Le Mans 24 Hours Walkthrough :
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Walkthrough - Mega-Guide FinalLE MANS 24 HOURS: MEGAGUIDE by Wolf Feather/Jamie Stafford FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM Initial Version Completed: October 3, 2002 FINAL VERSION Completed: October 15, 2002 ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== CONTENTS Spacing and Length Permissions Introduction Game Modes The Circuits Tips for Championships Championships And Set-Ups Time Trial Tips Time Trial Goal Times Time Trial Circuit-Specific Tips Tires General Tips Surviving an Endurance Race Le Mans 2000: Time Compression Le Mans 2000: Suggested Car Set-ups Le Mans 2000: General Tips Le Mans 2000: Circuit Overview Petit Le Mans: Time Compression Petit Le Mans: Suggested Car Set-ups Petit Le Mans: General Tips Petit Le Mans: Circuit Overview Strategy for Unlocking All Elements in Le Mans 24 Hours Team Information Audi Sport Team Joest Audi Sport UK BMW Motorsport Bonnet Didier Carsport Holland Chamberlain Engineering Corvette Racing Courage Competition Freisinger Motorsport GTC Competition Jaguar JMB Competition Joest Racing Johansson Matthews Racing Konrad Motorsport Kremer Racing La Filiere ELF Lancia Larbre Competition Mopar Team Oreca Multimatic Motorsports Newcastle Lister Storm Nissan Motorsports Panoz Motorsports Paul Belmondo Racing Pescarolo Sport Peugeot Talbot Sport Pilot Racing Riley & Scott Europe ROC Roock Racing Sauber SMG Team Augusta Racing Team Cadillac Team Dams Team Den Bla Team Goh Team Marcos Team Oreca Team Rafanelli Thomas Bscher Promotion TV Asahi Team Dragon Welter Gerard Details: Le Mans Details: Bugatti Details: Brno Details: Donington National Details: Donington Grand Prix Details: Catalunya National Details: Catalunya Grand Prix Details: Suzuka East Details: Suzuka West Details: Suzuka Grand Prix Details: Road Atlanta Details: Road Atlanta National Details: Reverse Courses Completely Subjective Section Unlocking Circuits (Spoilers!!!!!) Unlocking Cars (Spoilers!!!!!) Information on the Web (Le Mans 2000 and Petit Le Mans) Wish List Contact ==================================== SPACING AND LENGTH For optimum readability, this driving guide should be viewed/printed using a monowidth font, such as Courier. Check for appropriate font setting by making sure the numbers and letters below line up: 1234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz This guide is more than 130 pages long in the Macintosh version of Microsoft Word 98 using single-spaced Courier 12 font. ==================================== PERMISSIONS This guide may ONLY be posted on FeatherGuides, GameFAQs.com, PSXCodez.com, Cheatcc.com, Absolute-PlayStation.com, InsidePS2Games.com, RedCoupe, gamesover.com, CheatPlanet.com, The Cheat Empire, a2zweblinks.com, Gameguru, GameReactors.com, cheatingplanet.com, vgstrategies.com, CheatHeaven, IGN, hellzgate, Games Domain, RobsGaming.com, ps2fantasy.com, and neoseeker.com. Permission is granted to download and print one copy of this game guide for personal use. ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== INTRODUCTION This Le Mans 24 Hours: Megaguide comprises much of the information available in my several smaller guides, plus new information and a few corrections. This is THE guide readers should read/download/print to gain all the information possible for Le Mans 24 Hours. ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== GAME MODES Le Mans 24 Hours features five game modes: 1.) Quick Race allows you to immediately get started racing. Only four courses are initially available, however, more courses (including the three reverse-direction courses, all unlocked simultaneously) will be unlocked as you win races; see Unlocking Circuits (Spoilers!!!!!) below for details. However, when first playing Le Mans 24 Hours (or ANY racing game with a Time Trial, Free Run, or similar mode), it would be best to start with Time Trail instead to learn the many courses. 2.) Championship presents you with increasingly-difficult championship series; only the Rookie GT Championship is initially available, but winning each series unlocks the next series. However, the circuits listed in the game manual for each championship series are not necessarily the same circuits actually used in the game. 3.) Le Mans mode allows you to race for varying amounts of time in either Petit Le Mans (up to 10 hours at Road Atlanta) or Le Mans 2000 (up to 24 hours). Winning at each race length (measured in time) unlocks more cars; see Unlocking Cars (Spoilers!!!!!) below for details. 4.) Multiplayer allows for one-on-one competition. 5.) Time Trial is a great place to begin, allowing you to learn the courses on your own pace, with no other vehicles on the circuits with you to distract you. Once you learn the courses, this is where you can really work to improve your lap times. Beat the Goal Time for each course (normally two to four seconds slower than the Record Time for each course) to unlock a bonus car. Only four courses are initially available in Time Trial, but more will be opened as you win races in Quick Race mode; see Unlocking Circuits (Spoilers!!!!!) below for details. ==================================== THE CIRCUITS Here are the circuits available in Le Mans 24 Hours, along with brief descriptions (see the detailed driving instructions near the end of the guide for information on safely and quickly navigating each circuit): Le Mans The longest circuit of the game, Le Mans is quite challenging, especially when approaching the Pits and Front Straightaway. Keep an eye on the tire and fuel indicators; if you run out of fuel or sufficient traction on the back side of the circuit, you may as well just quit the race. Bugatti This is the permanent section of the Le Mans circuit. High speeds are not really effective here with all the technical corners. Brno If not for the many hills, this would be a really great circuit. As it is, great speeds can be achieved here, especially with a low-downforce set-up, but cornering can be somewhat difficult. This circuit would be EXCEPTIONALLY FUN with a motorcycle!!!!! Donington National Good speeds can be achieved at Donington, but there are several tight corners which will really challenge low-downforce cars. Donington Grand Prix Identical to Donington National, with the addition of a nasty chicane and two tight hairpins. Catalunya National A quick course, but the first turn (a hairpin) is sharp. Catalunya Grand Prix An excellent circuit with high speeds possible. This circuit will be quite familiar to those who have played F1-based games such as F1 Championship Season 2000. Suzuka East The Suzuka East circuit includes the famous figure-eight crossover. Good use of the draft can be very beneficial here. Suzuka West The S-curves can be quite dangerous, but they do provide excellent passing opportunities if you can brake deeper than the cars in front of you and/or have superior acceleration for corner exits. Suzuka Grand Prix This circuit will also be quite familiar to those who have played F1-based and motorcycle-based games. This is the most famous circuit in Japan, and perhaps in all of Asia. Road Atlanta National This course provides steep elevation changes, tempering significant straightaways with blind corners. Road Atlanta This course provides steep elevation changes, tempering significant straightaways with blind corners. This course has been offered in other racing games, so some players may already be rather familiar with the Road Atlanta circuit. There are also three official reverse courses: Reverse Brno, Reverse Donington National, and Reverse Donington Grand Prix. Of course, you can drive in reverse on any course at any time, but this is certainly NOT recommended, especially during a race!!!!! ==================================== TIPS FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS In a Championship series, if you can win all the initial races, you may be able to win the series overall even if you decide not to participate in one of the final races of the series; similarly, you may be able to skip a race at a circuit you do not particularly like (or, depending on your point of view, which does not particularly like you) and still be able to win the overall series if you can win at most or all of the remaining circuits. Unfortunately, Le Mans 24 Hours does not provide a Forfeit (or similar) option, so you are required to actually go out to the track; from here, press Start, select Quit, and confirm to cancel out of a race. For races with a standing start, DO NOT hold down the accelerator while you wait for the lights to change to green; this will not produce any benefits in Le Mans 24 Hours, and will actually put you far behind everyone else due to excessive wheelspin. Instead, keep off the accelerator, and try to time its application with the exact millisecond the lights turn green. This will reduce wheelspin due to excessive engine revs, thus applying all available power to the tires. On some circuits, if you use this strategy from a starting position at the very back of the grid, you can pass up to half of your competitors before reaching the first corner!!! To the extent possible, keep to the approved racing surfaces (pavement, concrete, rumble strips). Grass will slow you down greatly, and sand traps (a.k.a. 'kitty litter') will essentially bring you to an immediate halt. To pass, use the draft; this is especially effective in prototype cars. Or, if you feel a bit rowdy, ram or sideswipe the car in front of you (especially on or just before corner entry) to knock it out of your way and send it careening off-course. If you ram a car hard enough from behind, it is possible to send the other vehicle flipping end-over-end or into a continuous-roll accident; a 'good' place to do this is coming into the final chicane at Road Atlanta, sending cars into the barriers blocking any shortcutting of the chicane. If you do not choose to qualify, you will automatically start in last place; therefore, you have nothing to lose and A LOT to gain by qualifying. If you can qualify on Pole, that can mean up to twenty-three FEWER passes you will need to make as a race progresses. This may not be very significant in shorter races, but in the longer (Le Mans and Petit Le Mans) races, this could become a significant factor, especially in relation to Pit strategy. If you are in first place and begin lapping other cars, those cars one or more laps behind you will have blue indicators on the track map. Fortunately, should you run out of fuel, your race does not automatically come to an end like in some other racing games. Instead, you will simply start slowing, and will not be able to accelerate much unless you can convince gravity to help you - IF you are fortunate enough to be heading downhill. Therefore, always keep an eye on your fuel gauge and be constantly mindful of the on-screen information displays at the top-center of the screen. ==================================== CHAMPIONSHIPS AND SET-UPS Here are the eight Championships included in Le Mans 24 Hours, as well as suggested car set-ups for each race of each championship: Rookie GT (5 laps, GT class only, 11 competitors) Suzuka East (dusk) Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Acceleration Engine: Sprint Notes: Setting the Gear Ratio to Acceleration will help with the many S-curves. Donington National Downforce: Low Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Acceleration Engine: Sprint Notes: Take caution when cornering, especially for the chicane. Road Atlanta National (dusk) Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Acceleration Engine: Sprint Pro GT (5 laps, GT only, 11 competitors) Suzuka West (dusk) Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Acceleration Engine: Sprint Catalunya National (dusk) Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Acceleration Engine: Sprint Road Atlanta Downforce: Low Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Top Speed Engine: Sprint Notes: This set-up is great for the long stretches of the circuit. Extreme care must be taken with the S-curves and the chicane. GT Endurance (10 laps, GT only, 11 competitors) Donington Grand Prix Downforce: Low Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Acceleration Engine: Sprint Notes: Care is required in cornering, especially at the chicane. Bugatti Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Acceleration Engine: Sprint Open Prototype (10 laps, Open Prototype only, 13 competitors) Brno Downforce: Low Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Top Speed Engine: Sprint Notes: This is a very high-speed circuit, which makes cornering trickier than usual. Beware other cars in Turn 1, as some tend to go off-course here. Catalunya Grand Prix Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Balance Engine: Sprint Notes: Car set-up is tricky here; Pit Straight is so long that it requires a low-downforce/high-speed set-up, yet the rest of the circuit is rather technical, needing a high-downforce/low-speed set-up. Suzuka Grand Prix Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Acceleration Engine: Sprint Notes: Care is required in the initial S-curves and the chicane. Note that shortcutting the chicane is not possible due to the barriers. Closed Prototype (10 laps, Closed Prototype only, 10 competitors) Bugatti Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Acceleration Engine: Sprint Donington Grand Prix Downforce: Low Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Acceleration Engine: Sprint Notes: Extreme care is required in the chicane and the hairpins behind the main grandstands. Road Atlanta Downforce: Low Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Top Speed Engine: Sprint Notes: This set-up is great for the long stretches of the circuit. Extreme care must be taken with the S-curves and the chicane. Prototype Endurance (15 laps, Open or Closed Prototype, 10 competitors) Catalunya Grand Prix Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Balance Engine: Sprint Notes: Car set-up is tricky here; Pit Straight is so long that it requires a low-downforce/high-speed set-up, yet the rest of the circuit is rather technical, needing a high-downforce/low-speed set-up. Road Atlanta Downforce: Low Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Top Speed Engine: Sprint Notes: This set-up is great for the long stretches of the circuit. Extreme care must be taken with the S-curves and the chicane. Suzuka Grand Prix Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Acceleration Engine: Sprint Notes: Care is required in the initial S-curves and the chicane. Note that shortcutting the chicane is not possible due to the barriers. Super Endurance (10 laps, any car class, 14 competitors) Suzuka Grand Prix Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Acceleration Engine: Sprint Brno Downforce: Low Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Top Speed Engine: Sprint Catalunya Grand Prix Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Balance Engine: Sprint Bugatti Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Acceleration Engine: Sprint Notes: Donington Grand Prix Downforce: Low Fuel: Full Tires: Soft Gear Ratio: Acceleration Engine: Sprint Winter Challenge (15 laps, any car class, 14 competitors) Road Atlanta Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Wet Gear Ratio: Top Speed Engine: Sprint Notes: This race takes place entirely in very wet conditions. The use of Top Speed for the Gear Ratio setting will help to reduce wheelspin as the car powers out of corners and also on the standing start. The initial S-curves can be very tricky due to the very wet conditions. Brno Downforce: Medium Fuel: Full Tires: Wet Gear Ratio: Top Speed Engine: Sprint Notes: This race takes place entirely in very wet conditions. The use of Top Speed for the Gear Ratio setting will help to reduce wheelspin as the car powers out of corners and also on the standing start. Suzuka Grand Prix Downforce: High Fuel: Full Tires: Wet Gear Ratio: Top Speed Engine: Sprint Notes: This race takes place entirely in very wet conditions. The use of Top Speed for the Gear Ratio setting will help to reduce wheelspin as the car powers out of corners and also on the standing start. The initial S-curves can be very tricky due to the very wet conditions, but cornering should be made easier by using a High setting for Downforce; however, this will seriously reduce top-end speed on the long ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== TIME TRIAL TIPS In Time Trial mode, you will always begin from a standing start. This means that it will not be possible to best the Goal Time on the initial lap. However, take this opportunity to practice a standing start with no other vehicles on the starting grid to distract you. Also, on this initial lap, brake VERY early and take corners VERY slowly to save the tires (see the next tip below); come up to full racing speed only in the final corner(s) of the circuit. While there are no tire wear indicators on the screen when in Time Trial mode, tire wear does indeed occur; this is especially noticeable if using soft tires (you should be using soft tires anyhow, as they provide the best traction, which you will definitely need to better the Goal Times). Once you have completed about six to eight laps, the tires will no longer be of benefit to you, and will likely be a detriment to you; since any trip to Pit Lane is drive-through only with no servicing permitted, you will be forced to quit Time Trial mode and return to gain fresh tires (and more fuel). The Goal Time for most circuits is set so low that ANY off- course excursion will almost automatically put you out of contention for besting the Goal Time in that lap. In this case, get back on the pavement as quickly as possible, and drive slowly (like on the first lap) to save the tires, coming up to full racing speed only at the final corner(s) of the circuit in anticipation of your next 'hot lap.' For all attempts at besting the Goal Time for a course, make sure to use as little fuel as the CPU will allow (approximately 30% to start a Time Trial run); this will reduce the weight of the fuel, thereby reducing the weight of the car and improving handling, accelerating, and braking. If you think fuel weight is not an issue, consider this: One gallon of water equals approximately eight pounds and one gallon of fuel will NOT get you very far, especially not at Le Mans!!!!! You will likely need to experiment with the car settings to see which gives you the best chance at besting the Goal Time for each circuit. I find that setting the Gear Box to Acceleration, the Engine to Sprint, and Downforce to Low is a good starting set-up from which to work; be sure to adjust for personal preference and driving style. Dry conditions and Soft Tires are the best combination to provide excellent grip of the pavement, resulting in faster lap times. Also, set the Number of Laps to Continuous, as this will allow you to keep going as long as your fuel holds out - this is really just a means to keep from reloading a venue if the Goal Time cannot be bested within a set number of laps. ==================================== TIME TRIAL GOAL TIMES In Time Trial mode, besting the posted Goal Times earns you a new car, except at the three reverse courses. Here are the posted Goal Times (including listed Goal Times for the reverse courses), listed alphabetically for player convenience: Brno 1:45.000 Bugatti 1:34.000 Catalunya Grand Prix 1:34.000 Catalunya National 1:01.000 Donington Grand Prix 1:21.000 Donington National 1:00.000 Le Mans 3:34.000 Reverse Brno 1:48.000 Reverse Donington Grand Prix 1:23.000 Reverse Donington National 1:02.000 Road Atlanta 1:09.000 Road Atlanta National 0:46.000 Suzuka East 0:40.000* Suzuka Grand Prix 1:07.000 Suzuka West 1:01.000 * The Goal Time for Suzuka East is the same as the default Record Time. ==================================== TIME TRIAL CIRCUIT-SPECIFIC TIPS This section presents specific tips for besting the posted Goal Time for each venue. The circuits are listed here alphabetically. Note that unless specified, I was able to beat the posted Goal Time for each circuit using Nissan Motorsports' Nissan R390 (Closed Prototype class, car #32; an identical car with the same team is identified as car #30, and both are won from the Open Prototype Championship) using absolute minimum starting fuel, lowest possible downforce, sprint engine, automatic transmission, top-speed gearbox, and soft tires. Brno - Hold 120MPH in Turn 1. This will definitely require a car with excellent handling. - Many turns are essentially over-glorified chicanes. Brake well entering the first corner, then power out of the first corner and completely through the second turn. Bugatti - Stay off the rumble strips at Dunlop Chicane, as the car will almost certainly bounce, likely sending one or more wheels into the sand and definitely causing the car to slow. - Keep off the grass and sand at hairpins. - Treat the final two corners as a single wide right-hand hairpin, but beware the sand and rumble strips. Catalunya Grand Prix - Keep tight to the apexes, especially through Turns 1 and 2. - Judicious use of rumble strips in final two corners key to gaining excellent top-end speed on Pit Straight. Catalunya National - Intimate familiarity with the circuit is required due to the dusk setting, creating long shadows to obscure much of the circuit. - Distance markers for Turn 1 are in 50-meter increments, NOT the 100-meter increments used at most venues. This can be a potential cause for overshooting the corner for those who do not remember this point. - Judicious use of rumble strips in final two corners key to gaining excellent top-end speed on Pit Straight. Donnington Grand Prix * Medium downforce used to best the Goal Time for Donnington Grand Prix. - Stay off the rumble strips, as they are generally too short in length to adequately keep cars out of the grass and sand. - Treat Turn 8 (the sweeping J-turn) as a wide hairpin. This will inherently create a single braking zone, allowing more time for use of the accelerator, and thus achieving faster speed along the ensuing straightaway toward the giant Dunlop Tire. - Remember that the Grand Prix course has a left-right chicane following the giant Dunlop Tire. - Keep a TIGHT apex on hairpins; swinging wide will both sacrifice time and increase change of sliding out into the grass and sand. However, extreme care must be taken to NOT shortcut the hairpins, especially the final hairpin. - Excellent handling is required to power out of the final hairpin and still keep the car on the pavement. Donnington National * Medium downforce used to obliterate the Goal Time AND the Lap Record for Donnington National. - Stay off the rumble strips, as they are generally too short in length to adequately keep cars out of the grass and sand. - Treat Turn 8 (the sweeping J-turn) as a wide hairpin. This will inherently create a single braking zone, allowing more time for use of the accelerator, and thus achieving faster speed along the ensuing straightaway toward the giant Dunlop Tire. - Remember that the Grand Prix course has a TIGHT right-left chicane following the giant Dunlop Tire. - Excellent handling is required to power out of the final chicane and still keep the car on the pavement. Le Mans - This is by far the most difficult Time Trial in the game. Plenty of patience is required here. - Stay off the rumble strips at Dunlop Chicane, as the car will almost certainly bounce, likely sending one or more wheels into the sand and definitely causing the car to slow. - Keep off the grass and sand at chicanes. - Try to keep above 90MPH at Motorola Chicane, and above 70MPH at Michelin Chicane. - Treat Mulsanne Hump and Mulsanne Curve as one hairpin. It helps to slightly shortcut Mulsanne Curve in this maneuver. - Try to keep off the rumble strips at Indianapolis and Arnage, as the car is likely to bounce, thus costing time. - Once you leave the public roads, it may help to VERY QUICKLY tap the brakes in each of the corners, just long enough so that the taillights barely illuminate. This should slow the car just enough to make handling easier to help keep the car on the narrow pavement. - Judicious shortcutting of the curves in White House is key to good lap times. Try to find the right angle to cut across each of the two chicanes while keeping at least three of the wheels on the rumble strips and pavement in the process. Power out of the final chicane and HOPE that you can beat the posted Goal Time. Reverse Brno - See Brno Reverse Donnington Grand Prix - See Donnington Grand Prix Reverse Donnington National - See Donnington National Road Atlanta - Brake slightly before Turn 1, then stagger the throttle throughout the corner to keep from losing too much speed. This should help to keep the car from sliding off the pavement when cornering. - Turn 8: Keep about 105MPH with a tight line at the apex. - Turns 9 and 10 (the top of the circuit): Brake early and hard, but DO NOT shortcut or drift off-course into the sand and the grass. Due to the barrier on the right side of the pavement, these are semi-blind corners, so flawless knowledge of the circuit here is required. - Chicane: Brake HARD early, shortcutting the first corner of the chicane and powering the accelerator to Turn 1. Road Atlanta National - Brake slightly before Turn 1, then stagger the throttle throughout the corner to keep from losing too much speed. This should help to keep the car from sliding off the pavement when cornering. - Turn 8: Approach from the left, braking only slightly while hitting the apex. Hold a tight line to the right side of the pavement until the straightaway. - Chicane: Brake HARD early, shortcutting the first corner of the chicane and powering the accelerator to Turn 1. Suzuka East * Medium downforce and Gearbox set to Acceleration used to best the Goal Time for Suzuka East. - Keep tight to the apexes in the S-curves. - Approach the final hairpin from hard left; drift to hard right for exit. Suzuka Grand Prix * Medium downforce used to best the Goal Time for Suzuka Grand Prix. - Keep tight to the apexes, especially through S-curves and Chicane. The medium downforce set-up will certainly help with the S-curves and Chicane, although overall top-end speed will be sacrificed on the straightaways. Suzuka West * Medium downforce used to best the Goal Time for Suzuka West. - Strong familiarity with the circuit is required, as the dusk setting and the bright lights make some corners somewhat difficult to see. ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== TIRES A very important issue in tire selection actually involves horsepower. The chosen tires need to have some measure of durability, or else you will be stopping in Pit Lane to change tires extremely often. In other words, do not allow the car's horsepower to overdrive the tires' ability to function properly. In the event that the chosen tires wear out too much, cornering at any respectable speed will be virtually impossible, instead causing a nearly-uncontrollable slide into a barrier or into another vehicle. Strong acceleration will likely cause the vehicle to spin. A good driver will not let this happen very often; an expert driver will NEVER let this happen. Always keep an eye on your tire indicators, and plan ahead. If possible, choose tires which will last as least as long as your fuel load. When the tire indicators are green, the tires provide you with the best possible grip for that set of tires. The amount of time the tire indicators remain in the green color range depends on your driving style, the amount of time off- course (in the grass or sand) or banging the barriers (or other cars), and the selection of tire compound. As the tire indicators switch to yellow, you need to start taking better care of your tires. You will likely experience slides when cornering. One of the best ways to reduce the durability of the tires is to corner at high speeds. The manual for Gran Turismo 3 gives an excellent, detailed, highly-technical description of what occurs with the tires when cornering. In short, cornering at high speeds causes a high percentage of the tire to be used for speed, and a low percentage to be used for the actual cornering. To combat this and thus extend the durability of the tires, try to brake in a STRAIGHT line before reaching a turn, thus reducing overall speed, resulting in a lower percentage of the tires to be used for speed and a greater percentage instead used for cornering. Note that if the percentage of the tires used for speed is too high compared to the percentage used for cornering, the car will slide and/or spin. ==================================== GENERAL TIPS For those not accustomed to racing games, Time Trial mode is by far the best place to start. This will allow you to try out cars in all three race categories, and also to learn the many courses without the distraction of other cars on the circuit with you; note that only four courses are initially available in Time Trial mode until other tracks are opened in Quick Race mode. Only really adept racing gamers (especially those who mostly play simulations) will be able to jump into a race on an unknown/unseen course and still perform fairly well. For races with a standing start, DO NOT hold down the accelerator while you wait for the lights to change to green; this will not produce any benefits in Le Mans 24 Hours, and will actually put you far behind everyone else. Instead, keep off the accelerator, and try to time its application with the exact millisecond the lights turn green. This will reduce wheelspin due to excessive engine revs, thus applying all available power to the tires. On some circuits, if you use this strategy from a starting position at the very back of the grid, you can pass up to half of your competitors before reaching the first corner!!! To the extent possible, keep to the approved racing surfaces (pavement, concrete, rumble strips). Grass will slow you down greatly, and sand traps (a.k.a. 'kitty litter') will essentially bring you to an immediate halt. To pass, use the draft; this is especially effective in prototype cars. Or, if you feel a bit rowdy, ram or sideswipe the car in front of you (especially on or just before corner entry) to knock it out of your way and send it careening off-course. If you ram a car hard enough from behind, it is possible to send the other vehicle flipping end-over-end or into a continuous-roll accident; a 'good' place to do this is coming into the final chicane at Road Atlanta (full circuit). If you do not choose to qualify, you will automatically start in last place; therefore, you have nothing to lose and A LOT to gain by qualifying. If you can qualify on Pole, that can mean up to twenty-three FEWER passes you will need to make as a race progresses. This may not be very significant in shorter races, but in the longer (Le Mans and Petit Le Mans) races, this could become a significant factor, especially in relation to Pit strategy. If you are in first place and begin lapping other cars, those cars one or more laps behind you will have blue indicators on the track map. Fortunately, should you run out of fuel, your race does not automatically come to an end like in some other racing games. Instead, you will simply start slowing, and will not be able to accelerate unless you can convince gravity to help you - IF you are fortunate enough to be heading downhill. Therefore, always keep an eye on your fuel gauge and be constantly mindful of the on-screen information displays at the top-center of the screen. In a Championship series, if you can win all the initial races, you may be able to win the series overall even if you decide not to participate in one of the final races of the series; similarly, you may be able to skip a race at a circuit you do not particularly like (or, depending on your point of view, which does not particularly like you) and still be able to win the overall series if you can win at most or all of the remaining circuits. Unfortunately, Le Mans 24 Hours does not provide a Forfeit (or similar) option, so you are required to actually go out to the track; here, press Start, select Quit, and confirm. If your goal is to unlock every possible car in the game, keep checking back to Progress (first select Options at the Main Menu). Use the left and right directional buttons to page through the various modes. Locked cars are silhouetted, while unlocked cars are shown in full color. Note that not all game modes provide the chance to unlock cars. ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== SURVIVING AN ENDURANCE RACE While most of the races in Le Mans 24 Hours are relatively short by racing standards, some races are extremely long (especially the full Le Mans or Petit Le Mans races, at twenty-four and ten hours, respectively). Even the 'short' 100-minute Petit Le Mans race is relatively survivable. However, the longer races require even more focus and concentration. Fatigue really begins to set in, especially for those not habituated to playing full-length races in non- endurance racing games such as F1 2001. While Le Mans 24 Hours allows for progress in longer races to be saved when in Pit Lane, you really lose the 'flow' of a given race if you save your progress and shut off the console after one stint in the car, making such a start-and-stop 'method' of racing quite a fragmented, arguably 'postmodern' method of racing. For those who prefer to race for multiple stints at a time, here are some tips to help you keep your concentration and focus: 1.) Make sure you are well-rested and have plenty of time for driving multiple consecutive stints. To give you a benchmark, I average about forty-five minutes per stint at Le Mans (240 minutes) using full fuel and hard tires in a Closed Prototype vehicle. For the Petit Le Mans, I generally race a Closed Prototype car with fifty-percent fuel and soft tires, for thirty to forty minutes per stint. 2.) Make sure you are as comfortable as possible. Real-world race drivers often have specifically-molded seat cushions to help in this endeavor. While such specialized equipment is far too expensive to be used when playing console racing games, the concept is the same: Make sure you are in a comfortable chair, with appropriate cushions if necessary. If you like to have a footrest, make sure it is in place before beginning a race. 3.) While Le Mans 24 Hours does include music, it can quite easily become too repetitive to help you keep your concentration. If you have a stereo or radio separate from the sound system of your console and television, put on other music, perhaps a favorite CD (Lords of Acid, anyone???????). 4.) Adjust for real-world lighting before beginning a race. This is especially important for those - like myself - who have the console and television placed directly in front of a window due to the configuration of a small apartment or dorm room. Adjust the blinds or curtains to your liking so that any light coming in will not bother your eyes, especially when racing through the nighttime portion of races. Also, turn off or move lights whose shine reflects off the television screen. 5.) Have a drink handy. To be more realistic in relation to actual race drivers, only make use of the drink while in Pit Lane, thus simulating a driver receiving a small water bottle while the team handles car servicing. Or, simply have the drink next to you on a table so that you can quickly reach it for a quick sip down a straightaway; this would more or less simulate the in-helmet drink system used by some real-world race-drivers. (Of course, you could always 'cheat' and simply pause the game whenever you need a quick drink.) Note that drinks with high caffeine content (such as Jolt, sold in select markets in the States) may not be a good choice; if you run out of the drink well before the end of a stint, or long before you finish your planned multiple stints, you could experience a rather severe caffeine crash, which will adversely affect your driving performance and your concentration. 6.) Real-world drivers generally do not get a chance to eat during the race, except perhaps while the car is in Pit Lane for fuels and tires. A small plate or bowl of small snack foods might be useful. Small candies, crackers, cheeses, etc., may be good choices. If you are on a diet, first consult with your doctor or nutritionist for some good snack food possibilities. 7.) If you often download images, sounds, movies, etc., from the Internet and have a computer close to the console, set the computer to download a mass |