Feature: 8³ The Eight Hour Daytona Endurance Race

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The Race: Hour 2

After things had sorted themselves after everyone’s first pit stop, the race settled into a more predictable flow. TPG Racing continued to leave the other two GT cars far behind, and SimHQ Enduro-holics pitted on lap 53 for fuel, tires, and a driver change. "Ktel" got in the car and just before he pulled away TPG Racing pitted and lapped us again, then changed drivers to William Griffin. "Ktel" got the lap back when he left the pits but was still one lap down. As "Ktel" pulled away after the necessarily lengthy stop, the Team Motorbreath car pitted and began its service. Unfortunately, poor "F Catalan" suffered a disconnect during the driver swap and Team Motorbreath was the second team to record a DNF. Sadly, the epic Corvette vs Aston Martin duel would not develop during this race, although it was certainly fun while it lasted.

Team TPG Racing led GT-1

Sadly, the epic Corvette vs Aston Martin duel was not to be

The Prototype cars lapped at a consistent pace for most of their second stints, with the gaps between everyone remaining constant or growing slightly. Around lap 45 the sky began darkening noticeably, and one-by-one the drivers turned on their headlights. Thankfully, version 1.1 of Burroughs’ Daytona track has excellent night lighting.

Daytona at dusk

Team DimWit B

Team DimWit A

On lap 56 "Pierre1" suffered some trouble, went off-track, and damaged the suspension. With an overheating right rear tire the car headed for the pits, stopping on lap 58. "Pierre1" handed the car over to Marc, and Marc exited the pits in P4. Vikz chose this lap to pit as well, from the overall lead, and handed the car off to co-driver "Jer". "Jer" exited the pits in P2. Three laps later the overall leader "SteV8" pitted, and so did Thomas from P3. "SteV8" managed to exit the pits while maintaining a 10-second lead, staying in the car for a grueling third stint. Thomas handed the car off to "Goon", who exited the pits in P3. Shortly after his stint began Marc suffered an errant "esc" press when returning to the pits, and recorded the race’s third DNF.

The French Connection Team had a terrific run until a disastrous pit stop

After the round of pit stops "Goon" maintained a stable gap to P2, but overall leader "SteV8" was steadily pulling away from "Jer" in the 07 No Clue Racing Audi. At the end of the second hour the standings were:

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