The greatest challenge in motorsport, be it real or sim, is a 24 hour race. Each year, Live for Speed (LFS) has at least one such race, and New Dimension Racing will have one as the season finale for the 2014 GT World Series. It will be held at the Kyoto National Reversed circuit, a fast track where slipstreaming will be critical.
The race will start with a tribute to one of the most legendary racers LFS has ever seen: Tomek Nogieć. He tragically lost his life in a severe accident on the roads in his home country of Poland, less than 48 hours after finishing the 12 hours of Aston. Everyone who knew him in LFS was stunned at the news of the loss, and an amazing tribute was done the day the news broke with many drivers doing tribute laps.
However, as we continue the racing, in honour of Mr. Nogieć, we look forward to a fantastic season finale. The championships are still to be decided, with the variables that can affect through the race. Half points will be awarded at the 8 and 16 hour marks, along with full points at race finish. In GT1, #8 Conquest Racing has a 17 point lead over #9 Genuine Racing, which is close considering there are 50 points available during the finale. In GT2, #52 Last Lap Motorsports leads #54 Team Vires by a mere 4 points. Also in the hunt for the GT2 title is #88 Iron Club (12 points back) and #56 SAVAGE SimSports (18 points back). A reasonably long shot is #77 CoRe Racing, who are 30 points out of the lead but a good showing with issues with the other contenders could change that scenario rapidly.
Following Qualifying Session 1, only 3 GT1s had qualified, with provisional pole being a 1:34.24 set by Otto Taskinen of Genuine Racing. GT2 was fiercely competitive, the top 5 within a quarter of a second of each other. #54 Team Vires are provisionally on pole, with a 1:40.01 set by Adam Wisniewski.
Now that we've completed Qualifying Session 2, all confirmed cars have attended and we get a picture of what to look for from a select few drivers. Isaac Price (IsaacPrice) shattered the provisional pole time to set a 1:33.96 for GT1, and Patrick Schulter (paddi4) decimated any hope of anyone else taking pole, with a blistering 1:39.82. The GT1 battle will be the long game, for the championship between #8 Conquest Racing and #9 Genuine Racing. There'll be a battle for the scraps between ineX Racing and Friends, Genuine Racing's second GT1 car, and nFinity eSports Racing. GT2 should have a fierce battle for the win between at least #77 CoRe Racing and #54 Team Vires, with also having to keep an eye on the championship contenders.
It appears that turnout will be disappointing, with only 21 cars confirmed out of 30 slots. Staffing a team is already a tall order for a 24 hour race, made even more difficult by a waning participation in Live for Speed.
Watch the broadcast anytime on NDR's YouTube channel! Part 1: Hours 1 - 4 | Part 2: Hours 5-8 | Part 3: Hours 9-12 | Part 4: Hours 13-15 | Part 5: Hours 19-21 | Part 6: Hours 22-24 *NOTE: Hours 16-18 lost due to stream PC Failure, Hours 13-15 waiting on an attempt to recover the recording in progress when the stream PC failed*
Spotter's Guide Courtesy Stuart "Bean0" Baker
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