Race :: Round 42 - Belgium Advances

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Victor Hugo Stéphane shifts down hard to avoid skidding out of the final curve, showing his Belgian conservatism. The great yellow Duesenberg slides smoothly around, setting up a beautiful finish. Meanwhile, Teide Sorolla-Ledaal, in his Bugatti, struggles into the curve. The Volcán shifts down and prepares for a daring dash to catch the Belgian at the finish. It could work – but only with good luck and explosive driving. The true nature of the Volcán is about to put to test.

His red scarf snapping against the wind, Italy's Sebi Orsi glances back. The German's white Bugatti is closing fast. Unexpectedly, Orsi slams on his brakes. He skids the Maserati short within the chicane, forcing the German nearly into disaster. Hegkman dodges to the right and drive his white Bugatti through the debris that fills the track, barely holding the car in the chicane as the balding tires nearly skid out. He slams on the brakes to avoid spinning out. The Italian's move has burned the last of Hegkman's brakes – but it has also cost Orsi dearly. Both cars are now set for a final dash for third place, the German barely edging out Orsi for the run to the final curve.

At Lekböjen, beside the burning wreck of his Bugatti, Vitez Rychly struggles to pull himself off the track. He turns his head and sees the German gunman step to the edge of the track. The man raises his gun and fires. The bullet impacts the snow bank inches from Rychly's skull. The German smiles as Rychly makes a last desperate attempt to pull himself up the snowbank. He has nowhere to go. Another shot rings out – another bullet into the snowbank. From this distance, how can he miss? He must be toying with the downed Czech, as if enjoying it. In extreme pain, Rychly passes out just as one final shot is fired.

Meanwhile, coming toward the burning wreck, Aristide La Fontaine maneuvers his Salmson racer smoothly into the Lekböjen curve, cutting to the right edge of the track. Instantly, he spots a man standing beside the edge of the track – a gun raised in his hand, pointing across the track at something – or someone.... Momentarily, Aristide lifts his foot from the gas pedal, but then realizes there is no slowing down or stopping – he will have to drive past the shooter. Suddenly, to Aristide's surprise, the man crumples forward, as if shot from behind. His body falls across the snowbank at the edge of the track. What is all this?

Behind, Pedro Gomes skids out of Storkurvan and flashes past the French Salmson to take the position. He shifts up, hoping to gap the field now and take a confident lead – yet suddenly, a mess of fire and debris looms ahead – should he go left or right? He has but an instant to decide.... Farther back, the Britisher glides out of Storkurvan with the Finnish driver comfortably falling back. The cars are racing forward into what appears to be a gunfight.

Race :: Round 41 - Belgium Overtakes!

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Suddenly, Victor Hugo Stéphane guns the engine of his great yellow Duesenberg – the American 8 cylinder responds with a throaty roar and leaps forward, closely rapidly on the Norwegian Bugatti. Trying to hold off the Beglian, Teide Sorolla-Ledaal presses forward toward the final curve, he stays to the left, in hopes of forcing the Belgian to the inside and slower. His tire chains, long an advantage in the race, hold him back as the little Bugatti is unable to make the curve. Nothing can stop the Belgian, who cuts inside and overtakes, entering the curve with incredible speed. It looks like the Belgian has it! This could the key moment of the race – can the Volcán place anything but second now without some sort of miracle?

Italy presses deep into the chicane with Germany hot behind. Hegkman's white Bugatti looks better positioned, but anything can happen on this section of the narrow, tree-lined raceway. The Italian must downshift hard to keep the Maserati from overshooting and piling into the trees, yet he does it with perfection. The driving prowess of Sebi Orsi shows clearly in this section of the course.

At Lekböjen, close to the flaming wreck of his car, Vitez Rychly tries to pull himself forward, but he cannot. The pain is too great. Suddenly, he hears the soft crunch of footsteps in the snow approaching from behind. The sound is still distant, but he recognizes it can only be one thing – the German gunman coming to deliver the coup de grace. For an instant, Rychly recalls the old days, when he still carried his Czech-made revolver. He left that behind in Prague, his days of scrapping among the lesser drivers in mountain racing long behind him. The footsteps stop and he hears a heavily accented voice calling to him. “Vitez!” The accent is that of the German gunman. He calls again, “Vitez – Auf Wiedersehen.” A single shot rings out.

Back at Storkurvan, Aristide La Fontaine skids out of the curve, making an incredibly adept slide to prevent a disastrous overshoot. With this, he is positioned to take the curve at Lekböjen. With caution, he eyes the flames, now a reddening glow – it is a gasoline fire. He wonders which driver it was and if the man had escaped the inferno somehow. No driver could survive that. Left or right? Which route will be best?

The Portuguese car, in the hands of Pedro Gomes, cuts to the inside in a bid to catch the Frenchman. Close by, the British and Finnish drivers vie for position, only inches apart as they come around Storkurvan. The Britisher has the advantage as the Finn has too much speed to hold to the curve on the inside line. He must slow and yield, giving Milk the lead for the moment. Once again, Myrsky falls into the all too familiar last place.... Yet, the race is far from over for these cars, a knot of four racers far off the pace of the leaders.

Race :: Round 40 - Explosion at Lekböjen!

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The Norwegian driver, Teide Sorolla-Ledaal, shifts up and attempts to break away toward the final curve. Grinding his clutch, he sputters forward. The little Bugatti coasts out lamely onto the pine-lined straight, losing all momentum. Directly behind, the Belgian Duesenberg powers through the chicane and closes rapidly. Victor Hugo can smell the exhaust pipes of the fiery Volcán now – he looks likely to overtake for a victory! But will the Norwegian somehow hold on? This is going to be a close one!

Germany presses on staidly as Sebi Orsi's Italian Maserati leaps forward in high gear. Suddenly, the Italian's red hot nature takes hold and the Maserati burns past the German in 5th gear, carrying incredible speed. Hegkman falls back to 3rd position, as he watches the Italian's red scarf snapping in the breeze. The two cars are now in the narrowest part of the course as they approach the chicane.

Meanwhile, at Lekböjen, Vitez Rychly scrambles away from the growing pool of gasoline. Another gunshot rings out. The bullet could have easily hit him, but instead it appears that it was fired purposefully to miss. He glances up to see the bullet ricochet off the under body of his orange Bugatti, sparking brightly. In an instant, he realizes that the German is attempting to set fire to his racer! The gas ignites with a sudden whoosh and the the ice and car are aflame.... Had Rychly slipped again, he would have been in the inferno, but now the car blocks the track amidst the flames. Rychly scrambles toward the far snowbank, the smoke shielding him from the shooter's wrath. He hears another shot – suddenly his left leg gives out from under him and he falls to the ice. Looking down, he sees blood on his thigh.... Through the smoke, the German shooter took a lucky shot and somehow hit him. He turns to crawl toward the snowbank, the heat of the flames too close.

Meanwhile, back at Storkurvan, Aristide La Fontaine shifts down and yet still skids deep into the curve. The Frenchman cannot seem to time his entries into any of the curves today – perhaps it is because of the ice or perhaps the tuning of the great blue Salmson racer if off. Aristide curses – but then stops as he sees a fireball erupt directly ahead on the track. Are there any lanes open? Perhaps the rightmost side? Or perhaps through the smoke on the left? He cannot tell.... He reaches for the gear shift handle and wonders what has happened, remembering Nice. He can see nothing, but wonders – could it be Rychly's car in a wreck at the snowbanks?

Farther back, The Portuguese and British drivers cruise into the big curve with near perfection, while Finland again falls just short. Forced to the inside, he must now take the curve on the wrong racing line, though he has slight advantage on British car.

Race :: Round 39 - More Action at Lekböjen!

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The Norwegian driver shifts down hard and gracefully cruises around the tight bends of the narrow chicane at Barrböjen. Suddenly, the explosive nature of the Volcán seems contained as he appears to enjoy some confidence of impending victory – why should he dare to press the car with abandon at this juncture of the race? The Belgian also shifts down hard and falls in behind with his big American Duesenberg, yet still he has the bending lanes ahead to contend with and by the time the Belgian is finished with the chicane, the Volcán will likely be into the final curve at Fiskekroken – the checkered flag looms.... Victor Hugo's only hope to overtake seems to be a miscalculation by the Norwegian driver.

Germany shifts up in a bid to overtake the Italian Maserati as the two cars race down the straight. He slides past, changing lanes to the left, yet Hegkman fumbles his gear lever and fails to make his breakaway stick. Sebi Orsi remains close behind and both cars will now vie for the lead going into the tight tree-lined chicane up ahead. It is a drag race past pit lane with the German car in the lead!

At Lekböjen, Vitez Rychly slips and nearly falls into the pool of gasoline that is rapidly growing under his car. He glances over his shoulder and sees the German take aim for another shot with his pistol. The bullet ricochets off the under body of the orange Bugatti, sparking as it does so. Somehow the gasoline surrounding the car does not ignite. His pant legs and shoes soaked in gasoline, Rychly knows now that he cannot hide behind the car – desperately, he looks around. He grabs the tire rim of his broken car and turns to make a dash toward the snowbank on the opposite side of the track. Rychly looks back again and sees VV held tightly by one of the men in the backseat of the Mercedes SSLK in the trees. Suddenly, she breaks free of her captor and hits him on the nose. He reels back and in an instant, she leaps out of the car! Slipping on the icy ground, VV falls onto the snow. She tries to pull herself away, crawling forward. In the backseat of the Mercedes, his nose bloodied, the man stands up and pulls a pistol from his jacket. Calmly, he points it at her back.

Meanwhile, racing out of Höksböjen, Aristide La Fontaine misjudges and slips his clutch, momentarily missing his gear selection. Knowing that he will fall short, he dodges to the right so as to set up an ideal racing line into Storkurvan – he rams the gear lever down and prepares to use the power of the big blue Salmson racer to his advantage. The Britisher, John Milk, also races down the straight, but cannot yet overtake the Frenchman. Finland's Tavho Myrsky cuts to the outside of the curve while the Portuguese driver, Pedro Gomes, shifts up and noses out the big Chrysler yet again, leaving Myrsky again in last place.

Race :: Round 38 - Gunfire at Lekböjen!

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The Volcán presses on into the narrow chicane, creating a gap over the Belgian car. With this graceful curve, he takes a commanding lead over the yellow Duesenberg. The Belgian's gambit to shift to 5th gear did not pay off and he falls short. Now Victor Hugo must shift down as he enters the chicane.

Farther back, coming into the Hårnålskurva hairpin, Italy and Germany press closely together as both cars skid around the curve. The German taps his brakes to avoid a spin out – both cars are now set for a race down the straight, yet the German is higher gear! Is there nothing the Italian, Sebi Orsi, can do to catch Hegkman now?

At Lekböjen, the Czech Bugatti begins to drain fuel across the ice as Vitez Rychly turns and runs toward his car, hoping perhaps to take cover behind its tapered tail. He know that the German is already aiming to fire his pistol again! How long will it be that he misses? The man moves swiftly, stepping sideways toward the waiting Mercedes behind amongst the trees. He fires his pistol again, missing Rychly by inches as a second bullet impacts the Bugatti. Two other men force VV into the back seat of the SSLK – she screams out, “Vitez!!” Suddenly, Rychly sees the fuel spreading on the ice and realizes that the German must have purposefully missed him, hoping to set the car ablaze with him close by.... He tries to stop – but slips on the ice....

Back at Barrböjen, Aristide La Fontaine accelerates smoothly onto the straight. He comes out of the curve, setting up perfectly to take Storkurvan before the others. He will likely now assume a leading position among the cars in the last group. The Britisher, John Milk, slides in close by, hitting the apex of the curve with perfection, as the Finnish and Portuguese cars enter the curve behind.

Race :: Round 37 - Norway Breaks Away!

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Teide “Volcán” Sorolla-Ledaal accelerates rapidly down the pit straight, maneuvering his Bugatti through the narrow tree-lined lane. He throws his head back and roars some sort of victory yell – is it Spanish? Is it Norwegian? Over the sound of the engines, none can tell, yet one thing is certain, the Norwegian is now solidly in the lead. Farther back, Belgium exits Hårnålskurva in lower gear. Victor Hugo Stéphane knows that it will be difficult to catch the little Bugatti up ahead. There remain but two more chances – one in the upcoming chicane and other at Fiskekroken where, if the Norwegian takes too much of a risk, he could fall “off the cliff” and skid too quickly onto the ice.... With his tires worn thin, there would be nothing to save him from a wreck.

Coming out of Lekböjen, the damaged Czech Bugatti skids sideways and flips onto its side. Vitez Rychly deftly leaps out and, without thought for himself, sidesteps as both the German and Italian cars flash past in high gear – the Italian is slipstreaming off the German car.... Sebi Orsi waves but Rychly takes no notice. His eyes are focused on the distant wood line where moments ago, he had spotted his missing fiancée, VV. At this section of the track, there are no spectators. The view to the wood's edge is clear and close. Rychly catches sight of VV through the trees, fighting the two men as they drag her toward a waiting car – a Mercedes SSLK. Without hesitating he leaps forward. Suddenly, a third figure steps out from behind a tree – he is closer and Rychly is surprised to see his features are distinctly German – blond hair, a thin face, a deep fencing scar on his chin.

The man lifts his hand.... What's this? He levels a pistol and fires. The bullet flies past Rychly, going wide and across the ice-covered lake behind. The Czech dives for the low protection of the snowbank at the side of the track. A second bullet flies past – it strikes the rear of the Bugatti, puncturing the fuel tank....

Meanwhile, back at Barrböjen, the French driver, Aristide La Fontaine, slides gracefully toward the apex of the curve, shifting down. Similarly, the British Amilcar pulls in tightly behind, taking the same line into the curve. The big Chrysler of Tavho Myrsky falls off the pace, short of the curve as the Portuguese Bugatti cruises out of Fiskekroken. Gomes hopes to close the gap from the rear as the cars head next toward Storkurvan – can he do it?

Race :: Round 36 - Hegkman Rams Rychly!

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Teide “Volcán” Sorolla-Ledaal fumbles his gear handle as he exits Hårnålskurva. The breakaway was there for the taking, but now, it will likely turn into a race into the chicane against the Belgium. The door is now open for the yellow Duesenberg, which slides perfectly into the hairpin in close pursuit. The narrow lanes of the forested section of the track beckon as the two vie for the first spot on the podium. Yet the Norwegian is ahead – an advantage that might carry him through to the end.

Out on the ice, Vitez Rychly slides his orange Bugatti gracefully into the Lekböjen chicane – he shifts up into 5th gear, confident of a podium finish. Rychly glances back to see both the German car and the Italian in hot pursuit.... Suddenly, he realizes the Teutonic knight seems fixated.... Is he out of control?

No! The German slides, Rychly tries to cut to the side, but it is impossible – the white Bugatti of the German crashes into the already damaged Czech car, tearing the Czech's rear wheel from its axle. Over the roar of the engines, Rychly hears what sounds like the German's hard laugh – could he be imagining it? He suddenly remembers the Grand Prix d'Algiers at Staouéli.... There, at the embassy, he had struck Hegkman, his hatred of all things German taking him over the moment.... That was an insult never repaid. Now, it seems the tables are turned and the German is evening the score.E ven without looking, Rychly feels German's eyes burning through him – his car begins to skid toward the snow drift, out of control. Rychly's eyes focus on the distant wood line and he sees three figures emerge at the icy edge of the lake.... In a flash, he realizes the first is VV.... She is trying to run forward toward him – and there are two men.... They grab her and pull her back toward the trees.

Back at Barrböjen, the Swiss and Scottish cars separate and spin to a stop in the curve. Both Petrus de Salvion and Alastair MacDougall climb quickly out of the cockpit, battered but okay. The cars are damaged beyond immediate repair, all that is left to do is to get to the safety of the snowbank off the side of the track. Both drivers look back and see the French driver, Aristide La Fontaine, press past the big Chrysler of Tavho Myrsky.

Just behind, the British Amilcar skids dangerously out Fiskekroken, at the very edge of a spin out. Somehow, John Milk holds the car to the track as he nearly collides with the wreck of the Alfa Romeo Tipo B that rests directly in front of the stands along the finish line straight.

The Portuguese Bugatti follows, with Pedro Gomes in perfect control.