Vroooom! VROOOOM!
Engines roared like ten thousand arrows fired at once. A torrent of cars, snarling and clawing, thundered toward the uphill, 90-degree right-hander of Turn 1.
Kai was calculating.
He saw Russell squeezing him. Russell hadn't completely shut the door, but he could use a late braking maneuver to force his way to the apex and hold the line. If Kai fought it, he risked being pushed wide, his right-front tire dropping off the track and onto the kerb or gravel.
The result would be a loss of exit speed, costing him position on the straight and into Turn 2. A heavy lock-up would flat-spot his tires, and on cold rubber, a spin was a real possibility.
So, in the split-second chaos of high-speed collision, Kai didn't play by the usual rules.
He braked slightly early.
Using his understeer-biased setup, he controlled his entry angle with the delicacy of a spring breeze. He kissed the apex, glided through the arc, and gracefully rotated out of the corner. He held the racing line firmly, using the inside position to force Russell to widen his turning radius, pushing his rival off the ideal line. Kai refused to lose his mid-corner rhythm, sticking to Russell like glue, using the inside advantage to eat away at Russell's launch advantage while they turned.
Russell was also calculating.
According to his plan, he would snatch the launch advantage, pinch the inside line, squeeze Kai out, claim the Turn 1 apex immediately, and exit fast.
Then, leave everyone in the dust.
But clearly, the plan had deviated. A gap of half a second, maybe even 0.2 seconds, meant Kai's nose was already wedged into the inside line between Russell and the apex.
Russell didn't panic. He wasn't surprised. Decisive and adaptable, the young driver displayed his calm precision perfectly.
Immediately, Russell stuck to Kai, maintaining a three-quarter car length advantage. But Russell knew Kai wouldn't back down. In fact, he would be incredibly tough. If Russell tried to brute-force it, they would both end up off the track, mutually destroyed.
A pyrrhic victory like that didn't fit Russell's character.
But at the same time, Russell knew that if he braked late and went for the outside, Turn 1 could leave him vulnerable. The dirty side had terrible grip, and the run-up was too short. His rear wing might wobble, costing him exit speed and losing his pole advantage.
In the racing world, things change in an instant. There is often no time to think. A thousandth of a second delay means missing your braking point. In these moments, the only thing you can trust is your instinct.
That is why confidence is so critical in racing.
And right now was the proof. Russell believed in himself. Without hesitation, he held his ground against Kai, braking at almost the exact same moment.
Defend the position, not the line. Speed is priority.
Russell didn't force a late-braking move to steal the inside. He held his position, allowing Kai to take the inside line, but focused on maintaining his own momentum.
And so, this scene unfolded:
Neck and neck!
In the commentary box, Croft and Brundle held their breath, eyes wide, glued to the screen. The fierce battle unfolding in just one or two seconds left no room for commentary. All thoughts and souls were sucked into this red-and-black storm, the only sound the pounding of hearts against eardrums.
"Kai has the line!"
"Russell has the position!"
"The two ART cars are side-by-side!"
Directly behind them, Aitken had been riding Russell's slipstream, trying to pull out and pierce the middle gap. But Kai and Russell had sealed the space airtight. The door slammed shut, forcing Aitken to brake hard, instantly killing the momentum he had built up at the start.
Damn it!
Aitken immediately realized he wasn't alone. Boccolacci had been riding Kai's slipstream, trying to squeeze through the inside gap.
Aitken had no idea what was going through Boccolacci's head how could he possibly squeeze through that tiny inside space? But now Boccolacci was out of road. If he didn't want to destroy his front wing, he had to brake.
In that split second, Aitken noticed Boccolacci turn his head slightly. Acting on instinct, Aitken yanked his steering wheel to the right
A squeeze.
Boccolacci didn't even have time to scream. He jerked his wheel right to avoid contact, and his car shot off the track and onto the grass.
"Fuck!"
It wasn't just him. Behind them, Pulcini (starting P5 for Arden) had been lurking, trying to thread the needle and profit from the chaos. But the space from the grid to Turn 1 was just too tight, too crowded. Everyone dove for the inside, and it was mayhem.
Then, Pulcini's right-front wheel slammed hard into something solid
Bang! Clang! Crash!
Chaos. Total chaos.
It was dizzying, overwhelming. Everything was happening at once. But Croft didn't have time to cover the whole field. His eyes were locked on the two leaders, fighting tooth and nail, giving no quarter, perfectly controlling their lines through the 90-degree Turn 1.
At a glance, you could see that Kai's control was a thing of beauty. Slight understeer, blended with a smooth, silky racing line. Before you could even blink, his rear end had settled with a perfectly timed throttle application, and he shot out of the corner in one fluid motion.
A strong exit.
Everything was just right. Sublime.
Against any other opponent, Kai would have completed the pass in Turn 1.
However, Russell didn't lose the position.
Despite not having the line advantage, Russell had firmly held his ground, carrying the slight speed advantage he'd built from pole position through the corner.
A twist, a flick. Russell carved a line as smooth as a hot knife through butter, easily exiting the corner, his speed instantly building.
Russell had suppressed Kai!
Relying on calmness, adaptability, and control, Russell won a faster exit speed, beating Kai to the straight by half a car length.
Throttle pinned to the floor. The engine roar merged with the howling wind. Golden sunlight and lush green scenery intertwined, rushing at them like a flood. Two red-and-black blurs streaked down the straight, trading blows, pushing the tension to the absolute limit.
Close quarters combat!
First, Russell used his exit speed to pull the gap slightly, turning a half-car advantage into a full car length.
Then, Kai found grip at the very edge of the exit, his rear end planting firmly. Like a slingshot gathering power at the end of the curve, he shot forward, instantly latching back onto Russell's rear wheel.
Chasing, fighting, bayonets drawn.
Dead even!
Brundle watched, dumbfounded and mesmerized. The rare sight of Formula cars running side-by-side was unfolding before him. Two brilliant young drivers, constantly gambling and countering in a rapidly changing race, wheel-to-wheel, tearing through the air.
His heart stopped beating.
Who would seize the advantage?
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