The New York Masters is a set of four professional hover car races and the fourth of the Grand Slam Races.
History[]
Early History[]
During the growth of the hover car industry, and the accompanying racing sports, the professional league established the Masters Series of races. Chief among them were the four "Grand Slam" races, which included the New York Masters.
Over several years, the New York Masters races were successful in drawing race fans to New York City, with the tourism providing a boost to the local economy. In addition to the four professional races, a "show day" race called the Challenger Race was established to afford up-and-coming racers the opportunity to make a name for themselves in the professional racing league, and the winner of the race would be granted a slot in the Masters races.
Hover Car Racer[]
At the end of the International Race School's season of racing, Xavier Xonora, Varishna Krishna, Jason Chaser and Ariel Piper had all placed in the top four of their racing season's tournament, allowing each to be granted one of the four invitations to participate in the New York Challenger. Various other racers from minor leagues and racing schools also qualified for the Challenger, each just as eager to win it and earn a place in the New York Masters.
Once the Challenger began, Jason and Xavier quickly took to the front of the field, while a pileup on Lap 3 eliminated or slowed the remaining racers significantly. As the race wore on, Jason feigned attempts to pass Xavier and intentionally lost some ground to Xavier, having come up with a plan to use Xavier's confidence against him. As such, when the two racers hit the home straight on Fifth Avenue, Jason moved the Argonaut into the Speed Razor's blind spot (enhanced by the confetti falling across the street), and waited until Xavier prematurely celebrated his perceived victory by pumping his fist in the air. The moment his rival did so, Jason powered his thrusters on full and and caught Xavier off-guard with a sudden charge, darting ahead of the black prince and slipping through the gap between the wrecked cars first, leaving Xavier without any opportunity to respond, and allowing Jason to fly over the finish line first and win the race.
Since the Challenger winner needed a pro-team's license to race under during the Masters, Jason accepted the offer Umberto Lombardi of the Lombardi Racing Team gave him over the one the Lockheed-Martin Factory Team did in order to participate. The day before the Liberty Supersprint was to begin, Jason and the professional racers taking part in the Masters appeared in the pre-race parade before the excited spectators.
Moments after the Liberty Supersprint began, Etienne Trouveau - bitter at Jason for out-doing him in the Italian Run - used the Vizir to take a swipe at the Argonaut's tailfin on the first corner. With his car's new improvements and the wisdom he'd gained since Italy, Jason easily dodged the strike, taking the French racer's move as a message to remind him that he was back in the big leagues.
During the race, Kamiko Ideki fell victim to Liberty's elbow and was eliminated, and near the very end from the race, Carlo Martinez, Helmut Reitze and Brock Peters crashed, allowing Jason to take 12th place and avoid elimination. Ultimately, the race was won by Alessandro Romba, followed immediately by Fabian and Trouveau.
Moments before the Manhattan Gate Race began, the layout of the course was released to the racers, giving them scant amount of time to plot a course to obtain the highest number of points they could. Jason's little brother and navigator, the mathematical genius Bug Chaser, was quickly able to plot out the optimum route however, so as soon as the race began, Team Argonaut did not head to the northern and eastern parts of Manhattan Island, but - to much surprise from the spectators - the south. Having heard of the Bug's gift for gate racers, Fabian opted to ignore his own navigator's plan and instead began tailing Jason, which earned the him boos from the watching crowds. By the time Jason and Fabian took their second pit stops at the one hour mark, both had earned an equal 750 points, while Angus Carver and Dwayne Lewicki were both only 10 points behind from their north-based course.
When the one hour results were announced, the astonished television commentators used their own course-plotting computers to analyse the Bug's race-plan and were shocked by the results, realising that the young navigator's plan would grant Jason a first place victory. Halfway through the race, Au Chow collided with Dan Rein, though only the former's car was damaged badly enough to eliminate him from the race.
Once only 10 minutes remained to gather points, all of the racers began making their way back to the Start-Finish Line at Fifth Avenue. As Jason was making his own return journey, he suddenly found himself boxed in between both Fabian and Trouveau's cars, with the two French drivers forcing the Argonaut to lose control and crash belly-up on 42nd Street, 500 meters away from the finish line and with only four minutes left before points would start being deducted from unfinished racers. Unwilling to give up, Jason and the Bug pushed the barely-hovering Argonaut to the finish line even as the other racers passed them. They eventually succeeded, albeit 70 seconds after the three-hour mark, and so some of their hard-earned points were deducted from their total. Nonetheless, their efforts got them third place behind Carver and Lewicki, while various circumstances got Rein, Raul Hassan and Reitze from earning enough points to continue in the New York Masters
With that, Carver was in the lead for the New York Masters, with both Romba and Fabian tied for second. Meanwhile Jason was placing second-to-last, and he determined that in order to make it to the last race, he would need a top-two placement in the Pursuit Race.
Once the race was underway, the last-placed Lewicki was eliminated him from the race when he lagged past the 15-second lead racer. Much later, Pablo Riviera, having fallen into last place and struggling to keep within the 15-second rule, gave in to desperation and made a play for the second Meat Grinder shortcut. However, due to either a lack of skill or nerve, Riviera didn't enter the tunnel fast enough, resulting in his car being crushed and him getting disqualified.
During Lap 110, two separate incidents changed the positions of the race drastically. First, Carver attempted to pass by Romba to take the lead, but the Italian racer refused to give, causing both of them to collide and spin out over the demagnetising light strips. Secondly, Fabian and Trouveau boxed in Jason and forced him towards Ward's-Randell's Island, intending to make him crash or force him into the Meat Grinder. Jason chose the latter option, successfully flying into the Grinder at top speed and passing through to the other end, the shortcut putting him in first place.
Trouveau, who needed the points to move on to the last race more, successfully drove through a Meat Grinder on Lap 115, putting him right behind Jason. Over the final laps, Trouveau hounded Jason relentlessly, and as they made the last turn, Trouveau's attempt to overtake him forced Jason into taking the elbow hard, with the g-forces behind the turn ultimately making him black out. Fortunately, though Jason was unconscious, his feet remained hard-pressed against the pedals, and so the Bug leaned over his seat to steer the Argonaut over the finish line just ahead of Trouveau, winning them the Pursuit Race.
As a result of their placings in the Pursuit, Jason, Trouveau, Fabian and Romba all earned enough points to go on to the Quest Race (Carver's sixth-placement got him no points, while Mark Skaife had failed to get enough points throughout the Masters).
Before the Quest Race began, each racer gave their trophy to one of the race officials, who had them transported to the furthermost point of the track at Niagara Falls.
Soon the final race of the New York Masters began, and the four racers blasted off out of New York, with Romba taking an early lead. During their time in the Endless Tunnel, the two French racers positioned themselves so that the Argonaut was boxed in between them, and Fabian began using the Marseilles Falcon to force the young racer's car towards the Vizir's bladed nosewing. Just when it appeared that the Argonaut would be doomed, Jason abruptly slammed on the brakes, escaping danger while the Marseilles Falcon lurched into the Vizir, with Fabian's bladed nosewing cutting through Trouveau's. Trouveau lost control of the Vizir and crashed spectacularly, putting him out of the race. Though safe, Jason's escape left him slightly behind Fabian.
Later, Romba arrived at the Endless Tunnel's exit by Niagara Falls, followed closely by Fabian and Jason. The three racers quickly parked their cars and raced out on foot to the podiums containing their respective trophies (an Italian flag for Romba, a photo of himself with the Marseilles Falcon for Fabian, and a knitted golden fleece for Jason) before returning to their cars and setting off on the return leg to New York.
Romba was still in the lead, followed by Fabian and then finally Jason as they raced through the Big Cave. Fabian made several attempts to swipe at Jason as they raced on, eventually outright threatening him over the radio as they entered the tunnel between the Big and Small caves. Jason taunted Fabian that he'd remembered something that the French racer hadn't, and Fabian was too late to stop as he crashed into the wreckage of the Vizir that was on his side of the track, ending the Frenchman's run in the Masters.
Realising too late that Jason had manipulated him into driving on that side of the track, Fabian was unable to react in time as the Marseilles Falcon plowed into the Vizir, the high-speed collision completely ruining Fabian's car and sending it careening off the track and into the abyss below. The magnetic dead zone below caught the remainder of the Marseilles Falcon safely, saving Fabian's life, but eliminating him from the race.
Now without any other adversaries harassing him, Jason charged after Romba, eventually gaining on the Italian. Jason made several attempts before succeeding in passing the world's number one racer, taking the lead in the race as they made the final approach to New York. Jason was 70 meters ahead of Romba by the time he turned onto Fifth Avenue, but before he could clear the finish line, the Argonaut's tailfin abruptly exploded, just as it had during the Italian Run. The Argonaut slammed laterally into the road, skidding to a stop 200 meters short of the finish line. Seeing the finish line so close and able to hear Romba rapidly approaching, Jason, refusing to give up, grabbed ahold of his trophy and transponder-equipped steering wheel, then ejected himself from the Argonaut.
As the La Bomba came parallel with the Argonaut, Jason's ejection seat burst from the car, sending him flying past Romba and over the finish line, to the complete astonishment of the spectators, winning by a single foot. As soon as Jason's ejection seat came to a halt, the crowds cheered enthusiastically for the young racer as the race officials helped Jason stand, victorious in winning the Quest Race, and by extension, the New York Masters. After being congratulated by a magnanimous Romba and his parents, Jason explained how Ravi Gupta had sabotaged the Argonaut in order to have his bookmaking operation avoid having to pay out on the high-odds rewards for Jason winning the Masters, and soon after stood before the spectators with his team as they accepted the winner's trophy.
Races[]
Challenger Race[]
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Liberty Supersprint[]
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Manhattan Gate Race[]
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The Pursuit[]
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The Quest[]
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Trivia[]
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