Favourite. Chapter 14 Part 1

This novel is fictional, you should not look for intersections with historical events. This is a continuation of Nikita Savelyev’s Racing Action Movie, first published on F1News.ru…

Favourite. Chapter 14 Part 1

Marcel Reed

He glanced across the starting grid. Until recently it was mainly painted in different shades of red, but the racing world is changing. One thing is unchanging: Monetti is leading the way. This time their blood-red steeds crushed Carnall’s battle formations one after the other: the British took the first three odd places, and the Italians even. The following rows are solid shades of green and only towards the end are there a few spots of red – as expected the pilots on Private Pontini struggled. Poor guy Georges again did not guess with the choice of car.

In the pre-launch rush, among the crowd, Neville usually caught the main rivals – Carbone nervously smokes a cigarette, Powell jokes with the engineers. He nodded to their boss, and brave Bernardo frowned at Carnall’s cars, as if hoping to see the secret of speed.

Neville’s teammates were there: Derek took an excellent third place and Leslie was satisfied with fifth. On a narrow and enclosed track, it’s easy to collide at the start, so Mr. Carragher strictly forbade his pilots to interfere in the slightest with Neville at the start, but he punished them to wipe out rivals of Monetti if possible.

All three Carnall pilots reacted differently to the introductory boss: Leslie warmly supported him and recognized that the best interests of the team are paramount, Derek tried to claim he had his own race, but was met with the boss’s indignant look and a menacing grunt that Derek would still take his but later. Well, Neville preferred to remain silent, of course, he did not need the help of his partners, but in fact on such a specific track, even if they do not interfere. After all, they all started this for the sake of the coveted title – the first for Britain in the entire history of major motorsport.

You don’t get crowded together by a colorful, expensively dressed audience. The crème de la crème simply died of happiness to exchange a few words with a real racer chasing the edge of human capabilities. The podium in the principality is not only a sporting event, but also a real holiday for pilots, organizers and spectators. But finally, entertainment and social events recede into the background. Ninety-nine laps ahead. Twelve difficult turns. The gear changes every few seconds. There is almost no chance of error. A careless movement of the steering wheel – and you get stuck in a wall, a post or a bale of hay.

Pierre Carbone

At the start he had to fight with the superior forces of competitors – he stands between Reed and Turner. If he gets caught, it’s going to be tough. But now he is the main hope of the team and he has no right to ruin it.

After waving the black and white checkered flag, Pierrot did everything he could to get into the first corner ahead of Reid, but the nimble Englishman reacted better. To top it off, I had to fend off the attacks of the overclocked Leslie Turner.

And right there in the early laps Reed started to pull away, Piero couldn’t do anything. Not the best start.

Ronald Powell

Their cars look ridiculous in concrete labyrinths. It is very difficult to overtake, in fact, you will not reach the maximum speed, and two hundred and eighty strong engines have nowhere to demonstrate their power. But such is the race – a true pilot must show professionalism throughout.

After the start, Ronald failed to recover, he kept only fourth place, now the main hope of problems with competitors. And at such a technically demanding distance, this is almost inevitable.

Marcel Reed

Winding streets wind up to the towers of the Prince’s Palace or drop steeply down to the pier. Azure waves with a splash roll on the coastal stones, miniature ships sway, the surface of the water shimmers bizarrely, a light breeze blows. Not a cloud in the light blue sky. The view from the surrounding mountains is breathtaking.

Majestic castles, extraordinary palaces, old mansions, high cliffs, emerald green gardens – for ten years they have looked favorably on the people swarming below. It seems unbelievable that races are held in a place where street cars have a hard time passing each other. But this is the beauty of European competitions and pilots. They are generalists, unlike the same Americans.

Marcel’s lead over Carbone grows inevitably with every lap. Although there is a possibility, you should raise the handicap.

Pierre Carbone

After three stages he was leading the general classification, but you can’t relax: one failed race and the competitors take the lead. Let’s not be under any illusions – Carnall has gained a serious advantage. And that reed. How does he manage to regain a fraction of a second? Pierrot felt longingly how he lost precious meters in literally every corner.

Ronald Powell

No wonder Monetti relied on reliability this year, as in previous years it was equipment failures that robbed the team of many key points. Leslie Turner’s dark green Carnall had clearly lost speed and Ronald was already close behind. It seems to be a problem with the gearbox. Well, his compatriots are just getting used to the top world of motorsport and the Italians are already experienced players. Still, he chose the right side, the riders have too little time for a long way to the top.

Well, come on! You don’t have enough speed no matter how you rest! Just a little while and Ronald can take the lead!

Marcel Reed

At first he didn’t even get angry, just a dull annoyance. Well, of course, what to refuse on this track, if not a gearbox. Then I tried to understand the depth of the problems. The lever sticks – it loses a split second with each switch. But not everything is so critical. Until the opponents even notice that all is not well with him. No wonder he’s created such a solid stock.

Pierre Carbone

How many laps to finish? Just under forty. A lot of time. Now the pendulum of racing luck has swung in its favor – with every lap the record shows more and more optimistic numbers. Here’s an overrated Reid with vaunted British technique. Now the most important thing is to curb impatience and choose the moment to move forward. How narrow it is here!

Ronald Powell

The partner’s red stern is very close – you can bite. But of course it is not recommended to attack without a command from the box line and a clear advantage in speed. At Monetti they are extremely meticulous in the fight between their pilots. And it would be good if they only fought for the title, who knew that someone could impose a fight on them.

Ronald saw another car driving in front of his partner. Too long for the straggler in the circle – it’s definitely Reid, which means something has gone wrong with him again.

Pierrot is waiting for the attack for now. In general it works well. Perhaps Ronaldo is trying to get himself a valuable prize?

Marcel Reed

Only twenty laps to the finish – just a fifth of the distance. It would seem nonsense! But under such circumstances, one round counts as five, no less.

The box remained fringe: now it started to spontaneously switch to neutral gear. With one hand, Neville is forced to constantly hold the lever in the desired position and turn the steering wheel with the other. No matter how hard he tried, the speed dropped completely. At any other circuit, Pierrot would have overtaken him using the speed advantage, but here the narrow streets played on Marcel’s side.

If only something else wouldn’t fail in a whimsical box, then you have to forget about winning. Oh how I want to win! A win would keep Marcel in contention for the title, while the loss of Monetti’s triumph puts him in an extremely difficult position.

Come on, automatic. Hang on a little longer. What are you worth?!

== To be continued…