ECRL: The Wonderhawks

by WildFire15

ECRL Round 1: Cloudsdale - Practice

Cloudsdale Racing Circuit was built next to the Rainbow Factory and Rain water Reservoir, parts of the track taking their name from the item next to them. The circuit had been renovated a number of times since its original construction when scouting and messenger Pegasus used to use it to prove who was best.

The crowd was starting to build on the first day of the meeting which was dedicated to two two hour practice sessions, the weather kept still and sunny by the weather ponies.

In their stable, lined up along the pit lane, the Wonderhawks studied their diagram of the track one last time ahead of first practice. After looking at the same diagram for weeks and running around the track after the first flyer’s briefing, the entire layout was engrained in Dash’s mind, but for whatever reason Fleet, Ratchett, Spanner and Concorde still insisted they stare at this diagram.

She wasn’t sure what Concorde saw, but he was sat deep in thought as his eyes slowly followed the track on the diagram. Dash just saw the track, specifically the Morning Glory section that stretched down from the first corner to the Sunrise Hairpin at the eastern end of the track. The rest of the track, if their previous practice was anything to go by, was something to be endured rather than enjoyed.

Ratchett and Spanner, who’d analysed flyers here before, had drawn slowing areas on the track map so they had an idea where they should start slowing down for the corners and where to turn, which was probably what he was trying to memorise.

Dash looked out of the open stable door towards the pit wall, noticed Mercedes looking up and down the track. In her gleaming silver racing suit with a bright red number one on her flank and her mane tied back and under the collar of her suit, she looked like a completely different mare to the one Dash had met the night before. What exactly she was looking for, Dash didn’t know, but she looked fully focused and serious.

“Can we just get on with this now?” Dust suddenly asked.

“In fifteen minutes, yes.” Spanner replied, rubbing out and re-drawing one of the lines on the map.

“We’ve been staring at this thing for half an hour already. What else do you want us to see?”

“You should memorise the track and then visualise it.” Spanner informed her.

“We did tell you that while practicing back in Ponyville.” Ratchett said.

“If you’re still uncertain, we’ll walk you through the track again.” Spanner added.

“Well go on then, tell me what I’m missing.” Dust said, folding her front legs. Ratchett and Spanner exchanged glances before the latter started talking.

“The first corner’s easier than it looks. It’s less than ninety degrees and the exit is a very careful curve out so you can go in hotter than you think.” Spanner explained.

“Its full speed all the way down the Morning Glory from there,” Ratchett continued. “carefully leaning to stay on track because someone thought it was a good idea for it to be wavy rather than perfectly straight and then slow as late and hard as you dare, though I’d advise not slowing too hard for the Sunrise Hairpin. The timing line’s actually after the hairpin, so it’s 28.63 seconds to the end of the first sector.”

“You can get up to a good speed on this straight down to the first Factory corner, which you can take at full speed and nearly reach the sound barrier before slowing for factory two.” Spanner picked back up.

“No way is that corner flat out at that speed.” Dust stated, unconvinced.

“Dust, I’ve analysed five racing ponies here. Trust me, it’s flat out.”

“Nothing to add, Corde?” Maffett asked the still silent stallion next to her, nudging him when he didn’t respond.

“Hmm?” He looked up, having come out of his trance.

“Have you got nothing to add?” Maffett asked again.

“To what?”

“Can you take this kink flat out, yes or no?” Dust asked, impatient to get an answer.

“Yeah.” He replied, looking like it was a silly question.

“Anywhere else?”

“Well, I suppose you could take the first Reservoir corner flat out if you get the line right. The second Factory corner’s more of a thing, though. You need to get slowed down as late as possible to take it properly and get thrust out of it into Factory three.”

“Lap record split is 23.43 seconds.” Ratchett added.

“Ah, now I see what page you’re on.” Concorde smiled. “Right, sector three or the Reservoir section. Factory three pretty much feeds straight into Reservoir one but not quite close enough to make it a single corner. You have to be pretty precise to do it flat out.” He said, running his hoof along the track.

“Short straight and then the second Reservoir corner, which is very long and if you go in too fast, you’ll drift out on the exit as it tightens slightly.” Spanner observed, Concorde wondering if this was meant to be some sort of verbal relay.

“Are these two meant to be taken as one corner?” Dash asked, pointing to the last two corners.

“Yep.” Concorde said simply. "Plenty of run off if it doesn't quite go right."

“Record split of 27.13, making a lap record of 1:19.19.” Ratchett added.

“Five minutes, ponies.” Fleet said, drawing their attention. They hadn’t noticed the time suddenly shoot past, unless the clock was wrong. “I want all of you out straight away, so get your helmets on.”

Without saying anything, the three went to retrieve their helmets. They already had their suits on and their spotters helped get their helmets, goggles and mouth guards on and comfortable, ensuring any electronics were activated as well.

Once Dash was ready, Ratchett turned away.

“Radio check.” He said through the helmet radio, clear as a bell.

“Working.” Dash replied. Ratchett turned back, seemingly satisfied.

“Good. I want you to take it easy and take your time to get comfortable with the track. We’ve got two hours of open practice time now and another two later, so don’t be afraid to come back in if you need to.”

“Got it.”

“Right, go down to the end of the pit lane and wait for the green flag.” He said, pointing towards the marshal holding a green flag.

Dash flew out of the stable, taking care not to go too fast as she joined the end of what was, at the moment, a short queue, Wildfire, Auroras Encore and Lotus Stream having gotten there ahead of her. She noticed a camera pony slowly scanning his way up the line and winked at it as it went past her before she did some stretches.

“Thirty seconds.” Ratchett informed Dash, reminding her of the flock of butterflies in her stomach. Practice or not, the Wonderbolts would be watching her every move and judging her accordingly.

She tried to put the thought out of her mind and had a quick look over her shoulder, seeing Concorde at the head of the rest of the queue of racing ponies, all in different colours. He just nodded to her before turning his eyes to the flag. Dash looked back at the marshal too, who was pacing up and down while likely waiting for a message.

Seemingly, the marshal got the message immediately as she waved the flag over her head to start the session, as well as the season.

Dash followed the three ahead of her out on track.

“Ok Dash,” Ratchett came over the radio. “I want you to do three steady laps to get used to the track. Don’t worry about others passing you, but it may just be worth following Concorde or one of the top guys if they come past and sticking with their pace. Don’t forget to warm up.” He added.

Dash cruised down the Morning Glory section of the track towards the hairpin, passing Wildfire as she went. Once she reached the hairpin, she tried Concorde’s turning style as she’d observed during their practice sessions in Ponyville, tilting over and carefully angling her wings to keep her going straight until she reached the corner. She was still pulling towards the corner as she tilted over, but not as severely as she had before.

Before she could turn in, however, Lightning Dust came streaming up the inside and past. Dash backed out of turning for the apex and watched her team mate hurtle off.

“Ignore her, keep as you are.” Ratchett prompted.

Dash did so, speeding up out of the hairpin and gliding down into the first Rainbow Factory corner. The violent right hoof kink didn’t look like it could be taken at speed to Dash, but she figured she could still give it a go when she started a fast lap.

She looked over her shoulder to see where Concorde was, but couldn’t see him as the pack spread itself back, seemingly looking for space.

Dash carried on, pressing hard as she came out of the last corner, across the line and onto her first timed lap. She tried to emulate Concorde’s turning style again, banking fully before turning into the corner before she realised someone was coming back on track. She backed her speed down so she could stay tighter and avoid flying into whoever it was.

“Hey, was that Dust?” She asked after she got a look at the helmet on her way past.

“Yes. I’m guessing she went wide.” Ratchett stated. “Just focus on yourself for now and completing some laps.”

She hurtled off down the Morning Glory section of track, hitting the sound barrier a third of the way down. The subtle left, right and left she needed to do down the track felt wrong to her. She could handle big, bold movement but this careful leaning felt uncomfortably out of her control. The feeling lasted long enough to make her forget there was a hair pin and she slowed far too late, finding herself in the middle of the run off before she was slow enough to make the turn.

She re-joined the track slightly ahead of a pack of flyers and headed for the right hoof kink that was the first of the Factory corners. Concorde insisted it was a flat out corner, so she went for it as she tilted in, narrowly missing the apex and just about going off track as she came out of the turn. It appeared he was right if she got the line right.

Her confidence going up somewhat, she slowed for the second Factory corner and was almost instantly passed by three others. They hurled themselves into the corners, seemingly getting enough lift to easily make it through far faster than Dash could. She was left dumbfounded as she took the third and final corner of the factory complex, another flyer going past her on the exit again with more speed through the corner.

Now slightly annoyed, she chased after the last pony to pass her, who turned out to be Mercedes after she noticed the number. The first corner that was the Reservoir complex was a quick right hoof corner that fitted Dash’s big and bold style and she was able to match Mercedes through it, but as soon as they reached the long, tightening second Reservoir corner Mercedes pulled away , losing Dash completely by the time they reached the double apexes final corner. Dash threw herself into the corner, hitting the first apex before missing the second one by a long way, going off track and nearly hitting the grand stand.

“Dash, you need to take this slowly.” Ratchett said as she returned to the track, several others going past her on the start finish straight. “You need to complete some clean laps. Do not concern yourself with the others.”

“Yeah, got it.” She replied, though she didn’t really believe herself. She shuck her head clear, reminding herself she was much better than that lap showed and headed off onto a new one.

***

Her laps improved over the next twenty minutes as she made fewer and fewer mistakes, starting to trust her wings a bit more to find lift in the corners. She was still horrendously slow through the factory and reservoir complexes, but at least she was obliterating everyone down the Morning Glory.

After losing out to a pack of five other flyers in the reservoir complex, she followed them onto the next lap and onto the Morning Glory, a grin creeping onto her face as she was about to show them just how fast she was. In turn as they got a third of the way down the Morning Glory, they each hit the sound barrier and delivered another shocking reminder of what she was up against.

The turbulence hit her like a brick wall, the impact nearly knocking her clean out of the air. She survived, but her wings weren’t able to keep up with the punishment as they were so she dived off line and slowed down, hoping no one was there as she dropped below sonic speeds.

“You’re clear behind.” Ratchett said, answering her question before she asked it. “You feeling ok?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just,” Dash paused for a moment, searching for a suitable word. “surprised.”

“I’ve been told the first time in multiple sonic wakes is quite scary, congrats on not face planting. Did you catch where about you ran into the turbulence?”

“Er, no.”

“We’ll have to work it out so you can brace yourself. Try and get into another group and find out.”

“How’s my lap times looking?”

“They’re not important at the moment. We’ll work on lap times later, for now get yourself in a group.”

“Got it.” She replied before exiting the hair pin and chasing off after the pack ahead. She did want to know her times, that was the whole point of these two hours to her, but she knew she’d find out eventually.

Dash continued around the lap, expecting to see the pack she had been in before too long, but they never materialized. Even once she reached the Morning Glory she couldn’t see them, so she flapped her wings as hard as she could in order to get up to full speed on the straightish section. She kept an eye out for a possible marker as she approached the sound barrier, noticing a marshal’s post next to the track as she broke the barrier and hurtled off down the track.

As she approached the hairpin, she thought about where to slow down. The pack she had been in still wasn’t in sight so she figured she may as well try something unrelated. She hadn’t been at full speed on her own through this corner yet, so she looked for her own markers to slow down, finding a suitable one with one of the distance marker boards and slowed down, using her whole body as well as her wings as a wind brake. It felt like the entire content of her body wanted to be torn out of her face and chest as she came to a near halt, when she allowed herself to return to a glide. She felt sick and surprisingly dizzy as her vision returned to normal, making her realize she’d slowed far too early as she glided through the corner.

“That looked severe.” Ratchett commented. “You ok?”

Dash swallowed, nausea getting to her. “No.” She replied, almost feebly.

“Right, take it easy for a lap or two, or you can come in for a rest and we’ll have a look at your footage.”

“I’ll keep going.” Dash replied, surprisingly already feeling better. It must have been the surprise of such heavy and sudden g-force she figured as she picked up her speed again, making a mental note to slow down less abruptly next time.

***

Dash continued around, largely on her own, for the next half an hour, not getting a chance to follow anyone down the Morning Glory as she’d frequently lose them through the rest of the track.

Ratchett advised her to return to the pits so they could go over her footage and work out how to improve, so she entered the pits and glided into the team’s stable. Ratchett had already run into the stable ahead of her and flung open a laptop computer as she landed, her legs nearly not taking her weight.

Ratchett took Dash’s helmet off before she had time to realize he was doing so and connected it to the computer.

“Right. Now we’ve finally got two cameras in this thing, we can see exactly what you’re doing in both directions.” He said, though Dash still didn’t see the need for it.

He set the laptop to play footage from both cameras, slightly out of sync. She watched her forwards facing camera, still not seeing the point of the rear facing one, the scenery at the side of the track hurtling past on the Morning Glory before she suddenly broke the sound barrier and blasted forwards even faster.

Without thinking, she rewound the footage to just before she broke the sound barrier and studied the image, looking for a good marker.

“Post five.” She said to Ratchett, who was watching her. “I break the sound barrier about there.”

“Good spot. I think that’s where most ponies are breaking the barrier.” Ratchett said, seemingly allowing his knowledge out now Dash had made that revelation. “It’s never particularly consistent where the sound barrier gets broken due to air density.”

Dash pondered that nugget of information. She’d never considered air density before when performing the Sonic Rainboom and may explain a few of the times it went wrong.

“You know what Dash, I think it might help you to stay in here for a bit and watch some of the onboard footage we have for the different flyers. Might help.”

***

Dash did as Ratchett suggested, pointing out and asking questions of him whenever she saw something of interest. Concorde joined her fifteen minutes later, re-watching his own footage to see where he could go quicker.

“You’ve not told us,” Dash asked him, nudging him to make sure she had his attention. “But why do you watch your rear facing camera more than your front facing?”

“I’m watching my wings, seeing where they are when I take a corner to see if they’re well positioned or not.”

“Speaking of which, Dash,” Ratchett chipped in. “I’ve noticed you tend to keep your wings very rigid when cornering. Try relaxing them a bit more.”

Dash nodded. Ratchett had mentioned that to her before but trying to actively think about ‘relaxing’ her wings while cornering had resulted in a few crashes already.

“She’s going in there pretty-” Concorde started before wincing. Dash looked at the screen he was watching which showed Dust’s front facing camera, now on the floor and facing a barrier. She quickly got back up and continued around the track, shaking her head in frustration.

The four in the stable watched the rest of her lap as she turned off the track and entered the pits, turning to meet her as she glided in and landed awkwardly.

“You ok?” Concorde asked , though he didn’t get a response. Spanner didn’t say anything either as he came in from the pit wall and helped Dust take her helmet off.

“You’re pushing too hard, Dust.” Spanner said simply. “You’ll make mistakes like that if you push too hard.”

“I’m getting annihilated out there.” Dust said angrily. “I’m doing all I can to keep up.”

“Then you’re obviously doing the wrong things.” Concorde said matter-of-factly, which earned him a furious look from Dust. “Besides the Morning Glory, you're nowhere. I nearly flew into you through the factories.”

“What’s that meant to mean?”

“From what I saw when following you into the second Factory corner, here.” He continued, pointing to the monitors as they showed their footage of going through the corner once Spanner plugged Dust’s helmet in. Concorde took a huge amount more speed through it then Dust or Dash did and seemed to turn more suddenly. “You’re almost dawdling through it, waiting for yourself to slow down to turn.”

“So what do you do, then?” Dash asked, annoyed and curious in equal measure.

“Well, something that’s true for everyone is we’ve all got all this useless weight we’re dragging around.” Concorde explained, drawing a line down Dust’s back, as she’d sat to him, from her between her wings to the base of her tail, taking her by surprise. “So what we want to do is make some use of it.”

“In what way?” Dust shot at him, moving her hind away from him.

“Simple: Swing your ass around. Tilt in, start turning and throw your hind out and you could even turn on a blade of grass if you do it right. It’s not a technique you need everywhere, the Sunrise Hairpin’s too wide for it for example, but for short, tight corners like this one and to an extent turn one it works a treat.”

“He just wants to see you shaking that ass.” Maffett injected.

“What? Am I not allowed to appreciate such things all of a sudden? Better than your fat hind.” He replied.

“Which is better than your bony butt.” Maffett retorted.

“Touché, ginger snaps”

“I had been wondering about that.” Dash suddenly injected. “You’re appetite’s almost as big as Applejack’s and you’ve hardly got any muscle on you.”

“Lucky, I suppose.” He shrugged, unsure what exactly to say to that. "Try and make sure I don't eat too many sweets and pies."

“When you’re quite done,” Fleet injected, drawing their attention. She'd been sat with Ratchett, Spanner and Maffett on the pit wall but now had come over. “There’s thirty minutes of the session left so I want you all out there.”

The three nodded and went to get their helmets. Dash got herself ready first and glided out of the stable, taking a moment to look down the pit lane before getting onto it and heading onto the fairly clear track.

“You’re currently one of four flyers on track, but it looks like the others are on their way out too. Track should be full in a minute or so.” Ratchett informed Dash as she warmed up down the Morning Glory, staying out of the way as Power Drive came hurtling past.

She carried on around the track and out of the hair pin, deciding to put on a burst of speed ahead of the factory complex to try what Concorde had suggested. She banged into the high speed kink that was Factory one and lined herself up for Factory two, banking over and allowing herself to get pulled towards the apex. Just as she approached, she threw out her hind and spun on the tip of her wing, almost completely out of control.

After three complete spins, she regained control and stopped herself, now somewhat dizzy and facing back down the track in the run off area, Dawn Wisp looking over to see what had happened as he went past. She shuck her head clear and re-joined behind him, though he quickly got away.

“That looked severe.” Ratchett remarked.

“Threw myself in too hard.” Dash replied, carrying on around the lap as she previously had.

“It’s a subtle and precise art; you’ll get the hang of it.” Ratchett said. “You’ve got five seconds behind you to Lotus Stream and Riggwelter, so go at your own pace to the chequered flag.”

***

Shortly after the session ended, the three flyers sat around the table in their stable, going over several sheets of times. Concorde was focused as he usually was when reviewing his own performance, while Dash and Dust just stared disbelievingly at their own times.

They were slowest by a long way, over a second slower than the next flyer. If they had been qualifying, they wouldn’t have been allowed to race they were so slow. They were fastest in the speed trap down the Morning Glory, but over the rest of the lap they were haemorrhaging time.

“Don’t look so glum.” Fleet said, checking their times. “Considering this is your first time racing, that’s pretty good.”

“We’re slow.” Dash said simply, propping her head up with her hooves.

“You are, but you know why.” Spanner injected. “It’s far worse when you’re slow and you don’t know why.”

Dash looked at the break down of her fastest lap again. She had been fourteenth fastest in the first sector, mainly because of the first corner and hairpin slowing her down and lost three seconds in the second sector, the Factory complex, and five seconds in the Reservoir complex that was sector three.

“We’ve got another session of practice this afternoon.” Ratchett reminded her. “I want you to watch Concorde’s footage and look at where he slows and turns for corners. Should help you in the second and third sectors.”

Author's Note:

For those curious, Cloudsdale Racing Circuit is based on the current layout of the Hockenhiemring, Germany with the hairpin from Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve, Canada.