As Carol and Maria take their places on the grid, the rest of the twenty-five competitors form up around them in five slanted rows of five. Despite it being the first race on the schedule and starting relatively early in the morning, there's a healthy crowd eagerly anticipating the start. Mayor Zao however is absent, as he is focussing on the headline event.
Soon after all the riders are in position, the start official shows the thirty-second board. Twenty-five V-twins fire up almost in unison. As the engine notes settle, Maria looks across the track from her fifth place slot to Carol in the sixth-place slot. Carol grins and gives a thumbs up; Maria returns the gesture.
The start official shows the ten-second board. At five seconds, the engine noise crescendos as the lighting gantry activates.
At zero seconds, the lights go out.
Twenty-five V-twin motorcycles launch off the grid in a blend of engine noise and tyre smoke. Jostling for position, they approach the first corner. As they turn in, Maria attempts to gain a position. However, the gap disappears, and she has to back off. The bike twitches as she touches the brakes, but she retains control and exits the corner cleanly. Moments later, Carol's better exit allows her to pass Maria.
Over the remainder of the first nine-minute lap, the two felines swap positions several times. While their battling means they fall away a little from the leading four, they're still able to open a sizeable gap to the chasing pack.
As they begin the second lap, the heavens open. In less than a minute, all nine and a half miles of the track is soaking wet. But the rain doesn't seem to slow Carol. Her ability to find grip is uncanny, and she begins to reel in the leading pack. Maria however is more affected. Halfway around the second lap, she's fallen almost five seconds behind Carol, a gap which widens to a full twelve seconds by the end of the lap.
I'm losing too much time: I need to push harder! Doing her best to ignore how wet she is, Maria hunkers down and pushes harder than she's pushed before. Seeking out the best grip, her unusual lines begin to reel Carol in, an achievement helped by Carol being slowed by her battling with another racer over fourth position. By the halfway point of the lap, Maria has cut the deficit by more than half to just over five seconds. With the duelling wildcat in sight, Maria settles into following the battle, deciding to wait for an opportunity to pass both Carol and her opponent. And over the next three minutes, Maria cuts her deficit to just two and a half seconds.
As Maria catches, Carol's battle with the beaver intensifies. Out of frustration, the beaver starts to play dirty: on three separate occasions, he cuts across Carol so hard the wildcat almost crashes. But this doesn't slow Carol down, it just makes her more determined to pass and pull away. Eventually, two-thirds of the way around the lap, Carol spots her best chance yet. Braking hard for a hairpin, Carol dives up the inside from ten feet behind. As the beaver turns in, Carol cuts in front of him. The beaver is forced to correct, triggering a wobble. Carol runs deep, but manages to make the move stick. She powers out of the corner and opens a one second gap as the beaver recovers.
With the beaver's line highly compromised, Maria closes right up to him mostly thanks to her near-perfect line through the same hairpin. With better speed, she makes her own move into the next turn. But the beaver isn't expecting the move. He turns in and collides heavily with Maria, dropping them both hard onto the tarmac and sliding towards the barrier.
The accident happens so fast Maria doesn't notice until the pair have slid to a halt just a few feet from the barrier. Shaking her head to clear her disorientation, she realises she's pinned under both bikes. But as she moves to extract herself, she feels a heavy boot pushing on her chest. She looks up to see the beaver is holding her down, anger in his eyes.
"You ruined my race," the beaver hisses, shifting his weight over Maria.
"It was… an accident!" Maria pleads, struggling a little to breathe.
The beaver shifts his boot so the tip is pressing hard on Maria's throat. "I'll be the judge of that," he growls maliciously.
Maria can only gasp desperately for air as the beaver strangles her.
