Germany's roads are enough to give any grown man nightmares. You've heard of the Autobahn, right? As rumor dictates, Germans aren't afraid to give love taps with their front bumpers if you drive too slow. Well, that's no rumor. Here's how they think: "Hey, this guy's going 120 mph! What is he, Dutch? Hmm, maybe if I bump him enough, he'll move!" And so they bump you as if their Audis, Porsches, and BMWs were built for a carnival. They bump you at 120 mph, relentlessly, never skipping a word of their cell phone conversation unless they need to add spice to their flip-off. All this happens while your in-car navigation yells at you like the disgruntled wife of a Third Reich officer because you've missed your ausfahrts, or exits. It's terrifying.
This was how our journey to the legendary Nrburgring began. There we were, Boyd and I, along with three of Falken's PR dudes, packed like licorice in a rental car with all windows blocked by camera gear, suitcases, and duffle bags, careening down a foreign highway at what we assumed to be an adequate speed. Now we know how the elderly feel when they hit the road. Zooming all around us were curious Germans, busy Germans, irate Germans, and the occasional Dutch slow-ass. They all honked at us as if we were George Dubya himself, and we just had to pretend that they were big fans of Super Street, otherwise we would have wet ourselves. And we really didn't need that, since it was already raining.
So it makes sense that the Japanese Falken team came ghastly well-prepared to the 'Ring with a smoking-hot car, this Skyline GT-R R34, a vehicle that has likely burned through an entire Japanese forest full of rubber trees during its time on the track. Why a Skyline in a race dominated by Bimmers, Vipers, and Opels? Because the team wanted to be ready for anything. The crew knew the track conditions and weather changed by the minute. It had practiced every dangerous chicane, tuned each bolt on the car, and knew the shocking feeling of plowing into an immovable redwood. After all, this was the team's fifth year in the race. It's not like it was a newbie. Plus, Falken is Japanese. Is a Porsche GT? Nope.
Back in 1999, Falken started things off right by creating a monster of a Skyline GT-R 33, usurping Sixth Place like it was taking a leisurely cruise down Sunset Boulevard. And yet, 1999 was the first year the team took on the Nrburgring. Unfortunately, beginner's luck sloughed off the team real quick. Come 2000, fortune faded like Nutella dumped Kobe: fast, sudden, and right when everyone was looking. In a new, gigantically tuned Supra, the Falken team seemed to be headed for another Top 10 spot, until its driver got cut off and took the scenic route via a riotous blast through the safety fence. Falken busted out the GT-R 33 to salvage the event, which jetted up to Fifth Place until the clock counted down to the final 40 minutes. That's when the team's race jockey ate the Skyline's transmission by shifting like a driver's ed student, dropping the car, and Falken, out of the race.
Then 2001 comes along, the debut year of Falken's use of the virgin Skyline GT-R R34, but the sake was just not destined to flow quite yet. Though the vehicle proved to be enormously rugged, an internal powertrain injury caused the R34 to commit suicide by shutting down and sitting in the middle of the track. Falken threw out another R34 it had been tuning in reserve, one that crashed during a preliminary round, but the team just didn't have enough time to repair the extensive damage thoroughly enough to take home a top spot.
Frustration mounting, it seemed that Falken would never pull off another victorious finish like its first time around.