Rising From The Ashes
The two founding members of RallyStar, Yuanrang and Iron Chef, formed the team as an Initial D Arcade Stage team in the Summer of 2004. Since the two drove ST205's a car that formerly competed in the World Rally Championship, the created the team under the stipulation that all members had to drive a car that was eligible to run in the WRC. The team began practicing on their local Version 2 machines, and they played for many months until the managers of the arcade committed the first dreadful act of many. Profits from the V2 machines were lagging, because of bad maintenance on the machines, and the arcade decided to sell off the machines. Wangan Midnight: Maximum Tune machines were brought in to replace the Initial D V2 machines, and though the game was good, it still had taken the place of Initial D, and for that, the team spurned it. However, RallyStar was left with only Version 1 machines, and the two members were forced to find new cars.
Not long after the Version 2 machines were replaced, the team members chose the capable Silvia to replace their lost GT-Fours. Practice resumed, yet RallyStar, the proud rally cars only team, could no longer continue. Soon though an idea for a team comprised of only S-Chassis cars sprouted and the new team Garage S was born. It was at this time that Yuanrang decided to try his hand at Maximum Tune, as well. Choosing a Silvia S15, he found that the game bore a striking resemblance to Tokyo Xtreme Racer, the popular home console game. The lure of another great racing game proved too much, and the highway branch of Garage S was formed.
Several months passed, when one day the team found out that the arcade had again committed a dreadful act. Since the days of Initial D Version 2, the arcade-goers had become bored with the Version 1 machine, and profits lagged. Once again, the local team had Initial D take away from them, only this time, the replacement was worse. Fast and the Furious was a blatant Cruisin' USA rip-off, with NOS, huge wings, and bad paint jobs, and yet here it sat, in the place of the once proud Initial D. Left with no other option, Yuanrang turned the brunt of his attention to Maximum Tune, and as a result, the highway branch of the team flourished.
Bringing Rally To The Streets
An long period of time passed, with only the only activity on RallyStar coming from the highway branch, when Yuanrang decided it was time to put his efforts into finding another Initial D machine. After following rumors of a Version 3 machine in Southern Maryland, Yuanrang's love of the mountain racing game was rekindled.
After a weekend of watching World Rally Championship replays, an idea came to Yuanrang. The techniques that rally drivers used to traverse stages in the shortest amount of time could still lend themselves to use on mountain passes or busy highways. Almost every situation was encountered on the rally stages, from the tight hairpins and slopes characteristic of mountain passes, to the long, sweeping corners, and obstacles of highways. That, combined with a love for the rising motorsport of drifting, sparked a decision. Keiichi Tsuchiya, the veteran racer and "Drift King" once said something along these lines: "I drift not because it is the fastest way through a corner, I drift because it is the most exciting way through a corner."
It was then that Yuanrang decided to bring back the old RallyStar name, and focus more on the techniques, rather than the cars, of rally racing. And so, RallyStar as it is today, a celebration of the refined techniques used to traverse treacherous mountain passes and congested highways. All within the safety of our virtual worlds, of course.
Team Regulations
Team RallyStar prefers to concentrate on driver technique first, then the strengths and weaknesses of cars. That way, members can learn the fundamentals of racing, and then choose a car that suits the situation accordingly. Typically members have one or two main cars that they use. However, having too many cars is not a bad, thing, unless you do not spend time to familiarize yourself with each one. Take time to use and tune each of your cars, so you can have the choice of drivetrains and setups when battling.
RallyStar is not concered with how good you are at the games, just that you have fun playing them and want to improve. Members are expected to have a good attitude and be generally respectful. Cheating, fishing, flaming, ramming, and any other offensive tactics are frowned upon by the team. Also, the use of the "gear gacha" glitch in Maximum Tune is condemned by RallyStar. The so-called technique is no more than an exploitation of a glitch in the game, and is also heavily damaging to the machines.
Currently, RallyStar is only located in Maryland, though we are looking to expand throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, and eventually even further throughout the United States. If you are interested in joining RallyStar, simply contact Yuanrang through one of the forums, or through his E-mail, which can be reached here.
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