- 1,051
- London
- JohnsonCapote
Well, after a partially entertaining but largely disappointing encounter at Apricot Hill the other day, I've turned my attentions to another race I've never actually done before - or should I say, done properly. That is to say, not just overkilled it in a total waste of an hour of my life and moved on. No, this time I'm reporting live from northwest America, and the hometown of one Fraiser Crane, as well as the location of one of my favourite tracks in the Gran Turismo universe. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to...
Seattle City 100 Miles
Or
'The Generation Game'
Hat tip to ol' AMG for the track map as always
This race should be a favourite of mine, as it's packed full of some of my favourite cars in the history of motoring - namely, American muscle
Unfortunately, the dribbling stupidity of the PD AI renders any classic muscle in this race useless, as they just end up slithering and spinning as opposed to actually going round a corner 
The more modern machinery dominates, but still isn't immune to bouts of cretinous behaviour.
A close race is therefore quite difficult to achieve - either I'm lagging behind choking on exhaust fumes and loud V8 engine noise down the straights, or coasting away through the corners as my opponents ring up the panel shop for some new fenders to replace the ones they just ruined on the armco. Initially I tried several Japanese cars, but then decided to play the AI at their own game, and do what they always haplessly fail to do - take a classic muscle car to victory in this race 💡
Which one in particular? Well, after a week spent in the backroom of the Mopar workshop, I emerged with this street machine:
1970 Dodge Challenger
Engine: 6.3L V8
Power: 303hp
Weight: 1473kg
Mods: All transmission parts, Weight Reduction Stage 3, Sports Brakes, F/C Suspension and LSD, Engine Balancing, Port Polish.
Tyres: Sports
This gorgeous and menacing machine finds itself now sat on the grid, with me ensconced inside, with the following grid lineup rolling into position:
1. 1996 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 30th Anniversary Edition
2. 1998 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra
3. 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda
4. 1997 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 Coupe
5. 1996 Dodge Viper GTS
Someone obviously overheard me discussing earlier how I'd take the modern machines down a peg, and that same person has had a word with the organiser to get as many modern cars into this field as possible!
Also, the PD AI have been on a bit of a power binge, meaning that I'm down on power considerably to my opponents. However, I concentrated on modding the chassis and transmission rather than slapping on more power - time to find out if that was money well spent.
The sun is shining, it's a beautiful day for racing, so what are we waiting for? Celebrity starter Kelsey Grammar drops the green flag, and the field careers away from the rolling start in a cacophony of roaring engines - here we go!
Laps 1-20
I can hear the arrogant PD AI drivers already smugly guffawing as I fade behind down the front stretch - very presumptuous of them, and I'm quite happy to lag back and watch them all pile into the hairpin in a mess of grinding panels and screaming tyres!
In the meleé, I ambush several cars, and emerge on the other side in 4th place, side-by-side with the Mustang, who doesn't appreciate my attempt to pass on the outside and aggressively barges me out towards the wall through Turn 3! 
I hold firm and stay in his slipstream as best as possible up through Yesler Way and up the James Street hill for the first time. The Viper is firmly on my six, so I feint to the outside into T5, and allow both the Viper and Mustang to slide into the armco, which in turn allows me to power back alongside the Mustang! So much for your bully-boy tactics, eh? I shadow him going through the complex of corners through South Washington St/Yesler Way, and slip up the inside at the Turn 10 hairpin 
The Viper is swarming my back bumper, so I feint again to the outside down 4th Avenue, but the Viper lazily barges up the inside, using me as a braking aid at Turn 12! 👎 But this swiftly backfires as I re-take the position through the South Royal Brougham Way esses, and finish lap 1 in 3rd place, 6s behind the pair of Camaros, who have quickly swarmed into a good lead.
Before I can set about chasing them down, the Viper is busy making a last stand, and I allow him a wide berth as he tries a wild lunge into the Turn 1 hairpin, before comfortably driving away from him on the exit as he struggles to get the big, slithering snake pointing back in a straight line In fact, far from being a challenge to me, he slowly falls into the clutches of the Mustang, and they duel for a few laps before the Mustang decisively takes the position and holds it for his own. Well well well - far from being the favourite for this race, the Viper is being reduced to distant onlooker at a very early stage! It goes without saying that the Cuda has already faded from the main pack, presumably without much paint and straight panels left
Meanwhile, whilst this is happening, I adjust into a rythmn and find the limits of my Challenger around the twisting and undulating city streets, and enter a holding pattern around 5s behind the leading Camaro, which at this stage is the 30th Anniversary Edition. The regular Z/28 is about 1s behind at this stage, and is struggling to keep up with his flashy brother. I'm starting to click off some fast laps, with a 1'40.656 being the zenith on lap 7, and on lap 8 the regular Camaro continues in vain to chase the leader, before looking in his rear-view mirror and suddenly seeing me there, ready to do battle!
(Note: for ease of typing, the 30th Anniversary Camaro will simply be referred to as the 30-A Camaro, and the other being just the Z/28 Camaro)
As the 30-A Camaro watches on from the cushion of a 2.4s lead, the Z/28 Camaro believes he's safe from any passing attempt as he blasts away from me down the frontstretch at the start of lap 9. Wrong! As he slithers sideways through Turn 1, I nimbly hug the apexes and slide past just as he recovers his bearings! The Z/28 hugs my rear bumper up James Street, and looks to blast by under braking for Turn 5, but guess what, kids? He just outbrakes himself and bangs the barrier, whilst I cross over and cruise away, cementing 2nd place as my own and setting about eating into the 30-A Camaro's lead, which shrinks to 2s by the end of the lap, and drops as low as 1.2s through lap 10. Our tyres are getting worn by now, with the pair of Chevrolets' rubber wearing worse than mine, it seems - something worth noting for later in the race, perhaps? 💡
Speaking of strategy, both the Chevies and my Dodge all pit at the end of lap 10, setting up a simple 3-stop strategy. I'm convinced nobody in this race can make it on 2 stops only, although the Mustang is willing to test this theory, as he zooms past as our gaggle of cars exits the pits. As predicted, it's a false alarm, and he pits in at the end of our outlap, lap 11, meaning he drops back to 4th, and myself and the Camaros re-take positions 1 through 3. The 30-A Camaro is keen to make his fresh rubber pay dividends, and uses it to ease out to a 2s lead, which I'm happy to follow - for now. By lap 16, this gap begins to decrease again as I get up to speed and his rubber begins to wear.
Just to make things interesting, the hapless Cuda suddenly enters the fray at lap 18, as we catch him up and put him a lap down - at least, that would be the plan if he didn't start using his car as a rolling roadblock to keep us behind him!
The 30-A Camaro literally cannot find a way round, and down the frontstretch, the two cars are evenly matched for horsepower, meaning that they enter Turn 1 side-by-side! Gears crunch and panels grind, but still the Cuda keeps the Camaro behind him! I pull up to the back bumper of the Camaro, and the three cars resemble a runaway freight train as we all charge up the hill towards Turn 5! 
The 30-A Camaro tries a frustrated lunge up the inside under braking for Turn 5, but the Cuda does a very me-style crossover on him and keeps position, as I continue to stalk the two in close proximity. The freight train is eventually derailed down 4th Avenue, as the 30-A Camaro eases past under braking for Turn 12. He's probably hoping that I'm held up behind the wallowing old Plymouth, but I nimbly slip by through the esses, much to his chagrin! And in good time too - the second Camaro has sensed a chance to catch up, and is suddenly swarming my back bumper. Having turned the tables on him, he tries to clear the Cuda with a wild dive into Turn 14, which only ends in him tankslapping the barrier in what looks like quite a painful impact! I then set off chasing the 30-A Camaro once again as lap 20 begins, but it seems I was a bit previous to dismiss the Cuda now that I've passed him, as his chewing-gum brakes mean that he nearly sideswipes me at Turn 1 under braking! With my mini-heart attack over, I breathe a sigh of relief and continue my pursuit of the 30-A Camaro, leaving the Cuda to frustrate the Z/28 Camaro. All of this is pretty moot anyway, as I tail the 30-A Camaro into the pits at the end of the lap anyway, with the other Camaro following soon after.
Standings at 1/2 Distance:
1. 1998 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra
2. 1996 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 30th Anniversary +7.521s
3. 1970 Dodge Challenger +8.306s
4. 1997 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 Coupe +11s
5. 1996 Dodge Viper GTS +50s
6. 1970 Plymouth Cuda +1'25s
Lap 21-40
As you may have extrapolated from the above standings, the Mustang again stays out and sticks to his 11-lap strategy. He nicely demonstrates the disadvantage of trying to stay out for a few extra laps on dead rubber - the 30-A Camaro gains on him and actually re-passes him before he pits again end of lap 22. I would have joined him, but instead I choose lap 22 to start doing my best PD AI impression - I can't seem to keep my poor Dodge off the barriers!
Whilst I'm mucking around doing my best drooling idiot impression, not only does the 30-A Camaro take off into a 5.4s lead, but the other Camaro actually re-passes me!
What a stinker of a lap that was. Time to re-focus, and I redress the balance with a storming new fastest lap of 1'40.184 on lap 23 - nearly half a second quicker than my previous best
Safe to say I'm not mucking around, as for a little while it seems I may have blown my chance of victory. In all reality I probably haven't, but I've made the job more difficult than it needed to be. With that storming lap complete, I'm ready to do battle with the Z/28 Camaro to re-take 2nd place, and after filling his rear view mirrors through the first half of lap 24, I draw side-by-side off of Turn 10 after a braking crossover move. Obviously he draws away down the hill, but I'm back alongside through the esses, and slide into the lead on the exit! This is red rag to a bull stuff, and the Z/28 doesn't take kindly to this, and attempts a crossover move of his own at Turn 14, and we exit the corner side by side. 2-wide into the chicane won't go, so who will blink first?! The Z/28!! He bottles it and I just slip by in a thrilling move! Talk about heart-stopper!
As the Z/28 recovers his breath, I charge on and chase after the leading 30-A Camaro, who has up until now been watching the battle from a comfortable lead. Now, no longer - his tyres are wearing worse than mine, and the 6s+ lead evaporates down to nothing by lap 28! We begin shadow boxing once again, as if an elastic band is attached from his rear bumper to my front bumper - he cannot get away down the straights, and I cannot quite get by in the corners! It's a thrilling duel which looks to have ended for the moment when the 30-A Camaro manages to eke out an advantage at the end of lap 30, and has a 2.4s lead on me at the stripe. But then...
...remember the Dodge Viper GTS? That car that was just dawdling around not really doing anything all race? Yeah, we'd forgotten all about him...OH CRIKEY WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS HE DOING IN THE MIDDLE OF TURN 1 FACING THE WRONG WAY?!?!!
The 30-A Camaro swerves desperately in avoidance whilst I jump on the brakes and just about miss the distinctive snout of the hapless Viper. We both emerge just about unscathed, although I can't at this stage vouch for the quality of the 30-A Camaro driver's underwear...that is if AI drivers even have underwear...hmm, something to ponder for another day perhaps 💡
Anyway, once we both take a few deep breathes and regain our senses, we realise that suddenly, that gap the 30-A Camaro had eked out has evaporated, meaning our shadow boxing bout can resume in earnest! And resume in earnest it does - well, for the rest of the lap anyway, before we both dive into the pits for our final stops of the race. Coming up is the crucial final stint, where the race will likely be won and lost - any fooling around like at the start of my last stint may well be enough to blow the race at this late stage, so concentration is a must - as well as hopefully avoiding any more chance encounters with drooling moron AI 
Once again, the Mustang stays out a few extra laps, but just as before, he's only prolonging the inevitable, and his resistance is even more futile now - the 30-A Camaro clears him through the turn 1 hairpin at lap 33, and I slip by at the very next corner, before he peels off to pit at the end of the lap, having finally conceded defeat and the inevitable 4th place finish. With the Z/28 Camaro a little too far back at this stage to truly be a contender, the top 2 positions are still very much up for grabs, and the race is essentially now condensed down into a 7-lap head to head sprint. The tension is mounting, and sweat dripping from my brow. The 30-A Camaro is putting in his best laps of the race thus far, pulling out to around a 3s lead by the end of lap 36. Have I missed the last train to victory?
All I can do right now is hang on, and continue to ring the neck of my indefatigable old Mopar, hoping it still has enough left in it's vintage bones to mount one last assault on the lead. It's worth noting that I actually haven't lead at all for the entire race - will it stay that way till the end?!
But, just as has been the case throughout the race, the 30-A Camaro's tyres fade quickly, and the familiar white and orange shape grows steadily larger again through my windshield through lap 37. As lap 38 begins, and the 30-A Camaro draws close enough to attack, any notions of more shadow boxing and all that sporting claptrap are chucked in the bin - with victory on the line, time to go for the jugular.
I swing a perfect arc through the Turn 1 hairpin, nailing both apexes, and just as the 30-A Camaro wallows back across the track, I just about sneak up the inside, and we go side-by-side through Turn 2 in a white-knuckle moment of racing! Incredibly I prevail on the outside, with the Camaro preferring to shadow me up the hill and lunge aggressively back up the inside at Turn 5, just about succeeding in a mess of banged fenders and screeching tyres. I'm swarming all over his back bumper through the complex and down through Turn 10, where I feint one way then switch back up the inside mid-corner, taking me clean past the Camaro!
The 30-A Camaro is beginning to loose his head, as instead of simply using his speed to go back by, he starts trying to barge the side of my car as we fly down the 4th Avenue hill. He slides back by at Turn 12, but I swiftly respond by nipping up the inside on the exit of the Turn 13 esses, and I grit my teeth and hold on to go side-by-side through Turn 14, holding the inside line with dogged determination. We charge towards the Turn 15 chicane still side-by-side, where at the last moment, the Camaro backs out and jumps on the brakes as I fly through the chicane flat-out!
The crowd are going potty in the grandstands along the frontstretch as I start the penultimate lap, absolutely relishing the action. The 30-A Camaro is like a wounded animal right now, lashing out in desperation, and I delibrately swing to the outside on the entry to the Turn 1 hairpin, waiting for the inevitable wild lunge. It comes, and he slithers well past the apex and scrapes the hairpin wall. And with it go his chances of the race victory, as I blast out of the corner and hammer home my advantage. As he struggles on his worn-out rubber, I ease away and lead by 3s when the white flag drops to signal the final lap. From here, it's an exercise in not messing up, and I safely navigate the heroic Challenger home to glory!
Final Results
1. 1970 Dodge Challenger - 1:09'08.621
2. 1996 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 30th Anniversary +2.777s
3. 1997 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 Coupe +6.204s
4. 1998 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra +17.718s
5. 1996 Dodge Viper GTS +1 Lap
6. 1970 Plymouth Cuda +1 Lap
What a fantastic race. A tense thriller from start to finish, and the closest finish I've had to an endurance race in recent memory. Plenty of great driving, some heart-stopping moments, and the usual bout of comedic AI - all in all, a brilliant hour or so of racing Also, after two straight endurances where I've lost the race in the last 3 laps, it feels nice to have the boot on the other foot I also get a nice cheque for 150,000 credits, which pretty much covers what I spent buying and building the machine I took to victory in this race, plus the jaw-dropping Ford GT90 concept car is delivered to my garage - time for a road-test methinks! My beloved Challenger can have a well-earned rest in my garage whilst I hoon about in the GT90 
Until next time, thanks for reading all!
Or
'The Generation Game'
Hat tip to ol' AMG for the track map as always
This race should be a favourite of mine, as it's packed full of some of my favourite cars in the history of motoring - namely, American muscle
Unfortunately, the dribbling stupidity of the PD AI renders any classic muscle in this race useless, as they just end up slithering and spinning as opposed to actually going round a corner The more modern machinery dominates, but still isn't immune to bouts of cretinous behaviour.A close race is therefore quite difficult to achieve - either I'm lagging behind choking on exhaust fumes and loud V8 engine noise down the straights, or coasting away through the corners as my opponents ring up the panel shop for some new fenders to replace the ones they just ruined on the armco. Initially I tried several Japanese cars, but then decided to play the AI at their own game, and do what they always haplessly fail to do - take a classic muscle car to victory in this race 💡
Which one in particular? Well, after a week spent in the backroom of the Mopar workshop, I emerged with this street machine:
1970 Dodge Challenger
Engine: 6.3L V8
Power: 303hp
Weight: 1473kg
Mods: All transmission parts, Weight Reduction Stage 3, Sports Brakes, F/C Suspension and LSD, Engine Balancing, Port Polish.
Tyres: Sports
This gorgeous and menacing machine finds itself now sat on the grid, with me ensconced inside, with the following grid lineup rolling into position:
1. 1996 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 30th Anniversary Edition
2. 1998 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra
3. 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda
4. 1997 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 Coupe
5. 1996 Dodge Viper GTS
Someone obviously overheard me discussing earlier how I'd take the modern machines down a peg, and that same person has had a word with the organiser to get as many modern cars into this field as possible!
Also, the PD AI have been on a bit of a power binge, meaning that I'm down on power considerably to my opponents. However, I concentrated on modding the chassis and transmission rather than slapping on more power - time to find out if that was money well spent.The sun is shining, it's a beautiful day for racing, so what are we waiting for? Celebrity starter Kelsey Grammar drops the green flag, and the field careers away from the rolling start in a cacophony of roaring engines - here we go!
Laps 1-20
I can hear the arrogant PD AI drivers already smugly guffawing as I fade behind down the front stretch - very presumptuous of them, and I'm quite happy to lag back and watch them all pile into the hairpin in a mess of grinding panels and screaming tyres!
In the meleé, I ambush several cars, and emerge on the other side in 4th place, side-by-side with the Mustang, who doesn't appreciate my attempt to pass on the outside and aggressively barges me out towards the wall through Turn 3! I hold firm and stay in his slipstream as best as possible up through Yesler Way and up the James Street hill for the first time. The Viper is firmly on my six, so I feint to the outside into T5, and allow both the Viper and Mustang to slide into the armco, which in turn allows me to power back alongside the Mustang! So much for your bully-boy tactics, eh? I shadow him going through the complex of corners through South Washington St/Yesler Way, and slip up the inside at the Turn 10 hairpin The Viper is swarming my back bumper, so I feint again to the outside down 4th Avenue, but the Viper lazily barges up the inside, using me as a braking aid at Turn 12! 👎 But this swiftly backfires as I re-take the position through the South Royal Brougham Way esses, and finish lap 1 in 3rd place, 6s behind the pair of Camaros, who have quickly swarmed into a good lead.
Before I can set about chasing them down, the Viper is busy making a last stand, and I allow him a wide berth as he tries a wild lunge into the Turn 1 hairpin, before comfortably driving away from him on the exit as he struggles to get the big, slithering snake pointing back in a straight line
In fact, far from being a challenge to me, he slowly falls into the clutches of the Mustang, and they duel for a few laps before the Mustang decisively takes the position and holds it for his own. Well well well - far from being the favourite for this race, the Viper is being reduced to distant onlooker at a very early stage! It goes without saying that the Cuda has already faded from the main pack, presumably without much paint and straight panels left Meanwhile, whilst this is happening, I adjust into a rythmn and find the limits of my Challenger around the twisting and undulating city streets, and enter a holding pattern around 5s behind the leading Camaro, which at this stage is the 30th Anniversary Edition. The regular Z/28 is about 1s behind at this stage, and is struggling to keep up with his flashy brother. I'm starting to click off some fast laps, with a 1'40.656 being the zenith on lap 7, and on lap 8 the regular Camaro continues in vain to chase the leader, before looking in his rear-view mirror and suddenly seeing me there, ready to do battle!
(Note: for ease of typing, the 30th Anniversary Camaro will simply be referred to as the 30-A Camaro, and the other being just the Z/28 Camaro)
As the 30-A Camaro watches on from the cushion of a 2.4s lead, the Z/28 Camaro believes he's safe from any passing attempt as he blasts away from me down the frontstretch at the start of lap 9. Wrong! As he slithers sideways through Turn 1, I nimbly hug the apexes and slide past just as he recovers his bearings!
The Z/28 hugs my rear bumper up James Street, and looks to blast by under braking for Turn 5, but guess what, kids? He just outbrakes himself and bangs the barrier, whilst I cross over and cruise away, cementing 2nd place as my own and setting about eating into the 30-A Camaro's lead, which shrinks to 2s by the end of the lap, and drops as low as 1.2s through lap 10. Our tyres are getting worn by now, with the pair of Chevrolets' rubber wearing worse than mine, it seems - something worth noting for later in the race, perhaps? 💡Speaking of strategy, both the Chevies and my Dodge all pit at the end of lap 10, setting up a simple 3-stop strategy. I'm convinced nobody in this race can make it on 2 stops only, although the Mustang is willing to test this theory, as he zooms past as our gaggle of cars exits the pits. As predicted, it's a false alarm, and he pits in at the end of our outlap, lap 11, meaning he drops back to 4th, and myself and the Camaros re-take positions 1 through 3. The 30-A Camaro is keen to make his fresh rubber pay dividends, and uses it to ease out to a 2s lead, which I'm happy to follow - for now. By lap 16, this gap begins to decrease again as I get up to speed and his rubber begins to wear.
Just to make things interesting, the hapless Cuda suddenly enters the fray at lap 18, as we catch him up and put him a lap down - at least, that would be the plan if he didn't start using his car as a rolling roadblock to keep us behind him!
The 30-A Camaro literally cannot find a way round, and down the frontstretch, the two cars are evenly matched for horsepower, meaning that they enter Turn 1 side-by-side! Gears crunch and panels grind, but still the Cuda keeps the Camaro behind him! I pull up to the back bumper of the Camaro, and the three cars resemble a runaway freight train as we all charge up the hill towards Turn 5! The 30-A Camaro tries a frustrated lunge up the inside under braking for Turn 5, but the Cuda does a very me-style crossover on him and keeps position, as I continue to stalk the two in close proximity. The freight train is eventually derailed down 4th Avenue, as the 30-A Camaro eases past under braking for Turn 12. He's probably hoping that I'm held up behind the wallowing old Plymouth, but I nimbly slip by through the esses, much to his chagrin!
And in good time too - the second Camaro has sensed a chance to catch up, and is suddenly swarming my back bumper. Having turned the tables on him, he tries to clear the Cuda with a wild dive into Turn 14, which only ends in him tankslapping the barrier in what looks like quite a painful impact! I then set off chasing the 30-A Camaro once again as lap 20 begins, but it seems I was a bit previous to dismiss the Cuda now that I've passed him, as his chewing-gum brakes mean that he nearly sideswipes me at Turn 1 under braking! With my mini-heart attack over, I breathe a sigh of relief and continue my pursuit of the 30-A Camaro, leaving the Cuda to frustrate the Z/28 Camaro. All of this is pretty moot anyway, as I tail the 30-A Camaro into the pits at the end of the lap anyway, with the other Camaro following soon after.Standings at 1/2 Distance:
1. 1998 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra
2. 1996 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 30th Anniversary +7.521s
3. 1970 Dodge Challenger +8.306s
4. 1997 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 Coupe +11s
5. 1996 Dodge Viper GTS +50s
6. 1970 Plymouth Cuda +1'25s
Lap 21-40
As you may have extrapolated from the above standings, the Mustang again stays out and sticks to his 11-lap strategy. He nicely demonstrates the disadvantage of trying to stay out for a few extra laps on dead rubber - the 30-A Camaro gains on him and actually re-passes him before he pits again end of lap 22. I would have joined him, but instead I choose lap 22 to start doing my best PD AI impression - I can't seem to keep my poor Dodge off the barriers!
Whilst I'm mucking around doing my best drooling idiot impression, not only does the 30-A Camaro take off into a 5.4s lead, but the other Camaro actually re-passes me! What a stinker of a lap that was. Time to re-focus, and I redress the balance with a storming new fastest lap of 1'40.184 on lap 23 - nearly half a second quicker than my previous best
Safe to say I'm not mucking around, as for a little while it seems I may have blown my chance of victory. In all reality I probably haven't, but I've made the job more difficult than it needed to be. With that storming lap complete, I'm ready to do battle with the Z/28 Camaro to re-take 2nd place, and after filling his rear view mirrors through the first half of lap 24, I draw side-by-side off of Turn 10 after a braking crossover move. Obviously he draws away down the hill, but I'm back alongside through the esses, and slide into the lead on the exit! This is red rag to a bull stuff, and the Z/28 doesn't take kindly to this, and attempts a crossover move of his own at Turn 14, and we exit the corner side by side. 2-wide into the chicane won't go, so who will blink first?! The Z/28!! He bottles it and I just slip by in a thrilling move! Talk about heart-stopper! As the Z/28 recovers his breath, I charge on and chase after the leading 30-A Camaro, who has up until now been watching the battle from a comfortable lead. Now, no longer - his tyres are wearing worse than mine, and the 6s+ lead evaporates down to nothing by lap 28! We begin shadow boxing once again, as if an elastic band is attached from his rear bumper to my front bumper - he cannot get away down the straights, and I cannot quite get by in the corners! It's a thrilling duel which looks to have ended for the moment when the 30-A Camaro manages to eke out an advantage at the end of lap 30, and has a 2.4s lead on me at the stripe. But then...
...remember the Dodge Viper GTS? That car that was just dawdling around not really doing anything all race? Yeah, we'd forgotten all about him...OH CRIKEY WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS HE DOING IN THE MIDDLE OF TURN 1 FACING THE WRONG WAY?!?!!
The 30-A Camaro swerves desperately in avoidance whilst I jump on the brakes and just about miss the distinctive snout of the hapless Viper. We both emerge just about unscathed, although I can't at this stage vouch for the quality of the 30-A Camaro driver's underwear...that is if AI drivers even have underwear...hmm, something to ponder for another day perhaps 💡
Anyway, once we both take a few deep breathes and regain our senses, we realise that suddenly, that gap the 30-A Camaro had eked out has evaporated, meaning our shadow boxing bout can resume in earnest!
And resume in earnest it does - well, for the rest of the lap anyway, before we both dive into the pits for our final stops of the race. Coming up is the crucial final stint, where the race will likely be won and lost - any fooling around like at the start of my last stint may well be enough to blow the race at this late stage, so concentration is a must - as well as hopefully avoiding any more chance encounters with drooling moron AI Once again, the Mustang stays out a few extra laps, but just as before, he's only prolonging the inevitable, and his resistance is even more futile now - the 30-A Camaro clears him through the turn 1 hairpin at lap 33, and I slip by at the very next corner, before he peels off to pit at the end of the lap, having finally conceded defeat and the inevitable 4th place finish. With the Z/28 Camaro a little too far back at this stage to truly be a contender, the top 2 positions are still very much up for grabs, and the race is essentially now condensed down into a 7-lap head to head sprint. The tension is mounting, and sweat dripping from my brow. The 30-A Camaro is putting in his best laps of the race thus far, pulling out to around a 3s lead by the end of lap 36. Have I missed the last train to victory?
All I can do right now is hang on, and continue to ring the neck of my indefatigable old Mopar, hoping it still has enough left in it's vintage bones to mount one last assault on the lead. It's worth noting that I actually haven't lead at all for the entire race - will it stay that way till the end?!
But, just as has been the case throughout the race, the 30-A Camaro's tyres fade quickly, and the familiar white and orange shape grows steadily larger again through my windshield through lap 37. As lap 38 begins, and the 30-A Camaro draws close enough to attack, any notions of more shadow boxing and all that sporting claptrap are chucked in the bin - with victory on the line, time to go for the jugular.
I swing a perfect arc through the Turn 1 hairpin, nailing both apexes, and just as the 30-A Camaro wallows back across the track, I just about sneak up the inside, and we go side-by-side through Turn 2 in a white-knuckle moment of racing! Incredibly I prevail on the outside, with the Camaro preferring to shadow me up the hill and lunge aggressively back up the inside at Turn 5, just about succeeding in a mess of banged fenders and screeching tyres. I'm swarming all over his back bumper through the complex and down through Turn 10, where I feint one way then switch back up the inside mid-corner, taking me clean past the Camaro!
The 30-A Camaro is beginning to loose his head, as instead of simply using his speed to go back by, he starts trying to barge the side of my car as we fly down the 4th Avenue hill. He slides back by at Turn 12, but I swiftly respond by nipping up the inside on the exit of the Turn 13 esses, and I grit my teeth and hold on to go side-by-side through Turn 14, holding the inside line with dogged determination. We charge towards the Turn 15 chicane still side-by-side, where at the last moment, the Camaro backs out and jumps on the brakes as I fly through the chicane flat-out!
The crowd are going potty in the grandstands along the frontstretch as I start the penultimate lap, absolutely relishing the action. The 30-A Camaro is like a wounded animal right now, lashing out in desperation, and I delibrately swing to the outside on the entry to the Turn 1 hairpin, waiting for the inevitable wild lunge. It comes, and he slithers well past the apex and scrapes the hairpin wall. And with it go his chances of the race victory, as I blast out of the corner and hammer home my advantage. As he struggles on his worn-out rubber, I ease away and lead by 3s when the white flag drops to signal the final lap. From here, it's an exercise in not messing up, and I safely navigate the heroic Challenger home to glory!
Final Results
1. 1970 Dodge Challenger - 1:09'08.621
2. 1996 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 30th Anniversary +2.777s
3. 1997 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 Coupe +6.204s
4. 1998 Ford Mustang SVT Cobra +17.718s
5. 1996 Dodge Viper GTS +1 Lap
6. 1970 Plymouth Cuda +1 Lap
What a fantastic race. A tense thriller from start to finish, and the closest finish I've had to an endurance race in recent memory. Plenty of great driving, some heart-stopping moments, and the usual bout of comedic AI - all in all, a brilliant hour or so of racing
Also, after two straight endurances where I've lost the race in the last 3 laps, it feels nice to have the boot on the other foot I also get a nice cheque for 150,000 credits, which pretty much covers what I spent buying and building the machine I took to victory in this race, plus the jaw-dropping Ford GT90 concept car is delivered to my garage - time for a road-test methinks! My beloved Challenger can have a well-earned rest in my garage whilst I hoon about in the GT90 Until next time, thanks for reading all!
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