As Chang lined up at the starting line the members of Chang's Team Venom walked over to Carlos and Sweeper who were discussing.
"I am telling you that a GT-R would be the best for this kind of course." Carlos said to Sweeper.
"It would be too heavy Carlos, this course is more suited to the more annoying permanent 4WD machines..." Sweeper was interrupted.
"Excuse me for interrupting you guys but we need to ask you a few things about this race..." Koji asked the two discussing Project S members.
"Ask us about what?" Carlos replied.
"Will Chang be allright with this? That Seiji has improved quite a bit since the last time he raced somebody." Sam asked.
"Now that you mention it, off the line Chang doesn't stand a chance at all. 4WD is superior at launching from a standstill, though it wears a lot on the drivetrain." Sweeper replied.
"To be exact it is the clutch that gets most of the punishment in a hard 4WD launch... Although the Skyline GT-R in stock trim is certified for 8k RPM launches... I know because I have tried it several times, just don't do that to a tuned GT-R on stock drivetrain." Carlos replied with a smile.
Just then the countdown was finished and as Sweeper had predicted the EVO rocketed into the lead with the 4WD advantage from the start.
Chang was already at full throttle but the Evo 4 was pulling away into the first corner.
"Is it going to be a repeat of Sakura's race?" Carlos asked as he saw the Evo dive into the corner.
"Nah, Chang got other tactics he likes to play. Funny enough that Seiji doesn't like using those jump techniques that Sakura used to counter attack Satake. But unlike Sakura, Chang knows his NSX in and out, maybe not consciously but when the situation calls for it he can wedge that NSX into any line and any speed he feels for it. Of course with the tire limits though, he cannot make his car turn faster than the tires can resist the will to make the car get push understeer. But I don't think he will have a problem in this race, or at least I hope he won't." Sweeper replied to Carlos.
"Speaking of Sakura, aren't you supposed to go and speak with her?" Koji asked Sweeper.
"Yeah, I'll do that now... But like I said, no promises." Sweeper left the band, although Sam were smiling as if he knew what was going to happen.
On the course the drivers had already entered the continuous downhill corners.
The Evo 4 was leading with Chang catching up, the Evo was losing on mid cornering performance to the lighter and more responsive NSX.
Chang's supercharger provided him with the power he desired and it was the perfect type of power for this kind of course.
Seiji was in for the battle of his life, the opponent was not a push over like Thunder Fire had been, he had the machine that was superior to the Evo in cornering abilities and the skill to make it happen.
Meanwhile Sweeper found Sakura checking out the engine bay of her NSX, doing a post race inspection.
Sweeper approached her from behind while she was fiddling around with a wrench in the engine bay.
"You are Sakura Tanaka right?" Sweeper started with a slightly shy voice.
Sakura dropped the wrench and it made a metal rattling sound as it fell out from the engine bay and onto the ground.
"Whoa! I am sorry for the mess, but I didn't expect somebody to show up." Sakura started while trying to cover the stains she had on the work clothes.
"It is allright Sakura... Well... Damn I really suck at this." Sweeper started.
"If you got the time maybe you would care to help me get this pesky valve cover off? It seems to be stuck on the head for some reason." Sakura said.
"Sure, it cannot be that hard to remove." Sweeper said and walked over to the car to have a look into the engine bay.
To Sweeper's surprise the bay was fairly clean compared to his own engine bay in the FD that was stained from the last engine swap.
Sweeper pulled out a ratchet from the toolbox and started screwing on some bolts.
"Sakura, I spoke with your teammates, Chang, Koji and Sam to be exact." Sweeper said and started using the ratchet on a bolt.
"I guess I know what they told you... Koji is very quick at sensing such things, they used to call him a Love Machine before he got into racing. He used to hangout with girls a lot and really thought of himself as God's gift to the girl. But after he got a NSX and begun racing he lost interest in that kind of thing, but he still knows a beginning relationship when he sees one. Although he seems to thread very careful around me for some reason." Sakura said to Sweeper.
"Well, I decided to come here and tell you a few things... Damn I REALLY REALLY suck at this kind of thing." Sweeper replied.
"Just speak right from the liver, I can handle it, forget the sugarcoating." Sakura said in a decided voice.
"Well I am a mercenary by trade and that makes binding with someone rather difficult. I am rarely home, and when I am it is never for a long period of time before you are on a mission again somewhere in the world." Sweeper said and removed the bolt he was working on.
"I may be able to control my own feelings for getting home somewhat, it would be a new challenge but I have been through a lot these years I have been working so experience will help me a bit. But the worrying for me to get back to you will be a problem for you." Sweeper continued.
Sakura went silent for a while as Sweeper served those words.
"It is not that I do not like you, but the problem is I cannot change my line of work. I tried it once and well the attempts went rather badly. So..." Sweeper was interrupted.
"Look here Mr Sweeper, and "I know it all" here is a little news flash! They don't call me the craziest NSX driver in town, and why do they call me that? Because I LIKE TAKING RISKS, I hate losing a battle and I will do anything to prevent that. And I think I can live with the fact that you need to do your mercenary work wherever that may be. But to counter your offer you got to live with the same thing when it comes to my racing! You saw what I did against Satake and I bet that Koji already told you about how far I am willing to go to achieve that win." Sakura replied with a harsh tone, clearly showing that she had been annoyed.
"Jeez, you are just like Gwen was when we met... Although she didn't drive a car, she flies helicopters." Sweeper said.
"Gwen? You already got a girlfriend?" Sakura asked.
"Depends on how look at it, if you mean a true relationship then you are way off, we may meet every now and then but if you asked us we would say no. We both like our work more than a relationship, or rather I am not a fan of what I do though, but rather I got no choice but to love it." Sweeper said and pulled off the valve cover.
"Well then... I'll cut straight to the point. How about a date?" Sakura asked.
Sweeper was clearly caught by surprise when Sakura said that.
"Don't jump to conclusions just yet, I will not accept your answer before we are done with Project S, you can give me the answer on Akina after the battle is done there." Sweeper handed Sakura the valve cover and walked away.
"I am pretty sure I will have the same decision at that time as well." Sakura shouted after Sweeper.
"Just think it over first, do not jump to a conclusions without knowing what comes with the territory... There may be more mines with the territory than you possibly want." Sweeper replied to Sakura and kept walking away.
On the downhill Chang was right on Seiji's tail and was preparing his attack.
Seiji was clearly losing his temper from the pressure that the red NSX was applying from behind.
And on the exit Seiji went wider with his drift than what he originally intended.
Chang used that advantage and snapped the inside during the turn, it was now a fierce acceleration contest between a supercharged NSX and a Evo 4.
Even though the Evo 4 had 4WD the initial acceleration put down by the NSX put the NSX ahead early so all the Evo could achieve was getting up on its side and holding the position for the upcoming corner.
Chang braked hard and started his turn in for the corner that was when Seiji executed his plan.
His Evo came in and bumped into Chang's front fender, disrupting his rhythm and allowing Seiji to slip into the lead.
Chang's NSX lost front grip and slided out of the inside path opening a path for Seiji to take.
"This is normal in professional racing, don't be offended." Seiji thought as his Evo rocketed into the lead.
"You did that on purpose! Where is your dignity in racing?" Chang thought and slammed hard on the gas pedal, the dragon had awoken.
On the next corner the NSX went in aggressive with a true zero counter drift followed by fierce exit acceleration.
At Carlos' location the radio message ticked in:
"The NSX attempted a pass of the Evo 4 but the Evo defended the inside and now it seems like the NSX driver has gone insane! He is driving a lot more aggressive than he did earlier on."
"Seems like Chang has gone all out on this." Sweeper said to Carlos.
"Indeed he has, I have never seen him drive like that in the dry before..." Carlos replied.
"You guys really haven't seen Chang drive at his best on dry tarmac before now have you?" Sam asked.
"He races in the GT1000 class in the World Cup, I have seen his NSX a lot of times as I lap him with the GT-Unlimited class trying to catch or outrun Carlos." Sweeper replied to Sam.
"Well, even then he rarely goes all out, he is having several stages which he needs to enter to get all his speed out. Like Sakura the best way to unleash performance out of Chang is to have him mad as hell. When he is angry enough and is driving as hard as he can I have often seen the chassis carry signs of such driving..." Koji said.
"Carry signs of it?" Carlos asked.
"G force's attempting to crumble the car as it sticks, although it is hard to spot, it is there, even with the roll cage. And then we got the numerous dents and scratches in the paint job. If you remember how Fujiwara Takumi drove when he was angry, this guy drives the same way, slamming into the guardrails to help turn the car around." Koji said softly.
"Ramming the guardrails? How does he get faster with doing that?" Carlos asked.
"You use the return action from the impact with the guardrail to slam the car into oversteer. It can be faster in some situations but racers normally refrain from using such techniques as it damages the car and of course nobody likes to damage their car. The few racing buddies I hanged with we used to call it crash'n drift." Sweeper said.
"Did you guys practice that technique as well?" Sam asked.
"Well we did in the army, but then we were messing with tanks and bunkers so the few dents and scratches we got didn't matter much. It was very easy to blame on exercise damage rather than careless driving." Sweeper smiled.
"Did you serve with the armor unit or what?" Sam said.
"Let's change topic from my army past eh?" Sweeper replied while sending a look that he didn't like the subject.
On the downhill the final corner were coming up for the sloppy section where the 3 bridges were.
Chang's best attack point was using an old trick he had used before.
Seiji slammed on the brakes and slowed down in his Evo for the corner, to his surprise the NSX came charging in and braked late.
Making them go into the corner side by side.
The match was decided the moment the two of them let go of the accelerator and proceeded with the turnin.
The cars went side by side up until the exit came up and it was time for full throttle.
Chang's NSX rocketed forward and into the lead while Seiji was shocked as he was used to having the advantage with 4WD over his opponents.
But because this corner wasn't as low speed as the others, his 4WD advantage was ereased and his turbo lag hit him in the face when facing a supercharged car with more torque.
Unable to match the equal power of the cars all Seiji could do was watch the NSX' taillights on the straights.
In the corners it was faster than the pace Seiji managed to keep in his Evo 4.
"This is the finish line, the cars just came here and the NSX WON!" the radio report ticked in at the top.
"Hah! Chang hasn't gotten any worse since our last team race. I would expect him to have gotten slower on mountain passes but he is still as fast as ever." Sam said.
"Indeed he is, but I will never forget that day when Chang gave me a ride while it was raining. That is the most SCARY thing I have ever been doing" Koji replied.
"Chang sure is something special, he may be a bit shy when speaking of his skill but when it counts he does know how to drive." Sakura said, as she spoke Sweeper jumped up.
"WHOAH! Don't scare me like that Sakura. Yeah Chang is pretty fast. I battled him for the first time on the highways of Tokyo, however I was lucky that it was dry." Sweeper said/
"Well, it is our turn now Sweeper. Let us show this wannabe proffessional and his so called rally driver what true speed is all about. I am sure that Sainz fellow has taught Sudou a few tricks." Carlos said as he put a hand on Sweeper's shoulder.
"Whatever he taught him it is not going to work against us. Speaking of which, we got something to settle as well I think, this even has overlapped one of our regular meetings you know." Sweeper replied while giving Carlos a certain look.
"I know what you mean, we usually do it in the states but I suppose a touge like this and our current cars will have to do. It should be very interresting." Carlos replied and the two walked towards their cars.
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Authors notes: Here is my most recent chapters, sorry for any spelling errors but I am currently in Spain and I lack something else than WordPad to write on but to keep time passing for me I will finish this story.
Hopefully this story will be complete before the 31st of May, since thats when I am going back home to Norway again and I will get back to PROPER spelling ;)