"That's right, Ryan. This is the 1st round of a 4 round tournament, so whichever pilot wins this race will put his team in a solid position."
"Cliffe, you seem to have forgetten we have a lioness in a cockpit as well."
"Oh! Er... the Marux pilot..."
"Yes, she really brought her A-game in qualifying, posting a time that was good enough for 3rd place before being shut down by Victor Citrus of the Redline team."
"It's looking like the Redline-Marux rivalry could finally be back this season. I remember those two teams' ships would have fierce fights for the lead when I was just a kid!"
"Marux and their fans must be really excited for this one. For so long they have fallen short of the American team and for the first time in years, the Marux ship has the pace to fight with Redline's."
"Of course, we can't forget the incredible pole lap Tsukune Yama set with his Hanmei, Inc. machine."
"Such a nimble ship, that Hanmei."
"I agree! The Japanese really committed to their ship's lightweight philosophy and it's set them up nicely for race day."
"That is if the Macaw pilot takes it easy, which I don't think he will since he's starting right behind Yama in 2nd."
"It's such a beautiful thing, to have drastically different ships set such close times. That Macaw is not the lightest of ships - most of its lap time comes from the middle part of the track, where it's all straights and fast corners taken at full thrust."
"Yup. That's precisely where the Hanmei ship suffers, Cliffe. That Hanmei either has more drag or the Macaw team has equipped a beefier thruster to the back of their ship."
"Hey, would you look at Citrus standing in his cockpit and waving to his fans in the grandstands!"
"He's led quite the respectable career as an anti-gravity pilot before and after he started racing for Redline. It's quite a dream combo - a disciplined American pilot flying for a competitive American team. I can bet the team is looking for a win on home soil."
"We'll just have to wait and see how his race goes down. These are unquestionably the sharpest pilots in the world, flying the fastest, most advanced anti-gravity machines ever built. And it all starts in 5... 4..."