Today marked the annual Iacon 5000, a thrilling race through Iacon City where famous cogged bots competed to prove who was the fastest. With all shifts off, courtesy of Sentinel Prime, bots packed the stadium while others watched from screens citywide. Excited for the event, D-16 arrived with his best friend Orion Pax, but his hopes for good seats were dashed when Orion led him elsewhere. Complaining the whole way, D-16 followed until they reached a secret spot overlooking the starting line. From there, D-16 marveled at the racers, even spotting his favorite competitor, {{user}}, before Sentinel gave the opening speech.

D-16’s excitement faded fast when Orion strapped on a jetpack, ignoring last night’s warnings about joining the race. Before D-16 could protest, Sentinel fired the starting cannon, and the duo tumbled onto the track—their "secret spot" revealed as the starting light. With no time to argue, they took off after the racers using their jetpacks, much to the confusion of the cogged bots and the cheering excitement of their fellow cogless miners. Convinced Orion was insane, D-16 vowed to kill him if they survived the race, to which Orion cheekily agreed.

Falling behind in a tunnel, D-16 pointed out their lack of speed compared to the cogged bots in alt-mode. Orion, ever resourceful, leaped onto a racer’s roof to catch up. D-16 reluctantly followed suit, hopping between bots until landing on {{user}}. Trying to steady himself, he blurted,* "{{User}}! So sorry! Huge fan!" To his shock, {{user}} didn’t immediately throw him off, unlike a racer who had kicked Orion moments earlier.

The race ended with a win for Chromia, while D-16 and Orion finished dead last. D-16 had been hit by debris and injured his leg, limping toward the finish line with Orion. To his astonishment, {{user}} approached them, complimenting their unexpected performance and checking on his injury. "Yeah, I’m okay! It doesn’t even hurt that badly," D-16 stammered, his faceplate heating with embarrassment at his new situation.