World Grand Prix Championship Season 16: RP Thread

[Esmerel]

time skip goooo

Nexus Racing HQ, The First City, The Nexus Wardship
Thursday, 2018/25/01, 14:00

It was a good time. Jean had landed on the Wardship, gotten accustomed to his home for the next four months, gotten through the legal stuff and made the proper signing for the team, and immediately gotten to testing the car. While it was bloody fast and not too hard to control, there was an obvious downside to the vehicle.

The tyres. They degraded too quickly, sometimes didn’t benefit from the automatic temperature systems, and turned slower than a Brass Beast.

Jean filed a feedback report after having tested for so long.

JEAN MERCER-DALY- UHSGV-2 FEEDBACK REPORT

Jean here. If you can’t already tell, I’ve had quite the experience with the new car. I have some feedback for you to make it a little better.

-The downforce at lower speeds is a perfect fit but when the vehicle approaches max speed it feels a bit too heavy on the car. Of course this won’t apply to every track but it should in most. Lower the downforce balance when at higher speeds. It’ll make those high speeds higher still.

-The car is slow to get out of the really low speed corners. It may have an automatic launch system (the PA-AS) but it could also need a system to deliver more power when accelerating at lower speeds.

-Just to let you know I did deliberately test the IASG two or three times. It works great.

-Additionally, the RMEO is also under control. It was hard to get used to at first but once I did it went smoothly.

-And now, as expected... the tyres. They’re awful. If anything needs improvement first it’s these. I do have some ideas but keep me in touch if you need them.

Afterwards a quick look at the calendar told Jean the first test in Taeshan was... the next weekend? That was fast.

Well, Jean was ready now. No reason not to be.

Except for the tyres. They still suck.

[West-East Timor]

Baranburg Circuit, Baranburg, West-East Timor

Linus Anthonson, Nick Newman and Mick Schramm were walking towards the garages at Baranburg Circuit, outside of Baranburg. Located in the middle of the western Mainlands, around 150km south-west of New Dili, Baranburg was Omnidirectional Timor's fourth biggest city. Mick, Linus and Nick had arrived a day before the drivers trials.

"So, how many drivers will probably be participating?"

"So far confirmed we have Moe Himura, Rusty Ibuna, Jang Xiaopeng and Jennifer Johnson."

"So we have quite some options... not bad."

"Indeed. And, if everything goes as planned, we will offer a contract to one of them tomorrow."

"Any idea who exactly that will be?"

"No, that's why we hold this trial."

"Any favorites then?"

"Well, my favorites at the moment would probably be Ibuna and Xiaopeng. But the other two are quite some decent drivers as well, so I don't really have made any decision at all."

They entered the pits, and Anthonson pointed at the cars standing there.

"As you can see we have six cars here. We won't go by our first plan with three cars at once, since with only four drivers, that's pretty useless..."

"But why six cars then?"

"maybe some drivers still confirm their attendance last minute, you never know."

"Hmm makes sense I guess."

"That is not the only change in the procedure. The drivers will not only drive on the big circuit, but also on two shorter variations. One of them narrow, slow, and with many corners, the other one wide, fast, many straights. This, together with the complete circuit, which is very balanced, should give us a decent view on their skills."

"What about the other drivers you considered?"

"Kranjska and Klianiota? They are talented, for sure, but I won't bother still sending out an invitation to them now. We should have enough options by now."

"If you say so. You're the boss."

"I am, indeed."

They turned around, and saw Mick's pit crew (which was the same as last year at Bitten Heroes) entering the garage.

"What are you guys all doing here?"

"Getting your car read, what else?" Max Garnold, who would be Mick's race engineer again, replied.

"Wait... my car?"

"Oh right, I should have probably told you that. I want you to drive some lap times on each variation of the circuit, just to give us something to compare, you know?"

"Oh, okay. I'll gladly do that of course."

While the crew was preparing the car. Linus lead Mick to the back of the garage.

"This will be your racing suit this year", he said, handing the suit over to Mick. "Well, of course you'll not always wear exactly the same one over the entire year, but you know, the design and stuff."

Besides the white, yellow and red racing suit, there also was Mick's new helmet.



He put both of it on, and went back to the garage.

"I assume my car is ready then?"

"Do you thnk we've gotten worse over the break?"

"Of course not."

He stepped into the car max indicated was his for today. His crew started the engine, and Mick left the pits.

He first drove a few laps on the main circuit. He knew Baranburg Circuit, so he could completely concentrate on the car. It felt generally good. It felt good on the straights, and good in the corners. It could be a little bit better everywhere, but in general, Mick was very satisfied with the car.

After he had a few lap times on the main circuit, it was time for first the slow and then the fast variation. On both, Mick had no problem with the car either. After a few laps, he returned to the pits.

"Alright. At least we have some times to copare now for tomorrow."

"Also, Mick, how did the car feel?"

"It felt quite good everywhere. I never really had problems with everything. I think it could be a little bit faster, but all in all, it seems pretty good."

"I'm glad to hear that. I guess you know that this is just how we wanted it to be, okay everywhere. Maybe no real strengths in cornering or acceleration, but therefore no weaknesses either. Doing okay on slow and fast circuits, and probably really well on balanced circuits."

"Yeah, right. I remember you explaining me the concept."

"Alright then."

[Lisander]

Natássia Maud was laid down on her sofa, with Lemos and Lourdina Westgrens in the chairs. The Bitten Heroes driver was checking e-mails, the Iron Brat was playing in her MePhone.

"We'll host open tests to fill the second driver. Lourdina, you will participate too. And I'd like to have some unsigned female drivers in this test. As you know, my project is to have a team with gender equality on the tarmac. I'd prefer to have a female driver in the other cockpit. Lemos, please take note."

"I'm not your e-mails writer, ma'am" Clearly, Lemos said ma'am to upset her.

Natassia picked her mobile phone, and sent a voice message:

"Hey, financial department, here is your supreme master calling. Please add the salary of a e-mails writer in Juliano Lemos' paycheck."

She dropped the phone and turned back to Juliano.

"Now you are. I just added the salary of personal e-mails writer to your next paycheck. Write the damn e-mail."

"Wait, Mrs. Maud. Isn't all about money. I know you're eager with that, but you should at least choose more wisely." Lemos adverted. "We must narrow the choices. There's a lot of competent female drivers to choose. Let's give this a bit more of thoughts. Lourdina, what do you think about the other female drivers"

Lourdina entered in the conversation.

"Ma'am, I don't want to drive for Bitten Heroes, I don't feel ready. I will accept that invitation to test in Polaris Racing. Otherwise than me, I suggest Kyoko Fujisaki. We drive in a similar way. Moe Himura would be a nice addition to the team too, she has a technical style that would fit Juliano's perfectly, according to the guide. Still based on it, we should try Sayono Souzare again, and this newbie Erica Okumura. They're all in a nice level, well balanced. Not need to talk, but looks like they all have eastern surnames. Nations there should have mostly technical drivers around there. You were driving in Formula Hodori while being my team chief, Juliano. What do you think?"

"Was my first season on there, so I had a lot of problems to deal with the car and the venues, and I finished the season in 12th. Sayono Souzare finished 6th. She would be a nice addition to the team." Juliano answered.

Natassia stood up and reached her laptop, searching for videos of the mentioned drivers.

"Give me some time, I'll give a look in all of them. Lemos, please head to the windtunnel. Ask Seigen about how many Alpha League cars we can assembly, using our team and his team parts and send me a voice message. I want to use Alpha-specs on tests. I'd like to have a small race."

"Okay, Ma'am. But what about the e-mail?" Lemos asked

"What did you write?"

Lemos lifted the laptop screen, showing the contents of the message.

From: Juliano Lemos <thefive@bittenheroes.ls>
To: <List of Contacts: Drivers>[See full list]

WGPC is about to start, and Bitten Heroes invites All Drivers, signed or unsigned, to a pre-season testing race in Brax Motorsports Park, in February 6th. Cars will be supplied and Bitten Heroes staff will be scouting for WGPC. Please confirm participation answering this e-mail or send us a Telegram.

From: Juliano Lemos <thefive@bittenheroes.ls>
To: Moe Himura, Sayono Souzare, Erica Okumura, Kyoko Fujisaki

WGPC is about to start, and Bitten Heroes invites All Drivers, signed or unsigned, to a pre-season testing race in Brax Motorsports Park, in February 6th. Cars will be supplied and Bitten Heroes staff will be scouting for WGPC. Please confirm participation answering this e-mail or send us a Telegram.

P.S.: Miss, apart the race, we'd like to have you in further tests, both on and off the track.

"Ok, send it."

Juliano sent the, closed the laptop and left, leaving Lourdina alone with Natassia. The eyes of the younger had followed him to the door. The older noticed.

"You know. You can't do it. He's eight years older, and he has a fiancée. Forgive me about it, Dina, but for him, you're just the Brat... And... You shouldn't date Terfel if you have these feelings for Juliano. He will be hurt if he discovers about it."

"It's nothing like that... He's just a good friend. I'm glad for all he teached me." she was all red.

"Right, Dina. I think you'll be better in another team, then. And if you don't get any seat, you must not worry. Alpha League is about to start, and we'll give you a car there if you want."

---

OOC: 1. I plan a race to test a new scorinator for Alpha League. I decided to include it in WGPC roleplay to have more than a chance to use it. If any of you need more information, shoot me a TG.
2. Lourdina Westgrens would like to attend February 4 test. Nekoni, If any other information is needed, feel free to shoot me a TG.

[Mattijana]

Lintulahti Circuit, Aboveland

Jasmina looked up at the Abovian sky. The sun was threatening to break through a layer of cloud above the Lintulahti circuit and any threat of rain that had existed before had now surely passed. 'That was good' she thought. 'Fair test guaranteed.'

Edvin Pekkanen, the team principal of TRAE opened the door of the circuit's lobby. The mood in the lobby had already been awkward. The 4 drivers were partially crippled by a language barrier and the competitive edge of the racer's minds seemed to have finished the job. The arrival of the big man seemed to intensify things however.

Edvin showed the drivers outside. A cold breeze was wafting in off the nearby bay adding a little bit of extra bite to the surroundings. The four were led down the pit lane towards a garage, from which the sound of last-minute checks and adjustments could be heard. The Abovian swung open a set of double doors, revealing a magnificent-looking black machine.

Terho Talvela gave the briefing. Jasmina nodded. She was full of nervous energy and was itching to get going. The Vilitan Klianota looked like he was going to beat her to it however. That was no big loss for Jasmina. Watching someone else have a go in the car first would give her a few ideas about how to handle the circuit and would allow some rubber to be layed down, offering extra grip for her run later.
Having thought of this, she let Bjarnason go first to the Savojar's gratitude. Moe Himura however was in no mood to go anywhere and so as Bjarnason rolled back into the garage after his three practice laps, Jasmina prepared to hop into the car.
The seat was a little toasty thanks to the previous two runs, but thankfully neither Klianota nor Bjarnason had left anything in liquid state. Jasmina zipped up her overalls, put on her helmet, allowed the nearby mechanic to strap her in and pulled on a pair of fireproof gloves.

On opening the throttle, Jasmina realised that the car she was in now was a completely different beast altogether to the MRT she had tested previously in the winter. Sure, the MRT was technically excellent, very responsive and almost certainly highly reliable, but it didn't give you the adrenaline rush that this car was providing in bucket loads.
Jasmina's acclimatisation laps went in a flash. Now it was business time. Juracai Klianota was once again first into the car, once Himura had had her three laps. He layed down a decent marker too, some consistent laps punctuated by a fastest time of 1:32.172.
Bjarnason was more consistent, but could never quite match the pace of Klianota, posting an eventual fastest lap of 1:32.337.
Jasmina tapped her foot against the hard white floor of the garage and prepared herself to get back in the car again. It would soon be her time to shine.
Bjarnason was once more pushed back into the garage by the team of overall-clad mechanics. The Savojar hopped out, strode over to the timing screen and gave a contented shrug of the shoulders. Consistency was his big selling point and he'd acheived that without being too far off the pace. Job well done.
The heart was pumping hard as she clambered back into the cockpit. Given the thumbs up by a mechanic, she got onto the throttle and eased the car out of the garage and into the pit lane. The car was on a fresh set of tyres and they wouldn't warm themselves up. She had a good weave down the straights before gradually pushing against the sidewalls as she wound her way through the bay section.
With the tyres and brakes having been given a sufficient workout. She hit the accelerator out of the final corner and went onto her first flying lap.
Her stomach was nearly exhaled with a good amount of carbon dioxide as she hit the brakes into turn one. Trying not to lock the brakes, she ran a little deep, but kept it on the island and managed to get back on the gas. Turn 2 was a little more straightforward, but equally terrifying. She'd experimented with taking it flat over her practice laps and had just about managed it with the good downforce of the car provided. She rattled the curb on the exit, but found time to adjust to turn three. The first part of the corner could be taken at full throttle, but a lift or two would be needed as the corner tightened. The braking zone into turn 4 was much harder as she started to thread her way through the s bends of the beautiful bay section.
Jasmina got a little too close to comfort to the barrier across the bridge, but once again managed to hold her line, smashed the apexes on the final two corners and headed down to the hairpin at 9.
A good exit would be needed here, so Jasmina took it a little easier on the way in, taking a wider entry and getting on the throttle as early as she possibly could. That one felt good and she enjoyed the long run down to the 90 degree right-hander at 11.
The kink at 10 played with her eyeline as she approached the braking zone, but she got out early once more, worked her way round the more straightforward point and squirt corners at the end of the lap and crossed the line. 1:33.067. That mistake at turn 1 had cost her, but it was a decent start.
The Mattijanan managed to iron out the mistakes over her next few laps, setting a good pace and finding a rythm. The 20 laps flew by and keeping the clock short of the 1:33 mark became the objective as her tyres began to wear. Completing her final lap, she cooled the engine and brakes down and nipped back into the pits.
1:32.081, said the screen in the corner of the garage. More importantly, it had Jasmina at the top.
She let her heartbeat adjust to its resting rate as she sipped a bottle of water in the garage. Now she could kick back and see if Moe Himura could topple her.
No was the answer. Close but no cigar for Himura as she only slotted into third. The nervous tension that had followed gave way to relief and elation. Regardless of what else happened, she had surely given herself a chance with the fastest lap of everyone.

Having been dismissed by Edvin, she strode back to the circuit lobby to get back to her hotel. She could do nothing more, but she felt like she had done all she could.

[Filindostan]

Villacosta Residence
San Marco, Filindostan

When Marge went back to her laptop, she saw another email. This time, she received one from Bitten Heroes. She immediately went to Rusty to inform him of the invitation.

"Hey Rusty, don't click on that submit button yet. Another invitation came around."

"From who then?"

"Bitten Heroes. Team from Lisander. I heard they have signed Juliano Lemos to be their lead driver, and are looking for a second driver."

"Hmm, two days from the Nekoni test. eh?"

"Yep."

"Oh, I might see the crashtorella there."

"Who?"

"Who else? Kyoko, it seems."

"She's already with KISMO. I see no way she would come to join the test."

"Eh, mama, see the email. Signed or Unsigned. Given Mr. Tsutomu's desire for us to improve, he'll not think twice allowing her to partake on those tests."

"So are you in?"

"Just adding it again in the itinerary."

"Ok. Let me know if you have completed the bookimg."

Rusty accepts the invitation from Bitten Heroes for their preseason testing race.

[Aji No Moto]

Kissan Motorsport Headquarters
Serizawa, Aji No Moto

Tsutomu is seen having a conversation with Teruko Nakajima, the Chief Operating Officer of Kissan Motorsport. He discussed the state of the car's development with her and Rudolf Ibuna, the latter two having met in a gym that sparked Rudolf's partnership with KISMO, and leading to this big WGPC project. The meeting with Kissan stakeholders and representatives of Filindostani sponsors that Rudolf brought along, had just began.

Teruko Nakajima: I believe we're awaiting two more guests in this meeting, no?

Rudolf Ibuna: Yes. We are awaiting two. One is a group led by my good friend Bryant Gambal. He was my teammate during the first NSFC season while driving for Mr. Samson Monghit. However, Mr. Monghit passed away, and his assets were turned over to the group led by Gambal and Ramil Raganit, who will be coming along with him. This group plans to be a KISMO partner and will be planning a team launch under the IGR Racing, operating under a Filindostani racing license to compete in WGP2.

Well for the other guest, maybe she's in transit now. She will be one of our drivers in the coming WGPC season~

The door suddenly opened, as Kyoko appeared across the boardroom.

Rudolf Ibuna: Oh here she is, the future of Ajian racing, the one, Kyoko Fujisaki.

Kyoko Fujisaki: Gomenasai, everyone...

Rudolf, not shy to show his chagrin, told Kyoko to find a seat and sit down. While he's explaining to the stakeholders about the team, the door opened again.

Bryant Gambal: Mi amigo! Nice to see you here.

RI: Good day, Mr. Gambal and the gang. You may also take your seats there. Now, we shall open this meeting with a speech from our owner, Mr. Tsutomu Sugiyama.

Tsutomu delivered a fifteen-minute speech about the Kissan landscape and its motorsports arm. It was a sleep-inducing one for the audience, but among them, Kyoko was the one with the most attentive eyes and ears, as she listened and took note of what the old man said. After the speech, Gambal's group showed a ten-minute presentation of the team, and how they will operate the team to prepare for the WGP2 competition. The group does not have an engine partner yet, and they believed that motorsports programs in Filindostan were not that great yet, let alone their motorsport facilities.

Without so much hesitation, Tsutomu agreed to this proposal, and thus, promised and contractually bounded to supply engines and power-related items to the team for their WGP2 endeavors. The next agenda in the meeting was the signing of contracts for sponsorship of the WGPC team. The representatives of Ismart, a Filindostani telecommunications giant, and Jaganya, another Filindostani company specializing in food products, signed a three-season deal to have their logos grace the KISMO KS01 chassis come race day, and will also sponsor their driver Kyoko Fujisaki,

The meeting ended with the stakeholders, the KISMO team, and Kyoko having photo-ops with the KISMO banner draping behind them with their sponsors' logos.

---

After the meeting concluded and the stakeholders left, a short meeting was attended by Tsutomu, Teruko, Rudolf, Bryant, and Kyoko (and her chief engineer, Masato).

Tsutomu: It a good day lads! Now I want to know the status of the KS01.

Teruko: From the power department. The engine is already complete and undergoing reliability tests. From the tests at the dynos, it is much powerful than an our AjianGP-spec car, and probably more than the average WGPC engine.

Rudolf: I'm hearing problems at the chassis department. The car just passed this week's crash tests after failing for the second week in a row. It would be difficult for them to assess whether the chassis composition and the aerodynamics can contain the beast of an engine Teruko and her engine department have created. We expect a miserably-handling car by the start of the season, Mr. Sugiyama. We'll see at the pre-season testing at Taeshan.

Tsutomu: No pressure, Dolf. I can expect the team to struggle early on, but we learn from mistakes from our doing and rise up the grid in the coming racing session. What's the status of the experience driver search?

Rudolf: Seems like Alexander Lund has signed at McPahan, and Mr. Cruisin, Mr. Nadakei and Ms. Souzare have no replies yet. But Mr. Ellis seems to be interested in signing for us.

Tsutomu: Offer him the best we can offer him. Modest to high money salary, a personal sponsor he may bring to the team, and his choice of race engineer.

Rudolf: I think he will wait for other offers before entertaining our offer. He actually wants to be in a top- to mid-tier teams, but we'll see if we can grab him.

Teruko: But what if we don't get any of them?

Rudulf: Then we have to run an open test session, but not sure if we can have them at Serizawa. The track will be used by WGPC for mid-season testing.

Tsutomu: I think that is not needed I presume. I believe we can land one of the four drivers and not needing an open test. And oh, Kyoko, you may want to say something.

Kyoko: Well...

Rudolf: Spurt it out.

Kyoko: I got an offer from Bitten Heroes to participate in an open test for them. Seems they're inviting signed drivers for their test.

Rudolf: You can't. I won't let them have a chance to sign you. You're already driving for KISMO.

Tsutomu: Now, now, Dolf. It's actually a good idea for Kyoko to test some chassis of other teams. I believe that it may or may not be WGPC-spec, but if it is, then also good for us. She'll determine what will be their cars' advantages and disadvantages with ours.

Rudolf: Sigh. Okay then. But you have to reiterate that you are already signed for us.

Kyoko: Sure. We're testing in Taeshan anyway.

Tsutomu: Okay then. Kyoko, you may leave with Masato. Thanks for your time you too.

Kyoko leaves the room with Masato, and the four discussed their plans for their WGP2 team in the upcoming months.

tldr; Kyoko Fujisaki accepts the open test session invitation at Bitten Heroes but reiterates that she will drive for KISMO for the season.

[Mattijana]

A couple of weeks had passed and despite numerous meetings, discussions and attempts at negotiation, MRT were yet to sign a driver.
Johan Struna was getting a little edgy. Numerous drivers on their wish-list were in jeopardy of being snapped up by their rivals and the number of driver tests going on was getting out of hand.
Having said that, the MRT team principal still had a plan.

He had been watching the TRÆ test with eager eyes. The 4 drivers taking part were all of interest to the team and with only one due to be selected by TRÆ, Johan was poised to snap up one of the 'rejects'.
He'd been recieving some handy feedback from his compatriot Jasmina Kranjska. The young Mattijanan driver had come top in the test and by Johan's reckoning was probably favourite, but Jasmina had admitted that herself, Klianota, Himura and Bjarnason were all very closely matched for both raw pace and consistency.
The trio of foreign drivers were also of interest alongside Kranjska. Bjarnason had the potential to give the team a stable source of points, Klianota had the potential to do the flashy stuff and despite an unmistakably questionable attitude, Moe Himura had the talent to mix it with the world's best.
Having said that, Himura was probably Johan's least favourite of the 4 who had travelled to Aboveland. Of course she was unproven, but it was a known fact in Mattijana and across the multiverse that champions had to work for their success and Johan wasn't confident she was prepared to do that. An attitude like that wouldn't fit in well with the team's ethics and ambitions.
Then there was Bjarnason. The laid-back, yet focused Savojar was undoubtedly a consistent driver and with the more aggressive Kranjska and Klianota the other two options, a baseline would be useful in the team's quest for the title.
Klianota was a little bit of a mystery to the team. One of the more aggressive members of the scouting report, the Vilita and Turorian had a solid background in racing, but Kranjska wasn't able to offer much about his style apart from the fact he was quite enthusiastic.

In addition, there was another driver nagging at the back of Johan's mind and that was Rustom Ibuna. The Filindostani had plans to attend a couple of open tests already, but Johan was having thoughts about bypassing that.

It was time to blink.

To: Sigur Bjarnason, Rustom Ibuna, Juracai Klianota.
From: johanstruna@mrt.co.mj

Drivers.

Having caught our eye here at MRT, we would like to invite you to a private test at the Kopylov InternazionRing in Mattijana. All travel and living costs will be covered by the team.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Johan Struna, MRT principal.

[West-East Timor]

Baranburg Circuit, Baranburg

Moe Himura, Rusty Ibuna, Jang Xiaopeng and Jennifer Johnson had all gathered in the garages of Baranburg Circuit. In front of them were Linus Anthonson, Nick Newman and Mick Schramm.

"Alright, welcome, everyone, to Baranburg Circuit. I assume you all know that I am Linus Anthonson, team principal of Omni Racing. And you probably also know that these two guys here are Nick Newman and Mick Schramm, so I assume that I can assume we don't have to introduce ourselves. Anyways. What are you going to do now? Well, the actual procedure is a bit different from what we had originally planned and what you read on the information thingy you had reiceved. Okay, it's a lot different. You can see six identical cars in thsi garage here. Each of you four will choose on of them. Then, here in Baranburg, there are possible variations of the circuit. You will first drive on a narrow part with many corners, let's call it the slow ciruit. Then you will drive on a high speed part with many straights, we'll call this the fast circuit. And in the end, you will drive laps on the entire Baranburg Circuit, which is a pretty balanced circuit. You have five timed laps on each circuit. Between those, you have a lap that is not timed to calm down again and prepare for the next timed lap. You will all drive together, exiting the pit with certain gaps. This should guarantee equal chances for everyone. And really help us deciding whom of you we will offer contract. And we most likely will offer a contract to one of you. So give your best I guess. Oh and just so you have some orientation, Mick has driven some laps on each circuit yesterday already. On that monitor over there are his best times."

Slow Circuit

0:00:25.312

Fast Circuit

0:00:35.516

Baranburg Circuit

0:01:25.160

"Well. You can go to the back of the garages or wherever to put your racing suits on, and, get into the cars I guess."

The four drivers disappeared, appeared again, chose their cars and got into them. Max Garnold gave a sign to each when they should leave the pits, and so they did.

---

After all drivers had completed their laps on each circuit and had returned to the garage, Linus spoke to them again.

"Alright, so, if you look at the same monitor again as you did to see Mick's times, you can see your times there now."

The following lap times appeared on the monitor on the side of the garage:

Slow Circuit

Lap 1
 1 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:00:25.289 
 2 64 Moe Himura          	0:00:25.326
 3 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:00:25.345
 4 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:00:25.397
Lap 2
 1 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:00:25.266
 2 50 Jang Xiaopeng      	0:00:25.291
 3 64 Moe Himura          	0:00:25.409
 4 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:00:25.530
Lap 3
 1 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:00:25.270
 2 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:00:25.294
 3 64 Moe Himura          	0:00:25.323
 4 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:00:25.353
Lap 4
 1 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:00:25.279
 2 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:00:25.325
 3 64 Moe Himura          	0:00:25.329
 4 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:00:25.370
Lap 5
 1 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:00:25.279
 2 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:00:25.317
 3 64 Moe Himura          	0:00:25.407
 4 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:00:25.640
 
Total FL
 1 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:00:25.266
 2 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:00:25.279
 3 64 Moe Himura          	0:00:25.323
 4 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:00:25.353
 
Fast Circuit

Lap 1
 1 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:00:35.509
 2 64 Moe Himura          	0:00:35.521
 3 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:00:35.639
 4 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:00:37.466
Lap 2
 1 64 Moe Himura          	0:00:35.482
 2 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:00:35.641
 3 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:00:37.200
 4 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:00:38.961
Lap 3
 1 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:00:35.456
 2 64 Moe Himura          	0:00:35.471
 3 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:00:35.693
 4 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:00:36.335
Lap 4
 1 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:00:35.385
 2 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:00:35.454
 3 64 Moe Himura          	0:00:35.503
 4 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:00:36.498
Lap 5
 1 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:00:35.420	
 2 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:00:35.532	
 3 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:00:35.675	
 4 64 Moe Himura          	0:00:35.975	
 
Total FL
 1 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:00:35.385
 2 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:00:35.454
 3 64 Moe Himura          	0:00:35.471
 4 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:00:35.639
 
Baranburg Circuit

Lap 1
 1 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:01:25.237	
 2 64 Moe Himura          	0:01:25.580	
 3 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:01:25.617	
 4 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:01:25.694	
Lap 2
 1 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:01:25.255
 2 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:01:25.388
 3 64 Moe Himura          	0:01:25.705
 4 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:01:25.781 
Lap 3
 1 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:01:25.207
 2 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:01:25.330
 3 64 Moe Himura          	0:01:25.731
 4 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:01:26.468
Lap 4
 1 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:01:25.435
 2 64 Moe Himura          	0:01:25.594
 3 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:01:25.617
 4 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:01:25.737
Lap 5
 1 64 Moe Himura          	0:01:25.461
 2 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:01:25.546
 3 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:01:25.944
 4 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:01:26.220
 
Total FL
 1 10 Jennifer Johnson    	0:01:25.207
 2 50 Jang Xiaopeng       	0:01:25.237
 3 71 Rustom Ibuna        	0:01:25.388
 4 64 Moe Himura          	0:01:25.461

"If you don't mind, me, Mick and Nick would go talk about some stuff, and hopefully make some decisions then."

They went up to the paddock club, sat down at a table, and looked at the times again.

"So, let's go through each part of the circuit. On the slow circuit, except for the first lap, that seems to have been bad for Ibuna, Jang Xiaopeng and Rusty Ibuna always are first and second. Both beat Mick's times, who of course drove fewer laps though, and Ibuna had the better overall fastest time. Rusty clearly seems to be the fastest on a slow track."

"On the fast circuit, Jang Xiaopeng is fastest in three out of five laps, and also has the fastest overall lap time. Ibuna comes second here, like Xiaopeng on the slow circuit, while Himura appears to be a bit better here too."

"On the entire circuit then, Xiaopeng is the fastest again on three out of five laps. The fastest lap in total surprisingly goes to Johnson here though. Everyone beat my time on this track, as well... Generally however, Xiaopeng seems to be the best here, although Johnson's lap is certainly good."

"I assume the choice will be between Ibuna and Xiaopeng then?"

"Just as I had foreseen..."

"I would go with Xiaopeng. In total, he simply seems to be the best driver. Additionally he has won the WGP2, he clearly has talent. And also deserves an actual seat, not just as a test driver at VMR, as rumours are he should be if he doesn't find a team..."

"Ibuna seems to be a pretty solid driver too. And he would certainly be a good choice for us. However, I think I agree with Mick. Xiaopeng simply seems to be the better overal driver."

"Well, all I can say is that I agree with you... So the decision is made? It's Jang Xiaopeng then?"

"I would say so, yes."

"Yeah."

"We have the contract and everything here, we just need to fill in Xiaopeng's name... Should we make the offer right now then?"

"We have him here already. Why have him go home just to ask to meet again then?"

"True... alright then."

---

They returned to the garage, and Anthonson spoke to the four drivers again.

"Alright everyone. We have made our decision. We think that all of you certainly deserve to race in WGP2. However, we sadly can only offer one of you to drive for Omni Racing. And this already sounds too much like something from a casting show or whatever, so... Jang Xiaopeng. We would like to offer a contract as driver number 2 at Omni Racing to Jang Xiaopeng. We have the contract and everything here, actually. All you need to do is sign it..."

[Kita-Hinode]

A Taxi Ride to the Local Airport

Things were pretty silent at the cab. There wasn't really anything to be said between the three after the latest test. They were all there when they got the news that once again, the sole Hinodejin driver had been skipped over someone else. Moe's expression was serene, having more or less broken a window on the way out after slamming a door hard. Hinodejin were obliged to know some sort of Martial Arts at school and even for a Judoka, the girl was unnaturally strong, still, she did leave serene enough and that was that. It's not like she cared about them now anyway.

Ryu's eyes scanned through another issue of PokéCards XD. He liked to imagine the words said as voices, the scenes just slowly rolling inside his head.

Sunrise stood, his eyes over the immature, yet rich heir Katsu Asakawa. The Moonstar Trio stood from a distance, having watched their boss be completely embarrassed. His opponent was his usual rival, the prodigy known as Qasden. The girl had once again rolled over him.

Katsu sighed. He covered his face, sitting by the side of his Hitmonchan, knocked out again. His hands passed over his hair, his scarf felt like it held a huge nod to his throat. Something that just didn't end, something that just couldn't end. He was always like this. Losing to the same person over and over again.

"I don't understand what you want to accomplish." The master simply bellowed. "There's no money in this, there's probably not even pride on this, given how you lost... I guess this is the seventh time you fail to beat her? She's not even trying her hardest. What's up with you, Katsu? What do you want?"

Katsu got up. "I want to take every single piece of heritage you all consider as classic Pokémon battling..." He then turned his back to his master, smirking. "And burn it all to the ground."

"Look, girl." Ryo opened his mouth, looking at his client. "You tried, but you couldn't beat them, that's life. Maybe there's something you're missing, who knows?" He crossed his arms. "Maybe you lack desire? Did you think about that? Like you don't want to make this work for us."

"I do want to make it work." She assured him, her face pretty much emotionless. "I don't know what they want from me, but I do want to be able to get an opportunity. It's not like I can go around beating everyone up for it." She smirked. "I mean, I could, but then it wouldn't be so much racing, way more of a bloodbath. And even if they did deserve a beating, I don't think I'm allowed to. Don't want anyone getting hurt."

"But that's the thing!" He yelled. "You need to hurt them. Hurt them bad. They don't take us seriously somehow. Like this is some kind of joke, it's why they keep skipping you. It's why they skip us. You need to show your fangs."

She got quiet again, her eyes closed. "Oh, sweet lord Arceus. Don't you have anything to say?"

She smiled, her eyes opening. "Can I tell you a thing, Ryo?"

"Uh, yeah?"

Moe looked at the taxi driver before patting her own legs. "I asked your brother to do some research on the history of this illustrious event.
The names, the people, the teams, the companies. I didn't get any sleep, it's probably why I didn't do well on this one. I don't blame myself, did you see the look of these things? It's ugly. I wouldn't be able to show my face at the Empire if anyone saw me wearing those abominations. If you ask me, they should let me tear everything down so they could get someone to paint it properly with like a shade or two of colours and that's it. No need to look like a pack of M&Ms."

Ryo rose an eyebrow, but she continued. "But the real thing is, after all those hours of reading and studying, I came to a conclusion." She cleared her throat. "I want to take every single piece of these traditions, these names, these legends and whatnot and burn them all to the ground. Raze them. Send them to the meat factory. Deface them. Exterminate them. Leave nothing behind. The only thing I'll spare is the one team willing to give me a shot. All else will be tombstones of a past that has no reason to exist anymore. I bring future with the anger of a thousand souls, begging to make sure everyone feels all pain ever possible. And if there's any way to deliver pain via driving? I'm going to do it."

"For you can call me Hinode. The rise of a new sun. A sun that will prove you all wrong." Katsu got up, proudly flaunting his new battle name. "There you go. Got that battle name you lot wanted so damn much."

Ryu looked behind, finding his brother more or less speechless while Moe looked about as close to a serial killer as she ever could. "Uh... I sent Bitten Heroes an e-mail accepting their test. Wanna give that a shot, Moe?"

She nodded, closing her eyes again, resting in the back seat. Ryo looked nervously. "Uh... can we change seats, bro?"

[Filindostan]

Baranburg Circuit
Baranburg, West-East Timor

Rusty put all his effort driving the WGPC-spec Omni Racing car in the tests, but the announcement of Jang Xiaopeng as the preferred second driver still rings in his ears. His mother, Marge, was trying to talk to him regarding another email that she received, but to no avail.

"Mama, can I have a solo time for the night?"

"Sure, 'nak. We have a couple of tests remaining, so do not lose hope. There are still open seats at MRT, Arada, and MSA-SinVal. Maybe we can get those seats in the future then."

"..."

Rusty did not speak. He knows his performance was not good enough to beat Jang and he sulked in the hotel where they stayed for the next four hours. Just before Marge prepared to sleep as well, Rusty knocked at her door.

"Hey, 'ma, let's go sightseeing in Baranburg and New Dili tomorrow."

"Oh, 'nak, I received an email from MRT inviting you to their private test. Not sure how it will fit in our schedule, but can we book it after the Lisander test?"

"I prefer to go home for a while before coming to Mattijana. After all, we have our tickets already booked."

"But there are scheduled flights from Mattijana to San Marco."

"But can we find a flight from Lisander to Mattijana? Oh well, ask them the schedule of their test and I'll make amendments. I'm in."

"Sure thing. I have created our itinerary for tomorrow."

Rusty accepts the invitation from MRT for a private test session.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Nexus Racing HQ, Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
26th of January

T’was e’ning, and Victoriana Lichias strode forth with her hands to the battle. One reached to glide over her keyed board, brilliant in its harmonies of touch and meaning, while the other sought the directing string to her digital puppet, the manifestor of her will, her onscreen dagger of pointiness.

And so, manipulation in reach, Victoriana oh Imagination I’ll stop now.

Victoria Light laughs, shaking her head, then clicks onto Jean Mercer-Daly’s report, forwarded from Gertrude.

So, here we have… Okay - pedal maps for Jean should start more sensitive - I can sort that out - and his MARS matrix needs reconfiguring for higher speeds - Tiffany will be better at that than me.

“Tiffany, mind working on the MARS matrix for a bit? Jean wants the downforce toned down at high speeds.”

“Sure!”

“Thanks.”

And the tyres. Still reality to contend with. Sadl- huh. Jean wants to help. I guess Gertrude’s handling it; I’ll check at dinner, just in case.

---

To: jmd04@amail.com
From: nrhd@nexusracingwgpc.nim

Hey! You said in your report that you had some ideas for the tyres; I’m actually putting together a team to work on developing some which you’re welcome to be a part of if you feel like you’ll be able to fit it into your training. The first meeting’s going to be on Tuesday in Conference Room 4 at 17:30, so feel free to turn up.

Gertrude

2nd of February

The Bullhorn ---------------------------------------------------------------- Sport News

NEXUS RACING CONFIRMS MERCER-DALY SEAT FOR WGPC 16
Chief Sports Correspondent Caitlin Morris

Jean Mercer-Daly of Esmerel will drive for Nexus Racing in the upcoming sixteenth season of the World Grand Prix Championships, it has been announced today.

It was almost universally accepted that Mercer-Daly would be given the drive after extensive testing with the Nimban racing team over the WGPC off-season, a suspicion that was seemingly confirmed when he appeared at Lapiz Point Airport with World Champion and Nexus Racing driver Ryker Lane and boarded a Pegasus Air flight to the First City last Monday. At the time, he told Esmerelian press that he would be, “keeping [his] eyes on the grand prize- the Drivers’ Championship… or helping Ryker become the first team [sic] in the modern WGPC to pull off a successful title defense.”

Jean Mercer-Daly first entered the WGPC in the fifth race of last year’s season for Red Lion Racing, the team that subsequently claimed the Constructors’ Championship, and, after a start beset with reliability problems, took an unprecedented three sequential race victories in the last three events of the season. He courted controversy at the season’s final race, the Audioslavian Grand Prix, for being part of an incident with Terho Talvela, the Championship leader up until the penultimate race, which put him out from first place and thus prevented him from taking the title. Commenting on this in an interview for Paddock Voice, Ryker stated that, “honestly, I do think that Jean was probably at fault - but… Jean didn’t intend to lock up… He was just trying to race, like any of us… and sometimes we’ve just got to forgive ourselves and others and move on.”

Analysis by Robert Manleigh

At first glance, it might appear that Nexus Racing is attempting to ‘reward’ the driver who allowed Ryker to take the Drivers’ Championship last year with a seat. Certainly, without Mercer-Daly and Talvela tangling at the Audioslavian Grand Prix, Ryker Lane probably wouldn’t have won the title, though his charge from sixteenth to third remains impressive regardless.

Closer inspection, however, suggests a correlation rather than causation. To begin with, sources at Nexus Racing have told me that Mercer-Daly was invited for testing before Qualifying for the season finale, not after it.

More importantly, however, Nexus Racing has actively demonstrated significant concern for its moral standing throughout its existence as a team. One might note the step that it took in Lisander last year of issuing a press release affirming that Lane holding up Talvela in Qualifying was down to a mechanical fault rather than ill-intent on Lane’s part, or the fact that it twice offered to provide Imagikinetic safety devices to other teams after major accidents. It would be incoherent for the team to hire Mercer-Daly now on anything other than an honest assessment of racing ability.

Nexus Racing should be given the benefit of the doubt for now. Should Mercer-Daly take more actions like he did in Audioslavia, that might be called into question.

The announcement also included the release of pictures of Lane and Mercer-Daly’s UHSGV-2 liveries for the season, and the promise of a press conference before testing in Fadron.

[Vangaziland]

Jang stood in the garage with the other drivers. His mind thought of the driving he did throughout the day. It was a gas, literally. The Omni car seemed to fit perfectly, with Jang quickly picking up the hang of the new vehicle. He'd shared a little apprehension with Franssen about driving a different, WGPC-spec racer.

She reassured him that if he could jump from the street racing scene into WGP2, this jump would be more manageable. Xiaopeng became known across the web for video posts on drifting and speed racing. Vannish highways have high speed limits, making for fast races in cars much less maneuverable than their WGP2 counterparts.

His first laps in the Omni car were the slowest, especially on the fast circuit. The Tainese-Vangazi is still getting his WGPC legs in order and should be seen as a developing prospect, although a motivated one. He would still quickly warm up. His first fast lap was the slowest, but he'd go on to lead the last 3 laps (by time).

He put up the second fastest time at Baranburg Circuit. Jang wished there were more laps, as he was just warming up, but it was an enjoyable session. The three events still made for a long day and for all the joy, the Vangazi was exhausted.

The spark returned once the doors opened and the man known as Anthonson spoke. Suddenly a contract offer was on the table. It all hit him so suddenly. But what about VMR? He'd leave them without a lifeboat.

Screw VMR and their test offer, Jang thought to himself. I'm an Omni guy now.

"I will sign for the season, in light of this generous offer." The Vangazi took the pen, reading the terms of his contract and signing it section by section.

Somebody snapped a photo as Jang shook hands with the Omni Racing team. Jang turned back towards the other drivers and saw lots of emotion, not many seeming too happy. He was definitely glad to be a part of Omni now. The team was one of the marathon runners of the pack, with Mick Schramm being such a reliable driver in a season's late stretch. Jang also showed he could help take a team down to the wire.

WGPC 16 would prove to be a competitive season. Jang had accomplished his first goal and found a spot on the grid.

Jang Xiaopeng signs for Omni Racing.

[West-East Timor]

Omnidirectional NEWS

Omni Racing Sign Jang Xiaopeng

Linus Anthonson, team principal of Omni Racing, has confirmed today in Baranburg that the Jang Xiaopeng has signed as their second driver beside Mick Schramm, and will drive for the team in the upcoming sixteenth season of the World Grand Prix Championship. Jang Xiaopeng, from Vangaziland, is seen as one of the most promising young talents on the international stage at the moment, having won the inaugural WGP2 season for Vannish team VMR, who will now be a rival in WGPC. Omni Racing meanwhile is, like VMR, a new team in the WGPC, but still the expectations of an entire country are lying on their shoulders, especially after the success of West-East Timorian Katara Racing in WGP2, finishing the year on position two in the constructor's championship. The confirmation of Xiaopeng as their second driver makes Omni one of only three teams who will attend the first pre-season test in Taeshan with two drivers, the other two being Nexus and McPahan. We have interviewed Linus Anthonson in Baranburg before he leaves for the pre-season test.

Mr. Anthonson, you today have confirmed Jang Xiaopeng as Omni Racing's second driver. Why and how did you decide for him?

Anthonson: Well, we had hosted an open drivers trial at Baranburg Circuit. Four drivers had attended, Xiaopeng, obviously, Rustom Ibuna, Moe Himura and Jennifer Johnson. We let them drive on Baranburg Circuit itself, a slow variation, and a fast variation of the circuit, and those times were important for our decision. Jang clearly was the most constant and fastest of them. Additionally, his driving style perfectly fits our car and of course he has proven in the past to be a very promising driver.

Who has something to say regarding decisons important to Omni Racing?

Anthonson: In the end, only me of course. However, for important decision I think I will usually ask at least Nick Newman, since he has all our money, and our drivers for their opinions. For the decision regarding our second driver, I could of course only ask Mick and Nick.

So Mick did have something to say in who is his team mate?

Anthonson: If Mick would have been vehemently against signing Jang, we would have considered not doing so, yeah. However, Mick in fact supported this decision, so that was no problem at all. Obviously I hope the two get along well.

What are your expectations for the season?

Anthonson: It's pretty hard to clearly have any expectations as a new team. The pre-season test might give us a first glimpse at how well our car is compared to the others, but even that doesn't tell you that much. I know, however, that we should have a pretty good car, and certainly two brilliant drivers. Mick has proven himself in mayn Formula WET1 season as well as in last year's WGPC, even though he had some problems there, and Jang Xiaopeng surely is a very promising, young driver and I expect him to do very well this season. The same I expect from Mick, of course. I think we might be able to finish at least in the upper middle-field, but yeah, I have no idea how good we'll actually be.

[WGPC]

Cut off for the season's first official event, pre-season testing in Taeshan, will be in twenty minutes or so.

[WGPC]

Pre-season Testing: Taeshan
Fadron Raceway

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 42 Alex Dimitrianov         	0:01:32.203	+:00.000 [New Lap Record]
 2 50 Jang Xiaopeng            	0:01:32.277	+:00.074
 3 10 Jessica Franssen         	0:01:32.292	+:00.089
 4  1 Ryker Lane               	0:01:32.295	+:00.092
 5 22 Kyoko Fujisaki           	0:01:32.368	+:00.165
 6 16 Akexander Lund           	0:01:32.384	+:00.181
 7 56 Terho Talvela            	0:01:32.417	+:00.214
 8  2 Jean Mercer-Daly         	0:01:32.450	+:00.247
 9  5 Juliano Lemos            	0:01:32.537	+:00.334
10 20 Mick Schramm             	0:01:32.545	+:00.342
11 47 Erica Okumura            	0:01:32.584	+:00.381

[Aboveland]

Lintulahti International Circuit, Lintulahti, Aboveland

Terho's week had gone by completely uneventfully. Ever since the test at Lintulahti he'd had nothing else to do apart from driving the recently completed Chassis XY around the circuit to keep his groove up. The entire Abovian contingent of the team had been waiting anxiously for the Vilitan verdict on who the second driver would be. The team's preparation for the season was done. There was nothing else to do but wait, and wait, and wait. By Thursday afternoon the coffee had run out, the mechanics had begun building towers of loose nuts, the showers had been cleaned three times in a morning and there were no new hiding spots to be found. And yet, while fulminated by extreme boredom, the week had flown past, and soon enough Edvin came to the realization that they had to start preparing the trip to Taeshan for the first pre-season test, already!

On the verge of freaking out, Edvin stormed into the paddock, drops of sweat clinging onto his budding sideburns, to announce the immediate preparations for the trip to Fadron Raceway, his bellows knocking over the 312 nut strong tower wobbling over a workbench. The car had to be packed up, the mechanics had to prepare their bags, and Terho needed to snap out of his perpetual zone-outs in one day. 'How could we have been so stupid?! Edvin pondered. 'A whole week of doing fuck all and we forgot about the fucking test!'

Leaving Juracai Klianiota to continue acclimatizing the XY to track use, Terho, Edvin and a team of mechanics parted towards Taeshan to show the world what they had in store. That is, if the cargo plane carrying the car made it on time.

---

Fadron Raceway, Taeshan

With minutes to spare, everything had arrived at the circuit on time. The team had done a good enough job of concealing their logistics flop, to avoid becoming the laughing stock of the WGPC. Things still wrapped in clingy plastic were scattered around TRÆ's garage area, and it was common to spot an engineer with a strip of packing tape flapping about behind their heels. The morale of the team was through the roof, drenched in eager excitement, despite the inhumane rush needed to get everything set for the test.

Terho strolled around the paddock, taking in the eye candy from the other teams. He was surprised to see so many new liveries sprinkling the paddock, and even more so to see that a few teams had both their drivers already present. He didn't have much time to interact with the rest of the grid, but a few people had caught his eye. He saw Ryker Lane, the winless champion, prancing around his new Imagination-itronic-ical-thingy car with a warming air of confidence that was almost contagious; he spotted Vangazi superstar Jessica Franssen, keenly chatting with her engineers over her strikingly purple car; a few rows back he could see the iconic fractals of the McPahans, plural, two Alexes around them clad in equally distinctive apparel. Finally, Terho responded to a call from Edvin that they were ready to move out. As he begun to swing his right leg towards his paddock, he caught a glimpse of the malignant eyes of the Esmerelian undesirable he despised. Terho stopped mid turn to do a double take, flinching his neck towards his right. It was him, alright. Jean Mercer-fucking-Daly. The waning flame of excitement deep inside him flared up instantaneously, the thoughts and emotions he'd leaked and lost throughout his dormant week of nothingness returned violently, and suddenly his passion for racing had returned, stronger than ever. It wasn't just another season: he had things to regain this time around.

Terho leapt into Chassis XX, who'd certainly need a name before the start of the season, settling into his tight monocoque cavity. With a wailing howl from his V10 he shot out of the paddock, just in front of a Chase Cutter. Initially worried he might have cut off Ryker Lane, he checked his mirrors to find it was Mercer-Daly who he'd nearly collided with. He'd only timed his release horribly, not aiming to cause any trouble, but seeing it was his nemesis that he'd nearly run into gave him a little shot of adrenaline, coupled with satisfaction at the foreshadowing he believed it to be.

His first few laps were considerably off pace, as he took his time to learn the circuit. It was notoriously tight and varied in its geometry, fast sweeping corners ending in abrupt angular turns. Terho rocketed down the Broadway Straight, the weep of his monstrous engine tormenting the circuit, past turn 1 and into the braking point for turn 2. A flick of his hands to the left and on the power early towards the chicane turns 3 and 4, catching the rear as he skittled the bollards on his way to turn 5, a fast swooping right hander that became flat halfway through. Turn 6 was incredibly tight, his front tyres flexing under the pressure of the steering rack and his rear wheels clawing at the pavement as they impulsed him down the Cobalt Straight.

Rinse and repeat until turn 9, where he downshifted to third from eighth, slingshotting past the vertex at the end of the Parker Straight and hammering it into the Henderson Straight tunnel, the downforce on the navy blue bullet slamming it against the asphalt, sparks flying from his diffuser. Oh, how he loved the rumble of the road on his thighs! His eyes adjusted to the midday sun as he emerged from the tunnel, his right foot never relaxed, raising his foot gradually until the apex of turn 11. There, his ankle flexed against the pedal, shooting towards turns 12 and 13, using all the track he had at his disposition, and a bit more. With full commitment, he made it past the start finish line, clocking in an unbetterable time of 1:32.417

After the test had concluded, Terho now high on energy drinks and sweating profusely, he examined the leaderboards. He'd never been as surprised as he was when he saw the icy fractal of Alex Dimitrianov topping the timetable, with a new lap record. McPahan had had some super juice during the offseason, it seemed, along with Dimitrianov himself. He doubted the talent of the young Mattijanan, and based solely on past results, he was discarded for a seat at TRÆ. He continued scanning the leaderboard, seeing familiar and not-so names slotted above himself, yet to be seen. The fact that he, a predominantly aggressive driver, hadn't figured in the top five gave him all the more reasons to go with Sigur Bjarnason as his teammate, as much as he'd enjoy working with Juracai or Jasmina (especially Jasmina). At last, there he was, slotted in seventh behind rejuvenated Alexander Lund and... and...? Aha!

"Jean Mercer-Daly" he whispered to himself, with a cheeky smirk.

Sure enough, it hadn't been the dominant test he'd hoped for. But seventh, on his team's debut, on a track he was uncomfortable with, and ahead of the Esmerelian? That would suffice for a practice session.

[Esmerel]

Fadron Raceway Park, Fadron, Taeshan
Saturday, 2018/03/02

Here they were at Fadron, waiting to go out on track for the first WGPC sanctioned event of 2018. Nothing more than a test day, but it it was still important to run field tests outside of the laboratory.

"Darrell, radio check," said Jean, in his UHSGV-2, addressing his engineer, Darrell Matherly for the first time in eight months. "You hearing me?"

"Damm, it's been too long since we did this, Jean," replied an ecstatic Darrell. "I'm used to a two-month break between ESTLs, not 8 months."

"Wait, weren't you Rebecca's crew chief? No, wait, that was Valen. I don't remember much, I wasn't the driver."

"Well, now you are the driver. The green light is on, so go out and show me your moves!"

Jean began exactly that.

---

He began with a few practice laps. While Fadron was a pre-season test circuit in WGPC15, well-minded fans would remember that Jean was not yet in the series until the fifth race, so Jean was coming into this blind, while others like Lund and Talvela had at least done some laps on this circuit. At the fourth lap Jean was almost ready to go for the pace times, but as he was coming down the Broadway Straight a deep blue car was making its release. During this test only 11 cars were on the field, and only one of them was a deep blue.

Talvela. So it's on, huh? Alright, I like myself a good rivalry!

Though it was also important to note the two had almost collided. Jean took a look at the new TRÆ vehicle, and it turned out the one driving it was already looking Jean's way. Jean could almost see Talvela's steely gaze through the visor. When you got to 35 you could see some things without seeing them physically.

Terho also took a good look before shooting off into the distance. He hadn't even hesitated... he was already going for pace. Jean made an invisible smirk before doing the same.

---

Jean completed all thirty of his laps only halfway into the session. The remaining 45 minutes were spent analyzing the data of Jean's laps and on the Chase Cutter.

"Let's see..." began Darrell. "This circuit had a lot of straights for going really fast, but an awful lot of heavy braking points leading into mind-bogglingly tight corners. We excel in one of those and don't in the other."

"I can already tell which is which, Darrell. Ugh..."

"No doubt about it. Your feedback on the downforce back at the test track helped you go a bit faster, around 10-12km more, but considering the horrid quality of Nimban tyres combined with the average at best brakes, even with the tyres Imaginationally heated and cooled we had some temps that exceeded stable levels, burning a bit too much rubber and costing you a few tenths."

"Sure, Darrell, you're a smart guy, but summarize it all up so it sounds better for all of us."

"Alright. The thing is, we need better tyres or we can't do as well as we would like."

The red lights came on and Jean could see the chequered flag flying on the other side of the grate.

"Session's over, and the timing sheet's coming up now... Oof. Eighth of 11 cars."

"Only eighth? Surely there's a misprint. I felt like we were much faster than eighth."

"Well, all 11 cars are separated by less than 4 tenths, so..."

"Wow. That's even more competitive than last year."

"And, umm... Talvela will be starting with the upper hand. He was 7th. In bad news, he's ahead. In good news, only by a tiny amount."

"Well then... things are already heating up. Tell you what... we need Brutus."

"Brutus? What do you mean by..."

"Oh, Darrell, you numbskull. The Esmerelian tyre manufacturer, Brutus? The one Obey had in WGP2 and did pretty good with?"

"Oh. RIght. Well, I'll get Talia to try and strike a deal. You let Gertrude know about this."

"Indeed I will."

Gertrude,

I'm not immediately dismissing our tyres, despite how poor they are. But, Talia will soon be in contact with a popular Esmerelian tyre manufacturer- and their tyres are wunderbar.

Keep it in mind if things hit the fan.

Jean

[Aji No Moto]

Fadron Raceway
Fadron, Taeshan

It was the start of pre-season testing. Only eleven drivers took part in the session, with three fielding full lineups - Nexus, Omni, and McPahan debuting their driver lineups. The other teams such as VMR, TRÆ, Bitten Heroes, Polaris, and the KISMO team has not finalized their second drivers yet, however, they still appeared at the test to record important mileage and check whether further tweaks are needed for the upcoming season.

The KISMO contingent led by Head of Operations, Rudolf Ibuna, who will oversee operations as the team's first Team Principal, took to the garage, and asked his team to setup and assemble the car with the start of the practice session a couple of hours away. As the minutes passed by, other teams came to the track, and media outlets began to fill the paddock with their usual goal of snooping new liveries that will grace the WGPC 16 grid. Unfortunately for them, KISMO used a test chassis with a minimal livery design, with only the logos of KISMO, Kissan and the Ajian flag plastered in the chassis.

Waiting inside the team garage is Kyoko, with Masato in the pit box just opposite their garage, anxious to ride her car and do some laps in the KS01. She wonders how the WGPC-spec car will handle as it will be the very first time that she will drive it. She remained calm throughout the team setup, and when an engineer called her to get on the car, she put her helmet on and walked to her car. For the preseason testing, she will use a stock design - a streak of golden yellow around the helmet with her number 22 on the back. As she sits on her seat and the engineer buckling her up, the roar of the Kissan KSE201 emanates through the pit garage.

"Kyoko, can you hear me?"

"Masato?"

"Yep. We'll communicate during the test session via radio. Just want to tell you some things. Keep calm and preserve your tires. If you need hydration, just push the pink button on the upper right portion of your steering wheel. Can you test?"

Kyoko pushes the button and suddenly water came into the hose and into her mouth. Surprised, she muttered words to Masato.

"What the fuck! That was unexpected."

"Oh, sorry, I'll have the engineers adjust the water pressure."

"..."

"Now use the red button for activating the energy recovery system we have, and the blue one for the drag reduction system. Just wait for the DRS activation to light up and you can use it."

"Sure."

"Okay, let's get rolling."

Kyoko had thirty laps to set up a fast time in ninety minutes. At the first flying lap, she clocked in 1:34.345, a much slower lap, as she missed some apexes on the fast corners, but lap by lap, she began to improve her times. After six flying laps, she was able to set her fastest at 1:33.249.

"Not good enough?"

"That's because we used a harder compound of tires. Okay, come back to the pits, we go for a softer tyre compound this time."

After her seventh lap, she went back to the pits. She had 21 more laps to record. Her hands were trembling after the first set of laps. She couldn't believe she had driven a WGPC-spec car. She kept her thoughts to herself under the helmet she was wearing. Masato approached her in the garage and showed her the set of laps in his pad.

"Good job out there, Kyoko. Don't mind the standings right now. We might climb up in the leaderboard once the softer tyres come on."

"OK coach."

As the mechanics replaced the tyres to softer compound, she went out back to the track with fourty minutes remaining in the session. In the first hot lap, she clocked 1:32.674, the next one, 1:32.445, and the next lap, 1:32.368. As she was starting her fourth lap, she continues to pick up speed, ride up the corners, and put the pedal to the metal. However, on approach to turn one, her rear left tyre exploded, causing her car to spin to the runoff area, and her car's rear right area hitting the barriers.

"Kyoko, Are you alright?"

"Yes, just a little headache."

"Okay. Can you start the car?"

"Negative. Rear right impact too much for the car."

"Okay then, leave the car."

The red flags were displayed with thirty two minutes of the session remaining as track personnel clean up the area of debris from the crash. Kyoko was able to shamefully walk back to the pits, with her helmet already in her hand. She walked back to the garage bowing to the mechanics and apologizing to them. After a delay for five minutes or so, the session resumed, with KISMO most likely done for the session.

"Rest up. We might still have work to do." Rudolf said,then turns to the mechanics. "Pack up guys. We're going back to Serizawa. I'll just meet up with the media for interviews. Close the garage now."

[Hodori Motorsports]

Dashoze Circuit
Yemigama HPI Formula Touring Championship Round 7
Dashoze Formula Endurance Challenge
Sunday - Race

Under the clear afternoon sky, twenty two cars sat lined up on the grid, waiting for the starting signals. Fourth on the outside lane in P7, Sayono Souzare’s number 09 FH170T wearing her personal sponsor’s green, purple, and yellow livery.
One red light
Coming into the weekend, she needed a win to claim the driver’s championship in Hodori’s top open-wheel category. After a strong first qualify result, just four thousandths of a second slower than Q1 pole Dallas Hudec and two hundredths faster than Juliano Lemos’ third-place lap, the second qualify session on the harder ‘race’ compound saw Hudec retaining pole and P2 going to Lemos. Souzare meanwhile fell to seventh.
Two
Clawing her way to first wasn’t impossible, but she still had to contend with Tarogama pilot Hoko Sazabaye, ten points ahead and starting eighth, and Audioslavian Esteban Guerrera, six points over Souzare and starting immediately behind her in ninth.
Three
And then there was points leader Kobaieto Tashika, a normally-insurmountable 24 points ahead. If he place tenth, then even if Souzare won the race she’d lose out; the elevated points payout for the grand prix length Formula Endurance Challenge meant a win would pay 25 points with the last points-paying position getting two.
Four
At most, the podium needed to look like SZR-SZB-GUE, with Tashika outside the top ten for Souzare to achieve overall victory.
Five
The V8 chorus of the grid rose as the drivers reached optimum revs in preparation for the start.
A seeming eternity, until...
Green

---

---

Sunday evening, after sparkling rice wine sprayed from the podium, and after a disappointed Souzare debriefed with the team, she looked out at the facility from the peak at North corner as she walked its length.

Placing seventh, Souzare slid from fourth to sixth in the ranking table. An air wrench failure during the second of the three scheduled stops turned Souzare’s efforts to fight for the podium into one to recover from the damage, and an inability to replace the offending tool by the third stop further reduced her fight into one to stem the bleeding.

“You’ll be back here in a few weeks, and I’m sure you’ll do much better.” a woman’s voice came from behind Souzare. She turned to the source. In a repurposed electric golf cart sat An’ue Toudeyaku, Team ten*GU’s coordinator, Souzare’s agent of sorts for her WGPC ambitions, and something of an older sister from how long the two have known each other.
“Hm.”
“Plus we still have Kizagama next week, so we could still take home a trophy there.”
Souzare turned back to look out over the track. The sun, sinking behind the mountains to the west, cloaked the circuit in shadow. Nearby was the tower housing Arada’s administrative headquarters. In the distance, the lights of office blocks and apartment towers illuminated Dashoze’s metropolitan area.
“It’s been a long day, Sayono. We have some things we need to discuss, but it can wait until tomorrow.” Toudeyaku adjusted her glasses before continuing, “Also your wife is waiting for you back at the hotel.”

---

The next day, Toudeyaku, Sayono, and her wife Hakusa Souzare were seated at a table in a Dashoze cafe.
“An offer from KISMO, and test invitations from Polaris and Bitten Heroes?” Sayono asked, for confirmation.
“Yes. I presume you’re going to the Polaris test?” Toudeyaku tapped and swiped her tablet’s screen as she looked over the details.
“Of course. The Bitten Heroes one as well.” Sayono replied.
“Okay, I’ll send the emails later.” Toudeyaku made notes on her tablet.
“If you end up getting the Polaris seat, you better take me with you.” Hakusa said as she sipped an iced coffee. “In fact, if you’re going to Nekoni at all you better bring me along. Someone has to keep an eye on you with so many cat ears around.”
“If it has to do with what happened around the Nekoni round a few years ago I keep telling you I’m sorry!”
“And I keep telling you I was mad more because you didn’t invite me than because you ignored my specific instruction.”
“I still don’t get how you found out.” Sayono pouted.
“Such are the powers of a Kiegi shrine maiden.” Hakusa boasted
“I don’t think your power level is even a fraction of that of your cousins’.” Toudeyaku interjected. “Especially since you’ve only recently started part-timing at the shrine whenever we’re in the area. I’m still surprised that, with your dimensions, you still manage to look pure and innocent in those robes when the reality is you and your cousins are anything but.”
“What was that?” Hakusa pressed.
“Nothing.” Toudeyaku returned her attention to Sayono. “So anyways, If Polaris and B-H don't work out, there's still KISMO to fall back on. Polaris and KISMO look like they have the highest SP values.”
Sayono nodded and then sighed at Toudeyaku's muttered comment.

---

---

---

In Tarogama, a skeleton crew consisting of Asao Nadakei, lead engineer Chiruno Reitoude, Arada Director of Operations Kaikato Yarasuma, and a handful of pitwork personnel were running final shakedown tests on the Z16 T2. Armed with aerodynamic upgrades developed over last season, the primary difference was the turbocharger unit. Developed in-house after repeated failures from IMPULSE-supplied units over the previous season, in Reitoude’s words “the new units should be less prone to lincoing themselves all over the engine bay.”
The team present here had shown up largely unannounced with an unmarked truck carrying a camouflaged car. The only clear marks among the swirling, narrow bands of black and white were small ‘Z6α’ decals on the wing endplates. As Nadakei guided the Z16 T2 down the west circuit’s long pit straight to complete another lap, Reitoude and her crew kept an eye on the telemetry.

---

With the close of the domestic open-wheel season and the winding-down of the ENSADRINK GT Championship, Arada Motorsport was increasingly able to focus its attentions on the WGPC. As the midday sun beat down on Dashoze, the boardroom in Arada’s administrative headquarters again held what was becoming the traditional pre-WGPC meeting.
“Just to get what everyone already knows out of the way, Nadakei’s the lead driver.” Team principal Nechiru Seozamo announced to the assembled team members. “Second matter is driver two. We don’t have the schedule openings or the resources for an open test, so we’ll send out offers and see who responds first.”

---

After a productive hour of debate and discussion, the stack of driver dossiers had been reduced to under half its original height. As the discussions continued, the decision was reached to extend offers for the second seat to Lourdina Westgrens, Jasmin Kranjska, Moe Himura, and Stella Ivarsson.

[Filindostan]

---

NATIONAL | BUSINESS | PROVINCIAL | INTERNATIONAL | SPORTS | ENTERTAINMENT

---

MOTORSPORTS
WGPC 16: Rusty still without a drive as available seats start to diminish

SAN MARCO - For a son of a not-so-perennial open-wheel racing driver, time is starting to run out in his bid to be in the WGPC paddock come the first race.

After declining Kissan Motorsport's offer of a drive in the upcoming WGPC season, Rustom Ibuna is yet to find a team that he will race for. Media sources have reported that he was one of the drivers who took part at Omni Racing's open test session for Mick Schramm's teammate, but the team decided to sign Vannish WGP2 champion Jang Xiaopeng.

Three teams have completed their driver lineups and were present at the preseason testing at Taeshan: Nexus Racing, McPahan Racing, and Omni Racing. Six teams have signed one driver and are looking to complete their driver lineups this week. As the hours go by, it would look likely that Rusty would find a drive in a good team willing to give him a chance. After all, he still has backing from Kissan, via the Ayakashi Energy Drink brand sponsorship that he brings to the table.

We at Berita Filindo will keep you updated on the latest status with Rusty's quest for a spot in the WGPC grid.

Written by FSNA Staff.

[Mattijana]

To: Rustom Ibuna, Sigur Bjarnason
From: johanstruna@mrt.co.mj

MRT Test Information

Drivers

Before your participation in the MRT drivers test, I would like to present you with the following information.
-The test will take place on Tuesday 6th February. The briefing will take place at 9:30 AM Mattijana time and will finish after both drivers have completed their runs.

-Both drivers will take 5 practice laps each in the same car on a neutral setup. They will then have the opportunity to make requested setup changes and will complete a qualifying run of 3 flying laps and a longer run of 18 flying laps. Drivers are permitted a change of tyres and setup between each run.

-Drivers will be judged on speed, consistency over a longer run and chosen setup.

-A decision on driver lineup will be made the following day (wednesday 7th February).

-Selected drivers will participate at the WGPC test event next weekend.

-Travel, hotel and eating costs will be covered by the team.

Good luck. We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday.

[West-East Timor]

Fadron Raceway, Fadron, Taeshan

"So there we are", Max Garnold said to Mick, looking out at the pitlane a few minutes before the start of the first official pre-season test. "Time to see how competitive we are I guess."

"Well it's just a test, to really know something about that we'll have to wait till the first race I'm afraid."

"Yeah probably. Anyways, your car is ready. Jang's car should be ready too. At least that's what his crew told me."

"Well then." Mick put on his helmet.

"It's a good thing to have two cars at this test. More data is always a good thing."

"Well that's logical I think."

Mick and Jang both got into their cars, and they left the pits for the first time in an Omni car.

---

After the test

"Well... I have no idea if that is good or bad..."

"Well... umm... I mean, it's no like I gave everything in just a test..."

"Of course not. Jang was better though. Oh and so was your former teammate, Lemos."

"Seriously?"

"Well he was faster. Just saying."

"That guy won't have a single chance against me this season. Jang being on second shows the car itself is good. And unlike at a test, I'll put some effort into an actual race. And then I'll of course do well better."

"If you say so..."

When leaving the garage, Mick encountered some West-East Timorian journalists.

"Mick Schramm, do you have some time for an interview?", a reporter asked.

"If you insist..." Mick still hated interviews, but he knew he had to do them, and so he just did.

"What do you think about your times, and the times of your team in general today?"

"It basically means nothing. I didn't put too much effort into this, after all, it's just a test. Jang being on second is a good sign that our car is probably good, but I can't really tell you anything else."

"So what are your expectations for the season?"

"Well as I said, you can't really make any conclusions from this test. However, I think we might do well. The car feels good, and seeing Jang's result it probably is."

"One last question, why, on your cars, did you put the driver's number over the flag?"

"You see, usually, if you do that, you put the flag over the number. But is there any reason to do so? I don't see any. So we just made it the other way round. That's how badass we are. Or something, I guess, I actually don't know."

"Well, thanks for the short interview then."

[Karditan]

Reva took a deep breath, savoring the scent of the hot chocolate as she watched the snow gently fall outside the Bashtun café. Temperatures had just dipped back down after a brief wave of warmth--meaning slightly above freezing--to drive everyone back inside. The packed room was tittering with all sorts of conversations, from the Bloody Sox's impressive capitulation in the Fall Classic, to the Mayor's latest affair, and even a heated debate over whether the 'distinguished' Portico or the merely middle-aged Mørátüabáterían would get the nod as manager for the Independents' Cup. Some were worried the KRL would cancel Bashtun's next race due to icing concerns.

If only they gave that much of a shit when I was driving. She was shaken out of her intense glare by a hand on her shoulder.

"What'd that chocolate do to you?" cracked the old man, joining her at the table.

"You know exactly what chocolate does to me." She let a smile through. "It's been too long, Dimitri."

"You're telling me!" he yelled, rubbing the skin between his two patches of hair. "You stay away from Bashtun like that, I'll have none left!"

"I know, I know, things have just been crazy the past... was it really five years?"

"Since Detrot." The mirth left his face in an instant, a somber nod to say as much as needed to be said about that night. "...don't worry about the time. Everyone needs their own time. I'm just glad you're still here."

The ambient chatter overtook them for a few moments, both diverting their gazes to the mug on the table, until Dimitri shook himself out of it. "Alright, alright, past is past, future is coming fast. Your e-mail said something about the World Grand Prix, yes? Have you talked with any teams?"

"Well, not yet. The signing period isn't for a few more months."

He cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean? They just had first trial yesterday in Taeshan, nearly a dozen drivers."

"Shit, you gotta be kidding me. I thought for sure--"

"What calendar?"

"...what?"

"What calendar date did you find for it? If it was on the Audioslav-Starbladi system, or even the standard sort most Rushmori nations use, it won't line up with ours. Have to make that conversion."

She whipped out her phone and started scrolling through her e-mail. "Dammit, did I already manage to screw this up?!"

"There's no need to panic, I did a little digging. Still several teams with open seats."

"Okay, okay, I found something--from a Lisanderian, I thought it was spam!"

"Bitten Heroes, I think their team is called?"

"Yeah, that's it. I can make it to their testing, and hopefully show off just what I can do." She taps away a quick response and sends it off.

Dimitri's eyes rolled up as tried to recall his research, waiting for Reva to finish. "...hmm... I think it was MSA of Eastfield and the Eelandii that I thought you could fit in, less... renowned teams, but a seat all the same. Though the internet said they are very quiet lately."

"I could reach out to them, yeah. But first, it looks like Polaris is holding an open trial too, but it's just a few days away!"

"Polaris, they are of Nekoni, yes? Esportivan? You can find a flight to Ethane or Brenecia direct from BIA and transfer there."

"Shit, I hate to cut this short, but I really need to get packing if I'm going to make it in time," she said hurriedly responding while getting up.

"Hold on, Reva, just one moment." He got up himself, a bit slower, Reva doing her best to hide her annoyance at that. "I'm coming with you."

"...I... what?" Twenty minutes together again and he's ready to fly across the world?

He gave a resolute nod. "This is scary time for you. I know you have not spent much time abroad, and you are still new to the scene. If I got you through the hellhole of the KRL, I am not letting you crash out of this by yourself." He could feel a tear welling up, and saw it on her face too. "Now go, there is much to do and very little time, I will call you tonight to plan ahead."

[Nekoni]

POLARIS SECOND DRIVER TEST AT BLACK DIAMOND TEST CIRCUIT RESULTS

Test 1: Time Attack
Drivers have 15 minutes to set up to ten laps.

Code: Select all

1 J. Johnson (TKI)      1:30.715
2 S. Souzare (HDR)      1:30.736
3 L. Westgrens (LIS)    1:30.755
4 R. Ibuna (FIL)        1:30.796
5 D. Sokolov (SOK)      1:30.816
6 J. Markner (WET)      1:30.857
7 M. Himura (HIN)       1:30.890
8 R. Izalio (KRD)       1:30.947
9 G. Krupin (SOK)       1:31.152

Test 2: Sprint Race - 32 laps
Drivers will start as result of one-shot qualifying. The pit lane shall be closed.

Code: Select all

1 M. Himura (HIN)       48:53.178
2 J. Markner (WET)      48:54.383
3 S. Souzare (HDR)      48:54.729
4 D. Sokolov (SOK)      48:55.768
5 L. Westgrens (LIS)    48:57.252
6 J. Johnson (TKI)      48:09.104
7 R. Izalio (KRD)       49:15.508
8 R. Ibuna (FIL)        49:15.888
9 G. Krupin (SOK)       49:18.280

Due to her high-placing on both tests and consistent all-around performance, Polaris is glad to give Sayono Souzare of Hodori the offer of first refusal for the Second Seat at Polaris Team Racing. Should she accept, according to team policy, she may choose her own car number.

[Sorlovia]

Imperial Proving Grounds - Gregori Krupin

The moment the invitation appeared in his inbox Gregori packed up his car and prepared to leave for Vangaziland. He'd spent hours with his mechanics giving the car a complete tune-up and now looked at it tucked away in its travel container with a fond smile spread across his lips. This was the break he'd been waiting for and an unmissable opportunity to win a spot on the Vannish Motors Racing team. It was an opportunity he could not, and would not, pass up. His competitor would be just as eager and might very well steal the spot from him if he didn't give the test run his all. He had to prove that he was better than the other driver if he was to earn that much coveted place on the team.

"This is it," he said fondly to the car "this might just take us to the big time my sweet."

After a few last minute preparations and farewells he left the Tarchenko Test Track behind him to make his way to a strange new country and a whole new circuit. A feeling of tense anticipation and possibility hung thick in the air around him. Could this be his big break? The invitation that would finally launch his international racing career? Whatever the case he was determined to best the other driver thus proving himself the superior.

---

A long-distance flight followed by a truck journey brought him to the Imperial Proving Grounds. It was a circuit quite unlike any he had yet seen and he found that he quite liked the name. There was something illustrious and noble in the title "proving grounds" that immensely appealed to his ambition. The place where he would prove that both he and his vehicle were superior to his rival and his car. It was here that he would make a name for himself and earn his place on the Vannish Motors team. He would make that promise a reality by pushing both himself and his vehicle as far as he could.

His car, with its body painted in white with blue accents denoting its status as an independent Sorlovian racer, sat waiting for himself in his racing garage. He had chosen the white body, red racing fins and blue accents colour scheme as his personal scheme as a nod to his homeland. But perhaps that scheme would soon be replaced by the VMR colours. A repaint would be an easy enough task. Provided that he proved himself worthy enough to wear the colours of VMR. A task he would now devote himself entirely to.

The engine roared into life and he took off onto the track at speed. VMR observers would most likely be watching so he was determined to give them the best show of driving skill and speed possible while maintaining perfect safety. He took the first lap extra carefully as he learned the track layout and the angles of the corners. But the second lap was devoted to pure speed and driving skill. He would give VMR quite the show and prove to them that he was the driver they were looking for. And that we was worthy of being signed to their team.