Chapter 9

Three Years Ago

Schnee Automotive was in the midst of another bad year. With Penny's departure their engine program had imploded. They went from having the most powerful engines on the grid by a wide margin to being only as good as the competition. Worse, just to get to that point reliability was sacrificed and the team was lucky to get one car to the finish in any race. Winter was frustrated and angry. It looked like she might even leave the team. Given the overall state of things, that would be a deathblow.

Things were bad in sports cars too. At the previous year's 24 Hours of Vytal Winter had not participated. In her absence, all three Schnee Automotive entries fell out with mechanical failures. Nevermore won again, but with entirely different drivers. Their winning car was piloted by Champ Car driver May Zedong and sports car ace Dew Gayl. Their other car finished second with Sun and Neptune behind the wheel. Even before the Schnee cars had broken, the Nevermores were much faster. Improved engines meant they had overtaken Schnee Automotive and no longer needed to play games to secure victory.

Winter wanted to win the 24 Hours of Vytal. That was no secret. She had been so close so many times but something always went wrong. She decided to give it one last go, but not with Schnee Automotive. Paired up with Pyrrha, she would drive a Nevermore against her father's team, and with her father's blessing. She made it clear that it was the only way she would keep driving for Schnee Automotive in F1. There was really no choice other than to let her drive the Nevermore.

Pyrrha and Winter put their car on pole after dominating the practice sessions. Winter started the race with the same casual stroll she had two years previous. She was in the lead by the third lap anyway. After that it was academic. The Nevermore was fast and virtually bulletproof. Winter and Pyrrha pulled away, lap after lap, shift after shift. It was a slaughter. Arguably the two best drivers in the best car produced the expected result, but the scale of their domination was still shocking. They won by what amounted to an hour of running time.

Winter finally had her victory. She had accomplished pretty much all there was to accomplish in motorsports with the exception of a few stock car achievements she did not even attempt. Pyrrha got closer to doing the same. The following year she would win the Vacuo 500 and her second World Championship. With that done Winter and Pyrrha were far and away the most accomplished drivers of their generation, perhaps of all time.

Present Day

The Vytal Grand Prix was not being held at the endurance circuit. It had not been in the previous four years either. After alternating between a pair of public road circuits, the race moved to the Amity Circuit, a state-of-the-art, purpose-built race track in the south of the island. It sat in the foothills of Vytal's world-famous wine producing region. When F1 arrived in midsummer, it was warm and sunny, with good weather forecast for the entirety of the race weekend. After the washout in Menagerie, the drivers were grateful.

Yang was back in her car, the silver #3 for Beacon GP. Ruby shifted over to the #4. Vytal would be her first race as a full-time grand prix driver. Weiss would start her first race for Team Juniper in the blue #2, alongside Pyrrha in her #1. Pyrrha had not had a competent teammate since she won the F2 championship six years prior. Having a former champion on her team would surely take some getting used to. For Weiss the car would take some getting used to. She had driven cars designed by Ruby for the entirety of her F1 career. Team Juniper created aerodynamic marvels, but there were questions about the quality of the chassis. At least the engines would be the same.

Different drivers had different agendas as practice got underway. Yang was trying to get comfortable after being out of a race car for over a month. Her ribs were still a bit sore but she was really healthy for the first time since Mistral. Ruby wanted to show she belonged. She still doubted her capacity to drive a grand prix car but felt the pressure to succeed. Pyrrha had nothing to prove. She knew she would be faster than her new teammate simply because she knew the car better. Weiss wanted to show Pyrrha she was closer than Pyrrha expected. She was in the #2 car but would not accept being the #2 driver. At the first big power track of the season Winter wanted to show that the Schnee Automotive cars were real competitors. They had experienced some lean years but Winter was confident that they were back in the game. May was in a similar situation to Ruby. She wanted to prove that she could live up to the hype and that her hiring by the Schnee team had not been a mistake.

Yang got off to a great start, leading the first session from Winter and Pyrrha. They were followed by Weiss, Ruby and May who were all very close to one another. In the second practice Pyrrha jumped to the lead with the rest of the top six remaining the same. The final practice produced a more chaotic order. Winter was first from Pyrrha and Yang. They were followed by May and Weiss. After that were Sun and Neptune, both ahead of Ruby who was trailed by Coco, Reese and Arslan.

Ruby felt terribly discouraged. She had not gone slower in the final practice, but she had not gained any time. All the drivers around her got faster but she seemed to have reached her limit. Given how fast Yang was, Ruby's limit and the car's limit were clearly quite different. Weiss was not happy either. She had been a bit concerned about the quality of the Juniper chassis and it turned out the situation was much worse than anticipated. The aerodynamics of the car were magnificent, but mechanical grip was lacking and any slight disruptions to air flow ruined the handling. Weiss gained a new appreciation for Pyrrha's skill but had to wonder if she had made a very poor career choice. In the two hours between the final practice and the start of qualifying, both drivers would have to get things sorted out.

Yang sat in a folding chair beside her car as the mechanics worked to prep it for time trials. Ruby slid another chair over and sat beside her. "I don't think I can do it." Ruby admitted.

"Ruby, don't say that, you're doing fine." Yang assured her. "You just need more time."

"Time is the problem." Ruby said. "I'm not getting any faster. I just can't bring myself to push the car any harder."

"The more you drive, the better it will get." Yang said. "I didn't start my career driving at the limit lap after lap, getting everything out of the car."

"You won your first F2 race." Ruby reminded her.

"Yeah, after a whole year of F3 in an almost identical car." Yang countered. "You ran like five F3 races, two F2 races and the Vacuo 500. That's not exactly a wealth of experience. You just need to get comfortable with the car."

"What if I never get comfortable with the car?" Ruby asked.

"I think you will." Yang said. "But if you don't it's not the end of the world. It would be for most drivers, but most drivers can't build their own car. One of the reasons you were fast in Vacuo was because you designed and developed the car from the driver's seat. You built a car that was fast and that you were comfortable driving. There's no reason you can't do that now. Even in F3 and F2 you built your own cars specifically for you. Now you're driving a car designed for me and Weiss. Make the car comfortable for you."

"I'm not sure being comfortable will be enough." Ruby sighed. "I'm just...afraid to go too fast. I want to drive on the limit, but if I go over it…"

"You know as well as I do that we're all afraid." Yang said. "I get into that car every race without being sure I'll ever get out. At some point something in your head is going to click and you'll forget all about the fear. Were you afraid in Vacuo?"

"Terrified." Ruby replied.

"And you won that race." Yang said. "You had some help, but you were still looking at a great finish if the others hadn't dropped out."

"At that track all the turns are pretty much the same." Ruby said. "If you run a few laps it's really easy to find the limit. Here every turn is different. It would take forever. Even last week was easier with most of the track being flat-out."

"You're oversimplifying it." Yang said. "You had to deal with tire wear, changes in weight and balance as the fuel burned off, changing track conditions and other drivers. Even a track like that isn't easy when you factor in all the variables. I think the real problem is that you don't believe in yourself. If you just believe you can do it and stop worrying it'll be a lot easier."

"You say that like I can just flip a switch in my head." Ruby said.

"This is a mental game just as much as a physical one." Yang said. "You'll never be comfortable in the car if you're not comfortable with yourself. I believe in you. Ozpin believes in you. Everyone that matters believes in you. Once you start believing in yourself, I'm sure you'll be fast."

Weiss had originally been using a setup that was basically identical to Pyrrha's. After the final practice she demanded wholesale changes to her car. Weiss had found Yang's setups too oversteer-heavy while at Beacon GP and Pyrrha's setup was even worse. She also had an eye for detail and remembered how things had worked at Beacon GP. It was obviously never going to be the same with another team, but if she could get things to be more similar, she might just go faster. She also had some bigger changes in mind for the next race. The current suspension arrangement was not going to cut it. Even if it made the car heavier or lowered the aerodynamic downforce, there were changes that had to be made if Weiss was going to be successful. She was not going to rest until she was happy with the car.

Qualifying got off to a predictable start. Yang was fastest followed by Winter and Pyrrha as the end of the session approached. Behind was a chaotic jumble of very close times. Weiss, May, Sun, Ruby, Coco, Neptune, Reese and Arslan were all within a second of one another. Ruby was an interesting case. She had run more laps than anyone else and she was finally getting just that little bit faster. She also spun out a lot. There were a bunch of slides into the grass as well. If her fragile qualifying engine could hold out for another few laps and she managed to keep her car on the circuit, she might just have something.

There was only enough time for one more lap. Yang knew Winter and Pyrrha would go faster, so she had to go faster as well. She slowed more than usual on entry to the last corner, a tight, square right-hander called Bridge Bend. She took an abnormal line to get the best possible launch off the corner and onto the frontstretch. The frontstretch at the Amity Circuit was quite long and Yang approached the car's top speed by the time she braked for Canopy, a fast and sweeping left-right complex. After that it was a short blast into the tightest corner on the track, The Chicane. Yang slowed her car to a crawl for the series of square corners, right-left-right. That was followed by Saint, an unwinding right-hand sweeper that terminated in a flat-out left-hand kink called The School. Yang slid her car out of The School and onto the Mistral Straight, the track's longest. Her engine screamed, pushing maximum RPM's as her car roared along. Then it was on the brakes hard for a right-hand sweeper, Signs. Yang drifted her car around the corner, the tires screaming in protest as she pushed them to the limit of traction. Then after a short straight she was back on the brakes for the long, sweeping right-hander called Beauty. The corner seemed to go on forever. Yang gave the car just a little throttle to keep the speed up until it was finally time to give it everything for the short run to The Carousel, a long, tight left-hander. Immediately on exit Yang accelerated into the sweeping right-hand Village before braking hard again for the tight left-hand Tower. From the start of The Carousel to the exit of Tower, there was no straight track. From Tower there was only a short straight before Bridge Bend. Yang hit the apex and accelerated onto the frontstretch, roaring across the line to complete her lap.

Yang was faster than she had been, but not fast enough. With its pair of long straights the track played to Schnee Automotive's strengths and Winter put her car on pole. Yang held on for second, followed by Pyrrha, May, Weiss and Ruby. Ruby had finally put a complete lap together and it was rather competitive. She could be proud of the result. Even if she was the slowest of the fast runners, at least she was in the same class. Behind her Sun, Neptune, Coco and Reese rounded out the top 10.

As forecast, race day was warm and sunny. Ruby got her usual pre-race vomit out of the way before heading to the grid and this time was able to hold onto the contents of her stomach until the cars rolled for their parade lap. She was feeling abnormally confident. Her fear earlier in the weekend had been that she would get hurt trying to find the limit. In qualifying she had found it, run on its ragged edge, and come home alive. If she just cleaned up the little details she would be as fast as anyone.

After their parade lap, the cars lined up on the grid for the start. The starter raised his flag and the drivers revved their engines. After a few seconds the flag dropped and the race was underway. On the front row Winter and Yang got good starts but as the straightaway went on Winter's superior engine pulled her ahead. Pyrrha tucked in behind Yang with May behind her. Weiss had not gotten a good start. Ruby managed to get beside her as the pair thundered down into Canopy. Ruby was on the inside line, but Weiss was still slightly ahead. Ruby backed out early and yielded the corner.

Neptune, fighting side-by-side with his teammate, had not anticipated that Ruby would give up the spot. She slowed earlier than he was expecting. He braked hard, locking up the front wheels. Just as Ruby turned into the corner Neptune's left-front slammed into her right-rear, destroying the suspensions on both cars. Coco was forced wide by the spinning cars, got into the grass and slapped the armco. All three cars were out. Most drivers in Ruby's position would have been angry, but it was not in her nature. She stepped out of the car, listened to Neptune's apology, then just walked away. She was just sad. She had had such high hopes for the race after finding some confidence, and they had been dashed immediately.

At the front Winter began to pull steadily away from the rest of the field. The real battle was for second between Yang and Pyrrha. On lap 7 Pyrrha got a good run out of The School and passed Yang just before the halfway point of the Mistral Straight. Yang tucked in behind Pyrrha's car and, using the draft, got a run and pulled along her right side just before Signs, retaking the position when Pyrrha was forced to concede the corner. The tight series of corners that followed offered no real opportunity to pass so Pyrrha fell in line and waited for her chance.

Weiss and May had a good race going as well. A slip in the early laps had allowed Weiss to get around May but now she was just holding her up. Weiss' car was much faster in the corners but May had the advantage down the track's two long straightaways. Weiss would pull just enough of a gap through every twisting section to keep in front of May when they arrived at the faster parts of the track. On lap 22 Weiss finally made the slip-up that May needed. Weiss spun the tires ever-so-slightly as she exited Saint. It slowed her through The School and May was close by the time they reached the Mistral Straight. May tucked in behind Weiss' car the popped out to the right just before she would have made contact. The slingshot move stuck and May shot out ahead of Weiss. Through Signs and the tight corners that followed Weiss was able to close back in, but when they reached the frontstretch May drove away.

Yang and Pyrrha were still battling for a distant second on lap 39. Pyrrha followed Yang down the frontstretch. Waiting until the last moment, she dove left on entry to Canopy. It was too late to block and going through the corner side-by-side was ill-advised, so Yang had to yield. As soon as she was ahead of Yang, Pyrrha began to pull away. She was not faster than Winter though, and the lead remained a huge one.

Yang was exhausted and in pain. After over a month out of the car her body was simply not up to the demands of running a long race in such hot weather. Her injuries had kept her from completing her usual workout regimen until the previous week or so as well. Though she had been cleared to drive and given a clean bill of health, Yang's ribs still ached. Every right-hander was agonizing and most of the corners at the Amity Circuit were right-handers. The fast and sweeping Signs was particularly painful.

Yang's suffering played into the hands of May and Weiss. On lap 45 of 55 May caught up to the ailing Yang. May passed Yang on the Amity straight and with her weaker engine Yang could do nothing to respond. Just three laps later Weiss caught Yang. Their fight was more competitive. Their cars were almost equal and Yang tended to be the faster driver, but her physical condition was a serious distraction. Still, Weiss had to be careful. Even with the changes to her car's setup, it was still very sensitive to the air. Yang's car disturbed the air flowing over Weiss' wings and made cornering more difficult. Every time she would get close the wake from Yang's car would force Weiss to fall back. The only option was to pass her in a part of the track where aerodynamics did not matter as much, but there Yang's chassis was superior.

After following Yang for a few laps Weiss noticed that Yang was slower in the right-handers. Weiss knew it was probably because of the injury but that was not going to stop her from exploiting it. On lap 54 Yang got a poor exit from Signs. Yang knew Weiss would try to pass so she took the defensive line, moving right on entry to Beauty. Weiss drove to the left of Yang's car and they entered the corner side-by-side. Normally the inside line would have won out but in her injured and exhausted state, Yang could not pull ahead. Instead they headed for The Carousel side-by-side. Now Weiss had the preferred line and she easily took the position, dropping Yang to fifth.

The race ended before anyone else could catch Yang, though Sun was charging. Winter won by a huge margin over Pyrrha, May and Weiss. Reese, Mercury, Dew and Fox rounded out the top 10. Yang was going to have to make some changes to avoid a repeat in the next race. More exercise would be part of it, but she could not count on the pain being gone. Other measures would be needed. Ruby was despondent following the race. She had gotten herself worked up only to experience immediate disappointment. Weiss and May were both happy with their finishes but not satisfied. They would not be until they could defeat their teammates.

The next race was the Patch GP, just two weeks later. Yang was happy to be heading home but not as happy as she might have been. Instead of Grand Patch, the grand prix was being held at Signalstone. The two tracks alternated and while Yang dominated at Grand Patch, her record at Signalstone was only mediocre. She had finished second there in her championship season and fourth the last time the race was held there. Ruby was nervous about racing at home. There the expectations would be higher and the embarrassment greater if she screwed it up. The only plus was the Qrow would be in attendance and maybe even her father would be there too. Even if the race ended up going terribly at least there would be someone there to console her.

Standings after five races:

1st - Pyrrha Nikos - 24

2nd - Yang Xiao-Long - 23

3rd - Weiss Schnee - 22

3rd - Winter Schnee - 22

5th - May Zedong - 14

6th - Sun Wukong - 9

7th - Arslan Atlan - 4

8th - Coco Adel - 2

8th - Ruby Rose - 2

10th - Fox Alistair - 1

10th - Reese Chloris - 1

10th - Neptune Vasilias - 1

Inspirations

- The 24 Hours of Vytal is based on the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

- The Nevermore sports car is based on the Ford GT40 and Schnee Automotive's is still based on the Ferrari.

- The Vytal Grand Prix stand in for the French GP, and the Amity Circuit is based on Circuit Paul Richard.

- The Circuit Paul Richard has been greatly altered since 1971, but the layout described is period accurate.

- Ruby's pushing the car to the point of spinning and going off track in a effort to find the limit is based on a story about Ayrton Senna.

Inaccuracies and Anachronisms

- The 1968 24 Hours of Le Mans was dominated by the GT40 team of Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi, but not by nearly the margin described here. All the factory Ferraris did break, but a private entry finished 7th.

- As stated before, the weekend schedule is not period accurate, but reflects the more modern and comprehensible system.

- The effects of pain and exhaustion on a driver has been overstated. Race car drivers tend to have superhuman resistance to discomfort and fatigue. Nigel Mansell repeatedly won races in which he was so exhausted he had to be helped from his car. In his first F1 race with Lotus, his fuel tank leaked onto him, but he pressed on until the engine failed, though skin was badly blistered. Ayrton Senna won a race at Monaco with a finger so badly injured he could barely bend it enough to grip the steering wheel. In NASCAR Dale Earnhardt Sr. won the pole and set a track record at the demanding Watkins Glen with a broken collar bone suffered in a crash at Talladega. In the year before he won his title, Brad Keselowski ran several races with a broken ankle suffered in a testing accident at Road Atlanta.