instead of 5. Hate it when the A1 does that.
As a point of reference for those who are interested, here are the fastest lap times for the A1 cars (taken from laps 2/3/4 of the race; they shouldn't vary too much from these times):
Lotus Elise Sports 190 7:55.557
Opel Speedster Turbo 7:56.021
Honda NSX Type R 8:04.421
Renault Clio Sport V6 8:15.152
Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R 8:32.092
Mercedes CLK 55 AMG 8:38.825
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