World Grand Prix Championship Season 14: Roleplay Thread

[The Republic Of Arkan]

Another mediocre performance from Makeo Oket, though better then the blunder of the midseason practice. Barely missing points eight seconds, he sat in sole owner of the fifteenth spot with seven after race five, unlike his team member Sayono Souzare, who's in a three-way tie for last. As you'd probably guess, Makeo wasn't impressed by his teammate's lack of ability so far, and he was starting to show it.

A national gossip tv show, whom were known to be a bit under-regulated, got the line "If Sayono tries like last year, we might have a better chance than me." Granted, it was after pestering him for about five minutes, but the line still stood. It stood almost like a reminder he was the one with the points in the team.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good Morning Arkan!
Your Weekday Arkan News!

"Well, lets take a look into the World Grand Prix Championship, where national export Makeo Oket placed eleventh at the Grand Prix of Mattijana,"says host Dami Oloke, infamous for her alleged sex scandal with Oket's younger brother and promising racer Renvi Oket.

"Another race gone where Oket missed points. This marks his third of fifth race this's happened. Any thoughts on that?"asks co-host Caltrip Aridriv, former Arkan Chess Champion, his career was cut short by the loss of his left arm.

"Personally, Oket doesn't seem to be the problem,"says Jaet Justs, retired two time champ of the Grand Prix of Arkan in the Arkan Racing league."Looking at his team, he's the best chance they have right now. I wouldn't be surprised if Oket ended in a podium spot at some point this season."

"Well, while we are talking about teams, can we just talk about VTM's staggering forty-one point lead over the next closest?"Oloke asked.

"It would take a miracle for VTM to lose this lead they have. They've got to be a favorite to win post-Mattijana,"says Justs.

[West-East Timor]

WET TV
"Welcome!", opens Jandakir Tandakarash the Tandakarash&Kashnan show, West-East Timor's most famous talk show. "Today, I'm doing this alone, without Andy Kashnan. Don't worry, he's fine, nothing happened to him. But we thought, because of todays guest, it would be a bit strange and stupid if he was here. But I'm shure you want to know who our guest is before I give farther explainations. It is...Mick Schramm! Mick Schramm, ladies and gentlemen!" Mick Schramm gets at the stage.
"Mick Schramm! What a honour to have you here today! Please, have a seat.", says Tandakarash pointing at a blue armchair.Schramm sits down.
"Welcome!", continues the moderator. "Now, Mick...can I call you Mick?"

"Yeah, for shure."

"Good. Now, Mick, can you tell the people here why it would be strange if Andy Kashnan interviewed you?"

"Yes, I can. He's my manager." As the audience looks confused, he says: "Didn't you know that? He's a very good manager, he also managed the West-East Timorian national handball team during the world cup."

"Now that we know that, let's talk a bit about what we actually came here for, let's talk about you, Mick. Do you think you think you can win this years Formula WET1 season, and defend your title?"

"Yes, I think I can. It should be easy. Actually, it's getting a bit boring, and I'm looking for something new, something better, something international..."

"You mean, like the World Grand Prix Championship?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean."

"Well, we all want to see you there! Do you think you'll get a seat?"

"I don't know. It's difficult to get a seat, just in the middle of the season. There are some teams that might be disappointed by their drivers, for example, I think Fornax could be disappointed by Jac-Irlo Val, Lauren Ashburton might also be disappointing for Ensadrink, but I'm open for every team that offers a seat to me. Also, I might be a risk, you know?"

"No, I don't know. How do you mean that?"

"I mean, I'm not really well known outside of West-East Timor, and maybe nobody from the teams has ever seen me driving..."

"Oh, I understand. You might also be disappoining. What are you doing to get a sign?"

"Well, I'm going to visit the next race in San Jose Guyabal. Andy proposed that. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do there, but we'll see. Anyways, I like visiting races I'm not racing in."

"Well, thank you for the interview. Goodbye, and good luck getting a seat!"

"Thanks! Goodbye!" Mick leaves the stage.

"Goodbye and see you next week again! Kashnan will also be there then!", says Tandakarash to the audience, and also leaves the stage.

[WGPC]

Friday Qualifying: San Jose Guayabal

* Drivers had 90 minutes to complete up to 30 laps of the track
* Fastest times are recorded below

Pos # Name			Team		Laptime		Behind Leader
 1  7 Ethan Ellis                  	1:53.071	0:00.000
 2 89 Will Madison                 	1:53.100	0:00.029
 3  8 Igne Spupuo                  	1:53.116	0:00.045
 4 51 R.L. Crusin                  	1:53.125	0:00.054
 5 56 Terho Talvela                	1:53.173	0:00.103
 6 14 Oliver Bliss                 	1:53.318	0:00.247
 7 18 Louis Krindle                	1:53.322	0:00.251
 8 35 Jac-Irlo Val                 	1:53.367	0:00.296
 9 57 Galicio Palembe              	1:53.418	0:00.347
10 42 Alex Dimitrianov             	1:53.425	0:00.355
11  6 Alexander Lund               	1:53.448	0:00.377
12 10 Lauren Ashburton             	1:53.448	0:00.378
13 12 Vic Convarion                	1:53.461	0:00.390
14 46 Reni Sanderson               	1:53.476	0:00.405
15 24 Victoria Gardner             	1:53.509	0:00.438
16  3 Mateo Oket                   	1:53.523	0:00.452
17 99 Rudolf Ibuna                 	1:53.571	0:00.501
18 77 iBen Toralmintii             	1:53.576	0:00.505
19 52 Sayono Souzare               	1:53.591	0:00.520
20 21 Alexander Kohlon             	1:53.664	0:00.593
21 17 Oliver Bachmann              	1:53.719	0:00.649
22  1 Alexandra Mayari             	1:53.765	0:00.695
23 55 Asao Nadakei                 	1:53.850	0:00.780
24 29 Esteban Guilhermez           	1:53.864	0:00.793
25 23 Moisés Delgado               	1:53.999	0:00.928
26 13 Gunnar Lindstrom             	1:54.060	0:00.989

[West-East Timor]

Mick Schramm and his manager, Andy Kashnan, are walking throught the paddock of Soujärvi Raceway in San Jose Guyabal after the friday qualifying. They have booked a nice hotel in Soujärvi, and they are VIP guests, but Mick can't enjoy their visit.

"Mick, you seem to be nervous. What's the matter?", asks Kashnan. "Try to relax! You don't have to drive, we're VIP guests, everything is fine."

"Stop treating me like a little child, you're not my father!", shouts Mick angrily. He actually tried to remember how it was when he visited Formula WET1 races together with his father when he was a child. He allways enjoyed that.

"Wow, ok, man, calm down! You should really try to relax, you don't have to do anything!"

"Yeah, maybe you're right..." At that moment, he sees Nathalie Tourshell from WET TV getting closer to them. "But that's difficult when you're getting interviewed all the time!"

"Mick, hey, nice to see you here!", says Tourshell, being filmed by two cameras and holding a microphone. "Could you give us a little interview please?"

Mick knows Tourshell, she allways interviewes him after Formula WET1 races, but he was surprised that she also interviews at WGPC events. On the other hand, he wasn't in the mood to give an interview now. "I guess I have to it?", he says.

"Err...yes, yes you have to do it.", replies Tourshell.

"But first, what are you doing here? I've never seen you interviewing at a WGPC race."

"Oh, they just wanted me to do it.", she answers. "Anyways, I'm asking the questions."

"Right then..."

"Now, Mick, I'm afraid you're not here to drive today?"

"No. I'm not."

"So, what are you doing here?"

"Visiting the race of course."

"Do you think you'll drive in WGPC in the near future?"

"How do you define 'near future'?"

"Um...this season?"

"I don't know. It's difficult to get a seat in the middle of the season, and, as I often say, I might be a risk."

"Oh, yeah, you've said that often..."

"Also, I'd simply like to relax and enjoy my visit now. That's a bit difficult when I get interviewed all the time."

"Allright then. Thank you for the interview, and have fun here!" Tourshell turns to the camera and Schramm and Kashnan want to walk away, as they get stopped by a man in his late fourties.

"Mr. Schramm, Mr. Kashnan", the man says shaking their hands."It's a honour."

"Err...morning", says Mick. "And you are?"

"Oh", answers the man, "my name doesn't matter. I've planned everything at WET TV for more than thirtie years now, and nobody knows my name."

"Um...allright then.", says Mick confused. "So, what do you want from us?"

"I'd like to ask you Mick, if you'd like to co-comment the race at Sunday, together with Lucas DiRando."

"Co-comment the race? For shure, why not? I've never done something like that before, but let's try!"

"Great! Mr. Schramm, see you at Sunday before the race here, I'll lead you to the commentators' booth then! Goodbye!" The man walks away.

"Mick? Why did you do that?", asks Kashnan. "Didn't you want to relax?"

"Oh, yeah, that's right. Maybe I shouldn't do it, should I?"

"Now you'll have to do it..."

"Allright then... I think it will be fun, or so..." He tries to be positive, although he doesn't really want to co-comment the race anymore. He found it great for a moment, but now...

[Mattijana]

"Sorry mate. I think we just got mugged by our own weather patterns."

Alex Dimitrianov's qualifying session had got off to the perfect start. He had layed down the 3rd fastest time on intermediate tyres in light, but persistent rain before sitting comfortably in a nice warm garage for a while. Unfortuanately, the rain randomly decided to stop with 4 minutes remaining and by the time the team realised he needed to go out on track to get back into the top 10, it was already too late. Alex and his mechanics could only sit and watch as he dropped from the top to a measly 17th.

The session had brought a few other surprises however. Neither McPahen driver nor iBen Toralmintii in the high-flying VTM had managed to get through. In fact, it was the drivers who had not needed to go out to cement their place in the top 10 who had lost out the most. Add to this craziness the fact that both WGCP motorworks cars had made it through and the session had really thrown up the unexpected.

Normal service was somewhat resumed in the top-10 shootout as Terho Talvela took a very good pole in drying conditions before another deluge of rain meant that most of the other drivers were resticted to a squabble over the lower top-10.
------------------------------------------------------
Race Day:

Sunday saw more rain showers sweeping across the Čaluka hills and caused a frantic race which saw from fairly dramatic racing. The pinch-point was a particularly slipperry downhill section into the chicane at the end of the back straight which caught out a few cars, sending them back up the steep slope to the side of the track and into the gravel.

It also yielded a point for MRT after a difficult qualifying session. Oliver Bachmann was the man to take them after a mistimed pit stop following another rain shower saw him slip back to 12th. The encouraging thing was that the pace for a run at the points was getting closer to what it should be and reliability was still as strong as ever. Dimitrianov though was ultimately dissapointed not to be the one to get the result in front of his own fans.

The track also received some love with drivers and teams appreciating the flowing turns and the dynamic element that the hills and weather conditions introduced. The locals were also impressed after seeing an entertaining race featuring the world's finest racing drivers take place before their eyes in their own country. "Hevala Mattijana!"

[WGPC]

Saturday Qualifying

* Conditions: Dry
* Drivers had 60 minutes to record up to ten flying laps
* Fastest lap is recorded.

Pos # Driver		Team		Fastest Lap
 1  8 Igne Spupuo             	1:53.008
 2  7 Ethan Ellis             	1:53.011
 3 89 Will Madison            	1:53.023
 4 77 iBen Toralmintii        	1:53.143
 5  3 Mateo Oket              	1:53.195
 6 10 Lauren Ashburton        	1:53.202
 7 14 Oliver Bliss            	1:53.261
 8 13 Gunnar Lindstrom        	1:53.290
 9 17 Oliver Bachmann         	1:53.291
10 56 Terho Talvela           	1:53.333
11  6 Alexander Lund          	1:53.350
12 12 Vic Convarion           	1:53.385
13  1 Alexandra Mayari        	1:53.400
14 24 Victoria Gardner        	1:53.488
15 42 Alex Dimitrianov        	1:53.490
16 52 Sayono Souzare          	1:53.605
17 55 Asao Nadakei            	1:53.654
18 29 Esteban Guilhermez      	1:53.654
19 18 Louis Krindle           	1:53.672
20 35 Jac-Irlo Val            	1:53.726
21 99 Rudolf Ibuna            	1:53.905
22 21 Alexander Kohlon        	1:53.946
23 23 Moisés Delgado          	1:54.631
24 51 R.L. Crusin             	1:55.432
25 46 Reni Sanderson          	1:55.803
26 57 Galicio Palembe         	1:56.209

[Aboveland]

"Crap."

Terho's words sputtered out of his mouth in his helmet and dampened his visor. Practice had gone okay, nothing too spectacular, but his qualifying session had really been a bit harsh. He'd vowed to himself to push harder on qualifying; he knew the track was too easy for him to slip up and not push hard.

His setup hadn't been changed from the day before, even though he'd asked for it a few times. From square one, the weekend got off on the wrong foot.

Every single one of his qualifying laps had been quicker than the last, but he couldn't inch past the top contenders. In the paddock Terho damned the single qualifying run format and began to think of ways to amp up his setup. Eventually, he settled on a top-speed-first setup, which would have good enough cornering capabilities. He was out to prove three things: his win hadn't been lucky, his championship race was still in tow, and Suojarvi was the best track for him yet.

[Nekoni]

It was a very unusual Friday night for Alexandra. Her season had taken a nosedive, and that day's practice in Mattijana wasn't going to buck the trend. A highly dissappointing 17th led to her spending that night hitting the books, trying to get used to the turns of this new circuit. She needed to come up trumps tomorrow, one great session to let her qualify well, lead to a strong finish, and drag the season back on track. She was so close last time, but a heartbreaking retirement in Liventia put paid to that.

It was raining. The drops thudded off the wall of her metal trailer, resonating. She was used to it by now, to the point that the relentless pitpattering blurred into background noise, a sound almost comforting for when she would try to get some sleep. At least it blocked out the sound of Minna snoring in the trailer next to her. How he could snore that loud, even with his window open, she'd never understand. But for now, it wasn't time to sleep: it was time to study.

Into the night Alex browsed videos and telemetries, learning where the braking points were, where she could shave tenths of seconds tomorrow, and where she could also attempt overtakes on the Sunday when it mattered. At least, this was the plan. At half 11, the weather still as loud as ever, Alex heard a hard thud on her door. She went to open the door to answer it...and there was nobody there. She darted her eyes across the park, looking for a figure, but alas, there was nobody seemingly around. She shrugged her shoulders, and returned to her tablet in the trailer.

*thud thud*

There it was again...Alex was getting annoyed now. She opened the door again to yet more darkness. Stepping out and down her tiny stairway, she called out. "Whoever's out there, you better show yourse-"

Everything went black as she felt the bag slip over her head. A gruff voice whispered in her ear, "You make a noise and you're getting a knife in your back. Don't be a hero." Alex felt the cold steel along her back. She attempted to wriggle free, but it was no use. "I see you're going to be a problem." He chuckled. "So be it." She felt a sharp thud to the side of her head...and she didn't feel anything else.

---

She was awoken with a hard slap to her face. "Come in, Alexandra. Wake up." Not knowing how long she had been asleep for, her eyes adjusted to the room she was in. It was a vast airplane hangar, empty, save for a couple of toolboxes dotted around the walls. The only sources of light were two industrial lamps, one on a gantry above her, lighting up most of the room with a faint, dim glow. The other was on castors, and pointed squarely at her and her captor.

She attempted to rub her eyes. No chance. She was tied to the chair with duct tape across her wrists. Alex blinked a few times, just to get her eyes to focus again, just enough to focus on this mystery man

"Oh, fuck." It was Christian goddamn Fatali. Alex was confused. Didn't Patrice tell her that he was in hot water for assaulting a police officer? "What the hell is this!? I thought you were in prison!"

He laughed. "Well, turns out the pit manager job had a few perks. Namely, the salary. Despite your little event last year, I still got enough in the bank to wield. 20 million Gen to the right man, and it all magically goes away."

"So you bribed him. Aren't you the moral one?" Christian slapped her across the face again.

"If you hadn't been such a stupid girl and cost me my job, I wouldn't be in this mess!" he yelled at her. "Do you know what it's LIKE to have an entire country laugh at you? Do you know what it's LIKE to have your wife leave you? Do you know what it's LIKE to be told by your children that you're a disgrace?" He reached back to a toolbox, and grabbed the bottle of spirits on top of it. It seems he hadn't changed his drinking habits, Alex thought, as he pulled out the cork with his teeth and glugged down a hefty swig of what was inside.

"Of course you don't. And if you hadn't been such a mardy bitch last year, I wouldn't have done it either. I had a plan. I had it set. And you, and Victoria, and the rest of the bastards all got in my way. It was MY TEAM. And YOU stole it from me."

Alex knew he was clearly delusional. If Christian was still the principal, she'd have probably ended up dead. In Vilita, she only lost a wheel thanks to his sloppy workmanship. With around ten races to come after that, she'd have been extremely lucky to have not lost more.

"So you stepped out of line, and I brought you back in. And suddenly, I'm the bad guy? And THEN you start winning!?" He exasperatedly worked through the rest of the bottle whilst pacing around her, prowling like a hyena. "It's a screwjob. You screwed me. The team screwed me. But YOU were the ringleader."

"Really? How did you come up with that?" Alex questioned.

"BECAUSE YOU WANTED ME DOWN THE MOMENT I STEPPED IN THE FUCKING PADDOCK!" Christian bellowed at her. "YOU HAD IT IN FOR ME FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. And that's why you're here now. I want to know why. Why did you fuck me over, Alex?"

"I didn't-"

"You LIAR!" Christian backhanded her again, almost knocking her onto the floor. This time she drew blood, from the corner of her mouth. Just like in Vilita. "You're going to tell me. And you're going to do it now."

Alex reckoned that she might as well just tell him the truth. "You tried to kill me, Christian. You thought you were better than everyone else, and yet...you could have killed me."

"I did no such thing! The mechanics on that team were shit. I thought I could do better with one arm tied behind my back."

"Yeah, you THOUGHT you could do better. But you weren't. After you left, we looked at the wheels and found that one of the wheel supports was flawed from the crash in Audioslavia. You didn't want to spend any money on a new one and thought we could fix it. You DEMANDED them to fix something that wasn't fixable."

"...then why wasn't I told before!?"

"We weren't able to. You shouted at anyone that had an opinion that wasn't yours. Patrice got in and the first thing he does is have a round-table. He didn't raise his voice at all until he cheered my podium at Haishang."

"And? So he has a different way of doing things. Big deal."

"But he actually managed. You didn't do this job to manage a team, you just wanted to tell people what to do."

When Alex said that line, Christian gritted his teeth. Hard. Alex could hear the crack as one of his molars split, which wasn't difficult, as it was clear that since the fallout, his dental hygiene was the least of his problems. The veins round his temple pulsed tight, and his face turned an ugly purple. "You say one more word, and I'm going to break you. You say NOTHING about me, OK!? I was the best person for the job. I am the best person for a job. I shook hands with Francesco Rabandt himself, he looked me SQUARE IN THE EYE, and he told me that I was the best man for the job. How DARE you doubt the man who signs your cheques!? Without him, you are NOTHING."

"OK. Fair point. But ask yourself this. Did you think you'd get the job if your father wasn't working with him in the 80s?" Alex really shouldn't have said that, and she instantly regretted doing so, but it was true. He wasn't a very good principal, and he had gotten to the top by purely nepotism. His father, Armando Fatali, had, thirty years ago, been in partnership with the head honcho of SFeG, Francisco Rabandt. Throughout three decades of competition, the two had built Grande Scuderia Nekoni from a local minnow in a small shed in Neocastella, from national competition all the way up to a team capable of international success, with victories in the NSFC to prove it. Though his father had died in 2013, until the very end, the respect they had for each other was fiercely strong, and Rabandt naturally saw fit to offer the best job possible to his next of kin. Christian knew that the job wasn't his on merit alone, Alex knew that, and now, crucially, he knew that she knew it.

"THAT'S IT!" he howled, flinging the toolbox open and grabbing the first thing large he could. It was a ratchet gun. Alex froze in horror at what she thought was going to come next. In a frenzy, he grabbed it, kicked Alex's chair over, leaving her on her back and leant over her. "You should never have opened your stupid goddamn mouth," he growled through gritted teeth, pointing the gun straght in the middle of her forehead, finger coiled around the trigger.

Alex closed her eyes tight for what seemed like an eternity, expecting the inevitable piercing. Tears started to stream from the corners of her eyes. It can't end now, can it? Not like this.

---

*click*

Alex, with her eyes still closed, had no idea what was going on. All she could hear was frustration. "Why won't this thing WORK!?" Another click. "NO! IT CAN'T BE!" She was the luckiest woman alive. The hangar had clearly been abandoned for quite some time, because the gun wasn't working. She should have had a rivet through her brain, but the gods had clearly been smiling on her in that second. Elation changed to determination. "I'm not done with you yet!" Christian bellowed as he glared the toolbox. She knew that she had to act now, but how? She realised that in the rush of kidnapping her, Christian had made some basic errors. Her legs, for example, weren't secured. Now was the time to use them. As Christian leant back to get another tool to finish the job, she made her move.

"Son of a BITCH!" she screamed, mule kicking him in the face as hard as she could. He took the boot to the forehead, staggering him backwards and knocking him to the floor, smashing the back of his head on the tool cabinet as he fell with an almighty thud. He was down for a good while, still breathing but motionless, a small cut leaking blood from the back of his head, as well as from his broken nose. He was dealt with, for now. Now she had to get free from the chair before he came to.

She frantically wrestled with the tape, now weathered, but still holding strong. Alex rolled to her side, then onto her knees, still tied to the steel folding chair. From there she was able to stand up, and manouvered over to the tool cabinet. She could reach in herself to a drawer and rifle through frantically, hoping she wouldn't accidently grasp something sharp. A wrench wouldn't do well, a torch wouldn't...a file! This would work. She grabbed the steel file, twisted it around her hand, and, in a very awkward grip, attempted to scrub off the duct tape. It easily came apart under the abrasive file, and she was able to free both of her hands.

Alex sighed a good, long sigh of relief, finally breaking free from the chair and having rescued herself from almost certain death. She wasn't free, yet. He could wake up at any time, and she had no idea where she was. He eyes scoured the room for clues. The walls were blank, save for painted numbers, which were of no use to her, but in the corner was a table strewn with papers. She darted to it, not knowing how much time she had, and rifled through them, looking for anything with text on it. Between all the plans and blueprints, a fast food menu fell onto the ground, which Alex grabbed and skimread for a location. It was in a language she could vaguely recall, but didn't know any of the actual words, except for one.

Petrovijanka. The capital city of Mattijana. She had never left the country.

At this moment, Christian began to start to make a long groan, just recovering from his fall. 'I don't want him getting in my way' Alex thought, and she ran back to him, fist charged. She had been waiting to do this for a long while. When she arrived, with an almighty swing, pent-up from a whole 18 months of hatred, fear and pain, connected it with the side of his head. He fell right back, out cold, right as a warmth came flooding back to Alexandra. That was one to cross off her bucket list.

She didn't have her phone on her, but attempted to search his body for one. She hated the idea of stealing, but she reasoned that when it's someone that legit tried to kill her just a couple of minutes previously, turnabout was fair play. Fortunately, he had his smartphone, and it was in charge. She activated the maps, confirming what she thought: she was in a hanger on the outskirts of the capital's airport. This means she was in reach. It was also 4am on the Sunday. Somehow, she had been knocked out for about a day, and she had missed qualifying, but she didn't care. She was going to escape today alive. Alex dialed the police, and was extremely lucky to find that there was a receiver that spoke English, and she got an officer to come down. Although he was knocked out, Christian had become infamous enough of a figure to know that he wasn't going to be the victim here.

After that was done, she dialled Patrice's phone.

"Alex? Holy shit, Alex!? Where have you been!? It's insanely late! We have racing tomorrow!"
"Patrice!" Alex immediately burst into tears upon hearing his voice. She was safe. She could get home.
"What's the matter? What happened!?"
"You...you are not going to believe this..."

[WGPC]

CUT OFF for raceday six

[WGPC]

Race 6: Gran Premio Guayabalense

* Laps: 45
* Conditions: Wet

Pos # Driver               Team		         Race Time	Behind Preceding car
 1  8 Igne Spupuo                	1:34:36.465	+0:00.000
 2  7 Ethan Ellis                	1:35:11.849	+0:35.384
 3  3 Mateo Oket                 	1:35:27.833	+0:15.984
 4 14 Oliver Bliss               	1:35:46.521	+0:18.687
 5 10 Lauren Ashburton           	1:35:52.681	+0:06.160
 6 56 Terho Talvela              	1:35:53.829	+0:01.148
 7  6 Alexander Lund             	1:36:29.377	+0:35.548
 8 12 Vic Convarion              	1:36:30.883	+0:01.506
 9 24 Victoria Gardner           	1:36:34.459	+0:03.576
10 52 Sayono Souzare             	-1		+0:55.673
11 51 R.L. Crusin                	-1		+0:05.987
12 29 Esteban Guilhermez         	-1		+0:00.247
13 99 Rudolf Ibuna               	-1		+0:14.305
14 23 Moisés Delgado             	-1		+0:45.176
15 18 Louis Krindle              	Ret. Lap 44
16 35 Jac-Irlo Val               	Ret. Lap 43
DNF 17 Oliver Bachmann            	Ret. Lap 41	
DNF 13 Gunnar Lindstrom           	Ret. Lap 41
DNF 55 Asao Nadakei               	Ret. Lap 34		
DNF 77 iBen Toralmintii           	Ret. Lap 25	
DNF  1 Alexandra Mayari          	Ret. Lap 12	
DNF 42 Alex Dimitrianov           	Ret. Lap 3
DNF 89 Will Madison               	Ret. Lap 1  
DNF 21 Alexander Kohlon           	Ret. Lap 1

Drivers' Championship

Pos	#	Name			Team				Pts
1	8	Igne Spupuo		Telaris Racing			60
2	56	Terho Talvela		VTM				58
3	77	iBen Toralmintii	VTM				55
4	14	Oliver Bliss		MSA-SinVal			48
5	7	Ethan Ellis		Carvenlo-Franklin Racing	37
5	51	R.L. Crusin		Carvenlo-Franklin Racing	37
7	24	Victoria Gardner	SFeG				36
8	6	Alexander Lund		McPahan Racing			33
9	55	Asao Nadakei		ENSADRINK GP			32
10	18	Louis Krindle		MSA-SinVal			28
11	3	Mateo Oket		Archer Motorsports		21
11	10	Lauren Ashburton	ENSADRINK GP			21
11	12	Vic Convarion		Telaris Racing			21
14	46	Reni Sanderson		McPahan Racing			19
15	89	Will Madison		Fornax Racing			13
16	1	Alexandra Mayari	SFeG				6
16	13	Gunnar Lindstrom	WGPC Motorworks			6
18	29	Esteban Guilhermez	Cygnus ATR			4
18	17	Oliver Bachmann		MRT				4
20	21	Alexander Kohlon	WGPC Motorworks			3
21	42	Alex Dimitrianov	MRT				2
22	52	Sayono Souzare		Archer Motorsports		1
22	23	Moisés Delgado		Cygnus ATR			1
24	35	Jac-Irlo Val		Fornax Racing			0
24	20	Marcus Melton		WGPC Motorworks			0
24	57	Galicio Palembe		Scuderia WGPC			0
24	99	Rudolf Ibuna		Scuderia WGPC			0

Constructors' Championship

VTM				113
Telaris Racing			81
MSA-Sinval			76
Carvenlo-Franklin Racing	74
ENSADRINK GP			53
McPahan Racing			52
SFeG				42
Archer Motorsports		22
Fornax Racing			13
WGPC Motorsports		9
MRT				6
Cygnus ATR			5
Scuderia WGPC			0

OOC Note: Due to the fact that I'm still very busy IRL, and won't have any weekends free over the coming weeks, the mid-season test in Turori is now due to take place this coming Saturday, with race seven happening on the weekend of June 4th-6th. Thanks for putting up with the changes to the schedule. There isn't much I can do about it right now. A full schedule for the final six races will be posted in early June.

[Aboveland]

The four red lights turned off, and Terho dropped the clutch. His wheels spun and he lost control briefly. Horrible start.

Throughout the weekend the Mattijanian GP winner was feeling a bit strange. He had hoped to give the performance of his life in Suojarvi, considering how it seemed fit for all his skills. He was starting from the bottom this time around, so all he wanted was to at least score some good points.

Terho's starting grid spin cost him two places and dropped him down to 12th on the first corner. Midway through the track, he began to reacquaint himself with the fresh setup he'd gambled on for Sunday, when suddenly, a cloud of black smoke billowed far ahead of him. From the starting grid positions and the color of the car, he could make out it was Will Madison, who had probably had some catastrophic failure. Worse still the rain at the time was adding to the inferno, and increasing the smoke.

A few meters on, Terho felt an almighty bang behind him and shards of carbon fiber skidding past. Through his rear view mirror, he spotted a WGPC car stopped and shattered beside the Fornax vehicle. A few yellow lights blinked on the sides of the track, and soon enough he was in formation ready to carry on with the race, albeit now 11th.

During lap three, as he was overtaking his friend Gunnar Lindstrom to take 7th, the unmistakable ruffle of gravel could be heard over his roaring engine, which gave him a lapse in concentration and effectively deprived him of his overtake.

Halfway through the race, Terho was comfortably fourth, just behind his Turorian teammate and ready to make a move. It was right before Rulettia when Toralmintii's car kicked up a glorious plume of mist and began to backfire out of the side of the car's rear crest. The young Abovian's heart stopped as he felt he could almost look into Toralmintii's eyes as he spun out, centimeters from his front wing. Terho tried everything in his power to brake before the corner and take the apex, but his harsh maneuvers locked his wheels and sent him skidding sideways towards the veteran.Terho's rear left wheel tappped iBen's rear right, sending the former into the gravel traps and Terho into a risky aquaplane. Applying opposite lock and delicate throttle control, Terho managed to get the car back pointing straight forwards and in the race, but not without a venture into the grass on the side. iBen, however, hadn't been so lucky. The tap to his wheel bent his suspension arm and the gravel damaged some internal things Terho wasn't completely aware about. Terho, however, had gotten out unharmed from the incident. As Edvin frantically tried to communicate himself with Terho through the team intercom, he muted all communications and carried on rabidly, from eighth place, behind Alexander Lund once again.

With just two laps to go, Terho had steered clear of Lund and was on course for an eighth place finish, while Lindstrom and Bachmann fought neck and neck just ahead of him. Going into the scenic straight, however, Lindstrom was too tight on the turn and tapped Bachmann, who was sent straight into the barriers on the side of the road. Lindstrom's wheels broke free, and as his suspension and sideskirts grated against the damp road, sparks tickling Terho's helmet, the Abovian went into full collision avoidance mode, barely slithering past debris, and powered on towards Lauren Ashburton.

As Terho approached the accident site on the final lap, withing touching distance of Ashburton, what he decided was a screw embedded itself into his tires, causing him a slow puncture and gradual loss of pressure. He was forced to back off on the pace, and crossed the finish line sixth.

---

Fuming, Edvin marched towards Terho, still comfortably strapped into his seat.

"Who do you think you are, you MORON!" he yelled, visibly angered by his communication shut-off.

"Edvin, leave me alone, okay? I was pissed at the accident and I couldn't be bothered to tell you. I'd lost enough concentration as it was."

"Terho, listen to me! I've been concerned for your well being ever SINCE that accident! Don't you dare shut me off again."

"Whatever."

"Go get yourself weighed and have a chat."

"How are the championship standings now Edvin?"

Edvin did a few calculations in his head and said, relaxed: "You're still second, but iBen is third and Spupo is the new leader."

"The jockey?"

"Yep."

"Talk about a plot twist..." Terho mumbled as he headed for the scales, the press room, the podium, and later on the shower heads.

[Vulkanas]

Lap 40
The race hadn't been going exactly to plan for Gunnar. A bad start and a few places dropped to avoid the first corner melee. Still, he was back into 8th place, where he had qualified. The WGPC car had come on leaps and bounds after the mid-season test, but it was still down on power. He was being caught down the straights by Bachmann in the MRT car behind. Thankfully the grip reliant last sector allowed him a good exit onto the pit straight which left him out of reach of the Oisinistani driver, no matter how aggressive he was on the brakes. But as Gunnar progressed onto lap 41, the MRT was closer than ever.

Gunnar took a defensive line into the first corner, which kept Bachmann behind but compromised his speed going into the Bäcken complex. There was wheel-to-wheel battling in turns 5 and 6, but Bachmann was later on the brakes into The Box and slipped up the inside. Gunnar wasn't going to give up that easily though - he had to salvage whatever points he could from this race. He tried going up the inside at turn 8, but was left on the outside for 9. He couldn't back out now. He tried to go round the outside, desperately trying to hold on to what little grip he had, but Bachmann didn't leave him space, understeering into the front of Lindström's car. The suspension was snapped off and the wheel flew back, over Gunnar's head. He slammed on the brakes as hard as he could, but couldn't stop himself from careering into the back of Bachmann's car. They were both left in the barriers.

Gunnar quickly jumped out of his car and hopped over the fence. He then took a moment to recuperate. He saw that Bachmann also couldn't continue, as his rear wing had collapsed with the impact. He saw Terho crawl past the scene of the accident, perhaps being a bit too cautious of debris. Then Gunnar sighed. It was another DNF. He knew that with luck he could be scoring consistent points, but it seemed that he didn't have any. He knew the procedure now. Moped back to the pits, talk to the pit wall, look at the accident data. He would have to make a case for his innocence in the collision to the race stewards as well. He suspected it would be called as a racing incident.

[Dunpa]

*skipping everything I haven't RP'd about before race 6*

After the race
"I can't believe this." Alex said as he went on a plane
to Turori. "I crash alongside Madison. I just wish I was out of the way." Why can't I get in the points again?, Alex thought.

"Anyway, can you get me my phone? I hope I didn't lose it in the plane." Alex said while he was leaving the plane. "O.K., I found it." Mike told him. "I think the WGPC should have an All-star race after race 6. Have the 12 best drivers in the championship race in it. The first segment should have 12 drivers and the end, 2 drivers are eliminated. In segment 2, the top 5 pit and the bottom 5 stay on old tires. The winner of this segment wins the race." Alex typed on his Twattir. "I hope that the WGPC listen." Alex said.

"Anyway, I need to get a smoothie. I'm really thirsty." Alex told Mike.

[Aboveland]

"The Laughing Policeman" rang across the hall. Terho, comfortably laid down on the floor after a light workout session, grudgingly trudged towards his phablet and answered.

"Hej?"

"Heey Terho!" It was Edvin.

"Oh, pleasant surprise!"

"Ha. Anyways, listen, get off your ass and meet me in Freedom Square"

"I was on my back..."

"Whatever, you get the gist. Come, and pack a few pairs of clean underwear and socks, plus your helmet and racing gloves."

"Um?"

"Do it."

The line went cold.

Skeptical, Terho packed a small travel bag and headed to meet Edvin in Porthos' city square. Edvin hailed a cab and shoved his friend in, who was flummoxed at his actions. After brief small talk with the cab driver, Terho harshly whispered into Edvin's ear:

"What are you doing?!"

"WE are going to Pæhkinoot and YOU are driving. Fox and Arcticair want to show their support for you and so I arranged for them to provide the tools for you to practice. You'll get rusty, like in Suojarvi. That track should have been a cakewalk to win for you."

And so, it was two days later when Terho returned to his modest Porthos flat feeling highly confident and refurbished for the next WGPC event. He'd taken all he could out of his practice runs, in a slower-than-the-Fox-Thor-but-more-track-day-like RaceFox Alpha machine, fine tuned to his liking. It had no doubt renewed Terho's experience (and sponsorship contracts).

[Vilita and Turori]

Suojarvi Raceway, Suojarvi, El Roblar, San Jose Guayabal :: Things couldn't have gone much worse for Vilita & Turori Motorsports driver iBen Toralmintii - or, for that matter, Vilitan driver R.L. Cruisin at the Gran Premio Guayabalense.

Cruisin, the Vilitan driver at Carvenlo-Franklin racing was perhaps starting to regret his decision to jump to the foreign manufacturer as he looked across at his friends and colleagues next to him in the paddock at Vilita & Turori Motorsports who entered the San Jose Guayabal race weekend with a commanding lead in the constructors title race. Cruisin was hit with even more to dwell on after Qualifying at the Suojarvi Raceway where, embarassingly, he narrowly avoided being excluded from the starting grid after posting the 24th fastest time. With a second Works team having been added to the grid at mid-season, the two slowest in the qualifying session would not advance to race day. Luckily for Cruisin, Reni Sanderson of McPahan and thew new driver, Galicio Palembe of Scuderio WGPC were just a tick slower on their recorded laps. Cruisin would race, but he would finish a lap down in 11th place, failing to record any points despite having overtaken more cars than anyone else on the circuit during the event. Unfortunately for Cruisin, his teammate Ethan Ellis had a much better day, finishing in second place and pulling level with the Vilitan in the drivers standings, the two now tied for 5th place on 37 points - still within striking distance of the lead if they could pull together some victories, but something had to happen soon.

For Toralmintii, it was quite the opposite. Entering day as the Drivers Championship leader, things seemed to be going to plan as the Turorian driver posted the 4th fastest time in Qualifying. With his lead in the drivers standings, Toralmintii and the team felt confident that if he could continue to post Top-5 placement throughout the remainder of the season, he would be able to navigate himself to the title.

All of that went up in smoke on the 25th lap however as Toralmintii became an early retirement after an unfortunate encounter with his Vilita & Turori racing teammate Terho Talvela. To add insult to injury, race winner Igne Spupuo would entirely erase Toralmintii's championship lead - and then some, catapulting to the top spot in the grid and opening up a 5 point gap over Toralmintii who was also passed by his teammate, the Abovian Terho Talvela who place 6th in San Jose Guyabal.

There was reason to be optimistic for all three Drivers with Vilitan & Turorian affiliation, however. The tour was about to take a very welcome turn schedule wise,with teams set to descend on the Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit in Turori for a mid-season test marking the tour's half-way point. It will be a welcome distraction from the championship hunt for all Vilita & Turori drivers, as well as a chance to let any ill feelings or media attention surrounding the incident at San Jose Guayabal fizzle out. It will also be a chance to regroup and focus on the second half charge - and do so from the comfort of home, both from a personal perspective for Toralmintii and Cruisin - and from a race shop perspective for Talvela and Toralmintii.

---

[WGPC]

Mid-season Practice: Turori

* Drivers had 120 minutes to record up to 30 flying laps.
* Fastest lap is recorded.
* Conditions: Dry
* Remi Sanderson did not compete for McPahan Racing

1 56 Terho Talvela                	1:22.610	
 2 51 R.L. Crusin                  	1:22.665	0:00.055
 3 89 Will Madison                 	1:22.748	0:00.138
 4  7 Ethan Ellis                  	1:22.784	0:00.174
 5  8 Igne Spupuo                  	1:22.858	0:00.248
 6 14 Oliver Bliss                 	1:22.932	0:00.322
 7 17 Oliver Bachmann              	1:22.936	0:00.326
 8 57 Galicio Palembe              	1:22.944	0:00.333
 9 35 Jac-Irlo Val                 	1:22.963	0:00.353
10  1 Alexandra Mayari             	1:22.967	0:00.357
11 21 Alexander Kohlon             	1:22.996	0:00.385
12  6 Alexander Lund               	1:22.999	0:00.389
13 10 Lauren Ashburton             	1:23.024	0:00.414
14 99 Rudolf Ibuna                 	1:23.059	0:00.449
15 24 Victoria Gardner             	1:23.086	0:00.475
16 13 Gunnar Lindstrom             	1:23.095	0:00.484
17  3 Mateo Oket                   	1:23.104	0:00.493
18 18 Louis Krindle                	1:23.124	0:00.514
19 29 Esteban Guilhermez           	1:23.186	0:00.576
20 12 Vic Convarion                	1:23.226	0:00.615
21 77 iBen Toralmintii             	1:23.242	0:00.631
22 42 Alex Dimitrianov             	1:23.266	0:00.655
23 52 Sayono Souzare               	1:23.306	0:00.695
24 23 Moisés Delgado               	1:23.606	0:00.996
25 55 Asao Nadakei                 	1:23.869	0:01.259

With a hectic May finally passing, this should be the last delayed scorination of the season. Touch wood.

[Dunpa]

After mid-season practice

"I can't believe this!" Alex told Michael. "I got 11th place. I really have improved since I've gotten time in this car." Alex said happily. "Well, we could have at least gotten in Archer with this type of talent. But, unfortunately you had to be very inexperienced at driving a WGPC car." Mike told Alex. "Anyway, let's all get to Nekoni before everyone else." Mike said to Alex and his pit crew as they got on the local airport.

[Aboveland]

Terho gleamed at his first place time on the screen in the paddock of his home team's track. He'd beaten one of the best drivers in the championship by a mere five hundredths of a second. He was in the machine's natural habitat, and the conditions were optimal, and the finish didn't count towards anything in the championship, but it showed him he still had it in him. There were a few scares along the way when other drivers spun in front of him, or when he feared he wouldn't shave off much seconds from his time to beat R.L. in the last ten minutes of the session, but Terho pushed his irrational fears away and pulled through. There was something so comforting about the smell of fuel, the smell of rubber, and the smell of fumes emanating from Chassis Y' that made him feel secure. He could only feel lucky he had such an opportunity, and that he felt so safe...

But wait,

Where was Sanderson?

[Mattijana]

MRT Head Office, Petrovijanka

"We've got the data from Vangaziland. Jess looks up for it", said Danil Thiem, the assistant team manager of MRT. The team had been weighing up the idea of making a replacement for a while, but had only managed to target and line up a potential replacement in the previous week. Jessica Franssen of Vangaziland was the chosen one, but there was still discussion over whether she shoukd be given a seat or be moved into a development slot.

"Franssen's been putting in some good performances and her attitude's excellant. She's naturally quick and that's what we need. Sure, Bachmann put in a half-decent performance in that test, but he's been well off the pace in other events and what he did in the last race was unforgiveable. We had the pace to beat that WGPC thing easily down the back straight, but he just carelessly takes him out. He doesn't have the mindset Danil."

"Do we give him a chance?"

"I think he's had his chance", Johann replied through gritted teeth.

"You're the boss Johann...and I must admit, Oliver seems to have lost interest recently. His R and D work's been nowhere near what Alex has been doing and that really was a rookie error."

"They're both on contract anyway, so we can make more changes if we need to."

"Alright then." Said Danil, "I'll send her the contract."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What a surprise", remarked Danil somewhat sarcastically after an hour. "Miss Franssen's accepted the contract."

"Good." Replied Johann with a smile. "Let's see what she can come up with."

MRT therefore demote Oliver Bachmann to an undisclosed development role and sign Jessica Franssen of Vangaziland as their new driver.

[Vangaziland]

For Jess Franssen, the past 18 hours had been a whirlwind. As soon as she signed and digitally returned the contract sent to her by Mr. Danil Thiem, she ran to her computer and started looking up plane tickets to Turori. The best price she could find was from a carrier called Vannair.

There was one layover in a foreign country, but she paid a little bit more for first class seats. She was a Franssen after all. Her father built something from the family's name racing Vannish stock cars in the 1970s. Jess earned her beans racing open-wheeled cars in Vangaziland's top league, T1. She is not a superstar by any means, but built a reputation for placing consistently.

She had set high goals and had been trying to crack into the international scene for the past two years. The last time she came close, the deal failed. MRT sent an offer and this time, she accepted. If anything, it was a foot in the door.

Now she sat upright with her legs crossed on a hotel bed. She was trying to shake off the jetlag from her long flight. It was quite late at night, but much earlier in Vangazi time. She was a bit hungry, but tried to focus on what she was looking at.

Jess was researching the track. She missed the practice session, so her qualifying run would be her first look at the track. From now until she got the call to get in the car, she'd be looking over the layout, watching any videos she could find. She found an old race uploaded a few years ago. It was giving her a pretty good look at the track.

Her excitement would sometimes build to levels of anxiety. She couldn't wait to try on the green and yellow racesuit of MRT. She couldn't wait to hear and feel the new, stronger engines of the WGPC.

There were definitely some interesting turns on this track. It would take some technical skills to master the line.

Jess knew in the back of her mind that she might not get the call this week, but she'd be ready just in case. She didn't feel intimidated by the car and was looking forward to testing its limit.

Just then her smartphone rang. She hit the pause button on the video and moved to answer the call. "Hello?"

It was her brother. "Did you get in alright?"

"Yeah, yeah.. Everything was fine. Long flight, but the seats were comfy."

"Okay. I won't keep you up, just checking on my baby sis."

"Everything is fine. I should be checking out the car and meeting people tomorrow. Got here kind of quickly."

"Well good luck. You'll need it."

"Thanks."

The two said there goodbyes and ended the call. Jess felt a yawn come on. She stretched and realized it was getting late after all. She'd have to try to sleep soon, since she had things to do tomorrow. She got up and turned out the light, then her laptop.

When she laid down and tried to go to sleep, she tried to picture the course from the videos and pictures of the turns she had been studying. She tried to visualize a lap. As time went on, her thoughts became hazy until she drifted off to sleep.

She began to dream that she was in the driver's seat and was going into the hairpin of turns 5 and into 6.

[WGPC]

Grand Prix of Nekoni - Friday Practice

* Drivers had 90 minutes to record up to 30 flying laps.
* Fastest lap is shown here
* Reni Sanderson was not entered into practice.
* Conditions: Dry

Pos # Driver			Team		Fastest		Behind Leader
 1 51 R.L. Crusin                  	1:43.248
 2 77 iBen Toralmintii             	1:43.312	0:00.064
 3 56 Terho Talvela                	1:43.330	0:00.082
 4  1 Alexandra Mayari             	1:43.357	0:00.109
 5  7 Ethan Ellis                  	1:43.360	0:00.112
 6 18 Louis Krindle                	1:43.375	0:00.126
 7  8 Igne Spupuo                  	1:43.399	0:00.151
 8 25 Jessica Franssen             	1:43.419	0:00.171
 9 35 Jac-Irlo Val                 	1:43.462	0:00.214
10 57 Galicio Palembe              	1:43.465	0:00.216
11 89 Will Madison                 	1:43.490	0:00.241
12 24 Victoria Gardner             	1:43.491	0:00.242
13  6 Alexander Lund               	1:43.516	0:00.268
14 12 Vic Convarion                	1:43.535	0:00.287
15 21 Alexander Kohlon             	1:43.583	0:00.334
16 14 Oliver Bliss                 	1:43.599	0:00.350
17 10 Lauren Ashburton             	1:43.617	0:00.369
18 42 Alex Dimitrianov             	1:43.633	0:00.384
19 13 Gunnar Lindstrom             	1:43.707	0:00.459
20 55 Asao Nadakei                 	1:43.784	0:00.536
21 29 Esteban Guilhermez           	1:43.787	0:00.538
22  3 Mateo Oket                   	1:44.003	0:00.755
23 23 Moisés Delgado               	1:44.019	0:00.770
24 52 Sayono Souzare               	1:44.047	0:00.798
25 99 Rudolf Ibuna                 	1:46.250	0:03.002

[Dunpa]

After Practice

"15th. Why did my car not work with me? I need to get to the team headquarters." Alex told Mike. "Hold up, hurry horse, we have to get the events done before we go to the headquarters. Go to the hotel room so you can get some sleep."
Mike said.

"Well, let's hope I do better in qualification." Alex said to himself as he went on his way to the hotel,

[Vangaziland]

Jessica decided she would wind down after a long day at the track. She needed to de-stress, to center her soul before the race. A yoga mat lay on the floor, which she stood above. Her arms were raised towards the sky as she began to stretch her midsection.

She would do a little yoga and then hit the shower. It had been a long day. She knew she'd sleep well tonight, even though usually it was hard for her to fall asleep.

The driver knelt on the floor and moved to the downward dog position. Her back snapped and popped, as she was a bit sore. She felt her spine expand and relax. Being cramped inside of the cabin for over 90 minutes, plus prep time, really did a number on her shoulders.

She held the pose for a few seconds before switching to the opposite position of the cat pose and popping her spine once more. As her body relaxed, her mind drifted back to the racetrack.

The car had felt a little tight. Her Vannish T1 car had a bit more oversteer, but less pull. Jess believed this car was dialed in and told the crew not to change too much, at least not for this track.

Jess was still new to yoga. She hadn't gotten into much of the advanced stuff. Stretching was just something of a ritual she had found, to wind down.

She could put up good lap times, this didn't surprise her. Her fastest lap ranked 8th of all cars for the session. She knew she had plenty of garbage laps as well though. This was her first run in a WGPC car. Jess did a pretty good job of finding the right line later in the session. The tight suspension helped her grip and pull the car along some of this course's fast turns.

As she changed to another position, which looked quite awkward, she fought her worrying mind. 'How would she do against other drivers?' That was the question that played itself over and over again in her mind.

Mindfulness, that was supposed to cure every anxiety... At least that's what her yoga instructor made it sound like. It is the process of focusing on what is happening in the here and now. What color is the sky? What does the air smell like? Stuff like that should become so engrossing and distracting that you forget what was bothering you in the first place.

Jess wasn't buying it. The only thing that would quell her worries was a good race.

She changed position once more while her mind mentally raced the course, starting from the front straight and into turn 1. Now, after driving the course, she could picture how the car reacts to each apex. She thought about exactly how much gas and break she should apply around each apex.

[The Republic Of Arkan]

Makeo sighed, pulling into garage after the last qualifying lap. Twenty-Second! A whole 21 cars behind first, a whole second behind first, a whole race, pretty much, behind first. The odds of the young Arkanian from Arkania pulling into the top ten looked grim, much less a top five! He'd need a miracle, to say the least.

Stepping out of his car, he grabbed his phone, called up a friend from the region, as asked to chill for a bit. Of course, he needed to wind down, he needed a break. Leaving the track, he headed to his friends house, deciding it'd be best for both of them to chill and play games. Now might be a good time to mention the friend was a female, so there's that out of the way.

After several hours a bit of "chilling," Oket left, returning to his hotel room, falling down onto his bed. How the hell is he going to get through the weekend? Find out next time, on Oket's Adventure!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wolf News
Your Week's News!

"Good evening, and welcome to the Wolf News sports corner. My name is Jerot Olat, former Arkanian Hockey player, and I am here for the next half hour to guide you through Arkanian sports, both nationally and Internationally. So now, lets get to the news.

"As the World Grand Prix Championship continues, we look at Arkanian Makeo Oket, whom, in recent light, has a third place finish Guayabalense, followed by a 17th place finish at the mid-season practice, followed by the most recent practice in Nekoni, finishing 22nd in time. The recent slide in ranking might just be horrible luck, while others have speculated that he'd been distracted by something. Still, it is unknown on why he is sliding.

[Nekoni]

"Welcome home, everybody."

Patrice Minna opened the blue double-doors to the NIC pit garage, a thankfully familiar sight for the team in what was so far a very uncomfortable season. Alex, who had now lost the facial bruising that Christian had given her, gave a wry smile. She was home, almost literally. She spent the duration of the eleventh season living in the complex's utility room. In the last two, she lived off-season at the hotel overlooking turn 13. She spent so long there, she was able to recall the entire wine list...which regretfully she worked through in the weekend after returning victorious from Hodori last year. And oh, how she wished to be in that form again.

It really wasn't her season so far. She had bad starts to her previous couple, but neither of those had her tied up in an airplane hanger with a rivet gun pointing at her head by a drunkard with a death wish. Her performance on track had been frankly embarassing as well, with just six points scored from a possible 150. Granted, she wasn't able to attend one of the races, but retirements plagued her, to the point that she could barely remember her last race finish in Aels, her one point-scoring result. But, as before, Alex knew that she couldn't just give up.

This season was extremely tight, with the leading pack only with scores in the fifties. Two wins. Just like last year. And she had a break to get her head back in the game. Also, it's Nekoni International Circuit. HER circuit. If there was a point on the calendar where she would stage a comeback, here was where it was going to be.

---

"Right, it's been a while, but this is the first time we've been on home soil since...the incident." Patrice instinctively looked at Alex there. He didn't need to; everybody knew what he was talking about. "The press are going to want to get right in our faces, because that's their job. But, I've discussed this with Alex, and our choice is that nobody says anything, alright? The only people who can talk about the incident are those involved in it, and that's ONLY Alex. We're in our necks too much as a team to deal in one driver's affairs. Now, we have cars to prepare, and laps to run, so let's. Andare!"

Fortunately, thanks to the great crowd and reviews of the last season's race (where she managed to carry out a beautiful overtake of Lund on the penultimate lap at Coast) the track was unchanged from its 2015 variant, so Alex could get right back into doing what she loved. She had been out of it for a while, so she was tentative at first, and over the session, managed to get the times that this season was so far sorely lacking. During her eighteenth lap, the magic happened.

"1'43.357, you got the lead! FANTASTIC stuff, keep it up, Alex!!" Patrice sounded genuinely esctatic with her, and for good reason.

Alexandra was back.

...and then before she knew it, she was back in the pit. she had not judged a driver coming out of the pit right where she wanted to be, she swerved to avoid it, right off track and into the gravel. And yet Patrice wasn't particularly annoyed at her for this error of her judgement, he was just glad to see a Nekoni car in the top three. Sadly, she just wasn't able to put down as good a time again when she returned out on the track, and her name inevitably slipped down the table.

Even so, Patrice was extremely happy for her when she got out of the car. "Fourth, Alex! Fourth!" he grasped her hand tightly, giving her a firm handshake for a job well done.

"But it wasn't top three-"

"You've been out of the car for a long, long time, and you've not been this high all season. This was all about you getting back to racing and focusing on the job and you did it. Maybe try NOT driving onto the gravel tomorrow, but we can work on that, yeah?"

Alex smiled, although in her head, she knew she could do better. She was annoyed she couldn't improve on her position and try to cement P1, but this was a solid, solid foundation to work on. She could work in this on Saturday, and see if she can nail some points on the board. Could the Phoenix rise again?