Ok guys here is the info u need to pass the race in freelancer

I tried this mission about 10 times and could not understand why : no1 my ship kept cutting out and no2 the gates were moving !!! but hey like most level's or missions in games its something easy that ye just could not see at the start , well anyway here it is -->
. no1 : DONT USE (F2) FOR CRUISE That seems to be the reason your ship acts like a monkey on ice and also why the ship cuts out half way into the race. Like someone has already sead use ( SHIFT-W) and for some reason the ship flys like a dream, Dont worry if he is ahead of you for the start of the race because he slows down near the end of race. btw dont do what i did and sell your ship in the station just to buy their light fighter so you can beat him ,,,, because u can do it in any ship as far as i can see . hope this helps