International Gran Turismo Rally - The Grand Tour 79 [FINAL RANKING]


Journal entry April 4


Dear Diary,

It’s been a week now that I’ve been on the run. Dad is going to kill me if he finds out what I’ve done. It’s his fault really! He never lets me do anything! I have to try to keep a low profile, but that will be difficult… But let me start at the beginning.

Dad owns a car dealership and customization workshop in Porto Castelfranco. He is the largest distributor of Gasmean Mons branded cars, but he also sells other exotics. His true love is for the Mons brand and so he also owns a few Mons models of his own. He likes to modify these cars to his liking and advertise his customization business that way too. His prize possession is a Mons Deimos, which he modified first with a custom paint job. His Fruinian blood could not stand the standard Gasmean engineering, so he also added fuel injection. Lastly, to really show off his customs shop, he ripped out the original interior, and installed a fully custom hand-made one instead. Needless to say, he likes this car more than life itself.

This is where I come in. I have grown up around cars, and I love cars as much as he does. But business has not been great lately. I can see that this puts a lot of stress on dad. I have tried to involve myself more in the business and proposed ideas to get business going, but he always says that girls are not meant to be car people. I think he’s just old-fashioned. I proposed that participating in the Grand Tour this year would be great exposure for the business, but he wouldn’t let me… so I entered the tournament without his knowledge. I stole his car and started my week-long drive to Highport. I am still shaking thinking of what I have done. But what can I do? He is just so stubborn and backward thinking. This will be great for business, I know. And if I do well, then the price money will be very welcome too. I just can’t crash. Oh God, please do not let me crash! He would not only kill me, but then kill my lifeless body again…

I think I’ll go try to relax now until the race starts, and maybe make some friends with the other drivers. Some really nice cars have shown up already, so I am a little worried about my chances. Well, not as worried as I am about the race route, which will bring us straight through Porto Casterfranco! I hope my dad doesn’t find out…

Signing off now - Francesca

PS, the seaside at Highport is really nice! I might go for a dip later.



3 Likes

No worries then, I wanted to make sure. If no one used that body yet I will simply ask people to avoid it.

I did not import your entry yet, you should be ok.

I also highly encourage to post lore and flavor entries as the event progresses, but it is by no mean necessary.

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Less than 5 days before the event starts - Countdown

Meet the journalists covering the event

Here at the Gasmean Car Trends magazine we are blessed to be able to cover this unique international happening. We have sent two of our finest veteran journalists on location.

Giorgio Diola

giorgio_small

Born here in Gasmea from Frunian car royalty, Giorgio joined the magazine as an intern at 19 years old. After only 5 years, he rose to become the premier automobile racing journalist in the country, covering all major sporting events in Gasmea and around the continent. He has a car mechanic background and is certainly our most technical writer. He’s thirsty for knowledge, stylish and quite a funny guy. Just do not rob him the wrong way… Just kidding.

Jacques Dupal

jacques_small

One of the co-founder of the magazine, Jacques was born in St-Lucien and started covering cars in the late 40s. He will celebrate his 30 years of career later this year. He knows the history of cars like the back of his hand, and at 56 year of age he’s the most storied and respected car journalist around. He’s enthusiastic about car and will still acts like a 16 years old every time he reviews a car.

Régal Absynthe V12

They will follow the pack in a brand new GT car graciously provided by Régal - the Régal Absynthe V12. While they won’t be entered in the competition, they will be able to enjoy the comfort and performance of this premium Gasmean brand. While not enjoying the drive, they will write up an entry at the end of each competition day and will also be asking for comments and quotes from each willing teams.

Today’s topics:

  • How excited are your drivers about driving the car around the continent?
  • What is the worst meal they ate while staying in Highport?

This article was brought to you by Gasmean Car Trends and Régal.

OOC: Please, feel free to forum DM me quotes and comments based on the topics posted in GOLD throughout the competition. Also, please feel free to post press releases from the perspective of your team. It is absolutely not mandatory, this gives you no advantages, but I encouraged it.

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Official Statement from Usine de Moteurs Duquesne.

We are glad to announce our first participation on the prestigious International Gran Turismo Rally, celebrating the car culture in no better way than driving around our beautiful and challenging world.
We see this event as our oportunity to show what is Fruinia’s étoile guidante capable of, and for that reason we decided to take la créme de la créme to the competition. That is, the Duquesne Frigate. But it’s not just any Frigate, this is the special edition made in honor of our founding father, Jean Jaques Duquesne, on his 75th anniversary.
Although he stated that he would love to drive the car himself on the rally, he decided to hand over the wheel to his granddaughter, Katherine Duquesne, who also is an official test driver from the company, and we know her driving skill will be of great assistance during the competition.
We wish our main driver Bon Voyage and the best of lucks.

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Haha, good riddance? Oh my… poor Katherine.

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I realised quite late what that really meant lmao. Oh well, that happens when english is not your main language. I’ll put something more cheerful for our main driver

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The TransitStar Pan-Gasmea!

Pushrods! Solid axles! Over 320 horsepower! We haven’t changed the way we build cars in a long time, but we’re really good at it.

Well, not so good at designing fixtures, but at least I submitted something instead of engineering it and then giving up

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1975 Lacam Malissol GT4


When the founder and CEO of Lacam presented this car, Jean Dumond said: "Spared no expense! The specifications that we gave to the engineers were clear: this GT must mark the Lacam's history both from a technical and aesthetic point of view!"

We have equipped the Malissol with the latest comfort and safety technologies like power steering, air conditioning, tinted glass, electric interior roof window blind, power windows, central locking system, fit lap safety belts or active bending lights.

This car is powered by a re-engineered V8 Obiou engine you found on previous Lacam Malissol. It was designed in collaboration with the Hetvesian design studio Bartone.

In order to provide a bright interior, the glazed surfaces have been generously enlarged. In order to preserve the safety of the passengers, the windshield, the side windows located at the bottom of the doors and the roof window are laminated.

More pictures


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1978 Turból Darlington

How a NASCAR homolagation special tranformed into a world-class GT car

In 1969, Turból looked to achieve dominance on the ovals of NASCAR, and as other manufacturers modified existing models into more aerodynamic machines, Turból dropped a bomb on the NASCAR aero wars in the form of the Cypress Darlington. Rather than making the existing Cypress more aerodynamic, the 116.1" wheelbase intermediate would be rebodied entirely, in an aerodynamic, European shape made of fiberglass. With a pointy nose, a curved windshield, a kammback liftgate tail, and large front and rear spoilers, it was capable of incredible speeds on the Super Speedways. However, due to delays in preparing the fiberglass molds, the model was not homologated until the 1970 season.

By 1970, Chairman and CEO of NASCAR Bill France was openly displaying is distaste for the increasingly extreme vehicles in NASCAR coming from the aero wars, the Cypress Darlington in particular, famously stating “They’ve put an aeroplane wing on a damned canoe and are calling it car. This is getting completely out of hand.” Subsequesnt rule changes in 1971 limited aero specials to a maximum of 305ci, and though Turból made an effort with it’s ZR 305ci Trans-Am engine, it was decided that Turból would cease factory efforts in NASCAR, instead providing support for private teams running 427ci standard Cypress models.

Being outlawed from NASCAR was not a deathknell for the unusual Cypress Darlington. With it’s spoilers uninstalled, which were themselves shipped uninstalled to the dealers, the rakish European design applied to a vehicle large enough to meet American tastes made it a popular personal luxury car, exceeding expected demand despite it’s high cost.

So, in 1972, Turból reworked the car, now known just as the Turból Darlington, to move it further upmarket and serve as a flagship for Turból’s sport-oriented models. Independent rear suspension, a reworked and greatly stiffened chassis, a considerably more opulent interior placed the car beyond the price of personal luxury machines and more in line with exotic European GT cars. While the big block 420-69 was the most common engine option domestically, the all-aluminum ZR Trans-Am engine was available for those looking for a lighter car with better weight balance, or for export markets where larger displacement engines were prohibitively taxed, and could be ordered with fuel injection. With big American V8 power, the aerodynamic shape, and lightweight fiberglass body, the Darlington was one of the fastest production vehicles in the world. The model would receive a minor facelift in '74 to meet US impact bumper regulations, and power would be severely reduced in the face of emissions regulations, but export models were often re-tuned without emissions equipment by their importers.

This 1978 model is a Fruinian export model with the 305ci ZR V8 and a 3 speed automatic. With more lax emissions regulations, the Fruinian importer took the liberty of replacing the exhaust manifolds and catalytic converters with tubular headers. In this configuration, the car is extremely fast, with 301hp, a top speed exceeding 165mph and reaching 100kmh from a standstill in 6.4 seconds.

Additional Photos

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:smirk:

1976 Brooklands Bamburgh GTS Royale

In 1974, brooklands were suffering from a lack of sales throughout its various models. The Westminster and newly-released Lockstone GT were tanking due to the horrific reliablity problems that began plaguing britains car industry. The success of the automobile giant Bramhall Motor Corporation had forced smaller companies to start rushing in new technologies to compete, and as such the products produced by these marques had began a sharp decline in quality. Tockwyth, Shedden-Goldin and even Brooklands Motors had set themselves onto a dangerous path. Brooklands knew its only chance at survival was to bring in a brand-new take on its now aged Bamburgh Royale. A swift drawing by a designer of the name Johnathan Kellstone would lead the way for the company out of near-certain bankruptcy.

By 1976 the new car was released at the British International Motor Show to much fanfair. Brooklands were always known by their striking designs, and the Bamburgh GTS Royale followed this to a tee.

With a 2.5m wheelbase the car itself was relatively short but featured some impressive handling for what was a grand tourer with a weight of over 1300kg

Kellstone made it his mission to ensure that no matter what, the Bamburgh would stand out amongst the crowds whilst appealing to the high end luxury markets. The swivel-style headlight covers, navy blue brand colour, and extensive chrome trimmings lead to the high value of the car lending itself to the world.

A unique leather to the brand, an eye-pleasing navy blue trims both the doorcards, side panels, dashboard, and seats, matching the body and lending wonders to the styling of the vehicle. Whilst space in the back seats isn’t perfect, the car is more than able to seat adults with a reasonable amount of comfort.

The phrase GTS is placed upon the self-releasing boot lid, with a very deep space for a significant amount luggage and storage, thus making the Bamburgh a wonderful car for holidays and day trips.

Within the trim selection, the Royale package offers an extra set of spotlamps with a sleek yet subtle brushed-metal finish to the lower trim pieces as opposed to the standard chrome of the time. An all-aluminium version of Brooklands 4.5 litre V8 powering the car along to over 160mph, with the ability to woosh along motorways with na’er a worry or cruise beside the coast with the soothing rumble of a Mechanically Injected V8.

The drivers within the International grand turismo rally will be a pair of good friends consisting of Johnathan Kellstone himself, alongside Mark Ryan, an experienced MotorCo service engineer.

Johnanthan Kellstone was, by this time, a long standanding member of Brooklands’ design department and was well aquainted with both his craft and his cars. He frequented Brooklands’ testing area to see the creations he had drawn come to life. A calm, seemingly complacent individual with no real aggressive or harsh strokes, the 47 year old seemed a good fit to take what was his favourite of his cars.

Mark Ryan specialised in engine maintenance and was one of the most knowledgeable of high performance cars. His specialty is a gifted example of skill and intuition with some good diagnosis skills, and is guaranteed to prove itself during the course of the rally. His focus is second to none but he can become frustrated and has been known to resort to calling particularly unforthcoming engines “Idiotic pieces of BMC Sh**” (Particularly when originating from Bramhall Motor Corporation, who refused him a job as a mechanical engineer).


Arrival at the event


As the pair rolled into Highport, they couldn’t help but breathe in the soothing sea air. Together they knew no matter what would happen over their stay they would certainly have an enjoyable break from their respective positions. Kellstone took the time to park up by the jetties, looking out to the boats from his lushious leather seats. The aluminium V8 burbled calmly as they sat there, Mark taking out a cigarette as they exited the car, Kellstone turning the key off and locking his door.

“Don’t make a mess of the thing, this is the one from the International Motor Show and Brooklands wouldn’t be happy with that”

“Say’s the guy who’s work desk looks like Eddie Hampden had a go at it”

The pair laughed as they wandered down towards a local restaurant, now waiting for the event to start.

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Tristella Ciconia GT-5

Though still a relatively young manufacturer having only existed 14 years at this point, there has been undeniable waves it had made since it first officially came into the automotive and especially the automotive racing world. So it may come to some surprise that Tristella aren’t sending a factory effort…

But that does not mean there won’t be a Tristella in the running. Entering into the rally will be a rather factory fresh Tristella Ciconia GT-5. Though the model is a few years old now, this one comes all the improvements since its inception. Though Tristella did build its own engines, they felt something a bit beefier would help it out and did not want to fully commit to building one for this model (when they could go make racecar stuff instead). Thus, its engine since the 1976 model year has been an American Gasmean sourced 5.0l V8, though has been upgraded by Tristella with fuel injection and fancier headers. All in all for performance, the Ciconia has about 320 HP pulling 1300kg.

The interior is pure Italian Fruinian craftsmanship however, handmade and stitched by some of the most skilled craftsmen. There’s not much to say about it, as it speaks for itself.

With the blessing from Tristella, this car will be driven by Alfredo and Cassandra Quattrocchi, a private owner couple with some amateur racing experience between them.

Gallery






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omg two cars released on the same day using the same body… one clearly better with interiors than the other :stuck_out_tongue:

Arion Aquila 8C Pursuit '71

A brutish GT car with revolutionary technology


Shown in Racing Red

Released in 1968, the third generation Arion Aquila shook the GT market with it’s looks, comfort and raw performance. By 1971, the car had it’s “Pursuit” trim grade revealed with an extraordinary engine upgrade.

The base model Aquila was already an exciting car with high horsepower, RWD and just enough room for 4 full passengers, but Arion pushed the car further in 1971 by investing in an entirely new 5 litre V8 with dual overhead cam 4 valve per cylinder heads and mechanical fuel injection, a new technology they had been using on the Celeste and Mythos since 1963.

The facelifted styling had the chrome almost entirely removed with most re-coloured an intimidating black gloss. In 1971 the headlights were changed to hideaway as another styling flair to stand out, that in combination with the long nose, swooped over rear and the big lip spoiler (not a spoiler, fixture lol) gave it a fast look even when stood at a complete standstill.

As the Aquila 8C Pursuit being Arion’s highest trim level, it was equipped with all the latest and future-planned technology; The new 32V DOHC V8 outputting an extreme 371.5hp by 346.5lb-ft, manual 5 speed, vented front disks, a new aerodynamic full clad undertray to help it hit the top speed estimated of being 190mph all whilst maintaining the eloquent comfort of a hand-made interior and luxurious ride of hydrodynamic suspension shared from the Mythos and Celeste platforms.


Gallery

Arion Automotive Thread


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image

Sovernator Chronos 1979

Sovernator is entering the 1979 International Gran Turismo Rally with the Chronos. While the 3l 48 valve V12 racing engine and driveline have been bought in from Howler Automotive (in a suitable tune for a GT offering), most of the rest has been hand-built by the Sovernator team.

Motoring journalism has referred to the car as “the gentlest ride this side of Aladdin’s carpet”. The suspension has been carefully tuned to provide excellent comforts and precise driving response, without losing the sporty spirit.

The engine is remarkably quiet, lest sound levels become tiresome on longer journeys. At the same time, the double-glazed partition between the passenger compartment and engine room contains a sliding glass window with a thinner insert. This allows the sublime noise of the V12, revving to almost 8000rpm, to be invited in for those lovely twisty sections.

Your own bespoke Sovernator Chronos, suitable to your body type and driving preferences, can be ordered for just 800 000 Automa… what? The rules said WHAT? Yes, just 80 000 Automadollars* (*Additional customization fees apply).

The Chronos will be piloted by 62 year old Bernard Brandangle, who started the company more than forty years ago. The mechanic’s role will be fulfilled by 56 year old Alastair Scott, the young whippersnapper who joined a few years later and currently fulfills the duties of Chief Engineer.

Bernard and Alastair had originally planned to join the Tour in a Sovernator Opulence, which is a little bit bigger and more expensive, until they found out that only small engines are allowed.

More Pictures

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IVERA Motors brings to the world a car like no other…

Enter the Alkonost, A unique contender in this year’s Gran Turismo Rally. Powered by A 3.6 liter V8 and 5 speed manual transmission handcrafted by Polaris Industries. Everything else was built in house at IVERA’s Ellisbury plant.

The ride of the car is the subject of praise in motoring culture because it is set up in a way that allows the car to maintain a stable trajectory. The exhaust system allows just the right amount of sound to leak into the surrounding air to allow the driver to hear the V8 engine roar in the winding roads of the Hetvesian Mountains or for it to softly warble as it makes its way across the Dalluhan Desert.

However, this model with the V8 will unfortunately be limited to only 345 examples but, the V6 model will be available for all to buy.

The Alkonost will be driven by veteran IVERA racing driver Matthew P. Weston (59) accompanied by Mechanic John Wesley (47). The car is numbered 42 like all of IVERA’s racing cars.

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1972 ZKF Z4000CSi



Being the final form of the 4th generation Z-series (which was originally launched in 1968), the Z4000CSi is equipped with the newly launched KC-series 4.0 liter SOHC V8, generating 234 horsepower and equipped with high-end kit only seen in more expensive vehicles.

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Pfeil Spressart

caaaaaaar

caaaAAAaaaAAAr

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Less than 36 hours before the event starts - Countdown

So far I have received and processed the following entries:

@TheAlmightyTwingo
@HelloHi
@Riley
@Prium
@SolidSnake
@HighOctaneLove
@cake_ape
@Der_Bayer
@AndiD
@SenseiB12
@donutsnail
@th3maldonado
@Xepy
@Aruna
@HowlerAutomotive
@Mikonp7
@BannedByAndroid
@Arn38fr

You still have time to finish your submission (or even start one), but time is running out. This is shaping up to be quite a competition!


The competition is heating up

giorgio_xsmall jacques_xsmall
by Giorgio Diola and Jacques Dupal

As more teams are showing up, we’re getting worried about the health of our competitiors

JD: Another beautiful day here in Highport today. Everything points to it being sunny for the start of the event, in less than 36 hours now. We’ve had a slew of arrivals in the last two days, what do you think G-man?

GD: This is incredibly exciting. Some local muscles showed as the TransitStar Pan-Gasmea.

JD: We do hope it will keep running beyond the border.

GD: All fingers crossed Jacques. We also have a very dreamy and peeky entry from LACAM, what a beautiful beast. However, the team manager seems to be a bit confused and lost. Jacques, you speak french right? Maybe you could tell them they should officially register for the event.

JD: Already done G-man. Had a talk with him a bit earlier. I’ve also seen the Turból pulling in yesterday. Wasn’t that a NASCAR?

GD: Yes, it seems this is even a Fruinian export of it with a smaller motor, I can’t wait to see who is going to be driving this beast.

JD: And we hope it will be able to last more than a few hours without breaking down.

GD: There are some more homegrown talent with the Brooklands royalty. Lead by the head designer Jonathan Kellstone and his sidekick, fish pie hating engineer, Mark Ryan.

JD: It’s his first time so high north and I heard he did not feel very well after Kellstone forced him to go to Kennies. I hope he will be feeling ok for the start of the race.

GD: Another victim of Kennies. I also heard Kellstone praising the GTS Royal, but Mark will have the toughest job there.

JD: Not throwing up at Kellstone’s leftovers from Kennies?

GD: No. Well yes, but also keeping the car alive - at least he’s excited not to service some shitty Advanta’s all day long. Kellstone is really playing with both his reputation as a great designer and very poor palate here.

JD: Speaking about palate. Mark is also not the only victim of Highport’s gastronomy. Katherine Duquesne had a close encounter with some old and smelly clams.

GD: Maybe not as old as her dad, but it is a challenge to eat well in this town. You’d they they would have fresher seafood here. The young lady driver with the Mons Deimos found that out the hard way with a very infamous crab cake. I am sure they have much fresher seafood down south in Porto Castelfranco.

JD: Let’s get back on track G-man. What did you think of the new Fruinian entry from a couple of amateur racers?

GD: That Tristella is simply striking. Such worksmanship. Same class as the Brooklands, but I am sure they will come with some surprises up their sleeves, I heard Alfredo and Cassandra they had quite a lot of success on the tarmac. Did I see an Arion pulling in as well?

JD: Oh yes you did. Arion has tremendous reputation and we hope they do well here. This looks like a state-of-the-art machine.

GD: 5 litres, 32 valves, dual overhead cam, fuel injection, this is an engineer’s wet dream. The thing is, all contestant brought their A-game here, so this competition is only heating up. Especially with the bespoke Sovernator Chronos I just saw pulling in earlier. Or should I say, screaming in.

JD: Incredible machine and craftmanship. This thing looks like a spaceship mated with a grand prix car…

GD: While eating a wedge of cheese! Speaking of eating cheese. I was talking with the gentlemen from Cisalpina, Luigi and Enzo, two hardened professionals. They practice and practice and prepared some more for this event, preparing pace notes well in advance. Truly remarkable talent… but not the best judgment. They were a bit homesick yesterday and decided to order some fruinian-like “Linguini by the Sea”… it ended being drowned in cheese with extra musky and stale seafood. They had the good sense of leaving this on the table and walking out.

JD: True professionals. Maybe next year, we could think about contestants’ health and ask the organizer to start in Chapelle for some true gastonomy. The guys from Hanyasushin, Hans and Jan, were worried a bit about the older design of their car. However, the biggest threat came from an herring quiche Hans tried to eat here in Highport.

GD: I do not think he’s going to eat another herring anytime soon. Now on to the last few contestants that pulled in. IVERA sent across a beast from the Ellisbury plant. Number 42 will be driven by Matthew and John, two racing veterans. It looks like it will swallow whole its competition.

JD: A true monster. A lot of new competition, quite exciting. Pfeil came strong with their Spressart, straight from Eastern Gasmea.

GD: I love the Pfeil spokeman, always screaming “Caaaaar!”, “caaaaAAAAAaaAAAr!”.

JD: Gotta love some caaaaAAAAARRR enthusiasm! And finally the very muscle-y ZKF with a state of the art SOHC V8, a big 4 litres monster. That is all for now folks, we might be waiting for a few more contestants, but time is running out.

GD: Before we leave, I would be remiss to not leave on a positive note about Highport gastronomy. I had a nice talk about the gentlemen from Archana, Rodin and Jakub on team Mera. It was their first time here in Northern Gasmea and were quite curious about how things were running, especially Jakub Bondov. They had some really good fish and chips here, but were much more concerned with the lead content of the newspaper wrapping the meal. It was quite peculiar tho, right in the middle of our conversation, Jakub vanished. I hope he gets back from his emergency before the start of the race.

JD: Thanks to everyone who showed up in Highport, fans and competitors alike. Now let’s get one last good night sleep before we climb aboard our very generously provided Régal Absynthe V12, a true warrior with a gentle V12 heart, and follow this competition to the end.

OOC: The above blurb are only flavor and based on submission ads - no stats were taken into account in the writing. Comments will be based on them only when the entries are closed.


Topics #2:

  • Do you think you can finish first in the initial leg of the journey and who’s your biggest competition?
  • What will you do when you get to the quaint leisurely town of Oakridge?

OOC: forgot the topics above.

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En route pour Highport!



To participate in this event, Lacam employed the talents of Michèle Mouton and Françoise Conconi. They have both managed to find a small place in their busy schedule. They accepted with pleasure! They are very excited to take part in this event driving such a wonderful car!


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