World Grand Prix Championship Season 15: Roleplay Thread

[WGPC]

Raceweek Five - Friday Practice


Grand Prix of San Jose Guayabal - Friday practice

Drivers had ninety minutes to record up to thirty laps of the track (including in and out laps to and from the pits). Only each driver's fastest time is shown in the table below.
Conditions: DRY

Pos # Name			Team		Fastest Lap	Behind Leader
 1 37 Axel Novikov                 	0:01:41.263	0:00:00.000
 2 52 Sayono Souzare               	0:01:41.343	0:00:00.080
 3 63 Kurt Censki                  	0:01:41.378	0:00:00.115
 4 42 Alex Dimitrianov             	0:01:41.443	0:00:00.180
 5 14 Oliver Bliss                 	0:01:41.456	0:00:00.193
 6  5 Julianos Lemos               	0:01:41.505	0:00:00.242
 7 99 Maria Cattaneo               	0:01:41.523	0:00:00.260
=8 51 R.L. Cruisin                 	0:01:41.532	0:00:00.269
=8 53 Denholm Kingsley             	0:01:41.532	0:00:00.269
10 23 Moisés Delgado               	0:01:41.559	0:00:00.296
11 29 Esteban Guilhermez           	0:01:41.565	0:00:00.303
12 17 Eaoueaiou Aeouiouie          	0:01:41.601	0:00:00.339
13 18 Louis Krindle                	0:01:41.623	0:00:00.360
14 80 J. Jensen-Fletcher           	0:01:41.677	0:00:00.414
15  1 Terho Talvela                	0:01:41.736	0:00:00.473
16 16 Alexander Lund               	0:01:41.767	0:00:00.504
17 74 Alexander Mayari             	0:01:41.775	0:00:00.512
18 89 Will Madison                 	0:01:41.809	0:00:00.546
19  6 Marika Pedanovic             	0:01:41.904	0:00:00.641
20 77 iBen Toralmintii             	0:01:41.921	0:00:00.659
21 20 Mick Schramm                 	0:01:41.990	0:00:00.727
22 24 Victoria Gardner             	0:01:41.999	0:00:00.736
23 91 Ilyas Nurlibaev              	0:01:42.003	0:00:00.741
24 55 Asao Nadakei                 	0:01:42.027	0:00:00.765
25 94 Ryker Lane                   	0:01:42.067	0:00:00.804
26  7 Ethan Ellis                  	0:01:42.129	0:00:00.867

Cutoff for Saturday's Qualifying event should be after 10pm UTC on Saturday. There may be a delay, however, in which case cut off will be on Sunday afternoon and the race will be moved to Monday night. This move would only be OOC, and the race would still, ICly, maintain the typical Friday, Saturday, Sunday structure.

[The Redvale]

Gabriella Olson
WGPC Kjeligsted HQ

It was go time for Gabriella Olson, and by extension, for her billion dollar business that was working on expand its way from the shores of the Redvale into the WGPC. They hadn't been able to get in as a team, even though they were now the reserve team in case there was an emergency need for another team because of someone running out of money and crashing out of the competition. But, they still had a chance to get in through their research and development program, which was legendary in their home country for powering the young guns from Roja Leo to dominance. Olson raced in the lower levels of racing, but they developed all of the technology and constructed the power units to Roja Leo, the youngest team to win the domestic championship when they did so a couple of seasons back in dominant fashion.

Now, their charismatic owner, Gabriella Olson, was trying to sell WGPC Kjeligsted on creating a partnership that would see Olson bring their legendary engines to Kjeligsted, even though the season had already started. Kjeligsted needed some better results, and for that to happen, they needed to make some changes. One of those changes would be a better engine, but that wasn't all that Olson was intending to bring to the team. "Okay, I think everyone is here? Let's begin, then," Gabriella said, sitting down at the head of the table in one of the team's conference rooms, and pushing a button on a remote to dim the lights and start playing a video on the TV screen.

The video began by showing Lauri Maximovic, the most dominant driver in recent Formula AAA history, racing around the Olson testing track in their car for this season, displaying the new technologies that the car was using. Namely, ground effect, but they had been testing suspension at the time of the video too. A narrator then began speaking, bragging about the Olson Industries involvement in the sport and talking about how they supplied Roja Leo and about how they had won Formula AAA, the top developmental league, for four of the past five years. They bragged about their technology, their developments, and how advanced their labs were and how they were always on the cutting edge of innovation.

The video would go on for about twenty minutes, before Gabriella herself got bored with this. She stopped it, and turned the lights back on. "OK. Enough of this. I came here to talk to you, not to let a video give my speech for me. You get the point. We're really good at developing cars and more specifically, certain parts, like engines. And to put it bluntly, you have a shit car this year. Your engine is terrible and your drivers aren't happy with it. Your star hates driving your car because it's nothing like what she's used to back home. Well, I'm here to fix that. I want to break into the sport even further and you provide me with a top chance for that. I want to take care of Maria, and I'm willing to hand you some free equipment to do that."

The board members stared at her, bewildered by her casual speech. She just continued. "Look, I have this engine that we used last year at Olson. The OV82. It's our third V8 engine and we have a good power unit built around it, that we want to give you. It worked for us, and it's not experimental like the rest of the stuff we're running this year. We think it will be an upgrade for you and I'm willing to pay to get it into Maria's car. And the other car too, if you want. We also want to set you up with something that Lauri Maximovic tested last season. It's like... We set up this active suspension system that uses actual computers at the base of the suspension to adjust it in real time, as the car moves and turns. Roja Leo trialed it with good results too when they won our domestic title. It's in really high demand but we're willing to ship it out to you first. It's just for Maria, too, not the other guy that races for you. If you want to know the exact science behind it, you'll have to talk to my tech team, because it's complicated. It uses, like, nanobots or some shit. I don't know. Anyway, it's yours if you want it, and I think it will help you get out of the basement in the constructor's title. Does that sound good?"

The board members talked for a moment in hushed voices, and then the representative who would be making the decision nodded. "While we certainly think that you would be an... Unconventional partner, we think that your resources could be a great help to us. Welcome to the team, Gabriella."

~

Maria Cattaneo
Circuito Callejero Plaza de Arms

The press conference was uncomfortable, as Maria had been forced to justify her outbursts to the media. "I stand by what I said and did. I'm a competitor and when I give it my all and then do badly because of something someone else did, or because the car isn't that great, it really hurts. I don't think anyone is going to know how much it hurt me for my debut to go like that, and I'm not going to apologize for showing passion and showing that I really care about what happens to this team. I'm never going to apologize for giving a damn. That's just my personality and I'm not shying away from that," she said, staring into the distance as the cameras flashed in front of her. She had a thousand yard stare going, because she couldn't bring herself to meet the eyes of anyone in the room. "The only thing that I'll apologize for is calling Ryker Lane dirty, because I realize after watching the replays that he didn't mean to crash into me, but it looked like he did and I said some things in the heat of the moment. I'm sorry about that."

The cameras kept clicking away, and she spoke up again before someone could ask the next question. "I also want to apologize again for what happened when he visited me in the pit lane. Like I said, emotions were high at the time. I still had an adrenaline rush going, and I was really pissed at the time because my crew didn't do enough to support me in this race. I was angry at them and I took it out on him, because I thought that he meant to bump me. He knows what my personality is, I'm sure he understands," she continued, and with that, her allotted press conference time was finally over. She stepped off of the platform, standing around for a few more moments so the press could get pictures of her black and white dress, and then she made a quick exit and headed to the locker room.

After changing into her race suit and picking up her helmet, she went into the Kjeligsted garage and looked around to find that the crew was still working on the car. She also saw a new visitor, Gabriella Olson. "What's all this about? Are you doing what I said and making some upgrades?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and looking around at the crew as they rushed to finish in time to not miss practice. They were installing a new engine, and it looked like they were doing something with the suspension too. "Maybe you guys aren't as terrible as I thought you were."

"You can thank me later," Gabriella said indignantly, annoyed that Maria hadn't addressed her. "This is all my doing. When I promised to help you, I meant it. I care about making this country relevant internationally, and if I have to pay for these upgrades myself, so be it. A thank you would be nice, though."

"Well... Thank you," Maria said, folding her arms and looking away to avoid making awkward eye contact. "And thanks for the food that you gave me before, by the way. If you hadn't forced one of my good friends out of the sport, I would think that you were the best friend I have right now."

Awkward. They hadn't made eye contact, but it was still awkward between them. That shouldn't affect Maria on the track, however, and with this better car, better results should arrive...

---

OOC Note: I know the time scale doesn't quite work for this, but I'm going to ignore that for now and have some posts keeping up with racing in Redvale. They may end up being very relevant because of the R&D going on in Redvale right now with certain teams. For now I'm going to say these domestic posts take place before this stuff.

RMC 15: Tour di Maris and Janford Derby sees Roja Leo rise

The second race in the Redvali Motor Championship saw two Roja Leo drivers take the podium. Maria Cattaneo picked up her first win in the red and white colors of Roja Leo, and her more experienced teammate Eros Bergmaschi was next to her on the podium at third place. Placed between them and in second place was Jason Yamura, who was on the podium for the second time in two races since joining his hometown team from none other than Roja Leo. This East Marisian race was highly hyped, and it didn't disappoint. Cattaneo was meant to be Yamura's successor, and she battled all night long under the lights with him, with the two of them overtaking each other for first place multiple times.

Chang as a whole and Jason Yamura in particular have been relying on ultra soft tires and good cornering to make the most of those tires without having to use too many pit stops, but Yamura couldn't corner well enough on this track to keep from having to pit twice. That second pit stop, late in the race, was what gave Maria Cattaneo a two second gap on him and the eventual win. That didn't mean that Yamura did bad, however. He had a very good race, qualifying in ninth position and making his way through the field and overtaking several rivals, including Renato Holden and his National Automotive teammate Nic Trentino.

Tour di Maris Podium
1: Maria Cattaneo - 37 points
2: Jason Yamura - 33 points
3: Eros Bergmaschi - 16 points

The series then went into the Janford Derby, and Roja Leo picked up another podium. The Skybrough Raceway track isn't exactly an easy one, with many twists and turns that demand sharp handling, but that played into the strengths of Maria Cattaneo. She finished in second place after a fifth place start, and she finished behind an excellent and in form Yamura who wasn't going to be beat in a track he's dominated in the past. The Janford Racing Company is a decent team that everyone likes because of their underdog status and their small budget, and they did decent. Neil Archer rounded out the podium with a third place finish, after overtaking Renato Holden two laps away from the finish using his DRS. Overall, it was a very exciting race that had a decently exciting finish and saw some of the biggest stars of the country put on a show for the fans with overtakes and tight handling.

Janford Derby
1: Jason Yamura - 58 points
2: Maria Cattaneo - 55 points
3: Neil Archer - 23 points

Formula AAA 15: Olson downforce crushing competition

Formula AAA is the developmental series for the RMC, and the series has produced most of the great Redvali drivers and has also hosted farm teams for the bigger traditional teams like Valle Rojas, Chang, and National Automotive. However, the latest season was expected to be dominated by Olson Motorsports, owned by Olson Industries and their young billionaire owner Gabriella Olson, who also owns FC Troy and has invested heavily into sports. That team is also notably the developmental team of Roja Leo. The series follows the RMC, and the Janford Derby serves as the opener for it instead of the Southern Coast Grand Prix.

And like everyone expected, Olson absolutely crushed the rest of the field, using their new OM35 car for the first time. This car is designed to be an upgrade over the OM34 because of one thing: ground effect. Unlike the OM34, the OM35 has very low side skirts designed to maximize downforce and take full advantage of ground effect, which is a technology that Olson has done much research in. One of their past successful cars, the OM31, had a very low to the ground design, but this new car is the first one to have side skirts and is also much lower than any other car on the grid.

The tinkering in technology paid off, because the Skybrough Formula AAA Race was won by Olson and their second driver managed a second place finish. The other teams expected to contend were Krasberg Motorsports, the Ekren Racing Company, and Janford Automations, but all of these teams were blown out of the water, with Janford Automations coming the closest and still losing via a seven second gap. It's going to be interesting to see if Olson can bring ground effect into fashion with their modern car designs, and whether it causes controversy amongst the other teams. Here's the podium.

Skybrough Formula AAA Race
1: Lauri Maximovic - 25 points
2: Sophia Ruffin - 18 points
3: Jay Marchesi - 15 points

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

"You finished out there now, Ryker? Took you long enough!"

The Nimban racer smiles as he levers himself up and out of his car after practice. "Hey, I wasn't as slow as all that! Just experimenting with the new tyres on this circuit - a simulator's useful for learning the basics of a course, of course, but nothing beats good old-fashioned real-world experience when it comes to getting a circuit's feel, you know? There's something more - what's the right word - genuine about it."

The technician nods, focussing back on his work; his colleague latches onto the conversation, her expression one of mock disapproval. "You mean that our software designers' work is somehow inadequate? If so, I'll be sure to pass on the message..."

Ryker laughs, now fully out of the car and with his helmet off. "Nah. It's just a matter of the accuracy of the information, isn't it? If you use traditional binary-encoded data, you just won't be able to pack in anything like all of the sensory input that you'd need." He thinks for a moment. "Of course, you could use Imagination-based systems. Now that I consider it, in fact..."

The first technician shakes his head. "Wouldn't work, sorry to say. The thoughts would be massively complex; a machine like that would need more Imagination than the Nexus can even output to translate it into action, let alone that we would get access to here. Maybe give it a few centuries - all the scientists say that the Nexus is increasing in size, right?"

Ryker shrugs, not entirely sure whether he's serious about that last point. "I'll leave the thinking to you, Virgil, Lucia, since you're good at that kind of thing; I'm only a humble driver, after all." The three share a chuckle, Ryker raising a hand in farewell before turning and walking through the Nexus Racing garage, back to the portal home.

We really do take these things for granted, here, don't we? That is in part due to the thing's mundane appearance, most likely: the entire assembly looks essentially like a free-standing doorway, the outline of a semicircle-topped rectangle traced from steel. The only thing that marks this out as different is the cogoreplicator and Imagination converter (He'd never asked what this type was called; 'Imagispatial', maybe?) held underneath a mesh platform on which the doorway stood, along with half-a-dozen boxes attached to either side, each one of which contains a gyroscopic safety switch that prevents the portal from being formed if it isn't perpendicular to the ground. Still not so sure about why you need those things, Ryker thinks as he climbs up the stairs. I remember asking Gertrude about that once; began ranting about 'gravitons', whatever they are, and the world somehow crumpling in on itself for virtually no energy. Not my sort of thing.

He ascends the steps, then exposes his eye for retinal scanning. The security, of course, is utterly essential; Gertrude normally being right on most things, if this device got into the hands of a terrorist - well, they'd have a Maelstrom on their hands, that's for sure. It was a wonder that Guard managed to procure one of these things for the team in the first place.

So convenient, though. Ryker steps through the portal (a somewhat underwhelming trip, exactly identical to walking through any other doorway) and emerges on the other side back at Nexus Racing HQ several thousand miles away.

[The Serbian Empire]

"Well, that went alright. If I keep practicing in race trim, there won't be any surprises in the race when it comes to pace of what I can run. But I'm a bit worried about something. I don't know if I can sit on the pole if the others were in qualifying trim again, but I don't know where more speed can be found in qualifying except maybe off of turn 23 on the main straight and braking hard in turn 1. I noticed the tyres felt a bit different. Did Tigar bring a new compound?" Marika asked.

Her technician nodded his head before admitting, "Yeah, this is the medium compound. The guys from Tigar say it will likely force you to pit twice in the race otherwise you will suffer a massive time delta of about 2.5 to 5 seconds a lap. Should allow for a run at the pole, but I doubt it'll hold up as well as last week's race."

"Kind of noticed that around lap 18 or so on the tyre run that it wasn't gripping as well as the superhards late in the run. It grips much better than the superhards early and that's where the 1:41.904 was ran. Lap 3 and from there, it was alright then suddenly there was nothing left in them. If the race runs closer to 55 laps, we might need a three stop strategy based on how I feel about these tyres. I doubt that'll be winning even if I'm the fastest in the field in qualifying," Marika said with a grim tone.

"I might have a new simulation that will allow a few extra laps on the tyres without sacrificing too much speed. If I find it, you'll have it for race day," the race engineer who overheard the conversation admitted.

[Lisander]

Plaza de Armas weekend - Friday

Juliano and Mick arrived San Jose Guayabal with different expectations. Lemos, 8th in the championship, was expecting some evolution in results. Maybe reaching the podium. Mick was probably more cautious. But both were surprised by a call of Natassia Maud, head of the team.

—Boys, go right to your boxes as soon as you arrive Plaza de Armas circuit. I have a gift for both of you.

Minutes after, Lemos and Schramm were in empty boxes. Their cars are covered by pieces of cloth. They uncovered the vehicle and there are they. The Season 1 official livery of Bitten Heroes GPE.

15px:

Inside the cars, there were also two new helmets, one for each pilot.

Dear Mick,
We, from Bitten Heroes, are very grateful
to you and to WET motors, who agreed to
join this project in the midst of chaos.

We hope that this partnership can continue,
strong and healthy, throughout the season.
It is my wish, as the owner of the team.

May you bring great glories to Bitten Heroes!

Natassia Maud
Team Owner

Dear Juliano,

This letter is a little different.

Look at your helmet. On the side, below.
It's signed by me. This is my personal gift
to you, my darling. Did you notice the
stars? "Like our starry sky," just like the
first helmet you have gifted me.

Be very successful and wait for me, darling.
Next season, we'll be together in WGPC.

From your girlfriend and teammate,

Ludwika Wiel

---

Later that day, Juliano Lemos was in its 19th lap, with hard tires.

[Team Radio: Push it more, Juliano, you're on the same beat of the leaders. You can do more than 9th. Go ahead, you can push it a little more in Turns 16 and 19. We can reach them!]

—Lanza, I want to run the last laps of today with soft ones. Hard tires are losing grip in the turn 18 and it's hard to retake. I need to change it.

[Team Radio: Ok, come and change the tires. This Ajator contract is very good, at least they supply us with extra sets of them.]

Said and done. In lap 27, some minutes later.

—So much better, Lanza. Ask Ajator for three more sets of these tires. Could you please ask for supersoft tyres? I'll try my final lap now.


[Team Radio: The wear would be too high if we use supersoft this weekend, you know. Go ahead with these.]

Juliano made the lap with confidence. The result, a pretty decent 6th place, just a little behind the top 3, was a good signal. The "Circuito Callejero", or street circuit, looked friendly to the lisanderian driver.

[West-East Timor]

"That helmet looks great!", said Mick when he saw it. "And the car does too."

"Looks like Juliano's helmet is signed by his girlfriend...", Felix said.

"How cute...", Mick added.

"Well", Marek said, "Mick, of course has no girlfriend."

"Marek, stop being childish.", said Max. "Mick, a good looking helmet and car won't make you fast. You don't know this track as well, focus on getting to know the track in practice."

In practice, Mick focused on getting to know the track. He found the Plaza de Armas Circuit somewhat strange, and so he didn't drive any really fast lap.

---

WET NEWS

Bitten Heroes Unveil Final Livery

After having used a provisional livery for the WGPC season's first race in Eastfield Lodge, the Bitten Heroes GPE team have unveiled their official livery for the WGPC Season 15. The new car has got more dark blue on it's side than before, and blue at the front. Also, there are way more sponsors on the car: Remington Pharmaceuticals, Ajator, kb, and the famous West-East Timorian engineering company WETmotors, which is an important sponsor of Bitten Heroes driver Mick Schramm. After Seigen Dynamics had exited the project before the season even started, Bitten Heroes had no sponsors, only X Pro, and when Mick Schramm was anounced as a driver, WETmotors as well. Also, Mick Schramm has unveiled his new helmet:

Mick Schramm at a press conference in San Jose Guayabal:

"I think the new car looks great! Hopefully, we will get some good results with that livery. After the dissapointing last race, I hope to finish in the points this time. I'll try to avoid any accidents, but that doesn't mean I'm going to take less risks. I'll do what I can to finish as good as I can, no matter what."

But the practice didn't look that promissing. Schramm only finished 21st, probably not the best result he could have achieved, while his teammate Juliano Lemos had finished 6th.

"I know, 21st is not a good result. But hey, Marika Pedanovic had finished last in las race's practice, and then went on to win the race. So, yeah, that does not really mean anything. And anyways, I don't know the track and, in my opinion, it's somewhat a strange track. I never tried to get any fast laps, I just wanted to get to know the track. Fast laps are to follow in qualifying."

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Ryker stretches in the cockpit of his UHSGV-1. I think that I've heard of people naming their cars before. Maybe I ought to do the same?

He thinks. It would have to be something that is meaningful to me in some way, not just a flashy, cool insubsta-

"Ryker?"

"I hear you." His race engineer, Martin Veri, is on the radio. Martin had been with Ryker for a long, long while, since his days at BolterCP in fact, and the two had established a close working friendship; it was only natural that both would move to Nexus Racing when Ryker was headhunted to develop the Chase Cutter with them.

The race engineer's role in the team is somewhat different in Nexus Racing. The race engineer-driver relationship is more or less the same as any other team's but the relationship between the two race engineers is just as important; both, in accordance with the Nimban ideal of unity in diversity, are expected to share their drivers' feedback on the situation and what's working in terms of driving lines and car settings in order to maximise performance.

Hence Martin's report. "Marika's side of the garage have been crunching the numbers relating to the new tyres that Tigar have brought to the race, their medium compound. Your cornering, let's just say, will be even better than last time - and for this street circuit, you'll need it."

"Awesome, looking forward to it!"

"That's why you can't use them to their full potential all the time."

Ryker frowns. "Go on."

"Well, you can in qualifying but don't push them too hard in the race itself." Martin's voice is, as always, calm and assured; Nimban commentators for Cityprix had considered it a helpful check to the determined passion that Ryker showed in his racing. "First, the tyres will only just stretch to the final laps of the race if you drive aggressively; you'll need the spare grip in case anything goes wrong. Secondly, I'm sure that you'll want the ability to brake hard into the corners when you're overtaking, yes?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Precisely. In short, then, for now you'll be fine - just don't get too used to it, since tomorrow you'll be back to your usual wide and smooth corner entries and exits."

Ryker relays his understanding, then prepares to go out onto the circuit. He could, he hoped, do better than last qualifying. Shouldn't be that hard.

[San Jose Guayabal]

Circuito Plaza de Armas, San Salvador, SJG - February 12th 4:40 PM

Moisés was visibly hyped for the practice, he was once again at his homeland and this time for a race in a street circuit he knows really well, he’s used to it since he ran there some races for the Guayabalense Gran Turismo Series. After spending some days at his family house in El Boquerón, he took public transport and reached San Salvador’s downtown and went to the Telaris boxes in order to salute his known foe, Gutiérrez, since Delgado was quite anxious about rubbing a bet on his friend’s face. Gutiérrez walked and met Delgado, Gutiérrez took initiative and pat Delgado on his back, then said “You won’t go anywhere, this is our weekend, mate.” Delgado couldn’t help but laughed loud and said “Don’t underestimate me” while patting Gutiérrez back. The issue was personal between them, they were two really competitive persons and being at home in an international racing competition of the calibre of WGPC didn’t helped to calm things down, instead, made it more personal than one could expect in a friendly relationship such as theirs. Delgado said “You and your team will eat my dust” while Gutiérrez said “Don’t be so cocky, man” Both sat and took some coffee before the practice could start, it was scheduled to start at 5:20 PM, taking advantage that was plenty of sun at that part of the day, and sunset was forecasted to happen at midnight, typical of the Guayabalense southern summer.

Gutiérrez asked with some morbid intentions to Delgado “How do you feel? Nervous, feeling really nervous?” Delgado analysed the situation for some seconds, then answered with confidence “I’m without any kind of nerves, why should I be nervous?” Gutiérrez said “I don’t know, perhaps homesickness?” Delgado muttered mentally “Homesickness, pfft” then waited some time and replied “Pfft…” Gutiérrez laughed for some seconds and Delgado once again said “Pffft.” And laughed as Gutiérrez did. Delgado checked his clock, as trying to find an excuse to leave Gutiérrez and stop falling on his psychological game of intimidation with him, he saw that time was 4:50 PM, and practice was close, leaving was a valid excuse for him, since technical details needed to be sorted out before the practice start, Delgado spoke and said “Eh, I have to leave now, technical issues shall be solved.” Gutiérrez said “Good luck” Both friends shook hands and went to do their preparations for the practice. Delgado ran to his assigned box and saw Garrido with crossed arms and shaking his head, then he said “You’re here too late, too late…” Delgado was quite surprised by seeing Garrido somewhat annoyed by his unpunctuality, Delgado asked “Pardon me?” Garrido hugged Delgado and then kicked him at his butt, then asked “Do you need something to be sorted with your machine” Delgado was sure on what to ask, he did without hesitations and said “Power, if possible, try to add some power, we can do a really fast lap in this circuit, also, we are going with super-soft tyres.” Garrido nodded “You sure?” Delgado said “Of course.”

Delgado’s plans for the practice were easily to comprehend, it was basically “Go for the best time” Though, that kind of ambitious could cost him some seconds, why? Perhaps a mistake made by adrenaline, lack of capability to react on certain situations? Delgado was known in the guayabalense racing scene for being a constant sinner when it came to self-confidence, he had lots of it, to the point of harming him sometimes, as any excess does to one’s life. Delgado went to the coffee dispenser, introduced a twenty-five-cents-of-a-Corona coin into it and pressed the key for a macchiato, sugarless macchiato, which was basically his best companion when he needed to be focused or was planning what to do prior a race, he drank the macchiato fast and then went to the water-closet, he humidified his face with lots of water, then proceeded with his arms and neck, then did the same process again and left the water-closet. Delgado was now totally focused after doing his curious pre-practice ritual, he went to talk with Marina, his spouse, she was awaiting outside the water-closet and met Delgado and she said “Are you ready, dear?” Delgado said “Of course, babe!” both hugged and kissed after those words, Delgado went to the box and awaited for Garrido for the so awaited command “Get in.”

Delgado appeared and Garrido clapped and then said “Get in, get into it!” Delgado rushed to change clothes and use the safety apparel before getting into the car, the command was clear, Garrido usually does that ten minutes before the scheduled beginning of a race or practice, Delgado instinctively finished changing his apparel and hoping into the machine, Delgado started his MRT 15 and he accelerated for a bit, then awaited for three minutes in order to receive the order to start the practice. The time came to its end and a WGPC officer told Delgado “Go to track” Delgado obeyed and accelerated, keeping the maximum speed required for the pits, 90 km/h, he went out and accelerated for a bit before reaching Rohrmoser St, he passed said turn and then accelerated in the downhill straight between turns 1 and 2, after crossing to the other turns, the deal was now for real, he accelerated but not at its most, it was a mere warm-up at that moment, Garrido called by radio and said “Two warm-up laps, then you go for it!” Delgado kept the command in mind and proceeded to “recognise” the circuit after some years without running at it. Delgado was overflowing in confidence at that time, he was optimist that a good time can be done there, and that optimism was somewhat good, at the moment.

Delgado had a respectable first and second lap times, at the first he had a 1:44:058 and 1:43:450, those were quite fast laps that put him on the top of the leader board at the moment, then Garrido radioed him and said “Third lap now, go for it!” Moisés said “Okie doke.” And here it is, Delgado started the lap at around 320 km/h, continued in that way for 400 meters before starting to push the brake and reaching one of the downhill sectors of the circuit, between Rohrmoser St. (Turn 1) and the beginning of the Royal Palace Esses (Turn 3), Delgado took advantage of the downhill sector to not brake suddenly and using some inertia. Now at the downhill straight and using inertia before braking to start an uphill section, the Royal Palace Esses, named in said way because the guayabalense Royal House is located at the front of the straight between turn three and fourth, Delgado braked somewhat hard and then accelerated uphill, at 210 km/h and manoeuvred on the esses keeping speed at a constant rhythm, at the end of turn five, still on a quite steady uphill, Delgado accelerated and shifted speeds until reaching eighth gear, maximum speed at Constitution Blvd (Turn 7 and 8 ), and this is the end of the first sector.

On second sector, the uphill zone of the circuit continued, Delgado kept eighth gear and 340 km/h and activated DRS, by the fact that turn 8 was a really wide turn that allowed having some fast overtaking and lots of action on this turn, Delgado was somewhat flying in that sector of the circuit, then downshifted gears until reaching fifth gear on Colonial Casino and reaching the somewhat close turn 10, where he reached fourth gear. Delgado accelerated fast and recovered momentum at turn 11 but downshifted again on turn 12, reaching 145 km/h at the end of said turn, a succession of downhill turns appears, being the turn 13 the slowest of the entire circuit, where cars reached a shy 110 km/h, but propitious for action and some good overtaking, granted if the driver braked on the right moment and regaining momentum fast, Royal Bridge is a zone where cars can reach 300 km/h easily but this implies to brake suddenly before turn 13, so much drivers opt to go at 250 km/h, but Moisés went at 300 km/h, and braked so hard in the turn 3 that made him lost some valuable time, he tried to regain momentum before entering sector three, but didn’t worked.

Now on the last sector, Monterrey U-Turn is not the usual U-Turn where cars go slow, Delgado knew this well and went in it at 240 km/h before accelerating towards the second slowest turn in the circuit, turn 15, before the Parliament Square, Delgado lowered speed to 160 km/h and then accelerated a bit on the straight in front of the guayabalense parliamentary building, went through turn 16 quite fast and attempted to go in turn 17 at 190 km/h, he hit the wall and Garrido told him “Hey, slower down there…” Moisés said “Why?” Garrido answered “You’ll destroy the car at this pace…” But that was late, at this moment, another fast stretch, turn 18 was like a launching zone, Delgado took advantage of it and accelerated, reaching 320 km/h really fast, provided by his machine’s power. Revolution Avenue was a zone where some overtaking can be done easily, a wide stretch before the last couple of turns, which are slow but not as the turn 13, Moisés took turn 21 at 290 km/h before getting to 160 km/h and getting rid of turn 22 and then doing the same in the turn 23 viaduct, and this is how a lap in Plaza de Armas goes. Garrido radioed Moisés and told him “1:41:559, you’re flying!” But that lap wasn’t enough, Delgado finished 10th in practice, and lot of work was needed to get into fight, as Moisés desired to do… And of course, to make Gutiérrez lose the bet, which he was winning after Novikov almost broke the circuit record, set casually by Delgado in guayabalense GT…

[Vilita and Turori]

Circuito Callejero Plaza de Armas, San Salvador, San Jose Guayabal:: Have Vilita & Turori's WGPC Season 15 competitors been infected by the Virus that has for years haunted the Vilitan National Team? Some are beginning to wonder after the poor showing on race day in Eastfield Lodge which was in direct contrast with all the promise shown in the pre-race practice session and even in Qualifying where R.L. Cruisin found himself starting the race at the front of the grid.

Come raceday at the Mount Salt Raceway, however, Cruisin dropped like a rock and his brightly colored Arada Motorsport entry was one of the last of the finishers - coming home 22nd amongst 25 finishers in a race that had very little incident. Cruisin did have some trouble on one of his pit stops that set him back but was never able to make any progress on the track. Cruisin's Arada Motorsport teammate, Hodori's Asao Nadakei, had a better performance coming home in the top 5. It was a similar story for Turori's own iBen Toralmintii who also struggled to keep up in his WGPC Eelandii entry, perhaps still working to re-affiliate himself with some changes in the crew and a new teammate. While Toralmintii placed an underwhelming 17th; his teammate, the debutant Denholm Kingsley, managed to crack the top 10 one place ahead of Alexander Lund to earn 2 points for the Eelandii, Turori based race team.

Rolling off the truck in San Jose Guayabal it didn't appear things were getting any better for Toralmintii who has struggled to keep pace with the rest of the pack, his best time three-quarters of a second off the Abovian Axel Novikov who seems destined to follow in the footsteps of his Abovian predecessor and Toralmintii's teammate from WGPC Season 14, Terho Talvela. If there is any race where Novikov is likely to break through it would certainly seem to be this one as his Telaris Racing team competes on its home track. R.L. Cruisin will also be looking for more speed as his best time was three tenths of a second behind that of Novikov, and level with the time of Toralmintii's WGPC Eelandii teammate Denholm Kingsley.

Perhaps the slow start to the weekend is a good omen, however, if one follows the saga of Vilitan footsport. With qualifying still ahead, Toralmintii will be looking to find some speed to make climbing into the points in San Jose Guayabal less of an uphill battle while Cruisin is hoping to prove he can still compete at the top level and continue working towards earning his 5th Grand Prix victory by seasons end.

[WGPC]

Circuito Callejero Plaza de Armas - Saturday Qualifying

Drivers had fifty minutes to record up to six flying laps of the circuit. The slowest drivers occupy spots 11-through-26 on the grid. The ten fastest drivers are then entered into a fifteen-minute qualifying session to decide the order of the top ten for Sunday's race.
Conditions: DRY

First Session

1 37 Axel Novikov        Telaris		1:41.352	
 2 17 Eaoueaiou Aeouiouie Telaris		1:41.372	
 3 20 Mick Schramm        Bitten Heroes		1:41.478	
 4 80 J. Jensen-Fletcher  Fireline		1:41.486	
 5 94 Ryker Lane          Nexus			1:41.497	
 6 77 iBen Toralmintii    Eelandii WGPC		1:41.560	
 7 23 Moisés Delgado      MRT			1:41.612	
 8 91 Ilyas Nurlibaev     Kjeligsted WGPC	1:41.636	
 9  1 Terho Talvela       MRT			1:41.650	
10  5 Julianos Lemos      Bitten Heroes		1:41.729	
11 53 Denholm Kingsley    Eelandii WGPC		1:41.739	
12  6 Marika Pedanovic    Nexus			1:41.787	
13  7 Ethan Ellis         Wilson		1:41.933	
14 89 Will Madison        MSA-SinVal		1:41.986	
15 99 Maria Cattaneo      Kjeligsted WGPC	1:42.042	
16 51 R.L. Cruisin        Arada			1:42.077	
17 42 Alex Dimitrianov    Fireline		1:42.094	
18 18 Louis Krindle       MSA-SinVal		1:42.133	
19 29 Esteban Guilhermez  RSR			1:42.304	
20 55 Asao Nadakei        Arada			1:42.341	
21 63 Kurt Censki         McPahan		1:42.543	
22 16 Alexander Lund      Wilson		1:42.602	
23 52 Sayono Souzare      McPahan		1:42.604	
24 74 Alexander Mayari    SFeG			1:42.735	
25 14 Oliver Bliss        RSR			1:46.106	
26 24 Victoria Gardner    SFeG			1:46.487

Second Session

1  1 Terho Talvela       MRT			1:41.268	
 2 94 Ryker Lane          Nexus			1:41.509	
 3 17 Eaoueaiou Aeouiouie Telaris		1:41.579	
 4 91 Ilyas Nurlibaev     Kjeligsted WGPC	1:41.610	
 5 77 iBen Toralmintii    Eelandii WGPC		1:41.681	
 6  5 Julianos Lemos      Bitten Heroes		1:42.038	
 7 80 J. Jensen-Fletcher  Fireline		1:42.040	
 8 20 Mick Schramm        Bitten Heroes		1:43.130	
 9 23 Moisés Delgado      MRT			1:43.197	
10 37 Axel Novikov        Telaris		1:43.213

Starting Grid

Pos # Driver			Team
 1  1 Terho Talvela           		
 2 94 Ryker Lane              		
 3 17 Eaoueaiou Aeouiouie     		
 4 91 Ilyas Nurlibaev         		
 5 77 iBen Toralmintii        		
 6  5 Julianos Lemos          		
 7 80 J. Jensen-Fletcher      		
 8 20 Mick Schramm            		
 9 23 Moisés Delgado          		
10 37 Axel Novikov            		
11 53 Denholm Kingsley        		
12  6 Marika Pedanovic        		
13  7 Ethan Ellis             		
14 89 Will Madison            		
15 99 Maria Cattaneo          		
16 51 R.L. Cruisin            		
17 42 Alex Dimitrianov        		
18 18 Louis Krindle           		
19 29 Esteban Guilhermez      		
20 55 Asao Nadakei            		
21 63 Kurt Censki             		
22 16 Alexander Lund          		
23 52 Sayono Souzare          		
24 74 Alexander Mayari        		
25 14 Oliver Bliss            		
26 24 Victoria Gardner    

[The Serbian Empire]

Marika Pedanovic's Statement to Serbian Media

"Well, that was surprising that my fast lap in race trim was only two tenths of a second slower. But if I ran that lap, I'd still have started in 12th. The trim is faster in qualifying, but I am sure I left a few tenths out there to say the least. Maybe even a full second if I really pushed it. Who knows, I think most of them practicing in qualifying trim is a bad idea if they want to qualify better. Either that or the track conditions are more slick and thus if I ran in qualifying trim I'd have seen a 1:41.400 yesterday if Victoria Gardner and most of the mid-pack and backmarkers were to suggest of how fast the track was.

I do have the fastest race pace of anyone out there, but Ryker's got much better starting position and barely much slower. As in I only get maybe one or two-tenths of a second a lap on him. I'll likely never catch him with the Tigar medium soft tyres unless I barrel into Rohrmoser for the first couple laps with utter disregard for my competitors while they're still bound up. If I finish in the top 5, that's as good as a win come tomorrow. If not, it'll be alright as long as I'm in the points. The Nexus Racing UHSGV-1 is quite the fast machine, but I don't know if we can get both Ryker and I on the podium for once. At least I know I should be blistering on race day. I should hand this off to my technicians as they've done an excellent job," Marika said.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

The Nimban garage this time is filled with an air of confident pride and self-congratulation. The result is almost exactly the same as last qualifying and, without any crashes a la the season opener, they should be on course for a great Sunday.

---

Ryker shoots through the start/finish line, his Chase Cutter blazing blue as brightly as it ever had before or would since. He looks down at his steering wheel's touchscreen, displaying the standings; his own name, the Nimban flag, a picture of his car and the time '1:41.509' are listed in second place. He lets out a whoop of joy before his face settles into a grin.

"Nice one, Ryker!" Timothy Guard's voice sounds through the radio. "That's the best qualifying spot that any Nimban's ever achieved in the WGPC!" A burst of laughter can faintly be heard behind him at his joke.

"Well, the bar wasn't so high, now, was it?" the Nimban driver replies jovially. "Anyway, you guys weren't bad either - thanks to all of you back in the garage, you've outdone yourselves today! Now, how about we see if we can't make tomorrow Nexus Racing's second win of the season?" With a chuckle, he cuts off communications. Speaking of which, who's on pole?

Ah.

Ryker, while he had missed him during his rampage through the grid up to the podium at the last race as a result of his pit stop timings, had of course heard of Terho; the Abovian driver was World Champion, for Imagination's sake! He clearly wasn't the sort of driver that you wanted to be facing off the line.

And MRT's car is statistically pretty much as quick off the line as our own... I can't count on speed to win that battle. Martin, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to do some early eating into those tyres.

[Chromatika]

Now that was more like it.

After the disaster that was the first race for EA (well not really a disaster, she finished the race and wasn't last), she had thought long and hard about the driver that she should be. She had been a bit too timid that race and not taken enough risks to win. She went over this with MK as well as the Telaris racing group, and now, that time was showing up in the tracks.

Finishing second in the first session and third in the second session allotted her the third starting lane, which was definitely a spot up. She was starting to get the feel of the track as well as the car, and also the crew that Telaris had assigned to her was starting to jell with her well.

Now, it was time to make that translate into the tracks...

[Lisander]

Plaza de Armas weekend - Saturday

—Schramm scored a solid third place. Amazing! He's finally picking up the car! Garnold, you must work now to evolve this work. See both cars in second session is our biggest desire. — Natassia Maud says, happily.

[Team Radio, Maud: Well done, Mick. You have the third place on first session! Keep this rhythm and we'll have a good race tomorrow.]

She was in the mood for a good racing. San Jose Guayabal and its incisive turns was perfect to remember her driver days. But her daydreaming was interrupted by Andrea Lanza.

—Juliano is on track. Pay attention, please.

Lemos finished his lap with 10th place. Enough was enough, but...

[Team Radio, Maud: Lemos, You have a 10th place, and we still have Pedanovic on track. She can take your position. Wouldn't you give a try in another lap?]

—Should I? — the driver asked?

[Team Radio, Lanza: No. Marika Finished now 12th. Come now. Don't waste another lap.]

Natassia looked to the LCD. Both McPahan cars were out of second session, and both Bitten Heroes were in. Built by leaps and bounds, suffering innumerable delays, Bitten Heroes cars were still among the top ten. Both Kurt Censki, who changed his mind and went to McPahan, and Sayono Sozare, who did not even respond, were out of that second session. Natassia knew it was small. It was just one qualification in one race among many. Nor did she carry any hurt or anything from either. But who had the right to judge her by seeing that her choices, theoretically doomed to failure, were going well?

---

Later that day, Juliano was about to enter his final qualification lap.

—Lanza, I want medium tires. I need to save soft ones for the race.

—Are you sure of this? You've made good times yesterday and today with soft.

—You know how much street circuits wear the tires. You still remember how many places I've earned in Kasandora Basses.

—That was a completely different Races. Basses only have 8 curves and it was a rainy day.

—Sure it was... But remember the strategy. entering a little earlier and getting a little bit more of fuel... I'll be slow in the next 2 or 3 laps. But if I manage to keep positions like I made that time. I started 17th and finished 6th! If I get bad on the qualifying, I can try to retake in the race. I have the 10th position. Any position better than this is a gain.

—Okay. I'm your engineer. I'm the voice of experience, and I think this can fail miserably. But prove me you are right.

6  5 Juliano Lemos       Bitten Heroes		1:42.038	
8 20 Mick Schramm        Bitten Heroes		1:43.130

[Team Radio, Lanza: Nice prediction, Juliano. But your strategy ends only tomorrow. Keep it and lead it. I won't be responsible for your fail, if you fail.]

[West-East Timor]

Circuito Callerejo Plaza de Armas, San Jose Guayabal

"It's two tier qualy again, right?", asked Mick.

"That's indeed correct", answered Max.

Mick got in the car for the first session. He was not that confident, as the track was still somewhat strange for him. He tried to be as fast as he can from his first lap.

"Mick, you're 12th. Not good enough Mick.", he heard through team radio in his 4th flying lap. Mick pushed the car way more than he could have imagined on this track... And ended up being third! Natassia Maud even comgratulated him through team radio.

"Brilliant, Mick! Brilliant. You're definitely in second session, you can come back to pit.", said Max.

In the second session, Mick had problems getting a lap as fast as his fastest lap in first qualifying. One lap looked very prommissing, but he made a big mistake in turn 17 and ruined his lap. Still, he finished 8th, and that's not a bad result he thought.

"8th", Max said. "Quite OK, Mick. Could be better, but it is OK. Juliano is 6th btw. And I think Maud is very proud to have both cars in top ten in qualifying..."

---

"I think it is a good result", Mick said at the press conference, answering the usual question what he thinks of his qualifying position. "I'm really not used to this track, so I'm very proud I could achieve this. Still, I think I could have done better, regarding I finished third in the first session. And I'm very shure I could have done better, but I came off the track in that really good lap in session two, and so I didn't. But as I said, 8th grid position still is a good result. Of course I hope to get my first points tomorrow. Seeing Juliano is 6th, this might be a good weekend for the whole Bitten Heroes team. I really hope so, of course, and I'm optimistic. I think we'll do well tomorrow."

[Aboveland]

Terho had finished practice with a fair look on his face and a bittersweet taste in the team's mouth. He'd been trying out different race strategies, setups and tyre compounds throughout the session to find one that could possibly counter his self-diagnosed lack of skill on the street circuit. Terho was a sucker for fast, flowing circuits, with the occasional chicane and the interesting technical parts. To him, street circuits were only worth the trip for the urban cityscape surrounding it, and the many exciting ways organizers could incorporate landmarks and features into the track, such as bridges, tunnels and roundabouts. He was certainly not doubting the beauty of San Jose Guayabal and its almost Parisian architecture. However, he was there to race, not to admire the scenery, a fact which Edvin was keen to remind him of.

"Terho! Wake up!" he yelled through the team radio after a string of consecutive slow laps.

"What? I'm learning the track a bit more. Tryi-"

"I don't care! Learn faster! Come into the pits now; we'll put you on a harder compound so you can attack the corners more."

"I hate these damn right angle corners. What's the point of street circuits?"

"Complain to me at the hotel later, I'll tolerate your bitchy moaning. Now, get the car over here and start pushing as if the race depended on it."

Begrudgingly, Terho rolled Anni into the pits, adjusted the suspension settings, swapped his super soft tyres for a harder soft compound and set off on his final string of ten laps, keeping in mind what Edvin had said.

On lap 25, Terho set his fastest time. He'd been pushing as if he were preserving a position in a race, enough to keep up with the cars ahead yet steadily so as to definitely get to grips with the setup and tyre changes he'd made. By the end of his run, he'd exhausted the tyres, the top layer of rubber beginning to give. His aggressive braking strategy had gone okay, but neither he nor the team could deny that tyre wear would be an issue for the race, an issue he'd have to resolve either by driving more smoothly or by opting for a harder compound.

***
Terho and Edvin were nervous. It had been a much harder task than they thought to keep a poker face in the paddock after practice. His performance had been the elephant in the room at MRT. Nobody wanted to confront him with a friendly "hey, listen, you have to pick up the pace", but nobody wanted to believe it either. In the Abovians' own mind was also Denholm Kingsley's performance in WGPC Eeilandii. What if they'd stayed at V+T? Would their dominaton have continued? Terho slipped on his helmet and shut his visor, though his anxiety completely vanished. He was his own master, his own leader. He was no longer Terho: he was the world champion. He was ready to tackle the circuit with whatever it took (for the second time in a row, he had to push as hard as he dared to overcome and mend a poor result).

On a set of lightly used soft tires, with the same aggressive braking technique he'd applied in practice, albeit with a faster, qualifying-appropriate setup, he managed to finish just inside the top 10, a result adequate enough to fulfill his goal of advancing into qualifying 2 without feeling too exhausted. Using a set of brand new super soft tires, he set off into the second round of qualifying with the same flat out, all or nothing mentality. As he dove into corners and powered out, his heart began to pound in his head. Defeating his fortunate Guayabalense teammate, his rival compatriot and his former Turorian teammate would be a big deal to him, and would surely boost his confidence going into the race.

On his third lap of the second session, Terho ran wide on the exit of turn 20, grazing the outside wall with his rear right wheel, shooting a trail of sparks and leaving a nasty groove on the barrier. The anger the mistake had produced him, since that lap had so far been his best of the weekend, persuaded him to push even harder to the end of the lap. He was too close to let his effort go to waste. He crossed the line with a 1:41.268, the fastest time of the weekend overall, and gave a spontaneous grin permission to crack upon his focused frown. As he progressed further into his fourth lap, the rear wheel he'd touched against the barrier began to wiggle and jiggle uncontrollably, and while it seemed like a small disturbance from afar, at the speeds he achieved on the track even a minuscule pebble pinging off of the rear splitter could be felt through his seat. He pulled Anni into the paddock soon after, and to his surprise he'd taken pole position, his first of the season and his first with MRT. Terho and Edvin looked at each other with a satisfied grin, culminating in a mid air chest bump. Somehow, the energy and confidence his helmet had given him right before he set off for qualifying persisted even after a lengthy, relaxing, piping hot shower. Pole position was his, and a race win was his to lose. As much as Terho wanted to, he could not fall asleep on Saturday night. If there was one thing he'd strive to preserve more than anything, it was the sudden injection of confidence he'd gotten from his first place on the grid. The last thing he wanted was for it to get lost while he dreamt of Sunday's champagne sipping above the one on the highest podium platform.

---

Axel had had a stellar practice session. To him, practice was a pre-qualifying test. His race strategies and tactics were always at the mercy of the moment, and any important changes in his driving style or his pit stop plans were decided by Karl and Sven. Therefore, in every practice session, he would aim to emulate the kind of performance he expected from himself in qualifying, wearing himself and his tires out before the actual competitive sessions.

With his first place in practice fresh in his mind, combined with his victory in the battle for second place at Eastfield Lodge, he began the first qualifying session with exorbitant confidence, on the softest tires he could find, using the same setup he'd used on Friday. It wasn't long before he'd set a blisteringly quick lap, topping the field instantly. The combination of his experience, the team's legacy and the fact that they were competing on home soil made the pole position easier than Axel could have ever imagined. Surely, race day would be just as fruitful.

"Lovely, Axel," said the team via the radio. "Now come back to the pits so we can get ready for Q2. You've really busted those tires." Karl jutted in as well: "At least you're in the top ten. It can get better from here, right?"

Axel's heart sunk. He'd forgotten Q2 again! How could he be so forgetful, so stupid? His mouth wide open in disbelief, he thought aloud to Karl: "Oletko vittun tosissasi!"

Back in the Telaris paddock, he furiously yanked his helmet off of his head, threw his gloves into it, and let it drop next to him. He climbed out of the car with a frown and set off straight to the bathrooms to wash his face and speak to himself in the mirror. However, it was enough to just stare into himself, for when he saw his gray, rage-filled eyes twitching, he shut them tightly and took one deep breath. When he opened them again, he was calm, albeit slightly dripping with tap water.

As he trudged back to the paddock to find his engineers biting their nails, he decided to speak with the team about his second session. His fastest tires were all gone, but seeing as he'd done well all weekend up until then and he hadn't prepared enough for the race, Axel reckoned it would be wise to take Q2 as an opportunity to prepare for the race. He got some white striped tires fitted to his bug gut dotted machine, his setup tweaked to match his race trim, and he set off again. He ended up tenth in the session, effectively the worst of the best but the best of the rest, yet he didn't expect anything else. What he did expect was to be prepared for the next race weekend. Surely, he wouldn't forget the second session again... right?

[Krytenia]

It hadn't been a great qualifying for Alexander Lund. A couple of missed apexes here, a mistimed gearchange there, little errors that would normally be insignificant but added to a world of difference on the tricky street circuit. Still, the focus was there, and wih the flag having dropped shortly after he crossed the line to finish his out-lap, Lund knew he had one more shot.

He breezed through the cramped Palace section, shaving hundredths off here and there as he roared down Constitution Boulevard and past the casino. He hugged the apex out of Turn Thirteen.

"Purple in two, Alec."

That was good news, at least. Certainly, it looked promising to improve his lap-time; perhaps even enough to get him into Q2, and really put the cat among the pigeons. He was vaguely aware of something up ahead as he passed through the straight after Monterrey, but thought little of it.

As he came around the Theater complex, though, that something became all too impossible to ignore. The last thing you need when pushing on a hot lap is a slow car ahead, but the green vehicle now in his racing line was exactly what he got.

Esteban Guilhermez on an in-lap. It just had to be Guilhermez, didn't it?

"F***INK KRYTIE M*****F****** C*** GET F***ED YOU LITTLE S***!!!

...not you, Greg. Sorry."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

As Esteban Guilhermez coasted into the pit lane, he afforded himself a wry smile. Should have waved as he went past, he mused, but oh well.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

The cars set off on the warm-up lap of the Grand Prix of San Jose Guayabal, Terho followed by Ryker off the grid. The Nimban driver begins weaving to build up the heat in his tyres, all the while going through his pre-race checks.

"Okay, Ryker, you're ready to execute our plan, I trust," Martin's voice making itself heard through the radio.

"Yep - I have it up on my wheel now," Ryker replies. Looking down at his steering wheel, he reminds himself of the strategy that he and the team had worked on yesterday.

The MRT was likely to be as quick as he was off the line but, given their similar speeds and the fact that he was on the inside, would need to sweep outwards to cover any attack of Ryker's around Turn 1. If the UHSGV-1 could, as the team hoped, get a good enough start off the line, Ryker would be alongside Terho around the outside of the corner - and then on the inside into Turn 2. From there, they hoped that he could pull ahead before the Royal Palace Esses and then, with the aid of their new medium tyres, be relatively safe from counterattacks in the series of tight corners before unleashing the Imagikinetic converter's full power into Constitution Boulevard and building up a decent lead over the rest of the lap with its somewhat longer straights and gentler corners.

If that initial attack failed, Plan B was to play the long game. Terho was, according to the team's data, at least somewhat harsh on his tyres; if Ryker could preserve his by hanging back slightly through the initial laps of the race and driving very, very smoothly, as Marika's analysts had suggested, they could run a strategy needing fewer stops and take the lead that way. Not as exciting, maybe, but the result would be the same - and besides, neither Terho nor MRT were known for their exemplary ability for keeping a car in one piece throughout the race.

"Good, good. The new feature?"

Ryker grins. The 'new feature' is indeed ready for use. "I'll be sure to activate it before we get under way. Imagination, but I love that thing."

"So do we, Ryker." The voice is new, this one belonging to Timothy Guard. "Listen - last race, Marika won the first race from a fourth place start - you may be up against a world champion, Ryker, but you've only got one to deal with. Besides, as I say, we're Nimban. Do your country proud, son."

Ryker nods, then cuts off the feed and turns his attention to warming up the tyres once more. His mind begins to wander once more.

Tim's right: I'm fighting for my people here. I could be the first Nimban to ever win a world grand prix. What an achievement that would be... All the more reason to drive with as much precision and focus as I possibly can.

Still, it's not just them. My team is on top of the championship now; a win for me could extend that lead to dominant levels. They'd rather like that buffer, I think - why not see whether I can give it to them?

And, you know, there's also... He sighs. There's myself, too. I need to prove myself to myself. I haven't actually won a race since Cityprix two years ago, and what with learning one track to the exclusion of all others and then the crash last race... I need this. His gaze hardens. I need this. I need this victory and therefore I will achieve it. It will be mine. No ifs, no buts.

"You hear that, Terho Talvela?" he calls out into his radio in a tone that is challenging but confident rather than angry - incidentally, only remembering now that it was the world champion who named his car. "I am Ryker Lane, 21 years old, descendant of a line of champions, driver of a car fuelled by the very substance of my nation, conqueror of the streets of the First City! And today, I WILL WIN!"

He is just beginning to wonder how the pit wall in MRT is likely to react to that one as he rounds the final bend and glides down the start/finish straight before pulling into his grid slot, the glow fading from his car. Suppressing somewhat the flow of endorphins from that mini-speech, Ryker brings himself back into analytical mode. He selects all of the necessary settings for maximum speed and traction off the line before flicking one last switch. He smirks as he does so.

That switch turns on the 'new feature', which is part of why the team is so hopeful that Ryker can go into the first corner alongside the reigning champion; the switch primes a bit of software that watches for the amount of red light registered by the car's onboard sensors, now trained on the starting lights. When they go out to signal the race's start, the car's Imagikinetic and Imagielectric converters will automatically spark, propelling it instantly forwards without any additional feedback needed from the driver.

That in mind, Ryker settles down for his attack.

[Taeshan]

Oliver had opened the weekend at San Salvador, San Jose Guayabal with a rather good effort over the practice time on the track with a top 5 time on the board. He had gone into qualifying hoping that he could continue to use the success in the race the week before to his advantage and charge up the points in the second race of the season. Qualifying had proved to be a completely different effort as he once again looked at the disaster that was his time on the board. 4 second off the driver in front of him, and with only a second disastrous qualifying effort below him Oliver's headaches from the weekend before seemed to be flashing in front of his eyes once more.

From the star Oliver had known that there was definitely something wrong. The wheels were reacting slower than normally and for parts of the lap he could hear what sounded like a rickety tire. He pushed on and was really doing not that badly but after 2 laps the issue was persistent so they pulled into the pits and made a full change and seemingly the car was back to normal as he rode around the track, but as he was headed around the penultimate turn he hit the side of the road and spun out and smashed the front end a little and had to be pulled off the track by safety vehicles. After some repairs he returned to the track, but under the watchful words of his director he slowed down just to post times and ultimately finished well off the pace.

"Oliver how do you feel about having to race your way through the pack on Sunday?"

"It's not ideal but we showed last week that we definitely have the speed that we thought we lacked in season preparation. I also have shown the ability to use these cars to get past the drivers in front of me so honestly i'm not too afraid of not being able to finish in the points in the race. I think ideally we will use our tires to gain an early advantage and then save the heavier full mix til the middle of the race to gain some spots, and when the car is lightest at the end use some conserved to really push for a top position late."

"Is this a problem that can persist?"

"Any problem can persist if you don't fix it. We really should just look to replace the car, but that's something we will do for the next race. We flew in one car, and we will have to deal with fixing from our stored parts. It seemed fine on the last laps but I didn't want to push without knowing. In the race I won't have that fear as the engineers have taken a look and seem satisfied with the condition/. If they are satisfied than I can definitely be satisfied and we will move forward throughout the race."

[The Serbian Empire]

"Marika, be cautious as your race pace is probably good to march into the points. Some of these cars are able to run single laps faster than you are. Lucia has predicted that lap 18 to lap 20 should be the targeted first pit stop. Now go get them!" the race engineer told Marika.

"Yes, I'm starting next to an Eelandii WGPC car in front and a Wilson behind. That must mean I'm not too far out of the points. Tell everyone it'll be alright," Marika responded.

"There's a new feature on the car that I think you should know about. There's a switch that turns it on and will make the car automatically start and get off the grid with the amount of red light. The concern is that you may need to remain vigilant and ready to put the input in manually since the light wavelengths are a bit further away from the source than Ryker who is up there in 2nd. Not to mention if it works as intended, you might catch someone napping and be heading much faster than they are. If they're stalled, you will need to take evasive action," the engineer responds.

"So this feature may not work from where I'm sitting?" Marika asked.

"Yeah, that's why vigilance is required as if it works you will need to be alert. If it doesn't, you'll be relying on your own input instead of the Imagikinetic and Imagielectric converters. You've got the switch in the on position?" the engineer questioned.

"Yes, now let's see what will happen," Marika responded.

[Aboveland]

Sunday morning

Axel had left his hotel already fireproof garment clad. He hadn't said a single word to anybody since he'd left the hotel: not to Karl, not to Sven, and not to the Telaris engineers. He was still slightly angry at himself for forgetting that two tier qualifying was a thing in various GPs throughout the year. As he approached his white and blue Telaris car, he raised his visor. For the first time since he'd signed with the team, he took a proper look at the car. It was different to everybody else's, but not in a Nexus Racing way. It was stubby, conservative, and almost cute. He laid his left hand on the nosecone and ran it down to the front wing. He took a quick glance left, then right, at the other cars on the grid. She looked so rudimentary in comparison, and so unchanged from what he'd seen of last year's iteration. It would be quite interesting to make his own car, wouldn't it?

When he finally broke his silence to his team, mug of black coffee in hand, he requested the setup he'd used in the second qualifying session the day before and asked to be fitted with medium tires for his first stint. He planned to carry out a three stop strategy with four stints. The first two would be relatively conservative, and while he would apply his heavily aggressive techniques during them, his aim would be to conserve the tires for as long as he dared without falling further than his start position. His final two would be using far softer tires and taking the liberty to attack as if he had no limits whatsoever. He'd been so close to a win last time; he was hungry for victory, and Axel's hunger was not easily cured. He closed down his visor again, strapped on his racing gloves, and burrowed himself into his seat, ready to set off on his outlap before the grid positioning took place. He was as ready as ever.

---

Terho had managed to get more than enough sleep for Sunday after all. He'd laid down early, luckily, and after many unsuccessful sleeping positions it seemed best to wake up, have some relaxing tea, soak in a tubful of hot water for a while and go back to bed. It's needless to say that shutting the door or at least closing the curtains would have been a good idea: Edvin had gone to the supermarket to explore the various food options available in San Jose Guayabal. When he returned, he stumbled upon Terho mid-soak with his eyes closed. Edvin's snort alerted him of his friend's presence; since it was too late to cover up, he attempted to begin a normal conversation, failing as the pair burst out in laughter.

The next day, Terho was all suited up and ready to take to the track minutes after their arrival to the paddock. He and the MRT engineers checked that the setup he'd tested and liked in practice was applied to Anni first. Next, they planned out a tyre strategy that would allow him to attack and wear down one set of tyres and preserve another. His first stint would consist of retaining first place, or at least not dropping below third; the next and final two would be concerned with pouncing on the guys ahead and securing a win. At such an early stage of the championship, resting comfortably third in the standings and taking into account the surprises usually encountered in a WGPC season, he had nothing to worry about and little to lose. After a brief walkaround of Anni, during which Terho admired her many curves, inlets and ridges, he hopped in and securely strapped himself into place.

Right before the reporters, the number girls and the engineers cleared the starting grid for the race, with just minutes to go until the five red lights went off, Edvin told Terho a piece of information regarding Ryker Lane:

"Hey, Terho, good luck out there," said his former co-driver.

"Thanks," he replied.

"Listen, during qualifying yesterday, Ryker Lane dropped a bombshell. He kinda sorta challenged you for some reason, spewing some message about how he is 21, has champions in his family, drives a car made in his own country and is going to win the race today. I wouldn't make much of it, but Nexus has some space age shit going on in their garage. For all I know he might whip out some alien tractor beam and pull your wheels off your axles or someting. I wouldn't make much of his words if I were you, but keep an eye on him. He's good, he's hungry and he's got a car that can really stir up a storm. Try to score one more for Aboveland and keep the Nimbian grand prix win tally at zero. Tootles."

"Alright, see you... Oh, one thing," said Terho, reaching out to grab Edvin's pant pocket before he left. "Turn up my intercom volume once you get into the paddock and aim the speakers at the Nexus team if you can. He's just fed the troll," Terho concluded, giving Edvin a cheeky wink and getting one in return.

Ten seconds before the starting secuence began, Terho gave his brief comeback:

"Listen up, Ryker Lane. I've won two motorsport championships now on my maiden attempts, with minimal preparation and a hell of a lot of determination."

The first light shone.

"I'm Terho Talvela."

The second one appeared.

"I'm 26 years old."

The third one glew.

"I'm the reigning world champion."

The fourth one lit up. Anni's engine roared.

"I've mastered all racing surfaces on the planet."

The fifth one sparked.

"And today, I will win."

All five lights shot to black. The squeal of 54 tyres resonated in the city of San Salvador. The race was on.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

The Nexus Racing garage cheers and begins whooping and clapping at that last line; Ryker, meanwhile, grins inside his UHSGV-1. Now this fight is one that he's going to relish. It is only fifty tyres that squeal off the line, however - the Nexus Racing Chase Cutters burst into the blue light of Imagination, darting forward with all of the silent, streamlined beauty of an arrow released from its bow.

So the Grand Prix of San Jose Guayabal begins.

[The Redvale]

FMZ SPORTS
Rising stars! Redvali drivers hit the track again in San Jose Guayabal Grand Prix qualifying!
By Andrea Hayano, Fraser Cady

Andrea - Hello everyone, and welcome to FMZ Sports' coverage of the World Grand Prix Championship. We're going to be on the scene for everything that goes down, focusing on the Redvali drivers but also their teammates and some of the other stars of the competition. My name is Andrea Hayano, and you may know me as a former driver for Olson Motorsports and as a Formula AAA champion... I've come to peace with the way that my career ended, and I'm going to be providing analysis from an insider perspective. My partner here is Fraser Cady, who hasn't been on the inside of the sport like I have but who has a pretty good track record as a reporter. Fraser traveled with the famous Chang Motorsports last season to cover them, and now, he's hitting the road with me as we stop in every single WGPC city and give you the scoop on what's happening on the track and in the locker room.

Fraser - Think of this as one big Redvali road trip, with us and our support staff chasing the drivers around the world. As we work on this part, we're in San Jose Guayabal, where the upcoming race is being held. We just got back from the track, where Jeremy Jensen-Fletcher put on another good performance in qualifying and Maria Cattaneo's experimental car didn't help her enough to get her into the second phase. Andrea, can you explain exactly what's new with Maria's car, other than the engine?

Andrea - Well yeah, the most obvious change is the engine. They're rolling with an Olson unit that worked out really well in Formula AAA last year. Olson didn't want to give them the latest one because it's still experimental. The engine wasn't really the problem, but Maria had a hard time adjusting to it, which is why she did bad in qualifying. Other than that, she had to adjust to something else, active suspension. The suspension on her car has a small computer mounted to the base of it that feeds back to a central computer inside the chassis that controls the suspension. The suspension adjusts itself automatically based on the movement of the car, without the driver having to do much manually. It makes for tight handling, but also takes some getting used to.

Fraser - So, that was what resulted in Maria Cattaneo qualifying fifteenth. She spoke on it herself, in a press conference at the track shortly after qualifying wrapped up: "It is what it is, I have some new parts on this car that we're late to integrate, and so I didn't have much time to learn the ins and outs of the car. I won't perform that badly in the race and I think my performances will improve as I get used to the new tech. If you look at Formula AAA results, you'll see that these are good parts and that I just need time to adjust to them."

Andrea - I know Maria personally and I think she's telling the truth when she says that the big problem is adjusting. She's not a traditional racer by any means, her style is heavily influenced by her instincts and her gut decisions, and when you add something like active suspension that takes control away from her and adds more to her driving style than just her instincts, she might struggle. Remember that Maria made it to the top while taking very few lessons as an amateur and mostly relying on her innate senses. Active suspension is harder to adjust to for her than it is for others.

Fraser - When do you think we'll see an improvement in her form? This is an improvement from last race, but not by much.

Andrea - Depends on her morale, she might look confident but she's also prone to letting her perfectionism convince her that she can't do anything right. One of the reasons why she's such a good fit back home for Roja Leo is because Giovani Giordano is an expert at managing the morale of his drivers. I don't know how good Kjeligsted is with that, but they're going to have to remind her that the sky isn't falling if they don't want her mood to tank.

Fraser - Right... She wasn't the only Redvali on the grid, though. Jeremy Jensen-Fletcher wasn't expected to make a team but has become a surprise so far for Redvali fans. A lot of our fans had to look up Jeremy when he signed for Fireline because they didn't know who he was, but he's turned into the face of our racing program. He was able to qualify for seventh after putting on another good performance, after winning the pole in his first race. What do you think that Jeremy has done that Maria hasn't?

Andrea - It's pretty obvious to me, as a former driver. He's having way more fun with his racing than Maria is. He entered with few expectations and she entered with the weight of the world on her shoulders, and the pressure is breaking her while Jeremy is laughing and having fun because nobody is demanding wins right away from him. He's also reaping the benefits of stardom more than Maria is. The press loves him, and he's been able to watch his own rise from prospect to star.

Fraser - Yeah, watching Jeremy turn into an overnight star has been crazy, unlike anything we've seen in the RMC or Formula AAA. I could even say that his rise can only be rivaled by the brief rise that you had.

Andrea - Oh? Hopefully he doesn't get banned for life from the sport after getting into a fight with someone up top, then.

Fraser - Sorry... Didn't mean to remind you of that stuff.

Andrea - No, it's fine, just be careful about throwing around comparisons to my career. Anyway, Jeremy's rise has been as great as you said. He's also gotten himself in some interesting off the track stuff, which is what our fanbase here at FMZ absolutely loves. First off, he was seen with Gabriella Olson, and now he appears to be benefiting from her connections as a billionaire and as a team owner back home. He was also spotted with Redvali social media model Nia Beneventi. Can you tell us a bit about her?

Fraser - Uh, yeah, she's a model on social media like you said. She's twenty three and from Janford, and she rose to fame by posting some interesting and some risque photos that got the attention of various modeling companies, who gave her endorsement deals last year. She has about five hundred thousand followers across all her platforms, so she's decently successful. I'd say she's an upper C list or lower B list celeb, so it's good for Jeremy if he's with her. He wasn't even a D lister when he started out, and even though he's popular in the racing world, he still needs to build his off the track brand if he wants to become an icon.

Andrea - He's doing a good job of that. Like I said, Gabriella Olson hangs out all the time in his team's garage now and Nia Beneventi is apparently his girlfriend, and the rumors say that she was set up with him as a favor from Gabriella after Jeremy won the pole last race. He's going to have to keep the fame from going to his head though, and he's also going to have to reject the inevitable Olson family trip that's going to happen.

Fraser - What happens on those trips abroad that FC Troy players and Olson Motorsports drivers go on? And why does everyone have a slump after them? Didn't you go on one?

Andrea - Yeah, I went on one with Gabriella and Magnus Olson and I can't tell you everything that happened because I would get my press pass revoked if I did. I can say that the slumps come from everyone getting wasted though. The talk in our locker room at Olson Motorsports was that you don't want Gabriella to invite you with the family to go somewhere because you'd be too wasted to do anything when you come back a few days before a race. That's also why you don't see her traveling with FC Troy players anymore.

Fraser - Well, they do say that the Endelosi know how to party. What do you think Gabriella wants with Jeremy? Do you think she's really just a fan who happens to have much closer access to the game because of her cash?

Andrea - No, not really. She is a fan at heart but she also has some motives related to her team. Olson has had dominating cars but has never had a true dominant driver, with the lone exception of myself when I was with them. She's looking for that driver and now she's getting very close to both Redvali drivers to see if she can convince one of them to leave their team to join Olson for the next domestic season. That's how she's planning to move them up from Formula AAA to the RMC. Either that, or she's close to Jeremy because she has a crush on him, I can't really tell.

Fraser - Interesting. Did you ever see her flirting with her drivers when you were with Olson?

Andrea - Hahaha.... What do you think? Let's just say she was never afraid of getting close with us, even if that put us at risk to get distracted and fail on the race track. I suspect the reason why she's never developed a top driver that's stayed with the team is because she ruins all of them by getting too close to them off of the track.

Fraser - You sound like someone with experience in that-

Andrea - I'm not saying I have experience with that... I was the exception to the rules, remember? But yes, Gabriella Olson is a walking distraction and if Jeremy crashes into a wall and DNFs on the first lap, I'm definitely blaming it on her. I really, really hope that she doesn't screw up Jeremy's career just like she did to other racers, tried to do to mine, and is currently doing to Lauri Maximovic. Maybe because he's not actually on her team, he'll be immune to the Troy curse.

Fraser - Well, that's a strong take, and you should probably stop saying too much before Olson has our press passes taken. That's all for now, everyone. We'll be back after the Grand Prix and we'll also be back on the road with Maria and Jeremy as soon as the teams leave for the next track. Take care everybody, and beware the Troy curse.

[Nekoni]

"Remember when I used to be good? For about half a year? What the hell happened?" This was the recurring question bouncing around Alexandra's head for the past few weeks. Long before the disastrous qualifying at San Salvador, long even before the DNF back in Eastfield Lodge. Like always, the opening moments of this WGPC season had been dire. Considering she had a contract where she'd effectively be retiring if she failed to finish tenth overall, her performance sure as hell wasn't putting up any sort of fight.

And yet, it didn't seem like she had lost any skill. Sure, she was still shaken up by her kidnapping and brush with death last year, as anyone else who woke up in an airport hangar at 2 in the morning tied to a chair would. She knew that when Fatali pushed the rivet gun to her head, clicked the trigger, and nothing came out, she had been given a second chance. And this is how she is spending it: as a washed-up backmarker chasing former glory.

It was a tough few weeks for her. Sure, it was going to be a tough season in any circumstance. She knew this, but...to be humiliated every time she hit the track? Would she ever finish top ten at all, let alone overall? Why does her best seem just not good enough? And, even if she can somehow turn the season around, is it worth it? Has the spark gone out of racing for her?

Alex went out to the front of her trailer and did something she vowed months ago to never do, as she ruffled her fingers through the cigarette packet casing. She had promised to herself to give up the smokes during the off-season, to give her body absolute prime conditioning for the season ahead. Well, a fat lot of good that did, she thought, as she struck a match. One race, one DNF, in a season where she had deliberately trained for none. With only ten races to go this season, that no-show may prove to be costly, especially with another zero increasingly likely from a 24th start on the grid.

For the first time in months, Alex took a long, sombre drag of her cigarette, breathing out into the black night. It may be bad for her, she thought, but how exactly could her season get worse?

[San Jose Guayabal]

Circuito Plaza de Armas, San Salvador, SJG - February 13th 9:40 AM

Gutiérrez was ecstatic after Friday’s performance, he saw how both Telaris machines had the best time overall, surprisingly enough, EA had the best time, some milliseconds behind was Novikov. Telaris staff was surprised yet optimistic about qualifiers and the race, the strategy of focusing in the turbo system development seemed to made wonders with both machines, Novikov came past Gutiérrez and said “Sensational work.” Then EA said “Keep it up with this machine!” Gutiérrez was feeling like if he won the lottery at the time, optimism was at the top, same with pride, despite Gutiérrez isn’t a person who depends f pride for self-confidence. The engineering staff from Telaris was also happy by the performance, they were glad that they shut down Nexus pride, especially Ryker Lane’s and Marika Pedanovic’s ego, one of the engineers, named Gustavo said when the practice finished “Eat that up you fuckers!” while laughing and seeing how both drivers were congratulating, same with Gutiérrez, who went downstairs like crazy and congratulated both, it wasn’t for less, Telaris was starting to have the performance they desired from the team, domination, complete domination. The owner of Stat Oil, Teymuraz Samedov called Gutiérrez and said “I’ll visit you all the Sunday, early morning, I want to make sure improvements continue to be as this, we need to make this better and better, Telaris needs to be the best.” Gutiérrez said “Ok.” And that’s it.

Expectations were high for the race, Telaris wanted to ace the entire GP, they wanted to make 1-2 or at least make podium with both drivers, and also, Gutiérrez wanted the same for his friend and compatriot, Moisés Delgado, to the point of saying “No matter who wins, all I want is Telaris and Delgado on podium.” Or “Let’s keep this in home, guayabalense-made machines and guayabalense-born driver.” Making emphatic that Gutiérrez had some sense of patriotism, he wanted to be the prophet in his own land, something weird, but he wanted to do it because “Why not?” they were due to see how qualifiers went, the expectations were high, so he felt ecstatic once again, he really wanted to see both drivers having a dogfight like the one they had in the Telaris Test Raceway in La Laguna. The five green lights appeared and the qualifying started, Telaris chief of strategy decided to keep drivers for the middle of the qualifying time, they would jump out for the 25th minute, and do four flying laps, it seemed weird but the strategy was “Keep power without displaying a lot.” They effectively did, Novikov and EA were getting ready their machines, they would go with super-soft tyres, and the tyre analyst said “Use them wisely.” While seeing how the drivers did, Moisés Delgado was leading at the 15th minute with 1:41:612, it was a quite decent time but not the best so far in the weekend, pressure was in Novikov but he felt confident, he felt sure of what he would do, he had the fastest lap on the weekend and he wanted to demonstrate that wasn’t a mere casualty.

At the 25th minute, Novikov left the pit box and started to do the first lap, not a fast one, a 1:44:258 to start with, one of the Ruuhmaki brothers pressed Novikov to start playing seriously, in fact, he did it well. Ran really fast in Constitution Boulevard and burnt rubber quite hard while braking on Turn 13, making him losing some valuable time, he was infuriated by that and said “Perkele!” he continued well and corrected a mistake on the AN-5 Viaduct, he had a 1:42:647, he was getting a better timing progressively, Gutiérrez asked suddenly “EA, when are you going out?” EA said “When Axel comes back.” Third lap and Novikov marked his best timing, a 1:41:352, not better than his practice time, but the fastest so far in the first tier of the qualifier. Then EA went to the asphalt of San Salvador streets, she seemed to go seriously for a really decent time, in fact, her first lap was a 1:43:780, better than Novikov’s one by half a second, EA crew said “Go for Axel, go for his time!” she was confident on the technical turns of the raceway, she manoeuvred fast though them and demonstrated that she was ready for the circuit, on her second lap she had 1:41.372, twenty hundredths of a second behind Axel’s timing. EA wasn’t able to get over Novikov timing at the end of her participation, at the end of the 50 minutes, Telaris dominated the first tier, both drivers were on top, their times were unmatched on the moment, Mick Schramm was the closest to them, but not so really close in the normal standards of racing. While on the second half, the level lowered a bit and EA finished third overall, Novikov 10th and Delgado 7th, still, it was a decent run for the moment.