Here we go again. If you have already read A Day At The Races, you'll know that everyone has picked their cars, and Tom has taught them how to drive. Looks like he's just finishing up now.
"And finally, this button activates the speed limiter. It's so you don't go too fast in the pits. Got that?" Said Tom.
"Yeah, I got it." Answered Rafael.
"OK." Tom turned around to face the gang, who were now in racing overalls and helmets. "Time to drive." Getting in his BMW, Tom started the V8 engine, which growled like the Corvette and Alpina combined. This time, when he started rolling, the seven other race cars followed. Tom had taught them well. "Now once you are at the first corner, don't push too hard on the throttle, or you'll spin. Hoo-ah?"
"Oh, of course I won't spin." Jewel bragged over the intercom. The Aston Martin shot ahead of the cruising Z4, and entered the first corner. But Jewel gave the DBRS9 a bit too much throttle, and before she knew it, the British race car was facing the other way.
"Oh, of course you'll spin. If you keep doing that you will. You need to be gentle on the throttle, and only open up fully when you're on the straights." Tom advised Jewel, who was now trying to spin the other way. "Oh, by the way, anyone see Rafael?"
"Just my luck." Rafael cursed to himself. "Tom, the engine stopped suddenly."
"Looks like you've stalled. The power switch still on?"
"Yep. What do I do?"
"If the ignition switch is in the off position, flick it to the on position. Now press the start button." Rafael did so, and the familiar Porsche engine note filled the cabin once again. "Now take more care starting next time, OK?"
Now the cars were really getting used as they were supposed to. Everyone was gaining more confidence, and the cars were now pushing past 100mph. But Tom noted that they were still not as fast as they could be going. Still, they weren't going bad for total beginners.
"Woohoo! This is fun! Right?" Nico shouted over the intercom.
"You got that right!" Pedro shouted. And before Nico knew it, a red Audi R8 had blown past his yellow Lamborghini Gallardo. "Game on!" The Audi went into the turn fast, and ran wide. The Lamborghini simply went through on the inside.
"Come on! That was supposed to be a challenge! You chicken out after one turn!"
"I am not a chicken! Besides, you've let Nigel pass!" Both buddies suddenly looked ahead to find a Ford GT had passed both of their V10 racers. "We're never gonna hear the end of it..."
Meanwhile, near the front, Blu and his Corvette had a little battle with Jewel and her DBRS9, who had managed to recover from her earlier spin.
"Try to keep up Blu!" Jewel said.
"Is that supposed to be scary?" Blu answered, and shot past the Aston. The former female Macaw made a mental note to get past the Chevrolet as quickly as possible. The Corvette Z06R suddenly braked and slowed down for the upcoming turn. Jewel carefully timed her braking so she went past the Corvette. Then the air exploded with the sound of a British V12 as Jewel gunned the throttle. The DBRS9 barrelled down the track.
At the back of the pack, Tom had decided to hang back, but now he had decided to see how well the NFS BMW drove. Carefully driving behind the green, silver and blue Alpina, he took advantage of the better airflow to speed up and overtake the B6.
"Hey! Not fair!" Eva complained.
"Snoozing equals loosing!" Tom answered, then rapidly blocked Rafael's Porsche 911 from passing. Tom was driving the Barvarian beast like it was the only car he had ever driven. He was going around quicker than many birds thought possible, and he was rapidly bearing down on Nico and Pedro, who were still trying to prove to themselves who was the better driver.
"What do you see in the rear-view mirror?" Pedro asked.
"Well, track, grandstands and..." Nico replied. "A black and white BMW?"
"Who's in the BMW?" The Z4 quickly shot past them. Both drivers caught a glimpse of the Tom Fortnell on the door. "Oh."
While this was happening, Nigel had caught up with Blu and Jewel, who were still racing each other. "Hello, pretty birds. Remember me?" The monstrous Matech Ford barrelled past the Chevy and the Aston.
"Not cool, man!" Blu declared and rapidly went in pursuit of the GT. The Ford and the Chevy were side by side as they entered the next straight. Both V8s roared as the American sports cars rocketed down the straight-away. Both the Minnesota bookworm and the former TV-star stared at each other as their cars went past 120mph.
"Whoa! You're crazy!" Jewel remarked. Both drivers quickly realised that they were approaching a sharp turn. Brake pedals were slammed and brake disks glowed bright orange as the disc brakes battled to slow the massive Ford and Chevy. What Nigel and Blu didn't realise was that a Need For Speed BMW Z4 had been behind them the whole time, and with a spot of late braking, the BMW had now gone through the middle of them.
"There's a lesson for you guys!" Tom said over the intercom. "You focus exclusively on your own little battle, and someone's gonna get past you. As in this case. How about a little break now?" Everyone agreed, but had one more lap of Silverstone for laughs. Everyone was clearly enjoying themselves.
As the GT3 racers were pulling into the pit, Tom got out of his Z4 and removed his helmet. He walked over to the other cars.
"Glad to see you're taking it so well." Tom remarked.
"Yeah. If you count being bathed in sweat taking it so well." That was Rafael.
"Ah, there's an issue. This race is going to be a long distance affair, so you guys need to get ready." Tom stretched his arms and walked over to the pit garages. "How'd you guys get here?" There was a pit crew in the Team Need For Speed garage.
"We're your pit crew. Y'know. When you need a tyre change plus refuel. We got here while you were blasting around the track."
"Oh. So what about the other cars? They got pit crews as well?" The crew nodded in affirmation. "It will be fun to see who's the ultimate racer..."
That wraps things up for the Learning to Drive phase. Now, next time you read, we're going to be configuring the cars, setting best lap times, and getting ready for the big race. Please review, and tell me if there is something I can improve on.
