The World Grand Prix Championship is back for another season of high drama, high octane and high-or-at-least-on-something roleplay. The multiverse's best racing teams and drivers will compete for the fifteenth World Championship.
The World Grand Prix Championship has been going since 2005 and is Nationstates' answer to RL's Formula One, albeit with the drama turned up to eleven and the thousands of rules and regulations tossed casually into an icebucket. The WGPC follows reality's example just up to the point where reality becomes a bit boring. F1 banned things like ground effect, active suspension, smoking in the pit garages and a whole host of other things. This isn't the case with the WGPC. How a team builds a car is entirely up to them, and if it ends up upside down in a hedge on fire then that's their own damned fault.
Season 12, Season 13 and Season 14 have been completed in recent years. Season fifteen is just around the corner.
The WGPC is currently in
The Signup Phase
The Negotiation Phase
The Season Phase
The Negotiation Phase
The Season Phase
The Negotiation Phase is currently in progress. In this phase, drivers apply to join racing teams and/or racing teams will try to sign drivers. Please look through previous threads for an idea as to how this is done. To apply to join a team, make an in-character roleplay post in the RP thread. Read the OP of the RP thread for more details.
Season 14 Signup Thread
Season 13 Signup Thread
Every user may sign up a maximum of TWO drivers. Every driver starts off as a free agent, meaning they are not affiliated to any team. Drivers sign up to teams via roleplay in the RP thread, which will be created soon, though its customary to ask around the users who control racing teams (more on them later) to let them know you're available.
The more RPing you do with your driver, the higher your RP bonus. The higher your RP bonus, the faster your driver is likely to be on the circuit, and the more likely a team is to sign them.
To sign-up a driver, fill in the following form:
NAME:
GENDER:
NATIONALITY:
TRIGRAM:
NUMBER:
ABILITY: (Aggression/Technique/Reliability)
BIO:
NAME is the full name of the driver. The driver may be male or female or any kind of sentient being. Want to sign up a pony? Or some kind of sentient wasp? That's fine, but do appreciate that IC regulations on driver safety, car weight, helmet measurements and general aerodynamic ability would have to be factored in. The WGPC reserves the right to punish sentient bees for not wearing the correct safety equiptment, even if said safety equipment would make it impossible for said bee to reach the steering wheel.
GENDER is your driver's gender. If this is left blank we will assume the driver is a male human. If you've decided to go for a half-ape half-encephelapod, this is where to write that.
TRIGRAM is the driver's nationality. It should be put in the form of a trigram. This is NOT the trigram for the driver's name.
A TRIGRAM is the three-letter code that tells us what your nation is called. Audioslavia's, for example, is AUD.
In a change from Formula One, the driver's trigram is NOT three letters that represent a short form of the driver's name.
NUMBER is your driver's preferred car number. This can be any number between 3 and 99. 1 is reserved for the current driver's champion. 2 is only availble to the champion's team-mate should they so choose. In the event that two drivers choose the same number, first preference will be given to any driver trying to retain a number they used previously, followed by whoever signed up first. Drivers who have chosen a number that has already been taken will be given a random one at the start of the season, unless they specify another number beforehand.
ABILITY is split into three sections: AGGRESSION, TECHNIQUE and RELIABILITY. Aggressive drivers are better at overtaking, while technical drivers are better at traversing the multiverse's more difficult circuits. Reliable drivers don't find themselves upside-down in a gravel-pit quite so often. Each attribute should be given a numerical number between 1 and 5 and the three ratings must add up to a maximum of twelve. This is a change from last season.
You can increase your driver's A/T/R rating by RPing.
BIO is a short biography of your driver. His/her/its age, experience, hopes and aspirations, driving style, favourite sandwich, things like that.
EXAMPLE SIGN-UP
NAME: Alexander Lund
NATIONALITY: Audioslavian
TRIGRAM: AUD
NUMBER: 16
ABILITY: 4/3/5
BIO: Alec Lund shot to fame in Season 12 of the WGPC. Signed to the notoriously unreliable McPahan team, Lund struggled through accident after accident during the first half of the season, only to put a streak together over the last handful of races and, against all expectation, win the World Driver's Championship on the very final raceday of the season. Lund's form dipped slightly in season thirteen, finishing third after a slow start to the campaign, while last season was an unmitigated disaster that him, and his McPahan team, would like to forget as soon as possible.
Alec is a careful driver, all too used to handling some of the most unreliable cars on the planet. His ability to race at pace while keeping an eye on his tires is second to none, but while he shows consistency he doesn't quite have the raw talent and reaction times of his peers.
The following applications have been received and accepted, and the drivers will take part in the negotiation period at the start of the season.
Not every driver is guaranteed a drive. Whether they get to drive or not depends on the negotiation phase.
For available drivers, please see the RP thread
Not every driver is guaranteed a drive. Whether they get to drive or not depends on the negotiation phase.
For available drivers, please see the RP thread
Each user may sign up a maximum of TWO grand-prix circuits, and no more than one per nation (meaning one circuit from your main nation and one from a puppet is fine).
Signing up a circuit is not a guarantee that it will be used in the upcoming WGPC season. Spare circuits may be used for pre-season or in-season testing.
It is customary to provide an image of your circuit (no larger than 900 x 900 pixels, of course). Providing an image is mandatory for your circuit to become one of the 12 that will be used for the upcoming season.
To sign up a circuit, fill in the following form.
EXAMPLE SIGN-UP
NAME OF CIRCUIT:
CITY/TOWN:
COUNTRY:
NAME OF GRAND PRIX:
TRACK RATING: (Ag/Tc)
QUALIFYING TYPE: (Trad / Two-Tier)
LAP RECORD:
LENGTH OF ONE LAP:
BIO:
Link the image too, if you have one.
NAME OF CIRCUIT is the name of the circuit. To use a real-life example, Spa-Francorchamps is the name of the track used for the Belgian grand-prix.
CITY/TOWN is the name of the place the circuit is in / nearest to. For example, Spa-Francorchamps is situated near the Belgian town of Stavelot.
COUNTRY is the nation the circuit is in. Spa Francorchamps is in Belgium.
NAME OF GRAND PRIX is what the grand prix will be called. For example, Grand Prix de Quebec or Audioslavian Grand Prix or Gran Premio de San Jose Guayabal.
TRACK RATING is, like the driver ability rating, comprised of numerical values. The first value is Aggressiveness. Aggressive circuits are wide with plenty of opportunities to overtake. The second value is Technical Difficulty. A track with a high TD rating suits more technically skilled drivers, and the circuit may be more difficult to overtake on. The numbers should add up to ten. (ie 4/6, 3/7, 5/5)
QUALIFYING TYPE was a new addition for season 14.
A single ninety-minute free-for-all in which every driver gets ten laps in which to record the fastest lap-time possible is known as the Traditional qualifying type, and if you would like your grand prix to use this qualifying type, say so in this field.
Two-tier is similar to what is currently used in formula one. In the first, fifty-minute session the drivers record up to six flying laps. The ten fastest go on to tier two, the slower ones drop out and will line up in positions 11 to 24 on race-day. In the second session, the ten fastest drivers record up to three flying laps over a twenty-five minute period. The driver with the slowest time of this period will start 10th, the second-slowest 9th and so on.
LAP RECORD is the fastest any grand prix driver has driven the track before.
LENGTH OF ONE LAP should be measured in kilometres. Tracks that are too long or too short won't be considered when it comes to selecting places for the racing season.
BIO is a short description of the track. You can provide the track's history and/or give a description of one lap around the circuit.
Oh, and remember the two usual rules: NO OVALS, and NO RL CIRCUITS.
EXAMPLE SIGN-UP
NAME OF CIRCUIT: Crossport Raceway
CITY/TOWN: Crossport
COUNTRY: Audioslavia
NAME OF GRAND PRIX: Grand Prix of Audioslavia
TRACK RATING: (4/6)
QUALIFYING: Traditional
LAP RECORD: 1m 30.929s (R.L. Cruisin', Frontiere Racing, WGPC13)
LENGTH OF ONE LAP: 5.885km
...The Crossport Raceway, Audioslavia's newest and most modern grand prix circuit, has a long straight down to turn one, the so called 'turn of the century', a mid-length left-hander just deep enough to whittle a pack of 24 roaring cars to single file.
Alec approaches at a modest speed, pumps the brakes and coasts around the corner, missing all apexes by a mile, before accelerating downhill, through Turn 2 before easing off for the tighting right hander that ends with the 'Hammerhead' turn - a sharp right onto a long straight. The g-force from the right-hander presses his helmet into the side of the cockpit - a force his neck isn't quite strong enough to counter. He lets out a grunt as the corner opens out into the straight, which he accelerates down as fast as is possible. A shallow incline levels out into a 10-degree left, followed by a hard, hard braking zone which puts extra pressure on that neck. The car judders to an almost standstill, thankfully without any wheelspin, and he feeds the car through the turn as best he can. It's still.. not quite right. Not only are his, and therefore the car's, movements not quite smooth enough, but the g-forces are still messing with him and everything is still... it's somehow sluggish. Was the car heavier? Was the engine not giving him as much as last season? The car, like him, felt a little more lethargic and a few pounds too heavy. What was wrong?
Knock corner hones into view in front of him, and Alec takes it at a safe pace, feeding the car through Hold and Loose before accelerating up the part of the circuit named after him. Lund Hill. A big, steep climb with a slight right-hand lilt. He builds speed up the hill, levels out for a short straight before starting the descent down Bunn Straight - named after his former team-mate.
Alec's eyes open at the sight in front of him - perhaps the most dangerous part of any circuit on the current WGPC calendar. The rail tunnel. It wasn't technically a rail tunnel - the cars weren't driving on rails - it was, rather, a bridge, with a functioning railtrack above. The track had originally been built to end just before it, but problems with the steep descent down Bunn hill meant that either the track had to wind back out and in again to negate the steep clim, or be extended just a little past the original boundaries. It was the quickest part of the circuit even with the slight bend, and at the end of it was a wall. It may have been a wall angled so that it would give even the most out-of-sorts cars a long, grinding slide rather than a head-on crash, but it was a wall nonetheless, and even clipping a tire in the wrong place could spell the end of one's race.
Alec brakes as late as he dare - which isn't that late, it turns out - and banks right, and right again, before embarking on the main straight. He stamps on the accelerator as quickly as possible, and curses under his breath as the engine goes through the gears just a fraction of a second slower than he'd like. The horizon hurtles towards him, he passes the line, and it's the start of his flying lap. This is definitely it, now. Now he goes about earning that big old salary of his.
The Turn of the Century soon arrives, for the second time, and this time the McPahan F180a is flush on the right hand side of the track for the approach. A pump of the brakes kills his speed and lets him decellerate through to second gear. He misses the apex on the inside, but his the outer one. The right-rear spins as he fails to get the traction he needs to properly hit top speed down the short downhill straight before turn two, but he does manage to take the second turn smoothly and coast round to Hammerhead. His head, once again, is duly hammered onto the side of the cockpit as he swings round, a little too fast, onto the main straight, and the car eats up all of the generous rumble-strip and even a few blades of grass as he begins the shallow climb on the eastern part of the circuit. The car, once again, gallops a little labouredly up the hill, still feeling as if he's dragging a wheelbarrow full of tar behind him. He's thankful for the absense of said wheelbarrow as he brakes hard for Hammertail. The tyres squeal in protest as he again carries a few too many horses round the corner, and he's rocked by a sharp mount of the outer rumblestrip as the car straightens out again.
Flush onto the right hand side of the circuit, Alec narrows his eyes with determination as Knock homes into view, and he swings the car violently into the left-hander. The rear end feels like it's about to slip away... it thankfully doesn't, but he's certainly gone in too hard, and has to keep his foot off the accelerator in order to get himself into Hold at the correct angle. The car drifts slowly round Hold before Loose comes into view, and Alec pumps the car forward into the corner, getting good traction and good speed out of it in comparison to last time, and hurtling up his own hill as quick as possible. He hears the engine struggle against the combined forces of gravity and air resistance. The shallow right almost takes Lund by surprise, but he keeps his foot pressed against the accelerator all the while. Now, it's time for the right-hander down to Bunn Hill, and Alec can't help but glance at the speedometer as it dances to and beyond the 200 mark... well beyond... scarily beyond... the tunnel gets too close for comfort. Alec brakes hard, the wheels scream in anguish. The right-rear locks up, forcing Alec to pump the brakes again. He's just in time for the right-hander, and gets the car round Linco Turn quickly. The engine lets out a bloodcurdling warcry as the start-finish line rushes towards its wheels."
"Nice first lap. One-thirty-three point oh-three-three. Top marks for repetition. You can go quicker. Over"
The following applications have been received. Only twelve will be selected for the Grand Prix season. Extra circuits may be used for pre/mid season testing.
The following applications have been rejected due to a problem with the signup. Please rectify this as soon as possible.
NAT Circuit Qualifying Track Picture
HDR Yakumicha Circuit Two-Tier https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/704 ... 0thumb.png
AEL Western Route Circuit Two-Tier http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b68/N ... gxwmpi.png
LEN Gold Park Circuit Traditional http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b68/N ... 253be4.png
AUD Crossport Raceway Traditional http://i.imgur.com/Hpvx4xE.png
ALH Gracemeria Granprix Traditional http://i68.tinypic.com/2zir8k0.png
MTJ Kopylov InternazionRing Two-Tier http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u41 ... 9fie3d.png
EFL Mount Salt Raceway Two-Tier https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-ZoLk ... aceway.png
SJG Circuito Callejero PdA Two-Tier http://i.imgur.com/41LAsKW.png
ABL Furuhøytie Virtpiiri Two-Tier http://i.imgur.com/pVfhGBl.png
SWR Uberzöömingsplatz Traditional http://i.imgur.com/AXyH6NU.png
LIS Circuit Grandeville Traditional http://i.imgur.com/c1ZQtlP.png
VIL Vilitan Mountain Challenge Traditional http://www.3wideracing.com/3wide/sites/ ... cmap16.png
TUR Eelandii Grand Prix Course Two-Tier http://www.3wideracing.com/3wide/sites/ ... ndiigp.png
WET New Dili City Circuit Two-Tier http://i.imgur.com/8KndN2c.jpg
CHI Chistanian Int. Circuit Two-Tier http://orig07.deviantart.net/8350/f/201 ... aqnzws.png
KRY Argentring Two-Tier http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/K ... xykhil.png
NEK Nova Valley Circuit Traditional http://i64.tinypic.com/fnb56x.jpg
TAE Fadron Raceway Park Two-Tier http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/gg5 ... aceway.jpg
The following applications have been rejected due to a problem with the signup. Please rectify this as soon as possible.
NAT Circuit Qualifying Track Picture
Team sign-ups work a little differently compared to other sports. Team sign-ups are semi-open. Anyone is allowed to register a team, but only a few will be selected. Selection is based on the hosts' preference and nothing else. Please also note that, unlike previous iterations, there will be no test-driver slots.
Why so strict? The onus is on teams to RP well, for enjoyments sake as well as to reap the benefits of a decent RP bonus. Running a team in the WGPC is a large responsibility that should not be taken lightly. If you are a newcomer to NS sports you probably shouldn't apply.
Users that RP well will find not only that their drivers go faster, but their teams perform better too. The combination of a well-RP'd driver racing for a well RP'd team will make for a very competitive team, though its worth stressing that, due to the random nature of scorinators, RPing well is not a guarantee of success, it merely improves your chances.
Also, just as teams are free to fire drivers if they feel they aren't performing (ie the user isn't RPing enough), drivers are free to quit teams they feel are not giving them the help they need (ie the user isn't RPing enough). Although it rarely happens in Formula One nowadays, there is the possibility to remove teams during the season and enter new ones, if there is little or no activity from the user. All changes are at the discretion of the WGPC Committee.
To register a team, fill in the following form:
TEAM NAME:
RATING: (Acceleration/Cornering/Reliability)
HEADQUARTERS:
Bio:
Picture:
TEAM NAME is the name of the team. For example, McPahan Racing, ENSADRINK GP, Red Bull Racing
RATING is, like the ability sections for the drivers, divided into three numbers. 'Acceleration' is the team's ability to get the best out of the engine, while a team's Cornering ability denotes their ability to get the best performance out of their tyres, wings and the like. The Rebiality rating denotes how reliable they can make the team's car, and just how reliable the pit crew are at changing the tyres on a car without accidentally setting fire to it.
Each rating can be a maximum of 5 and a team's total rating points can add up to no more than 12. You can increase your team's A/C/R rating by RPing.
A team's Headquarters are the city in which the team is based.
Bio is where you write a little bit about your team.
It is also very adviseable that you provide a profile picture of your team's car. Your chances of getting offered a spot with a team increases dramatically if you can create, or find someone to create, a picture of your team's car.
EXAMPLE SIGN-UP
TEAM NAME: McPahan Racing
RATING: (4/5/3)
HEADQUARTERS: Ceilerden, Audioslavia.
BIO: Created by the benevolent philanthropist Charles McPahan, widly mismanaged by the controversial Linco McPahan, now in the hands of racing-mad Stan McPahan, the McPahan brand is one of the most recogniseable names in NS motorsport.
WGPC12 was the team's first foray into the WGPC after decades of tearing tarmac (often quite literally) in other regional and national competitions. In a massive shock, #2 driver Alexander Lund emerged as driver's champion, with the McPahan team finishing in the top three in the constructor's standings. The team did the same the next season, albiet with Lund finishing in third place in the championship.
Last season saw the team lurch from crisis to the crisis as they finished in the middle of the pack, but the team is looking forward to a new start in the competition.
The following applications have been received. A maximum of 12 teams will be selected for the upcoming season. The selection process is done in secret by a comittee within the WGPC. Success if largely dependent on previous RP history in the WGPC and elsewhere on Nationstates.
To reiterate: The above teams are not yet confirmed for entry into the coming season.
Team signups that have not included a picture of the car, and/or who have never had a car in previous seasons, are not currently being considered.
Car Team Acc/Cor/Rel
Arada 3.9/4.5/3.6
Bitten Heroes 4.4/3.6/4
Carvenlo-Clockwork 4.5/3.5/4
Fireline 3.5/4.5/4
KNP 2 /5 /4
McPahan 4 /5 /3
MRT 5 /4 /3
MSA-SinVal 3.8/3.7/4.5
Nexus 5 /2 /5
RSR 4 /4 /4
SFeG 3.5/3.5/4
Telaris 4 /4 /4
Vannish 4.3/3.7/4
VTR 4.8/4.2/3
Wilson 4 /4 /4
WGPC Motorworks 3 /4 /3
To reiterate: The above teams are not yet confirmed for entry into the coming season.
Team signups that have not included a picture of the car, and/or who have never had a car in previous seasons, are not currently being considered.
The season will start with the Negotiation Period which will commence on December 23rd. The deadline for team signups will be on December 22nd.