I'm just ok with this game and dont play it continuously that often. I got back to it just this past week. S16 is the only one I have left. Tried it a few times tonight and I was 20 seconds off the mark. All bronze so far, I just wanted to complete them.
My experience with the rest of them...
S1 - Twin Ring Motegi Road Course; Honda Gathers Drider Civic Race Car `98
S2 - Citta Di Aria; Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 Duetto `66
S3 - Special Stage Route 5; Saleen S7 `02
--I had completed these a long time ago. Can't even remember what they were about.
So I started pursuing the S a few days ago.
S15 - Circuit De La Sarthe; Bentley Speed 8 Race Car `03
-- I did this first. Took about 30 minutes. Kinda fun. The straight following the hairpin at the end of the Mulsanne got me again and again. Go off just barely and you lose control.
S7 - Trial Mountain Circuit; Mercedez-Benz SLR McLaren `03
This is the only one I completed in two tries.
S4 - Costa Di Amalfi; Lancia Stratos Rally Car `77
S6 - Ice Arena; Hyundai Accent Rally Car `01
S14 - Chamonix; Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Rally Car `85
--Collectively, these three were the hardest and most frrustrating. Maybe for some, but I don't find them fun at all.
I just finished S14 today. This after missing bronze by less than a second many times over the last few days. There is one rail in this you can't hit at all. I mean you can bump everything else but this one rail section. It's going downhill on the back of the course. Bump it slightly and you fail.
S5 - Seattle Circuit; Ford GT `05
S8 - Tokyo Route 246; Honda Takata Dome NSX (JGTC) `03
S9 - El Capitan; Dodge Viper SRT10 `03
Not very difficult. I think S5 might be the easiest of the three. I passed it while someone was talking to me (I wasn't even paying attention and holding a coversation at the same time). The trick here is to keep control up the hills. S8 was relatively easy too.
S10 - Grand Canyon; Mitsubishi Stallion 4WD Rally Car `84
Much like the other rally/ice/snow type tests, this was a pain. I think the time to do this one is what makes it so annoying. I never run those courses and dont' have time to learn every turn, but I sucked my way though it. Just tried over and over. It isn't a difficult as the ice skating tracks.
S11 - Opera Paris; Renault Clio Renault Sport V6 Phase 2 `03
Not all that hard. Knocked it out in about 5-7 tries. I hate this course with a passion, but the Renault is just slow enough to make it so you can't really go out of control.
S12 - Suzuka Circuit; Nissan Motul Pitwork Z (JGTC) `04
S13 - Infineon Raceway; Audi R8 Race Car `01
These two were tough. After lolly gagging around with the rally courses, you finally have cars with speed.
S12 was a nightmare. For a while I didn't think I would ever pass it. Early on I missed bronze by 1.2~ seconds, then proceeded to slide off the track trying to keep pace with the ghost car. Sometimes I didn't even get through the first few turns. There is also a blind right hand turn midway before a bridge through that the demo seems to fly through. I got lucky once but couldn't hit it perfectly again. It also takes time and effort to get that far to try. Finally I unloaded the ghost and started all over again. Off and on over three days, it took perhaps 4 total hours just on this one test.
S13 isnt that difficult once you get throught the first 3rd of the track. The elevation changes along with the turns just don't seem natural. I had to study the demo over and over to see how to do it. Thankfully it's at the beginning and not the end.
If anyone has problems, my best advice is to get a lap down that you can ghost - then race the ghost. Watch the demo from the drivers point of view and make note of how the demo brakes and uses the throttle. It might help to just pay attention to a certain leg of the track (usually at the start) and really get a good time in that section. Walk away if you get frustrated. Many tests I missed by a second or two, and in some cases I got worse after each try.
I hope the next version doesn't go so heavy on the licenses.