Far Out Son of Lung...

TT Tournament Round 3

We just finished round three of the Tourist Trophy video game tournament and my result this time was a bit better than I anticipated. We were competing for best single, flying lap at a track called Deep Forest. We're also limited to race modified bikes, with a displacement limitation of 636cc's.

Testing Begins
After my initial laps on the track, a twisting affair reminiscent of an Irish Open Roads event, I felt that running a Supersport bike was going to be a bit overkill. The track is bumpy, full of odd dips and throws in a fair amount of cresting apexes, diving braking zones and off-camber corners. The result is a hairy ride on a 600+cc bike and it can be very difficult to get power on the ground as the back end slides and bounces over some of the harsher dips.

Where there is Smoke
There is a crest at the end of the front straight that leads into a steep negative grade, which also doubles as a hard braking zone for turn one. The 600cc race bikes, regardless of make or suspension settings, launch over the crest and remain well out of control just long enough to high side and send the bike off into the barriers. The situation repeats itself at the exit of turn one as you crest the hill and smoke billows as the tire spins up and you fight for traction. Much of the rest of the lap is punctuated by such events, and it leads to desperately slow lap times.

Solution: Two-stroke
Given the problems at hand I decided to compete in the event with a 250cc two-stroke GP bike. The only one available in the game is Yamaha's 2003 TZ250, and it is probably the most difficult bike in the game to earn. After spending the better part of an evening fighting for a victory and the ability to add the bike to my garage, things worked out and I began tuning the 92 HP bike for Deep Forest.

Compared to the 130+ HP 600's I would be racing against, the 250 seems like a poor choice. However, at only 102 Kg the bike has a similar power-to-weight ratio and certainly a much better ability to put power on the ground. I could stay in the throttle all the way down the hill (into turn one) and I never had issues with violent high sides on bumpy twists later in the lap.

Results
While I was hoping that I would be the only person to use the 250, I knew someone else would clue in to the GP machine. Even more unfortunate, they were faster.
My placing in the final results is still very strong with a step on the podium, and it vaults me into 3rd place overall going into round four.

Testing: Round Four
Now we're racing at Special Stage: Route 5, a street course with one long straight and a healthy dose of more downhill, off-camber braking zones. In this round competitors are limited to 1000cc street bikes on a track that probably cannot be run on any -or many- of the liter sized superbikes. Unfortunately, the street only designation eliminates my 250cc plastic missile option, so I'm looking at running smaller displacement street bikes like the Kawasaki 636 and Gixxer 750.

In initial testing, riding the liter bikes around Route 5 has proven difficult because, even with gearing changes, the bikes are only able to use first, second and sometimes third gear! Route 5 is just too tight for the big bikes, and this is why I'm seeking to compete on something smaller. Another great option is one of the two twins, Ducati or Aprilia, as the added torque and wider usable powerband make the bikes more compliant on the tighter, slower corner exits.

To put things in perspective, my fastest lap so far is once again on the 250cc GP bike!

posted by GreSam @ 09:29