CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: Road to the final race, part 2.
As Gavin revved the engine one last time, checking the latest tune, he took a quick glance at Yui; his opponent was driving her car slowly to the starting line, where she stopped. Gavin pressed the clutch, engaged first gear and gently let go off the clutch, allowing the car to move forward. He lined his Berlose up with the Yajiri, and got out of it. The drivers walked towards each other, shaking hands.
“I’m Gavin Anderson.” - Said the journalist. “Yui Takeda. Good luck out there.” - Replied the woman, as she got back into her car again, strapping herself to the seat; as she did so, she took a look at Gavin’s car. Looked like he had also chosen the heavy, high powered approach. Gavin strapped himself to the seat as well, and both engines were ignited: the growl from Gavin’s V6 fought agains the rumble of Yui’s V8, as the crowd cheered at the sound of the engines, muffled only by the catalytic converter.
The organizer stood between the vehicles; he raised his arms and started counting down. “Nine, eight, seven, six…!”. - As the man counted down, Yui caressed the upshift paddle, and Gavin pressed the clutch and engaged first gear. The throttle pedals were blipped by their throttle-happy drivers, revving the engines as the start of the race got closer and closer. “Three, two, one…!”.
“GO!”.
(Race’s theme!)
Yui pressed the upshift paddle. Gavin let go off the clutch, quickly but steadily.
The cars launched forward, their tyres squealing as the rubber tried to grip the road, some of it being left behind as skidmarks. The smoke launched by the rear tyres burning out soon soaked the ambient; the cars were finally able to grip the road and start accelerating. The first straight would be their first test. As the cars screamed their way to redline, the Yajiri started getting the upper hand thanks to its gearing; Gavin found himself forced to draft behind Yui to keep up.
The two cars blitzed through the first two turns, powersliding them. The people at the sides of the road were, once again, impressed by the swiftness these tuned cars were able to reach. Both cars started approaching the first hairpin; as they did, Yui pressed the downshift paddles, downshifting her way to second gear. Gavin, on the other hand, downshifted by heel-toeing, rev matching through every gear until he engaged second. Both cars entered the hairpin, gripping it and using the late apex technique. Yui looked through her rear view mirror. “Huh, looks like this journalist has some talent. He’s keeping up”. - She thought. “Damn, she’s fast. Keeping up is going to be a nightmare” - Thought Gavin.
Both cars exited the first hairpin and entered the second. Yui gripped the road again, with Gavin not too far behind. As the cars exited the hairpin and entered the first high speed section, the gap started widening slowly. “Am I the light car this time? It’s been the other way around the previous races! Will I have to overtake her at the corners?” - Thought Gavin, unaccostumed to being the lightest car of the two. “Alright, Yui, he’s gonna try to pass you at the corners. You better keep your focus.” - Though Yui. Both cars reached the third hairpin, with Gavin closing the gap again during the braking. He dropped his wheels into the gutter, trying to overtake the Yajiri; however, Yui dropped her wheels into the gutter too, avoiding an attempt from Gavin to overtake her.
Gavin gritted his teeth. “Alright, seems like a gutter run is not going to work. Let’s try something else.” - He thought. The racers entered the fourth hairpin; Gavin tried to take the outside, and use the late apex technique. Unfortunately for him, Yui started drifting at the mid of the corner, to block any attempt from him to overtake. Both racers started sweating: none of the two could overtake or get rid of the other; this was going to be harder than expected. Yui and Gavin exited the hairpin, entering the second high speed section, the fastest one.
Gavin managed to keep up by drafting. The two entered the medium speed corners before the fifth hairpin; there, the journalist tried to tried to trick Yui into believing he would attack on the inside and then steering to the outside, but she didn’t fall into the trap: she knew these tricks from the track, where they were used daily. Yui took a glance at her rear view mirror, checking that Gavin was still there. But she looked at it for too long. When she looked back at the road, the fifth hairpin was just in front of her! She slammed on the brakes, and Gavin took advantage of her mistake, passing her on the inside of the road, and pushing outwards as the corner went on.
Both cars entered the third and final high speed section of the course. Gavin floored it, and Yui managed to keep up by drafting, but she was nowhere near able to overtake Gavin. “This mistake…focus, Yui, for fucks sake.” - She thought. Both cars gripped the sixth hairpin, and entered the corners before the five consecutive hairpins.
Gavin and Yui reached the five consecutive corners. Gavin drifted them, one after one, to avoid any attempt from Yui to be successful. Yui kept attacking, but each and every attack was unsuccessful. The cars exited the five consecutive hairpins, and entered the final one. Yui tried to overtake Gavin by dropping her wheels into the gutter, but he did the same thing, maintaining his first place. “Yui…it’s over.” - She thought. “C’mon Gavin, you got this!” - Thought the journalist, unable to help but smile. Both cars entered the last short straight, and Yui looked at the road. “Wait…if I stick by the inside…” - The Yajiri driver thought.
The final section went on fast, but Yui managed to keep up. Both cars approached the last turn and…Gavin then realized that Yui was on the inside. She dived into the turn, dropping her wheels into the gutter one more time, and started pushing outwards; Gavin looked at his right, completely horrified.
At the other side of the turn, the crowd that was there was holding their breath, keeping completely silent. The racers would arrive any second now.
The Yajiri appeared first, with the Berlose behind. During the final straight, Yui widened the gap by flooring the throttle pedal, crossing the line first. She turned around and waited for Gavin to start climbing again.
The cars didn’t take long to get back to the summit. As soon as they arrived, people broke into an applause. A few moments later, the organizer asked everyone to be silent.
“The time has come. The final race will be Nicholas Justinian against Yui Takeda, and the winner will drive out of Haruna with a million yens. But people, did you think the night was over? I’m afraid not. The final race will be…NOW. Racers, get ready!”.
(Play this theme now).
Nicholas looked at Yui, like he was planning to kill her. He got into his car, ignited the engine and did a burnout on his way to the starting line; the place was filled up with tyre smoke and burnt rubber again. Yui watched Nicholas get into position with a cold stare, trying to analyze him; as soon as Nicholas arrived at the starting point, she lined her car up with his. Both racers got out of their respective vehicles, and walked towards each other. The organizer stopped between both cars for the last time.
The last race is on.
To be continued.
Times spreadsheet:
But I guess this art is ok
