Little Sheep took second place. First was, of course, Rainbow Flying Sword, at 8 minutes 01 seconds.
Clearly, Ayaka was racing flat out, just as she always did.
Her qualifying time in the Winter Race could reach the 7-minute-50-second range at her limit. With no T2 Drivers at the current Sunshine Bridge Circuit, Ayaka was far above the field. She could easily relax a little, keep her time under 8 minutes 30 seconds, and start in the front half without affecting her chances of advancing at all.
Unfortunately, that was not an option. Ayaka had to win in a dazzling, high-profile fashion.
At the start of her driving career, Ayaka's image as a top student, beautiful girl, and talented driver had earned her some supporters. Then their numbers kept growing, and the force pushing her from behind grew stronger, building a momentum that would not let her slow down.
If it were Shen Qi, he would just lose two races to weed out the toxic fans. Or... having no fans would be pretty good too. They were racing drivers, not idols.
Ayaka was less mentally resilient. She could not bear to disappoint those expectations or let the research team down.
Thankfully, she had Gardevoir and Ninetales. Otherwise, she would have broken down long ago.
Driving Little Sheep, Shen Qi made two laps near the spectator stands.
The words "Island 3 Berry Forest" were printed on the body, along with some pictures of juice and preserved fruit.
The other side of Little Sheep bore an advertisement for Island 5's Luxury Resort.
Ads of this caliber on other race cars would look tacky and cheap... on Little Sheep, they did not look out of place at all. Add a few ads for waterproofing, leak repairs, and drain clearing, and it would be