Chapter 9: Unfamiliar Situation
Waitress: "What'll it be, boys?"
"I'll just have some coffee"
"Bacon and Eggs."
"I'll have the Oreo Pancakes."
Waitress: "Thank You."
"The what?"
"Oreo Pancakes."
"What's that?"
"They crush up Oreo cookies, put it into to pancake batter, and they cook it. Then they put the leftover cookie on top and top it with whipped cream."
"Ugh, that's nasty. Way too much chocolate."
"This is America baby. We were founded for many things, one being nastiness."
All of a sudden, some random old guy stands up and yells "Amen!"
"Well, forgive me for being a little more clean."
"So, how do you like the RS200?"
"It feels like Tyrone Biggums is having an episode in that thing."
"Creative. Accurate, but Creative. Anyway, here's the car's stat sheet."
As I looked over the paper, the mad car began to make sense.
"500 Horespower..."
"Yep."
"650 ft/lbs of tourqe..."
"Mm-hmm."
"Fastest 0-60: 2.3 Seconds on Gravel?!"
"That's right."
"So, all this, and it only has a top speed of 120 miles an hour. What's this thing tuned for?"
"European Rallycross."
"Why am I driving a rallycross car?"
"For my exam. You see, along with being a race admin, every country or region recognized by the GTG has a member that also is in charge of certain racing series. In this case, I manage the rally racing in America. For that, comes a special Rally License. It's not mandatory, but it helps you run in special races. The Clubman License, however, is mandatory."
"You haven't answered my question."
"Right now you've got potential, and that's about it. Your driving is far from perfect, and you need to learn new skills to be succesful. One of those skills is off-road racing."
"Why?"
"You ask way too many questions. Anyway, let me tell you about myself. I'm 30 years old, I don't have kids, I'm not married, I don't have a girlfriend, and I've got waaayyy to much free time on my hands."
"I just wanted an answer, not a life story."
"Fair enough. You see, the GTG has an odd habit of giving drivers cars for a new license. I need to clean out my warehouse, and Shawn needs a new pair of dress pants. So, he bet me 50 bucks that you could get the Rally License. If you could beat the time, you not only get the license, you also get the RS200."
"What would I do with a rallycross car?"
"That depends, you'll have to get the license."
"Ok, what are the times?"
"2'05 for the Clubman License, 2'02 for the Rally license, and of course the RS200."
"What? I've never been on this track and even I can tell that's impossible!"
"It probably is. Also, you get a five second penalty for spinning out and hitting the wall."
The waitress comes by with our food.
Waitress: "Here you go, boys."
"Thanks."
Tony starts talking again with his mouth full of eggs.
"I mean, you've definetly got more skill than this guy."
He shows me a newspaper article.
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"Who's this?"
"James Volinski, age 25."
"Never heard of him."
"Born in Moscow, Russia, he's one of the youngest drivers in the Formula GT. It's also his second year racing, without a sponsor too."
"How'd he do his first year?"
"He finished 4th in the championship."
"Impressive!"
"No it's not. The only reason he even got in the Top 5 is because he basically ran everyone off the course. He's so aggressive the drivers gave him the nickname of 'Young Buck.' That's why no one's willing to sponsor him."
"Huh."
"It's also rumored his cousin is the Russian buissiness-boy that bought TVR."
We finish our breakfast and make our way back to the track. When I go to start up the RS200...
"It won't move."
"Oh no, don't tell me..."
Tony examinse the car and comes out with a dissapointed look on his face.
"The clutch broke. It'll be a good hour before my guy can bring up a new one."
While the mechanic was fixing the RS200...
"Hey, Tony. Since were fixing the Ford, and I've just now heard about these licenses, is there a time for a Mitsubishi Evo T.M.E.?"
"Yeah. According to my laptop, It's 2'10 for the Clubman license, and 2'05 for the Rally license. Why do you..."
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"Where's he going?"
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"I guess he's trying to get the license."
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"Nice! Almost perfect through there."
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"So far, so good."
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"Let's see how he does on tarmac."
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"Good powerslide!"
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"Usually everyone understeers on the tarmac."
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"Only a couple more corners..."
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"Looks like he's got it!"
![[IMG]](proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fa.imageshack.us%2Fimg641%2F8953%2Fch911.jpg&hash=a71a31c2595acdfc958de2df0db07203)
"Done!"
"What was all that?"
"So, how'd I do?"
"2'03.9, almost a new record. So, the I-C and Rally License is yours."
"Wait! That's not fair, he already knows how to rally!"
"Yeah, but they didn't have this test in Belgium."
"Show-off."
"Hey, PJ did just great. Maybe you can do the same thing, Greg."
He did have a point. Later, the mechanic fixed the RS200. Could I pull it off? In a short answer...
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No...
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No...
![[IMG]](proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fa.imageshack.us%2Fimg265%2F3840%2Fch914.jpg&hash=106a57fc79ad60955d6b549ef8d341bb)
And no.
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The tarmac wasn't any better.
"What was my time?"
"5 minutes dead."
"WHAT?!!!"
I could hear PJ laughing in his Evo, which sounds very familiar to James May's laugh.
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I did manage to get one clean lap.
"2'04.99 You got the Clubman License! All that's left is the rally. I won't be here the day after, so tomorrow's your last day. If you come early I'll let you get a bit of practice."
On the way home...
"PJ, can I ask for a favor?"
"What?"
"How do you rally?"
"I...I'm sorry, can you ask that again?"
"Ugh, how do you rally?"
"Ho ho! The Master is asking the sidekick for driving advice!"
Usually, I have no problem when it comes to performance driving, but when I have a problem, one of the LAST things I'll do is ask for advice.
"Ok, If you want my help, all you have to say is PJ is the master of the universe..."
"PJ is the master of the universe..."
"He's more mighty than Chuck Norris..."
"He's more mighty than Chuck Norris..."
"And Greg's NSX is a big rice-bucket."
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding!"
"Nope!"
"Fine, my car is a big rice-bucket."
"Nope, you didn't say it right!"
"OK! My NSX is a big rice-bucket."
"Oh, you have no idea how good that feels..."
End of Chapter 9
Tyrone Biggums is a fictional charecter played by Dave Chappelle on The Chappelle Show, a popular sketch comedy show on Comedy Central.
Also, the RS200 does not produce 500HP and 650 ft/lbs of tourqe when fully tuned in GT4