Daynight Racer (Completed)

Chapter 20

Raindrops had already started falling from the sky by the time Lyst arrived at the track in the morning. They hit her like tiny daggers, melting away and soaking her upon impact.

Despite already being as familiar with the track as any driver could be, she still found her confidence seeping away every passing second. All the water on the track would make driving on it very difficult, not to mention dangerous. But that was the least of her concerns.

Isaac was starting from second on the grid, which means he would be in close proximity to Lyst during the race itself. After what had happened in France, she could only hope he wouldn't launch a personal vendetta on her and ruin her race.

Think straight, Lyst, she reminded herself. He's not a threat. You just have to pass him early on.

Yet, the thought of what might happen on track kept dancing through her mind, slipping from her grasp every time she tried to suppress it. Even when sitting in her car on the grid, moments from the start of the race, she still found it hard to calm her nerves down when all that took up her vision were rain and the orange car parked diagonally in front of her.

R: Breathe, Lyst. Keep it easy and don't be aggressive. Or else it'll be easy to make mistakes.

L: I'll try.

And she did. Two deep breaths later, she temporarily shoved her negative thoughts and worries down to the back of her mind, instead forcing herself to focus on her driving. Soon, the engineers and mechanics cleared the area, leaving the drivers on the track to battle each other out.

Five red lights lit up one by one, before going out all at once. The sound of four cylinder engines filled the atmosphere as all twenty Formula 3 cars jerked forward in an instant, searching for grip and scrambling for track position.

Almost immediately, Isaac pounced on Ember, battling with her and squeezing her to the inside. Seeing the fight unfold, Lyst wanted none of it. She moved to the outside line to avoid the action and the spray, gently braking as she manoeuvred the first corner.

Her line was wider than she would've liked. Paired with the slippery track surface, she understeered. With a long straight ahead of her, the consequences of such an understeer were amplified. Down the hill towards Eau Rouge, the two cars ahead pulled further away from Lyst. Instead of attacking them, she now had the job of defending against the car behind her, which was driven by none other than Jaymes Connor.

Defending against the current championship leader was not going to be easy. Despite her best efforts of swerving on track, Jaymes somehow managed to catch a helpful slipstream from her, much to her dismay. He leaned closer to Lyst, trying to initiate an overtake at the end of the straight, but she didn't want to give in. Placing her car on the inside line, she braked as late as possible, blocking Jaymes from any overtaking move he attempted. That seemed to mess up his racing line through the chicane, slowing him down quite significantly, as Lyst managed to pull away from him down the hill towards Bruxelles.

Now with the pressures of being overtaken lifted from her shoulders, she could breathe a little more freely again. Her focus shifted back towards the two cars in front, battling for the lead. Somehow, Isaac held onto it, but Ember wasn't going to make it easy for him. She constantly stayed on his tail, ready to attack at any given chance.

The first one came at the bus stop chicane. Both cars were side by side then, with Isaac just a few centimetres ahead of Ember, approaching the corner at immense speeds. They braked, tyres barely hanging onto the wet track as they decelerated. They navigated through the chicane, side by side the whole time, like a perfectly choreographed dance. It was a pleasure to watch, especially for Lyst who happened to be only a few metres behind.