Luca finally made his first pitstop of the afternoon at Lap 32—a very late stop given the conditions. In fact, he was the last to pit.
Despite his tires holding up better than expected, Luca had started to feel the effects of the wet track. He experienced occasional hydroplaning, and his system kept flashing warnings that the tires were on their last legs. If he didn't pit soon, he risked much more severe consequences.
As the rain intensified, the patter of the droplets growing louder and heavier, Luca could already tell those consequences were fast approaching. The slippery track was only going to get worse.
Mr. Berry comnded Luca for his skill in managing the tires up to this point. He acknowledged how well Luca had handled the conditions but reminded him to take the sa level of care with the new wets now fitted to his car.
Analysis: Wets ideal for current track conditions—optimal grip for wet surface detected.
P1— Antonio Luigi
P2— Marcellus Rodnick
P3— Elias Nyström
P4— Davide DiMarco
P5— Marko Ignatova
P6— Luca Rennick ←
P7— Luis Dreyer
P8— Ailbeart Moireach
P9— Jas Lockwood
P10— Hank Rice
Luca rejoined the race in P6, still in a decent position but now far from the top five, which was packed with the big nas. The race had reached that familiar stage where the gaps between cars widened—up to three seconds between each, making overtakes more challenging.
As Marko rejoined from the pit lane, he slotted into a gap, splitting the difference between DiMarco and the rest of the pack. Luca did much the sa, but even though he was now in P6, the gap to Marko was still significant. And behind him, Dreyer was facing his own struggle to close the distance.
[Analyzing Ferrari (JRX-92B) and host's distance from 5th Position]
[You are 3.5 seconds away, host.]
[Analyzing 7th Position's distance from host and Ferrari (JRX-92B)…]
[7th Position is 2.5 sec away, host.]
The race was stalling, and positions remained static, frustrating for any racer who craved action. But Luca, for now, was actually content. In fact, he was happy! Take a look at that Sync Bar now.
[Slipsense & Rainborne 1]
[SYNC BAR: [][][][] 87.5%]
From Luca's calculations, all he needed was one more in-race Skill EXP to complete the Sync Bar, then he'd have a one-way ticket to the top of the Brazilian Grand Prix leaderboard.
Of all the skills in both his and the car's arsenal, Slipsense & Rainborne had the highest potential for a quick upgrade, thanks to the current track conditions. The wet track had given Luca a golden opportunity to enhance the Skill again and again.
Now it was officially raining. Anyone could call it rain now, because it was raining. The drizzle had stopped, the clouds had opened like a maw pouring down all it had.
"...Oh my, it's now raining—really raining out there! The heavens have well and truly opened at Interlagos! That drizzle we saw earlier? Gone. It's a proper downpour now, folks, and the track is turning into a river! Those clouds have unleashed everything they've got, and it's chaos on the circuit...!"
"...Pneus de chuva são agora obrigatórios para todos os carros devido à chuva intensa em todo o circuito....!"
"...Wet tires are now mandatory for all cars due to heavy rain across the circuit..."
Every driver was now equipped with wet compounds, so the race control announcent was clearly intended to ensure that even during the next round of pitstops, all drivers would swap wets for fresh wets to handle the deluge.
**Luca, it's pouring out there—stay focused, wet tires are still mandatory next stop** a different engineer urged over the radio.
"Got it," Luca shot back with a grin, marveling at how Slipsense & Rainborne was dominating the chaos. "This rain's my turf—let's dial it up and chase down P1!"
"....40th Lap in this Brazilian Grand Prix...!"
"…40ª volta neste Grande Prêmio do Brasil…!"
[40th Lap]
[Analyzing Ferrari (JRX-92B) and host's distance from 5th Position]
[You are 1.8 seconds away, host.]
This was precisely where Luca's Slipsense & Rainborne was proving to be a ga-changer. It wasn't just about handling the slick track from earlier laps, brushing off droplets, or clearing the spray kicked up by rivals clouding his view.
It was this.
While other drivers wrestled with the flooded track, their tires splish-splashing, struggling for grip, and flirting with hydroplaning, Luca was slicing through, closing gaps, and picking off positions.
With S & R now at (11), he was undeniably the strongest perforr in wet conditions—his award from last year was proof of that.
A wave of nostalgia washed over Luca as he recalled when Slipsense & Rainborne was just at (3). It might be the fastest leap in impact he'd ever seen in any Skill.
"...absolutely stunning driving on the perilous track from Rennick! He's charging out of Turn 3, hot on the heels of Marko Ignatova, who earlier dominated this race. Both drivers are locked in a fierce duel now—!"
"WOOOOOOOOOOOHH!"
[Analyzing Ferrari (JRX-92B) and host's distance from 5th Position]
[You are 1 seconds away, host.]
"...an electrifying battle for the top five as Luca refuses to let the pressure from the opposing fans slow him down. Marko Ignatova seems prid to hold his ground, but everyone can see who's carrying the unstoppable montum…"
The rain hamred down, turning Interlagos into a glassy maze of reflections and spray as Marko hugged the inside of Turn 4. He barely escaped Luca on the straight.
Marko's tires kicked up a geyser of water that blurred Luca's visor, but Slipsense & Rainborne redied that accordingly. Luca then swung to the outside, trusting his Gripper to hold the line. His Ferrari tilted just the sa ti Marko dived into Turn 5.
It was too late now to make any moves within these two turns, so Luca followed behind.
At least, the gap was down to half a second.
**Stay patient, Luca** his engineer warned. **Straight's coming**
Turn 5's exit opened up to the next straight, the sa one that cut right through the circuit. Luca caught a glimpse of so of those defaming banners of himself still raised up high. He chuckled, trying to brush it off his temporal mory, though it still disturbed him.
Marko floored the straight, eager to get away from the relentless storm—not the rain, but Luca. However, Luca tucked right into his slipstream, the system flashing.
[Slipstream Status: ENGAGING]
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