Sorry about taking so long, but I had to do some other things, as well as thinking what's going to happen for the story. Now, I'm back, and we head to the pits.
Everyone was sitting in a circle, with Tom in front facing the gang.
"Okay guys." He spoke to the group. "We need to get your cars set up for the race. By now you should have gotten used to your cars. Now we need to take notes so we can improve the performance ready for the big one. Blu?"
Blu spoke up. "I find that the Corvette is one of the easier cars to drive. Good visibility, good sound, good brakes, excellent response and a big amount of torque. It's not the fastest, and not the most agile, but I think I'll be able to do a long distance run in it."
"So nothing needs to be altered. Right?" Blu nodded his head. "Jewel? Your feedback is required."
"Well, I found that the Aston was easy to spin." Jewel answered. "As my little incident in practice proved. It's a little difficult to drive, and a hard one to muscle through the turns, but once I mastered it, I found it had great balance and pace."
"Guess we're going to have to work on the turns. I'll tell the pit crew to get more downforce."
"Whoa, whoa, we get pit crews?" Blu asked.
"Yes." Tom replied in a monotonous tone. "That is correct. Nico?"
"What I found with the Audi was that it is very efficient. Fast, agile, I could imagine it being race winning material." Nico spilled the beans.
"Nothing bad there. Meanwhile, what does Pedro think of his car?"
"Now, what is wrong with the Lambo? Nothing. I find Nico's description of his car very similar to mine. I'd imagine driver skill to be the deciding factor in this battle." Pedro replied.
"Now then. Rafael?"
"The Porsche is a little tricky to drive when you're a beginner." Rafael said. "I managed to stall it on my very first drive. It's a little 'spiky,' and does take some mastering. It's a hard, steely mechanical device that isn't on your side. I'd imagine that with an experienced driver, it will be quick. And that engine note! Oh! That engine sings better than Eva!" He got an elbow from his wife for that comment.
"Note to pit crew: Porsche 911 needs work to make it more user friendly. How about you Eva?"
"I think the Alpina is a bit tricky through the bends. It's the heaviest car here, and it feels it. I also had a bit of sliding through the turns." Eva spoke.
"Looks like you have some rear end stability problems. I'll beam that to the pit crew. Finally, Nigel. How did you get on with the Matech Ford?"
"First, it looks evil. Just like me." Blu and Jewel gave a hard stare at Nigel when he said that. "Second, it is a fabulous car. Thirdly, I felt a bit cramped inside the car. Visibility isn't very good in any direction but forward. I sat low in there too, and everything felt tall. But once I got out on the track, it felt like the best thing I've done... Apart from capturing all those pretty birds of course." Jewel was incredibly close to kicking Nigel in the nuts, but was stopped by a predatory glare from Tom. "The downforce is good, and it's stable and grippy at all speeds. The engine power is enormous, and the engine is smooth and delivers the power in a curve, so I don't feel like I'm going supersonic if I'm tapping the throttle. I love the Ford... Tom?" Nigel looked over to Tom, who was restraining Blu and Jewel by tying them to their seats with rope.
"Sorry about that. So what I can deduce is that you like the car, and how it drives, but what you don't like is the cramped cockpit. Well, side effect of getting a low and sleek car, I'm afraid. Now here's what I think everyone should work on:
Blu: I think the only thing that needs improving is your driving skill.
Jewel: More downforce, less spinning, more winning.
Nico: I think that long distance fuel capacity is needed. I managed to deduce that when I checked the fuel level when everyone came into the pits.
Pedro: I saw you running wide out there, so suspension may need a check.
Rafael: You certainly did yourself a favour by picking the harder car to drive. Suspension, downforce, tyres, give them a go and see how you like the new setups.
Eva: Stability is an issue so check with the pit crew, they may be able to work wonders.
Nigel: Cockpit is the only issue, so you may need to get used to such confined quarters.
Alright guys, you did well today. Get yourself a break, you earned it." Everyone walked over to the grandstands, and got a seat. They fetched drinks, and watched as professional race drivers gave their cars some more testing. "I love my job..." Tom muttered to himself.
Thanks for sticking with me. I haven't been updating for some time, but that doesn't mean that I'm dead. Far from it. Sorry if this chapter isn't action packed, but next chapter will see everyone testing new set ups, and preparing for the ultimate challenge: The Blu Birds GT3 Grand Prix. Well, Tom thought it would be a good name... shrugs shoulders
Replying to reviews:
ODSTSpartan: I'm glad you like this story, although I think that The Black Beauty should remain in the hands of The Green Hornet.
WolfOnFyre: I try not to make this cheesy, and I thank you for liking my story. If you're an NFS fan, then Shift 2 Unleashed has all the GT3 cars featured so you can recreate the action found in this story.
Master Derek/ernestgoestocamp: The reason I put the birds as their voice actors is that I thought that they would really look and sound like them. I changed the colour of their hair to represent their feather colours, and Nigel, I'm sorry if I gave you early grey hair. Still, this makes it easier to make the possible TV dramatisation of the story!
Extra Notes:
If anyone wants to know the origins of this fic, then read on. I got this idea while playing Shift 2 Unleashed on the PS3. I was doing a hot lap in a Bugatti Veyron, when I couldn't get this idea out of my head. I imagined that the birds were racing against each other in these Veyrons (humanised of course). I thought I could make a story out of this idea, but dumped the Veyron part when it occurred to me that letting some Brazilian birds with no driving experience at all get behind the wheel of million dollar, thousand horsepower, two hundred and fifty mile per hour hypercars might not be trouble free.
After that lap, I looked at potential cars, and this group of race cars caught my interest. GT3 cars are race versions of supercars, with performance equalised. This makes driver skill and car set up important to win. This series is exciting, and I'd recommend watching it to anyone looking to watch a good race. This day, 5th June also happens to be the date of the Silverstone GT3 race. Get to your TV set, and watch many supercars rip it up on the same track that this story is based on. I can assure you that this race does not feature birds driving the cars!
Once I had the idea ironed out, it then became a challenge to what car everyone was going to drive. I eventually chose the cars based on each character. You can see why who drives what in the extra notes in chapter 3. After that, I started to write this story, and the rest is history.
Until next time, tchau! Oh wait a minute... We're not in Brazil, are we? Ah well, Bye!
