Imola
is a short sci-fi story by BigD1987 on the Fictionpress website. The story is about the last laps of a big race in Italy for a futuristic racing series called "Super Formula". The protagonist, named Kevin Reilly, a young former NASCAR driver is struggling to catch his Brazilian rival Helio Barrichello before the checkered flag. Kevin is joined by his pit crew, led by crew chief Skip Boone and jackman Reggie Williams and team owner Erin Disney. The "Super Formula" racing series is almost like Speed Racer or Knight Rider, albeit more realistic than Speed Racer in terms of racing.
This work provides examples of:
- Affably Evil: Ferrari's president Fabio Boiocchi, who offers Erin a place to stay in Italy and seems like an enjoyable person, but really wants Team Disney out of Super Formula.
- Annoying Video Game Helper: The GTX5's A.I. constantly bugs Kevin
- Artificial Intelligence: The cars are equipped with AI systems that provide in-car navigation and diagnostics.
- Cool Car: EVERY. DAMN. ONE. The top two are Kevin's car, the Chevrolet GTX5 and Barrichello's Ferrari Imola.
- Eagle Land: The team is likely a subversion or aversion, since Kevin's not the most patriotic person in the world, but he did belt the "Star Spangled Banner" out when he won his first race.
- Improbable Age: For being only 22, Kevin is mentioned to be extremely good at driving, ditto for Erin. Although Erin is going to Harvard (at least online).
- Named After Somebody Famous: For those who don't follow racing, it's not obvious. But for those who do, they'll notice that Barrichello is named after famous Brazilian drivers Rubens Barrichello and Helio Castroneves. Could qualify as a Shout-Out.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Erin delivers a verbal beat down to Boiocchi after Kevin wins, even saying that he makes Italians look bad. She's pretty much fed up with Ferrari trying to get Team Disney out of Super Formula.
- Wacky Racing: Completely and totally SMASHED to pieces, as the drama is based on the speed and difficulty of the track and the drivers trying to win.
- Younger Than They Look: A cosmetic version, Erin is mentioned to look older than her real age of 22.
