Chapter 10 Spyder and the FD
Mike and Ryosuke were the first to arrive at Populatic. They sat in the small parking lot that was reserved for the racing teams that would be taking on the course that night. The two team leaders sat in the respective cars; the time for pleasantries had passed. Both team leaders knew no matter what you called it the first race had been a match up of second stringers, now was the beginning of the real races, what everyone in the area had come to see. For the racers of the surrounding towns who had lost to either team in the past it was no longer a matter of who won so much as it was about national pride, depending of course on where you car was made. This for all intents and purposes was the street racing Olympics played out by two teams. Team USA and Team Japan.
Shortly after the rest of the Dukes of Windsor arrived, followed closely by the other members of Project D. Fox did his best to restrain himself from running to the side of Mike's car. Mike knew by the look on his friend's face that something was up. He stepped out the Cobra and lit a cigarette.
"Mike! Mike!" John said as he headed towards the Cobra. "We got a problem!"
"Hold on." Mike said holding up his hand. "What the hell is going on?"
"Fukcin' Nakazato didn't drift, he took all the turns the way we do. He grips all the turns but his damn car rides like it's on fuckin' rails!" Fox said.
"Chill out, calm down.' Mike said, holding up his hands again. "So the fuck what?" He eventually said.
"Are you serious? What are you talking about Mike? I just lost to someone because of a plan we came up with to stop them from drifting, and he didn't fuckin' drift!" Fox continued to get agitated because he thought Mike wasn't listening.
"I hear what you're saying Fox. There's nothing to worry about. It's a race, and we just race like we've always done." Mike said. "That's all we can do."
"So what, we're not going to use the plan." John asked.
"I didn't say that." Mike responded, taking a drag from his cigarette. "We can still use the plan, but we just have to be selective about where we use it. The turn around we can't use it on because they don't drift there because its to narrow, or on the off camber turn. Most importantly John you need to fast on the straight-aways. This is where your best advantage is going to be, so straighten out the turns, and just put the hammer down. But remember, the turn around, and the off camber they won't drift on." Mike looked his companion straight in the eye, there was much more tension built up than in their past races. The tension of the spectators had permeated to the competitors. That was why Mike was the leader of the Dukes of Windsor, not because he was the fastest, but because he always had the plan, and he kept his cool on the outside regardless of how he felt on the inside. Mike shook his finger at his number two. "These guys are just like anybody else we've ever raced, it's not like we've never beat someone driving an RX-7. The Skyline, alright we've never seen one of those, we didn't know what to expect. But and RX-7? Come one we've seen that. We can do this John, you can do this!"
"Right!" John answered eyes narrowing behind glasses, "We can do this. We're the Dukes of Windsor, and nobody beats us on our home turf."
"Now that's what I'm talking about! Let's give it another couple of minutes." Mike said. "Don't want people to be disappointed if they show up late." Mike smiled, and winked at John.
The rest of Project D had arrived at the small parking lot. Ryosuke stood next to his car and waited for the rest of the team to come to him. Nakazato walked up with a smile on his face, it was defiantly a good decision to bring him, and his GT-R to America.
"Good job Nakazato." Ryosuke said taking a drag of his cigarette.
"Thanks." Nakazato responded.
"So what can you tell us?" Ryosuke asked. Not having the Dukes of Windsor to watch made it harder to prepare a plan, to analyze them, to pinpoint their weaknesses the way he had done so well in the past. He had confidence in his drivers, especially in his Double Aces.
"They're good," Nakazato began, "I know they didn't throw their best out there against me, but Fox is a really good driver, he was fast on the straight sections, and his car handled well, better then I would have thought with the parameters we had."
"That's alright. We knew they would be souped up." Ryosuke responded.
"Yeah, he accelerated really well. I think he might have had turbos, although it didn't sound like it." Nakazato offered.
"No they don't like turbochargers on most American performance cars. A supercharger maybe, but no turbo." Ryosuke said knowing full well that the acceleration could be attributed to the fact that the Mustangs motor was just about twice the size of the GT-Rs. Ryosuke looked to his brother, who seemed to be cool and calm just before his first real test in America. He smoked a cigarette as he leaned against is yellow FD. "Keisuke." Ryosuke nodded to get his brother to come closer.
"Yes brother?" Keisuke asked.
"How do you feel about this race?" Ryosuke asked.
"I feel good." The younger Takahashi brother answered, a little agitated. "I'm going to win." He said confidently.
"Alright, good." Ryosuke said. "There's not much I can tell you." Ryosuke said, looking at the ground. "The Americans like large displacement, and they are going to tend to be faster on the straight sections, but you can be faster in the turns. If you're fast on exit you can use the momentum to carry you into the straightaways. And if you can be fast entering that's even better. But remember don't try to flat outrun him, it will be a push, get him in the turns. Alright?"
"Yes, I can do this no problem. Their old Mustang suspensions won't be able to cope with the technology under my car." Keisuke said.
"Alright. Good luck brother." Ryosuke looked at his younger brother as he made his way back towards his FD. Keisuke had progressed a long way from the time when Project D had started, as had almost the entire team, but the progress from Ryosuke made him proud, it was his brother, his blood and flesh. Clearly the Takahashi's were among the best racers in all of Japan.
•••
John's GT Spyder rolled up to the starting line, next to Keisuke's FD. The supercharger fitted to John's car whirred away as it sat at idle. The GT Spyder looked like a Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, just in convertible form, painted in raven black with gold Le Mans stripes. The moon glinted off the top of the fenders as they sloped down towards the front of John's car. John's car sat lower than the FD, and with the small block Ford V8 set well back in the chassis it was a very well balanced car, the supercharger providing the performance of an old Ford big block. High powered driving lights from both car illuminated the trees and the road that lay ahead of the two.
Keisuke looked out his window down at the other car, it was strange, something he'd never seen before, but what was even stranger he thought was how close he was to his opponent. There was only about a half a foot separating the two drivers as the right hand driver FD and the left hand drive GT Spyder lined up placing the drivers close to the center of the road. It was nothing different than before, it would be like racing in Japan, except not down a mountain, flat and level.
The starter took his position at the front of the two cars. All except for the smallest snatches of conversation had stopped as the gathered spectators waited for the race to begin. The starter raised his hand, John gripped the stearing wheel tightly with both hands, nervous with anticipation. The starters hand dropped! John punched the gas and popped the clutch. The mighty 302 roared, but the tires squealed billowing white tire smoke for a handful of seconds before John let off the gas. Keisuke on the other hand had an almost perfect launch with minimal tire spin the yellow FD shot off into the night with the GT Spyder not far behind.
"Haha! Keisuke's gonna win!" Kenta yelled towards the rest of the Dukes of Windsor. Mike glared in the kid's direction, but said nothing, their guy did have the lead, and that would make it hard for John to deal with.
Keisuke was around the first and headed down the straightaway before John's lights appeared in his rear view mirror. The lights seemed to bounce and jitter as the car drove over road imperfections. Both cars opened up on the straightaway. John's GT Spyder closing some of the considerable gap that Keisuke had opened up. John waited a little longer than his counterpart to apply the brakes, he knew he needed to pick up some room as it was awhile before they hit the straightaways that would give him his best advantage.
The rear end of Keisuke's FD slid out as he entered the first of the pair of 90 degree turns. Keisuke skillfully applied the accelerator to control the rear end, he cranked over the steering wheel giving the car more throttle to bring the rear around to the opposite direction. John followed in the GT Spyder, marginally slower as he gripped both turns, and accelerated hard as the left turn continues. The 302 wailed away as John chased the yellow FD.
The left hand turn followed quickly into a right. Keisuke gripped the turn, as the width of the road made it unsafe to drift at race speeds. Keisuke exited the turn quickly and put the pedal to the floor accelerating down the Narrows.
•••
Mike looked at Molly and Fox, they both stood their, slightly aghast at what they had just seen. Off in the distance engines roared and tires squealed as the two cars continued their duel off into the night. The people who had come to cheer the Dukes of Windsor were quiet accept for a few snatches of conversation. While those who came for Project D were loud and exuberant.
"This isn't good." Fox muttered.
"What, that John didn't jump into the lead at the beginning of the race? Oh come on, he can do this." Mike said. "It's no big deal, so John was a little nervous and lit 'em up at the beginning of the race, so what?" Mike looked off in the direction the two cars had headed, almost willing the trees to part even just long enough so he could get a glimpse of how his friend was fairing. He feared though that the only thing he would catch a glimpse of was a set of RX-7 taillights disappearing into the night.
•••
"Go Keisuke!" Kenta cheered, jumping into the air pumping his fist. Ryosuke rolled his eyes, who got the lead at the beginning of the race didn't determine the winner, and Kenta knew it too, but having the initial lead was did have its up side. And clearly the other driver was nervous, or not as experienced as they had thought. Ryosuke leaned more towards the former, it would cause John to possibly make mistakes that he normally wouldn't. Of course it was also possible that Fox had been the more experienced driver and that was why they had put him up against the GT-R. Either way Keisuke was behind the wheel and he knew what he was doing.
•••
John accelerated as hard as his tires would let him through The Narrows, headed towards the off Camber turn. The effort to catch the yellow FD, which by that point had close to a two second lead. The thrill and feeling of hard acceleration from a V-8 that pulls at your mid-section, making it harder to breathe. But John was focused on the taillights that he was able to see ahead of him from time to time.
Again John hit the breaks hard and late as he entered the off Camber turn having picked up some time on Keisuke. He downshifted and headed towards the top of the small hill close behind the FD. John stabbed the brakes as he made the right hand turn and headed down the hill. He caught sight of Keisuke's FD at the bottom of the hill. John mashed the gas, never touching the brakes as he came down the hill headed towards the stop sign and the right turn that heads down to the cul-de-sac. John took the turn at nearly full throttle, the supercharger screaming as he climbed the small hill that fallows the slight left hand turn. He up shifted and charged forwarded towards the FD.
Keisuke glanced in his rear view mirror and saw the headlights from John's car still back there and closing in. He's going to get passed you on the straights. Keisuke remembered what his brother said. Keisuke gave more gas, the turbos blow off valve cracking as he let off the gas to shift to fourth gear. The two cars were now on the straight away that passed in front of Norfolk airport, it wasn't the longest on the course, but by its end, John was on the bumper of Keisuke's FD.
John new that he would be able to out accelerate the RX-7 on exit from a turn, but that was when the two drivers had the same driving style but Keisuke didn't use the same driving style. John moved out from behind the RX-7, to take the inside line on the upcoming left hand turn. John hit the breaks, heel-and-toe downshifting on approach to the turn.
Keisuke, on the other hand, tapped the brakes, heel-and-toe downshifting as he hit the gas again sending his car into an inertia drift, John startled by how close the RX-7 came to clipping the front of his car stood on the brakes a moment longer. He recovered quickly and punched the gas accelerating through the turn. Both high performance machines charged forward once more, a match of forced induction.
The rearview mirror again showed how close John and his GT Spyder were to the backside of Keisuke's FD. Keisuke half glared back at John through the mirror as he accelerated over the Charles River causeway. Keisuke narrowed his eyes, I'm not like all the useless people you have around here, I'm a real racer.
John knew the next left hand turn was coming, and he didn't want to risk being blocked by the RX-7 again, John hit the gas and broke out form behind Keisuke. The GT Spyder hunkered down, and the sound of the motor jumped an octave with the sudden hard acceleration. Keisuke saw the move coming, but John acted so fast that his nose was past the FD's bumper and Keisuke couldn't block him. He ground his teeth and hammered on the FD's accelerator. With 350 horsepower on tap there weren't many cars in Japan that Keisuke couldn't run with, but here in America, it was another thing entirely, Johns car topped out over 450 horsepower, and was lighter to boot, with more than 100 extra horse power the FD just couldn't keep up on the straight away. If It weren't for the metallic flecks in the gold racing stripes, and the marker lights the car would have been impossible to see. Keisuke pushed down on the accelerator a little more, in the hopes of catching up with John
John didn't have as much time to build up a lead as he would have liked but it gave him some time especially when the next turn had led to another of the long straight-aways. Besides the initial section of the Populatic course had three other sizeable straight-aways. The left turn that linked into the last of the long straight-aways came up fast. John hit the brakes downshifting as he approached. He turned in just barley missing the dirt shoulder by an inch or two.
From a little ways back Keisuke saw the maneuver and grinned to himself, as he set up for the turn. He would get him through the twisty section that would be coming up. Keisuke used a braking drift this time as the turn was tighter, being thrown towards the side of the car as it slid sideways. He had timed it perfectly and stomped the gas to launch the FD back in pursuit of the Dukes of Windsor's team member two.
The GT spider charged into the night, leaving the RX-7 farther behind him. Just after exiting the turn John glanced in his rearview mirror in time to see the yellow RX-7 jump out of the turn and stormed towards his bumper. His eyes got a little big as he realized that Keisuke's RX-7 was not like any of the others they had faced before, and that Keisuke himself was at a higher level then so many of John's previous competitors.
Again the other car began to open a gap, as Keisuke knew he would, but that didn't bother him, he would be faster through the next couple of stretches and by the time they hit the last section he would be so far ahead that John wouldn't be able to make up the difference . There were a few minor turns on the mostly straight sections, turns that could be taken near full throttle without the threat of losing control. Keisuke clipped the apex of such turns as he continued his hunt for the GT Spyder.
•••
The starting Line
Takumi looked at his Panda Trueno. The same car he'd been driving for more than five years now, delivering tofu, and racing in the mountains of Japan. It was the same car, mostly. He glanced over to his opponents. Mike stood next to his car, with Molly and Fox close by. He'd never seen anything like that before, but Ryosuke seemed to know something about it and he seemed confident that Takumi could do the job.
As Takumi stood their and watched his soon to be opponent. Anger welled up in him; he clenched his fists and ground his teeth as he thought about what Mike and the others had been doing. How they doopped Project D into putting everything out in the open for them to observe. Hell, they'd even answered questions about their cars when Mike had asked. Takumi couldn't help but feel cheated. This being the fist time that they knew who the Dukes of Windsor were, but the Dukes of Windsor knew just about everything they needed to. Takumi kept his emotions under control as he waited his turn to prove himself against the Dukes of Windsor, but inside he was as angry as he'd ever been.
•••
Keisuke drifted the last left turnoff of the last long straight away. He put the gas on the floor and charged ahead. The small rectangular brake/marker lights of the GT spider drew closer. After an almost imperceptible left hand the Keisuke gripped, the road widen and moved into a long sweeping right hand turn.
The Dukes of Windsor member two driver hugged the inside line, while Keisuke, using the weight shift from the last turn inertia drifted modulating the throttle and steering wheal to control the car at the limit. The gap that John had built up quickly shrunk. John glanced into his rearview mirror as the lights from the car behind him lit up his cockpit and instrument cluster, There, much closer than he had any right to be was the yellow RX-7. John tapped the brakes and cranked over the steering wheel to the left as the right hand sweeper terminated on a 90 degree left. It didn't seem possible that the RX-7 could close the gap, but there was, breathing right down John's neck. A little distracted John applied the gas, a little to much, and a little to soon. Tires squealed and John could feel it in the seat of his pants as the rear end slid out. Keisuke on the other hand executed the reverse drift and exited the turn on John's bumper again.
Both cars accelerated like crazy, the high pitched almost whine of the 13B rotary mingling with the roar of the Windsor V8. Keisuke followed John closely through a series of short turns. He knew where he was going to make his move, at the end of the sequence of short turns there was a left handed hairpin, again the road got wider. Keisuke took the outside line. John had moved to the outside to apex the turn as straight as possible, but Keisuke just continued he line, sliding sideways and around the black and gold GT Spyder. The closing of the turn narrows back down as it climbs another hill, Keisuke tightened his line in his yellow FD, coming within inches of the front bumper of John's machine.
John gasped and glitched for a second as Keisuke's RX-7 slid in front of him. He lifted his foot off the gas not wanting to risk a collision he tapped the brakes before punching the accelerator to followed his opponent up the hill. The top of the hill came quickly and both cars were headed downhill towards a sharp left hander. John poured on the power, again in pursuit of one of Japan's best racers. He heal and toe downshifted as he decelerated to take the turn Keisuke drifted again.
Another sweeping right hand turn followed as it climbed another hill, headed towards the turn around at this point John knew he had very view places to pass again. There was always the last straightaway, but to gamble and leave the whole race to pivot on a comparatively short stretch of road. John kept as close as he could to the car in front of him, the problem was he kept losing ground as they went through another series of quick turns.
The lights from his opponent still bounced in the rearview as Keisuke led the way towards the turn around. Keisuke knew that the Dukes of Windsor were fully aware of the locations where it was impractical to drift. Takumi had let all of the members of Project D know when he'd been jumped while practicing. Keisuke spotted the turn around ahead. From the way the headlights moved in his mirror he knew that John was going to try and pass on the inside again. Keisuke positioned his FD squarely in the middle of the road, effectively blocking John, as there was no room to get his nose inside the rear of the FD.
A sense of desperation gripped John as he saw the RX-7 block his inside line, there would be almost no time to make a move. John followed the Project D ace as they both executed the turn around. Both drivers were pushing close to the limit as their motors wailed away into the night. All over the course people had come to watch. They gasped at Keisuke's expert display of drifting, and to the many that had seen John drive before they knew he was pushing it harder than he ever had before. They stared knowing that even for the few moments that they got to watch the cars fly by, that they were watching history.
He's good, real good. Keisuke silently complimented his opponent as they headed up the hill and down past the turn that led to the Cul-de-sac. Again the two competitors stormed up a hill, John in his GT Spyder nipping at the heals of Keisuke's FD. The two cars crested the hill and headed towards the off camber turn. He's going to try the inside again. Keisuke thought as he positioned his car to take the inside line. John saw that the off camber was one of his last opportunities to regain the lead. Both cars headed into the turn faster than they had coming the opposite direction. John moved into the outside line while Keisuke continued to hug the inside. John gained ground as Keisuke had to slow to maintain his grip, and prevent his car from sliding into John's. The two cars were neck and neck and John thought he was going to get past. After that it would all be easy, the Narrows, and a few more turns that the other driver couldn't drift past him on. But the turn narrows at it's exit, and John had to jump on the brakes and let Keisuke slip in front of him.
Keisuke charged through the Narrows, knowing full well that John had missed his car by a few millimeters. But for all intents and purposes the race was over. Keisuke knew that the only place John could pass him now was on the straightaway. Still not wanting to give his opponent an opportunity to catch him Keisuke dashed through the turn that follows the Narrows, turning it into an inertia drift as he entered the back to back 90 degree turns. Keisuke pulled the same maneuver he had on the trip out and exited the last real turn at high speed, John close on his tail.
John knew that this was his final chance as the race would be over in less than half a minute. He put the peddle to the floor and the tachometer needle climbed into the blood zone before John shifted, again John faked taking Keisuke on the inside just before moving around him on the outside.
Before Keisuke could react John had slipped his front bumper past the rear of his FD, Keisuke mashed the gas peddle, knowing he didn't have to hold John off for long. No he's not getting past. Keisuke thought as they approached the last insignificant turn before the home stretch. I've practiced to hard to lose a race on a straightaway. Keisuke moved his car to the left slightly, putting the squeeze on John who was trying to pass on the left. John didn't relent, but kept on coming, so Keisuke moved over more, this time getting the response the he wanted.
The sound of engines could be herd growing louder in the New England night as the two racers approached the finish line of the Populatic course. Mike, Molly, and Fox along with all the spectators turned in the direction that the cars would be coming from. All conversation stopped as everyone focused on a 15 foot across piece of road.
There was a simultaneous loud roar, and startled gasp as the FD leapt from behind the trees, the GT Spyder two car lengths behind. John put on one last blitz but was unable to catch and pass Keisuke before the finish line.
"Oh shit." Fox uttered, nothing like this had happened in a long time to the Duke of Windsor. On the other side it was almost as if the members of Project D had expected the outcome that everyone had just witnessed. They all stood there cheering a little, but not acting with the enthusiasm befitting the races monumental status as some of the best racers from two continents went head to head.
John's GT Spyder rolled into the parking lot, and he shut it down. A continuous metallic ticking could be heard as the engine cooled. John took off his goggles and threw them down on the passenger seat.
"Damn it!" John swore as he stepped out of his car. "Sorry guys."
"It's alright, you did the best you could." Molly offered.
"Yeah, don't worry." Mike said off handedly as he glared across the lot at the approaching Fumihiro. "Yeah?" Mike said. When Fumihiro was in ear shot.
"Ryosuke wanted me to ask if you guys still wanted to go ahead with the third race?"
Mike looked at Molly, and then to John and Fox. If he didn't race there would always be that what if in his mind, and in the minds of all the people who had come to watch. He had to do it! The nights of following Takumi popped back into his head.
"The third race is on!" Mike said narrowing his eyes.
"Good job Keisuke." The elder Takahashi said, a feint smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "He was good judging by how close the finish was."
"Yeah, he's very fast." Keisuke acknowledged, still smiling as Kenta jumped on his back in celebration.
"Woohoo! Way to go racing god Keisuke!" Kenta cheered.
"Get off me damn it!" Keisuke shoved the young member of Project D.
"Did he use the same tactic as Fox did to try and stop you from drifting?" Ryosuke asked.
"No he was to busy playing catch up." Keisuke responded. Just then Fumihiro walked over, a stunned look on his face.
"What did Mike say?" Ryosuke asked.
"He said the race is on." Fumihiro answered in disbelief.
"I knew he would." Was all Ryosuke said.
Alright folks, hope you enjoyed that as I know it was a long time coming. I'd like to thank cricketchcick1990 as yet again she's been an awesome help in getting my name out there and to have someone to bounce ideas off of. I'd also like to the people who take the time to review each chapter especially the anonymous reviewers like Chris. So thanks to everyone and hope you stick around for the next chapter.
Margrave-of-the-stars.
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