Daynight Racer (Completed)

Chapter 26

For the final time this season, the five red lights went out at once. Having already held their engines at an optimal RPM, the twenty drivers on the grid dumped their clutches. The cars lurched forward, struggling for traction and fighting for track position. Among them was Lyst, who suffered wheelspin the moment she left her grid spot. She let out a frustrated groan when one of the cars zoomed past her through the first turn of Abbey.

R: That was unfortunate. Concentrate, Lyst, and take that position back.

L: I will.

With the car behind right on her tail, waiting to pounce, snatching sixth place back was easier said than done. Lyst found herself having to allocate her attention to defending instead of attacking. She couldn't afford to make any mistakes. After the troubled qualifying session the previous day, the last thing she wanted now was to tumble down the order, rendering her hard work useless.

She needed to somehow turn the odds in her favour. And she was willing to sacrifice a little to make it happen.

Braking into Brooklands, the car behind lunged for an attack on the inside line, forcing Lyst onto the outside. But she struck back, purposely missing the apex of Luffield and running wide on the exit. Of course, the other car yielded, falling behind her again, now playing catch-up.

Everything stayed that way for the next two laps. But at the end of the third lap, the driver behind initiated an overtake again, this time into the final chicane. Lyst could do nothing about it, as she witnessed the nose of his car on her left inching ahead of hers, as they braked into the corner.

But that didn't mean Lyst didn't attempt to fight back. Exiting the chicane, she straightened her car and had her foot firmly on the throttle as quickly as possible. Both cars were neck and neck along the start-finish straight, with Lyst pulling away a tiny bit through Abbey and Farm, since she occupied the inside line. But her slight lead soon became negligible as the other car braked later into Village, attempting to catch up to her from the outside, and subsequently pass her on the inside of The Loop.

But Lyst was having none of that.

With a good-old switcheroo, she squeezed her car into the almost nonexistent gap between the other car and the apex, and began running wide on the exit. The action caught the other driver off guard, and he swerved his car instinctively to avoid a collision. On the bright side, the racing was kept clean; on the negative side though, the correction cost him dearly.

On the Wellington Straight, Lyst was now well ahead of him, and the gap between them grew wider and wider. She blew a sigh of relief, partially because of the distance between them, but also...

A second car appeared in her rearview mirrors, already in pursuit of the one she was fighting with.

A satisfied smirk found its way into Lyst's face. That'll keep him busy.

For the first time since the start of the race, she wasn't vulnerable anymore. She wasn't bound by the duty to defend against any drivers trying to chase her. She was finally free to catch up to the cars in front and overtake them. Diverting her full attention back to the cars ahead, Lyst pushed hard.

The hunted had become the hunter.

***

Lyst's car barely held onto the track surface through Stowe, courtesy of a car pushing her towards the edge of the track. The driver tried to defend against her, but he didn't have the pace to make his defence effective.

During the short dash to the last chicane, both cars were side by side, though that didn't last. With a careful late braking manoeuvre from the left side of the track, Lyst found herself back into sixth place as she crossed the start-finish line again.