LE MANS 24 HOURS: TIME TRIALS GUIDE by Wolf Feather/Jamie Stafford FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM Version: FINAL Initial Version Completed: March 11, 2002 Current Version Completed: May 19, 2002 ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== CONTENTS Spacing and Length Permissions Introduction Overall Game Completion Strategy Time Trial Tips Time Trial Goal Times Circuit-specific Tips Unlocking Circuits (Spoilers!!!!!) Unlocking Cars (Spoilers!!!!!) 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 over 20 pages long in the Macintosh version of Microsoft Word 98, using 12-point Courier font with single spacing. ==================================== PERMISSIONS This guide may ONLY be posted on FeatherGuides, GameFAQs.com, PSXCodez.com, F1Gamers, Cheatcc.com, Absolute- PlayStation.com, InsidePS2Games.com, RedCoupe, gamesover.com, CheatPlanet.com, The Cheat Empire, a2zweblinks.com, Gameguru, RobsGaming.com, cheatingplanet.com, vgstrategies.com, hellzgate, Games Domain, ps2fantasy.com, and neoseeker.com. Permission is granted to download and print one copy of this game guide for personal use. ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== INTRODUCTION 100% completion of Le Mans 24 Hours entails A LOT of work, and an even greater investment of time. Simply working through all four time intervals of Le Mans 2000 and Petit Le Mans requires more than 40 hours of time, but that does not include the time required to work through all the Quick Race events to unlock new circuits, the various Championships, and the Time Trials. This guide is designed to help players to beat the posted Goal Time for each venue in Time Trials. For many circuits, this is a rather easy feat when the 'right' car is used; for other circuits, only flawless driving combined with a car with fast speed AND excellent handling will allow the player to beat the posted Goal Time. For detailed instructions for cleanly driving each of the circuits, as well as information on tire selection and tuning, please see my full Le Mans 24 Hours Driving Guide. ==================================== OVERALL GAME COMPLETION STRATEGY Except Quick Race mode, winning an event or championship results in unlocking one or more bonus cars. This is key to good performance in Time Trials, as the initially-available cars are generally somewhat slow and have poor handling compared to many of the unlockable bonus cars. Thus, a strategy for overall game completion is key to successfully completing the Time Trials: 1.) Work through Quick Race, winning at each venue to unlock more circuits. Time Trials can only take place at venues which are initially available or unlocked in Quick Race. 2.) Work through several (or all) of the Championships to unlock more bonus cars. 3.) Compete in at least the first three time intervals for Le Mans 2000 and Petit Le Mans. Winning at these time intervals unlocks really quick cars which generally have great handling, especially at the medium time intervals (100 minutes for Petit Le Mans, 240 minutes for Le Mans 2000). 4.) Go to Time Trials and try to beat the Goal Time for each venue to unlock even more cars. By now, you should have raced at each of the venues often enough to be rather familiar with the circuit layout. ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== 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 poundsS 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. ==================================== 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. ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== UNLOCKING CIRCUITS (SPOILERS!!!!!) Here is how to unlock new circuits. Initially-available circuits are so indicated. The following expanse of white space is to present a buffer so that those who wish to learn this on their own will not accidentally see it. Note: The locked circuits were opened using a closed prototype car (the Audi RBC from Audi Sport UK) with Intermediate Handling and easy AI Driver Skill at 3 laps per race. If your quest is to open all the courses as quickly as possible, why make it any harder on yourself than absolutely necessary????? Le Mans Initially available Bugatti Win at Le Mans in Quick Race Brno Win at Suzuka West in Quick Race Donington National Initially available Donington Grand Prix Win at Catalunya National in Quick Race Catalunya National Win at Road Atlanta National in Quick Race Catalunya Grand Prix Win at Road Atlanta in Quick Race Suzuka East Initially available Suzuka West Win at Donington National in Quick Race Suzuka Grand Prix Win at Bugatti in Quick Race Road Atlanta National Initially available Road Atlanta Win at Suzuka East in Quick Race Reverse Courses: Win at all venues in Quick Race; Brno all three Reverse Courses are Donington National unlocked at once Donington Grand Prix ==================================== UNLOCKING CARS (SPOILERS!!!!!) Here is how to unlock all the cars in Le Mans 24 Hours, as the best cars to use in Time Trial mode are those unlocked elsewhere in the game. Note that often, the same make and model of car is used by different teams (with different paint schemes and racing numbers). A multiplier (such as 'x3') means that the stated team has more than one 'version' of the specified car, with each 'version' differentiated by racing number. Also, there are a few instances where identical cars (with different racing numbers) by the same team are not acquired together, but by completing separate sections of the game. In this case, these cars are listed on separate lines in the table below, with the notation 'different car' for all such lines after the first. The following expanse of white space is to present a buffer so that those who wish to learn this on their own will not accidentally see it. Car Team Procurement -------------------- --------------- --------------------- Audi A8C Audi Sport UK Initially available Audi R8 (x3) Audi Sport Team Win Le Mans 2000 at Joest 24 minutes Audi R8C Audi Sport UK 0:40.000 or better at Suzuka East in Time Trial Audi R8R (x2) Audi Sport Team Win Super Enduro Joest Championship BMW V12 LM Thomas Bscher Win Petit Le Mans at Promotion 30 minutes BMW V12 LMR (x2) BMW Motorsport Win Winter Challenge Championship Cadillac N LMP (x2) Team Cadillac Win Le Mans 2000 at 10 minutes Cadillac N LMP (x2) Team Dams Win Le Mans 2000 at 10 minutes Chrysler Viper GTS-R Carsport Holland Win Petit Le Mans at 10 minutes Chrysler Viper GTS R Chamberlain Initially available Engineering Chrysler Viper GTS R Chamberlain Win Rookie GT (different car) Engineering Championship Chrysler Viper GTS R Paul Belmondo Initially available Racing Chrysler Viper GTS R Team Goh Initially available Chrysler Viper GTS R Team Oreca Win Pro GT (x2) Championship Chrysler Viper GTS R Team Oreca 1:00.000 or better at (different car) Donington National in Time Trial Chrysler Viper Team Oreca Win Petit Le Mans at GTS-RT (x3) 10 minutes Chevrolet Corvette Corvette Racing Win Petit Le Mans at C5-R (x2) 10 minutes Courage C 36 La Filiere ELF 1:34.000 or better at Bugatti in Time Trial Courage C 52 Courage 1:45.000 or better at Competition Brno in Time Trial Courage C Pescarolo Sport Win Le Mans 2000 at 52-Peugeot 24 minutes Courage C 60-Judd SMG Win Petit Le Mans at 30 minutes Debora LMP2000-BMW Bonnet Didier Win Petit Le Mans at 30 minutes GT2 Konrad 0:46.000 or better at Motorsport Road Atlanta National in Time Trial GT2 (different car) Konrad 1:01.000 or better at Motorsport Suzuka West in Time Trial GT2 Larbre 1:01.000 or better at Competition Catalunya National in Time Trial GT2 Roock Racing Win Rookie GT Championship GT2 Team Augusta Initially available Racing Jaguar XJR9 LM Jaguar Win Petit Le Mans at 100 minutes Lancia LC2 Lancia Win Le Mans 2000 at 24 hours Lister Storm GTL Newcastle 1:47.000 or better at Lister Storm Suzuka Grand Prix in Time Trial LMGTP (x2) GTC Competition Initially available LMP JMB Competition Initially available LMP Joest Racing 1:09.000 or better at Road Atlanta in Time Trial LMP Kremer Racing Initially available LMP Pilot Racing 1:34.000 or better at Catalunya Grand Prix in Time Trial Lola B2K10-Ford Konrad Initially available Motorsport Lola B2K10-Judd Team Rafanelli Win Petit Le Mans at 30 minutes Lola B2K40-Nissan Multimatic Initially available Motorsports Marcos Mantara Team Marcos 1:21.000 or better at LM600 Donington Grand Prix in Time Trial Nissan R390 (x2) Nissan Win Open Prototype Motorsports Championship Nissan R390 Nissan Win Prototype Enduro (different car) Motorsports Championship Nissan R391 Nissan Win Prototype Enduro Motorsports Championship Panoz Esperante GTR Panoz Initially available (x2) Motorsports Panoz LMP Spyder Panoz Win GT Endurance (x2) Motorsports Championship Panoz LMP-1 (x2) Panoz Win Le Mans 2000 at Motorsports 24 minutes Panoz LMP-1 Team Den Bla Win Petit Le Mans at Avis 30 minutes Panoz LMP-1 TV Asahi Team Win Le Mans 2000 at Dragon 10 minutes Panoz LMP07 Panoz Win Le Mans 2000 at Motorsports 240 minutes Peugeot 905 Peugeot Talbot Win Le Mans 2000 at Sport 24 hours Porsche 911 GT2 Freisinger Initially available Motorsport Porsche 911 GT2 Konrad Initially available Motorsport Reynard 2KQ-Judd Johansson Initially available Matthews Racing Reynard 2KQ-Mopar Mopar Team Oreca Win Le Mans 2000 at (x2) 24 minutes Reynard ROC Win Petit Le Mans at 2KQ-Volkswagen 30 minutes (x2) Riley & Scott MKIII Riley & Scott Initially available S2 Europe Sauber C9 Sauber Win Petit Le Mans at 10 hours WR LMP-Peugeot Welter Gerard Win Petit Le Mans at 30 minutes WR LMP-Peugeot Welter Rachel Initially available ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== WISH LIST Here are some of the things I would personally like to see in future incarnation of the game as they relate to the time trials: 1.) Faster loading times overall. Many screens take an ENORMOUSLY long time to load, which can be rather frustrating. Learn some tips from the programmers of Tokyo Extreme Racer Zero and F1 2001 and Kinetica!!! 2.) More options for car set-up. There is certainly no need for exact gear ratios, etc., but more modification possibilities would add another level of challenge to the game. 3.) Add a/an (oval) test course. This would allow players to experiment with different cars and set-ups to try to find the fastest possible speeds, which can be very important in certain modes of the game. 4.) Damage modeling. I realize this can be a sticky issue in receiving licenses from car manufacturers, but damage modeling adds a lot of realism to the game, and forces the player to be extremely careful with the cars - this is especially true in the full versions of the Le Mans and Petit Le Mans races. Otherwise, bored players (like me!!!) are likely to purposely bang around the other cars on the circuit. 5.) After an off-course excursion, a longer trail of grass/sand debris should be left behind on the pavement. 6.) For those (like myself) with small television screens, much of the text-based information is FAR too small; numbers and letters run together, and the green and red colors also do not help much when trying to read specific information or numbers (with the lack of separation, 5 and 6 look too much alike, etc.). A larger font needs to be used, and an additional one-point or two-point spacing between the characters would also help greatly. 7.) Detail to corner workers. With such exquisite detail given to weather and lighting effects, the cardboard cutouts representing corner workers is completely, totally, absolutely, inadequately sub-par. (Note that this is most noticeable at Le Mans.) Even if they never do anything but stand behind the guardrails and watch the race unfold, the corner workers should at least be afforded 3-D rendering. Fortunately, the trees do not look like cardboard cut-outs, but they could certainly use some fleshing out as well. 8.) The Le Mans circuit needs MANY more timing points. 9.) Le Mans 24 Hours is GREAT overall!!! I strongly suggest that Infogrames do more endurance-racing games, perhaps one based on the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). At the very least, a game not necessarily specific to a series but featuring endurance races at many circuits around the world (such as the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 24 Hours of Spa) would be very interesting. Should this happen, advertise heavily on Speed Channel (in the States) during their coverage of such endurance races as the Petit Le Mans!!! ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== CONTACT For rants, raves, etc., contact me at FEATHER7@IX.NETCOM.COM; also, if you have enjoyed this guide and feel that it has been helpful to you, I would certainly appreciate a small donation via PayPal (http://www.paypal.com/) using the above e-mail address. To find the latest version of this and all my other PSX/PS2 game guides, visit FeatherGuides at http://www.angelcities.com/members/feathersites/ ==================================== ==================================== ==================================== ======================================================================= Wolf Feather Jamie Stafford ======================================================================= Just as there are many parts needed to make a human a human, there's a remarkable number of things needed to make an individual what they are. - Major Kusanagi, _Ghost in the Shell_ ======================================================================= What isn't remembered never happened. - _Serial Experiments Lain_ =======================================================================