𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐝𝐞 , cl16

𝐢𝐯 ── in fair verona

5 August 2012
Zuera International Circuit, Spain
WSK Euro Series, Final Round

NOA IS ON her feet the second he crosses the line, cheering until her throat is raw. She can see him raise his fist in triumph, drifting around the first turn of the track on his victory lap with one hand. Charles Leclerc, her best friend, is the WSK Euro Series champion by a landslide.

The Senna Borges family has travelled all the way from Brazil to watch this moment. Luiz, her little brother, is on her right, jumping up and down and screaming like his life depends on it. Her mother holds his hand, trying to keep him as calm as possible, but Noa can sense that underneath her serene smile, she is just as excited. To the left, her father claps with his hands above his head, a proud grin ever-present on his face as he watches the young boy he now considers as a second son lead the final victory lap around the track. Gabriel's pride is next only to that of Charles' family, who stand on the other side of him. Hervé is jumping around almost as excitedly as Luiz, with Arthur tucked under his arm. Pascale, who has had her head in her hands in worry for almost the entire race, now cheers louder than anyone else (although she keeps a close, wary eye on her son still, heart in her mouth as he takes sharp corners with only one hand on the wheel). They probably look a little crazy to everyone else in the garage, but none of them care. This is Charles' time, and they'll be damned if they can't celebrate it properly.

Noa, Arthur and Luiz practically sprint to the front of the podium, before a crowd can gather and block them off. They save a space for their parents as best they can, though it's a tight squeeze when the families of the other podium finishers also arrive. Still, they make room. They're not about to let any of them miss this moment, when Charles walks out ready to take his trophy – it should be any second now. Noa looks up at her father with quite possibly the widest smile he's ever seen. Pascale has her camera at the ready, its memory cleared so she can take as many pictures of her son as is humanly possible. No doubt, she'll be showing them around the family all night, and Charles will groan in embarrassment each time.

The cheers go up as the three podium finishers walk out, Charles at the back waving excitedly once he sees his family at the front of the crowd. In second and third are two Italians, Felice Tiene and Antonio Fuoco, grinning just as widely to be runner ups as Charles is to have won. Noa tries to catch his eye, but he's too focussed on his parents and brother. She doesn't mind too much – she'll have plenty of time to see him afterwards.

A silver, gleaming trophy is brought out and thrust into Charles' arms by whoever has been selected to present it – presumably the owner of the track or some other hot-shot in the karting industry. He lifts it high above his head, too modest to cheer, but proud enough that he can't fight the grin on his face as the crowd raise up to congratulate him. It's then that his eyes find Noa's, drifting from his family to the next person he wants to share this moment with; his best friend. She's been watching him the whole time, of course, waiting for her opportunity. When she sees he's finally turned to her, she cheers so loudly it could even rival the noise Pascale is making. He shakes his head, laughing, but Noa knows him well enough now to see the glint in his eye. He wants them all to cheer for him, deep down, even if he complains. When all's said and done, Charles Leclerc simply wants to make his family proud.

The Leclerc-Borges', as is tradition, go out to dinner at the nicest restaurant they can find to celebrate. They'd done the same just over a year ago now after Charles' victory in the KF3 Kart World Cup, and since then, with every race win and even every disappointment, they never fail to spend the evenings together – as if they're one family as a whole. It was natural after the world cup, in which Charles and Noa were so closely matched, forming a rivalry on-track and a friendship off it, for their parents to grow just as close. Gabriel and Hervé spend race weekends chipping in with bits of advice and talking through strategies, whilst Flávia and Pascale catch each other up on everything they may have missed over their months of separation – with the Leclercs in Monaco and the Senna-Borges' in Brazil. Noa already has plenty of family, mostly on her father's side (thanks to his four siblings), but Charles, Arthur, Lorenzo, Hervé and Pascale mean just as much to her.