World Grand Prix Championship Season 15: Roleplay Thread

[Esmerel]

Team Obey Headquarters
Point Capaldi, Corda Dracon, Esmerel
Wednesday, March 23, 2022, 1551 Hours

"Jean?"

There was no response.

"Jean, say something."

Still no response. Darrell knew Jean was in there and alive, but this was scaring him.

"Jean! Open the door!"

"Sigh... Alright. Wait just a few seconds, princess."

The high-tech door to Jean's room slides open. Darrell Matherly, Jean's race engineer, steps in. The door closes just behind him.

"Jean, what the hell? Why didn't you respond at first?"

"Just trolling you. What is it?"

"Well, it's about racing. Do you remember how you said hi in that WGPC OOC community discussion thread and introduced yourself and stuff?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. What is it now? Did someone say that I wasn't allowed to post on that unless I was already involved with the WGPC? Huh? What is it? Tell me, man!"

"My Lord, you need to calm down. Drank too much Zombie Energy, did you?"

"Maybe. Heh."

"Anyways, none of what you said is true. The committee liked you and your presentation. They then said you could apply for a reserve driver seat in the middle of the current season. You aren't guaranteed a drive, but it doesn't hurt if you sign up. So. What will it be? Staying down here in the national league? Or stepping up to the international stage?"

"Jesus. You're sounding way too epic for your job. Bring in Talia and inform her of this, please."

Talia, Jean's PR agent, arrives not a minute later already briefed on the situation.

"Okay, Jean. Will you sign as a reserve driver?"

"Yes, Talia. Inform the WGPC committee of this. I've got a TwoDrive document shared with you. Just take care of formatting."

"Have a good day, Jean."

[Aboveland]

Terho lay on his generously sized bed in his Mattijanan loft. He'd just arrived to his home away from home from Pæhkinoot, after an extensive testing session with the Project AGP guys. Their work was really taking shape and bearing fruit. The prototype he'd gotten his hands on along with Axel felt faster and more stable than the one they'd tried before, and it was suited to an Axel-like driving style: aggressive and flat out, all the time. Clearly, with Frida headlining the project, he was the number one reference for the car's development. Luckily for Terho, though, the car was extremely versatile. Every time they tested, Terho would arrive early in the morning and do his runs then. When midday struck, he and the team of engineers working with him would hand over the job to Axel, Karl, Sven and the like for the rest of the day. Therefore, each driver had their own set of engineers suited to them. It was an incredibly engaging experience to truly be a part of a team project which, if successful, could really make a statement on the world stage. But what Terho dawdled with in his mind wasn't exactly focused on the car, or the team, or the facilities they were performing at. It was one particular member of his morning crew.

Her name was Victoria. Victoria Dahl. She was a blonde, aqua-eyed girl, about 23, with a softly glowing tan complexion and a smile which made him chuckle every time he saw it. They'd met on the first morning session he'd done. She introduced herself shyly, not with a laugh but with an awfully hidden smile, and regardless of the fact she was in charge of the rest of the team of engineers tasked with actually editing setups. After every testing period, Terho would climb out of the prototype, head to her, give his feedback with a faint grin, and walk off to get himself freshened up, partly for the sake of Edvin who'd have to sit with him in a car for the next half hour and partly (mostly) for Victoria.

On Wednesday, as Terho was leaving the Furuhøytie Virtapiiri, Victoria approached him with his gloves in hand and a steady stride.

"Terho," she said, relaxed, "you forgot your gloves."

Struck by her beauty and the surprise of the situation, he muttered back: "Oh, whoops. Thanks." To avoid the imminent awkward silence, he added: "ha-has anyone ever told you you have beautiful eyes?"

Victoria hesitated, but replied with a genuine chuckle. "No, I don't recall," she said with a shining smile. "When will I see you here again?"

"Maybe next week? Frida'll notify me when I should drop by."

"Alright then, great. Good luck in Mattijana!"

With that gleeful goodbye, she turned around slowly and with another grin, walking back to the garage with a slight but perceivable skip in her step. Terho had lied about meeting again next week: he wasn't entirely sure if he'd still be involved in the development of the Project AGP machine, but thanks to his new found gem he sure hoped he'd be back.

So, back in Mattijana, his thoughts were flooded with Victoria, and wish upon wish of seeing her again, talking to her again, meeting again, but in a casual, free, personal setting. He now had the task to put the thoughts aside for one weekend, to focus on his own driving with his own team in their own country on their own track. Once he finished off the Grand Prix weekend, he'd give himself the luxury of thinking about VIctoria again. She would be his motivation to perform in the next race.

[Esmerel]

Jean's Resort Home, Rochester, Entenia, Esmerel
1300 Hours

Jean's relaxing in his lounge room, the day after he signed as a free agent for the WGPC. He's excited, but also wonders if anything will even happen. Considering a driver would have to drop out and he'd have to be interesting enough to attract a spot, he wasn't sure he'd get a position. Suddenly his earpiece gets a signal. It's from Talia.

"Jean? Big news. Kjeligsted WGPC's second driver was forced to drop out of the championship. They're offering you the position."

Well then. Questions answered.

"Tell them I'll accept the spot. However, I won't be able to make Friday practice in Mattijana. Should be able to make qualifying, though."

"See you later. Talia out."

Well, that's step 1 complete. Time to show the world what Esmerel's made of.

[Mattijana]

The Kopylov InternazionRing: Regional and Venue Information



NAME OF CIRCUIT: Kopylov InternazionRing
CITY/TOWN: Kranjagrad
COUNTRY: Mattijana
NAME OF GRAND PRIX: Grand Prix Tsa Mattijana
TRACK RATING: (4/6)
QUALIFYING TYPE: Two-Tier
LAP RECORD: 1:35.244
LENGTH OF ONE LAP: 5.123km (3.183 miles)
WIDTH: 10.20-15.90 metres
DRS ZONES: 1 (pit straight)
HIGHEST POINT: 460m above sea level
LOWEST POINT: 220m above sea level

The Kopylov circuit is Mattijana's oldest purpose-built racing circuit and the second oldest layout used for competitive racing behind the Petrovijanka street circuit. Built near the village of Kranjagrad in the outskirts of Mattijana's second city, Burges, the track is well-connected to train and bus routes and is not far from Burges' international airport. The track is located where the large Burges flat joins the small group of hills known as the Rekvadas collection meaning the first half of the lap slopes upwards before turning back downhill leading into the final corner and the flat pit straight.

Despite more recent safety upgrades and renovations, the centre has retained most of its original stands, which offer superb views of the circuit, especially due to the inclines around the circuit offering natural banks to place stands on. The pit building has also been retained with a fresh coat of paint and a spruced up interior making it a suitable contrast between nostalgia and modern practicality.

It's mixture of straights, twisty sections and more sweeping turns means it tests all parts of a car and makes car setup an interesting dilemma come race day whilst the steep slopes and inclines also play their part in interfering with the car's balance during a lap.

Run off generally depends on slope with uphill sections having largely tarmac runoff with small gravel traps close to the barrier whilst downhill sections have a smaller amount of tarmac and large gravel traps to slow cars with more momentum in smaller spaces. The only tight barrier is on the exit if turn 13, but is a well-engineered absorption barrier and should protect drivers if needed, which it probably will be. In fact, despite a total of well over 150 collisions with this wall, the most serious injury ever sustained was a broken elbow.

The lap begins with a long run down to the breaking zone at the Čaluka hairpin which represents the main overtaking opportunity on the circuit. After exiting, the drivers must negotiate a left hand kink and drive steeply uphill around one of the Rekvadas before the track flattens out and goes into a tight left-right chicane. After that, the track continues upwards towards turn 5, a 90° right hander that immediately leads into another looser right hander.
A good exit from that section is key as the track immediately goes downhill for a longer period of time towards the multi-apex Hollesbirjke turn, named due to it's similarity to a turn at the country's main alpine sliding centre. This turn is a big test of both a driver and a car's turning ability and once again, exit speed is key as the track once again slopes upwards towards turn 8, another long and flowing hairpin.
Another long downhill section leads into another very good overtaking opportunity into the 9/10 chicane which continues down into a tighter hairpin at turn 11. Any indication of the track slowing down is however vanquished, as drivers are encouraged to drive flat out through a high speed chicane with a barrier tight to the exit.
The track then goes into the slowest corner on the track-a tight right hand hairpin before a straight and than a flowing right hander to finish the lap.

Full list of corner names:
1: Čaluka hairpin (named after the hill it's situated under).
2: Čaluka sling (commonly known as the sling).
3/4: Vischkolcha (Fishook chicane).
5: De Šumma (The summit, named because it is the highest point on the circuit).
6: Da Ausfleck (literally translates as 'the flick out').
7: Hollesbirjke (named after Mattijana's famous alpine sliding centre).
8-9: De Sava (the river: named due to it's flowing nature).
10: Erstglaub (named as it is the first time cars can be seen from the pit straight after turn 2).
11: Ezelhöchlas (cliffhanger, named as it's run off is on an artificial platform to deal with the steep slope).
12/13: Wasserkirjke (The waterslide).
14: Da Lebjalupa (survival loop, named as it comes after the most risky turn on the circuit at turn 13).
15: Kranjagrad (named after the village this part of the circuit is closest to).

Travel To Mattijana

The nearest city to the Kopylov circuit is Burges, the second largest in Mattijana, which also has its own airport roughly a third of the way between the city and the circuit. Air is the most likely method of entry into the country, due to the circuit being in a highly inland position, but high-speed rail links are available from the Southern Port of Revinka and the North-Eastern one of Snezn, into the centre of Burges. Links from Petrovijanka city and airport are also easily reached.

In Mattijana

Train links from Kranjagrad town to the circuit itself will be free from the Thursday before the race weekend to the Monday after. Buses will also run, but are generally not preferred over the high quality rail services on offer. Trams operate regularly around Kranjagrad town centre and around Burges and Petrovijanka cities. Information about which particular services to use are available in a variety of languages.

Car travel in Mattijana is possible, but discouraged for environmental and practical reasons. Many areas of Mattijanan towns and cities, including Burges and Kranjagrad, are pedestrianised, so car travel is often difficult or impossible around these areas. The main Burges to Kranjagrad route is the A46, with the A467 the road leading directly to the Kopylov circuit. Mattijana drives on the right. Urban speed limits are generally no higher than 35 km/h, whilst A road speed limits are up to 95 km/h.

Accomodation

Kranjagrad is the nearest town to the Kopylov circuit and boasts an excellant range of traditional and modern hotels. Cheaper options are also available around the town, whilst Burges city is littered with boutique hotels and larger options around the city centre.

Burges is a more modern city than Petrovijanka, but still has a beautiful cobbled centre dating from around the mid 1700s. There are also numerous museums, sights and due to the Stadijo Našinal's multi-purpose use, many (field) hockey, football, cricket and rugby matches between Mattijanan domestic sides and the Mattijanan international sides.

Weather:

The weather in Burges is generally settled for longer periods, if often a little murky. But the Rekvadas Hills at which the circuit is situated at the foot of do a lot to mix up the ecosystem around the Kopylov area. Rain showers are a common dynamic in the Kopylov races, although sunny spells are equally common.

Temperatures around the Centre North are predicted to be around 15-20 degrees for the duration of the weekend, reasonably seasonal temperature. Temperatures may be slightly warmer in Burges, but if these temperatures are not what you're used to in your home nation, it is advisable to take layers.

Enjoy your trip to Mattijana

[WGPC]

Friday Practice



Kopylov InternazionRing, Kranjagrad, Mattijana

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 # Driver			Team			Fastest Lap	Behind Leader
 1  1 Terho Talvela                	0:01:35.287	0:00:00.000
 2 52 Sayono Souzare               	0:01:35.351	0:00:00.064
 3 23 Moisés Delgado               	0:01:35.364	0:00:00.077
 4 55 Asao Nadakei                 	0:01:35.440	0:00:00.154
 5 51 R.L. Cruisin                 	0:01:35.473	0:00:00.186
 6 42 Alex Dimitrianov             	0:01:35.473	0:00:00.186
 7 37 Axel Novikov                 	0:01:35.485	0:00:00.199
 8 99 Maria Cattaneo               	0:01:35.489	0:00:00.203
 9 63 Kurt Censki                  	0:01:35.528	0:00:00.241
10 53 Denholm Kingsley             	0:01:35.542	0:00:00.255
11 91 Ilyas Nurlibaev              	0:01:35.600	0:00:00.313
12 20 Mick Schramm                 	0:01:35.611	0:00:00.324
13 77 iBen Toralmintii             	0:01:35.629	0:00:00.342
14 16 Alexander Lund               	0:01:35.644	0:00:00.357
15 80 J. Jensen-Fletcher           	0:01:35.666	0:00:00.379
16 29 Esteban Guilhermez           	0:01:35.717	0:00:00.431
17 18 Louis Krindle                	0:01:35.823	0:00:00.537
18 74 Alexandra Mayari             	0:01:35.870	0:00:00.583
19 24 Victoria Gardner             	0:01:35.934	0:00:00.648
20  5 Juliano Lemos                	0:01:35.963	0:00:00.677
21 89 Will Madison                 	0:01:35.976	0:00:00.690
22  6 Marika Pedanovic             	0:01:36.004	0:00:00.717
23 14 Oliver Bliss                 	0:01:36.007	0:00:00.720
24  7 Ethan Ellis                  	0:01:36.199	0:00:00.912
25 94 Ryker Lane                   	0:01:36.389	0:00:01.102
26 17 Eaoueaiou Aeouiouie          	0:01:36.706	0:00:01.420

Saturday Qualifying should be scorinated after 11pm UTC tomorrow night.

[The Redvale]

Gabriella Olson
Kranjagrad, Mattijana

It was practice day around the circuit, but the focus for the Olson family and their company wasn't on the practice laps that were currently ongoing. Gabriella had said that there would be a special announcement and the press had gathered to listen to it, deciding to listen to her instead of heading down to the track to see how the drivers of the series were doing in practice. This announcement wasn't anything new, but it was profound. It was the confirmation of the story that had been circling through the media for the last weeks, and now that Gabriella was here to confirm it, she would be turning it from rumor to fact.

She was at the center of the stage, her brother Magnus was to her left, and her business partner and the owner of Roja Leo racing, Alex Passos, was to the right. As the press made their way to their seats and the cameras started flashing, she began speaking. "I have called you all here because me and my partners have a very exciting development to announce, that is related to our involvement in motorsports. You already know that my company provides parts and engines for WGPC Kjeligsted, and that Alex Passos is one of the greatest team owners back home in the Redvale. You also know that I have my own team back home, and that we've produced some of the best drivers that our country has seen. Today, we have an announcement related to that."

"We've been thinking long and hard about entering the sport further, and we have decided that we want to take the next step by taking over a team at a higher level. In other words, me and Magnus and Alex will be taking over as the majority owners of WGPC Kjeligsted, and effective immediately, I will be the CEO of the team. Magnus will take over as Chief of Racing Operations, and Alex will be in the background providing help and lending us his expertise in running a competitive team," Gabriella said, her voice not changing or shifting at all despite the important statement that she was making. "Sheik Yamin will remain a minority owner, at least for now, but we will take over the majority of the duties involved with running the team. I understand that this is surprising, as it came mid season, but we didn't think we would get a better chance to enter the competition as owners, and both the buying and selling parties agreed that we should get this done sooner rather than later."

"Both parties have also agreed that it's a good idea to represent the change in team ownership by changing the branding to reflect the new ownership. Effective immediately, we will begin racing as Red Lion Racing, and we will have a new livery to reflect this. You will see the details of our new branding in our press release that's scheduled for after practice today," she continued, her voice still calm and flat. "We will, however, keep the team in Kjeligsted for now. There are rumors that our ownership group was more interested in buying a license for a team than buying an actual team, and that we could move abroad, but we won't be doing that this season. We can't, however, speak for future seasons, and we can only state for now that we're examining all options and figuring out the best and most efficient way to run the team going forward."

The cameras continued clicking, and she took a pause. "We also have another announcement to make at the same time. We believe that we've found a way to get more production for the rest of the season, and we're going to be bringing a new driver on board. Ilyas Nurlibaev will remain with the team in a testing and reserve role, but replacing him as our second race driver is a more experienced driver that we believe can give us a mid season push. We will be signing Jean Mercer-Daly to a contract for the rest of the season, and he will be our number two driver next to Maria Cattaneo. This decision is effective for the next qualifying session. Now, I believe that's all the announcements that we have to make. We'll now answer some questions about the announcements and about the future of the team..."

~

Maria Cattaneo and Jeremy Jensen-Fletcher
Kranjagrad, Mattijana

"Hey! Jeremy!" shouted Maria, chasing down the other driver as he exited his team's garage and started down one of the back hallways. He didn't look like he was having the best day himself but he did turn and look to his old friend when she called out for him and ran to grab him before he could get too far away from her. "I need to talk to you about something. Or, I need to ask you for advice about something. It's not necessarily racing related, but I don't have many other friends that are trustworthy enough to talk about this with-"

"If you're coming to me for help, you must really be screwed," Jeremy muttered, stopping and leaning against the hallway as Maria moved closer to him and lowered her voice until he was the only one that could hear. "What's up? Is this about Asher showing up again or something like that-"

"It's about Gabriella. I know that she's become a friend of yours, because she's been hanging out with you since you're one of the big Redvali drivers now, but has she said anything to you about me? I'm trying to figure out something about her and I think I need someone else's perspective to do that. Don't ask why, just tell me the answer."

"Uh... She talks about how you're a great driver and how she wants you to race for her back home some day," shrugged Jeremy. "I don't know, she's your team owner, you'd know more about her than I would. What do you mean when you ask if she's said anything about you?"

"Does she have an attraction towards me, or anything?" Maria blurted out, her voice still a low hiss. "Just tell me, Jeremy. I really, really need to know. I need to know if that's the reason behind last night, or if it's all my fault-"

"What's going on, Maria? Do you have a crush on her or something? I didn't think you were the type of girl to like other girls, but I'm sure you'll do fine with her if you just tell her-"

"You didn't think I am because I'm not, J! But that didn't stop me from fucking waking up with Gabriella in my bed, with bottles everywhere around us! I'm trying to figure out if I was stressed out last night and I reacted by getting drunk and doing something that I might regret, or... Or..."

"Or what?" Jeremy asked, his voice dropping to the same low pitch as hers. "What do you think happened, Mar?"

"I think she might have gotten me drunk to get me in bed with her. She probably saw how stressed I was and took advantage, and you know that she likes getting too close to the athletes on her payroll and some of the other ones around her... My friend, Andrea Hayano, the one that I told you about that Gabriella kicked out of the sport, she told me a few things about Gabriella that make me worry about what happened last night. That make me think that she might have... Taken advantage of me. I'm afraid to even bring it up and ask her about it because, well... She's the team owner now, and I don't want to end up unemployed-"

"Then go to the media anonymously or tell someone else? What about Asher, does he know about this? Or anyone else, for that matter? Is there anyone that could tell you about the state you were in last night?"

"First, Asher does know. And now he's going to be passive aggressive and annoyed with me because he thinks I'm with Gabriella now. I wanted to just be friends with him again anyway, but... This isn't how I wanted it to be, I didn't want him to think I was leading him on while I'm sleeping with the team owner behind his back. I think Gabriella might have told him herself, because I know I didn't. Then again, I don't really know anything about last night. I was blackout drunk, believe it or not... It's a miracle I was able to drive with this hangover for practice," Maria continued. "Second, I can't remember, but I don't think so. It's my fault, I guess, for not keeping my friends close enough to do anything to help me. There's one guy I plan on telling... Ryker Lane, the other driver that I've had some... Interactions with in the past. I want to ask someone for advice and talk to someone about it, but I don't trust anyone inside the team to not let the news of me talking get back to Gabriella and get me in trouble. I trust you, but even you're pretty close to her."

Jeremy took a long sigh, finally putting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "I don't know what to say. What you're going through is bigger than team stuff, but I can see why you don't want to leave the team or even risk that. They do take care of their drivers, after all. Look... I think that at this point, we should both look around and see how much we can figure out about the situation, and see if what you think happened is what happened. And then, if it is, I'll see what I can do about bringing it to light without getting you in trouble. I'm from one of the best universities in the country, so I have some connections that might help, of course. And yeah, talk to Ryker about it. Maybe talking will help you remember more of what happened, and you're right when you say an outside view would be better than one from someone that's... Close to Gabriella."

"Thanks, Jeremy," she said, hugging him quickly before starting down the hall to get away before anyone noticed them there and questioned what their talk had been about. "For everything."

Now, she had one thing left to do today. She wanted to seek out Ryker and tell him about the way things had changed between them in the last week and also about what had happened between her and Gabriella. She didn't, however, know what was coming after that.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Ryker pulls back into the garage after practice, a hungry grin on his face. Everything had gone according to plan: the customised engine mode that the team had been using to limit the power available to him had successfully disguised the additional fuel capacity provided by the new compressed Imagination tank. Perfect; they won’t see anything coming in the race. What with the automated start, I’ll be off the grid like a shot.

His Chase Cutter had been running a lot faster back at base. A lot, lot faster. Unlike petroleum-based fuels, used by the majority of the grid, Imagination’s primary limiter is space, not weight; the stuff is only slightly heavier than air but is highly, highly resistant to compression, which makes cramming more of it into an identically-sized space no mean feat. The fact that Gertrude has managed it - something about incredibly powerful pumps and switching out the materials from which the tank had been constructed - is very impressive.

Well, she’s our engineering and design lead for a reason, isn’t she? Being impressive is what she’s good at. I even remember her saying that she’s been working on rebuilding the car’s entire chassis and bodywork with some Kelthari expat, of all people. I wonder what -

Stop speculating! Stop thinking about these things! All of this is time wasted! You’ve had your practice here but that doesn’t mean that your practice is over. You’re a Lane! Get on with it!

Ryker practically leaps out of his car, not even bothering to remove his helmet, before stalking towards the door at the back of the garage. He’d get an hour or so in the simulator before the post-practice meeting with Martin, analyse the telemetry with him, then get back to work after that. I have corners 7 and 8 nearly perfect and even with Tygar’s shoes on I’m never going to go quickly through the third sector but I’m sure that I can do better in the first few corners. Have to work on holding speed through that chicane at 3 and 4, keeping the momentum from that short almost-straight after two. If I do that, I can have a decent chance at -

For the second time in barely fifteen seconds, Ryker’s train of thought is rapidly derailed - to the protest of that train’s driver - in this case because he spots something at the very edge of his peripheral vision.

What is she doing here? Wasn’t she going to be sorting stuff out before we think about the idea of ‘us’ again?

Then again, he thinks as Maria walks towards him and he turns to face her and waves with a small, “Oh, hi!" she could be here for another reason entirely. Don’t jump to conclusions. Anyway, it’s not as if oh Imagination she’s hugging me.

This train of thought now rapidly slows as Maria, not responding to Ryker’s greetings, wraps her arms around him tightly. In front of everyone else in the garage. It’s only a few people who notice, actually, but still - there’s a principle involved here. He tenses in brief shock, then relaxes into the embrace, only now remembering to take off his helmet as he does so.

I guess she cleared those issues up, he manages to think. Barely.

“We need to talk. Now.” Maria’s tone is firm - but also broken, somehow.

Sounds serious. Maybe I was both wrong and right at the same time. Somehow, the thought clears and calms his mind. Maria needs something from him, something that he can - no, should - provide. He can understand that.

Suddenly noticing his lack of reciprocation, Ryker lifts his own arms and places them against her upper back, holding her closely against him. “Okay. The conference rooms back at base are probably the best place for it.” He laughs as she looks up at him, her expression apparently indicating that she thinks that he has succumbed to some sort of disease of the mind. “I know, I know, it’s on the other side of the planet - we Nimbans have our ways. Follow me.”

The voice in his head howls in agony and frustration all the way through the door, through the portal…

[Esmerel]

Jean Mercer-Daly
Kopylov InternazionRing, Kranjagrad, Mattijana
5 Hours to Q1

"Welcome to Red Lion Racing, Jean. This will be your new base of operations as you continue through your WGPC season."

"Why, thank you, Sari. Always the best tour guide I've known."

"Well, Jean, technically I'm the only tour guide you've known..."

"That's besides the point. The point is, in 300 minutes we're going out on track with a WGPC car for the first time. It's certainly an exciting premise, and there's no time to waste. Mind if you take me on a quick tour?"

"I can make it quick, Jean. Anything for you."

"Jesus. Enough with the flirting, more of the touring."

"My lord, Jean. I thought I told you to drink less of that Zombie Energy drink."

"I tried. Do I get points?"

"Sigh. Anyways, this room is the garage where the cars are kept. Through that door is everything else."

"Hey, Jean, I've got that strategy report you asked for."

"Oh, Darrell..." I was enjoying some quality time with Sari, ad then it just gets shut down. Always that. Story of my flipping life.

"Why, hello, Darrell. Do you need some time with Jean?"

"Technically, yes, but I don't intend to infringe on your tour of-"

"No, no, no, it's fine, Darrell. Sari, would you mind directing us to a conference room?" He's ruined the moment. As he has for many years. Sometimes I wonder why I even agreed to him becoming my race engineer, let alone come with me to the WGPC. Still a good guy.

"Jean drank too much Zombie Energy, didn't he, Sari?"

"He probably did. Come on, babies."

---------5 Minutes Later----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So here's your strategy report, Jean. It's mostly based on yesterday's practice-"

"Don't give it to me! Read it yourself!"

"The hell? Jean, what is it?"

"I- I'm sorry, Darrell. Just read out the strategy."

Darrell proceeded to read out the strategy report. It read like this:

Stuff To Note- JMD Strategy Update, Round 5 of 11

Teams-

MRT- Currently leading the Constructors, with #1 driver Terho Talvela leading the Drivers. Definitely watching out for them, but #2 driver Moisés Delgado is a bit more average. Less of a threat. Also their home GP.

Nexus- New team, with strong drivers and an Imagination-fueled vehicle, however that works. Still need to watch out, but at the moment nowhere near as strong as MRT. Could be able to know driver Ryker Lane better, him being a friend of out teammate and all.

Telaris- Complete jack of all trades, no strong suits but no weak ones either. Shouldn't need to worry but should keep an eye out as they have won races before.

McPahan- A veteran team, has had champions on their team before, but no longer. Should be careful with them, but is more of a midfield team right now.

Arada- Not the strongest of teams, but has been showing good pace lately. Keep an eye out.

Bitten Heroes- Hasn't won a race yet, but has clinched several podiums and is second in Constructors and one of their drivers is second in that championship. Personal favorite, should try to get on their good side. And everyone else's.

Wilson- Seems strong at first looks, but has been a bit of a no-show this season. Shouldn't need to watch unless they're showing better pace.

SFeG- Looks like a good team, but it's been a bit unlucky the last two seasons. Always time for a comeback, though.

Fireline- A backmarker team, but is showing some promise. Could be a threat no one sees coming.

RSR- Pretty generic, box template team. Has scored points but shouldn't need to worry.

WGPC Eelandii- Not showing good pace but is backed by a formerly strong team. Could pull something spectacular off in time.

MSA-SinVal- The equivalent of Enus Classics back at home. Hasn't scored a single point, and its drivers are complete unknowns. Ignore these dudes, as there's little chance they'll ever do well.

And finally

Red Lion Racing (formerly WGPC Kjeligsted)- That's us! Poor car, but great drivers, even clenching a win early on at Lisander. Very happy to be joining this team, especially as it just got taken over by a new directorate from The Redvale. I'm thinking we're in a great position.

"Good God. That's a lot of strategy."

"Oh, Jean, you think I don't know that? I'm a race engineer, for Richmond's sake."

"Well, whatever the situation, I think that's enough discussion. I'm going to get some practice in the simulator before Q1."

"See you later, Jean. Let's give this crowd a real showing."

[Aboveland]

"1:35.485, Axel. That's it for today. Bring the car back inside." Sven radioed.

"Where am I now?" Axel asked.

A murmur escaped from the background: "Karl, the standings?" Back in the foreground: "Seventh, two tenths off Talvela."

While the gap wasn't too large, it still didn't please Axel enough. The start of the second part of the season, which saw races taking place in faster, more flowing circuits, had been lackluster for the Abovian rookie. The power deficit on the Telaris car was creating a permanent gap in the first two events, during which Axel had also attempted to ease his driving style. His attempt was a departure from what had brought him impressive yet close results in the first four races of the season, and a far cry to how he was used to driving the Project AGP car, a machine in which he almost always bettered his compatriot's times.

As he'd said before, he wasn't having a hard time adjusting to the Telaris car again, but his efforts at becoming less aggressive and punishing on his car had made him less competitive and increasingly more average, despite the fact he was now comfortably finishing races with rubber to spare.

Axel parked at the Telaris garage, unstrapped himself from the seat, and pulled off his HANS device. As he began to slowly unbuckle his helmet and slip his gloves off, Karl approached him. He held a phone in his hand, with Frida's picture adorning the screen, right above a number pad. It was on speaker.

"Hello?" Axel said.

"Axel, listen. We have a slight issue."

"What?" he replied in his cold, direct way.

"I'm starting to look for sponsors for Project AGP. Novikov Racing is running out of money to do this alone and we're going to need external backing if we are to continue and start next season."

"Good luck then." Axel said, pressing the hang up button. Luckily for Frida, he still had his gloves on and he hadn't noticed until his third attempt at tapping the red circle.

"Here's the deal. Novikov Racing's and, more importantly, your own sponsors, Raskettu Racing Systems and flyHej!, wouldn't accept an offer to appear on the AGP car. I started to convince them slightly when I showed them some testing clips of you at Pæhkinoot, and that's when I made my move. I, uh, sorta lied. To them, you will be driving the Project AGP car for Novikov Racing next year. Surprise!"

The news bombed. Axel felt almost betrayed. How could Frida manage his own decisions without his feedback, let alone an entire team swap?

"And you didn't tell me?" Axel inquired.

"Eh, no. Sorry. But cheer up! You'll have your own team, with pretty much your own car. Plus, you told me yourself that the prototype drives just as well as, if not better, than what you're in right now. It's better suited to you, even. Hell, Terho told us it's incredible too, and on par with his own NRT or whatever."

"MRT, Frida."

"Tomato tomato."

"Well," Axel began, ready to finish the conversation and leave his worries for another day. "I accept after the fact. I'll do it, but on one condition."

"What is that?"

"I want the car to really be mine. From now on," he paused to look around him, to make sure no MRT mechanic, engineer, driver, or Terho himself was near, "I drive the car. No more Terho. If I'm going to have my own team, the car will be my own too. As good as he is, our driving styles are different enough to make a difference in the car's development. You know me, flat out, all the time. You know him, flat out, ehh, when able. Get his engineers on the job with me too. You can get some extra youngun to test other things on the car too, if you want. But now, I'm the test driver."

Frida, taken aback by Axel's long, demanding answer, replied with an "Uh, okay then. Good luck!" She promptly hung up and left her phone on her kitchen counter for a while.

The panorama had now changed. Axel was now decided to revert to what he did best: attacking even when unnecessary. If the AGP car turned out to be a flop, this would almost surely be his only year with a competitive car. It was time to make it count.

[Audioslavia]

Alexander Lund found himself pausing outside of WGPC Kjeligsted's garage as he walked along the pit straight, on his way to his TV interview. Ordinarily, over the past few months, he'd have been stopped by a familiar face. A member of the pit crew or one of the engineers that he'd met on the local Audioslavian scene. Since the Yakumicha race, however, he'd noticed fewer and fewer Kjeligstedis in the garage, replaced by a number of Redvalis. The rumours about the team's rebranding appeared to be true. Not even the WGPC Kjeligsted logo was visible anymore, despite the team maintaining the name on official documents, for now at least.

Rumours had been flying since Sheik Abdul Yamin had relinquished control of the team - as he had every other company he owned. A tilt at politics? Retirement? Who knew, but the result was that one of the hiterto unremarkable teams was getting their act together.

Ilyas Nurlibaev, a rookie who he'd grown to respect over a number of outings big on heart but often short on pace, had now made way for another similarly inexperienced driver, though one who was older than even Alex. Jean Mercer-Daly had arrived from the minor leagues with a reputation for clean, aggressive driving and more overtakes in his career than Alec had had hot dinners, but that still didn't quite account for the fact that WGPC Kjeligsted, or whatever they were about to call themselves, had just signed a 34 year-old rookie.

Alec realised that he was staring. At the back of the dimly lit garage, a bemused Maria Cattaneo gave him a slow wave. Alec blinked, raised a hand in apology, and tried to make his way towards a waiting TV crew before being stopped by a man in a very clean set of overalls, outstretching his hand.

"Mr Lund?" asked the man. Alec recognised his face from the briefing he'd had earlier.
"Mr. Mercer-Daly. Nice to meet you. Call me Alec"
"Jean" said Jean. "You know Maria?"
"She tends to wave when she drives past me, yeah" replied Alec, with a wry smile. He noted a brief look of surprise in the Esmerelian's face before the realisation dawned that Alec was making an attempt at a joke.
"Hah, yes, she's been doing well. Won that race. I take it she doesn't actually wave when she goes past..."
"No. Well, it's difficult to see when you're upside-down in a gravel trap, but yeah" said Alec, wincing at the memory of his awful crash last time out.
"Things haven't been going your way, I hear" said Jean, a little tentatively.
"Oh, that's just the way things are. It's been a while since I've been at the front of the grid. These things happen. You get old and then you lose a split second here and th.." Alec realised his mistake. Here he was, a 30 year-old, implying that he was past it to a man who was four years his senior. The Esmerelian had the good grace to smile.
"I fitted a zimmer-frame in my new car" said Jean, "just in case". Alec chuckled.
"Sorry, I wasn't thinking."
"Absolutely not a problem. Reaction times get duller, that's true, but you learn things too."
"You learn not to drink yourself to oblivion after your first win" said Alec. He thought he saw a 'been there, done that' look from Jean, but he couldn't be sure. It could just as well have been the knowing smile of a tee-totaller who'd seen it happen to fellow drivers.
There was a commotion in the garage behind the two drivers. Alec nodded towards it.
"I'd best leave you to it. An hour until qualifying. You'll be needed in there."
"58 minutes" replied Jean. "I've been counting since Tuesday. Best of luck out there"
"You too" said Alec. He took a final glance in the WGPC-K pits as he departed and saw that Maria and a couple of team members had been looking on with interest.

Gianni Invernizzi was always a pleasure to talk to when it came to interviews. A respected driver back in his day, he had a knack of asking the right questions, and he started with a hum-dinger.
"So, Alec, four races, four points, where has the car gone wrong?". Alec appreciated the implication that he, himself, had done nothing wrong at all.
"We're still getting to grips with things, here. We're working hard getting race pace, but it's not coming together just yet"
"The same as at McPahan, your former team?"
"Yes" replied Alec, trying to keep his expression as blank as possible. "They've had a bit more luck, mind"
"We saw you talking to the new face, Jean Mercer-Daly, before. Did you have any wise words for the newcomer?". Alec nodded, more in gratitude for the interviewer not asking him whether or not he'd have preferred to have stayed with McPahan.
"I just welcomed him aboard. He seems clued in. Let's see how he can perform on the track, that's where it counts"
"And what do you make of his age? You've mentioned that 30 is the cut-off point for top drivers before.."
"Oh, I've always believed that what you lose in reflexes, you gain in experience and technique. Stands to reason" said Alec, neglecting to mention that, by 'always' he meant 'found out five minutes ago'.
"Is thirty the end for top drivers, Alec?" asked Gianni, a knowing grin.
"Let's hope not" said Alec
"A quarter of the season done, Talvela is well ahead, will it be two-in-a-row for the Abovelandi?"
"It certainly looks that way" replied Alec, "but I can say from experience, I've been in his position before. Top of the standings, reigning champion, and the pressure mounts with every race."
"You lost out on your second championship on the final day of season 13" said Gianni. "Will the same happen to Terho?"
"Not if he keeps his head, no. He had a great support team at VTM and it looks like he's kept the right attitude since he moved to MRT. As long as he doesn't lose his head somewhere he'll be fine"
"Where would he lose his head, do you think, Alec? What are the pitfalls of a driver in his position?"
"Stay out of the front pages" said Alec, smiling, "and out of pictures in 'Ciao' magazine with it-girls hanging off your arm, and you'll be fine"
"Away from the whisky too, Alec?" asked Gianni, winking. There had been a story, years ago, of Alec waking up surrounded by whisky bottles, in bed with a woman who had remained nameless.
"Oh, of course" said Alec. "Dulls the reflexes, that stuff.."

Alex and Gianni wrapped up their interview, but not before Alec had insisted that the drinking-stuff be left out of the final interview when it was to be broadcast on national TV. He made his way back to the garage, nodding at the drivers he saw on the way. As usual, he made sure to make his traditional greeting to Alexandra Mayari as he walked past.
"In bocca al lupo" said Alec.
"Crepi il lupo" replied Alexandra, barely looking in Alec's direction. In the mouth of the wolf - kill the wolf was the translation. A traditional gesture of goodwill and good luck in some Italian-speaking circles. Alec and Alex had formed an understanding outside of the circuit, based on the experiences they had both shared. Both former World Champions stuck in the middle of the field, neither of whom were getting younger. There was always the chance that one of them would re-find their form, but was increasingly a matter of 'if' rather than 'when'.

[WGPC]

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 second twenty-minute qualifying session to decide the order of the top ten for Sunday's race. Each driver in the second session has a maximum of three flying laps.

Conditions: DRY

FIRST SESSION

Pos # Driver		  Team			Time
 1 23 Moisés Delgado      MRT			1:35.333
 2 37 Axel Novikov        Telaris		1:35.526
 3 63 Kurt Censki         McPahan		1:35.551
 4 16 Alexander Lund      Wilson		1:35.573
 5  4 Jean Mercer-Daly    Kjeligsted WGPC	1:35.601
 6 77 iBen Toralmintii    Eelandii WGPC		1:35.620
 7 94 Ryker Lane          Nexus			1:35.625
 8  1 Terho Talvela       MRT			1:35.651
 9  7 Ethan Ellis         Wilson		1:35.667
10 14 Oliver Bliss        RSR			1:35.742
11 18 Louis Krindle       MSA-SinVal		1:35.749
12  5 Juliano Lemos       Bitten Heroes		1:35.767
13  6 Marika Pedanovic    Nexus			1:35.866
14 80 J. Jensen-Fletcher  Fireline		1:35.895
15 74 Alexandra Mayari    SFeG			1:35.938
16 99 Maria Cattaneo      Kjeligsted WGPC	1:36.221
17 17 Eaoueaiou Aeouiouie Telaris		1:36.244
18 52 Sayono Souzare      McPahan		1:36.340
19 42 Alex Dimitrianov    Fireline		1:36.478
20 51 R.L. Cruisin        Arada			1:36.520
21 55 Asao Nadakei        Arada			1:36.696
22 20 Mick Schramm        Bitten Heroes		1:36.754
23 89 Will Madison        MSA-SinVal		1:36.863
24 24 Victoria Gardner    SFeG			1:38.865
25 29 Esteban Guilhermez  RSR			1:39.345
26 53 Denholm Kingsley    Eelandii WGPC		1:39.406

SECOND SESSION

Pos # Driver		  Team			Time        	
 1  1 Terho Talvela       MRT			1:35.180
 2 77 iBen Toralmintii    Eelandii WGPC		1:35.407
 3 63 Kurt Censki         McPahan		1:35.901
 4 23 Moisés Delgado      MRT			1:36.152
 5 94 Ryker Lane          Nexus			1:36.232
 6  4 Jean Mercer-Daly    Kjeligsted WGPC	1:36.589
 7  7 Ethan Ellis         Wilson		1:36.725
 8 16 Alexander Lund      Wilson		1:39.555
 9 37 Axel Novikov        Telaris		1:40.223
10 14 Oliver Bliss        RSR			1:50.811

STARTING GRID

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

Cut-off for Sunday's race will be at around 11pm tomorrow night.

[The Serbian Empire]

"22nd. This isn't too bad in the terms of lap over lap over a full run. But you're nowhere near fast enough to sit on the pole," the engineer said to Marika.

"What were the times?" Marika inquired.

A screen full of lap times showed up. 28 laps of data. 1:36.004, 1:36.108, 1:36.074, 1:36.009, 1:36.206, 1:36.113, 1:36.310, 1:36.287, 1:36.119, and so on. The slow lap being a 1:36.442 on lap 27.

"So a points run is definitely possible, but I would have doubts you can win this. Ryker was barely faster than your slowest lap," the engineer responded.

"So conserve tyres and don't make a foolish pass. The data could tell me I can run this thing without ill effect for at least 30-40 laps presuming nobody wrecks and I don't flat spot the tyres. I wonder if the Aradas got some kind of upgrade. They were faster than usual and one of them passed me in practice," Marika said.

"I haven't heard anything, but it seems like they might have found something to improve upon their laps. Secondly, the handling characteristics of their chassis are most favored on a track like this. The UHSGV-1 isn't able to keep the speed in the turns quite as well. We did outrun them in the span between turns 11 and 3 on the next lap. Most of the speed loss was in turn 7. That long sweeper pretty much allowed them to gain about seven-tenths of a second right there each lap," the engineer responds.

"Can we get it stabilized to where we lose less time there?" Marika asked.

"Yes, we can do that. Mechanics, add a slight amount of downforce in the wings," the engineer requested.

Qualifying

"1:35.866, fastest lap you ran all week. Right now you're in 10th. Cool it down, we might need to make another run!" the engineer exclaimed.

"Alright, will do," Marika responds with a smile.

[Esmerel]

Jean Mercer-Daly
Kopylov InternazionRing, Kranjagrad, Mattijana
Saturday Evening Qualifying

Jean was sitting in the WGPC-K garage waiting for Q1 to begin. He had familiarized himself with his new Redvali team owners, his pit crew, his teammate, Maria Cattaneo, and had an (awkward) chat with Audioslavian Alexander Lund. Here he was, one of the oldest drivers on the grid, and already he felt 26 again. This was too much like his first practice in Rockford 8 years ago, when he was driving in the ESTL. Speaking of that, he was forced to drop his potential third championship to join the WGPC. A bit saddening, but at least he was finally out from the minors and into the big leagues. That was certainly a good thing. Suddenly, his earpiece got a signal.

"Jean, this is Darrell. Qualifying 1 has just begun and we need to get on track."

"That I will do. What sort of setup can we make before we head out?"

"Well, that's up to you. Do we create a setup that covers your cornering? Or do we enhance your great speed control to make the fast moments faster? It's all in the strategy, mate. And one wrong call can lead to disaster."

"Yeah... I remember that one race in Rhine Beach where the weather kept changing and we never took advantage of it. A shame, it was. But anyways, I'll go for a bit more of a cornering-based setup, given this track's bounty of sweeping turns."

"Guys, you know what to do. Fix that car up good and let's go flying."

Precisely 2 minutes and 31 seconds later Jean had begun his out lap. He took the time to study the course while he could- he had missed out on Friday practice, after all. There were plenty of long, sweeping corners as he had seen earlier, only this time he was speeding through them like a knife through butter. Speaking of speeding, he was traveling faster that he ever had managed in his old 9F Cabrio back home. Forget that eight city block long straight down the Banking circuit. THIS was real speed.

"Jean, you're looking lovely out there," Darrell radioed in from the garage. "Just make sure you're ready for your flying lap once you come to Turn 13 and 14. We only get six of them."

"Got it. Coming up on those corners now. Now be quiet so I can focus."

Jean came out of Kranjagrad and sped down the frontstretch. He began his qualifying laps. His first lap he came across with a 1:36.944.

"Good first lap, Jean, but that's nowhere near competitive. Floor it, amicus meus!

Of course, his first lap was jut a warmup. He did floor it. A few more laps went by, his lap times went down. Then came his fifth flying lap. It felt like a lap like no other. No lock-ups, no tankslappers, and every turn was as tight and as smooth as possible. He came through Kranjagrad almost flat-out. Lap finished. That felt good, right?

"Darrell? Lap time, please. That one felt really good."

"1:35.601! You did wonderful. That'll get us to Q2. Bring it in, we need to save the tyres."

-----Qualifying 2-----

"Now that we're in the shootout, we need to think very carefully about what we need to do. Now, we only have 3 laps to set a time, and the pressure is higher. So what are we doing, Jean?"

"Keep the same setup, except for the front and rear wings which should be adjusted to provide a little bit more downforce."

"Okay then. Guys, get that changed. Jean, you'll be going out late in the session when the track is the fastest."

And out Jean went. This time, his perfect lap was his first, and his improved downforce led to him being able to go faster in the long corners. However, it cut from his top speed, and thus he resulted with a slower time, but still managed to clinch P6.

"Good job, Jean, that's P6 with a time of 1:36.589. Bring her in so we can conserve the tyres."

"Darrell... that's a second slower than Q1. Are you sure we can bring it in?"

"Yes, we need to conserve the tyres. It is a bit unfortunate we ended up a little bit slower. Had we maintained our Q1 pace we would've ended up in P3, but certainly P6 is acceptable, right? I'd say points are almost guaranteed as long as we keep our cool."

"You know what? I'd say so."

"Oh, and the TV guys would like a short interview."

Jean drove back to the pits and arrived in front of some sports news reporters.

"Mr. Mercer-Daly, could we get a few words from you?"

"I've been doing it for eight years now. Of course you can."

"How do you feel about your qualifying results?"

"P6 is certainly a great starting point for a midseason replacement, and I think things could only get better from here. If I had maintained my great Q1 pace it would've been P3, but I think that's a silver platter being handed to me before being smashed in my face, if you know what I mean. This kind of stuff happens."

"Are you satisfied with the performance of your machine? What about the change in ownership of your new team?"

"The car feels good, I know that it's an unreliable mess compared to most other cars out on track, but for me I think I can handle it. And personally, this change in ownership couldn't have been at a better time for me at least. New team, new driver with it. I think we've got some promise in store."

"What are your thoughts on the championship? Your future with it?"

"I think I have a good future with the WGPC. If all goes well this season I'd likely be back next season driving for the same team if it still works by then. The championship right now looks like it could go into anyone's hands, even mine. I'm not saying I'm in a good position to win, but you get lucky, you finish high, they do not and you've got yourself a champion. It's not out pf the question."

"Thank you for the interview, Mr. Mercer-Daly."

Jean returned to the garage to have one last chat with Darrell and the crew before heading off to the hotel.

"Hey, Jean! That is what the hell I'm talking about!"

"Glad you're happy, Darrell. Are you content with being a race engineer right now?"

"Oh, it's perfectly fine. No problems at all. No, really."

"Are you sure? You don't sound like it."

"Sorry if I sounded conspicuous. I'm not having problems."

Jean spots a bottle of alcohol. "But maybe you're having this. He picks up the bottle. "Why exactly did you think alcohol was a good idea? It's illegal to drink and do anything in Esmerel!"

"But we're not in Esmerel!"

"I know, I know, just be more careful about what you do. We're still Esmerelians, right? Semper invicta!"

"Semper invicta, Jean. See you tomorrow."

[Esmerel]

Jean Mercer-Daly
Kopylov InternazionRing, Kranjagrad, Mattijana
45 Minutes to Race Start

All was quiet in the pit lane. Well, at least in Jean's box. The media seemed to have had enough of him, despite earlier that weekend hounding him since he had gotten off the plane to Mattijana. He wondered how many Esmerelians would either be attending the race or watching at home. While Esmerel loved its sports, it had never competed in an international competition until now, preferring to remain internal.

"So, Jean," said Darrell. "You excited for your first race?"

You learned your lesson from being drunk. All I care about right now. But I won't say that. "I'd say I am. After eight years in the domestic leagues, I'm finally graduating. Certainly a huge premise."

"I know. And I get to be here with you, directing you as I have for eight years. It's been a long journey since our first ESTL race in 2014."

"That we can both agree on, Darrell. That we can both agree on." Suddenly a loud crash occurred.

"Careful, guys," Darrell said to the maintenance crew. "Make sure you tune that car to exactly what we had stated in the setup." The setup for this race was balanced in extremes- great downforce from some parts to increase cornering speed, but low ride height to increase top speed. The car had also been underfueled by about three laps- Jean would handle the management, being the mid-race strategist he was. It never had left him since he first took interest in motorsport.

"Hey, Darrell. Have you seen Maria lately? She's going to miss the start if we can't find her."

"Oh, she's fine, Jean. Probably out with Ryker Lane at the moment. They'll be back in time."

"Umm... Alright. I had hoped we could get to know each other better. Maybe another day."

"Maybe. Anyways, we've got to take the car out to the grid now. Any last thoughts before we part?"

"I don't really know, Darrell. A win would be amazing, a podium just as great. A points finish would also be lovely, and is very possible from where we are on the grid.... but instead of all that I think it'll be a good race as long as we don't blow up."

"Always that careful mentality followed by a dominating execution. You'll be fine, Jean, I just know it."

"Heh. Watch us lose a front wing at Turn 1 now that you've said it. Well, whatever. I'll be seeing you in a few hours!"

"Good luck, Jean. Just like good old times."

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

“Okay, Ryker - given the Imagination tank upgrade and the automatic launch system, you and Marika currently have the fastest-starting cars on the grid. Only the MRTs in front of you will be able to remotely match your speed, so be careful if Delgado particularly moves to block you and you have to take evasive action, but otherwise you have a good run down to the first corner.”

Ryker smiles as he turns the seventh corner on the warm-up lap. “Roger that, Martin - music to my ears.”

“The same protocol as yesterday applies: be sure to take the increased power into account, especially through the end of the first and start of the third sectors. You will make up a lot of ground between those points, so your primary overtaking spots will be the second sector and the start-finish straight. Current strategy is Plan A with a 2/5 box."

"Nobody but Terho who is ahead of you on the grid is ahead of you in the championship; today is a fantastic chance to get some meaningful points. Have at ‘em.”

Ryker laughs at that last part. “Sure thing. Talk to you soon.” Communications are then severed, letting the Nimban focus.

The Chase Cutter, he thinks to himself for the umpteenth time, feels so much more forceful with the compressed Imagination tank installed. Giving it a slight, swerving slide to get the tyres up to temperature, Ryker senses the raw power underneath him, just waiting to explode into pure speed off the grid. That caught him out in qualifying, certainly, causing a few mistakes that had cost him crucial tenths and landed him in fifth rather than further up the order, but he feels that he will have a better handle on it in the race.

The car isn’t the only thing that has changed, though, is it? Ryker feels more right, more self-assured, more internally coherent, than he has in a long while - since the second race of the season, in fact. That conversation with Maria a couple of nights ago hadn't gone perfectly, sure, but it had given him an insight: he's at his best not when he is utterly emotionless and too single-minded for his own good but when he combines his thoughts and emotions, bringing them to bear at once, acting both on his rationality and on his pure, honest instinct. My mental state earlier almost seems immature, now. Funny how quickly things like that can change.

And so Ryker pulls up to fifth place on the starting grid, collected, determined and, what is most significant, pretty okay.

[Taeshan]

Once again Oliver had a rough race. Although he could find his way through a pack in the early races of the season he found it much harder going passing the top cars in his equipment than he had pushing his way through the lower echelons of the field. The team had worked on his car a lot before the next weekend in Mattijana but the whole team had come in slow. Esteban Guilhermez continued to not be what the team wanted, but still was continuing to not completely suck and with few options he was destined to stay around. Oliver had managed only a point with his tenth place finish and things looked down for the Grand Prix in Mattijana.

But after many hours of work in the garage the team gave Oliver some speed heading into qualifying. On track it showed. From barely above last place in speed Oliver was really doing well in the qualifying. With the 10th fastest speed he moved on to the second round of qualifying for the pole with a fast speed, but once again it seemed he was out of his comfort zone and could not compete as the faster cars put up speeds the RSR car seemed unable to obtain in any form of the word. As the afternoon went on and Oliver fell to tenth he realized that once again he had his work cut out for him going into the race.

"Oliver, how do you feel qualifying went?"

"We definitely did better than practice, getting into the second round is something we pride ourselves on and we want to continue to push forward as a team. We may not be competing in the second session as much as the first, but just getting their is a goal each week. We want to win races eventually and right now we are in a place where we could do it with some strategy, but we need to work on our speed to have any hope of competing speed wise every week. Certain tracks will help our hopes of winning, and hopefully we will get that win soon."

[Audioslavia]

Two flying laps. 1:36.2 and 1:36.0. Good enough for around 12th so far: Nowhere near good enough. Alec had spent half of his session sitting on a used tyre twiddling his thumbs while his engineers tried to do something about the lack of acceleration he'd been getting off the back of the twistier of the corners at the circuit. Now, as he gave the engine a shot of fuel and whipped the car out of the garage, was his chance to get into the top ten in qualifying, to give him a shot of barging his way back into the head of the field after half a season - let's face it, one a hand half seasons - in the middle of the pack.

Alec fed the car around the twists and turns of the Kopylov InternazionRing, keeping the tyres warm and the engine purring, feeling the car out, letting the adenaline burst round his system every time he floored the accelerator and saw the horizon flood towards him. Within a couple of minutes he was coasting round Da Lebjalipa and bringing the engine to a screech as he apprached Kranjagrad, taking the car to its limits as he rounded the turn and bombed down the home straight. He barely saw turn one by the time it came to brake for it, slowing to a crawl before coasting round to the apex, sprinting out as quickly as possible and feeling more of a *bite* on the accelerator than he had previously. He rattled round the sling before hammering down on the brakes again for the fish-hook chicane, hitting both apexes and eating up more red and white paint on the exit. Turns five, six, seven and eight were taken as fast as possible, going down only to fourth gear at least, before slowing down round turn nine in order to take turn ten without careening into the run-off area. Turn eleven was a little shaky, feeling the rear wheels skip and skitter on the tarmac as he attempted to get the jump on turns twelve and thirteen, narrow avoiding the absortion barrier on turn thirteen as he hit the rumble strip on the runoff and accelerated towards Da Lebjalipa once more, taking it faster this time, bombing down towards Kranjagrad again. Lund hit the brakes a little longer than he'd expected to, feeling a lack of response from the brake pads, until finally he hit a speed he felt comfortable with and took the car inside and out, bursting down towards the start-finish line.

One thirty-five five. Good enough.

"Brakes" was the first thing out of his mouth after disembarking. "Lost braking on the last corner of the flying lap. They weren't responding properly throughout the in-lap either"
"Nothing we can do now" came the response from the lead engineer, with a shrug. "It'd take too long to replace them, or even check them. We've got to get you and the car ready for the second stint".

Alec, as the slowest of only eight drivers able to get the car around the track without sliding off of it, would start from the fourth row. Wilson, seventh and eighth on the grid after Ellis's wonder-lap, would be in great sted for the race.

[Aboveland]

Johan Struna took over the radio as Terho crossed the line at the end of qualifying. "Well done, Terho. That time's good for P1. You can come in if you want."

Terho's weekend had been going exceptionally well. With his confidence running high after his dominant win in Hodori, heavily influenced by the MRT car's much improved performance, he'd been able to focus religiously on the task at hand: racing. The practice session had been enjoyable to him. He'd been trying out a qualifying setup that had done wonders for him, and throughout the session he realized that perhaps it could also work on race day. It was slightly harsh on the tyres, but that was nothing an extra stop, harder tyres or backing off at the front couldn't help.

In Q1, Terho went eighth fastest. He wasn't pushing too hard, and tried to conserve his tyres enough to be usable in the race. For the second session, he got a set of super soft tyres fitted onto Anni² and set off at the very beginning. At one point in the session, he encountered Axel Novikov going into turn four. Terho had had a minuscule loss of concentration for a split second, yet it was enough to cause a seriously close near miss. Traffic matters aside, he rolled into the paddock in pole position and with a gleaming smile on his face, conveying the joy of his first pole of the season to the rest of the team. He picked up his phone, which he'd left in his bag, and rung up Edvin, who had had to stay back in their loft due to a heavy migraine. Right as they finished talking, Terho went to his phone app and checked his missed calls. He had two from Frida Smeets. He figured, however, that it was most likely another testing invitation, prompting him to ignore them until after the race.

---

Axel had just endured yet another bittersweet qualifying session. He'd found his confidence in the car again, and felt himself really pushing himself properly. His performance was not the reason he was annoyed. Yet again, for the third time, he hadn't gotten the two part qualifying memo.

"Good time, Axel, P2 it is. Get ready for the second session," said Karl, his friend and main engineer back at Novikov Racing.

"Wh-? Second session? Damn it, Karl."

"What? You knew!"

"No I didn't! Why didn't you tell me? I've got no super softs left for Q2 and the race!"

As Karl broke into a cold sweat, Sven took over the reigns.

"Axel, you moron," he said.

"You didn't tell me either!"

"It's not my job! You are the one that's driving! I help you get the car how you want it, and that's all."

Axel sighed, shut his eyes tight, shook his head, and rebooted. Focused once again, he shut off the team radio. He'd lost the argument, but he didn't care. He'd just pretend nothing had ever happened.

One qualifying session later, on harder tyres than the rest of the field, he set a time good enough for eighth. Being the cool minded man he is, though, he shunned away his frustration and cleared his mind. He'd been able to claw back positions from further down the grid order before. There was little that could possibly convince him he couldn't win on Sunday.

[WGPC]

CUT OFF for Race 5

[WGPC]

Race Five

Grand Prix Tsa Mattijana

Conditions: WET
Laps: 60

Pos # Driver               Team				Race Time	Behind Preceding car
 1 23 Moisés Delgado             	1:40:52.157	+0:00.000
 2 94 Ryker Lane                 	1:41:42.040	+0:49.883
 3  4 Jean Mercer-Daly           	1:42:19.009	+0:36.969
 4  5 Juliano Lemos              	+1 Lap		
 5 99 Maria Cattaneo             	+1 Lap		+0:00.157
 6 17 Eaoueaiou Aeouiouie        	+1 Lap		+0:40.380
 7 16 Alexander Lund             	+1 Lap		+0:01.709
 8 80 J. Jensen-Fletcher         	+1 Lap		+0:22.121
 9 42 Alex Dimitrianov           	+1 Lap		+0:16.401
10 74 Alexandra Mayari           	+1 Lap		+0:15.752
11 24 Victoria Gardner           	+2 Laps		
12 89 Will Madison               	+2 Laps		+0:16.531
13 20 Mick Schramm               	+2 Laps		+0:03.572
14 53 Denholm Kingsley           	+2 Laps		+0:11.065
15  6 Marika Pedanovic           	+2 Laps		+0:18.771

DNF 55 Asao Nadakei               	Ret. Lap 49	
DNF 63 Kurt Censki                	Ret. Lap 47	
DNF 77 iBen Toralmintii           	Ret. Lap 45
DNF 52 Sayono Souzare             	Ret. Lap 44
DNF 18 Louis Krindle              	Ret. Lap 43
DNF  1 Terho Talvela              	Ret. Lap 38	
DNF 37 Axel Novikov               	Ret. Lap 33	
DNF 14 Oliver Bliss               	Ret. Lap 25	
DNF 29 Esteban Guilhermez         	Ret. Lap 13
DNF  7 Ethan Ellis                	Ret. Lap 10		
DNF 51 R.L. Cruisin               	Ret. Lap 8

Drivers Championship Standings

Pos	#	Name			Team		Pts
1	1	Terho Talvela		MRT		57
2	5	Juliano Lemos		Bitten Heroes	47
3	94	Ryker Lane		Nexus		42
4	99	Maria Cattaneo		Kjeligsted WGPC	39
5	37	Axel Novikov		Telaris		36
6	6	Marika Pedanovic	Nexus		33
7	17	Eaoueaiou Aeouiouie	Telaris		31
8	23	Moisés Delgado		MRT		29
9	80	J. Jensen-Fletcher	Fireline	22
10	20	Mick Schramm		Bitten Heroes	21
11	55	Asao Nadakei		Arada		18
11	91	Ilyas Nurlibaev		Kjeligsted WGPC	14
12	4	Jean Mercer-Daly	Kjeligsted WGPC	14
14	14	Oliver Bliss		RSR		11
15	52	Sayono Souzare		McPahan		8
15	42	Alex Dimitrianov	Fireline	8
15	16	Alexander Lund		Wilson		8
18	74	Alexandra Mayari	SFeG		4
18	7	Ethan Ellis		Wilson		4
18	77	iBen Toralmintii	Eelandii WGPC	4
21	63	Kurt Censki		McPahan		2
21	53	Denholm Kingsley	Eelandii WGPC	2
23	51	R.L. Cruisin		Arada		1
24	89	Will Madison		MSA-SinVal	0
24	18	Louis Krindle		MSA-SinVal	0
24	24	Victoria Gardner	SFeG		0
24	29	Esteban Guilhermez	RSR		0

Constructors Championship Standings

MRT		86
Nexus		75
Bitten Heroes	68
Telaris		67
Kjeligsted WGPC	67
Fireline	30
Arada		19
Wilson		12
RSR		11
McPahan		10
Eelandii WGPC	6
SFeG		4
MSA-SinVal	0

[The Redvale]

OOC: This was meant for before the race, but oh well...
Maria Cattaneo & Gabriella Olson
Kranjagrad, Mattijana

Qualifying had been a blur. Maria hadn't thought much about it, even as she had been driving in it, because her mind was on other things... Sometimes, that was when she was at her best, when she didn't have to think about driving and she relied purely on her instincts. Other times, those instincts couldn't lead her to good results, and she found herself far down the list of drivers once the final qualifying standings were set in stone. This was one of the latter times, instead of one of the former ones. Her instincts hadn't been able to get her higher than sixteenth, and that just wasn't good enough for someone who called herself a top driver and said that she was carrying the banner for her country. Those same instincts felt weighed down by everything else that had happened recently, and everything that was on her mind.

"And so you see, Maria, you need to put more effort into aggression rather than focusing on being perfect in cornering. You don't come out of your turns and accelerate quickly enough, and you also don't shift lines with enough aggression, and quickly enough. It's going to keep hurting you in qualifying, but especially when you need to make overtakes in races," said her race engineer, Hans Eskildsen, as she stood in the garage while the staff went over some quick observations. Her teammate, Jean Mercer-Daly, was having a much better day so far. That extended not just to the racing, but to dealing with the staff and team related things. He was able to take the advice well, but she couldn't bring herself to focus.

"Sorry, Hans, but I'm going to have to call it a day for now. I'm not really paying attention, to be honest," she said in a tired tone, picking up her backpack and stepping towards the door at the back of the garage. "I have some personal stuff to handle, and some stuff that's been bothering me, recently. I'm no help to anyone right now, until I fix some of this stuff. You understand, right?"

"Can't say I know what's going on, but I do know that you aren't yourself. Go take care of whatever you need to, it's better for you to miss some study time and be at your best tomorrow than it is for you to stay and still be bothered by whatever's going on. Good luck with sorting things out, by the way."

"Thanks... I'll have my head straight by tomorrow, at least," she promised, before stepping into the hallway and heading towards the exit that would take her towards the paddock. Even though she was leaving the track, she wasn't heading to the hotel just yet. No, there was still unfinished business.

~

"No, no, no, and NO!" shouted Gabriella Olson, as some of her employees showed her potential livery options for the rebranded Kjeligsted team, the one that she owned that would be known as Red Lion Racing as soon as they finished up processing the paperwork and got the actual new livery and logos set up. But, the second half of that was turning out to be harder than anyone had thought. Gabriella was a picky owner, and that was what her employees had found out the hard way over the last month or so, when she began working closer and closer with the team and showing her interest in buying them out. "I'm looking for a logo and livery that project power and timelessness, not something that looks like a fad or something that people will look back on and laugh at! None of this minimalist shit is going to work, and neither is a neon color scheme! I want something timeless and I want it before the next race weekend-"

The door to the room in the motorhome opened, and a young woman in a team branded sweatshirt and a bag slung around one shoulder stepped in. Maria Cattaneo, the Redvali driver who had survived Gabriella's takeover of the team and kept her spot, despite her former teammate not being able to say the same. "We need to talk about something," she said calmly, but her voice had an edge to it and everyone in the room stared at her. "Like, right now, and I need everyone else to go. You can finish this meeting later-"

"Right, right, everyone out. You all can consider yourselves saved by Maria's timing," Gabriella said, waving her employees out of the room as the picture of their proposed designs still was projected onto the TV screen behind her. When they left, Gabriella closed the door behind them, and then leaned against it and turned to Maria before flashing a bright smile. "What can I do for you? Is this about that night, or...?"

"I want to know what happened," Maria said sharply, moving to face Gabriella and staring her down. "I want you to tell me everything, not just what happened but what happened leading up to it. I was drunk that night, I don't remember... But I have to know, I have to know why-"

"What is there to say? You were stressed and I helped you deal with it. It's no big deal, we were just having some fun, right? Is that what this is about? Is that what you were distracted about during qualifying? You thought that I was going to make a big deal about what happened?"

Before Gabriella could keep speaking, Maria charged her and shoved her against the door, hard, grabbing her by the front of the collar and leaning into her face. "I want you to tell me what happened," she repeated, her voice still low but sharp, and when Gabriella said nothing, Maria reached to her pocket for a small pocket knife and flicked the blade out, pressing it to Gabriella's neck. "Tell me! Tell me or I'll make sure that you never live to take this team over!"

Gabriella took a deep breath, a few drops of blood running down her neck and onto her collarbone. "It's not a big deal, Maria. Honestly. I came to talk to you about the race and some things about the takeover, but you already had a few drinks in you. I hung out a little bit, had a few drinks, and then one thing led to another and the next morning, I was waking up in your bed. I don't know why you had to make this into something big-"

"What the hell did you tell Asher? Maybe I'm making it a big deal because you screwed things up with my friends, too-"

"All I did was send him a picture after you were sleeping and I was about to fall asleep... You know, kind of bragging and telling him that I was able to get to you first-"

"You fucked up everything!" Maria shouted, and she took a few deep breaths before she pressed the knife further against Gabriella's skin. "Asher won't even talk to me now, it's not like he knows that I was too wasted to even remember the day when that happened! If it wasn't for me having a career, I would-"

"Look, look, we were both drunk, alright? You did something that you regret and I did something that I regret. Now, all I did that I regret was send a picture, but still.. We all do stupid things when we're drunk, so can we just move on and I'll try to fix things with Asher? And you can keep driving for my team and being my friend?"

Maria sighed, her hand shaking as she kept Gabriella pushed against the door. The billionaire knew that her life now depended on what the slightly unstable and very emotional driver that was holding onto her wanted to do, because there was no way she would overpower Maria in a scenario like this. She continued pleading, in an effort to get Maria to let her go. "Please... I understand if you're mad, but I did something, however misguided it was, because I like you. I never meant to hurt you. Just like I never meant to hurt Andrea and destroy her career, and I never meant to hurt Jeremy by distracting him... I... I have a hard time telling when things hurt people, and even if I don't show it and I hide it at every chance, I'm human too. I look back and regret things just like everyone else... And I try to make up for those things, but I can only do it if you let me go-"

"Enough!" Maria snapped, and by now, there were some tears forming in Gabriella's eyes.

"I don't know what else I can do. Just let me make this up to you, Maria. Let me help you on the track and fix the career problems that you have because of me. Or you can walk out of this team and ruin our season, that would be good revenge too-"

"What can you do for my driving that you haven't already done? What can you do to make up for this?"

"Well... I was only going to tell Jeremy about this, because I feel like he needs the help more. But let's just say I know someone through a friend that can teach you a thing or two about racing. It's a bit of a long story, but since we're here now... I might as well tell it."

[Esmerel]

"THAT IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! YEAH!" Jean said as he finished the wet Grand Prix in third place, on the lead lap and without damage.

"Brilliant driving, Jean! That setup really did our car fancy. Bring it home and we'll pull out the lemonade on the podium."

Jean proceeded to travel back to the pits and parked his car. He was happy to hear his teammate had finished fifth after starting 16th. The media were also there for an interview.

"Mr. Mercer-Daly? How do you feel about today's drive here in Mattijana?"

"Absolutely astonished, just absolutely astonished. I would have liked to come home with a functional car, but a podium was beyond all of our expectations. We kept our cool, stayed on the lead lap as well and brought home a well-deserved 14 points. There's certainly more where that came from, and I think I've got great chances at many more points. I'd like to talk more, but right now I've got to go to the podium."

"Okay then. Thank you for the interview."

Jean climbed up the steps and joined his fellow drivers of Moisés Delgado and Ryker Lane on the podium. The crowd was going wild as they always did, but this time it felt... different. Either it was the fact he was in a foreign country, racing in a larger competition, or they were cheering for the 34 year old rookie who brought home third in his first race, and in the wet. The drops of many different drinks scattered the crowd and the drivers as one final thought set into Jean's head.

It's just like old times. But now, we have a new beginning.

[Lisander]

mePhone (no signal) ....

20:00

Ludi (1)

Congratulations for another big day, my dear. Coming from back and reaching good positions is totally Bitten Heroes. Sorry for not video-calling you, but today something weird is happening in Lisander. All national web servers ran out at once. I heard they are working on it. Video calls and any stuff with internet isn't working. At least SMS still works. Sorry for this long message. If you get a SatPhone, please call me. Love u <3. Ludi.
Received in 26.03 19:39

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Sorry for lack of RP. My computer crashed and I'm running a Linux Distro on a pen-drive sticked to my sister notebook while trying to fix it.

[The Serbian Empire]

"Big trouble... I've broken 1st and 2nd gear somehow. I think that the contact from one of those Wilson cars had something to do with it. I was running in front of him and he hit the rear wing. It handles well enough, but I don't think this will go well in the pits or in the slower turns," Marika spoke over the radio.

"Forget about the points given that you've got a severe toe issue with the chassis from the impact. Might be able to nurse it to the finish, but it'll be slow and wearing tyres faster than usual. Just don't wreck," the engineer responded.

Ten laps later

"There's a severe vibration from the rear, should I pit in?" Marika asked.

"Yes, the sensors are showing severe tyre wear. You're also severely off pace since the impact running 4-5 seconds slower indicating possible rear spring assembly and anti-roll assembly damage. Finishing might be a miracle after this damage, put it in E1," the engineer's response.

"Now putting it in E1 as to minimize any further damage. It's rolling a lot more in the corners than usual," Marika stated.

"That might be the only way you can make it to the finish with the suspension as it is. Otherwise, the suspension will fail," the engineer grimly spoke.

[Esmerel]

After Jean's great performance in Mattijana, this news article ran in papers across Esmerel the following day.

International Sports-
JEAN MERCER-DALY PUTS ON A SHOW

As you may well know, Esmerelian touring driver Jean-Mercer Daly signed with World Grand Prix Championship team Kjeligsted WGPC on Friday morning to fill an empty spot left by former driver Ilyas Nurilbaev, who was forced to drop out due to the changing of the team ownership after the Grand Prix of Hodori.

Going into this weekend's race, the Grand Prix Tsa Mattijana, Jean was expecting good results from his car. And Jean got great results, managing to qualify for the race in 6th and finish in 3rd, claiming 14 points towards his Drivers' Championship bid and his team's Constructors' Championship.

Jean was unavailable for comments, however his race engineer Darrell Matherly was able to hold an interview.

"This was a great performance for us," Darrell said. "It's amazing to know how well Esmerel can perform on the world stage, and we're certain it pleased a lot of our fans back at home. We're also excited to see what other parts of Esmerel step up and go worldwide- considering our performance they shouldn't be scared about pressing on. There's a lot of potential waiting for us, for our friends at home and for our new team as we transition into a new age."

WGPC Drivers' Championship
1. T. Talvela MRT 57
2. J. Lemos HEROES 47
3. R. Lane NEXUS 42
4. M. Cattaneo WGPC-K 39
5. A. Novikov TELARIS 36

WGPC Constructors' Championship
1. MRT 86
2. Nexus 75
3. Heroes 68
4. Telaris 67
4. WGPC-K 67

For more, see WGPC, page S3.