Right On Track

Chapter 60

"Wait a minute..."Kiara frowned,checking her watch.
"What?"Kate asked,arching a brow.
Kiara looked at her trainer and said."I had a meeting this morning..."
"Oh,no."
Kiara buried her face in her hands,still sitting down on her exercise mat."Christian is going to kill me."
"Was it really important?"Kate asked.
"Not really..."She shrugged."Just some view of the last race weekend."
"You know what?"Kate sighed."I say that you tell them it was marked wrong on your calendar.You "didn't know" that it was this morning."
"Then,Lydia is going to kill me!"
"I'm sure you can convince Lydia to sort something out."
Kiara shrugged,grabbing her water bottle from nearby.She took a sip,glancing around the hotel gym.
It was still a little early.So,it was nice and quiet.
"Anyway,"Kate said,standing up from one of the benches."We're done with  today's training."
Kiara gave a thumbs-up."See you soon,Kate."
Kate waved goodbye,then left the gym after a few moments.
Then,Kiara was the only one there.
She checked her watch,heaving a sigh.That session went faster than expected.And now  she was unsure of what to do next,since she had already missed today's meeting.
And besides,she only needed to get to the paddock later in the evening,since it was the Qatar grand prix.
Kiara just sat there for a few moments,not wanting to get up.
Then,her expression brightened as she heard a voice say from nearby."How long have you been sitting there?From,what I've seen,a while."
"How long have you been watching over there?"Kiara lifted an eyebrow,watching as Carlos walked into the gym,wearing his black Ferrari shorts and a grey tank top.
"As long as I felt like."He winked.
"Stalker much?."She rolled her eyes sarcastically,smiling a little.
He sat down on the floor next to her with a laugh."Thank god we're at the same hotel this time."
"Yeah,"She said."Or else I was just going to leave you hanging at yours.Because I am not randomly going out into this heat if I don't need to."
"I'm actually wondering how the racing will go in this heat."Carlos sighed,shifting closer.
She shrugged."It's my first time racing here.You tell me."
"It wasn't too bad the last time."He nodded."But it also wasn't at this time of the year.So,the weather wasn't this hot."
"We'll just have to see how this one goes."Kiara sighed.
He nodded in agreement.

"That's fourth."Santiago said as practice came to an end.
"Alright."Kiara said loosing a sigh.She brought her car back to the garage a minute later,sitting in it for a few moments even after she could get out.
When she finally worked it up,she slowly got out and sighed,immediately moving over to take off her helmet.
"You okay?"Santiago asked as she pulled of her balaclava.
"Yeah."She nodded,immediately taking the bottle of water that was handed to her.
"What's tomorrow's weather report?"
"Similar to today's."Santiago replied."Literally only one degrees lower,as it's saying."
"Oh,damn."Kiara shook her head,wiping the sweat off her brow with a towel that was soon handed to her.
"Qatar should have been set for another time."Christian said."Racing could be difficult for you in these conditions."
"And the tyre wear?"Kiara arched a brow.
"We have to sort that out too."He nodded.
She sighed,then soon met up with Lydia to go to the media pen.She also had qualifying later on,since it was a sprint weekend.And she just hoped that it would go as planned.
If she didn't succeed this weekend,Max would take the championship before her.

The next day during sprint shootout,Kiara seemed to be doing a little well.But still,she found it a little harder than usual.
After some time,Kiara found herself going onto the final sector of the lap where she needed to set her time.She knew that if she set an optimal time,it would be great.But she still knew that even if she did,she had already messed up in the second sector.So,she could basically just waved goodbye to the pole position of the sprint.And during qualifying the previous day,she had still lost out on it,getting third instead for the race starting grid.
"Okay,P4."Santo said."Session complete.Max has just set for pole."
Kiara bit back the urge to swear.If Max had gotten pole,she was in crap.He was obviously going to win the sprint with that one.And when he would,he would win the championship along with it.
Ivy had set a time for P2,Lando at P3.
As Kiara went back to garage,she knew that there was not much she could do.She just got out of her car and tried to be happy along with the team,trying to be grateful for everything else at the same time.
Later on,when it was finally time for the sprint,Kiara got into that car and just knew that she had to be in the top three by the end of this sprint.
Max was probably going to win the championship,as long as he was in the top ten.
"Okay,today should be a good one for the team."Santiago said on the radio."Let's try to get to that top three."
"Copy."Kiara said,pulling down her visor.
Then,seeing the lights go off a minute later,the sprint began.
She immediately tried to get to Lando in the start,but he managed to get away.
In front,Ivy was already trying to take the lead from Max.
Kiara spent the first lap trying to get to Lando.But she was unsuccessful,the Mclaren pulling away.He increased the gap well by just three laps later.And she was starting to get impatient.
"Come on,Ki."Santiago said as she went onto lap seven and still did not catch up."Just push a little more."
"I'm trying."Kiara said.
She kept on trying to go for it.But Lando,out of literally nowhere,was doing pretty well.She didn't know what upgrades they brought in or what suddenly got their drivers performing at their best,but it certainly put pressure.

When the final lap came by,Kiara almost swore herself as she only managed to catch up to the McLaren near the end.If only she had more time...Just one more lap would've been enough.Yet,there she crossed the line at fourth,right behind Lando.
"Okay...A little tricky one there."Santiago said."But we tried."
"Yeah...At least we're in points."Kiara sighed.
"Erickson overtook Max."He said.
"Ivy won the sprint?"Kiara's eyes widened a little as she heard it.
"Yeah."He said."But let's still keep optimistic here.Max still won the championship."
"Okay..."Kiara said.
She was really happy for Ivy,actually.Winning a sprint in her rookie season,Kiara wanted to be in that top three with her.
But Kiara was also feeling a little down at the same time.She had just lost the championship to her teammate...Yes,she was still in second.But that meant a lot of her hard work,which she put in to win it,was kind of gone to waste now.
Kiara lifted the visor of her helmet as she parked the car.She was already feeling the effects of the weather and driving conditions.And it made her wonder...If this was how she was feeling only in the short sprint,how would the race go?