Description: If the Sunday Cup is a 3-race series equivalent to typical
weekend-warrior track day events, and the Clubman represents those who've graduated from casual to club racing, the GT
Cup seems like one of SCCA's amateur divisions. The day job has been quit, now our profession is Race Driver!
Note
the significant jump in horsepower on the ENTRY LIST page. We've got the super-lightweight TVR Griffith rating 333, up
to a max of 521 hp in the R33 GT-R V-spec! Everyone's had weight reductions, too. That R33 normally carries somewhere
near 3,300 pounds, now it's down to 2,845.
Chances are, many cars which smoked the Clubman
(like the FD-series '91 RX-7 I drove) will now need serious development if we are to bring them to the GT
Cup, especially to squash those qualifying runs. In some cases we may need to return to the Sunday or Clubman championships
just to acquire funds to build a completely capable GT Cup auto.
An entire list of cars which
were excellent at starting the game mostly become left behind in the garage. '93 Civic sedan? '85 Trueno? '92 Mitsubishi Mirage
Cyborg-R? It's sort of amazing how quickly these automobiles lose their usefulness. Then again, I still haven't
done the FF Series and any compact car stuff...
During the Sunday and Clubman, I have so far
been in the habit of entering each race, then doing a slew of practice laps (4 or 5) before attempting a good qualifying
run. In the GT Cup, practice becomes even more necessary.
Parts:
Tires: Racing Tires. Soft/Soft or some combo of Soft/Hard or Hard/Soft for those with greater under
or oversteer.
Brake Type: Racing
brake kit. Balancer is optional for cars which need help with slowing dynamics, usually non-sports types.
Suspension: Sports or Semi-racing. Basically,
whatever works best. Semi-racing parts often feature tighter springs for instance, which make cars harder to control at bumpy
tracks like Grand Valley.
Stabilizers:
Gear Type: Racing Support in
most cases. Those which can't roll down the entire Grand Valley straight without nearing redline toward the end
of an empty track are going to need taller gears during the race, especially while drafting. Custom gears are something I
rarely recommend in later games, by the way.
Flywheel: as
needed
Clutch: Twin
Driveshaft: Carbon
Special:
Weight reductions sometimes needed, for cars which can't get near the weight/power ratios below. This applies mostly
to those drivers who want a better shot at qualifying.
Payment:
Pole Position: 5,000 cr.
First Place: 10,000 cr.
Championship:
25,000
Prize:
Math:
divide your car's weight by whatever number is shown below; a different calculation will be needed for Qualifying and the
actual race.
Qualifying:
Attaining Pole Position is a heck of a lot more difficult now. In some cases serious money will need to be
spent on engine power, racing tires, and a variety of customized parts. Starting up front is desirable in the
GT Cup because a lot of times our competition drives so badly, it's annoying dealing with their nonsense as they slam into
each other AND us. Better to avoid them altogether, that's why qualifying well is important at this level.
Race: "Absolute power corrupts absolutely," a nineteenth-century British
noble once said. Very true during the GT Cup races. These drivers play with more power, they supposedly destroy
during qualifying, yet they often drive the actual races like a bunch of finger-painting Kindergarten n00bs. Be aware of times
when they're about to make mistakes, choosing lines which are obviously horrible and so on. Most of all: do your best
to take advantage of these mistakes before they've been made!
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Grand Valley Speedway
Qualify:
5.00
Racing: 6.14
---------------------------------------
Deep
Forest Racing Way
Qualify: 5.02
Racing: 5.87
----------------------------------------
Special
Stage Route 5
Qualify:
Racing:
-------------------------------------
Trial
Mountain
Qualify:
Racing:
--------------------------------------------------------------
OPPONENT
CARS
'96 Dodge Viper GTS
FR // 440 hp // 2,491 lbs.
'?? Honda NSX Type S Zero
MR // 409 hp // 2,151 lbs.
'95 Mitsubishi GTO MR F/AWD
// 504 hp // 3,104 lbs.
'95 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IV GSR F/AWD // 340 hp // 2,493 lbs.
'??
Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec F/AWD // 521 hp // 2,845 lbs.
'96 Subaru
Impreza WRX STi III F/AWD // 340 hp // 2,308 lbs.
'96 Toyota Supra RZ
FR // 452 hp // 2,788 lbs.
'94 TVR Griffith 500
FR // 333 hp // 1,794 lbs.
--------------------------------------
CARS
DRIVEN
'91 Mazda RX-7 Type-R {2,465 lbs. (Stage 2 reduction)}
