- 5,398
- Buenos Aires
Volume 1: Euro Challenge
"Performance through light weight"
Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman.
Introduction:
In this modern world we live in, people seem more atracted to drag races, where power is the current standard for performance, than a fair match of equally powered vehicles. But power is only a penny in the huge National Bank we call a "Car". But what is a car? Have we thought about it? Did we, at least once, in our entire life, sat down in the toilet, and began describing the most amazing piece of machinery mankind has ever built?
I didn't. You may have, or not. But one thing is sure: nobody will ever agree. A practical definition would be "a wheeled motor vehicle for transporting passengers, with it's own engine or motor." The roots of the word come from Greek language by fusing the terms auto (self) with mobilis (moving): a vehicle that moves itself. Truth be told, as far as today's standards go, a racing car could only be defined as "something with wheels, engine, and a large amount of horsepower."
This can't get any worse. To think that a 350 horsepower muscle car can beat a well-built, light weight automobile, is only a thought, a theory, designed by those who can't, or just don't want to admit that skills play the most important role in racing. Surely, this is a sad world we live in...
Prologue:
Words keep coming through my head. "They won't stop, they won't slow down, they won't pit, and they won't overtake, because as soon as this race starts, you will be likely at last place. Your only hope is a miracle to happen. But between you and me, I never believed in miracles, and neither do now. Keep that in mind, and you should be just fine."
October 14th, 2005.
-"Wait for me. I will be ready in thirty minutes. Leave the door open, I don't have my keys."
"I told you to get a copy of them. No matter, I will get you one tomorrow. But hurry, time is something we lack right now."
-"What do you mean by tomorrow? Go get the car. As soon as you are parked outside, give me a honk."
"Yeah, you're right. I'll take it for a wash, that should give you some time. It's dirty, after all."
-"Are you talking about the car?"
"No, I'm talking about your hair. You forgot to take a shower today. Of course I'm talking about the car, you moron!"
-"Then leave! We don't have time for this!"
"See you back in thirty, Charlie. Oh, and you may want to put on a jacket, it's cold outside."
-"And you could get that sign out of the fence already. When was the last time we got robbed?"
"It's for security measures, Char. Besides, it makes us look richer than we already are. Once again, see you back in thirty."
-"See ya... Well, Germany, here we go..."
Chester. He is the joker, someone who doesn't think twice. He is 100% real. He never lies, but because of that, sometimes he tends to be tough with people. It's funny, isn't it? Before introducing myself, I take a time to talk about my brother. But what can I say about me? Is it not better to learn along the way? Because whether we are good or bad, achieving or not, we learn walking the path of our lives; in my case, racing on the track. You probably don't have a clue of who we are, or what do we drive, am I right?
Well, here is a pic of our car, my car. I took it four months ago, in a trip we (me and Chester) made to the Grand Canyon:
We live in America. Our father died when we were really young. He was a good man, and he had a lot of money too! Maybe, we only remember him because of that. Money was always a problem in our home. One year before he departed, he found out his missing father was alive, and living in California. He didn't last long, though; he had lung cancer. After his death, dad became the owner of all his goods (more than one million dollars!). He bought a Ferrari F40, he said it was "his dream car". Later, he died in a car accident. Mom said he was driving under the "state of influence". All the money he hadn't spent, which was about four hundred grands, became ours. Dad had explicitly asked Mom to give us that money for whatever we wanted to use it for, but we could only have it at our eighteenth birthday. Chester got his money three years ago. He spent it in a motorcycle, and in motorcycle riding lessons. I got mine one year and three months ago. I bought a Lotus Elise 111R, model 2004 with it, my "dream car", just as dad did with his. Then, Chester got a job, a really good one; he gets more money per month that we did nine years before per year. We went to live separate of Mom; I wanted to live with Chester, and he got his job here, in Beacon Hill, Boston. We are a pair of young adventurers. We came back from Las Vegas three months ago (we went there to celebrate Chester's birthday, we had a really good time, but we spent fifty-nine grands!). Today, we are going to take a plane to Germany. We have already all of our things packed, the only problem is, they won't fit in the Elise's tiny trunk. So we gave them to a family friend, and we are going to pick them there right now. Unknown to Mom, I became a racer. I'm not the best racer out there, I know that. I don't consider myself to be above average, but for some reason, I have won most of my races. Unlike the rest of my high school friends, I drive in racing circuits. There's something on the street that doesn't appeal to me, probably because it's dangerous. Anyways, I still have to get dressed. I only have 5 minutes left before Chester gets back! I just got up, you know?
I can hear a honking sound already. Chester is here.
I'm only half dressed, what do I do? I'll better head out and get on the car. I will finish my dressing there.
Oh, crap! It's freaking cold out here!
What the hell...? He didn't washed the car! And he thinks I'm going to fall for it?
-"Dude, it's really cold out here!"
"I told you. You may want to put on a jacket."
-"Yeah, yeah, you are right."
"And what the hell are you doing half-dressed? Girls around here will spot your underwear."
-"Shut up and let me in already!"
"It's a lot warmer inside here."
-"Yeah, I noticed immediately. Hey, I wanted to ask you something. Why does the car seem so... dirty?"
"They've got a new employee there, and he is a bit inexpert."
-"Yeah, I already noticed. How much for the wash?"
"Thirty."
-"Thirty?! Did you have enough money?"
"Unlike you, Charlie, I work for a living. Your racing can't be called a work. Remember what dad's philosophy was: a job isn't a job if you enjoy doing it. That's why it is called a job. Anyways, you owe me those thirty. After all, it is your car, and I'm the only one who cares and takes it for a wash."
-"How could I forget about it?"
"Okay, now that you have finished your dressing, can we go now?"
-"Yes, Eric must be waiting for us. Besides, you have parked over the sidewalk again..."
"Time restraints, Charlie, time restraints."
-"Start this up, we've got to get there in 2 hours. It's getting dark already."
"You better hold on, because this car is fast!"
-"Be careful, you are going to break the pedal!!! Why didn't you buy your own car???"
To be continued...
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. But yours is excellent, I like the style.
I knew what I had to do since the moment I saw it come.
.. nice.. I can't await the next part of this chapter 
