World Grand Prix Championship 13: RP Thread

[WGPC]

Friday Practice
Race Weekend 9: Grand Prix of Aels

* Conditions: changeable
* Drivers had 90 minutes to complete a maximum of 20 laps. Fastest lap time was recorded.

Pos	Car	Name	Team	
1	64	Crimson LaRoja		    	1:37.731
2	39	Tyler Brooks		    	1:37.734
3	74	Alexandra Mayari	    	1:37.784
4	51	R.L. Cruisin		    	1:37.790
5	15	Alex Dimitrianov	   	1:37.815
6	55	Asao Nadakei		    	1:37.818
7	25	Lovisa Landenberg	    	1:37.840
8	10	Lauren Ashburton	    	1:37.874
9	70	Moisés Delgado		    	1:37.892
10	29	Esteban Guilhermez	    	1:37.894
11	99	Rudolf Ibuna		    	1:37.914
12	1	Alexander Lund		    	1:37.972
13	17	Ryan Harris-Jones	    	1:37.985
14	52	Sayono Souzare		    	1:38.021
15	24	Victoria Gardner	    	1:38.026
16	16	Matt Hingis		    	1:38.054
17	18	Wayne Forrest		    	1:38.121
18	4	Riku Äijälä		    	1:38.152
19	11	Enu Noel		    	1:38.190
20	41	Marcel Tenis		    	1:38.319

[WGPC]

Saturday Qualifying

* Drivers were given ninety minutes to complete up to ten laps of the track. Fastest lap time only was recorded.
Conditions: Wet

1	64	Crimson LaRoja		    	1:38.743
2	74	Alexandra Mayari	    	1:38.979
3	39	Tyler Brooks		    	1:39.006
4	4	Riku Äijälä		    	1:39.007
5	24	Victoria Gardner	    	1:39.116
6	17	Ryan Harris-Jones	    	1:39.145
7	15	Alex Dimitrianov	    	1:39.197
8	18	Wayne Forrest		    	1:39.202
9	10	Lauren Ashburton	    	1:39.243
10	99	Rudolf Ibuna		    	1:39.301
11	16	Matt Hingis		    	1:39.400
12	70	Moisés Delgado		    	1:39.448
13	52	Sayono Souzare		    	1:39.471
14	1	Alexander Lund		    	1:39.474
15	29	Esteban Guilhermez	    	1:39.632
16	11	Enu Noel		    	1:39.739
17	41	Marcel Tenis		    	1:40.537
18	51	R.L. Cruisin		    	1:41.056
19	55	Asao Nadakei		    	1:41.540
20	25	Lovisa Landenberg	    	1:42.421

OOC: Apologies for the late scorination. Sunday's race will be scorinated on Monday night rather than tonight.

[WGPC]

Race Day
Grand Prix of Drayfill

*Laps: 62
Conditions: Changeable

Pos	Car	Name	         Team	        OVERALL TIME	TIME GAP	LAPS DOWN
1	74	Alexandra Mayari	    	1:44:20.369		
2	4	Riku Äijälä		    	+1:18.217	+1:18.217	
3	15	Alex Dimitrianov	    	+1:27.011	+:08.794	
4	39	Tyler Brooks		    	+1:31.357	+:04.346	
5	55	Asao Nadakei		    	+1:33.300	+:01.943	
6	10	Lauren Ashburton	    	+1:34.832	+:01.532	
7	18	Wayne Forrest		    	+ 1 Lap
8	24	Victoria Gardner	       + 1 Lap	            +:04.864	-1
9	99	Rudolf Ibuna		    	+ 1 Lap		+:03.168	-1
10	51	R.L. Cruisin		    	+ 1 Lap		+:01.493	-1
11	17	Ryan Harris-Jones	    	+ 1 Lap		+:00.979	-1
12	16	Matt Hingis		    	+ 1 Lap		+:31.527	-1
13	52	Sayono Souzare		    	+ 1 Lap		+:02.157	-1
14	41	Marcel Tenis		    	+ 1 Lap		+:04.462	-1
15	70	Moisés Delgado		    	+ 2 Laps		        -2

DNF	11	Enu Noel			Ret. Lap 60 
DNF	25	Lovisa Landenberg	        Ret. Lap 47	 
DNF	1	Alexander Lund			Ret. Lap 23
DNF	64	Crimson LaRoja			Ret. Lap 9	
DNF	29	Esteban Guilhermez		Ret. Lap 3

Pos	#	Name			Team				Pts
1	55	Asao Nadakei		Team Dekijika-Tarogama		73
2	1	Alexander Lund		McPahan Racing			71
3	70	Moisés Delgado		Hansa-Nyrota Racing		60
4	15	Alex Dimitrianov	SinoMotors Racing		57
5	51	R.L. Cruisin		Frontiere Racing		56
6	24	Victoria Gardner	Scuderia Fuoco e Ghiaccio	54
7	74	Alexandra Mayari	Scuderia Fuoco e Ghiaccio	52
8	10	Lauren Ashburton	Archer Motorsports		50
9	11	Enu Noel		Aston Tickford Racing		48
10	16	Matt Hingis		McPahan Racing			47
11	99	Rudolf Ibuna		Team Dekijika-Tarogama		42
12	29	Esteban Guilhermez	Aston Tickford Racing		40
13	64	Crimson LaRoja		Frontiere Racing		30
13	4	Riku Äijälä		Telaris Racing			30
15	39	Tyler Brooks		Macllynlleth Clockwork Racing	28
16	17	Ryan Harris-Jones	Macllynlleth Clockwork Racing	19
16	52	Sayono Souzare		Archer Motorsports		19
18	25	Lovisa Landenberg	Hansa-Nyrota Racing		17
19	18	Wayne Forrest		Telaris Racing			14
20	41	Marcel Tenis		SinoMotors Racing		10
21	14	Maxwell Song		SinoMotors Racing		 2

McPahan Racing		        118
Team Dekijika-Tarogama		115
Scuderia Fuoco e Ghiaccio	106
Aston Tickford Racing		 88
Frontiere Racing		 86
Hansa-Nyrota Racing		 77
Archer Motorsports		 69
SinoMotors Racing		 69
Macllynlleth Clockwork Racing	 47
Telaris Racing			 44

[The Glorious Han Chinese]

"Right, good job Alex. Come on in."
"Wow, third."
"Excellent drive, we got a solid points haul."
Alex had finished the race on the podium, in third, while his teammate lingered in fourteenth. Needless to say, Alex was receiving all the good attention. But Vincent is still not satisfied enough. SinoMotors still languished on the bottom of the tables, tied with Archer. And to Vincent, the championship standing were all that mattered. He didn't care about the drivers, or the success they could be enjoying. The drivers move on, all of them. But only the team remains.
Vincent took over the radio.
"Right, good job. Okay, remember, you're still not clear yet. Your record still isn't that good. Focus on next race."

[Nekoni]

"This circuit is bloody fantastic! I'm giving this place a spin in the off-season!" Alex called out to the pit crew as she got out of the car. It was a refreshing change from the start of the season, the changing of the guard and the breaking-in of the car made a great boost to her confidence. The mid-season break made her only more focused, despite taking time out to see family for a few days (surprisingly being able to make it in and out of Varea airport without a pap shoving a microphone into her voicebox), she spent most of it learning the remaining tracks in the season. The final five, of which only one she was familiar with. Round 11: Nekoni International. Home.

After her podium, she hadn't been able to repeat the feat in the next two races, but still finished decent in the points, gaining a 5th and a 7th. However, she had practiced Drefhil in simulators, and it became one of her more favoured ones, sufficiently fast without being too easy, nice and wide to consider taking risks. From her practice run in the car on the real track, it had not let her down, and her time showed.

"Third in practice! Keep that up, you'll be a major podium contender come Sunday!"

---

Saturday came, as did the rain. Driving in the wet had always been a bit of a thorn in the side of Alex this season: Haishang miracles aside, whenever rain came, it seemed to spell trouble for Alex, as a lot of her earlier crashes this year were caused by variations on a theme of aquaplaning.

"Take it easy for the start, then speed up. The rain looks to be staying with us for at least the next hour or so, so don't hold out for any weather changes. You did great in the practice, but this is a different playing field altogether."

As Alex drove out, the spray from the Macllynlleth in front of her buffeting the front of the car and splashing her visor, she went over the track again and again in her head. 'The lap is won or lost at Twigham', she kept repeating, which she felt rather grateful, considering that was one of about five turns she could pronounce. Also, she knew of the other hot spot: the long, sweeping left to immediate hard right of what Minna infamously called "Lullanys...Lillan is...lell-TURN TEN" during the shakedown. She chuckled a little to herself at the memory, and steered out onto the track to begin her date with Drayfill.

A couple of warm-up laps under her belt, and Alex began to start taking some risks. Going right to the edge of Twigham, giving her the best possible speed down the pit straight helped her confidence in the upcoming laps, allowed her to judge the entry speed of the sweepers, the braking points of the switchback towards the end, the line through the unorthodox ending section. Sixth, Alex. Keep it up!

Three laps to go, and Alex was in her stride. The rain didn't seem to faze her any more, the car was in its prime as it weaved through the multitude of curves in Sector 2. Full throttle over Drayfill, she gambled on holding on a split-second longer than before, then heavily pressed the brake, dropped it to second gear, turned sharply, then carried the inertia into Aberwood. Her heart beat faster upon realising that she got away with that turn, and bore down on the final complex. Easing the car around the undulating final left, she knew she had done well, but...was she on the top row?

"SECOND, Alex! Fantastic work!" She had done it! LaRoja had scraped just ahead of her by thousandths, but it was a prime position to start from. In the course of one day, Alex's goal had changed. She no longer felt just scoring decent points was good enough. From second, she wanted to win.

After the post-qualifying brief, Alex grabbed a 2-litre bottle of the sports drink that she and the team had been sponsoring all season, and retired to the trailer. Firing up her laptop, she fired up her simulator for a last minute cram of the circuit. Examining the best spots to overtake, when to turn in on the start line. It was all well and good being fast in a time trial, but tomorrow brought live opponents in the equation, and all but one were going to start staring at her back lights, wanting to shoulder-barge her out of the way, and if she let her, the qualifying would have been for nothing. Alex was determined not to let that happen.

---

The late morning light shone through the garage, bathing Alex and Victoria's cars in a golden light. The reflective nature of the silver paint lit up the rest of the room, with colourful blotches from the sponsor logo appearing on the wall. This was a rather telling reminder for Alex to give the VXR a rest: she ended up grabbing another bottle before the night was through and her breath emanated artificial cherry. Still, better than Fatali's whisky store, she thought...

"Right, you've had two fantastic sessions so far Alex, this is where you reward yourself for the hard work," Minna spoke out to Alex during the final meeting before the race. "Temps look fairly average, rain odds are low 20s, so it's likely to be a dry race. Be on your guard, though."

The actions of the first few seconds would dictate the weekend's outcome, and Alex knew it. To the wild scream of twenty angry engines, the green lights flicked on in sequence...

...and then dropped! Alex immediately cycled through the gears as quickly as the car would allow, determined to escape the advancing pack of metal and burning rubber. Diving into the first turn, she was extremely lucky to not clip the back of LaRoja's wing, and the sudden shock of having to move out of the way caused her to lose a place to Äijälä from the outside. "You can get it back, don't rush it!" Minna reassured through the radio. Alex hummed in agreement, and positioned the car behind the white and blue Telaris. She had 61 laps to overtake two cars. No need to rush anything.

On the opening of lap 7, Mayari got her revenge. Reaching the 180s down the pit straight, she seemed to psych out Riku, causing a lock-up into Turn 1, and allowing Alex to take the inside line through. One down, one to go, but her fight with Riku had opened up a gap between her and Crimson. At least, there was for a while...

"LaRoja has retired. You're in the lead. Don't let it go to your head, we'll have this one in the bag." The lead!? What happened with LaRoja? This was the first time Alex had ever led the pack before, and she was determined to not mess this golden opportunity up. The next few laps were about her pushing the car as far ahead as she could, somehow managing to create a fifteen-second lead over the second place. This was like racing in Varea all over again.

"I feel like I can one-stop this. Any objections?"

"One-stop seems the way to go, keep it up, pit in five."

For what seemed like the type of race that she had waited her whole life for, it was virtually plain-sailing. All she needed to do was bring the car home, navigating around the backmarkers. It was almost like a coming-of-age for her, lapping drivers that, at the start of the season, ran rings around her, even managing to get a double on Delgado. From the spectator's view, they didn't need to focus on her at all, Alex's race was won already. And yet, with the inevitability of victory, Alex still emotionally felt crossing over the line for the final time to the chequered flag and the scream of the crowd. Her first win. By almost 80 seconds. This was a curb stomp.

Alex climbed out of the car to the roaring fans, ripped off her helmet and showed the world a huge smile. A smile the likes of which she never gave since the Nekoni race last season. This was her line in the sand, a first trophy for the cabinet, and finally, FINALLY, the doubters at home could be silenced. Mayari can win races. Fuoco e Ghiaccio are in the top three, merely twelve points off the Constructors' lead. Today, Nekoni can be proud of its motor racing again!

On the podium, to the strains of the Nekonian national anthem, "Blu, Nero e Oro", Alex watched over the crowd and just couldn't believe that she and the team had come along this far. From near-desctruction, largely by Fatali, from the humiliation of terrible results and scandal, somehow, a greater power was smiling over them, and a new, stronger team had risen, out of the ashes. And then, she realised it had come full circle. She was known in Nekoni as the Phoenix, thanks to her comeback, and she had done it again, and with the greater risk, comes the greater reward. She had won one race, and now she knew she could get more.

That night was a rather blurry one, what with the celebrations of her first win, but the next morning, one heavy breakfast (and a friendly reminder from Minna to not overdo it lest she gained a bit of a...ahem...reputation) later, and she was ready for moving. Aels was extremely kind to her this year, and with Laguna calling next, it was up to Alex to follow up this amazing result.

[WGPC]

Gran Premio del Guayabal


Friday Practice

*Conditions: Changeable
*Drivers have 90 minutes to complete a maximum of 30 laps. Fastest lap is recorded.

Pos	Car	Name	Team	
1	74	Alexandra Mayari	    	1:46.004
2	15	Alex Dimitrianov	    	1:46.007
3	16	Matt Hingis		    	1:46.021
4	55	Asao Nadakei		    	1:46.030
5	64	Crimson LaRoja		    	1:46.040
6	24	Victoria Gardner	    	1:46.113
7	99	Rudolf Ibuna		    	1:46.135
8	41	Marcel Tenis		    	1:46.153
9	25	Lovisa Landenberg	    	1:46.201
10	4	Riku Äijälä		    	1:46.223
11	10	Lauren Ashburton	    	1:46.226
12	11	Enu Noel		    	1:46.240
13	70	Moisés Delgado		    	1:46.258
14	29	Esteban Guilhermez	    	1:46.262
15	51	R.L. Cruisin		    	1:46.265
16	52	Sayono Souzare		    	1:46.353
17	17	Ryan Harris-Jones	    	1:46.727
18	39	Tyler Brooks		    	1:46.798
19	18	Wayne Forrest		    	1:46.838
20	1	Alexander Lund		    	1:47.349

[San Jose Guayabal]

CIRCUIT Description

NAME OF CIRCUIT: La Laguna
CITY/TOWN: La Laguna
COUNTRY: San José Guayabal
NAME OF GRAND PRIX: Gran Premio del Guayabal.
TRACK RATING: (5/5)
LAP RECORD: 01:46:004 - Alexandra Mayari.
LENGTH OF ONE LAP: 6.483km.
PRECIPITATION CHANCE: (58%)
TOP SPEED ON PITS: 75 km/h.
AVAILABILITY TO RACE AT NIGHT: Yes, the circuit has proper illumination to do a race at night if the WGPC Council considers it properly.
SUGGESTED START TIME: 21:00.
CAPACITY: 98,000 fans.
VIP BOXES: 1000.
PRESS HALLS: Available,  equipped with A/C, Wi-Fi, 25 computers with enough broadband to upload and download files over 200 GB's, special zones to do press conferences.

Welcome to San José Guayabal for a new race in the World Grand Prix Championships, this is the Guayabalense Grand Prix from the International Circuit of La Laguna, located in the eponymous village, this village is located just 120 kilometers away from San Salvador, a trip by car is a little less than 55 minutes and about 17 minutes in the National Railway Service. La Laguna population is just 15,000 inhabitants and its main industry is manufacturing of home furnishings, fishing and of course racing, is a village founded in 1736 by explorer Joaquin Pereira, when searching for a place near to a food source as it is Lake San Francisco, located just 400 meters down the heart of the village, from the abundance of fish of the Uriá River, it provides good supply for the people and industry, this being part of his typical custom of organizing Sunday markets fully dedicated to the sale of fish, raised in special ponds allowing the reproduction of these in order to keep the population of fish in higher numbers that allow the maintenance of the ecosystem and local fishery.

As for racing, La Laguna is home to major competitors as Moisés Delgado, Irvin Zepeda, Rubén Salazar and others, large banners of motorsport in San Jose Guayabal, other than that the motorsports industry began to sit since the end of the decade 2150, where the first car assembly plants were built, including the test track, which has been completely revamped and modified and this is how the International Circuit of La Laguna born, has not hosted any competition so far with and the WGPC is the perfect way to inaugurate such an innovative circuit bringing the best competitors from around the world to the town of La Laguna in a beautiful autumn night, a circuit that can be quite challenging for those who do not master the technical aspects and acceleration downs or exceed sloping curves and of course the somewhat tricky lake entrace.

The first part of the circuit of the lake shows a slight downward slope in the first corner, which requires good braking, approximately 45-degree turn to the right after coming at a speed of 365-370 kilometers per hour required a braking at the right time and the right proportion in order not to lose pace in the field of curves, something nicknamed "slowdown" properly out of the corner one is indispensable to overcome in Turn 2, which it is an excellent sector to position itself well in the circuit just before you get to "Los Pinos" a fairly sharp curve where a good position allows accommodate and avoid being surpassed in this curve, although it is not easy to overcome by this curve less that the inner side is taken in the optimal speed between about 120-140 kph.

The arrival in "Los Pinos" marks the entrance to the track slower sector, where there are constant curves and where the probability of exceeding is in Turn 4, where there is a slight slope down which allows it to be a fairly rapid curve comparison other, go to 160-200 kilometers per hour is important if you want to exceed and do a good time in this sector of the track, of course you should get a nice boost to the Hairpin Curve 5, the second closed curve circuit where you need to go from 200 mph to 70 kph in a matter of three to four seconds and showing an upward slope, climbing the hills in the area, is not a fit curve to overcome evil but taking the curve be left at a disadvantage to the pilot when approaching the bus stop, just prior to the bus stop straight and this sector are conducive to overtaking or acquisition of advantage in the timeframe, remain at 120 kilometers per hour or less is indispensable for have a good momentum to take the bus stop.

Leaving aside the area of ​​curves, we approach the second fastest section of the track, leaving the bus stop with good momentum will be useful for finding surpass the opponent in "The Fair", located on the side of the Municipal Amusement Park, which It is relatively easy to make at a speed of 160-190 km per hour curve after a pulse exceeding the curve and accelerate quickly is the key to generate an advancement in this curve, resulting in a sector of the track where tilt up it becomes evidenciable but does not prevent the engines roar in the forest sector of the track, reaching speeds of 340 kilometers per hour, even at Turn 9, which is the fastest of the circuit and go out there 350 kph be normal during the race, reaching Turn 10, where the slope becomes more noticeable and you begin to get to "The Corkscrew" an even steeper slope to reach the highest point of the track "The Hill", this point is important to overcome, from this point to the Carved Stone overtaking is nothing fancy, it's something easy to do at that stage.

Taking "The Hill" at 200 kilometers per hour helps to take good momentum through the curve 13, which allows you to go at full speed and the width is the ideal to overcome the opponent, braking medium intensity occurs at Turn 14 and is here that the circuit zone where the most accidents occurred, the "Lake Entrace" is the most dangerous section of the track it can be taken as a fast corner but actually requires good braking to avoid going long and have a spectacular crash against the fence containment that prevents car from falling into the lake shore or within the lake, perfect starting from the turn helps to achieve an excellent acceleration in the "Lake shore", although it does not develop a high speed, this sector is critical to see who will be best placed to achieve to overtake in "the dock" in the line of the lakefront, you can witness the turquoise water of this lake and lush pines located in outline, after taking the curve of the spring, the "carved stone" is a sector where there is a downward slope and then reach "Roulette," a point which can be overcome in a futile attempt where drivers can go long and try to overcome or where they can achieve victory with a superb overtaking, so that when you leave this curve can reach the first corner again at a maximum speed of 370 kilometers per hour, because of its good quality asphalt, it is how the lap concludes in the circuit.

[Mattijana]

After a few more awkward choices earlier on in the season, Alex Dimitrianov was enjoying the latest crop of circuits on the Grand Prix calendar. The previous circuit had made for a great spectacle and was a joy to drive. But la Laguna had it all. Winding turns, but a lot of speed and a lot of opportunities for his style of overtaking.

Not only that, but after a dissapointing run in the mid season, Alex had come off the back of a couple of good results and was confident of another, especially after notching second in practice, just 3 thousandths behind the leader. Marcel was a respectable 8th showing an improvement from the last race. However, the team knew all too well that qualifying and the race were another thing altogether.

[The Glorious Han Chinese]

SinoCom Sports News

SinoMotors to Introduce Upgrades

Ahead of the Gran Premio del Guayabal, SinoMotors Racing has announced that they will be overhauling both cars for qualifying. They will be piloting a new chassis, the SM-1B, for Alex Dimitrianov, while Marcel Tenis will continue to use the "A" version. Tenis's car will also be outfitted with the new chassis next race.

The SM-1B chassis is expected to improve the aerodynamic performance of the SM-1A. The front wing has been modified, the most obvious change being the two tier cascade swapped out for a three tier design. Slits have been added to the nose to improve the airflow under the car. On the bodywork itself, the shape of the sidepod outlets at the rear of the car now encourages more airflow into the back of the car, while the exhaust has been redesigned to shrink the profile. New engines will also be issued to both drivers, with the combustion engine upgraded to deliver more horsepower on the straights.

Alex Dimitrianov is optimistic about the potential of the new chassis saying, "It's verly late into the season, and the original chassis has already proven itself to be a contender, all we expect it to do is to put some more distance between us and the rest of the midfield for the last few races." SinoMotors also expects the upgraded engine to contribute to the gap between them and some of the other teams. According to the team principal, Vincent Liu, "[...] I believe the upgraded engine can give us the boost we need to get some solid points for the last few races of this disappointing season. Also, we will be using what we've learned from the original engine and the upgrades to lay a foundation for a better package next year."

[WGPC]

Saturday Qualifying

* Drivers had 90 minutes to record a maximum of ten flying laps. Fastest is recorded.
* Conditions: Dry

Pos	Car	Name		
1	18	Wayne Forrest		    	1:45.759
2	70	Moisés Delgado		    	1:45.780
3	51	R.L. Cruisin		    	1:45.793
4	74	Alexandra Mayari	    	1:45.812
5	24	Victoria Gardner	    	1:45.814
6	55	Asao Nadakei		    	1:45.821
7	41	Marcel Tenis		    	1:45.840
8	4	Riku Äijälä		    	1:45.842
9	25	Lovisa Landenberg	    	1:45.884
10	99	Rudolf Ibuna		    	1:45.885
11	1	Alexander Lund		    	1:45.915
12	15	Alex Dimitrianov	    	1:45.943
13	52	Sayono Souzare		    	1:45.987
14	29	Esteban Guilhermez	    	1:46.020
15	10	Lauren Ashburton	    	1:46.082
16	64	Crimson LaRoja		    	1:46.099
17	17	Ryan Harris-Jones	    	1:46.105
18	16	Matt Hingis		    	1:46.318
19	39	Tyler Brooks		    	1:46.434
20	11	Enu Noel		    	1:47.132

Tomorrow's Grid

[Krytenia]

9:47am

"So it's a done deal then?"

Mike Dewhurst was sitting in his motorhome in the Guayabalense GP paddock. Sitting opposite him, the man who was about to be his paymaster. Andrew Swann, recent heir to the Cygnus Technologies fortune. Swann, a massive petrolhead, put pen to paper on a contract that would see him become the new owner of the Aston-Tickford team. He signed with a flourish, and like that, the world - or at least that portion of the world where orange, white, and black WGPC cars were king - was his.

"All done. So, care to show me around?"

"Of course. You did let me keep my job after all..."

1:31pm

"And that brings us to the end of an abysmal qualifying run for the ATR cars. Steb Guilhermez will start fourteenth, whist the Madesene, Enu Noel, will be dead last after some shocking driving..."

1:38pm

"What the hell was that?!? You aren't a Grand Prix driver, you're a disgrace!" Andrew Swann was rather red in the face as he raged at Enu Noel. "You know what, don't answer that. I've seen your driving the last few Grand Prix. You've been out of sorts, out of shape...you look like someone's injected pie gravy directly into your veins. You're an embarrassment, Enu."

"Mike, who is this guy?"

"I am the new owner of this team, and I'm the man writing your cheques. Or at least I was. Pack your bags, son, go home, and don't bother showing your face at the race tomorrow: I'm paying out the rest of your contract. Enu Noel, you are fired with immediate effect."

[Hodori Motorsports]

After the post-qualifying debrief, Souzare lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Hearing her phone vibrate from somewhere in the room, she got up to hunt the device down.

k.hakusa
Sa~yo~no~~
Good luck tomorrow
13th again
Starting right behind Lund again too

Sou52
Yeah
Couldn’t get a better lap in
Hoping we don’t have another problem like last race

k.hakusa
You’ll do fine
Also, since I know you don’t pay much attention to these things
I heard some things through the grapevine

Sou52
Oh?

k.hakusa
Hansa-Nyrota’s sponsors pulled out last grand prix
They’re not expected to make the next one

Sou52
Hm

k.hakusa
Supposedly Aston-Tickford wants Delgado to replace Noel
Who they reportedly just fired
But Ensadrink’s also eyeing Delgado to replace Ibuna
Ensadrink’s still considering Bunn too
But he seems to still be busy with other commitments
Also, there’s a rumour that Nadakei will continue to drive for Ensadrink GP next season
And Dekijika’s working on their own engine
Apparently scrapped their 2.4l v8
And are now working on a wgpc-spec turbo v6

Sou52
Ooh

k.hakusa
Since they couldn’t develop one in time for this season
Maybe it’ll be on the grid for WGPC14
Don’t know how they’d designate their hybrid powerplants
Since I don’t think Dekijika makes hybrids

Sou52
Likely some variation of Vh/e160k

k.hakusa
I know Sakite and Tarogama both stick “H” at the end of the designations
Yeah, probably

Sou52
Tarogama’s probably going to field one of their own
Sell it to other teams

k.hakusa
V616trh?
I could see it happening
Either way, there’s likely going to be an announcement between this grand prix and the one in Nekoni

Sou52
Send me the link when they make one

k.hakusa
I will
Maybe you’ll have read the announcement by the time I message you

Sou52
Maybe

k.hakusa
Battery’s running low
Also

Sou52
Depends on how much free time I have

k.hakusa
Speaking of Nekoni

Sou52
And if I’m not too exhausted

k.hakusa
Keep your hands off the natives

Sou52
Okay
If I ask nicely enough and they let me, can I touch their ears?

k.hakusa
No >:(
Keep
Your

Sou52
Aww :<

k.hakusa
Hands
Off
The
Natives

Sou52
But cat ears are so cute~

k.hakusa
Don’t even think about it

Sou52
Okay :<

k.hakusa
Touch an ear that doesn’t belong to you or me
And you’re sleeping on the couch for a week when you come back home

Sou52
What if I win a race? :p

k.hakusa
No

Sou52
Okay :<
-----
So...
-----
I’m guessing by your silence your phone battery died

[WGPC]

Sunday's Race: Gran Premio del Guayabal

Conditions: Dry
Laps: 48

Pos	Car	Name			Team		Race Time	Time Gap
1	10	Lauren Ashburton	    	1:28:01.177		
2	74	Alexandra Mayari	    	+00.181		+00.181	
3	24	Victoria Gardner	    	+11.593		+11.412	
4	4	Riku Äijälä		    	+25.793	        +14.200	
5	29	Esteban Guilhermez	    	+29.885		+04.091	
6	55	Asao Nadakei		    	+37.176		+07.291	
7	25	Lovisa Landenberg	    	+42.901		+05.726	
8	15	Alex Dimitrianov	    	+48.304		+05.403	
9	41	Marcel Tenis		    	+1:06.584	+18.280	
10	1	Alexander Lund		    	+1:10.430	+03.845	
11	64	Crimson LaRoja		    	+1:16.687	+06.257	
12	52	Sayono Souzare		    	+1:28.980	+12.294	
13	99	Rudolf Ibuna		    	+1 Lap
14	39	Tyler Brooks		    	+1 Lap	        +14.701
15	70	Moisés Delgado		    	Ret. Lap 47

DNF	18	Wayne Forrest		    	Ret. Lap 29	
DNF	51	R.L. Cruisin		    	Ret. Lap 26	
DNF	16	Matt Hingis		    	Ret. Lap 22
DNF	17	Ryan Harris-Jones	    	Ret. Lap 21

(Delgado's result is classified due to having completed 90% of the race).

DRIVERS STANDINGS WITH THREE RACES TO GO
1	55	Asao Nadakei		Team Dekijika-Tarogama		79
2	10	Lauren Ashburton	Archer Motorsports		75
3	1	Alexander Lund		McPahan Racing			72
4	74	Alexandra Mayari	Scuderia Fuoco e Ghiaccio	70
5	24	Victoria Gardner	Scuderia Fuoco e Ghiaccio	68
6	70	Moisés Delgado		Hansa-Nyrota Racing		60
6	15	Alex Dimitrianov	SinoMotors Racing		60
8	51	R.L. Cruisin		Frontiere Racing		56
9	11	Enu Noel		Aston Tickford Racing		48
9	29	Esteban Guilhermez	Aston Tickford Racing		48
11	16	Matt Hingis		McPahan Racing			47
12	99	Rudolf Ibuna		Team Dekijika-Tarogama		42
13	4	Riku Äijälä		Telaris Racing			40
14	64	Crimson LaRoja		Frontiere Racing		30
15	39	Tyler Brooks		Macllynlleth Clockwork Racing	28
16	25	Lovisa Landenberg	Hansa-Nyrota Racing		21
17	17	Ryan Harris-Jones	Macllynlleth Clockwork Racing	19
17	52	Sayono Souzare		Archer Motorsports		19
19	18	Wayne Forrest		Telaris Racing			14
20	41	Marcel Tenis		SinoMotors Racing		12

21	14	Maxwell Song		SinoMotors Racing		2

It is mathematically impossible for drivers below the line to win the title.

CONSTRUCTOR'S STANDINGS WITH THREE RACES TO GO
Scuderia Fuoco e Ghiaccio	138
Team Dekijika-Tarogama		121
McPahan Racing			119
Aston Tickford Racing		96
Archer Motorsports		94
Frontiere Racing		86
Hansa-Nyrota Racing		81
SinoMotors Racing		74
Telaris Racing			54
Macllynlleth Clockwork Racing	47

Due to Vermark having CTE'd, Hansa-Nyrota Motorsports are expelled from the championship. As per TG/PM request, HNR's driver Moises Delgado will join Aston-Tickford Racing for the final three races of the season. His points earned in the driver's championship will not be affected. The points he earned as a driver for Hansa-Nyrota will, naturally, not carry over to his new team.

The WGPC frowns on the way in which Enu Noel was fired, but will not take any action against Aston-Tickford.

[Kyrjasmark]

OOC: Posted with wrong nation. Sorry.

[Barunia]

It had been an interesting day for Lauren Ashburton. Starting in 15th, she had her teamate Sayono right in front of her. That was good, and for the first few laps the Archer girls worked as a team, moving up the pack. Ahead, the other all-female team, Scuderia, were also working together up the top of the order. Blocking out the opposition, Scuderia built an early lead.

By the halfway point, Lauren had left Sayono and was now challenging for the lead, along with Delgado and Nadeki. By three quarters, Nadeki had dropped off, and there were four left at the top: Lauren, Moises, Alex Mayari, and Victoria Gardner. The Scuderia team had the advantage of two cars, and they were working it. Then, on the second last lap, Delgado made his move. overtaking Gardner on the outside, Delgado turned to sharply and lost control, spinning out across the track. The vehicle slid across Gardner's racing line, forcing her to take evasive action, and it was all Lauren needed to cruise past in open road. Now she just had one more beat.

Lauren found herself on Mayari's tail heading in the final lap. The Scuderia driver blocked Lauren at every turn, and now there was only one left. The Roulette. "Probably named because it makes you spin." Though Lauren grimly. "Well, time to put it all on black..."
Gritting her teeth, she shifted as if she was going to overtake Alex on the outside through the turn, then braked, wrenched the wheel, lined up the nose with the apex, and mashed the accelerator. And flew past Mayari and down the straight to another podium finish.

[Nekoni]

NTR Sport 1 // The Paddock: 13, October 18h00

"Welcome to The Paddock, your prime spot for the main stories and talking points of motorsport, both in Nekoni and abroad! Although this episode, it seems to be a local special, with all eyes on the WGPC circus setting up shop in Marina Point as we speak! We've got reporters on the front line ensuring that any and all news that comes from there you will hear right here first! We have white-hot touring car and superbike action from Novareza coming up, but first, we're going (where else?) to the Nekoni International Circuit, for a look at the next event on the GP calendar.

---

We're back in Nekoni for round eleven of the WGPC, for an exciting blast around the stunning Nekoni International Circuit, situated in picturesque Marina Point. The circuit, created in 1996 to provide a location in the country for the planet's premier motorsport series, is a slightly different beast from the one the teams graced last year. In an effort to increase speeds, increase overtaking, and to generally increase the excitement for the fans, the track layout has been heavily modified, with 800 metres added to its length. Fan favourite The Sling is the only main part of the circuit to remain unchanged.

Marina Point is a bustling, vibrant city on the coast of Nekoni, with nearly 700,000 living here. The breezes from the Canera Sea may be just the ticket for the race's spectators to beat the heat, but they do nothing to cool the tension as the championship enters its endgame, with the driver and constructor championships still wide open, and with both SFeG drivers coming back from the brink and stronger than ever, the home crowd will be at its most fervent!

A lap of the fifty-three that drivers will face on Sunday begins with the Almaci Straight, nearly a kilometre in length, slightly inclined upwards. Drivers reach the highest altitude of the course at the end of the straight, into a new challenge for this year: Primero. These two turns can be taken at third gear, and are designed to be taken as one increasingly tigher curve. Will we see some tactical play here, sacrificing the first apex to get a better approach on the harder Turn 2? From there we get our first downhill blast towards the redesigned Monti. No longer a hairpin, but still a slow complex where overtaking is possible, but tricky.

Following the exit of Turn 5, the track rides over the crest of a hill, the slightly-banked Turn 6, which deceptively can be taken flat out, entering the remnants of the old Complex, a simple right hander, followed by the much more demanding second-gear Turn 8. We then come on to the fun part, the beginning of The Sling, a series of sweeping, banked lefts, gradually rising, before dramatically going downhill, upon which the track straightens out, and the stunning view of the city's namesake marina becomes the backdrop to the driver's descent.

There's not much time to admire the view, as the driver comes to the Coast Corner, which has been loosened to provide even greated speeds for what precedes it. Under the watchful eyes of where a certain red-haired driver would be if she wasn't racing this weekend, a quick right tends to a sharper left, and we come to the Lungomare, lengthened to 1,005 metres this year. Drivers will come close to their top speeds here, as the lowest point of the track is on this straight, which will easily allow 330km/h to be broken. A wall of smooth rock provides a challenge to drivers alongside the left of the track, should any attempts at overtaking on here go awry.

Where The Sling led to the downhill, the ascent to the finish begins here; in the final turns, the track will increase in altitude by over 30 metres. After the tight left of Turn 14, the driver eases into 15, and up the switchback. The road flattens out into Doppio Nova, an extension of the original Doppio. The turn has a tight sting at the beginning, but where the old turn continues to 180 degrees, the turn is wider, allowing a smoother ride up the hill into 17, leaving the driver to enter the final Triplex left handers. All three apexes can be hit fairly easily, but the tight Turn 20 allows a driver to attempt a last-second overtake upon the re-entry into Almaci.

So there we are, 53 laps and 1060 turns that will define this season. And no other team will be feeling this more than our home side, Scuderia Fuoco e Ghiacci...

---

What a difference mere months make...cast your minds back to the start of the season. The team, led by Fatali entered the series at Liventia in uncharted territory, and left it as mobile chicanes, with Alexandra Mayari in 15th, and Victoria Gardner making her race debut the last to finish in 19th. If the season started badly, worse was to come. Over the next three races, retirements and mechanical failures dogged the team, leaving them anchored to the bottom of the table, with Mayari yet to score. If results on the track weren't bad enough, off-track, tempers within the team were noticeably frayed, until after qualifying in Vilita, the pressure cooker blew.

We all remember the moment where Fatali came to blows with Mayari. Whilst the bruises would heal from the assault, the team seemed to be in an incurable downward swoop. Surely, it would take a miracle to save SFeG's reputation...and they got one.

From the next race at Alexwood, the morale and the fortunes of the team has nearly completely turned around. The old guard is out, possibly for good, and in his place, directing the pit team we have the calm and collected Patrice Minna. It seems the team needed to take a gamble, and from the start, it seems that it's worked. Mayari got onto the scoreboard with a 10th place finish, but it was at Haishang that she finally showed what the team could do. From the starting flag, she comandeered an eighth-row qualification into a podium, with Gardner securing a 2-3 finish. Two strong points-scoring finishes later, two podium finishes for Gardner later...and it was time for Aels.

You only need to look at Mayari's face on the podium to know what that getting hers and the team's maiden win meant to her. Given the start of the season, we've been through one of the best rags-to-riches stories in motorsport, and it's not even over yet. Another double podium which so easily could have been a second win at Laguna, and despite all odds, SFeG are currently leading the pack in the constructors championship by 17, with both of the drivers mere points off the lead for the individual gold.

With three races remaining, it's too early to call, but it's well within reason to believe that the ultimate underdog team can snatch a shock win, and you know that the end of the season is going down right to the wire. So, onward to Marina Point, where we can expect a nail-biting duel to the finish.

[WGPC]

Friday Practice
The Grand Prix of Nekoni

* Drivers have 90 minutes to complete a maximum of 20 laps
* Fastest laptimes are recorded.
* Conditions: Dry

Pos	Car	Name		Team	
1	74	Alexandra Mayari	    	1:43.178
2	29	Esteban Guilhermez	    	1:43.356
3	52	Sayono Souzare		    	1:43.382
4	55	Asao Nadakei		    	1:43.425
5	16	Matt Hingis		    	1:43.474
6	15	Alex Dimitrianov	    	1:43.512
7	10	Lauren Ashburton	    	1:43.528
8	51	R.L. Cruisin		    	1:43.567
9	64	Crimson LaRoja		    	1:43.570
10	99	Rudolf Ibuna		    	1:43.577
11	24	Victoria Gardner	    	1:43.583
12	70	Moisés Delgado		    	1:43.646
13	39	Tyler Brooks		    	1:43.752
14	17	Ryan Harris-Jones	    	1:43.793
15	1	Alexander Lund		    	1:43.822
16	18	Wayne Forrest		    	1:43.884
17	41	Marcel Tenis		    	1:43.897
18	4	Riku Äijälä		    	1:44.134

[WGPC]

Saturday Qualifying

* Drivers have 90 minutes to complete a maximum of ten laps.
* Conditions: Dry

Pos	Car	Name		
1	29	Esteban Guilhermez	    	1:43.214
2	74	Alexandra Mayari	    	1:43.302
3	16	Matt Hingis		    	1:43.320
4	55	Asao Nadakei		    	1:43.328
5	99	Rudolf Ibuna		    	1:43.403
6	1	Alexander Lund		    	1:43.425
7	70	Moisés Delgado		    	1:43.443
8	10	Lauren Ashburton	    	1:43.482
9	64	Crimson LaRoja		    	1:43.507
10	52	Sayono Souzare		    	1:43.561
11	51	R.L. Cruisin		    	1:43.568
12	24	Victoria Gardner	    	1:43.701
13	18	Wayne Forrest		    	1:43.745
14	39	Tyler Brooks		    	1:43.933
15	15	Alex Dimitrianov	    	1:44.417
16	4	Riku Äijälä		    	1:44.479
17	17	Ryan Harris-Jones	    	1:44.529
18	41	Marcel Tenis		    	1:45.374

Starting grid for Sunday's race can be seen here

[Hodori Motorsports]

Dekijika Racing Announces Future Motorsport Plans
Current Operations Expected to Continue
en.super-option.co.hd/art=514556
Yesterday afternoon, after qualifying for the Grand Prix of Nekoni, Director of Operations at Dekijika Racing Kaikato Yarasuma has announced at a press conference Dekijika’s plans for both the upcoming domestic season and the next World Grand Prix Championship season.

In ENSADRINK GT1, the fleet of Dekijika Hebu will remain at three units; one each fielded by Dekijika Racing (No.16 Dekijika Vulpine Sportif Hebu with Tenade Yarateha and Stephen Legge), Reitoude Motor Sport (No.18 Dekijika Tropika Hebu with Hokotai Kazuki and Koshimuto Setaki), and defending GT1 Driver’s Champion SUPER OPTION Motorsport (No.1 Dekijika SUPER OPTION Hebu with Susazako Deyomi and Yarako Samoni). In GT2, those same teams will field the Dekijika Saku (respectively; No.17 with Komuto Sugoni and Etomiko Sayome, No.19 with Ashano Sidame and Sakiteno Suyaji, and No.222 with Denao Yazaki and Sezato Kizaji). The GT2 Dekijika fleet is joined by Taozare Racing’s No.193 Dekijika Nagae Tropicorp Saku to be piloted for the season by Taroko Arani and Keyano Sakuji and joined by Seriko Gizami for the 17th ENSADRINK 1000.

In the Yemigama HPI Formula Touring Championship, five teams and seven cars will be powered by Dekijika’s VS/E340E engine. Dekijika Racing, competing with the usual Vulpine Sportif colours, will field Asao Nadakei (No.1) and Ensato Seruki (No.2), with a currently unannounced driver to fill in for Nadakei in the planned Yakumicha exhibition event to be held in support of the Grand Prix of Hodori. SUPER OPTION Motorsport, the second of two Dekijika-powered teams fielding two cars, once again sees Kobaieto Tashika (No.111) and Tagako Samogi (No.222) in the cockpits. The remaining three teams to be supplied are all single-car privateer entries, consisting of Shuseo Infini with KizaCera (No.8 Dekijika Infini KizaCera FH170T), Team ten★GU (No.09 Dekijika REIUJI Tropicorp FH170T), and Taozare Racing (No.193 Dekijika Nagae Tropicorp FH170T).

With regards to the next season of the World Grand Prix Championship, Director Yarasuma has confirmed that Asao Nadakei will again be the number one driver, with a continuation of the partnership with Tarogama Motors as the engine supplier. With this continuing partnership, it is planned for the Tarogama V824NR to again power the car as development continues for the 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 power unit to be introduced for the 15th World Grand Prix Championship season.

[WGPC]

Race day: The Grand Prix of Nekoni

* Laps: 53
* Conditions: Dry

Pos	Car	Name			Team		OVERALL TIME	TIME GAP
1	74	Alexandra Mayari	    	1:35:10.395		
2	1	Alexander Lund		    	+:03.069	+:03.069	
3	16	Matt Hingis		    	+:09.058	+:05.988	
4	29	Esteban Guilhermez	    	+:28.474	+:19.416	
5	24	Victoria Gardner	    	+:32.724	+:04.249	
6	70	Moisés Delgado		    	+:41.727	+:09.004	
7	99	Rudolf Ibuna		    	+:51.535	+:09.808	
8	10	Lauren Ashburton	    	+1:08.186	+:16.651	
9	41	Marcel Tenis		    	+1:13.849	+:05.663	
10	17	Ryan Harris-Jones	    	+1:32.011	+:18.162	
11	55	Asao Nadakei		    	+1:37.949	+:05.938	
12	52	Sayono Souzare		    	+ 1 Lap
13	18	Wayne Forrest		    	+ 1 Lap		+:01.296	
14	15	Alex Dimitrianov	    	+ 1 Lap	        :02.823
15	39	Tyler Brooks		    	+1 Lap		+:18.314
16	4	Riku Äijälä		    	+2 Laps

DNF	64	Crimson LaRoja		    Ret. Lap 40
DNF	51	R.L. Cruisin		    Ret. Lap 10

DRIVER STANDINGS

Pos	#	Name	Team	Pts
1	74	Alexandra Mayari	Scuderia Fuoco e Ghiaccio	95
2	1	Alexander Lund		McPahan Racing			90
3	55	Asao Nadakei		Team Dekijika-Tarogama		79
4	10	Lauren Ashburton	Archer Motorsports		78
5	24	Victoria Gardner	Scuderia Fuoco e Ghiaccio	76
6	70	Moisés Delgado		Hansa-Nyrota / Aston Tickford	66
7	16	Matt Hingis		McPahan Racing			61
8	15	Alex Dimitrianov	SinoMotors Racing		60
9	29	Esteban Guilhermez	Aston Tickford Racing		58
10	51	R.L. Cruisin		Frontiere Racing		56
11	11	Enu Noel		Aston Tickford Racing		48
12	99	Rudolf Ibuna		Team Dekijika-Tarogama		46

13	4	Riku Äijälä		Telaris Racing			40
14	64	Crimson LaRoja		Frontiere Racing		30
15	39	Tyler Brooks		Macllynlleth Clockwork Racing	28
16	25	Lovisa Landenberg	Hansa-Nyrota Racing		21
17	17	Ryan Harris-Jones	Macllynlleth Clockwork Racing	20
18	52	Sayono Souzare		Archer Motorsports		19
19	41	Marcel Tenis		SinoMotors Racing		14
19	18	Wayne Forrest		Telaris Racing			14
21	14	Maxwell Song		SinoMotors Racing		 2

Drivers below the horizontal line can no longer win the driver's championship. Two races to go.

Constructor's Standings
Scuderia Fuoco e Ghiaccio	171
McPahan Racing			151
Team Dekijika-Tarogama		125
Aston Tickford Racing		112
Archer Motorsports		 97

Frontiere Racing		 86
Hansa-Nyrota Racing		 81
SinoMotors Racing		 76
Telaris Racing			 54
Macllynlleth Clockwork Racing	 48

Teams below the horizontal line can no longer win the championship. Two races to go.

[Nekoni]

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome home. Let's give the home crowd something to cheer for." As the team arrived at Marina Point, Alex Mayari knocked back the last drizzle of energy drink from her branded sports bottle and gazed outwards at the sun setting over the Canera Sea. Even though she had seen the view hundreds of times before staring out of her window at home, she felt goosebumps coming up the length of her arm. She was back home finally, and it hit her again how much she had grown in the last few months. When she was clutching a bag of ice to her face in Vilita, she had never even dreamed of getting a podium finish again, let alone notching up three. She had already won her maiden race, and to have done it so effortlessly by a cushion of over a minute just highlighted how much she had improved. Currently, she was in the prime of life, and she never wanted these feelings to end.

Friday morning, and the mood was encouraging. After all, Alex had been there before, last season. She had been strong all weekend, and managed to grab a third place finish in a fairly underpowered car. The SFeG could run rings around the Yognutz, so there was naturally talk of a podium. However, as Patrice assured everyone, "most of the track has changed. It's nearly a new circuit, so both of you, treat this like a completely new area. Don't let the home advantage get to you, they've expected a lot from us. We balls this up, they're going to be disappointed."

The qualifying session went extremely well for Mayari. The new changes to the track were exactly what the circuit needed. Perhaps too much over-reliance on turns that started simple and gradually got harder, but this made the track a little easier to memorise. "You're miles ahead, Alex. Keep this up all weekend, you've got this," came the radio, and with every lap, Alex was shaving fraction after fraction off her best time, ending up with a strong low 1'43, easily in first.

---

Saturday came, and Alex was as determined as ever. The forecast, as it was yesterday, was predicted to be dry in the high 20s all weekend, just perfect for racing. She hadn't had a pole position yet, but it felt like today was her day. The first half went as predicted. Alex very much set the pace of the session's start, quickly posting a mid-1'43. Through the next five laps, she was able to get this down to .302. "I'm coming in, I think I've got this."

Alex pulled in and grabbed a drink to go over the setup of the car for tomorrow's race, convinced that she would be starting from pole. Of course, the other drivers weren't planning on this. Over the next few minutes, the other drivers were posting times perilously close to her time. The two ENSADRINK drivers hitting the low 1'43s. Hingis coming within .2, but still, her name was in gold at the top of the screen, until, with twelve minutes to go, the inevitable happened.

"Alex, get your arse back in the car, Guilhermez is polling!" How did he do that!? Alex was convinced she couldn't get anything more out of the car, but it looks like she had to. She ran to the car, practically vaulted into it, and, when the pit crew had finished her checks, she rolled out, with three laps to cover in the remaining eight minutes of the session. After the initial warming up of her tires, she went for it...

"You're waaaaay off the pace, Alex. I think you got the strategy wrong today." Patrice was right. The break in the middle had thrown Alex's concentration off. She was half a second down after the first lap, and the second didn't look much better at all. "I'm sorry, I'll make it up on the race."

It was a bit unnatural for Alex, having to apologise for only coming second, but the disappointment in herself was evident from her voice. During the technical meeting, she spoke up. "I know it's still great that I'm in second, but...I cost the team its first pole today, and I'm genuinely, genuinely sorry I messed that up." She remembered that last year, she finished the Nekoni practice in first, qualified in second, and slipped to third on raceday. Considering her three podium places already, she would see that as almost a failure if a repeat was to occur.

She settled down into her usual pre-race meal of salmon in front of the TV highlights of the qualifying session, before catching an early night. Tomorrow needed a good start, and she was not going to be caught unawares.

---

"Hey, Alex," one of the mechanics quipped with Mayari before the. "You seen that Souzare? Seeing her in the pit lane here's like watching a kid in a sweet shop." He was right. The Archer garage was right next to theirs, and she had been walking around there with a sense of dreamy disbelief for some reason. Alex was curious. She went outside to where Sayono was and called her over.

"Hey, Sayo! Is there...something up?" Alex had a lot of time for her, being a female driver in her early-20s, both struggling in the early races, although they were rivals on-track, off it, they bonded and were practically friends.

Sayono blushed. "It's...nothing really. Seriously, nothing."

"Really? You look...well...stoned."

"OK, it's...the ears. They're so...adorable!" Alex blushed a little as well. Hodori seemed to have a thing for cat ears, particularly along its young female population, and the fact that Sayono was in a country full of people with them was a little too much to bear.

"Ah, right...I forgot to tell you about that. Yeah, we've all got them. I...probably should have let you know."

Sayono said nothing, and continued to blush.

---

Light comic relief aside, Alex got her head in the game for the race. 53 laps of her favourite circuit. She'd have to go around the outside to get the edge on Guilhermez. "Right, Alex. I think you can one-stop this," Minna advised through the pit radio. "Don't rely on it though, we don't know what the pack's going to be like." As the lights blew out, Alex pushed her foot to the floor, and bore down towards Primero. At the turn, Alex attempted to fit into the line of drivers, but was shut out by the advancing group. She exited the turn in fifth. "You've turned around worse than this, get back in there!"

Somehow, through the first few laps, Alex couldn't get ahead of Lund, who had a decent start and was determined to not give it up. Every opportunity that Lund gave at passing, he would correct moments later, displaying all the skills that one would expect from the defending champion. Ten laps in, Alex was still tailing Lund, but, due to early errors of the leading pack, both were in the podium places.

"Third is good, but push! You can take him!"

"I'm trying! He's sticking me out at arms' length here! I can't get a clean shot!"

"Ahaha, you said 'me out'. If Souzare would have heard you meow she'd-"

"THIS IS NOT THE TIME!"

Lap 19, and both the drivers' tires had seen much better days. Lund pitted, leaving Alex out there in second. She reasoned that if she could hold out one more lap, she would have greater grip for the end stages of the race. There, she thought, was where it would be won. One quick pit-stop, and she exited in fourth, just behind Guilhermez.

"Psych him out, Alex." Over the next few laps, Alex warmed her tires up by toying with him, using the slipstream to keep within distance of him, pressuring him into making a mistake. On Canera, she got her wish, causing him to misjudge the turn, going well wide, allowing Alex to pass and himself being very lucky to avoid the outside gravel. Hingis was next, just five seconds ahead.

Over the next 20 laps, Alex tore up the advantage, closing in on the McPahans, and finally took Hingis through a daring move at the entrance to Monti. "Your tires are doing better than Lund, it seems you can get this one done. Ten laps, four seconds." She could see Alexander's car just in front after every straight, looking just as confident as it did early in the race. This was going to be difficult.

"Are you sure? He as controlled as ever."

"He's running a quarter second slower than you. You step it up and you can take him. Focus on you, not him."

Spurred by this new information, Alex took each corner with precision, paying attention to her lines and entry speed, and not the driver ahead of her. As she took each turn down, the space shrank, bit by bit, until three laps remained. Exiting the infield complex, Alex took the Sling as tight as her grip would let her. Now, she could see him up close. This guy was going down next turn. Exiting the sling, she shifted into 7th gear, and pushed the car as heavily as it could go down the hill, with Coast Corner up next. Right next to her hotel room. How apt.

Braking at the very last possible moment, she slammed the brake pedal to the floor, shifted down to second, and yanked the wheel right, then hard left, to see Lund's car emerge in front of her, like an irritating fly on the windscreen. "OH, COME ON!" Alex screamed internally. "How can I shake this guy!?" They continued up the hill, and after a fluid exit from Triplex, Alex pushed her car right next to the McPahan to the roaring excitement of the crowd. Could it happen? Could Nekoni win on home turf?

Premio was a left hander, and Alex, being on Lund's right, knew she had to keep her distance. She went slightly wide, as to not collide into him, then cut the apex and took the hill downwards. After the tight right of the complex, it was time to retry the Sling. She was able to gain a bit of speed over Lund by taking Turn 8 that bit faster, and she was able to inch ahead. This time on his left, Alex sped through the undulating Sling, slightly increasing her lead by inches to the delight of the crowd. Advancing towards Coast, Alex needed that she needed to gamble, and it had to be now.

With one eye on the right wing mirror, she looked directly at Lund in his cockpit. She needed to gauge the exact moment he braked, and beat it by a split second. With his weaker tires, his distance would be greater. Only one lap's worth of wear, but that's all she needed. Lund went for the pedal, Mayari went for hers just after, not knowing whether or not this'd work...

"YEEEESSS, keep it tight Alex! You can do this!" She had done it. She was able to psyche the reigning world champion into braking too early. Charging down the kilometre of the Lungomare, she was able to increase her lead. Now was all about maintenance. Keep it together, Alex, she thought to herself. You CAN do this.

Despite an attempt at a pass on Triplex, Alexandra knew that the tide was on her side. Alex finally was able to take Primero at the line she wanted, and the entire infield was as smooth as the last fifty-two. She didn't need to look behind her, just get it to the end. Enjoying the left-hand G forces of the Sling for the final time for this year, she was able to get a smooth entry to Coast, blaze it down Lungomare, and send it up the hill to the sound of an ecstatic crowd.

"AND THE GRAND PRIX OF NEKONI IS WON BY ALEXANDRA MAYARI!" the loudspeaker boomed as she blitzed across the line. She was screaming, Minna was screaming, everyone in the Fire & Ice pit was screaming, embracing each other. They had done it, the team had won their home race in their first shot, and that was just the tip of the iceberg. La Scuderia had increased their lead to 20 points with only two races to go, and shockingly, despite being the last of ALL 21 drivers to even score a point, out of the ashes, Alexandra Mayari was leading the driver's championship. When Alex got out of her car, the entire team was out there with her, and the blue, black and gold of the Nekoni crowd could not believe that, after a start to a season this disastrous, this moment would have ever come, let alone this year. There were tears on the podium, both for Alex, and a fair bit of the crowd, when the anthem came around.

The podium interview, ran by the host of NTR 1's race coverage was barely audible thanks to the chants of "FORZA NEKONI!" from the audience. As the teams packed up the next morning for the long journey to Yttribia, Alex had one thing left to do. She went into her trailer, picked up a box from the one table in there, and sneaked off to Sayono Souzare's trailer. She placed the box at the foot of her door, knocked and ran off, with a letter attached to it:

"Sayo-chan,

Thank you very much for enjoying my country. I made these for you. Wear them, and you'll always have a bit of Nekoni with you.

Guess Who "

And then Alex retreated to her little abode, smiling at having done her one good deed for the day.

[WGPC]

Gran Premi D'Yttribia
Friday Practice

* drivers had 90 minutes to record up to 20 flying laps
* fastest times are recorded
* Conditions: Wet

Pos	Car	Name	Team	
1	74	Alexandra Mayari	    	1:48.449
2	70	Moisés Delgado		    	1:48.510
3	15	Alex Dimitrianov	    	1:48.553
4	64	Crimson LaRoja		    	1:48.674
5	24	Victoria Gardner	    	1:48.736
6	1	Alexander Lund		    	1:48.738
7	16	Matt Hingis		    	1:48.739
8	99	Rudolf Ibuna		    	1:48.799
9	18	Wayne Forrest		    	1:49.012
10	55	Asao Nadakei		    	1:49.058
11	39	Tyler Brooks		    	1:49.121
12	17	Ryan Harris-Jones	    	1:49.141
13	41	Marcel Tenis		    	1:49.240
14	29	Esteban Guilhermez	    	1:49.622
15	51	R.L. Cruisin		    	1:49.631
16	4	Riku Äijälä		    	1:49.894
17	10	Lauren Ashburton	    	1:50.121
18	52	Sayono Souzare		    	1:50.715

[Audioslavia]

Alec Lund stumbled slightly as he climbed out of the car, which affected his attempt at 'swagger' somewhat as he moved over to where Matt Hingis was standing. The Apoxian was standing with his hands on his hips, smiling wryly at the approaching Audioslavian. Alec removed his helmet and whipped off his balaclava. He winked at his team-mate.

"Gotcha"
"One one-hundredth of a second, dickhead"
"It doesn't matter if you win by an inch or a mile" said Alec, "you never seen The Fast and the Furious?"
"Describes our team pretty well" retorted Matt, "although naturally I'm 'The Fast', you're occasionally 'The Furious'"
"Hardly" said Alec, leaning against the wall of the garage and running his hand through his hair vigorously - a habit that most drivers tend to develop after spending up to two hours wearing a tight-fitting helmet. Even with Alec's newly shaved hair he couldn't help it. "Last season it would have suited us. Linco was furious, I was fast. This season... I dunno"
"The Speedy and the Sigher?" offered Matt, nodding at Stan McPahan's pained expression. Stan was talking to two of his engineers, probably fielding two questions at the same time. Two difficult questions, judging from how he was sighing and pinching his nose between his two fingers, scowling and scrunching his eyes shut. "The Rapid and the Resigned?"
"Resigned? Hm. I don't think any of us are resigned to losing out on either championship yet" said Alec. "Wait, has Alex Mayari had a run out yet?
Matt couldn't help but smile.
"She went out a minute after you. Look at the scoreboard."
Alec turned round. He looked for the number seventy-four on the scoreboard. It didn't take long to find it. Mayari had gone fastest, and by some distance.
"God damnit" said Alec, letting out a long, pained sigh.
"She's on form alright. Untouchable" said Matt, nodding.
"The end might well be nigh. Couldn't hold her back last week, hadn't been able to get near her in the weeks before. Jeeze. She ate my dust for most of last season."
"Aye. I remember a few dog-fights with her at the back" replied Matt, "she had it, then, but didn't have the car. The Yogutz was temperamental as hell."
"I remember watching her pass underneath me, at the bridge incident. Thought at the end of the season that that'd be the last time she ever got past me. Boy was I wrong"
"You can say that again"

"Hey" came a voice. Stan's. The McPahan team owner was approaching the two race drivers. "Good job out there in the rain. I know the car's been playing up, but you've both got yourselves some fast times there. We're gonna get to work on that intake problem. You two knock off for the day. No drinking"
"I don't need to be told not to drink on a race weekend" said Matt
"Not you, him"
"Nor do I!" protested Alec, "especially not this weekend, jesus, I've a championship to defend"
"Alec, I'm joking, now get out of my sight before I use your face as sealant"
"Not the worst thing we've ever used as sealant" said Alec
"True" replied Stan.

--

Alec did allow himself one drink. Into his coffee at the hotel bar he added a snifter of whisky. Barely a dash. He didn't feel he needed it, but he was having trouble relaxing.

It had been a year and eleven months since he'd been crowned champion. Last year's WGPC-less twelve months had ensured he'd become the first driver ever to hold the title for two years in a row, albiet with a very large asterisk above that statistic. He'd spent the majority of this season near the top of the field, looking at least like he had a shot of retaining. He'd driven well. He hadn't regressed at all, and neither had the car. It's just... well, Fire and Ice, Aston-Tickford, SinoMotors, Frontiere, these new teams had really kicked on. The McPahan cars had gone from being world-beaters to also-rans. So many finishes outside the top ten, or stuck in a gravel trap after yet another puncture. Two races to go, the race for the title was getting out of his grasp.

This weekend. So much rested on this weekend. He had to get himself ahead of Mayari. He had to keep Nadakei at bay. Nadakei would be on his home track for the final race. It was almost as if he was a shoe-in for the win, especially after how he'd performed. This race... this was must-win.

And to win, he needed to sleep properly.

[Hodori Motorsports]

The Grand Prix of Nekoni had quickly turned into another weekend Souzare would rather forget. Starting from tenth, she got a poor start and lost ground, slipping into the bottom third by the exit of the second corner. Over the next thirty-odd laps, she had managed to claw her way back into the points.

And then everything went wrong. A desperate, over-aggressive lunge to Ibuna’s inside for eighth at turn fourteen, and Souzare locked the brakes. Sliding past the apex, she managed to keep the car pointed in roughly the right direction, but she wouldn’t retain the position, instead losing ninth to what she was pretty sure was Tenis’ SinoCom.

Too much power too soon, and Souzare’s Archer decided it wasn’t done with her spin. A half-turn, and she found herself looking at turn 14’s apex from the wrong direction. Waiting for an opening to rejoin the track, she watched her already slim championship hopes evaporate with every car that made its way past.

Ultimately, Souzare managed another twelfth-place finish. That was it; she was now mathematically out of the title hunt.

The next day, after her early-morning exercise routine, she lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Someone had knocked on the door, but that was several minutes ago. A few more minutes of examining the nondescript ceiling, and she finally decided to get the door.

---

---

Shortly after arriving in Yttribia, Souzare received a message from An’ue, asking about her lodging. Souzare thought it a bit odd, but replied and pushed the matter from her mind to focus on her course notes.

The day before the Yttribian practice session Souzare was reviewing her notes for Circuit de Telino, still trying to make sense of her uncle’s handwriting when she heard a knock and a familiar voice at the door.
“Sayono, you in there?” Hodoran, female.
Souzare got up and made her way to the door.
- - - - -
“So…” An’ue Toudeyaku sat across from Souzare, drumming her fingers against a half-full polystyrene coffee cup. She looked at Souzare’s binder of course notes, the younger driver’s handwriting interspersed with utterly unreadable scrawlings. “Still trying to decipher your uncle’s moon runes?”
“Something like that.”
“I don’t know how many times I’ve said it, but I’m pretty sure he traded in his ability to write to keep his driving skills sharp.”
“Mm.”
A period of silence. Souzare broke it. “So why are you here?”
“I wanted to be a good big sis and bring you coffee and have a chat?”
Souzare gave Toudeyaku a look. The other woman smiled back and got up, drifting around the room.
“A few things. Seeing how you’re holding up, plus a few issues that have come up with Tengu.” She noticed the package, on a shelf behind Souzare. “And what’s the box?”
“Gift from Mayari. Waiting to open it with Hakusa.”
“She must be so jealous.”
“She is. I sent her a picture, told her who it came from. She sentenced me to the couch for a month.”
Toudeyaku read the still-attached letter and thought a bit. “Probably a cat-ear hairband?”
“Maybe.”
“Also, ‘Sayo-chan’?” Souzare turned around as Toudeyaku continued, “So I guess it is true; you are trying to build a harem.”
Souzare took a few seconds to process what Toudeyaku had just said. “Nooooo! It’s nooooot! I’m not!”
Toudeyaku kept going, an evil smirk on her face. “I guess Ashburton wasn’t enough, so you’ve added the cute cat girl?”
Souzare flailed about, visibly flustered. “It-it’s not like that! Nothing happened!”
Toudeyaku laughed, “I know. I’m just messing with you.”
Souzare puffed out her cheeks in mock anger. “You’re mean. I like you better when you’re in your five-thousand-percent-serious mode.”
“I like to have my fun,” Toudeyaku shrugged.
“Usually at my expense.”
“I couldn’t let the opportunity pass.” Toudeyaku returned to her seat. After about a minute, “Okay, six-hundred-thousand-percent serious mode now, how are things going?”
Souzare remained silent, refocusing on her course notes.
“You still haven’t really recovered from Barunia, it seems.”
Souzare froze, her left hand tightening around the pencil.
“Sayono?” Toudeyaku reached across the table. “Are you okay?”
Souzare was quiet for a few more moments before she spoke again, “I’m starting to think they really are right.”
“About what?” Toudeyaku could guess.
“You know.” Souzare drew her knees to her chest. “That I shouldn’t be on the grid; that I don’t have the talent or experience to deserve my super license.”
“It can’t help that the Archer looks like a mediocre car.”
“The car’s fine. Ashburton’s top five. It’s just their other driver can’t do her job.” She tried to curl into a smaller ball in her chair. “I don’t think I’m going to have a seat next season.”
“It’s probably a bit late, but I really think you should talk to the team psychologist. Also, they’re almost right on exactly one point.”
Souzare looked up at Toudeyaku.
“You could use more experience, and this brings me to the team’s issues.”
Another extended pause as Souzare calmed herself. “So what’s been going on back home?”
“The main problem revolves around our number 10 car in GT2. Kamani’s pregnant, so she’s out for the season. Dekijika’s gearing up for the third Super Formula championship and took Zakemi. She should at least be in Hodori for the thousand-kilometer, and as far as we know her contract allows her to drive as the 10’s reserve there, but that still leaves an empty first driver slot. We could try and pull Yakusamo from the 9’s reserve slot to act as the 10’s first driver, but she’s driving full-time for Tarogama in Formula Touring and we’d have to go through them to alter her contract for GT.”
“And do you have any candidates?”
“For the 10, I was hoping you’d be able to recommend someone. Ashburton or…” Toudeyaku looked at the box behind Souzare. “Maybe Mayari?”
Souzare looked away. “I haven’t really spoken to Ashburton much since Barunia. With Mayari I don’t think we’re close enough yet that I could ask as a friend.” She looked back at Toudeyaku. “And what about Formula Touring?”
“We still have Zakemi for the Exhibtion but for the season,” Toudeyaku paused for effect. “You, if you feel up to it.”
Souzare took a moment to process. “I need some time to think about it.”
“Okay.” Toudeyaku got up and made her way to Souzare. The two hugged, and Toudeyaku made for the door. “Take as long as you need. Also, forecast calls for rain tomorrow, so you should be in your element.”

---

---

After the practice session, Souzare made adjustments to her notes, based off the lines of others she tried to copy through Telino.Toudeyaku peered over Souzare’s shoulder, looking at the pages of corner diagrams and the clusters of notes — Nadakei’s “moon runes” and Souzare’s far neater handwriting — surrounding them.
“Are you sure your uncle left you course notes and not ritual instructions to summon a demon?”
Souzare briefly tensed up, startled by Toudeyaku sneaking up on her. After a moment to calm herself, she answered, “Now that you made me think about it, no.”
“You usually don’t struggle that badly in the rain.”
“Unfamiliar track, plus we had a hard time getting the cars dialed in. Hoping qualify turns out better.”

[WGPC]

Saturday Qualifying

* drivers had ninety minutes to record up to ten flying laps
* conditions: dry

Pos	Car	Name		
1	51	R.L. Cruisin		    	1:47.182
2	64	Crimson LaRoja		    	1:47.187
3	55	Asao Nadakei		    	1:47.234
4	1	Alexander Lund		    	1:47.298
5	74	Alexandra Mayari	    	1:47.350
6	15	Alex Dimitrianov	    	1:47.378
7	10	Lauren Ashburton	    	1:47.456
8	24	Victoria Gardner	    	1:47.490
9	41	Marcel Tenis		    	1:47.644
10	16	Matt Hingis		    	1:47.688
11	17	Ryan Harris-Jones	    	1:47.707
12	4	Riku Äijälä		    	1:47.714
13	18	Wayne Forrest		    	1:47.720
14	70	Moisés Delgado		    	1:47.736
15	39	Tyler Brooks		    	1:47.813
16	99	Rudolf Ibuna		    	1:47.899
17	52	Sayono Souzare		    	1:48.040
18	29	Esteban Guilhermez	    	1:48.551

Starting grid for the penultimate race of the season