Jimmy and Cabbie hurtled out of the pit lane in a cloud of dust, as Chip’s mechanics climbed all over Dug, tightening bolts and hammering out dents after the bashing he had taken. Monster, Zoom, Maximus and Lightning were nowhere to be seen.
“We’ve got some catching up to do, Cabbie,” said Jimmy.
“Rocket-boosters?” suggested Cabbie.
“Not yet. Not yet. There’s a long way to go and we might need them for a fast finish.”
They sped on for the next few miles without any incidents, both Cabbie and Jimmy staying silent, focused on the track in front of them. But as they rounded a bend and began to climb a long, steep hill, they got their first glimpse of another competitor.
Crawling up it, just ahead of them, were Missy and Monster.
“Why are they going so slowly?” asked Jimmy.
“Too heavy to get up the hills,” said Cabbie, preparing to overtake.
Cabbie darted to the right of Monster.
Monster swerved to the right and blocked him.
Cabbie darted to the left.
Monster blocked him again.
“And too wide and too sneaky for us to get past,” muttered Cabbie in frustration.
“What do we do?” asked Jimmy.
“I’ve got it!” said Cabbie. “I know a way to get past Missy before you can say, ‘Cabbie that was amazing, you’re a genius.’ OK?”
Jimmy nodded.
“Right,” said Cabbie. “Drop back. We need” – Cabbie paused to calculate – “fifty-seven metres between us and Monster.”
Jimmy eased off the accelerator and soon the gap between Cabbie and Monster widened.
“Perfect,” said Cabbie. “Now maintain that speed and, when I say so, press the flashing orange button on the top right of the control panel.”
“OK,” said Jimmy, gritting his teeth.
“Ready? Now!” said Cabbie. Jimmy pressed the orange button. With a whoosh! and a flash of black, a rocket shot out from under Cabbie’s bonnet. It soared high into the air, then arced downwards sharply. As it plummeted back towards earth it unfolded into a steep ramp which hit the ground with a thud! just behind Monster.
With a whoop of excitement Jimmy crushed the accelerator pedal to the floor and gripped the steering wheel for dear life. They hit the ramp at top speed and flew high over the monster truck. In a strange, still moment of silence, Jimmy could see nothing through Cabbie’s windscreen but blue sky. His stomach seemed to be in his throat. He didn’t dare breathe. Then Cabbie began to tip forward ... forward ... forward ... and landed with a skidding thump, kicking up a mountain of dust behind them.
“Amazing!” screamed Jimmy. “Genius!”
“Thank you,” said Cabbie calmly. “I’ve been looking forward to using the VelociRamp.”
“Drat!” they heard Missy shout as they roared away over the brow of the hill. “Monster, you great big dingo, why do you have to be such a lardy boot?”
Leaving the red-haired girl and her racer far behind, Cabbie and Jimmy flew over the top of the hill and tore down the other side.
“Now, let’s find the others and get past them,” Jimmy said. He hit the windscreen zoom-in button. It showed Horace Pelly and Zoom in the lead, Sammy and Maximus just behind them, and Princess Kako on Lightning bringing up the rear of the group.
“I’m at top speed,” said Cabbie, soaring round a bend on two wheels. “We’ll catch them in the next five minutes.”
“Excellent,” said Jimmy as Cabbie continued to eat up the miles.
Zoom was now in the lead with Maximus and Lightning right behind him, dodging left and right, looking for space to overtake. The road narrowed and the cliff face crumbled as Maximus slid dangerously close to the edge. All three robot racers were now bumping and jostling each other, swerving wildly and taking risks to get the upper hand.
Maximus made another dart towards the left, but before he could drag himself alongside the sleek black shape of Zoom, there was a deafening noise that made Jimmy’s stomach wobble and his ears throb. Suddenly the giant hovercraft seemed to hit an invisible wall. It flew high into the air, spinning back over the roof of Cabbie as if it were a paper bag being tossed around in the wind.
“What the...” Jimmy whispered.
“He’s going over the edge too,” Cabbie said.
But Cabbie was wrong. Maximus was swept into a vicious-looking clump of cacti. As Jimmy sped past he heard a long, loud RRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPP! The cacti tore a deep hole into the bottom of the racer’s air cushion and the gas inside came whooshing out, making a low hissing noise.
Sammy climbed out awkwardly, trying to avoid the nasty spikes on the nearest cactus. When he saw the tear in the side of his racer, he scowled and stamped his foot. There was no way he could carry on today. Sammy and Maximus were out.
“Wow!” breathed Jimmy, forcing his eyes back onto the road in time to see something glowing above Zoom’s rear bumper: a coil of pulsing blue light.
“What’s that?” he shouted.
“It looks like Zoom’s using some kind of EMP,” replied Cabbie. “That’s short for Electromagnetic Pulse. A kind of force field. It burns out electrical circuits on anything that comes near it. That’s what threw Maximus off the track. The moment anyone tries to overtake Zoom, he’ll fry their circuits!”