World Grand Prix Championship season 17 [RP Thread]

[WGPC]

CUTOFF

for Pre-Season Testing at Forest Cross Raceway

[WGPC]

Week 1: Practice

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:45.891
Session Length:	180 minutes
Nation:         	ESM
Circuit:        	Forest Cross Raceway

Drivers have 180 minutes to complete as many laps of the track as they like. Some teams may be concentrating on setting fast laptimes. Others may simply prefer to run tests of their car without wanting to put undue stress on it.

POS #   DRIVER                                   FASTEST LAP     BEHIND LEADER
 1 17 ▍Evdaden Carnétier                     	00:01:46.142	00:00:00.000
 2 20 ▍Mick Schramm                          	00:01:46.187	00:00:00.045
 3 51 ▍RL Cruisin                            	00:01:46.352	00:00:00.209
 4  1 ▍Jessica Franssen                      	00:01:46.420	00:00:00.277
 5 14 ▍Sigur Bjarnason                       	00:01:46.499	00:00:00.356
 6 41 ▍Jean Mercer-Daly                      	00:01:46.533	00:00:00.391
 7 29 ▍Esteban Guilhermez                    	00:01:46.635	00:00:00.493
 8 47 ▍Erica Okumura                         	00:01:46.764	00:00:00.622
 9 18 ▍Taylor Blake                          	00:01:47.745	00:00:01.602
10 27 ▍Gregori Krupin                        	00:01:47.763	00:00:01.621
11 94 ▍Ryker Lane                            	00:01:48.147	00:00:02.004
12 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                      	00:01:48.345	00:00:02.203
13  3 ▍Darius Castellammare                  	00:01:48.600	00:00:02.457
14 49 ▍Benjamin Talison                      	00:01:48.910	00:00:02.767
15 52 ▍Sayono Souzare                        	00:01:49.286	00:00:03.143
16  7 ▍Vijay Tripathi                        	00:01:50.695	00:00:04.553
17 56 ▍Terho Talvela                         	00:01:52.918	00:00:06.775

[Aboveland]

Terho swings open the doors into the paddock, already buzzing with action (like his hands after his coffee) with a plethora of team staff from all walks of life, every sound of a WGPC weekend filling the air: wheel guns, pen clicks, indistinct chatter, hollers for different size wrenches and the ever persistent squeak of gym shoes. Of the drivers, he looks to be one of the last to arrive. A lady greets him with a smile and points him in the direction of TRÆ's section which, as he looks over that way, is a slot ahead of iBen's team. His teammate waves, clad in blue but a wall further behind. Terho waves back, smiling, then turns to thank the lady before walking over to his deep blue machine. Its glistening paint shimmers harder as he approaches, his eyes locked on AGP 002 and ignoring the MRTs, the VMRs, the Omni cars, and every other person along the way.

He arrives to the sight of the engineers hunched over their laptops and running final diagnostic checks and the mechanics preparing the suspension, both with diehard determination; he also sees Edvin talking with Aada about something, though a look of concern drapes the woman's and a couple of front teeth pick at the man's bottom lip, his thumb and forefinger unscrunching the two halves of his chin. When they hear the arrival of Terho's sneakers, they turn their heads simultaneously and feign joy. Terho purses his lips, but before he can verbalize, Edvin begins.

"Heheeey!" he says, somewhat enthusiastically, to Terho's bemusement. "Ready for the big day?" Aada, in the background, grins, her eyes large and pitifully honest through her glasses.

Terho frowns, the hope and ambition from the weeks of anticipation sheared violently off his face. Edvin steps in again to rectify it with a considerably more serious tone. "We've run the tests, the diagnostics, everything, and it's all perfect. The guys are motivated," he says, pointing to the crew, "Aada's got your setup ready, it's all gonna go fine." He smiles.

Terho clears his throat and looks down, putting his hands on his hips, before looking back up at Edvin. He stares at him for a moment, waiting for him to crack.

"We've taken this too lightly, haven't we?" Terho asks, his eyebrows sharp enough to slice metal, his voice quiet, shaky and insecure. His eyes drift to the side. iBen is still busy with his own team, thank fuck.

Edvin swallows lightly, not out of fear or intimidation, but of annoyance. The edges of his lips turn upwards, as if he were swallowing a spoonful of cough syrup. "Get dressed and hop in, we're ready," is all he says.

Once Terho pops out of the locker rooms, wrapped in his tight blue and gold overalls, he walks to his car without hurry. Unlike other times, when he'd squeak his shoes against the floor or shoot finger guns at any passerby, he's in no mood for fucking around. Today, he means business. In no time, he's strapped into his unnamed chassis, the neon yellow belts snug around his shoulders, the HANS locking his head in place, his reflective blue visor, the only colored element on his plain black helmet, down and locked. A quick comms check, a solid thumbs up, and he's out of the garage. In his mirrors, he sees iBen strapping on his gloves.

"Hi Terho," says Aada on the radio, her voice noticeably stronger than when he'd arrived. "Have a couple of reconnaissance laps first, and then knock it into P1 mode. Remember to keep the fuel mix lean until then too." His thumb presses the OK button.

On to his second lap. The first few corners are familiar to him from the previous year, but driving at his reduced pace the beauty of the scenery enters the foreground. The track is green and quiet, as he's one of the first cars out after the initial wave, so he has time to cruise. To get some heat into his tyres, he floors the throttle out of turn four, taps the brake and downshifts once to pass turn six, and hammers the car down again through the now new section. The tarmac on the backroad stretch is bumpier than the thick black tar he'd just been on, and his seat vibrates heavily in the braking zone. Through turn eight and into turn nine, the upcoming apexes look endless, lined with pristine white walls and colored runoff areas. Terho giggles slightly and floors the car again. From then to turn 11 he's flat out, the whistling of the turbos tickling his ears, the growl of the V8 stirring his stomach and running laps around his soul. He takes the kink at 12 surprisingly quickly, without a lift, the downforce slamming the car onto the ground and shooting sparks out of his diffuser. The Serpent's Fork is tricky, but only just for the car, and the asphalt is a tad bit smoother, so he navigates the section and heads for The Sling. The g-forces throw him forwards, his neck tensing, and he circumvents the turns nicely before going on to turns 20 and 21, the anticipation building for the mega-straight after the Centrifuge.

But down the long straight, the car sputters over the second bridge. The whistling of the turbos cuts out, or maybe a single whistle blows, or maybe both blow quietly, or one of them blows harder than the other. Over the final bridge, the whistles sound normal again, yet over the speed trap the screen reads barely over 250 kilometers an hour. Terho gasps audibly as his heart sinks and his face turns red, the temperature rising, his adrenaline turned to crippling anxiety. With his eyes off the road, he misses the apex for turn 24, and slams the pedal as hard as he can before swerving around the cones laid out on the continuing bit of track, hitting an entire row. He accelerates back out and then into the tunnel checking his tyres, which don't seem to have flatspotted. Out of the darker section, his eyes struggle to adjust to the daytime again, and by the time he reaches turn 30, the whistles seem to return.

"Everything alright?" asks Aada. She's as calm as she was at the beginning of the run.

"Something with the turbos," Terho replies sternly. "Is everything alright?"

Aada doesn't reply, to Terho's chagrin. She knows there's something wrong, and Edvin does too, and the two assholes didn't say a word.

"Sorry?" she replies while Terho powers out of turn two. "The audio crackled out. Remember P1 and mix R."

Terho adjusts the knobs on the wheel and repeats his previous message, increasingly frustrated. "What is going on with the car?" Aada fails to reply again.

The Abovian enters The Forest section a third time, now with AGP 002's full power at his disposal. Swinging down turns three and four, accelerating out of turn five, braking for turn six and powering out of seven. The car feels livelier, snappier, quicker. For a moment, Terho's anxiety cools down. Aada, however, still hasn't replied, and it kicks his gut into worry mode again. Terho again exits turn nine, this time with a wider, cleaner line than before, and floors the throttle pedal down the long, sweeping corners ahead. The V8 wails as it climbs up the gears and the turbos spool up again furiously, the speed pinning Terho's face to his headrest, his fingers resisting the backwards force to upshift, then again, then thrice, the revs still climbing, the speed still soaring.

And then, under the bridge and before the kink, the turbos flutter to their demise, with one of them screeching like a tremendously capricious child. The LED on Terho's steering wheel turns pitch black, the blinking terminal cursor tantalizingly counting down the seconds until the next braking point as time slows to a crawl. The car fishtails through the kerb with the sudden loss of power right as the engine begins to wind down, then abruptly shuts up. Terho, now dealing with no power steering, manhandles the car to get it pointing as straight as possible, and pumps the impossibly rigid brake pedal. Once he's roughly aiming at the runoff outside turn 13, he brakes harder and skids to a stop. His jaw chatters, his fingers vibrate and his legs cramp. He sighs with relief, his only thought his delight at being alive. The intercom button is, understandably, useless. The LED powers back on, but instead of the usual TRÆ splashscreen and chime, he gets a beep and a warning message, materializing behind the advancing pulsating cursor.

ELEC FAIL
CHECK ENGINE

Terho's eyes, locked on the screen, water. In the distance, a feeble, familiar howl. Moments later, another navy nosecone pops out of the turn 12 kink, its sound growing in intensity, but not enough to inspire awe; rather, bemusement. Terho bites his lower lip, like Edvin had earlier, and pulls out his gloves slowly. He undoes his belt, removes his HANS and neck support, and ditches his beached car on the pavement. With a leg-up he climbs within the inner walls of the circuit, sitting on the ground with his back to the inside of it, facing the other wall, protected from the racetrack by years of safety development in crash barriers. Assured a moment of loneliness and zen, he pulls up his visor and squeezes his eyes with his hands, the tears clinging to his fingerprints, accompanied by a suppressed sob. He clears his throat again. "Fuck, fuck," he groans, angrily, through the knot in his throat. "Fuck."

He sits for another minute, gathering the strength in his legs to hobble back to the paddock. He stands, feeling his sweaty undergarments rearrange under his overalls. After one last tear, he begins to walk, rearranging a few bits under his suit and flipping the visor back down. Business as usual for the fans, like Edvin had done to him. In the paddock, or perhaps privately, fury. The WGPC is no place for jokes.

[Liventia]

"There's Jai Kardaeri right there. You'll want to go over and see if he remembers you."

Ryan Harris-Jones nodded as the words left his agent/mentor/friend Matthew Portland's mouth. Portland and Kardaeri had been teammates at Carvenlo Racing in WGPC11, and Portland had tried to use Kardaeri's contacts to get his protégé a drive at the old Starblaydi outfit Mirrors. He'd not received a response, but assumed Kardaeri was simply too busy to read his emails.

Ryan caught Kardaeri's eye and did a slight wave before catching himself. "I was 16 the last time he saw me in person, it's a bit silly, Matt." RHJ opted for a nod instead, and to his surprise received one back from the Starblaydi world champion. "Have you spoken to the tyre people?"

Tropicorp Racing Supply, the tyre providers for the Eelandii WTGP driver test, were offering drivers the option to buy extra tyres for the sessions. Portland had decided they'd take the offer up, with him covering the fees. "This freelance motorsport consultancy lark is going well," Portland had told Harris-Jones when asked who would be paying for the tyres. "You just worry about driving and I'll handle everything else."

"I have. You should have your extra sets of tyres, Ryan. I've already paid for them."

"Sound. Reckon this is my best chance of a drive this year?"

"I'm not making any predictions, Ryan. This is a strong field of drivers you're testing against today. Most of them have, like you, raced in the WGPC. And of course you've had a couple of seasons out, maturing on the domestic circuit, but the foreign teams can't see that. You just need to go out there and do it, mate."

The pair ambled up to the meet and greet area, noting the presence of team principal iBen Toralmintii and Vilitan legend RL Cruisin along the way. However, they appeared to be the first ones there otherwise.

"Go make some friends," Portland joked. "Introduce yourself to the others. I'll go make enquiries and see if I can offer iBen any of my consultancy for free if they take you on. You never know…"

[Vadkness]

Hunter took his helmet off and tousled his hair. He was rather sweaty - he'd be heading straight for the showers after this. He was kicking himself inside. The SinVal pre-season driver test has started off so well for him. He thanked the pit stop crew and headed straight to the shower. He needed to get rid of the sweat, and he needed to think.

He got undressed and let the hot water pour over him. Getting to take such long, such warm showers was another privilege he had to learn to enjoy. The often snowy and cold land of Vadkness was something you grew used to, bathing in colder waters for a cheaper heating bill. The heat of the water was something still foreign to him, only having been out of the country a few times and in hotels that offered the luxury of scalding waters. He ran his hands over his face. The races had started off so well. During the traditional qualifying session, his fastest lap was only a hundredth of a second off the lap record. A hundredth. Point. Zero. One. And then it went downhill, coming last in the other two qualifyings. That made him finished last overall. He groaned and leaned against the wall. There was no doubt he would be getting a seat with SinVal after that. He shut the water off.

Drying and tossing on some clothes, he sat down and pulled out his list. He scrolled through the teams that still seemed to have seats open. One on Omni, one on Camden, one on Fireline. iBen and Badai Angin had yet to announce any drivers if his list was up to date of course. He would have to check the news and go through it again. SinVal was empty with both drivers on his list, but he felt sure he could count himself out for either of them. That left 7 seats open, but surely less with his list being a few days behind on the news. Perhaps his choice to message Fireline will bear some fruit.

He had been wavering before this. He was about ready to say 'screw it' and pack up, go home. Forget trying to become a racer. Go back to being a simple mechanic. But going out there on the track changed his mind. He remembered that he loved the sport. Cars were his passion, his life, and getting to drive them, competing against others, it fueled him. It took him getting in the car and driving with others to remember that, it seemed. He chuckled to himself. The whole interaction bit was the part he wasn't too good at. His skill would develop with time and practice. If he didn't get a spot this year, he would sure be trying his darndest again next year. But, until then, he got up to see if there was anything he could do to secure him a last-minute spot this year.

[The Sherpa Empire]

Vijay Tripathi was frustrated. The engineers and mechanics had told him they were still working out some things on the car, and Tripathi had to bring the car into the pits a couple of times to have it worked on, but he was still annoyed to have only the 16th fastest lap time out of 17 drivers. Anything other than being the best every day annoyed him. He sort of understood concepts like testing the car without pushing it to the limit, or the idea that the season is a marathon, not a sprint, or that sometimes other people are just having a better day than you -- but he still didn't like it. Only Terho Talvela, who blew out his engine and had to cut his testing session short, had a worse time.

Back in the paddock, Avijit Chakravarty was goofing around trying to chat up Uti Tamang and a pretty Vannish blonde that he'd apparently taken a liking to. Uti was trying to draw his attention to something that one of the Vangazi engineers had on his laptop. Tripathi grabbed Avijit and yelled at him, "What the hell are you doing??? You're not here to flirt! Do that some other time! Do you see what we are going to be racing against?" He gestured toward some of the other cars and crews and foreign engineers that were at the track. "Maybe you can laze around like this and still put together a car that gets from point A to point B and breaks down a little less than a Hongxing, but that is not enough." He sat Avijit down beside Uti and the Vangazi engineer with the laptop. "They are trying to show you something. Pay attention."

Avijit settled down.

Tripathi was grouchier than usual about the flirting because the woman he wanted to flirt with was not here in Esmerel. She was in Guilin. Last fall, when Tripathi went to Guilin to compete in the Guangxi Telecom 400, he had intended to prove that he was a better driver than Kai Qiang, and maybe have a one-night stand with one of the female NSSCRA drivers. Instead, he fell head-over-heels in love with Qiang's sister and was too distracted to race well. Yuan Qiang had just gotten out of a bad marriage, and she wasn't particularly eager to hop in bed with a man she'd just met. Especially someone like Tripathi that was pushy, famous, and had a reputation for womanizing. Dating a celebrity and becoming tabloid fodder was the last thing she wanted when she was still nursing her wounds from her former marriage.

Tripathi's intentions were not entirely selfish, though. Yuan Qiang had bound feet, and she was in the process of suing the people who had done it to her, as well as getting an operation to help her walk better. Tripathi felt sorry that she had to deal with all these hassles and he wished he could do something to make it easier. He thought of her being cooped up at her brother's apartment while her feet healed after the operation. He would have liked to take her somewhere cozier and look after her, bringing her breakfast in bed and such. He just didn't know how to convince Yuan Qiang or Kai Qiang that his intentions were good.

[Mattijana]

SinVal Pre-season Test

Jasmin Kranjska climbed out of the SinVal car in a pretty good mood. She had topped the points chart for the series of 4 separate challenges she and the 6 other drivers had faced, making her the on-paper favourite to land the seat.

The problem was that the seat wouldn't be decided on paper, but by a number of other factors as well. Experience, driving style, consistency...there were plenty more too. Jasmina fitted the bill for raw pace and technique, but she had only half a season of international racing under her belt. Would that be enough compared to the drivers finishing behind her who had not only multiple seasons, but even titles behind them.

She had let herself down a little in the final challenge as well. A horrible lock-up at turn 3 had left herself haemorrhaging time and she could only recover to a fairly measly 6th. The bigwigs at SinVal were sure to look at all the results, but an error under pressure in the very last challenge wasn't something that would help her, that was for sure.

Jasmina had been let down again by MRT and Badai Angin. If she didn't get a drive from SinVal, she would have only the Eelandii one left as her last chance saloon. She really wasn't ready for another season on the sidelines.

*Bing*

An email got sucked onto her computer from somewhere or other. Would it be from SinVal? Could it be a drive? As much as Jasmina desperately wanted it to be, she wasn't getting her hopes up.

Subject: Your energy invoice for the last mon...

Just another anti-climax. Not what she wanted to see. Fortunately it had started to warm up in Puljanka over the last few weeks, so her bill had gone down compared to in the winter months. Jasmina primed her mouse to mark the email as read.

*Bing*

Now she thought of it, her water bill was due around now. She closed the message from her energy company to see what had come through now.

To: jasminkranjska@mrt.co.mj
From: SinVal Racing Team
Subject: Driver's role at SinVal

Some said you had to go to a modern art gallery to see the mundane turned into the evocative, but Jasmina only needed a brief scroll through her inbox.

Annoyingly the subject line made whether she had actually got an offer or not pretty ambiguous. Jasmina's lungs refused to function as she read over the first lines of the message.

An offer! An actual WGPC offer, for a whole season. Ahead of Jang, Ibuna and even Dimitrianov. This was a massive step for her career. SinVal were an experienced team as well, a seasoned group of racers that were far from the banger-racers that sometimes turned up for the odd season.

She rattled off a frantic reply, not wanting to sound too delirious, but also wanting to let her enthusiasm show.

To: SinVal Racing Team
From: jasminkranjska@mrt.co.mj
Subject: Re, Driver's Role at SinVal

To whom it may concern,

Thank you for the offer of a drive at your team next season. I am humbled, yet delighted to accept and to be a part of SinVal during WGPC 17.

I am hugely excited to get to know the car better during pre-season testing. It was a pleasure to drive during the test and will hopefully be a machine in which we can score a lot of points together.

Kind regards,

Jasmin Kranjska

She would presumably have to sign the contract and other such formalities, but her focus now was on the test. She didn't have far to go either, just the trip north to the Kopylov InternazionRing.

She was disappointed that the historic Mattijanan track wouldn't have a round of the championships staged on its hallowed tarmac, but there was no better place for her to get to grips with the new car.

Onwards...

[Esmerel]

Esmerel Highway 1, Kilometer 68, Rainier, Esmerel
Sunday, March 10, 2019

You know what? Yeah, this car is pretty nice.

This is what Jean thought, as he and Talia rode to the first event of the season. Being a national celebrity ended up getting you a lot of benefits, apparently. Such as a now-massive collection of expensive and fast cars back at home. Most Esmerelians could only dream of that.

Friendship ended with Obey... Now practically everyone else is my friend. Low caliber meme, but what can you do?

Today’s car? The new Pfister Neon, a four-door sports car valued at NS$230,000. Electric too. Gotta fit those new emissions regulations.

“Jean, you’re thinking out loud again.”

“I- Oh, damn it. That happens.”

“At least you’re still driving. That happens too, but less often.”

“I forget- how far out are we from the circuit?”

“We just passed kilo 68. Should be 20 kilos more, so... 8 minutes.”

“I can get there in six. You ready?”

“I definitely am ready to witness the first test, then step back into a cozy office in Midwood and supervise your career from a safe distance while I never get brought up again.”

“Talia, stop that. That’s not happening this time. I swear.”

“If you say so. Hey, let the new guy know we’re almost there.”

He had better be. Not to pressure him too much. “System, call the last received number.”

The call was answered almost immediately. “Yes?”

“You ready, new guy?”

“I’m already in the paddock waiting for you. Get over here. I’m ready as ever.”

“Okay. Talia, make that 5 minutes.”

Over the radio, Flashback by Imagination started to play.

Flashback!
To the days when the nights were young
Flashback!
When we could do no wrong...
______________________________________________________

(Initiate flashback)

New Nexus Tower, The First City, The Nexus Wardship
Monday, March 4, 2019

“So, Talia, this new guy... what’s he like?”

“He’s a professional in his field. He’s worked on exotic cars since he was ten. Raced them too. Finally, he’s a fan of yours. So when we needed someine to replace Darrell, we decided on him.”

“Doesn’t explain why you hid this from me before. All you did is tell me where he’s from. What for? Are you trying to enforce a quota or something?”

“No, no quotas. Jut felt like telling you. Thought it interesting. I... Oh, hey, here he comes now.”

Down the steps of the tower came a man who towered over the people around him. As he walked he carried a large bag in one hand and a notepad in the other.

“Hello, you two!” he bellowed as he reached the bottom. “It’s going to be great working with you!” He jogged over to Jean and shook his right hand. “Maximillian Rykinsvik, now at your service. Just call me Max.”

“Well, then,” Jean replied. “A bit energetic today, aren’t we?”

“A bit? I finally get to work with one of my favorite celebrities and one of the finest pieces of engineering in the Verse! What’s not to like?”

“You know what?” said Jean. “That’s some great enthusiasm. I can just tell we’ll work great together.”

“Wonderful. And who is the lovely lady to your left?”

“Talia Thornton, of Midwood, Esmerel. Agent to Jean Mercer-Daly. It’s good to meet with you.”

“And also with you, Ms. Thornton.” Max kept on going. “How about we get to work, ye? Where’s the factory?”

“Well, Max, it’s not a factory, to be honest. It’s a headquarters. Still, you’ll be able to work with the car once we get there. It’s just another ride on the shuttle to the bay.”

The trio hopped onto the next shuttle to the Nimbus Bay. The scenic route contained many an amazing view, all of which amazed the Norwegian.

“Wow,” he mentioned at one point. “Reminds me of Honningsvåg. Except a bit more green and warmer. Much warmer.”

“What’s it like, where you’re from, Max?” Jean asked.

“Very cold. But very beautiful. And you tend to get used to the cold after so many years of living in it. So, rather beautiful is all it is.”

“Just to ask again, you’ll be ready when the time comes, yeah?”

“You know it, sir. When things begin, I’ll be ready to get into the thick of it.”
_______________________________________________

(back to the present)

Forest Cross Raceway, Vertress, Esmerel
Sunday, March 10, 2019

The white Pfister pulled into the vast parking lot. Max was standing next to an ATV parked nearby.

“Hey there! I said I’d be ready for the thick of it, ye?”

“Good to see you made good on that. Thought you’d be in the paddock, though.”

“I was. Just came out here to greet you.”

“What model is that? The one you’re standing next to. Assuming it’s yours.”

“It is mine. 2001 Canis Rezevoar. AWD, perfect for any driving situation short of rolling the car over. Has, maybe, 250,000 kilometers on it."

“OK. Real weird design, but... I like it. Now, let’s get to work.”

3 minutes later

“So I worked with a few of the engineers to tune up the ride. All you have to do is get in and drive. Once you have your racing suit on.”

“Yeah, that’s a given.” Jean sighs. “Still a damn shame this is all we’ll see of this place this season.”

"Well, it's not just 30 minutes like most practice and testing sessions, it's 180. We can use that to our advantage. Get dressed, get out there and show them all you're back."

Jean was raring to do just that, though he had to put on his racing suit first. Back on the Wardship he had undergone a few refresher tests to get himself used to the suit again, but it was still jarring to wear it seriously for the first time in 10 months. And despite his total dominance of Forest Cross in the previous season, the new layout would challenge him as much as it would any other driver. Perhaps that was a good thing, giving the new layout a test slot. Forces everyone onto an even playing ground... though of course that would apply to a proper race as well.

Additionally, the technicians hadn't yet figured out a way to link the interface in Jean's left arm with the UHSGV systems yet. That was okay, though. There was time for that later.

With everything set up, Jean began his first out lap. Just as he was about to test the corners, he realized he needed to give it a name. Transcendence had been long since destroyed, after all.

I have to give it a name before I start the first flying lap. I just have to.

Jean had originally thought of the name Blacklight- but now it didn't sit as well with him. As for other options, he wasn't sure. It had to be everything that was Jean. About his successes and his struggles. About the strength of the Esmerelian people and the Nimban people. About the speed of the WGPC.

As Jean came down the Blast Zone, it finally hit him. The third time was always a charm, right? But not Charm... No. Third time lucky. So, how about Lucky? No, not professional enough.

Then it hit him again. This was his revenge attempt. Not angry revenge. But revenge nonetheless after his fall from grace.

Lucifer.

Jean now knew what had to be done. He floored the accelerator and began his first flying lap. Not necessarily to reach the top of the timesheets, but definitely to go fast.

The first section was boxstandard, and also not. The Forest as a replacement for The Welcome Mat worked well while still slowing down the driver for the more technical part of the circuit. Rejoining the original circuit for a brief moment slightly confused Jean- while the sunlight came down on the circuit through large tree branches, it still felt weird not to be driving towards the Pin of Bravery.

Instead Jean headed through the Backroad- the newly paved circuit easily distinguishing itself from the old pavement, though still professionally smoothed. At least, intended to. Coming through to turn 11, before crossing the first bridge over the Blast Zone, Jean passed by the spot Terho Talvela had his accident the year before. They changed this corner just because of that accident, Jean remembered. It's a little bit weird for Esmerelians to care about foreigners.

As he continued he witnessed the new alternate pit straight and the excessively tight Serpent's Fork. While he certainly did have more time to perfect the lap, it was embarrassing for Jean to reach the corner only to miss the apex entirely and plow into the gravel trap beyond. The car was fine, and so was the circuit due to a special area to rejoin the track in, but it was still awkward. Not much further from the Fork was a road that ran to the right. Jean had heard about that one. Shaped like the Greek letter omega. Either way, he wouldn't be heading that way today. In the midst of this, his HUD lights up with yellow flags in the third sector, though it doesn't last long. Potentially an error.

The new Sling, just up ahead, was designed to add a bit more challenge to the course just before the high speed section. Crossing the second bridge, Jean slows down for the triple corner, and makes a sharp right-left-right maneuver. That was pretty fun to drive. Good job by the designers.

After crossing the third and final bridge Jean is forced to make a sudden right turn to Spoon-21. The turn is awkward, and Jean finds it hard to find the correct apex speed. Just like the corner it was designed after, Jean remembers. Then comes the Centrifuge.

The rest of the circuit is similar to the previous year, leading to no further mistakes. Jean is quick to notice several cones knocked over and destroyed at the turn 25 chicane, followed by yellow flag warnings in sector 2- this time not going away.

The answer to this conundrum comes as Jean approaches the alternate pit straight for the third time. A navy blue machine sits in the gravel trap outside this section of the circuit, with the number 56. It looks undamaged on the outside, but is clearly troubled by a mechanical failure. Its driver is already walking along the outside wall, back to the pits. Oddly, though, the cheers of the crowd for the fact that a rival racer has had an error are absent. Jean checks the stands- despite the event only being a test, they're still packed full.

Maybe they've learned.

Jean completes a few more laps. The track is quiet, as not every team has both of its drivers. It is impressive to see the two white and red Obey cars out on the circuit.

"Hey, Jean!" Max chimes in. "Is it good to be back?"

Jean thinks for a moment. Evidently, it is good. "Yes it is, Max. Yes it fucking is."

[Audioslavia]

Part Ten: Brice

Brice McPahan heard a knock on the door to his office. He put his glasses on, picked up a folder at random and said enter. In walked senior race engineer Bill Francis, a long time mechanic at the team who had only recently made the step up to lead engineer, having been cheaper to promote than to retain the services of Gilles Denis and Stewart Clark. Bill was the guy immediately underneath Brice in the corporate structure at McPahan. That was largely why Brice had wanted to see him.
“You wanted to see me, boss?” said Bill.
“I did indeed William. Sit down, please” said Brice, taking off his glasses, putting down the folder and standing up. “I trust you’ve had time to peruse the synergetic bantamization reportage I delivered on the eighteenth” said Brice, turning away from Bill and facing the window.
“In the quiet words of the virgin mary” said Bill with a frown, “..come again?”
Brice spun round, visibly annoyed
“On the eighteenth of this very month I delivered unto you the bantamisation protocol envisaged by the upper management to be actioned unto our organization’s motor vehicles” said Brice, breathless by the end of his sentence. Bill remained seated, staring blankly at a point just to the right of Brice’s left ear.
“Oh” said Bill. “The wee folder you gave us saying you wanted the car to be lighter”
“The bantamisation report” said Brice, nodding. “That one”
“Yeah. We got it” said Bill. It was clear, even to Brice, that Bill was now trying to choose his words carefully. “An interesting read. Some of the concepts there were from your old man”
“Exactly” said Brice. “My father’s vision. Continued by his first born son.”
“Yeah” said Bill, neglecting to add ‘…and his nephew, who’s been running the team for the last five years while the ‘first born son’ was being a failed entrepreneur’
“So how far along are you with the action plan?” asked Brice.
“Action plan?”
“For actioning the developmental strides towards the bantamisation of the McPahan racecar” said Brice, sitting back down in his chair. “How close to completion are you of the instructions?”
Bill cocked his head to one side.
“They were instructions?” he asked.
“What did you think they were?” asked Brice, with a frown. Bill neglected to voice the first seventeen or eighteen answers that immediately presented themselves.
“Ideas, boss” said Bill. “We saw it as more theoretical. I mean, there’s stuff in there about Rubidove”
“Yes” said Brice. “It’s very lightweight. What’s wrong with it?”
“I mean” said Bill, rubbing his head, “I’ve heard its volatile on contact with water. That could have devestating consequences.”
“If my father, your former boss…” said Brice, “If he were hear now, I assure you he would extol the virtues of Rubidove to you and tell you to use it in dry races” said Brice.
Bruce did his best attempt at a completely blank face.
“Honestly I’m not sure about that”
“Nevertheless” said Brice. “I want you to choose three of my ideas and have them actioned by next week. The McPahan car must be lightweight and must be competitive this season. We’re short on money, so we’re taking shortcuts. Keeping the car light is of utmost importance. Is that clear?”
Once again, Bill forewent the first twenty responses that came into his head.

---

Part Eleven: Rory

Carsten? Carsten yeah hi it’s Rory. Listen mate are you sitting down? You’re kneeling? Why are you kneeling Carsten? You’re polishing your helmet? Well look if its like that I can call back later… no... no… no it was a joke Carsten. Yeah no it was a joke. A dirty one. Well it’s because you said helmet Carsten, my head immediately went to the obvious dirty joke, Carsten. Nah honestly it… if you didn’t get it straight away then it’s not really worth… oh well okay well… well you see it’s just the word helmet Carsten. Can you think of a part of your body that might also be called a helmet? Yeah no… yeah no… yeah no I know you’re not a tortoise Carsten It’s just… … yeah I know you said turtle but it’s still … … well surely they’re the same thing Carsten… … … uh huh… … … … uh huh … … … … uh huh … … yeah … … … flippers yeah… … … aquatic yeah but … … honestly Carsten I don’t think it’s gonna come up but the important thing is… the joke? Nah Carsten mate I don’t need to explain the joke it’s just… okay okay… yeah nah it’s just that I think we’d be in for the ten cars conversation again… I mean… yeah I mean the ten cars conversation we’ve had it a few times by now… yeah no… yeah well I can actually see how more than one person would say that to you… It’s just we talked about this ten cars situation before and you didn’t seem convinced at the end of it… yeah I mean it would be an extravagance… yeah no you’re right your name has no bearing on the quantity of automobiles you might own but it’s just… they just say it to break the ice Carsten… I mean with you being a driver and all it’s actually… yeah… yeah well okay I just think we should agree to disagree about that. Yeah… yeah no that’s right its the head of your penis, you got that one eventually… yeah no… yeah its good news, good news from Filindostan Carsten, we’ve received a deal to drive for Badai Angin this season. Well, for the first few races. It’s a short contract, a rolling one. Three races for sure, if you do well then you should be in for the rest of the season as well… yeah… yeah the sponsors’ll be paying the majority of your salary, some ours, some theirs, so what do you… yeah… yeah I think it’s a great deal honestly… I don’t think you’ll get the same from… yeah… you what? You, Carsten O’Rourke, will take the deal to drive for Badai Angin? That’s great news. Yeah no I don’t know why I said it like that. Well actually yeah, yeah as a sports agent I like to record everything I say, yeah… yeah and I repeat out loud anything important just in case I need to refer to it later. Yeah… yeah no I have a typist too, the secretary is noting this down. Yeah no she does write quickly yeah, yeah no it’s amazing, really, considering she always puts the fillers in, not just the stuff I say. Like, like she’ll be writing that… that I just repeated the word ‘like’. And probably ‘that’ actually. Yeah she’s right fast. Yeah. Yeah well I’m sure she is writing this part down too. Yeah. Yeah no I’m waving at her. Yeah. Yeah. I reckon I could make her type “I am a twerp” if I wanted to… yeah no wait shit I already did that. Yeah no that was a bit cruel yeah, yeah I should apologise. I’ll do it later. Now? You think I should… well okay… I am sorry missus secretary. Yeah I think she wrote that down. I don’t want to go and stand over her and check. She’s probably getting a bit weirded out about this now. Yeah. Yeah you’re right she’s not so unprofessional as to write down ‘Rory is a pillock’. Yeah no. Yeah no wait. Yeah no wait a minute I was just listening to you tell me about that but she was still typing. Let me just… let me just have a look… yeah… yeah ‘I am a twerp’… ‘I am sorry’… ‘Stand over her’… Here… here it sais She’s not so unprofessional as to write down ‘Rory is a pillock’ here… yeah no you’re right I did not fucking say that… yeah nah seriously it says that right here she’s even… she’s even… catch up love… she’s even writing this down here now. She just wrote ‘catch up love’. I tell you what it’s enough to drive you mad. I might have to give her a raise. Yeah. Yeah well its only fair I actually find that very unprofes… she’s written ‘give her a raise’ I didn’t say that I said ‘I am a stupid tossport who can stick my job’ she’s writing… oh well that’s very coarse. Tosspot she calls me. Listen Carsten. Carsten mate I’m gonna have to… I’m gonna have to… yeah I’ll see you later, mate, well done on securing the drive. Right. Right yeah. Right yeah cheerio. Bye. Bye. Right you…

[Sorlovia]

Week One - Practice
Forest Cross Raceway

Placing tenth in the opening practice run at Forest Cross had been a disappointing result. But it was the first official race in the season and his first experience of the MRT car in an actual race setting. It was only a matter of learning the car and its quirks. After all, he couldn't really expect to secure a podium finish in the first practice run of the season in a brand new car. These practice runs were an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and to tweak your approach ahead of raceday. His placing tenth in the practice run was no indication that he would have a similar result come raceday. Rather it was all an opportunity to learn and improve. To look at what he could've done better and what he had done well. In time he and the car would become accustomed to each other. He would learn its quirks and it would yield to his driving style.

Gregori couldn't resist a slight satisfaction at the fact that his rival Terho had come in dead last. No doubt that would be a blow to his ego. But despite any feeling of rivalry he wished the Abovian well in the season. He would make for a very worthy opponent. The racer he kept a particularly close eye on. He'd developed the rivalry with Terho early in WGPC16 and neither of them named it publically. Terho was an immensely skilled racer. He would focus on that. Not the rivalry that so often existed between Sorlovian and Abovian sports figures.

"I hope you've been training hard Terho." Gregori thought "Because I'm not going to make it easy for you."

Gregori had been holed up alone in his hotel room for the past few hours pouring over the results from the first official practice and the post-race diagnostic readouts from his car. He was hunting for any anomalies and tell-tale differences that would show him what he hadn't done well. Why he'd come in at tenth place rather than higher up the pack. Was it just the differing conditions and whims of the track? Or had be underperformed and suffered as a result? Perhaps a bigger burst of speed on the straight or tighter handling in the corners. Or maybe it was a case of making better use of the slipstream and slingshot maneuvers. It was not a failure but rather an invaluable opportunity to learn from the results of the practice run.

He would learn. He would learn and he would improve. A gentler hand on the car and better use of slingshot opportunities. He was determined to show MRT that he had the skills that would allow him to do well this season. He would prove to them that they had not made a mistake by taking a chance on him. When raceday came he would push himself to the limit to do as well as he could. This was but the beginning. Practice runs were necessary to give racers a chance to practice and improve on their skills. It gave them a chance to rest from the pressures of raceday and simply be behind the wheel. Practice runs presented an opportunity to learn your car and gave you a chance to learn from your results on raceday. To build on what you did well and to improve on what you didn't do quite right.

Even though the practice run had been over for hours he still felt the rush and exhilaration. The roar of the engine and the colorful sight of the competing racers' cars around him. The feel of his hands on the steering wheel and the thrum of power that ran through them from the engine like a gentle heartbeat. Gregori knew he could never be a race team executive. The simple fact was that he was a racer. A born and bred racer. As far as he was concerned there was nothing like the rush of being in the driver's seat at the helm of a sleek WGPC car with its powerful engine. He respected the executives but their life wasn't his life. He lived for the race and savoured every moment spent on the track. Raceday couldn't come soon enough as far as he was concerned. He longed for the opportunity to test himself in an official race and to see what his car was fully capable of. Racing wasn't a hobby. It wasn't just a sport or an occupation. It was a career, a lifestyle and to some an addiction.

[West-East Timor]

Eelandi Grand Prix Course
Eelandii
Turori

Timo Jänkirinää was standing in the meet and greet area with a number of other drivers who were there for the Eelandii VGTP test, just like Timo. After he had talked to some of the other drivers, Timo was approached by a Tropicorp Racing Supply official, who told him he'd be getting a free set of tires, due to a very recently agreed partnership between them and Omni Racing. Although Timo wasn't driving for Omni Racing (despite still planning to attend their test), he was glad they were still supporting his career. He was the first driver in their junior team, after all.

Shortly after talking to the Tropicorp Racing Supply official, Timo saw Linus Anthonson arrive in the meet and greet area, so he went to talk to him.

"Linus, what are you doing here?"

"I was invited to attend this test."

"Due to the tire deal I suppose?"

"That is the main reason, yeah."

"Well, you got me a free set of tires, I guess."

"You could say that, I suppose."

"Thanks for that, I assume."

"The main reason I am happy about this - and I am, by the way - is that I might need to find some more drivers to invite to the Omni test. So far, only Jang Xiaopeng and Xu Liuyong have not signed at any other team, of the drivers we invited. Well and you."

"So you're going to use this test to scout for drivers, in a way?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Why don't you offer the seat to Jang Xiaopeng again? I think he'd prefer to be lead driver at a team, sure, but it would still be better than nothing for him, no?"

"Certainly, but we'll have to see. If another driver seem better, we will of course sign them though. And regardless. we will find a second driver either way. Even if no other driver at this teast should impress me enough and Jang doesn't want to drive for us again, we still have Xu invited as well. And if that fails too, we can still sign you."

"If I don't sign at Eelandii VGTP first, that is."

"Yeah, of course."

"I doubt you will have to sign me. Of course I'd prefer if you did, but I understand your reasons very well. And if I don't get the seat, I will still continue working with you, of course. If Eelandii VGTP decide to sign me, though, they probably won't want me to tell you any secrets, so I won't be able to do much for you in that case."

"Yeah I understand that."

"Alright."

"This your last realistic chance to race in WGPC then, huh?"

"It most certainly is. I don't think I'll try to race in WGPC again if this fails though. I won't drive in WGP2 either anymore. I'll look for somewhere else to race at, in that case, I suppose."

"That is your decision. I can only promise you that, where possible, Omni Racing will support you in whatever you do."

"That's good to know."

"Assuming Eelandii VGTP sign you, will you still attend our test?"

"If they'd have nothing against it, I certainly will. By the way, do you know by now when you are going to hold the test."

"The weekend after the first official pre-season test. I'll tell Jang, Xu and you of the exact date and time when, hopefully, inviting one or two drivers from this test as well. We neeed to hurry in finding a second driver."

"Yeah, it seems you will be the last team to sign their second driver this year."

"It does."

[Vilita and Turori]

Eelandii Invitational kicks off with Warmup Session #1

Eelandii Invitational Event Schedule
07:30: Drivers Meet & Greet
09:00: Warmup Session #1
11:00: Warmup Session #2
12:15: Working Lunch
13:30: Traditional Time Trial Session
15:15: Open Race Event with 2 planned intermissions
19:00: Vehicle Inspection & Session Complete
19:30: Drivers Group De-Brief

CITY/TOWN: Eelandii
COUNTRY: Turori
EVENT: Eelandii VTGP Invitational Event
TRACK RATING: (5/5)
QUALIFYING TYPE: Two-Tier
LAP RECORD: 1:22.409 (Jai Kardaeri, WGPC 12)
LENGTH OF ONE LAP: 5.19km

---

Eelandii Grand Prix Course, Eelandii, Turori :: iBen Toralmintii looked at his watch. He had waited long enough but Jasmin Kranjska and Carsten O'Rourke were nowhere to be found. He was well aware that both drivers had been in negotiations with other teams for the 17th World Grand Prix Championship season but their absence at the morning meet and greet simply confirmed it, they would not be driving for iBen Toralmintii's Race Eelandii! Vilita and Turori World Grand Prix Motorworks team this season.

With two drivers who were primed to get primary Olympic racing machines now absent, Toralmintii informed R.L. Cruisin and Cesaro Whittaker that they no longer would be relegated to the use of an open wheel spare and instead would get to drive one of the primary prepared machines for the duration of the test weekend. Toralmintii also informed Mytanijan driver Jelena Colac-Strek that they could start putting on their gear, as there was an extra car in the form of the Open Wheel spare vacated by Whittaker. Colac-Strek was a late add having arrived in town looking for an opportunity. Clearly despite the invitational nature of the event, word had gotten around so Toralmintii instructed his long-time teammate and Tropicorp Racing Aelund test driver Juracai Klianiota to hop into the second Vilitan Union Open Wheel spare machine and run it through the paces during the first warmup session just in case any other unsigned drivers arrive prior to the second warmup session and wish to jump in.

Ryan Harris-Jones was the first driver out on the track followed closely by Rustom Ibuna and Jai Kardaeri. The Starblaydi driver and former World Champion, Kardaeri was turning their first laps on the Eelandii Grand Prix course since setting the track record during the World Grand Prix Championships 12th season. While Toralmintii had originally planned to have drivers go straight at the stadium loop, with the number of drivers who arrived and the number of cars that would be on the track at once, Toralmintii quickly adjusted and got permission to use the full course for the test session. The Turorian was optimistic that this would allow drivers to find their space on the track to put together a series of flying laps without interference from their competitors.

EELANDI VTGP INVITATIONAL - WARMUP #1
Fastest Flying Lap

POS     #   -   DRIVER             FASTEST LAP
 1  ::  [VIL] R.L. Cruisin       :: 0:01:22.850  
 2  ::  [LEN] Ryan Harris-Jones  :: 0:01:22.856  
 3  ::  [CFT] Cocoabo #23        :: 0:01:22.880  
 4  ::  [FID] Rustom Ibuna       :: 0:01:22.893  
 5  ::  [V&T] Juracai Klianiota  :: 0:01:22.928  
 6  ::  [STB] Jai Kardaeri       :: 0:01:23.181  
 7  ::  [MYT] Jelena Colac-Strek :: 0:01:23.251  
 8  ::  [WET] Timo Jänkirinää    :: 0:01:23.328  
 9  ::  [MTJ] Alex Dimitrianov   :: 0:01:23.554  
 10 ::  [EFL] Cesaro Whittaker   :: 0:01:24.627  
 11 ::  [SRO] Jacoppo Montaguti  :: 0:01:25.505

EELANDI VTGP INVITATIONAL - WARMUP #1
Fastest 5-Lap Average

POS     #   -   DRIVER             FASTEST 5-LAP AVG
 1  ::  [FID] Rustom Ibuna       :: 0:01:23.300
 2  ::  [MTJ] Alex Dimitrianov   :: 0:01:23.554
 3  ::  [STB] Jai Kardaeri       :: 0:01:23.798
 4  ::  [VIL] R.L. Cruisin       :: 0:01:24.104
 5  ::  [V&T] Juracai Klianiota  :: 0:01:24.129
 6  ::  [CFT] Cocoabo #23        :: 0:01:26.538
 7  ::  [MYT] Jelena Colac-Strek :: 0:01:28.185
 8  ::  [LEN] Ryan Harris-Jones  :: 0:01:28.302
 9  ::  [WET] Timo Jänkirinää    :: 0:01:28.808
 10 ::  [SRO] Jacoppo Montaguti  :: 0:01:30.429
 11 ::  [EFL] Cesaro Whittaker   :: 0:01:31.914

While no one was reasonably expected to challenge the track record with outdated equipment that had most recently been driven on an oval track at the XIII Summer Olympic Games in Republica, Free Republics, a handful of drivers were able to crack the 82 second bracket with R.L. Cruisin narrowly besting Liventia's Ryan Harris-Jones for the top time. Harris-Jones had the most cracks at the cherry turning the most laps of any driver in the session though failed to show the consistency lap to lap of some of the more experienced drivers at the session including Rustom Ibuna, Alex Dimitrianov, Kardaeri and Cruisin who found themselves posting the most consistent fast lap times over the course of the warmup session that lasted just over forty five minutes until every driver had the opportunity to run twenty laps on track.

With the first warmup session complete, drivers returned to the paddock to provide feedback to the Race Eelandii! staff on how to make their on-track performance better for the second Warmup Session. Tropicorp Racing Supply representatives came around with extra tyres offering last minute purchases to the drivers on hand if they wanted a fresh set of tires for the second warmup session and dropping off new tyres in the paddock of those drivers that had already confirmed their orders.

Tropicorp Reps Carting Fresh Tyres through Paddock

Tropicorp Racing Supply wants to remind competitors that they are offering fresh tyres for the second practice session and start of the simulated race session for purchase. Any drivers that would like a fresh set of tyres for the start of the Invitational Event's Race-Condition Event must request and pay for the Tyres by the end of the time trial session. Tyre requests may be by informing a Tropicorp representative of your desire for extra tyres along with your would like along with your form of payment or point of contact for charging be it a personal sponsor or other source.

A reminder on the Tyre Scenario is below:

"The CoCoGas crew on site will re-fuel your assigned vehicle free of charge after each on-track session. You will receive four total sets of tyres through the course of the day free of charge. The Tropicorp Sifaka is the top of the line racing tyre from Tropicorp Racing Supply. The X14 is a hard construction which should last for even the longest stints, however it will slow over time. The Tropicorp team will be on hand to equip your assigned vehicle with a new set of Tyres ahead of the First Practice session, the Time Trial Session, and the during the two pre-scheduled mid-race yellow flag pit stops.

If you so choose, you may optionally purchase up to 2 additional sets of tyres. At any point, you may opt to request a new set of Tyres for the second warmup session. If you desire a fresh set of Tyres for the second practice session, please notify the Tropicorp Racing Supply representative immediately and have a form of payment ready.

If you would like to purchase a fresh set of tyres to start the race event on you must inform Tropicorp Racing Supply by the end of the Time Trial session. Any drivers who opt not to purchase an additional set of Tyres will start the race event on the same tyres with which they conducted the qualifying session.

[Filindostan]

Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit
Eelandii, Turori

Rusty arrived to the Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit, with the hope that he can perform well against other drivers vying for the available seats for the Eelandii VTGP team. He gave a heads up to Rudolf that he will still consider other offers before coming to a decision whether to take the Badai Angin offer or not. It was fifteen minutes past seven in the morning, just enough time to get him settled into the venue. Here, he saw some of the drivers who also took part in the Badai Angin Test, Jacoppo Montaguti and Alex Dimitrianov, who were a bit surprised when they saw him arriving in the track.

After the drivers' meet and greet session, personnel from the Eelandii VTGP team accompanied Rusty to the chassis he will be driving for the test. It was in pristine condition, having been only used for some laps at the Olympic demonstration event at the Republica Olympic Games. "I guess I have to drive carefully to avoid damage to this car." He said to Werner, who accompanied him to the test and is acting as the point of contact to any financial matters such as payment to the extra fresh tyres he is planning to use for the race event. "Okay Rusty, good luck, luckily we still have Kissan who continues to sponsor you via their Ayakashi Energy Drink brand. They are willing to fund the payment. By the way, I need to approach Tropicorp Racing Supply for that. Be back in a bit."

When the time for the first warmup session came, Rusty waited for some of his competitors to get out of the track before he did. He was able to slot himself to an empty traffic, enough to do some warmup laps and then a series of flying laps that culminated to some of his fastest laps at the end of the session.

He felt the car was handling pretty well, and it was a bit tight to his liking, though the tightness helped his cause, as one of the most technical drivers in the track. He provided his inputs to the staff of Race Eelandii, and asked to make a slight adjustment in the car's setup to loosen up the handling for a bit. Prior to the start of the second warmup session, Werner asked him if he wanted new tyres for the upcoming session.

"Are you planning for new tyres, Rusty?"

"No, Werner. I want to have a set of runs on used tyres. I see the times and I'm satisfied with my pace with new tyres. I want to see whether I can sustain my pace on worn tyres and test the limits of the tyres."

"Hmm, won't it be a risky move? We only have enough budget for the extra tyres."

"Don't worry mate, should I feel that I overused my tyres, then I'll lighten up my pace. It's still important for me to keep the car in one piece."

"I'll take your word for that. See you later. Go for the gold, mate."

[West-East Timor]

Forest Cross Raceway
Esmerel

"So, how's the car?", Mick asked as he entered the garage at pre-season testing.

"Seems all right so far", Max Garnold said. Max had remained Mick's race engineer this season. As they usually got along well, Mick was alright with that.

"Would be good if we had two cars here, though...", Kamil Waller said, leaning on the garage wall. Kamil had been Timo's race engineer in WGP2, and was supposed to be assigned to the second driver at Omni's WGPC team this year, should they not have a race engineer they prefer and that Linus is alright with hiring.

"We do have a second car, Kamil, and you know that." Linus Anthonson had arrived only several hours ago, coming directly from the Eelandii VGTP test. "We will be holding our test to determine our second driver next Saturday. I am thinking about inviting some drivers I met at the Eelandii test to it, but I'm not certain yet."

"Well, good luck with that. Since I don't have anything to do here, I'm gonna go eat something now."

Kamil wanted to leave the garage, but Linus stopped him.

"Don't you want to be here for the presentation. We still have planned to present our car to the public before the test starts later."

"Do I have to?"

"Well, errm... I suppose not, but we'll take a team photo and stuff and I just think you should be on that, because, well, you're part of the team and all."

"Oh nah, I'm too hungry for that. Or something. Now if you'll excuse me."

With that, Kamil walked out of the garage.

"What's up with him?"

"No idea. But it seems he's pissed about the fact we don't have a second driver for him to care about yet."

"That was obvious, yes."

"Either way, it's time for the presentation. There are probably a bunch of journalists out there already."

Several team staff put a red banket over the car, the garage door was opened, and the car pushed out of the garage. Indeed, a crowd of journalists had gathered around the designated presentation space, and where frantically taking pictures of the covered car. Then, Mick Schramm and Linus Anthonson pulled the cover of the car. The journalists photographed the car, now with Tropicorp tires and the Tropicorp Racing Supply logo on the nose, and finished with Mick's number the West-East Timorian flag, even more frantically.



"Well", Linus started to speak, "here she is. As you can see, we have gone for significantly more yellow and black than last year. Before you start all your technical analyses and stuff, we have tried to build a very balanced car, because that means that we will do okay on every track. Sure, on tracks were acceleration is important, cars that accelerate extremely well will be faster than us. But we will still do well and hopefully get a decent amount of points. For technically demanding tracks it's the same just with cars focusing on cornering. However, on those tracks we will likely beat the teams that focused on acceleration, since those cars tend to do not so well on very technical tracks. So, we hope to score points and podiums, get a win or two with a bit of luck, and win the championship in the end. Additionally, we think the car should be quite reliable, so hopefully we won't have too many problems in that regard. Of course, and as always, we will only be able to tell how good we actually are compard to the other teams after several races. You may also have noticed that we do not have a second driver yet at the moment, but do not worry. We will hold a test soon and should have signed a second driver shortly after or during the second pre season test. Thank you."

Then they let the journalists take more pictures of the car, took the official team photo, and pushed the car back into the garage, where the engineers began preparing it to go out on track.

Once the test started, Mick was one of the first drivers to drive out of the garage.

"Alright Mick", Max said as Mick exited the pits, "you know what to do. We will do several installation laps to check if everything is working as intended. So drive out, and immediately return to the pits, drive out again. Several times. And don't drive fast yet, just drive."

"Copy."

After several installation laps, Mick was allowed to drive several laps to see how the car feels when driving a longer distance, and also was allowed to push a little harder.

At lunch break, he was talking to Linus and Max about the car.

"The data is looking good. Everything is working as intended, absolutely no problems so far."

"It seemed to go pretty smoothely, indeed. What do you think about it, Mick?"

"The car feels really good on track, I think. Quite balanced, as was our intention. It isn't perfect yet, but it feels close to it. i'm pretty optimistic about it, personally."

"So far, so good, then. Later, we'll be running some aerodynamics tests. Then you can go for a little faster laps, but don't go too fast. We don't wanna show our full potential yet."

After the break, Mick put on his helmet again, which, as he had not finalized his helmet design yet, was still entirely white with a few sponsor logos, and got back into the car.

By the end of the day, he was second only behind Obey's Evdaden Carnétier. But of course, times don't mean anything in testing. What was more encouraging, was that everything had gone smoothely that day. The car was causing no problems, and seemed to work just as expected.

[Vilita and Turori]

Eelandii VTGP Test continues with Warmup Session #2

Eelandii Invitational Event Schedule
07:30: Drivers Meet & Greet
09:00: Warmup Session #1
11:00: Warmup Session #2
12:15: Working Lunch
13:30: Traditional Time Trial Session
15:15: Open Race Event with 2 planned intermissions
19:00: Vehicle Inspection & Session Complete
19:30: Drivers Group De-Brief

CITY/TOWN: Eelandii
COUNTRY: Turori
EVENT: Eelandii VTGP Invitational Event
TRACK RATING: (5/5)
QUALIFYING TYPE: Two-Tier
LAP RECORD: 1:22.409 (Jai Kardaeri, WGPC 12)
LENGTH OF ONE LAP: 5.19km

---

Eelandii Grand Prix Course, Eelandii, Turori :: iBen Toralmintii reviewed the results of the first Warmup session. While R.L. Cruisin had turned the fast lap, he didn't really care too much as it seemed that Cruisin was going to take a deal at Mirrors to be their #1 driver. Toralmintii considered pitching Cruisin to re-consider Eelandii, but wasn't sure if it was worth it. If his heart wasn't in it, he didn't want him in his car. The Liventian kid had speed but seemed a bit inconsistent and couldn't string laps together to keep pace with the car in front of him. He might steal some fast lap points during the season but would those be all the points he could get? The best distance runs were put in by Rustom Ibuna, Alex Dimitrianov and Jai Kardaeri. There was no question Kardaeri had the speed - track record holder and all but after a break from the sport there may still have been a little rust to come off. Regardless, a good showing from the veterans while Rusty was probably the most impressive driver on the course not only putting up fast times but doing so consistently over the five-lap average. What would it take to get them to swap allegiances away from their home country backed Badai Angin team?

Then there was the Cocoabo. "Fast Cocoabo" or so they say. Actually Fast Cocoabo was plenty fast in the warmup session. Maybe a little to be desired from consistency lap to lap but certainly impressive. It would be great publicity and would certainly rally some of the local fans behind the team. However, the Cocoabo still had some lacking acceptance outside the Vilitan Cove and with so many events on the schedule outside Atlantian Oceania it might be troublesome to see how the Cocoabo performed at the highest level in those environments. Really though, the trouble was timing. The Eelandii VTGP17 machine's Cockpit wasn't designed with a Cocoabo in mind. While the Cocoabo was impressive - they certainly didn't distinguish themselves enough from drivers like Ibuna, Kardaeri, Harris-Jones and Dimitrianov to warrant the long hours of re-engineering and testing sessions that would be missed in order to get the teams second car to support the Cocoabo's frame and driving requirements. Unless the Cocoabo lit the world on fire the remainder of the session, it just didn't make sense to go that route.

After finishing through the remainder of the results, Toralmintii grabbed his fire suit and helmet and instructed one of his crew members to help him into the car. Toralmintii wanted do more than watch from the top of the pit box and review times on a sheet. He felt he couldn't truly evaluate the drivers until he was out there driving with them, riding behind them and watching their entry into the corners, their line and their car control. Toralmintii needed a first hand look. It was time to see what the Eelandii VTGP chassis could do on track.

EELANDII VTGP INVITATIONAL - WARMUP #2
Fastest Flying Lap

POS     #   -   DRIVER             FASTEST LAP
 1  ::  [VIL] R.L. Cruisin       :: 0:01:22.838
 2  ::  [FID] Rustom Ibuna       :: 0:01:22.862
 3  ::  [V&T] iBen Toralmintii   :: 0:01:22.873
 4  ::  [CFT] Cocoabo #23        :: 0:01:22.888
 5  ::  [STB] Jai Kardaeri       :: 0:01:22.912
 6  ::  [LEN] Ryan Harris-Jones  :: 0:01:22.917
 7  ::  [MTJ] Alex Dimitrianov   :: 0:01:23.021
 8  ::  [MYT] Jelena Colac-Strek :: 0:01:23.028
 9  ::  [WET] Timo Jänkirinää    :: 0:01:23.044
 10 ::  [EFL] Cesaro Whittaker   :: 0:01:23.079
 11 ::  [V&T] Juracai Klianiota  :: 0:01:23.195
 12 ::  [SRA] Jacoppo Montaguti  :: 0:01:24.604

EELANDII VTGP INVITATIONAL - WARMUP #2
Fastest 5-Lap Average

POS     #   -   DRIVER             FASTEST 5-LAP AVG
 1  ::  [V&T] iBen Toralmintii   :: 0:01:23.274
 2  ::  [FID] Rustom Ibuna       :: 0:01:23.331
 3  ::  [V&T] R.L. Cruisin       :: 0:01:23.509
 4  ::  [STB] Jai Kardaeri       :: 0:01:24.170
 5  ::  [V&T] Juracai Klianiota  :: 0:01:24.571
 6  ::  [WET] Timo Jänkirinää    :: 0:01:24.607
 7  ::  [CFT] Cocoabo #23        :: 0:01:24.740
 8  ::  [LEN] Ryan Harris-Jones  :: 0:01:25.623
 9  ::  [MTJ] Alex Dimitrianov   :: 0:01:27.522
 10 ::  [EFL] Cesaro Whittaker   :: 0:01:29.554
 11 ::  [MYT] Jelena Colac-Strek :: 0:01:33.329
 12 ::  [SRA] Jacoppo Montaguti  :: 0:01:38.574

For the second consecutive session, Vilitan driver R.L. Cruisin posted the fastest lap on course and this time it was the fastest lap of the day as drivers began to push the limits of the previous generation machines with not-so-finely tuned setups on them at the 82.8 second per lap mark. Cruisin's top lap was 0.012 seconds faster than his top time from the first warmup session but the Vilitan driver was able to put together a more consistent session averaging over a half a second faster per lap over a five lap average for the third best behind Rustom Ibuna and iBen Toralmintii. Toralmintii may have just been toying with the rest of the drivers putting the brand new Eelandii VTGP machine through its paces with other cars on the track for the first time. Toralmintii seemed to strategically back off the throttle at times to lineup behind a driver who he may have wanted to get a closer look at their driving style for assessment. Near the end of the session, however, Toralmintii put together a string of flying laps to post the fastest 5-lap average of the session.

The top 6 fastest laps of the session were all posted by drivers with fresh tyres to start the second warmup though Juracai Klianiota and Alex Dimitrianov were able to show some consistency on the older tyres over a five lap average. San Rocco driver Jacoppo Montaguti seemed to struggle the most on the worn tyres and the session was interruppted on two different occasions due to Montaguti's inability to keep the car pointed in the proper direction. This may have had an adverse affect on some drivers ability to post five consecutive competitive laps.

With the warmups complete the drivers returned to the paddock to make final requests to the local crews on setup or drivability modifications prior to the qualifying session. The drivers then convened back in the Eelandii VTGP spaces for a working lunch as crews prepared the cars for the rest of the session.

Tropicorp in Last Call for Race Tyres

Tropicorp Racing Supply wants to remind competitors that they are offering fresh tyres for the start of the simulated race session for purchase. Any drivers that would like a fresh set of tyres for the start of the Invitational Event's Race-Condition Event must request and pay for the Tyres by the end of the time trial session. Tyre requests may be made by informing a Tropicorp representative of your desire for extra tyres along with your would like along with your form of payment or point of contact for charging be it a personal sponsor or other source.

A reminder on the Tyre Scenario is below:

"The CoCoGas crew on site will re-fuel your assigned vehicle free of charge after each on-track session. You will receive four total sets of tyres through the course of the day free of charge. The Tropicorp Sifaka is the top of the line racing tyre from Tropicorp Racing Supply. The X14 is a hard construction which should last for even the longest stints, however it will slow over time. The Tropicorp team will be on hand to equip your assigned vehicle with a new set of Tyres ahead of the First Practice session, the Time Trial Session, and the during the two pre-scheduled mid-race yellow flag pit stops.

If you so choose, you may optionally purchase a fresh set of tyres to start the race event on. Any drivers who opt not to purchase an additional set of Tyres will start the race event on the same tyres with which they conducted the qualifying session. Drivers will still receive a fresh set of complimentary tyres on their vehicles during the first in-race pit stop.

[WGPC]

CUTOFF

for Pre-Season Practice at Kopylov Internazionring - Session 1 of 3

[WGPC]

Week 2: Practice

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:35.244
Session Length:	180 minutes
Nation:         	MTJ
Circuit:        	Kopylov Internazionring

Drivers have 180 minutes to complete as many laps of the track as they like.

POS #   DRIVER                                   FASTEST LAP     BEHIND LEADER		
 1 20 ▍Mick Schramm                          	00:01:35.302	00:00:00.000
 2 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                      	00:01:35.358	00:00:00.057
 3 29 ▍Esteban Guilhermez                    	00:01:35.419	00:00:00.117
 4 41 ▍Jean Mercer-Daly                      	00:01:35.458	00:00:00.157
 5 14 ▍Sigur Bjarnason                       	00:01:35.485	00:00:00.184
 6 63 ▍Dalia Dahl                            	00:01:35.523	00:00:00.221
 7 47 ▍Erica Okumura                         	00:01:35.717	00:00:00.416
 8 51 ▍RL Cruisin                            	00:01:35.739	00:00:00.438
 9  1 ▍Jessica Franssen                      	00:01:35.777	00:00:00.475
10 64 ▍Carsten O'Rourke                      	00:01:35.783	00:00:00.481
11 27 ▍Gregori Krupin                        	00:01:35.808	00:00:00.506
12 17 ▍Evdaden Carnétier                     	00:01:36.078	00:00:00.776
13 94 ▍Ryker Lane                            	00:01:36.117	00:00:00.815
14 52 ▍Sayono Souzare                        	00:01:36.210	00:00:00.908
15 56 ▍Terho Talvela                         	00:01:36.359	00:00:01.057
16  7 ▍Vijay Tripathi                        	00:01:36.657	00:00:01.355
17  3 ▍Darius Castellammare                  	00:01:36.762	00:00:01.461
18 22 ▍Jasmin Kranjska                       	00:01:37.387	00:00:02.086
19 49 ▍Benjamin Talison                       	00:01:37.520	00:00:02.219
20 18 ▍Taylor Blake                          	00:01:37.526	00:00:02.224

Session 2 will be scorinated on Sunday evening. ICly, you might consider session two to be happening 24 hours after session 1, as in real life. If you prefer, you might consider session two to be happening a few days afterwards. As in most NS Sports, time is subjective.

[Ethane]

Wesley Garrett twisted his wrist to look at his watch. It was late afternoon. There was a large pile of paperwork on his desk, which he had been going through all afternoon. It was a clearly diminished pile, having completed a lot of the paperwork which needed doing today. It had been a long day, but it was a Tuesday, and he always got to go home slightly early on a Tuesday.

He sighed, standing up and picking up his stuff before heading to reception to hand in his name badge and security pass.

''Afternoon Jane, lovely afternoon outside. Always great to go home early on Tuesdays and enjoy the weather along with my wife.'' He put the badge and pass on the reception desk, looking across at her as she returned the look, pity flashing on her face.

It had been a long day - Wesley had been in since 8am preparing for the new WGPC season which was coming up relatively soon - and Jane couldn't bear to remind him of the fact he couldn't go home yet, despite it being a Tuesday.

''Sir, I'm afraid that you are far from done for the day.'' She handed back the pass and badge that Wesley had put on the desk. ''Tyra - the person you're planning on appointing to the second seat for Fireline this season, is arriving within the hour, and contractual negotiations need to happen soon to ensure the preparations for the season can get fully underway.''

Wesley sighed. He had forgotten about the new driver. She was a young prospect, and one that he was quite excited about getting on board for Fireline for the season. Tyra would hopefully provide a good companion for Ben, who was in the first seat for Fireline.

''I had completely forgotten about that, to be honest with you.'' He started walking back to his office. ''Call through when they arrive.''

[Pratapgadh]

Who is Devendra Chauhan?
Devendra Chauhan was born on 14th June 1984 in Prithivirajpur, Prithvirajpur District, Pratapgadh. He was born in a middle-class family, but his family had a rich history. His family tree is full of warriors and generals, and he wanted to continue that legacy. He learned Indian martial arts at the Rana Rajendra Gurukul, and also focused on Vedic Maths and Vedic Science. But when he was 12 years old, he visited a go-kart race at Prtivirajpur International Speedway, that is when he became interested in racing.

He first started his go-kart racing career when he was 13, he was also injured in the sixth race of the season. His first few seasons were disastrous, he usually finished last at that time. His family moved to Kumbhalgarh, and his father took him to the Kumbhalgarh Racing Academy, to improve Devendra's skills.

He later joined PRT Racing as a mechanic for the sixth season of Pratapgadh Kart Racing Championships. He remained as a mechanic for six more seasons before leaving the team. He joined this year's WGPC Season 17 Pratapgadh Qualifiers, there were 10 races. Devendra gained enough points to be the winner and got the sponsorship to participate in this year's WGPC season.

Savarkar Hotel, Chittorgarh, Pratapgadh

Devendra Chauhan was talking to his father on the phone

Ajay Chauhan (Father): So how is it going for you? Any contracts yet?

Devendra Chauhan: I have just registered myself in the WGPC, they don't know about me much. And I might have to wait till mid-season.

Ajay Chauhan: Ooh. Well, keep practicing over there in Chittorgarh. You need to be at your best.

Devendra Chauhan: Yes I will father.

Ajay Chauhan: Okay, I need to go. Goodnight!

Devendra Chauhan: Goodnight.

Devendra gets another incoming call, this time it is from his friend, Padam Bhuta.

Padam Bhuta: How is life going brother!

Devendra Chauhan: Better than yours.

Padam Bhuta: Okay, jokes aside. Have you been searching for a team?

Devendra Chauhan: Yes, I have researched a bit about these teams. Camden Automobile Racing and Fireline Independent Racing Association.

Padam Bhuta: Isn't Camden Automobile Racing new to WGPC? They joined WGPC in the 15th season.

Devendra Chauhan: And this is the type of team I would like to race in. I know it is hard to get into more established teams. That is why I want to start small and gain some fame to impress the other teams.

Padam Bhuta: Good plan.

Devendra Chauhan: I will contact them.

Padam Bhuta: Okay, I better go and have some sleep. Goodnight!

Devendra Chauhan: Goodnight.

[Liventia]

Ryan Harris-Jones was trying hard not to let his frustration show in public after two inconsistent practice sessions in the Eelandii VTGP car at Turori's Eelandii Circuit. But, in private in his rest area with mentor and agent Matt Portland, he let all his emotions out.

"I know I'm better than this, mate. I don't know why I can't find the consistency in the car out there. I'm not going to get this seat." RHJ shook his head and kicked the floor, stubbing a toe in the process. "Ow!"

Portland knew better than to try to intervene. His protégé needed to calm down, and him saying anything wouldn't help the situation. He glanced at the timesheets in his hand, then up at a monitor showing the Filindo driver Rusty Ibuna out on track, setting yet another 1:23 lap.

Seeing that his charge had finally looked up at him and appeared to have stopped whinging, Portland spoke. "Don't try too hard." Sensing an interruption from RHJ, Portland held his hand up. "Let me finish, Ryan. I know exactly what you're going through. My WM Barton car was terrible in season 12 and I couldn't find any pace in it. It is possible to try too hard."

"I just don't know how, in the same car with older tyres than mine, Ibuna is churning out regular one-twenty-threes," RHJ responded, gesturing at the screen. "I think I cracked one-twenty-three three times. I'm never going to get this drive."

"Hey!" Portland snapped. "Stop being so fucking negative. You're outperforming Dimitrianov, who has more WGPC experience than you. He's had four seasons in WGPC and can't crack one-twenty-two. You're doing fine. Plus, don't forget your new tyres for the race event. Now, we're going to get lunch, and I don't want to hear a fucking word from you about how you've raced this morning. The tim trial is next. You against the track. No distractions from the other drivers. Your element."

Ryan nodded, albeit not with any real sincerity. "I just want this drive so fucking badly though." He shook his head and slapped his cheeks with his hands. "I'll stay focussed."

[Vilita and Turori]

Cruisin pipped in Second Time Trial session

Eelandii Invitational Event Schedule
07:30: Drivers Meet & Greet
09:00: Warmup Session #1
11:00: Warmup Session #2
12:15: Working Lunch
13:30: Time Trial Session
15:15: Open Race Event with 2 planned intermissions
19:00: Vehicle Inspection & Session Complete
19:30: Drivers Group De-Brief

CITY/TOWN: Eelandii
COUNTRY: Turori
EVENT: Eelandii VTGP Invitational Event
TRACK RATING: (5/5)
QUALIFYING TYPE: Two-Tier
LAP RECORD: 1:22.409 (Jai Kardaeri, WGPC 12)
LENGTH OF ONE LAP: 5.19km

---

Eelandii Grand Prix Course, Eelandii, Turori :: iBen Toralmintii cruised around the Eelandii Grand Prix course in the all new Eelandii VTGP S17 taking a handle of the car and then setting himself up in the slipstream of a few of the drivers he had been watching from the paddock during the first warmup session. Toralmintii spent one circuit trailing Timo Jänkirinää before sliding back to take a front row seat to some on track action between Rustom Ibuna and Jai Kardaeri. After trailing the duo for three circuits, Toralmintii pulled to the side and waited for Ryan Harris-Jones to come through to see how the Liventian handled the Stadium Circle section of the course.

The real fun for the Turorian came, however, when he was able to back into some clear track and let the Eelandii VTGP S17 open for three laps, the first three high speed laps for the car with other drivers on the course. There was still work to do and the team were certainly behind. It was the last chance for Toralmintii to provide feedback to the team before he had to focus on his duties with Tropicorp Racing Aelund and there were certainly some things he wanted to change but knew that doing so would also put the team at risk of missing some portions of the official pre-season testing. Nonetheless, Toralmintii returned the Eelandii VTGP S17 to the garage area to provide some quick feedback to the engineers before joining the drivers for a working lunch.

Following Lunch Toralmintii returned to his perch atop the paddock to watch the time trial session.

EELANDII VTGP INVITATIONAL - TIME TRIAL
Fastest Flying Lap

POS           DRIVER                   Q1 FASTEST LAP	BEHIND LEADER	Q2 FASTEST LAP	
 1  ::  [FID] Rustom Ibuna             00:01:22.696.	00:00:00.002.	00:01:22.689.	
 2  ::  [VIL] R.L. Cruisin             00:01:22.694.	00:00:00.000.	00:01:22.722.	
 3  ::  [STB] Jai Kardieri             00:01:22.949.	00:00:00.255.	00:01:23.083.	
 4  ::  [CFT] Cocoabo #23              00:01:22.713.	00:00:00.019.	00:01:23.355.	
 5  ::  [WET] Timo Jänkirinää          00:01:22.731.	00:00:00.037.	00:01:23.383.	
 6  ::  [V&T] Juracai Klianiota        00:01:22.817.	00:00:00.123.	00:01:23.500.	
 7  ::  [LEN] Ryan Harris-Jones        00:01:23.108.	00:00:00.415.	
 8  ::  [EFL] Cesaro Whittaker         00:01:23.195.	00:00:00.501.	
 9  ::  [MTJ] Alex Dimitrianov         00:01:23.715.	00:00:01.022.	
10  ::  [SRA] Jacoppo Montaguti        00:01:24.041.	00:00:01.347.	
11  ::  [MYT] Jelena Colac-Strek       00:01:27.320.	00:00:04.627.

During the first round of qualifying, Vilitan driver R.L. Cruisin posted the fastest lap for the third consecutive session forcing iBen Toralmintii to consider how he might pitch the Vilitan driver to re-consider his decision to choose the Starblaydi based Mirrors Racing team for the upcoming season. There were other options, however and Toralmintii decided to call for a second qualifying session to see the top 6 drivers dual once more for placement.

This time, Cruisin was bested by the Filindo driver Rustom Ibuna who posted the fastest lap of the day in the second session ahead of Cruisin and Jai Kardieri. With the qualifying session over the cars returned to the paddock for a final time. There would be no more setup modifications but each car was refueled with CoCoGas and those drivers who either purchased or were sponsored for a fresh set of Tyres to start the race on had those new tyres installed onto their machines. Each of the top 7 drivers in qualifying would have fresh set of tyres to start the race with the exception of Jai Kardieri and Juracai Klianiota, the Tropicorp Racing Aelund test driver.

A small crowd had begun to funnel in to the main grandstands by the start finish line with the gates having been opened to anyone who wished to get a small preview of the World Grand Prix field for Season 17. The drivers would make their final preparations with some being sociable and others sitting in the corner with a laser focus trying to visualize the turns as they headed into the Race Simulation Event with a seat in the World Grand Prix Championships on the line.

[Lisander]

Camden confirms Tab Novax as driver for the next WGPC season

That was written in a big banner in the entry hall of Camden Technology Centre. Workers who passed by and saw the information seemed interested in knowing who that person was. The Wi-Fi network in the Camden Building registered 1316 "Tab Novax" searches all day long. Some common searches were "Tab Novax WGPC" "Tab Novax Falcania" "Tab Novax Racing" "Tab Novax fighter". One person searched for "Tab Novax bikini". This person was called to the human resources department and received a serious reprimand for embarrassing the new employee before she even appeared on the scene.

"Listen, James, we do not want this kind of behavior. I do not care what you do on the internet, as long as you do not share content that might tarnish the company. Tab Novax is an employee of our company, and has both the right to privacy and you will be fined in a week's salary, and in case this is repeated, we will see no choice but to disconnect you from the company, because these are not our values ... Now, listen, and do not get out of here. Mrs Novax will soon arrive, bringing a lot of sponsors and technology. I believe Camden-Mott is trying to please the sponsors, so he wants to avoid any indisposition. He asked the provider and they deleted his research, because the people who come there will have unlimited access to the internet, and they could find it. We are stepping on eggs because of this money. Don't ruin everything because you want to see the new driver in a bikini. If you're that courageous, try to follow her in Photogram."

James D'Elia, a 19-year-old advertising trainee, looked nervous. "Who would have thought that a silly research like that could influence so much?" "They're overreacting ... No. I can not think that way, I need to show maturity."

"Yes, sir, I admit it was silly, and it was not mature enough on my part, I understand the fine, and I'm fine with it, it's the price to pay for my childishness... Can I go back to my ..."

A phone call over the Human Resources desk interrupted the boy's apology. The man answered:

"Yes, Mr. Camden, he's here, James D'Elia, trainee, yes, from the advertising sector."

James heard those words with a lump in his throat. Would he be fired? due to a silly search on the internet? And he did not even have time to think about an appeal or a formal apology ...

"The president wants to see you."

"In his room? Eighth floor?" He asked.

"Not James Camden-Mott, not Augustus Camden III, in the main building."

James swallowed. "I fucked up" he thought.

---

Preseason problems to Lisander is turning into a habit. Time to fix this mess. Just like James, I'm having problems.

First, I would like to apologize heavily to Falcania for the mess and for the delay in answering. I promise that from this post, I will be giving full attention. I have already left the opening for Tab's publications to take place at the Camden Technology Center.

The story of James continues and will have new developments even today. I apologize in advance for the flood, but there is plenty to do. It's kind of hard on the new characters, but they're coming out.

Cheers,
Lisander.

[Aboveland]

Forest Cross Raceway, Esmerel
Post-Test

Terho’s wry, fabricated smile fades back to annoyed concern once he’s out of his short chat with Ryker. He’s finally arrived at the paddock after his retirment, but the TRÆ garage is one of the last along the lane, and he’s hoping to make it to Edvin’s workstation without any further interruptions along the way. He does have a few close calls with some of the drivers which glance his way, to which he turns his head around feigning interest in a detail of another car’s aerodynamics or something, but he manages to arrive at his empty garage space with relative ease.

Once he’s there, he sees the engineers hunched around Aada, who’s still at the pitwall, all of them reviewing the telemetry. Behind them, inside the paddock, the pit crew sit idly, and between the group at the screens and the group around the tyres and power tools is Edvin. He’s scanning his tablet, as if in a limbo between joining the rest of the engineers or retreating back inside to make calculations of his own, but the squeaks of Terho’s shoes prompt him to raise his glance towards him. A sharp chill runs up his neck at the sight of the Abovian locking his glare at him, his helmet dangling off his elbow, his ruffled damp hair bobbing with each marching pace, and he attempts to scurry over to the engineers around Aada. Terho, predicting said outcome, dashes towards Edvin and sticks his finger in his shirt cuff, to pull him back. Edvin stops dead in his tracks, heaving as the buttons choke him for a moment. He turns around to face Terho, and the two stare into each other’s eyes, one with grief, the other with fear. Terho stammers, trying to verbalize his questions and complaints, but pulls him back into the paddock, past the pit crew, and right outside the bathrooms to unleash his restrained wrath.

Before speaking, his eyes almost twitching with rage and his lips trembling with anxiety, he looks down the hallway both ways.

“What the fuck was that?” Terho hisses, inching closer to Edvin so as to not let his words seep out into the rest of the paddock. His eyes continue to dart from Edvin’s to the hallway.

“I-” stammers Edvin. He sighs, showing him the tablet. The lines, some lime green, some super-soft red, some electric blue, don’t look like anything Terho’s ever really seen. The driver grabs the tablet and lets the blood run back down from his face into his body, the seething anger dying down after the antidote that was Edvin’s genuine concern.

After a quiet moment and a couple of rival team members’ walks past them, Edvin begins.

“Preliminary results show that there was a software issue of some sort,” he says. “We- I mean, the Turorians, aren’t one hundred percent sure it was that, or if maybe the turbos in both cars had some sort of debris in them from something, maybe during transport, but it was pretty shockingly terrible.”
Terho looks up at him frowning again. “I fucking know.”

“You fucking know, yes,” Edvin replies, now picking at his knuckles with his teeth, but less out of intimidation and more from pure analysis. “Obviously this was the worst possible testing outcome, for sure, but our car hasn’t suddenly gone from erotically good to pitifully hopeless, and neither has your driving. It’s something we’ve got to work on before race one.”

Terho nods. “What was the issue then?”

Edvin rolls his eyes, inching a little closer again to Terho as distant footsteps become clearer. “I told you, we don’t really know. And,” he says, moving his hands in a scale like manner, “it’s more of a Tropicorp thing than our own.”

Terho lowers his head, but Edvin gives him a gentle chin-up slap. “Hey, look, it’s going to be fine.” He places a hand on his right chest. “I promise it’s going to be fine. The Tropicorp guys are borderline wizards and we have iBen on board. There’s no way we’re going to crash and burn so spectacularly.”

Terho relaxes his tense face, his eyes relaxing and falling downwards as if showing compassion, if with some amount of self pity as well. “Your heart is on your left side,” he says.

They both chuckle. “You make me nervous,” Edvin says, half-jokingly. Terho chuckles, but barely.

“I’m going to go shower,” he tells Edvin. “Maybe that’ll help a bit.”

Edvin bites his lips. “Meet you at the apartment then?”

Terho shakes his head. “I’ll be damned if I leave the whole burden to you and the Tropicorp guys. I’ll be out in a few.”

They both walk back to the paddock but don’t speak to each other. Edvin continues on towards the group of engineers huddled around the pit screens, now more spaced out and clearly overcome with a debate, while Terho slings his duffel bag around his shoulder and marches back to the showers. Maybe he’d been a little harsh on Edvin, and particularly the weeks leading up to the test. Maybe he was turning a little sour… but if there was one thing he’d rather die before doing it was ending up out of the title race. No chill. Zero chill.

---

Kopylov InternazionRing
Pre-season Test 2

The aroma of the coffee wafts up into Terho’s nose as he stirred in the powdered milk, hunched over Edvin and Aada’s computer screen. Occasionally the scent of racing fuel, motor oil or hydraulic fluid interrupts the nutty smell, but he is too hyper, now about to down his third cup, to really notice. He listens attentively to the feedback Aada spews out into the blue, without a clear receptor of the message. She speaks fluently and assuredly: no uhs or umms, or eehs or wells, her head swaying from side to side as her hair hangs and drifts with each pause or change of direction, her hand gestures firm, clear and concise. While Edvin is the team manager, she’s got a clear air of leadership innate to her person that nobody else has.

***

This weekend the testing is far more rigorous, as there are three sessions, and all at one of Terho’s favorite tracks. From the looks of it, it should be a circuit he’s not too fond of: sharp, tight corners, few straights and a layout and overall look which errs much further on the vanilla side of the circuit excitement spectrum. However, his track record is almost perfect: in WGPC14, he topped the times in practice and won from pole, a perfect weekend, the next season repeating the first two feats before Axel Novikov collided into him and forced him to retire with damage to his clutch. And last year, while he was a lowly 19th in practice, a sure podium behind Jessica Franssen consolidated his love for the race track.

The trio, joined by a few more snooping Turorian engineers in charge of AGP 002’s engine, inspect Terho’s telemetry from his early practice laps. After the disaster in Esmerel the Tropicorp team went back to the drawing board to revise the engine mapping and turbo suppliers for that weekend to make sure their theory of a malfunction was correct. In fact, both things were at fault: the smaller of the two sequential turbos, the first one to fire, was incorrectly set up on both cars owing to deficiencies in the software. This meant that the first turbo took longer to spool up and boost the engine and flutter away before the second turbo, meaning that for a moment the engine was being overloaded with boost pressure. The second discrepancy was found to have been in the latter turbo’s manufacturing, and as the air ran through the snail-like element the loose shards of titanium were thrust into the engine and caused it to flame out. The lack of power, particularly at low speeds, was attributed to the turbo lag, and the eventual flameout and turbo sputtering blamed on both factors, including the engine’s desperate attempt at reducing boost before it burst proper.

Back on the screen, Aada brings up last week’s telemetry, and the difference in performance is clear. However, the contrast is a momentary distraction, and the attention quickly turns to iBen’s live telemetry. There isn’t much time left in the session, and the local hero is fuckin killing it. By now, Terho’s early time has plummeted out of the top ten; the team mixed up some sort of tyre allocation business, which meant he could only set times once in the weekend; in an effort to directly compare the car to the shitbox he’d driven in Esmerel, he decided it’d be best to go out onto the track while it was green.

The difference was incredible. The car felt like the one he’d driven all winter: fast, reactive, agile and with a throaty, stomach rumbling growl. The torque kicked the car out of every corner with sublime power delivery, as the rear suspension and aero glued the car to the tarmac. The meticulously crafted corners of the circuit came to life as AGP 002, thus far unnamed, leaned into every apex and ran down every straight. At some point, Terho chuckled. As the tyres wouldn’t hold up, however, he brought the car back in after a few laps, but not without setting a benchmark that would hold until past halfway through the session. And plus, he had even beaten his Q2 time from last year.

In the downtime between his last lap and the end of the session, he gave the engineers his feedback, who all nodded collectively at Terho’s hand mimicries of his car. He could tell they weren’t bullshitting, neither the Abovians when confronted with a suspension or aerodynamic tweak or the Tropicorp guys when acknowledging the drivetrain performance. For the first time in a while, Terho grinned confidently while talking to the team. He could feel the sense of belonging begin to spread, and his belly tickled as if he were on the verge of discovering treasure. In his head, it would make a nice conversation starter to greet Ryker with, especially after Nexus’ reveal video—which made him secretly tear up.

While he wasn’t giving his engineers feedback, there wasn’t much to do apart from pick out any driver who was as idle as him to have a chat with, of which there weren’t many. Secretly, he’d hoped for Ryker to pop out of the Nexus garage for a moment so he could pick him up with some small talk and apologize, while not bluntly, for his apathy the previous weekend. It was probably a fabrication of his own anxiety, but Terho didn’t remember much from his furious trudge back to the garage apart from the interjection that Ryker, with his inviting eyes and outstretched palms, had made to try to chat for a bit. Maybe Terho, like he’d been to Edvin, had shunned him off a little, even if the Nimban either hadn’t noticed or hadn’t brought it up later. And, really, he was his closest rival friend of all the drivers in the championship. Perhaps it wouldn’t be overkill to find a way to mend any frayed ends he might have caused.

But whatever had resulted from that interaction was the least of his worries now. There are only some seconds left in the session, and iBen is on his last shot at a sheet topping time. Aada has switched up the picture in picture mode on the screens and the live feed of the second AGP 002 is front and center. Without realizing it, the whole team is now hunched over his race engineer’s shoulder, Edvin included, their eyes glued to the sector times. So far, his times have been quick, round about the top five, iBen’s skills still sharp, the new TRÆ machine proving Esmerel was just a stumble, not a setback.

The Turorian crosses the sector two beam with another purple sector, edging out session leader Mick Schramm by a hundredth, a gap three hundredths lesser than his previous time. He enters the tightest section of the track which is littered by square corners, but both man and machine look to be loving it. He powers out through the right-left sequence of turns 12 and 13, riding the kerbs but keeping the car pointing straight and stable towards the turn 14 hairpin. His inputs, like throughout the rest of his lap, smooth and steady.

Yet on the braking, the Turorian pumps the pedal a fraction too late and too harshly, and a barely visible plume of rubber smoke shoots from the bottom of his front left tyre. It looks like a minimal time loss, and the confidence inside the car looks, from the outside, to be uncorrupted, but by the time iBen crosses the line it’s a green sector and second place.

Still, after the multinational team’s scare the previous weekend, a second place in testing is like a victory. Terho whoops in unison with the rest of the squad, who cheer euphorically but quietly—so as to hide their desperation for and relief at a successful test from the other teams— in three languages, maybe more. Edvin, halfway through a round of hugs with the mechanics, turns to Terho and gives him a hug, skipping all of the staring and “we did it” speeches which would be only appropriate after a race win. Despite the underlying previsions everyone feels about celebrating too early, the energy in the TRÆ garage is electric. The belly tickles Terho felt when he saw the team beginning to coalesce return, the successful test feeling like a good omen for Saturday. And yet, nobody looked to be relaxing after the whoopage, and once iBen rolled back into the garage the worker ants were deep into their own tasks again. A second place during testing was no reason to celebrate and call it a day. The endeavour was just beginning. Terho, above anyone else, knew it was time for him to shine too.

[Mytanija]

“Wait, so have Guinec got the new tyres or not?!” Tomas Colac was almost apoplectic, the amount of messing around and toing and froing he had done this morning was ridiculous. The brewers Guinec – one of his daughter’s main sponsors – had agreed to procure and pay for fresh tyres from Tropicorp Racing Supply ahead of the race simulation at the Eelandii Invitational event. Whether they had done so or not was still unclear, communication had never really been a Mytanar strong point and it was causing enormous issues for both Tomas and his daughter at the minute.

He was currently on the phone to his friend Admir, the pair went back a long way and Admir was high up on the board of Guinec. It was he that Tomas turned to when he was looking for potential big-money domestic backers for Jelena as she looked to jump up to WGPC competition. Admir had managed to persuade the board to back Jelena and they had initially seen her as a safe bet, but her issues in securing a seat had started to cause some problems.

Jelena hadn’t exactly covered herself in glory during the time trial session, finishing four seconds behind Rusty Ibuna’s best time. Tomas was starting to wonder if he had encouraged to make his daughter take the step up too quickly. He didn’t say anything to her, but he felt responsible, perhaps he should have recommended a slower approach – competing in WGP2 first before making the jump to the biggest stage of them all, but then, he had confidence in her. She did have the skills, for some reason it just wasn’t happening for her.

Of course, the other drivers all had the skills too and he had to remind himself of that fact periodically. She wasn’t operating in a vacuum.

“Tomas, we’re going to get onto Tropicorp Racing Supply straight away don’t worry! We’ve had some issues contacting them and Jelena’s not exactly performed that well so there’s been a few questions asked about whether or not we should continue backing her. I’ve managed to talk people around, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to keep them onside much longer – you need to have a word with her, she needs to get her head in the game.”

“I know mate, I think not getting the seat with SinVal despite performing consistently has knocked her confidence a bit. Please get on the blower to them Vilitans though, she’s going to need all the help she can get if she’s going to persuade anyone with this team that she’s worth a shot!”

“The thing is, Tomas, I believe in her and you believe in her – but she’s got to produce some concrete results to get everyone else to. Whether she’s taken her eye off the ball or whatever it is that’s going on – get her to sort it out. She’s only wasting the opportunities for herself at this point.” Admir said. He was right too, whilst it would make him look bad to the others on the Guinec board in the short-term, he had built up enough credit that it wouldn’t affect his standing terminally. Jelena – on the other hand – could put teams off her for years if she didn’t put in some solid performances. You didn’t get much of a chance to impress in the WGPC.

“I know. Anyway Admir, I’ve got to go, speak to you after all this.”

“Laters Tomas, rest assured that I will confirm the purchase of fresh tyres with Tropicorp ahead of the race event.”

---

“Jelena, it’s me, I know we haven’t spoken for a while but when you get the chance please can you give me a ring. I feel like we need to talk, I’ve some making up to do.” The words echoed around Jelena’s head on repeat, the voicemail had been left on her phone and she would listen to it again, just to see if anything changed. She knew it wouldn’t, but it didn’t stop her from repeating the process.

The argument they had had when Jelena had said she wanted to try her luck in the WGPC also played over and over again in her mind. She didn’t know how to feel about it. Her Mum had been her best friend for so long, but when she had started karting that changed and they had grown apart entirely. The relationship was different, they argued more and Jelena simply could not understand her Mum’s view. It didn’t make any sense. Particularly given how much she harped on about women’s issues when she wrote editorials for Kultura.

Jelena had thrown that up to her when they were arguing once, how could she – Élodie Strek – renowned editor and feminist advocate say that a sport wasn’t ‘ladylike’ or suitable for a young woman like her daughter. It made no fucking sense. Her Mum hadn’t reacted too well, the irrational dislike of motor racing seemingly blinded her to the stupidity of what she was saying. Jelena hadn’t spoken to her since and she wondered if she ever would again at times. It all seemed so stupid, but some of the things that were said had hurt. She had to admit that she hadn’t used the kindest words herself.

Given her performance in the time trial session at the Eelandii Invitational event, she was starting to think that the sport wasn’t suitable for her in particular. She had been awful, not taking risks as she usually did and not matching her relatively solid performance at the SinVal trials. She was unsure where she would go from here if she didn’t manage to secure a seat. There were rumours of another works’ team, but she hadn’t heard too much on the grapevine about whether or not they were definitely going to be looking for drivers.

She could drop down to WGP2, but she would lose her backing from the likes of Kikinda and Guinec and have to build her way back up again. Her Dad had mentioned this idea to her and there was some merit to it. It’d give her a chance to get more used to the pace of this level of racing and experience exactly what it was like to fly all over the multiverse from race weekend to the next. Moving across Mytanija for each race was a little less hectic, after all.

It wasn’t what she wanted, though. She hadn’t been aiming to simply get a WGP2 drive, she had wanted to make the jump straight to the elite level of the sport and test herself against the best. She had never been the type to need lots of practice, getting used to things and easing herself in. Jelena liked to learn on the job, dropping herself in at the deep-end and taking the sink-or-swim approach. The problem for her right now was that she was definitely sinking more than she was swimming.

She took a deep breath and tried to put any thoughts of the impending conversation she would have to have with her Mum out of her mind. There was work to do.

[Falcania]

Camden Technology Centre, The Principality of Lisander
Three Hours Ago

Most Falcanians had never left the Free Kingdom. Tab was part of the significant minority of Falcanians who had travelled abroad, but only for military service. She looked up at the airship Phaeton, which was tethered to the Camden Technology Centre, and which had been her home for the past few weeks. The enormous, helium-filled bulk was oddly unadorned, with no corporate heraldry on its side, only the bright orange pennants of the Free Kingdom buffeting in the wind.

Stang Crax, the former world champion, and Tab's mentor, led the delegation. Tab was at his side. Behind them, Orzon Stond, the ex-soldier who had recruited her. Between the two of them, one was her agent, one was her manager, but she couldn't tell who was which, or what the difference was. Stond was bickering with Mrs. Dass and Mr. Ulan, the two corporate executives who reminded her faintly of the civilian consultants from her fighter pilot days. They didn't appear to have personal lives, casual clothes, or first names, but they were wrangling ridiculous quantities of corporate money. Bringing up the rear, frantically tapping his tablet computer, Sait Mixev, the "engineering consultant", eschewing a suit and tie for a polo shirt and cargo pants.

Even though they had been briefed, the workers at Camden still couldn't help but stare at them. Six pairs of wings walking through the lobby. Six pairs of dark eyes, staring along six beaks. Twelve sets of clawed fingers.

They would have been very imposing if any of them had been taller than four foot ten.