Alice's heartbeat became one with the engine of the M235i. She grips the steering and stares into oblivion. As she looked towards the race track, she felt nauseous from the pressure as she sat there waiting for the race to begin.

"Ally, get ready in a few more minutes alright?" Ghazali's told her over the radio.

"Y-yeah, sure." She said to him.

As she double-checks all her equipment, she looks towards the stewards and they all wave the green flag signaling they're ready. A steward signals to Alice with a thumbs up, asking if she's good to go. Alice replied back with a thumbs up.

"Alright Ally, the race is about to begin. This is your shot, make us proud!" Ghazali told her with enthusiasm.

"I'll do my best for our team, Gaz!" Alice told him.

Alice remembering all the people supporting her began igniting her heart with determination to qualify for the race. Alice holds her steering wheel and watches the red lights turn on one by one with intense focus.

"Go Go Go!" Ghazali told Alice over the radio.

The lights went out and Alice stepped on the gas and began zooming towards the first corner towards the triple.

Alice enters the hairpin quite smoothly until she exits the hairpin and into sector 3. She began getting used to her car and pushed her limits. Upon reaching the chicane, she late brakes and almost overshoots the chicane and loses precious time.

"Damnit! I went in too fast!" Alice screamed at herself.

"Concentrate Alice, don't let the pressure take over you." Ghazali told over the radio.

"Sorry, I need to focus more!" Alice told Ghazali.

"You don't need to focus, just drive with your flow Alice, don't overdrive." Ghazali gave her some tips during her hot laps.

"Y-yeah, I'll try that." Alice told Ghazali.

Alice turned off her mic trying to drive with her flow and avoid entering tunnel vision. She exits the first straight of sector two and unto the second straight. Alice pushed hard on the accelerator as she sped through the straight. She then brakes hard and enters sector 4 with precision. She navigated through sectors 4 and 5 with ease, her car emerged from the chicane speeding through the straight of sector 1 and crossing the finish line.

"A. Shah. Number 430. Time 2:49. Top 30 drivers." The announcer said from the speakers.

"Not bad Alice, but not enough either. Push yourself to the limits, Alice!" Ghazali said on the radio.

"Will do Gaz!" Alice told Ghazali with enthusiasm.

Alice began flooring it and braking hard into the Sector 2 of the track and disappeared. While Alice was doing her race, Sugimoto and Kara talked to each other about Alice's qualifiers.

"Do you think she can make it to the top 24?" Kara asked Sugimoto feeling worried.

Sugimoto noticed her concerns for Alice and he gave her a confident look.

"Why would you worry, she's already doing quite fine." Sugimoto reassures her.

"You know, the pressure from this is quite intense, right? Racing professionally for the first time can take a toll on a 17-year-old. The first time I drove for this kind of event caused me to almost crash and I didn't finish the race. How can you think she could handle that?" Kara asked him.

"She's not like any other person, she's different from us Kara." Sugimoto told her.

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"What makes you say that Asashi?" Kara asked confusedly.

"I don't know." Sugimoto replied casually.

Kara drops to the floor thinking that he was about to say something spectacular, just for him to answer it casually.

"Bro, you said it like she's some superhero that could win against anyone. Why do you say that then?!" Kara asked him furiously.

"Alice just feels different from us don't you think, I feel like she has that aura that makes her distinct. We might be seeing the coming of a great racer." Sugimoto explained to her.

"Y-You don't say, Asashi?" Kara muttered seemingly disappointed by the answer but accepted it nevertheless.

Alice realized the flame within her and began driving hard through the straights and corners. She finally finds her groove and drives flawlessly on the track as she enters each sector.

"You know Asashi, she's still a kid, right? Don't you think you're pushing her too hard for this race?" Kara asked concernedly.

"Huh, I'm pushing her hard? She's the one pushing me to work hard haha." Sugimoto said and chuckled.

As they were talking to each other, Sugimoto and Kara suddenly heard a car's engine emerging sooner than expected. Kara looks towards the circuit and sees the blue M235i already on the straights and heading towards the finish line.

"A-Alice?" Kara muttered seemingly astonished.

"A. Shah. Number 430. Time, 2:35. Fourth position." The announcer told over the speakers.

The pit crew began cheering in the pit as Alice reached the top 4 of the leaderboards.

"Exactly 5 seconds behind me too huh?" Sugimoto muttered to himself.

Kara was flabbergasted by the fact that Alice had almost beaten her lap time and Richard's lap time.

"Asashi you never told me she was this good!" Kara screamed at Sugimoto.

"You did it Alice, top 4!" The manager screamed into the mic.

"Ally you're crazy!" Ghazali screamed at the manager

"I'm not done just yet!" Alice said confidently.

"Be careful out there Alice, get back safely." The manager told her.

Alice continued the hot lap and tried to squeeze out as much time as possible. She was still determined to set another impressive lap time, aiming for pole position. The M235i's engine began roaring throughout the track as she entered the hairpins and everyone's eyes were on Alice, including the commentators.

"Alice Shah, a rookie driver from Akinabalu Motorsports is currently making a name for herself as she has placed fourth position in qualifiers in her first professional race in her career." The commenter said currently spectating her.

Alice began slicing away time little by little as she continued driving. She was projected to get pole positions by Ghazali's analyst

"You're almost there Alice! Just a bit more and you'll drive home with pole position!" Ghazali told her.

Alice became too excited as she was about to enter the final section. Suddenly she missed her braking zone and understeered into the grass causing her to lose valuable time. She pulled back onto the track and drove towards the straights.

"Ah damn it, sorry Ghazali." Alice said on the radio.

"Don't worry, you did great Alice!" Ghazali reassures her.

"Tough luck for this young lady, but tonight she has outdone herself and picked up 4th position for herself in tomorrow's race. That's what really matters. A good night for the Akinabalu Motorsports team." The announcer said.

Alice and her BMW M235i crossed the finish line and the pit crew cheered for her, even some of the rival team clapped for her.

"Great work Alice, you may now come back to pit now." Ghazali told over the radio.

Alice didn't respond but she appeared back at the pit. Alice stepped out of the car and they saw her trembling on her foot.

"I-I did it!" Alice said still feeling scared from the last lap.

The pit crew rushed over her and tossed her up. Celebrating her achievement.

"Pole Position and Top 4!" The manager said seeming in disbelief.

"You good chief?" Sugimoto asked while smiling.

"Y-yeah, it feels surreal. But it doesn't mean we've won yet. Tomorrow's race will be our deciding factor." The manager told Sugimoto.

As Alice finished celebrating with the pit crew, Sugimoto and Kara went up to her and congratulated her.

"Great work kid" Sugimoto gave her a head pat.

"Jeez, thanks Senpai." She said while pushing away his hands.

After that, Kara suddenly grabbed her up and hugged her tightly. She began suffocating from the intense hugging.

"You never told me you were this good Alice!" She said as she hugged her like a doll.

"T-thanks Kara." She said as she tried to tap out from the hug.

Alice was put back down and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I still can't believe I got in the top 4." Alice told them.

"Yup, tomorrow's race just got even more interesting. You're starting behind Richard as well!" Kara told her.

"That punk huh? Hopefully, I can make him eat my dust." Alice said as she grudged her fist.

"Does Alice have some sort of beef with Richard, Asashi?" Kara whispered to Sugimoto.

"Long story short, they had a little argument." Sugimoto replied nervously.

"He's a fast driver you know, chasing him ain't easy but since you're also full of surprises. Maybe you could beat him." Kara told Alice.

Alice nodded and suddenly the manager called everyone on the team to the pit for a team talk. Kara notices it and decides to leave.

"Looks like it's time for you guys to go, see yah at tomorrow's race!" Kara said to them.

"Ah alright, see you tomorrow." Sugimoto told her.

"See you tomorrow Kara." Alice said to her.

Kara waved them goodbye and walked out of their pit. Alice and Sugimoto walk toward the manager to listen to the team talk.