Cloudsdale Weather Racing have a title to defend. Wonderbolts Racing looks to take that away this time. As do 6 more teams who are eyeing the same prize. The second ever Equestrian Formula One Championship is bound to be one for the history books.
A new and more powerful car has been cleared for competition. 4 new tracks built. 2 new teams formed. 1 Championship trophy now up for grabs.
Welcome to the 2nd ever Equestrian Formula One Championship!
16 drivers will embark on an exciting and drama-filled campaign in search of racing glory and immortality. Competing at 7 tracks in locations all the way from Las Pegasus to Trottingham with devout and passionate fans cheering them on. Can Rainbow Dash defend her Championship title? Can Anonymous return to form after his devastating crash from the season before? Can Twilight, as crew chief of Anon and Rainbow's team, keep the competitive couple from going at each others throats as the season comes to a decisive close?
Will the sport as a whole survive what happens this year?
Anon, Rainbow Dash, and the rest of the grid will see many obstacles thrown their way in this new and difficult challenge. Not only on the track, but off as well. Will they have the ability to overcome these challenges? Or will they just crack under the pressure?
"The field lines up! The lights go out! AND THEY'RE OFF!"
============= Warning: Strong language =============
The story of F1 Anon started as a 2nd person episodic greentext in the "Anon In Equestria" threads on /mlp/ in early 2012. This new story sees the continuation of the world that was built in that greentext. This time in full prose and ditching 2nd person perspective.
"Tl;dr" F1 Anon backstory:
Anonymous was a professional Formula 1 driver competing in the 2012 F1 Season. During the first lap of the inaugural United States Grand Prix, Anon and his car disappear down the back stretch in a flash of light. Never to be seen again. Unbeknownst to the live audience on Earth, Anonymous had been teleported to Equestria on account of Twilight's magic surging to astronomical levels during a teleportation spell she had just learned. Over the next few months, Anon along with a few other adrenaline seeking ponies see themselves competing in the first ever Equestrian Formula One Championship, organized by Celestia herself after having duplicates made of Anon's car. The three-race season sees Anonymous winning the first race but then crashing out in the second in what was probably the worst accident of his career, and thus knocked out of the competition because of his injuries. His teammate and love interest Rainbow Dash, having won the 2nd race, was determined to keep their team on top in the season finale. Which she manages to do by only one point in the standings over her rival, and winner of the third race, Spitfire. Thus, Rainbow Dash then became Equestria's first ever F1 World Drivers Champion.
Sitting at the dining room table of their Trottingham home, Rainbow has her mouth agape looking over the detailed schematics Anon had just brought back. What she holds in her hooves are the stats and diagrams of the brand new Prancing Horse MK.1. An Equestrian built Formula 1 Car. Only thing is, this thing is so far from conventional F1. It's like the old rules were just thrown out of the window.
"This. Looks. RIDICULOUS!" Rainbow exclaims, "How much faster is this gonna be than last season's cars?"
Created by Celestia's secret F1 development team, the PH-M1 is a turbocharged V12 behemoth. The enhanced downforce and wider tires alone would be enough to improve lap times by over 3 seconds. At least that's Anon's guess. Might be more.
"Celestia didn't disclose that info." he says taking a seat across from Rainbows position at the table.
"Of course she didn't." Rainbow then looks up to Anon and rests her cheek on a front hoof. "Why do they always have to be so secretive about this stuff?"
"They weren't necessarily secretive with me. On other things that is." Anon says piquing Rainbows interest, "I don't know if the Princesses see me as the Ambassador of F1 or something because, well, the sport wouldn't be here if Twilight never accidentally teleported me here almost 2 years ago. But..."
Rainbow nods in agreement. "That makes sense. But yeah you were saying?"
Anon takes a quick look around the room as if to check if anyone is listening. He then leans in and whispers, "They let me drive it."
Rainbow drops her hoof from her face to the table. "Where!?"
"Ponyville Circuit," he states, "Celestia only let me have two laps behind the wheel, though."
Eyes locked on Anonymous, Rainbow anxiously waits for more. A smile beaming from her face. "Yeah? Well? How was it!?"
"Well," Anon sighs, looking back at her. "I signed an agreement. I can't really tell anyone about it. Even my own teammate."
"That's not fair!" she immediately retorts slamming both front hooves on the table, "Why? That would give you a huge advantage over me when this season starts! What the fuck!?"
Anon holds up his hands in front of him after this unexpected outburst from Dash. "Woah! Hold on. Rainbow?"
"Yes!?"
"I'm kidding."
Rainbow rolls her eyes and throws her head back. "Oh fuck off with that shit and tell me about it already."
Having lived together ever since the final race last season, Rainbow has grown a little tired of Anon's bait and switch shenanigans. Live with anyone long enough and even the small things become hard to deal with. Anon did quite enjoy that one, though. Knowing how bad Dash wants to defend her title this season. Any info he keeps from her is going to make her quite irritated.
Anonymous continues after sitting up in his chair and bracing his elbows on the table, holding his head up.
"It's fast. Very fast. Rapid. Blisteringly quick."
Rainbow's smile begins to return. "Yeah?"
"It is... A LOT harder to drive, though. The V-12 puts a staggering amount of power down. The turbo doesn't lag either, so the throttle is immediate. Not to mention the increased G-forces."
"Pfff. I'm sure an awesome driver like myself can handle it! I wouldn't have won the World Championship last season if I sucked right?"
She posed a good point. Her performance last season surpassed even Anon's expectations. Having overcome all adversity to win by a single point over Spitfire from Wonderbolts Racing. Although in the back of Anon's mind, he's thinking that if he wasn't wrecked out of the second race by that very same driver, the story here would be just a bit different.
Rainbow then holds a hoof up while looking at a diagram of the car. "One more question though before we go to bed."
"It's 8," Anon replies.
"Exactly. What's this I see about an 'IIPS'? It looks like a dome around the driver. Is that always on? It doesn't look like you can see through it."
"Ah. That's the 'Imminent Injury Protection System'. Those two winglets on the engine cover are sensors that can detect any object heading towards your head at a high speed."
"Right..." Rainbow says, almost forgetting how dangerous open cockpit racing can be.
The diagram shows what it looks like when the IIPS is engaged. Similarities can be made to a fighter jet canopy. However, because of difficulties in the design admitted by Celestia, the only way she could get it to work properly is by having the side effect of not being able to see through it. The world in front of you would be blurred completely.
"If it does sense something," Anon continues, "A protective force field will appear just so long to deflect the object away from you. Saving your life."
"Well cool," Rainbow states. "I guess she managed to make the cars safer without getting rid of the open cockpit look."
To Anonymous, The IIPS safety feature was what he was happy about the most. Sure the V-12 is exciting and the profile of the car is drool worthy, but driver safety is a top priority to him. His worst fear is seeing an innocent pony hurt because of the sport that he pretty much ushered into this world. Any safety feature of this sort was welcomed wholeheartedly by the veteran F1 pilot when he met with Celestia about the car.
If 16 drivers enter the first race, then 16 drivers should finish the 7th and final race. That's the goal.
2 new teams, 4 new drivers, 4 new tracks.
The competition will be fierce. The excitement heading into pre-season testing, which takes place in just a few weeks, continues to grow across Equestria. It's been about 14 months since the final race last season. A "Ridiculous amount of time" in Rainbow's opinion. Which is something she's said many times.
Rainbow then gets up from her seat, saying "I still can't believe she let you drive it." while going to the kitchen to grab some water.
Anonymous just shrugs. He wasn't expecting that either, and judging from Celestia's reaction from the sound level of the V12, it might have been a spur-of-the-moment deal. She obviously didn't expect the car to be as loud as it was. Ponyville is within earshot of the track, so the entire populace of the town definitely heard something. With how nervous Celestia was and how quick she removed the cars from the scene, it shows that the on track demo kinda wasn't planned. There will probably be headlines on tomorrow's newspapers speculating what might have gone on at Ponyville Circuit earlier today.
"So," Rainbow states looking to Anon, who has gotten up from the table, and is now standing on the balcony of their condominium admiring the Trottingham Harbor below. "You gonna come to bed with me or are all the covers gonna be mine again tonight?"
Anon lets out a laugh while still looking out at the view. "I guess I'm gonna have to. Aren't I?"
A few moments pass while Dash looks over at her partner. Forming a smile, she then decides to float over to Anon's position. Joining him at the balcony.
The sounds of the harbor town below echo about as the sun sets on the horizon. A small breeze wisps by the face of the building, moving Rainbow's mane ever so slightly. The 10th story penthouse sure does offer quite a view of the luxury district where the two Cloudsdale Weather Racing drivers live.
"We're racing here this year, you know that?" Anon asks.
"Yep!" Rainbow replies. "Just like how it was at your old place right?"
"Yeah,"
Even though this is primarily Dash's home, having paid for the majority of the cost with her winnings from last season, the decision to live in this location was Anonymous' idea. With the Trottingham Grand Prix being added to the calendar, and it's striking similarity to Anon's old home of Monaco in appearance and race circuit layout, he practically begged Rainbow to live here over anywhere else. With Rainbow being as understanding as she is, however, it didn't take much to sway her. She knows Anon being here in Equestria was not on his own accord. So anything to make him feel more comfortable, Rainbow would gladly do.
"Alright," Anon says. "We have Pre-season testing in Canterlot in just a few weeks. What say we up the intensity of our training tomorrow?"
Rainbow looks over with an eyebrow raised. "I mean, sure? But why increase the intensity?"
Anon laughs, "This new car is gonna kick the shit out of us. We need to be ready. This isn't gonna be as much of a cakewalk as it was last season."
What is Formula One? Is it an excuse for the wealthy to spend extravagant amounts of money in order to achieve immortality? An outlet for the crazies of the world who cant get enough adrenaline in their lives? Or, perhaps, is it the best of the best showcasing their top notch driving skill to adoring fans worldwide? Whatever your definition of the sport, no one can deny the insane skill on display. Anyone who willingly straps themselves into a fire breathing rocket of a machine, tames said beast, and then goes on to win a championship deserves every bit of recognition they receive. For this is no easy feat.
Sixteen months ago, Equestria saw it's first sanctioned Grand Prix. A field of twelve drivers were cleared to enter. Ten of whom were hoof selected after their performance in Celestia's simulator qualifiers. Although the whole season only comprised of three events, the impact Formula One had on the entirety of Equestria was massive. Race weekends took over normal daily life. The cities that hosted the circuits where they raced became motorsports meccas. The drivers became icons of admiration. Formula One truly had become Equestria's sport of choice.
After the first season ended and the first ever champion was crowned. The countdown began towards the next season of competition. All twelve drivers from last year are returning. Along with four new drivers comprising up two new teams. The hype leading up to the first roar of an engine has been huge. Which makes today a date that many have had marked on their calendars for a long time. Pre-Season Testing starts this morning at Canterlot Circuit. A day that Rainbow Dash has been eagerly awaiting since her championship victory all that time ago.
The new cars are fast. However, that statement alone is not enough to put into perspective just how bonkers they really are. Very few individuals will get the opportunity to experience something even remotely like the PH-M1. If or when they do, most will describe the experience as one of the more exhilarating things they will ever do in their life. Currently flying down the front straightaway of Canterlot Circuit is Dash. Piloting one of these vehicles as fast as she is willing to take it. Her personal limit at the moment, nowhere near the actual limit of the car.
<<"This car physically hurts to drive.">> Rainbow says over the radio after a late braking test going into turn one. Turn three offers no break from the pain as she hits the throttle exiting turn two. With the help of the car's aero and how sticky the tires are, Rainbow is able to guide the car through the increasing radius corner while keeping the throttle floored. Gravitational forces nearly hit 7.5G as she screams out of corner exit. Internal organs feel like they're being pulled apart at these speeds. Heading towards turn four, the second hardest braking point on the circuit, she says, <<"After this lap I'm coming back in.">>
Sitting at the Cloudsdale Weather Racing pit wall gantry is Twilight Sparkle. As the teams Crew Chief, she overlooks all aspects of the vehicles telemetry during a run, formulating strategies and tactics for a race weekend. For now however, its all about how the drivers are getting along with the new equipment. How the cars act out on track will be the next hurdle over the coming days. Because, as Twilight can tell from the telemetry alone on the monitors in front of her, she is nowhere near seeing the full capabilities of this new car. <<"Roger that Rainbow. You've done forty three laps which is fantastic. You'll be able to do a full Grand Prix length stint soon enough.">>
"Forty three laps is impressive for a first stint." Anonymous says to himself while standing next to his car in the garage and getting geared up. A monitor on the wall of the garage displays each cars current lap time, their sector times, and the amount of laps completed. Rainbow currently tops the time sheets with a 1:20.223. A time Anonymous looks to beat.
-----
This is also where the team learned who their new competitors for this season are. As those new teams were the first cars to go out on track earlier in the morning. The first team to log in some track time didn't really worry them that much. Knowing their past history, Rainbow figured their attempt for the championship this year would be mediocre at best.
"Super Speedy Racing"
Car #15. Flim
Car #16. Flam
Their lap times were about what Rainbow, Twilight and Anon expected they would be. Around lower mid pack currently logging in 1:23s. Their car though was a sight to see. The amount of sponsors that car has almost negates even having a paint scheme on the car. The new drivers did make a living as somewhat successful sales ponies before entering the F1 circuit. Judging by the amount of sponsors on the car, they weren't chosen for their driving skill. This was a case of a team buying their way into the sport. Who could blame them? A single Championship point is worth multiple thousands in Bits. The amount of effort they put in to grab all those sponsors is sure to pay off. Granted if they place anywhere in the top ten. Eleventh through sixteenth place offers no points.
Oh, you thought Rainbow was able to purchase a penthouse apartment in Trottingham on the Championship prize money alone? Oh no. Her main winnings came from the fifty two points she earned throughout last seasons three races. Rainbow earned more from the points that she was awarded than from actually winning the championship. She was awarded 200K for becoming the first World Drivers Champion to put it into perspective.
Because of this lucrative perk, becoming an F1 driver has been the goal of many ponies after last season. Here in Equestria you can actually get in if you harbor the skills within you. For those who don't, buying your way in is an astronomically more expensive option. Each sponsor for Super Speedy Racing is making a huge gamble in this investment. Going by SSR's current lap times however, these two sales ponies are probably too persuasive for their own good.
Although, the other new team did not leave a welcoming fuzzy feeling in either of the Cloudsdale Weather drivers upon seeing who they were.
"Elite F1"
Car #13. Lightning Dust
Car #14.Trixie
Sporting what is probably the brightest yellow livery ever seen on a Formula vehicle along with an ambitious team name. Elite F1 are no laughing matter. Lightning Dust is a short fused firecracker of a driver. She's fast, there's no doubt about that. The worry here comes from Dust's overtly aggressive driving style. Shes unrelenting, unapologetic, and very willing to ruin your day.
However, because she hasn't interacted with anyone out on track so far, this driving style has yet to be observed. All of this is known from her Simulation qualifying runs before last season started. She would have landed a seat in one of the original twelve driver spots if not for nearly causing an accident after every attempt at an overtake. It seems this year, seeing as she has landed a ride, her driving style has matured. Because Celestia doesn't give rides away to just anypony.
Trixie on the other hand, is alot of talk. She matches Lightnings arrogance, but not her driving ability. Lets just say she would be the fastest driver out there if there werent 15 other competitors this season. The one thing shes got going for her though is her consistency. She wont break the lap record, but she can get the same exact lap time lap after lap. Which on longer stints is very impressive, and could lead to a points finish. If she stays out of trouble, that is.
-----
The sound of a 1000 Horsepower, Twin Turbocharged, 12 cylinder engine coming closer and closer to the Cloudsdale Weather garage gets Anon's attention. Rainbow Dash has finished her run for the day. Time for Anonymous to get his allotted seat time in.
Rainbow's car is backed into the garage by the Cloudsdale Weather crew members. Followed by Twilight heading in from the telemetry station out on pit road. "Was it fun?" Twilight asks Dash as she hoists herself out of the cockpit.
"Well. I'm left sore, out of breath, and wanting more. Basically it's better than sex." Rainbow states as she pulls her crash helmet off and sets it down in the vehicles seat.
Anon looks over and scoffs, "Heh, and you didn't even reach its limit yet."
"Yeah? Alright." Rainbow retorts, "Let's see you do better then."
<<”It’s looking like rain is in the forecast within the next 10 minutes.”>>
<<”Copy that. Bring it on.”>>
Vinyl Scratch has begun her 24th lap of the session. Today, the team planned on going for a full-length Grand Prix stint. However, with the weather heading in, and the so far unpredictability of these cars handling wise, Bass Cannon Racing’s crew chief sounded a bit apprehensive when he replied <<”Very well.”>> to Scratch’s statement. Not one to be outdone, her teammate Octavia will also stay out when the downpour hits. The cellist is acclimatizing herself very quickly to the new car. 2 purple sector times leading to the fastest time of the day. 1:18.445.
That lap time was indeed relayed to Vinyl by her crew chief. As she rounds the second to last corner of Canterlot Circuit, she assesses her current situation. No traffic ahead, rain rolling in soon, tires at optimum temperature. It’s go time. Getting the best possible exit she can out of the final corner, Scratch carefully buries the throttle to the floor. Turbos whine, revs climb, and she launches like a rocket down the front stretch to begin her hot lap.
Octavia may have just gotten the best lap time of the day, but as far as Scratch is concerned, that record will not last long.
Scratch hits almost 8 lateral G’s through turn 3. Pushing the tires and suspension as hard as she thinks they can go. She brakes hard into turn 4, locking up the left front for a fraction of a second and sending a puff of smoke outwards. Accelerating out of the increasing radius bend, she balances the throttle. Power-sliding the car ever so slightly with its semi loose setup.
A loose racecar is a fast racecar. Given how sleek the aero profile of the PH-M1 is, that statement is truer than ever.
Vinyl careens through turns 5, 6, 7, and 8 with ease. Turn 9 is a full throttle right hand corner in these cars. No one has had the guts to test this, however. That is, until the fastest DJ in Equestria decided it was worth a shot. To keep her from second guessing herself, she retracts her left hoof as much as she can, so she doesn’t accidentally apply the brakes.
*This lap is gonna be a flyer!* Vinyl thinks to herself as she enters the bend. Throwing the finely tuned racing machine through the almost blind turn at full send.
<<”Yellow, Sector 2!>>
“FUCK!!!”
Blind corners. Quite the challenge. Especially when another driver decides to pull back out onto the track at the same exact moment another comes through at full speed.
The margin of space between the two cars was only a single millimeter. Dust was saved from her car being rammed at nearly 150 MPH due to Scratches ‘lightning’ quick reaction times. The only way Vinyl could avoid her though was to turn left, directly towards the gravel runoff.
Stones fly everywhere as the Bass Cannon Racing machine slides through the gravel. The IIPS (Imminent Injury Protection System) activating rapidly for milliseconds at a time, deflecting singular rocks away from the helmet of the now furious occupant inside.
<<”YO! WHO WAS THAT!?>> Vinyl demands after grinding to a halt on the runoff.
<<”That was Lightning Dust.”>> The crew chief replies.
<<”Of course it was a newbie! You know, if you’re gonna give yourself such a wannabe team name like ‘Elite F1’, at least TRY to live up to it. Fuck!”>>
Engine still running. Scratch clicks the gearbox into first and attempts to leave. The engine screams as the rear tires can only spin in place, however. Her car now beached in the traction-less gravel trap.
<<*sigh* “I’m Stuck.”>> Vinyl says, annoyed.
Knowing the procedures, Scratch exits her car and proceeds to walk towards the other side of the retaining wall to return to the garage. She stands by and watches from behind the fence as her machine gets lifted into the air and set on a flatbed.
Fleetfoot investigates the sky as the transmission from Spitfire came in over the radio. The rain is starting to come down heavily. Wonderbolts Racing’s crew chief is confused though, the rain isn’t new nor should it be a problem. She responds <<”I don’t understand, you just came in for a set of wet tires. Everything should be okay out there.”>>
The sound of a racing machine decelerating down the front stretch, well before the braking zone, piques Fleetfoot’s attention
Soarin then announces <<”Yeah well. For some reason, when we go above 60 MPH, we can’t fucking see.”>>
Fleetfoot’s attention darts to the telemetry data in front of her upon hearing this revelation.
*IIPS STATUS: ACTIVATED*
“What? Why?” Fleetfoot says to herself. A notification then pops up on her info feed saying *RED FLAG*. She then relays this news to her drivers. <<”Seems we aren’t the only ones experiencing this problem. The sessions been red flagged. Head back to the garage.”>>
<<”Roger that.”>>
-----
Wonderbolts Racing Garage. 1:42 PM
"What's the deal?" Spitfire asks Fleetfoot as the rain coat clad crew chief walks into the garage from the pit wall gantry. Soarin's car meanwhile being backed into the stall next to the both of them as the rain continues to fall.
Fleetfoot asks, "You said you couldn't see anything past 60 Miles per hour?".
"Yeah." Spitfire responds, "Is that the 'IIPS' thing we've been hearing so much about in our driver meetings?"
"Yes it is." Fleetfoot answers. She motions toward a television screen to the right of her on the wall. "Take a look, every car that was out on track was plagued by it."
The feed shows a replay of a few cars accelerating out of a corner in the pouring rain. Once they reached a certain speed, the protective forcefield canopy of the IIPS activates. Rendering their vision useless.
"Does the car really think the rain is gonna kill us?" Soarin inquires, eliciting a shrug from Spitfire. He then continues after a short pause "On top of that, why does this 'protection system' make everything fucking blurry when its on?"
"Good question! I have no idea." Fleetfoot says in a somewhat comedic tone. Soarin retorts, "Well you're just useful, aren't ya?" causing Spitfire to snort attempting to hold in a laugh. "Wow okay. You better watch yourself, driver number two" Fleetfoot throws back.
"Ladies please." Spitfire interjects, "As much as I love banter, I would really like to figure out a solution to this issue we're having that's keeping us off track right now." She says, looking at both her teammate and crew chief.
"Seeing as this is a grid wide issue, we might have to wait until we hear something from the higher ups." Fleetfoot says.
Just then, an announcement over the live feed on the television reports that the session for today has been cancelled. Groans and boos are heard from the few ponies in attendance on the grandstand. Visible dissapointment appears across Soarin's face. "Oh COME ON!!" he exclaims. Spitfire just looks annoyed.
"Well that's that then." Spitfire says, throwing her racing gloves on top of a nearby toolbox. "14 months of waiting just to have the first session back cancelled because of malfunctioning new tech. I'll see you guys tomorrow."
Spitfire exits out the back of the garage in defeated disappointment. Fleetfoot says "See ya Spits." as a monitor next to her in the garage shows a popped up urgent message. Soarin notices Fleets rapid attention switch to the screen and walks over to see what it could be.
He reads aloud "All teams, effective immediately, transport all PH-M1 vehicles to Parc fermé for repairs. The Imminent Injury Protection System has been deemed too sensitive as it has been shown to activate from rain at speeds above 60 miles per hour, and must be readjusted by a certified tech pony approved to perform the work by Celestia herself." Soarin looks puzzled after reading this. He inquires to Fleet as he turns his attention towards her, "Why can't our team adjust it?"
Fleetfoot explains, "Apparently you have to be trained to work on that shit. Seeing as if we mess with it, and it malfunctions in the opposite way, i.e:"
she holds a hoof out in front of her and widens her eyes
"doesn't activate."
"Fuck, yeah okay." Soarin says, suddenly aware of his own mortality. "Lets get these cars over there eh?"
"Yeah, lets." Fleet says, rounding up her crew to start getting the cars ready.
The heavenly aroma of fresh baked savory pies fills the air. The restaurant where we can find the three prominent Cloudsdale Weather members was rated the highest out of any in the nearby area on food quality alone. Atmosphere isn't too bad either. In other words, Rainbow Dash made them go. Didn't even give them a choice. Especially after the testing session today was cut so short.
"Holy shit fatass." Anonymous exclaims as Dash's food order is brought to her at their table. Rainbow's tongue hangs and her eyes widen at the jumbo sized pie placed in front of her. Twilight and Anon's orders are dwarfed in comparison, as they only ordered the small sized dishes.
Before she digs in, Rainbow sneers towards Anon, "I don't wanna hear anything from you, Mr. 'I got to drive the car before anyone else'."
Anon retorts while picking up his fork, "Here we go. Explain Octavia's time then."
Much to Dash's chagrin, Anon did manage to score a faster lap than Rainbow before the storm arrived. She was bewildered at first. But when Octavia scored a lap time over a second faster, it made her realize just how much further these cars can be pushed.
"Alright alright." Rainbow says. "These new cars are a lot harder than I thought they would be."
Twilight pipes up after swallowing a bite from her meal, "Which is why we are in the testing phases right now. So you guys can get acclimatized with the new car, And I can learn how they work with both of your driving styles. You guys have barely scratched the surface of the cars potential by the way."
"Are you sherioush?" Anon asks, mouth full of food. To which Twilight answers,
"Dead serious."
Already a quarter of the way done with her pie, Rainbow Dash looks up and asks, "How fast do you think these things can go?"
Twilight leans in towards the center of the table. Anon and Rainbow follow suit, listening closely. In a hushed tone, Sparkle says, "According to my calculations. In qualifying trim, they might be capable of low 1:10s."
"Fuck..." Anon and Rainbow say simultaneously while looking to each other.
"There must be a certain way you have to drive these things," Anon ponders, "Because I was driving it similar to how I drove the old car*. It felt like I was putting my all into it!"
---
{*Anon was competing in the 2012 F1 season back on earth when he was teleported to Equestria. The cars from the last Equestrian F1 season were all based on Anon's car he was teleported with. One similar in appearance to the 2012 McLaren MP4-27, as it did not sport a step nose. It was also not the McLaren.}
---
"I have a theory." Twilight states, attaining Anon and Rainbows undivided attention. "I'm going to need to see some kind of power graph of the engine. I don't think you guys were shifting at the right points in the rev range."
Rainbow lets out an "Ooohh yyyeeeeeaaaaahhh" remembering what she learned about engine powerbands from the season before.
Anon however looks confused. He inquires, "Wait. What do you mean?"
"Do you really not know what shes talking about?" Rainbow replies. Reaching the halfway point of her meal in the process.
Anon retorts. "Do you?"
"Yeah duh." Dash responds, "There's a point in the rev range where we reach max horsepower right? Its usually not at the rev limiter, so if you keep climbing up in revs past max, you're basically just wasting time."
Twilight continues "Exactly, so say that point was at 12K RPM, and you were shifting at the 15K RPM limit, everything past 12K is slower than if you just shifted at the earlier point. That way you're always in the powerband. "
A long awkward pause fills the air around the Cloudsdale table, Anon starting blankly at his food in front of him. the two ponies staring at him awaiting a response.
Finally, Anon says, "I knew that."
"Sure you did." Rainbow says, scarfing down her last bite of pie.
Twilight, noticing Rainbow has finished her food in record time, looks down at her own unfinished meal, then back up at Rainbow's. "How did you..."
"So how are we going to acquire one of these power graphs?" Anon interjects, "And how is it not already in our teams telemetry data?"
"That's the thing, it might be." Says Twilight, "I Just didn't have the thought come across my mind until now. But just in case it isn't there. I know of a place where we can dyno the car."
"Wouldn't that be against the rules?" Asks Rainbow.
Twilight responds. "Not during pre season testing it isn't."
This elicits a giggle from Dash. The thought of doing some sneaky testing away from the other teams entertains her a bit. After she takes a drink from her cup, she asks Anon, "You gonna finish that?" switching her eyes from the half eaten pie to Anon's face. All Anon does is slowly bring his face to right above the pie, and proceed to let out a single loud *COUGH*.
Rainbow then gives Anon a deadpan look. "Oh like that's gonna bother me. Don't act like I haven't guzzled your-"
