As has been mentioned before, there are no proper racing facilities within a short drive of the Orange Cow base at the PRL Center in Haskins; Drummond Vale was over an hour away to the south and the next closest permanent road course was in Seymour to the east, about 90 minutes travel on the 450 expressway.
It's also been discussed how the team turned an unused section of parking lot with an additional asphalt covered area into their own private test track, which had been christened “Le Circuit de Peril” during the first season, but was usually just called 'the P' or 'outside', since it was literally next to the factory area.
Michael Lambert ran the race team the same way he ran the Performance Research Labs, his 'crazy' brainstorm that had made him (and his friend Ed O'Malley, along with a few others who showed faith in his idea) extremely wealthy; he was prepared at all times to do whatever was needed to protect what he considered his most important asset—his employees.
There was no such thing as “wasted money” to help his workforce do their jobs better, safer, with dedication & enthusiasm; he didn't hesitate to invest in making the track as safe as it could be: plastic barrels filled with water surrounded by tire bundles or energy absorbing wall systems on the outside of certain corners, contracting with off-duty firefighters/paramedics to be present on days when the track was in use (along with the necessary apparatus/tools needed if there was an emergency), hiring a full time safety officer to oversee procedures (who was also part of the PRL safety department as well), paying for everyone in the team to learn proper fire extinguisher use.
The track was understood to be the domain of the race mechanics and support personnel in so far as maintaining the integrity of the facility—four persons were deputized ahead of every session to walk the entire length of the racing line looking for foreign objects, the condition of the pavement itself, plus any other immediate concerns. The most junior mechanic or garage runner (the guys & gals who cleaned up, packed up, stepped up where needed, and were the unsung heroes of the race team) could put a halt to a test run by pointing out a potential problem.
The crew were also the arbiters and custodians of the naming of the track's corners and other sections; nearly everyone in 'front facing' part of the team (drivers, race engineers, Lambert himself) had been honored with a corner upon the occasion of some milestone or because of a particular association with a section on the course. Nick Unger--who'd been a test driver of the original first generation of the SOC car, splitting time with Jordan Crowe before the team had even been accepted to run in WGP2--had been popular with the crew, and was one of the very first honorees with Turn 3 being known as “Unger”, and JC had been bestowed with Turn 8 after being named the full time test driver; Pedro Carballal always looked tidy and quick through Turn 5, and was quite emotional when presented with his own corner, while Saki Kuyara had made it her obsession to conquer Turns 9 & 10, a quick double right hander, and credited JC when it became 'hers' (a slight change to the layout has meant that Turn 9 is a double right considered just a single corner complex now).
The results from Hessington Island and Lopinka meant that both Batu and Sammi were eligible for their own honor—both had taken pole position and Carter had taken the team's first ever AOGP win.
Ahead of the home race, there'd been discussion among the crew about which unnamed corners would be suitable for the young pair; Batu was 19 and Sammi was just a month past her 21st birthday when she won in Vilita, while Jordan and Nick were older—they'd competed against one another in several lower domestic formulas—at 24 & 23 respectively.
While the three Parkers had been part of the AOMC team, and had the common experience of racing in the various levels the made up the diver ladder, Tüvshinbayar was the outsider who already had a full season of WGP2 under his belt and was initially a bit reserved in his interaction with the others outside of the driving. To their credit, they reached out to the TJUN-ian with advice and tips about everyday living in the Commonwealth, a lot of knowledge about Drummond Vale (he'd only run on the Vale layout during his test, so when they began doing testing on the Championship course they all had plenty of personal experience to share) and embracing him into the team's close knit camaraderie.
Tuesday's medium fuel level track work on the Peril was cut a bit short when Vaughn Estes told Batu “box, box, box, tire change”.
He brought the car into the “pit lane” and one of the mechanics gave him the signal to cut the engine. “You can get out 'B', we're going to let Nick run now.”
Carter had been told she was going to run after Batu, so she was also standing by as the AOGP car was on the 'speed line'--the nearly 1 mile run that was used for straight line engine tests—when a host of people came out from the facility, including Lambert and Ed O'Malley and the other senior directors.
When everyone was gathered Kevin Ammaker, the Chief Mechanic, spoke up from atop the makeshift pitwall setup that was used.
“This is a big week and I know everyone is working hard to make sure that we will have the best possible performance from both teams. But we have one piece of important business to do right now so I will turn things over to the Pit Boss.”
Most of those present immediately began chanting 'PIT-BOSS, PIT-BOSS' as Jerry Oosthuizen stepped up; he was the rank & file mechanic with the most experience, nominally the spokesperson between Ammaker, Chief Engineer Paul Valentini and the rest of the management.
“The Orange Cow mechanics have made their intentions clear through a free & fair vote to honor the following persons with a corner named for them on this track. Edward O'Malley, step forward”.
Lambert had approached the crew about giving Ed his recognition, which was quickly realized to be a huge oversight; as the Chief Designer and Aerodynamicist, as well as being an investor in the team, his inclusion was a no-brainer.
“From this day forward, turn 12 shall be henceforth known as 'O'Malley corner' along with the rights to transfer said name to any future track.” A huge cheer went up as Ed received a hastily prepared certificate.
“Samantha Carter, step forward”. An even larger roar came from the crowd as Sammi stepped up with a look of shock on her face. “Owing to your victory from pole position for Orange Cow Racing, the complex that includes turn 10 shall be henceforth known as 'Sammi corner' along with the rights to transfer said name to any future track.” Sammi was visibly moved as anther loud cheer arose.
“Batu Tüvshinbayar, step forward”. On the surprise chart, Batu's expression was the one that showed the depth of emotion the announcement brought forward to the recipient; he hadn't really understood how much little successes like pole positions or podiums meant to a team like SOC.
“Owing to your pole position run at Hessington Island, turn 7 shall be henceforth known 'Batu corner' along with the right to transfer said name to any future track. Ladies & Gentlemen, on behalf of the mechanical & engineering departments, I present our newest Orange Cow heroes. Due to the circumstances, only the regular cafeteria lunch will be available but our honorees should be delivered to the head of the line.”
With that, Ed, Sammi and Batu were each hoisted up on the shoulders of several persons and carried into the PRL commissary.
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The race weekend at Drummond Vale was a massive success for the Commonwealth Motorsport Federation; the track promoters, sponsors, vendors; cable channels CommSport 1 & 2, and of course the Orange Cow teams.
Friday drew a crowd of over 35,000 for practice and qualifying, while Saturday and Sunday each saw 60,000+ in attendance despite the on & off rainy weather; the SOC commercial department had made sure to have enough stock of cheap rain ponchos among the branded merchandise available for sale, which included affordable Scuderia and OCR hats & shirts; medium and higher end branded apparel offset by low price point collectables (keychains, ticket holder lanyards, pins, wrist bands, ear buds) as well as individual driver oriented items (all four drivers had deals where 30% of team merchandise sold with their name/likeness was pooled and split equally, while each of them were entitled to 20% of revenue generated by sponsors using their name/likeness).
Although JC and Batu were just beat out at the last moment from a front row lockout in qualifying, their 1-2 finish in Saturday's feature was received with wild spontaneous celebration, having been preceded by Nick Unger's pole winning run earlier in the day; the mostly orange clad crowd provided an impressive display for television viewers across the multiverse. Sunday's results were not as comprehensive, but still provided spectacle, as Unger and Sammi Carter came home behind race winner Gus Perry in the AOGP feature, followed by Crowe and Tüvshinbayar picking up additional points in the first WGP2 sprint event finishing in the top 8.
Monday evening following the weekend, Team Principal Mike Lambert arranged for the mechanics, drivers and extra staff—around 50 people in total—to have a small celebration at the Kingston Arms Hotel, which was not a hotel at all but a restaurant in what was formerly a traditional style inn; just light finger food and beer & wine were provided to celebrate the results at Drummond Vale.
“There's still a lot of racing ahead of us, a lot of points we can earn. We're right in the mix for the Constructors title in both series, and we've got a real opportunity for jumping into the Drivers title chase”. Lambert wanted to stress that the team was far ahead of where it had been at a similar stage last season.
“We need to keep focus on what's ahead of us. We've got the potential to bring both cars home in the points every time out, to have a legit chance to win more races. That's where attention to little things, the fine details can be the difference. Let's keep proving ourselves and how far we can go”.