"This is going to be a very exciting race," Fatih murmured to himself. He watched as the last of the coaches and officials cleared the grid. Only thirty seconds remained before the formation lap of the weekend's Final race was set to begin.
Even though his kart lacked rearview mirrors, he could feel Selçuk's presence a short distance from him. It was more than just proximity; it was an aura of pure aggression radiating from the kart in P2. He could sense it in the sharp, impatient blips of Selçuk's throttle. This was not a bluff. Fatih knew, with absolute certainty, that Selçuk was going to be incredibly aggressive at the start and might even risk taking both of them out. He was sure of this because he knew that, other than himself, the rest of the drivers were too young to think of using pre-race aggression as a sophisticated mental game to unsettle a rival without actually intending to follow through. Selçuk's aggression was genuine.
