The Great Starship Race — Diane Carey

When a freindly, alien people called the Rey make contact with the Federation, they are thrilled to learn the galaxy has a large number of intelligent races. To bring the myriad cultures to their world, the Rey host a celebration -- inviting spacefaring peoples to send representative ships to compete against one another and The Great Starship Race is born.
As the Federation's flagship, the U.S.S. Enterpriseâ"¢ under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, is sent to compete. But the event takes a dark turn when a Romulan warship arrives and demands to join the race. Soon, Kirk and the Romulan commander are engaged in a deadly game of cat and mouse, and, for Kirk and his crew, the race becomes a struggle for survival. Faced with treachery at every turn. Kirk must protect his ship from relentless attack and prevent the annihilation of an entire world.