Part 5: The Trip To Nagoya*10 hours later, after leaving Motegi circuit from Tochigi, Japan. On the way to Suzuka circuit with the damaged FR-S.*
We were on our way to Nagoya, Japan for the SKYLINE CLUB race that was happening that day. I wanted to go there for that reason specifically, but I also thought that maybe, JUST MAYBE, there might be another FR-S up there in one of the garages. Maybe I could get help for my car. I hoped someone could help. I wanted to find some spare body parts until I had enough cash to get it resprayed. My energy was draining because of the long drive. Jim was behind me in the FR-S. I decided to give him a ring to kill some time on the drive.
"Hey Jim, how are you holding up? You still think you can make it to Suzuka?"
"Yeah, it's no big deal. I've gone on drives longer than this. This is a cakewalk."
"You're funny. Well, alright. Are you still in disbelief about what happened man? It got me pretty bad, but that's me."
"I mean, yeah. Who would do that kind of stuff? You have to be a psychopathic maniac who had a SERIOUS grudge against you. Even then, to do this much damage to a car that's not even out yet, that's some mean stuff man." He said.
"I hear you loud and clear bro. I think if we get to Suzuka soon enough, maybe we'll catch him there. After all, he does own an R35, even though it's not legitimately a Skyline, they'll let him compete. They want to see what that GT-R of his can do, being stock except fully adjustable suspension and all. I'll scout the pits a bit and see if I can't find someone to get me some new body panels and stuff. The car will look ugly for a few weeks, but at least it won't look trashed."
We arrived to the city of Nagoya. It was beautiful. The buildings, the cars, the sky, everything. This is one of those places I would take a vacation right at this very moment if I didn't have to deal with corrupt people. We took the exit to Suzuka Circuit and drove a little longer. Not long after, we entered. No one was there, as I had expected. We were a little early. I looked at my watch; it read 1:08 PM. The race was starting at 2:00 PM. I called Jim again and asked him to pull into the pits, while I go do a few test runs on Suzuka this time around.
This is the time I used wisely. I used it to think through anything that could've urged the guys in the Toyota shirts to do what they did. I basically lost all of my focus after about 2 laps. I couldn't think straight. It felt like my brain was skewed inside my head. I had constant migraines from when we left up until now. A couple seconds later, I got a phone call. It was Jimmy.
"Hey, quick! Get to the pits man! I found a garage full of stuff from Scion! A white bumper and hood, red front fenders for both sides, orange sideskirts, black quarter panels and rear bumper, and a set of blue doors. Maybe we could strike a deal if we just explain what happened!"
"I'm on my way." I threw it into overdrive. At the blink of an eye, I was there. Jim was right. They had all this stuff on standby. I don't know what the heck they were doing here since it was a Skyline Club race, but I didn't care. It was like they KNEW something was up, and were sent from Scion to give me these parts. That didn't mean that they were actually gonna do it though. About 20 minutes prior to the start of the race, a group of guys started walking up to the garage that Jim and I were stalking. I forgot we were trespassing because I was still staring at the stuff.
"Hey! Hey! What are you doing over there! Get away from our stuff dude!" One of them screamed.
"I'm sorry! I didn't take anything! I was just looking for the guys that own this garage! Are you them?"
"Yeah, what's it to you?"
I waited for them to come up so I didn't have to yell the entire time.
"Here's the deal. Last night, we purchased a Scion FR-S from a gentleman by the name of Naoki. Or at least, that's the name he gave us. I'm not so sure I believe him after what he did to it. Well, either him or his friends over at Toyota. Anyway, I bought the car from him when we met last night at Twin Ring Motegi. I was there by myself and I had driven up there in my R34, so I didn't have anyone to come up and drive the FR-S back to my place. I asked him to do me a solid and keep the car in his garage overnight so I could get my friend Jim here to come with me and drive it back. He did that, but on one condition. I had to pay him up front in full for the car. I thought there was something fishy about that, but I did it anyway. We parted ways after that. The next day, I came back up, only to find the garage door already opened and the lock and chain sitting on the ground, broken into pieces. The car was sitting OUTSIDE the garage in the condition as you see right there."
"Wow, that must've been one heck of a hard time for you, knowing you basically got screwed over like that." He muttered. One of the guys in the group started laughing, but I didn't mind. I wasn't here to pick fights.
I said to him, "Is there any way I could buy that kit from you? I'm willing to pay over the price for it. I'm desperate man, you gotta see it from my perspective."
"Well, seeing as how OUR FR-S won't be here for another 2 weeks, I don't see why not. They're selling the stock OEM kit separate over in Nagasaki, but I highly doubt you're going to want to drive that far." He murmured.
"You know me so well, yet we just met. How much are you wanting for the entire kit?"
"The price was initially 315,000 yen, but seeing the situation you're in, I'll cut it in half. How's that sound?"
"Deal. Thanks so much man, you've helped me out a lot. Can I pay you another 40,000 to put it on the car for me?"
"I'll be glad to help you out, but not for 40,000. That would be me robbing you. I'll do it for 10,000."
"Much appreciated man!"
The watch reat 1:54 PM at this point. The race was 6 minutes away. I head the RB's and V6's roaring from the distance. They were getting lined up. I told the guys that I was gonna go find a good spot at the bleachers, gave them my phone number to notify me when they were done, and left. Jim followed behind.
Of all the GT-R's out there, one stood out to me. It was Naoki. I knew he'd be in the race, but anyone can be wrong. Apparently he had qualified terribly and ended up starting in 6th.
They had done a pace lap and the race was off. I looked at Naoki, took a sip of my drink, looked back, and he was already fighting for second place.
Before I knew it, he was gone. After the first corner, he pulled about 10 car lengths ahead of the Mine's R34. He didn't care about messing up his car either. His entire left side was already filled with scratches. You can be aggressive, but dang bro, COOL IT!
By the end of the first lap, coming into the last corner, he attempted to put on a show for the spectators by powersliding through the last corner. Little did he know about the drivetrain and weight of that thing. He was making those poor tires pay. Pretty soon he would have problems entering corners at high speeds because of all the understeer and loss of grip on the rubber.
His first lap's time was a 59.993, just under a second. It was only the west division of the circuit. The East was closed for construction, they told us. He was ahead of the 2nd place by 15 seconds overall, and it was only the second lap. Later on he would improve it just short of 4 seconds, bringing his time down to a 56.044. Eventually he won the race. He pretty much destroyed everyone out there.
Anyway, the race was finished and I got a call from the guys at the Scion garage. They had finished putting together my car. It looked good. Well, it looked better. In a way. Kinda, sorta.
I decided to take her out for a few spins.
I kicked the clutch and threw it in hard into the first corner of the D1GP section. The car felt very underpowered, and that's because it was. Even with the air filter, it was still weak.
I made it through the first corner and tried to manji to the second, but the car's tires just bit. I got it back in control and had another go at it. I clutch kicked once more and hammered down. I went too fast into the corner and skidded off into the grass, just like I did with my Skyline at Motegi. God, why am I such a bad driver?
I lost control of it again and spun around.
I made the lap around and went back to Scion's garage. I thanked them for all their hard work and paid them for their service.
Now, I just had to be patient and save up as much money as possible to get a respray, aftermarket kit, and give the engine a bit more energy. Off to the races I go! With Jim behind me in the Skyline, of course.
Stay tuned for Chapter 6!
Subject: Re: The Successor: A BNB Short Story- Part 10 Finally. 
Sat Aug 25, 2012 11:36 pm
