Clunker run, Eastern style (Part 1)
The three friends Marina, Jurij and Jevgenij (‘Jeff’) sat on the porch of Marina’s dacha* [or bach, for you New Zealanders] overlooking Lake Mara. All three were car enthusiasts and keen amateur racers in a local rallycross club. “Have you seen the ad about the upcoming 24h clunker run?”, Jurij asked. “It’s hosted by the Swedish Trafikjournalen magazine at a track over there. It’s not too far away… so we could actually participate.”
Jeff shook his head and gestured Jurij to hand over the car magazine Jurij had been leafing through for the last couple of minutes. “Höljesbanan?”, Jeff said, stumbling over the pronunciation. “I think I heard of this track. All corners, barely a straight. If we want to participate, then my Kavaler is out. We’d be just fighting wheelspin all day.” As indicated by his nickname, Jeff was regarded to be born and living in the wrong country, and fittingly his rallycross vehicle of choice was a 1988 1st gen Mara Kavaler with a 5l V8.
Technically far outside common rallycross categories, Jeff was still allowed to start in the highest class in the local club due to the audible and visible entertainment value the old pushrod V8-driven huge and heavy ‘muscle car’ with its engineering roots in (and looks of) the 70s provided. His usual moment of glory came right after the start of each race - due to superior horsepower - and predictably ended after the second or third corner when most other cars had already managed to outmaneuver him. “So that leaves either Marina’s Zvezda or Jurij’s Irena.”
The friends’ view* as they discuss their particpation in the Trafikjournalen 24h clunker run.
“I’d say my Irena”, Jurij said without hesitation. “Rear-wheel drive, as a true racecar should be, nimble and has actual competitive pedigree. You know, it even won a stage in that GT rally in the 70s…”
Always one for nostalgia, Jurij keeps his 1996 Irena SX 2.5 in the same livery as the 1970s one-off GT coupe that had won a stage or two in an international GT rally event. It’s not uncommon to find the car up on a hoist.
“That was not your car”, Marina interrupted, her fierce blue eyes piercing Jurij, reliving a discussion she’d had with him countless times. “That was a distant cousin, specially engineered just for that event… which has nothing in common with some 24hr clunker rallycross event.” She held her hand up as she wanted to continue over Jurij’s objections. “And no way I put up with that ancient gearbox in your car for 24hrs. My Zvezda is the newest, most reliable, with its factory AMM tune arguably the fastest and also easiest to drive of all three of our cars. And…”, she added, with a wink in her eye, “… the only one with an engine from the current century that I actually might be able to re-tune on the spot for the 95 RON petrol we’ll be able to get up there.”
What Marina may lack in sense of nostalgia, she makes up for in patriotism. She keeps her 2010 Zvezda SX 2.3 in her home country’s three colours: black, red, and yellow since the one time the only replacement bonnet she could find on short notice was in this odd yellow. The bonnet is adorned with the obligatory white star.
“With our collective experience in rallycross”, Jeff weighed in, “we might actually have a shot. A lot can happen in 24h, but I say we should take that opportunity and give it our best from the start.”
“Front-wheel drive…”, Jurij sighed. “Driving your car is less fun, and it is also less iconic than mine. None of our cars is going to make it through all of the 24hrs unscathed anyway. Why not take the one that’s the most fun to drive?”
Marina immediately reacted to give her reply, but then hesitated for a second…
* courtesy of the current state of my attempt to model the Autoverse gameworld in Transport Fever 2.