HPDBC Chapter 700: Dutch Grand Prix
Chapter 700: Dutch Grand Prix
A/N: If you're reading this, it means you've stuck with me all the way to Chapter 700. That is a million words together! I honestly could not have made it this far without you guys reading and supporting the story every day. Thank you so much for being here on this crazy journey.Enjoy the chapter!
The garage was filled with the loud clanging of mechanical tools as the crew worked.
Luca Rennick was already strapped into the cramped cockpit of his Z24 racing model, watching the mechanics rush to prepare the vehicle before rolling it out onto the grid for the main event.
Suddenly, the transparent blue screen of his system flashed directly in front of his eyes.
[SYSTEM ONLINE]
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: Elevated heart rate detected. Biometric analysis indicates peak physiological anticipation and excitement.]
Luca did not open his eyes under his dark visor. He just adjusted his hands on the steering wheel and spoke to the system inside his mind.
"Of course, my heart rate is elevated. This is the Dutch Grand Prix. The championship fight is getting very close now, so anyone would be excited."
He paused for a brief moment, then he questioned the system in his mind.
"By the way, why haven't you spoken to me like this in a long time? You used to have a lot of sentience. Lately, you just felt like a basic data program."
The system panel flashed twice and the blue color became a bit more intense. Luca took that as a reply.
[The system is operating at maximum capacity. Is the host ready for the race?]
"I am completely ready," Luca confirmed in his mind. "Let's go out there and take the victory today."
[Good luck!]
The blue panel dissolved instantly, and Luca focused his mind back on the real world.
The panel dissolved into a fine mist of blue pixels, leaving Luca alone with the raw reality of the garage.
He was starting from pole position today, a massive advantage that meant the clean air of the open track was his for the taking—but the pressure to hold that lead was already mounting.
The pole position hadn't come easily. The qualifying sessions the day before had been a psychological meat grinder.
In Q1, a massive scandal threw the paddock into total chaos. Nordvind Racing had attempted to submit a falsified technical report regarding Outback's front-wing flexibility in an underhanded bid to trigger a disqualification. The resulting drama delayed the entire session, but the moment the track finally went green, Jimmy Damgaard delivered a blistering run to claim the top spot.
Traffic became an absolute nightmare in Q2 on the crowded circuit. Antonio Luigi, Luca's direct championship rival and star of Squadra Corse, showed exactly why he was a title favorite. He navigated the gridlock flawlessly, taking P1 with ease.
But Q3 was where the real battle began.
Luigi laid down an incredibly fast lap time that looked almost unbeatable, putting pole position firmly within his grasp. Refusing to back down, Luca pushed his Trampos car to the absolute limit. He took a massive gamble on the final banked corner, running so close to the barrier that he nearly wrecked the car.
In the end, the risk paid off. Luca snatched P1 by a margin of milliseconds, securing pole position.
His mad move had thrown Luigi's mind off course, leading to Jimmy Damgaard getting further milliseconds ahead in the next flyer.
Hence, looking out at the grid today, Luca knew Luigi was furious. With the championship title on the line, a direct physical clash on the track felt almost inevitable. He couldn't afford a single mistake.
The mechanics began to move quickly. They pushed Luca's car out of the garage and onto the pit lane.
All twenty cars were now rolling out onto the grid one by one. The Dutch Grand Prix was finally ready to start! The grandstands were a massive, shaking sea of bright neon orange. The fans were blowing horns and waving giant flags.
The commentator's loud voice instantly blasted through the television broadcast.
"...Welcome, racing fans from all over the globe, to the grand event! The cars are taking their final positions on the grid for the Dutch Grand Prix! The energy here is absolutely insane...!"
"...Let's look at the starting lineup for the top five positions today...!"
P1— Luca Rennick
P2— Jimmy Damgaard
P3— Antonio Luigi
P4— Buoso Di Renzo
P5— Max Addams
The mechanics scrambled off the track as the final seconds ticked away.
An intense, suffocating silence settled over the grid. The twenty drivers stared straight ahead, their focus locked entirely on the five red lights suspended above the main straight.
The first light flickered to life.
"The first light is lit...!"
Then the second light appeared. Then the third. Then the fourth. Finally, the fifth red light illuminated, and the collective roar of twenty engines revving together became absolutely deafening, shaking the grandstands like a pack of angry monsters waking up all at once.
The five lights vanished.
"...And the lights are out! The Dutch Grand Prix is underway...!"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"
Luca didn't waste a single microsecond. As the pack launched forward, his mind instantly connected to his system, activating his golden finger skill: Grid Launch.
The system responded perfectly. The clutch bite point was calculated down to the exact millimeter. The rear tires of his Scuderia did not slip on the asphalt at all. They dug into the ground with immense traction, launching the car forward like a rocket.
It was an absolutely perfect start! Luca left the other drivers scrambling behind him in clouds of dust.
"As flawless as ever! Rennick has already cleared the field before the first braking zone...!"
**Great launch, Luca! The gap behind is already 0.7 seconds! Keep it up! Protect inside into T1**
Luca successfully steered his car through the first corner as the leader. He had successfully escaped the initial chaos.
But the race was not that simple. The other drivers were highly rated for a reason, and their cars possessed sheer power. Especially Luigi's Mercedes, which boasted unmatchable straight-line speed. By the end of the opening lap, the roaring of the chasing engines grew louder and louder in Luca's ears.
They were catching up fast, and a storm was brewing.
What followed was a continuous, three-lap stretch of extreme drama at Zandvoort, as the battle intensified among the top three: Luca leading in P1, Jimmy Damgaard holding P2, and Antonio Luigi pushing hard in P3.
On the opening lap, Luigi drove like a maniac. Hurling his car down the main straight, he caught a massive slipstream off Damgaard, pulling out at the last second to lunge down the inside of Turn 3 with incredible speed.
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"
P1— Luca Rennick
P2— Antonio Luigi ↑
P3— Jimmy Damgaard ↓
"...He completely blindsides Damgaard and snatches P2...!"
Now, Luigi was directly on Luca's gearbox, the gap shrinking to less than 0.4 seconds. Luca could see nothing but the bright red nose of the Squadra Corse car filling his rearview mirrors, a sight that brought immense pressure.
**Antonio passes Jimmy. Pace is strong there. Watch your corner exits**
"I know!" Luca replied, fighting the wheel. He did his best to defend the inside lines, but the coastal wind blown onto the tarmac made navigation challenging, turning every defensive maneuver into a careening gamble.
On Lap 2, the drama reached a boiling point.
As they entered the heavy banking of a corner in Sector 2, Luca's car suffered a sudden snap of oversteer on the sand, having not locked in Gripper. The rear end of the Scuderia drifted outward, enough to compromise his perfect line.
As a veteran champion, Luigi didn't miss the mistake. He slammed his throttle down instantly, forcing his black machine into the narrow gap on the inside line. The two machines were centimeters apart in a breathtaking, wheel-to-wheel moment.
"..Luigi makes his move on the inside! They almost touch....
P1— Luca Rennick ↑
P2— Antonio Luigi ↓
....And Antonio Luigi takes the lead of the race! Luca Rennick falls to P2!"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"
Luca tried to launch a counterattack on the exit of the corner, but because his car had slid, his forward momentum was completely ruined, forcing him to lift off the throttle to keep control.
Worse still, the danger wasn't over. Right behind them, the hungry predator, Jimmy Damgaard was closing in.
On Lap 3, the leaders thundered down the main straight at absolute full speed. Damgaard opened his DRS flap, gaining a massive top-speed advantage that allowed him to pull alongside Luca effortlessly.
**Jimmy is on your left**
**Hold your line, Luca**
Luca stomped on the brakes as late as humanly possible heading into the first corner, desperate to defend. But his tires had already taken a beating from the previous battles and were overheating very early. He eventually understeered and washed wide at the apex of Damgaard's assault.
As for Jimmy, he easily cut underneath Luca on a tighter line, snatching the position before they even hit the corner exit.
"...Unbelievable! Luca Rennick drops to P3! The pole-sitter has lost two positions in just three laps! That Ferrari is struggling heavily with race pace today...!"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH!"
The fans in the grandstands cheered wildly at the relentless action, but inside the cockpit, Luca was trapped.
Locked in P3, his vision was distorted by the turbulent dirty air of the two cars ahead. His chassis shook violently, and his tires were shedding grip by the second.
Was he going to let the race slip away? Was his weekend completely ruined?
Absolutely not.
Beneath his helmet, Luca's expression remained dead calm. His eyes turned cold, sharp, and intensely focused. He knew regular driving wouldn't save him today; he needed to use his hidden edge to overturn the deficit.
Taking a deep breath, he focused on his abilities, manifesting his Resonance once again.
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A/N: And that wraps up Chapter 700! Thank you guys again for reading and for helping me hit this massive milestone.
You can check out: Greatest of All Time. Below
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