In my absence, I have been thinking about some more ideas. This fic is now starting to roll into the final phase. And oh dear, this seems to be going on for longer than a day. Enjoy!

As the sun rose over Silverstone, several people woke up. They remembered. Today was the big day, the day of the Blu Birds GT3 Grand Prix race. The entire reason why they were here.

"Where's Tom?" Blu asked Jewel.

"Said he was in the pits or something. We should go over there now." The two walked over to the pits, where they saw Tom working on the Aston Martin Racing DBRS9.

"Pit crew's been working on the AMR and the Porsche. Tell Rafi he's up along with you, we need to test settings." With that, Jewel rushed off to find Rafael.

15 minutes later, everyone was gathered in the pits. Tom told them what was going on.

"Pit crew thinks they've got the perfect settings. The 911 was the only car that stalled, the DBRS9 was the only car that span. We're gonna put them head to head to see if the magic worked. Rolling start, Rafael's gonna give it two laps, Jewel's also doing two laps, and she's starting four seconds after the Porsche. Ready?" Rafael and Jewel nodded. "Go!" They got into their cars and started up. They took a warm up lap to heat the tyres and get ready for the run.

Rafael crossed the start/finish line first, and the Porsche flat-6 howl penetrated the air. Moments later, Jewel crossed the line. The Aston V12 bounced off the rev limiter a few times before she shifted up. The race was on.

"Go Jewel!" Blu shouted over the V12 growl from the grandstand.

Jewel was pinning the throttle to the floor in an attempt to pass the 911. "Game on..." She muttered. Rafael had taken a corner perfectly, and Jewel was struggling to keep him in her sights. If she wanted to win this one, she'd have to gain 2 seconds a lap. With the Porsche being a finely tuned precision instrument of winning races, that was a tall order.

On a straight-away, Jewel caught sight of Rafael. She shifted up another gear to find some extra speed. But then a chicane came, and forced both drivers to slow down, or risk their cars kissing the wall.

"Who's gonna come first at the end of the lap?" Nico asked.

"That looks like... A Porsche!" Pedro replied. The 911 shot past, and the DBRS9 came a second later. Jewel had done a good job closing the gap. But when she reached the first corner, disaster!

"No!" She braked too hard, locked the brakes up and lost time while she released the brakes, turned the car and pinned the throttle. She had to close the gap all over again. Happily, the Aston Martin was getting uncomfortably close to the Porsche at the chicane, as Jewel had a never give up attitude. She would happily fight Nigel one on one, and that worried Rafael no end.

At the next set of turns, the DBRS9 was so close that Rafael could actually hear the Aston's engine note mixed with that of his 911's. He desperately tried to hold Jewel off until the end. Just two corners to go, and Rafael braked into the turn. Jewel, however braked later and passed the GT3 Cup R. She then gunned it and the Aston rocketed down the next straight in a wall of noise.

Over at the finish line, everyone could hear the cars coming. The Porsche flat-6 howl mingled with the Aston Martin V12 growl. No one could tell which car was ahead, and this kept everyone on the edge of their seats.

"Who's going to be first?" Pedro nervously asked.

"Well." Nico explained. "Part of me wants Jewel to win, part of me wants Rafael to win. I just can't bear to look!" He dared to peek, and saw the Aston Martin shoot down the last straight like a cannonball. The Porsche arrived moments later, trailing in it's wake. Both cars were going at 130mph across the line. Jewel whooped in delight and punched the air. She had done it.

Back in the pits, they were talking about the race.

"That was an incredible performance, I've got to admit." Rafael spoke to Jewel.

"Thanks! I was pushing as hard as I could." Jewel answered.

"I was pushing as hard as I could too. Guess it wasn't enough."

"Yeah. But did you hear the cars? I loved the sound!"

"Me too."

"Well that's one thing we all agree on." Tom was walking towards them. "Incredible racing out there. Well done. Looks like you're ready for the big one."

Meanwhile, in the garages, everyone else was working on their cars and strategies ready for the race. They had taken Tom's advice, as he knew a lot more than they did, and they were setting up accordingly.

Blu was working on his driving style. He'd memorised the track, gotten acquainted with the Corvette Z06R, and was figuring out stuff like when to brake, when to accelerate, the perfect spots for passing, and all the other stuff that a racer needs to know in order to win races. As Tom quoted, "A racer wants to race, not just drive fast cars."

Nico was figuring out the fuel strategy with his pit crew. The fact that he had less fuel than the others after the drive was an alarming fact, and they were working out when to stop for fuel, so they could keep Nico and the R8 LMS in the race.

Pedro was working with his crew to adjust the suspension. Running wide could lose time, so he was advised to set up the suspension for the track conditions so they could get the best performance and quickest times out of the car.

Eva had some issues with the rear end on the Alpina B6, and her pit crew was trying new downforce settings and different compound tyres to make the rear end of the B6 stick to the road. Eva had joked that it wasn't as hard as dealing with her kids!

Nigel was sitting in the cockpit of the Matech Ford GT, trying to get used to the close quarters. He told himself that the GT was slightly bigger than the 1960's Ford GT40, so he was lucky he could get in the car at all, and drive such an amazing machine.

Tom meanwhile was figuring out the best racing line on the track, and how to get the most out of the car and pit stops. He was taking this very seriously. He also thought about the others, and was glad a few of the things worked out the way they did. For example, he was glad Jewel didn't pick the Matech, and Nigel had, otherwise Jewel would have the sensation of being in a cage, a thought that didn't go down well with her. Also, Eva was lucky she didn't have the Porsche, as it was a tricky beast that would rebel against anyone without enough experience, and hurl them into the nearest gravel trap/wall/fellow racer.

Jewel and Rafael were outside, sitting on deck chairs next to their cars.

"So this is it." Rafael talked.

"Indeed." Jewel added. "This is the one we've been waiting for. The big one."

"The big race. The Blu Birds GT3 Grand Prix."

"Who thought up of that name, out of interest?"

"Tom thought it was a good one..."

"Oh."

"Sure you're ready for this?"

"Are you kidding? Of course!"

"You'd better be..." The noises of all the other cars filled the atmosphere. They walked to their cars. "The storm is about to strike..." Rafael finished ominously.

Now that's a way to end the chapter! Big surprise, the race will start next chapter, so book your seats, take them, the race shall begin by the end of the month! Also, watch out, because A Day At The Races 2 may be coming to a fanfic theater near you soon...