I stayed up way too late to catch the update. On the Plus account, I bought all the new cars, and cashed in the new Extra Menus. The 6-star ticket gave a Subaru VIZIV, which I dumped for 576,710 Cr. as I already had the one copy I need, while the all-cash 5-star Wheel of Despair gave the middle-showing/lowest-possible 100,000 Cr.
Before I finally went to bed, on the GTP account, I bought the new Jaguar and, with the 1,000,000 Cr. I collected from the just-expired online time trial, and to complete the Alpine Extra Menu, the Alpine VGT Race. The 6-star ticket gave a Renault R.S.01, which I didn't already have on the GTP account (the only reason why I didn't give it the Wheel of Despair moniker), while the all-cash 5-star Wheel of Despair once again gave the middle-showing/lowest-possible 100,000 Cr.
After waking up, I went back to the GTP account to try the new online time trials, and found my Olympic time trial time ballooned to nearly 106% of the gold time. I rented a Porsche for the trial at Fuji, setting a time that might hold for silver. After that, it was off to Red Bull and a rented Alfa Romeo GTAm, for a marginal silver time.
Before starting the new races, I took my 3-star Wheel of Despair and its lowest-possible 5,000 Cr. (never change, PD, never change) and bought the Honda version of the SF23 as both my SF19s are spec'ed for an old WRS time trial. I started the Super Formula Menu Book at Watkins Glen - stock, the SF23 will not cut it. There isn't enough downforce, and the RS tires don't quite last 12 laps. I bought RM tires, as well as rain tires, reset the downforce to max, and went back. I held off Drumont by 1.6 seconds in an unclean no-stop 18:08 win.
Tire wear proved too hard at St. Croix, so I bought RH tires. Through liberal use of the overtake button on the last lap, I held off Inostroza by .5 seconds in a no-stop, unclean 18:20 win.
Fuji is impossible with the SF23s, especially with the highly-variable weather - I tried everything I know (mostly tire choices). I even tried another Honda SF19, which while faster, is no match for the rabbits. I had to drop to easy mode, where the Honda-powered SF19 (stock, except for max downforce) got a dry, yet unclean, 34-second win in 22:30. At least the 6-star reward was 1,000,000 Cr., though I'm surprised it wasn't carbon ceramic brakes.
After switching back to normal mode, I took a chassis-stiffened Ferrari FXX K out for the last new race, the Hypercar event at Interlagos. It destroyed the competition, which were on SH and SM tires, while I kept the RH tires, earning a clean 44-second win in 11:11. Once again, all of these events are sub-700,000 Cr./hour affairs, and the AI in the Super Formulas seem like at least one step up from what one has the difficulty set to.
On the Plus account, I first hit Interlagos with a Pagani Huyara. Fortunately, Lopez and his RH-shod Aston Martin Vulcan was mired in the field, and he didn't start his sub-1:43 laps until lap 6. That meant my mid-1:44 laps with the stock SH-shod Huyara was good for a clean 3.2-second win in 12:18.
I dumbed down the AI before starting the Super Formula book with the Toyota SF19, buying both kinds of rain tires for it. I started with Fuji, not touching the setup this time. Stock is about 2 seconds slower in the dry than full-downforce, but it wasn't exactly dry. The downpour started on lap 7, and the wetness caused me to spin twice. Still, because I had things set to easy, it was a 31-second unclean win in 26:21.
Naturally, the workout Wheel of Despair was of the 3-star variety, the 8th of the last 15 and 40th of 106 this year. Surprisingly, it wasn't for the lowest-possible 5,000 Cr., but the 2nd-low-showing, and highest possible, 500,000 Cr.
After taking the unexpectedly good prize, I went to St. Croix, where despite a pit lane violation and another off, I took 1st by 43 seconds in 18:54, then to Watkins Glen, where I got a clean 21-second win in 18:13. I got the exact same prize from the resulting 6-star as I did from the 3-star I had just opened - the 2nd-low-showing (but lowest possible this time) 500,000 Cr.
With the cash, I had enough to buy the Lamborghini Muira and still have enough for the one cheaper Hagerty's car I don't yet have on the Plus account, the Alfa Romeo GIULIA TZ2. Buying it was the last act of the day.
(sold immediatly)
