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After reading through the ' How can I beat GT Championship?' (helpfully linked from the FAQ thread), I decided it was high time I went and had another go at it myself.
After some miserable attempts with my fully loaded Ford Mustang SVT Cobra '00 (both with NA3 & supercharged) as well as my out of control TVR Speed 12 & Ford GT, I took the advice of some of the other folks and took the MINOLTA Toyota 88C-V Race Car '89 that I won from the El Capitan 200 mile Endurance.
I know this won't be garnering me much respect from the 200 Club, but this free car will "Get 'er done". So if you are like me & are stumped thus far on this monster event, and are baffled by the headier aspects of fine tuning, and simply want to see some more trophies, and see what the big boys are up to in the Extreme events Hall... or if you just want to read stuff, um... here.
Sorry I've forgotten to get the stats, Something like 917 hp stock, or 1160 hp with turbo, no idea what weight, but given tire issues, I'd guess a bit heavier than others of its class. Or at least heavier than the GT-ONE.
I did buy some R2 tires for it, and the Stage 4 turbo, but I'm thinking I could have just skipped the turbo for the most part, and just used the tires. (Actually, R1's would have done me better I think) Absolutely no tampering with downforce or camber or ride height and all that. Just changed tires and ran it as-is (tyres to all you Brits
).
I really think I got lucky with the lineup though, given what I've read in other threads concerning this event:
1. BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97
2. Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '99
3. Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04
4. Chaparral 2D Race Car '67
5. Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01
And so, now the Races:
1. Tokyo R245 - R2/R2 Only, no pits
As it turns out The Toyota GT-ONE seems to be the only real competitor for this series, staying 2-3 seconds behind me for most of the race until around lap 7 when it finally started losing some ground. I'm guessing either its tires got hot or I was running better laps. Finished about 8 seconds ahead of the GT-ONE, and lapped the Vertigo, Chaparral & Camaro.
2. Motegi Super Speedway - R2/R2, Stage 4 Turbo, No Pits
Okay, I couldn't help myself, I had to add the Turbo & open up for this one. But judging from the way it went, I probably have done wthout it. Lapped everyone 2x except for the GT-One (whom I only lapped once), but he was on the horizon at the finish line. Tires were getting very hot though and I was starting to get excessive slippage on the turns. One more lap and i definitely would have had to pit in.
3. Hong Kong - R3 front/R2 rear
Have had bad luck on the turns in this course in the past, so took the turbo back off. Had no intention of attempting a 150 degree turn @ 230 mph. Since the front tires tend to outlast the rear, I went ahead and put the R3's back on the front to maybe help with decelerating & cornering. Handling felt a bit strange at first as the tires warmed, but it was controllable. Some Practice laps for pole position, & I was as ready as I was gonna get.
Despite the GT-One only being 15 seconds behind me, I felt the need for a pit near the end of lap 10. Rears weren't danger zone yet, but they were clearly very orange, and the GT-One behind me combined with past track history was making me nervous.Thankfully he pitted in on the following lap, allowing me to regain first with slightly warmer tires. Wrapped up the race 23.8 seconds in the lead.
4. Seoul Central Reverse - R3/R2
Tire setup seemed to work well in Hong Kong, so stuck with it here as well. More practice laps for the ever-desireable pole-position and I was off. Whole race ran pretty smooth. Even had time for a pit on lap 16, and was still in the lead by 2 seconds when I rejoined the race. The GT-One never pitted.
5. El Capitan - R3/R2
Still keeping with the softer front tire setup, lots of curves & elevation changes here. Practice runs for Pole Position. Not that I felt I needed the practice, still have my 66 lap endurance fresh in my head. Unfortunately, the GT-One thought otherwise. I wasn't paying close enough attention to my tires, and lost control near the end of lap 8, and my closely trailing nemesis took full advantage. I had to pit in while he gained nearly 30 seconds on me. But I almost managed to catch him in the end, Took 2nd place 2.77 seconds behind him. Phooey, there's one Silver i'll need to make up before I can check out the Extreme events Hall.
6. New York - R3/R3, Stage 4 turbo
Okay, now I'm mad, going to go for an earlier pit with the softer rears, & put the turbo back in to kill that jerk in the long straights. I only hope I can keep it together in the turns. Lots of practice Laps here. As it turns out, switching to R3 rears was almost a mistake. I was hoping they would last til at least lap 8 or 9. They didn't. I was forced to pit in on lap 7 with the GT-One blowing by me on my exit. I was able to catch him easily in the hairpin, but I was wondering how I was going to manage the remainder of the race, thinking I may not afford another pit. Luckily the GT-One pitted very late (on 13 or 14), giving me almost a full minute on lap 14 for 1 last much needed set of tires. I won, but the tire choice was too much of a gamble. So switching back to R2's & no turbo for the next race.
7. Opera Paris Reverse - R2/R2
AAaargh! I do not like this course! Thy have no business puting this course in here with these cars! Ah well. I blew this one completely. I think I should have stayed with my R3/R2 setup, but hindsight blah blah blah...I could not get any distance at all on either the GT-One or the Vertigo, and panic made me pit a lap too late. Then fell back to fourth Place, so I sarted to stress & ping-ponged my way through every wall & turn, and could only recover to third place 21 seconds behind the lead for the bronze.
Did you know its not even real bronze? It's just some cheapo brass colored plastic piece of junk you can only find in any five and dime store. I could even see where the 'Worlds best Dad' had been filed off. I chucked it out the window on my way to Suzuka.
8. Suzuka Circuit - R3/R2, Stage 4 Turbo
If there is one piece of advice I can give concerning this track, it is this: Slow and steady wins the race.The Minolta I believe was sand-box deprived as a child, and will attempt to make up for it by going into the sand traps at every opportunity. With 9 laps & sand at every turn, there are plenty of opportunities. But don't let me scare you, the Minolta is capable, just be very mindful of your speed on the turns, as the slight elevation changes tend to drastically effect its cornering capabilities. If you have to crawl, then crawl - just stay out of the sand.
Personally this race was one of the best for me in a nail-biting sense. It was a constant battle for 1sttrading places often with the GT-One. Of course I admit to instigating a few fights trying to push him into the sand, but that never really worked well for me. Usually we would both end up in the sand and I would be no better off, or I would misjudge my hit on him, and he would shoot past while I ate sand. Remarkably, I won this after he lost control all by himself without any help from me on the last lap.
9. Grand Valley Speedway Reverse - R3/R2, Stage 4 turbo
Anoher tough one, but with much less contact (unless you count me smacking the walls in the tunnel before the bridge). I didn't do any practice laps here, in hopes that the rest of the pack would hold back the other Toyota. They didn't. They instead gave him soothing words of encouragement and sent him speeding along after me. And as usual, he kept right up with me looking for every opportunity to steal my thunder.
I crossed my fingers & pitted in on lap 6, quickly dropping to 4th place. I kept my lines as smooth as possible, and caught the 3rd & 2nd place cars without any trouble.
Now I only needed to make up a 38 second deficit for the lead. It was looking bleak. Finally the GT-One pitted in on I thnk lap 9, and I was able to overtake him on the tight walled S-curve. His still cold tires ensured me a good lead, finishing 7 seconds over him.
10. Circe de Sarthe I - R3/R2, Stage 4 turbo - no pits
Really this race was probably the most uneventful of them all (with the exception maybe of Seoul). No bumping, no hitting walls or going offroad (well maybe a little offroad). The most surprising thing that happened here was my finish - a whopping 00'00.373 in the lead. I had no idea he had gotten that close!
Final Standings:
After some miserable attempts with my fully loaded Ford Mustang SVT Cobra '00 (both with NA3 & supercharged) as well as my out of control TVR Speed 12 & Ford GT, I took the advice of some of the other folks and took the MINOLTA Toyota 88C-V Race Car '89 that I won from the El Capitan 200 mile Endurance.
I know this won't be garnering me much respect from the 200 Club, but this free car will "Get 'er done". So if you are like me & are stumped thus far on this monster event, and are baffled by the headier aspects of fine tuning, and simply want to see some more trophies, and see what the big boys are up to in the Extreme events Hall... or if you just want to read stuff, um... here.
Sorry I've forgotten to get the stats, Something like 917 hp stock, or 1160 hp with turbo, no idea what weight, but given tire issues, I'd guess a bit heavier than others of its class. Or at least heavier than the GT-ONE.
I did buy some R2 tires for it, and the Stage 4 turbo, but I'm thinking I could have just skipped the turbo for the most part, and just used the tires. (Actually, R1's would have done me better I think) Absolutely no tampering with downforce or camber or ride height and all that. Just changed tires and ran it as-is (tyres to all you Brits
).I really think I got lucky with the lineup though, given what I've read in other threads concerning this event:
1. BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97
2. Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '99
3. Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04
4. Chaparral 2D Race Car '67
5. Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01
And so, now the Races:
1. Tokyo R245 - R2/R2 Only, no pits
As it turns out The Toyota GT-ONE seems to be the only real competitor for this series, staying 2-3 seconds behind me for most of the race until around lap 7 when it finally started losing some ground. I'm guessing either its tires got hot or I was running better laps. Finished about 8 seconds ahead of the GT-ONE, and lapped the Vertigo, Chaparral & Camaro.
2. Motegi Super Speedway - R2/R2, Stage 4 Turbo, No Pits
Okay, I couldn't help myself, I had to add the Turbo & open up for this one. But judging from the way it went, I probably have done wthout it. Lapped everyone 2x except for the GT-One (whom I only lapped once), but he was on the horizon at the finish line. Tires were getting very hot though and I was starting to get excessive slippage on the turns. One more lap and i definitely would have had to pit in.
3. Hong Kong - R3 front/R2 rear
Have had bad luck on the turns in this course in the past, so took the turbo back off. Had no intention of attempting a 150 degree turn @ 230 mph. Since the front tires tend to outlast the rear, I went ahead and put the R3's back on the front to maybe help with decelerating & cornering. Handling felt a bit strange at first as the tires warmed, but it was controllable. Some Practice laps for pole position, & I was as ready as I was gonna get.
Despite the GT-One only being 15 seconds behind me, I felt the need for a pit near the end of lap 10. Rears weren't danger zone yet, but they were clearly very orange, and the GT-One behind me combined with past track history was making me nervous.Thankfully he pitted in on the following lap, allowing me to regain first with slightly warmer tires. Wrapped up the race 23.8 seconds in the lead.
4. Seoul Central Reverse - R3/R2
Tire setup seemed to work well in Hong Kong, so stuck with it here as well. More practice laps for the ever-desireable pole-position and I was off. Whole race ran pretty smooth. Even had time for a pit on lap 16, and was still in the lead by 2 seconds when I rejoined the race. The GT-One never pitted.
5. El Capitan - R3/R2
Still keeping with the softer front tire setup, lots of curves & elevation changes here. Practice runs for Pole Position. Not that I felt I needed the practice, still have my 66 lap endurance fresh in my head. Unfortunately, the GT-One thought otherwise. I wasn't paying close enough attention to my tires, and lost control near the end of lap 8, and my closely trailing nemesis took full advantage. I had to pit in while he gained nearly 30 seconds on me. But I almost managed to catch him in the end, Took 2nd place 2.77 seconds behind him. Phooey, there's one Silver i'll need to make up before I can check out the Extreme events Hall.
6. New York - R3/R3, Stage 4 turbo
Okay, now I'm mad, going to go for an earlier pit with the softer rears, & put the turbo back in to kill that jerk in the long straights. I only hope I can keep it together in the turns. Lots of practice Laps here. As it turns out, switching to R3 rears was almost a mistake. I was hoping they would last til at least lap 8 or 9. They didn't. I was forced to pit in on lap 7 with the GT-One blowing by me on my exit. I was able to catch him easily in the hairpin, but I was wondering how I was going to manage the remainder of the race, thinking I may not afford another pit. Luckily the GT-One pitted very late (on 13 or 14), giving me almost a full minute on lap 14 for 1 last much needed set of tires. I won, but the tire choice was too much of a gamble. So switching back to R2's & no turbo for the next race.
7. Opera Paris Reverse - R2/R2
AAaargh! I do not like this course! Thy have no business puting this course in here with these cars! Ah well. I blew this one completely. I think I should have stayed with my R3/R2 setup, but hindsight blah blah blah...I could not get any distance at all on either the GT-One or the Vertigo, and panic made me pit a lap too late. Then fell back to fourth Place, so I sarted to stress & ping-ponged my way through every wall & turn, and could only recover to third place 21 seconds behind the lead for the bronze.
Did you know its not even real bronze? It's just some cheapo brass colored plastic piece of junk you can only find in any five and dime store. I could even see where the 'Worlds best Dad' had been filed off. I chucked it out the window on my way to Suzuka.
8. Suzuka Circuit - R3/R2, Stage 4 Turbo
If there is one piece of advice I can give concerning this track, it is this: Slow and steady wins the race.The Minolta I believe was sand-box deprived as a child, and will attempt to make up for it by going into the sand traps at every opportunity. With 9 laps & sand at every turn, there are plenty of opportunities. But don't let me scare you, the Minolta is capable, just be very mindful of your speed on the turns, as the slight elevation changes tend to drastically effect its cornering capabilities. If you have to crawl, then crawl - just stay out of the sand.
Personally this race was one of the best for me in a nail-biting sense. It was a constant battle for 1sttrading places often with the GT-One. Of course I admit to instigating a few fights trying to push him into the sand, but that never really worked well for me. Usually we would both end up in the sand and I would be no better off, or I would misjudge my hit on him, and he would shoot past while I ate sand. Remarkably, I won this after he lost control all by himself without any help from me on the last lap.
9. Grand Valley Speedway Reverse - R3/R2, Stage 4 turbo
Anoher tough one, but with much less contact (unless you count me smacking the walls in the tunnel before the bridge). I didn't do any practice laps here, in hopes that the rest of the pack would hold back the other Toyota. They didn't. They instead gave him soothing words of encouragement and sent him speeding along after me. And as usual, he kept right up with me looking for every opportunity to steal my thunder.
I crossed my fingers & pitted in on lap 6, quickly dropping to 4th place. I kept my lines as smooth as possible, and caught the 3rd & 2nd place cars without any trouble.
Now I only needed to make up a 38 second deficit for the lead. It was looking bleak. Finally the GT-One pitted in on I thnk lap 9, and I was able to overtake him on the tight walled S-curve. His still cold tires ensured me a good lead, finishing 7 seconds over him.
10. Circe de Sarthe I - R3/R2, Stage 4 turbo - no pits
Really this race was probably the most uneventful of them all (with the exception maybe of Seoul). No bumping, no hitting walls or going offroad (well maybe a little offroad). The most surprising thing that happened here was my finish - a whopping 00'00.373 in the lead. I had no idea he had gotten that close!
Final Standings:
- MINOLTA Toyota 88C-V Race Car '89 - 90 points
- Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) '99 - 68 points
- BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car '97 - 36 points
- Gillet Vertigo Race Car '04 - 34 points
- Chevrolet Camaro LM Race Car '01 - 16 points
- Chaparral 2D Race Car '67 - 16 points
.
)
I'm looking forward to seeing another Race report from you 
