Again, this is a chapter I wrote in a rush to get it off my head. I really should be studying for finals right now. Actually, I'll do just that.


Chapter two: Granted Entry

Three months earlier

Coquitlam, Greater Vancouver, Canada

"You can't be serious!" the 19-year old girl shouted, as she was unable to hold back her excitement. "Did I seriously get in? You're kidding me!"

This 19-year old, with brown neck-length hair that extended down and then upwards from behind her head (A/N: yeah… go look at the Pokétopia book cover to get the idea what she looks like), simply grinned at the great news she had received. Sitting across from her was a man in a blue-and-black suit, with black hair and steel-rim glasses. It was Michael Fong, the assistant director and general manager for BMW Motorsport, and it was he who delivered the news.

"BMW Motorsport has decided to offer you a factory contract and a place on the roster as a works driver," Michael explained. "I have the contract with me, and it's good for a year unless BMW wants to extend it. I doubt it, though. We do this because all our factory drivers are very busy this year. Oddy, don't you think?"

Michael carefully examined the girl in front of him. Like the legendary Ayrton Senna, this girl loved racing, but unlike Senna, this girl treated racing like a hobby. Yet, she had lots of potential to do so. This was silly, wasn't it?

This girl's name was Maria Lougheed, and she was a resident of Vancouver, Canada. Well, specifically the City of Coquitlam, but Vancouver was better known, anyway.

"I can't believe you can make a jump from amateur to pro so instantly," Michael shook his head. "How do you even do that? This is virtually impossible. You needed to have karting or Formula Three experience to say the least, yet…"

"Hey, I did do karting before," Maria interrupted.

Michael raised his eyebrows.

He placed the file onto the table that clearly outlined the details of a BMW factory contract, and beside the file was a pen. The two of them were sitting in the living room of Maria's apartment home and discussing the terms of admitting to the works team. While Maria quickly read through the contract, Maria's mom helped serve some light snacks for the two ("Thanks," Michael said).

After a while, Maria put down the contract and asked, "Where will I be assigned if I get on the team? Is it somewhere important…? Like the Nürburgring or Spa?"

Michael scoffed. "I think everyone has their minds on the FIA Class1 Touring Masters right now. You know, BMW has been focusing their efforts in this discipline alone. Once you've got a place as a works driver, you'll know if anyone will offer you a seat."

Michael reached for a cracker and bit half of it off.

"That being said," he added, "in return for your one-year commitment, we'll pay you a year-end salary of a reasonable 750,000 CAD (that's 657,000 USD, 420,000 GBP, 528,000 EUR), since you're only an 'instant pro' driver and starting out. BMW doesn't want to take too big a chance staking on you, so they'll offer you an entry-level salary. You'll get training from BMW Motorsport in Germany, and while you're training, I'll organise the runners for the championship and see if there's a seat. Any questions?"

Maria tapped her foot while pondering at the contract before her. Indeed, she did have several questions to ask.

"What about accommodation and travel?" she asked. "Do I have to pay this out of my own pocket as well? I know BMW would provide a car and all, but don't I have to make a payment as well at some point? Both going to Germany and taking part in a championship?"

Michael grinned.

"Your future team's main partner should be the one to sponsor you, so you likely don't need to worry about that. For now," Michael said, "I'd be more worried about getting an actual seat in a race car first. For now, I'll send you to Germany, and the other driver, for some works driver training. Otherwise, you don't need to think about anything else!"

It took a while for Maria to sign the contract, but afterwards, she signed the paper with a smile.

"That was easy!" Maria said.

Before Michael could react, Maria's mom called out, "Maria! Dinner's ready!"

Maria and Michael stood up and shook hands.

"Again, I'll let you know if there's a seat for you," Michael said.

Maria was about to say something but her parents said, "Hey, Mr. Fong, would you like to stay for dinner as well? There's plenty to go around."

Within minutes, Maria was having a short dinner with her parents, but there was no shortage of discussion, though, with Michael at the table. Maria found it strange, to have basically the head of BMW Motorsport eating dinner with her parents… since when does this happen ever?

"It's a shame Leon doesn't know about this," Maria said. "He'd love to hear about an opportunity like this! If nothing else, he'd be equally happy that I got in, at least."

"Oh?" Michael raised his eyebrows again, "and who's Leon?"

Maria seemed to be deep in thought, but Michael thought that was illogical. It was a question that could be answered in seconds. What was taking so long for her to answer…?

"He's my cousin," Maria briefly said. "Older than me by six years, so he's 25, a good university student and a motor enthusiast like me. He and I… we used to do karting together when I was 12, whenever we had the time to drop by Mission."


Richmond, Greater Vancouver, Canada

Two weeks later, Maria Lougheed received a phone call from Michael to head to Auto West BMW in Richmond, just across the other side of Vancouver from Coquitlam. The idea was that Michael did find an open race seat in the FIA Class1 Touring Masters. More than excited already, Maria quickly commuted to Richmond to meet Michael. The commute took no less than an hour.

By the time Maria had approached the front doors of the dealership, she could see that there were several businessmen gathered near the receptionist's desk, and they seemed to be engaged in a deep conversation with each other. Ironically, the workers at this dealership found it strange and, to some long extent, uncomfortable.

Only after some careful observation could Maria notice Michael Fong

"It's nothing much," Michael said. "They're representatives from BMW Canada. Okay, I lied about the 'nothing much' part. It's important relative to us. Come with me, Maria." He motioned the girl to follow him to one of the dealership's offices. The staff of Auto West BMW, on the other hand, muttered amongst themselves.

Maria concluded they must be curious why BMW would hire such a young girl to be a race driver. Nevertheless, she dismissed the thought and followed Michael to the office where another man in a business suit waited for them. The waiting man had a late-thirties appearance and looked like the sort of person who took his job seriously, but liberally. Michael gestured Maria in and closed the glass door.

"This is Dr. Dan Hilbert," Michael introduced. "Dr. Hilbert is owner of the team that will partake in the FIA Class1 Touring Masters, and will enter two BMW M4 DTMs. It also happens that this team is operated by BMW Canada, since Dan himself is an admin within the company. Dr. Hilbert, this is Maria Lougheed, the new works driver."

"Let's get down to business then," said Hilbert. After he and Maria shook hands, the two sat down on opposite sides of the desk and Michael walked outside.


An hour-long discussion followed, where Hilbert and Maria talked about the supposed team that Maria was offered. According to Hilbert, the team he proposed entry had been granted factory-backing from BMW Motorsport, so the team would officially be a works team, with BMW supplying engineers and mechanics straight from the motorsport division.

Maria would be offered a seat in the BMW M4 DTM by Hilbert and BMW, in short. In addition, Hilbert's team banner would carry the name BMW Team Canada, since the team is indeed operated by BMW Canada and was works supported.

"As a factory driver, you're being paid by BMW to race for them," Hilbert said. "So that means we at BMW Canada will not have to cover your salary. Since we are entering an international event, BMW Canada will also finance your travel expenses too, provided that they are in concurrence with the team, obviously."

"Let's recap: in return for entering BMW Team Canada for the championship, we'll give you a car, a place on the team, and covered travel expenses as the championship progresses. There will, of course, be bonuses for any podium finish. But obviously, we want to aim for the title…"

"Obviously," Maria nodded.

The only left to do was to sign the agreement between her and Hilbert. BMW Team Canada… wow! Not only was Maria going to race around the world, but she'll be in a team with operated by her home nation! Incredible!

"Oh yeah, I left one thing out," Hilbert said, where his expression read he seemed to remember something. "We're a team, right? As this team enters two BMW M4s, I thought it'd be best if you got to know your teammate as well. I got him signed just yesterday, since I needed to make quick contracts. Michael agrees we needed drivers before the deadline."

Eh? A local? Maria thought.

"Ah, there's Michael now," Hilbert looked up. "And there's the other driver, your teammate."

Maria turned around to see Michael talking with a man in his mid-twenties, 25-years old to be exact, but this man was extremely familiar to Maria. Too familiar. It was because Maria knew him. He had a lean build, slightly spiky metallic-blue hair, and a handsome face.

At first Maria showed an expression of shock as Michael and the other guy walked in, but upon walking in Maria got up quickly and hugged Michael's companion. Much to Dr. Hilbert's shock.

"Hi, Leon! Long-time no see!" Maria said happily.

Leon appeared a little stunned, but he hugged Maria back after. "Nice to see you again, my little cousin."

Michael was completely aware of the scene before him and Hilbert's reaction. Clearly, Hilbert was stunned and he just stared at them, which prompted Michael to laugh.

"I thought Maria already told you she and Leon are cousins?" Michael said with a chuckle, as he smiled at the shocked expression on Dr. Hilbert's face.


I'm going to need a sufficient number of competitors to advance this story! Therefore, I'm offering a limited number of up to eight more teams to participate, and these teams will be supporting roles in the story. In short, I'd like to see how the community would contribute. This is simply a test to see what readers' creativity is like.

The rules are simple: follow this guideline!

1. Team: make a team name (with at least one of: (Motorsport, Team, Racing) in the name), and separately which country your team is based. It doesn't need the manufacturer's name in it.

2. Machine/Car: Choose the model the team operates with. Each team must use two of a certain car. They're all of similar performance due to unified regulations between DTM and Super GT. Include a brief description of the colour(s) of the car, and the effect of colour (metallic, pearl, matte, etc)

There are six cars to choose from. The team will use two of the same model and the cars are as of 2014 spec.

DTM

Audi RS 5 DTM, BMW M4 DTM, DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé

Super GT

Honda NSX-GT, Lexus RC F, Nissan GT-R

3. Sponsor 1: The sponsor of Car 1. It has to be a real company. Also, it will be part of the car's name, and I will consider if it's a good enough name also. (Tip: you can use hotels like Crowne Plaza, retailers like Samsung or Armani Exchange, or tech companies like Blackberry or Apple, or luxury watchmakers like Zenith or Audemars Piguet, as long as they are reputable enough too. I don't recommend food companies, though, but I'll consider the entry, anyway.).

Examples: Red Bull DTM AMG C-Coupé, SONY Lexus RC F, and my own (BMW EfficientDynamics M4 DTM, Hudson's Bay Company BMW M4 DTM)

4. Driver 1: Name of the driver of Car 1. (First and last, obviously, and will likely be used), with nationality and hometown/city (may or may not be used, as a national anthem is needed for those who win a race), and how old he/she is. Depending on how much effort you effort you want to input, you can choose whether your driver plays a major or minor supporting role in the story. Again, I'll limit the number of major drivers.

5. Sponsor 2: The sponsor of Car 2. (Same idea as Sponsor 1)

6. Driver 2: The name and/or nationality of the driver of Car 2. (Same idea as driver 2)

Send me your entry by PM only. Entry by review will be rejected because I don't want to get in trouble… but you can review to let in your interest! You can review to let me and others know what car you contributed! I'll allocate start numbers later. The teams will play supporting roles, so take them semi-seriously. If you did create it thoughtfully, let me know how.

I reserve the right to reject the team, driver, or car if I deem any part unsuitable. Oh yeah, and the story won't advance until the entry list is full.