Roar Of The V8s

The next day
Queensland Raceway, 11:00 am

Viral, Akula, and Chrysalis had brought the cars a few miles down the road to the track by semi and had just finished unloading them. This track that they had arrived at was a very nice track for Viral to learn how to operate how to drive a V8 Supercar, given the track was very short. The average time to complete a lap in a Supercar was just over a minute, only a few seconds longer than the shortest lap in the whole season.

Now that she was fully invested into the idea, Viral was eager to get inside the Holden and see just how a V8 Supercar operated. Akula and Chrysalis rolled her #24 Commodore into the pit lane and quickly set up the garage area with their magic. The #98 Commodore soon joined the garage and everything was ready.

Oddly enough, her Holden was a right sided car. This was something she was not used to, due to being an American. Thankfully, Akula had been driving on the right the whole of his life, so she hoped she could adjust quickly. Akula helped her get strapped into the seat, and with some assistance from Chrysalis was wheeled out on the starting grid. Shortly after, Akula was out right next to her.

"How you feeling V?" Akula asked over the radio.

"Aside from my seating position, it's something I'm well used to from other places." Viral replied, still coming to grips with the feeling of sitting on what was (to her at least) the wrong side of the car.

"Yeah, different being on the right side of the car like the rest of us Aussies. But I'm sure it will be easy for you to adjust. Everything is just on the opposite side." Akula then talked her through how to operate a V8 Supercar, from the shifter and the pedals and even every button on the steering wheel. Essentially, it was mostly the same as the Ferrari 488 she drove while in IMSA. Except, everything was the wrong way round.

"Okay. put the car in gear and let's go! Remember, pull back to shift up, push forward to shift down," Akula told her, firing up his Commodore and pulling in front of her. Viral just let a breath out, as she fired up the 5.0L naturally aspirated V8 engine in the front. The loud roar of the engine was almost deafening, had Viral not been wearing her helmet. Shifting into first, and gingerly, she poured on the gas and accelerated down the Dick Johnson Straight, being easy with the controls. She knew that she was controlling a 650 bhp RWD monster she had no experience in, so she was just going to take it easy for a bit.

It didn't take long for her to complete a lap around Queensland Raceway, thanks to a map of the track on her steering wheel stopping her from getting lost on the track. Once she was around, the tyres were warmed and she was starting to get comfortable with the car. So, he began to pick up speed and follow Akula as he began to get to race pace.

A few more laps around and V was closing in on Akula. But she was never truly able to reel him in. But she wasn't expecting to be faster than him at all, so this was perfectly normal. The changeling knew more about this sport than her and he even had much more experience in Supercars than the pegasus did, him being from Australia and all.

After a while, Akula checked in with her via radio. "How you feeling, V?"

"God, I may be used to this now, but this is just not normal for me. It's weird. Every single time I try to reach for the shifter, I keep thinking it's on my right, when it's on my left. Everytime I try to reach for it, I got for my right, then realize it's on my left and overrev my car before I upshift. Costing me valuable seconds," Viral explained.

Akula didn't reply for a few seconds, but he then thought of something. "Hmmmm... Okay, try this. When you are going down the straights, keep your left hoof on the shifter and your right on the wheel. When you need to shift up, use the hoof that's not on the wheel to shift up or down. And when going through a corner, use both hooves and remember to put your left back on the shifter. Just do that until you are used to having the shifter on the left side, okay? Worked for me the whole time while we were in America for the Equestrian Cup,"

Viral thought for a second and decided it was worth a shot. She placed her hoof on shifter to her left and kept her right hoof on the wheel going down the straights and downshifting while breaking. And after a few more laps, it actually seemed to be working. The delays between her and her upshifts were gone and she began closing in on Akula's time.

After a while, she was starting to get the hang of her Commodore. But then, a surprising voice came in over her radio. "Alright, V. Bring it in this lap, need to give the bugs some pit practice,"

Viral was shocked. She knew that accent. "Neon, is that you?"

"Haha, you were expecting somepony else?"

"Great to have you on the team, Neon! Don't know how I would cope without you,"

Viral followed the radio instructions and pulled into the pits, slowing down to a safe speed of 60 kph. Then, she saw their pit box. Every single member of the pit crew were changelings, unreformed ones, all dressed in pit crew fire suits and helmets. Most held pneumatic wrenches with two others holding a fuel hose.

Viral pulled into the box and came to a stop. Even while the car was still moving, the changelings on the tyres reached out and undid all four nuts as the car came to a stop. As the car did, another changeling inserted a spike into a slot in the car's window. The moment it went it, multiple pneumatic jacks in the ground inside the box raised the car up off the ground, allowing the undone wheels to be easily pulled off. Once the wheels were clear, the changelings on the wheels grabbed a fresh set of tyres and sliding it back onto the spindel, using the guns to tighten the nuts back onto the car. Once all of the tyres were back on, the spike man released the spike and dropped the car back onto the ground as Viral then raced off back out of the pits.

All of that in just under 10 seconds.

The little training session went on for quite a while, Viral getting more and more used to the 500 horsepower, RWD Supercar she would be driving. But still, she was having trouble. And it was time for her to move on. Akula pulled off the track, much to Viral's horror.

"Okay, V. Show me what you can do with that thing! Show me a few solo laps!" Akula spoke to her, pulling into the pits and garage. But now, V was very nervous. Her one guide around the track was now gone. And she began to lose her concentration multiple times and ended up binning her Commodore into the gravel trap at Turn 1.

Viral could only just sit there in her seat, controlling her breathing to calm herself down. "V? V, are you okay?" Akula asked, genuine concern all within his tone.

"Y-yeah... I'm okay," V replied.

It only took a few minutes for the changelings to dig Viral and her Commodore out of the gravel and bring her back to the garage. Akula helped her friend out of her car, as the mechanics got to work fixing up her car. "V, what happened?" He asked.

Viral just sighed. "I couldn't handle it when you pulled off the track. I don't know what came over me... but I just couldn't hold my own alone. I'm sorry,"

Akula wrapped a hoof around Viral. "Hey, no need to be sorry about something you can't control. We'll work on getting your confidence over the coming weeks. We are going to do this together, mark my words," Akula gave Viral a quick hug, which Viral easily accepted.

After that, the changelings began to pack up the cars and equipment back into the trailers, hoping to call it a day for now. Almost everyone had hopped back into their cars and the truck and they were ready to head home. Well, almost everyone...

Just as Viral was hoping to get back home and hop back into the trailer, Neon stopped her at the door. And she did not look happy with her one bit. "So," She spat at her pegasus friend, "Where has your crimson ass been for last month?"