--- This one is PG, for swearing. Enjoy. :D ---

The high-speed cam at the line clocked him at 34.268 seconds for the lap, and Jome, watching by the side of the road, got severely windblasted by the passing car. He grabbed hold of a nearby pole to stop himself. "Shit." Nearby, a maroon car with lighting painted on the wheel arches turned on to the track, suddenly speeding up as soon as it had room. Michael's islander followed a few seconds after. It was 8:00; the track was heating up.

Eventually, both cars returned to the garage. Michael's was dripping.

Jome glanced at it and sighed. "How did you do that one, mm?"

"Crashed on the 90."

"Ah."

Jash had also managed to flatten his wheel arch. He manouvered the car onto the platform, jacking it up and then unscrewed the wheel. It fell away, bouncing across the floor. It came to rest near the pole that David had annoyed, knocking it over once again. Jash got to work with a hammer and a cast. David was nearby, so Jash started talking, not sure if he was even listening.

"I have an imbalance somewhere. The car keeps dipping to the right; I don't like being shunted every lap."

"Mmm."

David was facing the other way, looking at a computer screen. Little blobs were rushing around the screen eating each other, but the sound was lost in the general clangs and noise of the garage. Jash had a sneaking suspicion that David was supposed to be doing something.

"There's a league race today, right? The first."

"Yeah. That why everybody is out; warming their tyres."

"How many laps?"

"Just a minute."

Jash put down the steel cast and inspected his work. Pleased, we went to bother David, looking over his shoulder. The little blobs where by now rather large blobs, and one of them got eaten. Jash guessed it was an important one, because the screen flashed the words GAME OVER before David switched to a list of figures.

"Ok... Uh, 10 laps, 2 rounds. 1 stop," During each round, a driver could take their car in to fix up any damage, or tweak some of the specs; a stop. "And it starts at 11:00 AM."

Jash checked his watch. He had an hour.

"Well, I'm all set. I'll have lunch, and then race."

An hour later saw the grid half filled; very quickly it would become full. Each car was placed in order of their fastest time for the day, or randomly if they hadn't raced before then. Jash ended up 17th out of 26 cars, and Michael was further up the grid, in 5th.

Cameras came to life. The lights switched on, red, and then flicked off again. Instantly, every eye was on them. Every engine ticked over. Every other thought lost; every voice silenced. No other sound except the throb of the cars.

A lone red light appeared at the far end of the rack. It was joined by a second, and then a third. The whole rack held red for a second, and then it all turned to green.

Every car leaped forward with a roar that could be heard for miles around. Inside the cab, Jash pushed the pedal down until sheet metal blocked its way; the car tilted to the side as it entered the bank, dropping slightly. He received a bump from the right, and had to brake to avoid a large grille that had suddenly appeared in front. This resulted in another shunt from behind, regain the speed he had lost. Suddenly, the road straightened; Jash's car happened to be on the left side, and he was launched into the air a short way, landing with a thud. Behind him he heard two more thuds, and then the squeal of tyres and twisting metal. Heh, he thought. We're not even around the first corner and already there's been a prang.
Jash put on a burst of speed up the hill, coming level with a black car with a Keidran drawn on it. Jash noticed the letters Team M. He didn't get any further because at that instant the car dropped away, out of his field of view. Jash followed it, landing on the straight, but the car's flat landing caused it to jerk violently and turn off to the left. Jash repositioned his hands on the wheel and then spun it back the other way, but smashed into the side wall anyway, lifting up the right side a little and throwing up a shower of sparks across the road. The black car he'd managed to overtake during the jmup passed him again, but Jash realigned the car and then pressed the pedal down again, passing a couple of other cars and drawing level with it. His car suddenly dipped down, as he entered the light of the tube. A left turn loomed ahead; Jash pulled the car to the right, travelling up the side of the tube. He was suddenly pushed down into his seat as the tube swung around, before swapping the car onto the other side and overtaking a moave car lower down. The black car was still to his right and he risked a glance at it, making out Team Miles on the side. It pulled away to ground level and suddenly the tube ended, throwing Jash into the air. He landed on the right side of the carwith a loud crash and a shower of sparks, before the left caught up and crashed down. The car jerked violently and slid to face the right, the tyres doing their job and throwing most of their speed into the wall on the right of the road. The front end crumpled, and the car slid to a stop.
"Crap!"

Jash glanced behind him, reversing out to face the right way. He waited until a break in the traffic and then shot forward again, leading a trail of sparks for a lap before the metal panel being abused was worn away. He finished the round in 22nd, and then took a break, returning to the garage.