F1 AIE Chapter 19

Formula One Anon In Equestria Chapter 19


>Everything is silent.

>You're concentrating. Thinking positive thoughts.

>Calming your mind.

>Soothing the senses.

>Preparing yourself for today.

>Breathe in.

>...

>And out.

>...

>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7aXyQOaaxk&t=1m55s

>Holy hell that's loud!
>So much for trying to relax.
>Note to self, remember to ask when the engine test fires are next time.
>You fold your ears down and cover them up with your hooves. The volume is getting a little bit too high. A musician never wants to damage their hearing.
>As one of the engineers check over your black and neon blue F1 machine. You look over to the other side of the garage to see your teammate sitting by herself.

>Vinyl.

>She got herself into some deep shit. Just had to play rough last weekend.
>Because of her getting the team fined, we weren't able to improve the cars in any way.
>Wonderbolts Racing got a brand new front wing and a floor pan redesign, and Team Thunder was able to reformat and improve their DRS system.
>On top of that, who the hell knows what Cloudsdale Weather did with their winnings. They've probably refined their entire machine.
>We'll find out in about 10 minutes...

>Wow. You can feel the backfires from the engine in your chest.
>Throttle response is good! You can stop pumping it now!
>Damn that thing is fierce.
>You get to control every ounce of power that thing has in a few moments. Today is going to be fun.
>To think a pony as refined and sophisticated as yourself enjoys such a thing? That would baffle anyone. You think.
>When you first saw this sport, you honestly thought it was barbaric. That there was absolutely no point at all.
>Oh boy, going unnecessarily fast in a repeated loop!
>If it wasn't for Vinyls persuasiveness, you would have never tried out that simulator Celestia herself made several months ago.
>As it turns out, you're actually kind of good at driving one of these machines. Good enough to compete.
>That and adrenaline is one hell of a drug. You changed your mind about Formula One REAL quick after your first drive.
>"Octavia!"
>What?
>Oh, it's your crew chief.
"Yes sir?"
>CC: "Ready for this weekend?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
>CC: "Alright. Over here is your goal for today. The team wants to see if you can beat it within about 10 laps."
>The unicorn directs you over to the main computer monitor at the center of the garage. You look at the time listed in fairly big font on the upper corner of the screen.
"1:17.500. Seems reasonable. One question though."
>CC: "Shoot."
"My suspension isn't going to spontaneously explode out there, is it?"
>CC: "No. The car should be in tip top condition."
>You look over your shoulder to Vinyl in the corner strapping her helmet on. Raising your eyebrows slightly.
>CC: "Don't worry about her. She knows what she did. That and shes not allowed to touch anything except for her steering wheel until further notice. Now get that helmet on and lets get you out there."
>With your helmet fitted on, you gradually slip into the cramped drivers compartment.
>While feeling for the pedals with your rear hooves, a crew member helps you fix the 6 point harness so you're absolutely strapped in. No movement.
>A sudden surge rocks your senses as this purpose built hypercar's V8 engine fires up with the help of another crew p0ny. Controlled explosions within the forged aluminum block send vibrations throughout the chassis.
>Smiling to yourself, you shudder at the feeling of such raw power.
>A horn sounds signaling the start of Practice 1. Your crew chief then turns his attention to you, addressing both you and Vinyl over the radio.
>CC: "*Alright you two, Remember your target time as you only have 10 laps to reach it. Also, we've got a packed house here in Filly, so try to keep it interesting for the fans.*"
>He turns to look at Vinyl straight in the eyes.
>CC: "*But don't get carried away.*" He says in a low, serious tone.
>VS: "*Understood.*"
>The chief nods, turns back to his monitor and says.
>CC: "*You two are cleared hot. Be safe out there."
>With that, your machine is stripped of its tire warmers and gets set down on the ground from the jacks. You shift it into first, and pull out of the garage onto pit lane.
>Woah. He wasn't kidding when he said this place was packed. The stands are filled to the brim with spectators!
>It's only Practice 1, why are there so many p0nies here?
>Breaking your attention away from the stands, you look to the left at Cloudsdale Weather's garage.
>The cars are there, but no drivers. Not a sign of Anonymous or Rainbow Dash anywhere in there. Hmm...
>Maybe they're just waiting until later to start up. Yeah.
>The end of pit lane comes quickly and you push the pit speed limiter button on the steering wheel, allowing you unrestricted access to every bit of power your machine has.

"WOOOOOOOOOO!"
>You yell in pure excitement as you speed down Fillydelphia's turn 5.
>Nothing has ever made you feel this alive before. The G-forces, the sensation of acceleration, being literally on the edge. Nothing gets better than this.
>Well, except maybe winning. Yeah, you should do that this weekend.
>You take a few laps to get yourself used to this new track. To be honest, these walls being so close to the racing surface itself makes you feel a little uneasy.
>You force those feelings down remembering that if you want to win, you have to give it your all. Don't hesitate, just go.
>Flying through the front straight on your 4th lap, you inquire to the chief what your lap time was.
>CC: "*1:18.334. Keep going Octavia, your times are improving with each lap.*"
>What!? A 1:18? This is going to be a bit harder than you thought.
>You get yourself ready to push even harder, you've only got 6 laps to improve a full second to your time.
>But just as you exit turn 2.
>VS: "*Hey Tavi.*"
>Oh what the hell does she want.
"*Yes, Vinyl?*" You say looking into your mirrors, she just happens to be right behind you.
>VS: "*I have an idea.*" she says in a surprisingly serious tone.
"*Don't you remember what happened last time you had an idea?*"
>There's a few seconds of radio silence until Scratch speaks up again.
>VS: "*Just hear me out ok?*"
>Hear her out? Now THAT's a good idea...
"Why should I?*"
VS: "Lemme say this, If I accidentally crash both of us out right here in today's session. I will put my steering wheel down, tear up my racing licence, and walk away from this sport never to return; and you know that is the LAST thing I want to do.*"
>Yeah, you know shes right about that.
>...
>Still a little hesitant, you decide to hear what she has to say.
"*What is this idea?*"
>VS: "*I'm having trouble getting to that time as well. If we want to reach our goal, We're going to have to work together. I was thinking along the backstretch we could use each others slipstream to give the one behind a boost and take turns doing that each lap. Sound good?*"
>That actually sounds like a good plan. We'll be able to get to our target time. There are a few risks to take into account though.
-
>Being behind another F1 car at high speed causes you to experience high turbulence due to the severely disturbed air left behind by the cars aero package.
>Staying in that turbulent air forces your front wing to lose most of its downforce. Bad for cornering, but amazing for straightaways. Stalling the front wing gives you a huge boost in speed.
>The other risk is that the engines in the car are naturally aspirated. No fans to cool the powerhouse down.
>The wake of a Formula 1 car is high in temperature due to its exhaust. If a car is behind another, it gets no fresh air to keep the engine at optimal temps. The car is fed hot and dirty air heating the engine up fairly quickly, potentially resulting in a total engine failure.
-
>Yeah, fairly risky, but if the whole procedure is done just right, the reward is well worth it.
>You need to get the job done, so why the hell not?
"*Lets go for it.*"
---
Start both videos at the same time. Read along with the sound.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mTBcwdW_sU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDok9h5oK9s
---
>VS: "*Alright, I'm already right behind you, so I'll sling past first.*"
"*Ok.*"
>The both of you go through this lap about 4 car lengths from each other as to not hinder your aerodynamics in anyway throughout the technical portions of the circuit.
>You want as much aerodynamic grip as possible through the corners to get a good lap time.
>After navigating the first 2 sectors of the circuit, you steer the car through the sharp hairpin of turn 10. Scratch following 2 seconds behind.
>VS: "*Hit it Tavi.*"
>You depress two buttons on your steering wheel, KERS and DRS, and accelerate hard down the straightaway.
>Behind you, Vinyl presses the same two buttons and starts to catch your slipstream.
>Scratch begins to experience extreme turbulence as the wake from your car disrupts the airflow over her machine.
>Her front wing stalls out taking away most of the downforce. Thus she begins to speed up.
>Heading up to the braking point for the chicane, your 6 seconds of KERS run out. You're now travelling at over 205 mph down this straightaway.
>With the help you've given Vinyl though, she speeds completely past you at 209 mph heading into the chicane.
>You both brake hard and shift from 7th gear to 4th, careening through the chicane at over 100 mph.
>Vinyl powerslides her hypercar as she floors the throttle entering the home stretch going for the target time. Almost clipping the Wall with the right rear tire.
>As you both cross the start/finish line, the crew chief reveals both of your times.
>CC: "*A 1.17:281 for Vinyl, and a 1:17.840 for you Octavia. Whatever you two were doing, keep doing that.*"
>It worked!
>VS: "See? What'd I tell ya? Your turn!*"
>Repeating the same process as last lap, you fly through the twists and turns of Fillydelphia setting yourself up for that target lap time.
>Ahead of you at the beginning of sector 3, Vinyl turns into the turn 10 hairpin. You follow like she did last lap, two seconds behind.
>As soon as you see the DRS flap lift up on her rear wing, you hit the DRS and KERS buttons yet again. You start accelerating down the backstretch hitting 60 mph in 2.7 seconds.
>"There's Vinyls slipstream." you say to yourself as your car begins to rattle and vibrate violently.
>You can feel yourself accelerate up a little more than normal. The front wing must be starting to stall out now.
>Halfway down the straight catching up to Vinyls machine, the heat from the engine begins to reach your backrest seeing that it isn't getting any fresh air to keep it cool.
>Buck, that's getting a bit hot!
>Here's the braking point. You jink right to get inside of Scratch's #4 machine and fully pass her as she begins to slow down.
>The violent rattling ceases and fresh clean air enters the 3 air intakes cooling the engine back down. Sticky racing slick tires guide your car like a rail through the chicane at amazing speed.
>You get back on the throttle hard pointing the vehicle straight towards the finish line.
>After ascending up to 6th gear, you cross the line, immediately followed by your teammate.
>...
>Come on, what was it?
>CC: "*You got a 1.16:995 Octavia, and Vinyl got a 1.17:162.*"
>YES! haha!
>CC: "*We got the info we needed, you can pull em in now.*"
>Weird. You and Vinyl actually worked together to- wait what? Pull them in? The session just started!
"*You're kidding right?*"
>VS: "*These tires have at least 20 more laps in them.*"
>The radio goes silent for a few moments.
>CC: "*Don't wreck the damn things.*"
>Buck yeah!

---

>After around 23 laps you both decide to take a break, so you turn your beast of a machine onto pit lane.
>Synchronized to the point, the both of you position your cars to be backed into the team garage.
>You both are pushed backwards into your respective garages by your team. A very happy crew chief waiting inside.
>CC: "Outstanding! Good job out there. With this I know full well we're going to be competitive on Sunday."
>Taking her helmet off in the car, Vinyl asks: "Competitive enough to win?"
>CC: "I wouldn't doubt it."
>VS: "Sweet."
>The crew members set the machines back on their jacks and reset the tire warmers on the rubber.
>Just as you take off your Nomex balaclava. A Wonderbolts Racing car on its first lap screams past the garages out on the front stretch.
>Immediately after, a loud snarling growl echos throughout the circuit. This takes the entire Bass Cannon Racing garage by surprise.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OnYOdEFi4s&t=0m7s
>Still sitting in the cars, you look over to Vinyl as she looks to you. Both of your jaws are agape at the absolutely brutal noise that entered your ears.
>CM 1: "What. The hell. Was that?"
>CM 2: "Sounded like a pissed off timber wolf!"
>No car has ever made that noise this season. The Wonderbolts definitely tweaked something.
>Your crew chief looks to you and Scratch with a confused look on his face.
>CC: "What in Equestria did they do to their car?"

-----

>Practice 1 has now gone on for 80 of 90 minutes.
>In the given amount of time, everyone has figured out that your team has altered the car in some way.
>In order to get what the crew chief wanted out of it, The engine mapping was changed and an all new exhaust system had to be fabricated. In turn, it makes a lot more noise.
>That noise isn't for nothing though, it serves a purpose. But that will be explained later. Right now, There are 10 minutes left in the session, and you are not at the top of the time sheet.
>Your teammate is.
>SF: "Well? Are you going to go and try to beat my time Soarin?" She says while you stare at the session times on the monitor.
"Try? hehe. Enjoy being the second fastest Spits." You say as you fit your helmet on.
>Circling your hoof in the air signaling the pit crew to start getting the car ready, you slip into the machines seat.
>Because of how highly trained your pit crew is, you are out and going in no time.
>Nearing the end of pit lane, you look into Cloudsdale Weather's garage stalls.
"Finally." You say to yourself.
>In there are both Anonymous and Rainbow Dash, frantically getting ready to make the most of the rest of this session.
>They've been missing all day and are just now heading out on track. Wonder what took them so long.
>Anyway, lets try and beat this time shall we?
>You floor the throttle exiting pit lane. The engine reacts to your input and sends all of its pure unadulterated power to the wide rear wheels.


>3 laps...
>3 laps you've attempted.
>You still cant beat Spitfires time!
>Only 10 seconds are left in the session as you cross the start/finish line. Which means this is your final lap. Only one more chance.
>As you let off the throttle and brake into turn one, fuel is injected into the exhaust system itself.
>Modified high octane liquid rainbow ignites on the hot exhaust pipes. The loud and numerous backfires created blow more air into the diffuser at the rear of the car, pulling the car down onto the road and giving the rear tires more grip.
>Using that extra grip, you power through turn 2 jockeying the throttle as to not spin the tires.
>Yeah, You've got this shit. You can feel it.
>You guide the car perfectly through turns 3 through 9. That precision and speed through there had to put you ahead of Spits by at least a quarter of a second.
>Exiting turn 9, the car flies towards the hairpin hitting 180 mph just before the braking point.
>You decelerate from 180 to 40 mph in less than 3 seconds and turn right taking the sharp turn as quickly as you can.
>After attacking such gravitational forces, you floor the throttle once more and accelerate down the backstretch.
>KERS and DRS give you a combined additional +100 horsepower as you hit those respective buttons on the wheel, accelerating you further down the very long straightaway.
>Eventually hitting a top speed of 210 mph, you let off the throttle and lay on the brakes hard for the upcoming chicane. Machine growling as the blown exhaust performs its magic.
>Thinking you've slowed down enough, you yank the wheel to the right while still holding the brakes a tad and turn in to the swift right/left bend.
>Only, you've made a slight miscalculation.
>You're going into the corner too fast and you oversteer. The back end of the car sliding out to the left slightly as the rear tires break traction.
>Lightning quick reflexes from years of combat flight training kick in and you go to correct.
>Unfortunately it isn't enough in the space your given. The still sliding rear tires hit the other curb and go airborne a bit.
>With no traction from the rear for that small moment. Your correction situates you to where you are looking directly at the Wall of Champions instead of the home straight.
>You slam the brakes to the floor, locking up the tires in a futile attempt to avoid the Wall.
>*Impact*
"Ow."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-UfVoIPhoY

>Celestia bucking dammit! You were -that- close!
>CC: "*You alright Soarin?*"
"*Yeah. I'm fine. The car is a tripod now though.*"
>The front right suspension system is clearly toast. The wheel is not supposed to face that direction.
>CC: "*That's an easy fix. Just unbuckle yourself and come on back to the garage.*"
>As you unbuckle the 6 point harness, both Rainbow Dash and Anonymous speed past your crippled machine, finishing their respective laps.
>You take off the steering wheel, climb out of the cockpit, reattach the wheel to its mount, and begin to walk back to your garage on the other side of the pit wall.
>You won this round, Spits.

----

>As your car is backed up into the garage, you take off your helmet and look to Twilight, laying your head on the headrest behind you.
"How'd we do?"
>TS: "You and Dash both got 7th and 5th respectively. Not bad for only 10 minutes out there."
>Dash, taking her Nomex balaclava off in her car, says. "I feel we could have done better."
"If our taxi wasn't rear ended and we got here on time then yeah we could have."
>TS: "Still. I was able to get some good info on how the cars act here. We'll be fine."
>The car felt great to you. Although some improvements here and there would never hurt.

>That reminds you. The fucking Wonderbolts.
>Yeah, you heard their car. Yeah, you know exactly what they did to it.
>And yeah, you know that Blown Exhausts have been outlawed since the 2011 Formula One season.
>When Twilight teleported you here, a copy of the 2012 FIA rules and regulations came along with you.
>You have no idea how. Maybe it was in the car for some reason?
>Anyway, This Equestrian F1 season is based on those rules. It says exactly that any form of blown diffuser, hot or cold, is forbidden from use.
>This just shows that they didn't check the rule book before they altered their machine.
>You thought about heading over to the Wonderbolts garage to confront them, but that's the Stewards job. After todays session, Celestia should be there to tell them that their car is now illegal and cant participate.

>A few minutes later, Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and yourself are over at the side of the garage looking over the rule book.
>TS: "Whats it called? A blown diffuser?" She asks flipping through the pages of the book.
"Yeah."
>TS: "Do you know how it works?"
"Yep. So you know how the exhaust pipes on our car exit at the end of each sidepod right?"
>TS: "Yes."
>You grab a pen and a sheet of paper with a side profile of your machine.
"The Wonderbolts have theirs going down along the floor pan ending just before the rear tire. That forces exhaust gasses to get blown into the diffuser adding more grip. Hence the term."
>You scribble a rough sketch of what it looks like on the sheet of paper.
>RD: "Is that what makes their car snarl like a raging timber wolf?"
"No, that comes from fuel being injected into the exhaust pipes themselves. When you let off of the throttle on our car, the exhaust stops blowing. They tweaked their engine mapping to allow the exhaust to keep blowing air into the diffuser even while braking. This gives them a major grip advantage in the corners."
>TS: "Interesting."
>RD: "What? How do we even compete with that? That's not even fair!"
>It really isn't. Spitfire and Soarin were a full second faster than any of the other competitors today. Seems they've made their system as effective as Red Bull's back in 2010.
>Also, if Soarin didn't cream that wall, he would have gotten an even faster time than Spitfire.
>TS: "I don't see anywhere in here that it's illegal Anon."
>Surprised, you reply "Bullshit! Did you look through the whole thing?"
>TS: "Every page. Here."
>Twi levitates the book over to you and you begin to flip though the pages.
>Page 35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43...

>Wait.

>38 to 41?

>There is a page missing.
"Well shit."



Practice 1 Lap Times:
1. Spitfire - 1:15.444
2. Soarin - 1:15.528
3. Octavia - 1:16.995
4. Vinyl Scratch - 1:17.162
5. Rainbow Dash - 1:17.271
6. Thunderlane - 1:17.409
7. Anonymous - 1:17.453
8. Lotus - 1:17.830
9. Flitter - 1:18.247
10. Cloud Chaser - 1:18.733
11. Blossomforth - 1:19.632
12. Aloe - 1:19.876