World Grand Prix Championship 12 - everything thread

ISideWith UK · by **Eastfield Lodge** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 12:05 pm

"Why on earth have I not got a teammate or two yet?"

"I don't know, I thought we'd be inundated with applications for our two seats, given that nobody wants to be in a works team."

"Actually, I believe Tingis was happy with a test driver status at a works team, so I'm not sure that's true."

"Exception to the rule and all that. But anyways, it seems sitting back and letting people come to us is just not working, so we're going to have to delve into this pool ourselves."

Louis Krindle and Matthew Tyrtin were standing the team's small conference room, having just finalised all the car's details and testing, with Louis looking furious and Matthew attempting to keep calm in front of his rather irascible main driver.

After about a minute's silence, Louis piped up, saying "So, got any ideas on who we want to contact?"

Matthew looked at Louis, before reaching for a folder marked "Free Agents". It wasn't big, despite the number of people in that position, simply because there hadn't been enough time for proper scouting. Indeed, Victoria was the biggest entry so far in there, as she was a Lodgertian driver. There were some, Matthew Portland for example, who had substantial information, but given how famous those people were, there was little hope of catching them, especially as a second driver.

"Well, there are a certain few that we can remove from the list, given what our requirements are."

"And what would those requirements be?" inquired Louis.

"Someone who's very fast, but also rather reliable, because realistically, we're not aiming high in the constructors' championship, we just want as many point as possible. And if I'm honest, you'll be relying on your speed to get you far, but reliability is not your strong suit, it never has been, and I doubt it will ever be. So we need a reliable second driver who can hit the tail end of the points, but not crash into a wall or another driver every other race."

"So, who fits that bill?"

Matthew took out a lot names from the folder and placed them in front of him. "Well, based on what we can garner from their past record on the basis of ability, this is who I think would fit in nicely, although I've kept in those highly unlikely to join us just for comparison."

"That's ... an expansive set of names you've got there," replied Louis after about ten minutes of skimming through the material. "How are you going to pick someone to join us?"

"That's the problem, not enough of these drivers have expressed an interest in racing, or even finding a seat, in this championship after applying. It's like they've just vanished off the radar. So we don't know how good those lot are."

"Why don't you just contact the ones you have solid data for, and see who's eager out of them? Or, try and consider more people for the role."

And with that, Louis walked out of the room, effectively ending the meeting.

by **Licentiapacisterra** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 3:03 pm

The WM Barton Race Team would like to sign two-time champion Matthew Portland of Liventia as their second driver, and Matt Hingis of Apox as their test driver.

by **Polar Islandstates** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 6:23 am

Ha!

Third.

That should give the other teams something to think about. Or, so Johannes had thought. He'd impressed at the trials in Vilita, and he'd learnt a lot last year. He had pace, and he had tenacity. Unfortunately, the general sinking feeling whenever he sat by the phone and nothing happened told him the one thing he did lack, something that was apparently vital for a WGPC driver...

Charisma.

All that speed and skill spent guiding his car around the corners was worthless if he'd not been giving his numbers out to anybody. He was out there on the track at the moment, given a test drive in the O-F car as a mark of goodwill by his friend Aaltonen in order to attract attention and potential contracts. Two journalists had turned up. Two. Well, not even that, only one of them had turned up. The other interested party hadn't been interested enough to bother making the trip to Torshavn apparently, and instead just rang through for a quote. Even then, the journalist had clearly been surprised to have rung and spoken to Johannes directly. When you're that organised and that dull, agents tended to not be that interested in representing him. And so, he'd had to organise this all himself.

Johannes was a scientist. He was organised. He approached each task like a series of problems to be solved. He wanted to be a racing driver, and that was a problem. He solved it by learning how to drive, very fast. He wanted to get himself a drive for the season, and that was a problem. He did the same for every track, too. The track is the task, getting round it quickly enough is the problem, and teaching himself how to do it was the solution. This was all just a case of repeating that process. Problems had solutions. That's what his father had always told him, and that was how Johannes operated, always. He was no style icon. In fact, many racing fans could walk down the street right by him and not even notice that he'd been standing on the top of the karting podium just two days earlier. Such was Johannes' approach to life. He'd even had a pragmatic approach to using the money he'd made, investing it wisely and making a killing on the Bleak Rock Stock Exchange. And the money was piling up. At this rate, he'd soon be able to buy and run his own team, and then he wouldn't have to worry about all his gathering sponsors and making connections rubbish.

That is, assuming he got a drive this season, first. You've got the spend money to make money, but you've also got to earn it to spend it to make it.

That was his next problem. The question was, how was he going to solve it?

He could have been a stockbroker, an engineer, a physicist, a rocket scientist, an astronaut, or a politician. He had a mind that would stick doggedly to finding solutions to the walls that stood between him and his goals, and he would have been able to apply that to any career in the world. But all Johannes Fagerholm wanted to do was to go fast, and right now he'd trade a whole chunk of his analytical powers for a wee bit of charisma.

Lap finished, he rolled the car into the pits, nodding brusquely by way of thanks at Aaltonen and his assembled crew as he did so. He looked at the time. Not bad, but room for improvement.

The one photographer and press man present got close and snapped a picture of Johannes as he got out of the car and removed his helmet. Johannes realised too late that he'd been staring numbly, and not even smiling.

Damnit.

Watching his compatriot get out of the car, Aaltonen nodded. It certainly wasn't a bad time, and he could do worse than consider Fagerholm for a test spot, even if it was probably not what the young Polarian and native of Severny had had in mind for this season. Still, if all else failed, Aaltonen would have been more than happy to consider this an informal backdated job interview.

Which brought Aaltonen's thinking back to the present.

It was his turn out in his car next, whilst the engineers set up the number two for the arrival of his guest. Then, if things didn't work out, there was always Malachy Byrne Jnr, or Andreas Schroeder. Both of them had looked like they could offer something - and neither would likely be happy with the test driver spot, so they wouldn't solve that particular problem - but the strength of competition was probably a good thing. Still, he had a good feeling about this Birkirsun guy. Whilst the car was built to Aaltonen's strengths, he was well aware that Birkisun's strengths would compensate for the car's weaknesses, and the two might fit together snugly as a pair. He wasn't sure if his gut feelings when it came to team management were usually right or wrong, as this was more or less the first one, but it was certainly a strong one.

In fact, so strong was Aaltonen's gut feeling that he'd drawn up the contract already, offering Einur Birkirsun the second driver spot at Obeveklig-Farautoo.

All that remained was the test drive to tell him whether to hand it to the guy or not.

Then, Aaltonen sighed. This was all too... nice. He had been more aware than ever recently of the way the team bosses had chosen to portray his character in the media, and the media had come to expect it, even interpreting his actions as devious where they would go against his new 'bad boy' persona. Though, in truth, he was starting to get used to it. There had been more than the tiniest bit of thrill when he'd gone so far with his behaviour last season as to receive an official warning from the WGPC, and he was certainly enjoying the attention. So, whilst offering a position to a rookie might be nice, or reckless, depending on whose columns you read, there was only one way to get the attention this endeavour would require in the press, and that was by playing up to the image he'd been given. Resigned to playing dirty to get the column inches, Aaltonen sat down at the back of the garage and started typing a rather inflammatory press release entitled "Why I Didn't Want Sotil Morua Anyway."

If they wanted a diva, they'd get a diva.

OOC: Please do TG me confirming any offers/acceptances for me, as my net time is incredibly limited this week and a quick read when I can leaves the chances of missing vital lines wide open.

by **Schmiegelland** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 8:39 am

Kosuin Mazingii woke up in a hotel room. He sat up, confused for a while, then realized that he was in Astograth, at the Akialden Ducal Autodrome. Why he was there, he thought about, then realized that this was the day when he test-raced for the Yogutz Lantzia WGPC team. He slowly got dressed and went out to the circuit. After eating a small breakfast, Kosuin went out into the test car, a Lantzia 650. He did a few laps. 1:33.22. 1:30.15. 1:29.90. 1:31.11. 1:30.01. He got out of the car. He waited for the results. He waited to see if his laps were good enough. He just hoped they were.

by **Liventia** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 11:36 am

Official announcement
WGPC Motorsport offers will be sent out tomorrow afternoon (BST). Will teams please confirm their driver lineup (at least two race drivers, preferably all three) by tomorrow in time for practice on Sunday.

by **Nekoni** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 12:46 pm

Room 157, NIC Platinum Hotel, Marina Point, Nekoni
31, March 2013 / 04:25am

"Eighth. BLOODY eighth," Alexandra Mayari sighed as she rewound the on-board tape of her practice laps at Turori. How was she in the bottom half of the table? Her lap seemed so...right. She started the day as one to watch, she took every turn as quick as she thought she could do without spinning out, and yet still, she couldn't come up with the goods. "Is it that everyone else is too good, or is it that I'm not good enough?" She never really knew how to handle bad news, what with the home success coming rather easily for her, 2012 notwithstanding. It was 4:25am, and she had not slept a wink. She didn't want to, not with the ever-increasing likelihood of her being left out in the cold hanging over her.

She grabbed her pack of smokes and walked out onto the room balcony. Lighting a cigarette, Alex stared out into the black night. If this was daytime, she would be looking at Coast Corner. A fast straight leading into a difficult, slow left, in many ways a metaphor of how she felt. It was a fantastic last few months, what with the celebrity status at home, the sponsorship deal with the watch company, the thought of international success. She had taken her eye off the ball and forgot how hard the competition would be. That every country that was entering would be sending the very best their country can find, their own Alexandra Mayari. If she couldn't get a seat this season, the home press were going to tear her in two. The rising phoenix would become a fallen angel.

Alex stayed out there for a good few minutes until she finished her cigarette. "I can't fuck this up," she said to herself as she flicked the stub to the ground and went back inside. She could take tomorrow off, she'd never get anywhere without a good sleep. Tuesday, she would take to the track, and she would not come off it until the track record was broken or she was.

by **Astograth** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 1:12 pm

“Sotil! Couldn't have done it without you, mate! Thank you so much!”

“Sorry, who is this again?”

“Ekain!”

“Okendo?”

“Don't you recognise me?”

“Of course I do. You were my teammate back at... yeah. Sorry about that, sure I know you. What was that about thanking me?”

“I got it!”

“I'm glad to hear! Got what though?”

“You don't remember? You recommended me!”

“Ohhhh, right! Of course! Silly me. Well, I've got to get ready for the flight out to Cotdelapoms now. I'll talk to you later.”

“Sure! I've got to pack as well!”

“Really? Where you headed for?”

“Cotdelapoms! I'll be driving in the free practice session, or don't you remember how third drivers work?”

“Hold on. You're signed on as third driver?”

“...what did you think this was all about? I, Ekain Okendo, signed up with Carvenlo to be third driver, on your recommendation.”

“Oh. Oh, wow, that's great! Really! Wow, I'd completely forgotten about that, but I remember now - dropped in a good word for you at HQ. Sorry, now, really. Good times at Badiola, I hope it works out for you at this level.”

“So do I. See you at the track, mate.”

“You're sure about this?”

“One hundred percent.”

“You're the boss.”

Katzuso picked up his folder and strode out of the office, towards his own. He and Sisko had just finished ironing out two preliminary contract offers - all they needed was a drivers' signature now, though would probably be some back-and-forth with the contract details still. Anyhow, he had two agents to call, their phone numbers also secure in his grasp. He merely hoped they were in their respective countries at the time of calling, since he'd figured out how make the disparate time zones match so as to not catch them in the middle of the night.

He expected the calls themselves to be straightforward: hello, I'm the Yogutz Lantzia team principal and we are very interested in having X as our second/test driver this season. Everybody in the WGPC was waiting for a call. They at Lantzia had the initiative, the real power when dealing with the free agents. Who sat out and who got to see the thrill of a race from behind the wheel.

It hadn't been easy, but he'd reached an agreement with Sisko as to who would be most convenient for both driving spots - Lee Rogers was offered the second car, and Alexandra Mayari was offered the test drive.

by **Cotdelapoms** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 1:38 pm

WELCOME TO SAINT-URBAIN, COTDELAPOMS

Whether you're here as a race fan, a race driver, a crew member, or just a person whose trip to Cotdelapoms serendipitously brought you to Saint-Urbain the weekend of the Grand Prix (although you should have noticed how much more expensive it was this weekend!), we guarantee you'll enjoy Saint-Urbain. Here are some things to know for your trip:

WEATHER
All dates in character, all temperatures in °C
Friday (practice)- 9°, mostly cloudy, 50% chance of rain
Saturday (qualifying)- 10°, bright, with strong winds, little chance of rain
Sunday (race)- 13°, bright, no chance of rain

UNDERSTANDING SAINT-URBAIN, COTDELAPOMS
Currency: The Cotdelapoms Dollar, which trades very strongly at the moment. (Currently at C$1=NS$1.84) Cotdelapoms is the economic power of Rushmore, so travel here will always be expensive for outsiders. Most all banks and GABs (ATMs in English, although due to the many quirks of the bilingual society of Cotdelapoms, you will almost never encounter that term) will allow you to withdraw Cotdelapomais currency at the market trading rate at the close of the last business day. The general attitude of the Cotdelapomais public is that VAT taxes are regressive and as such they are much lower in Cotdelapoms than in many other comparable nations. They are also usually already factored into the prices of goods in stores, except in the most tourist-y areas, where shop owners may exclude it in an effort to appear less expensive than they really are.

Language: Saint-Urbain is in the Marianne province (région in French), the most heavily Francophone portion of the country. Most of the people you encounter will be able to interact with you in French or English, although some of the older people will be hesitant to speak English. Most street signs will be written in French and English, although the English will usually be much smaller. In the more tourist-y parts of town they will also be able to easily speak Spanish and Swartazian, and during Grand Prix weekend every effort will be expended by shop owners to interact with the wealthy tourists.

Demographics and GP Fans: Saint-Urbain skews older, more French and poorer than Cotdelapoms as a whole. It's main ethnic populations reflect the country as a whole: Mytanar, Swartazian, Valhallan. The local fans will be polarised (pardon the pun) around the Obeveklig-Farautoo team. There will be some support for the Yogutz Lantzia, and the race fans will be familiar with Shayna Barstowe, should she get signed. She raced in the Coupe Villeneuve series in Cotdelapoms for a few years.

GETTING TO SAINT-URBAIN
By Plane
Aéroport Saint-Urbain général Joliat is only about 20km away from Saint-Urbain, but the airport doesn't get many international flights. In order to fly to Saint-Urbain you will likely need to connect through Montréal, Albionpool or Göteborg, Swartaz. Via shuttle bus, commuter train and even taxi, it's easy to get to just about anywhere in Saint-Urbain from the Airport.

By Train
The main train station in Saint-Urbain is the Gare du Palais. The tram stops there, and it is also a central bus station. It is connected to most of the rest of Cotdelapoms via Rail Cotdelapoms trains. There is also a small parking lot here with some rental cars, although driving around Saint-Urbain during the Grand Prix weekend is much harder than most other weekends.

By Bus
Many bus carriers, both discount and luxury run buses to Saint-Urbain from Montréal- the cheapest being as little as $3 or so dollars, and the most expensive and luxurious going for about $50 each way. Intercity bus travel was mostly rendered obsolete with the establishment of Rail Cotdelapoms, and exists in Saint-Urbain almost exclusively between the city and Montréal.

By Boat
There are actually direct ferries to Saint-Urbain from the southern islands of Swartaz, but the likelihood you will be there to get to the race is slim to say the least.

GETTING AROUND SAINT-URBAIN
By foot
Many of the main tourist areas of Saint-Urbain are within easy walking distance of one another, although the district where all of the race activity will be held is not near any of them.

By public transit
STURBAIN, the transit authority for Saint-Urbain with the clever name, operates quite an extensive system of buses that can take you just about anywhere you need to go. A daily bus pass costs just $10 and works for an unlimited amount of rides for 24 hours. One ride regularly costs $2, going up to $2.50 after 11pm. There is also a tram system that works just fine and goes to all of the major landmarks from the old port to downtown. In order to get to the circuit from downtown you will likely need bus 41 or 48, and from the old port you'd take buses 1 or 3.

By bike
Like in many cities in Cotdelapoms, there's a bike rental service- in Saint-Urbain it's called Vélo-cité. This is a cheap option if you want to see more of the city than you could on foot or via metro but don't feel like driving.

By car
Driving in Saint-Urbain will be a mess during the Grand Prix weekend and the mayor has advised against it at all costs. Many major roads will be shut down- not just those in and around the circuit. Parking in Saint-Urbain is notoriously difficult anyway, so don't bother.

WHAT TO DO IN SAINT-URBAIN (Other than the race)

See the changing of the guard at La Citadelle, the old fortification dating back to the war with French Albion. This occurs daily at noon, and is an interesting spectacle.
Visit one of Cotdelapoms' largest collections of local fine art at Musée national des Beaux-arts du Marianne. Whilst the museums in Montréal and Outremont are bigger and feature more international and contemporary works, for Cotdelapomais fine art from previous centuries this is the place to be. Part of the building is the old main prison for the city, which is interesting in its own right, and there are plaques in many languages with information about how it came to be an art museum. Exhibits are free of charge to Cotdelapomais residents, and $8 to tourists.
If you are interested in Cotdelapomais history, Parc Dupont was a critical battlefield in the war with French Albion, but is now used for many public events, and will this weekend be filled with food trucks, free concerts and WGPC related events. The city has invited some of the teams to display their cars in this park for publicity purposes.
For the most stereotypically Cotdelapomais experience ever, visit the Musée du cidre in the old town. It's $5 and will teach you more than you could ever need to know about apple-based beverages. Bring your sweet tooth and a thirst for apple-related knowledge!
Eat at Marché du Vieux-Port at the old port, one of the older farmers markets in the country- lots of local produce and lots of food stands offering crepes, poutines, savoury breads and other small meals.
Since you are visiting the Grand Prix, you've probably got some money, so perhaps you'd be interested in the high end shopping district. Head out to the Côte-Vert neighbourhood just outside the old port area and go to all the high end shops you'd find in other big cities.
Drink, drink, drink. This is a drinking town. Literally any kind of drinking establishment you'd like can be found in Saint-Urbain, from high-end clubs, to LGBT bars to pubs, sports bars, jazz bars, et cetera. Local alcohols are mostly cidres, but there's also a nice array of ryes. The city has just within the last few years begun to develop a microbrew scene, so along with the standard Cotdelapomais beers (some of the best in Rushmore!) you can also drink a wide array of ales and lagers from Brasserie Boisvert. Look for the taps with the axe handle.
Eat, eat, eat. If you like fish, this is one of the best cities in Cotdelapoms to eat. The local favourites are to eat poutine saint-urbain, which is unlike a traditional Cotdelapomais poutine. The gravy is usually the stock from Moules marinières- and rather than cheese there will be mussels around the side. Mussels, shrimp, lobster, scallops and crab are all caught in the area and are all popular in local cuisine- although it is not crab season at the moment.

SAINT-URBAIN RELATED EPHEMERA

Almost 50% of the billboards and public advertising in Saint-Urbain are for the Khaldoon tourism board. When Pocoan royalty got involved with the football club, they decided they liked the city enough that they would make an effort to improve tourism between QPeMA and the city. Many wealthy Pocoans visit, but few emigrate- mostly due to the weather. As a result there are a lot of Pocoan restaurants run by Cotdelapomais people- they are ok but not necessarily worth visiting.
Speaking of the football club, they will be away this weekend, but you can still visit the shop!
In fact, all of the sports teams will be away this weekend to accommodate the Grand Prix, although if you want to head out to the suburbs you can see the Guerriers (Superligue handball) take on Worcester.
Saint-Urbain's importance to Cotdelapoms is mostly in military history, so a lot of the hyper-urban, cosmopolitan stereotypes of Cotdelapoms don't quite apply here. If you want to experience that, it's pretty easy to get to Montréal. Most people know nothing about the military history of Cotdelapoms, since we don't really discuss it and are hyper-peaceful these days, so this can be a treat for tourists.
The city has an official mascot, a man in a military costume (costume as in big furry costume) named Mikaël who shows up at big city events. He will be out in full force this weekend. Don't ask.

by **The Inevitable Syndicate** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 2:00 pm

Roger opened the e-mail he'd received from his agent. It was nice here in Vilita, and he was taking in the sights before the Mountain Challenge began. However, what read next could change everything:

To: Roger Bunn <rbunn@bitnet.co.is>
From: Lily Lynch <lynch@agencyagency.co.is>
Subject: More offers for you
Attached: plane_tickets_vilita_audioslavia.html

Mr. Bunn,

It's nice to see that you're having fun in Turori - you certainly looked very pleased from what your picture on twitter tells me! But, it's always good to keep your options open! McPahan have got in touch, as have WM Barton. But it seems WM Barton have snapped up a driver already. Anyway, McPahan - they are an Audioslavian team, as you know, known for being completely reckless and care-free, but bloody fast. They need a driver. They also need some money, and they care about that more, which is why they want you to fit the bill. 14k a race. This does mean you'll be dripping in corporate sponsorship, so I took the liberty of finding you some sponsors. Now, you already have an EyeGlass (who doesn't?), and OptiTech would sponsor you. The other companies that would sponsor you are:
OptiTech
NRG Corp* (Clean Energy Providers - will probably have to mention how terrible your car's fuel is...)
Johnson & Guliamme Banking (Money Money Money!)
Syndicatian Resource Extraction* (You know, the mining company... Could get you some coal to burn.)
BitNet (Telecomms - at least you'd get fast internet!)
Mutual Agreement PLC* (Insurance - helpful if accidents happen!)
Dajuk* (The furniture company.)
Fizax (The engineers? They might be handy...)
Stanton's (You know, the supermarket chain? That's a good deal...)
But yeah, have a think about one of those. I explained about the 14k a race thing, and they said they'd be fine with it! Except for the starred companies, who agreed to go halves with someone else. I also have your tickets to Audioslavia booked. You leave tonight, for an interview. Best of luck!

Lily Lynch

The Agency Agency

He sighed. He didn't particularly like Lily Lynch, but when she wanted to get something done, she got it done. Roger packed his things, and made his way to the airport. If he was lucky, he could get this all over and done with before the Mountain Challenge.

While roger wasn't wearing a suit, he still seemed more sharply dressed than one of the Audioslavians that was actually in one. He sat down at the table, and looked at the two men. They stared back at him.

"Look, it's rather simple, Mr. Bunn. You're an okay driver- when you want to be. You match the McPahan style! Fast as all gravy, excellent on the corners, and not giving a care about the consequences! We like that!"

Roger looked confused. "Fast as all gravy" was a Syndicatian term, coined back in the seventies by the Administrator of the time during an election speech. Someone had done their research to make Bunn feel a little too comfortable.

"Indeed. And you want me to pay you to race? This is meant to be a job! I have to eat!"

"We understand that, and you'll have to squeeze a little more money out of your sponsors. Which are whom, by the way? There's no more room on the McPahan car, and it would cost too much to change it as well, so all the sponsors will be on your suit and helmet."

"I haven't decided yet. But I can assure you, they are willing to pay. Now, If you don't mind me asking - what's the money going to?"

"Our other driver, Mr. Bunn. We don't pay his wages - you do."

"Right. And, your cars have an unfortunate track record of being rather... Unsafe. Can you guarantee I'm going to make it out of this season alive?"

"Erm, yes?" One of the men said. "Of course... You know, we're not as bad as you think we are. And you want to race, and we have the car for you! Think about the future! If you stay on, there's room for promotion!"

"You mean if the first guy dies, don't you!"

"Not quite. But yes, if Alec Lund croaks, then you'll probably take his place."

"Hmm. Well, there are several drawbacks, and I am taking part in the mountain challenge. I'll be in touch. Goodnight, gentlemen."

"Hang on, that's our line, isn't it?"

Roger walked out the interview room, slightly scared of the racing team, but slightly in awe of their attitude to the sport. It was a lot like his own, and ultimately, is was like Benny Quipp. Now, the choice of racing team simply rested on the Mountain challenge.

by **Darmen** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 2:04 pm

Juan Kermit was extremely happy. He had been invited to Ancharmunn to take part in a driver test for the Aer Ancharine Motorsport Racing. Kermit had already missed out on two previous tests, being left uninvited to tests in Astograth and Vilita. But this was his chance, this was what he was waiting for. It was a chance to prove himself to the world, or at least his potential team. A chance to show how great he was, and how great he could become.

That was assuming that all things went well though. And Kermit was very familiar with Murphy's law.

Doubt. Something that Kermit did not want, and certainly didn't want now. He pushed the thought out of his mind, and focused on the job ahead. He looked out of the window, as the Lesser Inland Sea passed underneath. His agent, sitting next to him, passed him a map of the course. Kermit began running through it in his head.

A small curve just after the start, but no need to break, except maybe a tiny tap to avoid a collision. Then an almost 90 degree left hand turn, the Devil's Dip as it was called, and through the underpass, before a sweeping right hander and into the Sruhderg chicane. Then a sharp left turn and onto the overpass, before a slight right hand turn followed by a hard left turn.

Immediately following that was a hard right hander, then a very sharp left hander, and into the Moy. Kermit was fairly certain that this portion of the course would be the hardest to navigate, and his strength was speed, not turning. The Ballyfeeaknock International Circuit was certainly harder than most tracks in Darmen, at least on paper.

Out of the Moy and into a shallow left hander, followed by two sharp right handers. And then a lefty into Margaret's Rise, and a lefty out of it, before entering the long straight-a-way.

He shuddered. Maybe it's easier than the Folenisa Street Circuit, he thought. He doubted it though.

Doubt. There it was again. Kermit pushed it aside. Straight, hard left, Devil's dip, underpass...

by **Licentiapacisterra** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 2:29 pm

Lukas Forbes was beginning to worry. This time last year, he was already comfortably settling in at Obeveklig, ready to go for the season ahead. And that was as a rookie. This year, he had a season's experience. But the Polarians had dropped him in favour of another rookie, and he was out of a job. It was almost time for the works teams to start making their signings, but he didn't want to be there, even if it meant a lead spot. It was still a works team.

He glanced at the list on his desk in front of him. All teams with race driver positions open. There weren't many, and all of them were deep in negotiations with other drivers. Except one.

MSA SinVal.

That was the answer. He would fly up to Rushmore, and offer himself to MSA SinVal as their second driver. Pure genius.

ISideWith UK · by **Eastfield Lodge** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 2:50 pm

Matthew Tyrtin was sitting at his computer, drafting and redrafting the generic email that he was going to send to all of those shortlisted drivers, but he wasn't the best at writing formal letters/e-mails, so the final result looked a complete mess. No worries, he thought, as he forwarded the mess to his secretary to sort out and send to all those drivers. It wasn't long until the email was sent out to everybody, and Matthew could relax, sit back, and wait for the replies. But with the first race looming in a fortnight's time, and the WGPC works teams being announced sooner than that, it was literally a case of first come first served with regards to the second seat. The test driver's seat didn't have to be filled yet, so that could wait, which was good.

So Matthew sat and waited for a bit at the computer, just loading up different bits of data on the screen: the car's times around various different domestic circuits, both single hot laptimes and long run laptimes, how each tire fared on those circuits, the profiles of all the possible drivers for the second spot (and the test spot), their times around in various tests and events, especially the Eelandii, amongst other things. He was about to log off and have an afternoon power nap when he received messages from two of the drivers. Wow, that was quick.

"Louis."

"Yes boss?"

"Well, I've just sent out the email as you suggested, and two of the drivers have already replied."

"That was quick. Who are they?"

"Shayna Barstowe from Nova Cambria, and Lukas Forbes of all people."

"Barstowe any good?"

"Not sure. Looking at her past, she fits our criteria, but at that session at Eelandii, she did post the slowest cumulative time of the day."

"So, are we taking Forbes onboard, or will we wait for someone else?"

"I don't think we'll have time to wait, so we'll take Lukas Forbes as our second driver. As for test drivers, I'll wait a few more days, and if nobody answers, we'll take Victoria on, savvy?"

"Fair enough."

"Forbes is coming up to meet us in a couple of days, so I want you to be there as well, OK?"

"OK, bye."

by **Vilita** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 3:57 pm

Drivers Flock to Vilita in Competition for Champions' Ride

Vilitan Mountain Challenge Grand Prix Course
Acceleration: 8
Cornering: 2
Track Length: 3.14 Miles
Track Record: 1:25.440 - Stang Crax

15 of the Worlds Best free agent drivers descended on Vilita earlier today for a 1-Day Trial session at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course as a last look at the free agent market, not only for themselves, but for all teams with open driver slots ahead of the 12th World Grand Prix Championships. Everyone had their eyes on the biggest prize, however, Vilita & Turori Motorsports very own second seat - the seat vacated in the off season by defending Grand Prix world champion Stang Crax who took his money back to Falcania in the formation of Goldmund-Teller F1.

All 15 drivers in attendance were allotted seat time in all sessions and the scouts were out and about from all over as the once quiet and secluded trial session and morphed into a media frenzy and the focus of the World Grand Prix Championships off season.

The scouts from Audioslavia were doing the most hand shaking, working out a deal to get introduced to all drivers by the Vilita & Turori F1 officials in the morning meeting where the rules and responsibilities for the day were conveyed to the drivers. Turori's iBen Toralmintii and Polar Islandstates Johannes Fagerholm were expected to excel given their experience at the course while others would be making their first laps around the track. The return of Flevans Lee Rogers garnered a lot of media attention as well as the well publicized Mytannion pilot Andreas Schroeder. Another driver expected to perform well were Einur Birkirsun of Bearded Moose, expected to be negotiating a deal with Obeveklig-Farautoo that would put the pressure on Polarian Fagerholm to impress the visiting scouts.

In addition, Matt Hingis of Apox, Holt Freezer of Mangolana, Alexandra Mayari of Nekoni, Shayna Barstowe of Nova Cambria, Narein Sugumaran of Subramani and James Ferguson of Tyrants were the pre-registered participants. Kosuin Mazingii of Schmeigelland and Malachy Byrne showed up on the day and the CTF1 officials were prepared, having already experienced late arrivals through Farfadillis' Generoso Ramirez the previous season, and both drivers were accomodated.

One of the unknowns in the session would be Falcania's Allian Marquis. Much might be expected from Stang Crax's fellow Falcanian but the two had much different driving histories. The reigning world champions, Crax, had earned his ride in this very session one season prior. For Allian Marquis, the second-cousin of Crax's manager Julian Marquis, it was youth over experience - but the talent potential was limitless and everyone was waiting to see how the young Falcanian would handle on track activity.

The trial at the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Course lasted for one day only, with a meet & greet over breakfast in the morning followed by two warmup sessions before lunch. Drivers were assigned to equally prepared cars in the morning session and given a skeleton crew to assist with any changes the driver themselves suggested to the VTF1 team, perhaps giving an advantage to those drivers with a more mechanical background.

Mytannions Andreas Schroeder was fastest in the first morning session putting together a 5 lap sequence about three-quarters of a second faster in total time than the experienced Lee Rogers. Schmeigelland's Kosuin Mazingii turned heads with a top 5 placement while expected challengers Johannes Fagerholm and iBen Toralmintii struggled.

As expected, many of the drivers picked up the pace in the second session and the Mechanical prowess of young Allian Marquis shone through as the Falcanian driver jumped to the top of the charts in the second session and turned the fastest 5-lap average of the morning. Lee Rogers consistency put the experienced driver second while Bearded Moose's Eniur Birkirsun showed why he is attracting interest from some of the Grand Prix's top teams.

MORNING SESSION #1
Fastest 5-Lap Average
----------------------------------

1 [MYT] Andreas Schroeder
2 [FLV] Lee Rogers
3 [ANC] Malachy Byrne
4 [SHM] Kosuin Mazingii
5 [FLC] Allian Marquis
6 [BMO] Einur Birkirsun
7 [TIS] Roger Bunn
8 [NCM] Shayna Barstowe
9 [NEK] Alexandra Mayari
10 [SUB] Narein Sugumaran
11 [PIS] Johannes Fagerholm
12 [TUR] iBen Toralmintii
13 [TYR] James Ferguson
14 [APX] Matt Hingis
15 [MNG] Holt Freezer

MORNING SESSION #2
Fastest 5-Lap Average
----------------------------------

1 [FLC] Allian Marquis
2 [FLV] Lee Rogers
3 [BMO] Einur Birkirsun
4 [ANC] Malachy Byrne
5 [MYT] Andreas Schroeder
6 [TIS] Roger Bunn
7 [TUR] iBen Toralmintii
8 [APX] Matt Hingis
9 [MNG] Holt Freezer
10 [NEK] Alexandra Mayari
11 [PIS] Johannes Fagerholm
12 [NCM] Shayna Barstowe
13 [SUB] Narein Sugumaran
14 [TYR] James Ferguson
15 [SHM] Kosuin Mazingii

MORNING SESSION - COMBINED
Personal Best 5-Lap Average (Either Session)
----------------------------------

1 [FLC] Allian Marquis
2 [FLV] Lee Rogers
3 [BMO] Einur Birkirsun
4 [MYT] Andreas Schroeder
5 [ANC] Malachy Byrne
6 [TIS] Roger Bunn
7 [PIS] Johannes Fagerholm
8 [TUR] iBen Toralmintii
9 [SHM] Kosuin Mazingii
10 [APX] Matt Hingis
11 [NEK] Alexandra Mayari
12 [MNG] Holt Freezer
13 [NCM] Shayna Barstowe
14 [SUB] Narein Sugumaran
15 [TYR] James Ferguson

The drivers then broke for a working lunch where they had an open forum to discuss the track and the vehicles, and how to improve their speeds prior to the time trial session that began following lunch. The 5-lap average leaderboard looked very similar to the leaderboard at the Eelandii Shakedown, with the exception being the drop of Roger Bunn and Johannes Fagerholm outside the top 5 after posting the 2nd and 3rd fastest sessions in Turori.

The drivers then proceeded to the Time Trial session. Each driver was let out on the track at intervals for a 3-lap mock-qualifying run with the fastest lap time counting towards the standing. The leader board from the combined morning sessions was used to set the qualifying session order with Tyrants James Ferguson on the track first.

Fagerholm and Bunn continued their less than-stellar performances as Vilita and Turori Motorsports officials looked on in disbelief as two of their prime candidates were under-performing at the most inopportune time. Turori's iBen Toralmintii had a bit of redemption after a poor showing at the Season 11 Trial, posting the fastest time of all drivers, something that would have to be considered as expected by a driver that practically designed the course. The consistency of Rogers was apparent posting 2nd yet again while the Inexperience and perhaps over-excitement of the Falcanian youth Marquis was apparent in the 11th place effort.

TIME TRIAL SESSION
Fastest Lap
----------------------------------

1 [TUR] iBen Toralmintii
2 [FLV] Lee Rogers
3 [MYT] Andreas Schroeder
4 [ANC] Malachy Byrne
5 [APX] Matt Hingis
6 [MNG] Holt Freezer
7 [SUB] Narein Sugumaran
8 [NCM] Shayna Barstowe
9 [BMO] Einur Birkirsun
10 [PIS] Johannes Fagerholm
11 [FLC] Allian Marquis
12 [TIS] Roger Bunn
13 [NEK] Alexandra Mayari
14 [SHM] Kosuin Mazingii
15 [TYR] James Ferguson

The final 3 hour session following the time trials was simulated as a race with scheduled caution periods for drivers to bring the cars in for service with the starting order determined from the qualifying session. While it was not an official race, drivers were encouraged that their finishing position, as well as their overall 'body of work' would influence their likelihood of selection for the second Vilita & Turori Motorsports seat.

The real entertainment was watching the Falcanian driver Allian Marquis battle his way up from the 11th position into the top 3 as the session neared its end. Just when it looked like experience would shine through, Marquis swooped around Flevans Lee Rogers to repeat the triumph of his country mate Stang Crax and come home first at the Vilitan Trial.

FINAL SESSION - RESULTS
----------------------------------

1 [FLC] Allian Marquis
2 [FLV] Lee Rogers
3 [BMO] Einur Birkirsun
4 [MYT] Andreas Schroeder
5 [TIS] Roger Bunn
6 [ANC] Malachy Byrne
7 [TUR] iBen Toralmintii
8 [PIS] Johannes Fagerholm
9 [NEK] Alexandra Mayari
10 [APX] Matt Hingis
11 [NCM] Shayna Barstowe
12 [MNG] Holt Freezer
13 [SUB] Narein Sugumaran
14 [TYR] James Ferguson
15 [SHM] Kosuin Mazingii

Although wary of the risks of hiring a young whipper-snapper from Falcania, the rewards were proven during Season 11. Vilitan & Turori Motorsports no longer needed to sell their seat to the highest bidder to help get the team running. They just needed to win. Allian Marquis proved on the day that he could win, and that was the only thing VTF1 officials needed to confirm Allian Marquis of Falcania as their second-seat driver.

Vlita & Turori officials knew that Rogers, Birkirsun and Bunn had been highly recruited by other teams and would be unlikely to settle on a Test-Driver role. VTF1 officials focused on the rest o the top-10 drivers and invited them to leave their contact information behind in Vilita if they were interested in being the teams Test Driver for the upcoming season.

by **Flevans** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 5:02 pm

Lee Rogers will accept the drive for Yogutz Lantzia. I'll write up an RP after I've had some sleep.

by **Izaurriland** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 5:00 am

is it possible to sign another team?

Izaurri Racing has completed its car and and the livery is almost ready... :twisted:

It would honour our people to have a national racing team

by **The Inevitable Syndicate** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 5:03 am

The Vilitan Mountain Challenge course was an imposing one. An impressive route through the mountains of the country, Bunn thought, as he gathered for what could be the most important day of his life. Scouts from many teams were there, not just Vilita & Turori, but he did want that second driver place badly. At least Vilita could pay him, instead of having to scrounge money from sponsors.

So, it was quite a disaster when he only had 5 laps in order to prove himself. Bunn was more of a slow starter, hard hitter sort of guy - and it really didn't seem that 5 laps would be enough. He was right - in the first morning session, he came 7th. Marquis, whom he had formed a direct rivalry with, also didn't do greatly, coming 5th. Oh well, no matter. Bunn pulled up a circuit analysis done by the Syndicatian Department of Statistics - one of the biggest government departments, that had their fingers in everything and released information to be taken by the general public - and it seemed that this circuit was mainly focused on the overtake points on the straight sections. When corners did occur, they were rather large and swooping. With this knowledge, he hit the track again, hoping that this time he'd do well.

The scoreboard rattled, showing his new position. 6th. And Marquis had taken the top spot. Bloody hell. Still, it least the lunch was nice. He talked with the other drivers, slightly annoyed at his contrast in position from that of Turori. The car seemed to be fine, even if the brakes were a little too tight, and he could tell that scouts all across the board were looking at him as if he'd got here by fluke. This time trial was his last remaining chance to redeem himself, and prove to the world that he did in fact have what it takes to get into the top racing teams!

And it did infact all come crashing down around him, as he felt the looks from the officials burning into his head. He'd finished 12th. 12th was a no-good position. Out of 15, it was terrible. So, why had it happened? Roger asked himself that as he left the track in disgrace. Allan Marquis was in the same boat as him, finishing 11th, but it was the race that was the final nail in he coffin for Bunn's V&T career. Starting from 12th, he did his best to battle his way up, mainly focusing on matching Allan Marquis's pace, but the young Falcanian left him in the mountain dust after he'd climbed to 5th. It was here he stayed until he end of the race.

Allan Marquis went on to win, and was swarmed by Vilitan men in suits. Best of luck to him... Roger thought, skulking away from the circuit back to his hotel room. Still, there was always McPahan. He thumbed through the list of sponsor's he'd received. Now he had to pick who to sponsor him. BitNet was quite a good sponsor. As was Fizex. At least that way, he wouldn't have to drop them into his everyday life. And they'd actually pay him a decent wage!

After a lot of deliberation, he went to find one of the Agents from McPahan.

"Hey, I remember you - you were in my McPahan interview!"

"Yes, I was, son. Now, you didn't perform too well out there today, but by jove, you really tried in that last race. That's the spirit we want at McPahan! And the money, of course, which we hope you have..."

"I do. I've got some sponsors, and, if you'll have me, I'd like the second driver seat at McPahan."

by **Bearded Moose** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 6:02 am

Einur Birkirsun accepts the seat offered by Obeveklig-Farautoo (and thanks PIS for that). I'll write up an RP after my soccer practice (this evening)

by **World Grand Prix Championship** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 7:56 am

WGPC Motorsport offers have been sent out. If you haven't received one, but have other offers open, the WGPC's advice is to accept them as there is no guarantee you will receive a WGPC offer should any of the current offers be declined.

by **Falcania** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 8:12 am

OOC Note: I am currently feeling quite unwell. I pledge to have some RP for the WGPC later today. For now, in case I have another attack and am unable to, I formally accept VTF1's offer for Allian Marquis, and I put out a last-minute pledge for people interested in taking the G-T Test seat.

by **Polar Islandstates** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 8:21 am

Johannes Fagerholm ACCEPTS the WGPC Test Seat offer.

by **Nova Cambria et PBI** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 9:03 am

Shayna Barstowe accepts the offer from the WGPC Motorsport.

by **Apox** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 9:19 am

As thankful as Matt Hingis is to WM Barton for offering him a Test Seat, he would prefer to have regular driving time, and therefore accepts the offer from WGPC for a racing seat.

by **Mytannion** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 9:32 am

Andreas Schroeder sighed to himself. Everything had seemingly been there, at his fingertips, all these contacts with big motorsports teams and now it had all come crashing down. He’d missed out on opportunities at Yogutz Lantzia, Obeveklig-Farautoo, Vilita & Turori Motorsports and even the WGPC works teams hadn’t offered him anything. What had happened?

He had one chance left and that was the Aer Ancharine team, who seemingly had their hearts set on a big name driver because of their rather rich owner and backer Cole McCleary. Sure, Schroeder could be the media darling all he wanted – he had been trained to say only good things in press conferences – so there could be no bad publicity and then no reason for him to be in trouble with potential bosses.

But if McCleary didn’t offer him this second driver spot, he was a bastard for all Schroeder cared.

Schroeder knew in himself that he could be one of the best drivers on the circuit if he was given a decent vehicle and a chance – but if the market was so tight, how could any rookies ever get an opportunity? Sure enough, many had signed rookies, but why were they better than him? Schroeder had one of the best resumes on the planet, surely that spoke for itself? Or was he missing something? He knew straight away.

He had no personality.

Many spoke of drivers often seeming just cold and calculating, as if they were a machine themselves – not just their cars. Schroeder had almost been programmed, by agents, by everyone, into being a certain way, acting in a certain manner. There was no individuality. Potential bosses could not see anything that would set him apart from the rest, no passion, he was just a young driver with a short but fairly strong history and that was about it.

Schroeder had to do something to change this image. He would have to adopt a new persona to get publicity – of any kind – he would do something that not many had seen and was dangerously close to overstepping the mark.

He knew that there were one or two other drivers that would be trying-out for Aer Ancharine, battling for the only spare seat left in the WGPC. There was Juan Kermit, the slightly unknown quantity straight out of Darmen and there was Matthew Portland – the Liventian racing legend.

What?! Matthew Portland? But he had just signed for Licentiapacisterran team WM Barton only hours ago. Surely he wouldn’t turn up to testing at another team? No. Schroeder put the thought out of his mind.

That meant there was only two drivers left. There was himself. And there was this slightly oddly named Juan Kermit.

Schroeder knew exactly what he was going to do, he cleared his mind and thought straight. He would create as big a scene as possible when he tried out against this Darmeni fellow, he would race as well as he could – keep that part of it all as professional as he could – but then, afterwards, he would complain about something, make a minor disagreement into a big thing and hopefully garner some press attention in the process.

He would take a press conference and extensively complain about Kermit’s on-track exploits, as if he had been endangering his own safety as well as Schroeder’s. He would try and discredit Kermit to such an extent that Aer Ancharine would not sign him, but would be forced to sign someone else. That someone else, would of course be Schroeder himself.

Schroeder suddenly felt a lot happier about everything. Sure he had worked hard for this image over the years, but he had to do something to change things slightly – to make himself a more attractive proposition for team principals to want to sign him up straight away – if that meant creating a slightly more controversial persona around himself then so be it.

He had only a single hope remaining; he wouldn’t let himself be just a test driver for some team – that was beneath him – why would he bring himself down to that level? He wanted regular Grand Prix driving time, he didn’t want to go back to the Mytanar Racing Championship or some poxy Rushmori GP2 series.

He wanted to compete at the highest level – and he would fight the Frog Man the whole way for it. Schroeder thought grimly.

Bring it on Juan Kermit.

by **Nekoni** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 9:34 am

Alexandra Mayari accepts the offer of a test seat at Yogutz Lantzia.

by **Ancharmunn** » Wed Apr 03, 2013 11:07 am

Malachy Byrne Snr. had a feeling that it was going to be one those days when he'd arrived at the Ballyfeeaknock International Circuit to receive a phone call from Matthew Portland. Taking the call he'd expected Portland to have got slightly lost making his way to the circuit or perhaps have been delayed. Instead Portland had apologised but told Byrne that he'd just accepted the second seat at the WM Barton team and as such wouldn't be turning up for the test session. Aer Ancharine had had a former world champion right there in their grasp and now he was gone. Portland may not a Stang Crax, but he certainly a big name signing that team owner Cole McCleary was looking for. Now they just had two rookies, one driver new to this level and the other rejected last season.

Still though, Aer Ancharine's principle had been unfazed and had found plenty of success within the day. Both drivers had impressed him in different ways. The Andreas Schroeder had dominated on the track, of the thirty laps split between the two drivers the fourteen fastest had been set by the young Mytanar. Though that didn't mean the day had been a failure for Kermit. The odds had always been against him timewise given how the Ballyfeeaknock International Circuit was a track better suited to Schroeder's abilities, but Kermit had shown. Throughout the day Byrne had noticed that he had a knack for providing useful feedback and information to the team. Such a skill could well the difference between scoring points in races and not doing so, or even winning and merely getting on the podium.

The results from the day had pretty much made Byrne's mind up, he would offer the second race seat to Schroeder and invite Kermit to join the team in a testing capacity. Now however there had been an element of doubt set in his mind. Given the day's results he'd have expected Schroeder to be delighted, confident of a contract even, whilst Kermit perhaps to be a bit down. The scene that greeted him upon entering the post-session meeting room then was something of a surprise. Schroeder and Kermit were having to be forcibly separated by various staff having apparently become engaged in some sort of dispute. That all pointed the finger at Schroeder for the incident was a bigger surprise given how the day had gone.

Did he have some sort of previously unseen temperament problem? Would the two drivers be able to work together? Should Byrne rip up the contract offers? These nagging questions ran through his mind, yet there was something, an instinct to barrel on with the initial plans. Despite the doubts Andreas Schroeder would be offered the chance to be Aer Ancharine's second race driver, whilst Juan Kermit would be asked to test for the team.

-----

For once Finbar Kenny had got it spot one Malachy Byrne Jnr. mused. Not the hotel choice, as usual Kenny had gone for the cheap option and put the pair up in some crappy hotel in the vague vicinity of the Vilitan Mountain Challenge Grand Prix Course. The decision to turn up in Vilita for the trial session at that circuit though had paid dividends. Throughout the day the young Byrne had performed consistently well. When the worst performance of the various sessions was a respectable sixth place in the afternoon's race, one had to go home content. Or at least back to the local hovel of a hotel.

Shortly after finishing the session Byrne had received two phone calls, both offers of drives for the upcoming season. He had a choice of either a test seat at BrennickSport or a race seat at one of the WGPC Works teams. All the advice had been to go for the race seat. Kenny had virtually ripped the phone out of Byrne's hand in order to accept the WGPC offer straight away. Donal O'Connell had spoken wonders of what a year in a similar outfit had done for him, whilst Malachy Byrne Snr. in a rare occasion of seemingly trying to help his son's career had implored him to take the Works drive.

The lure of a near enough guaranteed place on the grid for every race of the season though wasn't enough. On leaving BrennickSport's headquarters following his interview Byrne Jnr. couldn't help but the test position wouldn't last long. The atmosphere between the two signed drivers was tense and bound to snap sooner or later, if he just happened to be there already he'd be perfectly positioned to step up as BrennickSport's next race driver. He'd also got the feeling that David Brennick had wanted him for the long term. Were he to go for the Works team he'd be in the position of looking for a drive again in a years time, at BrennickSport he fancied his chances of already being signed up.

Hovering between the numbers for the two teams in his phone's contact list he made his decision by hitting the call button. This was it, he was signing up as test driver for BrennickSport.

World Grand Prix Championship 12 - everything thread

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