The Akinabalu circuit began roaring with engines as the sun rose from Mount Akinabalu. Each driver will have 3 laps to complete and set their best lap out of the 24 drivers to qualify for the ROA Cup round 1. About 64 drivers are competing in this edition and Alice and Sugimoto checked the leaderboards to see when they'd be starting. As they looked at the leaderboard, Someone approached them.

  "Hey there you two." Kara said as she greeted them.

  "Heya Kara." Sugimoto responds as he greets her.

  "Hey there Kara, when are you starting for the qualifiers?" Alice asked her.

  "Oh I'm starting in the afternoon, how about you guys?" Kara asked back.

  "We will most likely start at night, we're the final drivers for the qualifiers." Alice told her.

  "I see, good luck for tonight!" Kara told them.

  While talking, Kara looked at Richard's garage from a distance and noticed a white Ferrari 488 GT3 parked inside with teams of mechanics working on the car.

  "Have you seen Richmond's team? They're quite stacked for today's qualifiers aren't they?" Kara told them.

  "Yeah, the Riversons are pretty serious about winning the ROA Cup this season." Sugimoto answers her.

  "You know Richard too, Kara?" Alice asked curiously.

  "Yup, me, Richard, and Asashi here used to race as rivals back when we were in the academy, we were also friends outside the track." Kara told Alice.

  "Is that true Senpai?" Alice asked Sugimoto.

  "It's true, we used to race against each other since the academy days. I was usually the better driver and always got first place when we faced each other in a race." Sugimoto said confidently.

  "Don't get too cocky Asashi, I'm here to win and grab pole position for the qualifiers." Kara told Sugimoto confidently.

  "Aiming for pole position huh? I wouldn't want to crush someone's dream." Sugimoto said teasingly.

  They stared into each other's eyes with fire in their eyes. The drivers wanted to up each other in the race to prove who was the better driver, but their stare-off quickly ended when Kara's teammate called her over.

  "That's my cue, I'll see you guys later!" Kara said to them and waved goodbye.

  Alice and Sugimoto waved back and she walked back to her garage and met up with her teammate. After that, Sugimoto and Alice stroll together in the paddock area. There, Alice felt some uncertainty about Sugimoto's relationship with Richard.

  "Say Senpai, you said that you used to be friends with Richard, how can you be friends with such a jerk?" Alice asked him.

  "Richard wasn't always like that, he used to be quite friendly and really outgoing when we were still friends." Sugimoto revealed to her.

  "Friendly huh, then why did he become a jerk all of a sudden?" Alice asked him.

  "I don't know the whole story, but after his father was found guilty of fraud and bribery, he became a completely different person. He became short-tempered and easily frustrated by the smallest thing. At least that's where I heard it from." Sugimoto told her.

  "I see. I guess peer pressure can really affect a guy huh?" Alice told him.

  "It's quite sad, but at least he's still a talented driver." Sugimoto told Alice.

  A few hours passed and the drivers from each team began showing their talents and setting up good lap times. The leaderboard keeps changing after each race takes place.

  "Some of these lap times are pretty impressive aren't they Senpai?" Alice told Sugimoto.

  "They've finally reached the 2:10 mark huh? It seems like we have a real competition now." Sugimoto said.

  While they were talking, Alice and Sugimoto suddenly heard a car zooming fast down the track and the leaderboard spiked up the driver's number to the very top of the leaderboard. Then there was an announcement made by the speakers.

  "New leader! R. Riverson, driver number 8. Lap time 2:06.50." The announcement from the speaker played.

  "Holy moly that's a quick time!" Alice's said with a surprised tone.

  "That's Richard for you, he's good when he focuses." Sugimoto exclaimed.

  Alice felt discouraged by the impressive lap times set by the drivers, especially the one recently set by Richard. Sugimoto noticed it and gave a gentle head pat.

  "Don't worry kid, you'll beat him." Sugimoto encouraged her.

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  "I'm not worried!" Alice said as she was caught off guard and pushed his hand away.

  In the afternoon, an announcement was made and it was Kara's turn to set a lap time to qualify for the race. Alice eager to see her race urged Sugimoto to see her race.

  "Hey Senpai, can we watch Kara's qualifying race from the spectator stands?" Alice asked Sugimoto.

  "Sure, I also want to see how her skills have improved." Sugimoto agreed.

  The pair went to the spectator stands and watched as the Nissan GTR GT3 drove onto the starting grid and parked by the starting position, waiting for the lights to go out.

  "You got this Kara!" Alice screamed from the stand.

  Kara sees Alice at the stands cheering her on and she gives Alice a thumbs up.

  "Let's see how she improved over the years" Sugimoto said as he crossed his arms.

  The lights went out and the GTR sprinted off. The car sped through the long straight and began approaching the triple hairpins. The car vanished from sight as it turned into the hairpins. Their gaze went towards the big screen as they watched the race live.

  Alice and Sugimoto's eyes were glued to the broadcast as Kara cleared each sector. Kara came down the straights of Sector 3 as fast as possible and entered the corner, she whipped her car into the right corner turn and proceeded onto Sector 4.

  "Say Senpai, why does Kara drift on this corner when we maintain grip?" Alice wondered.

  "Kara's driving is unique when compared to a normal driver. She had developed this style before she started racing in the circuits. It is quite effective in a few corners as it could save a few milliseconds. But it's counterintuitive in an actual race as it wears the tires a lot. Hence why we maintain grip." Sugimoto told her.

  "I see, but she seems quite skillful whenever she does that!" Alice said as she admired her.

  The GTR exits the final sector of the track and starts approaching the finish line. The car speeds through the straights and crosses the finish line.

  "K. Fujiwara. Number 86. Lap time 2:15." They announced from the speaker.

  "Not bad for a first lap, there's two more to go." Sugimoto muttered.

  The GTR went into the hairpins and disappeared again into the hairpins, their gaze went back to the big screen. Alice looks cautiously at Kara's time and the time she needs to beat Richard.

  "Do you think she can beat Richard's time?" Alice asked.

  "By the way she's driving, she could beat it by a second or at least get close to it." Sugimoto said confidently.

  "Just a second huh?" Alice muttered to herself.

  They continue to watch the race as Kara completes each sector. Kara emerges from the final sector and she finishes her second lap.

  "K. Fujiwara. Number 23. Time 2:07." The speaker announced.

  "She's in second place on the leaderboards now!" Alice said excitedly.

  "It looks like she has improved a lot, let's see if she can beat Richard's record now." Sugimoto said a bit amused.

  The GTR enters the hairpins again and disappears and they gaze back to the big screen. While they were sitting in the stands, Alice began to wonder about certain things.

  "Hey, Senpai. What happened after your academy days? What did you guys do after that?" Alice asked Sugimoto.

  "Well, naturally we went on our separate paths. Kara went to England because of family issues while I stayed here in Akinabalu." Sugimoto revealed.

  "I see." Alice muttered.

  After a while, the GTR appeared from the other side and began speeding towards the finish line. Alice saw Kara's number shoot up the leaderboard and was amazed. Then an announcement was made.

  "New leader! K. Fujiwara, number 23. Time 2:06.40." The announcer said from the speaker.

  A certain part of the stadium cheered and many clapped their hands seeing a new leader emerge.

  "Just a millisecond faster huh?" Alice muttered.

  "As expected of her. She has outdone herself this time." Sugimoto said feeling a bit fired up.

  "Let's go meet her!" Alice said excitedly.

  The duo walked into the pit area and met up with Kara who just finished celebrating with her crew.

  "That was great driving Kara!" Alice told her.

  "Fuh, thanks Alice. I can't believe I only beat him by a millisecond!" She said while wiping her forehead.

  "You really improved huh? I guess England taught you a lot. Usually, you'll just not finish at all!" Sugimoto said teasingly.

  "That was years ago, Asashi. Don't underestimate me." She said as she pouted and crossed her arm.

  As they talked, Sugimoto glanced at his phone and noticed it was almost evening.

  "It's almost evening huh, wanna grab a bite kid?" Sugimoto asked Alice.

  "Sure, I'm starving from watching all these races." Alice said happily.

  "Care if I join you guys?" Kara asked them.

  Sugimoto looked at Alice for confirmation to let her join them.

  "Sure, the more the merrier right?" Alice said to her.

  They all walked to a fast food joint called "Borinos" and ordered some food. Kara munched on a burger and began talking.

  "Man, I haven't been here since forever!" Kara told them.

  "Last time you were here was about 6 years ago." Sugimoto told her.

  "Yep, that was back when we finally graduated from the academy. It's been a while right?" Kara said.

  "Yeah, it feels like it was yesterday when we used to hang out with everyone." Sugimoto said.

  Alice listened as she began munching her fried chicken until Kara asked her something.

  "So Alice, I haven't really got to know you, I want to know more about you." Kara asked Alice curiously.

  "Ah, there's nothing really interesting about me." Alice told Kara shyly.

  "Come on we're friends right? So when did you join the academy?" Kara asked her.

  "I didn't join any academy. My father taught me how to race when I was about 6 years old." Alice revealed to her.

  "I see, how old are you now, 12?" Kara asked her.

  Sugimoto notices that Kara has made a mistake by assuming her age and he plugs his ears getting ready for Alice to yell at her.

  "I-I'm 17 this year." Alice answered shyly.

  Kara seems shocked by her answer, but Sugimoto is even more shocked and confused that she didn't throw a tantrum at her.

  "You're 17 and started racing at 6, you must have been a prodigy then!" Kara asked her.

  "Yeah, the other drivers back then called me a prodigy since I occasionally beat other racers in go-kart tournaments." Alice revealed.

  "Ah I see, you must be a pretty good driver then?" Kara asked her.

  "Not really haha." Alice said and chuckled slightly.

  "She's pretty good, she almost beat me in a one-on-one race when I first met her." Sugimoto told her.

  "Really? That means you're crazy good! I'm looking forward to racing you, Alice!" Kara became excited.

  "Haha, if we qualified that is." Alice told her.

  "Nonsense, I would reckon you could even get in the top 10!" Kara told her.

  Alice felt flustered by her compliments. Sugimoto, being her senpai felt a pang of jealousy seeing his kouhai admiring Kara more. As they eat, Sugimoto's phone suddenly rings, he takes the call and hangs up a few seconds later.

  "It's the manager, he said that we should get back and prepare for the race." Sugimoto told Alice.

  "Bummer, I guess that's our cue. I'm Glad I could talk to you Kara!" Alice thanks her.

  "Same here. I'm going to stick around until night to see you guys race." Kara told her.

  "Really? You're going to watch us race?" Alice said.

  "Yep, I want to see how you guys race as well. See you there later!" Kara told her.

  Alice and Sugimoto waved goodbye to her as they left the fast food joint. They went back to the circuit to prepare for their qualifiers.