Race Report - Worthing Digital GT Championship - 4-hours of Suzuka
The first thing to say, is that race wouldn't be exactly 4-hours... the RCS64 software only allows laps for such long races. We'd set up the race for 930 laps - a total distance of 20.74 miles (33.4 Kms) - to end around 4.30pm. The seventeen drivers were divided into five teams of three and one pair - all of the teams led by one of our Gold-rated drivers and including at least one Bronze-rated racer to give an authentic Pro-Am line-up...
A quick-fire Superpole shoot-out determined the grid for the race, plus an extra championship point for the best time...
Congrats to Ryan for yet another GT pole-position in wet conditions. He would - like the other Superpole participants - be racing the first 20 minute stint for his team...
The race started just after 12.30, with watches synchronised and a big clock set to zero for the drivers to keep an eye on. Teams have the option of changing drivers in a 2-minute window every twenty minutes. Over 4 hours, that would mean twelve stints - and each team would need to share out the number of stints equally between its drivers...
Hour One
The race began in monsoon conditions - with the weather forecast to improve through the race. The two Mercedes of pole-sitters Smooth Operators and Slot Carazing battled for the lead in the early stages, but early-pit stops meant the slightly more fuel-efficient Aston Martins sat pretty at 20 minutes - Race Control leading and the Ardingly Aces in fourth. Different fuel strategies - and the very lengthy fuel-fill times - would complicate the standings through the early stages.
At the second driver-change window, Smooth Operators led Slot Carazing by three laps - both Ryan and Oliver had driven for 40 minutes. Simon and Pete had put the Ardingly Aces Aston in third, ten laps behind the leaders and on the same lap as Race Control and AST One. The Fundamentally Barley Porsche was two laps back in sixth. The rain stopped falling after 50 minutes, although the track was likely to remain wet for some time. Tyre choice would now become crucial for the next 'track drying' phase of the race.
Fundamentally Barley were the first team to switch to Intermediate tyres from Wets. They still sat in sixth place at the end of the hour - their three drivers all having raced one stint each. Slot Carazing had a broken wing to deal with and were in fourth - eleven laps off the lead, six laps ahead of the tail-enders and five ahead of the Ardingly Aces, who'd just begun a frustrating three hours of their own wing issues. Smooth Operators led the race, Daniel in the middle of a double stint. They had a nine-lap lead over AST One and Race Control, who had both cycled through their driver line-ups.
Hour Two
Although the sun was now out, the track remained damp and all teams were on Intermediates. Twenty minutes into the hour and Carazing had recovered strongly, taking the lead as the Smooth Operators Mercedes started to sound rather rough. The Race Control Aston remained in the mix, seven laps off the lead in third, just ahead of AST One. Fundamentally Barley were up to fifth, the Ardingly Aces dropped to the back - but only ten laps off the lead.
A rough-sounding Merc turned to disaster for the Smooth Operators when their pinion disintegrated and a lengthy pit stop left them dead last - twenty laps behind their rivals and race leaders Slot Carazing. By the end of the fifth stint, Ryan had recovered one place and had trimmed the gap to the lead back to 15 laps. AST One sat second, only three laps adrift and four laps ahead of Race Control and Fundamentally Barley.
Some teams were experimenting with dry tyres as the race approached the halfway stage... However, the track was still damp and the longer-lasting Hard tyres proved a very tricky drive. After some alarming moments, teams reverted to Intermediates or Softs - the latter gave good grip and more flexibility on the drying track, but wore quickly.
At two hours, Carazing led the hard-charging Smooth Operators by eight laps - Fundamentally Barley just behind in third. AST One were two laps back in fourth and Race Control had dropped to fifth after a long scheduled pit stop, now 5 laps behind the yellow Mercedes. The Ardingly Aston had suffered a difficult hour and was eleven laps adrift in last place.
Hour Three
Oliver and Jean had driven all but 20 minutes of the first two hours - the team's Bronze driver, Terry would be driving half of the remainder of the race. Could that give Ryan and Daniel a chance? Terry had the better of Daniel by one lap in the first stint of the hour, stretching the lead to nine... Race Control were back in third - the ebb and flow of pit stops constantly mixing up the midfield places.
AST One were running strongly in that battle for a podium place until their Mercedes developed an electrical fault. The fix required a return to their table for some soldering and that dropped them right to the back, 40 laps behind Fundamentally Barley in third and nearly 60 laps off the lead.
At the front, Jean banged in the stand-out stint of the entire race, stretching Carazing's lead to 16 laps. Ryan would be up against Terry in the final stint of the hour, reducing the lead back to nine. Terry had one stint still to do, Daniel had two.
Closing the penultimate hour, Slot Carazing held that 9 lap lead over the Smooth Opeartors. Fundamentally Barley took control of third, just three laps behind second and 16 laps ahead of Race Control in fourth. Ardingly Aces were 24 laps behind their sister Aston Martin. AST One were gaining ground - reducing the deficit to eight laps with an hour to go...
Hour Four
Could Smooth Operators overturn their early pinion problems and beat Slot Carazing to the line? The responsibility was in Daniel's hands as he drove a double stint - the first against Jean and then against Terry. Jean added five laps to the lead, before Daniel and Terry matched each other - keeping that lead at 14 laps. Mike briefly got the Porsche up to second at the end of the tenth stint of the race, but the Fundamentally Barley trio were back to third after stint eleven - with the leaders just 64 laps from the chequered flag.
Team captains Oliver and Ryan took control for the run to the line - Ryan chipping away at the lead, getting it down to eleven laps... but no further. Remarkably for tyre strategy, the track never dried out fully - the fabulous RCS64 weather simulation keeping all the team strategists scratching their heads until the end. All teams finished on the Soft tyre option.
As the chequered flag fell and the cars crossed the line after 3 hours and 55 minutes, Slot Carazing won by 11 laps, Smooth Operators were second, ten laps ahead of Fundamentally Barley, who'd put in a very solid run to another well-deserved podium finish. Fourth - and 32 laps back - were Race Control, who'd suffered late mechanical issues, but Ash held off Alex's AST One Mercedes by seven laps at the end. Ardingly Aces finished sixth, 27 laps adrift and definitely needing a new, robust rear wing for next time.
You can click the images to make them bigger.
Congrats to all six teams, who all enjoyed the post-race mug shots...
The stint data always makes interesting reading...
And here is the championship table after two rounds - the 4-hour race earning double points...
We continue the season with a two-hour race on Wednesday 19 July and wrap things up on Wednesday 16 August.
Huge thanks to everyone who came along and made Saturday such an enjoyable day at the Barn. Special thanks goes to everyone who helped set up and pack away - and to the race control team.
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