World Grand Prix Championship season 17 [RP Thread]

[Sorlovia]

Novoya River, Vanov Oblast, Sorlovia
Three days earlier

The longest moment in a man’s life was this one. That pause between asking the woman you loved if she would marry you and hearing her answer. It seemed to drag out for an unbearably long time and your heart skipped a beat or two in those tense moments. Even if you knew she would say yes there was still that tiny scrap of doubt. Asking a woman to marry you was always accompanied by a degree of uncertainty. Perhaps you were asking too early or had mistaken the depth of the relationship. Had she changed her mind? Was she having second thoughts? These were the thoughts that preyed on a man’s mind in those long seconds.

“Yes! A thousand times yes!”

Tears welled up in Elena’s eyes and she clasped her hands to her mouth. Her long curls bobbed and danced as she nodded briskly. She dropped to her knees next to Gregori and fixed her eyes on his. Her soft green eyes locked with his own and she smiled as he planted a soft kiss on his lips. That first tender kiss that served as both a reassurance of love and a way of claiming him as her own. Gregori rose to his feet and gently slid the engagement ring onto Elena’s slender finger. All thoughts of races and the WGPC had faded from his mind as soon as they’d set foot on the soft grass of the river bank. It could wait. This was a moment that went beyond the mundane things of life. It was as if nothing in the world existed in that moment. Nothing except Elena, the river, the willow tree and him.

“Elena,” Gregori said with a fondness few ever heard “You have just made me the happiest man in the world!”

“You’ve made me the luckiest woman,” she replied wiping a tear away “there is nothing I want more than to be your wife. I can’t wait to be Mrs Krupin.”

“And I can’t wait to be your husband. Meeting you is the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Viktor would’ve thought the whole affair sickeningly soppy. He was a man who preferred to live the bachelor’s life and viewed romance as the domain of emotional movies. But despite this he would be immensely happy for Elena and Gregori. After all he’d been the one to introduce them and had been unashamedly trying to get them together for a long time. He wanted to live the bachelor life but he knew that Gregori didn’t. Viktor knew that Gregori was a closet romantic and, although he teased him for it mercilessly, he wanted him to be happy. But Gregori knew that deep down under Viktor’s womanizing bachelor exterior lived a man who wanted something more serious. He knew that he was tiring of the one night stands and ‘The Game’. That was the domain of immoral college students and party-boys. It wasn’t the life of a WGPC-ranked mechanic who wanted to be respected in his field.

Gregori and Elena walked back to the car hand-in-hand. The tradition that had begun with his great-grandfather had continued in him and he’d found the woman of his dreams. He’d begun courting her because he’d grown to love her and not because she happened to be a successful model and some of his more outspoken critics had suggested. Things like wealth, fame and beauty had never factored into it. Focusing on such things made a man shallow and materialistic. Gregori had promised himself that he would never become that manner of man no matter how famous he might get.

Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli
Post-Race

Gregori leaned back in the driver’s seat as he sat in the pit. The way things were going it seemed he was about to enter another slump. A slump like the one that had plagued him for a significant period of time in WGPC16. He’d fallen back to sixteenth place in the final stages of the race due to unknown reasons that were still being looked into. He’d performed with the same level of skill and focus that had seen him take out his first win but something hadn’t gone quite right. He’d felt a distinct change during the fifteenth lap and had done his best to compensate. The style of track had once again been in his favour but something had seemed off with his car. Lap nineteen had only confirmed a sneaking suspicion.

His car was booked into the Race Workshop at MRT HQ for a re-evaluation and full service. His race crew would accompany it to provide the full diagnostic details and post-race analysis. But Gregori sat in his car going over every detail of the race as he watched his Gran Prix racer being loaded into the back of an MRT Race Transport. It had been through a number of races at this point and perhaps it was time for a trip back to the engineers at MRT for a tune-up and examination. Sigur’s own car would likely be receiving the same treatment at the moment. It wasn’t an uncommon practice for a race team to recall its competition cars during a WGPC season for routine maintenance and updated optimization according to WGPO regulations. Gran Prix cars needed to be regularly serviced in just the same way as a regular passenger car. Mechanical parts eventually wore out no matter how finely made or heavy duty they might be. During the course of the season parts had to be replaced even if they were still in reasonable condition.

Swapping out worn brakes for new ones improved the performance of the car even if the old brakes were still in reasonable condition. Scuffed tyres had an impact on how a Gran Prix car preformed in a race meaning that brand new tyres gave it an edge. Gregori’s car would be fitted with a new brand of tyre, given an intensive service complete with an oil change and fuel system clean, an engine wash and even a full car wash. A few barely visible marks on the paint work and chassis were to be touched up with the car essentially coming back to him reborn. He’d grown attached to the car so watching it being loaded into the truck was like watching an old friend being put into the back of an ambulance. In the meantime, to allow him to continue his training regime, he’d been provided with an MRT back up Gran Prix car.

"This is just a slump Gregori," Gregori said to himself softly "you'll get out of it just like you did last season. Remember that."

[Savojarna]

Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli, Nekoni

One light.

Sigur Bjarnason sets the MRT up for start. He looks to the left, staring at Taylor Blake's Obey. He can't see it through the visor, but he knows Blake is looking back right now, thinking the same: How do I beat this guy? For Sigur, it's easy: Don't fuck up the start. Push and keep the inside.

Two lights.

His gaze moves forward. Terho Talvela, waiting in front of him. His opponent. Catching his rear wheel or trying to overtake him straight off the line? Sigur decides to wait for the start. If he gets off the line well, he may as well attack him.

Three lights.

The Savojar looks forward again. Tabuso stands in front of him. Her car is angled just a bit to the left, towards the centre of the track. Sigur decides to pull out to the right off the line, and attack the Fireline driver on the outside. Keep the position and wait for Turn 2, when you can attack on the inside.

Four lights.

His eyes are now fixed on the starting lights. He has a perfect view from here, the car ready for the race and the mind set on what is to come. He revs up the engine, bringing it right into the sweet spot that Krister told him before the start. The perfect spot to get efficiency off the line.

Five lights.

Every muscle in Sigur's body is tensed up and ready to burst forward. He lifts the clutch up to the point where it just about holds the car. The MRT almost bucks under him. If he were to lose control of his foot now, it would jolt forward and produce a false start. But he doesn't, it will yield the perfect take-off.

Zero lights.

Bjarnason lifts his foot just a tiny little bit. The MRT's wheels grip into the asphalt immediately and throw the car forward. Blake is nowhere to be seen. In front of him, Tabuso pulls to the inside, just as he expected. But his MRT took off faster, and he pulls up to the side of the Fireline. The first corner comes up, and he can brake just a fraction later. Sigur pulls level with his opponent, using every little bit of the track. In the next turn, he will have the upper hand. With brute force, he keeps the MRT on the track and yields just a tiny bit of space to Tabuso, ready to take it back in what is to come. Turn 2. Bjarnason's MRT slides ahead centimetre by centimetre. He can see Tabuso next to him. As the accelerate out of the corner, Bjarnason's nose is on the same height. But in the long Turn 3, he has just a bit less way. On the inside, he pulls ahead bit by bit, until his opponent has to step down. "Great start, Sigur!", he hears on his ears. Looking to the left, he sees Terho took advantage of his maneuver as well, passing Tabuso and being roughly level with Sigur. He decides not to risk an attack on the inside for Turn 4 and sticks to the Abovian's back.

As the field has settled into the race, Franssen leads the pack, with Souzare behind. Tripathi, the second VMR driver, stuck to Bjarnason's back to the beginning and caught him on the home straight, but aside from that, the Savojar held his ground. Fifth behind the two VMR, Terho and Souzare, who stuck around behind the VMR squad. Tabuso manages to stick with Sigur, a few seconds behind the MRT. Then, a big gap to Blake, who is holding up a group of Krupin, Kardaeri and Ibuna. "Good drive so far, Sigur. Your gap to Blake is growing, times are still stable. Souzare is losing against you and Terho, you're stable to the others. Push more, your window is approaching", Krister said on the headphones. "Alright, push harder. Copy.", he responds, rips off his visor blade and throws it out before pushing down his foot, hunting down Terho Talvela.

Nine laps into the race, he has caught up to Souzare, who is now fourth. Sigur chases the Hodoran around the track, getting a flashback of the last year. Kardaeri now has overtaken Blake and is closing the gap. Krister is on his ears again. "Sigur, you should be able to catch Souzare. If you don't manage until the end of Lap 10, box. Otherwise, box after Lap 11. Your gap to Terho is no longer closing, try to undercut", Krister instructs him. Like always when a pit stop is upcoming, Sigur is even more motivated to push. The Hodoran does not stand a chance. Following a light slipup in 11, Sigur catches the back of the Polaris. Sucking up to it in the slipstream, he won't let go until the next turn. Swerving out to the inside, he utilises the MRT's better grip to the max and passes Souzare on the inside. "YES! Great move, Sigur. P4 now, box after lap 11", Krister says in a voice that lets Sigur almost hear his smile.

Even in the pit lane, Sigur doesn't get rid of Tabuso. The Fireline enters the pit right before him as the top three move on, the two VMR's battling for the lead. The MRT crew buzzes around Sigur for a few seconds, and then releases him again. "Great stop, Sigur. You're now on P6, nine seconds behind Kardaeri and twenty-six behind Terho. Push hard for the next laps", Krister says. He pushes a button on the steering wheel, adjusting the fuel mixture, and pushes the MRT as if it were the qualifying again. Four laps later, as he approaches the final combination, the radio cracks again. "Great work, Sigur. Talvela is in the pit, you should have made it by about two seconds. Reduce and keep place. You are now in P5; Kardaeri and Souzare still have to stop". Two laps later, it is P4 as Kardaeri's car is out-maneuvred in the tight combination at the end of the track and Sigur takes his spot. Only VMR left to fight.

In lap 21, Sigur is in third place, still chasing the VMR duo and almost in sight of Jess Franssen. The gap between them is closing as Franssen's tyres deteriorate, when suddenly another announcement comes. "Tripathi out. Repeat, Tripathi out, you're now in P2". It isn't like Sigur to celebrate someone else's bad luck, but he can't help but be happy about being back in contention for victory. With her tyres, Franssen soon can't keep up and has to stop, ceding the leadership to Sigur who steadily pulls away from his competitors. Kardaeri, on a different strategy, keeps up narrowly, but still boosted by his lack of a pit stop. Terho Talvela steadily loses time and now lies almost twenty seconds behind Sigur. The Savojar steadily drives around the track, his secure and preservation-oriented style from the first part of the season now replaced by an aggressive style aiming for speed.

The MRT box has a calm second half of the race. Only towards the end, when it is time for the second stop, do they quickly hold their breath again as Talvela almost catches Sigur on the pit stop. "Terho stopped almost together with you, his tyres must be pretty bad. Don't fight too hard, if he gets ahead of you you'll just take him back", Krister calms his driver down. The worst thing would be to lose the lead on a defect now. For a moment, the race engineer has flashbacks of a metallic whizz and an MRT parked to the side of the InternazionRing. Sigur climbing out of his car as he lost his lead in the Grand Prix tsaMattijana to engine failure. Please don't let it happen again, he thinks, as Talvela settles behind Sigur. The Abovian knows as well as Sigur himself that any attempt to overtake his opponent would be fruitless. He isn't stuck behind the MRT, which can easily match the pace of the TRAE on this track. Terho's race is against those behind, Tyra Tabuso and Jai Kardaeri. A reckless attack would only endanger his chances for the podium - victory is gone, and he knows it. In the MRT box, they know it too.

Two laps later, Talvela hits the box, leaving the Savojar alone to carry his victory across the line. "Preserve your tyres, Sigur. Don't take any risks with the car. P1, gap twenty-seven seconds. Talvela in second, then Tabuso", Krister briefs his driver. The final twelve laps are a cruise. Finally he crosses the line, raising his fist in the sky. "YES YES YES! Great work, Sigur! Well done, congratulations", an audibly overjoyed Krister Arlund says in his earpiece as Sigur fights off tears of joy. He is back where he belongs. Back on top.

[Mattijana]

MRT HQ, Kopylov InternazionRing

Just a week ago, the mood around the MRT head office had been pretty low. The team trailed championship leaders TRAE by more points than they had actually earned, sat a (by their standards) fairly measly 5th in the standings and had just blown a massive chance of a good result in a chaotic JNI Grand Prix. The hard work had to continue, but it had not yet yielded good results.

The atmosphere now was completely different. The team had just tasted its second victory of the season, Sigur Bjarnason had rediscovered his form and they had lifted themselves to third in the constructors' championship table.

There were still concerns however. Gregori had looked uncharacteristically off the pace as he slipped out of the points and post-race feedback had revealed that something had felt off with the car. Johan had ordered it to be sent back to Mattijana to be checked over whilst the reserve chassis would travel to the next venue of Yogyakulta in Filindostan.

On closer inspection, the floor of Krupin's machine had sustained a fair bit of damage. The scuffing would undoubtedly have disrupted the airflow underneath the car, losing Gregori vital downforce and balance. It probably explained why he had struggled to drive quickly in Nekoni, but they would give the rest of the chassis a checkover as well to make sure it was in good shape for the mid-season test that followed. The team in Yogyakulta would tune up the reserve chassis to the Sorlovian's liking.

Filindostan was a good chance to push on for MRT. The circuit wasn't perfectly set up for them with its point and squirt first two sectors, but the final sector had a nice flow to it and the two Nordus curves were there for the MRT's aerodynamics to get stuck into. In fact, with its undulations and medium-fast turns, it was about as perfect a bit of track as there could possibly be. A double points finish was on the cards, but would not be easy.

Johan had heard through the grapevine about Gregori getting engaged. He trusted his driver's professionalism, but was happy for his driver. Getting such a personal boost would hopefully give his driving extra edge and it would certainly be a massive weight off his mind. Both man and machine would hopefully be in good shape for the next race.

The WGPC was a long season with room for plenty of twists and turns. You could have a good start, fall to pieces in the middle and make a comeback at the end and still find yourself somewhere at the sharp end of the table. If you built a good season and found some groove at the end, it was yours for the taking.

The last two seasons, MRT's title challenge had revolved around getting a sharp start whilst everyone else was working themselves out and then hanging on at the end. This year, it had been they who had been working themselves out early on and who would have to hurry up at the end.

The last couple of races would suit their car and their drivers. If they could seal some consistent results from now on, it was still on.

[Hapilopper]

STEVENSON "THOROUGHLY IMPRESSED" WITH WGPC - VOWS TO BE BACK
By Doug Goodman
Hapilopper Television Network

VAL DEL RIVOLI, NEKONI - For the first time since the HASCAR Challenge Cup finale last year, Drake Stevenson could be seen, the Friday before a race, happily strolling around a racetrack, listening to some of his tunes and taking notes on a legal pad about the tiniest of tiny details about a circuit. It was an activity Stevenson became notorious for during his career in Hapilopper racing, and probably an activity that helped him understand the circuits more than any other.

As he approached Turn 8, "The Carousel," Stevenson was approached by a security guard who hadn't recognized the stock car icon before. Maybe Drake's problem was the fact his weekend credentials, secured by the Hapiloppian government, were tucked inside his jacket, a huge no-no.

"Excuse me, sir, who said you could come out here?" the guard asked Stevenson, who quickly pulled out his credential.

"Sorry, I'm just figuring this place out," Stevenson said, slightly embarassed. "I'm trying to get myself into the Grand Prix circus and I figure I should learn the circuits. I might be racing here next year in some form or fashion. Got to get a leg up on the competition."

Having seen the credentials, the guard let Drake go on his merry way, as a top driver and two of his mechanics walked by, discussing the ominous rock formations that surrounded the outside of the infamous "Carousel." Not wanting to butt in a conversation that certainly wasn't his business, Drake waited for them to pass so as to not impose himself unnecessarily.

By the time Drake had returned to the paddock, he had filled a little over a dozen pages, front-to-back, with notes about the circuit. Never mind the fact he wasn't racing this weekend. That was completely irrelevant in his eyes. Instead, his mission was to get noticed by a team - any team - to get, at the very least, an opportunity to test a Grand Prix car later this year. To him, the rest would fall into place if he could just get a seat.

On Sunday morning before the Grand Prix, Stevenson talked to HTN about his goals for the weekend - and possibly for the next weekend, should he travel to Filindostan for the Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat.

"I want to get my name out there," he said as he relaxed at a picnic table near the paddock. "I was a stock car driver for a decade, and I was able to do everything in the Challenge Cup. I've had opportunities to go open-wheel single seater racing. Our country's Championship Car series is shooting themselves in the foot with all the political bullshit going on with the top teams, and I don't want to get caught in the crossfire. But there was an alternative. Every morning, we'd turn the WGPC and just be in awe at how utterly amazing the cars looked, sounded and behaved, and how amazing the drivers were for being able to handle those beasts."

With a twinkle in his eye, a twinkle that hasn't been seen in a couple of years, he hunched closer and smiled.

"THIS IS WHAT I WANT!!" he said, demonstrating the youthful enthusiasm that endeared him to millions of fans across Hapilopper. "I can do it and I can be a world champion. For myself, for Team Blue, for Preston Autos and for Hapilopper. It won't be this year, but who's to say it can't happen in the future?"

To make it happen, Drake came armed with hundreds of business cards and flash drives featuring videos of his best moments on track.

"You remember that guy that used to do backflips after he won races?" Drake asked, his eyes widening. "I asked him for suggestions to get my name out there. He told me he used to make business cards that said 'If you're looking for a driver, you're looking for me.' We used to laugh at him for this but, hell, it got him attention."

Drake was referring to Benny Johnson, the Surrey-based driver who shockingly retired at the end of the 2016 Challenge Cup. Johnson has returned to a private life in the Surrey suburb of West Columbia, but remains in contact with Stevenson.

Sure enough, those business cards, complete with Drake's headshot, were distributed with the flash drives to seemingly everyone in the WGPC paddock with the likely exception of the scout troops that were manning the concession stands, and it's possible they got a copy as a mechanic left one on the counter as they picked up a plate of nachos to chow down on between practice sessions.

"You know, if I get no phone calls or emails this weekend, I won't even be upset," Drake said. "The fact is, I wanted to do something different with my life and this might be the best way to do it. If there's a better way, I'd sure like to know how."

[Vangaziland]

By the time the NEXPRO Gran Premio di Nekoni ended, the name Drake Stevenson was gaining momentum. This was especially true in Vangaziland where the name drew recognition by familiarity. Stevenson was fairly common, ranging in variation from Stevenson to the more Vannish construct of Stevenssen. The Mainland differed from most Scandinavian nations because of Viking Age ties to African exploration.

Vangaziland is diverse, not just by race but by national origin. Even the Empire’s wide array of people can relate to the new driver. Many groups have migrated to Mainland Vangaziland since the Unification of the Tribes formed the Vannish Empire. An open minded approach from the beginning and isolation to negative racial attitudes of other continents made it so all Vangazi see themselves as one race, one people. If that’s not entirely accurate in DNA, it’s completely true in spirit. Even those with names like Kwameson and Kufussen see themselves similar to the Drake.

Today’s Vangazi have an eye for international culture. Vannish people are passionate about sports and competition. History and politics also draw a lot of attention. The Vannish media understands how the outlook and interests of the Vannish people can drive a story.

Therefore, the story of Drake Stevenson showing up and spreading promotional materials went somewhat viral quickly.

Jessica Franssen had a big part in this. She met Drake while he was handing out his info. It was a few hours before she had to climb into the car for the practice session.

She noticed a man seemingly lost from her perch behind an engineer’s desk. When he turned to enter the paddock, she approached. “Can I help you?” Jess subconsciously crossed her arms defensively.

He introduced himself and mentioned why he was here.

“I’d love to check out your material”, Jess said as she uncrossed her arms. “Here, let me show you around our paddock. As a matter of fact, give me a USB drive.. I’ll put these vids on right now.”

Jessica had more sway in the paddock than Simon Marton, VMR’s principal. If she wanted to watch the new driver’s clips, it would be done. Jess waved over the team’s intern. The young man jogged the drive over to a laptop. A projector broadcast the clips onto a large screen.

“Let’s see what you’ve got”, Jess said as it started to play. Many of the clips were from HASCAR. It could be hard to visualize how a stock car driver could translate into open wheel for someone without Franssen’s experienced eye. Jess had limited experience in stock cars, driving in the international league NSSCRA. Her father made of career racing stock cars across the Vannish Empire.

As the video wore on, she saw things that suggested Stevenson could fit into the WGPC well.

Stevenson had also mentioned time behind an open wheel car. “Not bad”, Jessica said as it began to wind down. “You know.. I think you’ve got a lot of potential in the league”, she added.

The topic of a spot at VMR came up. “We just can’t. Our team is doing well. Vijay Tripathi is our second driver. We’ve got a plan and a good thing going.” After a few more exchanged words she said, “if things were different, we’d make a switch.”

“Maybe I’ll help get your name out”, she said. Jess had noticed one thing this season. Her name was now just as prevalent in international news as it was in Vangaziland. Many nations seemed to watch her placement every week and compare their drivers to her position. This season has been far from perfect, but Jess drives ahead with dogged pursuit. She knew the multiverse was watching.

The Vannish woman waited until her Sunday pre-race interview to mention Stevenson. When the journalist asked Jessica how the field was shaping up, she found her chance.

“I think potential driver changes can affect the outcome of the title chase”, she said. “There are seriously talented drivers out there. I met someone named Drake Stevenson from Hapilopper. What a driver. If he gets into the right car, he can make a lot of noise.”

The journalist asked what Jessica would do if she were team manager. Would she replace drivers? “Some contracts are expiring. Here’s an idea for a slick move. If I felt I needed to make a switch, I’d try to sign Jang Xiaopeng with Drake. Xiaopeng is a tier 2 champion and a top 5 finalist in the big league. I guarantee he can show Stevenson how to refine his open wheel skill.”

Jess was asked what she noticed about his style. “I see the makings of a consistent driver. He’s been preparing. It might take a bit to build enough steam to win a race... I bet he can get into the top 5 after a race or two. He’s fast. This is a driver that knows how to prepare. You can tell he understands the track”, she paused... “Or tries to. He showed me a ton of notes he took on the track. That’s the sort of thing some drivers overlook here. The prep work.”

Jessica’s interview started to draw attention as the race weekend concluded. Her own effort had been mediocre in Nekoni, falling out of the top 5 from pole position. “I could have pushed harder”, she said after the race. “A lackadaisical place is almost worse than a DNF. We need those points though.”

Her fans were glad to see the Vangazi push herself. She wasn’t settled. She knew what she had to do.

Jang Xiaopeng jumped on the Drake wave in the hopes of finding his own seat. “I’d love to pair up with Steve... er... Drake. Drake Stevenson.” The confusion may have been because Xiaopeng’s surname of Jang is traditionally placed ahead of his given name. In his mind, he subconsciously saw Drake’s name as Stevenson Drake. Sometimes he even accidentally thought of him as Steve Drakesen.

“I’ve seen his highlights. I’d like to see what he can do in certain cars. I bet we can push each other to catch up and make some headway.”

The interviewer asked Xiaopeng how his recording session has been going. A Vannish pop singer named Anna Kelder recruited Jang to drop a few verses on a song or two. “It’s been a great experience “, the driver said. “I’m ready to get back on the track though.”

[The Sherpa Empire]

After blowing his big day in Somos, Vijay Tripathi was not going to do anything reckless at the Gran Premio di Nekoni. In practice, he took his time learning the course before trying a couple of faster laps, and he just didn't push that hard. There was no sense in wearing out himself or the car at a practice session. He wasn't sure if that lax approach had anything to do with why he placed 7th at qualifying while Franssen took the pole, even though they had the same car. He wondered if he could have put himself in a more competitive mindset or gotten a better feel for the track by pushing harder during practice.

There was some chatter around the paddock about Jang Xiaopeng and some driver from Hapilopper that was trying to break into international racing. Tripathi was reminded that there was always someone itching to take your seat if you didn't do well -- just another reminder of how important it was to do his best. He had to push himself every race, but remember not to get sloppy. It was a tricky balance.

Tripathi instinctively scoffed with disdain when he heard that the driver from Hapilopper came from a stock car racing background. In the Sherpa Empire, and especially in the South where Tripathi was from, stock car racing was traditionally regarded as an uncivilized sport, little better than street racing. Even though it was becoming more popular and respectable in recent years, old habits died hard. Tripathi had to remind himself that the prejudice against stock car racing was not universal, and outside the South of the Sherpa Empire, there were world-class drivers who came up through stock car racing. Even his own countrymen who lived north of the Himalayas...

On race day, Tripathi arrived at the track focused and eager to take the wheel. In his mind, he tried to visualize how he would fight his way up past the 6 drivers who were starting ahead of him. The engines roared to life, and the race started to play out almost the way he had imagined. He took the lead and opened up a nice gap between himself and Franssen in 2nd. Everything was going great.

And then it was all going wrong. He was losing power. Amarnath told him to bring the car in.

When Tripathi got back to the paddock, he felt like ripping the engineers a new one, but when he saw the looks on their faces he realized there was no point. They all knew what had happened and they knew they needed to make sure it didn't happen again. He could see in their eyes that they understood.

[Vilita and Turori]

Toys '4' All release first wave of WGPC Die-cast Replicas

Toys '4' All Regional Distribution Facility, Lopinka, Vilita :: Toys '4' All, The leading designer, distributor and retailer of Toys and Games in the Vilitan Cove region has announced it will begin carrying World Grand Prix Championship inspired die-cast cars at all of its retail locations. Toys '4' All has been increasing its presence in Motorsports of all kinds as its brand begins expanding beyond the Vilitan Cove region. During the eigth season of the Nationstates Stock Car Racing Association Toys '4' All stepped up as the title sponsor for the first ever Toys '4' All 500 race at the Lonngeylin Ring in Lonngeylin, Vilita. Toys '4' All also stepped up as a partial-season sponsor on the #14 Dart of then reigning series champion River 'Shark' Suzgar II. While Toys '4' All is expected to continue its relationship with Vilita & Turori Motorsports on the NSSCRA circuit, they have also entered the world of open wheel racing as one of the corporate partners of the Tropicorp Racing Aelund team based out of Aboveland. While Toys '4' All is not the primary funding source for the team their partnership has resulted in prime nose placement for the Toys '4' All logo as well as licensing rights to produce and distribute Toys and Merchandise using the Tropicorp Racing Aelund team cars and drivers.

In addition to small items such as stickers, temporary tattoos and pencils, Toys '4' All has entered the die-cast replica business with its first two Officially Licensed Tropicorp Racing Aelund World Grand Prix Championship Diecast Racing Cars.

The die-cast replicas hit the stores in the Vilitan Cove just in time to sell out in the wake of Tropicorp Racing Aelunds 1-2 finish at the Somos City Circuit in Joushiki Nante Iranai. Now, shelves are being restocked in the Vilitan Cove and Toys '4' All branded Die-cast Replicas are also being shipped to partner retailers throughout the multiverse. The first wave of die-cast replicas consist only of the two Tropicorp Racing Aelund machines, the #56 of former World Grand Prix champion Terho Talvela and the #77 of veteran Turorian driver and three-time World Grand Prix race winner iBen Toralmintii. In addition to retail outlets, the Toys '4' All Diecast Replicas will also be available track side starting with the Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat at the Yogyakulta Internationstatal Circuit at the official WGPC Merchandise Tent and the Tropicorp Racing Aelund merchandise trailer.

The first batch of Tropicorp Racing Aelund die-cast replicas was produced for Team and Company employees and contain a special sticker on the backside of the box. This batch was also used for quality control before the mass-production of the two Tropicorp Racing Aelund cars began. Currently Toys '4' All plans only to produce the cars as 1:64 scale Die-cast Replicas with a focus on the toy car market and not the display collector who may often seek a larger 1:24 or 1:18 scale replica. Instead of branching out in size, Toys '4' All is expected to look at expanded its product line by signing agreements with other World Grand Prix Championship teams to produce die-cast replicas of their team cars in future wave releases using the same die-cast mold that the company has already refined in producing the Tropicorp Racing Aelund replicas.

Toys '4' All prides itself in providing a positive experience for children and adults alike when visiting its stores. Customers enjoy a wide selection of otherwise hard-to-find Toys and Games with Toys '4' All bringing to market toys from independent toy makers and innovators. The future of the Toys '4' All brand likely depends on being able to retain the market share from the independent toy makers using Toys '4' All as a storefront for their goods as well as strengthening their relationships with foreign retailers willing to stock Toys '4' All's original merchandise such as their WGPC die-cast replicas.

[WGPC]

EDIT: Oh yes. Erm:

CUTOFF

for Practice and Qualifying at Yogyakulta International Circuit

Week 11: Practice

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:31.625
Session Length:	75 minutes
Nation:         	FID
Circuit:        	Yogyakulta International Circuit

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

POS #   DRIVER                              FASTEST LAP     GAP TO LEADER				
 1  7 ▍Vijay Tripathi                   	00:01:36.284	00:00:00.000		
 2 41 ▍Jean Mercer-Daly                 	00:01:36.284	00:00:00.000		
 3  3 ▍Darius Castellammare             	00:01:36.294	00:00:00.010		
 4 71 ▍Rustom Ibuna                     	00:01:36.298	00:00:00.014		
 5 56 ▍Terho Talvela                    	00:01:36.298	00:00:00.014		
 6 48 ▍Tyra Tabuso                      	00:01:36.385	00:00:00.101		
 7  1 ▍Jessica Franssen                 	00:01:36.388	00:00:00.104		
 8 29 ▍Esteban Guilhermez               	00:01:36.410	00:00:00.126		
 9 42 ▍Alex Dimitrianov                 	00:01:36.419	00:00:00.135		
10 27 ▍Gregori Krupin                   	00:01:36.429	00:00:00.145		
11 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                 	00:01:36.436	00:00:00.152		
12 17 ▍Evdaden Carnétier                	00:01:36.498	00:00:00.214		
13 64 ▍Carsten O'Rourke                 	00:01:36.686	00:00:00.402		
14 14 ▍Sigur Bjarnason                  	00:01:36.895	00:00:00.611		
15 18 ▍Taylor Blake                     	00:01:36.969	00:00:00.685		
16 23 ▍Jelena Colac-Strek               	00:01:37.151	00:00:00.867		
17 47 ▍Erica Okumura                    	00:01:37.281	00:00:00.997		
18 51 ▍RL Cruisin                       	00:01:37.509	00:00:01.225		
19 49 ▍Benjamin Talison                 	00:01:37.583	00:00:01.299		
20 52 ▍Sayono Souzare                   	00:01:37.624	00:00:01.340		
21 94 ▍Ryker Lane                       	00:01:37.663	00:00:01.379		
22 22 ▍Jasmin Kranjska                  	00:01:37.684	00:00:01.400		
23 65 ▍Hunter Digri                     	00:01:38.005	00:00:01.721		
24 15 ▍Tabita Novax                     	00:01:38.070	00:00:01.786		
25 63 ▍Dalia Dahl                       	00:01:38.334	00:00:02.050		
26 33 ▍Jai Kardaeri                     	00:01:38.456	00:00:02.172		
27 20 ▍Mick Schramm                     	00:01:38.562	00:00:02.278		
28 37 ▍Ryan Harris-Jones                	00:01:40.586	00:00:04.302

Week 11: Qualifying

Conditions:      	Dry
Lap Record:      	00:01:31.625
Qualifying Type:	Elimination
Nation:         	FID
Circuit:        	Yogyakulta International Circuit

POS #   DRIVER                                  FASTEST Q1     GAP TO LEADER    FASTEST Q2     GAP TO LEADER    FASTEST Q3     GAP TO LEADER    FASTEST Q4     GAP TO LEADER								
 1 77 ▍iBen Toralmintii                 	00:01:34.422	00:00:00.046	00:01:34.018	00:00:00.532	00:01:32.890	00:00:00.323	00:01:31.656	FASTEST : Q4
 2 41 ▍Jean Mercer-Daly                 	00:01:34.382	00:00:00.006	00:01:33.904	00:00:00.418	00:01:32.788	00:00:00.221	00:01:31.659	00:00:00.003
 3 47 ▍Erica Okumura                    	00:01:34.376	FASTEST : Q1	00:01:33.522	00:00:00.036	00:01:32.837	00:00:00.270	00:01:31.706	00:00:00.050
 4 48 ▍Tyra Tabuso                      	00:01:34.397	00:00:00.022	00:01:33.805	00:00:00.319	00:01:32.712	00:00:00.145	00:01:31.803	00:00:00.147
 5 94 ▍Ryker Lane                       	00:01:34.407	00:00:00.031	00:01:33.578	00:00:00.092	00:01:32.647	00:00:00.080	00:01:31.942	00:00:00.286
 6  1 ▍Jessica Franssen                 	00:01:34.415	00:00:00.039	00:01:33.769	00:00:00.283	00:01:33.067	00:00:00.500	00:01:32.125	00:00:00.469
 7 17 ▍Evdaden Carnétier                	00:01:34.671	00:00:00.295	00:01:33.486	FASTEST : Q2	00:01:32.942	00:00:00.375	00:01:32.197	00:00:00.541
 8  7 ▍Vijay Tripathi                   	00:01:34.383	00:00:00.007	00:01:33.546	00:00:00.060	00:01:33.394	00:00:00.828	00:01:32.242	00:00:00.586
 9 52 ▍Sayono Souzare                   	00:01:34.470	00:00:00.094	00:01:33.994	00:00:00.508	00:01:33.147	00:00:00.580	00:01:33.091	00:00:01.435
10 15 ▍Tabita Novax                     	00:01:34.450	00:00:00.074	00:01:33.540	00:00:00.054	00:01:32.567	FASTEST : Q3	00:01:35.162	00:00:03.506
11 18 ▍Taylor Blake                     	00:01:34.647	00:00:00.271	00:01:34.265	00:00:00.780	00:01:33.586	00:00:01.020		
12 33 ▍Jai Kardaeri                     	00:01:34.574	00:00:00.198	00:01:33.500	00:00:00.014	00:01:33.750	00:00:01.183		
13 14 ▍Sigur Bjarnason                  	00:01:34.404	00:00:00.029	00:01:33.561	00:00:00.075	00:01:33.977	00:00:01.410		
14 29 ▍Esteban Guilhermez               	00:01:34.402	00:00:00.026	00:01:33.493	00:00:00.007	00:01:34.987	00:00:02.420		
15 49 ▍Benjamin Talison                 	00:01:34.463	00:00:00.087	00:01:33.608	00:00:00.122	00:01:35.247	00:00:02.680		
16 27 ▍Gregori Krupin                   	00:01:34.400	00:00:00.025	00:01:35.175	00:00:01.689				
17 23 ▍Jelena Colac-Strek               	00:01:34.378	00:00:00.002	00:01:37.729	00:00:04.243				
18 65 ▍Hunter Digri                     	00:01:34.460	00:00:00.084	00:01:38.866	00:00:05.380				
19 56 ▍Terho Talvela                    	00:01:34.417	00:00:00.041	00:01:39.384	00:00:05.898				
20 22 ▍Jasmin Kranjska                  	00:01:34.643	00:00:00.267	00:01:43.803	00:00:10.317				
21 64 ▍Carsten O'Rourke                 	00:01:34.695	00:00:00.319						
22 63 ▍Dalia Dahl                       	00:01:34.701	00:00:00.325						
23 37 ▍Ryan Harris-Jones                	00:01:34.896	00:00:00.520						
24 51 ▍RL Cruisin                       	00:01:35.031	00:00:00.655						
25 71 ▍Rustom Ibuna                     	00:01:35.067	00:00:00.691						
26 42 ▍Alex Dimitrianov                 	00:01:35.267	00:00:00.891						
27  3 ▍Darius Castellammare             	00:01:35.695	00:00:01.319						
28 20 ▍Mick Schramm                     	00:01:35.831	00:00:01.455

[Sorlovia]

Gregori knew that his engagement might give Johan and the MRT executives reason to question him. For all they knew he might now be distracted by thoughts of wedding planning and his focus might be distracted by thoughts of his fiancé. But Gregori held himself to the highest standards of unfailing professionalism. His wedding would have to wait until after the season ended and Elena herself fully respected that his focus had to be on the WGPC in the meantime. He had obligations to MRT that he had to fulfil and he wasn’t about to let his focus drift. The wedding planning would come later. For now he would focus solely on the upcoming races and doing the best he possibly could for MRT.

He’d been quick to reassure Johan that he was fully committed to MRT. He had many months to plan his wedding after the end of the WGPC17 season. MRT would be his sole focus until then and not just because of his contract terms but because he was a man who liked to focus on the race. Gregori was a man of honour. He had given MRT his word that he would be focused on performing for them and he was not about to break his word. Gregori had a knack for compartmentalizing his life when he needed to. His engagement and all the excitement that came with it was filed into one box. The WGPC races and his obligations to MRT were filed into another box that was his main focus. Elena and their wedding planning was filed into yet another box.

He would of course make the most of his time with Elena. She was his wife-to-be and as such stood as one of the most important things in his life. But there were appropriate times to devote attention to the differing obligations in your life. During his downtime he devoted his full attention to Elena and their relationship. But when it was required of him he redirected his full focus to WGPC17 and his competing for MRT. Admittedly the latter took up the largest portion of his attention, focus and energy meaning that Elena had to take a backseat a lot of the time. But she’d known that would be the reality of dating and becoming engaged to a WGPC-ranked racer. He needed to remain focused on the races and doing the best he could.

Gregori knew that the race engineers at MRT HQ would be giving his car their full attention. It would be subjected to intense scrutiny and evaluation as it was put through its paces. He’d highlighted a few of the issues he’d encountered with the car in an email to the race engineers. His main chassis was a remarkable feat of race engineering. It was more than capable of meeting the rigours needs and demands of the WGPC. But it had been through several intense races that had put a great deal of strain on the chassis. As such, as could be expected, it had experienced wear and an impressive amount of heat out on the tracks. It wasn’t that he had been hard on the car. It was just the reality of the WGPC environment and the pressures of the race environment on raceday.

“Keep your head in the game Gregori,” he said softly to himself “things are only going to get more full on from here.”

He leaned back in the plush leather armchair placing his tablet on the arm of the chair. He’d spent the last three hours poring over the race analysis results from Somos and Rivoli. Those two had been his most challenging races and he owed it to himself to learn as much as he could from them. What had he done wrong? How could his handling have been better? Was there anything he could learn from those tracks that might help him in future races? Which sections of the tracks hadn’t he done well on? If he could just figure out which sections he wasn’t doing well on he could evaluate how he approached the unique environments and demands of those section types.
Prior to opening the older of race analysis readouts he’d been on a conference call with his pastor back in Sorlovia. Sergei Kletska was the Head Pastor of a large Pentecostal megachurch in Kamensk of which Gregori had been a member for several years. Gregori’s faith could perhaps label him as a target on the international stage and had the potential to subject him to persecution. But he refused to budge on the matter of his devoted Christian faith. It was the foundation of his life and he wasn’t about to change that. The WGPO didn’t care. A racer’s religion belief or sexual orientation were not to be talked about or considered in the WGPC. Only their skills as a racer and their race track record.

Pastor Sergei had prayed for him over the phone. That constant link to home and his church was one of Gregori’s greatest sources of support. It was what helped him get through the dark times and was what picked him up when he was down. In truth you couldn’t separate Christianity from Gregori. His faith was a central part of his identity. He shared it with others when they asked and politely kept it to himself when it wasn’t appropriate to talk about it. That didn’t mean that he wouldn’t seek to tell others or work in faith when he saw the opportunity. Only that he was a professional and didn’t seek to shove it down your throat the way some Christians did. He was an outspoken Christian but he was also respectful.

[Vilita and Turori]

Petrovi Keeping Pace with Bigger Suppliers

NEXPRO Gran Premio di Nekoni, Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli, Val del Rivoli, Nekoni :: Defending Constructors champion Mattijana Racing Team have only finished in the points during three of the seventeenth World Grand Prix Championship's opening six events but have made their finishes count posting their second win of the season through Sigur Bjarnason making MRT the second team to have both of their drivers visit victory lane during the season just one week after Tropicorp Racing Aelund secured the same accomplishment with iBen Toralmintii leading Round 1 victory Terho Talvela to the checkered flag.

With Bjarnason and Gregori Krupin the only two drivers in the field using Mattijana's Petrovi Tyres it seemed it would be an uphill battle for Petrovi to compete in the World Grand Prix Championship 17 Supplier Standings but with strong performances from the Mattijana Racing Team Petrovi are keeping pace in 4th position on 59 points just 8 behind Pire Eleven who are represented by Vannish Motors Racing and McPahan Motorworks and ahead of the joint Brutus Tyres entry represented by Brutus ObeySport and Nexus Racing.

WGPC17 Supplier Performance Standings
After 6 of 13 Events
[1] - 99 :: Tropicorp Racing Supply
[2] - 84 :: Solymok
[3] - 67 :: Pire Eleven
[4] - 59 :: Petrovi
[5] - 31 :: Brutus Tyres
[6] - 24 :: Stellenbosch
[7] - 15 :: Cypress
[8] - 14 :: Grafonil

Tropicorp Racing Supply maintain their position at the top of the table despite failing to place any of their cars on the podium at the Autodromo Internazionale del Rivoli. Tropicorp saw their lead cut sharply from 22 points down to just 15 leaving the Gran Premio di Nekoni with Solymok close behind on the heels of a big day for Mattijanan Motorsport with Alex Dimitrianov finishing as runner up in the Badai Angin #42. Dimitrianov will be looking to continue the good form as the series progresses on to Filindostan, home of Dimitrianov's constructor Badai Angin.

Another Filindo driver looking to impress the home fans will be Rustom Ibuna who has hit a patch of poor form after a strong start to the season. Ibuna was runner up to Terho Talvela in the season opening IZAYOI Grand Prix of Hodori then placed fourth in three of the next four events. After a 7th placed finish in Somos City and a finish outside the points in Nekoni however, the Filindostan based driver will be looking for the home crowd to propel them back to the top of the leader board earning points for themselves in the Drivers standings as well as being the point earner for Constructor and Supplier competitions.

While the World Grand Prix Championship's 17th season has yet to see a repeat winner through the first six events, some might point to Tropicorp Racing Aelund's Terho Talvela as the most likely driver to accomplish the feat. The Abovian, a former World Grand Prix champion from the competitions 14th season, currently sits atop the World Grand Prix drivers standings and despite failing to claim victory has posted the fastest lap of the race in three consecutive Grand Prix events.

While Talvela, Ibuna and Vijay Tripathi of Vannish Motors Raceway were all fast in the opening practice at the Yogyakulta International Circuit, it was Turorian iBen Toralmintii in the Tropicorp Racing Supply outfitted #77 Tropicorp Racing Aelund machine that set fast time in the Qualification session to take top spot on the grid. It is the first pole position of the season for Toralmintii who had previously posted second fastest time in qualifying on three occasions. Things were not quite so rosy for Terho Talvela and Rustom Ibuna with the points leader posting the second slowest time in Q2 to roll off the grid in 19th position while Rustom Ibuna struggled in front of the home fans with the #71 Eelandii VTGP sitting 25th on a grid of 28 cars. If Ibuna is to crack the podium in their home country it will certainly require a driver of the day performance and quite a lot of luck along the way.

[Aboveland]

Lap 43
Gran Premio di Nekoni

Terho's left eye twitches. He blinks hard, twice, the tears mixing with the sweat on his cheekbones to collect on the edges of his balaclava. Ahead, the flashy, harlequin MRT of Sigur Bjarnason, dancing around the harpin at turn 12 before the dash uphill to the pit straight. Unnamed growls at the machine ahead, inching ever closer at every braking, the luckless Savojar pulling away through the corners. TRÆ has opted to mimic Bjarnason's tyre strategy, and Terho's more durable rubber has enabled him to climb up the order to just behind the leader. With just under ten laps remaining in the race, and both drivers' tyres ripe for the attack, Terho's move has to arrive sooner than later.

Lap 44 begins, and Terho ducks into the MRT's slipstream into turn one. He's forced out wide to the right of the leader, braking a little later, and taking a more open line into turn one for a tighter exit to turn two. He fails at the switchback, shooting out of turn two with exceptional speed, but with the same gap he'd gone in with. Unnamed's active winglets glue the chassis to the floor around the mental crest of turn three, Terho's lightning reflexes saving the car from a tragic high speed spin, his stomach knocking up against his throat over the hill, before an easy braking into turn four. Out through turn five, both drivers enter the same flow, violently swerving their cars around the track almost in unison, with the same rally-inspired aggression that had brought them both up as racers.

Terho's superior rubber claws at the tarmac slightly harder than Sigur's, and over the kinks at six and seven, the Savojar lifts. Terho, caught off guard by his slower pace, swerves away from the apex of seven to avoid his rival, heading for turn eight side by side and on the inside. Every one of his muscles tenses as they approach the banked turn eight, the precariously looming rockface on its outside becoming bigger by the instant. With full commitment, Terho lunges outside as much as he can, without squeezing Sigur into the wall, and manhandles Unnamed into the apex.

His attack, however, is thwarted by a slick switchback from the Savojar, who brakes when the Abovian enters the corner and hugs the banked turn to launch himself out toward turn 11. Terho, having clattered his way out of the groove of turn eight, rushes desperately behind the MRT, his gap growing to half a second, and mindlessly divebombs into turn eleven. An unholy plume of smoke billows from both his front tyres, and only the MRT's evasive manouvers save the incident from escalating. The gap quickly grows to over a second, with Bjarnason powering down to turn 12, and both of Terho's from tyres hopelessly flatspotted. He grunts, frustrated but barely distracted, pressing on in pursuit of first place with a terrible rattle.

"Fuck," mutters Edvin from the pit box, before pressing the radio button. "Box, box, box, you'll rip the suspension off with that wobble."

"Shit, shit!" Terho yells. His over-ambition had bitten back, and if he'd been slightly more patient, perhaps he'd have pulled off the overtake.

After pitting for fresh tyres, of the softest Tropicorp had to offer, Terho's race becomes once again a case of damage limitation. With almost a minute lost to Bjarnason, he drops to within reach of Kardaeri; on the bright side, his tyres are the freshest among the top runners, and in the closing stages of the race he sets the fastest lap for the second consecutive race, finishing just four seconds behind third place. His radio celebrations are muted, mellow, but not dissatisfied. In the background, the team's claps sound content and accomplished. This time around, TRÆ has no fingers waving in the air, or arms stretched out to the sky, and that's okay. Once at the paddock, Terho rubs his eyes, stretches out, and heads as soon as he can to congratulate Sigur on his spectacular win, his heart filled with admiration, his head fixed on the next weekend.

---

Yogyakulta International Circuit
Qualifying

Exiting the Nordus 1 Bend, Unnamed's tyres screech, and the car bites the astroturf on the outside. Terho fights the steering wheel with a grunt to stabilize the car before the hairpin. Approaching the braking, still full throttle, the car begins to slow down on its own, and he takes the corner slower than usual. Into turn seven, the car doesn't slow down, and Terho locks up with an aggresive braking. The Tabuso curb, turn 90 deg, and turn 10 go as planned, yet at the kink at Nordus 2 the car almost unsticks from the tarmac, fishtailing wildly up through the sweeping bend to the unlucky turn. Terho swerves toward the outside, his temples pounding with frustration, and locks up again, the car pulling to the left as he turns right. Unnamed suddenly snaps back into action, complying with Terho's desperate inputs as he exits turn 14, but the car again unexpectedly flies off of the track, landing hard on the tarmac as he rounds turns 15 and 16, crawling to a near halt before accelerating up to the start-finish line. He moans in pain, trying to stretch out his back, his legs having been given a hefty pound. The front wing scrapes against the racetrack as his front right suspension collapses, and he pulls over to the side of the circuit past turn one. A few moments of silence ensue after he turns off the car, unstraps himself from his seat, and brings a hand to his back.

"What happened?" asks Edvin, nervously, through the radio.

Through moans, Terho replies almost out of breath. "The... agh... the active aero went haywire. Fucking piece of shiiiighght. The circuit's got to be fried... damn it."

"Are you okay?"

"I dropped down hard after turn fourteen, almost as if the winglets gave me lift."

Once Terho makes it back to the paddock, his car floundering sadly on the trailer truck approaching the garage, Aada communicates what happened.

"As you'd suspected," she says, thrusting a tablet into his face as he grimaces in pain and irritation, "the aero computer failed. Suddenly. We don't know why."

Terho groans, replying through clenched teeth. "Fixable, right?"

"Yeah," Aada replies oblivious to the driver's pain. "We've got an extra chip which we'll revert to the most rudimentary setting, like we did way back when, and then we'll replace the suspension. We do need to scan the floor and gearbox though to check nothing else took a hit."

Terho gives her a thumbs up, much more relieved than he musters with his face. She nods back, smiling, and heads away to meet with the mechanics as Edvin approaches with a medic.

"Feeling okay?" asks Edvin, much more mindfully.

"Sort of," Terho says, feebly. "The landing was really hard."

"I'll check you out," the medic says, adding, "you'll surely be out on the track tomorrow, don't worry."

Terho, to the best of his ability, walks away from the garage with the doctor, short and stubby, towards the medical room, the sounds of the screaming WGPC engines reverberating across Yogyakulta. The Abovian lowers his head as he follows the medic around the paddock, lamenting his lowly 20th in qualifying, damning the aero circuit, holding his back with one hand and clenching his fist in the other. Of all the moments to get injured in his career, this one was the worst.

Sunday's mission would have to be damage limitation once again.

[Mattijana]

MRT Head Office, Petrovijanka

Lena Kampl's work days were a bit of a mixed bag. Sometimes they were exciting, sometimes they were frustrating, sometimes they were hectic and sometimes they were just downright tedious.

She was the head of media and marketing at MRT, a job that meant she spent most of her time giving people permission to use photos her department had the rights to and quality-controlling badly photoshopped images of Gregori Krupin's teeth. On a particularly annoying week following the JNI Grand Prix, some obscure Iranain newspaper had asked for 10 pictures of the MRT's retirements in 10 separate, migraine-inducing emails. Sometimes however, something different happened and that was when things got interesting.

It was another fairly mundane afternoon in Petrovijanka when one of her junior communications staff approached her desk brandishing a piece of paper. This normally came with something along the lines of 'I don't know what this means, so I'm going to ask you' - a bit of an irritation on her busy days, but as things had been quiet, she was happy to help.

"I've just had this through from a Vilitan company called 'Toys for all'. It seems like an interesting opportunity, so I thought I'd hand it up to you to look over."

Lena wasn't convinced about the company's name, even less so when she saw that the word for had been replaced by a number 4, but read on regardless.

"Having recently released our replica TRAE die-cast models, we are looking to expand our product line by signing agreements with other World Grand Prix Championship teams to produce die-cast replicas of their team cars."

*Flattering corporate gobbledygook*

Lena skimmed through the back end of the email, put it down on her desk and had a quick think. Moving beyond the questionable company name, the offer actually sounded quite cool and the thought of having a little replica MRT sitting on her desk gave her a little shiver of pleasure. Johan Struna would totally go for that as well.

The company seemed to be offering decent cash as well. For a team that was still predominantly state-sponsored and ran a fairly tight ship financially, that was important.

"I actually like that" she finally replied to the young staff member who had been awkwardly waiting in front of her desk for the last couple of minutes. "Send them a reply to say that we're interested in taking up their offer and would like to see further details of any agreement they wish to send."

Lena shook her head. No-one spoke like that in real life. She clearly needed to spend less time answering emails and more time getting outside.

[Filindostan]

Yogyakulta International Circuit
Yogyakulta, Filindostan

It was a weekend of festivities on the track in Yogyakulta. After the practice sessions, in which Filindostani drivers and teams were expected to shine, the qualifying sessions for the final round of the WGP3: Filindostan season was in full swing. It was a one-shot qualifying session, meaning that any mistakes should be minimized by the drivers. This was also the expected format for the WGPC qualifying, however, it was changed to an elimination format, so as to bring more excitement to the session and put less stress to the drivers - though they must have multiple sets of tyres to use.

After qualifying, some of the WGPC personalities were on the pit garages of the different teams. some took the time to rest in their motorhomes, while the Badai Angin drivers, along with Rudolf, took a visit to the junior and development teams' pit garages to meet the drivers and give them encouragement to catch the two men leading the championship - Barnabas Mate and Rod Gozum. Meanwhile, the Filindostani drivers had their own businesses done - Rusty decided to go to the VIP area to meet with the members of the media and sign autographs, while Tyra was on the DMR garage, cheering on her boyfriend, who is leading the championship.

There were so much at stake - cash prize, and a possible seat at either the WGP2 team, the Formula Hodori team, or another team, which they will be announcing soon. In the qualifying session that ensued, light showers made the track slippery, and those who took the track first, were impacted negatively, such as Eiji Ibi, and Natasha Massepe. Meanwhile, Rod Gozum, Barnabas Mate, and Chiemi Hino, placed 4th to 6th place, meaning they kept each other on check for the race tomorrow.

Second day of the WGPC festivities were not much better for Rusty and Badai Angin. It would seem that Rusty's favorite number this season is 25, having started from that position the most - not a good sign given that he was beaten by his teammate Jai Kardaeri in qualifying once again, and in his home race. It wasn't a good day either for the Badai Angin Blue, with Alex starting alongside the Filindostani driver in 26th. Carsten almost made it out of Q1, just .024 seconds between him and Evdaden Carnetier who sneaked in to Q2. Rudolf will have much to do and hope for some luck if they want to avoid disappointing the fans.

Tyra meanwhile has been a revelation in the Esportivan races. Her 3rd place finish at Nekoni means that she has her first WGPC podium and have a big momentum coming into the home race, which she did so. Getting comfortably to Q4, she was the only bright spot for Filindo racing as she had the fourth fastest time and will line up along Nekonian Erica Okumura. Tyra struggled to cope up with WGPC standards in her first five races, only mustering four points, but her podium in race 6 and a potential podium challenge again in front of her home fans, may have her season up and running. She had Solymok to thank for, that's why after qualifying, she went to the company-backed DMR team to support Barnabas gunning for the national championship. With the double point scoring in effect in the final round of the season, she advised her guy to run a calculated and conservative strategy.

However, it was not enough. Barnabas only finished 6th while IGR driver Chiemi Hino, her former teammate at WGP2 last season, won the final round, taking 50 points with her overtaking him in the standings. But it was Rod Gozum, who finished on the podium, 10 seconds ahead of another IGR driver, Alvis Kalvin Lacsamana, who took the driver's championship. It was a sad closing lap for Barnabas, who virtually led most of the season, but barren spells at Wiesenblume and San Marco condemned him to losing his lead in the championship.

"Sorry 'Bas'". Tyra was the first one to approach the Gergarian and gave him a warm embrace once they were away from the media cameras. Tears flowed down from Barnabas eyes' and he let his emotions out for some minutes, before wishing Tyra well for her race tomorrow.

[Vangaziland]

It was the Thursday before race week in Filindostan. Things were winding down towards the end of the season. Vannish Motors was posturing to make a late season run. The poor start drivers and team managers alike predicted led to Vannish Motors Racing’s tying for third in the Constructors’ battle. The team had chances, but didn’t always convert them.

This brought the watchful eye of staff like Simon Marton. Something just didn’t feel right with the cars. “They’re not handling the best”, Jessica had told Simon after the Mytanyar Grand Prix of Week 6. Jessica flubbed a pole position start on lap 1. Vijay Tripathi also failed to complete the race, dropping out on lap 19. Something about the Vannish cars wasn’t adding up. Neither driver wanted to blame the car, but something didn’t feel right.

Weeks later, one person thinks he’s figured out the cause.

Simon Marton burst into local rented office space to see manager Edgar Halvorsen. Ed was first brought to the public eye after clashing with Jessica Franssen in the WGP2. Jess controlled the races as Principal. Halvorsen represented corporate interests and higher management.

“Ed. Are you serious right now?” Simon was incensed. He slammed a Manila folder on the desk. “Open up and read this.”

Halvorsen looked nervous. Nobody had ever spoken to him the way this Esportivan was. Edgar was also the Chief Product Officer for Vannish Motors’ sports car division. He was more of a businessman than any sort of motorsport authority.

“Pire Eleven?”

“Look at the test results”, Marton responded. “So tell me. Why would it be a good idea for Vannish Motors to use tires from McPahan’s supplier?”

“They were cheap”, Halvorsen said in a tone which sounded so guiltily ignorant. “McPahan is a good team.”

“Edgar! They’re not competitive at all. They’re a long running team. You’re telling me that you think VMR should align with that brand, it’s image and the equipment they use?”

“What’s the big deal?” Ed was defensive, but he knew he made a decision which made sense on zero levels for the company. Now he was just trying not to get kicked out of the motorsport wing.

“Edgar... You’re telling me that you couldn’t find any Vannish brands, or even an Esportivan company to work with? One a competitive team works with?”

“Are there any other strong Esportivan teams?”

After the last statement, Simon knew Mr. Halvorsen knew nothing about the WGPC or probably even Esportiva. He was just some Vangazi from the Mainland who grew up in a gilded tower.

“Freaking MRT dude! You think Vannish Motors is not going to align with MRT? You know... The team our star driver got her start with? It would have taken one call to find a Vannish company, by the way. If you want to pull this cross company BS, go with Petrovi!”

“S-s-Simon. I’m sorry.”

“Ed.” Every time he said the other man’s name, it was so that he could release a little anger and take a break before actually speaking. Simon spoke through clenched teeth. “Get on the phone right now and switch to whatever the hell brand MRT is using.” Edgar didn’t seem to move fast enough. “Right now.”

“But I think you just don’t have enough faith in..”

Marton cut him off. “What are you trying to pull? Is there a reason you want us aligned with McPahan? Some kind of contest or something? What’s at stake?”

Edgar tried to reassure the fiery Esportivan. “Listen. I know you’re worked up. It’s just a mistake. I... I guess I needed to do more research. Let me make this up to you Simon.”

The new tone seemed to reassure the Esportivan. “Okay”, Simon replied. “I’m going to look over every part. They better be from Vannish Motors, Tibet Motors Works or a trusted Esportivan source. Don’t just write random teams into association with us again. Not this season, next season, NSSCRA or even dirt cart racing.”

“You’ve got it, chief.”

Marton stared him down one last time before turning to exit. Immediately, Edgar jumped to his laptop and deleted the foreign emails talking him into accepting the Pire Eleven deal. The origin was in Atlantian Oceania. A bead of sweat formed on the corner of Edgar Halvorsen’s forehead.

A pair of ruby cuff links, coincidentally as old as the Pire Eleven deal, scratched his forehead as he wiped nervously.

---

Vannish Motors had changed to Petrovi tires by practice at Yogyakulta. The team was excited about the change. The company was likely to try to push for the most money from the deal. VMR had too many talking points to be ripped off. News articles would be forced from portraying Petrovi as an outside supplier, into the Esportivan tire company of choice. Now the tires could be on last season’s Constructor and Driver champions. It’s a major deal for the company.

Edgar also reminded Petrovi execs that it would be way too easy to find a Vannish supplier. It would be best for the two companies to collaborate.

The topic came up during a post qualifying interview. “We’ve had issue with tire wear all season”, Jessica said. “I don’t think changing the tires will make a huge difference. It’s still something to watch.”

Jess was asked why the company made the change if there won’t be much of a change. They wanted her to be more firm about the reason for the change. “I think Vannish Motors wanted to align with a brand that shares a similar vision.”

She continued on the topic of Pire Eleven and its associated teams. “McPahan does great things for the sport. They give new drivers a chance to make their mark. That’s very important. Vannish Motors Racing and the Mattijana Racing Team are two squads that push their cars to the brink. We want every name on our chassis to align with that. Down to the tire sidewalls.”

The vehicles seemed to be consistent brought practice and qualifying. Vijay Tripathi ran fastest in practice. While the early weekend session has little value or standing, it can hint as to a car’s pace at the course. This looks good when paired with a solid starting spot. The hope is that the cars will be able to find the fast pace of practice for at least part of the race.

Jessica ran 7th in practice and qualified 6th. These times show decent pace and a position capable of securing points. The issue is that certain cars ran faster throughout multiple qualifying stages.

Ryker Lane looked especially fast here. He out ran Jessica time and time again. Other cars bested Lane with one or two sessions boosting their overall score. The Nexus machine seemed capable of doing big things.

This was something Jessica and the VMR staff noticed. If they could, they’d try to keep with Lane’s early pace. Jess constantly looks for drivers that can push her. She’ll try to move up the pack with Vijay as well. If the Sherpa driver can get ahead, Jess will be glad to ride his coattails towards a top 5 or podium finish.

The problem is that nothing is guaranteed. All Jess and Vijay can do is drive. The clock is winding down. If Jess wants a shot at more silverware, she has to knuckle down.

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Nexus Racing HQ, Nimbus Bay, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
16th of May

Hmm. Intriguing!

Having scrolled to the end of the nicely-distracting article, Timothy Guard drums his fingers across his keyboard. If they are indeed looking to sign more deals… Those models seemed of good quality, too. Improved brand awareness and bolstering our income at once… Mmm.

Just need to do due diligence.

Nexus Racing Internal App: Talk⯆

Current Talks: 1

Participants:
* Project Manager Timothy Guard
Head of Communications and Public Relations Karl Rain
Head of Legal Engagement Auburn Steel
+

Project Manager Timothy Guard at 14:32 today
- Invited Karl Rain to talk.
- Invited Auburn Steel to talk.
Salutations! Found this a few minutes ago. Given that testing is coming up, would the two of you be willing to investigate Toys ‘4’ All’s business practices? Goes without saying that we shouldn’t be involved in anything illicit, ethically or legally.

at 14:32 today Head of Legal Engagement Auburn Steel
Will we have autonomy on this matter?

Project Manager Timothy Guard at 14:33 today
You will. I trust your perception and thoughtfulness on this.

at 14:36 today Head of Communications and Public Relations Karl Rain
From what I have been hearing of the car’s performance over the past two days, I doubt that my contributions will be needed extensively over the next week. This would likely be a better use of time, I agree.

at 14:36 today Head of Legal Engagement Auburn Steel
It’s decided, then?

Project Manager Timothy Guard at 14:38 today
It is. Karl, see if you can establish a factory tour and meeting with Toys ‘4’ All, ideally soon – if nothing proves unsatisfactory, a deal before the Grand Prix here would be preferable. Auburn, dig up everything you can find about this company; see what there is that we’ll need to challenge them over, if anything. Cap’s swiftness, you two!

at 14:39 today Head of Legal Engagement Auburn Steel
Thank you, Timothy! I’ll get to work now.

at 14:42 today Head of Communications and Public Relations Karl Rain
We will see it done.

Closing the window, Timothy nods to himself, a small smile on his face. Good.

“Besides,” he murmurs, “you’re right, Karl. I highly doubt we’ll need the improved PR.”

Meanwhile

“Alright – not much time left before we’ve got to get everything through the portal, so let’s get this installed and see how it runs!” Gertrude waves the trolley forward with a grin, through the bustle of the Nexus Racing workshop. It thrums with life and purpose – renewed life and purpose, not just the normal life and purpose that typically suffuses Nexus Racing’s garage but a life and purpose so lively and purposeful that it infects everyone within, driving them, giving them energy, giving them hope!

That might be partly due to the fact that they have more new upgrades ready in this moment than in perhaps any in Nexus Racing’s past.

First came the new photovoltaic paint, incorporating perovskite, its range expanded to harvest bluer and even some ultraviolet radiation as well as red-leaning and infrared light, doubling its contribution to the UHSGV-3’s pool of electrical energy. Then there was the news from the Satellite Manufactory that they’d finished work on improved nanocapacitors to hold that energy at just over half the weight of the previous design. That was immediately followed by Vance’s newest addition: a total restructuring of the front fairings, with gaps designed to funnel air towards the brake ducts, augmenting the cooling effect of the gaps in the wheel covers.

And now this.

Benedi and Xander each take up a module – they are light, after all, being largely of a carbon fibre composite of Vertilan’s specification – and lower them gently into either side of the number 41 Chase Cutter’s disassembled rear section. Each is secured with a soft click. Gertrude turns to the wall and its bank of monitors. “Lucia?

With a nod, Nexus Racing’s Deputy Head Designer turns to her console, running, tapping and swiping her fingers across the panels. The car remains still.

Then, from the modules, there comes a whirring.

Auxiliary and Underwing Pressure Reduction and System. More suction from the rear of the car, air accelerated underneath the rear wing and, because these fans are axial, it’s not going to do any favours for the airflow behind us. Nice.

Gertrude folds her arms. Pretty good, in all.

Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat
18th of May; Qualifying 4

A flow courses within Ryker Lane. Coalescence thrums beneath him, the blue light of Imagination radiating out in its bright glory. He draws the wheel around the Turn 90 Deg; the speed is slow but he doesn’t mind now. He is too calm, too focussed for that. All is rhythm – the straights and corners of the circuit, then back to the garage, then back out again, then in, out, in and, for the final time today, out. Information flashes before his eyes; he processes it on the level of instinct, assimilating it as naturally as air or water.

Thus he thinks and feels.

Thus he acts.

Into Turn 10 he goes, tight but long and smooth; Coalescence floats across the track’s width, swaying right, then left again away from the corner, then right, then left into 1+1. Cleared, Imagination’s power is brought to bear; the dynamic Imagination convertor draws Coalescence through the long bend. Ryker pictures Nordus 2 perfectly, so deceptive but so right when mastered, and so he swings into a late apex, then out again to the track’s middle before inclining left again to caress the angle as he passes. The incandescent comet flies, climbing now, the circuit’s long corner more and more gentle and Coalescence faster and faster with it.

Unlucky Turn approaches – and Ryker hardly slows. Instead, as the track bends upwards and rightwards, he draws on his Cityprix days. Coalescence glides, tyres finding purchase on the inclining tarmac even as they drift outwards, and as momentum drives it into the ground it slows. When the summit at Turn 14 comes, the subsequent loss of grip is already accounted for and Ryker is already pushing on under Imagikinetic and Imagielectric force. Through the Nimban driver goes, though the downhill Turn 15 before the normalisation at 16 again aids his grip, and then there is the final corner, so much like Crossbay’s first.

And the line approaches.

“That would be enough for fourth – ah, fifth,” Martin amends as Okumura crosses the line. His tone, Ryker’s mind registers somewhere, is warm. “Wonderful work, Ryker.”

Absently, he smiles.

Nimbus Bay, the Nexus Wardship of Former Citizens of the Nimbus System
19th of May

Ryker Lane stands.

He spins the pole before him now. It is a slow spin – and then it is not, for it grows, faster and faster, first by Ryker’s hand and then by a blaze of shining blue. He releases it and Imagination spurs each end against the other, furious. They burst into flame then, acrid smoke rising to the air, and the scene is one of conflagration and power.

Before him, a banner. White light suffuses air entrapped within polished concrete, steel and glass. Ryker stands, unhelmeted, clothed in a t-shirt and jeans. Beside him is a woman, perhaps in her early thirties, vivacious, a spark in her eyes and a proud smile on her face. Standing back from both, watching on from a distance, an older man, calm, imperious in his bearing but no less proud, even if his smile shows it less. His eyes look outwards, acknowledging.

And before all of them? A car of gleaming argent and cerulean, forged by the brightest minds of two universes.

Ryker exhales. He raises his hand to his chest, answering their smiles with his own. Then he turns and strides away.

The pole whirls for a few moments more. Then it slows. Then it stops altogether, its glow fading as the Imagination runs dry and, still aflame, clatters to the rocky ground.

[WGPC]

CUTOFF

for the Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat at Yogyakulta International Circuit

[WGPC]

Week 11: Race

Conditions:      	Dry	
Laps:              	51	
Nation:         	FID	
Circuit:        	Yogyakulta International Circuit	
Event:	Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat	
Safety Car Deployed on Laps:		
Cars on Grid:	28

Fastest Lap Bonus Point: 7 TRI	96.208

Start          After 12 Laps               After 25 Laps               After 38 Laps			
 1 ▍TII	 1 ▍TII +0       	 1 ▍TII +0       	 1 ▍LAN +0
 2 ▍JMD	 2 ▍FRS +30.32   	 2 ▍JMD +33.054  	 2 ▍TAL +2.762
 3 ▍OKU	 3 ▍TRI +35.653  	 3 ▍SZR +40.88   	 3 ▍JMD +11.326
 4 ▍TBS	 4 ▍JMD +39.159  	 4 ▍TRI +42.031  	 4 ▍SZR +16.009
 5 ▍LAN	 5 ▍TBS +40.483  	 5 ▍BJA +48.629  	 5 ▍TRI +24.162
 6 ▍FRS	 6 ▍NVX +50.462  	 6 ▍TAL +48.981  	 6 ▍TII +25.16
 7 ▍CAR	 7 ▍LAN +50.877  	 7 ▍LAN +49.226  	 7 ▍BJA +26.092
 8 ▍TRI	 8 ▍SZR +53.208  	 8 ▍TLS +53.772  	 8 ▍KRA +31.185
 9 ▍SZR	 9 ▍OKU +59.735  	 9 ▍KRA +55.612  	 9 ▍OKU +59.062
10 ▍NVX	10 ▍BJA +67.71   	10 ▍NVX +70.865  	10 ▍TLS +63.067
11 ▍BLK	11 ▍BLK +71.388  	11 ▍OKU +71.295  	11 ▍BLK +69.02
12 ▍KRD	12 ▍KRD +78.795  	12 ▍CRU +82.566  	12 ▍NVX +84.401
13 ▍BJA	13 ▍TAL +80.897  	13 ▍TBS +83.006  	13 ▍CRU +86.125
14 ▍GUI	14 ▍TLS +83.255  	14 ▍FRS +84.085  	14 ▍KRU +87.426
15 ▍TLS	15 ▍KRU +89.334  	15 ▍KRD +Laps: 1 	15 ▍TBS +Laps: 1
16 ▍KRU	16 ▍DHL +Laps: 1 	16 ▍BLK +Laps: 1 	16 ▍FRS +Laps: 1
17 ▍JCS	17 ▍GUI +Laps: 1 	17 ▍DHL +Laps: 1 	17 ▍JCS +Laps: 1
18 ▍DGR	18 ▍CRU +Laps: 1 	18 ▍KRU +Laps: 1 	18 ▍KRD +Laps: 1
19 ▍TAL	19 ▍DGR +Laps: 1 	19 ▍JCS +Laps: 1 	19 ▍DHL +Laps: 1
20 ▍KRA	20 ▍JCS +Laps: 1 	20 ▍DGR +Laps: 1 	20 ▍CAS +Laps: 1
21 ▍ORK	21 ▍KRA +Laps: 1 	21 ▍CAS +Laps: 1 	21 ▍IBU +Laps: 1
22 ▍DHL	22 ▍IBU +Laps: 1 	22 ▍IBU +Laps: 1 	22 ▍ORK +Laps: 1
23 ▍RHJ	23 ▍ORK +Laps: 1 	23 ▍ORK +Laps: 1 	23 ▍RHJ +Laps: 1
24 ▍CRU	24 ▍CAS +Laps: 1 	24 ▍RHJ +Laps: 1 	24 ▍DGR +Laps: 1
25 ▍IBU	25 ▍SCH +Laps: 1 	25 ▍GUI +Laps: 1 	25 ▍SCH +Laps: 1
26 ▍DIM	26 ▍RHJ +Laps: 1 	26 ▍SCH +Laps: 2 	26 ▍GUI +Laps: 2
27 ▍CAS	                                        	                                        	
28 ▍SCH

POS DRV Name                     Team	Time	Pts
  1 56 TAL Terho Talvela            ▍TRÆ        	01:29:02.254	25
  2 22 KRA Jasmin Kranjska          ▍SinVal        	00:00:13.519	18
  3 52 SZR Sayono Souzare           ▍Polaris        	00:00:14.823	14
  4 77 TII iBen Toralmintii         ▍TRÆ        	00:00:16.356	10
  5  7 TRI Vijay Tripathi           ▍VMR        	00:00:16.844	8
  6 14 BJA Sigur Bjarnason          ▍MRT        	00:00:21.564	6
  7 41 JMD Jean Mercer-Daly         ▍Nexus Racing	00:00:31.285	4
  8 27 KRU Gregori Krupin           ▍MRT        	00:00:58.984	3
  9 33 KRD Jai Kardaeri             ▍Eelandii VTGP	00:01:03.371	2
 10 48 TBS Tyra Tabuso              ▍Fireline        	00:01:07.335	1
 11 15 NVX Tabita Novax             ▍Camden        	00:01:09.548	
 12 47 OKU Erica Okumura            ▍Polaris        	00:01:15.006	
 13 18 BLK Taylor Blake             ▍Obey        	00:01:17.789	
 14 51 CRU RL Cruisin               ▍Mirrors        	00:01:24.745	
 15  1 FRS Jessica Franssen         ▍VMR        	00:01:26.917	
 16 23 JCS Jelena Colac-Strek       ▍McPahan        	00:01:31.157	
 17 63 DHL Dalia Dahl               ▍SinVal        	00:01:43.240	
 18 49 TLS Benjamin Talison         ▍Fireline        	Laps Down: 1	
 19 71 IBU Rustom Ibuna             ▍Eelandii VTGP	Laps Down: 1	
 20  3 CAS Darius Castellammare     ▍Camden        	Laps Down: 1	
 21 20 SCH Mick Schramm             ▍Omni        	Laps Down: 1	
 22 64 ORK Carsten O'Rourke         ▍Badai Angin	Laps Down: 1	
 23 37 RHJ Ryan Harris-Jones        ▍Omni        	Laps Down: 1	
 24 65 DGR Hunter Digri             ▍McPahan        	Laps Down: 1	
 25 29 GUI Esteban Guilhermez       ▍Mirrors        	Laps Down: 2	
 26 94 LAN Ryker Lane               ▍Nexus Racing	Ret. lap 49	
DNF 42 DIM Alex Dimitrianov         ▍Badai Angin	Ret. lap 10	
DNF 17 CAR Evdaden Carnétier        ▍Obey        	Ret. lap 6

Pos # DRV Name                      Team                     Pts
 1 56 TAL Terho Talvela             TRÆ                      94
 2 42 DIM Alex Dimitrianov          Badai Angin              54
 3 77 TII iBen Toralmintii          TRÆ                      39
 4 27 KRU Gregori Krupin            MRT                      37
 4  1 FRS Jessica Franssen          VMR                      37
 6 14 BJA Sigur Bjarnason           MRT                      33
 6  7 TRI Vijay Tripathi            VMR                      33
 6 41 JMD Jean Mercer-Daly          Nexus Racing             33
 9 71 IBU Rustom Ibuna              Eelandii VTGP            32
 9 22 KRA Jasmin Kranjska           SinVal                   32
11 64 ORK Carsten O'Rourke          Badai Angin              27
11 23 JCS Jelena Colac-Strek        McPahan                  27
13 49 TLS Benjamin Talison          Fireline                 26
14 15 NVX Tabita Novax              Camden                   24
15 37 RHJ Ryan Harris-Jones         Omni                     19
15 48 TBS Tyra Tabuso               Fireline                 19
17 65 DGR Hunter Digri              McPahan                  18
18 52 SZR Sayono Souzare            Polaris                  17
19 47 OKU Erica Okumura             Polaris                  12
20 51 CRU RL Cruisin                Mirrors                  11
21 33 KRD Jai Kardaeri              Eelandii VTGP            10
22 94 LAN Ryker Lane                Nexus Racing             8
23 20 SCH Mick Schramm              Omni                     1
23 17 CAR Evdaden Carnétier         Obey                     1
25  3 CAS Darius Castellammare      Camden                   0
25 18 BLK Taylor Blake              Obey                     0
25 63 DHL Dalia Dahl                SinVal                   0
25 29 GUI Esteban Guilhermez        Mirrors                  0

Pos NAT Team                       Pts
  1 ABL ▍TRÆ                       133
  2 FID ▍Badai Angin               81
  3 MTJ ▍MRT                       70
  4 VNG ▍VMR                       70
  5 ETH ▍Fireline                  45
  6 AUD ▍McPahan                   45
  7 VLT ▍Eelandii VTGP             42
  8 NIM ▍Nexus Racing              41
  9 EFL ▍SinVal                    32
 10 NEK ▍Polaris                   29
 11 LIS ▍Camden                    24
 12 WET ▍Omni                      20
 13 STB ▍Mirrors                   11
 14 ESM ▍Obey                      1

[Hapilopper]

STEVENSON ENCOURAGED BY MEETING WITH DEFENDING WORLD CHAMP
By Doug Goodman
Hapilopper Television Network

HAPILOPPER CITY - Several days after returning from Nekoni, Drake Stevenson, who is attempting the switch from stock car racing to open-wheel racing, referred to that trip as a "smashing success" but also explained why he didn't go to Filindostan.

Considering he didn't leave with any solid plans, one would have to wonder why he enthusiastically told everyone that would listen that his trip was as successful as he said it was. About fifteen seconds into the conversation, it was more than obvious why the trip he was so enthusiastic, almost giddy, about what he had experienced.

"You know Jessica Franssen, the defending World Grand Prix Champion?" Stevenson told a group of reporters at the Hapilopper City International Airport. "As I walked into the paddock, she was the first one to greet me, and it sounded like she was interested in what I was doing. Hell, she even said I had a lot of potential. For that, I feel that trip was a smashing success. I think she liked what she saw in the videos I brought along, as well."

What Drake left out, possibly, because he didn't know, was that Franssen told a Vannish reporter just prior to the Gran Premio di Nekoni that she felt Stevenson could "make a lot of noise" if he got in the right car.

"What a driver," Franssen was quoted as saying.

When Stevenson was asked to comment on Franssen's comments, his eyes got wide, a huge smile appeared on his face and he looked around, almost to wonder if he was really hearing what he was hearing.

"The defending World Champion said that about me?" Stevenson said, almost in disbelief. "Wow! I hope I can live up to those words, because coming from her, that means a hell of a lot. I mean, it's one thing to compete at the top level here in Hapilopper, but if that level of competition can get me up to the front of the field in the World Grand Prix Championship, I can't even begin to imagine."

Stevenson stopped for a bit, his voice cracking with emotion. It was obvious Franssen's comments meant everything to him.

"I quit stock car racing last year because I wanted to do something different," he said slowly. "This week, I'm going to be driving a Championship Car to get me better accustomed to open wheel cars, because I can't go about this halfway. I don't think there's a bigger motivator I've ever heard for this than those comments."

STEVENSON TO ATTEND MID-SEASON TEST, ALTHOUGH STILL FISHING FOR A RIDE

Stevenson stayed in Hapilopper this week, not making the trip to Filindostan for the Grand Prix. He did, however, talk about his experiences at length during HTN's coverage of the Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat, and said that he would travel to Dritten Asopie for a mid-season test scheduled next week.

The Championship Car test was the primary reason for Drake's absence from Filindostan. Stevenson spent most of his weekend on the West Riverfront circuit, a 4.43-mile roller coaster of a circuit known for its five story drop on the one-mile backstraight. According to observers, Stevenson's lap times, by the end of the weekend, would have put him 4th on the grid for the West Riverfront Grand Prix last year.

"The fact is, while I haven't been really contacted, it's important to me that I head over," Stevenson said with a tone of determination not heard since just before he clinched the Challenge Cup last year. "I'll be bringing my helmet and suit with me, so just in case someone comes over and asks me if I want to run a few laps, I'll be more than happy to oblige for them. This could be an opportunity to really show someone that I can do this, and I don't want to let it pass up."

As for his famous legal pad, which he's known for wearing out before races?

"Well of course I'm bringing it!" Drake told commentator Sterling Milton, who playfully brought up the idea. "That damn legal pad is part of the reason I run up front. When I started bringing that pad with me, nobody was doing it. Nowadays, everyone in HASCAR is doing it and I'd encourage any young driver to do the same. I want to make sure I know exactly what to expect when I go to the Facsgend circuit."

"I was hoping you'd say that," Milton said. "We want to see you up there."

Stevenson indicated he had not been contacted by anyone, and his appearance would, admittedly, be the equivalent of him "cold-calling" race teams, a practice he became known for when he was signed by Team Blue for his rookie year 12 years ago, and a practice he was asked to not repeat again.

"He just waltzed in on a test we were doing. I thought it was incredibly rude, but then we realized he had no way of knowing beforehand. He lived two miles from the track we were testing at. Drake had run well at the local track, and he just happened to hear us test, so he came over. On a whim, we asked him if he'd like to run some laps, and wouldn't you know, he was just as fast as Chet (Byrd) was."

- John Malloy, former Team Blue crew chief

"That prick upstaged all of us, but he was fast."

- Chet Byrd, Team Blue driver, 1993-present

"After we signed him, we nicely told him to never barge in on other teams' private tests again."

- Malloy

Stevenson ran several late-season races soon after that test on his way to a successful Rookie of the Year campaign the next year. Some suggest this mirrors the way he got into the Challenge Cup 12 years ago, but Stevenson is reminding his fans to please, for heaven's sakes, be realistic.

"I'm going to Dritten Asopie with some of my sponsor's reps and no real idea if I'll even have a seat," Stevenson said. "I may just go there and watch the test from the grandstands, or, hell, I might even get ushered out of there and asked to never come back. At the very least, if that happens, we'll just go and enjoy some of the finest culinary options there, or hell, I bet they make some good beer there. What's the worst that could happen, you know?"

The Hapilopper Television Network will be on hand for the mid-season test and will closely follow Stevenson's hopeful path to a seat. Will he get in a car? Will he be escorted out? Will he pitch a car into the scenery just past the 18th turn? Or will we just come back with hours of videos of him at a bar, throwing back some of Dritten Asopie's best alcoholic beverages? Stay tuned and find out.

[Mattijana]

MRT HQ, Kopylov InternazionRing

It was a typical spring day in the centre-north of Mattijana. One minute you could look out of the ceiling-to-floor window that overlooked the main straight and see the stunning Rekvadas hills bathed in bright sunshine. The next, you could take a glance outside and see nothing but murky clouds depositing a fairly hefty amount of water into the track's drainage system. There was a reason the circuit managers generally wanted the race to be staged in the Mattijanan summer. If it was held in spring, there would be guaranteed chaos rather than the slight risk of it there was normally.

The patter of raindrops on the balcony outside was broken suddenly by hurried footsteps and a rustle of paper from the direction of Maria Jamasova's desk.

"I've got big news" said the MRT deputy team principal approaching the desk of her superior Johan Struna.

"Don't leave me in suspense" replied Struna with a smile. "Enlighten me..."

Maria said nothing. Instead she held up the back page of a newspaper she had been brandishing. The headline read 'VMR Ditch Pire for Petrovi in Historic Tyre Deal.'

"Wow..."

Of all the surprises Johan had expected the WGPC to throw up, this wasn't one of them. He hadn't expected VMR to sign with Pire in the first place and they hadn't been performing great relative to the other manufacturers, so the fact they would make a switch didn't shock him. The fact that VMR would choose to snub the manufacturers from their country in favour of the main supplier from one of their biggest rivals was more of a surprise.

On second thoughts though, the move made sense. VMR were also heavily loyal to Esportiva and with no Vannish tyre company having experience at WGPC-level, Petrovi would be the next-best option for them. The switch also came off the back of a report out of Vilita and Turori that suggested Petrovi were punching above their weight with their performance on the two MRT cars.

Johan was simultaneously worried and happy about it. VMR moving to a more competitive supplier meant they would probably go faster - something that never boded well for MRT's title challenge. Yet doubling the number of cars that Petrovi supplied boosted their income and research possibilities, something that would hopefully help them make better tyres. Whilst VMR would also improve, MRT would still make ground relative to the rest of the grid.

At the moment, with TRAE running off into the distance, that was exactly what was needed.

Johan sighed. "If only we could make better engines..."

[Recuecn]

After the unmitigated disaster that Joushiki Nante Iranai had been for him, Abdoulaye wasn't sure where to turn next. He found some coins that had been forgotten in a vending machine and managed to find a payphone. He dialed his brother's number.

"Hello?"

"Malick, it's Abdoulaye. Nothing worked out for me here, they didn't let me into the hot lap or anything. I don't know what to do next."

Issa sounded groggy and confused. "Abdoulaye, it's like three a.m. here. What the hell. What's going on."

Well shit. Abdoulaye had totally forgotten about the time difference. "I'm so sorry, I forgot about that. I just thought it was kind of urgent. I feel like I'm in trouble and I don't know what to do."

"Are you hurt?" Malick's sounded tense, concerned.

"No, no, I'm fine. I'm just stranded here, I don't have a ticket, I don't know how to get home..."

"Don't stress about it, that won't help. Look, I'm going back to sleep, but in the morning, I'll send you some money, and then you ca--" The line died with a click as Abdoulaye's time ran out. He was left standing alone in the phone booth, the dial tone sounding in his ear. He wanted to cry.

Abdoulaye went back to the cafe, his only source of wifi. Sitting there for a couple of hours, not ordering anything, he started to get a couple weird looks, but it was fine... he'd had worse. Sure enough, a few hours later, he got a notification that Malick had sent him... wow, that was a lot of money. He'd have to thank him for sure. A message accompanied the money. "Inshallah, this resolves whatever your issue was. Come home, my brother." That was the plan. Abdoulaye stepped out into the street and hailed a cab.

At the airport, Abdoulaye's emotions felt more distant. That was a part of being at an airport, he thought. One needed an extra layer of emotional protection with so much going on. The aiport was the place where the feelings of loss and anticipation met their equilibrium; the fulcrum in the middle of the scale with everything gained and everything left behind equally unattainable. Abdoulaye had been in enough airports to know that they were a place where one had to bury one's emotions amidst the bustle. Just now, his predominant feeling had been one of fear. That wouldn't do. He rejected it. Time to go home.

But as he stood there inside the entrance, looking down at all the airlines with their check-in desks in a row, looking up at the huge monitor showing arrivals and departures, he began to feel disgust. He was upset with himself. How could he have been so terrified, and by nothing!? Worse, how had he come to let his cowardice drive him home with nothing to show for his efforts!? Was this it? He was giving up, because he was afraid? No! If he had to follow the World Grand Prix around the multiverse, he'd do it. It was too early for a pit stop!

He walked up to the the ticket window. "One one-way ticket for Yogyakulta, Filindostan, please." Hopefully Malick would be fine with his money being put to use this way...

---

It didn't make sense to try to follow the Grand Prix to Nekoni--there wouldn't be time there for Abdoulaye to accomplish anything, and it would cost him two more tickets. This way he could have a bit more time, if things worked out, to try and get to know his way around the track, work his way into the crowd that would have some influence--there had to be someone he could meet there who would have an idea for how to get him in the driver's seat at long last.

It turns out that you can't just walk onto a World Grand Prix racecourse. It turns out, in fact, that most people have to buy what are called 'tickets' to get admittance. Furthermore, it turns out to be the case that even at an entire racecourse full of marshals, officials, constructors, drivers, their teams and crew, the week before a race, everyone is always busy and no one has time to talk to strangers who happen to walk past. Abdoulaye had essentially no success.

The good news, at least, was that at the end of the week, Abdoulaye was treated to a truly great race. Ryker and iBen were fighting hard the entire time to maintain their place at the front, but even more impressive was Terho's efforst, overtaking more than a dozen places to find the front of the pack. And then, at the last minute, with Ryker out of the race, Terho got a well-deserved first place finish...

Typically, thinking back to the karting competitions he'd been in, Abdoulaye was always trying to be with the crew or down on the track during a race, if not driving himself. Being with the fans was somewhere he hadn't been for a long time, and as much as he itched to have his butt in the driver's seat rather than in the grandstands, he had to admit the experience was thrilling. The race, already passionate and virtuosic, came to life as he experienced it through the crowd. The noises of the engines now fought with the cheers of the fans, and he saw on the faces of the spectators the same emotions drivers had to process on their own in their cockpits; joy, anger, disappointment, catharsis--exultation in victory.

I want to be providing this for these people, thought Abdoulaye. I want to be the one who makes them cheer.

[Aboveland]

"Comms check."

A disheartened "copy."

The rumble of 26 low-revving engines and two instances of electric whirrs fill the silence.

"Chin up, calm down," says Edvin through the radio. "Make your way up the grid steadily, don't push too hard. Stretch your stint as much as possible, pit on lap 20. You know the drill."

Terho snuggles Unnamed into grid spot number 19, only a little over a handful of cars in his mirrors. He sighs heavily, grimacing with a twinge of back pain. "Play catch-up, got it."

"Good luck," Edvin says, signing off sharply. Terho grunts back but with his radio off.

He sits patiently, cracking his knuckles and then resting his hands on his steering wheel, as the first pair of red lights come on, thumbs into the wheel, fingers twirling around the paddles.

A quick nod as the second pair illuminates. He clears his throat.

Deep breath with the third pair, a sigh with the fourth. For the fifth, he blinks. He clenches his jaw, the lights fade, the clutch drops, the race begins. The sucker punch of adrenaline numbs his lower back pain almost instantly.

Immediately, Terho thrusts forward, Unnamed’s winglets squatting with the throttle input. His start is rather uncharacteristically quick, and off the line he swerves past Digri and Colac-Strek to slot in just behind Kruipin. With the help of the slipstream and the adaptive aero Terho moves to the outside of turn one, going past the corner side by side with the Sorlovian. Both him and himself are quicker round the corner and off the line than Tailson in fifteenth, who drops beside Kruipin in the run-up to turn two. At the braking they’re three wide, and Tailson’s optimal line for the exit from turn three has him rocket past Kruipin. Terho, seeing Tailson’s move, brakes early and ducks behind him, narrowly avoiding the cars behind, to follow the Fireline driver out of the two turn complex, leaving Kruipin behind. Tailson leads Terho into turn four, but round Nordus 1 the TRÆ machine has superior traction, pulling some massive g’s with the assistance of its winglets, and the Abovian spurs ahead to claim fifteenth place. With the first lap gone, Terho enters endurance mode according to his planned strategy. His tyres, the second softest Tropicorp have to offer, are exceptionally quick and particularly durable, allowing for fast, prolonged stints.

On lap 10, his steering wheel flashes yellow, signaling a local flag. ‘DIM OUT’ reads the display, in big red block letters. For the first time, he radios the team.

“Dimitrianov out?” asks Terho shakily, coming out of the Yoggy bend towards the main straight.

“Affirmative,” Edvin replies. “Hold in there, your pace is good.”
Terho pauses. With one of his main rivals out, any points would be good points, and he’s just around twenty seconds behind tenth. “Should I attack more, then?”

“How are your tyres?” asks Edvin quickly, unsettlingly so, as if he’d known the question was about to be asked.

“Perfect.”

“Get on it, then.”

(OOC: there's a quite significant plot point in the middle here)

Greenlit for an attack, Terho commences his pounce. His tyres are cold and still very much green, his car well over fueled for the rubber he’s on, so he kicks the engine into its most powerful mode and begins to target Kardaeri ahead. As he gets well into the racing groove, his eyes light up and his adrenaline kicks in harder than before with giddy immediacy. Looming over the crests and hamfisting the car into the circuit’s many kinks and sweeping turns, Terho can barely contain the odd chortle. Sector two is somewhat stop start, but the track as a whole is a wonder to drive. The widening radius Nordus 1, the kink at Nordus 2 and the plateau of the Unlucky Turn and Turn 14, where the car plummets again, are magnificent to the Abovian, and perfectly suited to the TRÆ machine. Despite their reduction in complexity, the winglets, mapped to throttle and brake inputs, work their magic effortlessly, and allow Terho incredible speed through most of the high speed turns around the track.

Come lap 20 and his pre-established pit window is discarded. His tyres have held up well, he’s broken into the top ten, and his fuel is good for a few more laps. The engine, running rich mix for a considerable time, has barely broken a sweat, and Terho is absolutely dominant as he charges up the order. Incredibly, in just under fifteen laps, his gap to first has almost halved. Many of his rivals ahead have pit earlier to undercut their rivals, and by lap 25, after cutting through the pack like a hot knife through butter, Terho is thrust into a three way battle between himself, Bjarnason in front (who’s also charged up the order with amazing speed) and his friend Ryker Lane behind.

“Pit situation,” Edvin begins unexpectedly, with Terho about to begin a dive bomb on Bjarnason into turn three. “iBen comes in in a few laps. Hold off some more if you can. We want to pit with Lane.”

Terho’s copy is delayed, but he acknowledges the transmission after a slick switchback around the Tabuso curb, holding on through turn 90 deg, and holding on through turn 10 to stay ahead of the winning Savojar. Having been held up by his maneuvers, he’s also overtaken by Lane. Despite his spirited driving, however, his tyres are quite worn.

*important plot point

On lap 30, Terho overtakes Jean Mercer-Daly, Sayono Souzare and Vijay Tripathi in the pits, but receives another, more exasperated radio message.

“There’s been an issue in the pits, just to let you know...” mutters Edvin, somewhat agitated. “iBen was let out a little quick and there was a bit of a traffic jam.” He clears his throat before continuing. “Mercer-Daly, Souzare, Tripathi and Toralmintii affected.”

Terho, trying to hold off Ryker’s massive charge as the two enter Nordus 2 together again, replies to the best of his ability. “So?”

“Pit next lap, you’ve got a good gap behind. Keep pushing.”

“Copy,” grunts Terho on braking for the Unlucky Turn. Distracted by the radio message, he locks up on entry, and Lane whistles by past him on the inside. No matter, he thinks, shaking his head, and presses on.

His pit stop is remarkably slow and conservative, and coming out of the pit-lane Terho leads Ryker by a second less than he had going in. Terho, his tyres fresh and quick to get up to working temperature, dig in at his discretion. Unnamed is far more planted around the corners than his rival's Coalescence, which still struggles around the faster sweeping bends of the Yogyakulta circuit, but the traction Ryker gets away from the tighter corners of sector two is massively superior by virtue of Imagination's otherworldly properties. And yet, Terho is on an absolute banger, his spirited driving enough to make up the lost time, enabling him to snuggle into first by lap 33.

Ryker, however, is just as polished as he is, and without warning, the scintillating blue glow of his Chase Cutter peeks through in his rear-view mirrors. At first, the Nimban offensive becomes an afterthought, Terho confident enough to hold off the gunmetal silver arrow with his quicker set of tyres. By lap 34, however, his gap has completely faded.

"Keep it together," Edvin says, sternly. "You're losing time in sector two."

Terho presses the green acknowledge button, afraid to let the nerves wiggle out through his throat. His pace had been spectacular, but Ryker's was even more so, even against the triumphant TRAE machine. Terho saws at the wheel into turn one, and Unnamed growls back with a nasty fishtail. The Chase Cutter grows in his mirrors. Braking late for the left right hairpins, and into Nordus 1, his gap remains too large for an ambitious dive, but still far too small for any slip-up whatsoever.

As Terho enters sector two, the situation becomes ever more dire. Ryker already falls back in the opening corners of the stop-start complex, but the Abovian's exit towards the Tabuso Turn is sloppy and late. Ryker, much the opportunist, sees the door wide open for his long-overdue assault: his wide entry overshoots Terho's more conventional line, mistakenly thought to be enough to block Ryker's dive; the Nimban puts the power down early out of the corner, and the pair go side by side towards turn 9. Terho, desperate, grips his wheel harder than before, the tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, not from rage or sadness, but from the visceral nature of his concentration. Ryker, one-hundred percent committed to his attack, cuts Coalescence across Unnamed's line, taking a peculiarly sharp entry, and cements his overtake. Unnamed, chasing through Nordus 2, howls in anger. Terho grunts, his heart flourishing with admiration.

Terho, chasing a clear opportunity patiently, makes his next move into the Kotyog complex on lap 43, where he'd made his slick switchback in the early stages of the race. He goes for the same move, but the Chase Cutter within his grasp becomes a moving bollard. Ryker, somehow, fails to turn in, apparently as a defensive move, blocking Terho's late entry just enough to have the Nimban follow through out of the complex with the speed his overtake maneuver should have had, confining him to the outer, marbled lines of the circuit, kicking around like a child throwing a tantrum for grip. This time, Terho's grunt is much more fierce. He's been not only out-raced, but out-smarted, and he wouldn't let that slide.

It takes him two more laps for his next overtake attempt, an excessively ambitious dive-bomb down turn 11, but it pays dividends. In the confusion arising from the small plume of smoke from his tiny lock-up, he inches ahead of Ryker, but not by enough. The Nimban is quicker to Nordus 2, and with incredible willpower, holds his line as stiffly as his right foot to kick back ahead into turn 14.

His radio chirps.

"Head down, keep pushing, but don't go crazy," Edvin says. Terho shuts off the radio. He's too close to give up.

Having now retreated in his pursuit, falling back to over two seconds from the leading Nimban, an unholy screech erupts immediately ahead of him, lumps of rubber flung into the air above. Terho's foot is still planted through the sweeping bend as it opens up for the braking at turn 14; purely through his own intuition, he knows what has just happened, and laments the occurrence almost enough to lift his foot off the throttle.

'LAN OUT' flashes his LCD as his body is thrust forward at the braking.

At long last, after having come so close so many times in the previous races, Terho crosses the start finish line with a solitary finger in the air once again, stabbing at the sky above him. He yells cries of victory into his radio, receiving the same celebratory chanting treatment he’d grown so fond of.

“That’s the way!” Edvin shrieks. “Nine-time race winner, Terho. That’s a fucking bunch!”

Terho, now allowed to breathe, sighs through a bout of laughs. “Holy hell,” he pants. “And from fucking nineteenth!”

“Ha haa!” Edvin replies, overcome with joy, banging on his desk. “Nineteenth. Damage limitation done well, damn it!”

Terho rolls back into the paddock, flanked by Kranjska and Souzare, and clambers to his feet to stand on Unnamed with his arms outstretched, his visor torn off in celebration. His team, exuberant, uphold his win. He runs towards them and dives into the crowd as they hold him and launch him into the air, singing his name in high praise. His back pain, which was supposed to hamper his race efforts, has become but an afterthought. Among the crowd, he spots iBen, a little further back, with a genuinely proud grin on his face. Ecstasy.

Climbing up onto the podium, he hugs his two rivals, Kranjska with admiration, Souzare with a certain reverence, and receives his trophy. Before launching it into the air, he looks at his tired face gleaming in the brass, his radiant smile just clinging on to the last of the energy he’s got left in his system. For the first time in a long, long while, he has a split-second mental blank of pure contemplation: winning from nineteenth, with a knackered back, on a race track he’d been woefully mediocre on during practice and qualifying, was something he’d never have imagined possible. And to do all that and emerge winningest driver and forty points clear of his nearest championship rival? Impossible. And yet, there he stands, the many kilo trophy in his arms, having made it possible.

Once the podium celebration is wrapped up, once he’s dried out all of the champagne from the insides of his ears, and once his dull back pain returns with the waning of the adrenaline, Terho is confronted by a journalist, with a peculiar, hateful glare running through his eyes. He skips the whole introduction that is to be expected from a professional journalist, instead skipping straight to his scathing accusational question.

“Do you approve of TRÆ’s dirty team tactics to gift you the win?”

Terho, shocked, jumps back. He opens his mouth, but not a single word escapes from his lips.

Hm, he thinks. Shit.

The reporter's enraged, steel-cutting eyes are fixed on his own. Terho expects some foam to start collecting on the edges of his lips at any moment.

Still at a loss for words, yet in no way about to be antagonized after his hard-fought win, he sputters some hubris before shoving the reporter away and walking more briskly towards the TRÆ garage.

"Why don't you fuck right off?" he replies to the accuser, expediting his pace towards his safehouse. Behind him, a handful more tabloid reporters dive into the scene of the incident to prey on his comments like hyenas. He's unaware of the occurrence, but chuckles to himself. I think that was correct, he tells himself. Yeah, surely.

[Vilita and Turori]

Kardaeri, Ibuna on the hot seat in Eelandii

iBen Toralmintii's Race Eelandii! Vilita & Turori World Grand Prix Motorworks Headquarters, Eelandii, Turori :: While iBen Toralmintii was busy racking up the points with his Tropicorp Racing Aelund team it had been more of a roller coaster ride for Gary Cook and the Eelandii Vilita and Turori Grand Prix team as the World Grand Prix Championships 17th season had made it to its halfway mark.

Eelandii VTGP appeared to have gotten off to a hot start on the season with former World Champion Jai Kardaeri fast in the pre-seasons testing and Filindo driver Rustom Ibuna one of the hottest drivers to start the season with a Runner-Up finish in the seasoning opening race at the Dashoze circuit followed by a fourth place finish in Round 2 propelling the driver to 2nd place in the drivers championship. Unfortunately it seems that Ibuna's success was just a flash in the pan as since the Checkered Flag waved at the Talbott Autodrome, Ibuna has picked up just four points in five events. Teammate and former World Grand Prix Champion Jai Kardaeri had been the subject of replacement rumors after failing to score points over the first five events but has carried the flag for Eelandii VTGP during the past two events in Nekoni and Filindostan picking up 10 points for Eelandii VTGP to keep the outfit in the hunt for the fifth place battle in the constructors standings.

With the final Mid-Season test upcoming at the Facsgend Grand Prix Circuit in Dritten Asopie, rumors have been rampant that iBen Toralmintii has given Gary Cook permission to make a change behind the wheel. Former World Grand Prix Champion Jai Kardaeri had been one of the top drivers rumored to be replaced after going pointless over the first five events but those rumors had seemed to have cooled after two straight finishes inside the points. Now, however, it seems there are reports that Kardaeri is scheduled to do an appearance for the Ozuwara Corporation in Jhanna City during the time which they should be in Dritten Asope for Mid-Season testing re-igniting rumors that change could be coming at Eelandii VTGP. Vilitan driver R.L. Cruisin who has shown flashes of success in a surprisingly underpowered Mirrors racing machine is the top driver rumored to be on the Eelandii VTGP shortlist but rumors have also emerged that rookie drivers Abdoulaye Goita of Reçuecian and Drake Stevenson of Hapilopper could be offered a test drive with Eelandii VTGP in Dritten Asopie after both of the second tier drivers were seen conversing with Gary Cook in Filindostan. With Kardaeri on sponsor duty and Rustom Ibuna perhaps looking to re-charge with an extended stay in his home country following the latest race on the World Grand Prix Circuit in Filindostan, it seems there could be some truth to the rumors that would see both of Eelandii VTGP's vehicles operated by rookie drivers at the Dritten Asopie test event.

The final mid season test at the Facsgend Grand Prix Circuit will be the last opportunity for teams to test before the home stretch of the season pundits across the multiverse are waiting for the shoe to drop with many drivers rumored to be on the hot seat including the four drivers yet to score a point on the season, Camden's Darius Castellammare, Taylor Blake of Obey Sport, Dalia Dahl the Eastfielder who has been massively outperformed by teammate Jasmin Kranjska and Esteban Guilhermez, the controversial Krytenian signing for the struggling Mirrors Racing team who sit 13th out of the 14 teams on the grid.

Petrovi up to Third after Vannish Switch

Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat, Yogyakulta International Circuit, Yogyakulta, Filindostan :: Usually nothing more than a footnote on any typical World Grand Prix Championship race weekend, the world of Tyre Suppliers became a front page attraction in Filindostan when the struggling Vannish Motors Racing dumped their existing Tyre Supplier, Pire Eleven, in favor of the Mattijanan supplier Petrovi. Based in Esportiva just like the Vannish team, it was a move that as just as surprising as it was predictable. Sitting fourth in the suppliers table there had been mounting pressure on the Vannish team to make a change and with an announcement on practice day in Filindostan some of the rumors were as wild as suggesting that Jessica Franssen could step aside and be replaced be Jeng Xiopeng. In the end the big news was the Petrovi deal as the Vannish team aligned itself with the Tyre Supplier of one of its biggest on track rivals then immediate outperformed them on the track at the first opportunity to do so.

With their Top-5 Finish in Filindostan, Vannish Motors Racing and driver Vijay Tripathi earned 8 points for their new Tyre supplier Petrovi of Mattijana and with the bonus point earned by Tripathi for the races fastest lap, enabled Petrovi to move into 3rd place in the Supplier Performance standings, poetically overtaking Pire Eleven who had been Vannish Motors Racing tyre supplier for the first six events of the season.

WGPC17 Supplier Performance Standings
After 7 of 13 Events
[1] - 124 :: Tropicorp Racing Supply
[2] - 85 :: Solymok
[3] - 68 :: Petrovi
[4] - 67 :: Pire Eleven
[5] - 35 :: Brutus Tyres
[6] - 32 :: Grafonil
[7] - 29 :: Cypress
[8] - 24 :: Stellenbosch

While there were small positives to take away from Filindostan for the Mattijanan supplier having doubled the number of cars they had on track and moved up to third in the supplier standings, it was an even bigger day for Supplier Standings leader Tropicorp Racing Supply after second placed supplier Solymok Tires had their worst showing of the World Grand Prix campaign only able to place 10th and earn a single point. The result was a massive extension of the advantage atop the table for Tropicorp Racing Supply who entered the race weekend at the Yoguakulta International Circuit with a fifteen point lead in the standings and, after visiting victory lane for the third time this season, departed the circuit with a 39 point lead atop the standings as Solymok lost pace with the leaders and would now have to begin looking over their shoulders as a new look Petrovi prepared to set their sights on climbing even further in the table just 16 points back in third position.

After a number of weeks that saw no changes in the order of the supplier standings, Petrovi's move was just the tip of the iceberg as the suppliers saw a complete shake up from 3rd on back in the standings heading into the practice week. It all started at the bottom of the standings where Grafonil more than doubled their season's haul thanks to Jasmin Kranjska's runner-up showing for the Eastfielder outfit SinVal. The result catapulted Grafonil just three points behind an under-performing Brutus Tyres who were the only supplier outside the Top 2 to retain their position in 5th place. Cypress tires also had a podium showing in Filindostan leaving Lisander's Stellenbosch at the foot of the table heading into the final stretch of the World Grand Prix Season.

[Hapilopper]

The Team Blue Shop, Hapilopper City 11:30 in the morning
Drake Stevenson knew something was up when he saw Martin Lewis, president of racing operations for the Preston Automobile Company, sitting in his office at the Team Blue shops in Hapilopper City. A huge smile appeared over Lewis's face the second he saw his driver, and that was something that made Stevenson a little bit concerned - was that a good thing, or was it a bad thing? Why was Marty Lewis in his office? Why was he smiling so much?

Slightly uneasy, Drake asked his benefactor what was going on. "You want to tell me how you came into my office without me knowing, and why you're here?"

Lewis looked at him with a smile even larger than before. His eyes got really wide. "I just got off the phone with Gary Cook of the Eelandi VTGP team," Lewis said. "You might want to sit down for this one. Just, take my word for it. Sit down."

After sitting down in a chair opposite Lewis, the benefactor continued.

"Now then. I just got off the phone with Gary Cook. He said he watched your videos and absolutely fell in love with what he saw. He's not guaranteeing anything past the test. As a matter of fact, he and I both agreed it's likely possible this could be your only shot all year. In other words, there's a chance you might not race in the series this year. That's the bad news."

Stevenson, having already been interested by what Lewis had already said, didn't appear that discouraged.

"Now then," Lewis said, his eyes growing incredibly wide, chuckling a bit. "Want the good news?"

"Tell me..." Drake said intently.

"The Eelandii Grand Prix team might be offering you a seat in the mid-season test this weekend in Dritten Asopie!" Lewis said, his voice rising with every syllable. It sounded like he was actually screaming at his driver by the time the words "Dritten Asopie" got out.

"Give him a call," Lewis said calmly and slowly. It was actually kind of frightening how he had gone from screaming like a football coach to speaking so quietly, so methodically. Lewis had written Cook's phone number on a pad of sticky notes Drake had left at his desk. Typically, those sticky notes were used for all kinds of purposes - meeting times, phone numbers for fellow drivers he may or may not have wrecked the week before, a reminder from his girlfriend to pick up some groceries, and most infamously, used to cover John Malloy's office last March, something which got Drake written up by Team Blue boss Stefan Jenkins.

Drake picked up the phone, and it took him three attempts to call Vilita and Turori. Attempt one saw him accidentally dial the Team Blue engine shop, where he was reminded to dial "9" for any out-of-office phone calls, and attempt two saw him accidentally call a private residence in Xanneria after fumbling with an incorrect country code. Finally, on the third attempt, Drake got the direct line of Gary Cook.

"This is Drake Stevenson in Hapilopper," he said almost robotically, as he thought about what to say, and what not to say. "I don't know if this is definite or not, but if it is, I accept the offer. I'd love to test for Eelandii VTGP this weekend. I'll see you there."

After exchanging pleasentries with Cook, he hung up the phone and slumped down in his seat. He had done his share of legwork. Now, it was time to get the job done.

"Might as well get ready," Drake said, with a touch of emotion in his voice. By the end of the day, Drake had packed, the Preston Auto representative had booked round-trip plane tickets to Dritten Asopie, and he was on the road to Hapilopper City International Airport. It was time for Hapilopper's top driver to prove himself on the world stage.

When he got to the airport, he spotted Doug Goodman, the Grand Prix reporter for the Hapilopper Television Network. Goodman, too, was on the way to Dritten Asopie, but was just there to report on the test, and if anything came of Drake Stevenson's hopes to get a test seat - his one opportunity he needed to prove his mettle, his ability on the race track.

Drake looked at Goodman and silently nodded his head, smiling, as he walked past. The nod almost seemed to say "I know something you don't know!"

Goodman, sharp as a tack, picked up on Drake's mannerisms and walked over to the driver. Goodman, it turned out, had not known of the arrangement.

"It's a nine hour flight," Drake told the reporter. "When we get up to cruising altitude, come over and I'll tell you what's going on. I think you'll like it. I hope you brought your laptop, because you might need to break a story at 38,000 feet."

[Former Citizens of the Nimbus System]

Grand Prix Filindostan Cepat
19th of May; Formation Lap

Ryker runs his hands over the steering wheel. His breath is measured; his mind is calm, fulfilled, in the moment. He scrolls through the readouts, for he need not focus on weaving Coalescence back and forth the cars around him: his tyres’ temperatures hold steady under Imagithermal power, the Paragon Warp array is functioning perfectly and the MARS’ operating ranges are maximised. All is well.

“Okay, Ryker.” Martin Veri’s airy tones brush, whisper-light, at the air around him. “Remember, you’ll be substantially faster off the line than everyone around you but Toralmintii and Jean. Stay mobile and you’ll be fine.”

“Thanks Martin.” Ryker’s own voice is low and unhurried, confident. “No last-minute strategy changes?”

“None. Everything is as we’ve discussed.”

“Awesome.” The racer lets a grin creep onto his face, the thrill of anticipation running through him. He feels a sense of profound certainty, of momentousness – one might even go so far as destiny. Today will go right.

Of this he is sure.

“Thanks Martin,” he affirms as he and the cars before him round the final bend. “Feeling really good right now – see you at the second corner!” Shutting off the feed, he sails, arrow-straight, down the grid, before he and his Chase Cutter drift to the left into his fifth place grid slot. Coalescence thrums beneath him but otherwise forms a peaceful isle amongst the growling waves emanating from those others on the grid.

Well, all except one. Ryker raises his hand in greeting and solidarity to his teammate. Good luck, Jean. His fingers settle back, drumming across the wheel’s surface. Let’s take back a bit of ground.

Slowly, one by one, the lights above blink on.

At once, they die.

And Ryker surges forth.

Coalescence dives to the track’s centre in an instant, closing off Tabuso’s Fireline and rendering him powerless to respond as the Chase Cutter shoots past. That leaves Okumura, whose surprisingly quick start has Ryker only drawing alongside her. Then she takes the inside into the first corner; she maintains track position and, even as Ryker has momentum, they draw close to the Kotyog Complex…

And Ryker holds. Letting out a breath, narrowing his eyes, he presses his foot down to the last possible moment – one fifty, one hundred, fifty – and then turns, keeping that momentum, blazing around the outside of the corner even as Erica finds her path full of AGP002. With a whoop of delight, Ryker Lane slots in behind the TRÆ machine of Toralmintii through the third corner – with Jean himself in the race lead. He reopens the communications barrier; “That good enough?” he asks, tone jovial and proud.

“Wonderful, Ryker.” Martin mirrors him. “Now, get ready. Burst for you at the apex of Nordus.”

“Got it!” He turns a dial, just a few degrees. The three cars stream through the fourth corner, line astern, two glowing with Imagination’s power, one roaring with explosive might.

Unlike before, however, Jean does not pull away.

In perfect order, they move to take the left turn of the Nordus 1 Bend. Gradually, it tightens and they slow a little. Then they reach the apex – or, well, iBen and Ryker do.

Jean is just a touch off it. Indeed, he’s barely close enough to prevent someone from slipping down the inside.

The distance is perfectly judged.

As they accelerate away, Lucifer’s Imaginational light is, for the briefest of moments, a little less bright than usual. In that same moment, Ryker has more than an UHSGV’s Coalescence on his side and he uses it, darting to iBen’s right and bolting forward to run alongside him. Chase Cutter and Chase Cutter box in AGP002 as the three run down to The Hairpin, Nimban innovation matched against Vilitan experience. Slowly, even without ICAST’s aid now, Ryker pulls ahead… Enough to control positioning, and so, even as The Hairpin looms and his fists clench around the wheel, sweat forming at his brow, he draws to the outside with iBen alongside him.

Come on… Come on… Come on, Coalescence, we have this!

At the braking point, they are there; with instinctual precision, Ryker applies his just before iBen. For a moment, the AGP’s shorter braking distance earns the Vilitan ground, enough to be fully alongside the Nimban again – but he is still on the outside. Ryker accelerates away in second place. “Ha ha! Yes!”

“Superb work, Ryker!” Timothy’s voice, accompanied by cheers and clapping, sounds from the communications. The lead will be fleeting – their softest tyres are softer than most on the grid – but they are ahead.

Lap 10

“Alright, Ryker, box this lap. The two of you have made a good gap now but remember, don’t press these hard.”

“Understood!” The Nimban racer nods, Coalescence sliding through Unlucky Turn, the worn ultrasoft tyres biting into the tarmac and thrusting them up the hill. “And thanks.”

“You are ever welcome; now, get yourself back.”

“I will.” Indeed, the two draw near to the pit entrance; thus, even as Jean and Lucifer’s glow speed away, their own strategy set, Ryker and Coalescence slow to a mandated crawl. The UHSGV-3 rolls towards, then into the pit box, onto the platform. Off come the S-3s, on the H-2s – enough to get them to the end of the race, with care.

Care that they will take.

“Okay,” Ryker murmurs to himself, pursing his lips at the length of the pit lane. Good thing we’re only driving it once… “Damage limitation time. Set up for later. Let’s go.”

“Yellow flags in the third sector, Ryker… There has been a collision at Turn 13,” Martin advises. “There is some debris but the marshals are clearing it quickly.”

“Nobody hurt?” Onto the track again.

“Not that I can see.”

“Good, good…” Ryker smiles. “Hey, if you can’t see it, it probably isn’t there, right?”

There are a few laughs from the other side of the feed. Martin himself hums at the praise. “I hope so.”

Lap 30

“Nothing on the weather?”

“No, no signs of change.” Martin sighs. “I am sorry, Ryker. Between this and a lack of safety car, it seems we have been compr-”

The race engineer pauses. For a moment, Ryker’s focus on the track wavers; it is but a moment, however, and his attention returns, for all it is worth. Not like I’m making up ground, anyway… How many places have I had to concede now? Tyre saving… Maelstrom. “What is it, Martin?”

“Jean has been held up in the pits.” There is a hardness in his tone. “He’s coming out later than planned – behind you, not with you.” What? “You will not be able to support each other, Ryker; our apologies.”

Imagination… Ryker grits his teeth. “So… Tactics? What are we doing on tyres?”

For a few seconds, there is worried background chatter, then a pause. Martin finally replies: “Go. With how much you’ve saved, your superhards should last until race’s end and Jean hasn’t been the only one delayed.” Yes – in fact, his visor shows ‘3rd’ now! “You are still well-placed to attack, Ryker – strike hard and fast!”

And everything snaps into focus. A racetrack and other cars before him. A vehicle around him, the product of the hopes, dreams and vision of so many lives. He himself, with the responsibility to make that vision his own and manifest it by his will.

‘“…other people can’t help you win a race… Once you’re in the car, you’re the only person who’s driving. If your self-motivation’s just an afterthought – well, isn’t that a little worrying, given that that’s the only motivation that you can really be sure of at any given moment in that car, on that racetrack?”’

There is a Coalescence and a surge.

“I will!” Ryker declares. He pushes the throttle to the floor; Imagination’s power flares into life, his Chase Cutter hurtling away from Kotyog Complex with the speed of an artillery shell blasted from a railgun, slingshotting through Turn 4 and almost skimming the wall, then incandescent up to the Nordus 1 Bend. Ahead, he sights the green and yellow of an MRT – Sigur Bjarnason’s MRT, which passed him a few laps ago. Eyebrows furrowing, the corner of his mouth curling upwards, Ryker pursues.

By the Petrofilindo Complex, launching himself through Turn 15 and cutting back into 16, agile as an unbound spectre, he is within three seconds.

By Nordus 1 the next time around, falling to the corner’s inside and swinging away again, he is within one.

At Nordus 2, Ryker has made up enough ground to be within touching distance of Bjarnason, a glorious radiance overwhelming the wing mirrors of the Savojar. Through the long turn they go, the MRT’s high-pitched wail as it passes the apex of the turn followed in an instant by the slashing swoosh of the Chase Cutter, closing by the second. Ryker holds his steering wheel firm, following the racing line, almost on the back of the MRT-17-A now. Coalescence glides to the outside – and then pivots to the inside again just as Bjarnason responds, sweeping past and practically drifting through Unlucky Turn as Imagikinesis sends Ryker on his way.

“Yes!” Ryker shouts in joy, his helmet’s display ticking to ‘2nd’. “Come on!” Accelerating past Turn 14 again, then diving through the switchback of 15 and 16, he flicks up the track map. Terho is just passing the start/finish line.

Could this…

Imagination, it could be. It could be..

I will make it so!

His resolve is mustered. So begins the pursuit.

Lap 34

Yoggy Bend. A second separates Ryker Lane from Terho Talvela. Coalescence powers through, back onto the main straight. Ryker shivers.

“Okay, Martin… What are the tyres looking like?”

A moment. “If you overtake smoothly, by our projections you should have enough life to hold any counterattacks if you drive well. If you cannot pass, Jean is fighting and looks to overtake Souzare; you will be under no threat.”

“Okay… Okay. That’s reassuring; thanks, Martin.” The Nimban breathes. Then he smiles. I’ve done this at Vilita, haven’t I? I can do it again. ‘shadows are cast out by light’ and all.

Alright, Terho; here I come.

They are at Kotyog now and by this point Ryker is in tune enough with the circuit to feel its flow, to not care about the weakness of his Chase Cutter here; he simply leans through each corner, arcing through the turns as a young salmon navigating a river’s downstream current. Got to be ready – not jumpy, ready. Longer I stay in this bad air, the more I hurt myself; need to make it as clean as I can, though.

Past Turn 4 the two climb – then into Nordus 1. Coalescence closes. Not yet… Have to out-brake him at Hairpin like I did his teammate. Tyres won’t take it.

Down the straight they fall. For the Chase Cutter’s sheer power, the AGP is still a mightily fast car. Nonetheless, into Hairpin Turn, Coalescence closes once more.

Terho knows Ryker well, of course; they have raced together for almost three years now. The Nimban prefers wider courses and long corners, where opponents aren’t expecting attacks and don’t know how to defend as easily. As they cut through Turn 7 and slow for Tabuso Curb, then, he takes his normal racing line; maintaining a gap is a higher priority than setting up an ironclad defence.

And Ryker sees.

Electricity runs across his skin.

He breathes. In, and out.

His eyes flash with imagination’s light.

Coalescence swings a little further outwards than usual into Tabuso, then turns in more steeply through it. Then he piles on the power; the UHSGV-3 blazes as an inferno, surging down the short straight, the might of sixty million souls under the direction of a single driver. Towards 90 Deg they fly and then they are alongside Terho, on the outside, ready to turn in, but Ryker prevents him; instead he turns himself, Coalescence slotted perfectly alongside the Abovian’s car, denying him his line and taking his own, through and away.

There is euphoria.

Wild cheers sound an imperious clarion call from Nexus Racing’s garage. But Ryker, even laughing as he is, calms himself. “Plenty of time for that later,” he tells himself, Coalescence slowing into Turn 10, briefly checking his rear camera’s feed for Terho’s position before accelerating away again towards 1+1 and Nordus 2. “You’ve got this far. You’ve got the lead. Now you need to keep it. Come on, Ryker, you can do this!”

Lap 43

The UHSGV-3’s tyres slowly fade; hard though they are, 33 laps of running has put them past their best. And so Terho closes back in.

Ryker glances at the rear view again through Yoggy Bend and steels himself as he gradually takes hold of more and more of Imagination’s might. The Chase Cutter’s Imagikinetic power system grants him drive independent from his tyres, yes, but they still provide a full third of it and all of his braking. Seeing Terho line himself up and charge forward, almost matching his speed…

He focusses.

Terho’s AGP roars behind him, Vilitan experience now proving its worth in full. Ryker commits, holding the inside line even as Terho pulls away from the slipstream, momentum pushing him alongside Coalescence. Kotyog approaches, one fifty, one hundred, fifty…

Ryker holds.

He doesn’t turn in. Instead, he takes a wide line, pushing Terho to the track’s edge – allowing him enough room but forcing him around the long, long outside, onto marbles, minimising his grip advantage while demanding little from his own, worn tyres. Then he keeps him there; Ryker grips his steering wheel, again taking the track’s middle, denying the TRÆ any of the momentum it retained from the outside of the last corner by locking it to the inside of the next.

As he accelerates away again, Imagination flaring, Ryker catches his breath. He nods to himself and forges on.

Lap 45

Terho lunges down the inside into Turn 1+1.

Ryker’s eyes widen; adrenaline floods his system in an instant as he opens the throttle, Coalescence’s full strength unleashed in an almighty burst. He is faster but Terho still holds the inside; so the two trade places, now burning silver glinting ahead in the Filindo sun, now light-leeching midnight blue pushing forward, a rush and a madness down the hill like some terrible, beautiful duel of anathematic blades. They come upon the thirteenth corner with the fury of thunder and lightning.

Terho slows, just a touch. Ryker doesn’t. Instead, he glides through the corner as he has done so many times, his time on the streets of the First City still unforgotten; the hill guides him, pull him to the track and reanimating his tired tyres for the briefest of moments. It is all he needs to be ahead into Turn 14.

In that flash of mastery, there is joy.

“Excellently done, Ryker. You are almost there; keep fighting!” Martin pleads, his voice full of hope and heart.

“Yeah. Yeah!” Ryker shakes his head, then exhales, beaming. “I can do this! I can do this!”

Lap 48

Terho’s drive from Turn 3 is superb. The AGP screams up towards Turn 4, flashes of orange amid navy as it darts through Turn 4, seeking to make up any ground it can.

Unfortunately, there is a Chase Cutter in the way.

Ryker holds Terho’s car in his rear view feed, parsing information from it and his view in front in the same moment as the radiant machine that is Coalescence, shining as a star, pushes on, up the hill. In the very moment that Terho moves to the inside, Ryker is there, pulling the gap closed as he takes his line, fully trusting his friend to slow rather than run into his rear wing. He kisses the apex of the corner, swinging as far outward as he dares, then powering on. Down to the hairpin they run, and the Chase Cutter outstrips the AGP. By The Hairpin, Terho isn’t close enough.

Keep on going! Ryker thinks. Just a little more! His mind does not whirl with thoughts of carbonated drinks, silver trophies, even the pride of his team. It is in the moment – corner to straight, straight to corner, guiding Coalescence forward. Deep down, the certainty returns; he knows he will win here, he has earned it and is earning it. All of it together is heady ecstasy.

Ryker Lane pushes on, inexorable, surety-bound hope in his heart.




















Lap 49

A tiny shard of carbon fibre lies on the track just after Turn 13.

It lacks investment in the race, or investment at all; there are no antagonisms, aspirations, memories for it. It simply is; thrown from a car in the race’s early laps, missed by the marshals, passed by each car, now just lying there.

No blame or malevolence can be ascribed to it.

That, however, does not diminish its capacity to hurt.

For the final time, a Coalescence manifests through the Nordus 2 Bend. Its cadent wonder propels it through the turn, under its pilot’s masterful control. Ryker Lane pushes forward. Two laps more! Two laps more will be enough!

And then a great gash opens in his tyre. The Coalescence dies. Instead of swooping back to take the next turn, then shooting down towards Turns 15 and 16 all ablaze, climbing through the final corner and onto the home stretch with Imagination’s radiance at its back, it turns sideways. Just missing the hill’s crest, the car scrapes at tarmac, grass, gravel, juddering harshly and shining with specks of bright blue light as it spits away coarse rock. Finally, with an Imagikinetic glow and a low thump, it meets a barrier.

For a few long seconds, Ryker Lane is frozen.

“Are you unharmed, Ryker?” Martin’s voice asks.

The response stumbles. “I – I… Y-yes, I’m uninjured.”

This is technically true.

Slowly, with trembling hands, he pulls his steering wheel from its socket and sets it gently beside his DIADEM’s front pillar. He stands, places one foot up on the car’s body, then the other, and lets himself half-hop, half-fall to the ground. Momentum carries him forward for a couple of steps. Then, turning away from the track and taking a deep, shuddering breath, he starts the walk back to the garage.

About halfway there, he begins to cry.

[Eastfield Lodge]

The Lodger Online Gazette

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Sport >>> Motor Racing

Does the Imperial Commonwealth have a future on the WGPC calendar?

As the 17th season of the World Grand Prix Championship rumbles on, concerns have been publicly revealed by the Eastfielder Association of Motor Racing over the future of the Mount Salt Raceway, a circuit that has been a near permanent fixture on the WGPC calendar for the past decade, as its contract comes up for renewal this season.

It is a racetrack that was supposed to be the jewel in the Eastfielder Motor Racing crown, being the centrepiece of all domestic series and also a serious circuit in the international scene. In that regard, Mount Salt Raceway has served its purpose, being part of the calendar in the previous four WGPC seasons as well as both WGP2 seasons to date, especially serving up an amazing season finale in the inaugural WGP2 season with the 3-way title fight. But as the circuit's WGPO contract is running out this season, negotiations with the WGPO over the track's international future have stalled, following various comments from drivers, both domestically and internationally, about how poor a driving experience it is. Nonetheless, the EAMR are determined to see this deal through, as the race turns out a nice profit for the economy of Mount Salt City every year, and want that to continue for much longer.

The track itself underwent a major redesign before it was originally submitted for the 12th WGPC, with upgraded grandstands, pitlane facilities and even most of the track being relaid and the corners by and large changed - only the infamous 6/7 hill climb remained true to the original track. The net effect was that a lot of the sweeping corners were changed to make them much tighter, in addition to the lengthening of the pit straight. Whilst it was considered for the 12th season, it ultimately failed to make the cut, on the grounds that the track was completely untested, as in true Eastfielder fashion it had only been completed a few weeks before the selection deadline. A domestic racing season came and went, and the circuit made the calendar for the 13th season, as race 7 of 14. The inaugural race was won by Asao Nadakei, the Hodoran that would go on to narrowly miss out on the Drivers' Championship by a point to Alex Mayari. Mayari's teammate, a certain Eastfielder named Victoria Gardner, finished 2nd here.

Three seasons and 5 more international GP races later, it was that the Mount Salt Raceway was now a permanent fixture on the WGPC calendar, one of those classic races that would always have a place. The same could have been said of a lot of tracks though, and there was huge uproar from all the traditionalist corners of the motorsport world when the WGPO announced the calendar ahead of the start of the season - classic tracks such as Esmerel's Forest Cross, Mattijana's Kopylov and Turori's Eelandii GP Course were relegated to testing status. And Mount Salt Racewat was relegated out of the calendar altogether, being dropped to the list of "reserve tracks" in case one of the early season's Grand Prixs were cancelled. In place of these classic tracks were some bizarre new choices - admittedly, Vangaziland and Filindostan do deserve a place on calendar given their nations' contributions in terms of both team and drivers to the WGPC, but the likes of Mytanija who, whilst a historically famous sporting nation, have little motorsport pedigree have been granted a place in the season. Most controversially of all was the JNI Grand Prix, a bizarre street race in a country few in the sporting world had ever heard of before this race was announced - most notably, they would be the only track on the calendar whose nation had no other involvement in the WGPC this season.

Those were the controversies at the time, but in hindsight, both races were exciting, especially Somos City, a race with incredible levels of attrition that tested the limits of both the drivers and the cars - maybe we were all too quick to judge. This however, did put a spanner into EAMR's plans, as inside sources revealed secret hopes amongst the upper management that the new tracks would fail, pacing a way for Mount Salt to be back on the calendar next season. But more pressing matters was the contract. Without a contract in place, there is no race guaranteed at Mount Salt Raceway for next season. The EAMR cited two main reasons as to why negotiations were stalling - firstly, the WGPO were asking for a much high price for the Grand Prix fee, the price paid by the individual race promoters to have their race be considered for the WGPC/WGP2 seasons. This year, the circuit made a huge loss, as its main source of income would have been the WGPC Grand Prix. Without that income, and with the additional cost of pre-booking all the race apparatus in case the track was promoted from the reserve list, the EAMR were feeling a big hit in their pockets, and not only wanted a drop in the contract fee, but more importantly they wanted a cast-iron guarantee that the track would be hosting a circuit at least once a cycle (i.e. either a WGPC or a WGP2 race). WGPO have, so far, apparently refused to approve either request.

Secondly, the WGPO wanted the track layout changed, following concerns from drivers and the teams about the nature of the track and the strain it was putting on the cars - whilst we have not received any official statements from any teams or the WGPO about the specifics of these complaints, previous driver interviews and comments have suggested that the combination of long, high speed straights and the constant tight turns was too mismatched for the cars' setups across the rest of the season, putting too much strain on the gearboxes that needed to last across the season. The EAMR have also stated that they're aware of these issues, and that they are currently working on a solution, although the earliest a new track layout may be ready for at this point would be WGPC19. Which could mean three more seasons without a race in the Imperial Commonwealth. So, are there other options? As it stands, the only circuit that is ready to host an event on the magnitude of the WGPC would be the Port Lodgertia Street Circuit, the beachfront track that hosted the Eastfielder legs of the 3rd and 4th seasons of the NSGP series - that would only need additional temporary grandstands to accommodate the increased crowds, whilst every other track would need major changes in infrastructure before an international event could be held.