The Valentians – 1st Tier: FunStar Squidroidia 400, Spartansburg Speedway, Spartansburg, Squidroidia (Speedway); 2nd Tier: Drew's 300, Spartansburg Speedway, Spartansburg, Squidroidia (Speedway)After the race was over on that day, the Valentians wasted no time in making their way to the next one. There was a bit of a gap and free time in-between, that was for certain. However, as they have looked through the website (on top of getting the flyer conveying the same information), the Valentians realised that they needed to be there by Thursday - a gap day for training, logistics, and anything that they might need to fill in. The first tier would only go on at Saturday, but Valentijn as expected arrived early on a Thursday morning, already making herself at home and lying down on her bed. Both the actual Valentijn (who is 117 meters tall) inside the plane, as well as the smaller body controlled by her for the race, were fast asleep before the rest of the Valentians came in.
"Oh yeah, sorry about that, haha," she said sheepishly as she was greeted by her friends, "Was scoping out the track this entire morning. If you guys want my evaluation, it's not too bad. Oval speedway, nothing too special or noteworthy- Oh the place is nice, I will give it that. I just mean that there is nothing that would trouble you guys here."
"Man, the kart-racing seems fun," Marcus remarked with Jared in agreement, looking at one of the fliers that was given to them, "Too bad it's for kids. Hey, even for adults, I am very sure we will not fit." Jared then went down to the garage, which already has the six Valentian cars ready and available for evaluation. Marcus then followed him, noting, "Well, let's get this checked on early. We could definitely use a big break here!"
As Jenny, Jared, Marcus, Tiffany, Adriana, and Genki (Crew chief for Jamie, now for Jolyn) checked their respective vehicles, they started to do their works. There was little need for huge changes, but they always agree that it's the smaller and subtle changes that win races. The difference between being "just drivable" and "handles optimally."
- Jenny uploaded all the OS'es and devices on-board Clarissa's #7 with a small update, stating that "This should optimise the data collection and processing a bit more, dumping potentially duplicate data. We will see how this works."
- Jared tightened the wheel for Anastasia's #15, knowing that she likes to handle her vehicle a little too roughly at times whenever she is excited. The dampener ensured that the fine steerings were preserved, while larger forces are counteracted, like seat-belts.
- Marcus tore off and replaced the back bumper for Gwen's #31, which was damaged from the previous race as she was rear-ended by someone along the race. "I am not being snarky either. I honestly didn't know who hit me, though I guess I just pretend that it was something temporary."
- Tiffany did general checks for Valentijn's #10, for her vehicle was still more or less ready to go, and at that moment, felt that there was nothing needed to be done.
- Adriana did the same as Jared for Holly's #55, knowing that she too could get excited from time to time.
- Genki simply took the advices from the other five crew chiefs, as well as from Jolyn herself, regarding the #76. Given his first time, and also because of Jolyn's relative lack of activity, the vehicle did not need to be that fine-tuned.
"Yeah, all of this seems set," Jared remarked, with the other crew chiefs listening to him during the debrief, "Just do what you guys do best and nothing will go wrong for the days ahead. For tomorrow, Tiffany and Valentijn will be up. Good luck, you guys!"
"謝謝！" Tiffany replied back with a smile, with Valentijn sitting in the car, trying out the various changes made to it.
The Valentians – FridayIt was afternoon, after lunch. Valentijn had a hearty lunch in her own body, while recharging and giving some food of its own to her smaller body. It was not always the easiest to control two bodies, but the idea of a virtual reality, on top of an augmented reality with freedom of movement within a stasis chamber in the ship, made it all possible. That was perhaps why the Valentian ships were so large - it was not simply to house the large Valentijn and Anastasia, but also to house some essential pieces of technology for them to function well in the races. All that aside, it was time for Valentijn to race once again. She drank a couple of energy drinks for this occasion and started the practice, on top of the qualifications. The hour-long practice was a bit tedious at first, but Valentijn got the hang of it, given her rather energeised state. "Oh man, I can hear colors!" was one of the things that was said in the chatter during the practice. Come 3.30 PM, she was able to roar through the track on her own, netting herself a 1st - a pole position. She was excited and exuberant regarding this news when she walked and looked at the scoreboard, but of course, she remembered the golden rule: Don't get cocky, for the qualifications are not everything.
The Valentians – SaturdayOn the previous day and night, Valentijn would return back to her lounge with a wealth of experience she got regarding the track - for the three Valentians, as well as for the two Gardeners. "To be extremely honest, there is nothing much to worry about. It's just an oval track, but you know what they say - "just" an oval track itself can be a danger if you are too cocky, so please try your best, but also not overconfident... No wait, one thing, actually. The banking is kinda low, so you might need to watch out for those. Do not speed too much on the turns, you WILL get screwed."
With that knowledge, the Valentians went for the qualifications - 14th for Clarissa, 3rd for Anastasia, 27th for Gwen, 46th for Holly, and a spectacular 29th for Jolyn. "Ahh, seems like someone is back into action. Congratulations, my friend, I am so happy for you!" Valentijn remarked, along with the rest of the Valentians that once again celebrated for Jolyn making it in. A genuine joy and smiles for their friend, along with Jolyn's students doing a little cheer once they heard of the news from the virtual class.
It would seem like Clarissa and Gwen could not do as well as they hoped for. The banking was not exactly the problem - they followed Valentijn's advice and with their own experiments during the practice, they have more or less ensured that it would not be a big deal. Still, they can't help but feel that they can definitely do better. The two, along with Anastasia, would meet up on the track after the qualifications.
"Well, not the results that we are aiming for, but they will have to do, right?" Clarissa started the conversation, with Gwen nodding in agreement. Anastasia kept it to herself knowing her results, but she too sympathised with her friends.
"It doesn't have to be the end-all, I am sure of it," Gwen noted in turn, "Qualifications do not have to be everything. Besides, we actually did pretty good! That, and we don't have to rely on qualifications anymore. Oh man, I remembered those days when I have to chase for them. Those were... yeah, it was like poor Jolyn over there."
The three of them then bought 6 tickets for Drew 300, in order to see Valentijn at the race. "Yeah, each of us will need 2 seats, all right," Anastasia commented with a chuckle.
...
While the pole position helped tremendously for Valentijn, it was not meant to be for this race. Perhaps it was the low banking that she kept talking about. Maybe there was something that she missed and could not detail it. The lack of bumper drafts might also play a factor, who knows. The way Valentijn saw it, she definitely blew it big time as she was consistently slow for the entire track and stabilising at 21st out of 30+ cars. That was not the results that she was looking for.
"Well, on the other hand, I got a company with me now," Valentijn commented when she was together with the Valentians once again, "You guys know Pyotr Lavrentiev, the winner of today's race? Ahh, it's okay if you don't. So I have been keeping track of the races, and it definitely was the case that he too got his second win. Now there are two of us!"
The Valentians – SundayThe real deal, the Valentians thought to themselves. With Valentijn taking a break and watching from a distance (she went back into her own body; the view was much nicer when you are at 100+ meters), Clarissa, Anastasia, Gwen, Holly, and Jolyn broke into action. Anastasia was especially excited, gunning for that performance that she was hoping for. It does not even have to be a win; it simply needed to make up for that DNF that she suffered from in the previous race. The points compensation would have been more than enough to satisfy Anastasia, since after all, she already got two gold medals so far in this season. "Win should probably go for Gwen," she thought in her mind, a thought about how her friend is the only one who is without a win in this season so far.
Gwen already had a bad start from her 27th position, falling to 38th as she tried her best. It would be synonymous with what Valentijn was doing - it was not because of the track, or the car - maybe it was herself? What would warrant such a drop in performance? Thinking less about that, and after her first pit stop, Gwen gunned to overtake as many as she cleanly could, eventually striking into the Top 10s and maintaining her position for the rest of the race.
Clarissa would did the same, though she would suffer a semi-fatal error on the 5th segment of the race. Jenny got up from her high chair and started pressing a few buttons on her tablet interface, wondering what went wrong. "A SQL error should not cause a BSOD," Jenny thought to herself, trying to communicate with Clarissa on what happened. It turns out that one of the solid state drives in the car failed, and with it, a small fraction of Clarissa's data. The non-essential race data, but nevertheless, the data that could aid Clarissa. The distraction cost them a little, but Clarissa was able to bounce back to a nice 4th. "Ahh, I could have gotten that 3rd, haha! Ah wells!"
Anastasia, on the other hand, was no hands barred. She weaved and raced around the track, her midnight blue-yellow #15 shining harshly against the afternoon sun. She was feeling the heat, but she was accustomed to such a thing a this point. Perhaps she would be the only driver so far that did not need an air-conditioner blowing on her face, even asking if she could take out the larger AC unit from her car in order to reduce the weight of it. That AC would transfer to its original owner and proposer - Jolyn and her now-#76. With little to no sweat, it was once again time for Anastasia to play with the top drivers. #13, #0, #7, #40, #05 - all of them a little close and tight, with Clarissa smiling and giving a wave at Anastasia as she went past her. "Good luck out there, Annie!"
It would be close, it would be sensational, and it would be... a clear win once again, she thought to herself. With a larger speed advantage and sailing from slipstreaming behind Clarissa, Anastasia was able to get past the #0 with relative ease. #13, on the other hand, proved to be a rather tedious one. Slamming down on the gas pedal as hard as she can, Anastasia only had the finish line on her mind, while paying little attention to the cars around her; they were around, just not "Oh my goodness I am going to crash onto them by accident" around. No DNFs, no dirty tricks, just pure Valkyrie energy.
And just like that, she thought. "#15... Anastasia!" What is this now? First win? Second? No, third. Third gold medal in a row. Perhaps the only driver with three wins as of now. Anastasia was not the one to be cocky, and she certainly isn't going to be. However, one would wonder how she was beating her two friends - one being a state-of-the-art computer that can determine the best route in just a couple of nanoseconds, the other being a Queen of Fate, Space, and Time (though of course, Gwen did not use her powers to cheat; perhaps simply trying her best to avoid horrible accidents). As she checked her watch, she had 12 hours left before she went back to her normal size. "And who says magic girls can't drive?" was the thought that came into her mind once again, as she climbed out of the car and once again surrounded by the press and fans alike. Autographs to sign, pictures to take, poses, and a rather bitter and hot champagne which she wondered if she should pass them to Eva and Hana as well. Would it be seen as a genuinely good intent? Or a rub-in-the-face scenario? She simply went with it, taking a few sips and posing for the cameras, then putting the large bottle back on the podium.
As Valentijn transferred back to her smaller body, she went for a rather long run along the more natural areas of Spartansburg, wherever she could find. It has always been a Valentian tradition to visit another country's parks and nature reserves to take a few photos, followed by hiking and jogging along these trails. She was more than happy with the news of her team today. She might not make it so well with her 21st finish, but her friends and her wife certainly did great, and she was already happy with that. Even Holly and Jolyn managed to finish with a beautiful teamwork of 20th and 21st. "Such a beautiful sight, isn't it?" Valentijn thought to herself, as she then took out her phone, took a few shots, and then went back to the Valentian lounge for a celebration.
"This has been perhaps the best day ever."
Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2021 6:43 pm
