Two weeks later, the team travelled to Valencia, Spain for the rookie test. That was also the first time Sunset had ridden an Aprilia, and it took some getting used to. Fortunately, they had the whole day to test and she was the only rookie that season. With permission, Hitch Trailblazer and Zipp Storm were also allowed to test with her, just to give her a sense of how to ride while competing with other bikes, and get some extra data. The best part was that Sunset was a quick learner.
February began and in the first week, they launched their bike. The primary scheme was light aquamarine gray and her number was #19, the secondary scheme was dark grayish indigo with dark indigo and moderate opal highlights and light orchidish gray with moderate purple streaks. Zipp would be running the #26 and Hitch was going to use the #8 number. The launch ceremony was relatively bombastic, as Coloratura came on stage and performed a few songs before the unveiling.
Three weeks later, the entire team, consisting of nearly 60 people, travelled to the country of Qatar for the first pre-season test. When it began, Sunset took about five laps to learn the circuit, which also included finding the right braking points. Though at one point, she almost got into a scrape with another rider called Powerslide. As she rode back into the pits, she was fuming. Sunset got off the bike and stormed in. Slipstream sensed trouble and moved inside the garage. He guided her to the back and let her vent.
She raged, "What the hell was that moron thinking! I was just backing off to try and warm up my tires! He came out of f***ing nowhere and almost wiped me out. I'm gonna go and give him a piece of my mind."
He grabbed her arm before she could flounce away, "Don't even think about it, kid. First off, I had no idea that you had a bit of a temper. Thank God I found out now, instead of mid-season. Second, I had a look at a replay, and you were riding slowly on the racing line. Had this been the official race weekend, you would have been penalised. If you have to slow down to warm up your tires, make sure that you are off the racing line. Powerslide was on a timed lap, and you got in his way."
She glared at him, but he was unmoved and poked a finger to her chest, "Hey! Don't you dare give me attitude, kid! I'm still your boss! Look, it's not gonna get any easier, but you gotta keep a lid on that temper of yours. You're only gonna make Pipp and Izzy's jobs a lot harder if you blow up like that. The fans also detest someone like that because it makes them unapproachable and unlikeable."
Sunset glared once more for a few seconds before deflating, "You're right... I-I'm sorry... I should have told you about the anger issues. That's on me. I guess that's why it was so easy for me to go into 'b***h mode'. I promise I'll work on it. I'll also apologise to Powerslide."
He patted her cheek gently, "You do that... I'll get the mechanics to make some setup changes. I want you back out there in 5 minutes. We're currently on the edge of the Top 10. Apart from that little spat, you're doing good."
They parted ways and she went and apologised to the older rider. Fortunately, Powerslide was very understanding. As he put it, "Hey, we were all rookies once. You're lucky that I'm a nice guy. There are some riders on the grid, who won't be so understanding. Also, I think your boss would have told you already, but had this been a race weekend, that would have been a slam-dunk penalty. If I'm not mistaken that kind of offence nets you a 3-place grid penalty. Do it too often, and the penalty increases to 5, then 10, then back of the grid. Worst case scenario is a one-race ban."
Sunset smiled softly, "Thanks Powerslide. I appreciate it. This is all pretty new to me."
The 31-year-old South African rider pat her back, "No worries, my friend. I heard paddock rumours that your path here was pretty unconventional. You're the first one who was literally picked off the streets, so the journey's gonna be tougher for you. A lot of us, like myself grew up racing on minibikes before slowly moving up to higher division, and that gave us experience. I think a couple of people entered the sport thanks to a video game background. "
He leaned over and whispered, "Here's my advice. Watch out for those chaps. they can get pretty aggressive on the track. They have a tendency to crash a lot, because that's what some of them did in the games. In front of your TV/computer screen, there's no danger. If you crash, you can just reset. Out here in the real world... there are consequences."
Powerslide held out his left hand and moved his sleeve back to reveal his bare arm. That arm had the remnants of a number of staples, and Sunset winced. He gruffly said, "Injuries are part and parcel of the game. There's no preventing an accident. The best way is to learn how to crash."
She tilted her head in confusion, "How do you learn how to crash? Don't crashes just... happen?"
He chuckled, "That they do kiddo. The worst type of crash is the high-side. That's where you lose the rear end of the bike and then it pitches you in the air before a painful landing. I've had a few of those in my time, and your boss has had them too. The trick is to angle your body while airborne in such a way that it minimises the damage. Tell you what... Why don't you do some research and look up videos of motorcycle racing crashes on the internet. Focus on how the riders react in the accident."
Powerslide walked away, leaving her in a pensive mood. Soon afterwards, she was back on the bike with a different setup. This carried on for a while, until an hour before the session ended, she had her first crash. Sunset was on the second-to-last corner, which was a long sweeping left-hander, which tightened up into another left-hander which led to the front straight. She leaned a little too far left and her bike slid off from under her. She was sent rolling into the gravel, where she lay winded for a minute.
Marshals were quickly on the scene and checked on her and the bike. Fortunately, the pit lane was about a 100 meters away, so she was able to re-mount and ride slowly back. Entering the garage, she hopped off the bike and gingerly trudged to the back and sat down. Team medic Red Cross immediately checked on the girl as she undid her helmet with her right hand. After setting it aside, she cradled her left hand, which was badly bruised.
Slipstream came to check on her and be on standby in case Red Cross needed some help. Sunset yelped as Red Cross swabbed the bruise with cotton soaked in steriliser. She moaned, "Ow! Ow! Ow! It hurts!"
Slipstream rolled his eyes, "Oh come off it, you big baby! It's just a bruise! Damn thing will heal in no time flat! Bruises will happen all the time, pal. You got to tough it out."
She spat, "Easy for you to say! You're not the one who's arm is on fire!"
He scoffed, "You think bruises hurt? Kid, you don't know pain until you've broken a bone or two. In the mildest case, you can simply ride with a few painkillers. Races aren't too long, just about between 25-30 laps depending on the track, maximum, lasting around 45 minutes."
Cross replied from her position, "He's right, Sunset. Bruises happen every day. We do have an infield medical care centre at every track, but you would just be wasting their time if you go to them with a simple bruise or two. They only deal with serious stuff, like broken bones, concussions, illnesses, and more. Otherwise, all teams have someone like me, who has basic first-aid knowledge to treat bruises and scrapes. Ahh! There we go! All done, sweetie."
Sure enough, the bleeding had stopped and Red Cross had applied some ointment. Sunset turned to her team principal, "Anything else for me to do?"
He looked at the TV screens, "Well... We have 50 minutes left. I want you back out there in two minutes. We're going to do some long runs."
Two minutes later, the #19 bike was back out on track, and Sunset was being more careful this time. She carried out her programme, and when the chequered flag waved, she stopped on the grid. Several other riders had the same idea and also stopped. They all watched the lights, which were off. Then, the lights blinked red and everyone tensed. A couple of beats later, the lights went out and turned green. Everyone reacted instantly, though Sunset was a little late in her reaction.
By the pit wall, Slipstream mused, "She's a bit green around the gills. I got to buy her one of those devices with the lights. Improve her reactions a bit better. Else she's going to get her butt kicked at the race starts."