"Your mind's not in the right place..." Yamato's voice echoed out as it briefly rung in Riku's mind.
His grip around the wheel tightened as he slammed onto the breaks, navigating past the final chicane effortlessly; eyes aimed forwards as he approached the starting line--his outlap was coming to an end and he could finally feel the car's rhythm, it wasn't perfect yet...but it was enough to have him set his sights on creating his first serious lap.
"I'm just a second behind the lead, stop bothering me dad," Riku responded, his memory playing out before him.
He'd been on his sim rig participating in a twenty-four-hour race; every position had been pocketed other than the lead which was being held ferociously by a professional driver.
The battle had been going on for well over ten minutes without much progress being made; as such, Yamato couldn't help but intrude.
"The fact that you even heard me confirmed my initial statement." Yamato responded, crouching beside Riku's rig whilst keeping his gaze on the screen, "...you're not focused. Steady breaths, in and out--he's tough but you have the advantage."
"Advantage? He's holding a faster line and has fresher tyres than me, what advantage?"
"You're behind him."
"That's the advantage?"
"Relax and keep your eyes on him..." Yamato quickly responded before narrowing his eyes as he watched the lead car's motion, "...find out what he's doing right and blend that into your own driving; you'll get that lead, now focus."
Find out what he's doing right and blend that into your own driving...
At the time, those words went through one ear and left through the other--the race he'd been competing in ended with him retiring early after making a risky dive into a turn that quickly killed his run.
He only truly processed what he'd been told years later; and once he did, it stuck to him.
It's why he chose to always take his qualifying runs at the last quarter of the remaining time.
Roaring past the final chicane once more, Riku's wheels let out nearly deafening protests as clouds of smoke blew towards the audience; his car bolting down the starting straight with his exhausts ripping out brief but loud gunfire-like bangs that echoed across the pit lane.
His name rocketing through the positions list rapidly with his time blinking right beside it.
Noticing the stunning display, one commentator chuckled out as he leant closer to view the driver's details.
"A powerful display here from team Nissan's new rookie driver, Riku Takahashi, as he makes his way past the line..." He paused, recoiling back slightly before adjusting his glasses to make sure he had read the information correctly, "...bringing home a time of; 2:02:092"
The commentator's words seemed to echo for a second, a long silence being shared amongst those who watched the live feed; including Riku's own team.
Hiroshi, who had been checking on Riku's telemetry, shifted his glance from left to right; checking to see whether his comrades had also witnessed what he was witnessing.
Without a doubt, they did.
The most astonished one amongst them being Khalif; he, unlike the others, had been watching Riku's drive ever since he zoomed out of the pit lane--and not even he could describe how exactly Riku had managed to clock a time that was 0.001 seconds behind his own.
"My word what a drive!" Another commentator shouted out, eyes widened in awe as he stared at the screen, "he's lost probably half a second from that exit out of the chicane but still managed to bring a third place finish back home."
"Incredible drive Riku, We're all incredibly happy with this; bring it home." Hiroshi worded out, his voice cutting through Riku's thoughts.
"Not yet, one more lap."
Riku's response caught the team off-guard; his performance was already incredible, but was going for another lap the right call?
Infinity Drive was a unique category that had its unique rules; the most unique one being its rules around qualifying.
Each driver from each team had three tries, excluding out-laps, to create their qualifying lap. The only time that would count would be the final lap that the driver/ team chooses to end on; and only the fastest time set by the team would count.
A two minute three seconds was enough to land Riku in third position and place the team comfortably in second place.
Its not that they didn't trust him enough; the risk it carried was too high--if Riku were to run one more lap and clock a slower time, they'd lose that second place start.
On the other hand, If Riku were to clock a faster lap, then the team still gets that second place; but with extra bragging rights having taken down one of the sport's most dominant drivers. Or perhaps even steal first place itself...at this point, anything was possible.
It was a gamble--and luckily, Hiroshi happened to be a seasoned gambler.
"Lose your position and I'll hang you, kid."
Hiroshi's words were met with several errors rapidly appearing and disappearing on his telemetry; the car causing those errors had only now gotten past the first series of corners at a rapid pace, its wheels only barely providing enough grip to support Riku's rough driving.
It was rough, extremely rough--but unexpectedly super effective.
Already, he was roughly six-tenths of a second ahead of his previous lap; his time past the first sector flashing as the session's new personal best.
"Impressive..." Khalif unintentionally muttered out, his eyes glued to the live feed as he stroked his goatee.
Compared to his previous run, Riku seemed to have gone through a complete change.
His line was entirely different, his throttle control was a lot more precise and his braking points were extraordinarily late--the only reason his car hadn't spun out at this point was due to the R32's heavy understeer paired with Riku's incredible control.
It was impressive enough to force Khalif's eyes open.
The most impressive part about it to him though was its familiarity.
He was sure of it.
In no world would anyone else notice it; the only way to recognize such aggressive driving would be by witnessing it first-hand.
He couldn't confirm it, but he was sure of it--Riku was currently perfectly copying Khalif's own driving style.
With his superior machine, Khalif always chose to brake late, dive deep and follow a line that others would call "uncomfortable". By doing what others wouldn't normally do, he always soared above the rest, earning him his reputation.
To witness someone else doing what he does...it left him uneasy--yet undeniably overjoyed.
His joy was shared among him and his teammate who had also been glued to the screen.
His once disinterested expression quickly shifted to a slight grin as he grabbed the television's remote; upping the volume until he was comfortable with the audio.
Past the second sector; Riku's GTR roared through the track, nearly losing its balance for a moment before being snapped back into place--his time rocketing again on the live feed; a tenth of a second ahead of his previous lap.
Flashing subtly on the side of the screen, the predicted lap time left both Khalif and Daiki speechless.
It was silent, not even having the courtesy of beeping to gain attention; yet it was louder than Riku's own car for any racer who was currently watching his run.
"2:01:890"
The prediction became a reality once Riku's car stormed past the start/finish line; cheers erupting from the spectators whose attention had now fully been grabbed.
A position well placed, a lap well made and a gamble well risked--Hiroshi was practically beaming in joy at this point as he reached for the radio button.
"One more..."
Riku's voice came through, pausing Hiroshi's actions mid-way.
One more?
Was there truly any more to give?
He could tell that Riku was frustrated; aiming for the top spot was part of his character.
Currently, the only roadblock between him and pole position was a measly 0.007 seconds time difference--if he could chop that off and maybe add one above it; he could bring home a pole finish and a historic start to another season of Infinity drive.
Unfortunately for Riku, Hiroshi wasn't that much of a gambler--losing a nugget of gold whilst chasing after a heavily guarded diamond wasn't something he was looking forward to doing.
"Trust me; I still haven't used his driving yet..."
Riku's words once again halted Hiroshi's actions.
It took him a second, but he finally understood what Riku meant.
Hesitantly, he took a glance to his left, a drop of sweat travelling down his face as he locked gazes with Team BMW's iconic M3 GTR--which blankly stared back at him as though it were taunting him.
A moment of silence was shared within the pit box--the world itself seemingly went silent for Hiroshi as he tightened his jaw and pressed onto the radio button.
"Go big or go home kid..."