F1 Anon - Chapter 31

Formula 1 Anon - Chapter 31


"To drive an F1 car you have to be a little mad. On the morning of a race there's a mix of excitement and fear. If it's a wet track, then it's worse as you're not in control most of the time, which is the thing all drivers fear the most." - Jenson Button.



Ponyville Circuit. Friday, Free Practice 3. Heavy Rain, 70 degrees.


"Rainbow?"
>"Yes Anon?"

"Are you sure you want to go out in this?"
>"Positive."

>Visibility is down. Way down. It's possible that this is the worst rainstorm Ponyville has seen in almost a decade. Even better, the final practice session of the season is just about to begin in a few moments.
>Twilight walks in from the rear entrance of your teams garage. She looks around and notices the both of you sitting in fold out chairs next to each other, while the rest of the crew gets Rainbow's car prepped, watching one of the worst torrential downpours seen recently occur just outside.

>"I don't have a good feeling about this guys." Twilight says, walking over and looking at the radar. "This storm isn't going to let up until an hour after the session even ends."
>"Sounds right on schedule to me." Rainbow replies, her gaze still fixated outside.
>"Of course it does." Twilight retorts. Remembering Dash's earlier profession.

>The session start horn blares down pit lane. Rainbow jumps from her chair and yells "Fire her up colts!" to the pit crew. The sound of other machines coming to life echoes through the soaked paddock. Spectators out watching the event huddled underneath roofs and overhangs roar at the sound.
>You take that as your cue to run through the pelting rain over to the Pit wall gantry, Twilight right behind you. You two reach your seats over next to the track completely soaked from head to toe/hoof. The extended roof of the gantry providing extra cover from the rain.

>"*Just a few more laps and I'll be ready for qualifying.*" Dash says through the radio, strapped snug in her car.
>Twilight replies after placing her headset on. "*Be careful Rainbow, visibility will effectively be zero if you're behind someone.*"
>"*Nothing I haven't experienced before. Don't worry, I'll be fine.*"
"*Still.*" You say, getting your headset on and looking over at her in the car, "*Be careful ok?*"
>Rainbow nods as her car is set down to the ground from the jacks. A full set of heavily treaded wet tires fitted to each wheel hub.
>The V8 roars to life, Rainbow releases the clutch, and she sets off.
>Looking over to Twilight after setting up the screen in front of you to show Dash's onboard footage, you say:

"Let's just hope today goes by smoothly."


----

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUKlPUc6GGc

>Rainbow's competitors have gotten faster.

>Four seconds was the gap in the first practice session. By the next session, that gap was reduced to just one second.
>Now? Well, they say that rain is the great equalizer in racing. Everyone is now on a level playing field pretty much.
>Even more so with the amount of rain being dispensed out on track right now. You're surprised that the session wasn't called off to begin with.
>This is straight up borderline suicide.

>Rainbow is starting to think that as well. Very low grip. Almost extremely low. Every corner the rear end threatens to swing out.
>However, knowing how fast the other competitors were able to reach her time set yesterday, she pushes forward. Trying to get as much practice in as she can.

>She pushes so hard in fact, that shes caught up to two of the faster drivers out on track right now. Octavia and Soarin

>Its then that vision becomes an issue. Shes catching up to the large rooster tails of water being flung out by the two cars ahead of her. Those tails not created just by the tires either. The aerodynamic nature of Formula One cars allow them to literally pull water off the ground without touching it, throwing it high into the air.

>"Maybe going this fast wasn't such a good idea." Rainbow says to herself as she loses her visual bearings for a second. Slowing down in order to hit the next corner apex accurately.

>"What am I saying? I need to get past them. They're in my way."

>Dash eases her light and powerful machine through the wide final turn avoiding the urge to gun the throttle. The full wet tires displacing as much water as they can to provide grip.
>Exiting the corner, she depresses the throttle to the floor. Shifting higher through the gears down the front straight away catching up to the drivers in front of her.
>Visibility gets worse the further Rainbow ventures into those rooster tails. All she can see now are the blinking red lights on the diffuser of each car, indicating where the cars are in front of her.
(stop video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDYIqCcRW9w


>Those lights. A sudden feeling of Deja-vu. Memories begin to flood back.


>Fear.


>It's then at this moment, that Rainbows past nightmare surges overwhelmingly through her mind. The one she has tried to forget. The one that has haunted her ever since pre-season testing.

>The one that made her afraid of racing itself.


>Visions of being thrown into the air after wheel to wheel contact. Tumbling across the ground, slamming the wall, pinning her into the seat, soaked in fuel.


>Fire.


>Spooked out of her mind, Rainbow lets off the throttle early down the straight moving slowly towards the inside line.
>*"Something wrong with the car Rainbow?*" Twilight immediately inquires over the radio. Dash gives no response. She's frozen, unable to think straight.


>Unknown to Rainbow was the fact that Spitfire, Thunderlane, and Cloud Chaser were all following close behind her. Scrapping for position.

>Spitfire was making a move on the inside of both the other racers who were also side by side, creating a 3 wide situation down the front stretch.

>What she didn't prepare for was a slower car to appear right ahead.

>"WHAA!!!" Spitfire screams in her helmet. She takes evasive action, releasing the throttle and turning hard left. Narrowly missing Dash by centimeters. The rear of her car then whipping back to the right as she slams the brakes to stop the high speed spin.

>Rainbow felt the change in air pressure caused by Spitfire passing by so close, thus startling her out of her frozen state.

>Both Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser fly forwards from that event at full throttle then begin to brake for the first corner. A now out of control Wonderbolts machine however, slides down the raceway sideways in full four wheel brake lock. The water on track acting as a lubricant, hydroplaning the doomed car straight towards the two other racers at near full speed.

(stop video)

>Rainbow has herself one terrifying front row seat for something that she did not want to see.

>The second biggest accident yet in Equestrian F1 history.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRr8ENwvsPo

---

"HOLY SHIT!!!" You exclaim, watching the crash occur live on the screen in front of you.
>Twilight, gasping, can only put a hoof up to her mouth. Speechless at what just occurred.
>You're situated close enough to turn one that you actually heard that crash outside. The sound of crunching carbon fiber and metal is one that you will never get used to. That was scary as shit.


>Red Flag. Fuck.


"*Rainbow they've stopped the session. You gotta bring it in.*"
>"*Copy.*" Is all she says after a few seconds of radio silence.

>28 minutes was all this session lasted. You're honestly surprised it went on for this long.

"Come on Spitfire."
>Eyeing the live feed, Twilight and yourself watch while the marshals and on-track medics rush to Spitfires mangled vehicle.

>The both of you then release a huge sigh of relief seeing the Wonderbolt lift herself out of her car. Shes okay.
>Cloud Chaser and Thunderlane made it out alright too. All three cars are pretty much trashed though.

----


"She's not herself." You say to Twilight, looking down pit lane.
>Rainbow leads a line of 5 other cars heading through pit lane, moving towards the Cloudsdale Weather garage at a slower pace than usual.
>The look in her eyes, changed. Her usual confident stare replaced with one of shock.
>"Do you think there's just something wrong with the car?" Twilight asks you while watching Dash gradually come closer.
"I hope so."

>Rainbow turns the carbon fiber wheel to the right, bringing her car to a rest in the garage; and she just sits there.
>No attempt to release the 6 point harness or remove her helmet.
>You notice this walking up to the cars left sidepod. Leading you to ask:

"Rainbow? You ok?"

>"Is Spitfire hurt?" she says through her helmet. Still looking directly ahead.
"No, she walked away under her own power."
>"And the other two?"
"They're fine."
>Taking a knee and resting an arm on the sidepod, you continue.
"This wasn't your fault Dash."
>"Yes it was."
"No it wasn't. They had no business going 3 wide in a fucking soaked practice session. That was completely out of your control. We saw your loss of power, there was nothing you could do."
>You reach in and click the fastener to her harness, releasing the belts from the central hub.
"Now get out of the car. They've red flagged the track until further notice."
>Rainbow sighs, moving the belts to the side and lifting herself out of the seat.

>After taking off her helmet, she steps out of the car and proceeds to just fall into you, grabbing your shoulders and burying her face in your chest. Reactively, you put an arm around her.
>This throws you off guard at first. Surely she shouldn't be this worked up over an incident like this.

>"I didn't lose power." She whispers to you.
"What?"
>"It happened again."
"What happ- Oh... oh shit."

>Her nightmare is what happened. The one she shared with you the night before the Fillydelphia Grand Prix.

>That explains the sudden cease of throttle down the front stretch. Fuck, Spitfire's crash did not help. At fucking all.

"Look at me." You say moving Dash away from you, grabbing her at the shoulders.
>Messy mane, watery eyes, and all. She looks up at you obviously spooked.

"Where are you right now?"
>She darts her eyes side to side, then says "Our garage?"
"Okay, what track are we at?"
>"Ponyville."
"What color are my eyes?"
>"What are you even doing?" She asks you, shaking her head lightly.
"I'm getting your mind off of things. Okay? Now what color are my eyes?"
>"Green... with a bit of... They're hazel."
"Okay. Take this, drink it, then breathe." you say, handing her a water bottle from the table.

>She downs the whole thing in one go, then exhales slowly. Twilight walks over to check on Rainbow.

>"Feeling okay?" Twi asks.
>"Yeah, I'm... a little better."
"Are the stewards reviewing what happened at all?" you say looking to Twilight.
>"They did and they didn't give anyone anything. It was just an accident because of inclement weather." Twilight states.

>Thank goodness. You were wondering if Rainbow here might have earned herself a grid spot penalty for the race Sunday. Looks like Celestia kept her word about the whole outrageous penalty shit.

>There is one thing though. Once a driver is spooked this bad, their performance drops. Her driving in qualifying tomorrow might just have taken a hit. We will just have to wait and see.





----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day.





Ponyville Circuit. Saturday, Qualifying 1. Sunny, 82 degrees.


>"That's it. We didn't make it." Twilight says as you both look at the time sheets.

>Fuck. 8th place.

>Time ran out in Q1 as soon as Rainbow crossed the finish line. So that last lap was her best of the first session.
>A full two seconds slower than normal.
>Yeah, what happened yesterday really hindered her performance. This isn't good.


Qualifying 1 Results:
1. Spitfire - - - - - - - 1:23.194
2. Octavia  - - - - - - - 1:23.428
3. Soarin - - - - - - - - 1:23.510
4. Cloud Chaser - - - - - 1:23.872
5. Vinyl Scratch  - - - - 1:24.219
6. Thunderlane  - - - - - 1:24.455
7. Blossomforth - - - - - 1:24.912 - Out
8. Rainbow Dash - - - - - 1:24.926 - Out
9. Aloe - - - - - - - - - 1:25.318 - Out
10. Flitter - - - - - - - 1:25.515 - Out
11. Lotus - - - - - - - - 1:25.850 - Out


>After Rainbow brought her car back in, its set aside as per Parc fermé rules. No touching until the Grand Prix tomorrow.
>At the very least, she does get a fresh set of tires to start on. If you don't make it into Q2, you've got some new rubber to play with for the race.
>Looks like Spitfire was able to get her car working again as well. Shes topping the times, effortlessly. That's only gonna make it harder for Rainbow to keep her points lead.


--- 20 minutes later ---


>Qualifying two is now underway. It's looking like Spitfire is going to keep her top spot for the race. Crap shes fast here.
>Times are altogether a little faster, but Octavia is getting nowhere near her. Soarin might just take the 2nd spot away for a Wonderbolts one/two start.
>As you eye the time sheets while sitting in the garage, Rainbow sits next to you. Her car moved to the Parc fermé area on the opposite side of the building. So it's not in the garage right now.
>She looks like shes beating herself up on the inside. As would be expected. However, that spooked look doesn't look like it's gone away either.

>Looking at her, you feel like you gotta do something. Otherwise her hopes of becoming Equestria's first Formula One World Drivers Champion just aren't going to be realized.

"Hey Rainbow, follow me, move your chair over here" you say pointing to the back corner of the garage, away from everyone inside.
>"Uh. Okay." She says, getting up and following you. Both of you grabbing your seats and placing them so that you're facing each other in the corner.
>Once seated back down, you begin to give her a pep talk. Because honestly, she needs one right about now.

"Lemme ask you something. Do you remember how you got your cutie mark?"
>She raises an eyebrow.
>"Duh? How could I forget something like that?"
"What were you doing when it appeared?"
>"Well." she says, looking down in thought. "I was racing these two losers from flight camp. One of them knocked me out of the way and that set off something inside me, so I went right back after him. I was able to catch up to him so quickly that I performed my first sonic rainboom, then my cutie mark appeared. That was when I found my love for speed, winning, and-"

"And Racing." you interject.
>"Yeah, and racing."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgnDTFClcP0

>She looks like shes starting to get a hint at what you're doing.

"See Rainbow? This is straight up who you are. You're a fuckin purebred racer. It's in your blood."
>"I know. I know." She says looking up to you.
"You know what us racers do? We race. No matter what the risk. Because it's something that we love to do more than anything. It can be scary at times yes, but what you yourself have inside you" You say pointing to her. "is what separates the good racers from the great ones."

>"And whats that?" She asks.

"You're fucking fearless Rainbow."
>"I'm clearly not."
"The Rainbow Dash that I know? Fearless as fuck. The Rainbow Dash that I care about more than anything? The single most bad ass pony I've ever seen."

>You can see a smile start to appear. Like a beam of light out of the clouds. It's working.

"You're even the fastest flier in Equestria. Do you know how awesome of a title that is?"
>"Yeah." she says, looking off to the side, flattered.
"I mean for fucks sake! You're capable of supersonic flight! You can fly faster than your car can even go!"
>You bring her chin up with your hand, making her look you in the eyes.

"And you're just gonna let that car scare you into submission? You're gonna let that car beat 'you'?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh53hEJbtT0

...

>She stares at you, taking in what you just said.

>Something clicking inside her yet again.

>An up shift straight to her confidence.

>A piece of machinery? Beating Rainbow? Never.

...

>"You know what? No. I'm not." she says, sitting up tall in her chair.
"There's the Rainbow Dash I know. Welcome back. Hold on one sec, I want you to have something."

>You then reach into your pocket and pull something out, keeping it out of view in your closed fist.
>Taking Rainbows right fore hoof in your other hand, you hold her hoof in between your hands.

"You deserve to have this more than I do. Keep it as a good luck charm. Don't even think about giving it back."

>Opening your hand, out drops the carbon fiber cutie mark shard from your crash into the palm of her hoof.
>Rainbow gasps at the sight of it. Surprised that you would want to give something like this away.
>"I cant keep this! It's yours!"

"Not anymore. You keep this, and you will always have a part of me with you even when I'm not out there. If you're ever feeling scared out on track, just look at it and think about this: Just like your wings, your car is an extension of yourself. You have the ability to make that thing do what you want it to do. So don't be afraid of it. Just go."
>Rainbow nods, taking the shard into her hoof and holding it tight.

>With her cutie mark on that shard, your hoping what you just told her has more of an impact on her. It should, but only her performance in the Grand Prix tomorrow will let you know if it did.

"You're gonna make it through this. You've got what it takes, I know you do. Let me see you win that championship tomorrow Rainbow. Don't let anyone, even your own car, beat you. Okay?"

>"Okay." She says, nodding once with enthusiasm. That signature confident look is back in her eyes. Looks like shes ready to take on tomorrows GP.



>Suddenly, she jumps up and wraps her arms around your neck in a surprise hug, saying this in your ear:

>"I fucking love you, you know that?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki9tfdO6jHQ

...

>Did she just?
>Yeah she did.
>Well. Today just got better! Holy Shit!



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starting Grid for the Ponyville Grand Prix

     ----- Row 1 -----
1. Spitfire
                2. Soarin
     ----- Row 2 -----
3. Octavia
                4. Vinyl Scratch
     ----- Row 3 -----
5. Cloud Chaser
                6. Thunderlane
     ----- Row 4 -----
7. Blossomforth
                8. Rainbow Dash
     ----- Row 5 -----
9. Aloe
               10. Flitter
     ----- Row 6 -----
11. Lotus
               12. -N/A-