Not enough "fast" races?

[Fink Floyd]

Now, this may be just me, but I was wondering if anyone else feels this way about the races in GT3 (and the GT series in general).

I don't think there are enough 'fast' races. By that, I don't mean Professional League races, or anything like that, I mean races which have proper racing cars in them. The reason I like the GT series is because it has tons of really cool cars like LMP racers, Group C cars, DTM racers, JGTC cars and those fictitious 'LM editions' (which I really like, even when the game gives me a thrice-accursed hot-pink RX-7 LM rather than the way-cool green or grey ones). Those are the cars which I'd want to drive all the time - yet I am obliged to spend an inordinate amount of time, if I want to progress in the game, racing stock NSXs, MX-5s, even Yarises fer Chrissakes. This is fine at the beginning of the game, but it's a wee bit annoying, for me, that the proportion of 'cool cars' and races involving them are so limited. I'd love for the Trial Mountain endurance to be a slugfest between my 787B, an R390, a Panoz, a GT-One, another 787B and a Viper, but no - if I want a long race on Trial Mountain I must use a stock Supra or some such (well, I don't *have* to, but it'd be a little silly, and unfair, to use a C5R or an R390 against vanilla opposition)

This means I'm left with, I think, 2 endurance races with top-line opposition, and perhaps another two with JGTC cars as the baddies. I would dearly love to race Group C opposition at Seattle, but I can't. I'm left with the GT World Championship, Dream Car Championship, GT Allstars and the JGTC to get my fix. Does anyone else feel mildly annoyed at this?

Also, does GT4 have more races with this sort of thing? I know there's a wide (and inordinately dribblesome) selection of Group C cars in there (my personal Holy Grail - F1 cars can go hang if it means I get to drive the Jag XJR9, Chaparral 2J fancar, Mercedes CLK-LM and Peugeot 905) but do you get a chance to race 'em properly, outside of the 24 Hour La Sarthe race?

 

[Smallhorses]

No, not really.
Once you learn to drive a race car quickly, the AI is generally so bad that even in the same car as you, it won't keep up over 5 or 10 laps, nevermind a whole endurance. Take the Cote D'azur race in Formula GT series. Once you learn to drive the F094/S well, its totally possible to lap even the other F094/S and the race isn't too exciting.

On the other hand forcing you to enter something stock makes a competetive race where perfect lap after perfect lap is required just to stay in touch with the leader.
Sure, there's plenty of "stock" cars you can enter TM 2hr in & blow away the AI, Dodge Viper, Nissan R390 Road Car, Aston Martin Vanquish all spring to mind.
But what do you achieve? It still takes 2 hrs, but you drive 2hrs all alone in a contest that was over by the end of the 1st lap.

On the other hand, taking on the AI NSX at TM 2hr in a stock S2000 Type-V and winning by a mere 2.3s is one of the best and biggest adrenaline rushes I've ever had! Walking a tightrope the whole way! Even the near misses were fun, losing out by just 2s in a Toyota Celica GT-Four, thanks to a last lap incident with a backmarker still left me with a grin like this because the race itself was fun.

You'll get the 787s, R390s and GT-Ones at Laguna, but try the race in one of those machines yourself, and again it's over as a contest by the 1st pitstop.
Try that race in the RX-7 LM or Gillet Vertigo in standard form, and again you'll be chewing your nails (or would be if you didn't have to keep your hands on the controller! ) right down to the wire!

The PD cup is another prime example of good racing, often hailed as the best series in GT3. Again, take an S2000 or 300ZX 2by2 into the mix and have a blast!
Something that PD has ruined by all accounts in GT4.