- 7,313
- Land of the smelly onion
I got bored and decided to have another go at the Nurburgring 4hr race, but wanted more of a challenge this time.
First thing to do was find a vehicle to use. I knew I wanted something that would make for a close, challenging race, yet be something different than the usual choices.
I go scrolling through the 40-something pages of my garage, and I found it. A stock, bright red '03 Ford SVT F-150 Lightning that I used solely for messing around on dirt/snow tracks. I fit it with S1 tires all the way around. I go ahead and give it an oil change, as it had quite a few miles on it and while it was still making the stock 385hp, I didn't want to start losing power on lap 2 of an endurance race. Also to make it look good for photos, I gave it a wash.
Specs:
Horsepower: 405hp
Weight: 2132Kg
Power/Weight: 5.3Kg/hp
Mods: Oil Change, Wash, S1 tires
Rolling up to the grid, I am ignored. The other racers must think I am part of the safety crew making a last minute track inspection. Laughter erupts as they realize I am the American entry. I check out the rest of the line-up:
1. FPV F6 Typhoon '04
2. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR GSR '04
3. BMW M Coupe '98
4. Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II '00
5. Jaguar S-Type R '02
6. Ford SVT F-150 Lightning '03
Not the strongest line-up but not the weakest either.
Lap 1 - I start out kind of slow but manage to catch the 5th place Jag at Hocheichen. I ride behind until I get an opportunity to pass. Meanwhile the BMW and the Skyline are in a battle for third. The Skyline loses the battle when he get knocked into the grass and nearly losses it as me and the Jag slip by. I am now 5th. Diving inside the Jag under braking for Aremburg, I take 4th. The BMW is just ahead of him and I drag race the BMW side-by-side through Fuchsrohre and take 3rd by Adeneur Forst. I catch the F6 Typhoon at Wehrseifen and pass under braking for Breidsheid. The Evo has pulled away by 3 seconds but I start to close in. I catch him by Schwalbenschwanz and draft him down the straightaway.
Lap 2 - I ride in 2nd, .5 seconds back of the Evo. I finally sneak by him at Kottenborn and put some distance on him but he catches me again at Karussel. He is unable to pass and I put a little distance on him and lead onto the straight but the Evo catches me at Antoniusbuche. I lead lap 2 and post a time of 8:19.655.
Lap 3 - I have a lead of under 1 second until Metzgesfield where I miss the turn and hit the grass, falling back to 2nd, .5 seconds back. I catch the Evo again by Wehrseifen, but stay behind. I am about .5 seconds behind at Galgenkopf where I run off the track and falll behind, losing my drafting buddy and I fall 5 seconds behind at the start/finish line.
Lap 4 - I know the Evo has a 4 lap pit strategy, and it appears I will have the same strategy. I start to gain as it appears I am better on old tires. I cut into his lead, finally catching him at Karussel. I stay close and pass the Evo at Pflanzgarten III. The Evo catches me again at Antoniusbuche and blows by me. I tuck in behind and follow him onto pit oad.
Lap 5 - I take full fuel load and come out 4th ight behind the Evo, and 12 seconds behind the skyline. Me and the Evo are gaining quickly on the Jag and Skyline. I pass the Evo under braking for Wehrseifen but go into the grass on exit and the Evo goes back by. We catch the Jag at Kleine-Karussell and I trap the Evo behind the Slow moving Jag to take 3rd. The Evo retaliates at Galgenkopf by hitting me and pushing me onto the grass, almost getting me sideways. I hold on to 3rd but the Evo passes me on the straight and slides in between me and the Jag.
Lap 6 - Skyline and Jag pit and I move to 2nd. I pass the Evo on the exit of Flugplatz to retake the lead. This time I pull away but the Evo catches me at Mutkurve. I manage to keep ahaed of him until he catches me at Antoniusbusche, but rams me instead of passing, so I keep the lead.
Lap 7 - I lead by .5-1 second until the Evo catches me at Bergwerk. We go up Kesselchen side-by-side trading paint the whole way. He has the inside line at Mutkurve so I have to let him go. I follow close and try to pass on the outside entering Karussel but can't do it. *REPLAY ENDS* I am 1.5 seconds behind the Evo when I clip the sand at Pflanzgarten I, get sideways and fall back far enough that I can't draft the Evo down the straight.
Lap 8 - I am 6 seconds back now but better on old tires so by Galgenkopf I am on the Evo's bumper. I draft him down the straight and we both pit.
Lap 9 - I take full fuel again so I come out close to my drafting buddy the Evo. I come out 2nd, right on his bumper and .5 sec ahead of the Skyline. Evo swings wide at turn 1 and I nail the gas to pass him but just do a burnout, so I stay in 2nd. Me and Evo go side-by-side through flugplatz and Kottenborn and finally take the lead under braking at Aremburg. I pull away and leave the Evo to fight the Skyline for 2nd. The Skyline passes the Evo and catches me at Galgenkopf and blows by me on the straight. I draft him and try to outbrake at Hohenrain but can't.
Lap 10 - I follow the Skyline and pass on the exit of Flugplatz, and leave the Skyline to fight the Evo who has caught us again. The Skyline is starting to slow on old tires and holds up the Evo, and the Jag who has caught up to the 2nd place battle. I pull out to a 10 second lead, which will be my biggest of the race. The Evo, Jag, and Skyline cut my lead down to 5 sec as the Skyline and Jag pit.
Lap 11 - I lead but the Evo catches me by Dottinger Hohe, and he rams me instead of passing. I hold the lead and post a new best lap of 8:18.303.
Lap 12 - I pull away from the Evo again but he catches me on the straight, he blows by me on the straight and I follow him on pit road.
Lap 13 - I come out 2nd behind the Evo, and stay close. I pass at Kottenborn and pull away. I lead fom there until Teirgarten where he blows by me.
Lap 14 - I outbrake the Evo at Aremburg to retake the lead and pull away slightly but the Evo catches and passes me on the straight.
Lap 15 - I start the lap 3 seconds back and can't seem to close. By Galgenkopf I am still 3 seconds back. I fall 7 seconds back by start/finish line.
Lap 16 - The Evo struggles with old tires and I close the gap to 4 seconds by Dottinger Hohe, but the Evo pulls away by 7 seconds by pit road.
Lap 17 - I come out 2nd, 7 seconds back of the Evo. I gain quickly on the Evo as he struggles on new tires. By Breidsheid, I have caught him and follow. He pulls away going up the hill at Kesselchen but I catch him again under braking for Karussel. He pulls away again but by Galgenkopf I catch him and draft down the straightaway.
Lap 18 - I am on the Evo's back bumper and attempt to pass at turn 1 but he gets a better run off the corner and holds the lead. He cuts in front of me and I cross-over to the other side of the track and dive inside him to pass at turn 2 ( the dogleg after turn 1). I pull away by 4 seconds but he catches me by Tiergarten.
Lap 19 - I pull away again by 4 seconds but he catches me again at Tiergarten. Instead of passing he rams into me, this time he pushes me like he's trying to spin me out. I hold him off and keep the lead.
Lap 20 - I hold a .5-1 second lead thoughout the lap but the Evo passes me on the straight and he leads going into the pits.
Lap 21 - I come out 2nd on the Evo's bumper and follow him, passing on the exit of Flugplatz. I build a 4 second lead by Dottinger Hohe which is erased by my slow straightaway speed.
Lap 22 - I pull away again by 4.5 seconds only to lose advantage again on the straightaway. I set a new best lap of 8:17.989 as we enter the final hour.
Lap 23 - I have a slight lead crossing the start/finish line. The Evo passes me at Flugplatz when I take it kind of slow. We go side-by-side through Kottenborn and I outbrake him at Aremburg to take the lead. I lead until the Evo passes me at Antoniusbusche.
Lap 24 - I follow closely the Evo across the start/finish line. He swings wide at the dogleg left before Hatzenbach and I pass on the inside. I pull out to a lead of 1.5 seconds until the Evo rams me on the straight. He nearly loses control which allows me to lead into the pits.
Lap 25 - I come out .5 seconds ahead of the Evo in 1st. and start to pull away. I have a 6 second gap by Dottinger Hohe, which is cut down to 2 seconds by the start/finish line.
Lap 26 - The Evo is gaining slightly but I manage to stop his gain and open lead to 3 seconds by Galgenkopf only to have him ram me down the straight.
Lap 27 - Just under 20 minutes to go, which tells me this will be a 29 lap race. The Evo seems to be going faster and more agressive. He catches me at Flugplatz and we go side-by-side again through Kottenborn. I have the inside line at Aremburg and I keep the lead. He catches me again at Bergwerk and we drag race side-by-side up though Kesselchen, trading paint all the way to Mutkurve. He has the inside line at Mutkurve and I have to let him go. I follow closely the rest of the lap and draft him down the straightaway.
Lap 28 - I miss the turn at Flugplatz and clip the grass. I am now 2 seconds back of the Evo but I run him back down by Adenaur Forst. I dive inside him under braking at Wehrseifen and retake the lead. I pull away by 2 seconds but he blows by me on the straightaway and leads going into the pits for the last time.
Lap 29 - I switch to Sports Medium tires all the way around for the 1 lap sprint. I leave the pits 1st, .4 seconds ahead of the Evo. I figure I need atleast a 4.5 second lead by Dottinger Hohe in order to beat him back to the finish line. I put a 5 second lead on him by Bergwerk, but he cuts it back down to 3.3 by Karussel. I start to pull away again and open the gap up to 4.7 seconds, which I think may be just enough to beat him back to the line. I just about put my thumb though my Dualshock 2 controller and I push the X button down as hard as I can. I look back to see the silver dot that is the Evo closing fast but I know if I can beat him past Antoniusbusche, I can win. Going through Antoniusbusche I am 1.6 seconds ahead. I take the last few turns cautiously and come across the line to win by 1.199 seconds! 👍
Final order:
1. Ford SVT F-150 Lightning '03 4:06:00.33
2. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR GSR '04 +1.199s
3. Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 ~+8-10s
4. Jaguar S-Type R '02 ~+10-12s
5. FPV F6 Typhoon '04 ~+25s
6. BMW M Coupe '98 ~+30s
I collect my trophy and notice the other racers are leaving quickly, as they seem stunned and embarrassed that their sports cars got beat by a truck. To add to their embarrassment, I hitch up a trailer to my Lightning and tow away my '67 Chaparral 2D Race Car that I just won, taking it to the loading dock to take it back to America.
Now for some pics:
I look a little out of place in this line-up
Me and the Jaguar put the Skyline back to 6th
Outbraking the Jaguar for 4th
Passing the F6 Typhoon
Intimidating the Evo
Here are some pics of my race long battle with the Evo:
First thing to do was find a vehicle to use. I knew I wanted something that would make for a close, challenging race, yet be something different than the usual choices.
I go scrolling through the 40-something pages of my garage, and I found it. A stock, bright red '03 Ford SVT F-150 Lightning that I used solely for messing around on dirt/snow tracks. I fit it with S1 tires all the way around. I go ahead and give it an oil change, as it had quite a few miles on it and while it was still making the stock 385hp, I didn't want to start losing power on lap 2 of an endurance race. Also to make it look good for photos, I gave it a wash.
Specs:
Horsepower: 405hp
Weight: 2132Kg
Power/Weight: 5.3Kg/hp
Mods: Oil Change, Wash, S1 tires
Rolling up to the grid, I am ignored. The other racers must think I am part of the safety crew making a last minute track inspection. Laughter erupts as they realize I am the American entry. I check out the rest of the line-up:
1. FPV F6 Typhoon '04
2. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR GSR '04
3. BMW M Coupe '98
4. Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II '00
5. Jaguar S-Type R '02
6. Ford SVT F-150 Lightning '03
Not the strongest line-up but not the weakest either.
Lap 1 - I start out kind of slow but manage to catch the 5th place Jag at Hocheichen. I ride behind until I get an opportunity to pass. Meanwhile the BMW and the Skyline are in a battle for third. The Skyline loses the battle when he get knocked into the grass and nearly losses it as me and the Jag slip by. I am now 5th. Diving inside the Jag under braking for Aremburg, I take 4th. The BMW is just ahead of him and I drag race the BMW side-by-side through Fuchsrohre and take 3rd by Adeneur Forst. I catch the F6 Typhoon at Wehrseifen and pass under braking for Breidsheid. The Evo has pulled away by 3 seconds but I start to close in. I catch him by Schwalbenschwanz and draft him down the straightaway.
Lap 2 - I ride in 2nd, .5 seconds back of the Evo. I finally sneak by him at Kottenborn and put some distance on him but he catches me again at Karussel. He is unable to pass and I put a little distance on him and lead onto the straight but the Evo catches me at Antoniusbuche. I lead lap 2 and post a time of 8:19.655.
Lap 3 - I have a lead of under 1 second until Metzgesfield where I miss the turn and hit the grass, falling back to 2nd, .5 seconds back. I catch the Evo again by Wehrseifen, but stay behind. I am about .5 seconds behind at Galgenkopf where I run off the track and falll behind, losing my drafting buddy and I fall 5 seconds behind at the start/finish line.
Lap 4 - I know the Evo has a 4 lap pit strategy, and it appears I will have the same strategy. I start to gain as it appears I am better on old tires. I cut into his lead, finally catching him at Karussel. I stay close and pass the Evo at Pflanzgarten III. The Evo catches me again at Antoniusbuche and blows by me. I tuck in behind and follow him onto pit oad.
Lap 5 - I take full fuel load and come out 4th ight behind the Evo, and 12 seconds behind the skyline. Me and the Evo are gaining quickly on the Jag and Skyline. I pass the Evo under braking for Wehrseifen but go into the grass on exit and the Evo goes back by. We catch the Jag at Kleine-Karussell and I trap the Evo behind the Slow moving Jag to take 3rd. The Evo retaliates at Galgenkopf by hitting me and pushing me onto the grass, almost getting me sideways. I hold on to 3rd but the Evo passes me on the straight and slides in between me and the Jag.
Lap 6 - Skyline and Jag pit and I move to 2nd. I pass the Evo on the exit of Flugplatz to retake the lead. This time I pull away but the Evo catches me at Mutkurve. I manage to keep ahaed of him until he catches me at Antoniusbusche, but rams me instead of passing, so I keep the lead.
Lap 7 - I lead by .5-1 second until the Evo catches me at Bergwerk. We go up Kesselchen side-by-side trading paint the whole way. He has the inside line at Mutkurve so I have to let him go. I follow close and try to pass on the outside entering Karussel but can't do it. *REPLAY ENDS* I am 1.5 seconds behind the Evo when I clip the sand at Pflanzgarten I, get sideways and fall back far enough that I can't draft the Evo down the straight.
Lap 8 - I am 6 seconds back now but better on old tires so by Galgenkopf I am on the Evo's bumper. I draft him down the straight and we both pit.
Lap 9 - I take full fuel again so I come out close to my drafting buddy the Evo. I come out 2nd, right on his bumper and .5 sec ahead of the Skyline. Evo swings wide at turn 1 and I nail the gas to pass him but just do a burnout, so I stay in 2nd. Me and Evo go side-by-side through flugplatz and Kottenborn and finally take the lead under braking at Aremburg. I pull away and leave the Evo to fight the Skyline for 2nd. The Skyline passes the Evo and catches me at Galgenkopf and blows by me on the straight. I draft him and try to outbrake at Hohenrain but can't.
Lap 10 - I follow the Skyline and pass on the exit of Flugplatz, and leave the Skyline to fight the Evo who has caught us again. The Skyline is starting to slow on old tires and holds up the Evo, and the Jag who has caught up to the 2nd place battle. I pull out to a 10 second lead, which will be my biggest of the race. The Evo, Jag, and Skyline cut my lead down to 5 sec as the Skyline and Jag pit.
Lap 11 - I lead but the Evo catches me by Dottinger Hohe, and he rams me instead of passing. I hold the lead and post a new best lap of 8:18.303.
Lap 12 - I pull away from the Evo again but he catches me on the straight, he blows by me on the straight and I follow him on pit road.
Lap 13 - I come out 2nd behind the Evo, and stay close. I pass at Kottenborn and pull away. I lead fom there until Teirgarten where he blows by me.
Lap 14 - I outbrake the Evo at Aremburg to retake the lead and pull away slightly but the Evo catches and passes me on the straight.
Lap 15 - I start the lap 3 seconds back and can't seem to close. By Galgenkopf I am still 3 seconds back. I fall 7 seconds back by start/finish line.
Lap 16 - The Evo struggles with old tires and I close the gap to 4 seconds by Dottinger Hohe, but the Evo pulls away by 7 seconds by pit road.
Lap 17 - I come out 2nd, 7 seconds back of the Evo. I gain quickly on the Evo as he struggles on new tires. By Breidsheid, I have caught him and follow. He pulls away going up the hill at Kesselchen but I catch him again under braking for Karussel. He pulls away again but by Galgenkopf I catch him and draft down the straightaway.
Lap 18 - I am on the Evo's back bumper and attempt to pass at turn 1 but he gets a better run off the corner and holds the lead. He cuts in front of me and I cross-over to the other side of the track and dive inside him to pass at turn 2 ( the dogleg after turn 1). I pull away by 4 seconds but he catches me by Tiergarten.
Lap 19 - I pull away again by 4 seconds but he catches me again at Tiergarten. Instead of passing he rams into me, this time he pushes me like he's trying to spin me out. I hold him off and keep the lead.
Lap 20 - I hold a .5-1 second lead thoughout the lap but the Evo passes me on the straight and he leads going into the pits.
Lap 21 - I come out 2nd on the Evo's bumper and follow him, passing on the exit of Flugplatz. I build a 4 second lead by Dottinger Hohe which is erased by my slow straightaway speed.
Lap 22 - I pull away again by 4.5 seconds only to lose advantage again on the straightaway. I set a new best lap of 8:17.989 as we enter the final hour.
Lap 23 - I have a slight lead crossing the start/finish line. The Evo passes me at Flugplatz when I take it kind of slow. We go side-by-side through Kottenborn and I outbrake him at Aremburg to take the lead. I lead until the Evo passes me at Antoniusbusche.
Lap 24 - I follow closely the Evo across the start/finish line. He swings wide at the dogleg left before Hatzenbach and I pass on the inside. I pull out to a lead of 1.5 seconds until the Evo rams me on the straight. He nearly loses control which allows me to lead into the pits.
Lap 25 - I come out .5 seconds ahead of the Evo in 1st. and start to pull away. I have a 6 second gap by Dottinger Hohe, which is cut down to 2 seconds by the start/finish line.
Lap 26 - The Evo is gaining slightly but I manage to stop his gain and open lead to 3 seconds by Galgenkopf only to have him ram me down the straight.
Lap 27 - Just under 20 minutes to go, which tells me this will be a 29 lap race. The Evo seems to be going faster and more agressive. He catches me at Flugplatz and we go side-by-side again through Kottenborn. I have the inside line at Aremburg and I keep the lead. He catches me again at Bergwerk and we drag race side-by-side up though Kesselchen, trading paint all the way to Mutkurve. He has the inside line at Mutkurve and I have to let him go. I follow closely the rest of the lap and draft him down the straightaway.
Lap 28 - I miss the turn at Flugplatz and clip the grass. I am now 2 seconds back of the Evo but I run him back down by Adenaur Forst. I dive inside him under braking at Wehrseifen and retake the lead. I pull away by 2 seconds but he blows by me on the straightaway and leads going into the pits for the last time.
Lap 29 - I switch to Sports Medium tires all the way around for the 1 lap sprint. I leave the pits 1st, .4 seconds ahead of the Evo. I figure I need atleast a 4.5 second lead by Dottinger Hohe in order to beat him back to the finish line. I put a 5 second lead on him by Bergwerk, but he cuts it back down to 3.3 by Karussel. I start to pull away again and open the gap up to 4.7 seconds, which I think may be just enough to beat him back to the line. I just about put my thumb though my Dualshock 2 controller and I push the X button down as hard as I can. I look back to see the silver dot that is the Evo closing fast but I know if I can beat him past Antoniusbusche, I can win. Going through Antoniusbusche I am 1.6 seconds ahead. I take the last few turns cautiously and come across the line to win by 1.199 seconds! 👍
Final order:
1. Ford SVT F-150 Lightning '03 4:06:00.33
2. Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII MR GSR '04 +1.199s
3. Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec II '00 ~+8-10s
4. Jaguar S-Type R '02 ~+10-12s
5. FPV F6 Typhoon '04 ~+25s
6. BMW M Coupe '98 ~+30s
I collect my trophy and notice the other racers are leaving quickly, as they seem stunned and embarrassed that their sports cars got beat by a truck. To add to their embarrassment, I hitch up a trailer to my Lightning and tow away my '67 Chaparral 2D Race Car that I just won, taking it to the loading dock to take it back to America.
Now for some pics:
I look a little out of place in this line-up
Me and the Jaguar put the Skyline back to 6th
Outbraking the Jaguar for 4th
Passing the F6 Typhoon
Intimidating the Evo
Here are some pics of my race long battle with the Evo:
