- 373
- Ridge State
- TakatsukiYayoi
ANOTHER 200 POINTS GRAND VALLEY ENDURANCE RACE REPORT!?
...well, this one is race report mixed with some fan fiction in-between races. And I don't think anyone has tried the BMW 320i Touring Car '03 before, so let's give it a whirl. And the fact that I'm such a noob ;(
This is probably the first time I've ever really seriously thought about racing under stringent 200-points-races conditions. It is insanely tough to win, but it's a hell lot of fun even if I finish second.
Whatever, it's my favorite endurance race, and I kinda have some love for Touhou and GT, so I felt like making a fanfic combining Gran Turismo and Touhou somehow :3
-- Backstory of the Grand Valley Speedway --
In 1995, a young technological genius named Nitori Kawashiro, and her cohorts of youkai (essentially myth creatures turned human) constructed Gensokyo's very first world-class racing circuit: Grand Valley Speedway. Weaving in and out of cliff rocks and rolling with many hills, Grand Valley Speedway is best described as the Mary Sue of racing circuits: lots of rolling hills, a wonderful mix of brisk and winding bends, a couple of hairpins just to keep drivers on their toes, and a pit straight that could rival Fuji Speedway's.
This was great and all, but Nitori faced one small problem when she and her company of youkai finally finished the track three months later - or more rather, a few major ones:
- They had no race cars!!!
- They had no racing teams!!
- They didn't serve cucumbers at the circuit!
Two days after the Speedway's construction was completed, Nitori contacted "boundary manipulator" Yukari Yakumo, a youkai who possessed great, extensive knowledge of the outside world thanks to her powers.
After some messing around and a week after, six racing teams found themselves at the paddock of Grand Valley Speedway, to participate in the "Grand Valley 300", a 60-lap race around the brand-spanking-new 4.96 kilometer circuit. The rest, as they say, is history: now, once every year, native youkai and outside world human alike gather to celebrate two hours of smoking tires, burning rubber, the ear-shattering echos of 500 horsepower monster machines screeching out all their mating calls as their beastmasters duelled each other, and the deafening roar from the grandstands that we all know as "cheering".
Over the years, the number of "native" racing teams has increased, and with rapidly increasing popularity, led to measures being taken to limit the number of entrants in the race, so that only the very cream of the crop could race this already legendary event (more on this later).
The rest, as they say, is history.
-- Story Prologue --
Enter Reimu Hakurei. A teenage priestess at the Hakurei Shrine with a very empty donations box despite it's modest popularity. Desperate for some quick cash, Reimu plots the ultimate publicity stunt for the shrine: Sign up for the 2004 Grand Valley 300, stomp out the native racers, beat down the outsiders, and take the prize and sponsorship money as the donations.
Yukari had seen Reimu's desperation to win, and so she appeared right in Reimu's face to deliver some "good" news.
Yukari: "I overheard about your plans to win the Grand Valley 300. I think I can help you on that. A car manufacturer from the outside world wants a native to win the race so they can open up dealerships all around Gensokyo. You're just the right person for them."
Reimu silently accepted this offer, nodding.
Yukari: "Take a look outside. There's a special gift waiting for you, just for the occasion."
Reimu and Yukari stepped outside to the front of the shrine, and before Reimu's eyes was a state-of-the-art BMW 320i Touring Car. Armed with a two liter tower of power that pumped out 341 horsepower, stripped down to weigh a mere 1140 kilograms, and a glistening new chassis that seemed to scream "RACE ME!", Reimu smiled at her newly obtained weapon of high velocity.
And here's where Reimu made a rather fatal mistake.
While Reimu's BMW was certainly no slouch, keep in mind that even at the very first Grand Valley 300, contenders were sporting cutting-edge four wheel cruise missiles that beared only a loose resemblance to a road car. They had at least a 100 horsepower advantage. Their rear wings were twice the size as the one on Reimu's BMW, and they had ultra-lightweight carbon fiber bodywork developed from months spent in computational fluid dynamics software and world-class aerodynamics testing facilities. Like Reimu's ride, their machines also sported racing slick tires; unlike Reimu's, however, they were wide and meaty, allowing them to stick to the road as if a magnet were under them.
What Reimu had failed to realise was that the 300 was not some people showing off their cars and then having a cute little tea party afterwards. It was a gladitorial contest between six of the outside world's and Gensokyo's own finest racing teams, waging all-out war over an entire weekend, culminating in one final 2 hour long duel to the friggin' death. Before Reimu could waltz in and cream everyone in the 300, she would have to get through three trials of racing, which were held at no other venue than Grand Valley Speedway, of course!
Reimu gathered up a few of her friends to join her on her quest to be the fastest racer in all of Gensokyo:
- Marisa Kirisame, a teenage witch with a love for lots of raw power;
- Yukari Yakumo, the boundary-manipulating youkai who gave Reimu her car;
- Alice Margatroid, a doll builder, responsible for the pit crews of many of Gensokyo's racing teams; and
- Rinnosuke Morichika; a half human/youkai hybrid dude who keeps an antique shop; and probably the reason why the natives have race cars after the 300 soared in popularity.
Reimu's crew, car, and equipment (spare parts, trailer, etc...), were brought in by Yukari's "boundary gaps", and in a minute they were at Grand Valley Speedway's paddock.
-- The Three Trials --
Before Reimu could compete in the Grand Valley 300 KM endurance spectacular, she had to first overcome "The Three Trials". The Three Trials were introduced to the race in 2000 as qualifying rounds before the main event, because over two hundred teams would apply for the event.
The first trial on Thursday was where the most drivers would fall: of 216 drivers, only 72 would rise from those hotly contested two-lap heats. There was no double-elimination doohickey: if you weren't second place in this race, you were out.
After a rather crowded practice session, Reimu was absolutely dejected. Out of 216 contenders, she placed only a mere 175th with a time of 2:02.673. The leader of the practice session, a Frenchwoman from the outside world named Sophia de la Sarthe, posted up a blistering 1:55.522 in a Abt Audi TT-R Touring Car.
Shaken by her abysmal ranking, Reimu quietly asked Marisa to go check out the other competitor's cars. Two hours later, Marisa returned with a sad look on her face:
Marisa: "Reimu... I'm not the one who is normally negative about things... but you're facing impossible odds! The racin' teams from the outside world are gonna cream us and then some if this is all we've got."
Reimu: "Aside from the timing sheets, how do you know I'll be out by the first trial?"
Marisa: "Everyone is making more power than us. Even Cirno has a faster car than you."
Reimu stared at Marisa in shock.
Marisa: "Even Cirno's lame Renault 5 is making more power than your BMW does. Alright, so it's only a seven horsepower difference*, but it's still more powerful."
*Reimu's BMW 320i is making 343 BHP - it's had an oil change and stage 3 NA tuning
Reality smashed Reimu with a ton of mental bricks.
If even Cirno, the weakest contender in the Grand Valley 300 KM, made more power than Reimu's car could, how would she beat a cutting-edge touring car fine-tuned from thousands of miles and several years of racing!? Reimu needed to get this question out of her head before the first trial began or else it would be impossible to finish never mind win. As Reimu sat herself down in her car's seat, she put the question somewhere else in her mind.
"Attention all teams in section 9 of the paddock!", boomed out the race administration. "Your first trial is about to begin; line up on the grid in five minutes!"
Reimu jumped into the seat of her BMW 320i Touring Car '03, drove out of pit lane, and within minutes, onto the starting grid. In last.
The line-up for the heat of her first trial looked like this:
1. Toyota Altezza Touring Car '01 - Makoto Tsugomi (JPN); a JPop-idol with a love for fast cars
2. Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Rally Car '85 - Arnaud Beauchamp (FRA); an angry Frenchman who was once a star in rally races.
3. Renault 5 Maxi Turbo Rally Car '85 - Cirno (GEN); a fairy who has been claiming she's the strongest for years.
4. Ford RS200 Rally Car '85 - David Greene (GBR); a short and slightly mad gentleman.
5. Toyota RSC Rally Raid Car '02 - Jeremy Hodges (USA); an off-road racer pulling a publicity stunt of his own.
And finally, in last place:
6. BMW 320i Touring Car '03 - Reimu Hakurei (GEN); BMW's only miniscule hope of ever getting advertising space in Gensokyo.
The lights flashed red three times before Reimu's eyes as she gripped the wheel.
I think I've faced worse odds before, Reimu thought to herself.
As the lights blinked green, Reimu dropped the hammer. Cirno found herself lagging behind at the start as Jeremy, David, and then Reimu blasted her before the first turn. Makoto was also left eating dust after an overly conservative start allowed both Arnaud and David to hammer her down.
Once the group flew past the esses, Reimu dived next to the disheartened Makoto, rubbing fenders but no real hard hits. Cirno and Jeremy flew past Makoto almost right afterwards.
After clearing the hairpin Reimu had set her sights on then 2nd place Arnaud Beauchamp in the Peugeot, and chased him relentlessly in the second set of esses. Arriving at the tunnel ahead, Reimu tried to set up an overtake, but failed; then at the second tunnel, Arnaud ran a bit wide, allowing Reimu to briefly take advantage and left him a sitting duck. That surprise left Arnaud in the dumps.
Subsequently, the pack passes through the third and final tunnel, then towards the tight left-right chicane. Reimu sets her pass for the lead here, and David is powerless to stop her. Moments just before the first lap closes, Jeremy slips behind Arnaud and blasts past the Frenchman just before the start of the second and final lap.
Reimu finds herself rather uncontested in the second and final lap, and lazily goes into a rather relaxed state of mind while Arnaud, now in fourth, is still mentally sobbing over how he got his rear handed over by some Japanese bum in a rear-wheel-drive BMW. Things don't help any further when Cirno, in fifth, catches up to him and beats Arnaud to the line for fourth place. Not that it matters.
"I know this is only the first trial, but how is it that drivers this slow are even allowed to enter?" Reimu thought to herself.
Result:
Best lap: 2:00.493
Race is worth 108 A-Spec points
Drivers making it to the next trial are bolded
1. BMW 320i Touring Car '03 - Reimu Hakurei - 4'12.033
2. Ford RS200 Rally Car '85 - David Greene - 4'17.012
3. Toyota RSC Rally Raid Car '02 - Jeremy Hodges - 4'17.515
4. Renault 5 Maxi Turbo Rally Car '85 - Cirno - 4'22.711
5. Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Rally Car '85 - Arnaud Beauchamp - 4'22.747
6. Toyota Altezza Touring Car '01 - Makoto Tsugomi - 4'36.901*
*made-up - this is the time I assume she would finish if GT4 let all racers finish
Reimu looked at the timing sheets and had found out she had moved up to 80th in the timing ranks! The team cheered for delight as Reimu had absolutely owned the first trial! But the works teams looked at Reimu's crew as if they were mental. They were probably right, but Reimu and company didn't care.
The crew was jumping for joy, hollering an assortment of expletives and pumping fists sky-high into the air, and they weren't even in the 300 yet! A snippet from Marisa sums up just about everything said in the pit garage of the defacto BMW Motorsport Team Gensokyo crew:
"Yeah! We completely <expletive>in' decimated those losers!"
Five thousand yen landed into Reimu's hands for her troubles, and another ten thousand would await her if she could win the next two trials.
The team calmed down and slept through the night, happily awaiting for the trials and tribulations they would encounter on Friday.
As the sun rose on a beautiful Friday morning, Reimu had found her car looking a little different from Thursday's scuffle with the fodder. The camber had clearly been increased, up to 5 degrees on all four corners in fact, and it was clear that Alice's crew of dolls had dropped the car ten millimeters on both front and rear. The dolls had been hard at work trying to get Reimu's car to lap into the 1:55 range; but only Reimu could tell if that testing paid off.
This time, after the spectacular performance Reimu set out in the first trials, the administration had decided to place her in the last heat of the second trial - there, she would face opposition that would require all of her power.
Reimu seemed unfazed as she left the pits once again to take on the second trial. Still high off her joy of winning the first trial, she had best wish to stay there if she wanted to go on to the finals.
This was the line-up for the heat of Reimu's second trial before the 300:
1. Lancia Delta S4 Rally Car '85 - Matteo Conti (ITA); pro rally driver taking his chances to try to win the 300
2. Subaru Impreza Super Touring Car '01 - Philip Orwell (AUS); Australian touring car driver running his own race team
3. Opel Calibra Touring Car '94 - Yuuka Kazami (GEN); flower youkai with rather violent and sadistic tendancies
4. Alfa Romeo 155 2.5 V6 TI '93 - Keith McAnley (NZL); guy who runs a globally known surfing shop... got a replica 155 just to race the 300
5. Nissan FALKEN<star>GT-R Race Car '04 - Sarah Kliener (GER); Nurburgring fanatic (no Sabine Schmidt though)
6. BMW 320i Touring Car '03 - Reimu Hakurei (GEN); the poor shrine maiden
The lights flashed again before Reimu's eyes, and the racers were off!
Reimu slipped the rear tires slightly, but it didn't matter: either way, she found herself far behind her rivals before the first turn.
Shortly after, Sarah Kliener and Yuuka Kazami (who had a bad start) quickly tangled in the first turn, with Sarah the winner of the altercation... for now. Reimu finds her way past Yuuka after the first turn after the incident Yuuka stuck herself into. Once arriving at the esses, Reimu trails behind Sarah to the millimeter, and then zips past her right after. Reimu then proceeds to set up Keith in third for her next overtake just before the first tunnel... She barely hangs on and is nearly overtaken by Keith!
Meanwhile, the battle in front of Matteo and Philip conclude as Matteo makes a costly slip up in both of the first two esses. Reimu flys right past Matteo, and Keith follows shortly after.
BUT THEN KEITH CATCHES REIMU SLIDING INTO THE ENTRY OF THE CHICANE AND NEARLY OVERTAKES HER!!! THEN THEY RIDE SIDE BY SIDE INTO THE FINAL TURN!!!!! REIMU IS PUSHED TO THE OUTSIDE, CUTTING KEITH'S SPEED BY A FEW MILES AN HOUR!!!!!!!!!! THE CROWD DROP THEIR CUCUMBERS, DRINKS, HOT DOGS, ETC. AND STAND ON THEIR FEET, WIDE-EYED AND SCREAMING LIKE COMPLETE LUNATICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REIMU NEARLY HAS A HEART ATTACK AS SHE LOOKS TO HER RIGHT SIDE, SEEING THE FRONT OF KEITH'S ALFA-ROMEO CREEP UP RIGHT NEXT TO HER DOOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Yikes, I think I got too carried away there.)
...ahem. Reimu just barely outran Keith by only .029 seconds! The crowd's roaring applause was deafening, and it took nearly half an hour to calm the entire crowd down. It went down to whoever had the longer nose...
Reimu sighed in relief. She nearly lost second place at the very last second!
Result:
Best Lap: 1:57.807
Race was worth 196 A-spec points, but Reimu failed to earn any
Drivers making it to the final trial are in bold
1. Subaru Impreza Super Touring Car '01 - Philip Orwell - 4'03.681
2. BMW 320i Touring Car '03 - Reimu Hakurei - 4'06.324
3. Alfa Romeo 155 2.5 V6 TI '93 - Keith McAnley - 4'06.353
4. Lancia Delta S4 Rally Car '85 - Matteo Conti - 4'10.649
5. Opel Calibra Touring Car '94 - Yuuka Kazami - 4'12.196
6. Nissan Falken<star>GT-R Race Car '04 - Sarah Kliener - 4'15.521
Reimu's laps were slowly coming closer to the team's target time of 1:56... but raw determination and Alice's fine tuning wasn't enough.
After sleeping off Friday night, Marisa decided it was time to cheat.
Wait, what?
Alice of course argued that changing to the Racing Medium tire compound would be paramount to cheating; Marisa slapped on the Mediums anyway.
Alice: "No Marisa! We can't change the tire compound! For one thing, it's cheating; for another, Reimu isn't used to grip levels that high!"
Marisa: "No choice Alice. You want her to be dominated? Those guys are running with cars with at least one hundred more horsepower than us. I think it's perfectly fair to use the special tires!"
And so, Reimu pulled out of the garage, unknowing until the warm-up lap that she was on newer, softer tires.
Line-up:
1. Honda Mobil 1 NSX (JGTC) '01 - Aya Shameimaru (GEN); snoopy news reporter, legendary for beating GT500 cars with a GT300
2. Honda LOCTITE MUGEN NSX (JGTC) '01 - Kaguya Houraisan (???); princess apparently from the Moon
3. BMW M3 GTR Race Car '01 - Louise de la Sarthe (FRA); rival little sister to Sophia de la Sarthe
4. Honda NSX-R Prototype LM Race Car '02 - Nathan Ross (USA); pro GT driver running a special prototype GT racer
5. Toyota Castrol Tom's Supra (JGTC) '00 - Fujiwara no Mokou (???); rival of Kaguya... a real hot head.
6. BMW 320i Touring Car '03 - Reimu Hakurei (GEN); shrine maiden overcoming impossible odds
Reimu started off slow as usual, with Nathan Ross losing the first turn duel with Mokou. Afterwards, Mokou is forced wide into the hairpin after the esses by Reimu, allowing Nathan to take back his fifth place spot. It only lasts a short few seconds however, and Mokou takes it right back at the second esses. Up ahead, Reimu takes both Louise and Kaguya, and began pushing for the lead. Pushing at her physical and mental limits, Reimu catches Aya in the hairpin after the first esses. Aya, stuck behind Reimu, is soon caught out by Kaguya in the final chicane. Kaguya stuck onto Reimu's rear end as the two flew through the final turn! She was right on Reimu's rear bumper, but she pulls out from Reimu's slipstream too late to actually take first place.
Reimu had conquered the trials!
Results:
Best lap: 1:55.627
This race was worth 200 A-spec Points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1. BMW 320i Touring Car '03 - Reimu Hakurei - 4'00.809
2. Honda LOCTITE MUGEN NSX (JGTC) '01 - Kaguya Houraisan - 4'00.887
3. Honda Mobil 1 NSX (JGTC) '01 - Aya Shameimaru - 4'01.308
4. BMW M3 GTR Race Car '01 - Louise de la Sarthe - 4'02.453
5. Honda NSX-R Prototype LM Race Car '02 - Nathan Ross - 4'04.237
6. Toyota Castrol TOM'S Supra (JGTC) '00 - Fujiwara no Mokou - 4'04.932
(ugh, I need some sleep - the 300 will come later!)
(Stay tuned for the race reports and pictures of the three trials and the grand 300 KM race! Also, does anyone have any tire or setup recommendations for this car?)
NOTES:
Car Specs:
BMW 320i Touring Car '03
343 BHP
1140 KG
Racing Hard (R2), both front and rear
Brakes: 3/5 front/rear
Spring Rate (kgf/mm): 7.7/11.0 f/r
Ride Height (mm): 55/55 f/r
Shocks: normal settings
Camber Angle: 5.0/5.0 f/r
Toe Angle: 4/4 f/r
Stabilizers: 4/4 f/r
Transmission: Auto-Setting #8
Aerodynamics: 25/21 f/r
Best A-spec Score at GVS 300 KM: 91.
Pre-race comments: Does anyone have any set-up or tuning recommendations for me? I'd like to stick to Racing Hards on all fours because my driving on Mediums is just too aggressive to make a set last more than 12 laps, I'm afraid. Maybe I could stick on a Stage 3 Turbo and slap on harder tires for the same A-spec points and longer stints? However, if the WoodOne Supra, RX-7 or RX-8 LM Race Car, or the PitWork Z show up, I'm done for...
Also, before the race I'll probably get a new 320i because I'm not getting maximum power any more
(But then I'd have to write an explaination on how Reimu's crew was allowed to stick on some extra power. However, with the power level of my current car, I fear I have no choice.)
...well, this one is race report mixed with some fan fiction in-between races. And I don't think anyone has tried the BMW 320i Touring Car '03 before, so let's give it a whirl. And the fact that I'm such a noob ;(
This is probably the first time I've ever really seriously thought about racing under stringent 200-points-races conditions. It is insanely tough to win, but it's a hell lot of fun even if I finish second.
The Publicity Stunt
a Gran Turismo 4 and Touhou fan-fiction story/race report
a Gran Turismo 4 and Touhou fan-fiction story/race report
Whatever, it's my favorite endurance race, and I kinda have some love for Touhou and GT, so I felt like making a fanfic combining Gran Turismo and Touhou somehow :3
-- Backstory of the Grand Valley Speedway --
In 1995, a young technological genius named Nitori Kawashiro, and her cohorts of youkai (essentially myth creatures turned human) constructed Gensokyo's very first world-class racing circuit: Grand Valley Speedway. Weaving in and out of cliff rocks and rolling with many hills, Grand Valley Speedway is best described as the Mary Sue of racing circuits: lots of rolling hills, a wonderful mix of brisk and winding bends, a couple of hairpins just to keep drivers on their toes, and a pit straight that could rival Fuji Speedway's.
This was great and all, but Nitori faced one small problem when she and her company of youkai finally finished the track three months later - or more rather, a few major ones:
- They had no race cars!!!
- They had no racing teams!!
- They didn't serve cucumbers at the circuit!
Two days after the Speedway's construction was completed, Nitori contacted "boundary manipulator" Yukari Yakumo, a youkai who possessed great, extensive knowledge of the outside world thanks to her powers.
After some messing around and a week after, six racing teams found themselves at the paddock of Grand Valley Speedway, to participate in the "Grand Valley 300", a 60-lap race around the brand-spanking-new 4.96 kilometer circuit. The rest, as they say, is history: now, once every year, native youkai and outside world human alike gather to celebrate two hours of smoking tires, burning rubber, the ear-shattering echos of 500 horsepower monster machines screeching out all their mating calls as their beastmasters duelled each other, and the deafening roar from the grandstands that we all know as "cheering".
Over the years, the number of "native" racing teams has increased, and with rapidly increasing popularity, led to measures being taken to limit the number of entrants in the race, so that only the very cream of the crop could race this already legendary event (more on this later).
The rest, as they say, is history.
-- Story Prologue --
Enter Reimu Hakurei. A teenage priestess at the Hakurei Shrine with a very empty donations box despite it's modest popularity. Desperate for some quick cash, Reimu plots the ultimate publicity stunt for the shrine: Sign up for the 2004 Grand Valley 300, stomp out the native racers, beat down the outsiders, and take the prize and sponsorship money as the donations.
Yukari had seen Reimu's desperation to win, and so she appeared right in Reimu's face to deliver some "good" news.
Yukari: "I overheard about your plans to win the Grand Valley 300. I think I can help you on that. A car manufacturer from the outside world wants a native to win the race so they can open up dealerships all around Gensokyo. You're just the right person for them."
Reimu silently accepted this offer, nodding.
Yukari: "Take a look outside. There's a special gift waiting for you, just for the occasion."
Reimu and Yukari stepped outside to the front of the shrine, and before Reimu's eyes was a state-of-the-art BMW 320i Touring Car. Armed with a two liter tower of power that pumped out 341 horsepower, stripped down to weigh a mere 1140 kilograms, and a glistening new chassis that seemed to scream "RACE ME!", Reimu smiled at her newly obtained weapon of high velocity.
And here's where Reimu made a rather fatal mistake.
While Reimu's BMW was certainly no slouch, keep in mind that even at the very first Grand Valley 300, contenders were sporting cutting-edge four wheel cruise missiles that beared only a loose resemblance to a road car. They had at least a 100 horsepower advantage. Their rear wings were twice the size as the one on Reimu's BMW, and they had ultra-lightweight carbon fiber bodywork developed from months spent in computational fluid dynamics software and world-class aerodynamics testing facilities. Like Reimu's ride, their machines also sported racing slick tires; unlike Reimu's, however, they were wide and meaty, allowing them to stick to the road as if a magnet were under them.
What Reimu had failed to realise was that the 300 was not some people showing off their cars and then having a cute little tea party afterwards. It was a gladitorial contest between six of the outside world's and Gensokyo's own finest racing teams, waging all-out war over an entire weekend, culminating in one final 2 hour long duel to the friggin' death. Before Reimu could waltz in and cream everyone in the 300, she would have to get through three trials of racing, which were held at no other venue than Grand Valley Speedway, of course!
Reimu gathered up a few of her friends to join her on her quest to be the fastest racer in all of Gensokyo:
- Marisa Kirisame, a teenage witch with a love for lots of raw power;
- Yukari Yakumo, the boundary-manipulating youkai who gave Reimu her car;
- Alice Margatroid, a doll builder, responsible for the pit crews of many of Gensokyo's racing teams; and
- Rinnosuke Morichika; a half human/youkai hybrid dude who keeps an antique shop; and probably the reason why the natives have race cars after the 300 soared in popularity.
Reimu's crew, car, and equipment (spare parts, trailer, etc...), were brought in by Yukari's "boundary gaps", and in a minute they were at Grand Valley Speedway's paddock.
-- The Three Trials --
Before Reimu could compete in the Grand Valley 300 KM endurance spectacular, she had to first overcome "The Three Trials". The Three Trials were introduced to the race in 2000 as qualifying rounds before the main event, because over two hundred teams would apply for the event.
The first trial on Thursday was where the most drivers would fall: of 216 drivers, only 72 would rise from those hotly contested two-lap heats. There was no double-elimination doohickey: if you weren't second place in this race, you were out.
After a rather crowded practice session, Reimu was absolutely dejected. Out of 216 contenders, she placed only a mere 175th with a time of 2:02.673. The leader of the practice session, a Frenchwoman from the outside world named Sophia de la Sarthe, posted up a blistering 1:55.522 in a Abt Audi TT-R Touring Car.
Shaken by her abysmal ranking, Reimu quietly asked Marisa to go check out the other competitor's cars. Two hours later, Marisa returned with a sad look on her face:
Marisa: "Reimu... I'm not the one who is normally negative about things... but you're facing impossible odds! The racin' teams from the outside world are gonna cream us and then some if this is all we've got."
Reimu: "Aside from the timing sheets, how do you know I'll be out by the first trial?"
Marisa: "Everyone is making more power than us. Even Cirno has a faster car than you."
Reimu stared at Marisa in shock.
Marisa: "Even Cirno's lame Renault 5 is making more power than your BMW does. Alright, so it's only a seven horsepower difference*, but it's still more powerful."
*Reimu's BMW 320i is making 343 BHP - it's had an oil change and stage 3 NA tuning
Reality smashed Reimu with a ton of mental bricks.
If even Cirno, the weakest contender in the Grand Valley 300 KM, made more power than Reimu's car could, how would she beat a cutting-edge touring car fine-tuned from thousands of miles and several years of racing!? Reimu needed to get this question out of her head before the first trial began or else it would be impossible to finish never mind win. As Reimu sat herself down in her car's seat, she put the question somewhere else in her mind.
"Attention all teams in section 9 of the paddock!", boomed out the race administration. "Your first trial is about to begin; line up on the grid in five minutes!"
Reimu jumped into the seat of her BMW 320i Touring Car '03, drove out of pit lane, and within minutes, onto the starting grid. In last.
The line-up for the heat of her first trial looked like this:
1. Toyota Altezza Touring Car '01 - Makoto Tsugomi (JPN); a JPop-idol with a love for fast cars
2. Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Rally Car '85 - Arnaud Beauchamp (FRA); an angry Frenchman who was once a star in rally races.
3. Renault 5 Maxi Turbo Rally Car '85 - Cirno (GEN); a fairy who has been claiming she's the strongest for years.
4. Ford RS200 Rally Car '85 - David Greene (GBR); a short and slightly mad gentleman.
5. Toyota RSC Rally Raid Car '02 - Jeremy Hodges (USA); an off-road racer pulling a publicity stunt of his own.
And finally, in last place:
6. BMW 320i Touring Car '03 - Reimu Hakurei (GEN); BMW's only miniscule hope of ever getting advertising space in Gensokyo.
The lights flashed red three times before Reimu's eyes as she gripped the wheel.
I think I've faced worse odds before, Reimu thought to herself.
As the lights blinked green, Reimu dropped the hammer. Cirno found herself lagging behind at the start as Jeremy, David, and then Reimu blasted her before the first turn. Makoto was also left eating dust after an overly conservative start allowed both Arnaud and David to hammer her down.
Once the group flew past the esses, Reimu dived next to the disheartened Makoto, rubbing fenders but no real hard hits. Cirno and Jeremy flew past Makoto almost right afterwards.
After clearing the hairpin Reimu had set her sights on then 2nd place Arnaud Beauchamp in the Peugeot, and chased him relentlessly in the second set of esses. Arriving at the tunnel ahead, Reimu tried to set up an overtake, but failed; then at the second tunnel, Arnaud ran a bit wide, allowing Reimu to briefly take advantage and left him a sitting duck. That surprise left Arnaud in the dumps.
Subsequently, the pack passes through the third and final tunnel, then towards the tight left-right chicane. Reimu sets her pass for the lead here, and David is powerless to stop her. Moments just before the first lap closes, Jeremy slips behind Arnaud and blasts past the Frenchman just before the start of the second and final lap.
Reimu finds herself rather uncontested in the second and final lap, and lazily goes into a rather relaxed state of mind while Arnaud, now in fourth, is still mentally sobbing over how he got his rear handed over by some Japanese bum in a rear-wheel-drive BMW. Things don't help any further when Cirno, in fifth, catches up to him and beats Arnaud to the line for fourth place. Not that it matters.
"I know this is only the first trial, but how is it that drivers this slow are even allowed to enter?" Reimu thought to herself.
Result:
Best lap: 2:00.493
Race is worth 108 A-Spec points
Drivers making it to the next trial are bolded
1. BMW 320i Touring Car '03 - Reimu Hakurei - 4'12.033
2. Ford RS200 Rally Car '85 - David Greene - 4'17.012
3. Toyota RSC Rally Raid Car '02 - Jeremy Hodges - 4'17.515
4. Renault 5 Maxi Turbo Rally Car '85 - Cirno - 4'22.711
5. Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 Rally Car '85 - Arnaud Beauchamp - 4'22.747
6. Toyota Altezza Touring Car '01 - Makoto Tsugomi - 4'36.901*
*made-up - this is the time I assume she would finish if GT4 let all racers finish
Reimu looked at the timing sheets and had found out she had moved up to 80th in the timing ranks! The team cheered for delight as Reimu had absolutely owned the first trial! But the works teams looked at Reimu's crew as if they were mental. They were probably right, but Reimu and company didn't care.
The crew was jumping for joy, hollering an assortment of expletives and pumping fists sky-high into the air, and they weren't even in the 300 yet! A snippet from Marisa sums up just about everything said in the pit garage of the defacto BMW Motorsport Team Gensokyo crew:
"Yeah! We completely <expletive>in' decimated those losers!"
Five thousand yen landed into Reimu's hands for her troubles, and another ten thousand would await her if she could win the next two trials.
The team calmed down and slept through the night, happily awaiting for the trials and tribulations they would encounter on Friday.
As the sun rose on a beautiful Friday morning, Reimu had found her car looking a little different from Thursday's scuffle with the fodder. The camber had clearly been increased, up to 5 degrees on all four corners in fact, and it was clear that Alice's crew of dolls had dropped the car ten millimeters on both front and rear. The dolls had been hard at work trying to get Reimu's car to lap into the 1:55 range; but only Reimu could tell if that testing paid off.
This time, after the spectacular performance Reimu set out in the first trials, the administration had decided to place her in the last heat of the second trial - there, she would face opposition that would require all of her power.
Reimu seemed unfazed as she left the pits once again to take on the second trial. Still high off her joy of winning the first trial, she had best wish to stay there if she wanted to go on to the finals.
This was the line-up for the heat of Reimu's second trial before the 300:
1. Lancia Delta S4 Rally Car '85 - Matteo Conti (ITA); pro rally driver taking his chances to try to win the 300
2. Subaru Impreza Super Touring Car '01 - Philip Orwell (AUS); Australian touring car driver running his own race team
3. Opel Calibra Touring Car '94 - Yuuka Kazami (GEN); flower youkai with rather violent and sadistic tendancies
4. Alfa Romeo 155 2.5 V6 TI '93 - Keith McAnley (NZL); guy who runs a globally known surfing shop... got a replica 155 just to race the 300
5. Nissan FALKEN<star>GT-R Race Car '04 - Sarah Kliener (GER); Nurburgring fanatic (no Sabine Schmidt though)
6. BMW 320i Touring Car '03 - Reimu Hakurei (GEN); the poor shrine maiden
The lights flashed again before Reimu's eyes, and the racers were off!
Reimu slipped the rear tires slightly, but it didn't matter: either way, she found herself far behind her rivals before the first turn.
Shortly after, Sarah Kliener and Yuuka Kazami (who had a bad start) quickly tangled in the first turn, with Sarah the winner of the altercation... for now. Reimu finds her way past Yuuka after the first turn after the incident Yuuka stuck herself into. Once arriving at the esses, Reimu trails behind Sarah to the millimeter, and then zips past her right after. Reimu then proceeds to set up Keith in third for her next overtake just before the first tunnel... She barely hangs on and is nearly overtaken by Keith!
Meanwhile, the battle in front of Matteo and Philip conclude as Matteo makes a costly slip up in both of the first two esses. Reimu flys right past Matteo, and Keith follows shortly after.
BUT THEN KEITH CATCHES REIMU SLIDING INTO THE ENTRY OF THE CHICANE AND NEARLY OVERTAKES HER!!! THEN THEY RIDE SIDE BY SIDE INTO THE FINAL TURN!!!!! REIMU IS PUSHED TO THE OUTSIDE, CUTTING KEITH'S SPEED BY A FEW MILES AN HOUR!!!!!!!!!! THE CROWD DROP THEIR CUCUMBERS, DRINKS, HOT DOGS, ETC. AND STAND ON THEIR FEET, WIDE-EYED AND SCREAMING LIKE COMPLETE LUNATICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! REIMU NEARLY HAS A HEART ATTACK AS SHE LOOKS TO HER RIGHT SIDE, SEEING THE FRONT OF KEITH'S ALFA-ROMEO CREEP UP RIGHT NEXT TO HER DOOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Yikes, I think I got too carried away there.)
...ahem. Reimu just barely outran Keith by only .029 seconds! The crowd's roaring applause was deafening, and it took nearly half an hour to calm the entire crowd down. It went down to whoever had the longer nose...
Reimu sighed in relief. She nearly lost second place at the very last second!
Result:
Best Lap: 1:57.807
Race was worth 196 A-spec points, but Reimu failed to earn any
Drivers making it to the final trial are in bold
1. Subaru Impreza Super Touring Car '01 - Philip Orwell - 4'03.681
2. BMW 320i Touring Car '03 - Reimu Hakurei - 4'06.324
3. Alfa Romeo 155 2.5 V6 TI '93 - Keith McAnley - 4'06.353
4. Lancia Delta S4 Rally Car '85 - Matteo Conti - 4'10.649
5. Opel Calibra Touring Car '94 - Yuuka Kazami - 4'12.196
6. Nissan Falken<star>GT-R Race Car '04 - Sarah Kliener - 4'15.521
Reimu's laps were slowly coming closer to the team's target time of 1:56... but raw determination and Alice's fine tuning wasn't enough.
After sleeping off Friday night, Marisa decided it was time to cheat.
Wait, what?
Alice of course argued that changing to the Racing Medium tire compound would be paramount to cheating; Marisa slapped on the Mediums anyway.
Alice: "No Marisa! We can't change the tire compound! For one thing, it's cheating; for another, Reimu isn't used to grip levels that high!"
Marisa: "No choice Alice. You want her to be dominated? Those guys are running with cars with at least one hundred more horsepower than us. I think it's perfectly fair to use the special tires!"
And so, Reimu pulled out of the garage, unknowing until the warm-up lap that she was on newer, softer tires.
Line-up:
1. Honda Mobil 1 NSX (JGTC) '01 - Aya Shameimaru (GEN); snoopy news reporter, legendary for beating GT500 cars with a GT300
2. Honda LOCTITE MUGEN NSX (JGTC) '01 - Kaguya Houraisan (???); princess apparently from the Moon
3. BMW M3 GTR Race Car '01 - Louise de la Sarthe (FRA); rival little sister to Sophia de la Sarthe
4. Honda NSX-R Prototype LM Race Car '02 - Nathan Ross (USA); pro GT driver running a special prototype GT racer
5. Toyota Castrol Tom's Supra (JGTC) '00 - Fujiwara no Mokou (???); rival of Kaguya... a real hot head.
6. BMW 320i Touring Car '03 - Reimu Hakurei (GEN); shrine maiden overcoming impossible odds
Reimu started off slow as usual, with Nathan Ross losing the first turn duel with Mokou. Afterwards, Mokou is forced wide into the hairpin after the esses by Reimu, allowing Nathan to take back his fifth place spot. It only lasts a short few seconds however, and Mokou takes it right back at the second esses. Up ahead, Reimu takes both Louise and Kaguya, and began pushing for the lead. Pushing at her physical and mental limits, Reimu catches Aya in the hairpin after the first esses. Aya, stuck behind Reimu, is soon caught out by Kaguya in the final chicane. Kaguya stuck onto Reimu's rear end as the two flew through the final turn! She was right on Reimu's rear bumper, but she pulls out from Reimu's slipstream too late to actually take first place.
Reimu had conquered the trials!
Results:
Best lap: 1:55.627
This race was worth 200 A-spec Points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1. BMW 320i Touring Car '03 - Reimu Hakurei - 4'00.809
2. Honda LOCTITE MUGEN NSX (JGTC) '01 - Kaguya Houraisan - 4'00.887
3. Honda Mobil 1 NSX (JGTC) '01 - Aya Shameimaru - 4'01.308
4. BMW M3 GTR Race Car '01 - Louise de la Sarthe - 4'02.453
5. Honda NSX-R Prototype LM Race Car '02 - Nathan Ross - 4'04.237
6. Toyota Castrol TOM'S Supra (JGTC) '00 - Fujiwara no Mokou - 4'04.932
(ugh, I need some sleep - the 300 will come later!)
(Stay tuned for the race reports and pictures of the three trials and the grand 300 KM race! Also, does anyone have any tire or setup recommendations for this car?)
NOTES:
Car Specs:
BMW 320i Touring Car '03
343 BHP
1140 KG
Racing Hard (R2), both front and rear
Brakes: 3/5 front/rear
Spring Rate (kgf/mm): 7.7/11.0 f/r
Ride Height (mm): 55/55 f/r
Shocks: normal settings
Camber Angle: 5.0/5.0 f/r
Toe Angle: 4/4 f/r
Stabilizers: 4/4 f/r
Transmission: Auto-Setting #8
Aerodynamics: 25/21 f/r
Best A-spec Score at GVS 300 KM: 91.
Pre-race comments: Does anyone have any set-up or tuning recommendations for me? I'd like to stick to Racing Hards on all fours because my driving on Mediums is just too aggressive to make a set last more than 12 laps, I'm afraid. Maybe I could stick on a Stage 3 Turbo and slap on harder tires for the same A-spec points and longer stints? However, if the WoodOne Supra, RX-7 or RX-8 LM Race Car, or the PitWork Z show up, I'm done for...
Also, before the race I'll probably get a new 320i because I'm not getting maximum power any more
(But then I'd have to write an explaination on how Reimu's crew was allowed to stick on some extra power. However, with the power level of my current car, I fear I have no choice.)
