As mentioned earlier, I hyper-fixated on this week's Suzuka Event.
My personal goal was to run this race in stock hyper cars. I cared more about bench marking cars in their stock configurations. This is newish territory for me because usually, I grab a car and immediately rip the seats out and bolt turbos on and optimize until I get 550 / 600PP.
IMO with enough patience, I can win comfortably in stock cars around 630~650PP.
The Suzuka Euro Clubman 600PP Wall of Pain (and Victory):
I done multiple runs in most of these cars. That implies that I've run this race 40+ times, now that I've stopped and thought about it. Oh god...
1. Ferrari 458 Italia - 612.73PP - Win, but barely
OK handling, good initial front bite, great top speed and acceleration. But the tires give up and the front washes out quickly once you go over the grip limit. It's as if someone switches off all the fun the moment you hit the apex. Annoyingly slippery when asked to accelerate hard out of slower corners. It felt like winning needed both skill and luck. This car made me hate Sports Hard tires. Unfortunate that this was the car that I started this journey with.
2. Jaaaaag Xj220 - 592.62PP - 2nd place (by 0.191 
)
I really, really wanted a win in this car, but I couldn't manage it. The handling was great, traction was very good, but it needs more power and less turbo lag. I may revisit this.
3. Aston Martin Valkyrie - 842.07PP - Obliteration by Orbital Bombardment (43 seconds)
Sketchy, twitchy, overpowered open wheeler handling, but it just walks all over everyone, everywhere, all the time. This car feels way better on the stock Sports Softs than it does on Racing Hards from that painful time trial at the Red Bull Ring a while ago. Press overtake on the straights for the lulz.
4. Lamborghini Veneno - 687.30PP - Comfy Win (9 seconds)
It's a squishy, AWD prototype. I LOVE it. Beware oversteer on trail braking. Drive it as if were a Gr.B rally car with more downforce. Find the apex, line the car up and stomp the throttle.
*Chef's Kiss.
5. Bugatti Chiron - 696.39PP - Very Comfy Win (15 seconds)
It's a house. But it is very fast house with a learning curve. Cornering is surprisingly good and there's good grip considering how heavy it is. Braking distances are predictably far. For slow corners, 2nd gear is too short and 3rd is too tall. Same problem as the stock Veyron. Gallo wins on initial acceleration (because of course he does...), but you annihilate him and everyone else after 100mph. You'll get oversteer and wheelspin if you're too happy with the throttle, but who cares, 1400hp AWD
6. Aston Martin Vulcan 754.21PP - Beatdown with a Blunt Object (29 seconds)
This is my sworn enemy from the Hyper Car Parade. It comes with RH tires standard. It's a Gr.3 car with more power and more downforce and is just as annoying to drive as those. Grip. grip, grip until annoying exit oversteer in mid speed corners
exactly as you hit the top of the rev range 🙄. Otherwise, racecar pretending to be a roadcar. I know what I said about the Veneno. I don't care. The Veneno gets a pass because it's actually fun to drive.
7. Jaaaaag VGT Coupe - 761.72PP - Electrically Overpowered Spanking from the Fuuuuture (17 seconds)
Veyron power. AWD. 1000 pounds lighter. Electric Insta-torque. It still feels heavy under braking. You need some throttle management up to 80mph, and then you can Gorilla stomp the accelerator. It looks cool and sounds cool, but is ultimately forgottable for me.
8. Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 - 625.48PP - Hustle Win (1 second)
Super fun car. Playful, grippy. Like an Audi R8, but more raw (because that's what it is...). You can use the brakes to point the nose where you want. Lots of oversteer if you're not familair with Lamborghini oversteer on trail braking. Needs more power / driver skill for a comfy win. Outclasses everyone in the corners though, IMO.
9. Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 - 622.85PP - Hustle Win (5 seconds)
Fun and playful again. Heavier and more civilized Hurican.
10. Lamborghini Diablo GT - 598.71PP 4th place (10 seconds behind Gallo)
Among the best handling stock cars on Sports Hard tires, IMO. Grip everywhere. The nose goes exactly where you tell it to. It's just slooooow in a straight line compared to Gallo's nonsense.
11.Lamborghini Aventador LP 760-4 sv - 657.72PP - Comfy Win (11 seconds)
Attack, Attack. Attack. AWD, Power. Downforce. Grip. Sports Medium tires stock. Like the Veneno and Huracan, but just better in every way. So yeah, I'm a Lamborghini fan now...
12. Pagani Huayra - 674.78PP - Comfy Win (8 seconds)
Playful, yet composed. Needs care when accelerating out of low-speed corners, but feels more rewarding because of the chassis. Remember, it has AMG levels of torque. Great chassis - mostly neutral. The class of the field when it gets up to top speed. I just wish it were faster in the corners. Ultra capable cruiser.
13. Alpine VGT - 678.48PP - The Weirdo gets a comfy win (16 seconds)
WEIRD car. Good initial bite, great grip, surprising top speed, but understeery. The car does some sort of automatic-reving that may or may not be causing mid-corner understeer. I think an update added more late-turn power-on oversteer, unfortunately. Kinda unpredictable driving experience. It's no longer the point and shoot car that I remember. But itl weighs nothing, and it pays the PP penalty for that. I still like it because I am also weird.
14. Porsche Taycan Turbo - Maximum Hustle Win + PD Trolling 600.84PP ()
It's also a house. Alarmingly, it's an even heavier house than the Chiron. Even though it makes infinity torque from 0rpm, it's annoyingly slow compared to Gallo, AND it hits its top speed / rev limiter just around 160mph. I love the car though. Good cornering speeds, good manuerability, when your are precise. Overstep the grip limit and you really fall off the track, though. Try to keep your revs up for slow corners because it likes to kick down to the lower gear (it has 2!!) and overwhelm the tires at the hairpin. You get awesome 4-wheel drifts through there and other slow corners if you're brave and brutish with the throttle.
15. Porsche 911 GT3 RS 991 '16 - 627.60PP Hustle Win
Attack, attack, attack. OK to average on the straights, but who cares when it corners so well. Engaging and neutral mostly, but you can tell it's still rear engined at the limit. You can use that to your advantage, but if you come into a corner too hot and turn hard, the car will bite you. In my mind, this and the Aventador LP 750-4 SV are track pals. Love them both dearly.
