Thanks Bram,Maybe thats an offline restriction. I am sure you can raise the amount of laps on dedicated server. Maybe make it a timed race?
The game is build around WTCC which is a sprint series with races of 20 to 30 minutes maximum.
The day/night cycle doesnt work so if the restriction would be taken off you could drive for 24 hours without noticing any changes in the time and conditions. Hence they blocked it.
One of those awesome features they have stripped from the original GTR2 and were desperately needed.
I fear we will never see them return again in the future.