I Want To Be A Racing Driver! 21 I Need A Clean Lap!

The sun was at its apex beating down on everyone and heating up the track. It was the busiest time of the day and more and more people were getting on the track. The sound of engines could be heard from some distance away. It was at this time that Jayden got back on track, his kart fitted new tires ready He was ready to find out how much of a difference new tires would make when trying to improve his lap time.

A few minutes earlier prior to him joining the track, Jan called him over. "Going out on new tires will give you a great amount of extra grip compared to the other set for the first few laps but after that, they will gradually lose grip over time. That means you'll get the most improvement in the first flying lap! The problem you will have now is the track is congested with all the other drivers. Try to get some s.p.a.ce so you can push for a full lap without getting held up by other drivers. The track is nice and warm so you shouldn't have a lot of trouble warming up the tires. Go out there and show us what you can do on these tires!"

Back on track, Jayden was looking for some s.p.a.ce. This was pretty hard to do at the moment because there were people driving everywhere. Sadly compared to earlier on the day the drivers that were now on the track were clearly not as skilled. He finally managed to get a bit of clear track in front of him so when he got out of the final corner he went for it. "incredible!" he thought. "Even when accelerating you notice the increase in grip. I have so much more traction. Improving my fastest time will be a breeze!" Jayden could feel the extra grip with any action he did whether it was accelerating, braking or turning. Even when sliding the kart the tires would grip up quicker making it possible to increase his speed through the corners even more. He felt giddy with how much faster he was going than before. Just as he was getting close to the last part of the lap the yellow flag came out. A driver had spun out in the final corner. He needed to slow down. "I was doing so good too! I'm sure I would get a time under the one minute if I could just complete it." he lamented. It took some time before the kart that had spun out was cleared from the track. Jayden did not wait around but went straight for a fast lap the first chance he got. He noticed that the amount of grip from the tires had dropped slightly. Your average driver would not have noticed the difference but Jayden did. He could easily feel it through the steering and the feeling he got through his seat.

"I need to get a lap in as soon as possible!"

"I don't think he will get any faster! There are too many people out on the track. He already had to cancel 4 attempts for a fast lap and the track is only getting busier!" Anthony was getting frustrated. He had hoped that Jayden would be able to show something amazing while running new tires but it seems like he won't get the opportunity. "Yes, it looks like he won't improve any further today. But this will also be a lesson for him. You need to be able to create your own s.p.a.ce on track to get in a fast lap" Jan agreed with him.

Out on the track, Jayden had never been as frustrated as now. "Why are they always in the way?! I just need one clean lap and I'm sure I can improve my lap-time." He pa.s.sed the driver in front of him and noticed there was a nice bit of open track in front of him. "I need to get a fast lap in now. This might be my last chance!" Lining up for another fast lap Jayden went for it again. "The tires are still grippy I should be able to improve if no one gets in the way!"

It looked like Jayden was in luck. He managed to get through the first sector cleanly. There was a driver ahead of him in the second sector but he neatly pulled off the racing line letting him past so he did not get held up. His luck ran out in the final sector. Before the final corner which leads to the main straight, there was a high-speed left-right chicane. Entering that chicane was a driver going way to slow. Jayden was right behind him and it looked like he would get held up again. Normally he would slow down and break off his attempt for a fast lap but his frustration got the better of him. He followed the slower driver into the chicane not slowing down at all. Tapping the brakes as little as possible he drifted his kart around the slower driver and barely managed to get the kart turned in the other direction for the second part of the chicane. He had managed to get past losing the least amount of time! There was now only the final corner and the main straight to go and the lap would be done. He took as much speed through the final corner as he dared, pushing himself and the kart to the limits before rocketing out of the corner and onto the main straight.

"A 59.3 while getting through traffic huh!?" Jan was pleasantly surprised. He had no longer expected Jayden would get an opportunity to improve. Anthony, on the other hand, was almost jumping with joy. Jayden had proven his skill time and time again today and far exceeded his expectations. He looked over at Jan and saw that he was also had a smile on his face. "looks like he really managed to get Jan's interest. I need him to get Jayden in touch with his sponsors!"He thought.

"Well, what do you think? He's doing pretty good right!"