Race Day โ Sunday, Zandvoort Circuit, Netherlands
Over thirty laps of pure tension and nerves. That's what awaited the ten racers who qualified in Saturday's thriller. The crowd roared across the dunes of the Dutch coast as the national anthem faded. The breeze brought a salty sting from the North Sea, as if the wind itself was charged with tension.
Top 10 Grid:
1๏ธโฃ Callum Graves ๐ฌ๐ง
2๏ธโฃ Erik Holtz ๐ฉ๐ช
3๏ธโฃ Diego Montoya ๐ง๐ท
4๏ธโฃ Charlotte Reid ๐ฆ๐บ
5๏ธโฃ Sukhman Singh ๐ฎ๐ณ
6๏ธโฃ Thiago Martins ๐ฆ๐ท
7๏ธโฃ Alain Bellamy ๐ซ๐ท
8๏ธโฃ Amelia Foster ๐ฌ๐ง
9๏ธโฃ Jia Tan ๐จ๐ณ
๐ Ravi Deshmukh ๐ฎ๐ณ
At the back of the paddock, Ravi Deshmukh stood silently. Not among the ten, not supposed to be here. But a last-minute withdrawal from Jonas Frigg โ due to suspected engine issues during qualifying laps โ opened a slot for him to clinch 10th position. Tejas Motorsport gave Ravi the green light.
> "Drive clean. Be sharp. No mistakes," Tejas Motorsport's Crew Chief's voice buzzed in Ravi's ear.
He had no idea he'd end up being the day's unexpected variable.
---
Lights Out โ The Race Begins
The engines screamed as the lights blinked out.
Lap 1โ5:
Callum held the inside line through Tarzanbocht, but Holtz dove in fiercely on Lap 2, asserting dominance. Diego followed swiftly โ pulling a tight move around the outside at Turn 4, unsettling Callum's rhythm. The Brit was suddenly boxed in.
> "That's a rare misread from Graves," Jack Simmons noted.
> "You don't usually see him lose two positions in one lap," Whitney Moore added.
Further down the field, Sukhman was playing the long game โ letting Bellamy and Martins wear out their tires while conserving his. Charlotte, however, was aggressive from the get-go.
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Lap 6โ13:
The Duel: Charlotte vs. Holtz
Charlotte began attacking Holtz's rear wing with surgical precision. On hairpins, her car twitched but obeyed. Holtz was fending off with masterful positioning. Then, suddenlyโ
BOOM.
Smoke. Flames. Sparks.
> "Gearbox! It's the gearbox!" Charlotte cried on radio.
Her car lurched out of Turn 9 with a horrific metallic snap. Gearbox failure. No power. No drive. Her race ended by the barriers, her helmet slammed down in frustration.
> "Charlotte Reid is OUT! A devastating blow for the Aussie star!" Jack Simmons announced.
Back in her paddock, a young mechanic checked his notes โ his eyes darting to a flash drive quietly tucked under a server hub.
---
Elsewhere โ Jia Tan's Trouble
Jia was visibly off rhythm. The hairpins โ Turn 3 and Turn 11 โ saw her front grip vanish. Her inputs were steady, but her telemetry danced unpredictably.
> "You're losing two-tenths in the same corner every lap, Jia," her engineer warned.
> "It's not me," she snapped. "It's the car. It's not... listening to the commands."
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Lap 14โ23: Mid-Race Mayhem
Sukhman has begin his silent march.
He passed Martins cleanly with a brave on the edge overtake at Turn 8. Bellamy was next โ on Lap 20, Sukhman dived in during DRS and clipped the edge of the racing line, overtaking clean and fast.
---
Ravi's Silent Surge:
Ravi had started last. But lap after lap, he made smart, simple decisions. A DNF retirement of Charlotte, and a stunning double-pass on Yuki and Amelia into Turn 12 put him into P6.
> "Is that... Ravi Deshmukh climbing through the field?" Whitney raised an eyebrow.
> "That kid's got a rocket under him," Jack said. "Or some serious softwareโฆ"
Back in Vaayu's garage, Raghav frowned, wondering exactly how Ravi's car was doing so well. He didn't recall hearing news about Tejas Motorsport having a heavy equipment upgrade after last GP.
---
Final Laps:
The race front tightened again. Diego was now threatening Holtz with every corner.
Callum tried to reclaim second, but his tires had lost their bite. He settled for third.
> "Sukhman Singh crosses the line in P4! Another personal best for the Indian star!"
Ravi followed just behind โ stunning everyone with a P6 finish.
---
Zandvoort Grand Prix Final Results:
1 Erik Holtz ๐ฉ๐ช
2 Diego Montoya ๐ง๐ท
3 Callum Graves ๐ฌ๐ง
4 Sukhman Singh ๐ฎ๐ณ
5 Alain Bellamy ๐ซ๐ท
6 Ravi Deshmukh ๐ฎ๐ณ
7 Thiago Martins ๐ฆ๐ท
8 Jia Tan ๐จ๐ณ
9 Amelia Foster ๐ฌ๐ง
10 Charlotte Reid (DNF)
---
Post-Race Garage โ Charlotte's Camp
Her engineers inspected the remains of her gearbox. One of them looked pale.
> "This wasn't wear and tear. Something corrupted the clutch module controls."
> "A potential sabotage?" another whispered.
Charlotte's jaw clenched. She said nothing โ but her silence was loud.
---
In Jia's Camp
Her lead engineer held up the brake pressure sensor logs. There were anomalies.
> "Turn 3. Turn 11. Input latency every time."
> "It must have been tampered with," she said softly. "I am certain of it."
---
Leaderboard After 4 GPs
Rank Driver Country Points
1๏ธโฃ Callum Graves UK 83
2๏ธโฃ Erik Holtz Germany 70
3๏ธโฃ Diego Montoya Brazil 58
4๏ธโฃ Alain Bellamy France 42
5๏ธโฃ Sukhman Singh India 35
6๏ธโฃ Jia Tan China 33
7๏ธโฃ Thiago Martins Argentina 30
8๏ธโฃ Charlotte Reid Australia 23
9๏ธโฃ Amelia Foster UK 18
๐ Ravi Deshmukh India 8
11 Omar Irani Morocco 6
12 Yuki Sasakai Japan 2
13 Lukar Meier Switzerland 1
14 Dante Rizzo Italy 1
15โ20 Rosa, Noa, Jonas, Miguel, Khalid, Finn โ 0