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
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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
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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
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This guide is over 20 pages long in the Macintosh version of
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spacing.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 poundsŠ 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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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!!!
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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/
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