1972: Innovation, Executives and Grit: Part 2
The Board had steadily reduced funding for the racing team, preferring to redirect its resources and expertise towards the road-going Castelfranco. This left Kurosake Racing with little more than a small workshop in Fruinia, where Franco Lissa and a handful of experienced racing mechanics continued to develop upgrades and carry out repairs on the Ni-Ju.
Then, one night, a truck arrived at the workshop carrying a crate. Inside was a Castelfranco chassis, a set of blueprints, and a note from Shinji Kurosake. It read:
“Franco,
Even if the Board doesn’t want us to race, that doesn’t mean we can’t work on our own project. You didn’t need my permission to build a racing Ichi back then, and you don’t need it now to build a proper Castelfranco. I bought this car for you and the team. Do whatever you want with it. I know you can turn it into a winning machine.”
From that point on, the racing team began working on the Castelfranco as a secret project. Since it could not appear in Kurosake’s corporate records, the programme would have to rely on external funding. Fortunately, Franco knew someone who might be willing to help.
As the Board continued cutting the racing budget, Kurosake was forced to retire the #3 Ni-Ju, concentrating its remaining efforts on the Gasmea-backed #4 and the privateers who purchased the car, supporting them through workshop repairs and upgrade packages. Hermann Estrom, one of the former #3 drivers, had returned to Hetvesia to compete in touring car races and rally events. His versatility across mixed surfaces and consistent results in the Hetvesian Touring Car and Rally Championships had earned him a strong reputation. Aware of his achievements, Lissa contacted him with a proposal to invest in the Castelfranco programme.
Estrom had saved a considerable amount during his endurance racing career and added to it with his recent victories at home. Already considering the creation of his own team, he accepted Franco’s offer. In 1973, Hermann and his brother Marcus founded Estrom Racing, agreeing to support the Castelfranco project on the condition that Hermann would drive the car himself. They subsequently secured the backing of several Hetvesian sponsors to finance their entry into the championship.
Kurosake Racing developed the Castelfranco Rallye to comply with Group 4 regulations, allowing the car to compete in both touring car and rally events. However, the team concentrated its development efforts on rallying. Improvements to the engine internals and tuning of the KV6 S28 raised output to 200 hp, while fibreglass body panels and a stripped interior reduced the car’s weight from 868 to 832 kg. Larger tyres and brakes completed the package, preparing the Castelfranco for the demands of competitive rallying.
With the new car ready, Estrom Racing planned to compete in the inaugural Global Rally Championship season in 1973, alongside local rally events. The team, however, still needed to settle its driver pairing.
During their junior years, Hermann and Marcus had competed together in amateur rallies, with Hermann driving and Marcus serving as his co-driver. The brothers had secured several victories and promising results before Hermann was called up by Kurosake. By then, he had become a considerably faster and more aggressive driver. During the initial tests, Marcus was shocked by his brother’s driving style, and the Castelfranco’s increased speed only made matters worse. He eventually admitted that he could not perform effectively as a co-driver while being so afraid of what might happen on the road.
With the first rally less than a month away, Estrom Racing was struggling to find someone capable of keeping up with Hermann. Word spread throughout the Hetvesian racing scene until a sponsor recommended a candidate few would have expected to join an emerging privateer team.
Gertrud, (Trudy) von Eisenrath was the daughter of Friedrich von Eisenrath, Count of Kauderdamm, and his wife, Frieda von Kronenfels, Countess of Riemsgau. Both the Eisenrath and Kronenfels royal houses had strong military traditions, requiring their members to become proficient in a military branch of their choosing.
Gertrud joined the Hetvesian Air Force at just 19, becoming one of the country’s first women to fly fighter jets. Her royal bloodline granted her access to opportunities rarely available to ordinary citizens, but her consistently excellent grades and aptitude for aviation proved she was more than a product of her privilege. Despite her strong performance, she had little interest in a desk-bound future. Her appointment as an instructor eventually brought her active flying career to an end, much to her disappointment.
She later entered rallying as a navigator alongside her cousin, Wilhelm von Eisenwacht, Baron of Schuffental. The pair competed in three editions of the Hetvesian Rally Championship, winning the title twice. Their partnership ended tragically during the 1971 edition. While competing on the Weishorn stage, the pair went off route and crashed. Wilhelm was killed, while Gertrud sustained serious injuries. Rescue teams managed to extract her from the wreckage and airlift her to a hospital, where she spent six months recovering.
The physical recovery was only part of the ordeal. The crash left Gertrud deeply traumatised, and the loss of her cousin weighed heavily on her. Following intensive therapy, she seriously considered retiring from rallying altogether. Her family also opposed the idea of her returning to a sport that had already cost them so much. Nevertheless, Gertrud eventually decided to compete again, despite the emotional burden of the accident. When she learned that Estrom Racing was searching for a navigator, she offered her services.
During the initial test, Hermann pushed the Castelfranco hard, maintaining the aggressive driving style that had unsettled Marcus. Gertrud, however, delivered her pace notes accurately and maintained a remarkably steady voice throughout the run. Hermann was impressed by her composure, particularly given the speed at which he was driving. Despite her previous accident and the psychological strain of returning to competition, she demonstrated the concentration and precision required to work alongside him. The test confirmed that Gertrud was the right choice. Estrom Racing finally had its crew, and the team was ready for the opening event of the season:… the Rally Hetvesia.
The Weishorn stage presented Gertrud with a particularly difficult challenge. returning to it meant confronting the place associated with one of the most painful experiences of her life. Nevertheless, she remained composed as the Castelfranco tackled the steep mountain roads, where tarmac and icy conditions demanded constant attention. Hermann pushed the car to its limits, trusting Gertrud’s calls as they navigated the dangerous terrain. This time, she was able to maintain her focus and work in rhythm with her driver, allowing the pair to complete the stage without hesitation. And then, Estrom Racing secured its first rally victory with a convincing performance.
The result marked the beginning of an exceptionally successful season. Hermann and Gertrud went on to win regional rallies in succession before taking on the inaugural Global Rally Championship. Facing established competitors and considerably better-funded teams, the pair delivered the results needed to secure the championship for Kurosake.
For Franco Lissa, the victory proved that the racing division still had something to offer despite the Board’s efforts to scale it back. Nevertheless the message made all the way to Basara.
In 1976, Kurosake unveiled a facelift of the Castelfranco, with its development focused primarily on improving reliability and reducing weight. These goals were reflected in an extensive redesign of the bodywork, which gave the car a refreshed appearance while retaining its sporting character. The pop-up headlights were replaced with conventional units, and the front ventilation grille was enlarged to improve airflow. Under the bonnet, the KV6 engine was revised, with its displacement reduced from 2.8 to 2.6 litres. This change brought power down to 150 hp, delivering a more consistent power curve while allowing the engine to comply with the new WES6 emissions standard introduced by the Fruinian Government. The facelift was intended to make the Castelfranco a more affordable and accessible sports car, offering a sportier approach that would allow more enthusiasts to get behind the wheel of one of the decade’s benchmark sporting machines. The new Sport Go (“5”) also introduced a wider selection of vibrant paint finishes, giving customers greater freedom to choose their preferred colour instead of being limited to the original Castelfranco’s grey, gold, and bronze shades. For those seeking a more refined appearance, the distinctive anodizing process remained available as a discreet option.
The introduction of new regulations for sports car racing in 1976 opened the door to a new branch of top-tier competition for production-based vehicles through the Group 5 category. Franco Lissa advised Shinji and the Board that a successful campaign in these championships, particularly those held across Hetvesia, could significantly improve Kurosake’s international reputation and support its ambitions for expansion into new markets. Until then, the company’s name had primarily been associated with prototype racing in Gasmea and Hetvesia, and entering a Group 5 race car would provide an opportunity to introduce Kurosake’s road-going vehicles to audiences in both countries. The Board was already familiar with the success of the original Castelfranco in rally competition with Estrom Racing, as well as the consistently respectable results achieved by the racing division despite its limited funding. Recognizing the potential of this new category to strengthen the brand’s presence beyond prototype racing, the Board approved a dedicated racing programme based on the Sport Go, establishing the foundation for a new competition platform.
The Kurosake Racing Team was entrusted with the project, and development began in its specialized workshop in Fruinia, where Franco Lissa led the creation of the Group 5 Castelfranco alongside the ongoing Group 6 prototype programme. Rather than relying on the standard road-going engine, Lissa and the racing mechanics reworked the KV6 engine block into a high-performance, modular racing powerplant designed to serve multiple competition applications. The result was the KV6 R26T, a highly tuneable 2.6-litre engine developed for Group 5 and Group 6 racing vehicles. Equipped with an integrated turbocharger, the engine could produce up to 500 hp in race specification, representing a substantial increase over the road-going unit. This new powerplant gave Kurosake a flexible foundation for its racing efforts, combining the compact architecture of the original KV6 with the performance potential required to compete at the highest levels of sports car racing.
As for the car itself, the transformation went far beyond a simple mechanical upgrade. Only the doors, hood, roof, and trunk remained unchanged from the original Sport Go, as the bodywork required extensive modifications to accommodate the enormous width of the racing tyres, the enlarged fenders, and the additional aerodynamic elements demanded by the regulations. These changes gave the car a dramatically more aggressive stance, with its widened silhouette reflecting the increasingly extreme nature of production-based racing. The result was a visceral racing machine developed to compete in both the Global Sportscar Tournament and the Hetvesian Mastercraft Championship, the latter having also adopted the Group 5 regulations for its domestic series.
Estrom Racing led the factory-backed effort in both the GST and HMC, fielding the car with a selection of amateur drivers, while Hermann continued pursuing his rally career. Even Marcus himself took part in half a season of the HMC, joining the growing number of drivers who competed with the new machine. Alongside the factory-supported entries, numerous privateers also campaigned the car, particularly in the Hetvesian championship, where the Group 5 regulations provided a new opportunity for independent teams to compete. Nevertheless, fierce competition and reliability problems associated with the experimental turbocharger made it difficult for the Castelfranco to secure a major victory in the HMC’s sprint races. Its performances in the GST were more encouraging, with several podium finishes demonstrating its potential, although the car ultimately failed to claim the GT class title. These setbacks, however, did little to diminish its popularity among enthusiasts. Spectators praised the CF Sports Go for the distinctive sound of its roaring V6, accompanied by the unmistakable surge of its turbocharger, while its overall competitiveness was evident in the numerous pole positions it secured despite its mechanical shortcomings. Beyond its results on the track, the car became a memorable representation of the extremes that the Group 5 regulations had come to encourage.
Dont forget to visit the video and photo Gallery at the start of the forum to have more content of Kurosake
Castelfranco Lineup Photo Gallery
CF Rallye (SP)
Car file (made for BeamNG too):
Kurosake_Motors_Co__-_Castelfranco_Rallye.car (342.5 KB)
CF Group 5 (SP)
Car file (made for BeamNG too):
Kurosake_Motors_Co__Clone_-_CF_Sport_Go_G5.car (339.4 KB)
(SP): Vehicles marked with the SP tag were not built in the game’s campaign. Instead, they were created in Sandbox Mode as special projects, representing unique versions or racing vehicles that were never intended for mass production.
Castelfranco Lineup Video Resumee
Special Thanks and Introduction of Kurosake Time trials
I also want to give a special thanks @Racetro for lending his Njords to give this story to have a richer depth and @Izuna with his incredible work into the Group 5 spec that really fit like a glove as a rival for the CF group 5, if you didnt check out his storytelling series i recomend you to do so, the Njord series really expand the automation world lore.
On the second Hand, for all of autobeam fans, seeing that we already got a pretty good amount of diferent vehicles and if you didnt catch up yet the video series, all vehicles compare their performance in a time trial on the automation test track in beamng for the road focused cars, while the Castelfranco Rallye inagurated the dirt focused vehicles in the dirt stage of the same map. In the first post of this forum will be posted the times of each vehicle, but is open to anyone who wants to challenge these times simple rules will be posted there and if you manage to beat the Kurosake stablished time or a time stablished by other user you will be feature in the time results table.
And last but not less important, thanks to you for reading and supporting this series, this chapter really drained me out, while the next idea is conceptually complete, i will take a time generating all the images and storytelling.