WGP2 Season One - RP Thread (IC)

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Herraduran Grand Prix
Formation Lap

Timothy Guard sits at the bank of computers that makes up the ‘pit wall’ of the Nexus Racing garage. Unlike that of most - maybe all - other teams it sits inside the building itself, under cover, close to the rest of the team and with easy access both the rest of the garage and, via Imagination-generated portal, the headquarters if that’s really needed. It’s a setup that Guard believes makes more sense than the conventional one, particularly given that their new HUD helmets have completely eliminated the need for pit boards.

Let’s be honest: that thinking, useful as it might be, is causing the problem.

He looks to his right at the team’s two race engineers. Both Valen Song and Faye Ninewells, Lukar’s engineer - intelligent, calculating and precise and to the point with her information and instructions - are on the radio, discussing plans for the race with their drivers. Both Darlington and Urdaneta are on aggressive, multi-stopping, soft compound-based tyre strategies that should allow them to move through the field quickly and somewhat neutralise the Chase Cutter’s lack of ability to get the Grafonil tyres working.

That - the car would be an excellent handler otherwise, given what it could do on Tigar’s compounds last year - is only part of the reason for the team’s lack of performance, however, as its leader is coming to realise. Ryker developed the UHSGV-1 with us over two years before he even raced in the WGPC and Marika competed in so many different categories that she could pretty much drive anything by the time that we found her. Lukar and Rebecca, on the other hand… They’ve been in conventional single-seaters for the entirety of their racing careers and we recruited them weeks ago. To expect them to adapt in such a short space of time would be unreasonable.

The Chase Cutter, in other words, is absolutely fine, even if Gertrude can’t quite let herself believe it, as are both of the team’s WGPC drivers in training. Neither, however, is what the other expects or needs - yet.

Timothy nods to himself. For now, then, damage limitation. We continue to fight. Furthermore, we continue to tell the media the truth, explain to the public that we are not at full strength; that should hopefully convince some of those who must be growing increasingly sceptical of us. We do have a reputation to protect, after all.

He closes his eyes. Hopefully we will all be in a position to seriously challenge the competition at our home race. To not do well there would be…

Problematic.

[Vangaziland]

In a rather empty looking office, deep within the Vannish Motors Racing Paddock, a song began to quietly play. It was fuzzy and unclear. A woman in a khaki pants, a white polo and sunglasses reached into her pocket and pulled out her mobile phone. The song became more clear and stopped once the call accept button was pressed.

Outside of her office, people hustled back and forth. Engineers were going over the car, physically inspecting it. A few people read data from monitors.

"Jess here", said the woman into her phone.

"Hey Jess, it's Karli."

"Oh! Karli Schmitt.... Schmitty. How was your race?"

Schmitt paused on the other end of the line for a few seconds. "It was good."

"Did you get any points? Did you take the title?"

"No." There was a pause. "But it's fine, we got the 51 car the silver. Second place overall."

"You seem pretty calm about it."

"Well", she sniffled. "I finished 11th today and if I had a few more points I would have like... Won the season."

"Yeah, but there's more to it than that." Jessica Franssen was the younger driver's mentor. Jess noticed Schmitt in T2 and thought she had potential. She put in the word, moving the Wrexwic-born driver to VMR's Hodori Grand Touring Championship GT2 team. "Where did the team end up?"

"Third."

"That's good. I've been watching the standings. No other foreign cars made a run in GT2. You did well for the brand. Hodori is not an easy place to run. A lot of drivers won't race there. The locals know those tracks too."

"Yeah, but Archer did well in GT1. Two cars in the top 3. They're foreign."

"I know and that's pretty awesome. Thing is, GT1 is different. GT2 is closer to street cars. I mean, the GT-10 is basically available for purchase. There are a few tweaks to the aerodynamics and the suspension... The brakes and stuff like that. But it's almost street legal. When you jump to GT1, you have all sorts of wild things in those cars. But that's a fun class in and of itself! Plus, if the GT2 team does get up and running, your data will be used to help refine the GT1 car. From what I've heard, VMR is using GT2 to develop GT1, just like they're doing here with WGP2 and the WGPC. So third is great to build from! You'll make a run of your own in GT1 some day."

"I hope I get to drive GT1", said Karli Schmitt. "Even if we do get a team, there's no guarantee they'll pick me. They like Schorebrook."

"Kev Schorebrook is the endurance guy though... The third driver. You think they'd pick him?"

"I don't know." There was a pause again. "They don't like Lark. They might be looking to go with Stansen and Schorebrook."

Jess rotated in her office chair so she could face a window looking out into the garage. "Everything will be fine", said the driver turned manager, Franssen. "Be excited! That was a crazy run you did to get to that spot."

"How's your race week looking?"

"So far so good. Mid pack qualifying. We tend to work alright from there. It's all about our strategy. Let's see how we do here in Audioslavia. This'll be a big race for the team to monitor. That's the last race in the WGPC."

There was a muffled voice in the background with Karli.

"Jess, I have to go. Good luck managing your first race."

"Take care! Meet us at the next stop! Let's celebrate. Let's go out on the town."

"We can invite Jenna!"

"Bye! We'll text."

"Ciao."

Jessica picked up a tablet that had laid flat on her desk. She read over the times and other data, in an effort to visualize possible outcomes, risks and the action she should prepare to take. The call actually helped cut some of her nervousness, which was why she was wearing her sponsor's sunglasses indoors.

[Aboveland]

Saturday, Qualifying

Axel and Sven stared at the monitor at the paddock, expressionless. Edvin, Karl and Terho looked up at the timing screen further back, a slightly more concerned look making its way onto their faces. Axel's look was a byproduct of his serious, reserved personality, while Sven's face was not only an emulation attempt; he wanted to avoid working Axel up in the case he was concerned too. Further back though, the gazes were more authentic. Karl in particular continued to be fazed by not only Novikov's performance, but Tropicorp's blinding speed. He was unable to explain why the car wasn't as fast as Tropicorp's machine, or why neither Luna nor Juracai, arguably the best drivers on the grid, could bring in the results the team had dreamt of before. Needless to say, Karl wasn't eager to share any of his thoughts.

Edvin and Terho's expressions illustrated the faith they had in the team for WGPC. Project AGP had VIlitian engineers on board, the same who designed the dominant Chassis X and Chassis Y machines in season 14 (which led him to his world title), and from what he could tell the car was spectacular and superior at least to his MRT machine in the previous season. And yet, despite all the pros, the awful misjudgement by the team in over-promising and under-delivering unsettled him. What if Project AGP was to suffer the same fate? A year in a noncompetitive car would, in his eyes, sink his career.

When the rumble of their cars' engines began to grow more intense as Luna and Juracai pulled back into the paddock after qualifying, the entire Abovian crew's concerned faces morphed into fabricated smiles. The plan for race day was simple: finish in the top ten. Axel hoped it wouldn't be too much to ask; Sven hoped it wouldn't pile on the pressure further.

[Eastfield Lodge]

Race 2: Herraduran Grand Prix
Race Day

Conditions: DRY
Laps: 61
Tyres:

• Soft (+0.0s, 12 laps)
• Medium (+0.5s, 21 laps)
• Hard (+1.1s, 30 laps)

Pos #  Driver              Team	                  Race Time	Time Behind	Points
 1  63 Dalia Dahl          MSA-SinVal   	  1:26:45.511	+0:00.000	25
 2  61 Renho Virzi         Obey Sport GP   	  1:26:50.243	+0:04.732	18
 3  26 Shinno Soukuba      MSA-SinVal   	  1:27:18.852	+0:28.609	14
 4  11 Luna Estrella       Novikov Racing   	  1:27:24.354	+0:05.502	10
 5  30 Saya Kaseo          Nadakei Sport AYDP     1:27:30.629	+0:06.275	8
 6  89 Marcus Schwarz      Junixwagen   	  1:27:31.171	+0:00.542	6
 7  94 Alyn Terfel         Team Ignis   	  1:27:42.771	+0:11.601	4
 8  27 Lukar Urdaneta      Nexus Racing   	  1:27:52.728	+0:09.957	3
 9  17 Lourdina Westgrens  Team Ignis   	  1:27:58.281	+0:05.552	2
10  74 Lera Kozel          Obey Sport GP   	       LAPS-1	+0:23.939	1
11  31 Cesaro Whittaker    Tropicorp Engineering       LAPS-1	+0:22.321
12   7 Juracai Klianiota   Novikov Racing   	       LAPS-2	+1:19.870
13  18 Gorria Bildostegi   Yogutz Lantzia   	       LAPS-2	+0:24.521
DNF 13 Jang Xiaopeng       Vannish Motors Racing  Ret. Lap 56
DNF 33 Jenna Vandersen     Vannish Motors Racing  Ret. Lap 51
DNF 15 Rebecca Darlington  Nexus Racing   	  Ret. Lap 46
DNF 23 Cocoabo #23         Tropicorp Engineering  Ret. Lap 40
DNF 66 Jack Kelly          Katara Racing   	  Ret. Lap 32
DNF  5 Timo Jänkirinää     Katara Racing   	  Ret. Lap 30
DNF 19 Dom Falepeau        Junixwagen   	  Ret. Lap 18
DNF  9 Jannik Markner      Academy Racing   	  Ret. Lap 14
DNF 29 Nikolai Niskanen    Yogutz Lantzia   	  Ret. Lap 1
DNF  3 Armo Lehto          Academy Racing   	  Ret. Lap 1

Drivers' Championship Standings
Pos	#	Name	            Team	           Pts	Wins
1	26	Shinno Soukuba	    MSA-SinVal	           32	0
2	33	Jenna Vandersen	    Vannish Motors Racing  25	1
2	63	Dalia Dahl	    MSA-SinVal	           25	1
4	61	Renho Virzi	    Obey Sport GP	   18	0
5	11	Luna Estrella	    Novikov Racing	   14	0
5	31	Cesaro Whittaker    Tropicorp Engineering  14	0
7	66	Jack Kelly	    Katara Racing	   10	0
8	30	Saya Kaseo	    Nadakei Sport AYDP	    8	0
8	13	Jang Xiaopeng	    Vannish Motors Racing   8	0
10	89	Marcus Schwarz	    Junixwagen	            6	0
10	23	Cocoabo #23	    Tropicorp Engineering   6	0
12	17	Lourdina Westgrens  Team Ignis	            4	0
12	27	Lukar Urdaneta	    Nexus Racing	    4	0
12	94	Alyn Terfel	    Team Ignis	            4	0
15	5	Timo Jänkirinää	    Katara Racing	    3	0
16	74	Lera Kozel	    Obey Sport GP	    1	0
17	7	Juracai Klianiota   Novikov Racing	    0	0
17	3	Armo Lehto	    Academy Racing	    0	0
17	9	Jannik Markner	    Academy Racing	    0	0
17	15	Rebecca Darlington  Nexus Racing	    0	0
17	18	Gorria Bildostegi   Yogutz Lantzia	    0	0
17	19	Dom Falepeau	    Junixwagen	            0	0
17	29	Nikolai Niskanen    Yogutz Lantzia	    0	0

Constructors' Championship Standings
Pos	Team	               Points
1	MSA-SinVal	       57
2	Vannish Motors Racing  33
3	Tropicorp Engineering  20
4	Obey Sport GP	       19
5	Novikov Racing	       14
6	Katara Racing	       13
7	Team Ignis	        8
7	Nadakei Sport AYDP	8
9	Junixwagen	        6
10	Nexus Racing	        4
11	Academy Racing	        0
11	Yogutz Lantzia	        0

[Esmerel]

Ferramendiak Hiriko Zirkuituan, Ferramendiak, Audioslavia
Sunday

After all was said and done, the race was pretty good. Mostly.

For Rebecca, it was at least a proper test of the Rapier's driving ability. As she had expected, it was quite crap at this course. The understeer was real, the corner speed was brutally slow, and by lap 42 she had lost some power steering.

"Song, I've got a problem. Power steering is starting to fuzz out. Scraping the walls at almost every corner."

"We'll try to fix the problem remotely, Rebecca."

The problem was fixed quickly. But it didn't last.

Lap 46, Plaza de la Paz.

"And there it goes. Power steering is gone. Completely. We're not making more than a couple more laps."

It was a challenge to even last one more lap. Rebecca brought the car into the pit lane to retire. The Nexus mechanics quickly went to see what was causing the problem, whilst Rebecca went and chilled with Valen to watch the rest of the race unfold. Urdaneta was on track for points again. Good.

"Make sure you do what's best for the whole team, guys," she called out to everyone. "We need to do good together."

---

Meanwhile, the Obey garage was having a stormer of a party. 19 points! The two stop- from hards to mediums to softs- had worked for both drivers, and the car never had any real issues. As the crew saw Renzo stand on the second step they knew they had good chances to come back from their early season woes.

The question was, how would they do it?

[Tenburg]

Lap 29

Jack had made his way to the top 5 yet again, but was unable to seemingly get any faster; his car was acting quite lethargic when he put the pedal down.

His crew chief reported to him from the paddock. "Jack, Timo is complaining of the exact same issue you have. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"Roger."

One Lap Later

"Jack, big trouble. Timo's gone off. Engine's gone... looks like some kind of overheating issue. Keep an eye on your temp gauge and report anything you see."

"10-4."

Lap 32

Jack couldn't believe what he was seeing. In the two seconds between his last glance at the temp gauge and this one, the digital needle had nearly doubled. "Guys, gigantic engine temp spike, I think she's about to blow."

"Bring it in, Jack. Box now, box now."

"10-4." He let go of the radio button and at that very moment noticed a giant plume of white smoke in his mirror. "Shit!" No way in hell he was reaching the box, so he pulled over and stuck it into the gravel on the nearest turn.

"Guys, she's gone. Engine's blown."

"Copy that. You were running great today. Just bad luck sometimes."

Jack shook his head. Never in his entire racing career, be it in stock cars, bikes, or open wheel... never had he lost two engines in one weekend. He hoped to the gods it was just a fluke. "Roger that."

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

The First City, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
19th of July

Karl Rain sits on a sofa in a studio on live television. This is entirely normal.

In most places, the PR man of any organisation would not be a natural choice for television interviews; they would instead be kept behind the scenes, managing the reputation of the company like a chess player with the mob as pieces. In the Wardship, though, with such a strong cultural emphasis on honesty, transparency and collaboration, to have someone who can competently engage with the public directly is important for any medium-sized corporation, critical for a large one and, for a government-funded project like Nexus Racing, absolutely vital - hence why Rain had been recruited by the team barely a day after the minor fiasco surrounding Gertrude’s somewhat strong dislike of the pre-Tygar tyre selection. Certainly, Guard gives statements to the press on occasion but it is Karl whose role it is to be deployed in situations like these.

In this case, Karl is on the sofa of the studio of the popular prime-time television programme ‘There First’, an NBN ‘ultra-topical’ current affairs talk show headed by former political journalist Kate Summers. In a great deal of places - non-Nimban places, mainly - CEOs would baulk at the idea of sending their highest-ranking subordinates or themselves into an intellectual hurricane; in the Wardship, however, the above cultural elements make it instead a wonderful opportunity to both demonstrate a commitment to being as truthful and open as possible and to disseminate information. Also present for the segment are Terry Xanthus, an analyst from motorsport website Paddock Voice, and the spokeswoman for the Ministerial Office for Sport, Helena Pepper.

Rain does well. He receives a substantial grilling from Xanthus over Nexus Racing’s most recent performance with his characteristic formal precision, defending Lukar and Rebecca on the grounds that Urdaneta’s four point scoop at the last race demonstrates that he is beginning to get to grips with the car while Darlington has not yet been in a position to do so (and adding that Gertrude has now built significant redundancy into the Chase Cutter’s throttle/steer-by-wire systems), all within the framework of the idea that, thanks to the extensive training that both are undertaking to educate themselves on how to drive a car that is very different in mechanics from anything else that either of the two are used to driving, the best is yet to come from either of them and that the team’s debut performance proves it.

Hopefully it will be enough to keep public opinion with them.

[Vangaziland]

Vannish Motors Racing's early success literally blew up in the face of the team's two drivers. VMR would be most disappointed in the fact that they lost one week's worth of testing. The team hoped to build on early points. Neither issue is too much of a concern at this point, because unexpected incidents are also a factor they record. How reliable are the cars running? That was the current question.

There was also plenty of time to fight for the rankings. VMR pursues a long term strategy. Some teams are under immense pressure to win more often, because of the way their cars are set. Vannish Motors has tried to offset this with everything from maintenance, adjustment and pit strategy.

Things do not always go as planned. Cars can only be so reliable. The #13 and #31 cars started with Xiaopeng in 8th and Vandersen in 9th. This was the kind of start VMR expected from the current setup. From the middle of the pack, the cars have shown the ability to climb over an event. This is also based on testing in Hodori GT2. The differences between the cars and drivers of those two series is factored into a ratio.
The cars were fighting their way up the pack, looking to pick up a few points. The next pit stop would determine how close they were to the top cars. Things turned for the worse on Lap 51.

"Smoke, smoke, smoke", came the frantic call from Jenna Vandersen's headset. She was able to get the car a few hundred meters to a safer place to stop.

"I could still see. It was more so the smell of something burning", Jenna said in the days following the race. "I could see, there was just a stream of gray rising from behind the wheel."

By Lap 56, VMR discovered that a steering wheel component had a surface contaminant, which sparked into a fire. One of the more experienced crew members advised an on-looking Franssen to take Xiaopeng out of the race as well.

"Based on the burn pattern, it was clear from what I've seen in T1 Racing, to cover the entire circuit", said Dan Kelderssen, unofficial shop steward. "If we didn't bring him in, he could get caught and have to bail in open track. Cars might still be going around and barely get a warning. We had to call the race."

Jessica Franssen's decision was her first test as a manager/assistant principal. "It really wasn't much of a choice", Jess told reporters trackside at warmups for Friday's practice. "Safety is VMR's number one concern, as well as mine personally."

It turns out the parts were from a third party, a company from a Protectorate of the Vannish Empire. Wrexwic was around 500 miles east of the Central Vannish Coast. VMR contracted out a major part of the steering assembly to Bahn, a Wrexish company.

VMR tried to downplay the incident. "Our team is in the process of testing several components on systems across the board", said Jessica F. "Whatever doesn't work here won't make it into the WGPC. In the meantime, I like our team's chances to make an honest run on both WGP2 leaderboards."

[Lisander]

Welcome to Grand Prix de Lisander East! We're in the historic city of Alix, I'm Fernando Viana, and you're in RTL, the official broadcaster of WGP2 in Lisander! For this weekend, we expect lots of emotion in the airport configuration! In the next three days, the drivers will take their cars to the limits of acceleration using a part of Alixring, and cross the bridges to breaking into Alix Airport lanes! What do we expect in the long straights? Of course engines roaring and lots of breath-taking overtakes, like in street racing!

THECIRCUIT

Location: Outskirts of Alix, Lisander
Lap Record (F1/WGPC Car): 1:11.996, Juliano Lemos, Bitten Heroes Post-season 15 tests, Alixring.
Track Lap Length (km): 5.219 km
Map of track :

Qualifying Type (Traditional or Two-Tiered): Two-tiered
Chance of being a wet race (1%-20%): 4%. We're in the summer, currently.
Overtaking difficulty (0.5 - 5): 0.8

TRAVEL AND VISIT

For obvious reasons, Domestic Alix Airport is closed. Soria and Porto Gris Airports are open and receiving flights. Primary access to Alix is by N1, the national road that connects Soria to Porto Gris, Alix and the northeast of Lisander. Porto Gris (in English, Grey Harbour), forty miles away from Alix, is a town with a majority of Britannian and Hibernian immigrants, so english-speakers will feel like in home. In Alix, Portuguese-speakers are majority, so people from Latin, Iberian and Italic nations will feel better.

Alix (its full name: Vila Real de Sua Alteza Alix) is an Historic City. It was founded in late 1500's, when impoverished families begged for the princess Alix for help and she gave them part of her inheritable lands. You can know more about the story reading this factbook. The Alix Basilica still holds the princess' heart in a golden urn on the altar.

Alix Beaches are also very popular. Since they're not the warmer and calmer in the nation, some caution is adviced. Princess Square, in the coast, is a busy public area, surrounded by bars, nightclubs, cafes and other enterprises. Alix Airport and AlixRing are in the extreme opposite of the city, that with 50.000 inhabitants, isn't that far from beach.

PODIUMPROCEDURE

The Podium is already set up.

Since WGP2 Organisation forbids alcoholic beverages in the podium, the usual Champagne supplier for the Lisander Autosports Board, Siren, will offer a non-alcoholic sparkling cider, based on pears from Asti, a city in central Lisander, for the podium procedure. Her Sovereign Highness, Princess Armine of Lisander, Lady of Alix, will be the representant of the Princely House, since her husband, HSH The Prince of Lisander is currently in Kelssek, for the Olympic Games.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Nexus Racing HQ, ???
12th of July

Timothy Guard stands in front of a wall on the outside of the complex, the ground before it now devoid of ash. Lukar Urdaneta stands in front of him.

Guard holds out an orb of Imagination - a tiny one, below the legal limit for those who haven’t taken the state tests whose passing grants its use. The centre flickers; it and the nimbus around it glow a soft blue. He hands it to Lukar and asks him to swallow it before holding up a tiddlywink, a dot painted on one side.

“For the first part of your Imagination training, I’d like you to trace a circle in the air with this disc, while the dot faces the centre of the circle at all times. You should be able to do it if you concentrate well enough and can visualise the process, which is what we’re trying to achieve. I’ll be watching you do it but don’t worry; I went through the same.”

Indeed he did. While state education in Imagination use only began recently with the ignition of the Imagination Nexus - Ryker Lane, for instance, being a member of the so-called ‘Imageneration’ who were the first to receive it - there has been a steady trickle of adults going back to do the same courses, of which Guard was a part; the only reason that Lukar isn’t practicing under the tutelage of Faye is that she hasn’t done so, claiming that she ‘Doesn’t have the time.’ - and she’s probably right.

Alright, so it’s partly selfishness as well; I could have asked any number of the staff too - Gertrude’s particularly, though I’m not sure how many would want to step away from their work - but I do love using Imagination. That thrill of power… I hear that addiction is becoming something of a problem. I should try to avoid that.

Still, as he watches Lukar’s efforts, Timothy can’t help feeling that if he were to be then, well…

It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

[The Iron Syndicate]

Luna Estrella

“So you wanted my advice,” Maria Cattaneo said, entering the hotel room where Luna was meditating and trying to get her mind right before this next race weekend would kick off. Her legs were crossed and her arms were extended, but her breathing was too quick for her to really be calm.

“Yeah. I didn’t think I needed the advice, but the start to the season was a rude awakening. I was alright last time out, but we’re still down in the standings,” Luna remarked, opening her eyes and standing from her meditative position. “I like to pride myself in being in tune to my surroundings more than anyone I know, and being more connected to nature, but that connection has just made the move to Aboveland harder.”

“How so?”

“Because I’m aware of how lost I am right now, while others might have tuned everything out because of the pressure and the circumstance. I got thrown out of my house, and not much long after that, I’m expected to move to a foreign country and fight for a title. You understand what’s so tough about this, right?”

Maria nodded, sitting down on Luna’s bed. “I can’t say I’ve experienced that. I don’t think most of us have. I’ve had all sorts of career trouble, but not family trouble on top of it. But can I give you some advice?”

“Shoot.”

“Don’t take it all so seriously. You used to have fun with racing, but now that you’re taking it as seriously as you are, you’re getting away from your instincts and looking at this all like it’s… Scientific. I know it’s hard to explain, but you know what I mean. I know that you know, because the same thing happened to me in the past. And I didn’t have someone to tell me to trust my instincts and not think about it too much.”

Luna nodded slowly, sighing. “It’s hard not to care. Hard to trust my instincts when I know how much of a risk taker I am. I’m afraid that if I do, I’m going to end up in the wall.”

“Yeah. It’s a feeling that you won’t get over for awhile. But when you do? I think you’ll finally understand what everyone else sees in you that you haven't seen in yourself."

[Eastfield Lodge]

Race 3: Grand Prix of Lisander East
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
Tyres:

• Ultra Soft (+0.0s, 4 laps)
• Super Soft (+0.6s, 9 laps)
• Soft (+1.1s, 14 laps)

P  #  Driver              Team                   Time           Gap to best
 1  7 Juracai Klianiota   Novikov Racing     	 0:01:19.998	0:00:00.000
 2 94 Alyn Terfel         Team Ignis     	 0:01:20.004	0:00:00.007
 3  5 Timo Jänkirinää     Katara Racing     	 0:01:20.037	0:00:00.039
 4 66 Jack Kelly          Katara Racing     	 0:01:20.046	0:00:00.048
 5  3 Armo Lehto          Academy Racing     	 0:01:20.083	0:00:00.085
 6 17 Lourdina Westgrens  Team Ignis     	 0:01:20.093	0:00:00.095
 7 13 Jang Xiaopeng       Vannish Motors Racing  0:01:20.106	0:00:00.108
 8 26 Shinno Soukuba      MSA-SinVal     	 0:01:20.136	0:00:00.139
 9  9 Jannik Markner      Academy Racing     	 0:01:20.147	0:00:00.149
10 89 Marcus Schwarz      Junixwagen     	 0:01:20.154	0:00:00.156
11 23 Cocoabo #23         Tropicorp Engineering  0:01:20.172	0:00:00.174
12 31 Cesaro Whittaker    Tropicorp Engineering  0:01:20.172	0:00:00.174
13 74 Lera Kozel          Obey Sport GP     	 0:01:20.181	0:00:00.183
14 27 Lukar Urdaneta      Nexus Racing     	 0:01:20.189	0:00:00.191
15 11 Luna Estrella       Novikov Racing     	 0:01:20.206	0:00:00.208
16 63 Dalia Dahl          MSA-SinVal     	 0:01:20.234	0:00:00.236
17 61 Renho Virzi         Obey Sport GP     	 0:01:20.234	0:00:00.236
18 33 Jenna Vandersen     Vannish Motors Racing  0:01:20.235	0:00:00.238
19 30 Saya Kaseo          Nadakei Sport AYDP     0:01:20.248	0:00:00.250
20 29 Nikolai Niskanen    Yogutz Lantzia     	 0:01:20.292	0:00:00.294
21 18 Gorria Bildostegi   Yogutz Lantzia     	 0:01:20.308	0:00:00.310
22 19 Dom Falepeau        Junixwagen     	 0:01:20.537	0:00:00.540
23 15 Rebecca Darlington  Nexus Racing     	 0:01:20.550	0:00:00.552

[Tenburg]

Fourth in practice.

Jack nodded in approval to himself as he pulled in to the pits for the last time that day. There were things about this track that reminded him of a track from home--the Glenrose Autodrome. It was built in 1909, and while much of the track had been reconfigured over the years, there was one feature that remained: a giant, sweeping turn, lasting almost a kilometer and a half, with progressive banking that reached almost 70 degrees at its steepest. Those who were brave enough to drive around the top were a rare breed--a breed of which Jack was a part, although he recalls having nearly pissed his pants. There was rumor that the Old Drome was going to make a bid for WGP2 next year... that would be amazing. But that was next year.

This raceway had a few things in common with the Old Drome; namely, long, fast straights, and a sweeping left-hander that, while nowhere near the degree of the Drome's famous curve, was certainly fast. It was something he could get his head around quickly, therefore. Of course, he didn't need to know a similar track to perform at a new one, but any driver would tell you; it certainly helps.

"Car feels great," he told his crew chief, David. "Fantastic."

"Looked great form where we were sitting. Just try to keep that pace tomorrow."

[Esmerel]

Alixring, Alix, Lisander
2017/21/07, 18:30

Once was a fluke. Twice was a coincidence. Three times? Pure fact. Rebecca was performing horribly.

Despite all of the training, despite the track working much like the Nexus test track, and despite the Rapier's stunning driving ability it was far slower than it should. She had run a few times on slower tyres- no real surprise she was last. But she wanted more. So she kept on going. Ultrasoft after ultrasoft- but it still wasn't enough. Something was definitely wrong.

She pulled into the Nexus garage at the end of the day. "Valen? Have you and your guys check this vehicle from top to bottom. I'm constantly slow and I need to know why."

If it was the car, problem solved. If it was Rebecca herself...

Well, the problem would take time to solve.

At least Rebecca was having ideas for how to speed it up.

Meanwhile, the Obey Sport garage was feeling alright. P13 and P17. Both good for their team. Not quite qualifying, but if they could start 17th and 20th and finish 2nd and 10th, they had good chances at more good stuff.

Now just to measure, maintain, and micromanage effectively.

[West-East Timor]

Alixring
Alix
Lisander
Before practice

"Reagarding the overheating engines...", Andrew told Timo.

"Yeah?"

"WETmotors have told us they hadn't found any reasons why both cars' engines have been overheating in Audioslavia. So, they have improved the engine cooling. All,parts are fitted at the car. We hope this will solve the problem, but they keep on searching for exact reasons why it was overheating."

"Alright. I hope they'll solve it soon."

"They're WETmotors. If they can't, nobody can."

"Yeah... Well, if this improved engine cooling will prevent our engines from blowing up again, all is fine I guess..."

"Also, the guys in our factory have improved the underbody. You already have it fitted on your car as well, and so has Jack. It was the result of them trying to make us faster under dry conditions."

"Then let's see if it works."

After practice

"Couldn't have been much better.", Timo said when getting out of his car.

"Not much, no."

"Third... And Jack is fourth. If we can repeat this tomorrow..."

"We'll see. Oh, and by the way, the engine doesn't seem to overheat at all. It has been at ideal temperature all the time. It hopefully will not blow up tomorrow..."

"If it actually doesn't, that's great. Oh, and I think I feel the improved underbody. Aerodynamically, the car, at least feels, a lot better. Especially in the corners. It actually feels easier to get through them fast now. Might also be that I'm just imagining that, but, look at the lap times."

"They look good, indeed. I'm happy to hear that. All we have to do now is repeat in qualifying what we did today, and finally get a podium. How difficult can that be?"

"Totally depends on the car... But I think ours should be good enough now."

[Lisander]

FRIDAYQUALIFIERS

1 Klianiota - Novikov Racing - 1:19.998

---

2 Terfel - Team Ignis - 1:20.004 (+.007)
6 Westgrens - Team Ignis - 1:20.093 (+.095)

MEDIAIMPRESSIONS

"Things seem to improve after the race at Lisander. Last WGPC, Juliano Lemos's second place in Grandeville opened the door to a good campaign. The surprise, Alyn Terfel, who came from Ariannin to take second place in free practice, just seven-thousandths of a second down from Juracai Klianiota and all the drivers driving in the same second give us an idea of the great race we will have! Or rather, we will not. We do not have the broadcast rights, which were left with RTL, but we made a deal with the all-powerful and we will show the highlights of the race on Sunday night."

TV5, via meep

WHAT A NICE MOVE, TERFEL!
RTL2, Special WGP2 coverage, by Gregório Cadenas and Melissa Valente

"He was a complete stranger, and we had enough work to find out who he was. A young traffic cop, a former Karts pilot and a brief Formula ABk (Ariannin's category that folded after only one race), known for an history of illegal races. Remembers a lot of Juliano Lemos, Ignis' lead engineer, who also needed to be rescued from prison by his boss, Natassia Maud. The team owners seem to have bet on "bad boys", but that's beside the point.

What we do know is that with four points in the season, scored in Audioslavia, Terfel showed that he is ready to drive at a high level. Our reporter Melissa Valente went to Ariannin, and discovered, among other things, that Terfel bought the car he had used in Formula ABk, heavily modified it and used it to train in the small Race Circuit in Rawson, a small city in his nation. That is, training he has. Maybe not at the level of Lourdina Westgrens, who has the team of employees paid for by his father, but training he has. And he proved it in free practice this Friday. Seven-thousandths of a second below Juracai Klianiota. There was very little time for the best time of day. He caught the opportunity he had and joined Team Ignis. He's making this very well."

---

"Things go a little chaotic around here, don't you think? Without Lemos to take care of everything, it's kind of strange." Alyn Terfel drank a bottle of water, talking to his teammate, Lourdina Westgrens.

"When the Formula Hodori season is over, he's going to dedicate himself entirely to Team Ignis. Before that, good or bad, Juliano needs to fulfill his international contract."

"It sometimes seems like Lisander's motoring revolves around him, even the illegal ... He's on WGPC, Formula Hodori as a driver, he's at WGP2 as our team boss, his girlfriend is at eGP, he's Who organizes the races on the highway in Kasandora ... What does Lemos not do? "

"When Maud entered the WGPC, he became the national motorsport's Ferdinand Roux ... He was chosen by Natassia Maud at the age of 15, and since then he has raced in practically every possible category. There's a lot of pressure around him, so we have to match, to get to his plate. "

Soon, a truck arrives, and two men begin to push the cars inside.

"Hey, what's going on, where are our cars being taken? Is that some verification?"

"We have Seigen approval. Look at this paper. Mr. Terfel, they're going to the KB workshop, which is close to AlixRing, you and Miss Westgrens are going to drive with different liveries this Sunday, something like a special sponsor." says the truck driver.

With the cars loaded, soon the truck leaves the pit area, leaving behind the curious team.

[Vilita and Turori]

Grandprix of Lisander East, Alix, Lisander :: It was yet another difficult day at the track for Juracai Klianiota in Audioslavia, suffering damage early in the proceedings and struggling to keep pace - his Novikov Racing machine finishing two laps off the pace in what was at best a demoralizing experience and at worse a devastating adventure. There was light at the end of the tunnel for the Novikov team, however as Klianiota's teammate Luna Estrella place 4th showing the promise of potential that remains for the Aboveland team.

Just down the garage things were not any better in the Tropicorp Garage Area. Arriving in Lisander once again wondering what had gone wrong, Tropicorp Engineering was prepared for a big day in Audioslavia with Cesaro Whittaker coming off a podium finish in Vilita and Cocoabo #23 setting fast time to qualify on the pole.

Instead, however, Cocoabo #23 retired two-thirds of the way through the race while leading and coughing up a potentially historic win for the giant enriched raptoid. There was no saving grace from Whittaker either this time around as the Eastfield Lodge driver finished one place out of the points in 11th while his countrymate, Dalia Dahl, took home the checkered flag in what ended up being a dominant performance from MSA-SinVal taking two of the three podium places - joined by the hometown driver Renho Virzi.

Team Tropicorp felt good off the truck in Lisander but as they looked at the board they realized they were just under two-tenths of a second off the fastest time. Both Cocoabo #23 and Cesaro Whittaker posted the same fastest lap in the practice session, a 1:20.172 that tied them for 11th place in the practice standings. While that wasn't the start that Tropicorp team officials were looking for, it did place the Tropicorp Engineering drivers ahead of last weeks winner Dalia Dahl, last weeks runner up Renho Virzi and last weeks fourth place driver Luna Estrella of Novkov Racing.

The real story however came from Juracai Klianiota who, when interrupted in his preparations by a reporter on Friday morning reportedly stated "Go on now. Walk out the door. Just turn around now. You're not welcome anymore."

When the reported asked Klianiota, against their will, how they can continue in light of recent poor performances, Klianiota responded: "Did you think I'd crumble? Did you think I'd lay down and die? Oh no. Not I. I will survive"

Klianiota put on his helmet and roared out onto the track, posting the fastest lap in the Friday practice session - looking very much like a driver on a mission to prove that they can live up to the hype, they can prove that they belong as a race driver and not just a test driver. That Juracai Klianiota can finish the deal, finish a race, and wind up in Victory Lane.

[Togonistan]

Alixring, Alix, Lisander. After Friday's Practice.

Junixwagen's mechanics and engineers had been working overtime to fix the issues with Dom Falepeau's car. Apparently, after the crash in Vilitan GP, something had got terribly damaged. Engine lacked power and had huge overheating issues from time to time. Although it did seem like they got it fixed at first, problems kept occurring and Dom had to retire Herraduran GP at 18th lap due to engine failure. Things didn't seem to get any better here in Lisander either.

''So, how did the car act this time?'' one of mechanics asked as Dom climbed out of his car.

''Still some problems with power at the corners, even though it didn't seem that bad this time.'' Dom replied as he took off his helmet.

Another guy who was currently looking at graphs of his car's performance suddenly said: ''Hey, I think we found out what the issue might be. It seems like some kind of a leak.''

''What leak?'' Hans suddenly came in and stood behind him, looking at the screen aswell.

''I'm not sure, but it seems like injection doesn't work properly.''

''Right,'' Dom said, ''well I go and smoke a cigarette while you guys try to figure it out.''

Hans looked at Dom with a confused expression on his face. ''Dom, since when do you smoke?''

''Since now,'' Dom said as he walked out.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Grand Prix of Lisander East
Pre-Qualifying

Valen Song waits for Rebecca to arrive through the portal that connects headquarters to their garage at the Alixring.

He’d given serious thought to what his driver had asked him and spent much of the night looking over a digital replication of her Chase Cutter, scanned with Imagitech and transferred to the Nexus Racing computer network, and comparing it with Gertrude’s blueprints.

Unfortunately - because it would be so much simpler if it was - nothing seems to be wrong with it.

The Esmerelian emerges from the portal, only to be immediately accosted by her race engineer. “Rebecca, I did what you asked; there isn’t anything faulty about the car.” Valen raises a hand to forestall any interruptions from her. “Now, that doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong with your driving either - just that you’re still adjusting. I know that you’re working your hardest out there and that’s all that we can ask for.”

He folds his arms as he walks with her towards her car. “I have something that might help, though. While I was looking over Rapier yesterday, I realised that its name is really fitting for it. The Chase Cutter’s Imagikinetic power means that it moves forward like anything but it’s a movement directly forward.” He nods, more for his own benefit than Rebecca’s. “If it helps out on track, think of the lines that you want to take like thrusts with a Rapier: clean and precise but, most of all, utterly direct.”

“That’ll be all from me ‘till you’re out on circuit.” Song claps Rebecca on the back, a wide, affectionate smile on his face. “Chin up; you’re doing just fine. You don’t have anything to prove - just keep on honing that racecraft of yours and you’ll be on the podium by the season’s end, I’m certain of it. Now, get out there and enjoy yourself!”

[Vangaziland]

Jenna Vandersen and Jang Xiaopeng hung out in at a hotel lobby not far from the race center. It was early morning, on the day of qualifying. A few pit crew members and other staff sat nearby. Drinks and a light breakfast were scattered across a table between the lounge chairs and love seats.

"Jang", shouted the Baroness. The Tainese driver was busy trying to listen to some new album on his phone. Wickerman Jam was the new hip-hop act coming out of Vangaziland. The group was under heavy promotion and was catching on with young adult Vangazi. "What's that you're listening to?"

"Wickerman", he replied.

"Weak!" The Baroness spoke through a grin, "You're just following the new thing."

Xiaopeng furrowed his brow, "Don't let the surname fool ya." He was playing along. "I'm from Northton. I didn't live on an estate." He started to put his headphones back in.

Jenna laughed. "Come on. I'm just saying.. Don't forget the past." Jenna was a few years older and was less impressed with the new styles that seemed to come and go.

"That's the thing. Wickerman is trying to bring back the old style. Remember how they used to have all that Old World Vann stuff about spirits and energy?"

"Yeah?"

"They're bringing it back. And the beats are like they used to be. They're taking control of hip-hop. Or trying." Jang reached for a cup of coffee. It was his own insta-coffee brand. He started carrying it on trips in case no coffee was available. For some reason, he ended up preferring it. All he needed was hot water. The habit had even caught the attention of the team's acting assistant principal.

"Let's take the car service out later. Let's just enjoy the road, listen to the soundtrack and see what's in the area."

"Yeah! We'll check it out." Jang knew Jenna wasn't interested romantically. They just seemed like the type to be two good friends. Both of them had their own scenes. They had fun feeding off of each other's energy. It was all for a laugh.

They hoped to use this chemistry to run a clean season and advance their international racing careers.

[Eastfield Lodge]

Race 3: Grand Prix of Lisander East
Saturday Qualifying

Drivers had fifty minutes to record up to six flying laps of the circuit. The slowest drivers will occupy spots 11-through-24 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
Tyres:

• Ultra Soft (+0.0s, 2 laps)
• Super Soft (+0.4s, 5 laps)
• Soft (+0.8s, 8 laps)

First Session
 P  # Driver              Team                   Time    
 1  9 Jannik Markner      Academy Racing	 1:20.134
 2 17 Lourdina Westgrens  Team Ignis	         1:20.183
 3  3 Armo Lehto          Academy Racing	 1:20.192
 4  5 Timo Jänkirinää     Katara Racing	         1:20.271
 5 11 Luna Estrella       Novikov Racing	 1:20.302
 6 13 Jang Xiaopeng       Vannish Motors Racing	 1:20.306
 7 23 Cocoabo #23         Tropicorp Engineering	 1:20.379
 8 89 Marcus Schwarz      Junixwagen	         1:20.456
 9 66 Jack Kelly          Katara Racing	         1:20.467
10 94 Alyn Terfel         Team Ignis	         1:20.477
11 18 Gorria Bildostegi   Yogutz Lantzia	 1:20.536
12 33 Jenna Vandersen     Vannish Motors Racing	 1:20.614
13 61 Renho Virzi         Obey Sport GP	         1:20.673
14 74 Lera Kozel          Obey Sport GP	         1:20.750
15 63 Dalia Dahl          MSA-SinVal	         1:20.913
16 26 Shinno Soukuba      MSA-SinVal	         1:20.963
17 31 Cesaro Whittaker    Tropicorp Engineering	 1:21.157
18 15 Rebecca Darlington  Nexus Racing	         1:21.172
19 27 Lukar Urdaneta      Nexus Racing	         1:21.206
20  7 Juracai Klianiota   Novikov Racing	 1:21.858
21 19 Dom Falepeau        Junixwagen	         1:22.473
22 30 Saya Kaseo          Nadakei Sport AYDP	 1:22.513
23 29 Nikolai Niskanen    Yogutz Lantzia	 1:22.658

Second Session
P   # Driver              Team                   Time    
1  11 Luna Estrella       Novikov Racing	 1:19.946
2  94 Alyn Terfel         Team Ignis	         1:20.042
3   5 Timo Jänkirinää     Katara Racing	         1:20.068
4  17 Lourdina Westgrens  Team Ignis	         1:20.396
5  89 Marcus Schwarz      Junixwagen	         1:20.890
6   3 Armo Lehto          Academy Racing	 1:21.301
7  66 Jack Kelly          Katara Racing	         1:21.659
8   9 Jannik Markner      Academy Racing	 1:22.328
9  23 Cocoabo #23         Tropicorp Engineering	 1:22.895
10 13 Jang Xiaopeng       Vannish Motors Racing	 1:29.480

Final Qualifying Grid
 P  # Driver              Team                 
 1 11 Luna Estrella       Novikov Racing
 2 94 Alyn Terfel         Team Ignis
 3  5 Timo Jänkirinää     Katara Racing
 4 17 Lourdina Westgrens  Team Ignis
 5 89 Marcus Schwarz      Junixwagen
 6  3 Armo Lehto          Academy Racing
 7 66 Jack Kelly          Katara Racing
 8  9 Jannik Markner      Academy Racing
 9 23 Cocoabo #23         Tropicorp Engineering
10 13 Jang Xiaopeng       Vannish Motors Racing
11 18 Gorria Bildostegi   Yogutz Lantzia
12 33 Jenna Vandersen     Vannish Motors Racing
13 61 Renho Virzi         Obey Sport GP
14 74 Lera Kozel          Obey Sport GP
15 63 Dalia Dahl          MSA-SinVal
16 26 Shinno Soukuba      MSA-SinVal
17 31 Cesaro Whittaker    Tropicorp Engineering
18 15 Rebecca Darlington  Nexus Racing
19 27 Lukar Urdaneta      Nexus Racing
20  7 Juracai Klianiota   Novikov Racing
21 19 Dom Falepeau        Junixwagen
22 30 Saya Kaseo          Nadakei Sport AYDP
23 29 Nikolai Niskanen    Yogutz Lantzia

[West-East Timor]

"So, there are two qualifying sessions, I've gotten that right? Like in WGPC sometimes?"

"Yeah, right. The second session is to determine the top ten's grid positions, they say."

"Then let's see if I can make it into top ten..."

Timo got in his car. Andrew gave him the sign he could exit the pit, and so he did. He quite liked this track. He didn't quite understand why they used a short version of the track, but nevertheless it resembled some West-East Timorian tracks.

"Fourth. You're fourth. Well done, great job. Easily in top ten. Now try to do even better in the second session."

With that, Timo had the confirmation that the car did not only feel fast, but actually was fast.

The second session even went a bit better

"Alright Timo", he heard after passing the start-finish line after his last timed lap, "Time is over. This was you last timed lap."

"So, where am I?"

"Third. You are third. Second row on the grid. Brilliant, mate, just brilliant"

Timo returned to the pits and got out of his car.

"This has to finally be a podium tomorrow."

"This seems not quite unrealistic...."

"Nah. Maybe I can win. But let's not expect too much... By the way, where is Jack?"

"Errr... Seventh. Jack is sventh."

"Not too bad. We'll see what we can do tomorrow."

---

Jannick felt comfortable on track as well. He shared Timo's opinion that it was like some West-East Timorian tracks, and did fairly well too (at least in the first session.)

"Alright Jannick, this was your last flying lap. You are first. P1."

"So I am on pole? Wooohooo! Yes!."

He returned to the pits.

"Woah! This feels just great!"

"Yeah, but... You know that you're not quite on pole yet?"

"Yeah... Wait, what? How do you mean that?"

"Well... There is still a second session left..."

"A second session? Why has nobody told me about that?"

"I think I had told you..."

"Ugh. Alright then..."

He got back into the car again. After the second session, he heard:

"Err... Yeah, I'm sorry to tell you, but you're only eighth. P8 tomorrow. Sorry."

"Oh, great. P8. Wow. Thank you. WHO THE FUCK THOUGHT TWO SESSIONS WERE A GOOD IDEA!?!?"

"Janick, I think you should calm down a bit..."

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuck this..."

[Esmerel]

Alixring, Alix, Lisander
2017/23/07, 75 Minutes to Race Start

Get out there and enjoy myself, huh? That's simple and good.

Nothing had been wrong with the car at all. Rebecca was simply adjusting to a new kind of racing vehicle. And qualifying had gone better than usual- outdoing her teammate and managing P18. Plus she had a new strategy. Appropriately enough, the Rapier's movement was much like an actual rapier- clean and precise, and directly forward. If she could get herself turned through each corner well and floor it coming out of them, she'd be fast enough to challenge for points easily.

With Nexus on a measly 3 points after two races, the time had come for them to shine.

---

Meanwhile, Obey Sport had occupied the seventh row of the grid. Their best overall qualifying so far. The car was in tip-top shape, and the powertrain had been looked over to see if any performance adjustments could be made. A B-spec engine and gearbox would be arriving in time for the next race.

The climb up the teams' ladder had hopefully begun.

---

Not long before the race, Talia had chosen to... arrange something. She contacted a number that was supposed to be a non-contact until further notice.

Hey. I know you're keeping a low profile. But we need you for your skills. You're the only one that has them, after all.

Raleigh Hill. 26th of July. Meet us at 0600. Maximum priority.

We're going in to the belly of the beast and you'll be our guide.

Cheers, Talia

[Lisander]

SATURDAYMORNING

For that day, the paddock was full of important people from the Lisanderian motorsport. Natássia Maud and her daughter Thea, members of the Lisander Autosports Board, Juliano Lemos and his family, including his girlfriend, Ludi Wiel. Wiel, in particular, arrived early on a truck marked with KB studio/painting, her family workshop, bringing the two cars that had been taken to receive a special painting.

"Hey, Mr. Team Chief, help out here!" Ludi called his boyfriend. "I need to take off this overalls to be presentable. Please open the zipper on my back."

Juliano Lemos went to her, and opened the zipper. Ludi freed himself from the top of the lead-colored jumpsuit, sporting a sleeveless T-shirt. The boyfriend was surprised.

"Ludi, I thought you'd wear something more appropriate for the event ..."

"Of course not, silly boy, I'm working, do not you remember? I worked all the night preparing these two little beauties inside the truck!"

Ludi went then, walking like a model to the bottom of the truck. At the touch of a button, the door opened, and Ludi called.

"Dina, my dear, come help me with your car, I put a phrase on it that you say quite..."

Lourdina, who watched from Paddock, went up the ramp from the truck. He went to the car, loosened his bonds, and began to pull. On the side she noticed a small text.

"Iron brat is the whore who gave you birth. Damn, Ludi, you really made it!"

"Unfortunately, this is just for today. The real paintjob is behind this plastic coat."

Soon, the first car was going back to the pits. Meanwhile, Lemos and Terfel removed the second.

"Hey, Ariannin Blue for luck? Nice!"

"I'm also curious, I came in late at night, Seigen did not inform me what sponsorship this is, I just said that it was a note from His Highness ... It must be something important, if it comes straight from the prices. Look, a special text to you too!"

"Street plus racetrack: the best of two worlds. Nice!"

[The Iron Syndicate]

OOC: I might edit this to give Luna a part, but here's what I have for now.
Armo Lehto

“The bad news is that we’re off track for our goals this season, as you can obviously see from qualifying results, and that our car is far less ready than we thought it would be. Not being able to use our own engine has really killed our competitiveness so far, and while we aren’t the worst on the grid, we aren’t meeting our high standards from domestic competition,” said Grayson Chase, standing in front of team owner Ella Estrella and giving her the rundown while Armo Lehto and the crew stood in the background.

“We expected to have to figure some things out, of course, but it’s worse than we thought it would be. The crash and the parts failures earlier have set us back significantly, because we had to take time away from the main development that we were working on, which is making sure that we’re using the engine the best that we can and getting all of these experimental parts working consistently.”

“We also had somewhat higher expectations for our main driver, although Jannick Markner, our reserve, is doing just about how we expected. We still think he has the potential to improve significantly, but Armo has been off to a relatively slow start ever since the Red Hill testing. Compared to his domestic achievements, that is.”

Ella raised an eyebrow. “That’s the bad news, what’s the good news?”

“Your stepdaughter is on pole. I know she’s not on the team, but I figured you would be happy about that-” started Grayson, before being cut off immediately by Ella, who was shaking her head.

“First, that’s not a good thing for us. She might be our compatriot, but she’s also one of the major rivals of our top driver. Second, she is no longer part of my family. You won’t mention her again.”

Grayson withered under his owner’s gaze. “Alright, then. Anyway, it’s like I said. Armo is in sixth. Jannick is in eighth. We’re going to put the rear wings on as flat of an angle as we can, to focus on top speed over downforce for this race. That’s not what we’ve done in any of the prior races, but it’s clear that we need to make some changes if we want to get a win. We’ve also switched back to the brakes that ART used last year, because we can’t get the new models to work consistently. Make of it what you will.”

Ella nodded at the staff members and her drivers, and gave them a thumbs up sign. “I expect a podium today,” she stated, and with that, she left the garage and left the crew with those weighty expectations… Expectations that Grayson wasn’t sure they could fulfill.