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- CWM_StormPacer
Last week, it was announced that Tez_SP17 will be piloting a new GT car for the sixth season of the GTP ALMS Series. The car, currently shadowed with secrecy, is expected to replace Tez’s Fifth Season Lotus Evora. The reigning GTP Rolex GT Champion is expected to announce the launch of the ALMS car at the Nurburgring 4-Hour Endurance race in a few days time; only, Tez will be acting as the race engineer, and not competing behind the wheel. More news as it follows....
Nurburgring.... for years it has been the ultimate test of driving talent for almost every realm of motorsport there is. It has seen many sports cars tackle it’s Nordshleife in a bid to prove their Manufacturers’ supremacy over others. It has seen many Formula One championships hotly contested around the GP/F circuit. Most crucial of all, the Nurburgring 24-Hour, which combines the two tracks seamlessly, tests both man and machine to the very last second. This... is a track where legends are made.
With a few days until the race, the car being used for ALMS Season Six was being put under the ultimate testing experience here at the Nurburgring Type-V course. “That car” was a Ford GT ’06, a 5.4L V8 beast. At stock, the car weighs in at 1451 kg and has 550 bhp, with 69 kgm or torque. This makes the car pretty impressive on its own. However, due to racing regulations, the car needed to undergo a transformation that included a big drop in power, as well as undergo a much appreciated diet. With front fins and high performance rear wing added, the car was ready to be unveiled.
It has been announced today that the car Tez_SP17 and his team will be driving is a racing spec Ford GT. Their sponsor will be Castrol Magnatec, who seems to have been working on the car with Tez for months at a secluded testing track....
The car still sported a 5.4L V8, but the power was restricted to 440 bhp. However, the car now weighed 1300 kg, 151 kg lighter than the stock model. The car’s torque had also improved as well, increasing to 71 kgm. The car was fitted with fully customiseable transmission and suspension kits, a racing flywheel, racing clutch, carbon properller shaft and fully tuneable limited slip differential. This was no longer a mere beast, it was a racing monster. With Castrol Magnatec as sponsors and helping with the performance and setup of the car, and Yokohama providing the tyres for the car this season, there was an air of confidence. But was it misplaced?
The last time a Ford GT was used in a season race for ALMS was with Yeratel at the wheel in the Fourth Season. He displayed a close fight with Kevin01SH in the Corvette ZR1 throughout the championship, while the rest failed to cope with the sheer pace and consistency of them for most parts of the season. In the end, Yeratel took home the Driver’s title. Since then, nobody had picked the Ford GT, maybe through fears that they would not be able to match the pace or success Yeratel had brought to the car. Even I felt a little hesitant to, given how fast he was in compairson to my 590 bhp, 1342 kg BMW M3 of the same season. Even at Sarthe, where my car had the ultimate advantage, the tyre wear and lack of experience proved to be my undoing as Yeratel hounded the BMW in his Ford GT, lap after lap.
But back to present matters.... there was a race looming.
For the race at Nurburgring, I decided to go with an unconventional team of three drivers instead of a team of four. Despite this, they would be more than capable enough, having raced the event twice already and won. Veli Tiainen, a Finnish driver succeeding as the No.1 driver after Russian Niko Vasilyev’s retirement from my line-up. Tiainen has currently won 45 of his 53 races, and displays a ferocious attacking style of driving. Daisuke Nagai, a young, malleable Japanese driver that matches the retired Frenchman, Fabien Thalberg, for disposition. He has won all nine of his races under me thus far, and his level-headed approach means he can change to meet the situation with ease. Young Italian Beppe Alessi concludes the line-up of three; winning six of six races with a cool head and intense focus. Alessi’s calmness dealt with the tightest of traffic and close racing, which has proven to be a fitting replacement to my now-retired Japanese Ice Man, Ryo Miyazaki. With three drivers, timing their driver changes was cruicial to not only keep them in competition with the other cars, but to keep them from overworking themselves.
Before long, the race at Nurburgring had come around, and fans of motorsport from across the world flocked to the famous track. Many were much more interested in the race itself rather than the unveiling of the new ALMS Ford, but the buzz in the paddock and from select groups in the stands were itching to see the Ford taking to the track. With cars tuned by many different private companies such as Amuse and Gran Turismo, boasting more powerful, lighter machines, the race was going to be no easy ride. What made it worse, Amuse had put both of their S2000 GT1’s in the race this time around; the GT1 Turbo being the main powerhouse of the field. It shook the Ford paddock.....
Me ~ “V.T. .... Hey Veli, I need you here a minute.”
Veli ~ “What’s the matter, boss?”
Me ~ “We’re racing the Turbo, mate.”
Veli ~ “...... what?”
Me ~ “The Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo is racing with us. It’s Fourth on the grid.”
Veli ~ “.... ****....”
Me ~ “If we don’t get on the back of that car and rattle them early on we’re going to pay for it later. Are you fine to start off?”
Veli ~ “Of course, I’ll get ready now.”
Me ~ “Thanks, I’ll let Alessi and Nagai know the situation. You’ll be starting on hard tyres, so it’ll be a long stint first.”
Starting on Racing Hard tyres was a risky strategy, especially with the other cars opting for Racing Mediums, without the little known problem of performance figures to comprehend. What made it even more difficult was that Veli Tiainen was not on his usual form, having had a knock earlier in the week that resulted in a cracked rib. Still, he was the fastest, most experienced driver of the team by far, and that counted for a lot in this race; especially now. Here is the line-up on the grid:
1. RUF CTR2
2. Lexus ISF Racing Concept
3. Mine's BNR34 Skyline GT-R N1
4. Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo
5. HPA Stage II R32
6. NISMO 380RS Super Leggera
7. Magnatec Ford GT
8. Amuse S2000 GT1
9. NISMO 400R
10. Gran Turismo Skyline GT-R
11. Gran Turismo 350Z RS
12. Opera 350Z
And so with that, the race begun....
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