Nurburgring 4 Hours
Date: 20th February 2008
Car Used: 2004 Amuse S2000 Street Version
Okay, so Im finally back into GT4, and I was looking for a good race at Nurburgring 4 hours race. IVe been browsing all the reports, and decided I wasnt quite up to the superhuman standard of Smallhorses, so a car sub-250hp was out of the question. So instead, I took my Amuse S2000 Street Version along to the 'Ring, for...
The Nurburgring 4 hours
OR
It's No Laughing Matter
As always, thanks to AMG for the track map
Specs:
260hp @ around 8,500rpm, FR, S2 tyres on front, S1s rear. This may change as the race goes on.
So as I cruise onto the grid, Im thinking "thank God there's no NSXs". They would have seriously killed me. Instead, I have the slightly more managable, but no less challenging lineup of:
Renault Clio Sport V6 Phase 2
Mazda RX8 Type S
Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport 1996#
BMW M3 2004
BMW M Coupe 1998
With the average horsepower of the above cars being around 350hp (PD lightly tuned them for this race) this isn't going to be a cakewalk. But with 144 A-spec points - plus a heck of a lot of pride - up for grabs, there is a lot on the line. And, more worryingly, Ive put my faith in a car notorious for it's, er, 'wayward' handling, shall we say
The nerves don't really start going until we're nearing the end of the pace lap. It's a nice, calm day at Norsdchleife today, with not much wind and a warm sun beating down. Ive had some weird looks from the crowd coming around, the usual nay-sayers - 'what's he doing in that hairdresser car? He's gonna get killed!" I make it my mental aim to, if not win, at least prove them wrong. Rounding the corner onto the straightaway, I watch the starter closely. As soon as he drops that flag, Im gone.
The flag drops. I stamp the accelerator to the carpet, the revs climb, the crowd roars - and the bull**** stops, so they say
Updates will come every half hour.
Segment 1: 30 minutes.
Slow-ish start as I get used to the car's tendancy to oversteer at most oppurtunities, allied to the cold tyres means not great speed so far, but I get by the M Coupe by Flugplatz (dont quote me on that, I cant remember exactly). I duel with the M3 for a little while before finally nipping by under braking for the Karussel. From there on its damage limitation - the Clio is racing away, but Im well aware of that car's suicidal tendancies. My main worries are the Corvette and RX8, and for the first half-hour I remain within 10-15 seconds of them. Half an hour passes 4 minutes 38 seconds into lap 4, with me running in 4th place around 42 seconds behind the Clio.
Segment 2: 30 minutes - 1 hour
I mentioned previously the suicidal tendancies of the Clio, and guess who I saw buried in the gravel on the outside of Pflanzgarten KM17? The Clio! And he was facing the wrong way To add to that, the Corvette and RX8 dots are much closer on the map, still not within sight tho 
I decide to pit at the end of lap 4 - i could go to the end of lap 5, but Id loose more time then id gain with the extra lap. So I pit in, take 4 new tyres but no fuel, and I rejoin 45 seconds behind the leading RX8. The blasted M3 has also retaken me 
, although he is disposed of in Schwalbenshwanz 
. Im getting more used to this track, and the nounces of the car now. The gap towards the RX8 is decreasing also, around 34 seconds by the time i get onto the long final straight. Unsurprisingly, the RX8 pits at the end of the lap, and I sneak by him just as he exits the pits - that's the difference taking on fuel and not taking on fuel makes, I guess . The M3 pits also. My outlap is my fastest of the race, strangely - an 8:13.424. On the way I pass the Corvette as he pits, and by half way through lap 7 I lead him by roughly 10 seconds. Yes, you read that right - Im leading 1 hour passes 1:16 into lap 8, with me leading the RX8 by around 20 seconds.
Segment 3: 1 hour-1hour 30 minutes
Pitstop at the end of lap 8 means I relinquish the lead, and rejoin with about a 10-second deficit to the leading RX8. Im also behind the Corvette, and by the end of lap 9 Im chasing his shadow. So begins lap 10, the most adrelined-pumping lap so far, as me and the Corvette engage in what only can be described as a duel. Gearboxes crunch, tyres squeal, fenders get bent and the positions are traded multiple times. I try an audacious outbraking manuevere into Klostertal, I get a wheel on the grass coming out of the corner and the rear end squirrels (twitches) abit, and the Corvette is back by. Onto Dottinger Hohe, and we're side-by-side for most of the straight until he puls slightly in front. Then I glue myself onto his back bumper and we literally go nose-to-tail through Tiergarten. Things cant get anymore tense, right? Wrong - they can! Coming through Hohenrain Shikane, the Mazda RX8 spins out right in front of us!!
One heart attack later, and the battle resumes between me and the Corvette. Both of us just about avoided the spinning RX8, and the rotating rotary (see what i did there? 
) is now ensconced in the pits. Which means me and the Corvette are now battling for the lead. High stakes? You betcha! If only the replay could have recorded for another half an hour or so...
So as I said, the battle resumes. A good Flugplatz means Im nearly side by side with the Corvette on the run up to Arembergkurve, and under braking I make another audacious move up the inside, to be rewarded with a tonne or two of American muscle shoving me up the rumble strip onto the grass - on the inside! 
I try again on the entry to Adeneur Forst - a tricky enough corner as it is without a blue-and-white V8 sports car banging on your door! Needless to say that failed too, and after a lot of fender-mashing, we were back at square one - him leading, me right behind him. Sigh. Third time lucky, and this time I do it - under braking for Wehrsheifen. Finally!! But then my hard work is undone as I put a wheel on the grass at Mutkurve mean the Corvette slips back by. NOO!! Back to staring at four red lights again. I let my frustrations be known with a few small bumps going through Karussel - nothing vicious, just to vent my annoyance a little. He seems unaffected by it, thankfully - the last thing Id want is to win the battle by barging him off; this ain't BTCC y'know 1hour 30 minutes goes by 6:01 into lap 11 with me about 5 inches behind the Corvette.
Segment 4: 1hour 30 minutes - 2hours.
I pass the Corvette again at Schwalbenswantz in a mirror image of my move on the M3 earlier in the race, but it's not ideal - several corners later we arrive at the Dottinger Hohe straight, and unsurprisingly he blows back by Nothing like abit of perseverance though, and with a determined (and dangerous for me - two wheels on the grass at one point) move through Hatzenbach, I FINALLY take the lead. And hold it. As lap 12 progresses, I begin to etch out a lead, but wait - are my eyes playing tricks on me? I swear the sun is getting brighter...arrgh, damn you Nurburgring! I pit at the end of lap 12, and the Corvette follows me in. I take tyres and top off the fuel - I figure I may as well seeing as the refuel won't add any time to the stop - it is only to replenish 20 units ish. In the next few laps I keep the gap back to the RX8 (who has passed the Corvette) to around 10-15 seconds, and 2 hours comes up 2:20 into lap 15 with me leading the RX8 by 13.2 seconds.
Segment 5: 2hours - 2hours30minutes
Nothing thrilling happens until lap 16 when I pit in at the end of it. I make sure I grab a bottle of Yop (yogurt drink, and also the most delicious non-alchoholic beverage ever) off the crew members at the pitstop, and with it firmly ensconced in the cup holder, I get back out - to find the Corvette just a matter of seconds ahead of me. Have a guess what happens next...well actually, not what youd think - I put a wheel on the grass on the run-up to Arembergkurve, and in recovering from the gravel trap, I concede 7 seconds However, by 1/4 way through lap 18 Ive just about made up the distance, so here we go again... I get the jump on him coming out of Lauda Links, and I manage to just squeeze by despite his best attempts at nudging me off the track 
He sticks with me through Kesselchen and Mutkurve but I begin to use my warm tyres to my advantage and from the Karussel onwards, I begin to pull away. 2hours30minutes comes up 7:02 into lap 18 with me leading the Corvette by about 6 seconds.
Segment 6: 2hours30minutes-3hours
On lap 20 I take the oppurtunity to put a few CDs in the 6-CD Autochanger at the pitstop, and as I go back out to start lap 21 I have these on shuffle blasting through the car stereo:
The Killers - Hot Fuss
Feeder - The Singles
Queens of the Stone Age - Self-titled
Lostprophets - Start Something
You may ask "why the hell is he putting a load of rock on when he needs to conentrate?" WEll thats the thing - the music helps me concentrate more. Maybe its the fact that after 2hours 45 minutes of endless 2 litre VTEC engine wailing Im starting to want something else to listen to All this of course belies the fact that this section is the most important one yet. I need to go as fast as possible in order to build up a healthy lead, as by the looks of it, the race will be running to at least something over 28 laps, meaning that the Corvette will need one more stop - lap 24 - compared to my 2 - laps 24 and 28 - so on that reckoning, I need as much of a gap back as possible; about 30-40 seconds should do. It's all to play for with just over an hour remaining...
3 hours comes up 3:34 into lap 22 with me leading the Corvette by 29 seconds. 
Segment 7: 3hours - finish
I couldn't be bothered to do 2 more seperate segments, so here it is to the finish. Nothing really interesting happens apart from I discover that if you have third-person camera on, and look behind, the S2000 is exactly the same width across the front as the G-meter...
Yes folks, the race really has become that interesting. I shouldnt be mocking though - the race still isn't in the bag yet, not by any stretch of the imagination, although a handy 41-second lead as I come in to pit on lap 24 means I can relax a little. The Corvette pits on this lap too, meaning the RX8 snaffles 2nd place and sits 31 seconds behind me for the duration of lap 25. 3 and a half hours comes up early on lap 26, which means that Ive got roughly 4 more laps to run before 4 hours is up. By the end of lap 28, the clock reads 3hours55minutes. I have a 1minute gap back to the Corvette, so I am faced with this dilemma - go for one more lap without pitting? Or grab some new tyres to avoid the dreaded horror of crashing on worn-out rubber and loosing the race? Choices, choices... in the end I do take the pitstop, as I just cant bear the thought of the rear tyres wearing out, me crashing, and watching helplessly as the Corvette sails by. I don't take on any fuel (i have over half a tank) and I take on S2s all round for the final 1-lap sprint to the flag. As I exit the pits, I ask - where is the Corvette?
Not even close, is the answer He's still showed as being 40 seconds behind. The 4 hour mark passes 4:55 into lap 29 with the Corvette being shown as 39.525 seconds behind, which means I can enjoy a relaxing drive round to the finish line, making sure I don't make any mistakes. I'm tempted to try and race after the hopelessly outclassed M coupe and try and put him a lap down, but Im well aware of how easily this race could still be lost , and in the event I passed him at Schwalbenschwanz anyway (what is it with me and that corner? ) As I fly down Dottinger Hohe for the last time, and the crowds flock to the side barriers to cheer their approval, I know I have done it - Ive proven the doubters wrong. Me and my S2000 have won. Despite my lack of consistancy, despite the car's twitchy oversteer, we took on the toughest track in the world and beat it.
Final results:
1. Amuse S2000 Road Version 2004 - 4hrs3mins17.047
2. Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) 1996 - about 47 seconds behind
3. Mazda RX8 Type S 2003 - about 1 minute behind.
4. BMW M3 2004 - ???
5. Renault Clio Sport V6 Phase 2 - ???
6. BMW M Coupe 1998 - 1 lap
Photo Album:
Replay cut off after a measly 45 minutes, meaning no footage of my duel with the Corvette, but I grabbed the following pics nonetheless:
Me chasing the M Coupe out of the first corner
The Clio takes an early lead and shows the RX8 and Corvette a clean pair of heals...
The M coupe tries to avenge his loss of place, but to no avail
The other Beemer falls - so much for M Power
The view from Dottinger Hohe
What the replay DID pick up however, was the Clio's spectacular fall from grace on the 4th lap - so here it is in all it's tyre-shredding glory :P
So that's it. 200,000 credits and a brand new Chaparral 2D (one of my all-time favourite cars)
I need a beer. Ive already got plans in the pipeline for other races - i have a used Toyota Celica GT-Four 1998 showing 239hp on the dyno, and thats definatly ready for another assault on the Nurb 4 hours. I also have plans for the Laguna Seca 200 and the NYC 200, plus perhaps the Tsukaba 9 hours (if i get the time).
Date: 20th February 2008
Car Used: 2004 Amuse S2000 Street Version
Okay, so Im finally back into GT4, and I was looking for a good race at Nurburgring 4 hours race. IVe been browsing all the reports, and decided I wasnt quite up to the superhuman standard of Smallhorses, so a car sub-250hp was out of the question. So instead, I took my Amuse S2000 Street Version along to the 'Ring, for...
The Nurburgring 4 hours
OR
It's No Laughing Matter
As always, thanks to AMG for the track map
Specs:
260hp @ around 8,500rpm, FR, S2 tyres on front, S1s rear. This may change as the race goes on.
So as I cruise onto the grid, Im thinking "thank God there's no NSXs". They would have seriously killed me. Instead, I have the slightly more managable, but no less challenging lineup of:
Renault Clio Sport V6 Phase 2
Mazda RX8 Type S
Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport 1996#
BMW M3 2004
BMW M Coupe 1998
With the average horsepower of the above cars being around 350hp (PD lightly tuned them for this race) this isn't going to be a cakewalk. But with 144 A-spec points - plus a heck of a lot of pride - up for grabs, there is a lot on the line. And, more worryingly, Ive put my faith in a car notorious for it's, er, 'wayward' handling, shall we say
The nerves don't really start going until we're nearing the end of the pace lap. It's a nice, calm day at Norsdchleife today, with not much wind and a warm sun beating down. Ive had some weird looks from the crowd coming around, the usual nay-sayers - 'what's he doing in that hairdresser car? He's gonna get killed!" I make it my mental aim to, if not win, at least prove them wrong. Rounding the corner onto the straightaway, I watch the starter closely. As soon as he drops that flag, Im gone.
The flag drops. I stamp the accelerator to the carpet, the revs climb, the crowd roars - and the bull**** stops, so they say
Updates will come every half hour.
Segment 1: 30 minutes.
Slow-ish start as I get used to the car's tendancy to oversteer at most oppurtunities, allied to the cold tyres means not great speed so far, but I get by the M Coupe by Flugplatz (dont quote me on that, I cant remember exactly). I duel with the M3 for a little while before finally nipping by under braking for the Karussel. From there on its damage limitation - the Clio is racing away, but Im well aware of that car's suicidal tendancies. My main worries are the Corvette and RX8, and for the first half-hour I remain within 10-15 seconds of them. Half an hour passes 4 minutes 38 seconds into lap 4, with me running in 4th place around 42 seconds behind the Clio.
Segment 2: 30 minutes - 1 hour
I mentioned previously the suicidal tendancies of the Clio, and guess who I saw buried in the gravel on the outside of Pflanzgarten KM17? The Clio! And he was facing the wrong way
To add to that, the Corvette and RX8 dots are much closer on the map, still not within sight tho I decide to pit at the end of lap 4 - i could go to the end of lap 5, but Id loose more time then id gain with the extra lap. So I pit in, take 4 new tyres but no fuel, and I rejoin 45 seconds behind the leading RX8. The blasted M3 has also retaken me , although he is disposed of in Schwalbenshwanz . Im getting more used to this track, and the nounces of the car now. The gap towards the RX8 is decreasing also, around 34 seconds by the time i get onto the long final straight. Unsurprisingly, the RX8 pits at the end of the lap, and I sneak by him just as he exits the pits - that's the difference taking on fuel and not taking on fuel makes, I guess . The M3 pits also. My outlap is my fastest of the race, strangely - an 8:13.424. On the way I pass the Corvette as he pits, and by half way through lap 7 I lead him by roughly 10 seconds. Yes, you read that right - Im leading 1 hour passes 1:16 into lap 8, with me leading the RX8 by around 20 seconds.Segment 3: 1 hour-1hour 30 minutes
Pitstop at the end of lap 8 means I relinquish the lead, and rejoin with about a 10-second deficit to the leading RX8. Im also behind the Corvette, and by the end of lap 9 Im chasing his shadow. So begins lap 10, the most adrelined-pumping lap so far, as me and the Corvette engage in what only can be described as a duel. Gearboxes crunch, tyres squeal, fenders get bent and the positions are traded multiple times. I try an audacious outbraking manuevere into Klostertal, I get a wheel on the grass coming out of the corner and the rear end squirrels (twitches) abit, and the Corvette is back by. Onto Dottinger Hohe, and we're side-by-side for most of the straight until he puls slightly in front. Then I glue myself onto his back bumper and we literally go nose-to-tail through Tiergarten. Things cant get anymore tense, right? Wrong - they can! Coming through Hohenrain Shikane, the Mazda RX8 spins out right in front of us!!
One heart attack later, and the battle resumes between me and the Corvette. Both of us just about avoided the spinning RX8, and the rotating rotary (see what i did there? ) is now ensconced in the pits. Which means me and the Corvette are now battling for the lead. High stakes? You betcha! If only the replay could have recorded for another half an hour or so... So as I said, the battle resumes. A good Flugplatz means Im nearly side by side with the Corvette on the run up to Arembergkurve, and under braking I make another audacious move up the inside, to be rewarded with a tonne or two of American muscle shoving me up the rumble strip onto the grass - on the inside! I try again on the entry to Adeneur Forst - a tricky enough corner as it is without a blue-and-white V8 sports car banging on your door! Needless to say that failed too, and after a lot of fender-mashing, we were back at square one - him leading, me right behind him. Sigh. Third time lucky, and this time I do it - under braking for Wehrsheifen. Finally!! But then my hard work is undone as I put a wheel on the grass at Mutkurve mean the Corvette slips back by. NOO!! Back to staring at four red lights again. I let my frustrations be known with a few small bumps going through Karussel - nothing vicious, just to vent my annoyance a little. He seems unaffected by it, thankfully - the last thing Id want is to win the battle by barging him off; this ain't BTCC y'know 1hour 30 minutes goes by 6:01 into lap 11 with me about 5 inches behind the Corvette.Segment 4: 1hour 30 minutes - 2hours.
I pass the Corvette again at Schwalbenswantz in a mirror image of my move on the M3 earlier in the race, but it's not ideal - several corners later we arrive at the Dottinger Hohe straight, and unsurprisingly he blows back by
Nothing like abit of perseverance though, and with a determined (and dangerous for me - two wheels on the grass at one point) move through Hatzenbach, I FINALLY take the lead. And hold it. As lap 12 progresses, I begin to etch out a lead, but wait - are my eyes playing tricks on me? I swear the sun is getting brighter...arrgh, damn you Nurburgring! I pit at the end of lap 12, and the Corvette follows me in. I take tyres and top off the fuel - I figure I may as well seeing as the refuel won't add any time to the stop - it is only to replenish 20 units ish. In the next few laps I keep the gap back to the RX8 (who has passed the Corvette) to around 10-15 seconds, and 2 hours comes up 2:20 into lap 15 with me leading the RX8 by 13.2 seconds.Segment 5: 2hours - 2hours30minutes
Nothing thrilling happens until lap 16 when I pit in at the end of it. I make sure I grab a bottle of Yop (yogurt drink, and also the most delicious non-alchoholic beverage ever
) off the crew members at the pitstop, and with it firmly ensconced in the cup holder, I get back out - to find the Corvette just a matter of seconds ahead of me. Have a guess what happens next...well actually, not what youd think - I put a wheel on the grass on the run-up to Arembergkurve, and in recovering from the gravel trap, I concede 7 seconds However, by 1/4 way through lap 18 Ive just about made up the distance, so here we go again... I get the jump on him coming out of Lauda Links, and I manage to just squeeze by despite his best attempts at nudging me off the track He sticks with me through Kesselchen and Mutkurve but I begin to use my warm tyres to my advantage and from the Karussel onwards, I begin to pull away. 2hours30minutes comes up 7:02 into lap 18 with me leading the Corvette by about 6 seconds.Segment 6: 2hours30minutes-3hours
On lap 20 I take the oppurtunity to put a few CDs in the 6-CD Autochanger at the pitstop, and as I go back out to start lap 21 I have these on shuffle blasting through the car stereo:
The Killers - Hot Fuss
Feeder - The Singles
Queens of the Stone Age - Self-titled
Lostprophets - Start Something
You may ask "why the hell is he putting a load of rock on when he needs to conentrate?" WEll thats the thing - the music helps me concentrate more. Maybe its the fact that after 2hours 45 minutes of endless 2 litre VTEC engine wailing Im starting to want something else to listen to
All this of course belies the fact that this section is the most important one yet. I need to go as fast as possible in order to build up a healthy lead, as by the looks of it, the race will be running to at least something over 28 laps, meaning that the Corvette will need one more stop - lap 24 - compared to my 2 - laps 24 and 28 - so on that reckoning, I need as much of a gap back as possible; about 30-40 seconds should do. It's all to play for with just over an hour remaining... 3 hours comes up 3:34 into lap 22 with me leading the Corvette by 29 seconds. Segment 7: 3hours - finish
I couldn't be bothered to do 2 more seperate segments, so here it is to the finish. Nothing really interesting happens apart from I discover that if you have third-person camera on, and look behind, the S2000 is exactly the same width across the front as the G-meter...
Yes folks, the race really has become that interesting. I shouldnt be mocking though - the race still isn't in the bag yet, not by any stretch of the imagination, although a handy 41-second lead as I come in to pit on lap 24 means I can relax a little. The Corvette pits on this lap too, meaning the RX8 snaffles 2nd place and sits 31 seconds behind me for the duration of lap 25. 3 and a half hours comes up early on lap 26, which means that Ive got roughly 4 more laps to run before 4 hours is up. By the end of lap 28, the clock reads 3hours55minutes. I have a 1minute gap back to the Corvette, so I am faced with this dilemma - go for one more lap without pitting? Or grab some new tyres to avoid the dreaded horror of crashing on worn-out rubber and loosing the race? Choices, choices... in the end I do take the pitstop, as I just cant bear the thought of the rear tyres wearing out, me crashing, and watching helplessly as the Corvette sails by. I don't take on any fuel (i have over half a tank) and I take on S2s all round for the final 1-lap sprint to the flag. As I exit the pits, I ask - where is the Corvette?Not even close, is the answer
He's still showed as being 40 seconds behind. The 4 hour mark passes 4:55 into lap 29 with the Corvette being shown as 39.525 seconds behind, which means I can enjoy a relaxing drive round to the finish line, making sure I don't make any mistakes. I'm tempted to try and race after the hopelessly outclassed M coupe and try and put him a lap down, but Im well aware of how easily this race could still be lost , and in the event I passed him at Schwalbenschwanz anyway (what is it with me and that corner? ) As I fly down Dottinger Hohe for the last time, and the crowds flock to the side barriers to cheer their approval, I know I have done it - Ive proven the doubters wrong. Me and my S2000 have won. Despite my lack of consistancy, despite the car's twitchy oversteer, we took on the toughest track in the world and beat it.Final results:
1. Amuse S2000 Road Version 2004 - 4hrs3mins17.047
2. Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) 1996 - about 47 seconds behind
3. Mazda RX8 Type S 2003 - about 1 minute behind.
4. BMW M3 2004 - ???
5. Renault Clio Sport V6 Phase 2 - ???
6. BMW M Coupe 1998 - 1 lap
Photo Album:
Replay cut off after a measly 45 minutes, meaning no footage of my duel with the Corvette, but I grabbed the following pics nonetheless:
Me chasing the M Coupe out of the first corner
The Clio takes an early lead and shows the RX8 and Corvette a clean pair of heals...
The M coupe tries to avenge his loss of place, but to no avail
The other Beemer falls - so much for M Power
The view from Dottinger Hohe
What the replay DID pick up however, was the Clio's spectacular fall from grace on the 4th lap - so here it is in all it's tyre-shredding glory :P
So that's it. 200,000 credits and a brand new Chaparral 2D (one of my all-time favourite cars)
I need a beer. Ive already got plans in the pipeline for other races - i have a used Toyota Celica GT-Four 1998 showing 239hp on the dyno, and thats definatly ready for another assault on the Nurb 4 hours. I also have plans for the Laguna Seca 200 and the NYC 200, plus perhaps the Tsukaba 9 hours (if i get the time).
No comments:
Post a Comment