World Grand Prix Championship 18 [RP/results]

[Vilita and Turori]

Grand Prix of Turori, Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit, Eelandii, Turori :: While iBen Toralmintii had likely turned more laps at the Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit than any other driver in the multiverse, he hadn't actually wheeled a World Grand Prix car around the track since WGPC Season 15 when he was driving for the WGPC Eelandii team. His experience on that race weekend would be very different. It was a struggle of a season for Toralmintii relegated back to a works driver after one season with the competitive Vilita & Turori Motorsports outfit. The Grand Prix of Turori was his only chance to display his talents and he did so splendidly, earning Pole Position before being narrowly defeated at the finish to place in the runner-up spot. This time, during WGPC Season 18, Toralmintii knew that it could be his last competitive race on the circuit. After a disappointing showing in qualifying, however, Toralmintii decided to relax and have some fun.

Joined by former teammate and Race Eelandii! Partner Juracai Klianiota, the two headed over to the Tiones Lumberjack Challenge and competed head to head across the four stations. They started at Climbing where Klianiota bested Toralmintii by 5 seconds though neither posted a particularly competitive time with Klianiota taking just under 19 seconds to traverse the log and Toralmintii coming in just around 24 seconds. From there, they proceeded to the Chopping & Cutting Zone where they went head to head in the Standing Chop competition. Once again, Klianiota was fastest getting through their log in 32.8 seconds. Toralmintii didn't clear through his log until the 41 second mark but was very deliberate about the chops that he made and actually under-chopped Klianiota by 3 despite the slower time. Of course, the personable relationship between the two ensured that Toralmintii claimed victory on the event due to having required fewer chops regardless of the speed with which Klianiota delivered their chops.

After finishing Zone 1, both drivers made their way over to the crowd to sign some autographs and mingle for a little while they rested after the grueling chop event. After a drink of water they headed over to Zone 3, the Log Roll. Having previously been sponsored by Tiones Lumber, both were familiar with the form required to complete the log roll quickly and this time it was Toralmintii barely edging out his friend Klianiota. They shook hands - neither having gotten wet in the event, and mingled again. After some bantering with a couple in the crowd Toralmintii challenged them to a Team Log Roll to which the fans welcomely accepted the Challenge. Of course, having just completed a run in the pool themselves, Klianiota and Toralmintii had an unfair advantage over the fans who were visiting from Kionao and easily won the challenge. The fans got personally signed Tiones Lumber hats to remember their experiences by.

With their Lumberjack experience come to an end, Klianiota and Toralmintii returned to the Paddock area to catch up on how the final round of qualifying went. Toralmintii's teammate Terho Talvela placed 6th in the session while the Eelandii VTGP drivers Lane Carter and R.L. Cruisin placed 3rd and 4th respectively. "Guess they didn't need our help" Toralmintii quipped to Klinaiota upon seeing the results.

On race day, iBen Toralmintii sat on the grid inside his Tropicorp Racing Ælund AGP003. He tried not to let his mind wander as he stared at the back of the #14 SVJ Racing machine of Sigur Bjarnason in front of him. There were 14 rookie drivers in this race. That was over half the field. He just hoped they could get off the line properly. He didn't want his last race in Turori - if it were to be his last race in Turori - to end in the tires outside of Turn 1. Toralmintii knew there was a lot on the line in this race. Not only was this his home track, a Track he designed, a Track he had never won at in competition, a Track he had finished runner-up in every single competitive race he ever ran at the track... but there was much more on the line. The rumors had suggested Toralmintii could retire if he had won the Grand Prix of Turori. While he hadn't seriously considered that before hand, sitting here, 12th on the grid, not even one race into the season... Winning this race and then just staying back in Eelandii to run the driving school and the Eelandii VTGP team didn't sound too bad.

Then of course. The record. Toralmintii's mind continued to wander. He'd won four Grands Prix in a row to close out WGPC Season 17. No one had ever won five in a row. Would this even count as five in a row or did the count reset in the close season? 10 cars in front of him and 1 beside him. Adriana Kowlaski the Valentian was behind him. He already had a conversation with the Fireline team to make sure she didn't run into the back of him. It couldn't end that way. Toralmintii began looking at the cars ahead of him, then started staring off into the grandstand. The engines around him began to rev. The Lights were on. Toralmintii shook into focus. Lights out.

He had made it into the Top 7 by the time they approached the stadium. He couldn't ask for a better start. Still plenty of places to go. From that moment on it was just another Sunday cruise. He knew the turns like he could recite the menu at the Eelandii Cocoa-bo location. His team had a strategy to get him the last positions he needed and it involved two pitstops, one early to get him into clean track and turning fast laps, then another appropriately to get fresh tires for the final push. It was a plan that nearly worked. It wasn't until the final lap when Toralmintii finally took stock of the position he was in. He could not see the car of R.L. Cruisin nearly 30 seconds ahead of him. It was not how he envisioned the first ever victory for his racing team. If there was a definition of bittersweet the last lap of the WGPC18 Grand Prix of Turori and iBen Toralmintii's cockpit would be that definition. Somewhere over out in the distance was R.L. Cruisin, the Vilitan driver who Toralmintii and acting team principal Gary Cook had chosen as the lead driver for Race Eelandii V&T GP - effectively taking the place of Toralmintii who couldn't break up a good thing after falling just 5 points short of the title one season prior. Cruisin was on a one-stop strategy and made it work. Toralmintii was nearly 5 seconds faster his Vilitan competitor on the last lap but it didnt matter with the lead that Cruisin had built up. As iBen crossed the line in 2nd place yet again in Eelandii, his legacy was defined as the driver who had won four-consecutive Grands Prix. Not 5. Not 6, nor any other number. 4. That record was now a part of Toralmintii's past, not his present. With Cruisin's second victory at the Grand Prix of Turori the Vilitan driver had made an argument as the tracks greatest competitor. Toralmintii finally approached the Teal & Brown #51 on the cool down lap and gave a painfully congratulatory fist bump. Watching the car he helped put together win its very first race in the one race Toralmintii himself wanted to win more than any other. As he parked the AGP003 on pit lane in front of the #2 sign on the podium, Toralmintii just sat in the Cockpit and took in the sights and sounds, watching the Eelandii VTGP crew members - many of them who he considered friends, celebrating just meters away.

[Togonistan]

Flight 2071
en route to Hodori

Following the Grand Prix of Turori, it was now time for round 2 in Hodori. Dom Falepeau, along with some other team members, was sitting on a plane waiting to arrive. Everyone was using their own methods to survive this unbearably boring journey. Some of the MRT staff were sleeping during the flight, while others were casually chatting with each other. Dom however was not in a chatty mood this time. Instead, he had his headphones on and eyes nailed to his phone screen. No, he was not watching a movie, nor did he spend his time listening to music. Instead, he had decided to use the time in his hands for something useful. Therefore, Dom had spent the past few hours watching clips from various different races that had taken place at Dashoze Circuit beforehand. He was trying to gain additional knowledge about the track specifics that way and learn from mistakes various other drivers had done there.

His pace had been really good in Turori, until the eventual retirement that is. However, there was absolutely no guarantee that would be the case in Hodori as well. Different track, different conditions. He wanted to prepare himself for what was about to come. He wanted to do everything in his capabilities to not make the fiasco of the first round happen again. His mind was in Hodori already, and his body would be there soon as well. If only that flight would go a little faster...

Suddenly, Dom felt some weight on his side. As he turned his head to look what's going on, he noticed a blonde long-haired head that had comfortably taken it's place on his right shoulder. Apparently, the person sitting next to him had fallen asleep and had suddenly decided to use him as a pillow. Dom didn't really know her that well yet as their tasks in the team didn't require them to work too closely together. She had said her name was Alice or something like that, if he remembered right. Dom looked around and noticed two mechanics few seats forward from him, looking at them. One of them sent some suggestive facial gestures on Dom's way while pointing at the woman next to him. The other laughed.

''Mmm, I can smell something in the air.''

''Indeed. All he has to do now is quietly slip his arm around her neck.''

''Come on Dom, don't be shy.''

''We should take a picture of this and post it on the internet. All the gossip news sites would be writing about his new love interest in no time.''

Dom smirked and jokingly showed a middle finger at the two, before turning his attention back at the phone screen. He had video footage of someone's flying lap playing, thus, Dom tried to focus and imagine in his head driving around the circuit himself. If there was one thing he would be certain about, it was that the track was going to be interesting.

[Hodori Motorsports]

Welcome to Dashoze Circuit

Dashoze, Dekijika, Ondori, Hodori
Lap Length: 5013m
Circuit Width: 12.0m - 15.0m
Main Straight/Longest Straight: 815m
DRS zones: Three
Number of Corners: 23 (11 left, 12 right)
Grand Prix Length: 61 Laps (305.793km)
Start/Finish Line Elevation: 216 meters AMSL
Highest Point: 249 meters AMSL
Lowest Point: 192 meters AMSL
Elevation Difference: 57 meters
Main Pit Garage: 7m×24m×48 Pits (340 meter pit)

Built in the foothills of a mountain north of the city, Dashoze Circuit is Hodori’s oldest permanent operational motorsports facility and Arada Motorsports’ home circuit. The clockwise 2.980km North Loop and anti-clockwise 1.811km South Loop are conjoined to form the 5.013km figure-of-eight Grand Prix circuit.

Long straights, two hard braking points, and the ever-present heat and humidity of the Archipelago welcome drivers and teams to test the limits of man and machine.

A Lap of the Grand Prix Circuit
Starting from the gentle downhill slope of the grid, drivers will climb over 33 meters up the First corner to the crest and the start of the first DRS zone at the North corner’s exit. A steep 40-meter drop into and through the Kawashiro S will then feed drivers into the Stadium corner. A short climb to the crest at turn 7’s apex leads to a drop down the Underpass corner.

Levelling off for the A.μ’s hairpin, drivers start tackling the South Loop. Immediately from the exit of A.μ’s is the 66R left-hander, followed by a downhill run through the Esses. At the circuit’s lowest point lies the exit of Spoon corner. From here, drivers begin the climb back uphill, flying up the DRS zone at the South Grid straight and 160R into the RAY-MU corners back to the North Loop. Climbing from the crossover and the Final S, drivers begin the slight drop down to starting elevation and the third DRS zone of the lap.

Essentials
Language: Hodoran (統一群島語 ホウドリネ Hōdorine)
Currency: Kerai (K)
Exchange Rate: Approx. 35K = $1 NSD / Approx. $0.0286 NSD = 1K
Time Zone: AOTC +11
Dashoze Annual Average Climate Data:

Annual Average High: 34.2°C
Annual Average Low: 25.0°C
Annual Mean Temperature: 29.9°C
Record High: 38.6°C
Record Low: 23.8°C
Annual Average Total Precipitation: 2483mm
Annual Average Relative Humidity: 76%

Consumption of Alcohol and Tobacco products
In Hodori, the legal age to purchase and consume alcoholic beverages or tobacco products is 20. There is an exemption for sporting events that traditionally involve alcohol as part of podium ceremonies, but only for competitors who have turned 19 before the start of the series.

At Dashoze Circuit, smoking is permitted only in designated areas.

---

---

---

The Blue Flag Report
Posted by 87 Pigeons

This is how the New Preston will see the rest of the WGPC

@khakusa91

First, let’s get this out of the way:
The Blue Flag Report is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by the WGPO, the WGPC, or its media partners. This is something done by some bored little birb with an internet connection whose prior knowledge of motor racing is “race car go vroom”.

Sometimes a driver just doesn’t have the pace. Sometimes it’s the car. Sometimes, it’s because something broke and the driver’s trying to nurse it to the finish without something McPahaning. Or worse, Lincoing. They aren’t always successful at this.

Whatever the reason, we’re here to count up all the laps a team has not completed through the season and ‘award’ the driver and constructor with the most Blue Flag Points the Blue Flag Cup. It’s like the Kylx Kup, except for the WGPC.

For each lap down, a driver will earn one Blue Flag Point (BFP). Drivers that retire but are classified finished will earn BFPs equal to the number of laps remaining before they retired. Drivers that retire before the classified finish cutoff will instead earn Meatball Points (MBP) for each lap not completed, including the lap they retired on. Drivers that do not start will be given a ‘consolation’ ‘prize’ of five BFPs.

BFPs and MBPs will be tracked separately, but for Blue Flag Cup purposes will be added together for total Laps Not Completed (LNC). At the end of the season, the driver and constructor with the highest number of LNC will be ‘awarded’ the Blue Flag Cup. Additionally, the driver and constructor with the most MBPs will be given the Linco McPahan Unaward for Unreliability. On top of that, the Constructor’s Unreliability Champion will also have a shipment of literal meatballs delivered to their team HQ, 1kg meatballs per point.

Why Blue Flag and Meatball? Simple, really.
Blue flags are used to notify an off-pace driver that they are going to be lapped. In some series, this comes with an instruction to move out of the way.
The “Meatball” flag, nicknamed for its visual similarity to the tasty food item, is used to notify a driver of mechanical damage.
Here at Blue Flag Report, we don’t care whether the retirement was “Something broke and/or caught fire” or “Someone hit me” or “I just hit something” or whatever. It doesn’t matter. You get Meatballs.

Now, we could award BFPs for each car that overtakes a lapped driver, but that would be mean. It’s much less needlessly overcomplicated (unlike Nimban engineering) and much less needlessly mean to just use laps down.

So on to round one: The Grand Prix of Turori.
R.L. Crusin, of the Race Eelandii V&T GP team, won the race. This naturally puts them on the lead lap. iBen Toralmintii and Alex Dimitiranov are the rest of your podium. Potential tasty food item Cocoabo #23, Rustom Ibuna, Sara Luna, Devereux, and Lane (Cathode Ray Tube) are the rest of your lead-lappers. Everyone after this got Blue Flagged, starting with Lane (Local Area Network). Kranjska got Blue Flagged twice, and was the last driver to actually finish. Luminna and Mizushima both get their five BFPs for not being fast enough in qualifying.

Now onto the teams.
Race Eelandii V&T GP and Badai Angin are the only two to escape Turori unscathed. Tropicorp Ælund, Tool-Assisted Speedrun Alliance, Fireline, and Volkov all come away with only the one BFP each. Schkeska-VSK gets 6 LNC for one lap down (Goita, 12th) and five laps not completed due to retirement (Stone, classified 21st). Next down we have Nexus Racing with 7 LNC, still trying to make eight wheels work. Lane (Ryker) was one lap down. Half-robot JMD shut down leaving six laps incomplete.

9th in our LNC running we have the WGPC Motorworks team. With four drivers, of which only two get to make the race, they automatically earn 10 BFP just for showing up. Even with the deck stacked against them like this, at least they avoided being the worst team off the grid.

Which brings us to SVJ. Also with 12 LNC, but only because one car stopped running on lap 49. At least Armbruster made it to the end, albeit one lap down. Next worst opening performance was Polaris, with 24 LNC. Okumura’s car went and McPahaned itself, in that it caught fire like a McPahan. Souzare finished one lap down, and behind the two WGPC works cars. She probably could’ve fought to keep on the lead lap, but then pushing her car that hard probably would’ve ended up giving Polaris the indignity of a double-DNF. But still, after starting from literal last place, things could have gone worse.

But enough about them. Next we have MRT. 49 LNC, courtesy of Kranjska and Falepeau (Ret. L13).

Now, for the absolute worst debut, we have…
(drumroll.mp3)
Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing, with 58 LNC.
One of their cars (Archer) retired on lap 3, which on its own gave Preston enough MBP to sit at the bottom. The other (Edwards) made it to the end, but…
Remeber that twii quoted at the top of the page, and its attached image?
While the rest of the season had yet to unfold, that really was how one of the New Prestons saw the first round of the WGPC.

[Liventia]

CUTOFF

for Practice and Qualifying at Dashoze Circuit

[Liventia]

Week 5: Practice

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:20.048
Session Length:	75 minutes
Nation:         	HDR
Circuit:        	Dashoze Circuit

Drivers have 75 minutes to complete as many laps of the track as they like.

POS # ▍DRIVER                                     	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER
 1 12 ▍Anneliese Devereux                         	00:01:26.621	00:00:00.000
 2 56 ▍Terho Talvela                              	00:01:26.629	00:00:00.008
 3 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                           	00:01:26.635	00:00:00.014
 4 25 ▍Gregori Krupin                             	00:01:26.640	00:00:00.019
 5 52 ▍Sayono Souzare                             	00:01:26.655	00:00:00.034
 6 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                                	00:01:26.679	00:00:00.058
 7 51 ▍R.L. Cuisin                                	00:01:26.694	00:00:00.073
 8 41 ▍Jean Mercer-Daly                           	00:01:26.722	00:00:00.100
 9 85 ▍Olivia Stone                               	00:01:26.723	00:00:00.102
10  7 ▍Abdoulaye Goita                            	00:01:26.731	00:00:00.110
11 19 ▍Dom Falepeau                               	00:01:26.735	00:00:00.114
12 37 ▍Niklas Schonbaum                           	00:01:26.758	00:00:00.137
13 42 ▍Alex Dimitrianov                           	00:01:26.797	00:00:00.176
14 46 ▍Kitti Armbruster                           	00:01:26.797	00:00:00.176
15 50 ▍Rudy Edwards                               	00:01:26.804	00:00:00.183
16 72 ▍Charyseine Valkyria                        	00:01:26.856	00:00:00.235
17 47 ▍Erica Okumura                              	00:01:26.861	00:00:00.240
18 76 ▍Adriana Kowalski                           	00:01:26.879	00:00:00.258
19 94 ▍Ryker Lane                                 	00:01:26.985	00:00:00.364
20 28 ▍Sara Luna                                  	00:01:26.996	00:00:00.375
21 71 ▍Rustom Ibuna                               	00:01:27.033	00:00:00.412
22 14 ▍Sigur Bjarnason                            	00:01:27.069	00:00:00.448
23  8 ▍William Archer                             	00:01:27.118	00:00:00.497
24 82 ▍Kinu Luminna                               	00:01:27.288	00:00:00.667
25 63 ▍Daryl Mizushima                            	00:01:27.313	00:00:00.691
26 22 ▍Jasmin Kranjska                            	00:01:27.938	00:00:01.317
27 11 ▍Lane Carter                                	00:01:28.003	00:00:01.382
28 27 ▍Dario Nülkeschläger                        	00:01:28.718	00:00:02.097

---

Week 5: Qualifying

Conditions:      	Rainy
Qualifying Type:	Elimination

POS # ▍DRIVER                                     	FASTEST Q1	GAP TO LEADER	FASTEST Q2	GAP TO LEADER	FASTEST Q3	GAP TO LEADER	FASTEST Q4	GAP TO LEADER	
 1 94 ▍Ryker Lane                                 	00:01:32.742	00:00:00.302	00:01:33.479	FASTEST : Q2	00:01:32.998	FASTEST : Q3	00:01:32.998	FASTEST : Q4	
 2 50 ▍Rudy Edwards                               	00:01:32.492	00:00:00.051	00:01:33.579	00:00:00.100	00:01:33.001	00:00:00.003	00:01:33.001	00:00:00.003	
 3 56 ▍Terho Talvela                              	00:01:32.543	00:00:00.102	00:01:33.612	00:00:00.134	00:01:33.011	00:00:00.014	00:01:33.011	00:00:00.014	
 4 19 ▍Dom Falepeau                               	00:01:32.570	00:00:00.129	00:01:33.595	00:00:00.117	00:01:33.026	00:00:00.029	00:01:33.026	00:00:00.029	
 5 52 ▍Sayono Souzare                             	00:01:32.441	FASTEST : Q1	00:01:33.599	00:00:00.120	00:01:33.028	00:00:00.030	00:01:33.028	00:00:00.030	
 6 41 ▍Jean Mercer-Daly                           	00:01:33.055	00:00:00.615	00:01:33.728	00:00:00.249	00:01:33.043	00:00:00.045	00:01:33.043	00:00:00.045	
 7 14 ▍Sigur Bjarnason                            	00:01:32.492	00:00:00.051	00:01:33.479	00:00:00.000	00:01:33.047	00:00:00.049	00:01:33.047	00:00:00.049	
 8 22 ▍Jasmin Kranjska                            	00:01:33.014	00:00:00.574	00:01:33.805	00:00:00.326	00:01:33.062	00:00:00.064			
 9 12 ▍Anneliese Devereux                         	00:01:32.720	00:00:00.280	00:01:33.620	00:00:00.142	00:01:33.127	00:00:00.129			
10 25 ▍Gregori Krupin                             	00:01:32.726	00:00:00.285	00:01:33.628	00:00:00.149	00:01:33.145	00:00:00.147			
11 42 ▍Alex Dimitrianov                           	00:01:33.193	00:00:00.753	00:01:33.981	00:00:00.503	00:01:33.173	00:00:00.175			
12 46 ▍Kitti Armbruster                           	00:01:32.692	00:00:00.251	00:01:33.878	00:00:00.399	00:01:33.194	00:00:00.196			
13 71 ▍Rustom Ibuna                               	00:01:33.226	00:00:00.785	00:01:33.815	00:00:00.336	00:01:33.219	00:00:00.221			
14 72 ▍Charyseine Valkyria                        	00:01:33.043	00:00:00.602	00:01:34.001	00:00:00.522	00:01:33.543	00:00:00.545			
15  8 ▍William Archer                             	00:01:32.981	00:00:00.541	00:01:34.050	00:00:00.571					
16 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                                	00:01:33.563	00:00:01.122	00:01:34.190	00:00:00.711					
17 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                           	00:01:33.773	00:00:01.332	00:01:34.209	00:00:00.731					
18 28 ▍Sara Luna                                  	00:01:33.139	00:00:00.698	00:01:34.253	00:00:00.774					
19 85 ▍Olivia Stone                               	00:01:33.709	00:00:01.268	00:01:34.261	00:00:00.782					
20 47 ▍Erica Okumura                              	00:01:33.947	00:00:01.506	00:01:34.725	00:00:01.246					
21  7 ▍Abdoulaye Goita                            	00:01:34.065	00:00:01.624	00:01:35.219	00:00:01.741					
22 76 ▍Adriana Kowalski                           	00:01:34.516	00:00:02.075							
23 51 ▍R.L. Cuisin                                	00:01:34.758	00:00:02.317							
24 63 ▍Daryl Mizushima                            	00:01:35.353	00:00:02.912							
 – 27 ▍Dario Nülkeschläger                        	00:01:35.357	00:00:02.917							
25 37 ▍Niklas Schonbaum                           	00:01:36.076	00:00:03.635							
 – 82 ▍Kinu Luminna                               	00:01:38.357	00:00:05.916							
26 11 ▍Lane Carter                                	00:01:39.068	00:00:06.627							

Host note: Due to a bug (now squashed) in the scorinator, Q4 times were identical to Q3 times. Q4 will not be rescorinated, so use your imagination to explain it away.

[Squidroidia]

The water droplets fell onto the tarmac at Dashoze. It was nearing the end of Q1, and a majority of the drivers did the best laps they could on the wet surface in their wet tyres, but a couple were still out, mainly the WGPC Motorworks cars of Mizushima, Nülkeschläger and Luminna. With Charyseine Valkyria already comfortably in Q2, these 3 drivers were competing for just 1 spot on the grid for the next day's Grand Prix of Hodori... Or Hodori Grand Prix, whichever you like to call it. Daryl, the Squidroidian who acted as an underdog ever since he left the world of karting for a shot at the big time, was the last one out. As he completed his warmup lap, going through 160R and getting close to RAY-MU, the crew gave the qualifying information to Daryl.

"Luminna has just completed his hot lap, it's a 1:38.357. Dario Nülkeschläger's lap has just came in, a 1:35.357. If you beat Dario's laptime by even a hair you will be racing in your first ever World Grand Prix Championship race. It's go time Daryl!"

Daryl went past the Final S before going through the straight, his mind focused as he began his hot lap. Going through First in his WGPC Motorworks gray #63, the wet Deyoze tyres were not a problem for the course, at least for Daryl. He loved the wet qualifying more than anyone at this track. Going through North and back on a straight as his car sped up, he was reminded, once again, of that Cocoabo Expo pole he got on the Storms. He punched his ticket to the Championships then, and it was time to punch his ticket to the Grand Prix of Hodori! Through the Kawashiro S he went, making a turn at the Stadium section as he got ready for the drop to the underpass.

"Good Sector 1 time Daryl, you're right behind Dario!"

Good encouragement by his crew there. With the underpass complete, he was on to the short section of Dashoze, through the hairpin at A.mu's, then at 66R. Daryl knew that this was his chance, and with almost everyone done he had to do something to get that spot!

---

In Squidroidia, the WGPC qualifying section of raceday was on SBN Sport, and as the audience witnessed their local hero go through the Prism River Esses. Daryl's racing line was the best his Motorworks car could do, so he was fine with a couple centemetres of overshooting or undershooting, as long as his laptime wasn't removed. As Mizushima went through Turn 14, the commentary, a local feed from a human, commented on Daryl's lap as it happened.

"Now he goes down to Turn 13, making his approach to Spoon, he knows he has to finish above Dario to qualify for the race tomorrow, if he does it he will be the first Squidroidian in the history of the WGPC to start a grand prix! Down the straight he does, preparing for 160R..."

The screen showed Daryl turn through Turn 17 at Dashoze, the 160 degree lefthander, 160R. He stays on the kerbs as he prepares for his final set of turns, the only things stopping him from a start in the Grand Prix of Hodori. The crew, the audience at the track, the audience at home, they were all staring him down as his gray car goes through RAY-MU, exiting Turn 21, and going above the underpass he went under in Turn 8. Now everybody was glued to the car.

"And here he goes now towards the Final S, it would mean so much for Squidroidia and his father Yusuke if he made it in! Past Turn 23, through the final straight, he goes as hard as he can, pushing the wets as much as he can! He crosses the line...!"

---

"Daryl, that is a one thirty-five point three five... THREE! YOU MADE IT! WELCOME TO THE SHOW MR. MIZUSHIMA! YOU HAVE QUALIFIED FOR THE GRAND PRIX OF HODORI!"

No... It couldn't be! He qualified by a length of a hair! 4 one thousandths of a second! The 18 year old has qualified against all odds! Right ahead of his teammate Nülkeschläger, he has made his first grand prix of his career! Daryl was clearly ecstatic. As he cooled down, the rain continuing to fall and showing no signs of slowing down, he screamed and yelled and just became a little kid again.

"YES! YES YES BABY! THANK YOU! THANK YOU TEAM, THIS IS THE HAPPIEST I'VE BEEN IN MY LIFE!" He said, his reactions broadcast across Squidroidia and around the motorsports world. The humble, pay driver Squidroidian was about to make his debut in the World Grand Prix championships tomorrow. Pulling back into the garage, in the dry environment of the paddock, the 18 year old took off his helmet, then his balaclava, screaming and celebrating at the top of his lungs. It didn't matter that he made Q2, he had just qualified for a damn race!

But with the rain piling up, there would be another surprise. Q4 didn't happen. In fact Q3 got red-flagged because the rain was just continuing to pile up. The qualifying session went far past its runtime on every network, and with night falling, it made even continuing Q3 impossible. So just like that, the first tiered qualifying session of the season was cancelled, and the laptimes before the red flag determined pole position. That put Ryker Lane on pole, and the Preston of Rudy Edwards just behind him. Mizushima was on Row 12, behind... R.L. Cuisin? The winner of the Grand Prix of Turori? Well this was a shock, a good one in fact.

But Daryl knew that he didn't want to wait for the rain to go away. He wanted to race in front of the world soooooo bad.

[Sorlovia]

Dashoze Circuit
Qualifying

Gregori had been looking forward to Dashoze. He’d spent long hours carefully studying the layout of the circuit. The moment he’d seen it listed on the roster he’d felt an eagerness to test it out. The first long straight and the graceful bend leading into the second straight appealed to him. It was, just like Forest Cross, the type of circuit that he did well on. With the exception of the 160R straight the last half of the track would be the more challenging part. All those sharp corners and unforgiving bends would be a worthy challenge.

He’d promised himself that he wouldn’t hold back this time. For most of his career he’d used a more measured and cautious approach to the circuits. It had always been a gamble that served him well in one race only to harm his performance the next. But with two seasons behind him and his third now underway it was time to put aside the habits of his rookie days. Dashoze would be a trialling ground for a newer approach that could well shape the future of his career. Was he holding himself back by being overly cautious? Did he have more to gain by being more aggressive?

---

Gregori took off down the opening at a great deal of speed. His car thrummed with what his creative side likened to eagerness and he used the next two corners to slingshot himself off down the second straight with a broad grin plastered across his face. The Kawashiro S passed by in a flash and he used the Stadium corner to fling himself around the Underpass in a burst of speed. The tactic proved to be a success in that it kept him close behind the leaders.

“This is fun!” he chuckled into his earpiece “Maybe I can get Terho this time!”

“Don’t get cocky kid,” Viktor replied with a slight chuckle of his own “stay focused and concentrate on the track time.”

Gregori smiled softly. Viktor knew that he was only joking. But the older Sorlovian had always had an aptitude for keeping him grounded. That was one of the many reasons that he had always been part of his race crew and one of his biggest supporters. Viktor had believed in him when no one else had. He’d pulled him out of his slump when even entering the WGPC had seemed an impossibility. He had celebrated with him when he’d taken out his debut first place in a race and had knocked him down a peg when he’d begun to get a little too sure of himself in WGPC17.

The remainder of the practice and qualifying sessions were a blur. Gregori saw nothing but the track in front of him and heard nothing but the noises of his car. He shut out all other distractions to focus solely on the feel of his car on the track. Focusing on the cars around you was a distraction. Looking at the crowd in the stands was a distraction. The only thing that mattered was your car, the track in front of you and the cars directly in front of you. It was easy enough to defend your position against a car from behind but you could not afford to be looking back all the time. One slip up was all that it took to lose your place in the race. If you fell back too far it become extremely difficult to claw your way back up the pack.

[Diarcesia]

The Empress of the Underworld

She came from behind the curtains and into the room where the three spoke.

"I am Catherine, Empress of the Underworld. I have entrusted this palace to your care. I am proud that you have shared it with other worthy kings and queens and that you have watched the throne with dignity and guile for your people. Unfortunately, I must now appoint you the Vicar of the Underworld, and direct you to guard this palace and its occupants against those who would usurp its dignity and pride. I am aware that you are well aware of the great responsibilities that come with this, but I beg to differ. It is a shame that you have chosen to run this way, but it is a great privilege to rule over this abominable abomination."

Violet and Zac erupted in excitement in their mother's surprise appearance. Violet replied first, acting the loyal servant.

"I am aware that your people are barbarians, but I would not treat them worse than you do. As you are fit to rule over an entire people, and you trust them to me, I will make sure they put their best foot forward. This goes far beyond barbarism, and none will go beyond the pale. I will hold responsibility for the lives of your servants, your children, and your grandchildren."

"No!" Zac, the noble hero, yelled. "You will be held accountable for the destruction of my home, for the blood that you have spilled, and for the souls that you have purged from your bodies. You will answer for the crimes of your people!"

Then, as Zac play-acted the slaying of the Empress of the Underworld, the two children burst into song.

"Papa," they cried, "Papa! Papa!"

"Yes," said Tom, their papa, becoming more and more animated by the second. "Yes!"

Violet, the sorceress-servant, stood still. Her eyes bulged and she clutched her chest.

"No... no! The knight played his foul tricks on me! No!" She slumped onto the floor.

"Evil has been vanquished! Everyone lives happily ever after!" Zac declared triumphantly.

Sara, Tom, Zac, and Violet all laughed and hugged each other. They were oh-so-happy that they were able to stay together despite Sara's busy work schedule and frequent travels. For Sara's youngest child, she was also happy that she was able to take time to herself and read. Her parents knew she should get out sometimes, but they also couldn't deny that she is a brilliant child.

"I will try to do what is right for her every day," Tom said.

"I know you will," Sara reassured him. "I will try my best too. I hope it won't rain this weekend."

---

Week Five: Post-qualifying

"I’d like to think I’d be better for sure, but I don’t know. Maybe it’s the pressure of the moment. Whatever it is, I’m glad to get some help."

"But I wouldn't have wanted to hurt your feelings."

"I'd like to."

Sara's engineer breathed deeply, "I can’t help but feel that you’re being forced to do this. This racing thing. All I can do is to prepare the car the way you need it, and I can’t guarantee that I’ll make you win. The qualifying time might be slow, the distance might be daunting, but whatever happens, I want your dedication!" In response, she reached for her helmet and gripped it tightly. "Goddam, you know what?" Her voice was firm. "Racing is much of my life. I fought tooth and nail to scrape a living out of this career for so many years. I think I can help you get ready for that."

"I can see you've gone far, Sara. I can’t change your circumstances. What can I change? I can make additional adjustments based on your earlier feedback, thanks."

Sara's smile returned, measured as ever, but it was temporary. "I'm afflicted with tunnel vision again. It's so frustrating, the qualifying session. I'll stay in touch. I can't wait to see how you do. One thing I can do is to listen. I understand what you are going through. You know more about the cars' internals than me. I am sorry, as I am soooo slow today, I couldn't exploit the car's maximum potential. I can make more feedback to help make your job easier. For sure. Besides, I’ve had a few drinks and am feeling much better. So I think it is best for me stay out of anyone's way while I fix my errors. See you."

"But what about Gregori?" the engineer asked before Sara could turn and walk away.

"Oh, he was really good today. Qualified at P10? I'd imagine he might have some sort of hard time today with the rain, yet he did that. You see, it makes me think the issue is not the car. The other drivers have had some ups and downs. I had expected Gregori to do better than me. He knows the circuit like the back of his hand."

Sara bade goodbye to her engineer. Walking back to her quarters, she put in her earbuds and got herself lost in her musings. Funny thing about the rain, she thought. I remember being in the box before qualifying and recalling the important changes to the dynamics of driving on wet track. Completely flew over my head. Now I need a repeat of last race's performance if I would see additional points.

She was in the second half of the starting grid, and so she must think ahead on how to overtake a bunch of drivers up front. Perhaps she could read something about how the rain affected a driver’s ability to perform. Some unforeseen factors affected her performance, surely. Perhaps it was simply plain old misfortune. Whatever the reason, her time in the qualifying session was not good enough to proceed to Q3 (and Q4, which was cancelled and Q3's times were used as a proxy).

The rain continued to fall, and so did the bass that dropped in the music she was listening to. It was a song that teenagers would play in their garage metal band. It was catchy, and it reminded her of the summer she spent in the beaches of Sartoriana, so she would play it every other time.

Horikawa Instruments Grand Prix of Hodori: Pre-race

As she approached the parc fermé, she could see a lot of cars ahead of her. She recognized Gregori’s particular car with the prominent "Krupin" decal on its side. Perhaps he had been through similar preparations that she did, and that he was on his way to get started in the race, too. It wouldn’t be strange if he garners a decent points haul later, or get another fastest lap point bonus.

Sara never wanted to give up. She and her engineer finalized their desired pit strategy for this day's race. It wasn’t perfect given the circumstances, but it should get the job done. She would get in her Mark II car painted with the colors of Sorlovia's flag and get settled in her designated location. A climb from P18 to P10 or better wasn’t impossible, but it wouldn’t be easy. Never had been.

And yet she did it before. Will it repeat? Will she falter?

And what if she falters?

She pressed and held her "Push-to-talk" button in her steering wheel. "This is it," she told her engineer.

"Push right from the start", Sara heard the voice at the other end of the radio say. "And don’t try to pass until enough space is available. That shouldn't be too challenging."

[Auruna]

Dashoze Circuit
Practice

The previous race shows what they are capable of, they just need to work a bit harder to get those points. Back home, they are testing a few upgrades, they worked well but it will take a few weeks to get them finished for both cars.

They still made bit of progress but it's just that. Well, time to go to practice and do everything they can to better prepare for the race.

"Let's not go for the fastest, let's just gather some data for now."

The setups needed some work, they should work for the race but something goes a bit wrong later which was unfortunate for the team.

Qualifying

Ah, rain.

It was a rainy qualifying and one thing is that that the combination of the two often goes wrong for the drivers to the delight of the fans watching. It was soaking wet but they still need to get through qualifying.

There was no grip at parts of the circuit and both drivers managed to get through and into Q2.

Later, Artur's radio message was heard by both drivers. "Okay, careful. Don't let yourself crash here. Just push as hard as you can, we'll make it up at the race." Then Jöna's follow up message. "Don't go too hard okay? We need both of you and the cars back. This rain really messed up our quali and we don't have much data but we'll just take this opportunity as another practice session in case it rains tomorrow. Good luck."

He sighs after that and turns to Artur. "Later, let's have some coffee and bread, with everyone."

Artur nods then replies. "Okay, I think we brought a lot of bread with us."

Jöna laughs. "Looks like you prepared a picnic for us. Anyway, that's nice." Then he signals the team to send both drivers out for their laps.

"Again... good luck."

---

Meanwhile at the far side, Kinu was trying his absolute best and it showed in practice. He was second fastest but he was way off of Charyseine Valkyria but anyway, if he keeps this up, he would get to race.

"Damn, I have a bad feeling about the clouds. They look dark."

"Copy Kinu, the weather forecasts show nothing."

"Huh.. that's weird."

He goes for another lap out after it and right at the session ends. "Trust me here, it's going to rain in quali. It looks like I'm going to have a hard time." As he goes to get a cup of coffee. "I don't like rain that much."

"Hopefully you would perform well there, go try and see what happens."

"Heh, let's go."

Then at qualifying, rain is pouring and the circuit is wet all round.

"Oh, there we go. I'll try to give you guys a great lap out."

As the session starts, he was one of the few to go out first. After his out-lap, he goes to push as hard as he can. The first half of his timed lap looked promising until he went wide and almost spun at Turn 15, he managed to recover from it but he gained a lot of time.

"Whoa-! Argh.. damn. Sorry guys. Was on for a good lap until my mistake."

He continues despite that and finishes his timed lap.

"I was pushing too hard there. Sorry. Say, what's my time again?"

"It was a 1:38.357, 1:38.357."

"That's about five or six seconds off the fastest, I think. Anyway, I'd like something to drink at the end to wash it all off."

[Aboveland]

Horikawa Instruments Grand Prix of Hodori
Qualifying

Terho swerves through turn seven, AGP003 getting light over the crest as its winglets flex and slam the chassis towards the ground, the Tropicorp rubber absorbing the brunt of the impact. Immediately, he throws the car into turn eight, feathering the throttle before the apex and flooring the pedal once the tyres have gripped and he's pointed towards the tunnel crossing. For a split second his vision is obscured, but before his eyes can begin to acclimatise to the darkness he's back out into open air. He brakes hard for turn A.mu's, taking full advantage of the uphill slope, and as he turns into the corner, sacrificing his exit for the entry to turn 66R, his twin-turbo V8 shrieks in discontent. The rear wheels slip, aquaplaning, as the car is suddenly submerged into a black-ice colored tidal wave, and the chassis is churned in the violent current of the open seas. For a moment, again, he's blinded, the weight of the water crushing his temples, but soon enough a rush of adrenaline pulls him down as the car rises to the surface, and in the split second he's out of the ocean he catches a glimpse of the sun creeping in through the eye of the hurricane.

He awakes violently in his Hodoran hotel room, his heart pounding twice for every beat of his bedside alarm. Instinctively, he clutches the silky bedspread to confirm he's laying on a firm, dry surface then, relieved, closes his eyes and sighs, squeezing his phone's sides to cancel the alarm. It'd only been a nightmare, that's all.

Terho clambers to his feet, rubbing his eyes and ruffling his stiff bed hair. He stands still in the middle of his hotel room, the marks of the wrinkled bedding emblazoned across his chest and back testament to the depth of his sleep, and listens closely to the patter on the windowsill. For a moment, his heart drops, as the nightmare creeps up his spine and places a bony hand on his shoulder. He lurks towards the window and pulls away the blinds. Yup. Why is he so afraid of a little rain?

No matter; there's not enough time to overthink things, at least not early in the morning. He sets the coffee maker in his room--second time in a row he gets his own machine in a hotel--and hops into the remarkably powerful shower for a quick scrub before heading off to the track.

---

Terho meets Edvin once he's already suited up, waiting for the clock to tick zero and signal the start of qualifying. It's an odd change-up of the usual routine of going to the track together, but Edvin looks particularly zoned-in on the team's performance this weekend. Last week's emergency trip back to Lintulahti brought with it some good and some awkward news: there was a plan to develop a system to remedy TRÆ's slow starts, but Lintulahti International Circuit would be undergoing renovations at least until the mid-season, stunting any chance of on-site development work. Every new development until after the Abovian Grand Prix would have to be stress tested either in practice or in a computer simulation. Less than an ideal situation, perhaps, but it came as a solid kick in the ass to Edvin to focus on working with "what we've got, which is no laughing stock, eh?"

Understandably (to a degree), Edvin filters out any attempt from Terho at small talk which, though old Terho would have taken offense, becomes a feature rather than a bug.

"So..." begins Terho, glancing to his side at the garage opening, a curtain of water droplets replacing the motorized metal door. "What's the plan?"

Edvin, not yet looking at him, bites his lower lip and strokes his chin. "Esmerel," he says. "We'll run the Esmerel setup. It's a very similar track."

Terho nods, now both of them looking outside rather than at each other. "Okay, maybe a little more aggressive winglets? This track has more violent elevation change."

Edvin is still, silent, but doesn't ignore the message. "No, try the setup as it is."

"FIne," scoffs Terho, heading straight for his helmet and promptly hopping into car #56, strapping himself in and waiting for the bell to indicate the start of Q1.

He ponders his chances at a good result during the outlap. Practice had gone exceptionally well for TRÆ as a team, with he and iBen netting second and third, but in all honesty it wasn't something that had impressed him too much. He had high expectations going into the race week at Dashoze, off the back of his dominant race win last season, so he could only hope to mirror that performance this year. The big unknown, however, was the rain, as though he'd been able to top the pre-season test times in Esmerel in similar conditions, the team were still somewhat traumatized after the practice bomb in Turori. Surely, however, that had just been a fluke?

As he cuts through the apex for turn 23, however, his time for ruminating ends, and he begins his Q1 flying lap while the rain has eased off. He brakes earlier for turn one, keeping towards the dry line as his tyres have not yet quite heated up. Past turn two, flat in the dry, he keeps his foot down. The winglets flex and creak as he careens away downhill towards the Kawashiro S, his millimetric micro-corrections keeping the car on the line and away from the barriers.

Turns three through five are the trickiest on the track to get right, requiring as much skill as density of the balls to get through them quickly; in the rain, they're an even more menacing beast, and as Terho slows he catches a slight fishtail past three on to four. The car, still unnamed, manages to grip at the apex, allowing the Abovian to scream the V8 down to turn six without further incident. Edvin, having seen the slide on his screen, chuckles, inadvertently communicating his reaction through the radio.

AGP003 dances over the crest at turn seven, Terho taking the corner slower than in his nightmare, then powers away through turn eight--dodging the puddle at the apex--to thrash its way through the tunnel and up to A.mu's. Unlike last night, when AGP003 slid off the plateau at turn nine into a black, typhoon-furious ocean, the 56 car grips at the dry apex and careens through 66R, accelerating through its apex towards the esses; they're flat in the dry, and near flat with the help of the active winglets, Terho just braking at 15 before the downhill run through 16 and off to 160R. It's another flat, pants-soiling blast through turn 17, full of microcorrections on entry, before the sharp braking towards turn 18--tiptoeing around the puddle at the base of the hill, up towards the final S and back down the main straight. A droplet of sweat collects with five others to form a fat drop of salty water, which runs down Terho's nose and diverts to the right, collecting under his eye and dropping to his mouth. He sighs with relief as the rain picks up and the session clock ticks below three minutes; to the left of the timer, his position: P3.

Edvin crackles through the intercom, sounding agitated himself. “Cracking lap,” he exhales. “Rudy Edwards in the Preston is coming through quick on their fast lap but you’re easily past to Q2. Bring it in.”

“Copy.”

Back in the paddock, there’s not even enough time for a stretch, as Q2 gets underway quicker than expected to beat the weather. It’s even more soaked than Q1, the puddles larger and the dry line fading, and Terho, despite the rain and the wind picking up as he rounds A.mu’s on his fast lap, beats his nightmare to skim past to Q3 with sixth fastest time. Back in the paddock before the penultimate session, he’s notified that Sigur Bjarnason matched Edwards’ time in Q1 and Ryker’s time in Q2. Funny.

The conditions in Q3 clear up as in Q1; Terho manages third in a top nine separated by a tenth, but the worsening weather results in the cancellation of Q4. Once that news gets through to the TRÆ paddock, Terho climbs out of his AGP003--a naming scheme once thought to be unique--, brushes the rain from the number 56 on the nose (which glistens under the neutral light of the garage), and gives himself a well deserved stretch, arching his back and pulling down the fingers of one hand with the other. Edvin, busy directing the team to set everything ready for race day, shoots a quick glance over in Terho’s direction and winks sticking up his thumb, to which he does the same. He then pulls off his helmet, gloves and balaclava, sets them beside the car, and heads to the garage opening to stick his hand out in the rain, the groggy grumble of a far away lightning bolt poking at his insides. Nice, he whispers to himself, a sly, fierce, confident simper warping the edges of his mouth.

[TJUN-ia]

WGPC18 - Round 2
Horikawa Instruments Grand Prix of Hodori
Dashoze Circuit, Dashoze, Hodori Motorsports (I'm certainly seeing double here!)

When one circuit wasn't enough, the nation of Hodori clearly thought: "Why not two!" The result is the Dashoze Circuit, a location with layouts galore and it will be on the Grand Prix layout - the figure-of-eight - that will host round two of WGPC18. This circuit combines speed with technicality in a wacky mix that is sure to cause problems to many a driver on this grid.

As for Lane Carter, 8th place in Turori was not bad at all but many felt that he could have done better starting from 3rd - especially considering the other driver on row 2, teammate R.L. Cruisin, ended up winning the race by half a minute. Can Carter catch up to the level of his teammate, or will he falter in this fast and furious track? Let's see...

---

Friday - Practice
Dashoze certainly wasn't Eelandii. Two tracks combined into one figure-eight GP layout, it was a beast that needed to be tamed in order to be driven well. Lane Carter, on a dry Friday Practise, was struggling to do just that.

His issues seemed to stem from multiple things: the car was fine enough but on this track, it just felt...weird to the Galarian. Also, this circuit was highlighting Carter's biggest flaw: his lack of aggression. He is TJUN-ian by nature, calm and collected, not one to be aggressive but on this track, attacking the corners was really what you needed and Lane wasn't really known for that. 160R was especially problematic, as he was going wide sometimes and lifting off in others. He needed to find the perfect speed to enter that corner but whatever it was, it eluded the TJUN-ian.

It showed on the timing sheets. He was only 1.3 seconds off the fastest time set by Anneliese Devereux but it was only good enough for 27th, 1 of 2 drivers (with Dario Nülkeschläger) to set a time above 1:28 and more than a second behind teammate Cruisin. Something told him that this would be a long weekend...

---

Saturday - Qualifying (Elimination)
Turns out, things can get a lot worse after 27th on Friday. The rain came in time for Q1 and if you thought the track was difficult in the dry, you should see it in the rain! It was a nightmare to drive for the Galarian, as he slid all over the place with no real sense of control at all.

It all came together for the worst lap in his racing career thus far: a 01:39.068. That was 6.6 seconds slower than the fastest time in the session and more than 5 seconds slower than the pole time set by Ryker Lane. The nearest driver to Lane was Kinu Luminna 7 tenths up the road and she didn't even qualify as both Charyseine Valkyria (14th) and, by a whisker, Daryl Mizushima (24th) will both start for the Motorworks team tomorrow. His teammate, R.L. Cruisin, was not having fun either as he messed out on Q2 in 23rd, but his lap time was 4.6 seconds faster than what the Galarian could manage in the same car.

Lane felt...embarrassed, really embarrassed, about that time. He told everyone who would listen that the lap he did was in no way a representation of his driving ability, that he just had a bad day. Some in Race Eelandii may have believed him but those online did not. He was. to them, TJUN-ia's William Archer - good guy but not a good driver, even though Archer qualified in 15th and was so close to making Q3. Lane was starting to have a bit of doubt about his own ability, but he tried to push it away. He was better than this, he knew it, but he just needed to get the best out of car tomorrow in order to make it happen. The scenario is simple: Ryker Lane starts on pole and Lane Carter stats in last. If Carter is to catch up to Ryker, he will need a bit of luck and pure racing ability. Does he have that in him? Who knows at this point...

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Nexus Racing HQ, Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
11th of October

Nexus Racing

Nexus Racing are a Nimban WGPC racing team, wholly owned by the government of the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System and based at Crossbay Circuit on the edge of Nimbus Bay. A recent entrant into World Grand Prix motorsport, they have met with success in both Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships of the WGPC and are typically competitive with the fastest cars in the field, though Ryker Lane’s world drivers’ title in their inaugural WGPC 15 campaign remains their only outright victory in either. They also operate a WGP2 team. Nexus Racing are partnered closely with Nimban performance tyre manufacturer In Motion but conduct the majority of their operations in-house and have few other commercial partnerships.

Origins

Nexus Racing was founded as Project Overdrive, an attempt by the Nexus Force Assembly to rework the Dragoon medium combat vehicle after the events of the Krypton Novan campaign. The project’s major purpose, to improve the speed and traction of the Dragoon, was intended to increase the Venture League’s overall ground mobility, allowing the Nexus Force to perform rapid strikes and prepare battlefields and ambushes more easily. The project, whose personnel were assembled by then-Engineer Lieutenant Timothy Guard, met with only limited success for their year of operation.

By this point, the Ministerial Offices of Science and Technology and Sport had become interested in a joint project to further establish the tradition of Nimban racing after the local success of Cityprix and to globally promote Nimban technology. After discussions with the Ministerial Office for War, Project Overdrive was reassigned to constructing an Imagination-powered car with the purpose of entering the fifteenth World Grand Prix Championships in three years’ time and rebranded as Nexus Racing, though the project retained their former Assembly testing facilities to ease the transition.

This new focus proved successful in reinvigorating the project; the lax design constraints of the World Grand Prix regulations combined with the freedom that the extensive development period allowed were well-suited to creating a supportive atmosphere and culture of blue-sky thinking within the team. Notably, Head Designer Gertrude Thompson successfully spearheaded improvements to Imagination convertor design that made possible construction of the dual-convertor Paragon Warp array. Nexus Racing also gained the aid of Ryker Lane alongside his race engineer Martin Veri in their second year for the purpose of testing the car, with the intention that the Cityprix Drivers’ Champion would drive for the team in their first year of racing.

WGPC

Entering WGPC 15 on schedule, Nexus Racing were one of the most anticipated teams debuting that season. They quickly secured Marika Pedanovic for their second seat, bringing with her a partnership with Tygar Tyres, and she won their inaugural race at the Grand Prix of the Imperial Commonwealth. Though contact with Maria Cattaneo placed Ryker Lane twelfth in the same race, he would finish every race other than the Grand Prix of AF-DR in the points, taking six podiums from twelve races in the process. Despite not winning a race, Lane’s consistency and Nexus Racing’s own ability to outpace the field for upgrades put him in position to capitalise on Terho Talvela crashing out at the Audioslavian Grand Prix and win the Drivers’ Championship. Nexus Racing would place second in the Constructors’ Championship, behind fellow newcomers Red Lion Racing.

Partnering with In Motion and Brutus Tyres for the first time this season, Nexus Racing would be formally detached from the military and relocated to the newly-built Crossbay Circuit for WGPC 16, while Marika Pedanovic was replaced by Jean Mercer-Daly after a promising three race wins at the end of the prior season. Though not as consistent as Lane, Mercer-Daly would win another two races and challenge for the Drivers’ Championship, taking second place with ninety-eight points. Ryker Lane would only earn forty-six points, hampered by a faltering mental state and poor reliability that the team faced in the first half of the season. Most desperately, however, Jean Mercer-Daly suffered a high-speed crash unshielded by his car’s systems at the Audioslavian Grand Prix after at electronics were hacked, crushing one side of his body and forcing the replacement of his arm and leg with prosthetics.

Jean Mercer-Daly and Ryker Lane were retained by the team for WGPC 17. Though a more consolidated, less optimised car made for a mediocre first half of the season, improvements in the second half saw Ryker Lane achieve his first race victory at the Abovian Grand Prix. Ryker Lane and Jean Mercer-Daly would secure fourth and fifth place in the Drivers’ Championship and Nexus Racing second place in the Constructors’ Championship in a season otherwise dominated by the TRÆ alliance.

WGP2

Nexus Racing entered the first season of WGP2 both as a testing ground for the next year’s car and as a junior programme to allow drivers to adjust to the unique driving characteristics of Nexus Racing’s vehicles. Taking on Rebecca Darlington, Jean Mercer-Daly’s former teammate, and Lukar Urdaneta, the team’s only significant result was a first place for Darlington at the newly inaugurated Crossbay Circuit.

Lukar Urdaneta would leave the team for WGP2 II, replaced by Abovian prodigy Janne Laukkanen, who would win the first race of the season in Savojarna. While the team secured fifth place in the standings overall and Laukkanen would take third place in the season, it is arguable that Nexus Racing missed an opportunity to properly compete for prominence in the season, sacrificing it for long term gain in the WGPC 17 season.

Nexus Racing debuted a new four-wheeled car for WGP2 III, intending to test the vehicle before entering it for WGPC 18. An early second place with Janne Laukkanen at the air.NK WGP2 Race of Nekoni proved a false dawn as he and Drake Stevenson, recruited from NSSCRA after Rebecca Darlington left the team, struggled with reliability and pace for much of the season. Nonetheless, the two showed signs of improvement towards the season’s end, culminating in a double points finish at the team’s home race at Crossbay Circuit.

Characteristics and Philosophy

Nexus Racing have always been significantly smaller as a team than most of their competitors on the WGPC grid while still receiving stable funding from the government equivalent to or greater than those competitors. This, alongside their cultural origins as Nimban ex-military personnel, has afforded them a radical approach to grand prix racing; unable to compete with other teams’ ability to optimise every aspect of a car, they instead focus on areas of ‘blue sky’ development shunned by other teams for their complexity, unreliability or outlandishness. Their cars, beyond being powered directly by Imagination convertors instead of the petroleum fuels used by many WGP cars or an Imagination-infused liquid fuel, have adopted underfloor air fan extraction, whole-bodywork adaptive aerodynamics, substantial electronic driver aids and, most recently, increased numbers of frustral wheels. This philosophy of ‘victory by overwhelming innovation’ creates cars with unique driving characteristics, sometimes worsened reliability and increased weight but frequently grants substantial performance advantages over the rest of the field, especially in terms of power.

Beyond WGPC 15, the team have tended to improve relative to the rest of the field across a WGPC season, both by addition of new systems to their cars and consolidation of the flaws in previous ones. Less productively, Nexus Racing’s approach has also placed mental strain on drivers unable to adapt sufficiently to potentially erratic performances, which has been especially problematic for the WGP2 programme.

Gertrude,

How are you? Hope that everything’s getting along well, though I’m quite sure it is!

Writing this is difficult going, not just because I’m vaguely tired after having typed out the last of these but also because it’s the last thing I plan to do for the team in even the slightest of official ways for a good while. Moving onto other projects after one that has taken six years, each of which has been one of the most enjoyable of my life, will be a hard task. Sometimes I wish that I could still jump in to help with everything!

I suppose, then, that this is my way of doing just that. This folder contains what were formally my notes on each individual part of Nexus Racing, formalised and written out in long-form. Writing them has made me recognise that this team is far greater than either of us, though I remain quite sure that your hands are the best possible for manipulating its structures. Hopefully my small effort will enable them to be that little bit more dextrous.

Go well, Gertrude – I wish you and everyone else all the hope I can offer, though I know that you don’t need a gram of it.

Your friend,

Timothy Guard

[Filindostan]

Dashoze Circuit
Horikawa Instruments Grand Prix of Hodori
Before the race weekend

It was a hectic few days for the Badai Angin Tim Motorsport as they arrived in Hodori for the second round of the WGPC season. Upon arriving at the circuit on Thursday for pre-weekend inspections and media interviews, the thing that came into the minds of the media is the apparent lack of team orders in the first race at Turori, with Rudolf not providing a concrete answer on whether there will be instances of what happened at the Eelandii Grand Prix Circuit. In his mind however, the topic is already settled, and he reiterated to Rusty that the younger Ibuna should expect team orders coming into his way to preserve his teammate Alex Dimitrianov's status as the lead driver of the team via multiple channels. Any animosity in the garage was nonexistent that weekend as Rusty and Alex did several media events together, not aware of any hidden cameras present as part of a inter-team documentary, though both were aware that they must conduct themselves in a professional way on and off the racing activities whenever they are visiting other countries for race weekends.

It was an opportunity as well for the mechanics of the team to meet up with their counterparts at the domestic Hodoran motorsports scene, as both Badai Angin and Monghit Motorsport have deployed several Filindo mechanics to form the crew of the teams, with ex-WGPC and NSSCRA drivers racing the domestic championship. Among them was Tyra Tabuso, who raced for Fireline last season, who came with Kyoko Fujisaki, who raced for the predecessor of Badai Angin, KISMO, two seasons ago. They are currently teammates in the Badai Angin's Formula Touring program and have just completed the recent season, competing with the likes of Erica Okumura and Sayono Souzare who are in the WGPC grid this season. The two bumped into Rusty and Barnabas like it's nothing.

"Hey, if it wasn't Rusty, and hey Barney, why are you here?" Tyra jokingly asked her boyfriend when she saw the Gergarian, aware that he was not able to land a seat in the WGPC.

"You thought that I was at Filindostan doing nothing? I actually asked Sir Dolf and Sir Bry if I can come to Hodori, and they gave me a seal of approval."

"Hmph, where's the seal? Did you bring your manager with you?"

"No, she decided to stay in Gergary as she needed to do some work there."

"Huh, that girl didn't come, I wanted to see her and stamp my authority as 'Barney's only girlfriend'."

"Of course, Tyra, you're my only one."

"Hmph. Bolero. Hey Rusty, Great performance there at Turori, seems the media are having a frenzy on your 'friendly' competition with your teammate. Care to treat us girls?"

"I'd know you will say that. Barney told me that he'll treat us all as part of his new job."

"Wait, Rusty, I haven't told her anything."

"Hmph! Faye told the news to me. You're gonna race stock cars."

"Who's Faye? And how did she got that information?"

"Faye. Fayeski, you know, the Silly season site where news and rumours alike come into one page. Almose everyone knows already. And I'm a bit upset you didn't tell me first thing once you've signed that contract. Now, as promised, you shall treat us to a lunchout. I know a place near the circuit where we can eat delicious food at the right price."

As the four walked to the restaurant, the other couple started talking to each other while Barney and Tyra were busy chatting.

"Hey love, I really missed you."

"Sure? I'd bet you were fawning over that Faye."

"Hahaha, you're jealous of Fayeski? It's just a news site, love. I wanted to see which drivers go to which teams, and for some teams, I was surprised with what they decided to do."

"I bet, is one of those Sara's decision to join Volkov instead of MRT?"

"Yup, It was a no-brainer to join MRT, they have an opening, and they are very consistent at the business end of the constructor's championship. Yet she decided to gamble her chances with an upcoming team and an ex-MRT driver."

"I heard there will be a podcast for that to discuss the driver market, the Top Gear Filindostan one?"

"I thought they had already discussed it. Anyway, I'll watch that one after the race. I need to focus on this one,"

"Are you still fixated on beating Alex?"

"Well, sort of. I already got a telling from 'pa that there will be team orders. But I might want to not follow it for a lap or two."

"If it was me, I'd be focusing on getting the constructors' title. I know you are a lock-in to that team next season whatever happens."

"Let's not talk about it, love? I know it already. I just want to prove myself at this level."

"You have already proven yourself these past two seasons. And you have already proven yourself to be my significant other."

"You're very cheesy, love!"

---

It wasn't an ideal weather in qualifying for the team, as they weren't able to use the setup they had hoped for after the free practice session. With the Locssanas GTx tyre being used in Hodori, the two drivers carefully negotiated the challenging corners the Dashoze Circuit had to offer, but having been already have raced in this circuit, among less than half of the field to do so, they were able to make their way past Q1 and Q2 of the elimination-style format. However after Q3, their times were not fast enough to make it to the deciding qualifying session, clocking the 11th and 13th fastest times for Alex and Rusty respectively.

For Rudolf and company, they have decided to put the two drivers in the same strategy, start with the medium compound of the Megfogo GTx tyre and run a longer first stint. But the rain could play another part and thwart any plans that they want to do. Not to mention that the two drivers will start close with each other again, just Alex this time will be in front of the Filindo driver, so it will be all on Alex to prevent another moment at Turori... unless he bottles his launch off the grid.

[Togonistan]

Dashoze Circuit
Qualifying

Dom was driving around the track. Despite the rainy weather and wet track, he had managed to drive solid lap times throughout the qualifying so far, thus advance to Q2 and eventually secure himself a spot in Q3. With 14 drivers still in, only 7 would go on to the next session from there. It sure hadn't been easy. Clouds in the sky were pouring down more and more rain as the time passed. By the time Q3 had started, visibility had gone really bad. The rain made it almost impossible to see pretty much anything. It was now that Dom felt all the work he had done on studying the track prior to the event would pay off. He took a deep breath as he approached the line to start his flying lap. He had to be 100% focused in order to drive a decent lap here while avoiding any mistakes.

''Guys, I need radio silence. No talk during this lap please.''

''Copy that, radio silence until the end of the lap.''

Dom floored the pedal and started his flying lap. His tyres were splattering water everywhere as he went through the puddles that had formed on the track. He felt the hair on his back rising as he took all the high speed corners, relying on almost nothing but his instincts. Seriously, at this point, he could've as well driven with his eyes closed. These were some intense moments for him, and never before had he been happier when the finish line eventually came.

''Nice lap! 1:33.026. That puts you in P4 for now.''

''Whew... I can hardly see a single step forward through all this shower. I swear, I have never been that focused in my life before. Never ever.''

''Okay, we have received a message from stewards. Box box Dom, box box!''

''What is going on?''

''The session has been red flagged. Red flag. It will continue when the rain tones down a bit.''

''Copy, i'm coming in.''

As Dom had driven to the pits and got out of his car, it was time to wait. And wait they did indeed. Latest information from weather forecast suggested that the rain wouldn't stop for the next few hours at least. Dom spent time at the pit lane talking to his team members as well as some other drivers and constantly looking at the sky. The whole paddock seemed to be unsure about what to do, as everyone was waiting for some sort of news about what was going to happen. Hours passed and it had already started to get dark when some official confirmation would finally arrive. Q4 would be cancelled, and Q3 times would be reflected in the official timings instead. That meant his provisional P4 time was going to determine his starting position. ''Did they really need to take that long to realise we can't finish qualifying in this swimming pool?'' Dom asked a rhetorical question as he put on a raincoat to leave the garage and go on to finally enjoy his dinner. Part of him was actually happy things had gone the way they had though. It had given him a solid starting position for tomorrow's race and if everything would go well, there would be a very fair chance for first points of the season. If there actually was going to be any race after all that flooding, that is...

[Liventia]

CUTOFF

for the Horikawa Instruments Grand Prix of Hodori at Dashoze Circuit

[Liventia]

Week 5: Race

Conditions:      	Dry
Laps:              	61
Nation:         	HDR
Circuit:        	Dashoze Circuit
Event:                	Horikawa Instruments Grand Prix of Hodori
Safety Car on Laps:        	34, 35, 36, 37
Cars on Grid:        	28

POS  # ▍DRV Name                               Team                               	Time      	Pts	Fastest Lap	
  1 41 ▍JMD Jean Mercer-Daly                   Nexus Racing                       	01:37:12.881	25		
  2 56 ▍TAL Terho Talvela                      Tropicorp Racing Ælund             	00:00:37.037	18		
  3 42 ▍DIM Alex Dimitrianov                   Badai Angin Tim Motorsport         	00:00:47.530	14		
  4 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane                         Nexus Racing                       	00:00:54.050	11		
  5 19 ▍FAL Dom Falepeau                       Mattijana Racing Team              	00:01:04.330	8		
  6 52 ▍SZR Sayono Souzare                     Polaris Racing Team                	00:01:17.516	6		
  7 28 ▍LNA Sara Luna                          Volkov Racing                      	00:01:20.033	4		
  8 46 ▍ARB Kitti Armbruster                   SVJ Racing WGPC Team               	00:01:27.377	3		
  9 50 ▍EDW Rudy Edwards                       Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing    	00:01:29.026	2		
 10 25 ▍KRU Gregori Krupin                     Volkov Racing                      	00:01:34.460	1		
 11  7 ▍GTA Abdoulaye Goita                    Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing          	00:01:34.777			
 12 71 ▍IBU Rustom Ibuna                       Badai Angin Tim Motorsport         	Laps Down: 1			
 13 77 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii                   Tropicorp Racing Ælund             	Laps Down: 1	 + 2	1:24.053	
 14 85 ▍STO Olivia Stone                       Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing          	Laps Down: 1			
 15 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin                       Race Eelandii V&T GP               	Laps Down: 1			
 16 22 ▍KRA Jasmin Kranjska                    Mattijana Racing Team              	Laps Down: 1			
 17 12 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux                 TAS Alliance Racing                	Laps Down: 1			
 18 72 ▍VAL Charyseine Valkyria                WGPC Motorworks                    	Laps Down: 1			
 19 37 ▍SCH Niklas Schonbaum                   TAS Alliance Racing                	Laps Down: 1			
 20 63 ▍MIZ Daryl Mizushima                    WGPC Motorworks                    	Laps Down: 1			
 21 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23                        Fireline Motorsports               	Laps Down: 2			
 22 76 ▍KOW Adriana Kowalski                   Fireline Motorsports               	Laps Down: 2			
 23 11 ▍CRT Lane Carter                        Race Eelandii V&T GP               	Laps Down: 2			
 24 47 ▍OKU Erica Okumura                      Polaris Racing Team                	Ret. lap 55 (classified finish)		
DNF 14 ▍BJA Sigur Bjarnason                    SVJ Racing WGPC Team               	Ret. lap 33			
DNF  8 ▍ARC William Archer                     Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing    	Ret. lap 5			
DNS 27 ▍NUL Dario Nülkeschläger                WGPC Motorworks                    	DNS			
DNS 82 ▍LMN Kinu Luminna                       WGPC Motorworks                    	DNS

---

Drivers' standings

Pos # ▍DRV Name                                Team [Engine]                                                            Tyres                              Pts
 1 42 ▍DIM Alex Dimitrianov                    Badai Angin Tim Motorsport [Badai Angin]                                 Solymok                            28
 2 41 ▍JMD Jean Mercer-Daly                    Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                                              In Motion                          25
 2 51 ▍CRU R.L. Cruisin                        Race Eelandii V&T GP [Tropicorp Engineering]                             Tropicorp Racing Supply            25
 4 77 ▍TII iBen Toralmintii                    Tropicorp Racing Ælund [Tropicorp Engineering]                           Tropicorp Racing Supply            20
 5 56 ▍TAL Terho Talvela                       Tropicorp Racing Ælund [Tropicorp Engineering]                           Tropicorp Racing Supply            19
 6 94 ▍LAN Ryker Lane                          Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                                              In Motion                          13
 7 23 ▍C23 Cocoabo #23                         Fireline Motorsports [Tropicorp Engineering]                             Tropicorp Racing Supply            11
 8 28 ▍LNA Sara Luna                           Volkov Racing [WGPC Motorworks Engineering]                              Tropicorp Racing Supply            10
 9 19 ▍FAL Dom Falepeau                        Mattijana Racing Team [Nordija]                                          Tropicorp Racing Supply            8
 9 71 ▍IBU Rustom Ibuna                        Badai Angin Tim Motorsport [Badai Angin]                                 Solymok                            8
11 52 ▍SZR Sayono Souzare                      Polaris Racing Team [Polaris Trois]                                      Deyoze Tires                       6
12 12 ▍DEV Anneliese Devereux                  TAS Alliance Racing [Harlean 1]                                          Solymok                            4
13 11 ▍CRT Lane Carter                         Race Eelandii V&T GP [Tropicorp Engineering]                             Tropicorp Racing Supply            3
13 25 ▍KRU Gregori Krupin                      Volkov Racing [WGPC Motorworks Engineering]                              Tropicorp Racing Supply            3
13 46 ▍ARB Kitti Armbruster                    SVJ Racing WGPC Team [Johansborg Motor Collective]                       Solymok                            3
16 50 ▍EDW Rudy Edwards                        Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing [Preston Autos]                          Tropicorp Racing Supply            2

---

Constructors' standings

Pos NAT ▍Team [Engine]                                                            Tyres                              Pts
  1 ABL ▍Tropicorp Racing Ælund [Tropicorp Engineering]                           Tropicorp Racing Supply            39
  2 NIM ▍Nexus Racing [Paragon Warp]                                              In Motion                          38
  3 FID ▍Badai Angin Tim Motorsport [Badai Angin]                                 Solymok                            36
  4 V&T ▍Race Eelandii V&T GP [Tropicorp Engineering]                             Tropicorp Racing Supply            28
  5 SOR ▍Volkov Racing [WGPC Motorworks Engineering]                              Tropicorp Racing Supply            13
  6 ETN ▍Fireline Motorsports [Tropicorp Engineering]                             Tropicorp Racing Supply            11
  7 MTJ ▍Mattijana Racing Team [Nordija]                                          Tropicorp Racing Supply            8
  8 NEK ▍Polaris Racing Team [Polaris Trois]                                      Deyoze Tires                       6
  9 LIS ▍TAS Alliance Racing [Harlean 1]                                          Solymok                            4
 10 SVJ ▍SVJ Racing WGPC Team [Johansborg Motor Collective]                       Solymok                            3
 11 HAP ▍Preston Autos Grand Prix Racing [Preston Autos]                          Tropicorp Racing Supply            2

[Squidroidia]

Where were you when you competed in your first Grand Prix?

For Squidroidian newcomer Daryl Mizushima, this was easy - Dashoze, Hodori, in the Horikawa Instruments Grand Prix of Hodori. He qualified by the race by the skin of his teeth, avoiding another trip to the stands by 5 one thousands of a second over Dario from Hulkenberg. It was a moment that attracted a nation to motorsports and this youngster from a far off land, and as he prepared his Deyoze tyres on the formation lap, he knew where he was. He was behind R.L. Cuisin on Row 12, the V&T driver having won the previous round in Turori. Before he knew it the lights were on, in their signature red, one, then two, then three, then 4, then 5...

"61 laps here around Dashoze... It's lights out and away we go!"

At last, time for Daryl to prove his worth in front of the world. He didn't look like he would win the race, so all he wanted to do, as he turned around First, was to not be embarrassed. Finish 1 lap down, that's what he wanted. Just don't be embarrassed in front of the world. Limit the lockups, limit the aggression, and you'll finish ahead of William Arch-

He's already out.

"Daryl, William Archer has DNFed from the race on Lap 5. We do not know what happened with the Preston this time, but don't worry. Keep racing, you're doing well."

"Is the Preston car masquerading as a stone age machine you have to run with for it to even work? If so, his legs couldn't handle the track."

No legs could even manage 5 laps at Dashoze, unless you were a marathon runner. That incident aside, the Squidroidian drove the car the best he could, struggling around RAY-MU but making up his time elsewhere on the track. Problem was, he wasn't getting DRS to jump up the field. And before long, he could see the blue flag for the first time in his career.

"Blue flag Daryl, Jean Mercer-Daly wants to pass you. The Nexus has done incredible all day, you have to move by. Blue flag."

"I've been doing my best, but hey, whatever. I have my limits."

And just like that, Daryl was lapped for the first time in his career. He didn't get mad. He just calmed down, sucked it up, took his drink and a couple laps later, headed into the pits . It was the first time in the pits, and even then he was nervous. The only other times he had pitted was during practice or qualifying, but he did not get out immediately. It was clear what he got - A pair of hard tyres after the softs outstayed their welcome. But still, he pressed on, and after a crash from a SVJ car and a Safety Car stint, Daryl would push his tyres and try his best to finish... Which he did.

"Jean Mercer-Daly has dominated this race, he pushed and pushed and pushed for Nexus and for his people from Esmerel! Jean Mercer-Daly wins the Horikawa Instruments Grand Prix of Hodori! The first win of the season for Nexus Racing!

Jean finished 37 seconds ahead of 2nd, and Daryl finished in 20th, nearly 2 laps down. It was perfectly fine, he couldn't get the champagne anyway. As he cooled down his car after a 90 minute race around the Dashoze Circuit, his crew gave him the lowdown.

"Daryl, that was an above par race but I won't blame you for your first. P20, you finished above Cocoabo #23 and Lane Carter. P20 Daryl, enjoy your rest before the Nimban GP. P20."

And with the car back in the garage, Daryl removed his helmet and balaclava, smiling as he got himself ready for the numerous interviews he had to do after this. But hey, he could finally say he raced in a World Grand Prix Championship event.

[Diarcesia]

Horikawa Instruments Grand Prix of Hodori
Lap 33: Kawashiro S

The #28 car passed the corner and maintained its momentum on the short run down to Stadium, which saw its driver Sara emulating Gregori's technique to slingshot through the underpass. She was getting a better feel for the speed and direction of the track now. She thought long and hard about how the designers managed to blend two otherwise separate tracks to a single GP, and she ended up having absolutely no idea.

"Yes. Just keep it like this," Sara said, satisfied that she kept the car in the correct racing line, and then...

"Gap to Valkyria is one, no, two seconds," the Volkov engineer said.

"No way, two seconds?" Sara replied, now putting her focus on the Prism River Esses. "Drive!"

She accelerated after exiting Spoon, the hard tires squealing and sparks momentarily flying behind the Mark II, and made her way down the long straight. She closed in on Valkyria and performed an overtake before a defense could be mounted.

"Another down."

"Good job, Sara. Keep your head cool."

She slammed on the brakes and prepared her body for the forces involved. On the road ahead, debris were scattered on the pavement like a section of another car just disintegrated, maybe after some sort of collision: the ride of Sigur Bjarnason of SVJ Racing was badly damaged just after 160R, taking him out of the race. Fortunately, there was enough space for Sara's car to slow down and move around.

Lap 34

"Safety car is out, safety car is out."

"Okay. Will box for some softs."

"We'll get those softs for you. Eyes on the race track."

The safety car stayed until lap 37, giving drivers who liked to perform a pit stop a chance to do so. Once it was gone, the Mark II's works engine roared and Sara promptly resumed her work at getting ahead of other drivers, one at a time. She had to do this again, apparently.

"The end is on sight, Sara, you're at P7," the engineer said when the final lap arrived.

"How far am I from the others?"

"Three seconds behind Souzare, seven seconds ahead of Armbruster."

"Yes! Yes yes yes! We did it again! Let's continue this after I cross the finish line."

"I won't object to that, Sara."

With relatively comfortable gaps between the other drivers, Sara played it safe to the end. Now, she could properly celebrate.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you. I couldn't salvage a P18 start without you guys. Fantastic work."

"I couldn't do it without you, Sara. What a show of dedication."

"What a challenging drive."

Sara finished ahead of Kitti Armbruster, who was her most difficult competitor to overtake this race. She knew in hindsight that the way she passed the Nepharan could potentially be unsafe for the car. If she had to do it again, she might have done it differently. She would have taken a different line instead.

"It's the same story," she said to the team staff about the finish. "I can't ask for more. Thank you all for the confidence you put into this. Now let's move on to the next race."

She thought of the upcoming one at Crossbay. William Archer will be looking to get a win here again. He had a few rough races, and he needs to get some good points. This is going to be a hard-fought battle. Each driver will have their own strategies and goals.

We'll see. Right now, the battle lines are too close to be clearly defined. Which driver is faster? Who is the better driver? Who will be the best driver to beat? All we can tell, is that everyone still has a path to that championship.

For now, we just want to keep finishing strong.

[Auruna]

Dashoze Circuit
Race

Before heading to the pit wall, Artur asks Jöna. "Mate, do you think we're performing well?" He shows the times of both drivers. "Look at the times, we're hovering up and down the midfield."

Jöna answers. "I'd say we're doing well here. Remember, it's just our first season here. I think it's our cars for now, with no offense to the engineers, they did great. It's not that we're ill-prepared or anything, it's just we don't have the experience. We're not like our domestic selves where we can safely experiment because we have a lot of experience."

They now head to the pit wall, waiting for the race start.

As usual, Jöna goes on with his pre-race message but this time it looks like he doesn't have much to say. "Don't worry too much. Just finish strong. Get us the points when you can." A brief pause then. "I'm going to apologise in advance, our car doesn't agree with the circuit. Sorry we couldn't give you a car you deserve but our boys back home are working hard to improve the car. Anyway, roitu hevä, täitä hevä."

The drivers then line up at the grid after the formation lap, it took a long time and now it's time to go. The lights go out, the starts are mixed with some drivers took a bit of time to get off the line. The two Viskas were great off the line with the reaction times of the two drivers. The race is looking great for them. Time to get those points.

First retirement at Lap 5. Jan and Baxen quickly informs Goita and Olivia respectively. Something happened, but they don't know yet. Now time to continue focusing on what's ahead.

The first line of pitstops are on. Viska pits Olivia first who is followed by Goita a lap later. It wasn't their best stop, especially for Goita where the front-left wheel got stuck but fortunately they still managed to change in under 3 seconds, which was a bit slower than usual.

Jan explains what happened. "Front-left wheel was stuck, front-left wheel was stuck, something probably broke in the rim, sorry. Pit was a 3.5, we'll make up the time lost, let's go."

They lost 6 places during that pit, almost lost two more. They need a comeback quick.

The two Viska drivers drove well. They did some brilliant overtakes then after another pit for fresher tyres at Lap 30, they are on the way to getting Viska's first points of the season until Lap 33. Due to an incident, probably caused by SVJ's Sigur Bjarnason's retirement from the race, yellow flags are out then the safety car.

Jan was the first to notice at Viska, he tells Goita. "Oh, Bjarnason is out and so are the yellow flags. Race control says safety car will be out next lap. Tyres are still fresh, Type 1 conserve, Type 1 conserve, let's make the most out of the softs after the safety car."

Artur is noticing a slight performance drop on Olivia's car. "Minor floor and bargeboard damage. Check for debris next pit."

Now is the start of a long and grueling safety car session. It helps with compressing the field but it can alter whatever strategy set before. There goes some cheeky pits under the safety car to probably get an advantage, you'd do whatever you can to win.

Safety car in this lap

Finally!

It's time to go back to actually racing. With Jan pumping up Goita with a few radio messages before the restart. They got the jump on a few drivers. They're slowly climbing up the order. While there's still a chance and a large gap, they called in Olivia for a pit to remove the debris in the bargeboards then a change for softs, you know, for maximum grip. With a few laps remaining, it's a risk to take.

They really want to get those points. In the end, again, it was close. Now their highest finish is P11. It's some progress but at least they actually finished the race.

On their cooldown lap, Jöna quickly goes on the radio. "Great work out there. Keep it up and we'll have points in no time. We've yet to score a point but I know that will come. Just keep doing what you do great, race. We'll keep on developing the car."

With no points yet and P12 in the constructors' standings, one might speculate that it's just a string of bad luck. It is just luck? Not quite but luck still matters a bit here because you don't know what might happen next.

"Its where anything can happen, and it usually does."

[TJUN-ia]

Sunday - Race
There are both pros and cons to standing in last place in a race. Of course, no one wants to start last at all, but with no one behind you on the grid, the only way your position will change is by moving up the field. Basically, last sucks but the only way is up from here! It was that mindset that Lane Carter was trying to invoke on the formation lap in Hodori - you can only improve from here, you can rise to the midfield at least - but it was hard to think that he would do anything of note in this race. The past weekend had been tough to swallow for the Galarian with both the dry and the wet not helping on this track and even though it was dry for the race today, did that really matter anymore? He was at the back anyway, what else could improve the situation? He tried to put everything at the back of his mind as he lined up at the back to start his 2nd race in WGPC. The 5 lights, like distant stars this far away from the line, turned black. The pedal was floored. The race had begun.

As it would turn out, nothing good was to happen to the Galarian at all in this race. He tried to overtake on this long circuit but something just prevented him from doing so - the car, Lane himself, a bit of both maybe. The only overtakes he would do on the track would be either through pitstops (which went away when he came in) and retirements. William Archer's luck was up yet again as he retired on lap 5, 2 more than he managed in Turori last time out. Sigur Bjarnason went off on lap 33, bringing the safety car out. But even after unlapping himself, he was unable to get anything done. Erica Okumura went on lap 55 but other than that, nothing really happened to the Galarian as he crossed the line, 2 laps down, in 23rd.

It may have been Ryker Lane on pole but it was his teammate, Jean Mercer-Daly of Esmerel, who would claim the top spot of the podium ahead of defending champion Terho Talvela and new championship leader Alex Dimitrianov, his 2nd 3rd placed finish in a row. Ryker would end up in 4th with the points rounded out by Falepeau, Souzare, Luna, Armbruster, Edwards and Krupin. The fastest lap went to iBen Toralmintii, who ended up a lap down in 13th, and R.L. Cruisin was also a lap down in 15th.

As previously stated, back-to-back 3rd meant that Alex Dimitrianov led the standings by 3 points, ahead of the 2 race winners in Mercer-Daly and Cruisin. After 2 races, 16 of the 28 drivers in this series have now scored points with Carter having 3 in joint-13th with Krupin and Armbruster. It is a similar story in the constructors as only the WGPC Motorworks and Schkeska-VSK Viska have yet to score points on the grid. Race Eelandii scored no points at all this weekend and so they fell to 4th, Tropicorp Racing Ælund the new leaders ahead of Nexus and Badai Angin.

So it was a week to forget for many in the Race Eelandii camp, but especially Lane Carter. He felt ashamed with what he did out there and vowed, in one of the bathroom mirrors, to never drive like that ever again. Whether or not this will work is yet to be seen but the damage of the Grand Prix of Hodori had already been done. No one back home knew how good he was anymore, some were doubting his performance in Turori as a fluke. It was all standing to get to the Galarian, but he had to look ahead to the future. Next up was the Nimban Grand Prix at Crossbay Circuit, where his WGP2 adventure ended with a last-to-first that finished with points. He felt great to finally be able to race on a circuit he was somewhat familiar with, but which Lane will turn up to Crossbay: the Turori Lane or the Hodori Lane? Even he didn't know for sure...

[Sorlovia]

Horikawa Instruments Grand Prix o Hodori
Raceday – Lap 22 North 2

The long straights had favoured him just as he’d thought. The Volkov Mark II had taken advantage of the long stretches and bending curves taking full use out of the track. But Gregori had known that he would do well on those aspects of the track. He had familiarity with those track elements from time in the Sorlovian Gran Prix and in his training sessions. There was just something about them that was a boon for him. He carefully noted that Sara was employing his tactic of using the corners as a way of slingshotting down the straights and smiled softly.

By the twenty second lap Gregori had fought his way up the pack to sit at tenth place. Rustom Ibuna had put up an impressive challenge but he’d taken advantage of the Kawashiro S to get past him on the short straight before the bend at the Stadium corner. Abdoulaye Goita had fought hard through the Underpass but he’d managed to flash past him when he’d misjudged the corner. Gregori was an experienced veteran at such tactics using the aggressive style since WGPC16. A race wasn’t always about getting as far ahead as you could at the start. Sometimes it was about taking your time to wait for an opening.

“Don’t give them any ground Sara,” Gregori said through the earpiece “you’re doing well!”

The radios built into their cars would allow the Volkov drivers to talk to each other. It was something that was often used because it was a distraction. But there were times in the races that would allow for a quick word here or there. Gregori took the moment to offer a little bit of encouragement to his teammate. He remembered what it had been like to be a rookie in the WGPC. The more experienced racers so often discounted you and thus you were forced to prove yourself. Sara had the raw skill to do well but there had always been an air of intense competition in the WGPC. Sometimes the more veteran races were cliquish. The rookies tried to get their interest but didn’t succeed until they had managed to climb their way up the ladder. A kind supportive word was a gesture of solidarity.

Gregori pushed into the Prism River Esses. His car lost a bit of power on that part of the track but he managed to keep Abdoulaye off his back as he arched around the Spoon and shot off down towards 160R using the straight to build up speed in preparation for the series of bends leading into the well-known Final S that had always provided a challenge for him. He probed Rudy Edward’s defence but the young racer successfully managed to prevent him from passing much to Gregori’s annoyance. He caught brief glimpses of Sara’s blue, red and gold three cars ahead of him and smiled softly. At least she was doing well. The rookie, though he hated calling her that, was very quickly making a name for herself.

Finishing the race in tenth place was not the finish he'd hoped for. He could feel his hopes for the Championship slipping out of his hands. But it was only the second race and as such there was still time to make it up. But despite not finishing where he would've liked Gregori still enjoyed the full experience of the race and, at the end of the day, that was such an important part of the whole thing. If you didn't enjoy the race experience then you would soon burn out.

"That was a good race Sara," he said making his way to her pit to pat her on the back "you have so much raw skill it's impressive. You sure put pressure on Sayono out there!"

---

Gregori was the type of man who liked to support his teammates. He'd been on good terms with his VMR teammate Jessika Franssen in WGPC16 and repeated the connection with his teammate Sigur Bjarnason with MRT in WGPC17. He believed that having a good relationship with your race teammate was important to the life and success of the team. As such he was attempting to build a jovial and friendly relationship with Sara. Some racers might have seen her as a threat due to her string of good results and high performance. But he saw her as a worthy teammate and a very highly skilled racer.

"We're in this for the long haul," he said with a smile "you did well to fight your way to seventh Sara. There are a lot of skilled racers out there this year. So we can expect things to be a tough challenge. But that's the fun of it."

Gregori spoke with a strong Slavic accent and times lapsed into Russian. His homeland of Sorlovia was a very heavily Slavic nation with a history that dated back many thousands of years through a variety of successive government types. Gregori had the strong pointed chin, flat cheeks with the broad forehead known to Slavic peoples and his Slavic eyes were slightly narrower than those of other ethnicities. His people were described as being strong-built and proud. The sort of people who endured every trial that came against them and came out stronger.

"It's going to be a pleasure to race with you this season. I hope that you feel welcome having your family here with you."

Gregori leaned back on the couch in the Volkov team rooms and smiled at her. He was a man who was seemingly always relaxed and good-natured. He was impeccably polite, friendly and warm as a person. He also had a curiousity and drive to learn about things that saw him take great interest in things. Sara was a person of great interest to him, She was securing great results and high place finishes. He wanted to know her secret.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

The Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System bids you welcome to the WGPC 18
Nimban Grand Prix
!



Track Information

Circuit Name: Crossbay Circuit
Location: Nimbus Bay, Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
Lap Record: 1:26.018 (Ryker Lane, Nexus Racing UHSGV-1)
Lap Length (km): 4.83
Qualifying Type: Elimination

The first World Grand Prix-rated track with a section that runs above a large body of water, Crossbay Circuit continues the long and proud Nimban tradition of race circuits built in areas of astounding natural beauty by running across, through and below the stark dolomite rock cliffs of Nimbus Bay. It combines sections from three famous courses of the Nimban origin universe, Vertigo Loop Racetrack, Keelhaul Canyon Raceway and Dragonmaw Chasm Raceway, and interweaves them with often fearsome elevation changes to form a track that demands a driver’s full ability and daring to perform well.

A Lap of Crossbay Circuit

A lap of the track begins in Sector 1 with a short run down the end of the start/finish straight to Turn 1, a long and smooth left-hander that is deceptively tight in the middle of the turn, as well as falling by a few metres over its course. From Turn 1 a tiny straight leads into the gentle Turn 2 before the car enters the first of the two tunnels on the course. Cars then descend rapidly into an underground stadium section that most analysts agree is the circuit’s most technical, featuring the relatively mild Turn 3 and the hairpin of Turn 4 which, like Turn 1, tightens towards the middle; neither of these and particularly Turn 4, would be nearly as significant of a challenge as they are, however, if they did not each feature drops of several metres. The track then passes under itself before shooting down and out of the cliffs into the water-crossing Sector 2.

Immediately drivers are forced to deal with the esses of Turns 5, 6 and 7. While 5 does demand something of a decrease in speed, the latter two can be taken with surprising pace, in part the result of the increase in grip caused by the track levelling out, pushing cars into the ground; the measure of a good driver here will be how much momentum they can retain into the following straight. This straight leads up to the nudge that is Turn 8 and the sweeping, ever so slightly banked Turn 9, after which the chicane of Turns 10 and 11 provides another momentum-holding test into Turn 12, which technically begins immediately after Turn 11 and gradually tightens up to the beginning of the third sector, all the while presenting drivers with the track’s first rise.

Sector 3 is by far the fastest of the sectors. Drivers dart into the cliff tunnel after 12 to face a long, climbing straight broken only by Turn 13, a left-hander that may as well not exist for all of the change in speed that it necessitates but does create an obstruction to the driver’s vision and repositions the car relative to the track as a whole. This drastically increases the difficulty of Turn 14, a slightly tighter but still fast right-hand turn immediately after the tunnel exit; not only does the flattening of the circuit after the tunnel mean that it is taken near-blind but it also substantially reduces a car’s grip immediately before and Turn 15, the sector’s slowest corner and where that grip is most needed. Overtaking through this section, though attractive due to the heavy braking zone, thus takes substantial determination and skill. From there a short run and the chicane of 16 and 17 bring drivers back to the far end of the start/finish straight and, through that, the finish line.

As a new feature this WGPC season, the pit lane’s course has been recently altered to bring drivers out into the tunnel between Turns 2 and 3 rather than immediately before Turn 1; this will reduce the time cost of leaving the pits, which should encourage more aggressive qualifying and race strategies.

Safety

There are obvious safety-related challenges involved in high-speed racing above water. The organisers of the Nimban Grand Prix fully appreciate this and have taken steps to ensure that Crossbay Circuit is a paragonal track for motorsport safety, featuring:

• Traditional belt-and-tyre barriers;
• Imagikinetic force field technology to prevent cars or car parts from leaving the bounds of the racing environment;
• Imagikinetic recovery of crashed cars and car parts within Sector 2.

Environment

Motor racing typically has a significant environmental impact; all efforts have been made to minimise that impact at Crossbay.

• Significant care was taken before construction to relocate vulnerable wildlife away from the circuit to other areas around the cliffs of Nimbus Bay;
• Roman-style concrete, used in part for its reduced carbon footprint, has been employed throughout the construction of the circuit and its facilities;
• Harmful pollutants and greenhouse gasses created over the course of racing remain sealed within the confines of the Imagikinetic safety force field, whereupon they are scrubbed from the air by industrial-scale machinery housed underneath the track.

The Nimban Grand Prix - A Survival Guide

‘Need-to-Knows’

Language: Universal (English) (Higher [glyphic, formal] and Common [Latin, informal] Scripts)
Currency: Universal Standard Coinage (USC, commonly referred to as ‘coins’; symbol ‘ပ’) – 1 ပ worth approximately $1.8 NSD
Climate: Temperate Maritime
Time Zone: -10 AMT (Arcadian Mean Time)

Warning

Please refrain from taking items into the country where doing so is illegal. This particularly applies to drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco, and firearms. Such items will be seized upon entry and may be either destroyed or confiscated for collection upon your departure.

Getting to Crossbay Circuit

By Air:
Most attendees of the Nimban Grand Prix will arrive by air at First City Airport in the First City. From there, take the inbound Airport Terralev Line to Tower Station, then transfer to the outbound Seaport Terralev Line. Be sure to board a service that specifically lists Crossbay Circuit as the penultimate stop. Alternatively, if you wish to land at Second City Airport, take the inbound Airport Terralev Line to Harmony Station, then take the Ultrarail to Tower Station in the First City, a journey which will take no more than half an hour, before taking the outbound Seaport Terralev Line in the same manner. If you require help, staff in white and blue uniforms will be on hand; information can also be found in both the Higher and Common Scripts and in a variety of other languages on boards around all Nimban Rail facilities.

By Sea:
A few attendees of the Nimban Grand Prix may arrive by sea at Nimbus Bay Seaport. From there, take the inbound Seaport Terralev Line directly to Crossbay Circuit. Be sure to board a service that specifically lists Crossbay Circuit as the second stop. If you require help, staff in white and blue uniforms will be on hand; information can also be found in both the Higher and Common Scripts and in a variety of other languages on boards around all Nimban Rail facilities.

Accommodation

In Situ:
Accommodation at Crossbay Circuit will be available in the Hospitality Village attached to the main race facility. Staying here is recommended for those who only wish to attend the Nimban Grand Prix and related events around Crossbay Circuit during their stay.

First City:
A huge variety of accommodation is available in the First City, from lodgings in the hospitality sector, including state-run NimbInn hotels offering three-star lodging at market price, to individual room-sharing. Staying here is recommended for those who wish to combine their attendance of the Nimban Grand Prix with more general sightseeing in the First City, featuring such attractions as the famous New Nexus Tower, home of the Nimban legislature and executive alongside the world’s only Imagination Nexus.

Events

Main Events:
Drivers’ Parade: Thursday, 12:30 p.m. (22:30 AMT)
Practice Start: Friday, 9:00 a.m. (19:00 AMT)
Qualifying Start: Saturday, 10:00 a.m. (20:00 AMT)
Race Start: Sunday, 10:00 a.m. (20:00 AMT)

Concert:
A concert will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Friday in the Hospitality Village, including a performance of the Nimban national anthem ‘Together Unto Possibility’ by the Nimban Symphony Orchestra and a reinterpretation of classic Fleetwood Mac song and unofficial World Grand Prix theme ‘The Chain’ by performers to be revealed during the concert itself.

Lectures:
A series of lectures from guest speakers will be held in the Lecture Hall within the Hospitality Village during the race weekend.

• Friday, 13:00 p.m. – Gertrude Thompson, Project Manager for Nexus Racing and Regular Speaker – ‘Building the House of Nexus Racing’
• Friday, 16:00 p.m. – Miranda Calin, Doctor of Neurobiology for the University of the Second City – ‘Applications of Neuroanatomy and Imagination Science – WGPC and Beyond’
• Saturday, 13:30 p.m. – Veronica Duddsmith, Professor of Modern History for the University of the First City – ‘The Origins of the WGPC’
• Sunday, 13:30 p.m. – Sal Pepper, Head of Outreach for the Nimban Broadcasting Coalition – ‘Racing Stories: How to Cover a World Grand Prix’

World Grand Prix Experience Centre:
The Crossbay Circuit World Grand Prix Experience Centre in the Hospitality Village will be open throughout the weekend. Visitors will be able to participate in a sequence of activities explaining and simulating some of the key events of a World Grand Prix team’s race weekend, such as formulating race strategies, performing last-minute repairs on a car, changing tyres at a pit stop and competing in practice, qualifying and race sessions, while their progress is tracked throughout by keycard so that each simulation adapts to their previous decisions and performance. After completing the experience, visitors will receive a full race report of their activities, allowing them to test their skills on repeated visits, and, should they wish, may enter their final race time on the public leaderboard for others to see and compete with.

[Squidroidia]

"With 2 races in the season already completed, Round 3 of the World Grand Prix Championship goes to the most technologically advanced track in the most technologically advanced nation participating. The home of Nexus Racing, it's the Nimban Grand Prix from the Crossbay Circuit!"

Say what you want about Squidroidian tech, not even Daryl himself realized how freaking amazing and spectacular this track was. This was the most technological track on the circuit by a mile. Heck it's the only track on the calendar that runs above water, now that's what he called a win. Home of one of the established teams in the WGPC, the Crossbay Circuit demanded his best attention. A 20th place finish last round in Dashoze was good, but if he just knows the track, he can get a serious position... At least for the slab of wood that was the Motorworks car.

But of course, it wasn't qualifying. He had only just arrived at the track after the driver's parade, and like his teammates they were on the same float. Luminna, Mizushima, Nülkeschläger and Valkyria, together representing Motorworks and the diversity of the next generation of drivers coming through the domestic tier 3 series and WGP2. Seeing all of the Nimbans and the fans that came out here to Crossbay for the weekend was refreshing. It seemed to motivate him, he wanted to do his best in front of them, but of course he couldn't know until he hit the track in the gray car.

Even when he did get everything set in the Hospitality Village, Mr. Mizushima was struck with awe at the Nimban course he would race on for the weekend. It showed the technological advancements of the Nimbans better than anything else, heck, not even the Imagination Nexus in First City he saw before the driver's parade. The water section caught his eyes more than any part of the track. It clearly looked like it could make for a perfect backdrop for a WGPC photo. He hardly couldn't wait to hit the track.

And even with his jam packed schedule of interviews for the Nimban public, he did want to take some events for himself, especially the lecture about the history of the WGPC scheduled for after qualifying. The Squidroidian broadcaster SBN also had representatives attending Sal Pepper's lecture about covering the WGPC. Daryl would be busy filling his shoe with meatballs but if it meant a better experience for the people watching in Inkopolis, then so be it.

And of course he had to talk about his father's company and maybe pitch something to the Nimbans too. All in a hard day's work for the young Squidroidian.

[Togonistan]

First City Airport
The Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System

With Hodori Grand Prix done, it was time for round three. Dom had taken himself a seat next to a window and looked outside as the plane landed in Nexus Wardship's First City Airport. Following the DNF in Turori, his Hodori campaign had been a more pleasant one, finishing in P5 and thus earning his first WGPC points. After a small celebration party, he and the team had set their focus on preparations for Nimban Grand Prix. ''Come on, it is time to go,'' his race engineer said and gave Dom a pat on the shoulder, after which the latter stood up and started his stroll off the plane.

One thing Dom had never understood about The Wardship was the reason behind their strict laws regarding any sort of recreational drugs, including even mild things such as alcohol or tobacco. Back in Togonistan, they were considered pretty much everyday necessities by majority of the population. People would walk down the streets, smoking a cigarette or drinking beer with no one raising any questions about whether that was appropriate or not. Recreational drugs had found their place in the local culture, in fact, a large portion of tourists would come to the nation every year simply to buy and enjoy a few packs of Kanoa - a Togonistani brand of pre-rolled marijuana joints that could be bought in every other local grocery store. 20 joints of cannabis mixed with tobacco in a box that didn't differ from an ordinary pack of cigarettes.

Dom himself had been smoking on a daily basis since the age of sixteen. He wasn't even sure where he had picked up that habit exactly. Growing up while being surrounded by people doing it all the time, it just seemed natural to jump aboard that train himself as well. Oh, after that flight, he would've really liked to light up one right now. But, with that being The Wardship, Dom knew from his prior experience that it would be next to impossible. Thus, he had not brought a single pack with him, as it'd probably end up being confiscated by the security.

''Feeling nervous?'' Dom's race engineer asked him as the two walked side by side through the gate, moving towards security check.

''Not really. Just craving for a cig but, you know, I guess I'll have to lay off them for the weekend.''

His engineer smirked. ''Don't worry, I've got you covered.'' Having said that, he unzipped his handbag and showed him a little round box that looked like a hockey puck.

''What is that?''

''Nicotine pouches. Quite simple really, just throw one under your lip and you'll get your kick of nicotine out of that.''

''Are you crazy mate?!? That stuff is definitely illegal here.''

''Don't worry, just let me do the talking with the security. I know what to do.'' the engineer winked and took a spot in front of Dom at the waiting line.

Dom bit into his lower lip as he was waiting. It didn't take too long until it was their turn to go through the gates. Dom watched as his Engineer threw his bag in front of a young security guard with a big smile on his face, as the latter let it go through x-ray. As Dom had expected, the airport security was top notch and next thing he knew, his engineer's bag got unzipped and the guard took out one of those round boxes, holding it in-between his fingers while inspecting it.

''What is this?''

''Nicotine pouches.''

''For your personal use?''

''For me and Mr. Falepeau.''

Dom felt the blood in his veins freeze as his engineer openly claimed him to be involved in this. However, the engineer gave a quick side-eye view at the Dom, followed by a little bump into his knee, indicating him to act cool. Security guard squint slightly as he looked at the two men standing in front of him.

''I'm sorry gentlemen, I am forced to confiscate this. According to the laws of The Nexus Wardship, no tobacco is allowed inside the nation.''

''There is zero tobacco content in these, just nicotine.''

''Nicotine still classifies as a drug. I need to confiscate these.''

''We need them for medical purposes. We have a prescription.'' he took out two papers and handed them over to the guard.

The guard gave the papers a quick look and threw them back at the engineer. ''Did you really think i'd be fooled by these? You gentlemen realise that forgery is a federal crime?''

''Excuse me, did you just call me a liar? Do you even have any idea who you are talking to?''

''No... and I really don't care. I ask you just once to hand over your contraband or there will be consequences.''

Dom's engineer crossed his arms and looked the guard deep in the eyes. ''I want to talk to your supervisor. Right now! And don't you dare to tell me that is not possible, I know my rights!''

The guard hissed and called his colleague over to keep an eye on the two before walking through a door leading to the airport's staff area. Few minutes later, he returned with an older grey-haired man. The younger guard whispered something in his ear, to which the supervisor nod before approaching Dom and his engineer.

''Greetings gentlemen, how can I help you?''

''Good day sir, I believe there is some sort of a misunderstanding. You see, we just got off our plane and we are here for the Nimban Grand Prix. We are staff of Mattijana Racing Team.''

The supervisor nod and turned his head to look at Dom. ''Oh, I think I recognise you. You're that young gun Falepeau, am I right? Took P5 in Hodori last weekend.''

Dom smiled and nod, trying his best to not show the man how nervous he was right now. Luckily, his engineer was there to bring the attention away from him once again as he leaned forward and lowered his voice a bit.

''You see, we have a bit of a dilemma. Mr. Falepeau here is an avid nicotine addict. He has suffered with this awful habit since childhood. I know the laws of The Wardship perfectly fine, but he really needs these items your colleague wants to confiscate from us as part of his rehabilitation program. He suffers serious anxiety attacks if he is unable to get his daily dosage and it has a devastating effect on his ability to handle his daily tasks, not to even mention his ability to perform during the race weekend.''

''You have a prescription, right?''

''I sure do, it's right here.'' He handed over the papers again and continued with an even lower voice, ''WGPC draws a lot of attention at The Wardship this weekend. In light of all this, i'm sure neither of us would want an international scandal to blow up should there be any information reaching to anyone's eyes or ears about a certain driver being denied access to his medical substances during the event, right?''

''...how much of these do you carry?''

''Just four boxes.''

The guard looked at both Dom as well as his engineer for a few seconds, before handing back the papers again. ''Everything seems in order to me. Lewis, place the items back in the bag and let them go.''

The younger guard, named Lewis as it had just turned out, sent out an irritated grunt as he threw the boxes back in the bag and angrily pulled the zipper. ''Welcome to The Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System,'' he said through his teeth as he handed the bag back to the engineer.

''Thank you kind sir, have a nice day,'' the engineer said with a smile on his face before he and Dom walked through the security gate. As they walked through the lobby, Dom looked at his engineer and noticed the smug face he had. ''See Dom, that's how you handle these things.'' He opened one of the boxes and placed a pouch under his lip, before handing the box over to Dom.

''Mate... you're such a legend.'' Dom laughed as he took a pouch for himself as well.

[Nekoni]

Dashoze Circuit, Hodori
Raceday

Erica Okumura's car had finally been pulled out of the gravel and was gently pushed back to the Polaris team garage. Unfortunately, despite Erica's best efforts, ultimately, she wasn't going to be taking any points from Hodori this season. Inside the car, as it was being pushed down the pit, helmet still on to hide the angry blushes, was Erica, internally beetroot red from the embarassment of her lap of dishonor. It was going so well, too...

After a dismal pre-race setup, which caused her to qualify in 20th, the race started fairly pedestrian...and then lap 33 hit. Sigur had gone out. It looked nasty, and the safety car had appeared. Right as Erica was about to pit in anyway. Perfectly timed. Following her exit into the pack of cars in sixteenth, she surmised that the goal here was naturally to finish in the points, and having just pitted, she was in a prime spot to go for it when the race resumed. The procession passed the chequered line repeatedly, and with it, the path in front of her cleared as teams thought to take a chance at avoiding having to deal with a full-speed pitstop deficit. After all, losing fifteen seconds worth was preferable to losing twenty-five. However, as Erica had timed it just that bit better, she was twelfth now, just ready for the restart. As the flashing light-bedecked sports car pulled into the pits, hopefully for good, Erica eyed her rivals and put the foot down.

An entire ton of angry horses roared inside the engine, and she shot down the pit straight. She took two immediately, and during the momentum shift around North, she passed a caught-out Rustom Ibuna. "Ninth!" came the bright voice of Mayari through the radio. "You have twenty-four laps to build on it, though. Keep pushing!" Erica could see her teammate, the local heroine, locked in a battle ahead for the top six. Erica thought that she would be one car too many in the mess, so decided on holding back and defending her two points for now.

When the fight appeared to be over, Erica made her move, and over the next few laps, tried to get up to speed with the blur of a car ahead of her. A solid chase, with a steady half-second advantage every lap, meant that at lap 53, she caught the car up, and was able to wrest control of eighth from the driver ahead of her. Next up, 7th. Souzare. She'd have to stick the knife in her team mate on her own course. Harsh, but fair. Sayo would do it to her in a heartbeat if the roles were reversed.

Now, her offseason in Formula Hodori should have meant that she'd have much greater experience on the circuit than the standard driver. After all, when she raced at the track earlier in the year, she came a respectable 7th. However, muscle memory, much like trying to navigate the PrismRiver Esses at speed, is a bitch. The change in speed, acceleration and dimensions of the car completely threw her off her game. Weirdly, whilst she could go from a WGPC vehicle into a FH one like a greased hand into a glove, doing it in reverse was more akin to removing a hand from a closed beartrap. However, it seemed that at this moment in time, completing lap 54, it was all back with her.

Darting behind the Polaris, noting in her head roughly how many car lengths Sayono was ahead by, Erica formulated a plan. Build up as much speed into the Spoon as possible on the back half of the lap. She reasoned that it was difficult, but the PrismRiver Esses were indeed possible to take full-throttle, and with a touch of brake at 15, she could coast it round the sweeper, and bomb it down the south straight, leaving her in a great position to tackle the last couple of tight corners with some more brave out-braking. Do that a couple times, and she'd leave Souzare in the dust on the main straight.

Kawashiro S was simple, nice bob-and-weave to drop speed a little into the stadium section, two easy constant-radius turns one after another, and a slow right at that turn with the weird Greek name. Here was where it was to be put into practice. Build speed around the 66R, hug every rumble strip you can, keep your foot pressed hard as you navigate the easy kink at the start of the Esses, attempt to hit the left, lock-up your brakes, just like you did at Ealandii, completely undershoot the turn, exit the track and sprawl your entire car into the damn gravel, you stupid fucking idiot, Erica. Oh no. That wasn't the plan...was it?

In the course of about three seconds, she had thrown away a perfectly good result, and some much needed points on the board. As the pit staff groaned in disbelief, the microphone connected to the TV output picked up the only sound that Erica could make as she buried her face in the wheel: a long, bitterly angry succession of A's. As the other cars continued to dart past the pit in the final six laps, all effectively oblivious to her failure, the car, now carrying a mark of shame down the side of mud with grass, gravel and worn rubber peelings on it, Erica couldn't imagine a worse feeling than the one she was feeling right now.

The moment she could get out, she did. Leaving the car, she took off her helmet and balaclava, and, in a fit of anger, launched both as hard as she could at the mercifully empty garage wall, screaming as she did. The garage went deathly quiet. Alex, startled by the noise, threw off her headset, and opened her mouth to speak. Erica, one finger outstretched at her, her emotions still in overdrive, yelled at her. "DON'T!" Having expended all of her adrenaline in those two moves, she immediately felt crushed inside, and the hurt got to her, immediately welling up tears in her eyes. Much quieter, softer, and much, much more vunlerable, she barely managed to speak "...I'm sorry." She then ran off out of the garage, into her trailer, and wasn't seen out of it for the rest of the weekend.

So, two shots at points squandered by her own mistakes. Nimban Grand Prix was next: a circuit that she had famously won in its maiden appearance. Like hell that was happening this year.