SPECIAL EVENT: GT6 One Hour and 24 minutes of LeMans. Saturday 6/13 at 9:45pm EST

For those of you who are figuring your strategy for the race, here is how the race will run:

When the lights go out on the grid start we will drive slowly around the track single file at a 6 minute pace (about 85-90mph). The first lap does count. You can accelerate for the start as you exit the final chicane before start/finish. No passing before the line and I recommend no passing until the straight. It's a long race and damage is set to heavy - meaning it will not repair itself. You will have to pit for repairs. Let's start clean.

Weather will be random. Your guess is as good as mine.

There will be a full course yellow flag for two laps when the leader crosses the start/finish to begin lap 13. The leader will slow to a 6 minute pace. The field will form up single file behind him. (If you are down a lap, you are SOL - no lucky dog rule.) Pits will be open during the yellow. I estimate the race will be between 25 and 27 laps so the yellow is planned for about the half way point. The race will go green when the leader exits the final chicane before start/finish to begin lap 15. Again, no passing until the line.

Thank you Argo that is very helpful.

Once the leader passes the line and the yellow comes out, is it a race back to the line or do we need to form up single file?

Are one of you on mics going to announce the yellow so we don't forget? And the subsequent green?

Figured I would put this out there for people to see. It may help it may further confuse things.

I can run the first stint of 6 laps (1 caution and 5 at race pace) with the final laps at a quicker pace than I would normally. Hopefully keeping me at least mid pack. I am thinking 3:29's or 3:30's for those 5 laps pitting at the start of lap 7. I will then have to run laps in moderate fuel conservation mode to get the full 6 laps

I will then pit again at the start of lap 13 as the caution comes out. I will then pit again at the start of lap 14 to top off (or maybe at the start of lap 15 as we go green).

This maybe could allow me to then run two 5 lap stints getting me to lap 24 with no regard for fuel savings BUT I will see where I am after the first three laps fuel wise and if I have more than half a tank I will then settle in to the 6 lap fuel usage mode and stretch it to 6 meaning I will be pitting at the start of lap 20 and can complete lap 24 (having to pit at the beginning of lap 25)

Now all this is in an ideal world with out accidents and with out rain and or wet track slowing us down. I have not tested yet I may actually pit at the start of lap 15 as the field goes green and then I can run a fuel saver stint to lap 20 and then drive like a mad man to the finish.

Now for the math to see if the above actually works out by the numbers.

First off the math.

1:30 min = 90 min

3:34 = 3.56 min / lap

90/3.56 = 25.28 laps (if all 90 min was at race pace) BUT now we start subtracting.

The first lap will be roughly a 6 min lap so that subtracts conservatively 2 min

The two caution laps will be the same so that is 2 min * 2 = 4 min

Pitting

Fuel takes about .5 sec for every liter of fuel so a full tank will be 50 seconds plus in and out adds another 26 seconds so each pit stop will be a total of 76 seconds

The first pit stop will be under normal race conditions so that means you loose 76 seconds in the pits

The second pit stops (yes two as I plan on one at the beginning of lap 13 and one at the beginning of 15. This is a hard one to calculate. The first one is under yellow so there is coming to the yellow so there really is no time loss. You don't get double lose of time for both the yellow and the pit stop. The second one is the tricky one as I will be pitting as the field goes green so to be conservative I am going to consider only the fueling and the out portion of the pit stop (about 63 seconds)

The third stop will be under green so that is a full 76 second loss.

So if we tabulate all the "lost time" it is as follows

• 6 min for caution laps
• 1:16 for the first stop
• 0:66 for the 2nd stop
• 1:16 for the third stop

For a total of 9:38 = 9.63 min

We then take this and divide it by 3:34 (3.56 min) and you get 2.70 laps "at speed" lost.

So going back to my original race length of 25.28 = and subtract the laps lost due to all the above I get a race length of 22.58 laps round that to 23 laps as you have to finish the last lap and as I always did when I was a crew chief add one more lap so it will end up being 24 laps for calculation purposes.

So looking back on my pit stop strategy knowing the total race length with time lost I may not pit at the start of lap 15 (putting me at the back of the field but not a bad thing) but instead pit at the start of lap 14 under caution this will mean 11 laps to the finish BUT I have to be carful as that changes the lost time factor as I will not loose the 56 seconds that I would if I pit on lap 15. BUT it would mean I could run one 5 lap stint and one 6 lap stint to complete lap 24. If my calculations really are accurate then I may only need to complete lap 23 and in that case I could possibly run two 5 lap stints (and risk crashing the car). Also really only am 4 seconds a lap at my all out pace so that would only equate to a 24 second gain in time on the field. Or run two 6 lap stints and that gives me as much as a two lap margin. One lap margin on fuel millage PLUS the one lap margin in the calculated 24 lap length. Hummmmm

Ohya then there is rain and it can toss all this out the window.

This is the kind of stuff that I loved about endurance racing when I did it. Yes I geek out on the numbers in racing. We won several 24 hour races because I would start running these types of calculations at about the mid point of the race and then keep adjusting them as things changed. Lots of fun!!!

BradLTL wrote: Once the leader passes the line and the yellow comes out, is it a race back to the line or do we need to form up single file? Are one of you on mics going to announce the yellow so we don't forget? And the subsequent green?

I am assuming that the yellow is out as soon as you cross the line starting lap 13. Yes??? So you would be racing to the line to start lap 13.

dean1484 wrote: 1:30 min = 90 min

Aren't we racing 1:24?

We were but you can only set the time limit to even numbers so Argo said that we would be going to 1:30. With the cautions and the pace lap that "roughly" works out to 1:24 race length. However Argo should confirm this.

If he can go to a 1:24 length then my strategy changes and I can go bonsai mode after the scheduled yellow at the start of lap 13

Gotcha.

And naming it the 1:24 is much more in keeping with the weekend's events in the real racing world.

Not only do I not have the pace to hang at the front, but I also don't have the consistency nor the desire to really think up of a strategy. My goal is to finish the race.

This is a message for the evil dictator

Osargo Binracing

Yes I will be attending your event as for what car will I be running ?? I was planning on run the Peugeot 908 but if I read the rules right only 2 of the same car allowed and dean and binracing jr are running the 908. Am I correct that I can't run that car ???

Any tests done using bspec mode have no VALUE whatsoever , the computer AI is flawed beyond belief!!!

In reply to T.J.:

I too, will be just hoping to finish. I have no desire to come up with strategies like dean. I also will have very little practice. So just plan to do the best I can as the event unfolds.

mrmudd583 wrote: This is a message for the evil dictator Osargo Binracing Yes I will be attending your event as for what car will I be running ?? I was planning on run the Peugeot 908 but if I read the rules right only 2 of the same car allowed and dean and binracing jr are running the 908. Am I correct that I can't run that car ???

I think you can fun the 908 base model because it is paintable so even through they are the same cars with different paint it brakes up the field. I think some where "Osargo Binracing" said that the 908's are unlimited because they are paintable.

dean1484 wrote: Figured I would put this out there for people to see. It may help it may further confuse things. I can run the first stint of 6 laps (1 caution and 5 at race pace) with the final laps at a quicker pace than I would normally. Hopefully keeping me at least mid pack. I am thinking 3:29's or 3:30's for those 5 laps pitting at the start of lap 7. I will then have to run laps in moderate fuel conservation mode to get the full 6 laps I will then pit again at the start of lap 13 as the caution comes out. I will then pit again at the start of lap 14 to top off (or maybe at the start of lap 15 as we go green). This maybe could allow me to then run two 5 lap stints getting me to lap 24 with no regard for fuel savings BUT I will see where I am after the first three laps fuel wise and if I have more than half a tank I will then settle in to the 6 lap fuel usage mode and stretch it to 6 meaning I will be pitting at the start of lap 20 and can complete lap 24 (having to pit at the beginning of lap 25) Now all this is in an ideal world with out accidents and with out rain and or wet track slowing us down. I have not tested yet I may actually pit at the start of lap 15 as the field goes green and then I can run a fuel saver stint to lap 20 and then drive like a mad man to the finish. Now for the math to see if the above actually works out by the numbers. First off the math. 1:30 min = 90 min 3:34 = 3.56 min / lap 90/3.56 = 25.28 laps (if all 90 min was at race pace) BUT now we start subtracting. The first lap will be roughly a 6 min lap so that subtracts conservatively 2 min The two caution laps will be the same so that is 2 min * 2 = 4 min Pitting Fuel takes about .5 sec for every liter of fuel so a full tank will be 50 seconds plus in and out adds another 26 seconds so each pit stop will be a total of 76 seconds The first pit stop will be under normal race conditions so that means you loose 76 seconds in the pits The second pit stops (yes two as I plan on one at the beginning of lap 13 and one at the beginning of 15. This is a hard one to calculate. The first one is under yellow so there is coming to the yellow so there really is no time loss. You don't get double lose of time for both the yellow and the pit stop. The second one is the tricky one as I will be pitting as the field goes green so to be conservative I am going to consider only the fueling and the out portion of the pit stop (about 63 seconds) The third stop will be under green so that is a full 76 second loss. So if we tabulate all the "lost time" it is as follows - 6 min for caution laps - 1:16 for the first stop - 0:66 for the 2nd stop - 1:16 for the third stop For a total of 9:38 = 9.63 min We then take this and divide it by 3:34 (3.56 min) and you get 2.70 laps "at speed" lost. So going back to my original race length of 25.28 = and subtract the laps lost due to all the above I get a race length of 22.58 laps round that to 23 laps as you have to finish the last lap and as I always did when I was a crew chief add one more lap so it will end up being 24 laps for calculation purposes. So looking back on my pit stop strategy knowing the total race length with time lost I may not pit at the start of lap 15 (putting me at the back of the field but not a bad thing) but instead pit at the start of lap 14 under caution this will mean 11 laps to the finish BUT I have to be carful as that changes the lost time factor as I will not loose the 56 seconds that I would if I pit on lap 15. BUT it would mean I could run one 5 lap stint and one 6 lap stint to complete lap 24. If my calculations really are accurate then I may only need to complete lap 23 and in that case I could possibly run two 5 lap stints (and risk crashing the car). Also really only am 4 seconds a lap at my all out pace so that would only equate to a 24 second gain in time on the field. Or run two 6 lap stints and that gives me as much as a two lap margin. One lap margin on fuel millage PLUS the one lap margin in the calculated 24 lap length. Hummmmm Ohya then there is rain and it can toss all this out the window. This is the kind of stuff that I loved about endurance racing when I did it. Yes I geek out on the numbers in racing. We won several 24 hour races because I would start running these types of calculations at about the mid point of the race and then keep adjusting them as things changed. Lots of fun!!!

Am I the only one who ended up with a headache after trying read and comprehend the Mad Crewchiefs data ??

I can not help it I geek out over that stuff.

Mudd. I don't think anyone has claimed the other 908s. I think there are two of them that come with pre painted livery's.

BradLTL wrote: Once the leader passes the line and the yellow comes out, is it a race back to the line or do we need to form up single file? Are one of you on mics going to announce the yellow so we don't forget? And the subsequent green?

Good questions. The whole track is yellow when the leader crosses the line to start lap 13. No passing. Form up single file. I will announce the yellow flag over the Mic.

dean1484 wrote: We were but you can only set the time limit to even numbers so Argo said that we would be going to 1:30. With the cautions and the pace lap that "roughly" works out to 1:24 race length. However Argo should confirm this. If he can go to a 1:24 length then my strategy changes and I can go bonsai mode after the scheduled yellow at the start of lap 13

Room is set to 90 minutes. At the race start we Will drive our 6 minute pace lap. Actual racing time is 1:24.

T.J. wrote: Not only do I not have the pace to hang at the front, but I also don't have the consistency nor the desire to really think up of a strategy. My goal is to finish the race.

I'm with you. We have to constantly remind Dean to keep his posts to 1000 words or less.

Mudd, the other Pugs are available though I don't want to have a Pug parade. Have you tried the Bentley?

In reply to mrmudd583:

I did that kind of work for a minute in Dodge Motorsports so it felt nostalgic reading Dean's strategy.

Broke out the wheel and ran a few test laps (yes, I did it online Dean). I started at a 3:39 and improved a bit from there; it's good to know that after not driving in months I'm still faster than the computer.

Here is my car, dubbed "The moving chicane of Mulsanne":

Ok, let's say that when the caution occurs I'm 20 sec. behind first place in 6th place. Can I go ahead and pit then catch up with P1 - or at least get as close as possible?

In reply to Graefin10:

That us what I am going to do. Grid up for the restart. Just no passing under yellow.

Hay Argo what us the policy on restarts. Do lap cars go to the back of is it a frozen grid and you start where you are in the grid. If a lap car happens to be between first and second to bad. That us how you start.