~ Ready, Steady, Go! - Chapter 55 ~ (02/03/12)(56k/MobileApp Warning!)

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”Oh, well then, I think we should go shopping tomorrow!”
“For clothes?”
”No silly. For the C4! It needs some more power if it’s going to take on Madrid and the hot hatches afterwards.”


They might try driving 1 up to increase power to weight ratio? ;)
 
Chapter 23 - Mustang Fury

Tsukuba was hosting its regular “run what you’ve brung” rear wheel drive race. Cooper brought along a Camaro that he had borrowed from the lot. An American man approached him in the pits.

“Nice Camaro. I have one of those back at home.”
”Oh really? They’re good cars. Have you brought it here?”
“No.”
”Oh. Then what?”
”‘71 Mustang.”
”Nice, a proper classic. American muscle.”
”Heh. It's not exactly stock either... Modern 6-speed and a big dirty blower. It will run circles around anything here.”
”I hear ya. There’s a trend growing here with American cars, they almost out number the Japanese cars in these events.”
“Hah. I suppose I'll see you on track.”
”Yeah man. I’m Cooper by the way.”

The American man walked off.

”You’re supposed to give me your name...”

Cooper got into the Camaro and headed out for the start of the race.

Starting Grid
1. Cooper’s red Chevrolet Camaro SS
2. White BMW 1 Series tii
3. Blue Nissan Silvia S15
4. Red Chevrolet Corvette C2
5. Silver Nissan 300ZX
6. American man’s Ford Mustang Mach 1
7. Silver Nissan Fairlady Z Z33
8. Silver Shelby Series One
9. Black Buick GNX
10. Grey Nissan Fairlady Z Z34


“I feel good about this one. I wonder what Yuka’s doing in Europe right now.”

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“This race is mine. BMW are the masters of the FR platform.”

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“You’re all sadly mistaken with your American and European cars. Japan has the best rear wheel drive machines and the Silvia is evidence of that!”

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“I doubt I’ll win, but I’ll finish in style.”

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“Another race, another chance to prove the 300ZX’s worth!”

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“Seems that little, erm, accident didn’t even phase my car.”

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“Lets do it, Z.”

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“Lets see how my Shelby does without the crazy rear camber.”

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“May the force be with you guys, ‘cause you all need it against the GNX.”

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“I love my 370Z!”

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“Showtime!”

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“This is great!”

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“Maybe I should keep this Camaro for myself and race Yuka with it!”

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“That’s it, stay behind me. Follow the leader.”

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“I’ve got good vibes about this race!”

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“Now to show this BMW what sort of power a Chevy has!”

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“Aw yeah!”

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“One down, two to go!”

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“Aw crap, he’s caught up.”

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“Can’t let any of them beat me now!”

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“Need to open it up some more!”

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“That Mustang… It’s caught us? How?!”

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“He’s making a move on the BMW!”

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“How are these American pieces of crap beating me?!”

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“Hello, Cooper.”

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“My name is…”

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“…Shin. I’ve come for fresh meat.”

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“Damn! He got me!”

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“Not you too!”

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“I’ll cut as deep as I need to!”

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“Yes! Stay back!”

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“No! Damn it! This sucks!”

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“I’ll fight until the end!”

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“I’ll accept second but I wont take third!”

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“Come on Camaro, pull! Pull!”

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“What the…?”

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“A little premature victory drift wont hurt I’m sure…”

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“Way to add insult to injury... Damn, can’t believe I lost…”

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Cooper entered the pits and approached the American man.

“Hey, nice win there buddy.”
”Thanks... Though I can't say there was much competition, I'd have lost if there was. I'm not much of a circuit guy.”
”Not much of a circuit racer? So you’re into highway racing then?”
”Mostly drag racing but highway runs as well.”
”So what brings you to Japan?”
”I heard a friend of mine was here, but I can’t seem find her.”
“Her?”
”A woman with a Corvette, also from America.”
“I’ve not seen any Corvette’s around here driven by girls, sorry dude.”
”I thought as much.”
”By the way, I didn’t get your name just now.”
”Not exactly something you should be concerned with but it's Shinsaku. Friends call me Shin.”
“I’ll see you around then, Shin.”

Special thanks to Rotary Junkie for doing Shin’s lines!
 
That S15 would've won if Miyu were driving. ;) Nice chapter.
 
Awesome chapter, it's great to see American musclecars finally getting respect. lol :)
 
Read everything. Marvelous. Would be cool if you somehow incorporated the Japan tsunami and radiation problems. Pretty sure Tsukuba is still flood damaged up to now :( I hope Hitomi and Yuka get it on soon. :D
 
Chapter 24 - Round 2

Yuka and Hitomi were walking down the improvised pit lane at the Madrid street circuit.

“So this is Madrid? It’s lovely! Don’t you think so Yuka?”
”It’s too hot!”
“Really? It’s just like California really.”
”I’m not used to the heat!”

Hitomi felt Yuka’s head.

”Sheesh you’re not kidding! You’re hot!”
“Very funny…”

Hitomi handed the keys to the C4 over to Yuka.

“Go sit in the car with the air on, cool down a bit.”
”Alright. Thanks Hitomi.”

Yuka retreated back to the car to cool off.

”Poor Yuka, I should’ve warned her about the heat.”

Meanwhile, at Tokyo Used Cars…

Cooper was chatting with one of his colleagues about the American man he met yesterday.

“Yeah, he was looking for a woman with a Corvette. Also American.”
“A woman with a Corvette? Eh… I heard one turned up at route 5 a few days ago and just walked everything.”
”Damn, really?”
”Yeah. I wish I were there to see it. It just tore everything apart. Pure power.”
”Yuka said her cousin drives a Corvette…”
”Maybe that mechanic from Gion knows, he’s into the tuning scene.”
”TJ? Hmm, I guess I’ll pay him a visit after work.”

Later on, in Madrid…

“Feeling better now Yuka?”
”Yeah. Is it time?”

Hitomi nodded.

”Then let’s win this championship and move on up!”

Hitomi started up the car and headed onto the track with the other competitors.

Starting Grid
1. Black Citroen Xantia
2. Silver Citroen C3
3. Yellow Peugeot 106
4. White Renault Megane
5. Blue Renault 5
6. Silver Citroen Xsara
7. Yuka & Hitomi’s Red Citroen C4
8. Silver Peugeot 207
9. Black Peugeot 206
10. Blue Alpine A110
11. Blue Peugeot 307
12. Red Peugeot 106


“Damn it, I need to finish in a good position to at least get some money out of this…”

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“Hopefully I wont fail so hard on a street circuit, where C3’s are comfortable.”

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“I did crap last race, this car is crap!”

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“My Megane did okay last race, I need to really put the hammer down this round.”

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“I may be at a disadvantage here, despite my size.”

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“That C4 behind me needs to stay behind me this time!”

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“Lets see what you got then, Hitomi!”
”Haha watch this!”

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“Perhaps I should consider a C4 too…”

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“Maybe a normal coupe would’ve been better to race with…”

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“Dad already beat me for last time. I wont let it happen again!”

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“It’s so hot, perfect top down weather for later on!”

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“I just need to finish to avoid further embarrassment...”

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“Go Hitomi, go!”

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“This C4 aint half bad around here.”

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“It doesn’t have the racing acceleration that I’m used to but it handles well.”

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“Seems like the Xsara has gotten faster since last time. You’ve not passed it yet, Hitomi.”
“Just playing the strategy game.”

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“On city circuits its better to hold back and wait for the guy in front to screw up.”

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“Get some pressure going…”

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“See, I’m sticking to it like glue now!”
”Yeah but how are you going to pass it?”

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“Hitomi! Careful! The 206 is up your left side!”
”What?!”

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“Hey! Watch it! You nearly put me into a wall!”

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“There’s a gap!”
”I’m going for it!”

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“Wooooaaaahh!!”
“Hitomi!”

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“That Renault is fast!”
”Yuka, it’s the Alpine guy again!”
“Kick his ass Hitomi!”

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“Now this Xantia wont move over!”

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“Come on!”

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“Now I can make my move!”

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“How did he get ahead?!”
“He’s just using his size to his advantage on these streets.”
”I bet his car isn’t the only thing he has that’s small!”
“Haha!”

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“Hitomi! The 106!”
“Sod him!”

The C4 traded paint with the106 as they flew through the corner, rubbing doors as they went.

“Damn it! It’s going to cost a fortune to fix my car! Careless women!”

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“Now for Mr. Alpine!”

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“This is as late as I dare!”
“Watch it!”
“Gotta catch him!”

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“Hitomi!!!”
“Fu…!”

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“Those crazy girls! They’re insane! Luckily I moved out of the way before they wrecked dad’s car!”

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“Now for the Renault!”
“Don’t try and wreck him too!”

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“This C3 is a pushover, just wait for him to screw up.”

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“Or ride his bumper, whatever.”

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“Final lap coming up!”
”I’m going to take second now!”

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“Go go go!”

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“Gotcha!”

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“Now for this Megane! How are you feeling Yuka?”
”I’m great, I’m getting a nice breeze from the windows like this. Don’t worry about me.”

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“We can win this one Hitomi, just take it one corner at a time!”

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“I have the inside.”

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“Not anymore you don’t!”

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“Ah, but watch this!”

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“Superior exit speed decides the winner on the straights!”
“Oh you clever cow.”

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“Last turn!”

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“Full throttle Hitomi!”
“As if I’d go any less than 100 percent!”

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“Yeah!”
”There we go!”

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“And that’s how we do that over at Team Hitomi.”
”Team Hitomi? Is that what your little racing team back home?”
”No, of course not! I named it Triple H Racing”
”Catchy.”
“Hitomi Hits Hard.”
“Catchy…”
“What? You don’t like it?”
”I like it! I’m saying it’s catchy!”
”Okay…”

Hitomi pulled into the pit lane, whilst the crowds swarmed the car, congratulating the pair for their championship win.

“Ahh… Yuka… This is…”
”Scary?”
”Scary.”
“They won’t bite.”

Security arrived to move the crowds back to give Hitomi and Yuka a chance to get out of the car and up to the podium.

“And to our series winners, these two young ladies, Yuka and Hitomi!”

A pair of small trophies were awarded to the pair as the crowd cheered.

“These will look nice on the shelf, eh Yuka?”

Yuka picked up a champagne bottle.

”Yuka…”

She shook the bottle hard and aimed it at Hitomi.

”Yuka!”

Yuka popped the cap off the bottle and showered Hitomi with champagne.

”Yuka!!!!”

Yuka drenched Hitomi, completely emptying the bottle.

”Oh Hitomi! You look a bit wet, maybe you should wait out here and dry off.”
”Yuka! I’m going to strangle you!”
”Oh shush! Its only champagne.”
”Yuka wiped her finger on Hitomi’s champagne-soaked cheek and tasted it.”
”Yum!”

Later on…

Hitomi and Yuka were packing their things back at the hotel. The next stop was Eiger in Switzerland for the start of the European Hot Hatch Championship.

“So we’ve won another 10,250 Euros eh Yuka?”
”Yep.”
”So that gives us about 36,600 Euros in total now. Well more like 36,000 after the shopping and the hotel. Oh and fuel.”
“Still plenty. Think about it, we have another championship to go with the C4 before we have to swap it for a lightweight British car.”
”Oh yeah. By the way, what car should we get?”
”Isn’t it early for that?”
”It’s a long drive to Eiger.”
“True. We’ll discuss it on the way.”
“Well, shall we go?”
”Lets.”
 
I wonder...whatever happened to Yuka's crush? The one who gave her the FD Civic?
 
I wonder...whatever happened to Yuka's crush? The one who gave her the FD Civic?
He vanished one day, no one knows where he is.

To be honest I originally wasn't going to include him at all here, but I've got plans at a later date. Much, much later.
 
Chapter 25 - I’m Eiger To See

Frank walked into TJ’s garage and looked around for TJ. TJ wasn’t around. He noticed the Vitz up on the ramp and walked towards it, surveying the damage.

“Damn, it’s a wreck. I’d be surprised if TJ can save it.”

TJ emerged from the back, holding a tyre iron.

”Oh, it’s you that I heard.”
“Hey TJ. What are you doing with that…?”
“Oh this? Nothing…”
”Were you going to…?”
”Well… If I hadn’t of recognised you…”
”Ah… Awkward.”
“Mhm.”

They stood in an awkward silence for a full minute, before TJ broke the silence.

”So what can I do you for? No, wait, that’s obvious. The Vitz is pretty much dead. Because of it’s size, whatever hit it managed to bend the entire body out of shape. Even if you could straighten the body back up, it would be weak as hell. Sure you could brace it up, but then you have to realise that the engine and all the mechanical components are pretty much shot. By the time you’ve put this car back on the road, you’ve spent enough cash to get a whole new car.”
”I understand. I’ll have to break the news to Dave then. He already knows but I might as well confirm it.”
“So that’s it really. I still want Dave to see it for himself before I send it to Toyota heaven. How is he anyway?”
“He’s okay, considering how many bones he’s broke.”
”I see. Well if that’s all, I need to lock up.”
“Well, um, I came here for another reason too.”
”Go on.”
”Dave wanted me to ask you about finding out who did this.”
”Ah, so he was rammed?”
”Yeah. Did you know?”
”I had suspicions. I found green paint on the rear bumper and down the side of the Vitz. I already took the liberty of checking if any green cars have gone to any local body shops. No luck. I’m guessing whoever owns the car does his own bodywork.”
”Damn, we’ll never find him then!”
”Nah. Anyone can be found. Take Yuka for example, she found out who stole and wrecked her Civic just by racing and getting info from people.”
”I’m not a racer and Dave’s in no position to get behind the wheel. Can you help?”
”I quit that game long ago.”
“So what options do I have?”
“Either get into racing, or hope lady luck is watching you.”

Later on…

Frank was back at the hospital, visiting Dave.

“TJ said that?”
”Yeah, I’m sorry Dave.”
”Nah, we’re not completely beat yet. Once I’m out of here, I’m going to find out for myself.”
“How? You’re in no condition to race! Not for a long time!”
“Damn it.”
”Well whatever, wait until you heal first then.”
”You’re too kind to me Frank. Haha.”

Meanwhile, at Eiger…

Yuka and Hitomi arrived at the scenic views of Eiger. Yuka was driving, with Hitomi fast asleep in the passenger seat. Yuka stopped at the roadside and took in the view.

“Wow. It’s got the same impact as when I look out of my apartment window at night, except it’s a completely different view I’m looking at. Just wow.”

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“Hitomi, wake up.”
”No no Mr. Unicorn, don’t touch me there.”

Hitomi was still fast asleep.

”Hitomi!”
”Huh? Yuka? Oh crap sorry, I fell asleep! Are we there yet?”
”Yeah. This is it, Eiger.”
“Wow. It’s really nice.”
”I know! I’m surprised people can race here without being distracted by the view.”
”They’re probably used to it. Anyway we can't get distracted ourselves. We need to win.”
”True.”

Yuka heard another car coming.

“What’s that? Sounds like he’s going pretty fast.”
”Someone’s practicing I guess.”
”Before the roads are closed off?”
“Sure?”
“Hey I see it! Over there!”
“Where?”
“Over there across the grass!”

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“A wagon?”
“It’s heading this way!”

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“There it is!”
”Hitomi…”

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“Woah woah woah! Slow down you idiot! You’re going to wreck us!”
”No he isn’t.”

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Hitomi dived out of the way as the wagon flew past, near missing the C4.

”Holy…!”

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Hitomi looked up at Yuka, who was still stood by the C4.

“Why didn’t you move Yuka?! Do you have a death wish?!”
”Nope. I just knew he wasn’t going to hit us.”
”How could you know?!”
”That was The Bread Van of Amalfi. The legendary white Impreza Wagon.”
“What?!”
“Get in the car. We’re going after it.”

Hitomi got into the car with Yuka and sped off after the Impreza.

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“How do you know about an Impreza that apparently hails from Italy but is now here in Switzerland?”
“I met the driver briefly before. That Impreza thrashed the pants off a 600 horsepower R33 when it only has about 355 itself.”
”Seriously?”
”It was professionally tuned by RVV back in the day.”

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“Isn’t RVV now RKM? The same guys who tuned your Civic?”
“Yeah. Heh, that kind of explains it now.”

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“He’s stopped up here.”
”I see him!”

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Yuka pulled up behind the parked Wagon, just as an Italian man was walking towards the Impreza. Yuka got out and approached the man.

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“Hey! Hey wait!”
”Hi. Oh! You’re the people on the side of the road just now. I’m sorry about driving so closely to you.”
”It’s okay. Wait a second… You’re not…”
”Aha, you were expecting someone else?”
”Yeah… Sorry. It’s just I saw the Impreza and thought you was someone else. Sorry again. Excuse me.”
”Were you thinking it was The Bread Van of Amalfi?”
”Yeah, how’d you…?”
”You weren’t mistaken. This is indeed the one. Although it’s gone through some changes.”
“How come you’re driving it then?”
”It’s a long story. Do you have time?”
”I do.”
“Then I will tell you. You see, Roj, the guy who drove this car, used to deliver bread for me on the Amalfi coast with this wagon. My bread shop was popular thanks to him. Then one day, he got offered a job at RVV, now RKM. He accepted and left the Impreza with me. I thought he was coming back for it but apparently he wanted me to keep it, saying it belonged to the shop more than it belonged to him. Things were good until a malfunctioning oven burnt my store down last year. Luckily none of the cars got damaged. So I moved here and set up a new bread shop.”
”Why here?”
”I don’t even know myself! I just felt like it. I acted on impulse. I’m glad I moved here though, I managed to hire some good bakers to help out, I’m getting a bit old to be stuck baking all day.”
“So now you’re having fun with the deliveries huh? You crazy old man.”
”I know right!”

Yuka looked back at Hitomi, who had fallen asleep in the car.

“I take it you’ve come a long way?”
”Yeah. We drove here from Madrid. We’re going across Europe, racing all these championships.”
”I see. Best of luck to you then.”
”Thanks. The Impreza seems a bit different from before, did Roj tune it for you after he left?”
”Yeah he actually came here a couple of weeks ago and worked on it. I can tell he misses it.”
”What did he change?”
”The suspension mostly. Oh and the wheels. Since Eiger is nowhere near as rough as Amalfi, the Impreza can run lower and use more expensive tyres, that otherwise would’ve just worn to crap at Amalfi. I installed a new turbo last week, it peaks at a lower RPM but gives much more torque.”

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”We could do with a turbo in the C4…”
”Hmmm, if you’d like, I could help you there.”
”Really? That would be great!”
”Then it’s settled. Since it’s still early, I’ll leave you with my shop’s address and we can get the turbo installed this afternoon.”
”Great! I’ll stop by later then. I’m Yuka, by the way. That’s Hitomi snoring in the car. She’s my cousin”
”I’m Luis. Nice to meet you.”
 
I regret to inform you all that chapter 25 will be the last chapter for a while. I'm going on holiday next Tuesday and wont be back until the 8th of August. So chapter 26 will arrive on the 12th of August.

There is good news however! Or bad, depending on how you'll take the news. I'll need at least 1 volunteer to help with a future chapter. I say at least 1 because I need at least 1 person to make it work, but the more people that are in, the better the chapter. Details to come.
 
Well…what would happen is that while we are racing, we'd recreate that crash we had on the last turn of the Nurburg GP/F, and we'd just sandwich roj's car :D
 
Well…what would happen is that while we are racing, we'd recreate that crash we had on the last turn of the Nurburg GP/F, and we'd just sandwich roj's car :D

Ask Luis, Yuka and Hitomi, not me. And if you're asking me to bring in the 380RS and then I'll bring in Shye to castrate you.
 
OK...is there seriously no connection between RSG! and RTN?
 
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