Run That Race

16TH MARCH 2024

------ALBERT PARK CIRCUIT, MELBOURNE------

It was almost 3:00pm here in Melbourne, which meant it was 11:00pm back in Canterlot City. It was qualifying day for the first race of the first season of the 2024 FIA Road Car World Championship. This was the one motorsport that everyone was excited for. All of the hotels near the track were fully booked out, filled with racing fans who had travelled from all of the world, including countries such as Sweden, Hawaii, and Colombia to watch this. It was highly hyped, and everyone was here to watch it, no matter what gender they were, or what cars they preferred.

While most people were excited to see some of the good drivers hit the track, everyone was wondering how well Sunset would do on the track. They had seen some videos that had been taken during the pre-season testing, but a lot of people wanted to see what she could do in an actual race. To them, the testing was like a typical track day, albeit with much more expensive and harder to handle cars. This was the real deal, the place where their skills would truly be put to the test.

As Sunset had predicted, the previous month, after Rarity had punched the intrusive paparazzi in the face, the video of the incident had gone viral online, and some people were saying that Sunset's 'entitled fashion designer friend' had recklessly assaulted a journalist in an unprovoked attack, but most people sided with Rarity, saying that the paparazzi had been extremely intrusive, and deserved that punch.

Despite the fact that it was quite late in the night in Canterlot City, Sunset knew her friends were probably watching this, even if it was just qualifying. They probably wouldn't be able to catch the actual race, since it would be a Sunday night back in the US, when it was Sunday afternoon in Australia. She had already copied down her notes before the race, and there was no homework to finish. As Sunset got ready for her session, Comet Flash came up to Sunset. "Sunset, I'd like to speak to you. In private." said Flash.

That surprised Sunset. Comet Flash had never asked to speak to her like this. It must be important, if that was the case. They went off to a corner of the pit booth where no one was present. Here, one he made sure they were out of hearing distance, Comet Flash began speaking. "I know what you did to Rash Rider back during testing was on purpose."

"What do you mean? That incident between me and him in Abu Dhabi was his fault!" said Sunset.

"Don't try to fool me, Sunset. I was a racer myself, remember, and I have more than 20 years of experience in the world of racing, so I know what its like, being new to this world, wanting to get back at other drivers. Believe me, I know very well." said Comet Flash, with a cool but stern demeanor. Sunset could tell that he knew about what happened that day at Yas Marina Circuit. Knowing that there was no point in lying, Sunset decided to come clean about it to Comet Flash.

"Fine, yeah, I did that on purpose. I was so mad at Rash Rider hitting me, that I purposely just used his own move against him. I aggressively slammed the door, and purposely caused him to spin out. Truth be told, I was so angry that I even was hoping he might crash." said Sunset, in shame.

"Sunset, I know that you were mad at him, but you can't just purposely try to force a rival into a wreck! That could get you black-flagged from a race, and it also ruins drivers' reputations! Plus, have you forgotten, that this isn't RaceWorld, and that this is real life?!" asked Comet Flash, angry with Sunset.

"I know, but I forgot that I couldn't let my anger get the better of me..." said Sunset, now red-faced in shame and embarassment.

"You FORGOT?! One simply does not 'forget' one of the golden rules of racing like that!" said Comet Flash, who was now rather unhappy with Sunset. "Look, I already told you this at pre-season testing, but you can't just lose your temper like that! It'll ruin your public image, and it can ruin your race as well! I'm not saying don't be an unemotional robot, but try to keep it all in during the race, and once you're somewhere private, like in your hotel room, you can let them all out!"

"Fine, I guess I'll take anger management classes!" said Sunset, now really annoyed at her boss.

"Look, Sunset, I know it's going to be a little hard, but you just have to hold on. Think of the people who annoy you as small dogs, and yourself as a big dog. When a big dog is barked at by a smaller one, they don't even look at the small dog. Just think like that, and you shouldn't be just lose it like that." said Flash, softening up.

"I know, but earlier, I used to be a bully at school, so part of that bully personality is still in me." said Sunset, now apologetic.

"Sunset, then tell that part of you to shut up, no matter how, and get on that track now, because qualifying is going to start soon." said Flash, rather sternly this time, as the pit crew began telling each other to get the cars ready, since they would be heading out soon for the first part of qualifying. Since there were 20 drivers on the grid for this season, the qualifying sessions for this season would the same format as that of Formula 1.

As Sunset hopped into her Porsche, which had been fully topped off, with new tires, brakes, and fluids, she could hear the loud revving, as the other drivers also were getting ready to head out. As the cars began heading out, so did Sunset and Hot Rocket. The two black, blue, and green Porsche 911 GT3 Rs drove out, followed by the purple and orange Ford Mustang GT3 of Silverstreak, and the red Ferrari 296 GT3 of Rash Rider.

The four cars exited the pits, and entered the track, as Q1, the first qualifying session began. Q1 would last only 18 minutes, so the drivers had to make the most of it. As they zoomed towards the Brabham turn, their performance was relatively slow, as they were just warming up their tires, before their actual hot laps began. They had made several laps of the track during the practice session the previous day, and Sunset had found this turn quite hard, especially considering how fast a driver would be coming through the main straight before hitting the first turn, and the deceleration would get her quite hard.

As the four drivers' impromptu 'formation lap' continued, the speeds started increasing, and by turn 11, all of them were going over 200 kilometers per hour. Soon, they were on their hot laps, and the time between their cars increased, as they began their hot laps. Their driving styles changed, as the hot laps began, and they were all hoping to not get eliminated. For this, they had to qualify in the top 15.

By the end of Q1, Sunset managed to finish Q1 in 7th place, which was not too bad for her first time doing it IRL. However, Rash Rider managed to finish in 2nd, while a spinout caused Silverstreak to end up in 11th. Hot Rocket, on the other hand managed to finish in 5th place, just ahead of Sunset.

Q2 began after a short 10-minute break, and now, they had to qualify in the top 10 to not get eliminated. It was also shorter, lasting only 15 minutes. Q2 was quite similar to the first, but this time, Silverstreak got disqualified after his Mustang GT3 spun after he braked too late on turn 1, placing him in 12th place, which got him disqualified. Sunset put up another good fight, finishing Q2 in 8th this time, but Hot Rocket was disqualified after finishing in 11th, missing out on 10th by just 0.01 seconds. Rash Rider was also going to Q3, having finished in 4th.

There was another short 10-minute break before Q3, which also went quite well, with Sunset qualifying in 9th, and Rash Rider qualifying in 5th. Sunset knew she had to finish in the top 5 during the main race, as part of one of the conditions put forward by the FIA officials. But for now, she could grab some rest, now that qualifying was over, and head back to her hotel room for some pre-race preparation.

17TH MARCH 2024

------ALBERT PARK CIRCUIT, MELBOURNE------

Today was race day. It was now 3:50pm in Melbourne, which meant it was almost midnight back in Canterlot City, but despite that, the crowd was eager to watch this race, as it was the first one in this new racing series, and the first time a gamer would be hitting the track in such a major event. Sure, Powerslide was already racing in WRC3, but WRC3 was quite a minor series, compared to the FIA Road Car World Championship.

This year, only one version of the series, called N600, which only allowed cars having up to 600 horsepower, was racing. However, from next year onwards, if this first season succeeded, they would also include a series called N450, which would allow less powerful cars from the GT4 category to participate, and maybe even an N1000 series for extremely powerful cars.

As the cars were lined up on the grid for the start of the formation lap, which would start a few minutes before the actual race, all of the drivers were heading to their vehicles. Their cars, were for now covered by tarpaulins, to avoid the Sun messing with their paintwork, or to avoid the tires being heated before the race. Sunset and Hot Rocket were heading to their own vehicles. Sunset had been quite nervous, as this was her first real race, and she didn't want to disappoint all the gamers who were watching her from home or in person at the race.

Thankfully, Comet Flash had taught her a quick technique to calm down. He had made her listen to the songs of her favorite singer, in this case, Countess Coloratura, to cool her agitated nerves. Flash had told her how many times he had used to listen to his favorite retro bands, from the 1970s and 1980s, to do just that. For Sunset, since her choice was Countess Coloratura, he felt that that was the kind of music she should listen to before a race.

As Sunset climbed into her car, she was hoping to get a nice top 5 finish today, which was not going to be that hard, considering that she was starting in 9th place, so she only had overtake four cars to get in the top 5, and Rash Rider wasn't going to be too much of an issue, considering that he was starting from 4th place. As they climbed into their cars and started the engines, all of the pit crews began moving away from the track, as they got ready for the formation lap. The safety car for this season would be a Mk. 5 Toyota Supra, and it would guide them for the formation lap on the first race.

As the formation lap began, Sunset felt the nervousness grow a little, as the start of the race approached. All of the cars began moving quite slow, since no one usually went above a speed of around 75 miles per hour, or 120 kilometers per hour. In front of Sunset was the only other female driver in this series. She was Solar Wind, and she was driving for Nissan, in a crimson red 400Z GT500. This one had been de-tuned to 600 horsepower for this series, but it was still quite fast. As the formation lap continued, most of the drivers, including Sunset, began weaving from left to right, to warm up their tires, since most of them were starting on soft tires.

Finally, at 3:58pm, as the formation lap ended, the safety car went into the pits, and the drivers lined up on the grid, for a standing start. As the drivers finished lining up on the grid, everyone was in place, and time slowed down, as they waited for the start of the race. Exactly as the clock hit 4:00pm, the lights went green, all of the cars launched forward, as the 83-lap race began. Sunset was pushed back in her seat, as her car accelerated fast, and the car went from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in just under 3 seconds, as the first lap began. The fans went crazy, as the first race of the Road Car World Championship started.

The first lap was quite eventful, with multiple overtakes. Sunset thankfully hadn't lost a position yet, while Rash Rider had droppe from 4th to 6th by Turn 3. Silverstreak, on the other hand, had made a comeback, and was currently competing with Hot Rocket for 10th, which Hot Rocket had gained on the first turn itself, followed by Silverstreak taking 11th on the next turn.

The next fifteen laps were relatively uneventful, with Sunset overtaking and taking 8th place, while Hot Rocket stayed in 10th, while Silverstreak, on the other hand, managed to take 9th place after an amazing double overtake. However, Sunset now had to contend with Solar Wind, who was not letting Sunset overtake her at all, but since there were more than 50 laps to go, Sunset decided to wait to overtake Solar Winds. Finally, that chance came on the 18th lap, where after a lengthy battle, Sunset made an amazing overtake on Turn 11, where Sunset took the 7th place spot away from Solar Wind. However, the battle recommenced soon, and it continued on, until Solar Wind went in to pit on the 21st lap, going from softs to mediums.

Soon, on the 29th lap, most of the drivers came in to pit, including Sunset, Rash Rider, Hot Rocket, and Silverstreak. Sunset, Rash Rider, and Hot Rocket swapped out their softs for mediums, while Silverstreak went for hard tires. Soon, they were all back on track, having dropped to 10th, 7th, 11th, and 14th, respectively. Despite some control difficulties with cold hard tires at first, Silverstreak was able to come back well, going from 14th to 12th within two laps, while Sunset was able to make it to 8th, and Rash Rider was back in 5th place soon.

On the 42nd lap, the race was temporarily yellow-flagged, due to Rash Rider's teammate accidentally going into a barricade on Turn 1 after failing to brake in time, and he was out of the race due to the severity of the damage to his car. On the 50th lap, Sunset successfully overtook Solar Wind, and once more regained 7th place, as the battle between the two female drivers restarted, fiercer than ever. However, it ended on the 54th lap, after Wind's 400Z suffered a blowout on the rear-left tire, and had to go into the pits for a tire change, causing her to drop from 8th to 14th place.

Sunset on the other hand, had set her sights on the 5th place, hoping to finish there in her first race, or even higher, if that was possible. So far, she had performed well, and she was hoping to keep that going for the rest of the season. On the 61st lap, pretty much everyone pitted again, mostly for another set of mediums. The race was entering its climax now, with only 22 laps left to go.

The battles began heating up, with Sunset battling for 6th against Silverstreak's co-driver from the Ford team. The main advantage Sunset had over him was her car having more power, which she was going to use to her advantage, drifting around him on Turn 1, and getting into 6th place. Now, she only had to overtake the driver in 5th place, which was Rash Rider. Surprisingly, on the 67th lap, she was able to overtake him pretty easily, as if he had purposely let her overtake. The race progressed steadily, and Sunset managed to even get into 4th place on the 75th lap. However, Rash was still behind her, and he was still trying to overtake.

Finally, only two laps were left, and Sunset was looking good for a 4th place finish, as they entered the 82nd lap. However, to everyone's horror, on Turn 4, just as Sunset braked for the turn slightly, Rash Rider suddenly bumped her car hard from the rear. The first one didn't do anything, but the second one came from the rear left, causing Sunset to spin into the gravel at close to 140 miles per hour. As Sunset's car came to a stop in the gravel, the session was temporarily yellow-flagged, for the third time this race, as Sunset got her car out of the gravel. However, during this time, she had dropped from 4th to 15th place, which she was not happy about. As Sunset got back on the track, Comet Flash's voice came on the radio. "What was that? Are you good?" asked Flash.

"No! That asshole purposely bumped me, and now I've lost 9 positions! I've gotta regain some of them, at least!" said Sunset, as she accelerated again, aiming to catch up to the other drivers. Due to all of the skills she had learned from Flash, she was able to go from 15th to 14th position on that lap. During the final lap, she was able to finish in 12th, but wasn't able to take 11th place before she crossed the finish line, much to everyone's disappointment. Rash Rider had finished in 3rd, which made Sunset especially mad, while Silverstreak had finished in 9th, and Hot Rocket had finished in 7th, bringing a couple of points for Thunderbolt. As Sunset came into the pits after the end of the race, along with all of the drivers, she instantly stormed into her pits to cool off, before talking to the media.

"What was he doing? I'm gonna go out there and drag Rash's ass off the podium!" said a very angry and unhappy Sunset.

"Whoa, whoa, Sunset, easy there now. We don't want to get banned from racing already. I know what Rash did was illegal, but he said he had car trouble, so he got away with it. I know it was on purpose, and don't worry, we will get back at Rich Racing for what they did in our next race. But first, cool down a little, and go talk to those journalists, they really want to talk to you." said Comet Flash, calming Sunset down.

Soon, both Hot Rocket and Sunset were in the media paddocks, talking to the journalists. They were extremely interested in Sunset, asking her how it was like to race IRL for the first time, and how she felt about her first finish. Sunset told them that she was quite pleased, considering it was her first race, and told them she was aiming to get that top 5 finish in the next race.

As Sunset and crew went back to her hotel, they kept checking social media, the news, even Lifeinvader channels, as well as replays of the race. So far, most seemed to be saying that Sunset looked she had quite a good future in racing, including some of the other racers, but quite a few people, including Solar Wind and Rash Rider, were saying that Sunset wasn't going to last more than a single season.

This didn't let the team lose courage, but only sparked it, making them feel that they had to get a better finish within the next four races, and hopefully, make sure Sunset could keep her racing license.