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This is only the second write-up (I never completed the first one) I've ever done, and it will be documenting my quest through the Pro League GT All Stars. Though this is only the second write-up I've ever done for this forum, I've done several race recaps from exciting races that I have run that I have saved in a massive MS Word file, so this is not new to me. However, none of those recaps have been as in-depth as the ones I'm going to do here. Without further ado...
Professional League GT All Stars
Car Using: Raybrig NSX
Purchases: Turbo Kit Stage 4, Oil Change
Competition: Mazda 787B, Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car, Toyota GT-One Race Car, Toyota Altezza LM Race Car, Mitsubishi FTO LM Race Car.
Before the start of the championship, I was contemplating over whether to give my unraced C5R that I won from the Super Speedway Endurance or once again use my legendary Raybrig NSX for this championship. Ended up choosing the NSX. This car has racked up 6 championships, 53 race wins, and has run nearly 450 laps overall, bringing the total mileage to over 1300 miles. Along with that, it has been raced for over 10 hours, has won over $2 million, and is fresh off a victory in the Professional League All Japan GT Championship. Since I would be using the NSX (which was faster than the 'Vette), I wanted to get the competition as fierce as possible. Therefore, I kept exiting and re-entering the championship until the 787B, R390, and GT-One were all in the lineup.
Race 1 - Laguna Seca Raceway
Dirt was getting spewed up everywhere you looked. When the race began, I accelarated past the Altezza and closed in on the FTO on the outside. As we entered the 1st corner, the FTO began to block my path. I abruptly changed directions and ran dead into the R390, who braked earlier than usual. I maneuvered to the side of him and got on the inside of the 787B in the middle of the corner. I didn't make the pass then but later passed him on the next turn. From here, I began to build a bigger lead until I entered the turn preceding the corkscrew section. I went through this turn wildly and ended up in the outside wall, then flew back across the track. The 787B plunged right into my left rear, slowing him down and allowing the GT-One and R390 to fly by to the right. At the corkscrew, I went to the inside of the R390 as he slammed on the brakes, then passed the GT-One on the inside of the second turn of the corkscrew. I would remain unchallenged for the lead until the next lap. Meanwhile, the GT-One, 787B, and R390 all hopped the curb at the last turn, causing them to lose traction and slide into the dirt. While the R390 and 787B were able to correct themselves w/o wiping out, the GT-One wasn't as fortunate and spun out. As he recovered, the FTO zoomed by while the Altezza ran into him with a full head of stem, quickly speeding him up. On the next lap, I got in the dirt and hit the outside wall at the entrance of the left hander leading to the quick left that I had trouble at last lap. The R390 got by, but I re-passed him at the corkscrew. Later that lap, he overcorrected his slide on the last turn and hit the outside wall head-on. For a second, it seemed like he would be stuck, but he was able to free himself and continue. For the next 5 laps, I built a 18-second lead over the 787B before I pitted. He got by me just as I came out, but I quickly re-passed him at the first corner of Lap 8. From there on, I cruised to the victory and came down the final straight just as my right rear tire began to turn red, winning by over 47 seconds.
1. Raybrig NSX - 18'57.827
2. Mazda 787B - (-47.191)
3. Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car - (???)
4. Toyota GT-One Race Car - (-1 Lap)
5. Mitsubishi FTO LM Race Car - (-1 Lap)
6. Toyota Altezza LM Race Car - (-1 Lap)
Race 2 - Deep Forest Raceway
As a result of all the slipping and sliding I did last race, I decided to up the TCS to level 6 and increase the downforce on the rear from 0.81 to 0.95. This helped a lot, as I jumped out to a quick lead, which steadily lengthened while I put the FTO a lap down on Lap 8. As I was on the back straight overlooking the gorge, my right rear tire became red. I've noticed that on these first 2 races, my tires don't seem to wear evenly. However, I feel that it is not a serious enough problem for me to do 8+ laps of testing to correct. On that tricky, quick uphill left leading to the main straightaway, I lost it and hit the outside wall with my back end. Nonetheless, I got it under control and made my mandatory pit stop, 1 lap later than I would usually. Got back by the FTO on Lap 10. On the last lap, I was going on, cruising towards victory listening to my uncle complain about how sorry his hometown basketball team is when I saw a flash of orange. Could it be? Could I actually have a chance at lapping the 787B? Seeing this, I became focused and overlapped him going into the 2nd tunnel. At the last turn, I became a little too anxious and smacked the outside wall. I lost control, but the 787B wasn't close enough to me to re-pass me.
1. Raybrig NSX - 16'57.698
2. Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car - 17'45.964 (- 48.266)
3. Toyota GT-One Race Car - 18'16.219 (- 1'18.521)
4. Mazda 787B - (- 1 lap)
5. Mitsubishi FTO LM Race Car - (- 1 Lap)
6. Toyota Altezza LM Race Car - (-1 Lap)
Race 3 - Midfield Raceway II
Left the setup the way it was for this race. I had just gotten by the GT-One to move up to 3rd as we entered the right hand sweeper preceding the second tunnel when the 787B, R390, and GT-One all slid and got sideways in the dirt, easily allowing me to go by on the inside. The race was pretty much over from here. As those 3 did battle, I opened up my lead to 4 seconds by the end of the first lap. At the end of Lap 7, I nearly collided into the pit entrance wall after vacillating whether or not to pit that lap or the next. Luckily, I made up my mind and decided not to pit, preventing that misfortune. For the second race in a row, I lapped the 787B.
1. Raybrig NSX - 16'29.546
2. Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car - (- 49.688)
3. Toyota GT-One Race Car - (- 1'11.222)
4. Mazda 787B - (- 1 lap)
5. Mitsubishi FTO LM Race Car - (- 1 lap)
6. Toyota Altezza LM Race Car - (- 1 lap)
So at the end of the first 3 races, the points standings looks like this:
1. Raybrig NSX - 30 pts
2. Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car - 18 pts
3. Mazda 787B - 12 pts
4. Toyota GT-One Race Car - 11 pts
5. Mitsubishi FTO LM Race Car - 6 pts
6. Toyota Altezza LM Race Car - 3 pts
Progress Review/Upcoming Races Preview: Well, not much to say here. I've won the first 3 races w/ ease, and the R390 looks to be distancing itself from the GT-One and 787B. It would seem that the 787B and R390 should have their positions switched. The Test Course is next up in the series, and judging from the last championship I did, the oil light should come on sometime during Race 5. I'll no doubt have to change the gear settings as well as lower the downforce settings to hang with the "Big 3." As of now, I'm expecting the GT-One to be the fastest of the 3. After that race, I'm expecting the competition to heat up as I will start to lose oil and the CPU will begin to get faster.
To save post length, I'll post the rest of the series 3-4 races at a time.
Professional League GT All Stars
Car Using: Raybrig NSX
Purchases: Turbo Kit Stage 4, Oil Change
Competition: Mazda 787B, Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car, Toyota GT-One Race Car, Toyota Altezza LM Race Car, Mitsubishi FTO LM Race Car.
Before the start of the championship, I was contemplating over whether to give my unraced C5R that I won from the Super Speedway Endurance or once again use my legendary Raybrig NSX for this championship. Ended up choosing the NSX. This car has racked up 6 championships, 53 race wins, and has run nearly 450 laps overall, bringing the total mileage to over 1300 miles. Along with that, it has been raced for over 10 hours, has won over $2 million, and is fresh off a victory in the Professional League All Japan GT Championship. Since I would be using the NSX (which was faster than the 'Vette), I wanted to get the competition as fierce as possible. Therefore, I kept exiting and re-entering the championship until the 787B, R390, and GT-One were all in the lineup.
Race 1 - Laguna Seca Raceway
Dirt was getting spewed up everywhere you looked. When the race began, I accelarated past the Altezza and closed in on the FTO on the outside. As we entered the 1st corner, the FTO began to block my path. I abruptly changed directions and ran dead into the R390, who braked earlier than usual. I maneuvered to the side of him and got on the inside of the 787B in the middle of the corner. I didn't make the pass then but later passed him on the next turn. From here, I began to build a bigger lead until I entered the turn preceding the corkscrew section. I went through this turn wildly and ended up in the outside wall, then flew back across the track. The 787B plunged right into my left rear, slowing him down and allowing the GT-One and R390 to fly by to the right. At the corkscrew, I went to the inside of the R390 as he slammed on the brakes, then passed the GT-One on the inside of the second turn of the corkscrew. I would remain unchallenged for the lead until the next lap. Meanwhile, the GT-One, 787B, and R390 all hopped the curb at the last turn, causing them to lose traction and slide into the dirt. While the R390 and 787B were able to correct themselves w/o wiping out, the GT-One wasn't as fortunate and spun out. As he recovered, the FTO zoomed by while the Altezza ran into him with a full head of stem, quickly speeding him up. On the next lap, I got in the dirt and hit the outside wall at the entrance of the left hander leading to the quick left that I had trouble at last lap. The R390 got by, but I re-passed him at the corkscrew. Later that lap, he overcorrected his slide on the last turn and hit the outside wall head-on. For a second, it seemed like he would be stuck, but he was able to free himself and continue. For the next 5 laps, I built a 18-second lead over the 787B before I pitted. He got by me just as I came out, but I quickly re-passed him at the first corner of Lap 8. From there on, I cruised to the victory and came down the final straight just as my right rear tire began to turn red, winning by over 47 seconds.
1. Raybrig NSX - 18'57.827
2. Mazda 787B - (-47.191)
3. Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car - (???)
4. Toyota GT-One Race Car - (-1 Lap)
5. Mitsubishi FTO LM Race Car - (-1 Lap)
6. Toyota Altezza LM Race Car - (-1 Lap)
Race 2 - Deep Forest Raceway
As a result of all the slipping and sliding I did last race, I decided to up the TCS to level 6 and increase the downforce on the rear from 0.81 to 0.95. This helped a lot, as I jumped out to a quick lead, which steadily lengthened while I put the FTO a lap down on Lap 8. As I was on the back straight overlooking the gorge, my right rear tire became red. I've noticed that on these first 2 races, my tires don't seem to wear evenly. However, I feel that it is not a serious enough problem for me to do 8+ laps of testing to correct. On that tricky, quick uphill left leading to the main straightaway, I lost it and hit the outside wall with my back end. Nonetheless, I got it under control and made my mandatory pit stop, 1 lap later than I would usually. Got back by the FTO on Lap 10. On the last lap, I was going on, cruising towards victory listening to my uncle complain about how sorry his hometown basketball team is when I saw a flash of orange. Could it be? Could I actually have a chance at lapping the 787B? Seeing this, I became focused and overlapped him going into the 2nd tunnel. At the last turn, I became a little too anxious and smacked the outside wall. I lost control, but the 787B wasn't close enough to me to re-pass me.
1. Raybrig NSX - 16'57.698
2. Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car - 17'45.964 (- 48.266)
3. Toyota GT-One Race Car - 18'16.219 (- 1'18.521)
4. Mazda 787B - (- 1 lap)
5. Mitsubishi FTO LM Race Car - (- 1 Lap)
6. Toyota Altezza LM Race Car - (-1 Lap)
Race 3 - Midfield Raceway II
Left the setup the way it was for this race. I had just gotten by the GT-One to move up to 3rd as we entered the right hand sweeper preceding the second tunnel when the 787B, R390, and GT-One all slid and got sideways in the dirt, easily allowing me to go by on the inside. The race was pretty much over from here. As those 3 did battle, I opened up my lead to 4 seconds by the end of the first lap. At the end of Lap 7, I nearly collided into the pit entrance wall after vacillating whether or not to pit that lap or the next. Luckily, I made up my mind and decided not to pit, preventing that misfortune. For the second race in a row, I lapped the 787B.
1. Raybrig NSX - 16'29.546
2. Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car - (- 49.688)
3. Toyota GT-One Race Car - (- 1'11.222)
4. Mazda 787B - (- 1 lap)
5. Mitsubishi FTO LM Race Car - (- 1 lap)
6. Toyota Altezza LM Race Car - (- 1 lap)
So at the end of the first 3 races, the points standings looks like this:
1. Raybrig NSX - 30 pts
2. Nissan R390 GT1 Race Car - 18 pts
3. Mazda 787B - 12 pts
4. Toyota GT-One Race Car - 11 pts
5. Mitsubishi FTO LM Race Car - 6 pts
6. Toyota Altezza LM Race Car - 3 pts
Progress Review/Upcoming Races Preview: Well, not much to say here. I've won the first 3 races w/ ease, and the R390 looks to be distancing itself from the GT-One and 787B. It would seem that the 787B and R390 should have their positions switched. The Test Course is next up in the series, and judging from the last championship I did, the oil light should come on sometime during Race 5. I'll no doubt have to change the gear settings as well as lower the downforce settings to hang with the "Big 3." As of now, I'm expecting the GT-One to be the fastest of the 3. After that race, I'm expecting the competition to heat up as I will start to lose oil and the CPU will begin to get faster.
To save post length, I'll post the rest of the series 3-4 races at a time.
