That race was 4 weeks ago. Kevin and Jayden were both shocked by the result and even James was happily surprised. When he got home and told his family they held a small celebration and went out to have dinner together something that rarely happened after his fathers passing.
Today would be Jayden final race before the season starts. He had participated in two other races and had managed to achieve shocking results in both of them. The first one both Octavia and Vincent competed in again. Jayden Qualified a lot better this time and managed to secure the fourth position for the start Octavia starting third and Vincent first. The race ended with Vincent winning Jayden in second place and Octavia in third. This got Vincent and Octavia to see Jayden as real competition as they had not really paid him attention in the first race. The third race Jayden did one better qualifying in first place and winning the race! His competition was not as fierce though as Octavia and Vincent both did not participate in this race.
For this race, Jayden had qualified in the second position with a 43.09 and Vincent was in first place with a 43.08. Octavia did not participate in this race but she was present. Jayden could have probably gone a bit faster during qualifying but he wanted to keep his true pace hidden. This was a track with fast sweeping corners and no real big braking zones. It really suited his style so he knew if he would start from first place he would race of in the distance and that would be boring. When he told Kevin that he was yelled at so hard that everyone within 100 meters could hear every word.
"A racing driver never does something halfheartedly! If I ever hear you pulled a stunt like that again you can go look for another team to race for. What do you think your engineers are for? I work hard to make this kart perfectly suitable for you so you can perform at your best. The best way to pay back your engineers is to show them the best result possible not you driving around slowly just so you can have fun! I NEVER want to see that again do you hear me!??"
Jayden was almost brought to tears by this and promised never to do something so stupid again. He learned the hard way that his performances did not only show his skill but also those of the team and the engineers working with him. Racing was never a one-man sport but a team effort. Without the team, a racing driver would be nothing!
Another side effect of his stunt was that Vincent had now also got wind of it and he was seriously angered and felt disrespected by Jayden. He had put his all in qualifying and hearing Jayden had not tried his best hurt his pride. He would now try to win by any means possible. It was never a good idea to anger your competitors! Even Octavia came over to have a word with him. She was not impressed with him "playing around" as she called it and adviced him to be serious about racing as they were all doing their utmost and did not have time for anyone to play with them. Jayden was vexed by her reprimands. It was one thing being told you are wrong by your own team but having someone from his own age group talking to him like that was not good for his pride.
So the race started with Vincent and Jayden on the front row. Both of them in a foul mood for different reasons. They started the formation lap and Vincent immediately showed he was not giving Jayden any room to move, weaving from left to right using almost the full width of the track. Jayden kept to his line and when they reached the start-finish line they both accelerated away at the same time. It was a drag race to the first corner. Side by side they reached the first corner, a high speed sweeping right-hand turn. Neither driver wanted to brake first and with Vincent, on the inside, he had the advantage when entering the corner. Jayden did not give up though and stayed next to Vincent when entering the corner. Due to being on the outside he could take a wider line when entering the corner which enabled him to carry more speed. He used this extra speed to exit the corner still right next to Vincent and with the next corner being a left turn he now had the advantage of having the inside line. Vincent seeing Jayden was still next to him tried to increase his speed exiting the corner but this unsettled his kart making it understeer into Jayden. The karts lightly touched each other but with the speed, they were going it caused both of them to start spinning. Vincent was already having trouble with his Kart at this point and spun off the track. Jayden, on the other hand, was knocked into a half spin but managed to correct it at the last moment. He was able to continue but had lost 2 positions. Vincent also managed to get back on track but he was now dead last.
Jayden got back into his normal rhythm and easily caught up to the two drivers in front. Although they were fast they were not in the same league as Vincent and they definitely could not keep Jayden behind. It only took him 4 laps to pass them both. When he got into first place he did not relax but pushed himself further. He wanted to show his true pace. He even posted 4 laps that were faster than his qualifying lap with his fastest being a 42.88. The end of the race was anticlimactic as Jayden one it easily. The best part of the race was Vincent fighting back up through the field. He managed to snatch third place just before the race ended. This was a major achievement as he was in last place after the first corner.
The race had ended but neither Jayden or Vincent were satisfied. The race had been messy for both of them. Had they given each other a bit more space at the start the accident would not have happened. Receiving their trophies they chose to ignore each other. Jayden Saw Kevin waiting for him. Seeing the look on his face he knew he would get a scolding again. He sighed and walked over to him.
"What does James always tell you before we enter one of these races?" Kevin asked
"You can't win a race in the first corner, but you can lose the race!" Jayden answered meekly.
"So you do remember?! What got into you today? This was supposed to be the race where you showed me everything you learned up until now but your performance was sloppy. You got lucky you won today but it could have ended totally different! Do you want to start the season like this?"
Jayden could not bring himself to answer and just looked at his feet. He had been arrogant. Thinking winning would come easy. "Your gonna have to fix your attitude before the season starts next week!" Kevin said berating him.
Jayden looked even more downbeat than before. He did not look Kevin in the eye but still nodded in agreement. "Well, you still won the race and posted the fastest lap-time so that's positive. Take today as a valuable lesson that you needed to learn and dote make mistakes like this again! Now cheer up and let's get ready. We're going back! "
Kevin was right. He needed to make sure to learn from his mistakes. These races were just to help him gain experience but the season starts next week. He wanted to perform well from the first race on.
"I'm going to show everyone that I belong on the race track!"