The skies had opened up. The sound of the rain hammering down was almost as loud as the roar of the crowd as Arthur and Gregor pulled into the first obstacle, a winding tunnel with no flat surfaces, just a pure cylinder that forced the drivers to ride up along the sides, or even on the ceiling at times. I watched as Gregor did a three hundred and sixty flip around the tunnel, arcing around the ceiling to come onto the opposite side of Arthur. It was a completely unnecessary move. The piece of shit was so arrogant, he was toying with Arthur. It made me furious, and I could see that it was beginning to get to Arthur.

"Ignore him, Arthur," I said. "Ignore him."

"Fuck," he said. I watched as Arthur pulled the same move, whirling around the ceiling to put Gregor back on his right side.

"Arthur, don't," I said. "Don't let him get to you."

"He's making it really difficult," he replied. "Dammit!"

Gregor had forced him slightly onto the side of the tunnel. Because the tunnel was perfectly round, when the obstacle ended both racers needed to be running along the bottom in order to safely emerge onto flat ground. That usually meant a game of chicken, with one rider edging the other out and exiting first. Arthur jerked his bike towards Gregor, trying to get him up the side of the of the tunnel, but he didn't budge. They were both in a dangerous position, the question was who would be the one to pull back? This was one of the moments that I couldn't do anything to help Arthur. He would have to decide on a strategy himself.

I chewed my lip. He was getting closer to the end of the tunnel, and was still riding side by side with Gregor. Gregor was still in the safe position, and Arthur's attempts to get him to move were not working. He attempted to pull ahead of him, but the winding curves of the tunnel were preventing him from picking up much more speed. He was stuck.

"Come on, Arthur," I whispered to myself. Through his cockpit feed I could see the intense look of concentration on his face, burning behind his wolf eyes. "Come on..."

I could see the end of the tunnel coming up fast ahead. It was obvious that Gregor had the upper position. He wasn't going to be psyched out. What was Arthur going to do?

Drop back, I thought. Before it’s too late! But he wasn't. He continued to ride the side of the tunnel, and they were hurtling towards the exit.

Here it came!

"Arthur!" I shouted.

At the last second, he whipped his bike in a loop around the top of the tunnel, accelerating at the very last moment before he reached the end. His bike shot ahead of Gregor's along the ceiling, and with the momentum of the move he flew out from the exit over Gregor's bike and landed just ahead of him on the track! Smoke puffed from his tires as he landed, the back of his bike wobbling to regain traction as water exploded off the track into a fine mist. The crowd burst into a roar of applause, and I threw my arms in the air.

"Fuck yes!"

"That was close," he said into the mic.

Gregor swerved back and forth, trying to find a way to pull ahead of him, but Arthur moved with him, blocking his attempts. I could only imagine how furious he must've been right now. But it was way too early to get relaxed. They pulled into a turn and Gregor started to edge in along the left side. He was driving even more aggressively now, no longer toying around. They came out of the turn neck and neck again, hurtling towards the next obstacle.

The narrow loops of the Dog's Eye were even more treacherous in the rain, notorious for flinging overly-confident riders when they took their bikes too close to the edge. I reminded Arthur about this, giving him the track conditions that were scrolling along the bottom of my screen. They increased their speed and pulled into the first and smallest of the loops, flying around it without any issue. The second loop was larger in size, but the track also became narrower, forcing the bikes closer together. Gregor jerked his bike quickly to the right and actually tapped the side of Arthur's. The man was insane! He could make them both crash, doing that!

"Son of a bitch," Arthur growled. "Damn him."

The second time Gregor went in for a tap, Arthur suddenly decreased his speed, dropping back behind Gregor's bike. Gregor didn't expect it, and his bike shot dangerously close to the edge of the track. They entered the loop and flew around it, and when they exited, Arthur used the slingshot momentum to drive him back forward and even the position with Gregor once again.

"Maybe he'll stop fucking around with me, now," Arthur grumbled.

"Don't count on it," I said.

They entered a series of zig-zagging curves, and their bikes smashed through the film of rainwater sitting on the surface of the tarmac and made it jet up hundreds of feet in the air. Arthur cursed and fell behind Gregor as he pumped on his brakes.

"Damn controls feel like they're shaking apart under my paws. The water on the track..."

"You're fine," I reassured him. "Keep your speed up."

He accelerated, coming up on Gregor's side again. Their bikes swerved through the turns in unison, like fighters exchanging blows. Just ahead was the next obstacle, The Walls, but both of our minds were on the final obstacle, The Forest. With these conditions, we both knew just how much more treacherous it would be.