World Grand Prix Championship Season 14: Roleplay Thread

[Aboveland]

Thursday

Terho whipped his top notch Fox Hornet R around the muddy corners of the tracks in the forest a few miles from his house at breakneck speeds, skimming trees and brushing bushes on his way. Mud splattered his tailgate and rear window. Through his steering column and the bottom of his seat he could feel all four wheels clawing at the terrain below him, rutting the roads he knew so well just to grip onto the Earth. How he missed doing this for a living.

After an arduous yet strangely relaxing session of backroad rallying, Terho retreated to his living room to really wind down and begin packing for the flight to Audioslavia. He was feeling exceptionally confident for the final race. Crossport Raceway was the first track on which he'd used a modern WGPC car, when he was trying out for a spot at McPahan before the season's start. It was easy, with a few slow hairpins at the beginning. Surely, if he had the will, he could take an easy win. It was all up for grabs.

Friday Practice

"Vittun perkele!" rang out through Terho's helmet.

"Easy there, tiger", Edvin said to him. "It's just a practice session"

Terho eased Chassis Y' through the Turn of the Century on his way back to pits. "It's not that easy," said Terho, "I'm twentieth. TWENTIETH!"

"Okay, this is harder than I thought. Look, roll into pits and you tell me what the team will need to fix on the car." Edvin replied, with a cringe on his face.

The warm rubber from Terho's front wheels adhered to the paddock as he rolled in. To his right he could see iBen and Will grinning at the TV with their times. He yanked his helmet off, pushed his neck support to the side, and stormed out. He needed to snap out of his dilly dallying driving. He was driving like a rookie once again. What was going on? Crossport was an easy track, and he knew it. He'd pulled off a grippy Scandinavian flick and a powerslide on the circuit once before. He could easily win this race. However, the practice session wasn't particularly useful. He also sensed something wrong with the car. Perhaps it was the setup, but the gear changes felt too slow and sticky. Tomorrow, Terho would push for the pole. He was not about to lose the championship on the last race. He would push for pole and then push for the win on Sunday. His attitude, best described as flat out.

Terho will push hard on race day to finish ahead of iBen, no matter what, but a good qualifying position would significantly calm him and ease the building pressure inside his head.

[WGPC]

Final race: Saturday qualifying

Conditions: Changeable
Drivers had 90 minutes to record up to 10 flying laps. Fastest lap is recorded.

1 56 Terho Talvela           	1:31.265
 2 89 Will Madison            	1:31.292
 3 25 Jessica Franssen        	1:31.334
 4 77 iBen Toralmintii        	1:31.383
 5 55 Asao Nadakei            	1:31.402
 6  8 Igne Spupuo             	1:31.455
 7  7 Ethan Ellis             	1:31.553
 8 51 R.L. Crusin             	1:31.569
 9  6 Alexander Lund          	1:31.572
10  1 Alexandra Mayari        	1:31.792
11 13 Gunnar Lindstrom        	1:31.832
12 52 Sayono Souzare          	1:31.867
13 18 Louis Krindle           	1:31.982
14 42 Alex Dimitrianov        	1:31.991
15 35 Jac-Irlo Val            	1:32.017
16 57 Galicio Palembe         	1:32.164
17 29 Esteban Guilhermez      	1:32.204
18 12 Vic Convarion           	1:32.295
19 24 Victoria Gardner        	1:32.304
20 10 Lauren Ashburton        	1:32.376
21 99 Rudolf Ibuna            	1:32.910
22 14 Oliver Bliss            	1:34.020
23 23 Moisés Delgado          	1:34.571
24  3 Mateo Oket              	1:36.826

[Vangaziland]

Once again, Jessica put her team and sponsors into the spotlight with a very technical qualifying session. It was clear that the Vangazi was on top of her line, as usual. She had the third fastest time in both the practice and qualifying sessions.

From her perch on the starting line, she looked to claw her way to the front and stay there. Terho Talvela had the pole. His name spoke for itself. It would be a tall order for anyone to topple him.

Will Madison was no slouch either. He stayed right up there with Jessica, running second fastest in practice and qualifying. He had just as good a chance to finish first as any other competitor, including the black V+T cars.

Jessica, as well as the crew at MRT knew there was a battle brewing between Talvela and Toralmintii. She would have to either avoid it, jump in front of it, or use it to draft. She wouldn't know which scenario to follow until race-day itself, with all its nuances.

In the past, Jessica has used the black cars as tools to draft off of. It took her to 6th in the Vilitian Grand Prix, but won her the Grand Prix of Krytenia. She wouldn't just blindly follow V+T. Madison was a prime candidate as well. If he got off to a good start, maybe the pair could jump in front of Talvela and battle for the lead.

But it was set up to be just that, a battle. To win, a team would have to understand the strategy. Pit stops will come into play, as well. MRT has done well to work wonders with the same car that a former MRT driver only scored 4 points with. Jessica has had a few hiccups, but every race-day has gone smoothly. The pit crew was essential to both of Jessica's wins, as was the maintenance.

MRT had one race left. They looked for more of the same from Jessica Franssen. At this point, people must have thought her chances of winning this last competition were good.

Jessica wore her sponsor, Van-Bands, sunglasses for a post qualifying interview. She seemed relaxed, if not tired from her time on the track.

"Besides, MRT and Van-Bands, I'd like to thank the organizers of the WGPC. Without you, none of this could be possible. Kudos."

Jessica answered several questions. They wanted to know who she thought had a good chance of winning the race. Jess didn't throw a name back saying, "Anyone could win. I couldn't forge a guess."

But most of the other questions were more bland. She said the same stuff as usual, talking about her lines and preparation. In the end, it would come down to which driver was in the best position.

Jessica had the desire. She hoped to do well on race-day.

A reporter asked Jess who she thought would win the Championship, Talvela or Toralmintii. "I think Talvela is more technical", Jess answered." But Toralmintii wants it more. I can't pick a winner yet. Good luck to them both."

[Aboveland]

The raceway was sticky and warm as Terho crossed the finish line for the first time at the end of his first flying lap. He hadn't entered his "zone" yet, but he was working extra hard to glue his eyes to the tarmac, sharpen his spatial awareness and get his heart pumping blood to his brain and extremities for superior control.

1:31:501.

Not good enough.

Entering the Turn of the Century, Terho pushed on his throttle harder than last time, shifting his hip into it to really fine-tune his power delivery. Across the apex he went as his body pressed against the right side of his monocoque. What a way to keep his momentum.

Into the Hammerhead he tapped the brakes to kill off excess speed. He whipped his steering wheel right and almost immediately turned his car with surgical precision. Fairly enough though, he bit the tarmac run-off area.

On the long straight Terho took a moment to breathe regularly and force his adrenaline to kick in even more. He felt he was almost at his point of highest concentration.

Tapping the gravel trap on the inside of the apex Terho hopped over the corner rumble strip in a jovial fashion, his helmet bobbing in his cockpit and wobbling from side to side on the camera footage. On the exit, he floored the throttle.

A slight adjustment to his downforce before he started allowed him to be planted on Knock, Hold and Loose and maintain speed through the three corners. With a proper racing line set Terho floored the throttle again over Lund Hill. However, as the dark, gaping entrance to the Rail Tunnel came ever closer, he killed his right leg and tapped the brake pedal, going into the turn at what was still a fast speed, but felt like an eternity to Terho. A burning desire to get pole position awake in him, he kicked the throttle on the exit of the tunnel before his eyes could adjust to the change in light outside. He was in the zone now, and nobody could stop him. 1:31:349 wouldn't cut it.

A thick cloud cover had just formed over the track and it removed the minimal glare from the front of the car which bounced into the Abovian's point of view the previous lap. Terho attacked the Turn of the Century faster than ever before.

2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 went his LCD at which he merely shot an eye for a split second after Hammerhead. Turn 4 would be his next victim.

Terho pounced on Hammertail by, again, brushing the gravel trap and bouncing across the inside of the turn. Shooting towards the trio of flowing turns, he counted them to make sure he wasn't scampering off the racing line.

One, two, three, and now uphill, he repeated to himself mentally, preparing for the Rail Tunnel. Taking advantage of the mental safety he felt with the tarmac run-off area just before the entrance, all he did was remove pressure from the throttle pedal. Terho braked very late into the Rail Tunnel corner and almost lost the back end. Only his sky-high adrenaline levels and what he described later as an overwhelming spike of testosterone saved him, his car, and his pole position chances.

His time, 1:31:265

Terho went around the circuit one last time for his in-lap, and seeing how the asphalt began to get dimpled with water droplets precipitated from the now grey clouds, he settled in the paddock and awaited the end of the qualifying session.

Pole position was his, and if he could maintain his cool attitude and expertly manage his position, the title was his. So as long as iBen was either in his rear view mirrors, or in those of his opponents further back, for the duration of Sunday's race, he was happy. And if the Turorian dared overtake him, he shall rest assured Terho was going to attack and push like he'd never done before.

[Turori]

Crossport Speedway, Crossport, Audioslavia :: iBen Toralmintii pulled his car into the paddock area at the conclusion of his final practice runs at Crossport Speedway in Audioslavia. There were hands waiting to greet him - congratulatory in a sense as the Turorian driver had just posted the fast lap of the session. As Toralmintii exited his cockpit and took off his helmet he asked "Whats the lap record here?" of his car chief.

"ninety-three" was the response. iBen shook his head. He knew they needed to do better. "I know, I know" his car chief was picking up what iBen was throwing down, "We'll keep working on it."

Toralmintii knew that his teammate - and current World Driver championship leader Terho Talvela would eventually find the speed. Looking at the leaderboard, the field was all very tight in Audioslavia. The top twenty two times were all within half a second of Toralmintii's bar-setting lap. Only the Scuderia works ride of Rudolf Ibuna and the consistent Victoria Gardner - who just couldn't figure out the right angles on the Hammertail - were slower. Toralmintii nearly rear ended a fishtailing Gardner on his third practice lap - if it weren't for that he thought perhaps he could have turned an even faster time.

Now, however, everything was in the hands of his crew. With all the hustle bustle in the paddock and all the stress he had been putting himself under - knowing he may never get a better opportunity to be crowned the World Drivers Champion - Toralmintii, encouraged by his crew members, retreated to the motor-home to rest and give himself a distraction for the rest of the afternoon.

The Turorian driver grabbed himself a drink and sat down on the couch, flipping on the telescreen. He started to make some motions with his hand and eventually a footsport match was on the tele - it was an Eagle's Cup group stage matchup between the Turori Eels and an upstart nation from Esportiva known as Tumbra.

The match was being broadcast live from Eel's Park in Eelandii, Turori - just a stones throw from the Vilita & Turori Motorsports facility at the Eelandii Grand Prix course. Toralmintii decided to keep it on, put his feet up and relax.

It really was a match where neither team had much to play for. The Turori National Team had already secured its place in the knockout round and knew that their first knockout round match would take place just meters away at the Eagle's Club in Eelandii. For Tumbra, they were mathematically eliminated at the conclusion of group stage Matchday 5 and had only pride to play for in what would amount to their final warmup match before they headed home for the historic first-ever Campionato de Esportiva hosted on Tumbran soil.

Despite not having anything substatial to play for, the Eels put out a fairly strong lineup to start the match including starting goalkeeper G.Q. Disterfred II where most would likely have expected to see Sharif Deniibo getting the nod in such a match. Nevertheless it was Disterfred between the sticks for Turori and from the outset, the Colonial Sile netminder didn't have much to do.

The Eel's, trying to build some momentum to take with them into the Quarter-Finals, got a spark from Oani Moralziia who produced a spectacular individual effort to put the Turori National Team in front in the 10th minute much to the delight of the almost entirely pro-Turori crowd at Eels Park.

As the match droned on however, Tumbra slowly began to claw their way back into the match and got their equalizer on a corner kick in the 37th minute through Robert Alexander.

Despite the early dominance from the home side, the match had come together by the half and looked an even affair. At the half time break, the Turori National Team finally made the change everyone was expecting of them and made a switch between the sticks, with Sharif Deniibo coming in to play the second half giving G.Q. Disterfred a much deserved break ahead of the Quarter Final round of play.

The break in the action on the pitch afforded iBen Toralmintii a moment to shut his eyes. After a long day in the paddock and some hot practice runs, he figured he would just 'listen' to the commercials for a few minutes...

... half an hour later Toralmintii was startled awake by the sound from the tele: "Gooooooooaaoooooooaalliiiiiiliiilililiiiii'aoaoaooooooooooo!"

As all indications from the tele would show, the Eel's work back in front. It was a one-two play between Meldi'ita Mungwaii and the substitute Timi'sala Koarena that eventually saw Mungwaii break free and chip the ball over the onrushing Ryan Hughes. Once he fully processed what was going on, Toralmintii pumped his fist in the air, sat up on the couch and watched the rest of the game.

He woke up at just the right time, as well. Just minutes later, Tumbra equalized once again - and once again it was on a corner kick. This time it was the substitute John Rhys-Stevens of Merton FC who rose highest and converted past a helpless Sharif Deniibo as the Tumbrans looked to salvage something in their Eagle's Cup swan song.

Alas, however, they were ultimately to be denied by the experience and perseverance of the Eagle's Cup Champions. After being beat twice on the corner-kick by their opponents it was fitting that the Turori National Team eventually fought back and claimed the three points by doing exactly what their opponents had done to them: Convert the corner kick. Instead of winning the ball in the air, however, Geafi Laina-Sola met the ball on the volley and fired it past Hughes for what would amount to be the games winning goal.

For Toralmintii, it was a motivating point. Sure, it was just Tumbra and the match didn't mean much. But the Turori National Team could pull off victory, so could he.

The Turorian driver closed his eyes and thought about his qualifying run.

...

As Toralmintii approached the Hammertail, he thought about the day before when he had come up on a struggling Victoria Gardner. There was no one in front of him this time. The path was clear. Perfect Execution. It was all horsepower from this point.

Except Toralmintii had momentarily forgotten about Knock-Hold-Loose. He started his breaking just a hair too late and it set him off going into the snake turns. He had recovered by the time he reached Lund Hill but the damage was already done.

When he crossed the stripe, his car chief radio'ed in his time. "Thirty-Eight" Toralmintii heard over the radio.

Shit.

iBen started his cool down and knew he wasn't going to like what he saw when he got back to the Paddock. Sure enough, Talvela had picked up from practice and turned in a lap time of 1:31.265 - Nearly a tenth of a second slower that Toralmintii had been turning in practice, but with the Turorian drivers mistake on his qualifying lap, there was no one left to capitalize and keep the Abovian driver from claiming pole position.

The result was sure to give Talvela confidence on race day - but there was a silver lining for Toralmintii. He knew he had to win the race. The goal was simple. For Talvela, the math was far more complicated. Starting from the front of the pack, Talvela would be driving in his side view mirrors all race long, checking to see where Toralmintii was - or - if the Turorian driver were to overtake his Abovian teammate - how far behind the next potential competitor was to ensure more points weren't conceded.

In talking with his car chief, they reminded themselves that the Constructors title was already secured for Vilita & Turori Motorsports. Additionally, they were assured to finish 1st and 2nd in the Drivers standings. The only thing not set in stone: Which driver would lift the championship trophy in Crossport.

The more he thought about the situation, the more iBen Toralmintii liked it. Talvela would be on the defensive. Toralmintii just had to do what he had done so many times before: Win the season finale.

[WGPC]

Grand Prix of Audioslavia: Final Race

* Conditions: Dry
* Laps: 52

Pos # Driver               Team		        Race Time	Behind Preceding car
 1 25 Jessica Franssen           	1:21:42.135	+0:00.000
 2 89 Will Madison               	1:22:28.948	+0:46.813
 3 51 R.L. Crusin                	1:22:43.604	+0:14.657
 4 42 Alex Dimitrianov           	1:22:55.368	+0:11.764
 5 77 iBen Toralmintii           	1:22:56.682	+0:01.313
 6 56 Terho Talvela              	1:22:59.515	+0:02.833
 7 52 Sayono Souzare             	1:23:13.953	+0:14.438
 8 55 Asao Nadakei               	+1 Lap		
 9 35 Jac-Irlo Val               	+1 Lap		+0:07.167
10  6 Alexander Lund             	+1 Lap		+0:03.784
11 18 Louis Krindle              	+1 Lap		+0:08.608
12 13 Gunnar Lindstrom           	+1 Lap		+0:24.231
13 29 Esteban Guilhermez         	+1 Lap		+0:07.539
14 12 Vic Convarion              	+1 Lap		+0:13.110
15  3 Mateo Oket                 	+1 Lap		+0:02.716
16 14 Oliver Bliss               	+1 Lap		+0:02.980
17 24 Victoria Gardner           	+1 Lap		+0:15.200
DNF  7 Ethan Ellis                	Ret. Lap 43	
DNF 10 Lauren Ashburton           	Ret. Lap 35	
DNF  1 Alexandra Mayari           	Ret. Lap 30	
DNF  8 Igne Spupuo                	Ret. Lap 27	
DNF 99 Rudolf Ibuna               	Ret. Lap 25
DNF 57 Galicio Palembe            	Ret. Lap 14
DNF 23 Moisés Delgado             	Ret. Lap 11

Final Driver's Standings

Pos	#	Name			Team				Pts
1	56	Terho Talvela		VTM				135 World Drivers' Champion
2	77	iBen Toralmintii	VTM				128
3	8	Igne Spupuo		Telaris Racing			84
4	25	Jessica Franssen	MRT				82
5	89	Will Madison		Fornax Racing			80
6	18	Louis Krindle		MSA-SinVal			60
7	51	R.L. Crusin		Carvenlo-Franklin Racing	59
8	55	Asao Nadakei		ENSADRINK GP			53
9	14	Oliver Bliss		MSA-SinVal			48
10	7	Ethan Ellis		Carvenlo-Franklin Racing	45
11	24	Victoria Gardner	SFeG				42
12	6	Alexander Lund		McPahan Racing			41
13	99	Rudolf Ibuna		Scuderia WGPC			40
14	42	Alex Dimitrianov	MRT				34
15	10	Lauren Ashburton	ENSADRINK GP			27
16	3	Mateo Oket		Archer Motorsports		25
17	12	Vic Convarion		Telaris Racing			21
18	46	Reni Sanderson		McPahan Racing			19
19	21	Alexander Kohlon	WGPC Motorworks			17
20	1	Alexandra Mayari	SFeG				14
21	57	Galicio Palembe		Scuderia WGPC			10
22	35	Jac-Irlo Val		Fornax Racing			9
23	13	Gunnar Lindstrom	WGPC Motorworks			8
24	23	Moisés Delgado		Cygnus ATR			7
25	52	Sayono Souzare		Archer Motorsports		6
26	29	Esteban Guilhermez	Cygnus ATR			4
26	17	Oliver Bachmann		MRT				4

Final Constructors' Standings

VTM				263 Constructors' Champion
MRT				120
MSA-Sinval			108
Telaris Racing			105
Carvenlo-Franklin Racing	104
Fornax Racing			89
ENSADRINK GP			80
McPahan Racing			60
SFeG				56
Scuderia WGPC			50
Archer Motorsports		31
WGPC Motorsports		25
Cygnus ATR			11

Congratulations to VTM for a dominating comeback season, to Terho Tavela for victory in his debut year, and to Jessica Franssen for the sort of performance which might have won her the championship if only she'd arrived sooner.
Thank you all, once again, for taking part, and thanks again for putting up with the delays this season suffered. Next season, which will either be at the end of this year or the start of next year, should be much, much smoother.

[Vangaziland]

The waterworks were turned on as Jessica stood atop the final podium. She had won the last race of the season. As she rained champagne over at Will Madison, she cried. And it wasn't a quiet moment of tears. She balled her eyes out, sniffling and moaning out loud.

"I was overcome with emotion", she told reporters after the moment. "The season is over and I don't want it to be. Plus there were the emotions of what we accomplished. It's been a big year."

She had accomplished all the goals she could in such a short timespan. She bumped MRT to number 2 in the Constructor's Championship, along with a 4th place finish by her teammate. Jess made it to number 4 in driver's standings.

In the six races that she has participated in, she won half of them, earning more points than any other driver in that stretch.

She had one last thing to say.

"Congrats to Terho Talvela, to the World Grand Prix Championship organizers for another successful season, and thanks to MRT and my sponsor Van-Bands, for keeping my eyes safe during all these races."

Then she started crying again and walked away from the cameras and the spotlight.

[Drawkland]

The last race featured very little to note, it would seem. The winners of the Season, both drivers and teams, had basically already been solidified, and Fornax had accepted their mediocrity.

Will Madison qualified in the second slot, and while he knew he should try to win the last race, he sat in his car and shrugged. A podium finish is good enough for me. I'll hold my own, he decided, and that's exactly what he did. He'd already beaten Terho, and he'd already won a race. This would just be a nice Sunday drive for Will, and that's exactly how it went.

In lap 36, half the race finished with no change in the top 3 drivers' position, Terho took a bad spin and nearly crashed into the wall (turns out he'd planned to pit the very next lap), which he narrowly avoided DNF'ing but lost his first place spot. Will cruised into first with a whoop and a grin, and wary of Jessica Franssen right on his tail.

A dozen or so laps later, Will went to pit, as did Jessica. Unfortunately for Fornax, the pit crew found a major issue with the engine, which delayed them enough to allow Franssen to pass right by out of the lane (and gain almost half a minute on him). And so Will was back in second, with no stress. He had no qualms with the Vannish chick, who he admired for being able to make a hot start to the season in only 6 races.

And the race ended just like that, with Will coming in almost a minute behind Franssen. He didn't feel too bad about it (until he did feel pretty bad when he realized her win made her jump over him and beat him by 2 points in the final Driver's standings), because he himself got the sweet taste of champagne on the podium to crown his season off (and like last time he was on the podium, he made sure to spray Jac-Irlo with some of the liquid, especially because his teammate had made it into the top 10 by the end).

When a Drawkian interviewer asked him how he felt, all Will said was, "It's bittersweet, all this coming to an end. All I hope is that I can come back next year, however that ends up happening. Thank you, Fornax, and thank you, DISC, for both giving me a chance."

Fornax had an afterparty the weekend after, in which all the people involved with WGPC14 for the racing team came together to celebrate their not-terrible result.
"6th place ain't bad for a rookie team," somebody had said, and Will couldn't agree more.