Chapter Text
Heavy braking into the hairpin.
Slow and precise out.
Brake smoothly into Turn 13.
Easy with the gas.
Fully utilize the outer curb and go for the late curb.
After Netz, up goes Panasonic.
Sacrificing the entry for better exit speed.
Pushing the car all the way to the finish line.
“-wa…?”
Time.
“Natsusawa-kun..!”
I opened my eyes.
“… Yeah?”
“Our turn to hit the track, yeah?”
“Got it.”
Fuji Speedway.
As a kid, I can't count how many times I've played this track on games. I can’t count how many times I’ve imagined myself as a driver, doing lap after lap after lap around this specific track. I even remember that one time I tried to do a 24-hour endurance race here in a game… safe to say it did not go well.
To me, Fuji never seems to get old at all. In fact, it only gets better as time passes. You could say that the track aged like fine wine. With WEC, Super GT races continued to be held here yearly, Fuji Speedway is a hot topic for race enthusiasts like me and others.
Ah, to be able to drive competitively in this track…
I always wondered if I had what it takes to be a professional driver, I always wondered if I have the chance to be able to drive and potentially win on my home soil. With these questions stuck in my mind, I decided…
Why don’t I try finding out these answers myself?
And so, I put in the work, heading towards that dream of mine as a professional driver. I set time records, won races from the smaller, local events to the bigger, popular ones that can skyrocket your reputation up. Of course, I do struggle in the process, but I’m able to make a name for myself. Showing everyone what I could do.
Eventually, I got my hands on a contract. A Super GT contract.
You know what this means?
This will be my first time driving a GT300 car around the track.
Crazy, right?
I know. I still can’t believe it.
“Natsusawa? You hearing me?”
“I can hear you.”
It still feel so surreal even as I exit the pit lane. Like, am I really doing this? Am I really in a GT300 car? Everything is just happening all at once. The steering wheel felt so unbelievably strange to hold on. It doesn’t feel like the ones from any other race categories. The pedals, the interior, too. They felt unfamiliar. It might be a just a normal day of preseason testing for other competitors, but for me? This is basically a dream come true. This is me officially becoming a GT300 driver.
“Okay. No pressure! Just try to get a feel of the car, and let me know if you need adjustments.”
“Got it.”
Usami Shohei, my race engineer. He's… a character. Very energetic, very fast paced. From the 30 or so minutes I've talked to him so far, at least. But for a new driver like me, he has given me a warm welcome. I’m grateful. It would be a pleasure working with him.
As my Supra reached to the pit exit, I stuck to the side of the track to avoid blocking the other cars while they’re on a fast lap. Tires were cold at the time, thus I decide to take it nice and slow, gently pushing the brakes and turning into the hairpin, letting my brakes heat up. I swerved after coming out from the hairpin, throwing the car left and right to quickly warm up the tires, and to get a feel of the car’s suspension.
I’m able to drive my Supra for a lap with no problems, at least. The suspension does not feel too stiff, not too soft. The steering feels very rapid, and combined with the downforce setup, the Supra made it seemed like it wanted to push. Though, it still feels pretty understeery in some corners, might be because the tires isn’t warmed up enough.
Maybe I was way too worried about the car, I could probably be able to get used to this after a few laps.
Couple of laps later, as I feel confident enough to push the car, I tweaked my brake pressure to the rear, making the car feel more twitchy, slippery. It requires me to be much softer on the car, in return for faster lap-times, smoother cornering.
Once I push out from 100R and into the hairpin, I stomped on the brakes, before gradually easing the brakes and turning my steering wheel slightly to the left. Already mid-corner, I feel the rear of the car getting loose, tires screeching.
There it is…
I gently applied the throttle, slightly adjusting the car to place. When the car hit the inner late curb, I slowly put pressure on the pedal, before putting my steering wheel back, stomping on the pedal to hit the outer curb, fully utilizing the track for exit speed.
That, felt pretty smooth.
“If you’re ready, you can push next lap.”
Hehe, I’d be lying if I said I don’t want to. I’m starting to get excited.
"Copy."
It felt… like I was a kid again.
It felt fun.
Another year, another bout of preseason testing. It's always so exciting to see how our new cars act and handle.
And also new people. New drivers, new members, faster times.
Last year, it was us lifting the championship trophy. This team, it really meant a lot for me. Of course not only because my name being the same as the team’s name, but I can feel the chemistry around us is unbreakable.
Our BRZ. It was the fastest in GT300.
Our team, best in GT300.
The drivers, excels in GT300.
But, this year…
This year is different.
As I can see right now.
I sit inside the pit box as the team fix the car up, after Kaoruko had the first lap. Kaoruko had gone off to retrieve her water bottle, and also because our trainer — Chisa — had called her. Hope nothing bad.
Anywho, I'm watching the telly, and there I see a Toyota GR Supra among the others, standing out, having at it. A GT300 car, same class, but vastly different car. Inferior to our Subaru. And with a rookie in it.
Something about the Supra, caught my eyes.
I wouldn’t be mentioning that if I weren’t surprised.
Usually, those guys would take time to get used to the car. Get used to the zippy-ness that GT300 cars had. Mistakes like spinning out, going off track… or even worse, crashing, pieces shattering all over the track are bound to happen with the rookies. That’s the process of them adapting with the car, after all.
But this guy, I think he’s called Natsusawa? He was going nuts.
He was already setting laps I usually would in a race. Race pace on their first day here. Isn't that just… ludicrous? How could anyone possibly be able to connect with his car in such a short time?
He has to have some sort of assisting… something. Then I realised that there’s no way the regulations would let them have that sort of assisting. Not at all.
I've heard of this Natsusawa Saku a few times before, but I never would’ve thought he’ll be racing there. Upon inspection, his results seem… decent. He isn't that bad, nor good. But is he really worthy of GT300?
I sound like the press. I really shouldn't; I know how much they can suck. Still, a little criticism isn't too bad.
Oh, there he goes with another lap.
1:35:09.
He isn’t bad at all, he’s really out there scaring the other teams with his lap times.
But this is just preseason testing. Anything can happen.
I still haven’t gotten out from the pit box, y’know.
“Subaru. Car’s fixed… You ready to go?”
“Let’s go.”
Now, it’s my turn to shine.