World Grand Prix Championship 11 - series complete

[Kelssek]

"Evans into the pit lane... and what is he doing?!? He's gotten out of his car and... oh my, this is a very strange place to be to observing Remembrance Day..."

"Full credit for him paying respect to the fallen troops, but I'm going to be cynical and say he knows he's well out of a points finish anyway."

"Back into his car and off he goes... well, that is one of the most remarkable things I've seen on a racetrack. Well, the spectator who ran onto the track dressed like a traffic cone a few years ago might top that."

[Ancharmunn]

“Alright Donal, remember careful at the start, we've got iBen not far ahead of you and we want a good race for the team alright.”

O'Connell didn't bother replying to his race engineer, largely because a reply of 'sod that' would be the last thing the pit would want to hear. If they wanted a good race from Donal O'Connell he'd need to make an aggressive start and move up several places in the opening exchanges and if his team-mate fell victim to that then so be it. Race starts were every man for himself, nothing more and nothing less.

The was a final roaring of twenty cars as the five red lights lingered for their final moments. Each of the twenty drivers was in a fight for position with O'Connell heading into turn one in a perfect position to take the position of Ludwig Loviossa and perhaps even team-mate Toralmintii. Following his line was the Nethertopian driver Xabier Overtoon also off to a good start. With both drivers attempting to put their cars in the exact same place at the exact same time a collision was inevitable.

“Donal, that looked heavy you alright there mate?”.

Whilst his pit crew were managing to mask their frustration O'Connell wasn't and shot back furiously.

“What was the bloody idiot doing!? Utterly Xabier's fault.”

-----

Sportscene.ty/motorsport

Motorsport > WGPC

O'Connell lays Liventia retirement firmly at Nethertopian

Whilst members of his own team have privately admitted that Donal O'Connell may have adopted an overly risky strategy at the start of the Liventian Grand Prix the Co. Coshtaherd native has insisted that the cause of his opening lap crash lies squarely with Postbank Synergent Feria's Nethertopian driver Xabier Overtoon.

Having started together on row seven of the gird the pair looked to be challenging for the positions of O'Connell's team-mate iBen Toralmintii and WGPC Motorsport Works Two driver Ludwig Leviossa. However in looking to take the same narrow line through the opening turn and into the second corner O'Connell and Overtoon met in a spectacular collision that saw O'Connell smashed into a barrier whilst Overtoon's car took flight. Remarkably no other cars were caught up in the crash, though the Vilita & Turori Motorsports car of Stang Crax was forced to withdraw two laps later with some spectacular that his downfall was a fault caused by picking up a piece of debris in the aftermath of the collision.

In the immediate aftermath of the collision O'Connell was quick to lay the blame away from himself, fuming over his team radio about Overtoon's role in the collision. Footage of the incident however appears less conclusive with many putting the incident down as six of one and half a dozen of the other, some have even accused O'Connell of being at fault. The driver himself has however remained steadfast in his innocence even after having had the opportunity to view the footage.

“It's clear as day, I have the line and Xabier comes and takes me out. Why no action has been taken against yet him yet baffles me.”

Having finished just a single place outside of the points at the season's opening Iturributan Grand Prix O'Connell has endured a difficult start to the season but insists his best is merely a matter of time away.

“It doesn't worry me to tell the truth, I like to think of it as giving the other drivers a head start.” O'Connell cockily proclaimed.

His WGPC Motorsport Works Three team did at least achieve some success however with iBen Toralmintii taking eighth place to claim the team's first point of the season. Whilst critics will no doubt point to an attritional race where only fourteen cars finished as having been beneficial to Toralmintii the team will no doubt be delighted to have opened their account ahead of the upcoming Grande Premio di Pacitalia at the refurbished AutoRingPacitalia. The team's next aim will no doubt be for both it's drivers to be up and running in the championship.

[World Grand Prix Championship]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Change in World Grand Prix Championship season calendar

Hessington Island, LICENTIAPACISTERRA— The World Grand Prix Championship Organisation (WGPCO) is pleased to announce that a twelfth race of this eleventh World Grand Prix Championship season has been added to the calendar.

The Hessington Island Grand Prix will take place on the Hessington Island Course in Licentiapacisterra, and will follow the Vilitan Grand Prix and precede the Starblaydi Grand Prix.

Negotiations to bring a race to Licentiapacisterra have been ongoing for a number of weeks and the WGPCO is happy to conclude these negotiations amicably.

Additionally, the location of the fourth and final driver test of the season has been confirmed.

The Cheston Park Grand Prix Circuit, in Flevans, will host the session which will follow the Grand Prix d'Ad’ihan and precede the Grand Prix of Camwood.

For further information contact WGPCO Media Office at media.enquiries at wgpc.org.len

[Falcania]

He was still realising a couple fractions of a second later, when the lights went green, and there was a sound like a great convocation of hornets ringing around his helmet.

The training kicked in, and salvaged a bad start. Weaved left, ducked right, and he was on the pace. OK, you could handle this, Stang. Eighteenth off the grid, fifteenth into the first corner. You were pulling it back, Stang! You could do this!

Then there was a crunch.

A... crunch? What? The cars in front of him were parting around, and a yellow flag winked in his peripheral vision.

He swerved, but it was too late. The shattered front wing of the Works car span out from the wreckage and lodged itself... somewhere. Crax tugged at the wheel, but something was definitely wrong.

"Stang, you've fogged it, son." There was that voice again.

---

It had only been a couple of minutes since the crunch.

Stang was sitting in the cockpit, tensed, as the car sat in the pitlane, crew swarming around it like insects. He was still in it - sure, he'd be at the back of the grid, but he could pick it up, surely? Even a finish?

He looked up, and saw, through his visor, the helmeted head of his lollipop man sadly shaking his head at someone in the garage.

Somewhere, the voice was laughing.

[Licentiapacisterra]

Lukas Forbes was bored of the handshaking and politeness. Of course he was proud that, literally, his home course would be on the calendar this season, he just wanted to get in the car and practise for Pacitalia.

Right at that moment, the OF team principal, Alexsandar Jordahl, wandered over to Lukas. He sighed. Just the man I wanted to see...

“Lukas,” the heavily accented Polarian took a sip of his drin before continuing. “How are you ??”

“I’m alright Mr Jordahl, you ??” Lukas, equally accented, let his eyes wander for a moment.

“I am good, thank you. This party is very nice.”

“Definitely. Us Licentians don’t throw parties often, but when we do, nothing can beat it.” Lukas smiled, before a mob of journalists surrounded the two men, shouting both of their names. Simultaneous sighs ensued. Lukas finally fought through the noise to call their attention.

“If you want to ask questions, at least allow me and Mr Jordahl the courtesy of answering them.” Lukas then pointed to one of the many in the crowd.

“Mr Forbes, what do you say to rumours that you are unhappy with the car here at Obeveklig-Farautoo ??”

“I say they are horse shit, if you’ll excuse my language. I am perfectly happy to drive this car, and in fact, I’m incredibly proud to do so.” Lukas pointed to another journalist.

“Do you expect to still be driving for OF when your home race here on Hessington Island comes around ??”

“Of course,” Lukas answered simply. “Now, if you don’t mind, me and Mr Jordahl have some business to discuss.”

“Do we ??” Jordahl whispered.

“No,” Lukas chuckled. “But it’ll get rid of them.”

[Farfadillis]

Ramírez sat there on his couch. He was eating some Hay's, gaining some weight and killing some time (approximately two to three years, due to the junk food). He had forgotten completely that he had a storyline to continue, all the time in the hiatus had made him some lazy bastard. Whatever happened to the hard-working Ramírez?
He got up, it was huge effort for him, he hadn't done anything than sitting there for two days. He felt exhausted as soon as he had to walk. To this lazy bastard's bad luck, the phone rang in that exact moment. The phone that was down the stairs. After "running" down the stairs, he picked up the phone just in time.
-Ramírez?
Ramírez stopped for a moment to breathe a bit. Running had got much more hazardous than he remembered, and the last time he had run had been just three days before.
-Yeah?
-I'm from Vilita & Turori Motorsports, just wanted to tell you that the Pacitalian practice is in two days, and you're still in Farfadillis.
-Oh, my bad. I'll take a flight there soon. I'll be there for the practice. I'll go buy the ticket just after I finish these Hay's.
-Wait, what?
-Nothing, nothing....

He put down the phone, finished his Hay's and left to buy those tickets to Pacitalia.

[Camwood]

((OOC: I feel bad not RPing better, I have been engulfed in school work))

RACE WHEEL

The Show must go on!
by Race Wheel Wire Staff

A pending war, a looming debt crisis, and a Grand Prix event. Those three items occupy Camwood's calendar for the next few months. However, as a prelude to how Camwood is perceived in this world, the Grand Prix of Camwood must go on.

The Camian Racing Association announced that despite Camwood's darkening sociopolitical climate, the Grand Prix of Camwood will not be cancelled, now, or hopefully, ever. The Grand Prix is expected to be a large event, netting over a million Camian Standard Dollars. Racers from all over the world will come to Camwood, despite not one of them being Camian. This antecedent is a key argument for the sceptical of whether the race should be followed through on or not.

The race, for now, is still scheduled to take place, assuming it is not foreclosed upon nor bombed come January.

[Liventia]

Grande Premio di Pacitalia
Grand Prix of Pacitalia

Free Practice session
Every team's second and test driver, as well as WGPC Works teams first drivers, took part in free practice. Drivers had two hours to set as many laps as they wished up to a limit of 25 laps. In free practice sessions, only lap times are recorded and not combined times.

Due to the length of the track, this session was capped at 25 laps.

Pos	Car	Driver			Team/Constructor		Best Lap	Invl	To best
1	T23	Seamus Donaghue		Postbank Synergent Feria	1:51.327		
2	8	Edward Masterson	Team Revél-Celstar		1:51.567	+0.240	+0.240
3	4	Xabier Overtoon		Postbank Synergent Feria	1:51.628	+0.061	+0.301
4	15	Stang Crax		Vilita & Turori Motorsports	1:51.742	+0.114	+0.415
5	2	Jai Kardaeri		Carvenlo Motor Racing		1:51.993	+0.251	+0.666
6	T24	Jie Hui Tan		RBK-Continental Racing		1:52.034	+0.041	+0.707
7	T22	Sotil Morua		Carvenlo Motor Racing		1:52.187	+0.153	+0.860
8	10	Marc Rangneri		Yogutz Lantzia			1:52.244	+0.057	+0.917
9	T28	Generoso Ramírez	Vilita & Turori Motorsports	1:52.334	+0.090	+1.007
10	6	Marie Pitkanen		RBK-Continental Racing		1:52.499	+0.165	+1.172
11	T26	Nauja Panigoniak	Yogutz Lantzia			1:52.984	+0.485	+1.657
12	18	Ludwig Leviossa		WGPC Motorsport Works Two	1:53.184	+0.200	+1.857
13	12	Lukas Forbes		Obeveklig-Farautoo		1:53.269	+0.085	+1.942
14	20	iBen Toralmintii	WGPC Motorsport Works Three	1:53.330	+0.061	+2.003
15	21	Donal O'Connell		WGPC Motorsport Works Three	1:53.596	+0.266	+2.269
16	T27	Johannes Fagerholm	Obeveklig-Farautoo		1:54.242	+0.646	+2.915
17	19	Jordan Dalante Saceta	WGPC Motorsport Works Two	1:54.263	+0.021	+2.936
18	T29	Gaspard Villemarie	WGPC Motorsport Works One	1:54.642	+0.379	+3.315
19	T31	Ryan Milner		WGPC Motorsport Works Three	1:54.734	+0.092	+3.407
20	T25	Andrea McIntyre		Team Revél-Celstar		1:54.897	+0.163	+3.570
21	17	Daniel Freldra		WGPC Motorsport Works One	1:55.085	+0.188	+3.758
22	T30	Alexander Tingis	WGPC Motorsport Works Two	1:55.186	+0.101	+3.859
23	16	Karl Shumertstak	WGPC Motorsport Works One	1:55.941	+0.755	+4.614

[Licentiapacisterra]

Lukas Forbes sighed as he pulled the helmet from his head, and placed it on the table just inside the garage. Yet another mediocre practise session. To be fair to himself, this was a completely new course to him. He’d been so busy promoting Hessington Island as the host circuit for the Licentian Grand Prix that he hadn’t had time to even get through the doors of the AutoRing Pacitalia until the practise. It had cost him.

But, he knew, deep down, that he couldn’t keep blaming his mediocre performances on the car, or the course, or the distractions. Deep down, there was a little doubt that made him ask himself if he was really ready to go big, like he had. He could have been quite happy right now, taking in another season on the Islands, winning another title. Instead, he was in the middle of Atlantian Oceania (a strange place by anyone’s standards), coming up against a bunch of racers who were the best in the world, who had world titles, experience, everything that, right now, made him feel out of his depth. Was he really ready for the WGPC ??

He dismissed the thought from his mind. He needed to concentrate on qualifying well if he wanted any chance of picking up some points before he was ruled out of the championship for good.

[Vilita]

Cruisin, Toralmintii on the Mark in Liventia

Lead Vilita & Turori Motorsports driver R.L. Cruisin scored a top 5 finish in Liventia, although still managed to be out duelled at the end by WGPC Works Driver Jordan Dalante Saceta for the fourth position.

After starting 8th on the grid, Cruisin ran a steady and uneventful race, picking up positions as drivers fell out or made mistakes ahead of him. Despite missing out on the podium, it will be a morale boosting result for Cruisin who re-affirmed himself as the lead driver at VTF1 after eccentric Falcanian whippersnapper Stang Crax barely made it past the opening lap of the race, limping around the track before being lapped and convinced to pull the car onto the pit lane by team management.

It was sheer embarrassment for Crax who was all up and about after scoring the teams first point in Iturributa. R. L. Cruisin now sits 7th in the Driver standings but everyone is chasing the Carvenlo Motor Racing drivers Matthew Portland and Jai Kardaeri. The season favorites in the 1 & 2 cars have already put a 42 point lead on the next team in the standings, ironically the WGPC Works Team two, attributed entirely to the impressive performances of Jordan Dalante Saceta.

WGPC Works Three driver iBen Toralmintii, instrumental in the development of the Vilita & Turori Motorsports World Grand Prix Championship team, proved his experience fighting up to finish in the points for the first time, perhaps leading some credence to his decision to abandon the VTF1 side for a WGPC Works team where he could focus more on driving and less on politicking for sponsorship dollars.

[Kelssek]

Gilles Desbois pounded his fist on the concrete pillar. "You're sure these things are safe? I don't trust overpasses like this. Pieces falling off all the time."

The track marshal looked on pensively. Team principals inspecting track structures certainly wasn't normal, but Desbois had been highly insistent, and "safety concerns" were magic words the organisers were quick to ensure would not be said in public.

"There's been no funny corruption scandals recently, have there been? Especially in the construction industry? Organised crime, biker gangs, sitting on the cafe sipping espresso while their subordinates beat a snitch to death with a chain? Godfather, family, Don Corleone? Anything like that around here?" demanded Desbois.

"Not to my knowledge, no."

"Not to your knowledge? That's exactly what they say during corruption enquiries!" Desbois eyed the overpass with renewed suspicion, running the beam of his torch along the underside of the deck. Eventually, he seemed satisfied and strode back to the waiting safety car.

"Okay, let's go to the other two now. But we drive over, not under! And I want to see the construction firm invoices!"

The marshal emitted a sigh and turned to follow Desbois to the car, hoping he'd soon get tired of this jaunt and leave him in peace.

[Falcania]

Stang was sitting in the bar.

Probably not a healthy development in a Formula 1 driver, he would be the first to admit. But since he had poured himself a strong scotch after his retirement, the voices began to... fade.

Since then he'd been perfecting the balance. His warm-ups had been... erratic. But he'd read the papers, everything from the Examiner to the Icarus had him pegged as a lunatic. He'd read that and felt... vaguely liberated.

"What was this drink called?" He asked the barman.

"An Audioslavian," he said. "Absinthe, Jager and blackcurrant."

"It's pretty disgusting," Stang replied, draining it.

On the bar, his phone buzzed. It was Julian.

Stang smiled. "I'll have a... Caylerden Coffee? Sure."

[Polar Islandstates]

"Don't give me that rubbish! No! No! No it can't possibly be all down to me. Don't you know who I am? I'm the best driver the Federation has to offer! I'm Timo Skye on four wheel for Thor's sake! No. No... No. Listen, just find me some speed, will you? Listen to me. No, Ronnie, listen to me! Find me some speed! I know you're not the chief mechanics or the engineer or the aerodynamic wizard or whatever, and I know you're 'just' the strategist, but you're my oldest friend in the set up. It is you I turn to. Talk to whoever you need to, get them to work harder. That extra half second here and there... whatever. Please, help me Ronnie Kirinen, you're my only hope..."

Aaltonen hung up and pondered slightly. Was that last line too much? He had half a feeling that he'd stolen it from a film somewhere in the banks of his memory. Nonetheless, the point remained. Kirinen knew people, he knew how to make them tick, how to make them work. If there was anyone who was going to get the car to develop, it was Kirinen. Jordahl knew business, not people. Sure, there was an element of talking to people involved in that, but that wasn't Jordahl's game. He was numbers. Money. The hand that feeds. The media friendly face. That guy.

Aaltonen knew neither people nor business. He knew cars. He knew apexes and corners and gears and speed. He knew the wind in his hair. He knew how to get a car around a track faster than other people and get it back to the garage in one piece. The latter he had done several times this season. The former, not so much.

Johannes was hungry, as was Forbes. Vitaliy knew he had to up his game. Even so, some of that had to come from the car. The other two weren't getting anything much out of it yet either. There just wasn't anything there.

He stood up. He was at the top of the grandstand at the AutoRing Pacitalia, looking out over the eerily quiet track - one of the most iconic in the multiverse. He couldn't afford to get humiliated again. Not here, of all places. He's rather spin off in Eysturoy then settle for a third rate performance here.

He started walking down the steps towards the exit. Tomorrow, the place would be full of screaming fans for qualifying. For now, Vitaliy Aaltonen had the silence to him and his thoughts. And there were plenty of thoughts.

[Liventia]

Grande Premio di Pacitalia
Grand Prix of Pacitalia

Qualifying
Drivers had one hour to set up to ten flying laps. Drivers will start based on their best lap time.

Pos	Car	Driver			Team/Constructor		Best Lap	Invl	To best
1	3	Rado Semarche		Postbank Synergent Feria	1:50.364		
2	15	Stang Crax		Vilita & Turori Motorsports	1:50.373	+0.009	+0.009
3	8	Edward Masterson	Team Revél-Celstar		1:50.407	+0.034	+0.043
4	5	Thomas Colson		RBK-Continental Racing		1:50.505	+0.098	+0.141
5	4	Xabier Overtoon		Postbank Synergent Feria	1:50.566	+0.061	+0.202
6	11	Vitaliy Aaltonen	Obeveklig-Farautoo		1:50.624	+0.058	+0.260
7	9	Enaut Londoso		Yogutz Lantzia			1:50.629	+0.005	+0.265
8	12	Lukas Forbes		Obeveklig-Farautoo		1:50.633	+0.004	+0.269
9	2	Jai Kardaeri		Carvenlo Motor Racing		1:50.641	+0.008	+0.277
10	10	Marc Rangneri		Yogutz Lantzia			1:50.663	+0.022	+0.299
11	6	Marie Pitkanen		RBK-Continental Racing		1:50.693	+0.030	+0.329
12	7	Jason Evans		Team Revél-Celstar		1:50.712	+0.019	+0.348
13	19	Jordan Dalante Saceta	WGPC Motorsport Works Two	1:50.743	+0.031	+0.379
14	14	R.L. Cruisin		Vilita & Turori Motorsports	1:50.746	+0.003	+0.382
15	1	Matthew Portland	Carvenlo Motor Racing		1:50.811	+0.065	+0.447
16	20	iBen Toralmintii	WGPC Motorsport Works Three	1:51.160	+0.349	+0.796
17	21	Donal O'Connell		WGPC Motorsport Works Three	1:51.190	+0.030	+0.826
18	17	Daniel Freldra		WGPC Motorsport Works One	1:51.344	+0.154	+0.980
19	16	Karl Shumertstak	WGPC Motorsport Works One	1:51.416	+0.072	+1.052
20	18	Ludwig Leviossa		WGPC Motorsport Works Two	1:51.655	+0.239	+1.291

[The Chosen Caste of the House Cygnus]

Edward Masterson hopped out of his #8 car and headed towards his pit crew, who were cheering him on from the sidelines; he took a moment to pat a flinching, heavily-bruised tyre changer on the shoulder and smiled, to Edward, his 7th placed finish in Liventia (which he blamed that very same tyre changer for) was the last thing on his mind.

"Gentlemen! Ladies. Looks like we're back up where we belong, eh? And if you Grease-Monkeys manage to keep up with me tomorrow, you'll find me at the top of that podium, instead of breathing in the body-spray of some man-ape. Now how's about we get some Bread-Bull and 'tato Cider 'heart-attack specials'?!"

And as soon as Edward came, he was gone, gone for a celebratory night of heavy drinking and chain-smoking before the big race, which was a tradition of his that dated back to when he got his driver's licence in high school.

[Astograth]

The AutoRing Pacitalia is an intimidating circuit, to say the least. Difficult to prepare for, that devilish figure eight unlike most anything he nor Lantzia had ever run into. It stood to reason then, that Postbank Synergent should be topping the qualifying table, having placed both their cars within the top three during practice, though Overtoon had dropped down to 5th in favour of Crax, Masterson and Colson.

Colson... Londoso knew it was time to leave that mess at Talbott behind him, but it wasn't proving easy. The aptly-named Cruisin had overtaken Colson a few laps back, after the safety car restart following the O'Connel/Overtoon collision at the first corner of the race. Londoso had then been on the pace in getting behind the RBK-Continental driver, consistently shaving off tenths of a second. He got close enough to attempt the overtake on the straight between turns 7 and 8, swerving right to go past on the inside - he wouldn't get a good entry onto the next corner, but it wouldn't matter.

Or at least, it shouldn't have. Colson defended well and both drivers found themselves wheel-to-wheel going into the tight eighth corner. Neither gave in. Both braked late. Both turned too close to one another, bumped, skidded and went over onto the run-off area, crashing into the barrier. Both crawled out of their wrecked cars and blamed each other as Masterson and the others flew past. Neither was penalised, the stewards deciding it was a racing incident. Colson was on the racing line but Londoso was clearly the faster car; though they couldn't tell who was more at fault, it stung. Maybe precisely because of that. Sure, he'd only started ninth, but it was only the seventeenth lap - he could've finished within the points. Not even Marc had livened things up at Yogutz Lantzia, dropping down to sixth when it could've been a podium.

Maybe he was just using his bad form as a scapegoat, his seventh place on the grid at Timiocato frankly disappointing considering how certain Lantzia had been that the L1 650 was perfectly optimised for such a fast track. He'd start on the fourth row of the grid, behind Overtoon - who would hopefully not repeat what happened at Talbott- next to Forbes and in front of Kardaeri. Excluding the Nethertopian, a decent group to surround himself when one wants to avoid early incidents, though it was worth noting how poorly Carvenlo did in qualifying. After some encouraging practice times, they'd dropped all pretense of pace. Portland, leading the drivers' championship, would start 15th, just in front of nearly all the works cars; it would, at least, pump some excitement into the title race. Not even a win and a Portland retirement would push Londoso into first, however.

It was also strange, being between the two Farautoos on the timing table. Rumour was they were working on some new parts to boost their extremely mediocre performance, but if that was the case it hadn't really shone through during practice. If they'd gambled with them on qualifying then it had definitely paid off, though it seemed irresponsible to test them then and not in extensive race conditions. Or maybe the drivers had just been slapped to their senses. Having met Aaltonen in the paddock, he didn't seem short on confidence.

Which was, perhaps, what Londoso lacked these days. A less-than-stellar run in your hometown and a dumb crash the following race will do that to you sometimes. With qualifying over and seventh place achieved, it was all up to him and how he felt now. There was only so much his crew could do, and Marc didn't seem to be in any position to help out either.

Just him, his car, and the track. The others were something less than scenery, because that would imply they were worth looking at while passing by.

[Falcania]

"YOU!"

Crax was walking down the corridor of his hotel when the voice was back. He turned, and saw Julian.

"I've been looking all over for you! You've not been answering my calls!"

"Ah, Julian. You've been... on my mind lately. Heh."

"Stang, are you drunk?"

"I've had a drink. Maybe two."

"You... what the hell's going on? You fogged up mere seconds into Liventia. And now you've qualified front of the grid here? You need consistency, kiddo, you need reliability, you need-"

"I need another drink, Julian, and I need you to get out of my face."

[Licentiapacisterra]

Lukas Forbes took his helmet off, stepped out of the car, and punched the air. He loved it when it turned out to plan. The tweaks had improved the car massively. When he went out for qualifying, it felt like a totally new car, even if the tweaks were as minor as they possibly could be. Maybe it was in Lukas’ head, and the tweaks had given him a bit more confidence to push the car harder. Whatever had happened, it had worked.

Forbes saw Aaltonen across the garage. He smiled, and wandered over to the Polarian’s car.

“Hey Vitaliy !!” Forbes chuckled. “You jammy git !! The one time I get in the top 8, and you finish ahead of me !!” Lukas laughed again, as did Vitaliy, and the two men high-fived before going their different ways.

Lukas tried to reflect back on the session, and see what he had done differently here today. There really couldn’t have been that much, as he used the same tactics as usual, aside of maybe a little more aggression. He wasn’t sure what the engineers were doing, but they better keep doing it. He would be next to Londoso, the Iturributan/Astograthi Yogutz Lantzia driver, on the fourth row of the grid, his best performance yet. Now, he just had to keep it going tomorrow, when the time came to really prove that he had improved. Now, that podium spot didn’t seem so far away.

[Liventia]

Grande Premio di Pacitalia
Grand Prix of Pacitalia

Race – 46 laps

Pos	Car	Driver			Team/Constructor		Time/behind    Interval
1	3	Rado Semarche		Postbank Synergent Feria	1:28:14.106	
2	15	Stang Crax		Vilita & Turori Motorsports	  +0:13.208	+13.208
3	8	Edward Masterson	Team Revél-Celstar		  +0:22.496	 +9.288
4	4	Xabier Overtoon		Postbank Synergent Feria	  +0:23.940	 +1.444
5	2	Jai Kardaeri		Carvenlo Motor Racing		  +0:44.875	+20.935
6	12	Lukas Forbes		Obeveklig-Farautoo		  +1:02.049	+17.174
7	6	Marie Pitkanen		RBK-Continental Racing		  +1:08.231	 +6.182
8	11	Vitaliy Aaltonen	Obeveklig-Farautoo		  +1:12.945	 +4.714

9	14	R.L. Cruisin		Vilita & Turori Motorsports	  +1:20.225	 +7.280
10	1	Matthew Portland	Carvenlo Motor Racing		  +1:29.889	 +9.664
11	9	Enaut Londoso		Yogutz Lantzia			  +1:34.462	 +4.573
12	7	Jason Evans		Team Revél-Celstar		     +1 LAP	    LAP
13	18	Ludwig Leviossa		WGPC Motorsport Works Two	     +1 LAP	+40.321
14	19	Jordan Dalante Saceta	WGPC Motorsport Works Two	     +1 LAP	+19.070
15	17	Daniel Freldra		WGPC Motorsport Works One	     +1 LAP	 +8.538
16	20	iBen Toralmintii	WGPC Motorsport Works Three	  CF Lap 45
17	16	Karl Shumertstak	WGPC Motorsport Works One	    +2 LAPS	    LAP
18	5	Thomas Colson		RBK-Continental Racing		  CF Lap 43
NC	21	Donal O'Connell		WGPC Motorsport Works Three	 RET Lap 33
NC	10	Marc Rangneri		Yogutz Lantzia			 RET Lap 26

Driver standings

Pos	Car	Driver			Team/Constructor	
1	2	Jai Kardaeri		Carvenlo Motor Racing		39
2	1	Matthew Portland	Carvenlo Motor Racing		38
3	19	Jordan Dalante Saceta	WGPC Motorsport Works Two	28
4	8	Edward Masterson	Team Revél-Celstar		28
5	3	Rado Semarche		Postbank Synergent Feria	25
6	6	Marie Pitkanen		RBK-Continental Racing		24
7	15	Stang Crax		Vilita & Turori Motorsports	19
8	4	Xabier Overtoon		Postbank Synergent Feria	12
9	9	Enaut Londoso		Yogutz Lantzia			10
10	14	R.L. Cruisin		Vilita & Turori Motorsports	 7
11	12	Lukas Forbes		Obeveklig-Farautoo		 4
12	10	Marc Rangneri		Yogutz Lantzia			 4
13	11	Vitaliy Aaltonen	Obeveklig-Farautoo		 1
14	20	iBen Toralmintii	WGPC Motorsport Works Three	 1
Ties broken by best finish (second best, etc)

Team standings

1	Carvenlo Motor Racing		77
2	Postbank Synergent Feria	37
3	WGPC Motorsport Works Two	28
4	Team Revél-Celstar		28
5	Vilita & Turori Motorsports	26
6	RBK-Continental Racing		24
7	Yogutz Lantzia			14
8	Obeveklig-Farautoo		 5
9	WGPC Motorsport Works Three	 1
10	WGPC Motorsport Works One	 0

Constructor standings

1	Carvenlo Motor Racing		77
2	Postbank Synergent Feria	37
3	WGPC Motorsport Works Two	29
4	Team Revél-Celstar		28
5	Vilita & Turori Motorsports	26
6	RBK-Continental Racing		24
7	Yogutz Lantzia			14
8	Obeveklig-Farautoo		 5

[Asteran]

The staff sat around the conference table, listening in stunned silence to the phone in the middle of the table.

"-or you start looking for a new racing team to run into the ground. Do I make myself clear?" asked the angry voice on the other end of the line.

"Yes, Sir Francis." The line went dead as Jason Southwick leaned back in his chair. "Christ."

"Is he serious?" asked Mikaela Rantanen, the team's engineering director.

"Very," responded Southwick. "Here's the deal. The board wants results. That's it. Tom isn't performing to the level that any of us thought he was capable of. Granted, one of his retirements was due to the gearbox issue, but he hasn't raced like we hoped he would. The board sees that, and they wonder what we do all day when scouting drivers."

"Well, Tim-"
"Tim got fired yesterday." A silence descended over the room as Southwick continued. "The board sent him down first for hiring Tom. And they're out for blood. It might not stop at Tom; word is they're not happy with some of the words coming out of engineering," Southwick said, looking at Rantanen, "and production is having a critical eye cast over it for the mechanical problems. At this point, they want somebody's head. The board expected points finishes in every race from both drivers. Mar has delivered, Tom hasn't."

"So they would disrupt the team's harmony just for one person?" asked Pat White, the technical director.

"Never underestimate the board's pettiness, Pat. These are the same people that once asked me to get rid of Luca because he was 'too old' at 35. Never mind that he was leading the championship; they wanted him gone and replaced with a fresh face. They will find a way to get rid of someone if they absolutely want to."

"So what do we do, then?"

"Well, the test will basically decide Tom's future. If he does better than Jie Hui, he stays on to the next test. If he doesn't, she gets the race seat and he gets demoted, or even released." The other directors began to speak at once, but Southwick silenced them with his hand. "This is the fairest way to do it. Let them duel it out on the track." The others thought for a moment, then assented to the idea.

"Alright. Pat, Mikaela, go get the cars ready. Stefan, start drilling the crew again. I want pit stops down to around three seconds; that hurt us in Pactalia. I'll go talk to the drivers. Emma, compose a quick press release for the media about the test session. And let's hope that nothing has to change." The directors stood up from the table and quietly left the conference room, with the weight of the discussion still on their minds.

[Falcania]

"A Falcanian on the podium. Well I'll be."

Julian was watching Stang Crax cheering. His unfettered wingspan was clearly bothering the winner, who kept nearly dropping his champagne. Crax's own magnum was alternately sprayed into the crowd, and down his own neck.

Julian smiled and waved for the cameras that were inevitably turned his way. The papers had been focusing on him more since the mishap at Liventia. Whispers were mounting that Julian had driven his young charge to distraction. As he watched Crax's gorge pulse as he glugged the vintage champers, he thanked himself that the truth had not quite come out... yet.

At least until the kid cheeked him again, he mused. Drivers could be replaced.

[Liventia]

Inseason Driver Test #1 – Weatherdon

Drivers had 90 minutes to set 22 timed laps of the circuit. Drivers had to do a minimum of three timed laps each time they went out, with no maximum (i.e. a driver could do three laps, come back in, then go out again after 25 minutes for the remaining 19 laps). Refuelling was not allowed.

This means that drivers could, in theory, make changes to the car's setup, gearing etc during the session, as long as they finished the session with all 22 laps clocked.

Ranked by fastest flying lap

Pos	Car	Driver			Team/Constructor		Best lap	Intvl	To best
1	6	Marie Pitkanen		RBK-Continental Racing		1:50.367		
2	5	Thomas Colson		RBK-Continental Racing		1:50.502	+0.135	+0.135
3	1	Matthew Portland	Carvenlo Motor Racing		1:50.636	+0.134	+0.269
4	15	Stang Crax		Vilita & Turori Motorsports	1:50.773	+0.137	+0.406
5	T22	Sotil Morua		Carvenlo Motor Racing		1:50.822	+0.049	+0.455
6	14	R.L. Cruisin		Vilita & Turori Motorsports	1:50.830	+0.008	+0.463
7	10	Marc Rangneri		Yogutz Lantzia			1:50.868	+0.038	+0.501
8	2	Jai Kardaeri		Carvenlo Motor Racing		1:50.870	+0.002	+0.503
9	4	Xabier Overtoon		Postbank Synergent Feria	1:50.949	+0.079	+0.582
10	8	Edward Masterson	Team Revél-Celstar		1:50.961	+0.012	+0.594
11	T23	Seamus Donaghue		Postbank Synergent Feria	1:51.005	+0.044	+0.638
12	11	Vitaliy Aaltonen	Obeveklig-Farautoo		1:51.136	+0.131	+0.769
13	9	Enaut Londoso		Yogutz Lantzia			1:51.147	+0.011	+0.780
14	T26	Nauja Panigoniak	Yogutz Lantzia			1:51.180	+0.033	+0.813
15	7	Jason Evans		Team Revél-Celstar		1:51.189	+0.009	+0.822
16	T24	Jie Hui Tan		RBK-Continental Racing		1:51.191	+0.002	+0.824
17	3	Rado Semarche		Postbank Synergent Feria	1:51.192	+0.001	+0.825
18	12	Lukas Forbes		Obeveklig-Farautoo		1:51.266	+0.074	+0.899
19	18	Ludwig Leviossa		WGPC Motorsport Works Two	1:51.268	+0.002	+0.901
20	21	Donal O'Connell		WGPC Motorsport Works Three	1:51.279	+0.011	+0.912
21	T28	Generoso Ramírez	Vilita & Turori Motorsports	1:51.519	+0.240	+1.152
22	19	Jordan Dalante Saceta	WGPC Motorsport Works Two	1:51.528	+0.009	+1.161
23	20	iBen Toralmintii	WGPC Motorsport Works Three	1:51.529	+0.001	+1.162
24	17	Daniel Freldra		WGPC Motorsport Works One	1:51.536	+0.007	+1.169
25	T27	Johannes Fagerholm	Obeveklig-Farautoo		1:51.730	+0.194	+1.363
26	16	Karl Shumertstak	WGPC Motorsport Works One	1:52.110	+0.380	+1.743
27	T31	Ryan Milner		WGPC Motorsport Works Three	1:52.142	+0.032	+1.775
28	T25	Andrea McIntyre		Team Revél-Celstar		1:52.294	+0.152	+1.927
29	T30	Alexander Tingis	WGPC Motorsport Works Two	1:52.512	+0.218	+2.145
30	T29	Gaspard Villemarie	WGPC Motorsport Works One	1:53.032	+0.520	+2.665

Ranked by total time (22 laps)

Pos	Car	Driver			Team/Constructor		Total time	To best    Interval
1	1	Matthew Portland	Carvenlo Motor Racing		43:47.693
2	T25	Andrea McIntyre		Team Revél-Celstar		44:57.133	+1:09.440 +1:09.440
3	14	R.L. Cruisin		Vilita & Turori Motorsports	45:04.059	+1:16.366    +6.926
4	3	Rado Semarche		Postbank Synergent Feria	45:09.745	+1:22.052    +5.686
5	7	Jason Evans		Team Revél-Celstar		45:17.972	+1:30.279    +8.227
6	19	Jordan Dalante Saceta	WGPC Motorsport Works Two	45:25.078	+1:37.385    +7.106
7	5	Thomas Colson		RBK-Continental Racing		45:25.721	+1:38.028    +0.643
8	T27	Johannes Fagerholm	Obeveklig-Farautoo		45:27.945	+1:40.252    +2.224
9	T28	Generoso Ramírez	Vilita & Turori Motorsports	45:28.461	+1:40.768    +0.516
10	6	Marie Pitkanen		RBK-Continental Racing		45:30.858	+1:43.165    +2.397
11	11	Vitaliy Aaltonen	Obeveklig-Farautoo		45:34.051	+1:46.358    +3.193
12	9	Enaut Londoso		Yogutz Lantzia			45:38.001	+1:50.308    +3.950
13	T23	Seamus Donaghue		Postbank Synergent Feria	46:10.592	+2:22.899   +32.591
14	T22	Sotil Morua		Carvenlo Motor Racing		46:11.710	+2:24.017    +1.118
15	10	Marc Rangneri		Yogutz Lantzia			46:14.627	+2:26.934    +2.917
16	T29	Gaspard Villemarie	WGPC Motorsport Works One	46:23.324	+2:35.631    +8.697
17	12	Lukas Forbes		Obeveklig-Farautoo		46:28.050	+2:40.357    +4.726
18	T26	Nauja Panigoniak	Yogutz Lantzia			46:34.003	+2:46.310    +5.953
19	17	Daniel Freldra		WGPC Motorsport Works One	46:34.902	+2:47.209    +0.899
20	T30	Alexander Tingis	WGPC Motorsport Works Two	46:43.116	+2:55.423    +8.214
21	4	Xabier Overtoon		Postbank Synergent Feria	46:50.852	+3:03.159    +7.736
22	T31	Ryan Milner		WGPC Motorsport Works Three	47:09.262	+3:21.569   +18.410
23	8	Edward Masterson	Team Revél-Celstar		47:21.145	+3:33.452   +11.883
24	21	Donal O'Connell		WGPC Motorsport Works Three	47:27.306	+3:39.613    +6.161
25	20	iBen Toralmintii	WGPC Motorsport Works Three	47:37.184	+3:49.491    +9.878
26	18	Ludwig Leviossa		WGPC Motorsport Works Two	47:38.187	+3:50.494    +1.003
27	2	Jai Kardaeri		Carvenlo Motor Racing		47:47.743	+4:00.050    +9.556
28	16	Karl Shumertstak	WGPC Motorsport Works One	47:56.251	+4:08.558    +8.508
29	15	Stang Crax		Vilita & Turori Motorsports	48:04.473	+4:16.780    +8.222
30	T24	Jie Hui Tan		RBK-Continental Racing		48:51.007	+5:03.314   +46.534

[Liventia]

Practice for the Polarian GP has been postponed by a day to November 21.

[Liventia]

Morua "will get chance" – bosses
Esturoy, POLAR ISLANDSTATES— Carvenlo Motor Racing are expected to give Sotil Morua a race seat for "one or two races" later this season if one of their drivers falls out of the title hunt.

Carvenlo Motoring CEO and former team principal Mark Marsh says he believes current team boss Fred Helmarsson is likely to give the talented Astograth-born driver a chance to race.

Speaking in Polar Islandstates ahead of the inaugural Polarian Grand Prix, Marsh told reporters that should either of Carvenlo's current race drivers Matthew Portland or Jai Kardaeri – both former world champions, and Portland the reigning champion – start to fall behind in the championship race, Morua would likely find himself in a race seat.

While the thought appears unlikely at present time with both Carvenlo drivers heading the championship, Marsh gave Morua his backing.

"I think Sotil has tremendous ability and clearly if given the chance would do well in the Carvenlo car," Marsh said. "Starblaydia or Ad’ihan look like good bets for Freddie to have a look at him.

"We need to be considering our driver lineup for the future especially if Jai returns to Mirrors should they enter a team next season."

[Polar Islandstates]

Vitaliy Aaltonen couldn't quite work out which side of the fence he was supposed to fall on.

One the one hand, he's made it. He'd reached the premier motor racing event in the multiverse and he was scoring points at long last. He was finding fluency, he was finally beginning to understand the way the series worked and operated. He was beginning to understand what it was like to have to work with his teammate, and he was learning more about the car every day. Yes, Forbes had outperformed him in Pacitalia, but he'd wrestled back the pit bragging rights with a decent showing at the tests in Weatherdon. Nothing that was going to set the world alight, but certainly respectable.

And he was beginning to enjoy himself again. This was huge.

For years, he'd been the best driver in the Federation, close fought battles with his rivals notwithstanding, and his arrogance and ego had become used to being at the top of the pile. Polarian motorsport had lead a relatively sheltered life until recently, so the presence of other drivers in the multiverse that might be better than him was something of a shock to the system. Gradually, he had to realise that he wasn't the Timo Skye of the motorsport world, and even Timo had been able to blame his team-mates when things had gone badly. Gradually, his braing had had to re-connect the dots and find his own place in this new hierarchy. He wasn't undisputed top dog anymore, and the more his ego allowed him to admit this fact, the better his results were getter. He was even enjoying the partnership of Forbes in the team.

So, why should the other side of the fence come into it?

He was going home, was he not? Going home to his home grand prix. He'd be able to count on vocal and fierce local support. Except, the track chosen for submission by the FPIMSA was in Eystuory. And Aaltonen was from Torshavn.

Standing on the hills above the circuit, Vitaliy cast his mind back to those four tense seasons, each of which featured a dramatic tussle at the Eysturoy Motorbana. His main rival those four seasons was none other than Marian Martinussen, local Eysturoy hero and commander of legions of obsessed fans. His support was legendary. For the seasons before Aaltonen arrived on the scene, he was the top dog. Until Aaltonen appeared and toppled the leviathan, he was the best driver in the Federation and one of the most recognisable faces in the entire nation. He had mellowed somewhat in his old age, yes, but at the time of their battles in rival championship teams, Aaltonen and Martinussen had been known to force each other off the track.

It had been expected that Martinussen would make his final swansong in the WGPC, but to the dismay of his army of fans, his rival Aaltonen was chosen instead. Heartbroken, Martinussen had retired, and his fans had vowed to never support the Torshavn driver in the series.

Aaltonen watched the mist rise from the forests around the track, the track complex itself only visible by the gas it left in the treeline. Over the next few days it would become packed with Polarians eager to see world standard racing on their shores. Eager to see good racing. Eager to see Aaltonen suffer. He was going to have to win this the hard way. Home race? Not quite.