January 18th, 2009
By: Joe Bag-o-donuts
SimHQ Sports Reporter
Daytona Beach, FL: Daytona's legendary road course is a test of speed and handling unlike any other, run in a gargantuan arena. The track itself is uncompromising, but of the cars it demands compromise between high speeds and tight handling. Pit and fuel strategy is a must. Make no mistake: Racing at Daytona is no easy affair.
With a 15 car field of closely matched Super GT vehicles, there were 15 exciting battles for position as darkness gathered over Florida. What a show these cars and drivers put on.
Coming off of the series first round at Toban, Indiana, the five top-performing cars were saddled with weight penalties ranging from 5 to 50 kilograms (click
HERE to see the Toban race report), although it didn’t seem to affect the performance of any of series’ front runners DBR9 or Nimrud.
All day long, one thing was crystal clear: Nimrud’s No 8 Porsche was simply untouchable. The graphite-black Porsche was clearly the class of the field. Nimrud dominated practice, and took the pole in qualifying with an inconceivable 1:48.8, nearly a full second quicker than most of the other drivers had ever clocked at the circuit. DBR9 took the second qualifying spot with a healthy 1:49.14. Chunx was much farther back at 1:50.398, just nicking LazyCrust’s 1:50.53 effort.
Just before sunset, the cars methodically rolled off the starting grid for the formation lap. Once the green flag fell, Nimrud started to steadily march away from DBR9 and Chunx, who became locked in a battle for 2nd position for several laps. Chunx eventually got a good run on DBR9’s RX7 coming out of the bus stop chicane, and drafted his way right onto DBR9’s rear bumper as they came to the tri-oval portion of the track. In an apparent lapse of sanity, Chunx bump-drafted DBR9’s car, and the resulting contact unsettled the Mazda enough to get it fishtailing, brushing the wall in spectacular fashion just at the start/finish line. Chunx seized the opportunity to jump into second place, but like a hunter with buck fever he overshot his braking zone coming into the first hairpin and DBR9 neatly tucked to the inside and regained his position.
Joe, who qualified 6th, recalls the first half of the race from his perspective:
“The formation lap went well for everyone and most of the first lap was good for me. At the bus stop I shifted into 2nd gear too soon and broke the rear loose. I slammed on opposite lock and caught the car, but unfortunately Chipwich clipped me as I slid back through the racing line. As I gathered it back up about 5 cars went past me, dropping me to 11th. In Turn 1 I tried to fight back as the opportunity was there, and wound up on the outside of Turn 3 battling with Ktel. He gave me what I believe was enough room, but less room than I was expecting and I spun into the grass. In any event I wound up in last place, not even halfway through lap 2!
”I concentrated on running consistent laps after that and managed to get back to 11th. At that point Ktel was at the back of a pack of closely-battling cars; there were 3 or 4 of them. After we both got by DJCarney in the Turn 1 exit, I locked up the next lap going into Turn 1 and spun, giving both positions back. By the time pit stops came I was back to P11. It was here that my strategy paid off big time.” At virtually every point on the track, battles were being waged for position. Adlabs6 recalls,
“The racing was pretty good from where I was. My car was smooth and predictable... a bit slow on the tri-oval, the Ferrari was better on the infield, where I seemed to have a touch of advantage in acceleration compared to the other car types running near me. I saw that Goon, also in a Ferrari 360, had a very similar pace to my own...I spent a lot of time trying to gauge my performance based on how near or far he was in my mirror. That provided quite some excitement 'running' from him lap after lap.” Adlabs, goon, DJ Carney and jlm74 had a great battle for position in the mid-pack that lasted almost the entire race.
Pit strategy played a pivotal role in the race’s outcome. Some teams gambled, some teams planned, and others had no plan. The results were telling.
Joe’s 350Z was the big pit strategy winner today. Opting to double-stint on medium tires, Joe was able to shave nearly 30 seconds off his pit stop time, compared with the other teams. As a result, Joe entered his pit stop in 11th position, and left it in 5th for a gain of 6 places! Despite some setbacks early on in the race, some skillful driving in the waning laps moved him up to 4th, a very respectable finish for his first JSGT 300 series race.
Chunx was a pit strategy winner of a different sort. Setting up his car for better fuel mileage, he was able to squeeze one more lap out of his Nismo 350Z than his competition before stopping for fuel, which also allowed him to lead a lap of the race. The longer stop for fuel and fresh tires put him back on the track in 4th place, literally just behind JonC and LazyCrust. From there he was able to use every last millimeter of rubber on his soft compound tires, burning up the track in the second stint with no worry of running out of fuel before the checkered flag fell. For the last few laps was easily stepping away from the competition, securing his 2nd place position. He was also closing methodically on leader Nimrud, although the gap was so large that it was impossible to overcome. Asked about his strategy after the race, he replied:
“my personal strategy today was to run clean, never having an ‘off’ and bringing home an undamaged car. It was a big goal to reach for because I’ve never run at Daytona without spinning or damaging the car, but I achieved it and that was a victory in and of itself.” Of the post pit-stop battle, JonC recalls:
“Back out of the pits I was 20 seconds down on Nimrud, with Chunx still to stop. Chunx stopped a lap later and was probably surprised to rejoin right behind me and a charging LazyCrust. I was up to 2nd, but not for long... my mistake came under braking for the second hairpin loop of the infield. LazyCrust had been bearing down on me for several corners and I think was struggling to come to terms with my impossibly early braking points in the infield. Now experience would have given me the common sense to let him past as I knew he had to stop again in a few laps. But the Rookie in me wanted to keep the Lambo behind rather than concentrate on keeping Chunx at bay for real race position. Then Bang! – we came together and spun into the over-run, while Chunx cruised on past.” Like Joe, Nimrud took a gamble on tires, but in the end it paid off in victory. He elected to double-stint his medium (front) and hard (rear) compound tires, even though his Porsche was having problems with heat build up in the rear tires. Indeed, in the last few laps of the race he was running on the cords, sliding about on disintegrating tires as his lap times fell precipitously. But for someone who comfortably runs 1:50 laps, a fall off of 2 to 3 seconds a lap merely put him in the range of those with more average driving skills. Had the race been 1 or 2 laps longer, however, that strategy would have resulted in tears rather than cheers for the No 08 Porsche.
On the other side of the coin, pit strategy was a detractor for several teams in today’s race. Take the case of DBR9, who was comfortably in second position behind a flying Nimrud. Pitting on lap 15 from 2nd position, he overshot his pit stall, resulting in a frustrating and time consuming delay that eventually put him back on the track in 10th place. Driving like a man possessed, he recovered 3 positions in lightning succession and then set the fastest lap of the race on lap 17 with a 1:50.44, but on lap 18 pushed his Mazda just past its limits, and spun heavily going into Turn 1. So frustrated and distracted was he that DBR9 parked his car, electing to end the misery and focus his efforts on Kyalami, South Africa in two weeks.
The other driver who had problems with pit strategy was LazyCrust. His No 87 Murcielago’s setup did not account for fuel mileage, so while it was very fast it also required a two stop strategy, effectively driving a stake through any chances of a podium finish. To add injury to insult, LC’s car was shunted by leader Nimrud, and later had a run in with JonC’s Porsche entering the second infield hairpin. Forced to pit with 8 laps to go tumbled LC back to 11th place. Despite the adversity he gave it the college try against DJ Carney’s Ferrari, but failed to seal the deal. Even so, that contest provided the race’s closest battle for position, the two cars taking the checkered flag a mere half second apart.
JonC almost got Chunx, maintaining a steady .5 to .7 seconds behind and at times nipping in to a mere .1 second gap, right on his bumper. Chunx later commented that for four or five laps his heart was in his throat, seeing his rear view video display filled with gold Porsche’s front bumper! JonC recounted this epic battle for 2nd position from his viewpoint:
“Now behind Chunx I was entering a battle that was to last almost until the end of the race. For about 6 laps the gap rarely ventured above a second as we traded laps within tenths of each other. The Porsche was quick on the banking and a few times I was in a position to gamble on a lunge into a corner. But realistically I knew the risk wasn’t worth taking. My worn tyres were fading fast and my third place wasn’t under threat. All I could hope for was that my pressure would force Chunx into an error somewhere on the track. I think I’d have more success getting blood from a stone!” But when the pair came upon slower traffic, Chunx was able to widen the gap to several seconds, ultimately putting nearly 12 seconds between him and JonC by the end of the race. Still it was a very game effort by JonC, who stood on the podium for the second event in a row, proving he has both the speed and consistency to compete at the highest levels.
As darkness closed in, all that could be seen from the spectator seating was the relentless circulation of headlights as the cars negotiated the track. In the gathering darkness, dramas were played out all over the track, with battles for 2nd, 4th, 7th and 10th positions raging on until the checkered flag dropped. Nimrud best summed up the scene,
“The atmosphere on this track in the dusk and seeing the lights of the other cars maneuvering around in the dark was incredible!” Coming out of his pit stop with a strategic success, Joe describes the last half of his race:
“By electing to double-stint the tires and hold off on damage repairs, I wound up coming out of the pits in P7 or P8. A lap later the rest of the field pitted and I inherited 5th position. Amazingly I made up 6 spots on pit strategy!
”A lap after my pit Chipwich was chasing me down on new soft tires. For 2 or 3 laps he closed in on me, once feinting inside in the bus stop entry, and once pulling up next to me in the tri-oval, although I out-braked him into Turn 1. After going at it for a few laps he eventually slipped back a bit. He got a little closer when I had to slow down in traffic, but then fell back again to a 10-second deficit.
”With 8 laps to go LazyCrust pitted a second time and I inherited 4th place. I bumped up my front brake bias 2 clicks, moved my braking points back a few yards, and cruised to a very rewarding finish.” Chipwich found himself short-shifting in the last few laps, trying desperately to milk the last few drops of fuel from his tank. Joe wound up crossing the finish line in 4th position with only 2 litres of fuel remaining in his Nismo 350Z!
Despite failing to wrest 4th place from Joe, Chipwich had nothing but positive things to say about the race:
“I had a great dual with Joe most of the race. As he mentioned, a couple of times we went through turns either side by side or nose to tail without touching. He mentioned that we bumped on his error in Bus Stop, but I didn't feel it. Regardless, it is always refreshing when you can race in tight proximity to other drivers and know that they will hold their lines and/or back off at the appropriate moment.” Several drivers made their series debut at Daytona. One such driver was Dave Kennard, driving the honey yellow Camel sponsored Riley/Shiden prototype. After the race, Dave had very positive comments on the clean racing styles of the other drivers, and how much he liked the competitiveness of the Super GT 300 cars, saying
“I had a great time but it did take some time getting used to the Shiden at a full race distance. I saw the great battle between P2-P4 as they came by, nice racing everyone and I look forward to the next race.” In the end, Nimrud took home the victory in commanding fashion, a full 28 seconds ahead of Chunx. JonC rounded out the victory podium a further 12 seconds back from Chunx. Joe, in his first Super GT start, took home a brilliant 4th place finish, just ahead of rival Chipwich. Adlabs6 and goon brought home their Ferraris in formation, only 2 seconds separating them at the finish. When DJ Carney and LazyCrust crossed the line, only a half second separated them. From start to finish, the SuperGT cars provided exciting and fun racing for spectators and drivers alike. And that meant that everyone walked away a winner.
JonC echoed the sentiments of many drivers when he said,
“I enjoyed myself out there. My 4 online races so far (2 in GTR2) have been great learning experiences and I can’t wait for the next race.” No race report from Daytona would be complete without hearing the viewpoint of the series’ rookie, Bodhammer:
“The only thing I didn't hit was another driver! Looking back on the race, I'm going to ditch the TrackIR -- I'm not sure how much in-car is really helping me and I feel steadier with nose view. Now, back to practicing for Kyalami!” The SimHQ Japan Super GT 300 series moves on to Kyalami, South Africa on February 1st.
Click Here For Daytona Race Results & Statistics PHOTO ESSAY: Sunday's Daytona Race in Pictures
CORRECTION: The above caption is in error. Nimrud ran the race on Medium and Hard compound tires. However, they were disintegrating
by the final laps as reported. We regret the misquote in the caption.
Finishing Order At Daytona:
Fastest Lap Times Posted By Each Driver In The Race:
Championship Points Standings After Round 2 - Daytona 1.
Nimrud--------41pts (+1)
2.
DBR9 --------38pts (-1)
3. Chunx---------35pts
4. JonC----------28pts
5. adlabs6-------15pts
6.
Chipwich------13pts (+2)
7.
guod-----------9pts (-1)
8.
LazyCrust------8pts (tie) (-1)
8. Joe------------8pts (tie)
9. jml74----------5pts
10.
Bodhammer------4pts (-1)
11.goon-----------3pts
12.ktel-----------2pts
13.DJ Carney------1pt
14.Dave Kennard---0pts
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