First off, I want to sound my appreciation for this thread and the amount of information that has been gathered and the very interesting race reports in it.
I've been wanting to do this race for a while and even had some attempts at it. I'm all for competitive racing, but I honestly don't know where I stand. I reckon myself a fairly good driver. Not pretty good, not very good and not awesome, just fairly good and consistent... on a normal track. But this is Nürburgring, and while I am fairly familiar with it, it's just so different to any other track. Due to the sheer length, no two laps will be quite the same since your tires will never be at quite the same from one lap to the next, and you have to adjust your driving every lap.
My first attempt was in a stock BMW M5 '09. Playing it safe at 509 PP, it should do the trick, but at the end of the day, I had to realise it was too much to handle. It's a very sideways car and that just won't work here.
So next up was a Honda Integra (DC5). Not RM or anything, just well tuned to around 500PP. It's so very easy to handle, but that's not always a good thing. That means I drive a bit too aggressively and being an FF car, it just munches through the front tires like a piranha through a human in any silly cartoon.
While I could keep going 9:06 laps (which should be right where it's at), the tires were shot after 4 laps, and trying to do a 5th ended in an 11 minute lap. That just won't cut it.
So fast forward to today. I'd thought about using the Amuse Nismo 380, but it at 525PP it was too powerful, and I had to look for something else.
The NSX could probably do it at the stock 470ish PP, but while I adore the car, I've driven it to death and wanted something else.
The Evora might be able to pull it off, but I'd have to tune it quite a lot, as especially the transmission etc. really makes it go slower than it should.
So I ended up taking an Elise 111R (not RM), which has been tuned to RKM's Juliet specifications, except I took a couple of power modifications off to put it at 490PP. Having had no end of trouble with the Elise over the course of time, it finally clicked a month ago with the Juliet tune and setting my DFGT FFB strength to 10. This thing just corners like nothing I've ever driven.
Getting the first reset lineup, I knew I had to run those 9:06 to stay competitive, but I honestly couldn't remember what the car felt like, other than it being insane through corners. It was quickly apparent that I might've fiddled with the LSD or my memory isn't quite as good as I thought, because the thing just doesn't like trailbraking. Anything above 20% brake pressure and the wheels lock up and cause a spin. And while the tune is excellent, it might not be the best for the 'ring due to the low ride height and stiff suspension. It can get very bumpy at times.
But on to the race:
Lap #1 9:49.something:
I quickly drop to tenth off the mark, but sneak back up to 5th in the first corner. I drop a couple of places between Hocheichen and Metzgesfeld, but still it's looking good as I get increasingly more familiar with my chosen companion. Then... disaster. Around Kesselchen I've just not picked up enough speed and the cars behind me show up and decide to throw caution to the wind, and me into consecutive spins and crashes. Not once, not twice but three times in a row do I get rammed by passing cars just as I think I've regained control. Dropping to 10th and being miles behind everyone I curse my luck and keep pushing.
Lap #2 9:06.and a bit:
I see no traffic doing a lap where I feel I've gotten to to grips with the Elise. It's still bumpy, but feathering the brake I can zip through the corners. I find that I can really push it between the Karoussel and Galgenkopf, like no other car I've driven here. It really is fantastic. There is a corner around Brünnchen which can get hairy due to the car lifting off. Need to remember to take it easy!
Lap #3 8:55.101:
I keep pushing, the car feels fantastic. Between Pflanzgarten and Galgenkopf I catch up with the #9 Skyline of some kind (it's red!), but decide not to pass it since we're so close to Döttinger Höhe. An excellent strategy as I catch a proper draft and zoom through the straight at a massive 266km/h! The Elise really has issues getting speed in 6th gear, so getting a draft cuts a lot of time off the lap. Tires are fine and it doesn't really use a lot of fuel.
Lap #4 9:06.926:
Pretty uneventful. Car still feels good, tires are doing fine and everything's just dandy.
Lap #5 9:21.844:
Ok, perhaps the tires weren't completely fine. They're mostly fine, but this is where you know you're not driving a normal track. I fail to adjust to slightly decreased thread and coupled with the massive lock under braking, I have a little accident around Hatzenbach. The red Skyline catches up and overtakes. I quickly overtake him back and manage to keep him behind me through Kesselchen and put a lot of distance to him on the last half. Despite my early crash, the car felt good and both tires and fuel are above half, so I decide to stay out.
Lap #6 9:11.175:
I pass most of the field on the pit straight and go into the first corner placed 4th. The first half of the lap is quite uneventful, the car is still surprisingly fast through the corners, even now.
I catch up with the Amuse Nismo 380 in 3rd just after Karoussel, and decide to pass him since Döttinger Höhe is still a long way away.
Again I do overestimate a bit and have a few botanical excursions between Karoussel and Galgenkopf, but no spins or crashes. I decide I've adjusted and keep at it since both tires and fuel are now around half. A 7th lap should be doable! Also, time for a break for a smoke and this writeup.
Lap #7 9:20.276:
I'm apparently 1st with a lead of a whopping 1.9s to the HPA Audi TT. He's a lot faster than me, but I somehow manage to keep him behind for a good while. Eventually I push it a bit too much, have a minor spin and he passes. Oh well. I pit at the end of the lap. Have used just 46L of fuel and my tires are probably around 40%. It wasn't urgent, but I might as well. I've far surpassed my expections for tire durability already.
Lap #8 9:30.126:
I exit the pits at around 7th, watching the Amuse S2000 GT1 blow past me followed by the HKS CT230R. I catch the HKS quickly and we have a bit of back and forth battle before I finally leave him standing. The S2000 is long gone though. A nice solid lap, I readjust to having good tires again and push it nicely.
Lap #9 9:10.753:
I catch up with the Nismo 380RS shortly after Karoussel. He's really slow. But he's also wide, so it takes a bit of time to get past him. Otherwise uneventful, I feel I've settled in nicely now.
Lap #10 9:04.421:
Yup, now we're racing. Nothing but me, the track and a bunch of trees. Just plain steady.
Lap #11 (missed time):
I found myself climbing up the ladder. 3rd place and I decide to push it. A bit too much too and I run off in a couple of spots, though nothing serious.
Lap #12 9:20.365:
I still decide to push it. I'm really fast through the course, but I keep running off in spots, and never the same. It's hard to know where to push it and where not. Perhaps I've lost a bit of concentration too. I have a nasty spin at Adenauer-Forst. But something's odd. I'm 2nd and at the start of the lap I was 12s down. But after my spin I'm only 7s behind. I wonder what the HPA Audi TT can be up to. He should have fresh tires, so something's off.
Turns out he does have fresh tires, because it's not him in the lead. It's the Amuse S2000 with completely shot tires as I find about half a minute later as I steam past him. Another 30s on and I have a 12s lead, so he's spun again.
As I get to the end of Döttinger Höhe my lead's at 13s.
Lap #13 9:10.114:
Well, it seems now that my pit strategy is making up for my somewhat flaky driving. The HPA Audi TT catches up to me at Hatzenbach, but I manage to keep him behind me until Kesselchen. And then I overtake him again at Eschbach. And then we play cat and mouse. Obviously he's gone by the time the lap's over, but he's not actually that far ahead.
Lap #14 9.11.978:
We keep the cat and mouse game up. I catch him at Flugplatz and actually manage to rush past him. But at Kallenhard I push too hard and end up spinning and he runs away. But even now, on my last lap on these tires, I can push. So I do. And I catch him at Brünnchen, go past and wait for him to catch up so I can catch some draft. I pit about 5s behind him though it got a bit scary around Tiergarten.
Lap #15 (missed time again):
Apparently I forgot to get the time for this, but it was around 9:30ish. Didn't take much fuel and came out no. 5. Was a pretty clean lap.
Lap #16 8:57.345:
Finally started to show some consistency. As I got to the first corner, I suddenly found myself leading the race around 25s ahead. As I did a near perfect lap, that meant a 40s lead by the time I hit Döttinger Höhe and 37s by the time I got to the finish line. Since I kept pulling away, even with a great lap, I can only surmise it wasn't the HPA Audi TT in 2nd.
An all around great lap, and definately the fastest without drafting. Not a single error, just really fast through it all on warm tires.
Lap #17 9:00.123:
First split time showed a 1:20s lead, which meant that whoever was in 2nd had pitted. It was now plainly obvious that the 7 stop strategy had already won me the race. The lead shrunk a bit by the end, so it made sense it was now the TT back in 2nd.
Lap #18 9:07.640:
Minor runoffs due to loss of concentration, but otherwise uneventful. From here on it's just about getting home safe.
Lap #19 9:20.662:
Lead's down to below 1 minute, but there's no need to worry. The pursuers should still have two stops to go and me just 1. Made a mess at Flugplatz through a combination of loss of tire thread and concentration.
Lap #20 9:08.707:
About as good a lap as one can expect as tires wear out once again. Overall uneventful, feels a lot like a time attack by now. Didn't pay attention to how much I was leading.
Lap #21: 9:18.379:
I get a bit philosphical as I cruise around on the last lap before it's time to pit and take a break. It's pretty apparent that on this 3rd stint I'm a lot more consistent than earlier. There are still mistakes, but I feel a lot of them are due to the car jumping too much and locking under braking. You really have to be careful with this car. But at least it doesn't have power oversteer.
1:17.5 ahead.
Lap #22 10:03.831:
The only long pitstop. Nearly out of fuel, I take on 50L. I should only need about 38L, but in case I'm fast and get to do 7 more laps rather than 6, I decide to play it safe.
I'm 10.3s ahead at the first split still, and drive a good lap.
Lap #23 9:02.232:
Another good lap, put a few more seconds between myself and the 2nd placed HPA Audi TT.
Lap #24 8:59.231:
Just keep getting better. Very solid and the lead is up to 20s. But I know the HPA still has one more stop to go.
Lap #25, 26, 27:
Forgetting the race ends immediately as I pass the line after the 4 hours, I don't take note of times. Lap 25 is good too, but I make a mistake after Hatzenbach (damn you brakes!) on lap 26 and lose 10s, making the lead just 11s.
After lap 26 the HPA Audi TT pits and leaves me with a lead of 1:30.
I'm faster on the last lap than I expected. I was planning to hit 4 hours coming out of Döttinger Höhe, but I'm running a sub 9 minute lap and decide to ease my way towards the finish line because I'm lazy. And errr yeah, it was parade driving. Right! Last lap is done in 9:01.102 as I manage to glance before a nice leaderboard shows up, followed by a bit of cash and a lot of experience.
And a lot of experience it was. You can drive the 'ring ever so many times, but doing it 4 hours straight just gives you a completely different feel for it. It's obvious I was far, far, far more stable in the last half of the race compared to the first, and I want to chalk off most of my mistakes in the 2nd half to the stiff ride and the weird brakes.
It's also painfully obvious that the impromptu 7 stop strategy won me the race. I had no idea it could go that long before needing new tires, though I had a feeling it might be very fuel efficient with the little 2L engine. That also means that I'm not sure what to do next time. I don't mind losing the race if it gives me some good competition, but other candidates at lower PP would likely suck more juice.
I reckon I'm more stable now than before, at least I should be. But just how much and just how often will I need to pit in a different car?
)
) to see whether it's more fun to do it in one sitting or in 1 hour parts. I shall post updates here each hour while I smoke. 
