WGP2 Season 2 [RP Thread]

[Mattijana]

Week 9: Qualifying

Conditions:      	Dry	
Lap Record:      	81.954	
Qualifying Type:	Two Tier	
Nation:         	ESM	
Circuit:        	Forest Cross Raceway

POS # DRIVER                   TEAM                	FASTEST LAP			
 1 19 Dom Falepeau                MRT2                        	00:01:16.668	00:00:00.000	00:01:16.672	00:00:00.000
 2 12 Ade Imoju                   Omni-Katoa Racing           	00:01:16.670	00:00:00.002	00:01:16.684	00:00:00.012
 3 16 Janne Laukkanen             Nexus Racing                	00:01:16.671	00:00:00.003	00:01:17.428	00:00:00.756
 4  3 Darius Castellammare        Superia Junior Team         	00:01:16.677	00:00:00.009	00:01:17.484	00:00:00.812
 5  2 Juliano Lemos               Superia Junior Team         	00:01:16.701	00:00:00.033	00:01:17.506	00:00:00.834
 6  5 Jason Masami                Brutus Obey Sport GP        	00:01:16.721	00:00:00.054	00:01:19.018	00:00:02.346
 7 15 Rebecca Darlington          Nexus Racing                	00:01:16.731	00:00:00.063	00:01:22.045	00:00:05.373
 8 48 Tyra Tabuso                 Ibuna-Gambal Racing	        00:01:16.754	00:00:00.086	00:01:22.405	00:00:05.733
 9 10 Erik DeForest               Pompeii Motorsports         	00:01:16.816	00:00:00.149	00:01:25.364	00:00:08.692
10 25 Timo Jänkirinää             Omni-Katoa Racing           	00:01:16.859	00:00:00.191	00:01:26.521	00:00:09.849
11 24 Ekatarina Julic             Brutus Obey Sport GP        	00:01:16.864	00:00:00.197		
12 63 Dahlia Dahl                 Pompeii Motorsports         	00:01:16.979	00:00:00.312		
13 44 Laurencia Lynds             SinVal                      	00:01:16.994	00:00:00.326		
14  9 Jannik Markner              Vannish Motors Racing       	00:01:17.012	00:00:00.345		
15 18 Isaia Fanene                Kaylan Racing               	00:01:17.141	00:00:00.474		
16 14 Miguel Santos               EVolution Racing            	00:01:17.206	00:00:00.538		
17 17 Max Prefodski               Kaylan Racing               	00:01:17.352	00:00:00.685		
18 97 Edward Baker                VTM Tropicorp Engineering   	00:01:17.427	00:00:00.759		
19 33 Karli Schmitt               Vannish Motors Racing       	00:01:17.576	00:00:00.909		
20 60 Chiemi Hino                 Ibuna-Gambal Racing         	00:01:17.620	00:00:00.953		
21 75 Roman Arjenko               SVJ Racing                  	00:01:17.764	00:00:01.097		
22 37 Jama'obo Pegasii            SVJ Racing                  	00:01:18.226	00:00:01.558		
23 23 Cocoabo #23                 VTM Tropicorp Engineering   	00:01:19.054	00:00:02.387

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Hospitality Village, Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
14th of October; Post-Race

Jacob Gibbons stands at the lectern, preparing to deliver the announcement that will change everything.

Ah… Perhaps not everything. Still, this will no doubt aid my momentum into the elections – and, even should that fail… He smiles calmly, nodding to himself. I think that I am happy with this as the final act of my time as Minister. Nexus Racing, Crossbay Circuit and now… The completion will be fitting.

The hall stands, the semi-circular space filled with people. Press are gathered at the front, cameras and microphones capturing the event, some broadcasting already; the Maelstrom of curiosity has only grown since the race weekend’s beginning. Feeding that curiosity, perhaps, is the apparent platform set up behind the Nimban Minister support; a cuboid, entirely devoid of colour, stands, seemingly only there to provoke the audience as to what could possibly be its purpose.

So too does the projected image.

Let us answer them.

“One and all!” Jacob calls. “Welcome! Thank you for coming. I believe that I have more than a little explaining to do.”

After a little laugh runs around the hall, he continues. “I’ll start this meeting by saying that Nimban motorsport has come far in the space of a few years. I have had my part in that, of course, but I was just one player. My counterparts in the Ministeries of Science and Technology and Warfare were instrumental in the foundation of Nexus Racing. We mustn’t forget the team responsible for its success, either. To name a number tiny in proportion to those who were responsible for the true scale of the effort: Timothy Guard, helmsman extraordinaire; Karl Rain, a brave, constant light through quiet and hard times; Gertrude Thompson, whose work has revolutionised automated Imagination technology and now means to protect dozens; Victoria Light, who strives for supremacy over the most complex machinery in the known universe; and, who can forget, the inimitable Ryker Lane and Jean Mercer-Daly!”

A slightly soft wave of applause but Jacob presses on: “And then Crossbay Circuit! To the planners who created a circuit for the new world worthy of the old; to the builders who brought that engineering marvel into being; the organisers who undertake the Exeterean task of using it to host one of the greatest competitive and entertainment events in the multiverse twice every year, I give my thanks, as I do to all of those others!” He raises a hand, gesturing to the auditorium. “You have made this nation a motorsport powerhouse! That is your doing! Be proud of it!”

The applause rises; this time Jacob waits for it to subside. He smiles. And now… The turning point.

“But we cannot, of course, rest now. That momentum must be captured! Bottled! Distilled and then imbibed with gusto! Every stumble rather than a stride now is an opportunity lost. All of the above recognise that fact and continue to drive us forward with their efforts. I would be remiss to not attempt the same.”

“That, therefore, is exactly what I, supported, once more, by so many others, am going to do.”

The slide suddenly blazes white, then fades again to blue – and in the middle stands a logo. It stands alone for a moment before text fades in below to join it.

The applause now is rapturous.

“From the end of this WGP2 season, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System will host the World Grand Prix Imagination League, a new third tier competition designed from the ground up to be an engine for Nimban driving and engineering talent. Twelve teams, nine Nimban outfits and three foreign entries, will compete on street and race circuits across the Wardship. Each will have access to a maximum season development budget of one million USC, paid for by the MOS, forcing them to invent creative solutions to their problems while levelling the playing field for those who would otherwise be priced out of the competition. We already have entries from the Universities of the First City and the Second City and ongoing discussions for others.”

“Moreover, I want to use this competition to push a worldwide message that clean, reliable energy sources are efficient, powerful and thrilling alternatives to the polluting combustion engines used by the majority. We have made it work in our country for years now and Nexus Racing have taken that technology to the international stage; now we will prove that it can be done again a dozen times over. To that end, first of all, petrochemically-fuelled cars will be prohibited from the WGPi; technologies like electrical power and hydrogen power will take their place alongside others that I am sure I could never dream of as of now.”

“And secondly, I ask: would this be a Nimban racing series without Imagination to drive it?” Jacob smiles. “I say ‘no’ to that. For that purpose, each team will be provided a cutting-edge new generation Imagination convertor, one of the new Nexus Racing models built on the basis of Doctor Miranda Calin’s research on the cerebellum –” he gestures to the woman in the audience, who bows shyly at clapping suddenly directed towards her – “and a supply of Imagination. How they choose to use both will be, within a basic rulebook, decided by them; I already look forward to bearing witness to their innovations.”

“And the final consideration: what they will drive. WGPi will be a semi-spec series; while teams may dedicate their budget to the modification of bodywork, it is intended that most will be spent on their powertrain. For that reason, it was decided from the beginning that a base outer shell would be provided for them. The only question was of what.”

So Jacob Gibbons delivers the final blow. “The answer to that question was surprisingly obvious, especially once we had permission to deliver it. For WGPi, we return to a car that all the Wardship know. Now, perhaps, is the right time to reveal it.”

He steps away from the lectern, walking to the side as the platform behind him slowly begins to collapse. The top surface – now revealed to be cloth stretched over the four sides – is pulled towards the first, revealing a shape – pointed, yet curved. Then blue-painted carbon gleams from beneath the receding fabric. And finally…

“One and all: I give you the Ultra High Speed Ground Vehicle One. To Nexus Racing, and to Brutus and In Motion Tyres, I thank you.”

The thundering begins long before he finishes.

[Aboveland]

After Crossbay, Race 8

Janne downed the non-alcoholic fizzy in one large swig, clambering onto the podium's top step to hug winner Timo Jänkirinää, Edward Baker on the other side. The young Abovian gleamed, stretching his arms high and pointing with ecstatic finger guns at the Nexus Crew below him, his matte gray exosuit creasing neatly around his shoulders. While he waited for the podium interviewer to make his way over to the lowest podium step, he closed his eyes, turned his head up to the soggy overcast sky, and smiled. The past weeks had gone almost perfectly, and he'd been racking up an unprecedented level of consistency. Ever since Lisander, at the Alixring, the Nexus garage and all its members had seemed as if everyone was in tune with everyone else, like the entire crew was on the exact same radio frequency. The synergy the team had attained was spectacular and had occurred almost naturally. Case in point, even though Janne had churned through his tyres while running as high as second, dropping him to below the top 10, the team masterminded a strategy to alternate ICAST power between him and Rebecca that worked effortlessly, climbing both drivers into the points and just missing out on a podium for the Abovian.

Once the realization that the team's pieces had all fallen into place came to Janne, a resurgence of passion and determination overcame him. He'd known since Friday in Lisander that he had a winning pace, and come the mid season test he placed second, behind only (the increasingly dominant) Ade Imoju. While perhaps not in the most literal sense, the weekend at Nexus' home race was borderline perfect, Janne maintaining a steady pace to convert his fourth-place speed into a podium.

The more consistent Janne became, the stronger the bond he felt with the rest of the team. It was perhaps the worst kept secret on the paddock that Ryker Lane had a certain fondness for the young Abovian, and an equally as badly concealed secret that Janne revered him as one of the WGPC's all time greats. But as the rookie had somehow come to know, or at least suspect, the former WGPC champion could see a fraction of himself in him, a portion of his remarkably level headed, calm, collected and consistent nature that yielded a winless title. Thus, the more Janne maintained his work as good and constant as he was doing, the stronger bond and support he felt from the Nimban team. This sense of security was omnipresent, but never took to the foreground to make itself seen and shine the spotlight away from the rookie's accomplishments. Instead, the recent, surging air of confidence in the Abovian's drives was manifested purely with his results, his attitude and cheeky, rosy grins further evidencing a new air of vitality in the teenager.

When the podium interviewer finally arrived at the third step and asked her question, Janne's mind blanked out, his answer coming out as an awkward stammer at first, like a stumbling sprinter having had a bad launch, before composing itself and becoming a coherent message. Yet, rather than fall into the trap he'd fall into before, his cold sweats kicking in as the words he wanted to verbalize slipped from his short-term cache into the abyss of vanishing thoughts, he recovered from his sluggish start to answer confidently, with a smile, with a pep in his voice that had so rarely appeared thus far in the season, but that had characterized his youth career almost more so than his driving style. Janne was on cloud nine, not oblivious to the hardships below, but ready to overcome and trample the obstacles in his way. His biggest motivator, apart from championship success: finish the race to get home as soon as possible during which to pour out his thoughts. His messaging app was getting too cluttered, but because of his busy schedule he'd never had a chance to meet up with him again. Maybe, before race 9, he could go home, if only for a few days, just to hear the sound of his voice.

[Main Nation Ministry]

Chapter 14: Dentist Visit

After Jason Masami got back to his hotel room, he was looking at the newest issue of the Truth News to learn that the creator of the Azerty comics had died in an apparent boat accident. Despite Masami being in the barracks back in Main Nation Ministry, they were a popular read for everyone there. Looking out from his balcony, watching people walk by, he got another knock on his door to which Masami replied with a sigh. "The typical check-up, is it?" Jason stated, as he went to the door. To his surprise, the person who was on the other side was a dentist. "Mr. Masami? You missed your appointment back in the nation a couple of days ago. Please follow me outside to the van."
"Van? What van?"

When he was taken to a parking lot nearby, the dentist took him to a trailer that has been modified as a mini-operation room. "Alright, sit down on that chair over there and we can check out your teeth." the dentist said, which Jason complied. "I'm trying to brush twice a day, but my schudle is making me almost forget some times." Masami explained. "You never know, the toothpaste they gave for free amnesties might be cheap. Nations don't tend to add any other chemicals in the water, besides fluorite. Let me just check to see- Have you been eating fast food? You never bother to brush after every meal!" The dentist complained, getting out a scaler. "I'm washing out that mouth of yours! Then, when I find a cavity, I make sure I jab one of my syringes into your tongue! If that doesn't work, I floss your teeth off to the point where I put into that pea brain of yours to make you my puppet!" the dentist suddenly became sadistically. "Now, spit!"

After the visit, Jason came back to his hotel room to use the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, he examined his teeth which were white as diamonds. "Hey..That was alright!" Jason said, surprised at the quality of his teeth.

[Vangaziland]

Ade Imoju Volunteers For Order of The Purple Cross

The Order of the Purple Cross is a nongovernmental, humanitarian aid organization that was founded early on a Christmas morning. Purple Cross volunteers range from doctors, to engineers, to water purification specialists. The one career field you willnot find on the organizational roster would be combat soldiers.

"One of The Order's main goals is to distinguish itself from any kind of military group", said WGP2 driver Ade Imoju. The Vangazi spent several hours at a celebrity telethon. The program raised funds for The Order's most recent mission. A military uprising in an East African nation called Zeo left large amounts of displaced citizens. "It has to be clear that we have no military aspirations. We exist to help."

"Their volunteers are prepared to travel into a freshly healed warzone to help get lives back on track. Out of all the places Vangazi are working around the world. This has to be one of the most important missions. There is no better way for us to show who we are as Vangazi, than to extend the olive branch and the cross of aid."

Although 'cross' is in a title, The Order is not a religious group. It gets no funding and has no association with any church. The cross is used as a symbol for first aid. "It's still a funny coincidence that the group was founded on Christmas", said Imoju. "Every OPC operation is a gift. Hopefully one that keeps giving. Now is the time of year when you can help too."

30 nations are listed as OPC Participants. Each nation submits a representative to sit on a comittee. They vote on important tasks, like the distribution of funding and selecting assignments. Nations can allocate heavy equipment, trained personnel and finances. There is a strict limit of 200 million dollars.

"The cap was placed because many nations like to outdo another to make a statement", said OPC Director Wendell Tromburg. "This is about cooperation. We all chip in towards the greater goal of funding The Order."

Along with other Vannish celebrities, Ade answered phones to collect donations. "It was great talking to a few fans." Ade laughed as he spoke. "There were also a lot of people who called wishing for one of the actors or sports stars." Ade was selected because of his family ties to the African territory of New Gazi. The OPC is staging there for operations in Zeo. His spot on an international team also made him attractive to the event's planners.

"I'm just glad I helped The Order", Ade said after the event.

Joining the driver were many athletes. Hectare Yulssen, captain of the national Royals basketball team and boyfriend of Jessica Franssen was there. Pete Kelderssen, national team second baseman also joined the drive. Not one to be left out, World Bowl QB Dan Bundison was there with her personality on full display.

"Let's raise some funds, baby", said Bundison. The pocket passer was dressed in black sunglasses and a tan jacket.

"It was great meeting so many of my sports idols", Imoju said. "I really feel motivated after that. Some of us are going to stay in touch. Great people."

The drive raised 2.1 million dollars, with a lot of that coming from several large donors. The callers did recruit their business partners and teammates, after all. "The first telethon was a great success. We've allocated much more than this to help Zeo. These extra funds can still do a lot, even to make life better for the OPC workers in the war zone."

[Lisander]

"The times are consistent. We're maybe finding a good setup. Are you getting this, Lemos?" Lanza was checking everything with his driver, but he was somewhat aerial, thinking about other stuff.

"Hey, Lanza. Did you saw the announcement of Nexus Racing?" Back from his mental absence, Lemos put the new WGP initiative on the table.

"What one, the Imagi-kinetic WGP competition? Yeah, I read. To be honest, I don't like it. I think they want to do some kind of Formula Zero. What's next, floating cars, an electric track and magnetic barriers instead good old tyre barrier. Look, I do understand the security evolution, but what's the fun in running a car with the mind? Call me an old hag, but I love the smell of gasoline, the feeling of the steering wheel vibrating on my fingers, the roar of the engine. Okay if some eco-boring people dislike it. But everything you do generates a footprint. I believe we just can erase this footprint, but we shouldn't bow to these guys if our lifestyle is pretty sustainable. Did you remember that eGP prototype? It sounded like a stupid siren. NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIHNNN. Awful. Don't tell me you're thinking to join it." - Lanza was traditional to the bone. He was from the time one could be racing driver, mechanic, truck driver and even team owner. The time when a top class team worked nicely with four or five members. Motorsport Roots.

"Not at all, I was just imagining. They told about three international teams. I suppose it will be VMR, Tropicorp and Omni Katoa. They seem to have a good relationship. I'm with you about this. I like our good old motorsport as it is. And also, when you talk about Imagi-kinetic racing, one should have a mind clear of problems and with heavy imagination potential. Not my case indeed."

"So let's get back to our present. I feel the result of earlier today was good. A second and a third row isn't bad at all. We should work to keep this rhythm. Go for points and do a security race. Attack if possible. I'll say the same to Darius. We can earn a good bonus at the end of the season keeping like this. If the present is kind of ominous, we can only look to the future."

Right. I'll drop him a SMS too.

"Nevermind, not today. He's probably sleeping."

"Ooh, yes. You're right. He's the biggest worker on this sport. He's an earlybird, we never see him complaining by something futile. He's an example. I should try to be more like him." Lemos looked to the face of Lanza. I'm not kidding!

"Yeah, if you say so. His focused and simple lifestyle could make wonders to the life of oneself..."

[West-East Timor]

Forest Cross Raceway
Esmerel
Post-Qualifying

"Timo, thanks for your time", the interviewer said after asking Timo, who had just gotten out of the qualifying, for an interview. "Would you say your performance today was... disappointing, especially after your win last race?"

"Not necessarily. I won from 21st, remember?"

"Well, that was an impressive performance indeed. Can you tell us again how you did that?"

"I'd say I just had a great race. My tires didn't cause any problems, so I could constantly push. Then I suppose some some other drivers had some bad luck, and it all played out for me. I'm still really happy about it, it was my first ever WGP2 win after all."

"What about the championship?"

"Where am I in the championship? I should be third, right? Wel,, obviously what I'm going for is winning it. I have the car, I have the team... I just need to perform."

"Do you have to say anything about your teammate, Ade Imoju?"

"Ade seems to be getting better and better. He's a great driver and a cool guy. I hope he'll do well, of course. He had a good qualifying today, too. And obviously we need him in regards to the constructor's championship."

"How about other teams or drivers. The only other West-East Timorian, Jannik Markner, for example?"

"Jannik's season doesn't seem to be going well. VMR are fast, but he... He doesn't seem to be really finding his form, I reckon."

"Do you have any contact to him?"

"Not much, really. Maybe I should talk to him sometime."

"Back to your team, I suppose you are constantly deeloping your car?"

"Of course. Although we haven't brought any big upgrades for a long time now, we gotta be careful not to fall behind. You probably realized we tested a new rear wing on Friday, sadly there were some issues and we couldn't fit it today. However, those all are minor things. We're not gonna bring something like Nexus' imagination stuff, or VMR's Psy-thingy in the near future. No that I know of, at least."

"Thank you."

---

Jannik, meanwhile, was being interviewed by another group of journalists, despite not being in the mood for an interview.

"Jannik, could have been better out there, again. What happened this time?"

"No good enough time, that's what happened. We're struggling here it seems, as Karli hasn't done better."

"Karli had some great races this season though, and while that's true about you too, you seem to be struggling significantly more this season. Why is that?"

"If only I knew. I suppose I could have put more effort into some things. I didn't give my best all the time, I reckon, although personally I thing I tried pretty hard. But why even think about that? I should concentrate on the remaining races, and put all I can into that. I need to, i really do."

"Do you fear VMR might replace you, eventually?"

"I don't think Jess would do that. Not this season, at least. But you never know. The only thing that can give me certainty are good results, so that's what I strive to achieve."

"What do you think you can do in regards to the championship?"

"A lot can happen, of course, and while that's not true matghematically, it's probably save to assume I'm mathematically effectively out of the championship race. My main concern should probably winning VMR the constructor's title."

"So what do you expect for the remaining races?"

"I could never exactly answer you such questions, and I never will. The obvious answer to that is 'we'll see'. And that's all I can tell you."

"Alright, thanks."

---

Timo was walking through the paddock after his interview, when he spotted Jannik, and started to walk beside him.

"Jannick. How you doing?"

"I'm fine I guess. I suspect you are too, you're season is going well."

"Unlike yours, eh?"

"Yeah."

"I heard Franssen might be considering kicking you out..."

"Bullshit."

"You have had some rather disappointing races though."

"And I've had some good races. What's your point?"

"Just saying."

"Great."

"Hmm. Remember our little bet we did a few races ago?"

"Yeah. I suppose you're gonna say you won it, as you clearly are doing better at the moment. And I'm afraid you'd be right there..."

"Exactly. So. What do I get now?"

"I don't know."

"The easiest would be if you just bought me a drink, I guess."

"Why do you want me to buy you a drink?"

"Well, I need to get something for winning the bet."

"Fine. And when?"

"After the race I suppose. I'll tell you."

"Great..."

[Vangaziland]

Overglade University was one of Vangaziland's most prestigious colleges. Tuition rates were fairly high, but there were scholarships and progressive government funding to ensure almost every talented student had a chance to attend Overglade. One field of study that separated Overglade from any other Vannish college was the Department of Psychic Studies. There were many concentrations within the field. Topics ranged from psionic to telepathic specialties. Engineering psionics is one of the newest and most revolutionary fields.

The government has need for mentalists in technology. The world is competitive. Lives and Imperial security are at stake. Since Vannish Motors is partially owned by the Vannish Imperial State, strings were pulled to help test experimental technology on the race track. The VM33 chassis has just as much heart and soul as any other oily race car. Vannish Motors finally ditched it's ethereal, howling V10 to try a more efficient engine. A turbocharged V8 runs in the WGP2 II alongside the highly experimental PsyKi device.

It hasn't been revealed that the power source is actually a high frequency antenna array, located in a top secret facility. It's similar to what one nation calls HAARP. The technology is based on Nikolai Tesla's tower, which was set to transmit wireless energy around the world as early as the 1920s. Vannish archeologists have also discovered that the ancient Gazilian Pyramids, with their conductive chambers and capstone, acted in a similar way. Mental energy comes into play through a crystal array. Thoughts are projected which charge the crystals and redirect the power from the antenna array. The mentalists are unaware of the antenna's role in the process. Many sense that classified array may play a part, since rumors and general descriptions of the facility exist.

In the white walled classroom of Dr. Jordson's Psionics Technology class, sat seven students. A red stripe ran around the center of the room, matching a floor of red carpet. Arched desks sat in front of a projector screen and the teacher's area.

"So can anybody speculate on which three teams might run in the WGPi?" The class studied the current WGP2 season to watch the interaction between the Vannish and Nimban machines. News of the new league interested the professor.

A lady with curly, long red hair raised her hand. "Bitten heros?"

"I don't think so", replied Dr. Jordson. "I think funding would be an issue for them. They also have their own excellent WGP3 format. Next."

A man with very dark skin, but light brown eyes raised his hand. "Omni Katoa?"

"Hmm", said the doctor as he scratched his chin. "I wouldn't bet on that. I haven't seen much interaction between those two companies, though the Timorians are amicable in general."

A man of light golden skin and honey brown eyes rose his hand. His name was Matt Ekdal. "I'd guess Vannish Motors, a team from Esmeral and a team from Aboveland."


"That's probably a more realistic guess", said the professor. "Drivers from the latter two countries have worked with Nexus. If there was an arrangement, it wasn't with the Vannish. I can't see that car company giving promotion to an event run by another car company."

"So who's the third team?" Ekdal adjusted his black fitted cap before he waited for his teacher's answer.

"If I had to make a guess, I'd say Tropicorp is a decent bet. Here's the thing. The Nimbans may have simply allocated three spots without any reservations or agreements. Let me propose this idea to you. I've spoken to a government contact... One we made after the test with Vannish Motors." The government worked often with the psychic students and faculty for multiple purposes. "They've agreed to fund a team for the school."

"What driver are we going to hire?" As a psychic, Matt felt a sense of excitement building but he didn't understand why yet. It felt as if good news was coming.

The teacher smiled at his reaction, knowing what he talked about earlier. "Well. We kind of want to make this a university project", said the doctor. "Matt. Did you drive carts when you you were younger?"

"Yeah, but I was like 12", he said nervously.

"And aren't you a valet working to pay through college?"

"Yeah, but... That hardly makes me a professional driver." Matt was almost nervous in his defensiveness.

This made the teacher laugh before speaking. "Matt. You've been selected to train at VMR HQ. We want to put you in the car. If we can get a second car, we might bring a pro driver. The reason we got funding was because the government wants to see what a psychic can do inside of such a machine. Again, this can have implications with say... Fighter planes equipped with psy-ki devices, maybe? It's so experimental that it's revolutionary."

Although much of Vannish life and technology was fairly standard, Vannish industry was on a current drive of innovation. Even Vannish Motors would have to eventually produce electric cars. One of the main reasons was to appeal to foreign markets like New Hayesalia. As a technologically advanced nation, they have resisted the import of Vannish oil and gas cars. Several interesting projects are in the works, including the new line of electric sportbikes.

"So wow. That's a lot of pressure", said Matt. "But I can't turn down a chance to train with VMR." The university had contacts with the race team through the Psi-Ki device's testing.

"I can sense you will be okay", said the psychic professor.

Matt couldn't believe it. This would be some news. He'd probably be alright. It was third tier at least. He thought of the WGP2 drivers he'd seen throughout this season. Matt wondered if Franssen herself would help him get aquainted. The student was so nervous.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Nexus Racing HQ, Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
23rd of September

Gertrude drums her fingers on the desk in her office, smiling as she relives the experiences a few days ago. The ICAST system worked perfectly. Anyone bearing witness to her after the race on that Sunday would have surely noticed just how wide her grin was, how the caustic sarcasm that would often feature in her conversation had seemingly evaporated to let through her natural exuberance in its purest form.

She’d hummed to herself throughout the evening commute to her apartment and greeted Vertilan with a passionate kiss, followed by a lot of excited exposition that he was, at least in some small part, already aware of but nonetheless was all too happy to listen to. And then…

First Builders, I hate that we get to spend so little time together but… Well, we use what we’ve got well.

Dismissing those pleasant memories – though she holds tightly to the resulting feeling of fulfilment – she taps at her computer’s keyboard. Today is the day that she contacts the offices of the Vannish Royal Imperial Soothsayer. With luck, she’ll be given the visit she wants and she’ll be one step further on to finding the exit to this informational black hole. You’d better give me some answers, she thinks, a cool, determined expression on her face, or I swear by the Nexus…

Her thoughts run out as she realises something.

---

“Maelstrom-cursed telephone numbers!” Gertrude Thompson calls out ten minutes later to no-one in particular as she practically bashes the sequence into her keyboard. “Why can’t you just use a name ID system like any intelligent person would come up with‽”

She sighs, shaking her head as she dons her headset.

[Mattijana]

It's raceday.
Cutoff for the WGP2 challenge of Esmerel.

[Mattijana]

Week 9: Race

Conditions:      	Dry
Laps:              	44
Nation:         	ESM
Circuit:        	Forest Cross Raceway
Virtual Safety Car	
Deployed on Laps:	20
Cars on Grid:	23


[pre]First Quarter	Halfway	Third Quarter	POS DRV Name                     Team	Time	Pts
 1 PEG +0	 1 PEG +0	 1 IMO +0	  1 IMO Ade Imoju                   Omni-Katoa Racing           	01:01:43.389	25
 2 JSM +0.802	 2 JSM +2.178	 2 JSM +6.206	  2 PEG Jama'obo Pegasii            SVJ Racing                  	00:00:40.005	18
 3 IMO +2.229	 3 IMO +6.126	 3 DAR +11.926	  3 JSM Jason Masami                Brutus Obey Sport GP        	00:00:42.930	14
 4 FAL +6.965	 4 DHL +20.293	 4 PEG +13.35	  4 LAU Janne Laukkanen             Nexus Racing                	00:00:43.940	10
 5 LEM +12.461	 5 FAL +20.408	 5 LYN +18.405	  5 DHL Dahlia Dahl                 Pompeii Motorsports         	00:00:46.000	8
 6 LAU +14	 6 LYN +21.909	 6 DHL +21.993	  6 MAR Jannik Markner              Vannish Motors Racing       	00:00:47.018	6
 7 DHL +14.659	 7 LAU +32.083	 7 MAR +29.081	  7 JUL Ekatarina Julic             Brutus Obey Sport GP        	00:00:54.038	4
 8 DAR +24.735	 8 FAN +35.087	 8 SCH +32.059	  8 FAL Dom Falepeau                MRT2                        	00:01:04.113	3
 9 FAN +25.823	 9 SCH +36.902	 9 LAU +34.398	  9 SCH Karli Schmitt               Vannish Motors Racing       	00:01:06.977	2
10 LYN +30.618	10 JUL +38.708	10 JUL +36.052	 10 FAN Isaia Fanene                Kaylan Racing               	00:01:13.250	1
11 BAK +33.279	11 DAR +42.695	11 FAL +39.044	 11 DEF Erik DeForest               Pompeii Motorsports         	Laps Down: 1	
12 TAB +40.587	12 TAB +45.818	12 FAN +44.716	 12 TAB Tyra Tabuso                 Ibuna-Gambal Racing         	Laps Down: 1	
13 SCH +44.913	13 MAR +47.422	13 TAB +66.56	 13 ARJ Roman Arjenko               SVJ Racing                  	Laps Down: 1	
14 MAR +47.382	14 DEF +54.252	14 DEF +Laps: 1	 14 PRE Max Prefodski               Kaylan Racing               	Laps Down: 1	
15 DEF +47.77	15 BAK +61.884	15 PRE +Laps: 1	 15 TJK Timo Jänkirinää             Omni-Katoa Racing           	Laps Down: 1	
16 PRE +49.064	16 ARJ +67	16 ARJ +Laps: 1	 16 BAK Edward Baker                VTM Tropicorp Engineering   	Laps Down: 1	
17 ARJ +51.608	17 PRE +67.111	17 BAK +Laps: 1	 17 HIN Chiemi Hino                 Ibuna-Gambal Racing         	Laps Down: 1	
18 JUL +52.673	18 MIG +Laps: 1	18 TJK +Laps: 1	 18 MIG Miguel Santos               EVolution Racing            	Laps Down: 1	
19 TJK +59.3	19 HIN +Laps: 1	19 HIN +Laps: 1	 19 DAR Rebecca Darlington          Nexus 	                        Ret. lap 39
20 HIN +71.376	20 TJK +Laps: 1	20 MIG +Laps: 1	DNF C23 Cocoabo #23                 VTM Tropicorp Engineering   	Ret. lap 31	
21 C23 +75.76	21 C23 +Laps: 1	21  +Laps: 4	DNF CAS Darius Castellammare        Superia Junior Team         	Ret. lap 2	
22 MIG +Laps: 1	22  +Laps: 2	22  +Laps: 4	DNF LEM Juliano Lemos               Superia Junior Team         	Ret. lap 13	
23  +Laps: 1	23  +Laps: 2	         	DNF LYN Laurencia Lynds             SinVal                      	Ret. lap 44

[Lisander]

Bad day. Bad, bad day. Two DNFs before Lap 15 exposes Camden negligence.

Firstly, the tunnel ends and Darius Castellammare continues to the tyre wall in curve 16, breaking the front spoiler, as soon as lap 2. In lap 13, soon after activating the thermopanels boost, it just doesn't deactivate and ruins the electrical system. Car radio and ECU stops working. #2 dies soon inside the tunnel. The removal of the car causes a Safety Car laps after. One more bad day to Superia Juniors in fact. This time, no prize money for the Lemos investment. He should be very annoyed with it. They must be very annoyed. They were ridiculous. Ridiculous as this WGP organization.

The meeting in Sirenia cleared the function of Superia Junior Team. The team was created just to raise money from sponsors and pay the debts of the old Bitten Heroes, and Lemos decided to drive again to cutting costs. So we can't complain about such bad results. Yet, sponsors paid for it, and they need the sponsors to continue their plans. So they should be the ones complaining. But now that I think about it: Camden driver breaks the car. Camden ECU fails. They're the main sponsors of the team. They supply the team half of the parts and half of the drivers. They're the interested in the data of the car. But I don't feel they're paying enough attention to the team.

So, do not blame the team or just the supplier. Everyone is taking it in a casual way. They do not deserve your support and money. Support local racing in your city. Get a car or a racing motorcycle, join your local racing league. STOP BUYING MERCHANDISE. STOP SUPPORTING THIS CIRCUS.

Follow the links below to find places where you can support local motors or join the racing in your place.

[content supressed] - in Soria South and Brax
[content supressed] - in Soria North, West and Linville
[content supressed]
[content supressed]
[content supressed]
[content supressed] - buy a racing motorcycle on this link. They also sell karts.
[content supressed]


#TRUERACING #MAKE_PROS_DNF #CAMDEN_STINKS #TUNING_NOT_CRIME #STR33T_R4C3R

Unknown author. This message is everywhere in Lisanderian motorsport-related e-mails, social media groups, pages and profiles.

[Vangaziland]

Racing | Track Life | Off Grid | Fast Women

Vannish Sun Shines Luck Overseas

Ade Imoju finds himself in strong form. Two events ago at Lisander's Alixring, Ade earned a 3rd place finish. It was a hard fought battle, which saw him run as high as second. The race brought a change in his form. Up to that point, he had seemed lackluster. Ade didn't seem to be using his aggressive side to its full potential. He often held back.

A reporter asked Ade what brought the change. "I hired a professional trainer", he admitted. "Sheila Hancourt, trainer for the national lacrosse team. She really got into me for not pushing hard enough." The dark skinned driver chuckled to himself, curly hair cut short to his scalp.

Imoju followed up with a 10th place finish at Crossbay Circuit. It was far from the highlights of the previous race's battle for 2nd with Jannik. It was still one steady point. Ade knew he would have to turn things up at the next race. Ade's teammate Timo won the race, giving Omni Katoa two solid weeks in a row.

Enter the WGP2 Challenge of Esmerel. Ade started 2nd. This turned out to be the kind of open wheeled race when the top cars build a bubble and stay in a similar order for much of the race. This meant pit strategy was absolutely paramount. Imoju's team timed their stops to the other teams', to keep things close throughout the stretch.

Ade quickly fell behind Jason Masami. The tradeoff would be to pass Falepeau as he fell from the pole position. This did not come right away, but took several laps for the cars to fight out. Pegasii would lead much of the early race, with Masami and then Ade pushing behind. The pace was incredible. The SVJ Racing car was putting on quite the performance, keeping the Brutus Obey and Vannish Motors machines behind.

As the lead cars came to finally pit later in the race, Ade found himself with the quickest stop. It helped him beat the other cars back onto the track. It also became an endurance run. The team figured they could manage a one stop, if Ade could control it. The course seemed to really favor the fastest cars of the day. This led to a large number of lapped cars. Only 10 cars finished on the lead lap.

A big part of this was the pace set by the leaders. Pegasii started the bullish run of the day's top 4 or 5 cars. Ade finally caught that speed and pushed farther throughout the final dozen laps.

"Our tires were really starting to show wear by the end of this one", Ade said after the race. "We could have probably swapped them. It was almost bad." Ade's team would avoid mishap today. Two weeks after a 3rd place finish, Ade found himself back on the podium. This time he stood tall in the center. A lone tear fell down his cheek as the Vannish anthem heralded his effort.

"It feels great to give back to my team", Ade said. "This should really look good in the Constructor's battle. We've seen a few other teams have strong runs before. We needed this stretch. The team from West-East Timor is certainly on a hot streak. They've finished 3rd, 1st and 1st recently.

"This is where Omni should be right now", said Ade. "We strive to be one of the top teams. Omni is always a competitor, from last year's WGP2 to WGPC 16. I'm glad to keep the team relevant." The Vangazi looked refreshed, a wide smile on his expressive face.

Across the field, things hadn't gone horribly for Karli Schmitt. Her start was pretty terrible at 19th. By now Karli was like that driv33r. The media was on her case for her aggressive driving style. It seems like it has been event after event for Karli. Each time, she locks up her brakes in an aggressive maneuver.

Her most recent incident came at the Nimban Deuxième Prix, when she crashed into Jama'obo Pegasii. After the incident, the media asked her if she planned to change her style. "You can't just change something that has brought you all the success you've had so far. This is racing", she said annoyed. "It's easy for the media to play armchair principal and try to tell the drivers how to race."

She looked at the cameras with her bright eyes, shining wide with emotion. "It's stupid for someone to tell me to not be aggressive. That's like... All I can do." Karli has normally been calm with criticism, but appears to finally be letting it get to her.

After starting 19th in Esmerel, many wondered how Karli would react. Would she bring a new style? She turned out to drive as aggresively as ever. Karli showed aggressive braking, especially into turns 12 and 14. This was as risky as the scenario that caused her trouble at Alixring's airport section.

Today, things seemed to work out for Karli. "This was a harder track to pass at", Karli said after the race. She made up most of her positions in the early laps. She spent the first 11 laps fighting up to 13th. At the same time, top cars like Ade's were already pushing the lead cars further ahead of the pack.

By lap 20, Karli had fought her way to 9th. Once she breeched the top 10, she seemed to hit a wall. It took Karli about 7 laps from the middle of the race to pass Isaia Fanene for 8th. By that time, Jannik had caught up to them. Markner ended up passing Karli, as he was looking the faster car of the day.

All Karli could do from that point of the race was to try to hold on. She lost a battle to the MRT2 of Dom Falepeau for an exciting late race finish. This brought Karli home at 9th. "Two points from 19th isn't bad", Karli said. "If we had a better qualifying session, we may have ran with the top pack."

Jessica Franssen seemed pleased with her team's performance. Of course, the media wanted to know how she felt about Jannik's performance. "Jannik did well to fight for that spot", Jessica said. "You have to understand the reasons for my last critique. It's motivation. I know Jannik can do even more. He can dominate this league if he gets in the right stride. It's my job to try to coax the most out of my team." She laughed a little nervously.

"I may have put a little pressure on him and didn't mean to. As someone who's had success, I just know he has the skills to do the same."

Karli also spoke on her teammate. "With the way I look at it, we both combined for the points of a 5th place finish. We have to run together to push for the cup. This isn't really the kind of team where you race the car across the paddock. We're in this together."

---

Imperial Motorsports Magazine - pgs 23-25 - Jennifer Currituk

---

[Aboveland]

The Chase Cutter burst into a brilliant blue glow, but the familiar jolt from the launch control was absent, and the car's tyres screeched as they clawed at the tarmac for traction. Janne frowned as the car finally heaved forward; he was about to muster up an innocently-sounding complaint, but the increasingly crowded entry to turn one was fast approaching, and he couldn't help but hemorrhage places down to eighth, just ahead of his teammate, who'd presumably had the same launch malfunction. Janne, however, was calm, and just waited for the pieces to click back into place as he maintained a steady pace through the first quarter of the race.

By lap 20 Janne had, through the smartly shared use of the ICAST system, climbed to sixth place. The safety car had come in at an awkward time, right after he'd made his pit stops (and everyone else had too), so the grid was largely unchanged at the restart. Coming onto the apex of turn 16, Janne floored the throttle as the lights went green, and again the car lulled before getting up to speed. This time it was slightly more worrying, as the issue hadn't been limited to the launch control system, so Janne voiced his concerns.

"Uh, Edvin?" he asked, cautiously. "I think there's something wrong with the car. I'm not getting good response from the throttle." He chucked the car through the esses, awaiting his answer.

"Affirmative," Edvin communicated. "There's something going on with the, uh, Imagikinetic systems, I think. It's affecting Rebecca's car too. You're both down on power. ICAST would get you back up to speed."

Janne limped through the Pin of Bravery, barely holding off Lemos before losing a place out of turn eight, his voice a hint sharper. "She's up in third, how about we take turns?"

"Can't," Edvin said. "Her side won't budge, and she's barely clinging on to that podium. Hang in there."

By the final stretch of the race, Janne found himself sweating slightly more profusely, seeing as he was down in ninth place, staring tantalizingly at the TV screens on the pit straight which showed his teammate happily and increasingly more securely third, and struggling to put the power down to fend off Lemos, again, who'd slipped back behind him after the overtake after the Pin of Bravery.

On lap 36, a glimmer of hope muttered through to his helmet: "Janne," Edvin's calm, rational voice said, "Rebecca's got enough of a gap to hold off fourth, you're getting ICAST power now."

"Hit me," Janne said, his eyes darting from the road to his crowded rear-views.

The Chase Cutter surged with a cool flash of light. Janne, coming into turn 15, pumped the accelerator pedal. The car whirred into action, darting forwards and holding a slight four wheel slide through the spoon-like corner into the tunnel; his eyes adjusted to the darkness inside, his immediate surroundings tinted an ethereal shade of gentle ocean blue, which grew longer and faster by the instant. Mick Schramm, who'd pulled away and was entering the pit straight, came back into sight. Janne tightened his seat straps and took a sip of his drink.

By lap 39, he'd made his way back up to sixth place, and while the gaps had become wider at first, when he overtook Dalia Dahl for the position coming out of turn three, the gaps to the cars ahead had slimmed down considerably, and the leading pack, save for the dominant Vangazi Ade Imoju, was visibly tighter than before. Spearheading the slow pack, a Chase Cutter, it's scintillating glow waning feebly away, as Janne's own power increased.

Edvin's voice again flowed through to Janne's helmet, if slightly more imperative than before. "Rebecca's up front, she's retiring but holding up the pack as much as she can. We're squeezing out all the Imagination we have left for you. Bring home the points, kid!"

Janne didn't reply, but rather dismissed the message with a "pssh". He wasn't too fond of the 'kid' pronoun.

This time around, the Pin of Bravery was graced by an opposite lock Chase Cutter, its tyres again howling away towards turn eight. The pack ahead was as close as ever, the WGPC's elite defending their points to the death. Janne, his car back up to normal operating power, salvaged a fourth place from the race of attrition for the Nexus squad. When he rolled back into the paddock, he was greeted with a bittersweet round of applause, and while his eyes appeared to smile through the opening in his helmet, his new-found consistency maintained for another race, his hunger for a victory grew stronger.

His sights were set on taking the WGP2 title.

[Main Nation Ministry]

Chapter 15: Not A Blue Bird

As Jason Masami was in his hotel room, after managing to win himself 3rd in this week's race, he was watching on his personal computer with it's webcam always on, the recent race he was in. He was watching it in an experimental livestream that was going to be primarily used for some of Main Nation Ministry's reality shows. "Alright! It's not 1st place, but it was the second half of the track was a breeze." Masami said, as he watches the footage that was being filmed by several officials for Public Broadcasting Channel 1 back in Main Nation Ministry.
"Well, there your guest star in 2nd to 3rd place.", an user said, where their personal info was listed for everyone to see.
"I was aiming for the top, so it was still a relief."
"What's that car behind you? It's looks like a blue bird!" another user, who was easily recognized as a kid said, where Jason looked at the footage to see the sky blue car behind him.

"Oh hey! I remember that thing! One of the teams must have gave their car a paint job." Masami said, when he was talking about the Chase Cutter. "By the way, when you get home to Main Nation Ministry, will you be a surprise guest for the Educational Facility 39 Birdwatcher Tour?"
"Hey, Masami! Can we autograph the car you're racing in?"
"Masami! I'm trying to make a fish tank, but the filter is killing my goldfish!"
"Masami! Masami, I hope you have the time. Hey Masami!" Those were the voices coming from excited fans, bombarding Masami with requests, which while he was still being chill, he had to deal with being a celebrity.

"Woah guys! I start on stuff, when WGP2 ends. Now, about those requests. I'm not a birdwatcher, but I can take it once, while signing autographs. The Ministry of Sports isn't going to let you autograph the car, because even though I'm on a different team, they monitoring everything I touch mostly. And I'm sorry about your goldfish, but I recommend you find a repairman to deal with it!" Masami said to the random guy who was having trouble with his fish tank. By the end of the livestream, Masami turned off his computer and laid in bed, exhausted. The hard part was still racing, but the annoying part was clearly going to be the aftermath for sure. Nevertheless, Masami needed rest for the next week. He was going to need it.

[Vangaziland]

Racing | Track Life | Off Grid | Fast Women

Karli's Late Race Woes

The first half of the race looked promising for Karli Schmitt. She fought from 19th into the top 10. The entire time, her car was a menace on the track. The PsyKi device did not power the Vannish chassis. A twin turbo V8 did that task, propelling the indigo & red racers around the meticulously crafted circuit at Esmerel. Forest Cross Raceway would neither make or break Karli's season. At this point, time was running out though.

Jannik Markner had caught up to Karli's tail on lap 25. "You two have to race for it", Karli called over both headsets. There would be no team orders. Although Vannish Motors was a team where competition between drivers was kept at a minimum, this didn't mean either driver would be shown favoritism. Karli may have been higher in the points standings. If she couldn't pass Jannik on her own, she wouldn't have what it took to reach the top.

Karli fought hard with a defensive route. She kept an eye on Jannik in her mirror. As the V8's howled and the turbochargers popped to announce each shift, the red glow from each vehicle's PsyKi device flashed red lights underneath the cars. Red is a color that is gentle on the eyes. This is why soldiers use red lights at night. The color is less visible over distance. The flashes underneath the VMR machines were bright enough to be seen high in the stands. It was a fuzzy neon shade of red, which seemed as otherworldly as the eerie howl of the V8.

Vannish Motors cars were engineered to stand out. The exhaust note was not just a random burble. It was designed to sound a certain way. These were some of the highest pitched, wailing notes ever heard, not to come out of Maranello. Sadly, the V8s weren't as vocal as the older V10. The engines also had a slight rumble, almost like a highly tuned muscle car. The was all based on the design of the engine and the flow of the exhaust. The Vannish cars needed a presence.

Karli would finally fall to Jannik as his DRS kicked in coming into the tunnel. The sight was incredible. Both machines ripped, roared and howled. Karli's exhaust sparked flames as she shifted hard to keep up. Jannik's DRS boost threw his car over the edge on this 29th lap.

Karli would have to tuck in behind him and stay out of range of his dirty air. The engines absolutely screamed as their sound was magnified in the tunnel. The two Vannish cars sounded exactly alike, except Jannik's was just a little further ahead in its shifting at this moment. This meant Karli's car sounded like an echo. This only added to the fact that the tunnel was causing actual echoes.

Jannik would gain space from Karli as the race wore on. Karli found herself having to fight off the Nimban machine from that point on. In her rearview, she saw the flashing blue of the Nimban car's power source. "Try to pick up the pace now, Karl", Jess said over the headset. She could tell Janne was set to pass if things kept up like this.

Karli could only hold Laukkanen off until lap 35. A bad entrance into the pin of bravery made her a little slower on the turn 7 exit. She also drifted a little far to the outside, where she might have been able to stay more central and close the position. The two mistakes gave Janne room to pass on the short straightaway. It was an exciting move.

"Ah, he had the pace", Jess reassured Karli over the headset. The Abovian would continue to climb the field, reaching 4th before he ran out of time.

On lap 38, Karli came out of turn 9 a little sluggish. It appeared to be sloppy shifting. Perhaps the endurance of the event had worn on Karli. She had been fighting all day. At the peak of exhaustion, her lackadaisical paddle shifting allowed Ekaterina Julic and Dom Falepeau to sneak past. The latter car was only able to force its way ahead because he tucked so close to Julic.

Julic went on to gain more space on Dom and Schmitt before the final flag fell. Karli would have to settle for her 2 points. There are three races left. Over the past few weeks, Karli has had chances to make space back up to Cocoabo #23. "We see that this season is still a learning experience for Karli", Jess said about the WGP2 driver. "She can still refine her formula a little. She might be a little aggressive and that's caused her trouble. If not, maybe she needs to refine her aggression. We see Ade has found ways to do that."

Although the outcome may not have been the most favorable result for Karli, it was definitely action packed.

---

Imperial Motorsports Magazine - pg 41 - Anthony Karlson

---

[West-East Timor]

Forest Cross Raceway
Esmerel
Post-Race

"Alright, that's P15 Timo. Not too bad considerig how far you dropped down at the start, but slightly disappointing nevertheless. Still a good weekend for the team though, Ade won the race."

"I could have done better... Congrats to Ade though."

Timo parked his car at the parc ferme, and went to watch the podium ceremony with his team. He was happy for Ade winning the race, and two race wins in a row were a great result for the team, but he still wished he was up there with Ade as well.

Parvin wanted to say a few words when everyone got back into the garage.

"Great job again today, everyone. Two race wins in a row is... impressive, I'd say. It's obvious we have a fine, well-engineered car. One of the best on the grid it would seem, and that makes me, and I think everyone else here, quite happy. If my calculations are right, Timo should be on third, and Ade on sixth in the driver's championship, both having a valid chance to win the title. And just as important, Omni-Katoa should be second in the constructor's championship. So I just wanted to say that we should do everything we can to keep this performance up if we want to win these titles, and I think that should be our goal. We need to constantly develop the car. And we need to work hard from weekend to weekend. I hope these two wins will give us all the motivation necessary to work at the top of our game. We need to carry the momentum with us, and ideally, win more races. Thank you."

Timo then went to give some interviews, as usual.

"Timo, what do you have to say about today's race?"

"Well, I could have done better, of course. But I didn't, so I'm gonna focus entirely on the next race now. Ade's win today just shows the strength of the car as well as the whole team, so I think we can win even more races if we really try."

"The championship isn't looking too bad either for you, isn't it?"

"It certainly isn't. I think both me and Ade can win the championship, and it's obvious Omni-Katoa is a very strong team capable of winning the constructor's championship. However, it won't be easy, that's for sure. Tropicorp have been quite strong this season, and that the bird would be leading the championship at this point... I would have never expected that beforhand, to be frank. "

"Is winning these championships your goal for the remaining season then?"

"Certainly. What else should it be? To become second? Everybody wants to win. We have the chance to win. I hope we can take that chance."

"Anything else that's interesting you'd want to tell us?"

"Not really."

"Alright, thanks for the interview then."

"No problem."

With that, the journalists went on to the next driver.

---

"Okay Jannik, that's P6. Good result, good race."

Jannik parked his car in parc ferme as well. He was pleased with his result, as well as being better than Karli. He liked Karli, but he thought he had to prove he wasn't a bad driver. Of course, journalists wanted to interview him too.

"Would you consider your race today a good race?"

"I think so, yeah. I good some points today, and I really need those. I think I was probably starting too far down the grid to have a real chance on a podium finish, so yeah, I'm happy with my performance today."

"You finished before Karli today, as well, and that after a spectacular fight out there..."

"Well, Karli's race wasn't the best, obviously. She's a great driver though, so of course overtaking her, yeah, it feels good. I also have to say, I'm glad the team doesn't do team orders. That way I can show my true performance, no matter what."

"How are things going inside the team? There were rumours about the team considering to replace you..."

"Oh no, everything is alright. Of course, my season has been disappointing, yes, but I try to get motivation out of that. Motivation to perform as well as I can, to prove my true value. I think the team is fully behind me as well, and just trying to give me motivation."

"After the last race you said you don't think you still have a chance to win the championship..."

"And I still don't think I do. I also said I'm gonna give all I can to help VMR become constructor's champion, if I can't become driver's champion. That still stands true as well. Nothing to add to that."

"That's all then, thank you for your time."

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Nexus Racing HQ, Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
15th of July

“I mean, you were at the top, sure. I get that; it isn’t nice to have setbacks. There was nowhere to go but down and… Well, you went down. Still…” Victoria suppresses a chuckle. “Well, everyone around here repeats it so often: ‘success is a process’, right?”

“It was Gertrude who originated that, no?” Ryker Lane smiles quietly, sitting up on his bed, swiping to the next page of a tablet-bound book that he isn’t really reading. “At least for all of us. That’d explain how it spread so quickly – her and philosophy…”

The chuckle becomes a full-blown, heart-warming laugh. “It fits!” His friend giggles for a few moments more before sighing with a grin. “There’s truth to it, though. And doesn’t that mean that staying at the top’s success too? Carrying on requires effort just as much as getting there.”

“You have a point.” Ryker leans back, dropping all pretence of engagement with the book. “I mean, I still do have somewhere to go – I haven’t won a race yet.”

“Yeah, but come on. Pales in comparison.”

“It does.” Ryker recalls that feeling of utter satisfaction on the podium in Audioslavia, the cheering crowds – the way that the team actively brought a giant speaker out to play the Nimban national anthem. His smile widens at the memory. “You know, if you decide to stop programming at some point you could do very well as a therapist. The way you just break down a problem like that, it’s so cathartic to listen to. A little bit of formal training…”

“Maybe.”

And there is it again. The altered tone of voice, the slightly heavier breathing. Ryker’s expression wavers, then hardens with conviction as he sits up again, looking across the room – and immediately he spots that Nexus Racing’s Head Programmer, currently on the floor, is sitting with her knees tucked to her chest, her face black with negativity.

“Victoria, is everything al-”

“No, it’s not. But it’s fine, I can deal with it.”

Ryker shakes his head. “It’s… I can tell, it’s not. Victoria, if there’s something getting you down, you can say –”

Victoria looks almost panicked – “No, it’s okay, I’m alright – besides, I’m the one meant to be helping y-” She clamps her mouth shut, shaking her head, one hand forming into a fist.

“Victoria…” Ryker purses his lips. “A few days ago, too, when we were out in the courtyard and I was practicing, you… You seemed so closed, so uncertain. You were shifting back and forward, your arms were crossed and I didn’t want to mention it at the time but…” He shakes his head even as her eyes widen. “Please, I know you’re dealing with something.” He smiles again, a half-smile, coming to sit on the floor beside her. “If you don’t think I’ll be able to help you, don’t say, but I do want to if I can.”

Victoria clearly struggles with that before sighing again and musters a single, barking laugh. “You say that I can break down behaviour? Well, you’re a good person to tell, I know that much… You know about the trial, right?”

New Nexus Tower, the First City, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
13th of July

She sits in the all too familiar courtroom. Her nervous system, so powerful and versatile elsewhere, at this moment seemingly exists only for that acontextual purpose. Her tics play up: she starts to play with strands of her hair, run her hands over the desk in front of her. I so wish I had a computer here. I could translate all this energy into something meaningful… Not that this isn’t meaningful, it’s just potentially detrimental and destructive and could lead to me entirely deservedly being taken away from everything I aaaAAA!

She shakes her head, trying to clear it of the images – the twist, the break. Instead, she looks around the open, rectangular room: a combination of natural wood panelling and walls painted in deep blue and white, the whole effect an amalgamation of tradition and modernity that almost works. Indeed, it might even be calming for another. Not so for her – not with the cameras and microphones arrayed outside as they almost always are around this building, this time focussed on her, on her mistakes and her imposed redemption.

Victoria glances over to her two teammates. Alex and Tiffany sit close, hands clasped. They give each other the occasional reassuring glance, a squeeze of the shoulders, a head rested on the other’s shoulder. They do not stand; they are pillar-strong nonetheless, for they support one another. They are ready for whatever consequences might be delivered unto them.

She almost laughs. Gertrude beside her notices and the older woman leans over, away from the ever-self-mastered Guard, to the younger, hand moving to her shoulder. “Don’t worry yourself. They’ve heard the evidence; he knows we’re doing what we can. He won’t drive us into the ground.”

Victoria nods just as the door towards the room’s back begins to open. From within emerges a man, dressed in a white undershirt, a flowing, skirt-like garment of greys and blues reaching down to the ankles and similar garb hung over his torso, the whole ensemble augmenting the gravitas of his bearing but conveying a certain humbleness and homeliness, too. Senior Arbiter for the Freedom and Growth of the Nimban People Jack Celicus moves to sit at his lectern, upon which he rests his sheets of paper. He needn’t wait for silence – that has already settled over the room – and then begins, with a smile:

“Welcome, everyone, to the Hearing of Orders of this Great Arbitration for the Nexus Racing Programming Team and Superiors over the grievous injury of Mr Jean Mercer-Daly. I note that no objections have been raised over the course of this arbitration and that all parties have been willing in their provision of their persons and evidence to the court.” He looks up. “Thank you for that. I will now read the Orders.”

Victoria closes her eyes, continuing to breathe. Such a thing takes a considerable part of her focus now; it is all that she can do to retain an understanding of the arbiter’s words alongside it.

“It is a pleasure, in some ways, to attend to circumstances such as these which lack in ill intent. Misfortune and poor judgment preside rather than malevolence and the former two are far easier, at least in my experience, to correct. The task set before me has been to recommend security and improvements for a system, not a person. That is something that I am all too happy to undertake.”

“The case in question refers to the failure of motorsport organisation Nexus Racing to protect their driver Mr Jean Mercer-Daly, the affected party, from serious injury as the result of a motor racing accident, specifically during the most recent Grand Prix of Audioslavia. The incident was widely publicised in Nimban and worldwide media both during and after the time at which it took place; Nexus Racing have affirmed and continued to affirm their responsibility for its occurrence in that the Imagikinetic systems designed to protect the driver and the car failed in totality, a scenario that the data transmitted by the crashed vehicle and these systems both confirm. Nexus Racing also report that the reason for the failure was outside hacking; though an arbitration of any individuals involved in this falls outside the scope of this case, an investigation by policing authorities is ongoing.”

She’s shaking a little now; the words throw her back. Emotions and thoughts swirl into a Maelstrom.

“I will note now that the five individuals with responsibility for the systems in question are present.” Jack looks up again, smiling gratefully. “Thank you for coming. You must, of course, be commended for your efforts to improve safety in the World Grand Prix Championships, especially in accommodating those with an aversion to Imagination technology. By my judgement, there is nothing lacking or requiring amendment in terms of the effort or intent of any of you. Nonetheless, though your own drivers’ safety was evidently a stride ahead of the rest of the field, it is unavoidable that the systems that gave you this advantage were fragile, as this accident has proven.”

“It will be noted at this time that Mr Mercer-Daly has made clear that he fully appreciates the risks that motorsport entails to his physical person; Nexus Racing have not been duplicitous in this regard. This, however, renders the consequences of this accident as being no less severe and it is ultimately outcomes that this court seeks to arbitrate. The fact that motorsport clearly involves great risk to those involved does not make the failure to mitigate said risk any less important, as the consequences of Mr Mercer-Daly’s accident demonstrate.”

Pain. Anger. Guilt. Destruction.

“In light of that, the Orders resulting from this case must target the alleviation of the circumstances that resulted in the crash. This would be the vulnerability of Nexus Racing’s Imagikinetic systems to targeting by the hacker or hackers involved. In most cases, reasonable security measures would enable one to proceed without making significant changes. This case is not akin to those, however, on two counts. Firstly, the fact that Nexus Racing already had such measures in place demonstrates that they are not enough in this instance; secondly, in explanation of that, Nexus Racing’s status as national sporting icons will make them targets for those capable of circumventing such systems. These being true, it is my view that the isolation of these systems is the only sensible course to prevent a capable and ambitious project from being abused.”

“I thus give the order that Nexus Racing disconnect their Imagination convertors from electronic networks of communication to which they are connected, directly and indirectly, with all haste, maintain that disconnection and connect them, directly or indirectly, to no outside network until this order is remitted. There will be no personal orders given. Thank you.”

Victoria barely witnesses anything after that.

Nexus Racing HQ, Crossbay Circuit, Nimbus Bay, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
15th of July

She barely keeps from crying; Ryker’s hand is on her shoulder now. “It’s… I hate it, you know? I made a mistake and…” She takes care to breathe. “I get the order. It makes sense; Imagination, I wish we’d done it before. And that’s the thing I hate – we could have done it before.” Victoria laughs, a pitiful, horrible laugh. “We knew about this a year ago and we tried to outplay them. Might solve it that specific time, but – and they were toying with us too, whoever this was, as well! Sending us binary and all… We should have known that they were out of our league on this but we got arrogant. I got arrogant! I love Alex but I know that he can get cocky on things like this, so why didn’t I –” She lets out a fury-laden, primal shout. “And then I see the crash in my head over and over and…” She shakes her head again, then brings it to her hands as she finally begins to sob.

Ryker squeezes her shoulder. Then he moves closer to her, reaching over with the same hand to clasp the other in a half-embrace, then a full one.

They remain like that for anywhere between a minute and forever.

Finally, everything seems vaguely right to Ryker for him to speak. “Victoria, I… I know why you’re upset. It’s a reasonable thing to be upset by. Still…” He leans back, taking his left arm from across her front while leaving the right, across her back, in place. “‘Success is a process’, right? You’ve made mistakes, I get that, but that doesn’t stop you from not making them in the future. Jean’s doing well and still with us, the proposal’s been implemented… You’re back to square one. You can achieve tons from that, I know you can.”

“You know, that’s the other thing.” Victoria laughs again, again bitterly, head down. “I should have been doing that too. But I haven’t. I’ve been distracting myself by helping you. It’s been very good at doing that.” She turns directly to him, speaking quietly now. “I’m… I’m sorry for using you like that; I should have told you straight away. I was basically lying to you all this time, I…” She trails off.

And one thought overpowers all else.

Maria.

Ryker Lane sits for a moment. Then he looks Victoria Light straight in the eyes. “I understand. I’ve done the same before. For me… It helped. I needed that distraction and… And I think you did too. Just thinking about this constantly would have consumed you – it did for me.”

He reaches over to wrap her in a hug again, a tighter one this time. “You’re right, you should probably have told me. But even if this isn’t perfect, it worked out. So please, don’t feel guilty, Victoria. I wouldn’t want that more than anything you’ve just said.”

After a few seconds of silence, Victoria exhales. She’s smiling, just a little. “And you said I should be the therapist.”

She wraps her arms around him.

They stay like that.

[Lisander]

WGPC | WGP2 | NSSCRA | WGP3 ALPHA LEAGUE | OPEN GP NATIONAL SERIES | LISANDER GT | MOTORCYCLE RACING | LEGAL STREET RACING | + RACING | GIRLS | CONTACT US

---

A bug of WGP2 site made the table disappear. Let's count the points!

EDIT: A bug of our own site made our table disappear. We added it again, accurate after Round 8, Nekoni.

Drivers' Championship
Pos	Name			Points
1	Janne Laukanen		69
2	Cocoabo #23		66
3	Darius Castelammare	65
4	Karli Schmitt	 	64
5	Timo Jänkirinää		53
6	Jason Masami		52
7	Edward Baker		46
8	Ade Imoju		45
9	Jama'obo Pegasi		40
10	Dom Falepeau		34
11	Jannik Markner		31
11	Roman Arjenko		31
13	Rebecca Darlington	30
14	Tyra Tabuso		25
15	Dahlia Dahl		15
15	Juliano Lemos 		15
17	Isaia Fanene		14
18	Chiemi Hino		10
18	Max Predofski		10
20	Ekaterina Julic		4
20	Miguel Santos		4
22	Laurencia Lynds		3
23	Erik DeForest		2

Drivers' Championship
Pos	Name			Points
1	VTM Tropicorp		112
2	Nexus Racing		99
3	Omni-Katoa		98
4	Vannish Motors Racing	95
5	Superia Junior Team	80
6	SVJ Racing		71
7	Brutus Obey Racing	56
8	Ibuna-Gambal		35
9	MRT2			34
10	Kaylan Racing		24
11	Pompeii Motorsports	17
12	Evolution		4
13	Sinval			3

---

More from TURBO
It was messed up too. Just go to back home page.

---

2018, All rights reserved. Turbo Magazine is a Website from Turbo Sports and Automobiles, LLC. For commercial contact, send a mail to turbomagazine[at]tsa-commerce.ls.

[Lisander]

"Will you let those guys talk like this to you? They say you sold yourself to Camden! You would never make this. You injected a lot of money in that circuit... - Lourdina Westgrens' voice was half-sad, half-angered.

"They're not wrong, Lourdina... Did you read the sports websites? They made me look like a kind of obsessed Dr. Frankenstein. Here, give a look at this link... " - Juliano Lemos was sitting on his sofa at Bitten Heroes Centre, with a tablet on his hands. He clicked here and there on the screen of the device and opened an old link.

Juliano Lemos seems to be devoting himself more than he should to his perfectionist urge to resurrect the corpse of Bitten Heroes with a structure that is not yet ideal, while Darius Castellammare is seizing his opportunity to do his best with what he has at hand.

"It feels obnoxious, isn't it? Reading just this, I look like a mad scientist who devoted his career to turn something back to life and its creation revealed itself as a monster, not as a phoenix."

"You're not obnoxious, boss. You're just pushing yourself too hard, as usual. If you had asked me, I could drive for one more season. I know WGP2, I know all of the circuits. I and Darius would have made a great team. And I don't believe you sold your self."

"I couldn't have you on this. You suffered even more than me with old BH collapse. Also, I never wanted you inside the nest of the Pegasi. You're the flagship of this team. You're the only driver running under Bitten Heroes currently. In WGP2 we're Superia Juniors. I didn't have the right to use the name. I feel kind of gross by doing this. In fact, even I think I sold my soul to Camden. Or better saying, I rented it... But it was the income from that rent that allowed me to do a lot of things. I even got engines and a driver for free. Have money to make money. Before you depart for Kermania, let me show you." Lemos once more picked up the tablet on the table and opened another link.

C O R P O R A T I V E A C C O U N T

INVESTMENT DEMONSTRATIVE
---
for
Mr. Juliano Lemos
on behalf of
BITTEN HEROES GRAND PRIX ENGINEERING, SAD
---
This is an automated demonstrative for reference purposes, and the values shown here are updated at the end of each business day. There is the possibility that there are still pending financial transactions, and these values will not be displayed. For further questions, contact your broker: Sabine Valerian # M001. Do not accept alleged emails from Megara. Our contact is Direct.
Megara Investment does not maintain web or call-center relationship channels.
---
SUMMARY OF INVESTMENTS
Megara 365 QuickInv (Click to see)
Megara Supporter (Click to see)

"This is Megara. Megara is the investment broker website of Sabine Valerian. She does the magic with the money, or at least with a third of them. Other third is in government bonds, and the rest in the AstleyBank. Click on the second link, Supporter. It means our money is supporting the growing of Megara, so the payout will be big."

Lourdina clicked and the amount of money with interest appeared. It was a lot of money. Millions. That money would be enough to build a new Centre.

"Boss, I thought BH was broken. I know you sold a lot of stuff and invested in teams. But this in three years?"

"I'm investing prize money. Bitten Heroes has become the biggest prize-winner for productivity in the Ministry of Sport. Where do you think the money came from to buy your place at Dunneot? It came from the award offered by the Ministry to the Air Heroes team. I have already said that my decision to go back to cockpit was more for sponsorships than for anything else. We have big spenders. We have Lantis, Atlas Electronics, Stellenbosch, we can have the investments that Megara can bring. Soon we will be able to choose an exclusive engine supplier; Camden's rental will end. Unless they want to renew, with an even better price. I just need this year to fix everything, to have everything running smoothly. Second season of NASJAR is about to start too. In three years, judging by the investment of sponsors and prize money, we'll be independent. We'll build our own cars."

[Vilita and Turori]

:: VTM Tropicorp Shut out of Points in Esmerel ::

WGP2 Challenge of Esmerel, Forest Cross Raceway, Vertress, Rainier, Esmerel :: After taking home the checkered flag in the Grand Prix of Lisander, Cocoabo #23 has struggled in the Nimbus System and Esmerel finishing in 9th place at the Nimban Deuxième Prix and then finishing out of the points at the Forest Cross Raceway allowing title challenger Janne Laukanen to close within a single point after the Aboveland driver has now picked up quality points in the past three events. Cocoabo #23 failed to finish the WGP2 Challenge at Esmerel after being forced to retire from the event on lap 31 after bending the suspension on the right front.

While Cocoabo #23 has been unable to capitalize on the last two races to expand on their drivers championship lead, Cocoabo #23's teammate Edward Baker from the Krainin Isles has put together a pair of runner-up finishes over the past four race weekends to climb into the 4th spot in the Drivers standings level with Karli Schmitt. Baker's finishes have also helped to maintain VTM Tropicorp Engineering near the top of the WGP2 Constructors standings where they are competing with Omni-Katoa, Nexus Racing and Vannish Motors Racing for the WGP2 constructors title. There had been rumors that Baker would be replaced at VTM Tropicorp Engineering earlier in the season but with the Krainin drivers recent resurgence in form it seems now that Vilita & Turori Motorsports and Tropicorp Engineering are solidly behind Baker and expect the #97 driver to see out the remainder of the season with the team.

Outside of VTM Tropicorp Engineering, former Vilita & Turori Motorsports driver Jama'obo Pegasii who drove for Vilita & Turori Motorsports during the Chase portion of the sixth NSSCRA season, brought their Vilaye Energy Drink sponsorship with them to SVJ Racing of Savojarna in a surprise offseason move as the two nations who have built up a very strong rivalry on the internationstatal sports scene, particularly in the sport of Ice Hockey, put aside their differences for a time. It seemed to be a smart move from the outset when Pegasii finished runner up to Cocoabo #23 in the Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix but Pegasii and the SVJ Racing #37 team finished outside the points for the next four events until the recently completed WGP2 Challenge at Esmerel where Pegasii won Driver of the Race honors clawing through the field to finish runner up to Omni-Katoa Racing's Ade Imoju. While Imoju had the field covered, winning the race by over 40 seconds, Pegasii was involved in a tight battle with five different drivers before ultimately placing best of the rest in the runner-up position.

Now, the Vilita & Turori Motorsports affiliated drivers head to Nekoni as the WGP2 season enters its final swing wrapping up the season with a trio of Street Circuits - first of which is the Derneo Quays Street Circuit in Nekoni. The Technically focused 16-turn course has been a staple of the SuperFormula Nekoni where VTM Tropicorp will be looking to re-gain momentum lost after not scoring any points in Esmerel.

[Togonistan]

Analysis: WGP2 S2 in a nutshell
By: Regis Tamatoa

With the season finale coming closer and closer, we can pretty safely say that we have a clear vision about the force ratio between different teams in the championship. With Ade Imoju's last victory, the race between Omni-Katoa and Tropicorp has become closer, with 8 points separating the two teams. Also, in the drivers championship, nothing is clear yet. Well, almost nothing. What is pretty clear is that the gap between top and bottom teams is rather large, which is reflected in the current championship standings:

Drivers Championship - After 7 races
Pos	Name			Points
1	Cocoabo #23		60
2	Janne Laukanen		59
3	Timo Jänkirinää		53
4	Karli Schmitt 		46
4	Edward Baker		46
6	Ade Imoju		45
7	Darius Castelammare	40
8	Jason Masami		38
9	Jama'obo Pegasi		36
10	Dom Falepeau		31
10	Jannik Markner		31
12	Rebecca Darlington	28
13	Tyra Tabuso		25
14	Roman Arjenko		23
15	Dahlia Dahl		15
15	Juliano Lemos 		15
17	Isaia Fanene		14
18	Chiemi Hino		10
18	Max Predofski		10
20	Ekaterina Julic		4
21	Miguel Santos		3
21	Laurencia Lynds		3
23	Erik DeForest		2

Team Championship - After 7 races
Pos	Team			Points
1	VTM Tropicorp		106
2	Omni-Katoa		98
3	Nexus Racing		87
4	Vannish Motors Racing	77
5	SVJ Racing		59
6	Superia Junior Team	55
7	Brutus Obey Racing	42
8	Ibuna-Gambal		35
9	MRT2			31
10	Kaylan Racing		24
11	Pompeii Motorsports	17
12	Sinval			3
13	Evolution		3

Source: Turbo Magazine

We can safely say that, despite some surprises popping up here and there, in the end it is still pretty much the same big four dominating the scene more or less: VTM Tropicorp, Omni-Katoa Racing, Nexus and VMR. While there are better and worse days for all the teams and drivers, in the end it is consistency that pays off. Yes, we may celebrate Fanene picking up some points every once in a while or Falepeau dominating the qualifications, but with top drivers and teams showing constant good results (or just winning a few races here and there), that is where the quality comes out. Now, a lot of you may argue that the season has been a gamble, with current standings just being based on a pure luck factor and that everything is possible in motorsports, but to be honest, I don't see any phoenix rising from the ashes at this point.

Please, don't get me wrong. In no way do I want to bash our drivers, nor our local manufacturer's team at their debut season. In fact, I believe a honest credit should be given to Falepeau for standing his ground, despite a lack of teammate due to MRT2's odd decision of entering the season with only one car. The fact that he and MRT2 have managed to avoid the scenario SinVal and Evolution are facing right now is really a remarkable achievement. Also, with our local manufacturer Kaylan entering the season with two completely unknown greenhorn drivers, we've got to be lucky not to be dead last in the constructors championship. While I remain with my saying that no phoenixes will rise here, I do have faith in Fanene and Predofski to push Kaylan a bit further up in the rankings. While not competing for the title, it is still important to show that Kaylan can be a force to be reckoned with, and I do believe that I speak on the behalf of all Togonistani motorsports fans here if I'm saying that, it would be a beautiful Christmas present to see Kaylan's colors on the podium before the end of the season, even if it's just for once.

[Lisander]

Friday
Derneo Quays, Nekoni

Lemos was on his hotel room, on his session of mental training. With the electronic steering wheel and pedals connected to his video game console and a big screen TV, every place was a training center.

"Yeah, the people from IOA Committee sent me the guidelines they planned for the car, and it's WGPO-spec. I wonder what these freaks have in mind, to give a car of that level to U-20 drivers. "We want to provide an opportunity to the rising stars of local motorsport." They want to kill someone for gold? - Lanza says in an upset tone, interrupting the fun.

"I imagined, and that's why I wanted to establish the Academy as soon as possible. I want that four driving the proper car before the end of WGP2. Luck we have Camden at our side and the made-to-order chassis could be mounted. Was a great bet, luckily our engineers found a way to make everything fit. How's going the preparation of spare kits for National Series?"

"The production is going smoothly. I already sent these specs to François, He's preparing the chassis after the measurements of the drivers. Are you really okay with Mikado in the Ladies' class? Still time to change... Anneliese is only 21."

"I really do not care about your problems with Seigen, I'm sorry, Lanza. Shizuko Mikado, Lourdina Westgrens and Mor Hollstein are the best young female drivers in that nation. Anneliese is 21, under these criteria, she could be refused... Also, SEIGEN DYNAMICS is a great ally to have, when we return to WGPC."

"If you say ... but remember what happened last time. Bitten Heroes barely gets into WGPC 15 because he was boycotting the negotiations and trying to get his daughter on the team."

"Let the bad blood dry, Lanza. I was on Team Ignis last season. I was the Lourdina trainer. He was always very kind. Offer his daughter an opportunity is good for both of us. I feel, sometimes, you're still too much loyal to Natássia... You even put your nephew in her WGP3 team... Don't tell me you're still... uh... with her."

The forty-year-old did not like that conversation at all, His hands wandered for a second before moving back the hair for the side of his head.

"It doesn't matter to you, you know."

Lemos smiled and picked up a can on the minibar of the hotel room.

"Of course not. You know... this is the best thing about Camden Sponsorship. Energy Drinks for free. I feel like I'm addicted to it. Here, Pick up one too. I can't say it will calm you, but at least will be refreshing..." - Lemos said and threw a can to Lanza. - "Do you think we can find a sponsorship from an Energy Drink company? I wouldn't even ask for money. I'd love to have only a lot of this..."

The men opened the cans of the drink. The sour and sweet flavour of the drink encouraged them a little. The season was ending and that Bitten Heroes, under that direction, was growing at a decent pace. Superia Juniors, NSSCRA and other sellings were paving the way for the financial stability of those crazy privateers.

"I'm serious here. My private life is that, private. I don't ask you about your relationship with Ludwika. I don't ask you about the money you keep pouring in illegal racing... Let's keep it off. I don't want to start a fight." - Both of them had skeletons in the cupboard.

"Right. My bad. But you need to separate your passions from our work. Mikado is a great driver and she'll be our #2 driver in Republica, right?"

"Right."

Andrea Lanza swallowed a bit of his pride. Lemos did the same. Even friends need to direct harsh words sometimes.

An e-mail notification interrupted the silence. Lemos picked up his MePhone and read, silently.

"That's good. I finally sold my Camden Altis. That's the end of the Purple Demon. I already sent him to KB garage. It's like new." - Lemos was referring to his old street racing car.

"I don't believe you'll stop with the street racing. So you should be hiding another car from me. A faster one." - Lanza just smiled.

"Not yet. I still have to find someone to buy me one. I can't buy myself, you know..."

"Using a stooge won't help, now your finances are tracked. Why don't you just build it? You'll just open it and remove half of the interior anyways..."

[Aboveland]

Tuesday, before Nekoni
Iskajärvi, Aboveland

He said he'd be there at five, but it's already 5:02, and he hasn't been online since they'd confirmed the time they'd meet at. Janne starts cracking his fingers, first squeezing his thumbs in a fist, then using his thumb to press down on all the other fingers. First the right hand, thorough, cracking four out of five, then the left hand, of which only two snap. His heart rate starts going up, but only just--and imperceptibly if he weren't so hypersensitive-- as he turns around to face the door of the cafe. His eyes, their icy blue electrified in the chillier autumn weather, dart across the counter, scanning for his target, to no avail. He turns back toward the window, facing the lake, and takes a sip of his coffee, the snow picking up and obscuring the body of water from view.

A snowflake flies onto his hand just as another one rests on his shoulder. He swings around, startled.

"Hi!" Anders says, his own frothy cup of hot chocolate in hand. Janne's eyebrows unfurl, their droopy ends perking up, his irises dilating before he looks away. "Oh hi," he answers, checking his watch. 5:05.

"Sorry I'm late," the rosy-cheeked, scarf-packed teen begins. He begins to speak, explaining his untimeliness, but Janne doesn't actually listen. His gaze is stuck--frozen, perhaps.

"So how's WGP2 going?" Anders asks, right when Janne snaps out of it.

"Great!" the rookie replies, giddily. I've been on a pretty good run lately, consistently top four, with a couple podiums and practice poles to boot." He takes a sip of his drink. Anders looks engrossed in the conversation, observing with genuine admiration. "I was fourth last week despite a little bit of an issue with the car. Apparently I'm actually second in the championship now, a point from leading!" Janne gestures with his coffee-holding hand, awkwardly splashing some on the table, but neither of the two are affected by the spill (except for Janne, who while clean, clenches his teeth in a self-scolding way).

Anders congratulates Janne on his achievements, and again promises to go to a race at least once before the end of the season, but the topic quickly shifts to the weather, the early sundown, and their plans for later. The sauna is open on Tuesday nights, Anders says, and more so in the dark winter months. But the tram service, which Janne had taken to the cafe from his apartment, was down because of an accident involving a delivery truck and a pile of snow, so the driver wouldn't be able to head back home to get ready.

"You can stay at my place," Anders suggests, staring at Janne side on, his shyness overpowered by the hint of bravery in his voice. Janne's eyes widen, his heart now beating noticeably faster, noticeable not only owing to his hypersensitivity this time. Before his tongue gets pasty dry, he takes one last sip from his coffee cup, the last drops of the elixir shimmying their way down the cup's insides tantalizingly slowly. The pause, however, is more blissful than uncomfortable.

"Y-yeah, sure!" Janne replies, excitedly, fighting back a stammer. "I don't have a toothbrush or any contact solution though."

"I think I've got some extras," says Anders.

They leave their cups on the counter, a couple yonder coins resting on Anders' plate.

[Mattijana]

It's been a while, but just in time for bonfire night, WGP2 is back with a bang.
Cutoff for practice and qualifying in Nekoni.