World Grand Prix Championship 18 [RP/results]

by **Diarcesia** » Fri Nov 27, 2020 8:53 pm

Alfred Kazan, a researcher from the Tisiphone Spire Institute for the Science of Human History, was leading a group of students in a survey of medieval manuscripts from various monastic communities. They were examining the cultural practices and the literary traditions of the various communities in Diarcesia and asked him to share what he had learned with them. In particular, they are currently interested in how chariot racing was done. Alfred told the students about the details of that sport there. Contestants drove chariots equipped with apparatus and innovations in an effort to outwit their opponents. In addition to the usual circuses and hippodromes a Roman or Byzantine scholar would find familiar, improvised tracks of various designs are known to be used that make use of various turns instead of the typical oval layout. This variation was used to great success by the Giambalaeans and other communities.

In the course of centuries, Diarcesian chariot racing spread to Odrioya, where racing trails on the desert were born. Alfred explained that the sands used in the Odrioyan tracks were ideal for the chariot drivers; it was easier for them to learn the sport. In addition, the Odrioyans were able to transfer their advantage in emu-riding skills to horsemanship. This led to the popularity of Diarcesian vs. Odrioyan races.

The last time Sara raced in Circuit d'Arès, she took pole position and was unassailable throughout. Today, she was back there in another non-championship race, and this time, she was in a WGPC-spec car. As opposed to the WGP2 race, she started close to the back based on her current rank in the drivers' leaderboard. By the race's end she was virtually where she started: P24.

"It's not what I wanted," she told the media in the post-race interview. "I wanted to make the most of my car. This was one of the effects of being in a street circuit. Overtaking is more tricky here. I tried my best to avoid getting stuck behind other cars but it wasn't always possible. This was one of those times."

She didn’t sound angry or bitter, just disappointed. This was a track where her technique should serve her well, but things didn't pan out the way she wanted to see. In comparison, Gregori was able to improve to P9 when he crossed the finish line. It appears that he was getting ready for the more technical races in the future weeks.

The Pryfors Bilar Crux One-make Race at Diarcesia is unlike any other. Being forced to work with the same type of car, team's drivers go head to head with no holds barred. It was a battle of who is the most skilled among them all. With the engineering playing field leveled, no one could win the championship behind a constructor's prowess.

Sara Luna had a golden opportunity to take the championship trophy for Team Versidien and her own PB Crux car after a very tough race at PB Raceway. She didn't hold back. Despite her teammate being ahead of her, Sara still had a path to victory if she finishes first and her teammate finishes second. As a result, she pushed harder and endeavored to take the lead in the championship race. The Diarcesian car accelerates quickly and has a high top speed, but the very best drivers master the way it behaves around corners.

Sara never held back in the pursuit of her goal in her bid for the lead. It was a battle of attrition. The race started well enough but soon turned ugly for some of her rivals who figured in an early crash. The incident left several others vastly behind for a time such that catching up seemed to take forever. At one point, Sara had a 13-second gap from the driver behind her. Amazingly, the back half of leaderboard's efforts seemed to pay off as they closed the gap towards the race's end.

Early on the season, it was a great sign for the team that Sara didn't give up after her early setbacks and that she and her teammate both worked hard. It showed that even though they may have been at the bottom of one of the races, they had both seen enough to know what mistakes to not repeat. The team found itself in good shape.

In the end, it was all the more reason for the team to celebrate. They had worked so hard to get to this point that Versidien's drivers were the champion and the runner-up simultaneously. The long struggle bore fruit as they cleared the final hurdle. It was a long time coming, but now, Sara earned an amount of money that was not a pittance. For perspective, her team earned a little more than a million dollars over this season.

Despite her cash-strapped status, Sara was more than happy to share her newfound money. After all, was her success just because of her alone? Of course not. She made the decision to donate a portion of her proceeds to charities connected to her advocacies. The remainder was also significant enough to pay a lot of the debt for her house in the suburbs.

So what about her teammate, who is more well-known as ViCi?

Well, she had done quite adequately after a similarly difficult start in the season. She didn't expect to be in the points battle at the beginning, but her development during the season saw her as a dark horse of the series. Her drive to learn showed. After a few mishaps at the beginning, she would be known to earn a good deal of ground if she found herself behind. She was more often than not able to catch up.

"I believe that ViCi is a very capable driver," said Sara. "She's had her difficulties, but she was doing much better after she made her adjustments. Soon after refocusing her priorities, she earned a podium. She has a lot of heart and soul. She's a real fighter."

While discussing ViCi, Sara spoke on her own past. She didn't like the person she was before. The way she competed in the past bothered her, even if a part of her thought it was necessary. She started her career with a bang, with everyone saying that she would be one of the top drivers in the world. It didn't take long for her form to fall off a cliff, probably due to immense pressure. It didn't help that the way she handled herself before just wasn't fine.

"When I was younger, I was acting like a hotshot who thinks she is God's gift to the world, I'm internally apologizing whenever I think of it." she said in a quick confession. "I hurt people's feelings, made people uncomfortable, and ruined friendships. I shouldn't have done that. I can't change that. I'm sorry."

Her climb back from irrelevance was long and arduous. She spoke of how she found herself constantly in new roles. "I grabbed every opportunity that fell to my lap. I needed to take advantage of it, to work my way up to be one of the best as a pro driver. That's all I know to do. There are people who think that because they are good at something, they automatically earn a spot on the top tier. That's not how it works. I understand why people fall off the radar. I had been there. By the time I entered the PB one-make series with Team Versidien, the people around me trust me enough to tell me that the top tier (Diarcesian WGP3) is within reach for me." Laughing, she continued: "Fate for me is like a cosmic rugby match. Lots of exertions to make. You get beat, you have to tackle opportunities by the horns, and everything was fast-paced. It was exhausting. At one point I had a season-ending injury that set me back quite a bit."

The last word in her statement was short and to the point. It was a statement of fact. It was difficult to make a case against Sara after what she had been through. There were no excuses. Her eyes had the mark of someone who at one point had to fight with nothing to lose.

Excerpt: This is the sixth in a series of posts chronicling the Diarcesian WGP3 season in 2000.

2000 World Grand Prix Tier Three: Diarcesian Season

The car named Millennium Panther, driven by Ellen Angelline made its way through the streets of the Old City of Sartoriana. It passed under the gaze of Sir Sudhir Adhya, the patriarch of the Church, who was an avid racing fan and was one of the spectators. Adhya was also present in tribute of the late WGP3 driver Maria Antonia Talbott, who had been suffering from a rare form of cancer.

After crossing the bridge, the Millennium Panther sped along the scenic houses of the Old City. Here, in the shadows of the buildings, it passed several cars, including the famous car The Voice of Sartoriana, who was the heavy favorite to win this grand prix.

by **Hapilopper** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 3:44 am

Good Oil Headquarters, Hapilopper City
A few days before leaving for Nekoni
Greg Meadows, the man responsible for Good Motor Oil’s motorsports sponsorships, was a dynamic person, a “type A personality” if there ever was one. He would pop into the office at three in the morning just to draw up ways to advertise Good to the masses, and stay there until midnight, perfecting his initial idea. “Get Good,” the slogan on the back of the Preston PGP-01 and the back of Chris Holmes’ Super Skychief in NSSCRA, was one of those 3 a.m. ideas, the kind of idea that was strong enough to jolt him out of bed, drive over to the office, and put it to paper. He had spent days and weeks convincing the Good executives that “Get Good” was going to be enough to catch the attention of the multiversal public.

The fact that Meadows won out, quite frankly, was a surprise, regardless of how hard he worked. Good Oil executives were stodgy fellows who initially disliked the idea of a slogan as provocative as “Get Good,” feeling it to be too combative. Instead, they wanted the company to advertise how their motor oil was better at reducing friction and thermal breakdown than their competitors. After an interminable amount of time of Meadows convincing his bosses that “the public finds that stuff boring,” the executives decided to go ahead with his idea.

And that idea had, indeed, captured everyone’s attention, and it was because of motorsports sponsorship. Weeks before the season started, Meadows and Marty Lewis, the head of Preston Grand Prix Racing, ironed out a sponsorship deal over lunch at Andrew’s Pub in Hapilopper City, and it was Meadows that threw out the idea of “Get Good!” on the rear wing of the Preston cars. ¹

“It’ll get everyone’s attention,” Meadows told Marty. “Just think of it. The multiverse is watching a Grand Prix and someone, let’s say… Rustom Ibuna, is having a hard time trying to get around one of your cars. Well, the world is watching from an on-board camera on his car, and the fans all over the multiverse get to see us – Preston Autos, whoever you have as your driver, and Good Motor Oil, taunting this driver with the demand to ‘Get Good.’”

Marty initially loathed the idea, figuring it would only cause problems amongst a group of teams he was trying so hard to be a part of. But Meadows explained to him that “Get Good” was going to get people’s attention, and thus, eyes on the Preston cars, and thus, more sponsorship heading the team’s way. And that helped sell Marty on the “Get Good” concept, clearing the way for the slogan to be put on the rear wing of the car.

On this day, Meadows had been informed that Marty was coming over to Good HQ in downtown Hapilopper City for a meeting concerning that very slogan, and more specifically, Good’s very liberal use of it in advertisements, specifically over the last few weeks. Over the course of the last few weeks, the teams of the World Grand Prix Championship had held non-championship races in Twicetagaria and the Île Saint-Joseph, and Preston had won both of them with driver William Archer. It was reason for Preston Autos to celebrate, as they felt like they had finally reached a breakthrough in the evolution of the car, as well as the drivers’ familiarity with the car.

But with those two wins came a hope for caution. They had won two races in a row, but neither of the races counted for the World Grand Prix Championship. Preston Autos still sat 10th in the Constructor’s standings. William Archer still sat 23rd in the Driver’s standings and Rudy Edwards still sat 15th. None of those numbers looked impressive, and there was a hope that anyone wanting to brag about those race victories would have pumped the brakes a little bit. But “pump the brakes” was not in Meadows’ vocabulary, and he went full steam ahead with advertising the two non-championship wins.

On websites across Hapilopper, Good Motor Oil had purchased banner ads bragging about Preston Autos’ wins, telling web surfers all over that all they needed to do to win Grands Prix was just “get good.” The ads specifically spoke of Preston Autos winning the last two races, which was something Marty was a little uncomfortable with. After all, who knew if the top teams had taken those last two races lightly?

In the Hapilopper City Herald and in other newspapers across the Dominion, Good had put out ads explaining that “Get Good” was more than just a slogan, and referenced the two race wins. That was fine, and the ad actually looked pretty cool in Hapilopper’s newspapers.

But what wasn’t fine in Marty’s view was the ads specifically targeting Filindo driver Rustom Ibuna. Ibuna had said on twii.tur, through the use of a hashtag, that he was “fed up” with “Get Good.”

So Meadows had the fine idea of commissioning ads specifically telling Ibuna to “Get Good!” And that was the catalyst for Marty coming to Good HQ on this day to talk about this advertising program.

As Marty walked in the office, he had a grim look on his face.

“We’ve got to talk about ‘Get Good,’” Marty said.

“Gladly,” Meadows said with a wise-ass smile on his face. “We’re putting our slogan on t-shirts, hats, bumper stickers, oh, and we’ve bought some billboard space for the Hapiloppian Grand Prix! We’re going to have a huge sign over the start finish line with the words ‘GET GOOD’ right above the starting lights! What do you think?”

Marty looked at Meadows and shook his head grimly. “Pump the brakes. It’s one thing to do all that, that’s cool. But we need to calm down with bragging about winning these last two races. We need to…”

“A win’s a win, Marty!” Meadows interrupted. “And we won two in a row! Not many teams can say that!”

“If we win Nekoni, I’ll pop a cork and celebrate,” Marty continued. “But I’m not all that comfortable celebrating that right now. No points were on the line. We’re still near the bottom of the constructor’s table. We can’t truly say we’ve gotten good, per se.”

“Fair point, but we still won those two races,” Meadows responded. “Archer still took the flag.”

“Yeah, he did,” Marty said, somewhat resigned to the fact that nothing was going to change. “But, one thing I need you to slow down with is this taunting of that Filindo driver. I went on the internet today and what did I find on several websites? Ads telling Rustom Ibuna to ‘Get Good’! Seriously, Greg, what the hell?!”

A Stevens Automotive ad, commissioned
by Marty Lewis, circa 1999.

“He appeared to be sick and tired of the slogan, and I think he said he was fed up with it,” Meadows said with a wise-ass tone of voice. “Come on, Marty. I grew up idolizing you. You used to pull stunts like this all the time. I remember when you were with Stevens Automotive, and some HASCAR driver, I think it was Chet Byrd, said your cars suck. So what did you do? You put out a full-page ad in the Herald mocking him. I wanted to do things like that!”

“It’s a different time, and I let Chet know I was going to do that beforehand,” Marty said. “The two of us had a really good laugh over that, and I think he’s got a copy of that ad in his office in Wreckeria. But did you tell Rustom about that beforehand? I have my doubts that you did, and thus I have problems with it.”

“But come on, man, it’s gonna get everyone’s attention,” Meadows complained. “And trust me, more people have paid attention to what we’ve done since we started the campaign. More people are buying our products, and more people are following us since we started. So what if we ruffle a few feathers?”

“It may keep some drivers from wanting to sign with us,” Marty said.

“What, and replace Archer?” Meadows asked, somewhat surprised. “I mean, he’s won two races for you guys so far.”

“We’re not replacing Archer. Shit, no. We like him and we'd like to keep him. Rudy, on the other hand…”

OOC Notes:
1 - Actually, it was Starblaydia's idea.

by **Vilita and Turori** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 4:19 am

Tundra Falls Superspeedway, Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan :: While the World Grand Prix Championship's 18th season took a pause for the Mid-season test and Non-championship races at the Raichovsky Circuit in Twicetagria and the Circuit d'Arès in d'Île Saint-Joseph, Juracai Klianiota and the newly formed Race of Stars team had been busy doing there own testing at the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds in Newmanistan. Klianiota and team had been focused on shaking down a newly acquired fleet of 20 Dart Hybrid Sport Special Edition high end racing machines and ensuring that each car was as identical as possible in terms of on track performance. The best drivers in the multiverse from the Open Wheeled ranks of the World Grand Prix Championships, to the full bodied NSSCRA Stock Car circuit would soon be joining together in Newmanistan to contest the first ever Race of Stars event at the high speed Stock Car circuit. The race itself would be part of a much larger 'Speedweeks' in Tundra Falls marking the kick off of the 10th NationStates Stock Car Racing Association season with a number of exhibition races and qualifying sessions including the debut of the NSSCRA's newly formed Second Tier. In the middle of that action would be the highly anticipated iROS event which would include at least 4 former NSSCRA Champions, 2 Former World Grand Prix Champions as well as former champions of the Super Formula Championship and the World Grand Prix 2 Circuit.

For the drivers of the WGPC, it may be a bit of a learning curve in the series Kick-off event which will be very different from the style of racing typically found on the World Grand Prix Circuit. The racing at Tundra Falls will be very fast and very tight. Cars will be drawn to each other and much of the race will be a mental game as opposed to a technical battle or display of raw talent. While the non-NSSCRA drivers were welcome to use their Garage Access badges for the entirety of the NSSCRA Speedweeks to get familiar with the racing action and discuss things with the drivers competing in the weeks other events, they would have just one day on the track with the Hybrid Dart Sport vehicles. The morning of the iROS main event the drivers would be split into three groups - two groups of five and one of six with 30 minutes on track per group. After that, drivers would draw randomly for their starting position in the race and then prepare for the race itself.

For some drivers, the condensed schedule would likely come as a relief - in and out, allowing them to compete in the special series without greatly burdening their existing schedule in preparation for their spot in the World Grand Prix Championship circuit, sponsor appearances or other obligations. For others, however, particularly those with minimal experience on the high speed, left-turn only Stock Car circuit - it would seem they are being thrown into the deep end competing in a car they had never driven before on a track they had never seen before against many drivers who had been driving all week on that track competitively. That is the beauty of the Race of Stars, however, putting World Class drivers out of their element in many cases and letting them put their varied talents against each other. Once the first round in Newmanistan is over, it will be very much the opposite feeling for the World Grand Prix drivers as they will be the ones with the 'home track' advantage at the Talbott Autodrome in Liventia.

While different drivers will have various levels of familiarity with the tracks, none of the drivers will have any experience in the Hybrid Dart Sport Edition vehicle which is seeing the track for the first time in Tundra Falls. While it is a full-bodied stock-style race car the Hybrid Dart Sport is not restricted by the same regulations as the NSSCRA Stock Car variants and the Downforce and handling of the lighter performance-enhanced race car will provide a unique balance between the familiarity of the NSSCRA and Grand Prix Driving Experiences. With shake-down testing now ongoing in Newmanistan, iROS and the Dart Group revealed on twii.tur what the cars for the series debut season will look like. Displaying the #77 of series co-founder and current World Grand Prix Championhip points leader iBen Toralmintii and the contrasting #56 of Toralmintii's Tropicorp Racing Aelund Teammate and reigning World Grand Prix Champion Terho Talvela, iROS has set the stage for not only an exciting brand of racing, but a colorful one as well.

iBEN's RACE OF STARS ✓

@raceofstars
Thanks to @theDARTgroup for helping with the design and production of the IROS race cars! Check out a couple below:

#NSSCRA : #WGPC : #iROS

The Dart is the best selling personal vehicle transportation in the Tropics of Vilita with options including fully electric, fuel injected and self-piloting available. The Vilitan Dart is also the vehicle of choice for Vilita & Turori Motorsports in the Nationstates Stock Car Racing Association. The Standard Dart has become a maintstay of transportation throughout the Vilitan Cove region while the newly released Hybrid Dart is available on-demand at special Dart Dealers throughout the Tropics. Electric Darts can be charged free at any Arcticala branded Charging Station through a special agreement between Arcticala Electric and the Dart group. The Dart Group has also recently expanded into TJUN-ia through a special market arrangement and will also begin providing motorsports chassis for TJUN-ia based Jaguar Racing. The Dart Group has been the official manufacturer used in competition for Vilita and Turori Motorsports since NSSCRA Season 4 and added Team Tropicorp as an official partner during NSSCRA Season 7. During NSSCRA Season 9, the Dart Group expanded with Sales to the IRACT Circuit as well as deals to continue into NSSCRA Season 10 fielding cars for additional Tier 1 and Tier 2 NSSCRA teams. While the Dart Group is providing technical support to the iROS, drivers with pre-existing associations with competing or alternate automotive suppliers can opt out of any Dart graphics on their assigned iROS machine.

In the event of any incidents or mechanical failures in warmup sessions prior to an iROS event, four equally prepared spare chassis are on hand for each event. Drivers who suffer mechanical failure or incidents after the green flag of an iROS event are not eligible to swap to one of the spare iROS machines.

For a collection of information that has been either confirmed or rumored regarding iBen's Race of Stars, fans and prospective competitors can visit the Race of Stars website.

by **Siovanija and Teusland** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 8:43 am

Stelburg International Airport, Stelburg, Teusland

Niklas Schonbaum finished off his mid-season break with a week back home in Stelburg. It was a week he’d wanted to spend under the radar, for the most part - meet with some old friends, see a concert or two at the old Central Palace grounds, and mostly hang around his home. He should’ve known better than to expect a low-key affair back home, however.

The Central Palace, located right in downtown Stelburg, was home to lush gardens, right along the River Drai, and in the summer, it hosted local artists for concerts twice a week. Niklas and some friends decided to attend one evening - probably not the best idea for a guy who wanted to stay low-key, and was still adapting to being in the spotlight. Everywhere they went people wanted autographs, wished him good-luck, and he was even called up on stage at one point.

By the end of the week, word had spread that he was in town, and Niklas couldn’t even go outside without fans or the press following his every step. Such is the life as a celebrity athlete in a sports-mad country. Luckily for Niklas, though, by the end of the week, he was back in anonymity - the World Cup of Hockey playoffs were just starting. The streets were empty every night as seemingly every single Teus either stayed home to watch the game, went down to a bar, or gathered in the Teuslandplatz where the games were being shown live. Niklas and friends managed to get a seat in the bar for Siovanija & Teusland’s 4-3 win over Taeshan - and wasn’t noticed once. Such is the life as a celebrity athlete in a hockey-mad country.

That was the last bit of fun he’d get to have at home, however - it was right back to work soon after, and a trip to Nekoni to kick off the second half of the WGPC season. After a mixed first half of the season, Niklas was eager to get the second half underway. He felt more comfortable in the car, and felt that the schedule remaining was more favourable to his particular skill set. Walking through the Stelburg Airport, of course, he was tracked down by the media - all of whom wanted a comment.

“Niklas, I’m here with a couple of questions from the Stelburger Zeitung, do you have a minute?”

Schonbaum paused, smiled, and answered, of course, “Sure, guys.”

“Perfect. First of all, just wanted to say congratulations on your good performance at the Grand Prix of Twicetagria.”

“Thank you, it was a really good race from the whole team, and I think we really showed that we want to keep going like that for the rest of the season.”

“Now, it’s a non-championship race, but it must still feel good to get that result under your belt, right?”

“Any time you can come P4 - championship or non-championship - it’s a huge thrill, but I’m not one to dwell on past results. I think we need to keep focused on the future and how we can perform even better than that in these last few races of the season.”

“What is the biggest thing you can take away from the midseason break events? Mixed results for you obviously.”

“I think, for me, it’s about how far we’ve come as a team. In Twicetagria, I was 4th and Anneliese was 10th. In Saint-Joseph, she was 13th, I was 15th. So we’re both making some strides, and most importantly we’re both improving, I feel at least, every single week.”

“Back in WGPC action this week, Niklas. In the first 5 races, you finished no better than 19th. Are you confident that you can improve on those performances in the second half of the season?”

“Yeah, definitely. It feels like a bit of a reset. I’m still a rookie on this circuit, there’s so many good drivers, but I’m thankful to my team for having faith in me and for the ability to learn from every driver out there. And I think that the second half of the season, you’re going to see better things from me.”

“Word on the street is that you had a phone call with Teussische Motoren-Werke boss Magnus Schonau after the Grand Prix of Twicetagria - did he give you any advice for the rest of the season?”

“Just to take things one race at a time. Magnus has been a friend and someone I can turn to for pretty much my entire career, so it was really nice to hear from him. He’s got faith that we’re going to keep building in the second half of the season, definitely.”

“You go this week to Nekoni, and a track that is a little bit more favourable to technical drivers such as yourself. Are you looking forward to this race weekend?”

“I look forward to every race weekend, and this is obviously no different. I think it should be a fun one, of course - I’m really excited to get going after the first half of the season. But I’m not too worried on thinking about how favourable tracks are, really - my focus every weekend is going out and doing the best I can for the team.”

“That’s all, I think.”

“Thanks guys, see you later.”

With that, Schonbaum continued walking through the airport before boarding his flight to Nekoni. He was hopeful as ever that the second half of the season would be an opportunity for him to build from the results he’d had earlier, and get on a roll.

by **Auruna** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 11:38 am

Viska Racing is not afraid with innovating in every motorsport they enter. They might bring other crazy ideas to the mix and some would probably work and some don't but if they work, they are usually successful. For now, Viska has announced the implementation of the upgrades tested at the mid-season test. Some of the upgrades that were planned for earlier in the season were delayed for more testing due to certain issues. An example is the VTSS (Viska Talon Suspension System) which had compatibility issues with the mass damper and the tuning system. They managed to fix those issues just before the mid-season test and is now a part of the upgrade package.

The HUD teased for the first few races will be finally implemented after testing with the drivers in-between races and finalisation at the mid-season test. The HUD can be customised to only display information based on the the driver's preferences. The HUD project was inherited from the domestic AtMA series but heavily modified for the WGPC.

Next on the list is Viska's pseudo-AWD system based around the team's experimentation in the Aurun E-Series. As stated before, it uses electric motors to power the front wheels only during low gears and RPMs while gathering energy during braking and would also activate during the "Burst" mode. It effectively makes the car AWD for a brief period which should aid with the Viska drivers' already brilliant starts.

The last one has been already mentioned, it's the VTSS. It was recently given an official name but it's usually referred to as the "talons". It's Viska's attempt to further utilise the features and capabilities of the In-Motion tyres that the team is using. This is one of the biggest upgrades as it replaces the whole suspension system currently in place. The team can change the settings to better fit other tyres if necessary.

With that out of the way, Viska has announced a mid-season livery change that they will run for the rest of the season. They didn't release a statement as to why they decided to change but some would guess that it's because of other teams having similar colours, it's to identify the Viskas better which is not much of an issue as they have a huge eagle on the sides.

Fun Facts

Flag of Sterlennau

- Viska's colours are based on the flag of Sterlennau (the province, not the city) except for the light grey as that is based on Schkeska's primary colour used in their military vehicles.

- Viska's number is 58. It is some wordplay with the Livonsk dialect of Aurun where 5 is vis and 8 is ka, a shortened form of kahte.

- Viska uses the designation system that VSK uses instead of the traditional naming system that Schkeska uses but Viska uses the Schkeska system when naming GT and endurance cars.

Viska Factory
Sterlennau, Auruna

After a few weeks a Veratuna, Jöna finally returned just after the team arrived home from the previous non-championship race. There were a lot of news that Jöna got, most of them are interesting. He arrives at the factory earlier than usual to prepare everything after his return.

He enters his office to find Artur looking out of the window, gazing at Sterlennau's skyline at the sunrise. Jöna calls Artur, getting his attention.

"Ah Jöna, you're back!"

"Yep, back from all those busy weeks. Veratuna's nice but I prefer Livonsk or here." Then he sits on his chair, now looking relaxed. "Anyway, they knew that we're a solid mid-fielder in our first season, they wanted to invest more but I'm not sure where to use those extra funds as we already have enough for next season's car and we don't have any upgrades planned later on."

Artur interrupts him for a moment. "More coffee?"

Jöna laughs. "Yeah, that's one thing. Let's put some of it into R&D then let's talk about what to do with the rest of the extra funds."

"Yeah, okay." Artur pulls a chair next to the window then sits down.

"Another thing, it's not yet finalised but it's interesting, they are planning on getting one team in the WGP2 to be our junior team, not much details on which team but I'm hoping that they can be Viska's sister team in the WGPC. Also, there's not plans to form a Viska junior team for the WGP2 but VSK is interested in joining. I'd like to see what happens. If it were to be finalised, they want Laura Haukanna contracted to that team if she does go ahead with her WGP2 plans."

"That's a lot. Wow."

"Yep, internal politics and stuff. Aaaand I need a bit of rest, when is the next race?"

"In a few days."

"Alright. I'll try to make the most of my relaxation time. I should go now, ya?"

"Yeah, but before you go..."

"What is it?"

"Don't leave us alone... again. Everything gets a bit messy without you around."

"I'm some kind of a lucky charm now?" Laughs. "Don't worry, I won't. I got everything sorted out. Now that I'm back, we can do better!"

works? · by **Abanhfleft** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 11:58 am

"...there are no world championship points on offer for this race, but you have a feeling that this won't matter at all to the young man in front. For much of this season, they've been telling everyone else to get good. Now it's their turn to get good! William Archer takes the checkered flag at the Raichovsky Circuit and wins his first ever WGPC-sanctioned event!"

"Come on, man, I wanna hear you say it!" William Archer shouted. "Say it!"

"You are P1, William! P1! You are the winner of the Twicetagrian Grand Prix!"

"YEEEEAAAAHHHH!!!! Whoo! Woohoo!" William screamed. "Oh my god! I can't believe it! This is unbelievable! Incredible! Hoo!" William had barely even savored his unexpected victory before the tears started falling from his eyes. "Oh my god, I can't believe this!" he finally managed to say after.

"First win in WGPC, man," his engineer told him. "That Mid-Season Impromptu Bash of yours really must've done wonders for you, man!"

"Oh man! I never thought this was gonna happen anytime soon, never mind this season!" William said. "Man, it's a real shame there's no points given for this race."

"Never mind that for the moment, William. A win is still a win, right?"

"Oh yeah, man," William said. Then, in a moment of cheekiness that may or may not bite him in the ass in the future, William said, "GG, boys. Get good!"

Maybe the Mid-Season Impromptu Bash really did work out in his favor after all. William had come up with the idea on the Tuesday before the start of the midseason test, which for some reason the WGPC had decided to move from the Ile de Saint Joseph or whatever the fuck it was called to the Raichovsky Circuit in Twicetagria. Willian had pitched the idea to a few members of his crew as a way of passing the time in Twicetagria between the test and the non-points race, and those crew had gotten word of William's impromptu party to Marty Lewis, who then acquired the services of Chet Byrd (formerly of NSSCRA's Team Blue and now currently of Hawking Racing or something along those lines) to help organize the party. And boy did Chet come through. Food, drinks, you name it, he got it.

Perhaps the great irony of the Mid-Season Impromptu Bash was the fact that the guy who thought up of it in the first place wasn't really around much during it. William was a self-admitted introvert, and while he was relatively sociable, he still found it easier to remain in the background of big gatherings and events instead of being front and center, even though this whole party in Twicetagria was his idea. So while he knew that he had sent out invites to all of the other drivers on the current WGPC grid this season, William couldn't really be sure if everyone had attended. For sure he saw some familiar faces, like fellow WGP2 alumni Lane Carter and Sara Luna. And then there was also Rustom Ibuna, the Filindo driver who had become the subject of Good Oil's advertising campaign, telling him to, you guessed it, get good.

William was still in a state of disbelief as he walked up to the podium and saw the graphical representation of the flag of Abanhfleft in all its blue, orange and green glory, waving atop the middle and highest step of the podium. And once the Fleftic national anthem began to play, William' right hand immediately flew up to his chest, and he began to sing the anthem aloud. He got some strange looks from his fellow drivers on the podium when he began to sing, but at the moment William couldn't care less about any of them. Fleftic children were taught to respect the flag and the anthem at a very young age, and William thought it only appropriate to give this occasion a patriotic touch of his. William's father Gil had told him that his father (William's grandfather) had always joked that all other countries sounded mellow because they all had gained their independence before their anthems were written, while the Fleftic anthem was more upbeat and militaristic since it was written during Volga Volta's wars of unification as a song the soldiers could march to. William had long since found that other countries had anthems that could stir a person into marching to battle for that nation, but he still found the anecdote from his grandfather nonetheless.

William thought that he was lucky that he had gotten one win at all in this WGPC season, but then the grid traveled to Ile de Saint Joseph or whatever it was called for the second non-championship race, and William just went and did it once again. And while of course William wished that he could eventually develop a desire to keep winning, the voices of doubt started rising up in his mind even as he was spraying champagne and being sprayed with champagne. How much of this success was down to both William and the PGP-01 finally "getting good" as the slogan on their rear wing proclaimed, and how much of it was down to the fact that the past two races weren't going to be counted in the championship?

For one, William Archer certainly deserved at least some of the credit. He wasn't afraid to overtake if the situation called for it and his machine was also capable of doing it, and he was also developing a reputation of being a tyre whisperer. Many people were surprised at his ability to nurse his tyres to the point that he was capable of overcutting his opponents despite being on softer compounds. It wasn't noticeable a lot when he was going from hards to softs at the last few laps of a race, but in a race where his position at the start of the race mandated the use of the softest compound possible, that was when everyone saw William's power over the rubber.

Of course, while William was able to keep most of his doubts about his own situation on the down low, he was still unable to resist the temptation of at least referring to them, and he said in a post-race interview, "Watch me go back to the back of the grid once points are on the line once again." The journalist laughed about it, and William laughed about it, but inside William was praying and hoping that his words wouldn't end up being prophetic.

by **Aboveland** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 12:41 pm

Iskajarvi, Aboveland
November 25th

Terho stands before his bed in his underwear, his eyelids still sticky despite having been awake for over an hour already. He sighs heavily, dropping his shoulders and resting his hands on his pelvis, and stares at the open suitcase buried under neatly folded stacks of clothes. He yawns, too, then slaps his stomach three or four times to create the first sounds of his day. Somehow, the drumming sound of his skin triggers his smart home speaker, which turns on the lights of his bedroom, forcefully depriving him out of the nine-AM twilight. His phone rings immediately after, continuing the calamitous disruption of the peace of his early morning somnolence; he rejects the call, the migraine pounding his temples, and texts back. It's Edvin, of course, annoying Terho with his unassailable commitment to timeliness--instead of ignoring him, though, as he would usually, Terho replies to Edvin's imperative 'be ready' message by asking for a coffee. Once secured, he chucks the phone back onto the duvet.

He sighs audibly, now, and stretches his arms. He'd perhaps relaxed a little too much during the mid-season break, and his lack of interest in the mid-season races showed. So much, in fact, that he'd felt almost guilty for not having been more enthusiastic; he worries he might have come across as a stuck-up, irritable prick.

Even so, he tries to justify himself. Starting third-to-last, owing to Janne's testing run in Ryker's car, was far from an enticing proposition, and though his results were horrible--a DNF and a last place--, they weren't fully through fault of his own. The fail of an event in Twicetagria--at a track he'd grown somewhat fond of throughout testing--had been caused by the prototype magnetic clutch. The development of the mechanism hadn't been rushed, but it had been, apparently, imprecise. Though he was quicker off the line with less effort, the decimal gains in reaction time weren't enough to justify the risk of introducing such a different concept to the fundamentals of the car at a crossroads in the season (despite the fact iBen didn't fare off too badly with the new part).

The Grand Prix d'Ile Saint-Joseph, however, had been a missed opportunity. Resilience--both AGP003s, in fact--had returned to their traditional clutch assemblies, but carried further refined aerodynamic surfaces for introduction into the second half of the season, just so TRÆ could say they still tried keeping up with the competition. Circuit d'Ares was a sensational circuit: elevation change, a causeway, and even a tight old-town section. It felt criminal that it hadn't been given a proper race slot on the calendar for the season. Unlike his mood in Twicetagria, where Groucho Talvela had even shied away from the drivers' party (not out of apathy, but, as he put it, out of exhaustion), he was ecstatic for the chance to drive around the unique track, starting third-last and all. Back on the old clutch, his start had been quite good, enough to hold back iBen and to nurse a close enough gap to Janne so as to take his place back just a few corners later. Despite how tight the track was, he'd managed to claw back a number of positions, and was running as high as seventeenth by lap 26.

That was when Sigur Bjarnason, the talented Savojar struggling through the grand prix, lost the rear of his car down from Epingle to Quai des pecheurs. His rear struck the outside wall, which stopped him from spinning around too much, but though the two cars behind him managed to swerve out of the way, Terho, who'd been running three places behind, was too slow to react. WIth his front right he'd clipped a chunk of debris, netting him a puncture and some body damage to his winglets. Expletives spouted, from then on his race became a cruise to the end.

He'd certainly had one of his least impressive mid-season breaks in a while, and though usually it wouldn't be an issue--more of a footnote in his season review--, with the tougher half of the season still to go, he's certainly starting to feel the pressure. He's had to force himself to think of the team during the season so far, and things aren't looking to change. His chances of a title defense are both very real, yet at the same time very slim. Ryker's on the upswing, netting more wins in three events than in the entirety of his other three seasons combined, while iBen is displaying the driving form worthy of a legend.

And Terho, meanwhile, is doing just fine. Neatly filling in the role of number two driver, in his own team, with a title defense on his hands.

He grunts at himself, pulling down his eyelids. He's always tread a fine line between managing stress and pressure with grace and with a temper tantrum, the former during his championship campaigns and the latter at the end of season 15. It's demoralizing, to an extent, that what he regarded as his prime opportunity to pull ahead in his title defense hadn't been the dominant run he'd expected, and that the advantage had swayed in favor of technical-focused drivers. Quickly, he grunts one more time, yawning mid-way and then shaking his head. He's bullshitting himself, and he knows it. If there ever was an all round driver in the championship, it was him, and if anybody could beat literally all the odds, it was also him. He has nothing to worry about.

Other than, of course, the doorbell. Edvin's at his flat, and he's still undressed.

Ugh.

by **Lisander** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 1:00 pm

St. Marian Orphanage, Soria
Mini Rugby and Hockey Field

Anneliese returned there after some years, in her midseason vacation. She wasn't an orphan, but most of her childhood friends were. Most of the years of her school life were there. Since her parents were poor, she was unable to attend a school away from home, and the school principal at the time decided to accept her and her older brother as outside students. She even participated in the women's hockey team for three years (from 14 to 16), dividing her time between this and the kart.

That afternoon, she was making a courtesy visit, as an ambassador for her newly signed sponsor, LEINAS, a brand of watches, pens and sunglasses aimed at a richer audience. Founded by Adrian Leuven (an orphan from St. Marian) and Ignatius Dover, the company was ready to launch itself on the international market, preparing an advertising campaign focused on sports, which included athletes and sports teams.

"Sissie, my dear, I am so grateful for your coming. When I heard that Adrian had signed a sponsorship contract with you, I was very happy, after all you are a girl with a lot of potential and an enviable physique." - the Mother Superior of St. Marian, Mrs. Laura, was a woman in her sixties, but she knew each of her former students by heart. - "Did you know that I thought you would be a hockey player? I thought I would see you on a big team ... Although your current sport gives you a lot more money, right?"

"I still love hockey, and that's one of the reasons that brought me here. Saw? - Sissie showed the blue and green tie she wore under the sweater - Of course, I came to visit the old corridors, talk to the girls, I brought some gifts that Adrian sent, to make the girls fashionable. Is it okay if we play a game between them?"

"The boys are training rugby now. But then, my dear, I would be grateful if you didn’t try to buy the girls for the election ... I know what Adrian wants to do, and I’m very grateful, but I don’t think it right that we borrow the name of the orphanage and school for teams professionals. Rugby and Hockey are great sports, but I believe that if we allow Adrian to use the name and symbols of the school for this club he wants to set up ..."

"It's not just him, Mother. There are several former students. I am the most expressive figure because I am racing abroad, but we are all the same. You know each and every one of the boys and girls who came by. For us it is a way of showing our roots, our gratitude. They want to take the colors of St. Marian to the top flight in both rugby and hockey ... Just imagine ... For these boys and girls ... See that the same uniforms they wear can be on top of sports too ... Imagine giving these boys and girls this opportunity?"

"And who guarantees, my girl? Give them a lot of dreams ... what if in the end they don't have any talent to play and are refused on the team? Do we have this right, to deceive the dreams of these children, who already live without a family to welcome them? Let's say to the twelve-year-old girls: We have a hockey team, and if you're good, you can make it to the professional team. This is the only possibility that alumni are offering, playing sports. This has no future. Not for everyone."

by **Liventia** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 1:00 pm

CUTOFF

for Practice and Qualifying at Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli

by **Liventia** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 1:11 pm

Week 12: Practice

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:38.765
Session Length:	75 minutes
Nation:         	NEK
Circuit:        	Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli

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                         	00:01:47.253	00:00:00.000
 2 71 ▍Rustom Ibuna                               	00:01:47.257	00:00:00.004
 3 85 ▍Olivia Stone                               	00:01:47.264	00:00:00.011
 4 94 ▍Ryker Lane                                 	00:01:47.374	00:00:00.121
 5 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                           	00:01:47.426	00:00:00.173
 6 22 ▍Jasmin Kranjska                            	00:01:47.448	00:00:00.195
 7 51 ▍R.L. Cruisin                               	00:01:47.483	00:00:00.230
 8 25 ▍Gregori Krupin                             	00:01:47.508	00:00:00.256
 9 11 ▍Lane Carter                                	00:01:47.642	00:00:00.389
10 46 ▍Kitti Armbruster                           	00:01:47.663	00:00:00.410
11 72 ▍Charyseine Valkyria                        	00:01:47.757	00:00:00.504
12 42 ▍Alex Dimitrianov                           	00:01:47.794	00:00:00.541
13 28 ▍Sara Luna                                  	00:01:47.901	00:00:00.648
14  7 ▍Abdoulaye Goita                            	00:01:48.267	00:00:01.014
15 50 ▍Rudy Edwards                               	00:01:48.280	00:00:01.027
16 47 ▍Erica Okumura                              	00:01:48.394	00:00:01.142
17 56 ▍Terho Talvela                              	00:01:48.395	00:00:01.142
18 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                                	00:01:49.100	00:00:01.847
19 76 ▍Adriana Kowalski                           	00:01:50.120	00:00:02.867
20  8 ▍William Archer                             	00:01:51.349	00:00:04.096
21 63 ▍Daryl Mizushima                            	00:01:51.606	00:00:04.353
22 52 ▍Sayono Souzare                             	00:01:51.765	00:00:04.512
23 19 ▍Dom Falepeau                               	00:01:52.122	00:00:04.869
24 41 ▍Jean Mercer-Daly                           	00:01:52.329	00:00:05.076
25 37 ▍Niklas Schonbaum                           	00:01:53.618	00:00:06.365
26 27 ▍Dario Nülkeschläger                        	00:01:53.901	00:00:06.648
27 14 ▍Sigur Bjarnason                            	00:01:54.022	00:00:06.769
28 82 ▍Kinu Luminna                               	00:01:55.072	00:00:07.819

Week 12: Qualifying

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:38.765
Qualifying Type:	Traditional
Nation:         	NEK
Circuit:        	Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli

POS # ▍DRIVER                                     	FASTEST LAP	GAP TO LEADER
 1 28 ▍Sara Luna                                  	00:01:40.969	00:00:00.000
 2 50 ▍Rudy Edwards                               	00:01:40.989	00:00:00.020
 3 52 ▍Sayono Souzare                             	00:01:40.989	00:00:00.021
 4 56 ▍Terho Talvela                              	00:01:41.047	00:00:00.078
 5 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                           	00:01:41.051	00:00:00.082
 6 22 ▍Jasmin Kranjska                            	00:01:41.109	00:00:00.140
 7 51 ▍R.L. Cruisin                               	00:01:41.161	00:00:00.192
 8 19 ▍Dom Falepeau                               	00:01:41.223	00:00:00.254
 9 71 ▍Rustom Ibuna                               	00:01:41.256	00:00:00.287
10 42 ▍Alex Dimitrianov                           	00:01:41.288	00:00:00.319
11 47 ▍Erica Okumura                              	00:01:41.473	00:00:00.504
12 25 ▍Gregori Krupin                             	00:01:41.498	00:00:00.529
13 85 ▍Olivia Stone                               	00:01:41.635	00:00:00.666
14 72 ▍Charyseine Valkyria                        	00:01:41.927	00:00:00.958
15 94 ▍Ryker Lane                                 	00:01:41.967	00:00:00.998
16 27 ▍Dario Nülkeschläger                        	00:01:42.195	00:00:01.226
17 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                                	00:01:42.222	00:00:01.254
18 37 ▍Niklas Schonbaum                           	00:01:42.432	00:00:01.463
19  8 ▍William Archer                             	00:01:42.446	00:00:01.478
20 11 ▍Lane Carter                                	00:01:42.459	00:00:01.490
21 12 ▍Anneliese Devereux                         	00:01:42.533	00:00:01.564
22 46 ▍Kitti Armbruster                           	00:01:42.654	00:00:01.685
23  7 ▍Abdoulaye Goita                            	00:01:43.037	00:00:02.068
 – 63 ▍Daryl Mizushima                            	00:01:43.758	00:00:02.789
 – 82 ▍Kinu Luminna                               	00:01:44.224	00:00:03.255
24 14 ▍Sigur Bjarnason                            	00:01:44.561	00:00:03.592
25 41 ▍Jean Mercer-Daly                           	00:01:45.223	00:00:04.254
26 76 ▍Adriana Kowalski                           	00:01:45.525	00:00:04.556

by **Hapilopper** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 5:12 pm

Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli, Val de Rivoli, Nekoni
The first part of race weekend – the Grand Prix of Nekoni
Rudy Edwards was in less than a positive mood as he arrived in Nekoni for the Grand Prix of Nekoni. The day before departing, he had a closed-door meeting with Marty Lewis about his future with Preston Autos. Marty was less than pleased that Rudy, a top-tier Hapiloppian single-seat racer, had struggled while William Archer had won the last two races. While Marty acknowledged that the team had gone through some teething problems as they chased a moving target, he also stated that Rudy could stand to do more to help with those issues.

“Basically speaking, I feel like Archer has gotten the hang of this, and I need you to as well,” Marty told Rudy. “You need to better yourself on the track. We need better results from you.”

“Well, I’ve been working my ass off in the simulators this week,” Rudy said. “I’ve been trying to get accustomed to this track. I’m going to make it work, Marty. Trust me on this.”

Soon to be available at the Good Oil
shop for just $19.95!

There was another thing bugging him. As he got to the Preston paddock area, Greg Meadows, Good Oil’s sponsorship guy, approached him carrying a t-shirt.

“Mr. Edwards!” Meadows said with a smile. “Going to need you to wear something all over this week. Whenever you’re not in your firesuit, I need you in this shirt!”

Rudy looked at the shirt and looked at Greg. In huge letters on the top of the shirt, Good Oil’s slogan that had more than become a household name at this point, “Get Good”.

“You want me to wear this…?” Rudy asked haltingly.

Watch and win!

“Yeah!” Meadows said, his smile building. “And make sure you’re everywhere – all around with the drivers, where the media can see you, where you can be on television, everywhere.”

“Alright, you pay the bills, so will do…”

And sure enough, Rudy wore the shirt everywhere. He wondered what everyone thought about seeing him parade around with the “GET GOOD” slogan so prominently on his person. He personally felt it was a little obnoxious, but when a sponsor pays millions of dollars to put their name on a race car, he felt beholden to those sponsors’ requests.

Meanwhile, Marty Lewis looked inside his copy of the day’s Hapilopper City Herald, available on a tablet computer. On page five was an advertisement for a somewhat appalling contest being held by the Hapilopper Television Network – their “They Crash? You Win!” sweepstakes, where people could correctly guess the first driver to smash into the wall at “Oh Crap There’s a Wall,” the tight and sudden left hander on the Hapilopper City Grand Prix Circuit.

The winner would receive a free trip for two to any WGPC or NSSCRA race during the next season. Airfare was included as well as hotel accommodations, and the VIP treatment with either Preston Autos GP Racing or Team Blue.

“I didn’t sign off on that!” Marty said to someone in the room. “They’re going to award someone if they guess if someone wrecks? How ghoulish! What if someone gets hurt or killed?”

But things were going well with the Preston team. Rudy qualified on the outside pole for the Grand Prix of Nekoni, and he felt like the car was capable of so much. All he needed to do was take care of business on race day, and maybe he could turn things around with the team. Maybe Preston could climb out of the cellar of the WGPC constructor’s table.

by **Twicetagram and JYPe** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 8:27 pm

Most Beautiful Places in Nekoni

Yet again, the camera presents two people for today's vlog, only that instead of Daryl it's a different person.
Chars: Hey guys! Welcome back to the vlog! Today I'm here with someone else, except it's not Daryl. Please welcome Janne!
Janne: Hey guys! Today we'll be talking about the most beautiful places in Nekoni! Nekoni is quite a picturesque country to begin with, so there's definitely a lot to uncover here. Let's go!

Mountains
Janne: Nekoni's mountain range may not be as big as you'd thought, but it's definitely a picture-worthy place. The snow-covered peaks and the greenery at the bottom make for an aesthetically pleasing mix. It's a popular tourist spot, but when you come here make sure to take care of the environment!

Rivers
Janne: While there may not be a lot of rivers in Nekoni, the few rivers they have are definitely beautiful! The rivers are full of life, and you'd see many diverse animal species there! Not only that, but the environment surrounding the river is a treat too! The trees are amongst the most beautiful in Nekoni, especially if you come during autumn! The colours of the leaves are probably the most beautiful I've ever seen!

Varea
Janne: Varea, Nekoni's capital, is both historical and cultural! It's many buildings can date back to as far as centuries ago, and Varea is a melting pot for all cultures! People who appreciate the arts will like this place, as there are many museums and theatres here that you can visit! Not to mention, you can walk around the city for free!

Valleys
Janne: Most of the people here may already have been here, but Nekoni's main valleys are very terrifying and mejestic! From the top it feels like you're looking at the centre of the earth. However, when you get to the bottom it's a mixture of flora and fauna. Couple them with human settlements and you have a home sweet home!

Chars: That's it for the vlog. BE with us at Nekoni as the regular season continues when we race tomorrow!

by **Diarcesia** » Sat Nov 28, 2020 8:37 pm

Sara Luna
Mid-week

It was in the middle of a rainy day when I got the call from the Volkov team HQ. They wanted to make sure I was okay. I was fine, they just wanted ask how am I doing in general. I mean, it could be worse. I could be one of the guys who played it safe in the WGP3 race I was watching and found themselves crashing into a barrier on no fault of their own.

Aside from that, another race weekend looms, which means points are on the table again. It will be another opportunity for us to put out a solid performance for the team. Gregori was not joking when he described the training regimen at the beginning. It is intense, but I understand why this is needed. The more in shape I become, the more I would be able to push for a win.

Image circulating around social media, tagged with Sara's account, after the qualifying session

The Season Continues

Excerpt from Sara's Diary Entry on Practice Day

My guess is that my lap in practice was pretty decent, so I think I can make the case I could be a real contender for a good qualifying result tomorrow. I am 85% sure that this is a fair assessment, but it should be interesting to see how the field shakes out. I really need a break from this P16 or worse curse...

* * * * * ‘Qualifying’ * * * * *

Following the conclusion of the Grand Prix d'Île Saint-Joseph, the next race of the season would take place at the legendary Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli in Nekoni. The place is perhaps one of the finest examples of a racing venue in the multiverse, its adaptation to its terrain its greatest virtue.

Built in the style of the mountain around it, the autodrome is a well-rounded track whose sections demand a different skill set for each driver. For example, one has to watch out that they don't get totaled while rounding the Carousel, and later, they have to position themselves for maximum speed as they approach the lap's completion.

The track itself is varied, challenging yet compelling. A technical driver who can cope with its twists and turns is poised to do well here. That skill set, Sara believed, is exactly what she has in spades.

It should also be noted that the lap contains a rather long run after the first chicane before descending in elevation after Turn Four. Sara identified this section as a crucial inflection point in regards to race momentum. The less cars on the way, the better.

As the lap progresses to Turn 13, she found its double-apex an intriguing quirk and quickly calculated the optimal way to minimize her time there. A lap here is fairly long, and she had to unlearn some of the aggression she used in Aboveland to race effectively here. She decided a more defense-oriented strategy would be better to keep the pace going.

Her fastest time in practice was only good for P13, but she maximized its utility by immersing herself deeply in the intricate details of the circuit. Mastering the finer aspects of the place is part of the quest of winning it all.

To the Volkov personnel watching her, her strategy paid off when she was on the way to besting Rudy Edwards's 01:40.989 lap time by Turn 14, when she switched gears to maximize Fitten's acceleration. Her time ultimately was enough to get her a decent pole. What a way for the Luna Wolf to break her way out of her qualifying funk.

It was after the session that she noticed a curious bit of information in the time taken to reach Turn 14. It seemed that a few adjustments to her handling of the banked turns could shave precious time in the race and give her ample space behind her.

To find out if her theory would work and that she was in to something, she headed for a quick session in the team's simulator. They somehow manage to bring that thing along during race weekends. At first, her lap times slowed down, but she eventually got the hang of it and managed to effect the envisioned time improvements.

After analyzing her lap times over the course of practice and qualifying, Sara came up with a few surprising observations. For one, her fastest times were those when she used the Krupin Technique. Her teammate's maneuver is instrumental in minimizing speed losses where it matters.

Sara also didn't forget to compliment Sergei and the staff for the significant improvement in reliability lately. It helped maintain positive morale and the team's performance overall. She felt more motivated to catch up in the race for the most points. Her pole position is a prime opportunity for her to take her first win, barring unsalvageable mistakes.

She didn't expect the team's consistency to be this good. As a first-time participant in WGPC, Volkov Racing seemed to learn really quickly. She felt a weight lifted off her shoulders, knowing that she could redirect her focus from trying to gain so many spots during a race. That was something she had to do for much of the season's first half.

"The most important thing for us is to keep our eyes on the prize," she said in the post-qualifying press conference. "We'll encounter bumps along the way, but a series of continuous improvement will help us get this done. In the meantime, I felt that we're starting to see some fruit out of our labors. Gosh, I am still very ecstatic about how my qualifying results ended up. I'm very thankful for Gregori and the team, who all made it possible."

She really meant it. The technicians had been working overtime to provide both drivers' cars with the highest level of professional care possible. It showed that even under the pressures of the race schedule, they were a cohesive unit capable of accomplishing something. In Sara's opinion, Sergei chose his people very well, and it helped Volkov Racing to still be within striking distance of the constructors' championship.

What would Sergei and Gregori say about this event so far? She planned to schedule a meeting with Gregori after the race to discuss their direction for the rest of the season. She got the impression that he was already pivoting towards WGPC 19. At least, she could talk with him and listen to what he had in mind. She'll do what she can to support her teammate as he had done towards her as well.

She would think about what she would say to Gregori during the meeting. She owed him for helping her race in the top flight of motorsports. He thought working with her would be a positive experience. She strove to deliver in this department. She liked to share that building off of what she had seen so far, she felt Gregori had stepped up his effort in the past few weeks. From how he was racing, she knew just what the Sorlovian was capable of behind the wheel.

Recently, Gregori began to show signs of adapting to the tracks of the future races. He was making less risky moves, like he had in the non-championship races. With that in mind, Sara was ready to answer his inquiries, should he want to further study her style and technique.

She could imagine the pressure Gregori is on to succeed as Volkov's number-one driver. The imperative to win a race hangs over his head. Additionally, it would make sense if it is a self-imposed goal of his. He left a cushy job at MRT for a chance to win under his home team and bring prestige to his country. Having known to come from behind during a season and that yet to happen currently must be frustrating for him.

It's still not over. There are four more races left after this. Terho and iBen last season were dominating in this part of last season. Beating them in points would be tough, especially if they managed to repeat what they accomplished last time. In fact, there is a chance that it would happen. Behind Sara, Rudy Edwards, and Sayono Souzare were both TRÆ drivers. That not far ahead of them is that deftly-placed "GET GOOD" sticker would surely inflame their passions and make one of their prime goals to overtake that Preston car. After that, they would close in on Sara and Fitten. She had to steel herself to defend her coveted spot against everyone here.

She prayed that she would repeat her WGP2 performance in Circuit d'Arès.

by **Valentine Z** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:14 am

Post 16 – Loss Function.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Adriana thought to herself, a thought that she is no longer a stranger to. After looking at the course map for Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli, she is convinced that either Fate is running against her, or that she was just having a slew of bad luck.

"That's a very curvy and convoluted course!" Angela remarked, readjusting some of the controls on her plane and turning a few knobs. Angeline, in the meantime, was looking through the news when she came across something of anm amusement.

"Oooh, guys, look! Check this out, haha!" she handed over her tablet to Angela and Adriana, the two of which looked at each other for a while before trying to comprehend what was in front of them.

Adriana: "Haha, it's always those Hapilopperians! I mean that in a good way. Theya re always up to something amusing and funny."

Angela: "Oh, goodness, are you thinking of crashing onto the wall on purpose?"

Adriana: "What? Nahhh, I am not intending to! Maybe unintentionally, because let's face it - this course is designed by an eccentric man, no offense. But I don't think I am going to squander my opportunities just like that."

Angeline: "That, and I don't think we can get the money from our own crash. And we will need to pay Fireline, anyway."

Adriana: "Well, qualifications are coming soon. I'm honestly not sure how much I will fare with this."

-----

And faring not enough, she was. The course, once again, has proven to be a little too much for her to handle. Turn 5, Turn 8, Turn 10, Turn 18... Adriana thought these were way too many hairpin turns in a course. The practice was well enough, remembering to ensure that she was not going to hit a wall or anything else along the way. Then the qualifications came in, in a very unfortunate set of circumstances. With the other cars on the track, as well as her lack of aggression and taking it slow, Adriana realised that she was seriously not up to speed - literally and figuratively - for this course, struggling to get the most optimal conditions for turns.

"Well, those data I got was useless," she thought to herself, dumping and archiving it for her human instincts. The mid-race change when this happened was unfortunately not enough.

26th. The last. Hiding her face and shying away from the track after pushing her car back into the garage, Adriana quietly made her way up her lounge, bashing the door open with a force just enough to not damage and break it off its hinges.

She let out a loud groan, followed by lying face first on the bed, "Uggggh, this can't get any worse, right? I mean, there has to be a break, right? Maybe this is my big break? Or I will do much better than the qualifications? Naprawdę nie wiem!" Given that she got into the lounge first and there was no one else at that moment, she got a bit of personal space to reflect and to rave and rant without anyone else hearing her.

She got the support from her team, from her friends, and just about everything else in-between. It was not as if she did not have the drive, either; she clearly has the determination. There was little to nothing else that she was missing. Maybe the Valentians were just not meant for Formula racing? Many thoughts raced in her mind, and she dumped them out from her RAM.

"Well, hopefully there is nowhere to go but up for tomorrow's race..."

by **TJUN-ia** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:42 am

WGPC18 - Round 6
Eisborg Gran Premio di Nekoni
Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli, Val de Rivoli, Nekoni (Italian is a great language for song)

After two non-championship races that surely satisfied the multiverse's appetite for racing, WGPC18 returns to points racing at a track known for great racing action. Welcome to Val de Rivoli and the Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli for the Eisborg Gran Premio di Nekoni. This track, like Nekoni itself, has a bit of an Italian flair to it, with a mixture of both fast and technical sections that will certainly make this weekend an interesting one for everyone involved.

Lane Carter's first half saw him receive only 5 points thus far but with 5 more races left in the battle to decide our champion for this year, who knows what will happen in order to reach the end of it all.

Friday - Practice

Back to the racing for Lane Carter and the rest of WGPC18 here in Nekoni, but the Galarian was feeling...great! That meeting with Daryl Mizushima after the race in Île Saint-Joseph went better than he could've imagined, despite the large number of apples the Galarian turned up with to the hotel in Normandy. They talked about a lot of sports that both TJUN-ia and Squidroidia were competing in and Daryl introduced the Galarian to Sepak Takraw, a CEA sport that could only be described as a mash-up between football and volleyball. It certainly was a fun time and he left that evening feeling on to of the world: he had a friend who was similar to him in many ways and no one could stop him. It was a nice feeling to enter the week with and a good one to start Friday with, too.

He didn't know if that meeting had caused something good in him but if it did, then the Galarian and the Inkhallen may need to meet more often. He got used to the nature of Rivoli quicker than expected and he took his opportunity to shine. He eventually posted a time of 1:47.642, enough for 9th and only 4 tenths the pace set by Anneliese Devereux. He was even only a tenth and a half behind R.L. Cruisin in 7th and only 2 behind iBen Toralmintii in 4th. The only real downside was seeing Daryl way down in 21st, 4.3 seconds off the pace. With 3 of the 4 Motorworks cars towards the rear of the timing sheets, Lane had enough evidence to prove Daryl's comments correct: that car is a brick.

Saturday - Qualifying (Traditional)

Whatever good energy was present within the Galarian on Friday must've disappeared by the time qualifying turned up. He certainly improved on his Friday time, everyone did by around 5 or more seconds, but in comparison with everyone else, it wasn't that good. 1:42.459 sounds good, but it was only good enough for 20th and was 1.5 seconds off the pace. His teammate did way better than him, up to 7th and only 2 tenths off the pole time. He knew R.L. Cruisin was very good at his job, but to be more than a second behind him was...dishertening for the Galarian. What was he doing wrong? Was it his general pace or the car not liking his setu or was he just...bad?

If you would've asked people who the Top 3 will be after qualifying, Lane thought that no one would've got Luna-Edwards-Souzare. Sara Luna did get Pole however by 2 hundredths of a second over Ruby Edwards and Sayono Souzare, with the Hapiloppan just about beating Souzare by a thousandth (i.e. very small margin). The two Ælunds completed the Top 5, Terho Talvela over Toralmintii this time around, with Jasmin Kranjska just ahead of Cruisin in 6th. The other MRT of Dom Falepeau was 8th with the top 10 covered by the Badai Agin cars, Rustom Ibuna "getting good" by beating Alex Dimitrianov to 9th. Charyseine Valkyria and Dario Nülkeschläger both set great laps to sandwich Ryker Lane in the midfield, leaving both Mizushima and Kinu Luminna in the dust.

So after good times on Friday, it was back to the pain in Saturday. Lane didn't understand what he was doing wrong but he knew that he needed to do something if his form was to improve. Maybe sending another email Daryl's way can help in some way?

To: dmizushima@squidmail.sqr
From: lcarter@JagWire
Subject: RE(7): Letter

Hi there, Apple Man here! I managed to change the title of this email to avoid a long chain of REs, however hilarious it was. Hope you don't mind.

I hope I didn't bring too many apples last week. I was originally going to bring just 11 but your 2nd place in that race made my add another 11 to the pile. It was a bit fun turning up with a basket in hand full of fruit so if you want me to do that again, just let me know.

Last week was very fun and I really enjoyed it. I will admit I was very nervous about it all before hand but in the end, I didn't need to. I certainly had fun talking to you and watching that Sepak Takraw game was new experience, so I look forward to the next time we do this (if we do, of course). I meant every word I said there: If you want to do that again, hit me up. You can always count on me for most things, but maybe not advice on VTRacer NSSCRA Pick'Em (my name's @LCarter11 on there, by the way).

I'm sorry you didn't do well in quali but to be honest with you, I envy your position. Every weekend you try to make it in and if you don't, you just move on to the next one and hope for the best. If I perform badly on Saturday, then there is pressure on me to do better on Sunday - and most of the time, I can't. I don't know if I'm doing anything wrong per se, but I just can't seem to do anything right at the moment. I will try to be like you, going from week to week with a good attitude in mind, but I don't know if I fully can.

Sorry if I'm just monloguing about my struggles to you. You deserve better as my friend and I hope you will do well in the future.

Take care!

Kind Regards,
Lane Carter
Driver of #11 for Race Eelandii V&T GP

by **Lisander** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 10:02 am

WGPC

More than workers in purple? Adressing the problems with TAS Alliance

This is not the TAS Alliance car. Seems that they don't have a photographers' team, so we had to resort to image search to find a purple car.

The word Worker seems to have a bad meaning when it comes to sport. It denotes that athlete that is there only to fill the roster, with no real chance of winning titles. That can be said of TAS Alliance Racing. Being a humble team, that uses cars mostly repurposed, the team only scored four points in the first half of the season, and currently, see themselves in the last position of the table.

"What makes this team so bad?" - you might be asking.

Firstly, the general state of Lisander Motorsport. Lisander Autosports Board (LAB) ruled over the sport for decades, most of the time just overwatching it. Series were mostly left from hand to mouth, and only the most prestigious category, Lisander Formula 3 championship received a little financial support from minor sponsors. Well, let's not say it was just LAB's fault. After all, LAB was, until the last term, an association formed only by volunteers, whether they were team owners or drivers. There was not much money going on there, because after all the money was used to support the teams. All of that changed with the entry of Bitten Heroes, the underdogs who reached fourth place at WGPC 15. It was just a team, uniting the whole country, the automotive industry, the technology industry. Everyone wanted a little piece, to say they were part of the success. Everyone basking on their glory. But the lack of a structure that would support the team at the base made the skyrocket that was expected upwards to go downwards. There was a lot of interest and little preparation. Result: Disaster after disaster. And while Juliano Lemos screwed up his brains in search of solutions, the local motorsport was "professionalizing", by leaps and bounds, in a process that is still in progress. We will still see many teams fail and bankrupt until we reach a point where Lisander's motorsport will not be subject to crowdfunding. It's something really sad to say, but it is the truth.

Secondly: The Camden car was completely flawed, and TAS Alliance is just re-running it. It takes more than a season to build a winning team, and if you start with the scraps of a loser team, you will start with a loser team. Do you know the best technology of Lisander Motorsport? It's called Electric Boost Generator Polycrystalline. It's a mail of sensors over the car bodywork that capture thermic energy, that supplies a boost of extra electric energy for the hybrid engine. TAS Alliance don't have it fully implemented, for financial reasons. They only have the sensors applied to the same parts its predecessor had applied, around 20%. Even Bitten Heroes Academy, last WGP2, had the car more than 70% covered with the sensors.

Thirdly: Inexperience is the norm. TAS Alliance is a newcomer team (under license of Bitten Heroes) running a year-old chassis, with two drivers that never made international racing before. Sissie Devereux was about to leave motorsport for lack of sponsors, and the seat fell on her laps after former Formula Hodori driver, Athan Lille, refused to drive for the local team. She is not the only to blame about the bad results, but her inexperience is very clear, with only four points after the first half. Hardly to say, her team partner, Nick Schonbaum, isn't better at all. The Teus driver was selected because of his sponsors, that are plastered in a featured place of the purple livery of the team, but still haven't paid for it, with nil points to his name, being outperformed on races by Devereux until now (DEV 4-2 SCH) and having one DNF (at Nimbus).

Yet, at least on the official channels, Kimi Nasunen and Ricardo Vetinari, the men behind the team, keep confident that the team will evolve a little more for the next weeks. "We always knew that it wouldn't be easy, but we're not here just for filling the grid. We are aiming for the best. We're at Nekoni this Sunday! Follow us in RTL2!" Well, they need to be optimistic, right... I mean, they are not putting much of the money out of their own pockets into the team. And possibly they will still come out with more money than they got into this whole story.

More from TOPSPORT:
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by **Auruna** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 11:18 am

Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli
Practice

The previous weekends didn't yield any good results for the team but they were still holding on to their current mid-fielder status. The non-championship races were not important for the team so they can prepare for the next championship race at Nekoni, where we are now. The whole team was hard at work before the weekend, apart from Jöna which needed the rest after a busy trip to Veratuna for some meetings. They are chasing for more points after their successes at the last two races before the mid-season test. The more points finishes the better.

At the pit wall, nearing the end of the session. Jöna is looking at the garage, watching the mechanics and the engineers at work. There were some familiar sights reminiscent of his days with Viska as a driver. Then Artur is getting his attention.

Jöna finally responds. "Right, how are we doing here?"

"Finally... er, we're doing alright. We have enough data to make setup changes then I think we have enough time for two or three laps after that."

"Alright, let's do that."

"A question, are you sure that it's alright that we don't win a lot?"

"If we're still competitive and fighting for points then yes."

"You never lose hope for anything."

"Stay optimistic, learn then rise from your fall. Remember the legend of Aviari."

"Heh, alright. You got me at that mythology part."

"Read that one over and over, I see some similarities with Viska and Aviari. The stories do exactly align at some parts."

"That eagle is always a part of this team."

"Yeah."

At the garage, the setup changes were made and both drivers are sent out to do their laps. The quick change bought them enough time to do four laps before the end of the session.

The practice times doesn't show the full story but it looks promising relative to the others.

Qualifying

We're back to a traditional qualifying format this weekend, the most familiar one to the team. They usually treat it as an extra practice before committing to a timed lap and it looks like they will be doing that. Two practice laps, back to the pits then a full send for the timed lap. It's all in the drivers and their race engineers now. Their coordination should get them to qualify high enough.

After they finished their first two laps, both Viskas were ordered back into the pits and wait for the track to evolve a bit until they reach their optimal conditions for VIska.

Minutes pass, then the drivers are sent out one after another. First to go is Olivia, after she exits the pit lane, Goita follows. With some distance between each other, it should provide some decent amount of clean air for them to go through, unless someone disturbs the air infront of the VIskas. Hoping that no one else is attempting their qualifying laps while they are out.

While this should work on paper, reality usually hits a different way. They have the clean air ahead of them, no other disturbances, a competent car and driver, what did go wrong?

After all their valiant efforts, Olivia could only manage P13 with a time of 1:41.635 but her teammate had it worse. Goita qualified P23, ten places from Olivia with a fastest time of 1:43.037, nearly two seconds slower but it's not the end. After all, it's still qualifying, the results they wanted should come from the race. There's a good chance that they can recover from this. It would be one hell of a recovery drive, especially for Goita starting at the back.

Come raceday, they need to fight hard to recover. Should be an interesting sight to watch.

Täitä Viska täitä!

by **Cocoabo Forest** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 12:00 pm

Fireline Keep Faith in Cocoabo

Eisborg Gran Premio di Nekoni, Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli, Nekoni :: At the start of the 18th World Grand Prix Championship season, the signing of Cocoabo #23 by Fireline Motorsports turned some heads as the former World Grand Prix 2 driver became the first Cocoabo driver at the top tier of open wheel motorsport. While Cocoabo had achieved some success collecting a handful of single race victories in the much longer and more competitively balanced NSSCRA Stock Car Racing series, many had expressed doubts as to whether a Cocoabo driver could compete effectively on the twists and turns of the World Grand Prix Circuit. For some it was believed that signing Cocoabo #23 was just a way for the Ethanean outfit to pay the bills, getting Tropicorp cash to keep the team afloat until they could afford to put one of their own home-grown drivers into the seat in place of the expected-to-be struggling Cocoabo.

Those expectations were immediately toppled when Cocoabo #23 put together a 4th place showing in their first ever World Grand Prix event in Eelandii and the Cocoabo has continued to outperform their Fireline teammate Adriana Kowalski of Valentine Z. Despite this, there was still some thought that Fireline would opt to give at least on of Benjamin Talison or Catherine Toggard a shot during the two non-championship races that accompanied the World Grand Prix Championships mid-season testing schedule. Once again, however, that turned out not to be the case. Having collected 13 points in the first half of the season, Cocoabo #23 would return to the track in the 13th position in the series point standings and carrying the momentum from another Top 5 finish - this time in the Non-Championship event at the Circuit d'Arès in the Isle of Saint-Joseph.

Arriving back in Nekoni for the start of the second half of the World Grand Prix Season - a race that many projected the Cocoabo would never make it to, was a validation of everything that the trainers of the Cocoabo Enrichment and Enhancement Project at Cocoabo Park had achieved. They had succeeded at proving that Cocoabo could compete on the pitch, on the oval and now on the Grand Prix circuit. They had delivered Gold Medals at the olympic games and individual victories in the NSSCRA. They had demonstrated that they could, with focus, train an individual Cocoabo to a similar level of performance of non-Cocoabo competitors in the same sport. Now, the focus would likely start shifting to longevity. Finding the formula that delivered not only multiple high-performing Cocoabo but also Cocaobo who could deliver more than just individual triumphs, but Championships as well.

by **Recuecn** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 12:35 pm

Abdoulaye looked at the invitation he had received in his email and hummed thoughtfully. Whether or not he would accept it wasn't a question. But it was interesting to think what had led him here. It made sense that winning the WGP2 would qualify him for an invitation to the new iROS, yet he couldn't help but feel that the exposure he got when he drove in NSSCRA had helped him gain the required recognition. The cross-discipline experience would surely be a boon in a cross-discipline series, and he was thrilled about the chance to drive with many of the biggest names in the sport. The invitation gave him an affirmation that he'd been missing ever since - well, ever since the WGPC season had started and it had been demonstrated that at this level of competition, he was no longer the champion he had been in the WGP2. Now, he was just one of the pack. So it was nice to be invited to a smaller, more select competition.

He dashed off an email to the PR person Viska had assigned him, asking him to send in the acceptance letter to iROS along with the required bio. He got a response almost right away - an attached file and one line: "does this look good?"

Abdoulaye Goita

Hometown: Reçueçn City, Reçueçn :: Age: 24 :: Seasons in Motorsport: 2 :: twii.tur handle: @GTAVII

Biography: Abdoulaye Goita competes in the WGPO as the first Reçuecian driver to ever do so, but was in fact born in Bamako, Mali, and emigrated to Reçueçn at a young age where he got into karting. Due to the lack of a racing scene in Reçueçn and his outsider status, he struggled to get started as a professional racer. His first attempt to find a drive within motorsport's top tier met with failure during the WGPC 17 season.

However, things turned around for Abdoulaye when he signed a WGP2 contract with SVJ Racing the subsequent season. He won his first race and led the series until the halfway mark when he was surpassed by Viska's Olivia Stone. His comeback in the last two races of the season led him and SVJ Racing to a double Championship, earning him the recognition he needed to progress to the top tier of the sport immediately after his rookie season, although to him it seemed to come after a lifetime of waiting.

During the off-season, Abdoulaye was approached by Saint Kanye's GFR Motorsports to make a couple on-track appearances for them in the NSSCRA 9 season. Although his performance wasn't particularly remarkable, Abdoulaye was able to hold his own in what was to him an entirely foreign discipline.

In the current WGPC season, Abdoulaye signed with his former WGP2 competitor Viska Racing, and now drives alongside his rival-cum-friend Olivia Stone. He is yet to show his potential in the WGPC, but did win a podium in the season's first half's penultimate race.

Abdoulaye Goita will be representing the World Grand Prix Two Circuit during the first iROS

7

WGP2 S3: CHAMPION

Motorsports_Accomplishments:

WGP2III Champion

1 WGP2 Win

4 WGP2 Podiums

1 WGPC Podium

2 NSSCRA Guest Appearances

Abdoulaye smiled. It wasn't too impressive, but it summed him up. "Yeah, that looks good," he replied. "Send it." iROS would be a new, exciting adventure, but for now he had his current endeavor to worry about. His mid-season performance had been lacking, so it was time to get back into it. He wasn't ready to give up on the WGPC season yet.

[OOC: template provided by VilTur]

by **Vilita and Turori** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 1:29 pm

iROS WGPC Champion Driver Revealed in Newmanistan

Tundra Falls Superspeedway, Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls, Newmanistan :: As drivers from throughout the multiverse descended on the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds in Newmanistan for the very first Race of Stars event, not everyone knew the identity of all the drivers that would compete. While the NSSCRA Tier 2 slot had been filled by Kohnhead driver Time Lateman and the rotational Host car slot had been assigned to Newmanistan driver Ashley Matthews, there were still two seats left without public acknowledgment of who would drive them at iROS Round 1 in Newmanistan. The winner of the iROS Fan Vote would already have been known but not yet revealed until the green flag for the added entertainment value of the rotational seat that could be filled by up to four different Tier 3 or Domestic series champions throughout the course of the iROS. The final seat, however, was that reserved for a former champion of the World Grand Prix Championships. Of course two of the three most recent World Grand Prix champions were already accounted for in the field with Terho Talvela having won the Season 14 and 17 Championships while Ryker Lane was the Season 15 World Grand Prix driver's Champion.

While some believed that former Vannish Motors Racing driver Jessica Franssen would be hesitant to return to the World Stage it was in fact confirmed on the iROS Twii.tur account that the World Grand Prix Championships 16th season Driver's Champion would be taking their earned spot on the tour driving the Royal Blue #25 machine.

iBEN's RACE OF STARS ✓

@raceofstars
Driver Announcement Time! Welcome back to #WGPC Season 16 Driver's Champion Jessica Franssen who will be piloting the Navy Blue iROS machine in Tundra Falls!

#NSSCRA : #WGPC : #iROS

The Addition of Franssen to the lineup makes a total of Six Full-Time drives in the first ever iROS campaign to be occupied by current or former World Grand Prix Championship drivers, with five drivers competing full-time in the 18th World Grand Prix Championships and one driver, Franssen, a former WGPC Champion. Of the six drivers who will be directly representing the World Grand Prix Championship ladder, three of them have direct experience on the NSSCRA Stock Car circuit which could reduce the learning curve for them when they hit the track at Tundra Falls. iBen Toralmintii, current World Grand Prix Championship point leader, actually had their first full-time driving seat in the NSSCRA during the 4th NSSCRA Season. Despite 23 career appearances in the NSSCRA, however, Toralmintii has never appeared in an event at the Tundra Falls Proving Ground. Former Champion Jessica Franssen does, however, having contested a partial season in the NSSCRA after her World Grand Prix Championship as a replacement for Floyd Hackerbee. Of the six drivers with World Grand Prix Championship pedigree, Franssen is poised for the most odds-on performance in Newmanistan having posted a 6th place finish in a 41 car field during her appearance at the track during NSSCRA Season 7. Abdoulaye Goita, the other current World Grand Prix Championship driver with NSSCRA experience, has never driven previously in Tundra Falls but did compete during NSSCRA Season 9 at the Jalton Superspeedway following their World Grand Prix 2 championship which qualified them for a seat in the iROS.

When the drivers arrived at the Tundra Falls Superspeedway the morning of iROS Round 1, Abovian driver and reigning World Grand Prix Champion Terho Talvela got a surprise as his iROS racing machine was not the previously advertised Seafoam Green color but was instead a shade of Midnight Blue with orange trim. Talvela's former World Grand Prix Championship teammate Juracai Klianiota who was responsible for shaking down the iROS Vehicles the day before and ensuring they were all performing at top and equal form believed that the Seafoam Green machine was suffering from intermittent power fluctuations possibly due to an electrical wiring issue. With the Midnight Blue machine having already passed validation as a spare for the race weekend, the iROS team made the decision to swap Talvela to Midnight Blue while Seafoam was relegated to spare status, giving the iROS crew from the Dart Group time to investigate the quality issue on Talvela's initially assigned ride.

In addition to the already announced colors of Talvela, Toralmintii and Franssen, Mattijana driver Alex Dimitrianov who finished 3rd during WGPC Season 17 but now drivers for Badai Angin Tim was assigned the Yellow iROS Sport Racer while Former WGPC Champion Ryker Lane who qualified through their 4th place finish in the WGPC 17 Driver Standings will be piloting the Sky Blue #94 iROS Sport Racer. Of course, the biggest challenge for the Nimban driver is expected to be the comparative lack of grip in driving at high speed with just four tires on their car, with it likely that the learning curve between their day-to-day racing machine and the iROS car being greatest for Lane compared with any other driver in the competition. Abdoulaye Goita who qualified as the WGP2 Season 3 Champion but now drives for Viska Racing on the World Grand Prix circuit will take their #7 with them to the Red iROS Sport Racer.

While the World Grand Prix Championships are directly responsible for Six of the Sixteen drivers competing in iROS Round 1: Tundra Falls, it is likely that the number of current or former World Grand Prix Tier drivers will increase when the circuit packs up from Newmanistan and moves on to the Talbott Autodrome in Liventia. Host Nation Liventia will take over the right to fill the Silver car #00 with any driver qualified on merit from either a Domestic Racing Circuit or with International Level Motorsport Pedigree. Additionally the Tier 3 Fan Vote will be more likely to sway towards one of the qualified World Grand Prix 3 drivers which could include drivers who have since graduated to the World Grand Prix Championship circuit. Drivers and Organized Racing Series from throughout the multiverse may still apply to be considered for the Tier 3 Fan Vote for iROS Round 2 in Liventia.

While there will be a multi-week break between Round 1 and Round 2 on the iROS circuit, for those drivers competing on the World Grand Prix Championship circuit there will be little break to be had as they will travel out immediately following the completion of iROS Tundra Falls to join back up with the WGPC as the 18th season kicks off its second half swing at the Eisborg Gran Premio di Nekoni at the Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli.

For a collection of information that has been either confirmed or rumored regarding iBen's Race of Stars, fans and prospective competitors can visit the Race of Stars website.

by **Ethane** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 1:34 pm

"That's the end of qualifying. 26th. We're starting from the back." I looked grimly up at the dashboard. Times flashing up on screen. Adriana hadn't had her best session. A steady decline in performances had been noticed recently, with her dropping slightly further back in the qualifying standings.

But that didn't matter. In the end, performances were important. But her heart is more important. And I know that she is committed, and always gives her best, always. She may not always place well, but she is a key part of this team. We're like a family now, and she is part of that family. Nothing will change that.

"Adriana, I know this may not have been the performance you were looking for...", I told her over the radio. I knew she'd be disheartened. She always strives for the best. "But don't worry. We know what you can do. We know that you are a good driver. And nothing will convince us otherwise. You're a part of this team. You're a part of this family."

by **Aboveland** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 1:50 pm

Raichovskiy Circuit
Raichovskiy, Twicetagria

"Good luck, Janne," says Antti through the radio. He's back as his race engineer for the two mid-season non-points race. He coughs up the courage to reply, through the crushing nerves of his WGPC debut.

As his HUD springs to life, he begins the short pre-race preparations he's already memorized by now. He grips his steering wheel, rolling his shoulders and taking one last deep breath before the countdown begins.

The off-season between WGP2 and this moment had done him well, mentally. At the end of his second season with Nexus Racing he'd felt completely run to the ground. Piggybacking off his debut season, where he'd won his first ever race, his dire results alongside Drake Stevenson in Nexus' eight wheeler--the same car he's sitting in now--had crushed him.

Of course, he liked to blame his results for his mental and emotional crevasse, just so he could take his mind off of Anders. It'd been over a year, but it still rightly stung him. They weren't even in a serious relationship, but he'd just... disappeared, one day, forever, and with no explanation. He'd blocked him off of social media, too.

Perhaps it was more out of desperation than genuine desire, but he felt that he could fill that emotional gap, somehow, by replacing Anders with someone else. It was so, then, that Charyseine Valkyria had piqued his interest. Yes, he was cute, very, but if he analyzed him for anything more than a femtosecond he'd realize that there was no way in hell anything between them would ever work out--let alone the fact that, apparently, the guy wasn't even into him, or maybe not even into guys at all.

For a little while, the fragile mental progress he'd made in building his self confidence back up--largely up to and thanks to him, as Antti had retreated back to his family in Kylmajarvi and Terho and Edvin, bless their souls, were far too preoccupied with their own tasks to pay attention to him--had remained stable. Throwing Chars into the mix, things started to wobble again. He'd insisted for a while, ever since Crossbay, and clinging on to a small sliver of hope brought on by the inconclusive gaze the Twicetagrien had placed on him for a few moments, but as the weeks went by it became painfully, agonizingly clear things were headed no further, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself otherwise. Yes, he'd offered to have him on his vlog or some shit, but he'd clearly not been a priority. Back in Aboveland, he'd spent hours at the coffee shop, without getting so much as a text back. It'd hurt, but before he had the time to start obsessing over it, the mid-season bash came along--and with it, nothing at all. Janne'd spent the entire party just lurking around in the shadows; frankly, he really did feel somewhat out of place among the WGPC elite, despite the fact there were some WGP2 graduates around. But he'd retreated from the rest of the field during the previous season, and really had made no friends at all. He had got his hopes up for the party, longing for some sort of interaction, at least, with Chars, but none of that happened. For him, that had been enough.

Luckily, it mattered little to him anymore, and in sync with a deep breath and a frown straight ahead his--rather, Ryker's--Chase Cutter lurched into action. From last, he propels in front of iBen Toralmintii, who's not massively quick off the start, and just manages to sneak past Terho. As the laps go by, he manhandles the car the same way he had during WGP2, but things have changed for the better. There's more grip, more speed, more acceleration, and even the HUD is smoother. By the time he crosses the line a lowly 22nd, he's smiling from ear to ear: the first time in a while that he remembers smiling in a car.

Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli
Val del Rivoli, Nekoni

"Give it one last shot," communicates Edvin, as Terho approaches the pit entry on his supposed in-lap during qualifying. "You've got just under a minute left, its enough for one final fast lap."

"Copy," replies Terho, calm but just a little bit excited.

Nekoni had always been kind to Terho, even if the track had changed a few times. He'd scored a safe podium on his first outing in the Esportivan nation of cat-people, followed up by a decent top 10 in the MRT, and in last year's race (skipping past his unremarkable eleventh place in season 16) had been within touching distance of the win until his tyres dropped off at the end, the victory going to Sigur Bjarnason. Having been almost good enough to win last year, his mission this time around is to remedy his misstep. So far, just eighth in qualifying, things aren't looking up.

He's onto his last flying lap, and already for the braking into turns one and two the car feels just that smidge tighter than before. Resilience is on a brand new set of ultra-soft tyres, and both the rubber and the ceramic brake discs front and rear (the latter inboard) are the perfect temperature. He rounds turns three and four flat, holding on to his steering wheel and countering the g-force with his neck as much as he can through the sharper of the two before rocketing down to the hard braking zone of turn five. He eases on the throttle out towards turn six, and presses his foot flat to the firewall onto turn seven, similar to three and four but sharper and just a tad slower on entry. The flow of Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli is excellent, a perfect blend of a drivers' circuit with modern circuit design, leaving well enough space for setting up overtakes. The radio picks up a giddy chuckle as Terho throws Resilience into turn twelve.

The Abovian is pin-point precise around the final corners, and dashes out of turn eighteen putting the power down well early. As he crosses the line, as usual, his steering wheel flashes yellow.

Edvin, though content, is nonchalant through the radio. He's been adamant with the team this week to keep the cool they'd cultivated all season.

"P4," he says, trying to keep emotion out of his voice but letting the sound of clapping slip through his mic. "iBen's P5. Excellent result, Terho."

"Same qualifying position as last year," he replies, cheekily.

"Oh yeah?" Edvin inquires, genuinely having forgotten until then. As the memory comes back to him, he adds: "You think you can win it this time?"

Terho laughs, the downshifts coming through his radio before he begins to speak. "I'm supposed to ask you that! Motivate me!"

Edvin chuckles back, then instructs him to return to the paddock.

When he's back in the garage, Terho pulls off his helmet, balaclava and gloves, first the right, then the left, as per usual, and chucks them off to the side, beside his characteristic duffel bag. He places a hand on the front left tyre, the car quiet and motionless, to check if the rubber is still hot.

He sits on the rubber and takes a deep breath, rubbing his face with his damp hands. He's far happier today than he had been the morning he'd taken the plane to Nekoni with Edvin, and he frowns. He'd had such an odd mood swing, such an uncharacteristic lull in emotional strength and willpower. Communicating with himself, he shakes his head, and mutters 'dickhead'.

With his left boot, he rubs off a bug splattered behind the front wishbone, its guts spread out majestically in the shape of the airflow around the chassis. Resilience' blue paint is matte with gunk under the lights of the garage, as the sound of a circuit breaker popping in the background signals one team's already packed their things for the day. He brushes off some grime from the nose of the car to leave the number 56 glistening in amongst the gunk that matte-ifies the paint.

Fourth place in qualifying at Rivoli is more than enough to work with. He smiles softly to himself and closes his eyes, placing his left hand on the number and clenching his right into a fist. In the face of adversity, Resilience is the name of the game.

by **Former Citizens of the Nimbus System** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 2:13 pm

Viska Factory, Sterlennau, Auruna
25th of November

“When were you going to tell me about this?”

“I had hoped you would not find out, given your focus…” Baxen Aurora sighs, shaking his head. “The article is frivolous. You need not worry over it.”

“Really?” Olivia sits forward, tapping at the table. “I come onto the international stage for the first time and the first thing I’m known for is being objectified? Maelstrom, Baxen, of course I’m going to worry!” She slumps back, looking soulfully to her race engineer and best friend. “Is this just how things are outside the Wardship? I…”

“I was also unaware and… Didn’t know how to deal with it.” Baxen looks down. “Olivia, you have my sincerest apologies. This was evidently important for you and I underestimated it.”

“That’s…” Olivia nods, slowly. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

There is a pause, as the two contemplate.

“I will say,” Baxen intones, finally, “that there was something of a firestorm on Mindspeak over this. A great deal of people came to your defence.”

“Well, that’s a distinct relief – the one group I didn’t have to worry about knowing me for my racing still knows me for my racing.” Olivia lets out a brief chuckle. “Imagination, celebrity culture’s weird.”

“You tell the person who wrote an essay on the subject.” Baxen smiles. Then he raises a finger. “That reminds me – I wanted to discuss something with you.” He taps a few times at his phone, then turns it to show her.

“The iRoS?”

“You qualify by virtue of your victory in WGPi – there are rotational slots being offered for Championship winners in WGP3 categories. One race per entrant.” Baxen looks at her, expression open and kind in offering. “There is no obligation on you, of course, but I considered that it might be something with fewer stakes – and an opportunity to compete on equal footing with others, given the cars.”

Olivia’s eyebrows rise hopefully. “I…” She purses her lips.

“It would be for three or so days,” Baxen adds. “A chance to show the world who you are.” He smiles. “If you’d like, ‘Liv, I can attempt to secure you an earlier slot so that you are on completely equal terms with the others.” He opens up a palm. “If you fare less well, then you were up against the best of the best in motorsport as an up and coming driver. It will not reflect poorly on you at all and you will be able to learn some things from them. If you perform equivalently or better to them, then it will be a coup on your behalf.”

“It would certainly silence anyone doubting me, that’s for sure…” Olivia glances at her own hand. Then she clenches it into a fist. “I’ve never backed down from a challenge before, have I? See what you can do, Baxen.”

He nods, still smiling, phone spinning under Imagination’s power and falling perfectly into his pocket as he begins to tap at his keyboard. “Always.” He watches as Olivia stands, stretching a touch. “Heading off, then?”

“Mmm. Think I’ll wander – need to… Process.” She smiles back. “See you later.”

Baxen gives a wave before Olivia closes the door to his workspace.

And she wanders.

I don’t need that. Imagination, I’ve got enough on my shoulders as it is without people turning me into a Maelstrom-damned sex object. It’s… You can’t control it, though. Too many people with too many ideas. Just have to… Cope.

That’s unfair. That’s so unfair.

I shouldn’t have to bear that for doing what I love. Appreciate me for that, for what I’ve chosen to cultivate, to be good at, for the Nexus’ sake!

Olivia almost growls, shaking her head, steps becoming heavier and heavier as she passes through the hallways, such that she almost doesn’t notice when she turns a corner and bumps into Abdoulaye Goita.

Literally.

“Oh! Sorry, sorry!” Olivia laughs, dark mood immediately easing. “Imagination, I…” A thought seizes her. “Actually, Abdoulaye, are you doing anything at the moment? I, ah… I could use some advice.”

“Reçueçn is… Normal, when it comes to how it treats famous people, isn’t it?” She places a hand on her hip. “I ask because we’re not – back in the Wardship, I mean. Everyone’s far too conscientious and egalitarian for that. I don’t… So I honestly don’t know how to deal with it and, well… Everything. And I just found out that I was in this article in a Togonistani magazine that blew up online without me knowing that was grading WGPC drivers by attractiveness and –”

She lets out a puff of breath. “Look, you were WGP2 Champion, not for lack of my trying, so you’ve got to know a bit about how to do this, right? Anything would be helpful, if you can offer it.”

by **Nico Hulkenberg** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 2:28 pm

If At First, You Don’t Succeed...

Practice

As ever, Dario had a god-awful practice session. He couldn’t quite figure out how to master this track, and found himself spinning out a lot more than usual, especially at turns 5 and 10. While he was below both Daryl and Charyseine, he still managed to have a better time than Kinu, who seemed to have more issues than Dario in terms of figuring out this circuit.

*bleeep bloop*

”That’s practice over, Dario. If this was qualifying, you’d be nowhere near the starting grid.”

“Thankfully it’s not, eh?”

“Yep. Get yourself in the zone before qualifying, because you’re well off of Daryl and Charyseine’s pace, mate.”

“Oh, where were they?”

“Daryl... P21. Charyseine... P11.”

“And me?”

“P26.”

“Argh, that’s not good at all. I’ll get up to speed in quali, I promise!”

“I’m sure you will, Dario. On the laps where you didn’t spin, you had at least some pace. Just get yourself focused, okay?”

“Alright, alright.”

Qualifying

For a large part of qualifying, it seemed like Dario would be nowhere near the starting grid for tomorrow’s race. He was still lagging behind all 3 of his teammates as the session was nearing the end, but he knew he could improve.

*blooooooooop blip*

”This is your last chance, Dario. Daryl’s last time was a 1:43.758, and judging by Charyseine’s times you should easily beat that if you put one good lap in.”

“‘Easily’?”

“Yes, easily.”

“Why’s that, then?”

“Daryl is almost 7 tenths off of the car in front, who’s in P23. When I say easily, I mean easily.”

“If you say so, then. But if I don’t qualify, then it won’t exactly be ‘easily’ beaten, will it?”

“Just focus on your qualifying lap for now, okay? If you want to race tomorrow, then get a bloody move on!”

“Alright, alright, calm down. I’ll do the lap.”

Did Dario beat Daryl’s lap easily? Well, if you call beating his lap by over a second-and-a-half ‘easily’, then he absolutely did. However, none of this would really matter if he couldn’t put in a good performance in tomorrow’s Grand Prix. After all, those lucrative sponsorships love good performances - and finishing out of the points almost every time you start a race doesn’t paint a good picture.

So, let’s cut to the chase. Can Dario overcome the cars in front and make it into his second points finish of the season, or would he have to settle for another outside-of-the-points finish and risk angering his fans and sponsors? Time to find out... in the next RP!

by **Hodori Motorsports** » Sun Nov 29, 2020 2:33 pm

Soeshu, Hodori
Kizagama to Dashoze via Soeshu involved a bit of a detour. In fact it involved not taking the Super-Express line that ran from Kizagama to Dashoze. But stopping by Soeshu was something Sayono Souzare felt she needed to do as part of her frequent trips to Arada HQ: that was where her apartment was, and thus her cat and spouse.
Relaxing is good.
Spending some time cuddling with a small, fluffy, black cat is good.
Spending some time “cuddling” with the wife is good.
Sayono kicked off her shoes as she announced her return. Hakusa’s reply of “Welcome home” came from the kitchen. The aroma of curry and recently deep-fried breaded pork filled the small apartment.
“Smells good.”
“You’re just in time. Dinner’s almost ready.”
Stuffing her face and wrecking the meticulously crafted diet set by her nutritionist, as she had done several times over the past few rounds, is good. Not really.
“One of your cousins stopped by.”
“What.”
Dealing with extended family, who Sayono had gone out of her way to avoid since she was sixteen, is not good. At all.
“She’s out on the balcony.”

The stench of tobacco smoke hit Sayono as she closed the sliding door behind her. On the small balcony was a slender woman, about An’ue’s height and with shoulder-length black hair.
“Why are you here.”
“Wow. And here I thought I was one of your cousins you wouldn’t mind running into again.” The other woman flicked ash from her burning cigarette as she looked at Sayono.
“That bitch sent you, didn’t she?”
Sayono’s cousin – Suzuchiru Souzare – let out a resigned sigh. “Yep.”
“What does she want.” Sayono could already guess. Some variation of making me utterly miserable.
“I don’t actually know.” Suzuchiru took another drag from her cigarette. Exhaled. “All I know is that she wanted me to ‘drag you back home’. Probably to scream at you some more.”
“I’m not going.”
“I figured you wouldn’t. If she were my grandmother I’d probably have left the Archipelago and never looked back.” Another drag. “Really I’m just here because she gave me an address and an excuse to not be near her.”
Suzuchiru spent a few minutes looking at the apartment tower across the street, tendrils of smoke rising from ther cigarette, the occasional puff of smoke from her nostrils.
“I’m truly sorry that you have such a vile person as your grandmother, Sayono. But no matter what happens, the rest of the family–” Suzuchiru turned, finding herself alone in the warm evening air. Sayono had long since quietly returned indoors. Where there was AC. And someone she wanted to actually be around.
“Right.”

”How can you two eat so much?” Suzuchiru was still on her first bowl of pork cutlet with rice and curry sauce. She had lost count of how many the other two had collectively consumed.
“It all goes to her chest.” Sayono gestured to Hakusa’s ample bosom. Hakusa responded with glare and a sharp elbow jab into Sayono’s side.
“That doesn’t explain you.”
“Sure it does. Everything she eats goes to her chest, as does everything I eat.” Another jab from Hakusa.
“I’m pretty sure it’s a coping mechanism or some such. ‘Things not going well? Eat everything in sight’. That sort of thing.”
“No it’s not.” Sayono offered a flimsy denial of what Hakusa had said as she reached for the rice pot.
“I’ve known you since high school. Yes, it is.” Hakusa moved the rice pot away.
“That… does match up with what I’ve seen, and I’ve known her since she was a kid.” Suzuchiru finished her bowl.

Dashoze, Hodori
Arada Motorsports Racing Development Campus
Another weekend in Dashoze, another four hours spent testing Object V2 and through live track time refining the suspension, aerodynamics, and gearing of what was ultimately destined to be a track toy and homologation special. And then off to Nekoni.

Entering the garage – more like an aircraft hangar than an actual garage – with the other Arada factory pilots, Sayono immediately noticed the two testing prototypes. This time around they were clad in Arada’s special-edition colour, not the matte black-and-white stripe-and-swirl dazzle camouflage designed to obscure small details from prying eyes. 208 and 210 – the two prototypes – were wearing a glossy black paint with refractive flakes. Where the light reflected off the bodywork at a certain angle, the black shifted to an almost golden-bronze colour.

This was not a normal testing session.

The short briefing before the start of the session consisted of a simple instruction: just run some laps.

Suit up in the small, temporary changing room. Wait her turn as the others took 208 and 210 out for a few laps. Climb into the car, nestle into the seat, reclining almost like in a WGPC machine, strap in. Start up, bringing 208’s 3.4-litre NA V8 to life. Drive out onto the track, let the engine sing. Push the car to its limits, unsullied by automated traction control or anti-lock brakes.

A squeeze of a wheel-mounted paddle, left foot down until the brakes start to lock, ease off, downshift, find the limit, turn in, clip the hairpin’s apex, straighten out. Back on the throttle, not too much. Feel the rear start to lose grip, keep throttle steady, small countersteer. Hear the revs climb closer to the redline, upshift. Glide through the esses, her feet modulating the brake and throttle pedals all the anti-lock brake and traction control she needed.

At the conclusion of her run in 208, it was back to the garage for a moment of rest and to once again wait her turn for time with 210 and its 4.8-litre normally-aspirated V10.

Val de Rivoli, Nekoni
Post-Qualifying

A rounding error. That was essentially what left her starting third when Sayono and Edwards posted what was essentially the same lap. Going over her track notes in her mobile home, she was irritated more by being denied open tarmac to the entry of the first corner than getting bumped by a sub-millisecond difference in lap time. Such is life.

World Grand Prix Championship 18 [RP/results]

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