I got him. Right on his tail, drafting down the straightaway at 300 kmh.
The hair pin turn at the end.
I mapped out practiced this move on the simulator until it I got it right.
I know he tends to drift to the outer rim of the curve before he slingshots down the short straighaway to the finish line.
But... add in the fact that he has cruised to 15 victories in a row, he didn't need a fast finish in past races.
He does today.
I begged the crew to get me a couple more horsepower in case I needed it.
The regulations are so tight, they might have to cheat them.
Just win baby.
Hard braking into the corner.
I cut the curve tight. He drifted out!
Yes!
I slung out in front of him by a half a car length.
Two kilos to the checkered flag.
A 300 kilometer race coming down to the last 2.
Pedal to the medal.
I was holding the lead.
Then the crew chief barked over the radio, 'He is catching you.'
I drifted towards him hoping he will slow down.
He is too smart, avoiding the drift, but adding precious extra meters to complete his journey.
One kiloto go. We are in front of the huge grandstand.
Mom and Rowan rooting me on.
A quarter of a car length. My lead slowly eroding.
I can feel it. A strange feeling. I don't ever lose.
Hold on, hold on... where are my extra horsepower!!!
He inched forward.
Half kilo to go.
I see the white paint of the finish line, worn by the travels of $15 million dollar cars
The flag marshal holding the checkered flag out, but not unfurled.
We were wheel to wheel with 100 meters to go.
I hold steady, a straight line, straight line, minimize distance.
Whoosh! We pass the waving flag. I can't tell who won.
We both slow down to take a lap. A victory lap for one of us.
The crowd was going crazy!
But I know, it is a hometown crowd for Emilio.
Maybe, just maybe, the crowd applauded for the female underdog.
An about to turn 19 year old female rookie on the circuit, driving in her first F1 race.
A driver already with a modeling career posing in tasteful magazines and online sites in just one year.
Offers to star in porn videos based on one AI viral sex scene posted by someone, not me.
It looked like we fucked, AI generated lies.
I am still a virgin.
Over the radio, my crew chief blared in my ear, 'He won.'
I replied, 'You mean I fucking lost! I told you I needed the extra power. Where was it?'
'You needed more of a bigger lead out of the curve.'
'Fuck you! I timed it just right. A half car length. Any other crew would have done their job right.'
'Maura, we will talk about this later.'
'She is going to fire me. I fucking guaranteed a win.'
'Maura, come to the pit. She is already here with her entourage.'
I sighed. My first loss in three years. Yes the competition in those wins not F1 level but no one else had a streak like that... ever.
He stopped on the finish line as I cruised by slow.
He gave me the finger, then put it in his mouth. He saw the AI video. Who hasn't by now?
Over the grandstand speaker. 'Emilio Garcia, Another victory.'
Crew chief back on the radio, 'Margin of victory one hundredth of a second.'
Fuck. So close. But if you don't win, you are a loser.
I pulled into our pit.
The crew helping me exit the car.
They were exuberant, so happy.
One of the team members congratulated me on a great race.
I told him, 'We lost. Don't ever do that again.'
He walked away like a scolded puppy, tail between it's leg.
Over the grandstand speaker.
'Yes, yes, a huge thanks to my crew. Our car was way better than the competition.'
i wouldn't say way better, but the victor get the spoils.
'And this race proves that there is no room for women in this sport. She proved her inferior driving skills are not good enough to win. It's sad, she should stick with her video career. That is where she excels.'
You are fucking kidding me!
I was free of the car, still holding my helmet. I ran to his winner circle celebration that was under way.
I heard my crew chief yell, 'Stop her!'
Too fast. I made it to the crowd surrounding the asshole.
Too many people surrounding him.
I flung my helmet at him.
It hit him in the head. He dropped like a rag doll.
I turned and calmly walked back, not giving a fuck about the injury severity.
Fuck him, fuck him, I kept muttering as the crew caught up to me and ushered me back to our pit.
Uh oh, the owner was standing there.
We made eye contact.
She started clapping.
I shouted out to everyone, 'Where is Jimmy? Where the fuck is Jimmy?'
I asked the boss, 'Do you know where Jimmy is?'
Her husband said, 'Here he comes.'
'Where was my fucking extra horsepower? I needed it. We lost because of it,' I screamed at him.
'We couldn't do it without breaking the rules. You are rookie, we are a new team, they are all over the car.'
'He cheated! He broke the rules. File a protest, he fucking cheated. No way he could make up a half car length.'
'And find a judge. We need to file a TRO stopping him from getting the money until they crawl all over his car.'
Jimmy said, 'He is last years champ, always passed post race inspections.'
'So? If you can't do it, who can?'
I looked at the boss.
'Can you do it?'
'We can handle the TRO. Jimmy file the protest now,' she ordered.
I overheard the boss to her husband, 'Love this girl. She is going places.'
I thought about how I talked to the boss.
'I apologize. I shouldn't be yelling at you like that.'
She hugged me and said, 'Don't! You are right. We won. Time to prove it'
'Thanks boss. I promised you I would deliver wins and a championship for your team. We can't be cheated out of the first win. I will deliver.'
She said, 'Go ahead, your fans and media await you. Tell them what we are doing. Be gracious. Don't apologize for the helmet. The asshole deserved it.'
I turned around. Bigger crowd than he had. Fuck, I hate this part, I am just a driver, not Taylor Swift... or a porn star.
***
'Mom, she lost! I can't believe it. By a hundredth of second nonetheless,' he said.
'Look at the crowd around her, jeez. She will hate it,' he continued.