Biker Mice from Mars - Mountain Drift

Chapter 21: Race for Freedom

All Twelve cars pulled up to the starting line. Yuya was in first since he was the current Speed Master. Manuel had to start in Last, since he was a newcomer to the competition. He looked to the sidelines, and to his surprise, saw Bob Sampson, with the Bogus Broncos, along with all the members of the Scorpions and Fifth-Street Drifters! They were all holding banners with Manuel's name, and words of encouragement! Manuel smiled, and then turned back to the starting line. The announcer was there, and there was a small LED sign with a countdown on it until the racers could take off.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" A man said with a bullhorn. "It's now time for the wildest race in the world! It's now time to decide this year's Speed Master~! Are you ready?!"

"YEAH!" The crowd roared.

Manuel looked up at Yuya's NSX in first. He needed to pass four cars by the time they hit the crossroads of Pleasant Valley and Thompson. I can do this, he kept thinking to himself. I will win. I must, he thought as he gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"Alright, then! Let's get this started! Racers, start your engines and prepare for the drive of your lives~!"

Everyone that had not started their cars by now had them running. Everyone was revving their engines up.

"Start the countdown!" The announcer said. The LED then started to count down the time until the racers could take off. Manuel's heart started to race from adrenaline, the crowd yelling out the numbers.

Ten!

Nine!

Eight!

Seven!

Six!

Five!

Four!

Three!

Two!

One!

GO!

Manuel threw the Focus into first gear, and floored the gas, taking off the finish line. They sped down the Orchard Access road away from the reservoir at speed much faster than his mountain racing at bogus, accelerating and hitting speeds that made his old Civic look like it was standing still! As they sped down the road, he started to work on passing the four cars that were between him and Yuya. This was not going to be easy. He caught the first few cars on the first curve, then passed a few more at a long straight.

The next few drivers were more aggressive than the first two and tried to block Manuel's lane. Manuel pulled from the outside to the inside and passed them as they exited the long curve!

As they got on another straightaway, Manuel started to shift into the higher gears! The speeds he was starting to hit were unbelievable! He had never driven this fast in his life! He quickly caught up to the top two racers. The next car seemed to be having engine problems. Figures. The Kirafudas no doubt sabotaged that one. He passed the car, leaving it in the dust as it pulled over. Yuya was now the only racer between him and victory, however, the race was far from over.

Yuya looked in his rear-view as he saw a car's headlights on the access road straightaway! He then recognized the car as Manuel's focus. So, he made it this far, huh? He got on his pit comlink.

"L.L.! Have your units run interference for the drift kid." He said.

"Gladly," Lawrence replied as he sent the commands to his cars waiting on the course. Manuel would soon have a lot of obstacles in his way.

As Manuel drove, he got right behind Yuya, the Focus close enough to be tapping on the NSX's bumper! Manuel needed to get ahead, or this wouldn't be a victory. He pulled alongside to pass, then saw several traffic cars in front of him! Right on target for a collision! Manuel was forced to pull behind Yuya again to avoid a head-on collision! He got on his pit commlink.

"Takumi, there's still traffic cars on the course! I thought you said it was blocked off!" Manuel said as they went through the curvy section of the access road, approaching one-hundred twenty miles per hour!

"What?! There shouldn't be, it's all been blocked off!" Takumi said. Bunta then got on the link.

"Careful, Manuel. Kaido is up to his old tricks, and I have no doubt Throttle's adversaries are involved as well! He couldn't sabotage your car, so he's using the next best method! They'll try to slow you down by any means necessary! My only advice is to try and get around them! Whatever you do, don't crash!"

Manuel ground his teeth in frustration! He needed to get ahead of Yuya! He pulled up alongside Yuya once there were no more opposing cars and floored the pedal as he shifted into his sixth gear, overtaking the NSX as they got onto McConnell.

#

"L. L! What are your units doing!? I thought I told you to slow him down!" Yuya snapped.

"We're trying, sir!" Limburger said through his commlink. "We're just having trouble..."

"I DO NOT CARE! SLOW HIM DOWN OR I WILL PERSONALLY RUN YOU OVER!" Yuya snapped, and ripped the headset off his head, throwing it in the back of the car. He then noticed that Manuel was starting to pass him! Well, he wasn't going to have that! He stepped on the gas, trying to overtake the Focus, and caught up to him easily! His lightweight NSX may only have a twin turbo V6, but what It lacked in power it made up for with lightweight.

They were side by side again, another of the anonymous cars he hired to run interference passed by the Focus as they went through another series of curves! They were now on Pleasant Valley road!

Manuel saw the oncoming car and had no choice but to hit the brake and get behind Yuya, costing him valuable seconds! This wasn't' working in his favor! But he wasn't about to give up. He knew his focus could match Kirafuda's NSX thanks to its supercharged V-8 Cammer! It could even outrun it, possibly!

"Don't let me down now, brother. Your car has brought me this far..." He said.

Manuel was now unsure if there were any more surprises, but he knew if he didn't do something to catch up to Yuya, that he would lose. They were already on the final straights.

"Hector, if you can hear me, help me win. For Throttle, and for you." He said, and floored the gas pedal, throwing the car into sixth gear.

Kirafuda looked in his rearview mirror to see Manuel pass him. How could this be? His car was supposed to be superior!

"Where do you think you're going?" Yuya said, aggravated. He went into fifth gear, and floored on the gas Then, he saw it.

The Focus ZX3 SVT was starting to inch ahead! The gap began to widen more by the second!

"NO! NO ONE IS FASTER THAN ME!" Yuya yelled. "NO ONE IS FASTER THAN ME!" He hit a button on his performance computer, taking the turbos up past 2 BAR! A big mistake!

It was too much pressure for the engine to handle! His engine blew apart! The hood to the engine flew off as smoke poured from the engine, and sparks flew from underneath the car where the oil pan detached, as the engine tore itself apart from the inside out! Yuya couldn't believe it! He had lost! Then, he saw the eyes on the road! Glowing eyes! He was still going well over one-hundred miles per hour! He freaked out on seeing those eyes, thinking they were dead opponents back from the grave and swerved out of the way! He was going too fast to control his car in such a fashion, and the car flew off the road, rolling over into the sagebrush! He saw Manuel steer his car around the eyes, tires squealing and watched as the Focus continued to roar down the road.

Damn Coyotes, Manuel thought as he drifted around a bunch of Coyotes that ran across the road. He was now in the lead. He wasn't sure what last-ditch trick Yuya tried to pull, but it looked like he put too much pressure on the turbos. He watched in his rear-view as the Acura tore itself apart as the car rolled into the sagebrush. Manuel was now in first place. He just needed to keep this position for several more miles!

He stayed on course as he neared the finish line at the end of Pleasant Valley Road! He just needed to make it across Kuna Mora Road, and he would be the winner!

This is it, Manuel thought. The Focus went across Kuna Mora, crossing the designated finish line as a flagman waved, and a bunch of fans at the finish line cheered, cameras flashing and recording! Manuel then eased up on the pedal, and onto the brakes. After the car slowed to about thirty MPH, he hit the brakes hard, power sliding to a stop. He had won!