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GT-Four vs GT-Four Capri Rally
A little continuation of my ongoing racing story thats been going on for 2 race reports now. Check out my last Capri race report to enlighten you about the story. To cut to the chase, this is basically a bit of a side story after the events at Laguna Seca (which you can find here in Rotary Junkies recent chapter of Fury) and before the next race The Bread Van will be participating in. Also Ive always wanted an excuse to do this so, enjoy.
For your information:
Car: Toyota Celica 2000 GT-Four (ST165) 86
BHP: 240
Equipped parts: Sports exhaust / air filter, port polish, engine balancing, large single clutch, stage 1 turbine kit, sports suspension kit, N3 tyres, weight reduction stage 1.
Race: Capri Rally (Easy) Costa di Amalfi Normal
Laps: 2
Prize for winning: Cr.5,000
Opponent: Toyota Celica GT-Four RC (ST185) 91
A-Spec points: 40 pts
So after yesterdays events at Laguna Seca, I find myself now in a hotel room surfing the web on my laptop. I just got the thing so Im still getting settled with it. Doug was nice enough to give me it for free as a way of saying sorry for dragging you to Laguna Seca for what right now seems like no reason. So anyway, I received an e-mail from my friend back in Italy. Seems hes been having fun with the deliveries since Ive been in America. But reading further down revealed that hes not just been letting the tyres squeal coming back from deliveries, but hes been racing down Amalfi too. Say what? Time for a history lesson I think.
My Italian friend, Luis, the owner of the bread shop I work at has quite the past. Dating back to the 80s even. See, back in 86 he picked up a brand new Toyota Celica in red. One of the high end ones, 4WD, turbo, the GT-Four. Being the hot-headed 17 year old who just got his license, it didnt take a week for him to put a large dent in the front. He managed to rear end a Corolla Levin going down Amalfi. Nothing seriously damaged, just some broken bumpers. Anyway, despite the crash he kept thrashing around Amalfi, day and night. In the day he would get friends to hang around all over the route, spotting any traffic and notifying him in advance as he drove past. At night he could use the light from taillights or headlights to know if someone was there. Smart thinking really. So a month later, he gets himself into his first race against a supercharged MR2. He loses by about 2 hairpins and manages to knock both his door mirrors off in the process. Luis was too cocky to admit it was his driving that let him down, so he started modifying the Celica. Suspension, engine, turbo, anything he could modify he modified. In the end the Celica was a whole lot faster than it was before, especially when he started shaving weight off it. Another month later and hes racing the locals again. An undefeated streak later and hes facing that MR2 once again. 3 bumper-to-bumper laps of Amalfi later and he managed to overtake the MR2 and get a decent lead before the MR2 raised the white flag. Turns out the MR2 was the fastest local around back then. But when Luis took him on and won, that title was Luis. Although Luis didnt know until the next morning where everyone had gathered outside what was back then his fathers bread shop cheering for him. He continued racing for about 10 years, undefeated, occasionally damaging the car but nothing thats needed anything more than a hammer to fix. Then one night he was finally defeated. Who defeated him? Some young gun in a Skyline GT-R. Shortly after Luis announced his retirement from street racing on the grounds that technology was becoming more important than driving skill. Cant blame him, he loved his Celica too much to trade it in for the newer Celica GT-Four, plus he had so much history with his current car, it would break his heart to replace it. It was good timing really, because Im not sure when but between the 10 years of him retiring and my arrival there, both his parents had unfortunately died and left him in charge of the shop. He used the Celica for deliveries, and kept it running using the profits from the shop. Doing that and racing would have killed the guy, really.
So after that, its very surprising to hear him going out racing again. But it seems he has anyway. He even sent a nice little report on how it went. Ill actually put it here.
---
But you wouldnt believe what happened this morning during the deliveries, Roj! I was driving the Celica downhill at a fairly high pace, having a bit of fun you see. Then I saw one of your old opponents, that 91 Celica GT-Four. He was actually outside the shop looking for you, but after I told him you was in America, he looked displeased. It was then when I asked him for a friendly race, between GT-Four owners. He accepted, although I think more because he thought he could easily win over me rather than because he wanted a good race.
We begun with a 50mph rolling start past the seafront, then when the first hairpin was in sight, we floored it. My Celica felt great accelerating like that!
I was right on his tail all down the seafront, who said newer was better?!
Newer means better brakes though, the ST185 got some distance on me after the first hairpin.
I caught some airtime coming off the hill, feels a lot scarier as a driver than a passenger eh?
I was all over the ST185 through the 2nd hairpin, flooring it in 2nd gear and taking a better line overcame the handling disadvantage I seem have with these tyres.
I lost some ground at the 3rd hairpin, but I quickly got it back uphill going into the 4th hairpin.
I managed to stay on the back end of the ST185 on the 4th and 5th hairpins. I was quite pleased knowing my 86 was giving a 91 hell.
I miss-shifted at the 6th hairpin after getting right beside the ST185 at the summit. I lost a lot of ground. I thought Id broken the Celicas gearbox at that moment but coming downhill at over 110mph reassured that the gearbox still lived!
I was back on the ST185s heels at the 7th hairpin. I think Ive surpassed his expectations of me.
Although that went all to waste as I clipped the kerb approaching the tight left-hander, causing me to slow down to make sure I didnt smash into a wall. The ST185 was out of sight now, although at the 9th hairpin I saw him again, I knew I could catch up down the seafront.
With nothing in my way I drove with everything I had, roaring past the 10th hairpin and onto the seafront.
I took the Celica all the way to 110mph before flying into the 1st hairpin, my tyres were screaming!
I took flight on my way to the 2nd hairpin, where it seems the ST185 went wide, scraping its side along the outside wall. That was my chance to get back into the game.
Only millimetres between us out of the 3rd hairpin, I felt that rush for the first time in 12 years, that rush that kept me racing. I felt so alive!
I took my chances at the 4th hairpin, I dived inside, braked as late as I dared and darted around the inside of the ST185, staying side by side into the 5th hairpin where he took the lead back.
I got beside him at the summit then switched sides at the S bend, but backed off as we got to the 6th hairpin. Although I had a plan, one inspired by you, Roj.
Once we hit the steep downhill stretch, I floored it, the turbo spooled up, the revs raised, and I rocketed past the ST185. He didnt have a chance!
Out of the 7th hairpin I looked behind to see the ST185 a distance away. If I could hit the bottom before him, I would be the winner.
I got a bit sideways on the 10th hairpin, but it didnt matter, I floored it down the seafront, leaving the ST185 for dust.
Seems I won, after 12 years of retirement, I have a little friendly race and end up victorious. Seems I havent gotten as rusty as I thought! Anyway, I look forward to your return, maybe I could show you my skills in person. Haha, alright, until then, see ya.
---
So my jaw is now on the floor because it just dropped. Luis has some skills I see. Ive personally never seen him race so this is quite the experience for me, even if its via e-mail. I wonder how hed do in the 98 Celica GT-Four
I sent a reply back and closed the laptop down. I walked over to the balcony to admire my Impreza from above, such a nice view. The sun shined on the Imprezas body, which did actually make me realise how dirty it was. Seeing as I had nothing to do, I got a bucket of soapy water and a sponge and walked downstairs towards my Impreza.
I started washing the Impreza, starting at the top and working my way to the bottom, but before I could even get past below the windows, I heard the distinctive sound of a Rotary engine, followed by the sound of a blow off valve. Most likely a RX-7 I thought. I stood up and as expected a Mazda FC RX-7 was making its way down this road, eventually passing me. The dark green paint looked awesome under the sun. Definitely a car thats seen a lot of TLC from its owner. I went back to washing the Impreza, until I hear the same RX-7 suddenly rev up, tyres squeal momentarily and then nothing. When I stood up, I didnt see any sign of the RX-7. But what I did see was 2 long black lines where it once was.
I finished up washing the Impreza about 10 minutes later. Nice and clean. Then my phone rang, it was Doug.
I realise waiting for John may take a while, so if youre feeling bored, come back to Laguna Seca and I have something for you to do.
Doug hung up, but immediately after he sent me a picture message. I opened the message to find an image of a blue Aston Martin DB9 sitting in the pit lane at Laguna. I became curious as to what Doug meant by I have something for you to do and the picture of the DB9. I looked at the Impreza, water dripping off the wheels, evaporating as the drops hit the ground. It would be a shame to make the Impreza dirty again, but then it would be a shame to waste an opportunity to take a joyride around Laguna again.
I fired up the Impreza, and roared off, leaving a set of black marks on the road of my own
A little continuation of my ongoing racing story thats been going on for 2 race reports now. Check out my last Capri race report to enlighten you about the story. To cut to the chase, this is basically a bit of a side story after the events at Laguna Seca (which you can find here in Rotary Junkies recent chapter of Fury) and before the next race The Bread Van will be participating in. Also Ive always wanted an excuse to do this so, enjoy.
For your information:
Car: Toyota Celica 2000 GT-Four (ST165) 86
BHP: 240
Equipped parts: Sports exhaust / air filter, port polish, engine balancing, large single clutch, stage 1 turbine kit, sports suspension kit, N3 tyres, weight reduction stage 1.
Race: Capri Rally (Easy) Costa di Amalfi Normal
Laps: 2
Prize for winning: Cr.5,000
Opponent: Toyota Celica GT-Four RC (ST185) 91
A-Spec points: 40 pts
So after yesterdays events at Laguna Seca, I find myself now in a hotel room surfing the web on my laptop. I just got the thing so Im still getting settled with it. Doug was nice enough to give me it for free as a way of saying sorry for dragging you to Laguna Seca for what right now seems like no reason. So anyway, I received an e-mail from my friend back in Italy. Seems hes been having fun with the deliveries since Ive been in America. But reading further down revealed that hes not just been letting the tyres squeal coming back from deliveries, but hes been racing down Amalfi too. Say what? Time for a history lesson I think.
My Italian friend, Luis, the owner of the bread shop I work at has quite the past. Dating back to the 80s even. See, back in 86 he picked up a brand new Toyota Celica in red. One of the high end ones, 4WD, turbo, the GT-Four. Being the hot-headed 17 year old who just got his license, it didnt take a week for him to put a large dent in the front. He managed to rear end a Corolla Levin going down Amalfi. Nothing seriously damaged, just some broken bumpers. Anyway, despite the crash he kept thrashing around Amalfi, day and night. In the day he would get friends to hang around all over the route, spotting any traffic and notifying him in advance as he drove past. At night he could use the light from taillights or headlights to know if someone was there. Smart thinking really. So a month later, he gets himself into his first race against a supercharged MR2. He loses by about 2 hairpins and manages to knock both his door mirrors off in the process. Luis was too cocky to admit it was his driving that let him down, so he started modifying the Celica. Suspension, engine, turbo, anything he could modify he modified. In the end the Celica was a whole lot faster than it was before, especially when he started shaving weight off it. Another month later and hes racing the locals again. An undefeated streak later and hes facing that MR2 once again. 3 bumper-to-bumper laps of Amalfi later and he managed to overtake the MR2 and get a decent lead before the MR2 raised the white flag. Turns out the MR2 was the fastest local around back then. But when Luis took him on and won, that title was Luis. Although Luis didnt know until the next morning where everyone had gathered outside what was back then his fathers bread shop cheering for him. He continued racing for about 10 years, undefeated, occasionally damaging the car but nothing thats needed anything more than a hammer to fix. Then one night he was finally defeated. Who defeated him? Some young gun in a Skyline GT-R. Shortly after Luis announced his retirement from street racing on the grounds that technology was becoming more important than driving skill. Cant blame him, he loved his Celica too much to trade it in for the newer Celica GT-Four, plus he had so much history with his current car, it would break his heart to replace it. It was good timing really, because Im not sure when but between the 10 years of him retiring and my arrival there, both his parents had unfortunately died and left him in charge of the shop. He used the Celica for deliveries, and kept it running using the profits from the shop. Doing that and racing would have killed the guy, really.
So after that, its very surprising to hear him going out racing again. But it seems he has anyway. He even sent a nice little report on how it went. Ill actually put it here.
---
But you wouldnt believe what happened this morning during the deliveries, Roj! I was driving the Celica downhill at a fairly high pace, having a bit of fun you see. Then I saw one of your old opponents, that 91 Celica GT-Four. He was actually outside the shop looking for you, but after I told him you was in America, he looked displeased. It was then when I asked him for a friendly race, between GT-Four owners. He accepted, although I think more because he thought he could easily win over me rather than because he wanted a good race.
We begun with a 50mph rolling start past the seafront, then when the first hairpin was in sight, we floored it. My Celica felt great accelerating like that!
I was right on his tail all down the seafront, who said newer was better?!
Newer means better brakes though, the ST185 got some distance on me after the first hairpin.
I caught some airtime coming off the hill, feels a lot scarier as a driver than a passenger eh?
I was all over the ST185 through the 2nd hairpin, flooring it in 2nd gear and taking a better line overcame the handling disadvantage I seem have with these tyres.
I lost some ground at the 3rd hairpin, but I quickly got it back uphill going into the 4th hairpin.
I managed to stay on the back end of the ST185 on the 4th and 5th hairpins. I was quite pleased knowing my 86 was giving a 91 hell.
I miss-shifted at the 6th hairpin after getting right beside the ST185 at the summit. I lost a lot of ground. I thought Id broken the Celicas gearbox at that moment but coming downhill at over 110mph reassured that the gearbox still lived!
I was back on the ST185s heels at the 7th hairpin. I think Ive surpassed his expectations of me.
Although that went all to waste as I clipped the kerb approaching the tight left-hander, causing me to slow down to make sure I didnt smash into a wall. The ST185 was out of sight now, although at the 9th hairpin I saw him again, I knew I could catch up down the seafront.
With nothing in my way I drove with everything I had, roaring past the 10th hairpin and onto the seafront.
I took the Celica all the way to 110mph before flying into the 1st hairpin, my tyres were screaming!
I took flight on my way to the 2nd hairpin, where it seems the ST185 went wide, scraping its side along the outside wall. That was my chance to get back into the game.
Only millimetres between us out of the 3rd hairpin, I felt that rush for the first time in 12 years, that rush that kept me racing. I felt so alive!
I took my chances at the 4th hairpin, I dived inside, braked as late as I dared and darted around the inside of the ST185, staying side by side into the 5th hairpin where he took the lead back.
I got beside him at the summit then switched sides at the S bend, but backed off as we got to the 6th hairpin. Although I had a plan, one inspired by you, Roj.
Once we hit the steep downhill stretch, I floored it, the turbo spooled up, the revs raised, and I rocketed past the ST185. He didnt have a chance!
Out of the 7th hairpin I looked behind to see the ST185 a distance away. If I could hit the bottom before him, I would be the winner.
I got a bit sideways on the 10th hairpin, but it didnt matter, I floored it down the seafront, leaving the ST185 for dust.
Seems I won, after 12 years of retirement, I have a little friendly race and end up victorious. Seems I havent gotten as rusty as I thought! Anyway, I look forward to your return, maybe I could show you my skills in person. Haha, alright, until then, see ya.
---
So my jaw is now on the floor because it just dropped. Luis has some skills I see. Ive personally never seen him race so this is quite the experience for me, even if its via e-mail. I wonder how hed do in the 98 Celica GT-Four
I sent a reply back and closed the laptop down. I walked over to the balcony to admire my Impreza from above, such a nice view. The sun shined on the Imprezas body, which did actually make me realise how dirty it was. Seeing as I had nothing to do, I got a bucket of soapy water and a sponge and walked downstairs towards my Impreza.
I started washing the Impreza, starting at the top and working my way to the bottom, but before I could even get past below the windows, I heard the distinctive sound of a Rotary engine, followed by the sound of a blow off valve. Most likely a RX-7 I thought. I stood up and as expected a Mazda FC RX-7 was making its way down this road, eventually passing me. The dark green paint looked awesome under the sun. Definitely a car thats seen a lot of TLC from its owner. I went back to washing the Impreza, until I hear the same RX-7 suddenly rev up, tyres squeal momentarily and then nothing. When I stood up, I didnt see any sign of the RX-7. But what I did see was 2 long black lines where it once was.
I finished up washing the Impreza about 10 minutes later. Nice and clean. Then my phone rang, it was Doug.
I realise waiting for John may take a while, so if youre feeling bored, come back to Laguna Seca and I have something for you to do.
Doug hung up, but immediately after he sent me a picture message. I opened the message to find an image of a blue Aston Martin DB9 sitting in the pit lane at Laguna. I became curious as to what Doug meant by I have something for you to do and the picture of the DB9. I looked at the Impreza, water dripping off the wheels, evaporating as the drops hit the ground. It would be a shame to make the Impreza dirty again, but then it would be a shame to waste an opportunity to take a joyride around Laguna again.
I fired up the Impreza, and roared off, leaving a set of black marks on the road of my own
It's a great side story
) Great pictures by the way, reminds you that even with GT5 out GT4 still is quite impressive for any game.(Although GT5 is big time better). But yeah, great views, great pictures, really puts you in the story. Oh yeah, you can get a moderator to merge your threads for you.💡
