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race or not?”
    For a second, Jimmy’s foot hovered over the accelerator pedal as he thought how crazy this all was. He’d never even tried to drive a car before and now he was at the wheel of a real robot racer.
    “Here goes,” he said. He squashed his foot to the floor and Cabbie’s engine roared.
    “AAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!” Jimmy yelled as they exploded out of the shed.

Chapter 7 - The Qualifier
    Jimmy gripped the steering wheel in terror as Cabbie hurtled along. They raced up the street to the top of Smedingham Hill, where he could see the rest of the city spread out beneath them.
    The roads were lined with safety barriers and crowds of people were standing behind them, waiting for the race to begin. Even before he saw the crowds, Jimmy could hear them:
    “...nine ...eight ...seven...” they shouted in time with the huge display board which hovered above the circuit.
    Cabbie was picking up speed, the houses, cars and trees becoming a blur as they whizzed past. Jimmy could make out seven other racers, all revving their engines and sending clouds of exhaust fumes billowing into the air. He was relieved to see that three of them looked a bit like Cabbie: old cars with various pieces of scrap bolted to them.
    One of them looked like Jimmy’s crash helmet: a dented black fishbowl on wheels. Another one was so tiny Jimmy couldn’t see how anyone, even a kid, could fit in it. It was like a big skateboard with something resembling an egg box stuck on top. And then Jimmy caught sight of a robot racer shaped like a sleek, black sports car. The sun glinted off its smooth surface, almost blinding its competitors before the race had even started. And the only thing brighter than the shine from the racer was the big, white, horsey grin on the face of its driver – Horace Pelly.
    That must be Zoom , Jimmy thought. Horace was right. It does look just like a real robot racer.
    “...six ...five ...four...”
    Maybe I should turn back. This was a stupid idea.
    “...three...two...one...”
    “Slow down, slow down,” shouted Jimmy. “We’re heading for the start line!”
    “ GO! ”
    A deafening klaxon rang out and the spectators all cheered and whooped.
    “Speed up, speed up!” cried Cabbie. “They’re leaving without us!” He rocketed to the start line, overtaking all the other racers before they could get going. “We’re winning!” shouted Cabbie as they sailed ahead.
    Jimmy turned to look behind in amazement. Cabbie was right – they were in the lead.
    “Yes!” shouted Jimmy, punching the air.
    But as soon as he’d said it, the whirring of a powerful jet engine could be heard getting louder and louder. Then a long, smooth black bonnet pulled alongside, followed by a crystal-clear windscreen, a glossy chrome steering wheel and then the tanned, handsome face of Horace Pelly. Jimmy watched Horace rubbing his eyes in disbelief. He clearly couldn’t understand how Jimmy had managed to get a robot racer.
    But Horace’s shock didn’t last for long. He looked Cabbie up and down through the gleaming glass of his racer and then he pulled a face at Cabbie – the same face somebody pulls when they notice they’ve got a big lump of dog poo on their shoe. Horace shouted something that sounded a lot like, “Ner ner ner ner ner!” and then Zoom’s engine roared as he accelerated into the lead. He opened up a gap of 10 metres, then 20 metres, then 30. And before you could say “NASA”, he’d disappeared off into the distance.
    Two more racers swerved around Cabbie, overtaking him with ease even though Jimmy had his foot pressed hard on the accelerator.
    “Oh no!” Jimmy said. “They’re so much faster than us. What can we do, Cabbie?”
    “Well,” said Cabbie, “you could change gear for a start.”
    “Erm, how do I do that?” Jimmy asked. “You haven’t got a gear stick.”
    “See those paddles flashing on each side of the steering wheel? The one on the left changes down and the one on the right changes