- 762
Cheap suits, even cheaper glasses and a collection of hideous 70's 'vintage' ties. That, in a nutshell, is Stephen Carmichael Rotteford Oghes. Sometimes he thinks of himself as a ladies man but his passion is cars, all cars, slow, fast , classic, junkers, anything with 4 wheels. "Sex is nice but give me leather clad, electric, heated seats and a chunky steering wheel if you really want to work me up!" he is fond of saying, even to perfect strangers.
Can you be a car nut and not have a license? Well, Stephen Carmichael Rotteford Oghes was one. Too much of a tightarse to pay for it he never had one. That is until, he heard that he could get different kinds of licenses (and finally be able to drive) at the PD offices.
He made some enquiries and was static. Not only could he get different licenses but also a bunch of cars FOR FREE! All part a promotional program by the car industry that... no, he didn't care what it was part of just that he could get the licenses and the cars for free. Period.
Only one little detail: To get started he needed to buy a car. Any car. It was the one and only condition to join the program.
"Fine, I'll buy a car. But it better be the only cost I incur to get started. Or I am suing you for false advertising!" he said loudly to Ms. Si Ng Mee, the Membership Management Advisor at the local PD Registry office. She winced, composed herself and said in a calm almost shy voice: "Please Mr. Rutteford, when you have the registration papers for the card present them at this window and I will print your membership card."
Stephen was incensed she got the spelling wrong. But at least she was just saying it wrong and not writing it wrong on some official piece of paperwork. He'd make sure she didn't stuff that up. But at that moment he just needed to find a car. One that wouldn't give him too much wallet pain. After checking the card yards he found one that looked good. It was a Today G '85 going for $6311. That was $6311 more than he wanted to pay but it was cheap and hopefully the only expense he'd incur (boy was he in for a surprise!). Check written and registration papers signed it was time to go see Ms. Si Ng Mee. He liked saying her name three times fast. There was something about it. Or maybe it was her. So nice and wholesome but also beautiful and mysterious. "Down boy, down!" He said to himself, he was doing this for the cars, not the girl.
"I filled your membership details earlier" she said when he approached her window. "I had a little problem getting your whole name to fit in the allotted spaces. I hope you are OK with the result" her voice again shy and composed. Stephen read the membership card: "Prof. S.C.R.Oghes". He didn't remember mentioning he was a Professor of Recycling and Sustainability at the local community College. "How did you ..." he started to ask. "One of our Environment Protection Officers recognized you from a certification course last year." She said with a smile and a playful tone.
"Looks OK. And you saved some ink. I like that." he replied. That night he read all the literature for the program. Next he needed to plan how he was going to complete it. After much thinking he settle on the following:
- No buying cars or expenses of any kind unless absolutely necessary.
- No modding cars (it was implied on the previous point but he wanted to make sure it was clear in his head)
- No using the B-Spec drivers. They probably want a salary ... ppffffttt
- Clean driving. The least the cars look like they have been driving the better.
Now it was time to start racing....
EXPENSES
DAY 0 6311 Today G'85 (Red)
Total 6311
PRIZES
CARS
Domio Sport '03 -- B-License All Bronze
PDI Racing Kart 100
mmR Cup Car '01 -- A license All Bronze
DN-X Concept '02 -- C license All Bronze
Vitz U euro Sport Edition '00
Berlinette R/S Coupe '99
Mugen Motul Civic Si Race Car '87
Celica 2800GT '81 -- Sports Car Cup 80's Festival
Eunos Roadster NA '91 -- iB License Bronze
Lupo GTI Cup Car(J) '03 -- Euro Hot Hatch Prize
Speedster Turbo '00 -- SCHWARZWALD LEAGUE A Prize
RAM 1500 LARAMIE Hemi Quad Cab '04 -- International A License All Bronze Prize
Prize Lupo 1.4 '02 - Lupo Cup Prize
ITEMS
Horns N190
ACCESS
Top Gear Test Track Beginner Special Event
Amateur B-Spec Available -- level 5
AMG Driving Academy Beginner -- level 6
Jeff Gordon Nascar Beginner
GT Karting Intermediate -- level 7
Top Gear Track Intermediate -- level 8
Ahrwiler Street Photo location
Jeff Gordon Nascar Intermediate -- level 9
Pro series -- level 10
GranTurismo Rally Beginner
AMG Driving Academy Intermediate
Gran Tour Special event
Prize Sebastian Loeb Special Event FOR Reaching Level 16
Gran Turismo Karting Advanced Available FOR Reaching level 17.
PROGRESS
Day -- Percentage -- Level
xx -- 4% -- 4
xx -- 4% -- 6
xx -- xx -- 9
xx -- 8% -- 10
xx -- xx -- 12
xx -- xx -- 13
xx -- xx -16
xx -- xx -17
29 -- 26% -- 17
DIARY
The first order of business was to get himself a license, the "B" license is where you start so he made his way to the examination track at the back of the complex.
B-LICENSE
How exciting, his first license test ever. His palms sweating, his heart racing. He'd had read a lot of discarded license preparation tests over the years. Even practiced steering trash can lids downhill in the snow. He though he was ready!
B-1 200m. Stopping challenge on a Toyota Vitz: 13.276. Just under the 13.300 needed for a gold finish. "This stuff is easy! he though.
B-2 Steering on an Alfa Romeo 147 Tspark: 22.052. Gold again. His confidence rose, this was fun!
B-3 Out-in-Out on a Suzuki Swift Sport '07: 26.331. Silver.
B-4 Braking into a corner on a Honda Civic Type R '08: 14.146 Bronze.
B-5 Basic Cornering on a Peugot 207 GTi '07: 20.603 Bronze.
B-6 Exiting from a looping corner on a Renaultsport Megane '08: 15.459 Bronze. It wasn't so easy after all. He was a bit bummed.
B-7 High Speed Driving Lines and Accelerator Control on a Volkswagen Golf V Gti '05: 20.431 Bronze... again.
B-8 Finding a line through an S bend on a Honda S2000 '06: 22.079 Bronze
B-9 Overtaking Using Slipstreams on a Mazda RX-8 Type S '07: 2nd Silver
B-10 Indianapolis Superspeedway 1 lap battle on a Honda CRZ '10: 6th Bronze.
That got him a bit upset. He had been taking it easy but this was the first challenge against other drivers and he just wanted to finish first. So he tried two more times finishing 5th and 1st respectively. "Yes, that is what I am talking about" he shouted as he punched his fist up in the air.
He went past Ms. Si's window on his way out. She waved at him and he approached. "Congratulations, you got your first license" she said. "I thought it would be easier" he replied. She offered a smile and some encouragement "Well, it is your first time. You will get better results as your skills progress". He felt comfort on her words. But most importantly she gave him a ticket. It was the prize ticket for finishing the B-license with all bronze. The ticket was for a Domio Sport '03.
There was a second ticket. This one for a PDI Racing Kart 100. She tried to explain why he got that one but he wasn't listening, he owned two cars now. The world was his oyster.
Two cars... and one of them was a kart. "Chuckable and forgiving" he thought whilst rubbing his chin. Not able to contain his enthusiasm he took it out for a drive.
KARTING EXPERIENCE BEGINNER
TOKIO BAY Being his first proper race he was surprised at how easy it was to get disqualified. After three disqualifications he managed to finish first.
EIFEL KART TRACK 1st by 5.638 seconds.
He reached level 4 and got access to the top gear test (begginer) as well as the Horns N190. Coincidentally he also reached 4%. "Not a bad day's work" he self congratulated not waiting for Ms. Si's encouraging words.
Jeff Gordon Nascar Experience (Beginner)
Jeff explained in his American accent what drafting was all about. Prof S.C.R.Oghes loved the idea because it saved fuel.
Event 1: 2nd, 2nd, 1st
Event 2: DQ, 1st.
Reached Level 5. Amateur B-Spec Available
He was a rabid fan of Top Gear so as soon as he could he made his way there for the begginner challenge.
TOP GEAR TEST TRACK BEGGINNER
Challenge DQ,DQ,DQ,3rd
It wasn't easy, specially working out what cones he could and could not hit. But it was done. As usual Ms. Si was there with a smile and news he reached level 6. This gave him access to the AMG Driving Academy. "AMG... OMG! I want, I want, I want!" was all he could manage to say before bolting for the next Free Shuttle Bus.
On the bus ride he remembered his driving instructor at school. "This will be all you will ever drive" he used to tell S.C.R.Oghes. "You will never experience the great roads of the world". "Well, take that!" he shouted out the window whilst mentally mooning the instructor and all of his classmates...
AMG Driving Academy Begginner
Nurburing #1 Bronze by 1 second, DQ, Silver in 1:38.725
Nurburing #2 Bronze in 2:33.344.
Reached Level 7. GT Karting Intermediate Available
Nubruring #3 Silver in 2:11.703
Nurburing #4 Silver .
Reached Level 8 Top Gear Track Intermediate Available
Nurburing #5 Bronze on 9:55.699
Completed AMG begginer . Ahrweiler Street photo location available.
"Wow, that was a total blast" he said whilst receiving the update from Ms. Si. He felt like hugging her. But it was a passing feeling, there was some more karting to do!
Karting Experience Intermediate
Eifel Track 1st by 1.077
Tokyo Bay 11th, 2nd, 1st
Reached Level 9. Jeff Gordon Nascar Experience Intermediate Available.
After doing the AMG Academy the karting felt too easy. He felt the need to do something more challenging so he headed back to the PD compound to do the A-i License. Besides Si would be there. She was always nice to talk to.
A LICENSE
#1 400 Meter braking: Silver on 16.440
#2 Approach : Bronze on 27.810
#3 Cone Slalom: Bronze on 24.810
#4 Maya Chicane: Bronze on 20.819
#5 Urban: Silver on 14.762
#6 Undulating Curves: Bronze on 19.331
#7 Dirt Track: DQ, Gold on 31.650
#8 Schumacher: Bronze on 14.543
#9 Fuji Brake Overtake: DQ,DQ,DQ,DQ,DQ,DQ, Silver
#10 High Speed Ring 1 Lap Battle: DQ,3rd,DQ, 5th, 5th, 5th, 1st
After finishing the license tests he swung by Ms. Si's. She handed him his updates:
Reached Level 10 : Pro series available
GranTurismo Rally Beginner available
A-License prize : mmR Cup Car '01
Reached 8%
It was just early afternoon so he headed to the Top Gear Track. He could do the intermediate challenge on the Lotus Elise. Always a favorite of his with a reputation for excellent handling and looks like nothing else.
TOP GEAR TEST TRACK INTERMEDIATE
Intermediate challenge: DQ, DQ, ,DQ, DQ, DQ, DQ, DQ, DQ, Bronze
"This track is tough" he quipped. Being disqualified so many times for hitting cones got to him. " I need a drink!" but it was getting late and he never spend money on drinks so he went home to sleep.
For a change of pace he decided to get his 1C license.
LICENSE 1C
#1 1000mt stopping DQ, DQ, DQ,Silver on 26.870
#2 Hard Braking & Exiting Corner Bronze 17.043, Bronze 17.582, Bronze 16.868, Silver 16.574
#3 1C Road course doubel hair pin Bronze 20.743, 20.000, 19.830, 19.479
#4 Braking when downhill on dirt Bronze 28.996, 28.337, Gold 26.791
#5 High Speed Cornering on Rome City Bronze 19.652, Silver 19.218
#6 Blind Corners In Wooded Areas. Bronze 12.267
#7 Consecutive Cornering with differing bank angles on dirt. Bronze 21.767, 21.251
#8 Traversing Lesmo Corner. Bronze 22.265, 22.718
#9 Using late braking to overtake. DQ, DQ, Gold
#10 Rome City 2 Lap Challenge. DQ, Bronze 4th.
He was happy to receive the prize for finishing with all bronze. A concept car (DN-X Concept '02)
JEFF GORDON NASCAR - INTERMEDIATE
Daytona #1. Bronze 13.142, DQ, DQ, DQ, Gold 12.871
Inside Driving Indy. DQ, DQ 13.314, Bronze 11.094
Outside Driving Indy. Bronze 13.348, Silver 13.208
Outside Driving Indy. Bronze 11.374, Silver 11.159
Ms. Si came over expressly to give him the updates: He had reached levels 11 and 12. The latter opened up the AMG Driving Academy Intermediate to him. "You are sooo nice" he said. "It was a bit slow at the office and my supervisor was OK with me coming over". He wasn't sure if he was flattered or spooked. Maybe she was just being nice... yes, that must have been it.
Prof. S.C.R.Oghes thought about what to do next. The latest prize car sounded interesting so he took it out of the garage and drove around to see what event he could use it for. He didn't have to look hard as it qualified for the Sunday Cup. It overpowered the rivals by a wide margin handing him very easy victories. He didn't quite feel like he was cheating but there was something niggling him. "There will be plenty of hard challenges ahead" he rationalized. In the mean time he was happy to receive more prizes.
SUNDAY CUP- BEGGINER ** DN-X Concept '02
#1 Autum Ring Mini. 1st by 13.018
#2 Grand Valley East. 1st by 11.749
#3 Tsukuba. 1st by 12.245
Sunday Cup prize: Vitz U euro Sport Edition '00
COMPACT CHALLENGE ** DN-X Concept '02
#1 London. 1st by 15.111
#2 Circuito De Madrid. 1st by 18.343
#3 Cape Ring 1st by 21.370
Reached level 13. Grand Tour Special Event Available
Compact Challenge Prize: Berlinette R/S Coupe '99
CLUBMAN CUP ** ** DN-X Concept '02
#1 Tsukuba. 1st by 11.530
#2 Tokio R246. 1st by 8.192
#3 Cape Ring Periphery. 1st by 13.988
Clubman Cup A Spec Prize : Mugen Motul Civic Si Race Car '87
He had so much fun on doing the AMG Academy at the beginner level that he decided to do the intermediate level next.
AMG DRIVING ACADEMY INTERMEDIATE
#1 Sector 1/Dry Bronze 1:28.487, Silver 1:24.181
#2 Sector 2 / Dry Bronze 2:08.254, DNF, Silver 2:04:1.26
Reached level 14
#3 Sector 3/Dry Bronze 1:53.571, Silver 1:50.054
#4 Sector 4/Dry Bronze 2:13.943, Bronze 2:14.847, 2:13.258, Silver 2:10.676
#5 Full Lap Dry: Silver 7:33.512
Reached level 15-> Gran turismo Rally Intermediate Available
AMG Driving Academy Intermediate (all bronze ) - Nurburing 24h available in Arcade and practice modes.
AMG Driving Academy Intermediate (all silver) -> Benz 190E 2.5 16 Evolution II '91
Doing races with an overpowered car was an easy way to win. It bothered him that it was so easy but he was happy it didn't cost him a dime because it was using a prize car.
"I feel bad for them" he mentioned to Ms. Si. She was sympathetic but offered some unsolicited advice: "You'll be at the other end of the stick eventually and they won't do you any favors". "I have seen it before a million times" she added.
After discussing it for a while he decided to switch to the Mugen Motul Civic and see what competitions he could win with it.
FF CHALLENGE ** MUGEN MOTUL CIVIC SI RACE CAR '87
#1 Suzuka East Course. 1st by 13.652
#2 Clubman Stage Route 5. 1st by 9.027
#3 Deep Forest. 1st by 12.061
Prize: Civic SI R-II '91
SPORTS CAR CUP 80'S FESTIVAL ** MUGEN MOTUL CIVIC SI RACE CAR '87
#1 Autum Ring 1st
#2 Deep Forest. 1st by 30+
Prize: Celica 2800GT '81
LICENSE 1B
#1 Wet Road Stopping Challenge. DQ, Bronze 16.273, DQ, Silver 15.145
#2 First Corner Madrid. Bronze 17.741, Bronze 17.183, Bronze 16.964, 16.994, 16.796
#3 Cone Slalom Challenge. DQ, Bronze 21.598, 20.834, 19.808, 20.629, Silver 18.887
#4 Chamonix Snow. Bronze 20.897, Silver 20.201
#5 Tokyo R246. Bronze 15.211, Silver 14.483, DQ, Bronze 14.597, 14.562,14.651, 14.594, 14.232, 14.486, 15.222
#6 Final Corner Tsukuba. Bronze 19.137, DQ, Bronze 19.306, 19.347, Silver 18.950
#7 Consecutive High Speed Corners on Dirt. Silver 19.652, Bronze 20.078, Silver 19.863, 19.807, Gold 19.479
# Nurburing Carousel. DQ 19.069, Bronze 17.734, 18.481, 18.423, Silver 17.509
#9 Offensive & Defensive R246. Gold 1st.
Reached level 16. Prize Sebastian Loeb Special Event
#10 Deep Forest 2 lap battle. DQ, DQ, DQ, DQ, Silver 3rd, 2nd, DQ, 2nd, DQ, DQ, Gold 1st
B-licenze Bronze prize: Eunos Roadster NA '91
GRAND TOUR
#1 Eiger Mordwand Time Trial. DQ, Dq, Bronze 1:21.475, 1:22.475, 1:20.811, 1:21.866, 1:20.903, DQ, DQ, 1:20.704, 1:20.736, 1:19.866, 1:19.293, 1:20.634, 1:19.823, 1:20.838, Silver 1:18.519.
#2 Monza 2 lap battle. DQ, DNF, Gold 1st by 2.281
# 3 Tuscan Night Race DNF, Bronze 4th, 3rd, DNF, DNF, DNF, 3rd, DNF
#4 Toscana Time Trial. Bronze 2:05.579, 2:01.119, DQ, DQ, 2:01.645
#5 Rome Circuit3rd by 2.952, DNF, 2nd by 0.805, 2nd by 0.600, 1st by 0.420
After finishing the Rome circuit race he went for a stroll. "It would be a shame to be here and not do some sight seeing." He didn't know the city or the bus system so he asked the organizers for some directions. "You are in Luck fella!" said a burly scrutineer. "Usually there is no one from PD here but on this occasion some bird came to do some promo and she knows the place. Lemme point you to her."
Loretta Pirelli and her husband took Prof S.C.R.Oghes around Rome. He had a wonderful time, specially since they picked up the tab. Loretta was on an expense account and had no qualms about using it. He liked Rome, all the small engined cars, simple, easy on the fuel.
After returning home he decided to re-live the experience by taking out the Honda Today '85. "Good things come in small packages" he said to himself as he drove it out of the storage facility. Sadly, the only races he could enter with the car were in the Lightweight Cup and with only a bit over 50% of the horse power of the competition it was more challenging than he thought.
LIGHTWEIGHT CUP ** HONDA TODAY G '85
Autumn Ring 5th by 3.86, 3rd by 2.067, 5th by 1.868 4th
Suzuka 5th by 2.938
He went home thinking "very small package indeed!". As he parked it he caught a glimpse of the Benz 190E 2.5 EvoII ... black, aggressive, with a few more KW than the TODAY. He grabbed the keys almost without thinking.
Bigger, faster and mean looking. That is the 190E Evo II. "Let's show stretch this baby's legs" he said to himself whilst enrolling for the Euro Hot Hatch Championship.
EURO HOT HATCH CHAMPIONSHIP ** BENZ 190E Evo II '91
EigerNordwand short. 1st by 2.848
Rome 1st by 4.089
Next was the German Schwald League A..
Apart from having to fend off a Couple of Opel Speedsters on both races it was pretty straight forward. The Red Beetle helped hold back the Opels for which he was thankful.
SCHWARZWALD LEAGUE A ** BENZ 190E Evo II '91
Nurburing 2nd by 1.050 Held 1st until 2nd last corner. DNF,1st by 0.463. Held the Opel Back 1/2 of the race.
Reached level 17. Gran Turismo Karting Advanced Available
Tokyo R246 DNF, 1st by 0.279 Two Opels!. Beetle held them back.
Euro Hot Hatch Prize: Lupo GTI Cup Car(J) '03
SCHWARZWALD LEAGUE A prize: Speedster Turbo '00
He checked in with Ms Si. "You are close to 25% now. All it takes is a couple more events". He settled on doing the lupo cup and the international A license. With any luck he'd get to 25%. Not that there was anything special about that number. Other than perhaps the fact that Ms. Si mentioned it...
LUPO CUP **** LUPO GTI CUP CAR[/U]
Nurburing 1 lap. 1st by 25+ seconds
Prize Lupo 1.4 '02
International A License
#1 La Sarthe. DQ, Bronze 39.604
#2 Braking Hunadieres to Mulsane. DQ,DQ, Bronze 31.164
#3 Laguna Seca Corkscrew Bronze 19.628
#4 Chamonix braking into conrners. Bronze 41.913
#5 Puerta de Alcala. Bronze 16.645
#6 Visualizing a line through blind corners. Bronze 31.718
#7 Toscana High Speed COnsecutive Corners. Silver 31.843
# 8 Cape Ring Spiral Bridge. Silver 27.920
#9 Offensive & Defensie Driving Grand Valley. Gold
#10 Grand Valley 2 Lap Balttle. DQ, DQ,DQ, 2nd Silver
Ms. Si called him on his mobile. " You did it! 25%. way to go". He was glad she called. Not knowing what to do he asked her for guidance on what to do next. "Let's discuss it over dinner.", "OK." Was all he manage to say.....
Actual percentage 26%
Can you be a car nut and not have a license? Well, Stephen Carmichael Rotteford Oghes was one. Too much of a tightarse to pay for it he never had one. That is until, he heard that he could get different kinds of licenses (and finally be able to drive) at the PD offices.
He made some enquiries and was static. Not only could he get different licenses but also a bunch of cars FOR FREE! All part a promotional program by the car industry that... no, he didn't care what it was part of just that he could get the licenses and the cars for free. Period.
Only one little detail: To get started he needed to buy a car. Any car. It was the one and only condition to join the program.
"Fine, I'll buy a car. But it better be the only cost I incur to get started. Or I am suing you for false advertising!" he said loudly to Ms. Si Ng Mee, the Membership Management Advisor at the local PD Registry office. She winced, composed herself and said in a calm almost shy voice: "Please Mr. Rutteford, when you have the registration papers for the card present them at this window and I will print your membership card."
Stephen was incensed she got the spelling wrong. But at least she was just saying it wrong and not writing it wrong on some official piece of paperwork. He'd make sure she didn't stuff that up. But at that moment he just needed to find a car. One that wouldn't give him too much wallet pain. After checking the card yards he found one that looked good. It was a Today G '85 going for $6311. That was $6311 more than he wanted to pay but it was cheap and hopefully the only expense he'd incur (boy was he in for a surprise!). Check written and registration papers signed it was time to go see Ms. Si Ng Mee. He liked saying her name three times fast. There was something about it. Or maybe it was her. So nice and wholesome but also beautiful and mysterious. "Down boy, down!" He said to himself, he was doing this for the cars, not the girl.
"I filled your membership details earlier" she said when he approached her window. "I had a little problem getting your whole name to fit in the allotted spaces. I hope you are OK with the result" her voice again shy and composed. Stephen read the membership card: "Prof. S.C.R.Oghes". He didn't remember mentioning he was a Professor of Recycling and Sustainability at the local community College. "How did you ..." he started to ask. "One of our Environment Protection Officers recognized you from a certification course last year." She said with a smile and a playful tone.
"Looks OK. And you saved some ink. I like that." he replied. That night he read all the literature for the program. Next he needed to plan how he was going to complete it. After much thinking he settle on the following:
- No buying cars or expenses of any kind unless absolutely necessary.
- No modding cars (it was implied on the previous point but he wanted to make sure it was clear in his head)
- No using the B-Spec drivers. They probably want a salary ... ppffffttt
- Clean driving. The least the cars look like they have been driving the better.
Now it was time to start racing....
EXPENSES
DAY 0 6311 Today G'85 (Red)
Total 6311
PRIZES
CARS
Domio Sport '03 -- B-License All Bronze
PDI Racing Kart 100
mmR Cup Car '01 -- A license All Bronze
DN-X Concept '02 -- C license All Bronze
Vitz U euro Sport Edition '00
Berlinette R/S Coupe '99
Mugen Motul Civic Si Race Car '87
Celica 2800GT '81 -- Sports Car Cup 80's Festival
Eunos Roadster NA '91 -- iB License Bronze
Lupo GTI Cup Car(J) '03 -- Euro Hot Hatch Prize
Speedster Turbo '00 -- SCHWARZWALD LEAGUE A Prize
RAM 1500 LARAMIE Hemi Quad Cab '04 -- International A License All Bronze Prize
Prize Lupo 1.4 '02 - Lupo Cup Prize
ITEMS
Horns N190
ACCESS
Top Gear Test Track Beginner Special Event
Amateur B-Spec Available -- level 5
AMG Driving Academy Beginner -- level 6
Jeff Gordon Nascar Beginner
GT Karting Intermediate -- level 7
Top Gear Track Intermediate -- level 8
Ahrwiler Street Photo location
Jeff Gordon Nascar Intermediate -- level 9
Pro series -- level 10
GranTurismo Rally Beginner
AMG Driving Academy Intermediate
Gran Tour Special event
Prize Sebastian Loeb Special Event FOR Reaching Level 16
Gran Turismo Karting Advanced Available FOR Reaching level 17.
PROGRESS
Day -- Percentage -- Level
xx -- 4% -- 4
xx -- 4% -- 6
xx -- xx -- 9
xx -- 8% -- 10
xx -- xx -- 12
xx -- xx -- 13
xx -- xx -16
xx -- xx -17
29 -- 26% -- 17
DIARY
The first order of business was to get himself a license, the "B" license is where you start so he made his way to the examination track at the back of the complex.
B-LICENSE
How exciting, his first license test ever. His palms sweating, his heart racing. He'd had read a lot of discarded license preparation tests over the years. Even practiced steering trash can lids downhill in the snow. He though he was ready!
B-1 200m. Stopping challenge on a Toyota Vitz: 13.276. Just under the 13.300 needed for a gold finish. "This stuff is easy! he though.
B-2 Steering on an Alfa Romeo 147 Tspark: 22.052. Gold again. His confidence rose, this was fun!
B-3 Out-in-Out on a Suzuki Swift Sport '07: 26.331. Silver.
B-4 Braking into a corner on a Honda Civic Type R '08: 14.146 Bronze.
B-5 Basic Cornering on a Peugot 207 GTi '07: 20.603 Bronze.
B-6 Exiting from a looping corner on a Renaultsport Megane '08: 15.459 Bronze. It wasn't so easy after all. He was a bit bummed.
B-7 High Speed Driving Lines and Accelerator Control on a Volkswagen Golf V Gti '05: 20.431 Bronze... again.
B-8 Finding a line through an S bend on a Honda S2000 '06: 22.079 Bronze
B-9 Overtaking Using Slipstreams on a Mazda RX-8 Type S '07: 2nd Silver
B-10 Indianapolis Superspeedway 1 lap battle on a Honda CRZ '10: 6th Bronze.
That got him a bit upset. He had been taking it easy but this was the first challenge against other drivers and he just wanted to finish first. So he tried two more times finishing 5th and 1st respectively. "Yes, that is what I am talking about" he shouted as he punched his fist up in the air.
He went past Ms. Si's window on his way out. She waved at him and he approached. "Congratulations, you got your first license" she said. "I thought it would be easier" he replied. She offered a smile and some encouragement "Well, it is your first time. You will get better results as your skills progress". He felt comfort on her words. But most importantly she gave him a ticket. It was the prize ticket for finishing the B-license with all bronze. The ticket was for a Domio Sport '03.
There was a second ticket. This one for a PDI Racing Kart 100. She tried to explain why he got that one but he wasn't listening, he owned two cars now. The world was his oyster.
Two cars... and one of them was a kart. "Chuckable and forgiving" he thought whilst rubbing his chin. Not able to contain his enthusiasm he took it out for a drive.
KARTING EXPERIENCE BEGINNER
TOKIO BAY Being his first proper race he was surprised at how easy it was to get disqualified. After three disqualifications he managed to finish first.
EIFEL KART TRACK 1st by 5.638 seconds.
He reached level 4 and got access to the top gear test (begginer) as well as the Horns N190. Coincidentally he also reached 4%. "Not a bad day's work" he self congratulated not waiting for Ms. Si's encouraging words.
Jeff Gordon Nascar Experience (Beginner)
Jeff explained in his American accent what drafting was all about. Prof S.C.R.Oghes loved the idea because it saved fuel.
Event 1: 2nd, 2nd, 1st
Event 2: DQ, 1st.
Reached Level 5. Amateur B-Spec Available
He was a rabid fan of Top Gear so as soon as he could he made his way there for the begginner challenge.
TOP GEAR TEST TRACK BEGGINNER
Challenge DQ,DQ,DQ,3rd
It wasn't easy, specially working out what cones he could and could not hit. But it was done. As usual Ms. Si was there with a smile and news he reached level 6. This gave him access to the AMG Driving Academy. "AMG... OMG! I want, I want, I want!" was all he could manage to say before bolting for the next Free Shuttle Bus.
On the bus ride he remembered his driving instructor at school. "This will be all you will ever drive" he used to tell S.C.R.Oghes. "You will never experience the great roads of the world". "Well, take that!" he shouted out the window whilst mentally mooning the instructor and all of his classmates...
AMG Driving Academy Begginner
Nurburing #1 Bronze by 1 second, DQ, Silver in 1:38.725
Nurburing #2 Bronze in 2:33.344.
Reached Level 7. GT Karting Intermediate Available
Nubruring #3 Silver in 2:11.703
Nurburing #4 Silver .
Reached Level 8 Top Gear Track Intermediate Available
Nurburing #5 Bronze on 9:55.699
Completed AMG begginer . Ahrweiler Street photo location available.
"Wow, that was a total blast" he said whilst receiving the update from Ms. Si. He felt like hugging her. But it was a passing feeling, there was some more karting to do!
Karting Experience Intermediate
Eifel Track 1st by 1.077
Tokyo Bay 11th, 2nd, 1st
Reached Level 9. Jeff Gordon Nascar Experience Intermediate Available.
After doing the AMG Academy the karting felt too easy. He felt the need to do something more challenging so he headed back to the PD compound to do the A-i License. Besides Si would be there. She was always nice to talk to.
A LICENSE
#1 400 Meter braking: Silver on 16.440
#2 Approach : Bronze on 27.810
#3 Cone Slalom: Bronze on 24.810
#4 Maya Chicane: Bronze on 20.819
#5 Urban: Silver on 14.762
#6 Undulating Curves: Bronze on 19.331
#7 Dirt Track: DQ, Gold on 31.650
#8 Schumacher: Bronze on 14.543
#9 Fuji Brake Overtake: DQ,DQ,DQ,DQ,DQ,DQ, Silver
#10 High Speed Ring 1 Lap Battle: DQ,3rd,DQ, 5th, 5th, 5th, 1st
After finishing the license tests he swung by Ms. Si's. She handed him his updates:
Reached Level 10 : Pro series available
GranTurismo Rally Beginner available
A-License prize : mmR Cup Car '01
Reached 8%
It was just early afternoon so he headed to the Top Gear Track. He could do the intermediate challenge on the Lotus Elise. Always a favorite of his with a reputation for excellent handling and looks like nothing else.
TOP GEAR TEST TRACK INTERMEDIATE
Intermediate challenge: DQ, DQ, ,DQ, DQ, DQ, DQ, DQ, DQ, Bronze
"This track is tough" he quipped. Being disqualified so many times for hitting cones got to him. " I need a drink!" but it was getting late and he never spend money on drinks so he went home to sleep.
For a change of pace he decided to get his 1C license.
LICENSE 1C
#1 1000mt stopping DQ, DQ, DQ,Silver on 26.870
#2 Hard Braking & Exiting Corner Bronze 17.043, Bronze 17.582, Bronze 16.868, Silver 16.574
#3 1C Road course doubel hair pin Bronze 20.743, 20.000, 19.830, 19.479
#4 Braking when downhill on dirt Bronze 28.996, 28.337, Gold 26.791
#5 High Speed Cornering on Rome City Bronze 19.652, Silver 19.218
#6 Blind Corners In Wooded Areas. Bronze 12.267
#7 Consecutive Cornering with differing bank angles on dirt. Bronze 21.767, 21.251
#8 Traversing Lesmo Corner. Bronze 22.265, 22.718
#9 Using late braking to overtake. DQ, DQ, Gold
#10 Rome City 2 Lap Challenge. DQ, Bronze 4th.
He was happy to receive the prize for finishing with all bronze. A concept car (DN-X Concept '02)
JEFF GORDON NASCAR - INTERMEDIATE
Daytona #1. Bronze 13.142, DQ, DQ, DQ, Gold 12.871
Inside Driving Indy. DQ, DQ 13.314, Bronze 11.094
Outside Driving Indy. Bronze 13.348, Silver 13.208
Outside Driving Indy. Bronze 11.374, Silver 11.159
Ms. Si came over expressly to give him the updates: He had reached levels 11 and 12. The latter opened up the AMG Driving Academy Intermediate to him. "You are sooo nice" he said. "It was a bit slow at the office and my supervisor was OK with me coming over". He wasn't sure if he was flattered or spooked. Maybe she was just being nice... yes, that must have been it.
Prof. S.C.R.Oghes thought about what to do next. The latest prize car sounded interesting so he took it out of the garage and drove around to see what event he could use it for. He didn't have to look hard as it qualified for the Sunday Cup. It overpowered the rivals by a wide margin handing him very easy victories. He didn't quite feel like he was cheating but there was something niggling him. "There will be plenty of hard challenges ahead" he rationalized. In the mean time he was happy to receive more prizes.
SUNDAY CUP- BEGGINER ** DN-X Concept '02
#1 Autum Ring Mini. 1st by 13.018
#2 Grand Valley East. 1st by 11.749
#3 Tsukuba. 1st by 12.245
Sunday Cup prize: Vitz U euro Sport Edition '00
COMPACT CHALLENGE ** DN-X Concept '02
#1 London. 1st by 15.111
#2 Circuito De Madrid. 1st by 18.343
#3 Cape Ring 1st by 21.370
Reached level 13. Grand Tour Special Event Available
Compact Challenge Prize: Berlinette R/S Coupe '99
CLUBMAN CUP ** ** DN-X Concept '02
#1 Tsukuba. 1st by 11.530
#2 Tokio R246. 1st by 8.192
#3 Cape Ring Periphery. 1st by 13.988
Clubman Cup A Spec Prize : Mugen Motul Civic Si Race Car '87
He had so much fun on doing the AMG Academy at the beginner level that he decided to do the intermediate level next.
AMG DRIVING ACADEMY INTERMEDIATE
#1 Sector 1/Dry Bronze 1:28.487, Silver 1:24.181
#2 Sector 2 / Dry Bronze 2:08.254, DNF, Silver 2:04:1.26
Reached level 14
#3 Sector 3/Dry Bronze 1:53.571, Silver 1:50.054
#4 Sector 4/Dry Bronze 2:13.943, Bronze 2:14.847, 2:13.258, Silver 2:10.676
#5 Full Lap Dry: Silver 7:33.512
Reached level 15-> Gran turismo Rally Intermediate Available
AMG Driving Academy Intermediate (all bronze ) - Nurburing 24h available in Arcade and practice modes.
AMG Driving Academy Intermediate (all silver) -> Benz 190E 2.5 16 Evolution II '91
Doing races with an overpowered car was an easy way to win. It bothered him that it was so easy but he was happy it didn't cost him a dime because it was using a prize car.
"I feel bad for them" he mentioned to Ms. Si. She was sympathetic but offered some unsolicited advice: "You'll be at the other end of the stick eventually and they won't do you any favors". "I have seen it before a million times" she added.
After discussing it for a while he decided to switch to the Mugen Motul Civic and see what competitions he could win with it.
FF CHALLENGE ** MUGEN MOTUL CIVIC SI RACE CAR '87
#1 Suzuka East Course. 1st by 13.652
#2 Clubman Stage Route 5. 1st by 9.027
#3 Deep Forest. 1st by 12.061
Prize: Civic SI R-II '91
SPORTS CAR CUP 80'S FESTIVAL ** MUGEN MOTUL CIVIC SI RACE CAR '87
#1 Autum Ring 1st
#2 Deep Forest. 1st by 30+
Prize: Celica 2800GT '81
LICENSE 1B
#1 Wet Road Stopping Challenge. DQ, Bronze 16.273, DQ, Silver 15.145
#2 First Corner Madrid. Bronze 17.741, Bronze 17.183, Bronze 16.964, 16.994, 16.796
#3 Cone Slalom Challenge. DQ, Bronze 21.598, 20.834, 19.808, 20.629, Silver 18.887
#4 Chamonix Snow. Bronze 20.897, Silver 20.201
#5 Tokyo R246. Bronze 15.211, Silver 14.483, DQ, Bronze 14.597, 14.562,14.651, 14.594, 14.232, 14.486, 15.222
#6 Final Corner Tsukuba. Bronze 19.137, DQ, Bronze 19.306, 19.347, Silver 18.950
#7 Consecutive High Speed Corners on Dirt. Silver 19.652, Bronze 20.078, Silver 19.863, 19.807, Gold 19.479
# Nurburing Carousel. DQ 19.069, Bronze 17.734, 18.481, 18.423, Silver 17.509
#9 Offensive & Defensive R246. Gold 1st.
Reached level 16. Prize Sebastian Loeb Special Event
#10 Deep Forest 2 lap battle. DQ, DQ, DQ, DQ, Silver 3rd, 2nd, DQ, 2nd, DQ, DQ, Gold 1st
B-licenze Bronze prize: Eunos Roadster NA '91
GRAND TOUR
#1 Eiger Mordwand Time Trial. DQ, Dq, Bronze 1:21.475, 1:22.475, 1:20.811, 1:21.866, 1:20.903, DQ, DQ, 1:20.704, 1:20.736, 1:19.866, 1:19.293, 1:20.634, 1:19.823, 1:20.838, Silver 1:18.519.
#2 Monza 2 lap battle. DQ, DNF, Gold 1st by 2.281
# 3 Tuscan Night Race DNF, Bronze 4th, 3rd, DNF, DNF, DNF, 3rd, DNF
#4 Toscana Time Trial. Bronze 2:05.579, 2:01.119, DQ, DQ, 2:01.645
#5 Rome Circuit3rd by 2.952, DNF, 2nd by 0.805, 2nd by 0.600, 1st by 0.420
After finishing the Rome circuit race he went for a stroll. "It would be a shame to be here and not do some sight seeing." He didn't know the city or the bus system so he asked the organizers for some directions. "You are in Luck fella!" said a burly scrutineer. "Usually there is no one from PD here but on this occasion some bird came to do some promo and she knows the place. Lemme point you to her."
Loretta Pirelli and her husband took Prof S.C.R.Oghes around Rome. He had a wonderful time, specially since they picked up the tab. Loretta was on an expense account and had no qualms about using it. He liked Rome, all the small engined cars, simple, easy on the fuel.
After returning home he decided to re-live the experience by taking out the Honda Today '85. "Good things come in small packages" he said to himself as he drove it out of the storage facility. Sadly, the only races he could enter with the car were in the Lightweight Cup and with only a bit over 50% of the horse power of the competition it was more challenging than he thought.
LIGHTWEIGHT CUP ** HONDA TODAY G '85
Autumn Ring 5th by 3.86, 3rd by 2.067, 5th by 1.868 4th
Suzuka 5th by 2.938
He went home thinking "very small package indeed!". As he parked it he caught a glimpse of the Benz 190E 2.5 EvoII ... black, aggressive, with a few more KW than the TODAY. He grabbed the keys almost without thinking.
Bigger, faster and mean looking. That is the 190E Evo II. "Let's show stretch this baby's legs" he said to himself whilst enrolling for the Euro Hot Hatch Championship.
EURO HOT HATCH CHAMPIONSHIP ** BENZ 190E Evo II '91
EigerNordwand short. 1st by 2.848
Rome 1st by 4.089
Next was the German Schwald League A..
Apart from having to fend off a Couple of Opel Speedsters on both races it was pretty straight forward. The Red Beetle helped hold back the Opels for which he was thankful.
SCHWARZWALD LEAGUE A ** BENZ 190E Evo II '91
Nurburing 2nd by 1.050 Held 1st until 2nd last corner. DNF,1st by 0.463. Held the Opel Back 1/2 of the race.
Reached level 17. Gran Turismo Karting Advanced Available
Tokyo R246 DNF, 1st by 0.279 Two Opels!. Beetle held them back.
Euro Hot Hatch Prize: Lupo GTI Cup Car(J) '03
SCHWARZWALD LEAGUE A prize: Speedster Turbo '00
He checked in with Ms Si. "You are close to 25% now. All it takes is a couple more events". He settled on doing the lupo cup and the international A license. With any luck he'd get to 25%. Not that there was anything special about that number. Other than perhaps the fact that Ms. Si mentioned it...
LUPO CUP **** LUPO GTI CUP CAR[/U]
Nurburing 1 lap. 1st by 25+ seconds
Prize Lupo 1.4 '02
International A License
#1 La Sarthe. DQ, Bronze 39.604
#2 Braking Hunadieres to Mulsane. DQ,DQ, Bronze 31.164
#3 Laguna Seca Corkscrew Bronze 19.628
#4 Chamonix braking into conrners. Bronze 41.913
#5 Puerta de Alcala. Bronze 16.645
#6 Visualizing a line through blind corners. Bronze 31.718
#7 Toscana High Speed COnsecutive Corners. Silver 31.843
# 8 Cape Ring Spiral Bridge. Silver 27.920
#9 Offensive & Defensie Driving Grand Valley. Gold
#10 Grand Valley 2 Lap Balttle. DQ, DQ,DQ, 2nd Silver
Ms. Si called him on his mobile. " You did it! 25%. way to go". He was glad she called. Not knowing what to do he asked her for guidance on what to do next. "Let's discuss it over dinner.", "OK." Was all he manage to say.....
Actual percentage 26%
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Im tuned in..
Nice!
