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- EMY-Welsh-Fury
24H of Nürburgring
Chaparral 2D Race Car '67
Chaparral 2D Race Car '67
My career in GT5 is coming to an end. The 24H of Nür and two more golds on the Vettle event to get the platinum trophy, I thought it would be great to have literally a live journal on what happens in a 24H race. Mostly for those who've never raced a 24H race can see what goes on in one.
For this race, I'm taking my 'Chaparral 2D Race Car '67'. That stylish lightweight 3-geared monstrosity that's a pain to setup just right. The history on this car revealed that in its first race at an ADAC 1000km event at Nürburgring, it placed it's first and only victory. So what better way to finish GT5 than with a bit of history (And an excellent challenge too).
Through the race, I'll be posting events that go on during the race. Overtakes, rain, pits, spins and such. I'll give a time too on when that event occurs. Also, I won't being doing this race strait, but by 2-3 hour daily intervals. I have a life ya'know?
Car Specs:
Max Power: 531HP/7000rpm
Max Torque: 445ft-lb/5000rpm
Drivetrain: MR
Length: 4013mm
Width: 1727mm
Height: 1003mm
Weight: 771kg
Performance Points: 662
Setup Specs:
Aero:
F50/R70
Transmission Ratios:
Not Telling
Suspension:
Ride Hight: F0/R0
Spring Rate: F13.1/R14.6
Dampers E: F8/F8
Dampers C: F8/F8
Anti-Roll Bars: F6/R6
Wheel Alignment:
Camber Angle: F2.3/R1.2
Toe Angle: None
Brake Balance:
F6/R6
Tires:
FRS/RRM
Starting Grid:
1. Courage - Judd GV5 Race Car '04
2. Ford GT Race Car
3. 905 Race Car '92
4. CLK-GTR Race Car '98
5. GT by Citroen Race Car
6. GT-One Race Car (TSO20) '99
7. 2D Race Car '67
8. Corvette C5-R (C5) '00
9. 787B Race Car '91
10. DUNLOP ER34 SKYLINE '07
11. Corvette Z06 (C2) Race Car '63
12. Mark IV Race Car '67
The Race
1.
Lap 1
As the race starts, the 787B behind me shoots past me to 6th place by the first turn. I brake late to the outside of the pack, slipping into 2nd by the second sharp left turn. The Courage in first didn't have to deal with competing with other drivers on the first turn, so it didn't catch me by to much of a surprise that by the first checkpoint, the Courage had a three second lead on me.
By the end of the lap, the Courage had a second on me, but it became obvious I had a greater turning and braking strength then the cars on the field, just not the acceleration. I also noticed I'm having trouble keeping the car strait under heavy braking. Going to swap out for a harder racing mediums up front by next pit stop, which won't be till lap 9 if I can keep the car under control till then.
The race started with a full cloud cover, expecting rain sometime soon.
2.
Lap 4
32 minutes in
At the end of lap 4, my rear tires prematurely weared out with more than half of a bar left in my front tires, so I swapped RM on the front and RH on the rear. The Courage and I had pit together, while the 905/787B/CLK-GTR/GT-One continued on. 6th place now, the Courage is showing a sudden boost of strength without any other driver with us, however, gaining on the leading four.
3.
Lap 15
1 hour, 58 minutes in
I made the mistake on trying to stay out for 6 laps on FRS/RRM tire setup and it was nothing but lack of control on badly worn rear tires. I fought all lap 14 keeping the car strait, going from 1:35.000 behind the leader to 2:10.000 behind the leader. On the pit stop, I swapped the tire compounds around on the car to FRM/RRS. So long as I can keep up with in 2-3 seconds of the leaders pace every lap, I should gain time if I stay out for 5 laps, a lap longer than the leading two cars.
It seems the GT-One and 787B are the rabbits of this race.
Edit: Opon the first checkpoint after the pit stop, I noticed I gained just over ten seconds on the leader. It seems I'm taking a lot less time refueling my car than the leader is. Better fuel mileage FTW?
On a weather note, I'm starting to see shadows on the track. Looks like the sun is starting to break through the clouds, so it seems like there will be no rain.
4.
Lap 17
2 hours, 16 minutes in
The lead is reclaimed! The 787B and Courage were the two cars leading the race. The two were exiting pit lane when I rushed by.
On another note, I found that trading the Racing Softs and Racing Mediums on the last pit stop is actually extending the life of my rear tires. What I think is after I put RS tires on the rear, I'm spinning the tires a whole lot less than I was with RM. Now with Racing Mediums on the front of my cars, all four tires are wearing the same now. I should be able to get the 7-9 laps I'm hoping for now.
Although, it seems I won't be holding my lead for very long...
5.
Lap 21
2 hours, 51 minutes
As suspected, the Courage was gone twards the end of the 17th lap. At lap 18, the 787B and I were over a minute behind the Courage, showing grim results for me. However, nearing the end of the 19th lap, I noticed some decrease in the distance between me and the leading Courage. At this point, the Courage and 787B are coming up to their 4th lap, on which they'll pit. On the beginning of lap 20, I'm six laps in since my last pit stop and will have to pit along with the Courage. Since the last pit stop, the car has been incredible, both in overall handling and performance, just like riding rails all the way down to nearly bald tires.
I'm sure next run though I can manage seven laps instead of the previous six, mostly due to fighting for track against the 787B wearing out my tires.
I was 6 laps into my run and I only spent 57/100 of my fuel tank. That's about 250-275km on a single tank of fuel. Just incredible the mileage this car gets.
6.
Lap 24
3 hours, 16 minutes
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Nürburgring_-_Grand-Prix_Stecke.svg
On turn 15 on the link (Veedol), my car caught a burm just right to the point I started rolling and flipping down track. I rolled 5-6 times before grinding to a halt on my left side, fortunately coming back on all fours. Suffered a lot of body scratching (Heavyest to my left rear side). I also lost second place to the 787B, which is now 7-8 seconds ahead of me, along with the leader a good 20 seconds ahead.
7.
Lap 26
3 hours, 35 minutes
The lights have come on...
8.
Lap 34
4 hours, 40 minutes
The ability to toggle your head lights on and off is possible now. Sun is nearing to set too.
I've also been lagging behind the 787B and Courage due to lack of sleep in the past 36 hours. Only four hours tops of sleep last night, and It's really showing on my racing performance. Still got an hour and 20 minutes left to my daily grind.
9.
Lap 40
5 hours, 30 minutes
Making another pit stop after a solid run, both the 787B and Courage are surprising still racing and trading positions with each other after this far in the race. What I'm going to do from now on is instead of completely refueling my car, I'm going to fill the car only 60/100 the way full. Through my 5 lap periods, I've never used much more than 55/100 of fuel in my tank, so I might as well lighten the load on my car.
Sun has completely set and the track is swiftly getting dark.
10.
Lap 44
6 hours, 3 minutes
Track is getting spooky, almost completely black, sky is lightly lit up by the sunset sun, and the high beams of the 2d are incredibly luminous. I have a lead of only a minute on the 787B and navigating the track looks like it'll have to come from memory more than visual.
No track line FTW!... ... ..
EEK! A GHOST!
11.
Lap 48
6 hours, 35 minutes
Track is now completely black. Can't see anything behind me beyond the the little my tail lights light up. Sky is still slightly visible, like the difference between sky and clouds. I'm also noticing a great increase in the AI and my lap times these past several laps. Set a new "Best Lap" of 7:48.551 from this, but only putting on a few seconds from second place. Would anyone know of any hidden update that would give cars a little more edge when the sun goes down?
12.
Lap 64
8 hours, 47 minutes
I'm able to maintain pace ahead of second place with constant 8 minute laps. Granted I'm nice with the tires, I'm doing 5-6 laps on RS tires. Still noticing position changes between 2nd and 3rd, as well as 5th and 6th.
13.
Lap 72
9 hours, 56 minutes
I'm finding it hard to keep pace ahead of the 787B as I'm starting to get passed on my runs. Still, after pitting runs I got the better mileage, so I'm getting more laps on the 787B between pit stops.
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