Sugimoto locked eyes with the woman, glaring at her. Alice looked understandably confused, as both drivers seemed to know each other. Out of curiosity, Alice decided to ask Sugimoto.

"W-who is she Senpai?" Alice asked Sugimoto.

"She is one of my old friends from the academy days." Sugimoto told Alice.

"It's been years since I last heard of you, Asashi. It seems like you still have a passion for racing," The woman told him.

"You seem not half bad yourself Fujiwara." Sugimoto playfully said.

The two of them shared a laugh before shaking each other's hands. Alice, still surprised to meet Sugimoto's old friend, decides to ask her a question.

"Excuse me, madam, I hope you won't mind but can I ask for your name?" Alice asked her.

"Ah, I'm Kara Fujiwara, I'm one of the drivers for Nissan's Motorsport team!" She told Alice.

"Nice to meet you Fujiwara-san. I'm Alice Shah, a driver for Akinabalu Motorsports." Alice told her.

"Pfft, you're quite polite. Call me Kara instead! It's nice to meet you, Alice!" Kara responds to her.

Alice's eyes shine seeing her charm. Kara and Alice shook hands and smiled at each other.

"Say, what brings you all the way from England to Akinabalu?" Sugimoto asked curiously.

"Well, the headquarters at Yokohoma assigned me to race for them at the ROA Cup using the GTR Nismo GT3. I actually saw you guys running around in the garage area earlier, I wanted to greet you guys but I had to go for practice." Kara told them.

"So you'll be driving for them, huh? It's Just like old times." Sugimoto said and chuckled slightly.

"Jeez don't remind me about the academy days. It was so stressful when they got angry over the slightest mistake. But I guess it did pay off after we finished it." Kara told them.

"So how many DNFs (Did Not Finish) did you manage to rack up in England?" Sugimoto said teasingly.

"Shut up Asashi, I've improved a lot since I moved to England. How else do you think I could drive for Nissan!" Kara said while pouting.

Alice listens to their conversation feeling a bit amused by their interactions. As they were talking, one of Kara's teammates called her over.

"That's my time to go, I can't wait to race you two again. See yah later!" Kara said and ran back to her pit.

As she left their pit to attend to her teammate, Alice noticed Sugimoto was staring at her and decided to tease him.

"Is she your ex-girlfriend or something?" Alice asked him with a smirk on her face.

"Nah she already had someone when I met her." Sugimoto replied casually.

"Ah too bad, she seems like a fine girl. I still can't believe she drives for Nissan! It's quite a prestigious company after all." Alice told her.

Sugimoto looks at her who is still admiring Kara and decides to give her a head pat.

"I'm still your Senpai alright." He said while he chuckled.

"Oi who said you can touch my head!" She angrily pushes his hand away.

The members of the pit crew began fixing Sugimoto's car. As it was being fixed, Alice went onto the track and continued her practice session. The team monitors her lap time and tries to find any way to squeeze as much time as possible. Sugimoto was walking around the pitstop's garage and saw Ghazali staring at the monitor and comparing data from all her previous laps.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"Yo Gaz, what are you up to?" Sugimoto asked Ghazali.

"Hey there Sugi, I'm trying to look into Alice's lap times and they seem quite impressive. But she can definitely improve a bit more. I'm currently struggling to find what she should improve on." Ghazali said frustratedly.

Sugimoto glanced at the computer that displayed Alice's lap times and looked through the papers scattered across the table. He studied the analytical papers closely, comparing each race session to the others. Then, a small smile spread across his face as he looked at a paper. Ghazali looked at Sugimoto, waiting for his response.

"So, did you actually figure it out?" Ghazali asked curiously.

"Nope!" Sugimoto replied casually.

Ghazali drops down to the floor after hearing Sugimoto's casual response.

"Dude? Why did you read it as if you understand it then!?" Ghazali said, seemingly disappointed.

"Well, I was just admiring how you can process this kind of information from the get-go. You are quite talented Gaz." Sugimoto told him.

Ghazali strokes his goatee and accepts his sudden praise.

"Well, I am named after the great Al-Ghazali after all." He said, feeling cheerfully.

"Is that so, then I'm named after the immortal Sugimoto then!." He said and began chuckling a bit.

While they talked, a pit crew member informed Sugimoto that his car was fixed and ready to go. Ghazali heard this and went to the radio to communicate with Alice.

"Alright, Alice. That's enough practice. Go ahead and let's pit for now," Ghazali told Alice over the radio.

"Alright..." Alice communicated back.

Alice drove back to the pit stop. She got out of her car and took off her helmet.

"Nice work kid." Sugimoto said and gave her a thumbs up.

"Thanks, I guess." Alice said seemingly disappointed.

"Why are down kid?" Sugimoto asked her.

"It's just that I can't seem to improve my time even though I try to push myself over the limits all the time, it's frustrating!" Alice told Sugimoto.

"I think you're just pushing yourself too hard, kid. Try taking a break for a while." Sugimoto told her trying to give her some advice.

"If I don't push myself now, how will I be a great driver? Isn't pushing yourself beyond your limits what makes a great driver?" Alice asked Sugimoto.

"Maybe you can ask Gaz. He might have something for you, who knows if he has the solution for you." Sugimoto said as he pointed at Ghazali.

Alice rolls her eyes but accepts his advice and goes to Ghazali while Sugimoto gets ready to begin his hot lap.

"Ah Ally I got something to show you." Ghazali told her.

"Sure, what is it?" Alice asked curiously.

Ghazali pulls out a video format of a trajectory of her racing lines.

"On sector 2, you seemingly brake earlier on this corner, causing you to lose some precious time. I suggest you brake here instead so you can maximize the corner speed into this corner." Ghazali explains to her.

Alice listens to Ghazali intensively while he explains some of her mistakes and how to improve on the initial errors. Ghazali rambles on for a few minutes. He then gave her a video link via a messaging app.

"Thanks, Gaz, I'll study it at night." Alice told Ghazali with a smile.

"No problem, just doing my part for the team." Ghazali said as he fixed his glasses.

Alice got up and went to a vending machine in the halls of the main building. She was trying to buy a soda she liked but couldn't reach a certain button. Then suddenly she was pushed by a man she had never met.

"Move out of the way little girl, you're taking too long.!" He arrogantly taunts her.

"Hey, can't you wait your turn?" Alice said as she got angry at him,

The man with short brown hair and a gold ring around his index finger wearing a racing suit glances at her.

"Heh, you must be the new driver for that miserable team huh?" He said and mocked her.

"Miserable? That so-called miserable team has won numerous championships in its lifetime!" Alice said as she was proud of the team's history.

"You mean the same team that's been fighting financial issues for years now?" The man chuckles at her.

"F-Financial issues?" Alice muttered as she was confused by this new profound knowledge.

"Oh, so you don't know about that huh? The team that you're currently on is basically on life support right about now." He told her.

"Y-you don't know anything about my team!" Alie said as she yelled at him.

"Hahaha, look at you desperately defending a relegating team! You must be their last resort huh? He laughs at her.

"I AM NOT THEIR LAST RESORT!" Alice snaps at him and crunches her fist.

"Listen, little girl. Why would a prestigious team hire a random little girl who lacks experience in professional racing?" The man asked her.

"B-Because they saw my talent obviously!" Alice said as she tried to stand up for herself.

The man burst into laughter and began to laugh uncontrollably.

"Do you really think that? Do you actually think that a 'prestigious company' will hire a girl like you? Face it kid, you're their last resort!" The man said as he teased her.

Alice felt genuinely hurt by his words and was about to tear up, but someone suddenly appeared behind her.

"Beat it, Richard." Sugimoto said to him.

"Whatever you say Asashi." Richard said to him, smiled, and left them alone.

"S-Senpai?" She said while wiping her tears.

"Ignore him, kid. He's not worth your time." Sugimoto told her.

"Y-yeah, I shouldn't let him get to me at such a crucial time." She said as she regained her composure.

"That's the spirit kid. Let's get back to pit alright?" He told her and smiled.

"Y-yeah" Alice muttered and nodded.

They both began to walk back to the pitlane to complete their practice session. As they were walking, Alice still felt a slight pang in her heart upon hearing his harsh words about the company's struggle.