The 24 Minutes of Le Mans thread

[NASCARGT]

I've recently been running this race as a 8 lapper just for fun. I've been beginning lap 8 with about 10 seconds before the 24 minute mark is reached, so I can just cruise during lap # 8, or I can keep pushing my car and catch and finish lapping the entire field (I usually have a couple of cars left to lap as I begin lap # 8). The first time I had this happen to me, I hadn't planned for it so I ran out of fuel about half-way thru lap # 8 and had to crawl all the way to the finish.

Depending upon whether you lap the field or let some of them go, you can play havoc with what the times on the Finishing Leaderboard look like. You can engineer it to have the slowest time, but finish in first place.

Interestingly, since lap # 8 is past the 24 minute mark, the game continues to cycle the time so you start to head towards night again!

I did head towards night on a 7 lapper, but it was only because I ran out of fuel on the final lap, yet somehow still finished 3rd.

 

[GT5Power]

Generally seven-lappers finish around 7pm, which equals 27 minutes from race start. So that is logical.

 

[GTsail]

Here's a picture of the track just as I've begun lap # 8. At this point I've lapped everyone except for the 2nd and 3rd place cars:

I then slow down and run a 6 minute lap, and you can see that its fully night-time again by the 30 minute mark:

And then cross the Finish line with the slowest time of 30:16.531, but I'm still in first place since I was the first car to begin lap # 8:

GTsail

 

[GTsail]

The Chaparral 2X Vision Gran Turismo can also win La Sarthe with an 8 lap race

The basic stats for my Chaparral 2X are as follows:
PPV: 735
HP: 545
Wgt: 555
Tires: RS

On lap # 1, I drive thru the field and end the lap in 1st place after a 3:07.854 lap:

I pit for fuel at the end of lap # 2 after a 3:15.820 lap. The Chaparral 2X takes long/long/long pit-stops so be ready to give some encouragement to your pit-crew while you wait for the fuel load:

Lap # 3 takes me 3:46.767 (slow because of the pit-stop), but I have now opened up a 1 minute and 2 second lead over the 2nd place Peugeot 905B who pits at the end of lap # 3 with nearly the entire field:

Lap # 4 takes me 3:08.773 and my lead is now 2 minutes and 12 seconds:

I pit at the end of lap # 5 for more fuel after a 3:17.270 lap. My lead over the 2nd place Pescarolo C60 Hybrid is now up to 2 minutes and 27 seconds:

Lap # 6 takes me 3:43.266 and I now have a 2 minute and 38 second lead over the Peugeot 905B:

Lap # 7 takes me 3:01.256, which is a new lap record, so I begin lap # 8 with 25 seconds remaining before the 24 minute mark is reached:

On lap # 8, I catch and pass the 2nd place Pescarolo C60 Hybrid and put him a lap down when I dive inside of him at the first chicane:

Lap # 8 takes me 3:22.050 since I have slowed down somewhat to conserve fuel for the final push to the end. I like how the counter says lap # 9

Overall race time was: 26:57.256:

Good fun!

 

[GT5Power]

Thank you GTsail for exploring the world of 8 lappers, I appreciate it Now I'd like to encourage more normal races and especially with underpowered cars; my record has stood for more than a year!

Just reminding everyone that the OP, along with the Leaderboard, now contains an elaborate guide on the Rabbits, their behavior and their pit strategy, as well as a list of common pit strategies with their pros and cons and general tips and tricks. I hope that this information will come in handy for present and future Le Mans racers

 

[NASCARGT]

Just out of curiosity, has anybody turned in a sub 3 minute lap at Le Mans? That 3:01:256 is pretty impressive though!

 

[GT5Power]

I'm fairly certain I could manage it in a detuned 2X or Tomahawk (we're talking about sub-750PP here, right?) although I don't know how good of a driver @GTsail290 is compared to me; it's possible that I'm nowhere near his level

 

[GTsail]

Just out of curiosity, has anybody turned in a sub 3 minute lap at Le Mans? That 3:01:256 is pretty impressive though!

I'm sure a sub 3 minute lap is possible with the Chaparral 2X.

Please note: my 3:01.256 lap was achieved by cutting the chicanes. The Chaparral 2X doesn't turn that well so I found it better to skip thru the sand traps Track limits??? What track limits!!!

 

[GT5Power]

But didn't you get a hefty penalty for that?

 

[GTsail]

But didn't you get a hefty penalty for that?

Yes, you get penalties for cutting the chicanes, however, the Chaparral 2X does not lose much of its speed during the penalty phase. The Chaparral 2X goes into "coast" mode for the duration of the penalty, but it keeps much of its speed while it "coasts" so I found that it was worth a few seconds a lap to incur the penalties.

 

[GTsail]

Time for a seven lap race, so I grab my Cadillac CIEN '02 and give it tune. After a test race, I tune my CIEN to the following basic stats:

PPV: 620
HP: 875
Wgt: 1220
P.Lmt: 94.1%
Tires at start: IM
SRF: Off

The La Sarthe lineup is as follows:
-------------------------------------
Sauber C9 '89
Peugeot 905B '92
Jaguar XJR-9 '88
Pes. Courage C60 '03
Mazda 787B '91
Pes. Courage Judd '04
Audi R8 Race Car '01
BMW V12 LMR '99
Peugeot 908 FAP - Peugeot
Peugeot 908 FAP - Oreca
Toyota GT-ONE '99

I'm starting the race on IM tires because I found them to be better with the wet track at the start of the race. I may re-visit this decision because the CIEN doesn't brake that well on the IM tires, but that's what I've got installed.
Lap 1 takes 3:46.583, and I'm in 13th place, 19.470 seconds behind the race leader (8 AI pit at end of lap)
Lap 2 takes 3:42.522, and I climb up into 4th place, 16.338 seconds behind the race leader
Lap 3 takes 3:45.741, and I've climbed up into 3rd place when I enter the pits for RS tires and 62 liters of fuel. I'm now only 9.927 seconds behind the race leading Audi R8 Race Car who has also pitted. When I exit the pits and begin lap # 4, I see that I'm only 5.2 seconds behind the Audi R8 Race Car so my pit-crew did an excellent job:tup:
Lap 4 takes 4:10.024, and I'm in 3rd place 3.255 seconds behind the race leader
Lap 5 takes 3:37.510, and I'm still in 3rd place when I pit again for RS tires and 62 liters of fuel. When I exit the pits and begin lap # 6, I've fallen back into 5th place some 35.186 seconds behind the race leading Audi R8 Race Car.
Lap 6 takes 4:04.443, and I've climbed up into 4th place some 29.682 seconds behind the race leader. However, the first three AI cars all pit at the end of lap # 6, so I drive past them and take over the race lead as I begin lap # 7.
At the first checkpoint on lap # 7, I get the news that I have a 10.622 second lead over the 2nd place Peugeot 905B EVO
Lap 7 takes me 3:34.657
Race time is: 26.56.313

2nd place: Audi R8 Race Car --- 9.994 seconds back
3rd place: Peugeot 905B ------- 15.259 seconds back
4th place: Pes. Courage Judd -- 43.381 seconds back
5th place: Mazda 787B --------- 49.918 seconds back

Quite a nice race The CIEN is pretty well matched to the AI cars. Its top-end speed and handling are only a little better than the AI cars so its a decent challenge. Once I made the switch to the RS tires after the first pit-stop, the CIEN was quite a nice drive. Its a bit of a challenge for the first three laps on the IM tires. I may re-run the race again with a little less horsepower and see if the AI can close the gap to my CIEN
GTsail

 

[GT5Power]

And with that... the Road Car Record has been beaten, and with a margin of improvement judging by that 10 second gap! Congratulations!

 

[GTsail]

Last night, I de-tuned my Cadillac CIEN and ran against the same lineup shown above. The CIEN's basic stats are now:

PPV: 617
HP: 848
Wgt: 1234
P.Lmt: 91.1%
Tires: IM at the start
SRF: Off

The La Sarthe lineup starts with the following:
---------------------------------------------------
Sauber C9 '89
Peugeot 905B '92
Jaguar XJR-9 '88
Pes. Courage C60 '03
Mazda 787B '91
Pes. Courage Judd '04
Audi R8 Race Car '01
BMW V12 LMR '99

Lap one takes me 3:44.157, and I climb into 13th place some 15.999 seconds behind the race leader. Once again, eight of the leading AI cars take to the pits at the end of the lap, so I drive past them and begin lap # 2 in 5th place

Lap two takes me 3:45.122, and I remain in 5th place throughout the lap and finish the lap 18.453 seconds behind the race leader.

Lap three takes me 3:48.239, and I pit at the end of this lap for 62 liters of fuel and RS tires. I'm still in 5th place and the gap to the race leader is 17.048 seconds however the first four cars all pit in front of me so I may pass a couple if my pit-crew performs their magic

When I begin lap # 4, I'm in 3rd place due to my fast pit-crew:tup: At the first checkpoint on lap # 4, I see that I am only 10.1 seconds behind the race leading Audi R8 Race Car.

Lap four takes me 4:07.799, and I hold my 3rd place position throughout the lap and end the lap 5.776 seconds behind the race leader.

Lap five takes me 3:40.901, and I'm still in 3rd place when I dive into the pits for 63 liters of fuel and another set of RS tires. The gap to the race leader was only 3.627 seconds since I ran a very fast lap

When I begin lap # 6, I see that I've fallen back into 6th place due to my pit-stop. At the first checkpoint on lap # 6, I see that I'm 37.244 seconds behind the race leading Audi R8 Race Car (who had better pit one more time).

Lap six takes me 4:07.581, and I've climbed up into 5th place in the race about 33.256 seconds behind the race leader.
At the end of lap # 6, the first four cars all dive into the pits, so I drive past and take over the race lead as I begin lap # 7

At the first checkpoint on lap # 7, I see that I have a 6.786 second lead over the 2nd place car.
Lap seven takes me 3:37.304 (a new lap record) and I have opened up a gap of 10.3 seconds over the 2nd place Peugeot 905B EVO

Race Time was 27:05.986

Good fun! I'm think I will de-tune the CIEN a little more and run against a different lineup.
GTsail

 

[GT5Power]

How much lower can you bring it? Updated.

 

[GTsail]

I decided to run my Cadillac CIEN '02 against a different lineup so the race should un-roll slightly differently. I've lowered the PPvalue one tick so the basic stats are as follows:

PPV: 616
HP: 838
Wgt: 1236
P.Lmt: 90.1%
Tires: IM at the start
SRF: Off

The new lineup has the following cars in the first eight places:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sauber C9 '89
Nissan R92CP '92
Peugeot 905B '92
Jaguar XJR-9 '88
Audi R8 Race Car '01
BMW V12 LMR '99
Peugeot 908 Team Oreca
Peugeot 908 Team Peugeot

Lap one takes me 3:44.554, and I end the lap in 13th place some 17.065 seconds behind the race leader.
At the end of lap # 1, most of the AI cars pit so I drive on past the pits and climb up into 6th place as I begin lap # 2. and I'm only a few seconds behind the 5th place Nissan R390 GT1 who didn't pit.

On lap # 2, under braking for the second chicane, I catch and pass the 5th place Nissan R390 GT1.
Lap two takes me 3:43.040, and I end the lap in 5th place some 18.009 seconds behind the race leader. At the end of lap # 2, the Audi R8 Race Car and the Sauber Mercedes C9 both pit, so I drive past them both and begin lap # 3 in 3rd place.

During lap # 3, I catch and pass the 2nd place Peugeot 908 Team Oreca going thru the Mulsanne corner. The Peugeot 908 passes me back as we go thru the Porsche curves. At the end of lap # 3, I dive into the pits for 63 liters of fuel and RS tires, joining the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO who was already in the pits.
Lap three took me 3:50.584, and the gap to the leader was 18.223 seconds.

My pit-crew is very fast, so I get released before the Peugeot 908 Team Oreca, and begin lap # 4 in 2nd place. At the first checkpoint on lap # 4, I get the news that I am only 10.349 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO.

Lap four takes me 4:10.188, and I'm 9.138 seconds behind the race leader.

At the end of lap #5, I dive into the pits for 63 liters of fuel and another set of RS tires.
Lap five took 3:40.824 and the gap to the first place Peugeot 905B EVO is only 5.109 seconds.

When I begin lap # 6, I find myself in 5th place some 35.3 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO. At the end of lap # 6, the four leading cars all pit, so I drive past them all!
Lap six takes me 4:07.476, and the gap is shown as 25.8 as I cross the S/F line to begin lap # 7.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 7, I see that I have opened up a 8.5 second lead.
Lap seven is a smoking 3:35.212 lap so I win the race by 11 seconds.
Race time was: 27:06.778

Another decent race I think I will re-run my CIEN against the same lineup with less horsepower.
GTsail

 

[GTsail]

Back to La Sarthe with my Cadillac CIEN against the same AI lineup. I've lowered the PPvalue two ticks so the basic stats are as follows:

PPV: 614
HP: 819
Wgt: 1238
P.Lmt: 88.1%
Tires: IM at the start
SRF: Off

The lineup has the following cars in the first eleven places:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sauber C9 '89
Nissan R92CP '92
Peugeot 905B '92
Jaguar XJR-9 '88
Audi R8 Race Car '01
BMW V12 LMR '99
Peugeot 908 Team Oreca
Peugeot 908 Team Peugeot
Toyota GT-ONE '99
Audi R10 TDI Stealth
Nissan R390 GT1

On lap # 1, I catch and pass the 12th place Nissan R390 going thru the second Ford chicane at the end of the lap.
Lap one takes me 3:44.580, and I'm in 12th place some 17.333 seconds behind the race leader. Seven of the leading AI cars take to the pits at the end of lap one, so as I begin lap # 2 I climb up into 5th place in the race.

Lap two takes me 3:43.931, and I end the lap 20.492 seconds behind the race leader, and still in 5th place. At the end of lap # 2, the Sauber Mercedes C9 pits, which allows me to drive past and claim 4th place without a struggle.

On lap # 3, I catch and pass the 3rd place Peugeot 908 Team Oreca FAP going thru the Mulsanne corner. The 908 Peugeot dogs me for the rest of the lap, but I manage to maintain my position. At the end of lap # 3, I dive into the pits for 63 liters of fuel and RS tires. The race leading Audi R8 Race Car and the 2nd place Peugeot 905B Evo are already in the pits.
Lap three took me 3:47.369, and I'm shown as being 23.354 seconds behind the race leader.

Most of the other cars also pit at the end of lap # 3, so when I get released from the pits and begin lap # 4 I'm still in 3rd place in the race. At the first checkpoint on lap # 4, I see that I am 14.533 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B Evo.

Lap four takes me 4:09.574, and the margin to the race leader is 13.408 seconds.

At the end of lap # 5, I dive into the pits for another set of RS tires and 63 liters of fuel.
Lap five took me 3:37.459, and the margin to the race leader was down to 6.351 seconds.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 6, I see that I have fallen 36.136 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B Evo, but I'm still in 3rd place because once again, most of the other cars pitted at the end of lap # 5. At the end of lap # 6, the two race leaders both pit for their final stop.

Lap six took me 4:05.912, and the margin to the race leader was 31.533 seconds.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 7, I see that I have a 9.230 second lead. Can I hold the margin?
Lap seven is a smoking 3:36.550 lap, and I win the race by 6.7 seconds with a race time of 27:00.275:

Nice race! I ran a near perfect race (for me) without any significant mistakes. If the AI will cooperate, I think I could win with slightly less horsepower, but I'm nearing the low-end of what is probably possible for me. Back to the tuning garage for me!
GTsail

 

[GTsail]

Back to La Sarthe with my Cadillac CIEN against the same AI lineup. I've lowered the PPvalue another tick so the basic stats are as follows:

PPV: 613
HP: 811
Wgt: 1240
P.Lmt: 87.2%
Tires: IM at the start
SRF: Off

The lineup has the following cars in the first eleven places:
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Sauber C9 '89
Nissan R92CP '92
Peugeot 905B '92
Jaguar XJR-9 '88
Audi R8 Race Car '01
BMW V12 LMR '99
Peugeot 908 Team Oreca
Peugeot 908 Team Peugeot
Toyota GT-ONE '99
Audi R10 TDI Stealth
Nissan R390 GT1

On lap # 1, I catch and pass the 12th place Nissan R390 GT1 as we brake for the Porsche curves.
Lap one takes me 3:42.505, and I'm in 12th place, 15.000 seconds behind the race leader.

At the end of the first lap, most of the leading AI cars pit so I get to drive past and begin lap # 2 in 5th place. At the end of the second lap, the race leading Sauber Mercedes C9 dives into the pits. (I checked the replay after the race, and the Sauber C9 was on IM tires, and he stayed on IM tires, so his pit-stop was because he didn't think he could run another lap on his fuel).
Lap two takes me 3:44.477, and I'm shown in 5th place, some 11.176 seconds behind the race leader.

On lap # 3, I draft past the 3rd place Peugeot 908 Team Oreca just before the 2nd Mulsanne chicane.
Lap three takes me 3:47.730, and I'm shown in 3rd place only 8.837 seconds behind the race leader. At the end of lap # 3, I dive into the pits for 63 liters of fuel and RS tires. The race leading Audi R8 Race Car and the 2nd place Peugeot 905B EVO also pit at the end of lap # 3, so I join them in the pits.

My pit-crew performs some re-fueling magic and I get released from the pits just in front of the Audi R8 Race Car, so I'm now in 1st place!!!

At the first checkpoint on lap # 4, I see that I have a 0.558 second lead over the 2nd place Audi R8 Race Car. The 3rd place Peugeot 905B EVO is about 3 seconds further back. On lap # 4, the 2nd place Audi R8 Race Car drafts past me just before the 2nd Mulsanne chicane.
Lap four takes me 4:11.364, but the margin to the race leading Audi R8 Race Car is only 0.548 seconds! Here I am: right behind the Audi R8 Race Car as we begin lap # 5:

On lap # 5, I'm able to draft behind the race leading Audi R8 for most of the lap.
Lap five takes me 3:40.726, and I end the lap 3.588 seconds behind the Audi R8 when I dive into the pits for 63 liters of fuel and RS tires again.

While I'm in the pits, I get passed by the Peugeot 905B EVO , the Peugeot 908 Team Oreca and the BMW V12 LMR, so I begin lap # 6 in 5th place.
At the first checkpoint on lap # 6, I see that I am 35.1 seconds behind the race leading Audi R8 Race Car. At the end of lap # 6, the first four cars in the race all pit, so I drive past and take over the race lead!
Lap six takes me 4:07.459 and I'm shown as being 27.345 seconds behind the race leader.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 7, I see that I have a 13.896 second lead over the Audi R8 Race Car who seemingly has taken his foot of the throttle.

Lap seven takes me 3:35.187, Race Time is 27:04.314, and my winning margin is 18.4 seconds!

I'm not sure I can explain it, but the AI seems to have given me the race.
I've taken a look at the race replay and the race leading Audi R8 was held up (as he was leaving his pits to begin lap # 4) by the Nissan R92CP who was just coming down the pit-lane to go into his pit. This caused the Audi R8 to lose quite a few seconds, and allowed me to take over the race lead!

GTsail

 

[GTsail]

I wanted to re-run the Le Mans race against the same lineup, but my game locked up so I've had to re-boot and pick a new lineup. So after reducing my Cadillac CIEN's PPvalue by another tick to the following:

PPV: 612
HP: 802
Wgt: 1242
P.Lmt: 86.3%
Tires: IM at the start
SRF: Off

New Lineup:
---------------
Toyota 7 '70
Nissan R92CP '92
Peugeot 905V Evo '92
Nissan R89C '89
Jaguar XJR-9 '88
Pesc. Courage C60 '03
Bentley Speed 8 '03
Pesc. Courage Judd '04
Mazda 787B '91
Audi R8 Race Car '01
Toyota GT-ONE '99
Audi R10 TDI Stealth
Nissan R390 GT1 '98
AMG Mercedes CLK-LM '98

Lap one takes me 3:42.408, and I'm only 13.752 seconds behind the race leader. As usual, most of the field pits at the end of lap one, so as I begin lap # 2, I jump up into 3rd place in the race and find myself 15.4 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO at the first checkpoint.

Lap two takes me 3:43.804, and I'm still in 3rd place, but now only 8.726 seconds behind the race leader.

At the end of lap # 3, I follow the leaders into the pits for 62 liters of fuel and RS tires.
Lap three takes me 3:48.425 and the margin to the race leader is down to 4.394 seconds.

My crack pit-crew does its job and I beat both the Peugeot 905B and the Audi R8 Race Car out of the pits, so I take over the race lead! At the first checkpoint on lap # 4, I see that I have a 3.2 second lead over the 2nd place Peugeot 905B EVO.
Lap four takes me 4:07.665, and I have increased my margin over the Peugeot 905B to 8.081 seconds.

At the end of lap # 5, I dive into the pits for another set of RS tires and 63 liters of fuel.
Lap five takes me 3:38.560, and my margin has increased to 14.268 seconds over the Peugeot 905B.

While I'm in the pits, I get passed by the Peugeot 905B, the Audi R8 Race Car and the Bentley Speed 8, so I begin lap # 6 in 4th place. At the first checkpoint on lap # 6, I see that I am only 14.5 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO. On lap # 6, I catch and pass the 3rd place Bentley Speed 8 on the run into the Porsche curves.
Lap six takes me 4:06.792, and I'm shown in 3rd place at the S/F line, some 12.395 seconds behind the race leader.

The two race leaders have entered the pits at the end of lap # 6, so I drive past and take over the race lead. At the first checkpoint on lap # 7, I see that I have a 27.1 second lead over the 2nd place car.

Lap seven takes me 3:37.114
Race Time is: 26.59.468
Winning margin is: 25.807 over the Peugeot 905B

The AI gave me an easy win! I don't have any explanation for the slow pace of the AI cars. Perhaps the amount of the rain didn't agree with them (though I didn't feel that it was any more or less than most of the previous races). Maybe they think my de-tuned Cadillac CIEN doesn't have chance, so they are just cruising along, complacent in their expected race wins!
GTsail

 

[GTsail]

Back to La Sarthe again against the same lineup. So after reducing my Cadillac CIEN's PPvalue by two ticks to the following:

PPV: 610
HP: 785
Wgt: 1243
P.Lmt: 84.5%
Tires: IM at the start
SRF: Off

Same Lineup:
---------------
Toyota 7 '70
Nissan R92CP '92
Peugeot 905V Evo '92
Nissan R89C '89
Jaguar XJR-9 '88
Pesc. Courage C60 '03
Bentley Speed 8 '03
Pesc. Courage Judd '04
Mazda 787B '91
Audi R8 Race Car '01
Toyota GT-ONE '99
Audi R10 TDI Stealth
Nissan R390 GT1 '98
AMG Mercedes CLK-LM '98

On lap # 1, I catch and pass the 11th place Audi R10 TDI Stealth going thru Arnage.
Lap one takes me 3:41.044 which places me in 11th place some 13.047 seconds behind the race leader.

Most of the AI pit at the end of lap one, so as I begin lap # 2, I climb up into 3rd place in the race behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO and the 2nd place Audi R8 Race Car. At the end of lap # 2, the 2nd place Audi R8 pits. This is unusual since normally from what I've see, the Audi R8 will pit at the end of lap # 3. The rain is still at 35% so he's not pitting for RH tires. This allows me to take over 2nd place in the race as I begin lap # 3.
Lap two took me 3:43.496, and the margin to the race leader was 7.174 seconds

At the end of lap # 3, I closely follow the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO into the pits for 62 liters of fuel and RS tires.
Lap three took me 3:48.061, and the margin was only 1.885 seconds.

My pit-crew performs flawlessly and I get released before the Peugeot 905B and begin lap # 4 in 1st place.
At the first checkpoint on lap # 4, I see that I have opened up a 4.7 second lead over the Peugeot 905B.
Lap four takes me 4:07.082 and I have a 10.295 second margin over the 2nd place Peugeot 905B.

I pit again at the end of lap # 5 for another set of RS tires and 63 liters of fuel. I have about a 16 second lead over the Peugeot 905B when I pit.
Lap five took me 3:38.590, and the margin at the S/F line was 16.331

While I'm in the pits the Peugeot 905B, the Pescarolo Courage Judd and the Bentley Speed 8 all drive past, so I begin lap # 6 in 4th place.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 6, I see that I'm only 12.5 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO. During lap # 6, I catch and pass the 3rd place Bentley Speed 8 going thru the Mulsanne corner.
Lap six takes me 4:06.319 and the margin to the race leader is down to 4.071

At the end of lap # 6, the two race leading cars both pit, so I drive past and take over the race lead At the first checkpoint on lap # 7, I see that I have opened up a 32.1 second lead over the Nissan R92CP who has taken over 2nd place in the race. The Peugeot 905B EVO is in third place.

Lap seven takes me 3:36.556

Race time is a smoking 26:55.848

Margin to the 2nd place Nissan R92CP is 33.892 seconds

Another easy race, made easy since the Audi R8 Race Car pitted at the end of lap # 2, and the Peugeot 905B seems to slown down without the Audi R8 challenging him. I must de-tune my Cadillac CIEN some more.
GTsail

 

[GTsail]

Back to La Sarthe again against the same lineup. So after reducing my Cadillac CIEN's PPvalue by two ticks to the following:

PPV: 608
HP: 770
Wgt: 1245
P.Lmt: 82.8%
Tires: IM at the start
SRF: Off

Same Lineup:
---------------
Toyota 7 '70
Nissan R92CP '92
Peugeot 905V Evo '92
Nissan R89C '89
Jaguar XJR-9 '88
Pesc. Courage C60 '03
Bentley Speed 8 '03
Pesc. Courage Judd '04
Mazda 787B '91
Audi R8 Race Car '01
Toyota GT-ONE '99
Audi R10 TDI Stealth
Nissan R390 GT1 '98
AMG Mercedes CLK-LM '98

On lap # 1, I catch and pass both the Toyota GT-ONE and the Audi R10 TDI Stealth going thru Arnage
Lap one takes me 3:42.450, and I'm shown in 11th place some 13.463 seconds behind the race leader.

Most of the AI pit at the end of lap # 1, so I drive past and begin lap # 2 in 3rd place At the first checkpoint on lap # 2, I see that I am 14.3 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO.
Lap two takes me 3:45.153 and I'm still in 3rd place only 9.386 seconds behind the race leader. At the end of lap # 2, the 2nd place Audi R8 Race Car enters the pits, so I drive past and take over 2nd place in the race!

At the end of lap # 3, I follow the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO into the pits for 62 liters of fuel and RS tires.
Lap three took me 3:47.118, and I'm shown as being 4.085 seconds behind the race leader. The 3rd place Nissan R89C follows me into the pits after about 10 seconds.

My pit-crew performs a speedy tire change, so I beat the Peugeot 905B out of the pits and begin lap # 4 in 1st place!
At the first checkpoint on lap # 4, I see that I have opened up a 3.7 second lead over the Peugeot 905B EVO.
Lap four takes me 4:08.037, and I now have a 7.726 margin over the Peugeot 905B.

I dive into the pits at the end of lap # 5, for another set of RS tires and 62 liters of fuel.
Lap five takes me 3:39.763 and I had a 10.924 second margin over the Peugeot 905B.

While I'm in the pits, the Peugeot 905B EVO drives past (but no one else) so I begin lap # 6 in 2nd place. At the first checkpoint on lap # 6, I see that I'm only 19.1 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B. On lap # 6, the 3rd place Pescarolo Courage Judd catches me and we have a side-by-side battle going into the Porsche curves.

Here's a picture of the Pescarolo Judd just after it smoked past me at full throttle:

The Pescarolo Judd has over-cooked his tires so I battle back along-side as he swings out wide:

I then begin to inch ahead of the Pescarolo Judd since he's trying to cool-down his tires:

I then pull ahead of the Pescarolo Judd and consolidate my 2nd place position again:

The battle continues thru the next corner as well, but then the Pescarolo Judd disappears from my rear-view mirror because he has to make another pit-stop because he's very low on fuel

Lap six took me 4:07.973 and I'm shown as being 11.199 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO who has taken to the pits for his final stop.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 7, I see that I have opened up a 11.1 second lead over the Nissan R92CP who has taken over 2nd place in the race. The Nissan R89C is in 3rd place, and the Peugeot 905B EVO has fallen down the order into 4th place.
Lap seven is a smoking 3:35.657 lap
Race time is: 27:00.817
Margin over the Nissan R92CP is 12.3 seconds

Interesting order to the race results. The Nissan R92CP finished quite strong! And once again the Audi R8 Race Car just fell away due to a bad pit strategy. I'm not sure what can explain the Audi's earlier pit-stop at the end of lap # 2. I took a look at his fuel gauge, and I would estimate that it shows 36 liters of fuel remaining. This would imply that the Audi R8 used 32 liters for each of the first two laps, so you would think that the 36 liters remaining would get him thru lap # 3, but maybe his computer/pit-crew knows best. Perhaps the fuel calculations have been thrown off by the Audi's charge thru the field during the first two laps (due to his low starting position of 10th place at the race start).

But its the Pescarolo Courage Judd that gave me a scare during lap # 6 with his speed. After the race I took a look at his lap time for lap # 6, and he set a lap record of 3:36.331 so no wonder he tracked me down His best lap prior to lap # 6 was a 3:43.250 (which he did on lap # 5) (you can see this lap time in the above pictures for the Pescarolo) so he found six seconds during that lap in his effort to catch me!

GTsail

 

[GTsail]

I wanted to re-run the Le Mans race against the same lineup as just above, but my game locked up again (I guess it doesn't like being left on for 24 hours) so I've had to re-boot and pick a new lineup. So I've reduced my Cadillac CIEN's PPvalue by three more ticks to the following:

PPV: 605
HP: 748
Wgt: 1247
P.Lmt: 80.4%
Tires: IM at the start
SRF: Off

New Lineup:
---------------
Toyota 7 '70
Minolta Toyota 88CV '89
Peugeot 905B '92
Nissan R89C '89
Jaguar XJR-9 '88
Pesc. Courage C60 '03
Pesc. Courage Judd '04
Mazda 787B '91
Audi R8 Race Car '01
BMW V12 LMR '99
Peugeot 908 Team Oreca
Toyota GT-ONE '99
Audi R10 TDI Stealth
AMG Mercedes CLK-LM '98

On lap # 1, I catch and pass the 12th place Peugeot 908 Team Oreca going thru the Ford chicanes at the end of the lap.
Lap one takes me 3:43.363 and the margin to the leader is 16.219 seconds

Most of the leading AI cars pit at the end of lap # 1, so I drive past and begin lap # 2 in 3rd place At the 1st checkpoint on lap # 2, I see that I'm 14.4 seconds behind the race leading Audi R8 Race Car who has driven thru the field. The Peugeot 908 Team Oreca is just behind me in 4th place.
Lap two takes me 3:43.364 and the margin to the race leader is 16.233, and I'm in 3rd place.

Pretty consistent on the lap times since they were only 1/1000 of a second apart

At the end of lap # 3, I dive into the pits for 61 liters of fuel and RS tires. The race leading Audi R8 Race Car and the 2nd place Peugeot 905B EVO have also pitted just in front of me.
Lap three took me 3:47.366, and the margin is down to 12.699 seconds

At the first checkpoint on lap # 4, I see that I am only 7.4 seconds behind the race leading Audi R8 Race Car and about 2 seconds behind the Peugeot 905B EVO. During lap # 4, I catch and pass the 2nd place Peugeot 905B EVO as we brake for the sweeping right-hander on the run into Indianapolis.
Lap four takes me 4:05.869, and the margin to the race leader is only 2.693 seconds.

On lap # 5, I catch and pass the race leading Audi R8 Race Car as we go thru Arnage. The Audi R8 has been going quite slowly during lap # 5. I guess he didn't think a Cadillac could catch him! Here's a picture as I begin to make my pass:

At the end of lap # 5, I dive into the pits for another set of RS tires and 61 liters of fuel.
Lap five took me 3:39.762, and I have a 1.551 second lead over the Audi R8 who flashes past the pits

While I'm in the pits, the Peugeot 905B EVO and the Pescarolo Courage Judd both drive past, so I begin lap # 6 in 4th place. At the 1st checkpoint on lap # 6, I see that I have fallen 27.4 seconds behind the race leading Audi R8 Race Car.

At the end of lap # 6, the three leading AI cars all pit.
Lap six took me 4:05.905, and I'm shown as being 18.966 seconds behind.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 7, I have opened up a 27 second lead over the Audi R8 Race Car.
Lap seven takes me 3:37.553
Race Time was 26:57.898
MOV: 23.515

Another pretty easy race once the Audi R8 decided to slow down over the last two laps. Its interesting how the Cadillac CIEN can be just as fast with the reduced horsepower that I'm now using. I'm not hitting as high top-end speeds but this loss of high-speed time is seemingly being made up by faster stopping distances/time so my lap times are not suffering.

The Toyota 7 just misses finishing lap # 6 when the 24 minute mark is reached so he drives thru the pit-lane and gets back on the track and continues on at 50mph with a field of back-markers behind him:

The Peugeot 908 Team Oreca had beaten 24 minute mark and was in the pits refueling and then comes out to begin lap # 7 and gives chase after the field and the Toyota 7 and begins to drive right thru the Toyota 7:

After a fraction of a second the Peugeot 908 Team Oreca comes out the other side of the Toyota 7:

Here's a picture of the two cars while they were briefly merged!

GTsail

 

[GTsail]

Back to La Sarthe again against the same lineup as above, and after reducing the PPvalue two ticks:

PPV: 603
HP: 733
Wgt: 1249
P.Lmt: 78.9%
Tires: IM at the start
SRF: Off

Lineup:
---------------
Toyota 7 '70
Minolta Toyota 88CV '89
Peugeot 905B '92
Nissan R89C '89
Jaguar XJR-9 '88
Pesc. Courage C60 '03
Pesc. Courage Judd '04
Mazda 787B '91
Audi R8 Race Car '01
BMW V12 LMR '99
Peugeot 908 Team Oreca
Toyota GT-ONE '99
Audi R10 TDI Stealth
AMG Mercedes CLK-LM '98

On lap # 1, I catch and pass the 14th place Toyota GT-ONE going thru Arnage. I then pass both the AMG Mercedes CLK-LM and the Audi R8 Race Car at the beginning of the Porsche curves, because they both run wide and go slightly off-track into the sand.
Lap one takes me 3:44.882, and the margin to the race leader is 17.089 seconds and I'm in 12th place.

As usual, most of the AI cars pit at the end of lap # 1, so I drive past and climb up into 3rd place in the race. The Audi R8 Race Car has recovered from his earlier off-roading so he pulls along-side me as we cross the S/F line to begin lap # 2, and he quickly powers past me and beats me into the first chicane. I just cruise along during lap # 2 in 4th place behind the race leading Peugeot 905B, the 2nd place Peugeot 908 Team Oreca, and the 3rd place Audi R8 Race Car.
Lap two takes me 3:47.137, but I've reduced the margin to 10.964 seconds.

During lap # 3, the Audi R8 Race Car powers past both the Peugeot 905B and the Peugeot 908 Team Oreca and takes over the race lead. At the end of lap # 3, I follow the three race leaders into the pits for 61 liters of fuel and RS tires.
Lap three took 3:46.909, and the margin increased slightly to 12.189

My pit-crew performs a fast pit-stop, so I begin lap # 4 in 3rd place behind the Peugeot 905B and the Audi R8 Race Car. On lap # 4, I immediately pass the 2nd place Audi R8 Race Car going thru the first chicane. At the first checkpoint on lap 3 4, I see that I am only 3.1 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO. During lap # 4, the Audi R8 Race Car drafts back past me as we brake for the Mulsanne corner. A bit later, I catch and re-pass the Audi R8 Race Car as we go thru Arnage.
Lap four is a slow 4:10.440 lap caused by the battles with the Audi R8, the margin to first is down to 1.213 seconds.

During lap # 5, the Audi R8 Race Car stays close behind me in my slip-stream but then falls back when he runs wide again going into the first Porsche curve. At the end of lap # 5, I dive into the pits for another set of RS tires and 60 liters of fuel.
Lap five took me 3:40.100, and the margin to the leader is only 2.486 seconds

While I'm in the pits re-fueling, five cars come past: the 2nd place Pescarolo Judd, the 3rd place Audi R8 Race Car, the 4th place Peugeot 908 Team Oreca, the 5th place BMW V12 LMR, and the 6th place Pescarolo C60 Sport.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 6, I see that I have fallen 33.8 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO.
Lap six takes me 4:10.042, but the margin to the leader is down to 27.171 seconds, though I'm still in 7th place.

All six of the race leading cars pit at the end of lap # 6, so I drive past and take over the race lead! At the first checkpoint on lap # 7, I see that I have opened up a 10.7 second lead over the Peugeot 905B EVO.
Lap seven takes me 3:38.180

Race Time was a slow 27:12.406 ( I made two mistakes during the race that caused me to lose 3-4 seconds).
MOV: 12.515 over the Minolta Toyota

Finally, the detuning that I've thrown at my Cadillac CIEN is starting to have an effect. My Cadillac CIEN struggles to get up to speed, but still holds it own against the AI during most of the lap. However, most of the AI drive very slowly on the last two laps (though sometimes one of them will put in a scorching lap) and they always lose a ton of time during their last pit-stop. I will have to check the replay to see where the Minolta Toyota came from because he wasn't near the front until the last lap.

I've taken a look at the replay to see how the Minolta Toyota ends up in 2nd place.
The Minolta Toyota starts the race on RS tires and immediately drives off into first place and opens up a 4.3 second lead over the field. The Minolta Toyota pits at the end of lap # 1 for IM tires and regains the race only down in 5th place. At the end of lap # 2, he's only 24.9 seconds behind the race leader.
The Minolta Toyota pits at the end of lap # 3 for RH tires, and was only 12.9 seconds behind the leader.
The Minolta Toyota ends lap # 4 in 7th place, 20.1 seconds behind race leader
The Minolta Toyota ends lap # 5 in 6th place, 17.0 seconds behind the race leader but has pitted again
The Minolta Toyota ends lap # 6 in 9th place, but quickly climbs into 3rd place since everyone else pits
The Minolta Toyota drives past the 2nd place Peugeot 905B EVO on the run up to the first Ford chicane at the end of lap # 7, see picture of the pass:

The Minolta Toyota ran a 3:33.673 final lap which was 2 seconds faster than anyone else's best lap during the race.

GTsail

 

[GTsail]

Back to La Sarthe again against the same lineup as above, and after reducing the PPvalue two ticks:

PPV: 601
HP: 719
Wgt: 1250
P.Lmt: 77.4%
Tires: IM at the start
SRF: Off

Same Lineup:
---------------
Toyota 7 '70
Minolta Toyota 88CV '89
Peugeot 905B '92
Nissan R89C '89
Jaguar XJR-9 '88
Pesc. Courage C60 '03
Pesc. Courage Judd '04
Mazda 787B '91
Audi R8 Race Car '01
BMW V12 LMR '99
Peugeot 908 Team Oreca
Toyota GT-ONE '99
Audi R10 TDI Stealth
AMG Mercedes CLK-LM '98

On lap # 1, I catch and pass the 13th place Toyota GT-ONE going thru Arnage. As usual, most of the race leading AI cars pit at the end of lap # 1, so I drive past and climb thru the field up into 4th place.
Lap one takes 3:44.308, and the margin to the race leader is 16.653

At the first checkpoint on lap # 2, I see that I'm only 16.4 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO. On lap # 2, I draft past the 3rd place Peugeot 908 Team Oreca as we head down the straight towards the first Mulsanne chicane.
Lap two takes me 3:45.807, and the margin to the race leader is down to 12.046 seconds

At the end of lap # 3 I follow the race leaders into the pits for RS tires and 60 liters of fuel.
Lap three took me 3:49.706, and the margin to the race leader is down to 8.320 seconds

The AI cars from 4th place down to 8th place all follow me into the pits as well at the end of lap # 3.
My pit-crew is very fast so I get released just before the Peugeot 905B EVO, so I begin lap # 4 in 1st place!

Here's my view of a clear track as I get released from the pits:

At the first checkpoint on lap # 4, I see that I have 3.9 second lead over the Peugeot 905B. The Audi R8 Race Car holds down 3rd place, and the Minolta Toyota 88CV is cruising along in 4th place.
Lap four takes me 4:07.988, and I have opened up a 8.097 second margin

At the end of lap # 5, I dive into the pits for another set of RS tires and 60 liters of fuel.
Lap five takes me 3:46.031, and my margin is reduced slightly to 7.493 seconds.

While I'm in the pits, the Peugeot 905B EVO, the Audi R8 Race Car, the Pescarolo Courage Judd, the Peugeot 908 Team Oreca, the Pescarolo Courage Sport, and the BMW V12 LMR all drive past, so I begin lap # 6 in 7th place in the race

At the beginning of lap # 6, I'm chasing hard after the field, and I over-cook the esses just before Tetre-rouge and get a nice side-ways drift going:

Keeping the throttle pushed to the floor, I soon get a nice view of the 8th place Audi R10 TDI Stealth:

Notice my nicely red left-side tires This doesn't help my lap time very much so
Lap six takes me 4:15.403, and the margin to the race leader stretches out to 27.663 seconds.

Thankfully, all of the race leaders all pit at the end of lap # 6, so I drive past and recover my composure.
At the first checkpoint on lap # 7 I see that I have a 10.9 second lead over the 2nd place Minolta Toyota 88CV (who has driven past the pits as well).
Lap seven takes me 3:38.497

Race Time is a slow 27:22.423
Margin over the Pescarolo Courage Judd is 7.626 seconds

Entertaining race! I haven't checked the replay to see how the Pescarolo Courage Judd managed to climb into 2nd place on the last lap, but I imagine he ran a very fast lap!
GTsail

 

[GTsail]

Back to La Sarthe again against a new lineup, and after reducing the PPvalue by another tick:

PPV: 600
HP: 714
Wgt: 1252
P.Lmt: 76.7%
Tires: IM at the start
SRF: Off

New Lineup:
---------------
Toyota 7 '70
Nissan R92CP '92
Peugeot 905B '92
Nissan R89C '89
Jaguar XJR-9 '88
Pescarolo Courage Sport '03
Bentley Speed 8 '03
Mazda 787B '91
Pescarolo Courage Judd '04
BMW V12 LMR '99
Peugeot 908 Oreca
Audi R10 TDI Stealth
Nissan R390 GT1 '98
Ford Mark IV Race '67
Jaguar XJ13 '66

On lap # 1, I catch and pass the 13th place Nissan R390 GT1 going thru Arnage. Most of the race leading cars pit at the end of lap # 1, so I drive past and begin lap # 2 in 3rd place.
Lap one takes 3:48.390, and the margin was 19.929 seconds

At the first checkpoint on lap # 2, I see that I am 21.2 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO. The Peugeot 908 Oreca is in 2nd place. During lap # 2, I catch and pass the 2nd place Peugeot 908 Oreca going into Indianapolis.
Lap two takes me 3:46.722, and the margin to first place was 18.110

During lap # 3, the Peugeot 908 Oreca bumps me as I'm braking for the Mulsanne corner (which pushes me wide) so he's able to drive past me going thru the corner At the end of lap # 3, I follow the 2nd place Peugeot 908 Oreca into the pits for 60 liters of fuel and RS tires.
Lap three takes me 3:49.095, and the margin to first was 14.164 seconds. The 4th place Nissan R89C is just behind me, and he follows me into the pits as well.

My pit-crew is very fast, so I get released before the Peugeot 908 Oreca and begin lap # 4 in 2nd place. At the first checkpoint on lap # 4, I see that I am only 5.4 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO.
Lap four takes me 4:10.224, and the margin is down to 3.571 seconds

During lap # 5, I catch and pass the slow moving race leading Peugeot 905B going thru Arnage. I don't know why he's moving so slowly. At the end of lap # 5, I dive into the pits for another set of RS tires and 60 liters of fuel.
Lap five takes me 3:40.515, and I have a 0.897 margin over the Peugeot 905B.

While I'm in the pits, I get passed by the Pescarolo Courage Judd, the Peugeot 908 Oreca, the BMW V12 LMR, and the Mazda 787B. At the first checkpoint on lap # 6, I see that I'm in 6th place in the race, and 31.4 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO.

At the end of lap # 6, all of the race leaders pit again, so I drive past and take over the race lead.
Lap six took me 4:09.011, and the margin to the 1st place car was 25.303 seconds

Lap seven takes me 3:37.794
Race Time was: 27:16.484
MOV was: 15.7 seconds

Another comfortable win even though my Cadillac CIEN no longer screams down the straights at La Sarthe.
GTsail

 

[GTsail]

Back to La Sarthe again against the same lineup, and after reducing the PPvalue by five ticks to the following:

PPV: 595
HP: 683
Wgt: 1256
P.Lmt: 73.5%
Tires: IM at the start
SRF: Off

Lineup:
---------------
Toyota 7 '70
Nissan R92CP '92
Peugeot 905B '92
Nissan R89C '89
Jaguar XJR-9 '88
Pescarolo Courage Sport '03
Bentley Speed 8 '03
Mazda 787B '91
Pescarolo Courage Judd '04
BMW V12 LMR '99
Peugeot 908 Oreca
Audi R10 TDI Stealth
Nissan R390 GT1 '98
Ford Mark IV Race '67
Jaguar XJ13 '66

On lap # 1, I draft past the 13th place Nissan R390 GT1 going thru the high-speed kink on the back straight. I then catch and pass the 12th place Audi R10 Stealth going thru the final left-hand Porsche curve. Most of the race leading cars pit at the end of lap # 1, so I drive past and climb up into 3rd place in the race.
Lap one takes 3:45.692, and the margin to the first place car was 14.034 seconds

At the first checkpoint on lap # 2, I see that I am only 14.7 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B EVO, and I'm right on the rear-wing of the 2nd place Peugeot 908 Oreca. I quickly draft past the Peugeot 908 Oreca going into the first Mulsanne chicane. The Peugeot 908 Oreca drafts back past me going into the Mulsanne corner. I then chase hard after the Peugeot 908 for the rest of the lap.
Lap two takes me 3:47.228, and I'm still 12.539 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B

On lap # 3, I draft back past the 2nd place Peugeot 908 Oreca going into the first Mulsanne chicane. And then, once again the Peugeot 908 Oreca drafts back past me going into the Mulsanne corner. As usual, he's prefers to push me out of the way to accomplish this.
Here's a picture of the Peugeot Oreca cruising along in my slipstream:

The Peugeot 908 Oreca punts my right rear bumper which upsets my Cadillac Cien, so you can see that my CIEN has veered off to the left after this impact:

This allows the Peugeot 908 Oreca to pull along-side me as I struggle to maintain control of my CIEN:

I run very wide going thru the Mulsanne corner as I struggle to stay out the sand-traps and maintain a decent speed, and get to watch the Peugeot 908 pull away from me:

Once the Peugeot 908 Oreca gets past, I can't hang with him, so he pulls away from me over the rest of the lap.
At the end of lap # 3, I follow the two race leaders into the pits for 59 liters of fuel and RS tires.
Lap three took me 3:49.207, and the margin to the race leader is down to 8.458

My pit-crew performs a fast pit-stop so I get released before the Peugeot 905B EVO and begin lap # 4 in 1st place.
Here's the Peugeot 905B inhaling my exhaust as we exit the pits

At the first checkpoint on lap # 4, I see that I have a 2 second lead over the Peugeot 905B, which stays steady for the entire lap.
Lap four takes me 4:10.705, and I lead the race by 2.613 seconds at the S/F line

During lap # 5, I actually pull away from the 2nd place Peugeot 905B and open up a 6 second lead when I dive into the pits at the end of the lap for another set of RS tires and 58 liters of fuel.
Lap five took me 3:40.778, and I lead by 6.812 seconds.

While I'm in the pits, I get passed by the Peugeot 905B, the Pescarolo Courage Judd, the BMW V12 LMR and the Peugeot 908 Oreca, so I begin lap # 6 in 5th place.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 6, I see that I have fallen 21.3 seconds behind the race leading Peugeot 905B. During lap # 6, the Mazda 787B drafts past me going into the 1st Mulsanne chicane. I'm then able to stay in his slipstream for most of the rest of the lap.
Lap six takes me 4:08.587, and the margin to the leader is down to 15.695 seconds. At the end of lap # 6, all of the race leading cars take to the pits, so I drive past and begin lap # 7 in first place.

At the first checkpoint on lap # 7, I see that I have opened up a 20 second lead over the Nissan R92CP who has taken over 2nd place in the race. The Peugeot 905B is in 3rd place.
Lap seven takes me 3:40.266

Race time was 27:17.179
MOV was 17.184

Another comfortable win once the Peugeot 905B made his final pit-stop. He got held in the pits for a second or two extra due to incoming cars.
GTsail

 

[GTsail]

Back to La Sarthe again against a new lineup, and after reducing the PPvalue by three ticks to the following:

PPV: 592
HP: 665
Wgt: 1257
P.Lmt: 71.6%
Tires: IM at the start
SRF: Off

Lineup:
---------------
Toyota 7 '70
Minolta Toyota 88CV
Sauber Mercedes C9
Nissan R92CP '92
Nissan R89C '89
Pescarolo Courage Sport '03
Pescarolo Courage Judd '04
BMW V12 LMR '99
Peugeot 908 Oreca
Audi R10 TDI Stealth
Nissan R390 GT1 '98
AMG Mercedes CLK-LM '98
Audi R18 TDI Team Joest
Ford Mark IV Race '67
Jaguar XJ13 '66

Lap one takes me 3:47.674, and the margin to the leader is 19.543 seconds

Most of the race leaders pit at the end of lap # 1, so I begin lap # 2 and climb into 3rd place in the race.
At the first checkpoint on lap # 2, I see that I am 20.2 seconds behind the race leading Sauber Mercedes. I quickly draft past the 2nd place Nissan R390 GT1 on the run down to the first Mulsanne chicane. At the end of lap # 2, the race leading Sauber Mercedes pits with about a 24 second lead over me.
Lap two takes me 3:48.656, and the margin to the leader is 17.996 seconds

As I begin lap # 3, I take over the race lead At the first checkpoint on lap # 3, I see that I have opened up a 8.5 second lead over the 2nd place Nissan R92CP. At the end of lap # 3, I dive into the pits with the Nissan R92CP just behind me for 58 liters of fuel and RS tires.
Lap three took me 3:51.840, and my lead is down to 2.738 seconds. Most of the rest of the field follow the Nissan R92CP into the pits.

My pit-crew is fast, so I get released before the rest of the field and begin lap # 4 in 1st place!
At the first checkpoint on lap # 4, I see that I have a 6.1 second lead over the Nissan R92CP. The Nissan R92CP also had a fast pit-stop because it was his second and he needed less fuel.
Lap four takes me 4:11.624, and my lead is down to 2.895 seconds

At the end of lap # 5, I dive into the pits for 58 liters of fuel and another set of RS tires. The 2nd place Nissan R92CP follows me into the pits, and he's closely followed by the 3rd place Minolta Toyota.
Lap five took me 3:41.480, and my lead is shown as 7.808 seconds.

While I'm in the pits, the Pescarolo Courage Judd, the Pescarolo Courage Sport and the BMW V12 LMR drive past, so I begin lap # 6 in 4th place. At the first checkpoint on lap # 6, I see that I have fallen 17.7 seconds behind the race leading Pescarolo Courage Judd. Interestingly, the Toyota 7 '70 is being shown in 5th place about 5 seconds behind me. I've never seen the Toyota 7 doing so well during one of my races. At the end of lap # 6, all three of the race leading cars pits
Lap six took me 4:09.856, and I'm 16.613 seconds behind the race leader

At the first checkpoint on lap # 7, I see that I have opened up a 7.4 second lead over the Nissan R92CP who has driven thru the field and is now in 2nd place, and is coming fast
Lap seven takes me 3:41.491

Race time is a slow 27:27.354
MOV was only 2.508 seconds

Close race!
No cushion left by the end of the race!
I did make a mistake going into one of the Mulsanne chicanes and probably cost myself 2-3 seconds
GTsail

 

[Anthony78]

Hi, has anyone won the 24 mins of le mans in the ford mark iv race car (without turbo upgrades) I think its around 575pp roughly... Or the jaguar xj13 (also without turbo upgrades)
The reason I ask is that they participate in the race and it should be possible. I can't manage to do it yet. I think the closest I've come is 4th or 5th. Also the alpine VGT Race mode might be possible too. I think I managed a 3rd place or 2nd.
I have won with Toyota TS030, Nismo GT-R LM, Audi R18 (no upgrades) but I've been wanting to do it with the ford mark iv and the Alpine VGT Race mode. I know its possible but was wondering if anyone has done it...
Cheers, Anth

 

[GT5Power]

@Anthony78: I don't think 575PP is possible, especially in a car like the MkIV or the XJ13. The current record of 589PP was set in the TS030 Hybrid, a car which is, in my opinion, one of the best handling cars in the game. Still, I don't think we have hit the absolute limit and can't go any lower in terms of PP, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that 575PP is doable. If you look at the race report for the 589PP run, you will see that it took lots of blocking during the last lap. You also have to be very careful with your fuel if you're running a car that's significantly slower than the competition. The MkIV and XJ13 are such cars, since they tend to finish 16th and over 2 minutes down on 15th (unless they're both in the race ).

The most viable strategy for these cars is a one-stopper, only on lap 4. Any car in the grid that is faster than the XJ13 and MkIV can be used to run the same strategy as the rabbits and compete with them directly (because you probably won't be able to finish the race while only stopping once).

Also, you can check the rabbit list to see which ones you will want to avoid - the Group C's and C60 Hybride have been known to run sub-3:30s on lap 7. You'll have a better time against the R8, which is still very fast, but starts mid-pack.

If you go with the MkIV or XJ13 in the end, you will want to tune them up a bit; if you can't manage a sub-3:40 on lap 1 there is absolutely no chance of winning unless the rabbits decide to play sandcastles at Mulsanne Also, make sure that you can manage 4 laps on one tank of fuel and you only fill up to 3/4 when you pit so that you don't lose time.

Hope I helped

 

[Anthony78]

@Anthony78: I don't think 575PP is possible, especially in a car like the MkIV or the XJ13. The current record of 589PP was set in the TS030 Hybrid, a car which is, in my opinion, one of the best handling cars in the game. Still, I don't think we have hit the absolute limit and can't go any lower in terms of PP, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that 575PP is doable. If you look at the race report for the 589PP run, you will see that it took lots of blocking during the last lap. You also have to be very careful with your fuel if you're running a car that's significantly slower than the competition. The MkIV and XJ13 are such cars, since they tend to finish 16th and over 2 minutes down on 15th (unless they're both in the race ).

The most viable strategy for these cars is a one-stopper, only on lap 4. Any car in the grid that is faster than the XJ13 and MkIV can be used to run the same strategy as the rabbits and compete with them directly (because you probably won't be able to finish the race while only stopping once).

Also, you can check the rabbit list to see which ones you will want to avoid - the Group C's and C60 Hybride have been known to run sub-3:30s on lap 7. You'll have a better time against the R8, which is still very fast, but starts mid-pack.

If you go with the MkIV or XJ13 in the end, you will want to tune them up a bit; if you can't manage a sub-3:40 on lap 1 there is absolutely no chance of winning unless the rabbits decide to play sandcastles at Mulsanne Also, make sure that you can manage 4 laps on one tank of fuel and you only fill up to 3/4 when you pit so that you don't lose time.

Hope I helped

Yeh I agree with all your tips and help. After all, I use a ds3 controller and have won with the gtr LM. I make 1 pit at end of lap 4 and get enough fuel for 3 more laps. Cheers for your input.
The alpine VGT though I do alright and I think I manage 3:45 lap times if I remember right. Maybe even 3:42 - 3:43 but I usually get bumped off the track by an aggressive racer and I get so frustrated. I have saved all my replays of winning the le mans with deltawing (black one) gtr LM nismo and standard r18. All races included the c60 hybride.
Of course the first time I won without the c60 present but after that l wanted more of a challenge.

I'd love to see the 24 mins of le mans won with the Alpine VGT Race mode. I'm gonna attempt and post up pics when I do it. It may take a while though, so plz don't expect me to do it soon. But....u never know... I never expected to gold 90% of seasonals that come out...but now I do.
Thanks again for your reply,
Anth

 

[GT5Power]

Nice job. I also tried the Deltawing, but since I was in the lead on lap 3 and 24 seconds up on 2nd place while everyone had to make pitstops I didn't bother. The VGTs look tempting, however I'm far too lazy to grind for them I'm pretty sure that the AMG VGT would make the LM24 a breeze; I've tuned mine to be able to hit 500+ km/h (310+ mph) in a straight line and it's only 689PP...