Nürburgring GP: 2:00 PM
1 hour before the 24 Hour Race
As Stefan Wendl had envisioned much earlier on, the grid girls were beginning to walk away from the starting grid in formation, and the car engines had yet to roar to life. At the same time, the ADAC officials had to do the punishing task of escorting the fans away from the grid so that the cars would finally have some space. Unfortunately, or possibly not, they had half an hour to get all that done.
He could also see, from the TV monitor, that the members from BMW Team Schubert were beginning to clear away as well.
The number 18 car with Luigi at the wheel was still being cleared, but still –
(Wendl's headset)
"Say, Mr. Wendl," Luigi said suddenly. "If there are at least two hundred cars participating, then how can they hope to fit all the cars on there at once?"
"You'll be racing in different formations," Wendl replied. "There will be, I think, three or four separate grids for the cars. You see, there's a reason ADAC has a safety car out so that the first grid can't lap the last grid in at least eight minutes. Besides, eight minutes is just enough time for the other grids to line up and get racing."
"I see," Luigi replied, understanding.
For one final necessary thing to do, Luigi lifted his helmet and put it over his head.
On the grid, Luigi put on his HANS device around his shoulders and secured it.
He followed up with putting on a pair of earphones, which were mandatory to communicate with Mario and the others. After this, he reached for his helmet and put it over his fireproof-hood-covered head. Luigi fastened the helmet anchors on each side of the HANS device to his helmet, and soon enough Luigi reached for the Z4 GT3's door.
He finally opened the left-side door of the number 18 BMW Z4 GT3 and crawled into it, trying to find a comfortable position with the seat and adjusting the height. Beside him, Daisy was helping him attach the helmet and seatbelt harness to Luigi as well.
"No pressure," she said.
"No of course not," Luigi said, confirming her words.
"If I could, I would have given you a kiss right now, but I think it's a bit late for that," she said. "Instead, I'll help you with your seatbelt."
She helped Luigi pull one seatbelt over the driver's shoulder while the same driver brought the other four seatbelts and secured them. Daisy gave him a clamp on the shoulder, closed the door, and then she went to follow the Schubert teammates away, leaving Luigi to glance at her once more.
Luigi took a deep breath, exhaled, and focused on the car in front of him, which happened to be the sister BMW Z4 GT3 with start number 17. Speaking of that, the car that would actually start between him and the sister Z4 was the BMW Team Schubert Z4 GT3. To Luigi, he could not help but think it as a coincidence that the factory-coloured BMWs would start right next to each other on the grid.
Mario was standing right beside Daisy, and as Luigi closed the door, Mario had to check if the communications systems were in working order.
(Luigi's earphones)
"I can see that everything's packed in there!" Mario said, half-amused. "If you're anywhere worried about Bowser, I can assure you that he's got enough fans to look after him. I haven't seen him this happy since the Special Cup Tour…"
"Is he really?" Luigi said, also amused at Mario's report. "Oh well, I can't really blame him. There're a lot of people here, I'll give him that."
Luigi wanted to look around him, but there was only so much room to look at. For one, he couldn't turn his head a lot because of his helmet, but at least he could see all his mirrors. Secondly, he glanced at the steering wheel, which really was extensively race-modified from ignition with a press of a button to scanners and monitors that linked directly to the engineers' laptops.
It wouldn't be long before the green flag would come down. Luigi rested his fingers on the start button that would ignite the V8-powered engine of the BMW M3, which rested in the Z4 GT3.
BMW Team Schubert: 2:10 PM
"There are a LOT of people out there," Koops said, just coming back into the pit garage. "We have like – what – twenty minutes before the grid starts and there're still thousands of people out on the track. I'd like to see what the officials do to get the people off. Not even half of them are out yet."
"It sure looks like it's clearing up," Birdo said. "I think they'll be able to get it done in ten minutes. You think?"
Daisy reappeared in the pit garage, nodded to the BMW Schubert mechanics, and then she went to rejoin Yoshi and Rosalina. Like Rosalina and Yoshi, they exchanged their race helmets for the time being for BMW Motorsport sports caps.
The three drivers rejoined Mario, along with Dirk Müller, Augusto Farfus, and Uwe Alzen, to watch the TV screen broadcasting the entire starting grid. If that wasn't enough, a large screen charting every known racer numerically from pole position to last was set beside the TV.
We're completely prepared, Daisy thought, looking at the clock. Twenty-four hours…
Even outside of the garage, other teams were still not ready. The BMW M3 that Koops had spotted just under an hour earlier had finally completed their repairs and was awaiting the first grid to start. Other teams, such as Volkswagen or the Nissan GT-R powered by Schulze, had to complete their repairs too.
Nürburgring GP: 2:19 PM
At this point, the entire starting grid had been cleared and all that were remained were ADAC officials and, of course, the cars of the first starting grid. The crowds that occupied the starting grid were either out on the stands, or they left the Grand Prix track to head to their campsites out on the Nürburgring.
On pole position was the SLS AMG GT3 by Black Falcon. From Luigi's perspective, the pace car with the yellow lights was making its way to the front of the SLS. The more he waited and watched, and the more he thought of the clock hitting three o'clock, the more he got nervous.
I just hope I won't screw up, he thought.
"Hey! Luigi!" the voice of Augusto Farfus rang in his ears. "Just to let you know, there's absolutely no overtaking on the first lap. I know you know that already, but when you see the cars swerving left and right, try to follow the line."
"Got it," Luigi confirmed. "By the way, Mr. Farfus, how much longer until 2:30?"
"From the looks of it…" Farfus' voice trailed, clearly telling Luigi he was looking at the clock. "There's ten more minutes. From the camera view, the ADAC officials are talking with… the driver in the pace car."
"You know, Luigi," Stefan Wendl said. "If you're really fast enough, you could actually lap the remaining starting grid. But you'll have eight minutes to do it."
For the Bowser Motorsport Racing Bugatti, Bowser was at the wheel with the cover concealed in the back (off course it wasn't needed, for Bowser was simply oversized). The prototype Gadd-developed engine empowering the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport was innocently lying still underneath the hood. Unfortunately for Bowser, the engine had to be partly modified to fit the E1-XP2 regulations. However, the engine was experimental, and who knows what the engine was capable of.
Bowser's helmet was black with his trademark red Bowser ensigns, and was securely fixed onto the respective driver's head.
If I really wanted to, I would have cheated and knock away any nearby cars, Bowser thought. But there are cameras EVERYWHERE, and besides, smashing into other cars won't do the Bugatti any good.
He looked at his surroundings while the pace car was getting ready to depart. Brilliant cars, like the two Audi R8 LMS Ultras in front of him or the Gemballa Racing McLaren behind him looked just as hyped to race too. If that wasn't enough, the Vita4One BMW Z4 was patiently waiting from behind too.
Nürburgring GP: 2:29 PM
An ADAC official was clearly in sight in front of the pole position SLS AMG. He began to raise the massive yellow flag in his hands.
ROAR…!
ROAR…!
ROAR…!
All around the starting grid, and in front of the pit crews and the spectators in the stands, the roaring of racing engines brought to life rebounded and echoed through the walls, air, and the environment of the Nürburgring start line.
Luigi followed the environment and, with the press of a button on the steering wheel (with the BMW Motorsport racing glove), and within moments the sound of the V8 engine began to vibrate against his back.
The BMW Z4 GT3… Luigi thought. Let's see what kind of potential you've got.
At this point, the ADAC official nodded to the driver in the pace car, and soon enough the pace car's flashing yellow lights were on. Last of all, the ADAC official began to walk through the middle of the starting grid. As each car was lined up in twos, this gave some ease.
BMW Team Schubert: 2:29 PM
Literally, everyone in the BMW Team Schubert garage was holding their breath. Besides the BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS or Vita4One garages, everyone was the same.
Meanwhile, outside of the garage, the extremely few remaining GT3 cars that were doing emergency repairs had failed to approach their appropriate spot on the grid. So they would have to push their car to the back of the grid. Moreover, there were cars of lesser performance that looked like they wouldn't be able to start on the grid at all, and if they weren't fully repaired for a time… they would get evicted.
As for Team Schubert, everyone's eyes were glued to the TV monitor…
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