Real circuit tours

[Parnelli Bone]

This is a bunch of races at the EXTREME level. Just wanted to know what y'all used to complete these. General impressions of these events, etc.

I'm switching between a Chaparral 2J and my trusty Oreca Dodge Viper. The Chaparral is great because it can tackle any course on R3s and still have plenty of tire life left at the end. But it's also very tricky to drive. Bad brakes, extemely twitchy at high speeds, etc. If I can manage to actually drive the 2J without any off-track disasters, it becomes a bit of an overkill machine. But the truth is this car is its own worst enemy at certain tracks!

The Viper, on the other hand, is my dawg. I've been driving Vipers since GT1, so I'm well-used to the way it handles and what I can do to trick it around corners and stuff. But it eats tires. I used R3s at Suzuka and they were deep orange by the end of the race. Managed to finally win, but only because the 2nd-place Minolta Toyota had to take a pitstop. It was a close finish, tho...something like .160.

 

[Sandy106]

I used the Pescarolo 04 to beat that event. Oreca viper is my favorite car in GT4, but it will probably get creamed in the RCT events.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

I used the Pescarolo 04 to beat that event. Oreca viper is my favorite car in GT4, but it will probably get creamed in the RCT events.

REally? Lol. How come I've won at Suzuka, Twin Ring, and Tsukuba while driving the Oreca Viper? Granted, I had to keep the fastest Group C cars off the grid at Twin Ring and Tsukuba to do it, but racing against the lesser 700 hp cars (Mazda 787B, Audi R8, Peskyrolo, etc) is no picnic either.

 

[DK]

I did the Real Circuit Tours with a Audi R8 Race Car. Piece of cake.

 

[mynameissport]

Real Circuit Tours can be a little hard but is not that hard if you have practised with high powered race cars and up against certain lineups.

The biggest challenge is that the AI are running on Racing Softs aka R4 tyres meaning they are fast at the beginning to around mid race but have to pit for a fresh set of tyres to make it to the end of the race.

This means you can run depending on the car you pick a lower grade tyre to keep up with AI. Also depending on your lineups with the car you use and front tyre used, you can 200 A-Spec points just for bragging rights!

I used the Mazda 787B Race Car '91 Black version with no oil and used R2's all round or R2 Hard front and R1 Super Hard rear depending on the circuit and used different settings for each one. The lineup I faced was the Toyota Minolta 88C-V, Sauber Mercedes C9, Audi R8, Mazda 787B and Nissan R92CP. Racing this lineup made me improve my use with LMP/Group C cars and gave me 200 A-Spec points for the whole 8 races. At the start you have to be on your guard and have good pace to keep up with them. I usually challenge myself to try to get to the front cleanly where possible (if AI bang the rear/pit move me then fair do's) before they all go into the pits.

But with them running R4 Racing Soft tyres you ended up some funny results such as them trying to get back to the pits with very worn tyres. Such as in Le Mans/Circuit De La Sarthe 1 the 88C-V, C9 and R92CP all struggled to get back into the pits towards the end of the second lap spinning off and crashing off the track. Also at the Nurburgring the Audi R8 and Mazda 787B struggled to make it to the finish on the last lap with very worn tyres and sometime spinning out for trying too hard.

 

[Giygas]

I used a Bentley Speed 8 with R2 tires all around. It was pretty hard, but i did finish all the races.

 

[GTsail]

Parnelli -
I have run all of these Extreme races quite a number of times, and found that most of the top end race cars can win at these tracks as long as you can correctly manage the tire wear.

For my 200 point wins I used the following:

City courses: Chaparral 2J
Road courses: Black Mazda 787B
La Sarthe: AMG Mercedes CLK-GTR Race Car
Nurburgring: Nissan Motul Pitwork Z

I have also used the Audi R8 and the two Pescarolo's at most of these race tracks for wins, but they were not in 200 point tune.

In the Real Circuit Tours I considered Tsukuba and Motegi Road to be "City" Courses, so I used the Chaparral 2J

Good luck,
GTsail

 

[sukerkin]

Here are my race diary notes for this event. Hopefully they'll be of some utility and not too dull . As can be told from some of my comments, this was relatively early in my GT4 experience -

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EXTREME HALL
REAL CIRCUIT TOURS

Any Tyre Type
Permitted Cars: Any
International A Licence Required

Prize Money: 15,000 cr/Race
Prize Car: Nissan Gran Turismo Skyline GT-R (Pace Car) ’01 (31,874cr)

1) Suzuka (6 laps) GRID
2) Twin Ring Motegi – Road Course (8 laps) ROLLING
3) Tsukuba (15 laps) ROLLING
4) Laguna Seca (10 laps) ROLLING
5) Infineon Sports Car Course (9 laps) ROLLING
6) Fuji Speedway 2005 GT (8 laps) GRID
7) Circuit de la Sarthe I (3 laps) ROLLING
8) Nurburgring (2 laps) ROLLING

Try this in an Audi R8 with Stage 4 Turbo and R1 Tyres. I’m hoping that it’s far too much car and I can throttle back somewhat.


Race 1

Opposition: R89C, CLK-GTR, RX-7LM, Pescarolo C60, R92CP

A-Spec Points: 5 MOV:

I can’t keep the car on the track. Take the Stage 4 Turbo off. 67 A-Spec. Still can’t do it. Try again. Can’t beat the Pescarolo. Also, can use softer tyres and do this I’m sure. Try R2’s.

Opposition: R89C, Sauber Mercedes C9, Zonda LM, Speed 8, BMW McLaren F1 GTR

A-Spec: 40

Still can’t handle it. B-Spec it. VBH can’t do it either. Did better than me though’ – at least she finished a race. Put the turbo back on? Or F1 B-Spec and ignore it? Do the latter. Might come back and do these myself later but probably not (not until shamed into it by the chaps at GTBN anyhow )..


Returned eventually and tried in a McLaren F1 GTR. Got offered 200 A-Spec with the first grid at Suzuka of:

Nissan R89C Race Car ’89, AMG Mercedes CLK-GTR Race Car ’98, Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car ’01, Playstation Pescarolo C60 Race Car ’04, Nissan R92CP Race Car ‘92

I could only take second place as the Pescarolo did not pit and my driving was not up to scratch (too many low HP Road Tyre races and not enough action at this level of power). Tried three more times, a couple of abandoned races dues to unexplained spin outs and then took the win after a huge coming together with the Pescarolo on turn 1 of the last lap (he rammed into me at full tilt and we both went off to play in the sand). Nonetheless, a 200 A-Spec win that I’m proud of despite the physicality – kudos to the CLK too as I think he held the Pescarolo up for me until he pitted.

Despite the fact that I put R4’s on the front end of the McLaren I still got 200 A-Spec, which shows that I’m at something of a HP deficit here – still plenty enough horses for me though’ . However, the large front end grip caused lots of snap oversteer – I shall have to tend to that.

Try the Increased Rigidity option and see if that helps as I move on to Motegi.

The set-up I had been running was (at 511HP):

Brakes: 5/3
Springs: 10.8/10.8
Ride: 85/85
Damper B: 6/4
Damper R: 9/6
Camber: 2.0/1.0
Toe: 0/0
Stabiliser: 5/5
Gears: AutoSet 14 at 3.100
Downforce: 38/53
LSD: 9/27/27
Ballast 1 @ -16

Take off the Ballast alteration as that’s an oversteer increaser, put the tyres to R3/R3 and put the Dampers to 6/7 fore and aft.

Try her versus grid of:

Nissan R89C Race Car ’89, Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car ’89, Pagani Zonda LM Race Car ’01, Bentley Speed 8 Race Car ’03, BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car ‘97

A-Spec = 200 but couldn’t beat the R89C or the C9. Everything else was way back but those two took me on the last lap, despite their having pitted, as my tyres went off. Switched to an R3/R2 tyre stagger and fettled the suspension a little. Took a very narrow victory with the C9 on my rear bumper as I went over the line – my time 13’38.025 versus his time of 13’38.147. He was three seconds back at the start of the last lap and right on me by the time we braked for the turn at the end of the main straight . The main thing is that the tyre stagger evened out wear a lot without causing catastrophic handling issues. Need an oil change too as my horsepower is dropping.

Off to Tsukuba.

Grid: Audi R8 Race Car ’01, Nissan R92CP Race Car ’92, Ford GT LM Race Car ’02, Nissan GR-R Concept LM Race Cat ’02, Nissan R89C Race Car ’89

Don’t fancy my chances much but we’ll give it a go. Surprisingly, on my second try, I took the chequered flag with a 12’40.342 (over 3 and a half second MoV). Everyone pitted and I took the lead whilst the Audi was in the pits – the R92CP came second. Noted that the oil change had boosted my HP quite a bit (641HP).

Did the Nurburgring next. 200 A-Spec versus grid of:

Mazda 787B Race Car ’91, Nissan R89C Race Car ’89, Audi R8 Race Car ’01, Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (Ts020) ’99, Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car ’89

I put the tyres to R2/R2 as mismatched sets do not tend to do very well at the ‘Ring. Softened the Dampers down (4/3 Bound, 6/5 Rebound) and the stabilisers (3/3)to try and minimise the surface problems the track presents. Didn’t work entirely but was okay.

The Sauber and the R89C pitted at the end of lap one which, counter-logically meant that they were the main threats as they didn’t start spinning out all over the place like the rest of the field. MoV was quite comfortable at about fifteen to twenty seconds.

Now try La Sarthe, retaining the softened suspension I did for the ‘Ring. The grid has a Pescarolo in it and he doesn’t pit, taking the win by 25 seconds. I came second with the Mercedes CLK-GTR behind me, trailed by the R92CP, the R89C and the Mazda RX-7 LM Race car. I’ll try lengthening the gearbox a bit more to AutoSet 17 and fitting R3 rather than R2 tyres. Do another oil change too.

Brakes: 6/3
Springs: 10.8/11.8
Ride: 85/85
Damper B: 4/3
Damper R: 6/5
Camber: 2.0/1.0
Toe: 0/0
Stabiliser: 3/3
Gears: AutoSet 17 at 3.100
Downforce: 35/53
LSD: 9/27/27
Ballast 0 @ 0


No matter how I try I can’t beat the Pescarolo as even if I get in front of him and try to block he just slams into me as I brake for a corner and off I fly like I’ve been hit by a wrecking ball - ridiculous.

Try another grid. Major problem here is that the Bentley Speed 8 now takes over punting duties :grr:. On the third attempt I manage to avoid his attentions and take the win after they all pit at the end of lap 2. Finishing order:

My McLaren, Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car ’89, AI McLaren, Bentley Speed 8 Race Car ’03, Nissan R89C Race Car ’89, Pagani Zonda LM Race Car ’01.

My time 10’57.350, which includes a snap-spin under braking for the chicane (turns 2 & 3) at the start of lap 3 – why it chose then, when I was in the lead, is beyond me when it’s never done it before! Take my 200 A-Spec and say goodbye to this horrid HP dominated track.

Off to another horrid track, Fuji 2005 GT. I expect this will take a while as my track knowledge is very poor. Grid:

Audi R8 Race Car ’01, Nissan R92CP Race Car ’92, Fort GT LM Race Car ’02, Nissan GT-R Concept LM Race Car ’02, Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car ‘89

Okay, that was a surprise. Huge margin of victory first time out! My R3 tyres barely lasted the eight laps – which is just as well as I have no idea where the pits are on this circuit. A very easy 200 A-Spec in contrast to the La Sarthe torment that nearly saw my PS2 dismembered and thrown from the window.

I had a few understeer problems here to go with the braking oversteer so I should’ve perhaps altered the set-up but, hey, I won anyway . One thing to note is that, other than my embarrassing ‘offs’ when I couldn’t see where the track went, the dicing between me and the Sauber before it pitted look great on the replay .

Now for Infineon Sports Car course.

Grid: BMW V12 LMR Race Car ’99, Ford GT LM Race Car Spec II ’04, Pagani Zonda LM Race Car ’01, Toyota 7 Race Car ’70, Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) ‘99

Tough crowd – let’s hope they all pit. Ah, A-Spec only 179, so maybe not so tough? Add 200 KG Ballast which gives 200 A-Spec but my tyres don’t last beyond the end of lap 7. Played about with ballast shifts and found she wore evenly with 161kg ballast at -30 but she couldn’t win against the unpredictable and non-pitting Toyota 7. Switched to R2’s and ran 31kg at -40. The rears wore quicker with the lesser (effective) weight shifted forward but I won! 200 A-Spec in the bag with a 12’48.345 race time.

I suspected the chassis had worn during the race due to sudden dollops of understeer showing up – I was right and had to fork out another 50, 000 to get it straightened out. Horsepower dropping too – down to 628. Oil change again. Wear is showing as even with the oil she only goes back up to 640HP.

Finally, Laguna Seca. I went with R3’s and 31kg ballast @ -50. The grid was:

Mazda 787, Nissan R89C, Audi R8, Toyota GT-ONE, Sauber C9.

The excitement came at the end of the race where I was nursing hopelessly worn rears and seeing the 787 eat into my lead. Still a considerable margin of victory of ten seconds though’.

Finally done this series in A-Spec – Hussar! As expected, it caused much swearing and bad humour as this class of car is just not my cup of tea. The AI behaviour is appalling too considering that these are supposed to be the top-flight cars . Glad to have done it nonetheless.

 

[Remy Zero]

For the 'Ring, i used the Chevy race car. The black/red/white scheme.

 

[GTsail]

The Team Oreca Dodge Viper GTS-R can also win at La Sarthe in the Real Circuit Tours, and obtain the coveted 200 points.

Ran against the following lineup:
Toyota 7 Race Car (2nd by 5.6 secs by the end of the race)
Bentley Speed 8 Race Car (3rd by 6.6 secs)
Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (4th by 8.7 secs)
Nissan R92CP Race Car (5th by 11.8 secs)
Nissan GT-R Concept LM Race Car (6th by over 30 secs)

I couldn't stay with the Nissan R92CP, but since the race is three laps of La Sarthe, and the Nissan pits at the end of lap two, it works out nicely. The other cars do not pit.

My Viper was on R2/R2 tires, its HP is 778 (added the stage 3 turbo), ballast at 10 (+5 to the rear).

Happy hunting,
GTsail

 

[Parnelli Bone]

For the 'Ring, i used the Chevy race car. The black/red/white scheme.

Wow, interesting the Camaro can keep up. You are talking about the Camaro, right? Guess the only other Chevy would be the Corvette C5R, which is yellow and white.

The Team Oreca Dodge Viper GTS-R can also win at La Sarthe in the Real Circuit Tours, and obtain the coveted 200 points.

Ran against the following lineup:
Toyota 7 Race Car (2nd by 5.6 secs by the end of the race)
Bentley Speed 8 Race Car (3rd by 6.6 secs)
Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (4th by 8.7 secs)
Nissan R92CP Race Car (5th by 11.8 secs)
Nissan GT-R Concept LM Race Car (6th by over 30 secs)

I couldn't stay with the Nissan R92CP, but since the race is three laps of La Sarthe, and the Nissan pits at the end of lap two, it works out nicely. The other cars do not pit.

My Viper was on R2/R2 tires, its HP is 778 (added the stage 3 turbo), ballast at 10 (+5 to the rear).

Happy hunting,
GTsail

Good to know the Viper can beat the Toyota 7, then! I'm noticing it's usually such a jackrabbit so far because it doesn't pit and is so light.

Here are my race diary notes for this event. Hopefully they'll be of some utility and not too dull . As can be told from some of my comments, this was relatively early in my GT4 experience -

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EXTREME HALL
REAL CIRCUIT TOURS

Any Tyre Type
Permitted Cars: Any
International A Licence Required

Prize Money: 15,000 cr/Race
Prize Car: Nissan Gran Turismo Skyline GT-R (Pace Car) ’01 (31,874cr)

1) Suzuka (6 laps) GRID
2) Twin Ring Motegi – Road Course (8 laps) ROLLING
3) Tsukuba (15 laps) ROLLING
4) Laguna Seca (10 laps) ROLLING
5) Infineon Sports Car Course (9 laps) ROLLING
6) Fuji Speedway 2005 GT (8 laps) GRID
7) Circuit de la Sarthe I (3 laps) ROLLING
8) Nurburgring (2 laps) ROLLING

Try this in an Audi R8 with Stage 4 Turbo and R1 Tyres. I’m hoping that it’s far too much car and I can throttle back somewhat.


Race 1

Opposition: R89C, CLK-GTR, RX-7LM, Pescarolo C60, R92CP

A-Spec Points: 5 MOV:

I can’t keep the car on the track. Take the Stage 4 Turbo off. 67 A-Spec. Still can’t do it. Try again. Can’t beat the Pescarolo. Also, can use softer tyres and do this I’m sure. Try R2’s.

Opposition: R89C, Sauber Mercedes C9, Zonda LM, Speed 8, BMW McLaren F1 GTR

A-Spec: 40

Still can’t handle it. B-Spec it. VBH can’t do it either. Did better than me though’ – at least she finished a race. Put the turbo back on? Or F1 B-Spec and ignore it? Do the latter. Might come back and do these myself later but probably not (not until shamed into it by the chaps at GTBN anyhow )..


Returned eventually and tried in a McLaren F1 GTR. Got offered 200 A-Spec with the first grid at Suzuka of:

Nissan R89C Race Car ’89, AMG Mercedes CLK-GTR Race Car ’98, Mazda RX-7 LM Race Car ’01, Playstation Pescarolo C60 Race Car ’04, Nissan R92CP Race Car ‘92

I could only take second place as the Pescarolo did not pit and my driving was not up to scratch (too many low HP Road Tyre races and not enough action at this level of power). Tried three more times, a couple of abandoned races dues to unexplained spin outs and then took the win after a huge coming together with the Pescarolo on turn 1 of the last lap (he rammed into me at full tilt and we both went off to play in the sand). Nonetheless, a 200 A-Spec win that I’m proud of despite the physicality – kudos to the CLK too as I think he held the Pescarolo up for me until he pitted.

Despite the fact that I put R4’s on the front end of the McLaren I still got 200 A-Spec, which shows that I’m at something of a HP deficit here – still plenty enough horses for me though’ . However, the large front end grip caused lots of snap oversteer – I shall have to tend to that.

Try the Increased Rigidity option and see if that helps as I move on to Motegi.

The set-up I had been running was (at 511HP):

Brakes: 5/3
Springs: 10.8/10.8
Ride: 85/85
Damper B: 6/4
Damper R: 9/6
Camber: 2.0/1.0
Toe: 0/0
Stabiliser: 5/5
Gears: AutoSet 14 at 3.100
Downforce: 38/53
LSD: 9/27/27
Ballast 1 @ -16

Take off the Ballast alteration as that’s an oversteer increaser, put the tyres to R3/R3 and put the Dampers to 6/7 fore and aft.

Try her versus grid of:

Nissan R89C Race Car ’89, Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car ’89, Pagani Zonda LM Race Car ’01, Bentley Speed 8 Race Car ’03, BMW McLaren F1 GTR Race Car ‘97

A-Spec = 200 but couldn’t beat the R89C or the C9. Everything else was way back but those two took me on the last lap, despite their having pitted, as my tyres went off. Switched to an R3/R2 tyre stagger and fettled the suspension a little. Took a very narrow victory with the C9 on my rear bumper as I went over the line – my time 13’38.025 versus his time of 13’38.147. He was three seconds back at the start of the last lap and right on me by the time we braked for the turn at the end of the main straight . The main thing is that the tyre stagger evened out wear a lot without causing catastrophic handling issues. Need an oil change too as my horsepower is dropping.

Off to Tsukuba.

Grid: Audi R8 Race Car ’01, Nissan R92CP Race Car ’92, Ford GT LM Race Car ’02, Nissan GR-R Concept LM Race Cat ’02, Nissan R89C Race Car ’89

Don’t fancy my chances much but we’ll give it a go. Surprisingly, on my second try, I took the chequered flag with a 12’40.342 (over 3 and a half second MoV). Everyone pitted and I took the lead whilst the Audi was in the pits – the R92CP came second. Noted that the oil change had boosted my HP quite a bit (641HP).

Did the Nurburgring next. 200 A-Spec versus grid of:

Mazda 787B Race Car ’91, Nissan R89C Race Car ’89, Audi R8 Race Car ’01, Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (Ts020) ’99, Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car ’89

I put the tyres to R2/R2 as mismatched sets do not tend to do very well at the ‘Ring. Softened the Dampers down (4/3 Bound, 6/5 Rebound) and the stabilisers (3/3)to try and minimise the surface problems the track presents. Didn’t work entirely but was okay.

The Sauber and the R89C pitted at the end of lap one which, counter-logically meant that they were the main threats as they didn’t start spinning out all over the place like the rest of the field. MoV was quite comfortable at about fifteen to twenty seconds.

Now try La Sarthe, retaining the softened suspension I did for the ‘Ring. The grid has a Pescarolo in it and he doesn’t pit, taking the win by 25 seconds. I came second with the Mercedes CLK-GTR behind me, trailed by the R92CP, the R89C and the Mazda RX-7 LM Race car. I’ll try lengthening the gearbox a bit more to AutoSet 17 and fitting R3 rather than R2 tyres. Do another oil change too.

Brakes: 6/3
Springs: 10.8/11.8
Ride: 85/85
Damper B: 4/3
Damper R: 6/5
Camber: 2.0/1.0
Toe: 0/0
Stabiliser: 3/3
Gears: AutoSet 17 at 3.100
Downforce: 35/53
LSD: 9/27/27
Ballast 0 @ 0


No matter how I try I can’t beat the Pescarolo as even if I get in front of him and try to block he just slams into me as I brake for a corner and off I fly like I’ve been hit by a wrecking ball - ridiculous.

Try another grid. Major problem here is that the Bentley Speed 8 now takes over punting duties :grr:. On the third attempt I manage to avoid his attentions and take the win after they all pit at the end of lap 2. Finishing order:

My McLaren, Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car ’89, AI McLaren, Bentley Speed 8 Race Car ’03, Nissan R89C Race Car ’89, Pagani Zonda LM Race Car ’01.

My time 10’57.350, which includes a snap-spin under braking for the chicane (turns 2 & 3) at the start of lap 3 – why it chose then, when I was in the lead, is beyond me when it’s never done it before! Take my 200 A-Spec and say goodbye to this horrid HP dominated track.

Off to another horrid track, Fuji 2005 GT. I expect this will take a while as my track knowledge is very poor. Grid:

Audi R8 Race Car ’01, Nissan R92CP Race Car ’92, Fort GT LM Race Car ’02, Nissan GT-R Concept LM Race Car ’02, Sauber Mercedes C9 Race Car ‘89

Okay, that was a surprise. Huge margin of victory first time out! My R3 tyres barely lasted the eight laps – which is just as well as I have no idea where the pits are on this circuit. A very easy 200 A-Spec in contrast to the La Sarthe torment that nearly saw my PS2 dismembered and thrown from the window.

I had a few understeer problems here to go with the braking oversteer so I should’ve perhaps altered the set-up but, hey, I won anyway . One thing to note is that, other than my embarrassing ‘offs’ when I couldn’t see where the track went, the dicing between me and the Sauber before it pitted look great on the replay .

Now for Infineon Sports Car course.

Grid: BMW V12 LMR Race Car ’99, Ford GT LM Race Car Spec II ’04, Pagani Zonda LM Race Car ’01, Toyota 7 Race Car ’70, Toyota GT-ONE Race Car (TS020) ‘99

Tough crowd – let’s hope they all pit. Ah, A-Spec only 179, so maybe not so tough? Add 200 KG Ballast which gives 200 A-Spec but my tyres don’t last beyond the end of lap 7. Played about with ballast shifts and found she wore evenly with 161kg ballast at -30 but she couldn’t win against the unpredictable and non-pitting Toyota 7. Switched to R2’s and ran 31kg at -40. The rears wore quicker with the lesser (effective) weight shifted forward but I won! 200 A-Spec in the bag with a 12’48.345 race time.

I suspected the chassis had worn during the race due to sudden dollops of understeer showing up – I was right and had to fork out another 50, 000 to get it straightened out. Horsepower dropping too – down to 628. Oil change again. Wear is showing as even with the oil she only goes back up to 640HP.

Finally, Laguna Seca. I went with R3’s and 31kg ballast @ -50. The grid was:

Mazda 787, Nissan R89C, Audi R8, Toyota GT-ONE, Sauber C9.

The excitement came at the end of the race where I was nursing hopelessly worn rears and seeing the 787 eat into my lead. Still a considerable margin of victory of ten seconds though’.

Finally done this series in A-Spec – Hussar! As expected, it caused much swearing and bad humour as this class of car is just not my cup of tea. The AI behaviour is appalling too considering that these are supposed to be the top-flight cars . Glad to have done it nonetheless.

They're not dull. I read every word. Just trying to find out various capabilities of certain cars without wasting alot of time, you see, and I wasn't able to find much via searching.

I'll definitely drive the Pitwork Z at RCT at some point.

 

[Remy Zero]

I tried the Mazda RX8 Concept LM Race Car today. Made 2 major mistakes, but finished 2nd behind the R92C race car, beating the Minolta into 3rd place. had Mediums in the front and Hard at the back.

Forgot to mention, it was the at the 'Ring

 

[Old Geezer]

This is a bunch of races at the EXTREME level. Just wanted to know what y'all used to complete these. General impressions of these events, etc.

Hiya Parnelli Bone:
Checking my records from nearly 4 years ago, I've used the Pescarolo Courage C60 Race Car ('03), NISSAN Xanavi Skyline(JGTC) ('01) and the NISSAN R89 Race Car ('89). Can't find any trace of having done a write-up however, so no help there.

I've recently been driving lesser powered rides trying to get used to GT4 again. Am using "Roof-Cam" instead of "Bumper-Cam", hoping the GT5 "Cockpit-Cam" will be the real deal. Also wearing shoes in anticipation of getting a new wheel w/proper pedal feedback. (NOT just a squash Ball under the Brake Pedal.)

I've been thinking about "REAL CIRCUIT TOURS" a bit lately & my modest skillz might be up to the task in the mighty Viper. I'm assuming you're using it "Maxxed-Out"??? ...O.G.

EDIT: It's my day off, we just had a bodacious hail storm & I'm bored, so...I bought a spankin' new Oreca Viper, maxxed it out & went racin'. CanNOT believe I didn't have one in my Garage as it was a favorite of mine in GT3. Just gave it my normal quick-tune & ran a coupla laps @ Suzuka to set the trans, since I know the "A.I." isn't at their best there. Felt pretty scary as I've NOT driven any high HP machines since returning to GT4.

Hit the button for Six Laps @ Suzuka & drew the NISSAN R92CP / NISSAN R390 GT1 / SAUBER C-9 / MERCEDES CLK-GTR & MAZDA RX-7 LeMans Racer as opponents along w/43 A-Spec Points! Viper's Tune-Up screen showed 959 HP while the replay screen shows an even 900 HP. Ran the R3s it came with.

Got around all but the R92CP by the esses on the first lap & kept right on his tail 'till the chicane at the end of the lap. He had an UN-Assisted "Git-Off" & I slid past him into the lead. Was 3.7 seconds ahead after 2 laps, 3.8 after 3, 4.1 after 4 & then his tyres really went away. Screen showed 7.9 seconds as I completed lap #5 then all four cars pitted in (The MAZDA was so far behind he didn't bother). The last time I could catch on the R92CP he was 33.6 seconds behind.

Final Race Time of 10'40.960 for me as MY Tyres started to "Go South" about 1/2 way thru Lap #4 & I had to back off a bunch to keep her on track. I like to "Trail-Brake" & almost put the rear of the Viper thru the corner first once!!! Tyres were a nice shade of YELLOW, starting to go ORANGE at the end. Fast Lap was 1'45.190 either Lap #2 or 3 I'm sure.

SO: NO doubt the Viper is capable here if I can do it. I'm anxious to run the rest of them now. Might even do a Race Report if the races get a bit closer. Hope this helps...O.G.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

Actually, I only 'maxed' the Viper at a handful of races. Oddly, if only top-horsepower cars show up at Suzuka, I could go with a Stage 3 turbo (820 ish hp) because all these guys wind up taking a pit. I would need more power oddly, if the lesser-hp cars showed, simply because they don't take a pitstop. Weird, huh? But by the end of the race, the Viper's R3 tires were finally starting to go, so it was a close finish no matter which option I'd choose.

I learned to start using R3 tires at certain tracks, and R2 at others. Power varied, but I only used STage 4 turbo (959 hp) at Sarthe and a couple other tracks, depending which cars showed up.

Nurburgring happened to be a walkover. Equipped Stage 3 turbo (816 hp now..the Viper is starting to permanently lose power even with oil changes!) The problem with the Ai at the 'Ring is they're all on soft tires, which simply won't last 2 laps at the 'Ring. So during one race, in which the Sauber Mercedes got like 20 seconds ahead, I wound up creaming it because it lost its tires somewhere after Adenur Forst/Lap 2! Then it spun hopelessly at several points, geting passed by a couple more cars which were behind me!

Even the lesser-horsepower GT1 & Group Cs (Mazda 787B, Pesky, BMW V12, etc) wind up sucking at Nurburgring. All I had to do was equip R2s, stay on track, and it was an easy win!