WGP2 Season III [Roleplay Thread]

by **Recuecn** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 4:58 pm

Markko and Abdoulaye chatted as the latter stretched a little after doing what to him, still seemed incredible—setting a pole position in a WGP race. The feeling of contentment, paired with the residual heat of sitting with his back to the engine and the pleasant muscle tension of stretching out, combined for a warm, satisfied feeling that ran through his body as he stepped out into the pit lane with Markko to take in the Hapiloppian sunshine. A little ways down the lane, he saw the huge 8-wheeled Nimban beast being wheeled back into its paddock—the monster with an 81 painted on its side.

“Hey, there’s Stevenson. I should go congratulate him on getting P2 at home, that’s gotta be a big deal for him with a season like this.”

“I might not do that, Abs,” said Markko. “It might just seem like you’re rubbing in your own P1.”

Abdoulaye paused, mid-stretch. “Shit, would it?” He relaxed, but made no movement to walk over to the Nexus garage. “That wasn’t at all what I meant: I’m just really happy for him. I’m sure it’s been a rough season.”

“Obviously, given that he’s withdrawing from racing after the season ends.”

“You believe that!?” Abdoulaye seemed surprised. “That was obviously an April Fool’s joke. Didn’t you notice when they made the announcement?”

“Abs, it’s been a week. They haven’t said anything since. I think it’s real enough.”

“Shit,” Abdoulaye said again, under his breath this time. “That’s gotta be a tough decision.”

“Why are you so invested in his decision anyway?” asked Markko. “I heard you talking about it on that podcast you said you did.”

“You listened to that? I wasn’t even sure they’d post it publicly… But like I sort of said, I just feel like Stevenson’s fates are intertwined with mine somehow. We’re opposites, yet the same. Different backgrounds, but we started at the same time, in the same place, like two stories with the same first chapter, but then written by different authors… and now we’ve become mirror images of each other. I don’t think this season will be the last time we’ll interact, I don’t know. I just feel it.”

Markko stared at Abdoualye, bemused. Abdoulaye caught his eye. “Sorry, I’m probably getting kinda philosophical. But anyway, it’ll be a great race, me against him, both starting at the front… I think I will go congratulate him.”

He strode over towards the Nexus garage with determined steps, practicing a disarming smile.

by **Somehow Related to Rarity** » Sun Apr 05, 2020 5:29 pm

Carmi

A lot happened these past few weeks. Mid-season testing was a blast, with Sara and I getting 5th and 6th respectively. That was a good sign, and the lads were constantly working to improve the Adelphia. The VMR engines were working great and the Phoenician tyres were top-notch as usual. This was a good omen. We would probably have a break through in the second half of the season. I could just feel it.

Hapilopper

Practice was, well, not a very good one. Actually, it was horrible. For some reason our car decided to screw up, which promptly landed me and Sara in 20th and 21th respectively. However, we didn’t know what qualifying would bode. Was this just an unlucky day or was there more to come?
Thankfully, it was the latter. Sara and I broke through the top 10. Unsurprisingly, Sara places 4th, giving her a good chance for the podium and the race win. Whatever it was, she would definitely gain some points.
Then you have me, at 9th place. I was in the top 10, which was a good thing. However, this would most likely mean that I’ll drop some points and land outside the points, as usual.

Thankfully that was not the case.
The race started off pretty badly. Both Adelphias were tangled up in some clusterfuck and we dropped a LOT of places. Sara was last, and I was strolling along in 18th. Being a veteran, Sara would most definitely climb up swiftly, which happened, as usual. As for me, I did rise up the grid, though not as much as Sara.
By lap 30, I had broken into the points, back to my starting position. Sara was having a blast though, all the way up in 2nd place.
I ended the race 1 place higher than my starting position, and bagged 3 points. This was my BEST result since the START of the season. Obviously I was very happy, but 8th place isn’t really something to be cheerful about when your teammate is in 3rd place.
I knew I was just handed 1st driver because of my pony status. It was annoying, but I had to deal with being the worse driver. Would I gain back my dignity? Maybe, maybe not.

by **Auruna** » Mon Apr 06, 2020 1:04 am

Surrey International Raceway, Hapilopper
Practice
Days after the mid-season test, the team is at Hapilopper for practice and they encountered some difficulties on-track. The banked corners was a challenge because of the team's lack of experience in oval circuits. They will surely struggle this weekend. Finding the perfect setup is hard but they can probably make it up at the in-field section.

Jöna is absent due to illness, so Artur replaces him for this weekend. He hopes for a better result at the race but the cars and the team has a huge disadvantage at the banked sections.

It is clear that this is not a good weekend for the team.

Qualifying
At qualifying, the teams that have experience at the ovals are having a great time topping the time sheets. Both drivers qualified at the lower half of the mid-field at P12 and P17. It is a pretty alright result, but they need to finish in the points in order to keep the top spot at the championship. The race might not go well.

Artur is slightly stressed out at the strategy meeting. "This is difficult... I've never been at oval tracks before. My strategy may fail at the race. But let's still go for it." But he still managed to come up with a strategy that can help them out at the race.

Race
Race day at the Surrey International Raceway, the team's struggle at the circuit is noticed throughout the weekend and expectations are low here. The team only needs to finish.

Before the race start, Artur gives a message to both drivers. "Alright, good luck to you two there. Sorry that we couldn't do anything about the setup and the car, the team doesn't have any experience at ovals. So try to finish, in the points if possible and see you at the end."

It's lights out and away we go!

Most got off the line quick then on to turn 1, not much happened besides a few bumps between some of the drivers but all of them survived. Now into the in-field section, the two Viskas pushed hard, trying to pass at every opportunity they got. Some are successful, but some attempts almost ended up at the gravel. The Viskas managed to keep up at The Kink, using their downforce advantage on the fast left-hander. Then a series of slow 3-4 gear corners before coming up to another fast section. This performance couldn't last long as they come up to the banked section where the VL-01s are struggling to keep up as they were not optimised for the steep bankings.

In the middle of lap 4, Baxen is currently at P15, slowly making progress until his gearbox and rear suspension failed on the run up to the Short Right. The car went off track, on the gravel then rear first into the wall. Luckily, the angle wasn't too steep to cause any injuries, but this is the end of Baxen's race here.

Alexi comes on the radio after the incident. "Ah... damn. P1, then to P0 and switch off. Sorry mate, we couldn't give you a car that performs well here."

Meanwhile, Olivia is still at P12. Clearly, the car is struggling here. Nothing much happened after a few laps until Roman Arjenko retired at lap 9 which caused the safety car to come out. It is time for Viska's usual activity during the first safety car lap. They called in Olivia to pit for mediums. After the pit, she rejoined the queue, still at P12 but the fresh tires will give her the advantage on restart.

Safety car period ended after one lap. Olivia is now climbing up the order and in the points after a few skillful overtakes and after ten laps, Olivia is now at P5. She needs to pit soon as the tires might not hold on for a few more laps. Few laps later, she managed to hold on to P5 until the 23 lap-old tires fell off the cliff. Olivia pitted, changed to softs then she's out on track at P18. With the help of fresher and softer tires, her climb up the order was a wonderful sight, overtaking at every possible moment and pushing as hard as she can, eventually posting the fastest lap in the race in the process. And now, Olivia is back at the points.

Five laps to go, it's time to push harder. Then on the penultimate lap, Olivia overtakes Kaylan's Isaia Fanene and Adelphia's Carmichael Fire, while both are battling for P6, Olivia gets the spot. The P6 finish was enough to keep them ahead at the championship.

Post-Race
"Great job Olivia, you finished P6. It's good enough. We'll do better next time."

There is not much to celebrate for VIska here, well, if they even want to celebrate. It's time to focus for the next weekend. This is just like any other race where the results are unexpected.

(O.O) · by **TJUN-ia** » Mon Apr 06, 2020 5:04 am

Nothing is ever assured in the world of WGP2. That showed here.

Edward Baker started last for this race. He would go on to win The Hapilopper International Trophy by 11 seconds.

Lane Carter started 11th, but was caught out by the arrival of the Safety Car on lap 10. 17th is not good enough, full stop, but at least he was better than Taras. He ended up a lap down, the final classified runner in 20th.

Not a good day at all for UrGa. We move on to Diacesia for the Pryfurium Circuit Masters GP Two at the Pryfors Bilar Raceway, a track that strikes some familiarity to U1 and U2's Spa-Francorchamps. If this track is anything like Spa, power and aggression will be the main factors.

by **Hapilopper** » Mon Apr 06, 2020 11:31 am

Surrey International Raceway, Jenkinsburg
The Hapilopper International Trophy
Even when Drake Stevenson made the announcement he was going back to stock car racing, some people questioned whether or not he was joking. As Abdoulaye Goita congratulated Drake for his great qualifying position, Drake explained to his fellow driver that, no, he wasn’t joking about his move.

“I just feel better driving a stock car than driving one of those cars,” Drake said, pointing back to the eight-wheeled Imagination-powered Chase Cutter. “I’ve been running those cars my whole life, and I thought I could convince myself that I had something great here, but then I get back into a Team Blue car and it just felt right. It just felt right, friend. You can’t fake that.”

And, for the first time since taking the seat at Nexus Racing, Drake Stevenson felt at ease. He felt like he could do something good with these cars, these cars which were so wildly different from the stock cars he had driven for his entire career. Maybe it was the fact he was back home in Hapilopper. Maybe it was because life had started to turn around for him, both personally and professionally. Or maybe it was the fact his future had been decided.

An hour before walking onto the grid on race day, Drake’s phone rang. He looked to see who it was, and to his delight, it was Chet Byrd, the driver consultant for Team Blue, his old HASCAR team, which was now one of the top teams in the NSSCRA. Chet had been talking with team principal Amanda McAlister all morning about Team Blue’s NSSCRA X plans.

“So hear me out on this, Drake,” Chet said. “Frank Bronson has committed to running in HASCAR next season. We’ve possibly got a free spot open in our NSSCRA team next season, and we’re offering it to one man. Stevenson, this seat is yours if you want it.”

Drake stopped and smiled.

“Hell yeah, Chet,” Drake said with pleasure. “We’re going to win next season.”

“You’re damn right,” Chet said. “Come by the office tomorrow after the meeting and we’ll get everything finalized.”

For the first time in weeks, Drake climbed into the Chase Cutter, not feeling miserable, but rather relieved. He had gone through a terrible season, a season full of disappointments, off-track excursions and periods where he just couldn’t get the handle of the car. But on this day, he could see a light at the end of the tunnel. He could see a point where things were starting to get better.

And things did get better. Drake overdrove the Chicken Bone Alley chicane on the second lap, dropping him to near the back of the field early on. But Drake battled back. This was Hapilopper, and thousands of fans had packed the track to see their favorite driver, Drake Stevenson, not give up. And battle back he did, moving his way through the field with relative ease. When he crossed the start-finish line 6th as the checkered flag dropped, he felt like he had won the race. It had been an inspired drive, and Drake drove beyond what people thought he could do out there.

Many people had counted Drake out. They said he was a flash in the pan, someone who had only dominated that race in Vilita because of the car, not because of the driver. But Drake wanted to prove to everyone that he could perform brilliantly, no matter the circumstances.

There were just four more races in this season. Four more chances for Drake to prove what he could do in these cars before it was time to go home, and time to go back to the cars he belonged in the whole time.

by **Diarcesia** » Mon Apr 06, 2020 7:38 pm

[Circuit RP]

Calosirthate stin Pryfurium | Welcome to Pryfurium
Bienvenue à Pryfure | Välkommen till Pryfors

NOTE: As precaution in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Monarchy Diarcesian and the City of Pryfurium mandates 1/4 occupational capacity to all non-essential establishments in the area. Everyone is strongly encouraged to practice social distancing and cover their mouths with a mask or cloth when in public. Face masks will be provided to all air, train, or ship arrivals if needed.

Domestic and international arrival quotas are also in effect in the Dieresis-Kingdom of Chiyginia, where Pryfurium is part of. Please plan any activity accordingly.

Monarch Diarcesian: Phlegomy
King of Chiyginia: Adrast (also Heptarch Diarcesian)
Mayor: Ulrik Ericsson
Ethnic Makeup:
- 80% Losphortoenean
- 10% Chiyginian
- 5% Oyan
- 5% Diarcesian

History
During the early 17^th Century, as French settlers grew in number in the tropical region of what is now Chiyginia, a Catholic order of knights called the Order of Social Justice (OSJ) established a fort at the southern reaches of their territory. Sworn to protect their brethren, the knights stationed here stood guard and maintained the settlers' access to Michael's Bay.

At the same time as the Odrioyans to the east were enroaching in the French colonial lands, the Losphortoenean pirates based on most of the coastline of Michael's Bay succeeded in driving out the OSJ knights. Their fort was sacked and the surrounding land was taken as a new haven of Pryfors. After the Diarcesians flushed out the pirates in the Battle of Michael's Bay, the old OSJ fort was restored and renamed to Fort Pryfurium. Unlike the rest of Losphortoene which was given self-rule as its own dieresis (administrative division), Fort Pryfurium was directly governed from the capital of Arcesius. This proved to be a diplomatic move as it secured the accession of the French settlers of Chiyginia in the 19^th Century, in return for giving them Pryfurium and Diarcesia's promise to drive out the Odrioyan occupiers from Chiyginian lands.

As a seat of local governance, a city grew around Fort Pryfurium and nowadays serves as a technological and industrial stronghold in Diarcesia.

Notable Places
- The Cosmodrome: spaceport with 10 launchpads
- Fort Pryfurium: the heart of the city
- HQ of Pryfors Bilar (PB), a major automotive manufacturer
- PB Raceway in Smesiakoasp Valley
- Statue of Garnet til Alexandros, the 17^th emperor in Yohannes
- Losphortoenan dock and ship reconstruction

Food and Drink
- Burgunden Breu Pub (Smesiakoasp Valley and International Airport)
- Pine Grove Restaurant (West Sneap District and International Airport)
- Pizza Zone (various locations)

Hotels
- The Laviere Pryfurium

Logistics
- International Parcel Express Center

Pets
- NATURNALIA Holistic Pet Food (Smesiakoasp Valley)

by **Diarcesia** » Wed Apr 08, 2020 4:23 pm

Do you have what it takes to move up the field?

Lap 10
Sara's fight was far from over. She still had 30 more laps left to make the most from a MASSIVE snafu earlier. Many of those who started from P2 to P10 lost a lot of momentum or were forced to lengthy pit stops to return to the race itself. As for Sara? She's now at last place, a far cry from her P4 start.

Silver Chariot was having none of it. She radioed Adelphia's number two driver after the latter exited Hard First on lap 11. "Sara, you have exactly one shot to get back in front. Lucky for you, this is the type of race where you and Carmi's cars shine. Use it to your advantage. And focus on your blueprint to victory. Getting emotional will make defeat easier."

Her style is relatively of not much use here. As a driver, she conceded that what she lacked in split-second guts it was made up by her car's ability to rack up very high speeds. She was a fighter to the end, which is what WGP2 drivers needed.

Action One: With sub-two-second pit stops mastered, it's possible for her to pick the softest and grippiest tires Phoenician can offer. Having one or two more stops will be worth the reduced time she spends in the hard corners.
Action Two: Her mistake at Circuit Arnaud weighed deeply on her. Perhaps it's time to put her foot down and finally decide to take more risks, even if a little. Now, she concluded, the difference lies on whether this risk is made out of a calculated analysis or of simple desparation.

"I'll take your word for it", Sara said, pushing the car along the Chicken Bone Alley and overtaking Drake Stevenson.

Cheeky, Chariot thought as she saw Sara's move from one of her screens.

Next: Barnabas Mate

Sara jockeyed the car around Hard First and squeezed the brakes, the tires handling the job splendidly. She's now at P20. Coupled with Sara's focus, the car was eager at each challenge the raceway threw at it with wild abandon. There was plenty of time.

It turned out that the lesser technical difficulty freed up her brain to figure out where and when to pass the car in front of her. She solved one problem after the other and the next thing she knew it's already lap 30 and the team radio telling her of this fact.

"Absolutely marvelous! From last place to P2! Absolutely masterclass! Thank you Sara! You've made my day."

"Still 10 laps to go," she replied.

Less than 10 laps is all it took for Jama'obo Pegasii to steal the second place spot from her. But it's still enough for her to finish with her second time at a WGP2 podium.

Takeaway: At this point, success was all that mattered. The team drove the car and they were passionate about it. They made sure the car's potential is unlocked because they wanted to make sure everything else was on par for success. Failure was not an option.

[518 words]

by **Diarcesia** » Thu Apr 09, 2020 6:45 pm

[Circuit RP]

The Pryfurium Circuit Masters
Brought to you by

Pryfors Bilar (PB) has produced nothing but the best automobiles to the discerning driver. The maker of the best-selling Crux sedans and coupes guarantees the pinnacle of engineering, quality, and performance in their cars. No compromises are made to provide the "Crux of Experience" to you, the customer.

The Bank of Yohannes, founded in 1837, is one of the multiverse's forefront financial institutions. Boasting an extensive international portfolio and clientele, the bank has facilitated and supported countless projects and initiatives. They provide pragmatic, value-focused business advice to help you evaluate and maximise business opportunities and solve day-to-day business issues.

Detailed Map (Technical Info)

Schedule of Events
Friday - 10 April 2020
10:00 am: Gates Open
01:00 pm: Pryfurium Circuit Masters (PCM) GP Two Practice
03:30 pm: Nan-e FPV Drone Race
06:00 pm: PCM GP Three Qualifying
09:00 pm: Gates close

Saturday - 11 April 2020
10:00 am: Gates Open
01:00 pm: PCM GP Two Qualifying
03:30 pm: PCM GP Three Race
06:00 pm: Sponsor activities and open track tours
09:00 pm: Gates close

Sunday - 12 April 2020
10:00 am: Gates Open
11:00 am: Sponsor activities
02:00 pm: PCM GP Two Race
04:30 pm: Post-race celebrations
07:00 pm: Gates close

by **Aboveland** » Fri Apr 10, 2020 3:45 pm

Avsidesliggendevuoret, Aboveland
Janne’s hotel room

Deep breath. Smells like home, Janne ponders. For the first time in a long time, he is back in Aboveland, and though it’s not quite his hometown, the hyperborean chill of the air outside, which just manages to creep in through the triple insulated windows of his flat, carries a distinctively arctic, icy whiff.

He sits against the pale matte desk of his hotel room, his laptop set out in front of him, a near uncountable amount of tabs lining the top of his screen. The first few say something about axles, strength, power distribution, but the remaining bunch are all slightly different variations of the same query: “Imagination applications”; ”uses of Imagination”; ”how odes imagination work”; and the like. To his right, a warm but cooling mug of black coffee, set just to the side of a notebook with an open pen laid upon it. To his left, his knee forms a stand for his chin to rest on. He scrolls idly, not frustrated, but bored, and occasionally glances at the frigid cityscape beyond his notebook: the Avsidesliggendevuoretian skyline weaves into and away from itself, mirroring the serpentine of the Ponoy River below. The sky itself already suggests the temperature outside is hovering around freezing, its cool, strong sky blue laced with distant cirrus clouds.

His brief ponderance is cut short by the shrill sound of the default alarm of his laptop, which he hasn’t yet gotten around to change. In a gulp, he downs the lukewarm coffee, slips on his gloves, hat and parka, and slings his duffel bag around his shoulder on his way out. The elevator stops a couple of floors before the ground floor, and Sven walks in. He looks somber, serious, and far removed from his usual playful self, yet concentrated and fixed on the task at hand. Janne smiles, greets him, and rightens himself up as well, cracking his knuckles before heading out onto the street.

by **Recuecn** » Fri Apr 10, 2020 3:59 pm

"And here on this corner, you can see you braked a bit late, which is how Greanaya-Matthewson snuck past inside." Markko pointed to the video replay of the race in Jenkinsburg.

Abdoulaye glanced at the screen. “Yeah, yeah.”

Markko paused the video and looked at him. “Abs, you don’t seem super focused. Do you need a coffee break, and we can come back in five?”

“No, it’s not that.” Abdoulaye shrugged. “It just feels like we’ve done this all before. Different race, same mistakes. Same video, same results. The next race will just be more of the same.”

“Well don’t let it be. I know we’re getting to that point in the season where you can start to slump off, but you can’t let that happen. These races are just as important as the first one and the last one. Now we’re twenty-four points behind Viska. You can make that up this race. I know you’ve got the drive, you showed that when you won your first race. When you took pole last week. Now let’s do it again.”

“Right.” Abdoulaye leaned forward. “Play back that corner again.”

by **Former Citizens of the Nimbus System** » Fri Apr 10, 2020 4:00 pm

WEEK 9
Pryfors Bilar Raceway, Diarcesia

Conditions:		Dry
Predicted Optimal Time:	00:01:21.116
Session Length:		75 minutes

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

POS #   DRIVER                                  FASTEST LAP     GAP TO LEADER		
 1 50 ▍Sara Luna                             	00:01:25.191	00:00:00.000
 2 40 ▍Jolyn Caulfield                       	00:01:25.257	00:00:00.066
 3 37 ▍Jama'obo Pegasii                      	00:01:25.266	00:00:00.075
 4 11 ▍Lane Carter                           	00:01:25.279	00:00:00.088
 5  7 ▍Lourdina Westgrens                    	00:01:25.293	00:00:00.102
 6 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                           	00:01:25.297	00:00:00.106
 7 75 ▍Roman Arjenko                         	00:01:25.353	00:00:00.162
 8 44 ▍Rod Gozum                             	00:01:25.389	00:00:00.198
 9 33 ▍Laurencia Lynds                       	00:01:25.496	00:00:00.305
10  3 ▍Olivia Stone                          	00:01:25.509	00:00:00.318
11 49 ▍Mika Neretti                          	00:01:25.566	00:00:00.375
12 81 ▍Drake Stevenson                       	00:01:25.676	00:00:00.485
13 72 ▍Barnabas Mate                         	00:01:25.709	00:00:00.518
14 18 ▍Isaia Fanene                          	00:01:26.018	00:00:00.827
15 19 ▍Dom Falepeau                          	00:01:26.202	00:00:01.011
16 69 ▍Carmichael Fire                       	00:01:26.326	00:00:01.135
17 85 ▍Baxen Aurora                          	00:01:26.414	00:00:01.223
18 97 ▍Edward Baker                          	00:01:26.418	00:00:01.227
19  8 ▍William Archer                        	00:01:26.634	00:00:01.443
20 21 ▍Taras Matviyenko                      	00:01:26.781	00:00:01.590
21 77 ▍Abdoulaye Goita                       	00:01:26.980	00:00:01.789
22 17 ▍Janne Laukkanen                       	00:01:28.292	00:00:03.101
23 76 ▍Adriana Kowalski                      	00:01:28.332	00:00:03.141
24 73 ▍Lorcan Greanaya-Matthewson            	00:01:28.633	00:00:03.442

Conditions:		Dry
Predicted Optimal Time:	00:01:21.116
Qualifying Type:	Two-Tier

POS #   DRIVER                                   FASTEST LAP     GAP TO LEADER
 1  3 ▍Olivia Stone                          	00:01:21.770	00:00:00.142	00:01:21.210	00:00:00.000
 2 97 ▍Edward Baker                          	00:01:21.633	00:00:00.005	00:01:21.219	00:00:00.009
 3 17 ▍Janne Laukkanen                       	00:01:21.644	00:00:00.017	00:01:21.374	00:00:00.164
 4 40 ▍Jolyn Caulfield                       	00:01:21.655	00:00:00.027	00:01:21.415	00:00:00.205
 5 18 ▍Isaia Fanene                          	00:01:21.628	00:00:00.000	00:01:22.039	00:00:00.829
 6 37 ▍Jama'obo Pegasii                      	00:01:21.743	00:00:00.115	00:01:22.265	00:00:01.055
 7 44 ▍Rod Gozum                             	00:01:21.696	00:00:00.068	00:01:22.339	00:00:01.129
 8 81 ▍Drake Stevenson                       	00:01:21.691	00:00:00.063	00:01:23.539	00:00:02.329
 9 76 ▍Adriana Kowalski                      	00:01:21.837	00:00:00.209	00:01:25.030	00:00:03.820
10  7 ▍Lourdina Westgrens                    	00:01:21.839	00:00:00.211	00:01:47.930	00:00:26.720
11 77 ▍Abdoulaye Goita                       	00:01:22.005	00:00:00.377		
12  8 ▍William Archer                        	00:01:22.150	00:00:00.522		
13 73 ▍Lorcan Greanaya-Matthewson            	00:01:22.301	00:00:00.674		
14 75 ▍Roman Arjenko                         	00:01:22.494	00:00:00.866		
15 69 ▍Carmichael Fire                       	00:01:22.520	00:00:00.893		
16 33 ▍Laurencia Lynds                       	00:01:22.988	00:00:01.360		
17 23 ▍Cocoabo #23                           	00:01:23.147	00:00:01.519		
18 50 ▍Sara Luna                             	00:01:23.263	00:00:01.635		
19 19 ▍Dom Falepeau                          	00:01:23.632	00:00:02.004		
20 72 ▍Barnabas Mate                         	00:01:23.658	00:00:02.030		
21 21 ▍Taras Matviyenko                      	00:01:23.794	00:00:02.166		
22 11 ▍Lane Carter                           	00:01:24.032	00:00:02.404		
23 85 ▍Baxen Aurora                          	00:01:24.175	00:00:02.547		
24 49 ▍Mika Neretti                          	00:01:26.850	00:00:05.222

by **Vilita and Turori** » Sat Apr 11, 2020 12:51 am

WGP2 Pick 'em - Round 6 Recap

Round 4 of the WGP2 Pick 'em Competition was the highest scoring round yet with @pegasiifan37 of Vilita & Turori posting the highest score of any competitor with a 39. @pegasiifan37 rightly had the race winner Adriana Kowlaski, teammate to Jama'obo Pegasii, on their roster along with the third place finisher Baxen Aurora to become the first participant to have two of a race three podium finishers on their four-driver team. From there, the circuit moved on to the Cocoabo Forest for the Cocoabo Preservation Grand Prix where hopes were high for Vilita and Turori Motorsports Team Tropicorp Engineering and their drivers Cocoabo #23 and Jolyn Helen Caulfield.

Unfortunately it would be a struggle of a weekend for the team and Cocoabo #23 had to start dead last on the 24 car field. Having been trained on that very circuit, Cocoabo #23 quickly carved their way through the field and within 7 laps had already moved up to second position. With the crowd on their feet Fast Cocoabo unexpectedly came down pit road - a strategy play to pit early and go the rest of the distance. However, the Cocoabo came back out on the track in traffic and would suffer damage to the front wing when trying to clear the slower opposition. The Cocoabo would eventually be instructed to return to the pit lane, conceding any hope at a victory and handing the win back to Olivia Stone who had led the first half of the event. Cocoabo #23 limped the VTM Tropicorp Engineering machine home in 16th spot out of the points. Another local, Jama'obo Pegasii, was unable to finish the event after losing pressure in the Naval Corps racing machine while Jolyn Helen Caufield continued to struggle in adapting to the open wheel car finished second to last of running finishers a lap down to the leaders.

The user @Light_of_Unity had the highest score of the round scoring 42 points to beat the performance of @pegasiifan37 from one round prior to become the best performance of the season. Like @pegasiifan37; The roster for @Light_of_Unity contained both the race winner and third place finisher matching two of three podium spots. However, the Nimbus System based participant also had the 8th place finisher, Lane Carter of the UrGa Motorsports division on their team, giving them the all-time edge.

1 [112] :: @garbage_time

2 [105] :: @RustyIbuna71

3 [102] :: @pegasiifan37

4 [97] :: @Pigeon_87

5 [96] :: @NagaiNori

At the midway point of the WGP2 Season 3 V&T Racer Pick 'em Competition, celebrity contestants @garbage_time and @RustyIbuna71 continued to lead the way with @garbage_time taking a slim 7 point advantage into the second half of the season. @pegasiifan37 who had a big score during the Esmerelian race weekend was within striking distance in third place while @pigeon_87 and @NagaiNori, a user from Hodori, rounded out the Top 5.

When the WGP2 Season took a break take make way for mid-season testing, participants had an opportunity to swap out their drivers based on first half performances. Most however opted to stay put. There was a somewhat surprising winner as the circuit returned to action when Edward Baker, former VTM Tropicorp driver and one time Grand Prix winner became a two-time Grnad Prix Winner by holding off the hard charging Jama'obo Pegasii who pressured Baker for 3 laps to close out the race but could not find a way past the Krainin Isles driver in the Eastfielder SinVal racing machine.

Race 6 Leaderboard

1 [39] :: @garbage_time

1 [39] :: @tropicaltulsi

3 [27] :: @coastlyfe83

4 [22] :: @VilayeBlood

5 [19] :: @jaqeplanst

Season Standings

1 [151] :: @garbage_time

2 [120] :: @pegasiifan37

3 [114] :: @RustyIbuna71

4 [111] :: @jaqeplanst

5 [106] :: @Light_of_Unity

Two of the V&T Racer WGP2 PIck 'em drivers were able to score 39 points in the race though they did it in different ways with @tropicaltulsi having race winner Edward Baker and third place finisher Sara Luna on their team while the current competition leader @garbage_time having Luna as well as runner-up Jama'obo Pegasii and the 6th place finisher Olivia Stone on their roster for the race.

With the result along with a paltry 9-point haul for @ RustyIbuna71, @garbage_time pulled out to a 31 point lead over @pegasiifan37 at the top of the V&T Racer WGP2 Pick'em table with just four events to go.

Users can still sign up for V&T Racers WGP2 Pick 'em Regular Season competition though will receive a score of 0 for any races already completed at the time they have signed up. For those users already signed up, changes can now be made to the submitted lineup at an increasing cost per change. Any change submitted to Vilita and Turori Racer will result in the deduction of points from that users total score as a cost for swapping one driver out for another in that same tier.

(O.O) · by **TJUN-ia** » Sat Apr 11, 2020 11:08 am

Pryfurium Circuit Masters GP Two
Pryfors Bilar Raceway, Diarcesia

We may be in tough times here in Pryfurium, but that doesn't mean we can't put on a show to distract us from the world around us. So we ARE here, face masks and all, at the Pryfors Bilar Raceway for Round 7 of the 3rd WGP2 Championship!

It was strange for Lane Carter in Pryfurium. He was handed a face mask as soon as he got there, and noted how this "COVID-19" affected the city he was now in. TJUN-ia was safe (for now) from the spread of the coronavirus, but to actually see it's affects in person was quite surreal for the young Galarian. Still, he had to put all that behind him. We had a race to do......

PRACTICE
The session was full of confusion for the UrGa camp. On one hand, Carter did brilliantly to rock up in 4th. On the other, Taras Matviyenko could only manage 21st in the same machinery. No one knew what the actual pace of the car was. Only Qualifying could tell us...

QUALIFYING
It turned out Taras' pace was more akin to actual pace in the two-tired quali (not that it mattered). Both UrGa's will share row 11, Taras ahead of Lane. Let's hope the race is better.....

by **Diarcesia** » Sat Apr 11, 2020 5:19 pm

Diarcesia
Pryfurium Airport

The first familiar faces Sara recognized after landing was Tom and the kids. Sadly, she can only talk to them through a glass wall that separated the arriving passengers and the greeters. Sara and her team will only be in Diarcesia for the weekend: too short for the quarantine requirements before physical contact is permitted. At least they were lucky to not have been blocked by the authorities (everyone involved in the race seemed to be able to pass through as well, from what she heard).

"Good luck out there, Tom", she told him. "I've figured in a few crashes out there, but I'm fine."

"Yeah", he said, "look, I know what you mean. I'm bummed we can't get closer than this for the moment. But we're in it for the long haul. We'll see each other after the season."

She smiled and turned to face the team staff. Silver Chariot was with her, and Sara's daughter, Violet, couldn't keep her excitement in seeing a pony up close. "I bet you didn't think we'd go at more than a few spots in Pryfurium without at least passing."

There were nods from the group. "Yeah, we kind of were", Chariot said. "Our transport can take the scenic route to our accommodations."

Sara laughed, "I'm not in this part of the country that often, so I'll be like a tourist, too."

Post-qualifying

"A session like that doesn't go by without drama", said Sara. "It was about to turn around when I encountered some technical difficulties."

A reporter asked Sara how she felt about her performance. "Well, I kind of bungled it too. My lap times speak for themselves."

The camera switched to footage of Sara in the driver's seat. The sight was concerning. It showed Sara misjudging The Turn, causing her to spin and narrowly avoid a car-totaling crash. A scene which should terrify any race fan.

"Are you torn up about this?" the reporter continued.

"To channel Strangelove, I learned to stop worrying and love my qualifying position. In Jenkinsburg, I had to claw my way from last place, and guess where the winner was when the race started."

"Of course. Every team in the league is fighting for every point. Every race is a battle of attrition."

Sara nodded. There is no luxury of complacency.

[518 + 388 words]

by **Filindostan** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 10:11 am

What the future holds for Badai Angin in WGPC18
by TGF Staff

As the 17th season of the WGPC season ended with Terho Talvela winning his second WGPC drivers championship, there were bright spots for the Filindostani team, Badai Angin.

Their lead driver, Mattijanan driver Alex Dimitrianov nearly dominated the field in the second race of last season in Liventia, and had opened an early lead in the drivers' and constructors' championship. However, the two Tropicord Racing Aelund drivers in Talvela and iBen Toralmintii scored more than enough points to win both championships several races before the season's end in Audioslavia. Both Dimitrianov and Badai Angin finished third in their respective standings, and their performance obviously exceeded expectations for team prinicpal Rudolf Ibuna, who set their expectations for a midfield finish that season.

In the offseason, Badai Angin Tim Motorsport have already started negotiations to extend the Mattijanan's contract for the upcoming season, opting to have a stability in their driver lineup after replacing both of their drivers when they bought the assets of Kissan Motorsport. However, the team is expected to sign a seasoned driver into their ranks, someone close to home. All indications are pointing to a signing of Filindostani driver and son of the team principal, Rustom Ibuna to possibly pair with Dimitrianov next season.

Ibuna had a disappointing sophomore season, despite being the top points bearer for the Eelandii VTGP team - like Badai Angin's lead driver, he started the season pretty well, with a podium finish on his first race at Hodori, and just missing the podium at Liventia, despite being paired with former drivers' champion Jai Kardaeri. However, it started to fall apart on the next round at Mytanija. He only finished in ninth place in the drivers' championship, a far cry from the fifth place he got while steering MRT to their first constructors' championship.

If the rumors about Ibuna are true, then the future of Badai Angin lies on his hands for the upcoming seasons. The other Filindo driver competed in WGPC last season, Tyra Tabuso, who drove for Fireline, is not expected to return to WGPC next season, having accepted a drive at Badai Angin's Formula Hodori team, and the next two drivers in the Badai Angin pipeline, Rod Gozum and Barnabas Mate, are not ripe yet for top tier competition, based on their results in this season's WGP2 competition. Both of them started the season well, being in the conversation for the drivers' championship, but recent races did not show the potential the two drivers had while driving for their respective teams this season. At least Ibuna-Gambal Racing, backed by Badai Angin this season, were able to notch more points than they ever did last season.

Maybe we'll have to see in the upcoming weeks what the future has in store for the Filindo team.

by **Valentine Z** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 1:16 pm

Jolyn and Adriana – Week 6 – Cocoabo Park Circuit, Cocoabo Forest

JHC: 06 / 16 / 20 / 19 / 19 (Standings)
AKS: 21 / 06 / 07 / 05 / 07 (Standings)

Jolyn and Adriana – Week 7 – Fjellutfordring, Aboveland

JHC: 09 (Standings)
AKS: 21 (Standings)

Jolyn and Adriana – Week 8 – Surrey International Raceway, Hapilopper

JHC: 19 / 11 / 04 / 05 / DF (Standings)
AKS: 23 / 05 / 18 / 15 / 12 (Standings)

Even after that victory, it was not looking too good for Adriana, let alone for Jolyn. Adriana was still able to get some decent placements throughout the races - from Cocoabo Park Circuit, to Fjellutfordring, to Surrey International Raceway.

Cocoabo Park Circuit was something that Jolyn was at least thankful for, not ending up as a DNF and placing a not too decent 19th. She took a look at that one particular Cocoabo, the one that happens to be Gwen's close friend, and approached it. The cocoabo, in turn, recognised her, seeing how Jolyn used to be in NSSCRA 8 and thus approached her.

"Ahh, my friend," Jolyn said softly, still rather tired from the results she was getting, but regained some of her happiness from interacting with the bird, "So... you met Gwen, huh?"

The cocoabo in turn nodded and let out a soft noise, followed by Jolyn petting its head gently. Adriana simply stood around and looked at the surrounding, watching Jolyn talking to the cocoabo, and at the same time, started scanning and analyzing the cocoabos around her. Most of them kept a distance from her because of her sheer size; Adriana realized that if she crouched and made herself smaller, the odds of them gathering around her increased a little.

Jolyn signed yet again, wondering what went wrong with the races that she was going through so far.

“Adriana…” she trailed off, pondering on if she should talk and rant to her friend once again. Adriana would not mind, but she was afraid that her rants would become and more and more whiny for Adriana. She let off a sigh and went off again, “I am so sorry to let it out to you, but err… my race. The results.”

“Don’t worry, just let it out!” Adriana got back up and walked towards Jolyn, gently putting one arm on Jolyn’s shoulder, “You can always tell me, my good friend.”

“Sigh… well…”

Week 7 would go on to be slightly better, which is a breath of fresh air and good news for Jolyn. Adriana would not do so well at 21st, which she attributed to the lack of data that she got for the track. While it is indeed true that the racetracks are new to both of them, Adriana would be a different case altogether because she was able to optimize herself from the qualifications and practices. The test runs were something that was not too well-done for Adriana simply due to the lack of data. For someone who is a robot, she was not too good with adaptation, at least not yet for the time being. She needed data… a lot of them, in order to produce satisfying results. Unlike Clarissa, she has not mastered the art of active adaptation; whatever Adriana has, relies a lot on past data.

And this showed in Week 8, in Hapilopper. Adriana was able to do well once again at 12th, which she attributed to the massive amount of data that she got, just like with the rest of the race. It just so happens that she was rubbish during the testing sessions. There was little to no stakes involved, and it was something of a one-time thing.

Jolyn, on the other hand, would have a hell of a time once again. She was placing 5th and perhaps even 3rd by the 32nd lap, but once again, it was those turns that got her. A particular “Somewhat a Hairpin” that she miscalculated and crashed herself. 7 laps to go, she thought to herself. So close, and yet, so far.

The media and the videos would report one tall angry woman getting out of car, still wearing her helmet, and simply stormed off into the garage. Jolyn was very, very nearing her boiling point. She wanted to do something to anything nearby – slam her helmet onto the ground, bash her helmet, sweep the contents off from her table, break a glass. However, she did not do any of that. Composing herself, she sulked back to her lounge and to her bed, avoiding the cameras around her and taking the route less travelled.

After a bit of a search and using the location services on her phone, Adriana soon found where Jolyn was. She was sitting alone in the park in the middle of a night, simply staring at the chessboard and the pieces ahead of her. She was neither playing with anyone else, nor was she looking and learning the possible movies. She was simply sitting there.

“I err… Jolyn, are you all right?” Adriana asked with quite a concern in her voice.

“I am so sorry, Adriana…” she trailed off, before going off into a tirade of rants, “I have been having a rather crappy evening today. I was doing so well, you know? Like… look! I was going to perhaps finish rather well, but noooooo, Jolyn turned too early and totaled her car! It was not because of the height – you see that we have to be smaller in there, right? So what was it? I don’t really know! I was going for something spectacular, but I had to crash,” Jolyn shook her head before explaining what she was doing, “I’m sorry I was away… I was sulking! I cried! I bawled my eyes out! I was literally losing my mind!”

With that last word, she smacked the air around her, using her right arm to do the motion. This was then followed by a hit on something metallic. She accidentally hit Adriana on the torso, which didn’t affect the latter. As for the former?

“Ahhhhhh-haaaaa ow-ouch!” Jolyn exclaimed with such grandiose, breaking into a few drops of tears and was rubbing her right hand. Adriana, in the meantime, simply took Jolyn’s right arm and stroked it gently, trying to heal it a little in any way she can. Since Jolyn has a synthetic body, it went well, being able to fix the more non-biological parts.

“I see what you mean now,” Adriana smiled sweetly, “It will be fine, okay? Just give yourself more practice on the track, and perhaps an apology to Lynds?”

“Yeah, I think that should be done a while back,” Jolyn wiped her tears off, composing herself once again. The next day would see her buying a bouquet of flowers, followed by a box of chocolates, as she approached EFL’s Launrencia Lynds’ lounging. She rang the doorbell, waiting patiently in her 6 foot 9 inches (205.74 cm) body.

“Hello, is this Lynds’ lounge? Jolyn here! I err… I would like to apologise.”

[1100 words]

by **Recuecn** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 3:59 pm

Gearing up for the race always made Abdoulaye feel kind of badass, like an astronaut getting ready for liftoff, or a fighter pilot preparing for the big mission. First the fire resistant underclothes, then the racing suit in Savojar blue, and at that point you’d already be the coolest person in the room, except of course that Roman was there too, already geared up. But when Abdoulaye pulled the shoes on over his feet and the helmet on over his head, that didn’t matter anymore—none of it did; the feeling of sheer awesomeness was enough that it didn’t really matter where you were in the awesomeness competition at that point. Even any recent struggles in the race for the WGP2 championships seemed to fade away in that moment: you were a racer, and that was cool enough on its own. The standings could neither add nor subtract from that in the end.

But as the inevitable countdown toward the start of the race continued—that irresistible approach of glory—Abdoulaye found qualifying playing back in his head. He’d been so close. Just two tenths of a second faster, and he’d have had another shot. And surely he would have done better than Westgrens in Q2…

Abdoulaye pulled on his gloves and stepped out, walking toward the car in which he would achieve greatness. He could feel it. P11 was perfectly within striking range…

He felt as if his actions were slow motion as he climbed in and fitted the steering wheel. Everything was cooler in slow motion, which was ironic given that he was here to be fast.

He pulled into his spot on the starting grid. This was it. Roman was just a little ways behind him. Together they would fight. The whole week had built up to this…

Lights out!

by **Former Citizens of the Nimbus System** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 4:00 pm

WEEK 9
Pryfors Bilar Raceway, Diarcesia

Conditions:			Dry
Laps:				43
Event:				Pryfurium Circuit Masters GP Two
Safety Car Deployed on Laps:	2
Cars on Grid:			24

Start  		After 10 Laps  		After 21 Laps  		After 32 Laps
 1 ▍STO		 1 ▍LNA +0     		 1 ▍LNA +0     		 1 ▍LNA +0
 2 ▍BAK		 2 ▍LAU +1.856 		 2 ▍STE +23.87 		 2 ▍STO +29.379
 3 ▍LAU		 3 ▍MAT +2.631 		 3 ▍C23 +26.742		 3 ▍ARJ +34.499
 4 ▍JHC		 4 ▍STE +5.779 		 4 ▍PEG +36.514		 4 ▍FAL +37.229
 5 ▍FAN		 5 ▍ARJ +6.635 		 5 ▍LGM +44.151		 5 ▍STE +37.458
 6 ▍PEG		 6 ▍C23 +8.13   		 6 ▍MAT +47.055		 6 ▍GTA +42.659
 7 ▍GOZ		 7 ▍PEG +10.742		 7 ▍ARJ +47.735		 7 ▍MAT +52.515
 8 ▍STE		 8 ▍AUR +12.05 		 8 ▍FAL +48.453		 8 ▍LAU +53.673
 9 ▍AKS		 9 ▍FAL +12.245		 9 ▍STO +51.364		 9 ▍FIR +66.521
10 ▍WES		10 ▍STO +12.746		10 ▍GTA +53.819		10 ▍PEG +72.055
11 ▍GTA		11 ▍FIR +14.013		11 ▍FAN +56.649		11 ▍FAN +75.154
12 ▍ARC		12 ▍GTA +18.003		12 ▍NER +58.149		12 ▍LGM +Laps: 1
13 ▍LGM		13 ▍NER +21.521		13 ▍FIR +62.6   		13 ▍JHC +Laps: 1
14 ▍ARJ		14 ▍LGM +24.95 		14 ▍LAU +69.844		14 ▍CRT +Laps: 1
15 ▍FIR		15 ▍MTV +26.614		15 ▍BAK +Laps: 1		15 ▍BAK +Laps: 1
16 ▍LYN		16 ▍CRT +26.684		16 ▍LYN +Laps: 1		16 ▍NER +Laps: 1
17 ▍C23		17 ▍FAN +26.69 		17 ▍JHC +Laps: 1		17 ▍ARC +Laps: 1
18 ▍LNA		18 ▍ARC +28.708		18 ▍CRT +Laps: 1		18 ▍MTV +Laps: 1
19 ▍FAL		19 ▍BAK +36.076		19 ▍ARC +Laps: 1		19 ▍GOZ +Laps: 1
20 ▍MAT		20 ▍JHC +37.395		20 ▍MTV +Laps: 1 	
21 ▍MTV		21 ▍GOZ +38.473		21 ▍GOZ +Laps: 1 	
22 ▍CRT		22 ▍LYN +49.198  	                                        	
23 ▍AUR	                                        	                                        	
24 ▍NER

Pos # DRV Name Team Time Pts
1 19 FAL Dom Falepeau ▍Badai Angin-IGR 01:08:02.822 25
2 75 ARJ Roman Arjenko ▍SVJ Racing 00:00:19.852 18
3 18 FAN Isaia Fanene ▍Kaylan Racing Team 00:00:28.834 14
4 72 MAT Barnabas Mate ▍Kaylan Racing Team 00:00:31.637 10 Fastest Lap Bonus Point! (1.25.185)
5 77 GTA Abdoulaye Goita ▍SVJ Racing 00:00:33.687 8
6 81 STE Drake Stevenson ▍Nexus Racing 00:00:34.567 6
7 37 PEG Jama'obo Pegasii ▍US Navy 00:00:35.768 4
8 17 LAU Janne Laukkanen ▍Nexus Racing 00:00:39.095 3
9 40 JHC Jolyn Caulfield ▍VTM Tropicorp Engineering 00:01:25.077 2
10 73 LGM Lorcan Greanaya-Matthewson ▍Polestar Racing 00:01:25.930 1
11 69 FIR Carmichael Fire ▍Adelphia-VMR 00:01:26.663
12 97 BAK Edward Baker ▍SinVal Racing 00:01:28.456
13 49 NER Mika Neretti ▍Polestar Racing 00:01:32.473
14 11 CRT Lane Carter ▍UrGa Motorsports Division Laps Down: 1
15 44 GOZ Rod Gozum ▍Badai Angin-IGR Laps Down: 1
16 8 ARC William Archer ▍Bitten Heroes Academy Laps Down: 1
17 21 MTV Taras Matviyenko ▍UrGa Motorsports Division Laps Down: 1
DNF 3 STO Olivia Stone ▍Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing Ret. lap 42
DNF 50 LNA Sara Luna ▍Adelphia-VMR Ret. lap 36
DNF 23 C23 Cocoabo #23 ▍VTM Tropicorp Engineering Ret. lap 31
DNF 33 LYN Laurencia Lynds ▍SinVal Racing Ret. lap 29
DNF 85 AUR Baxen Aurora ▍Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing Ret. lap 20
DNF 76 AKS Adriana Kowalski ▍US Navy Ret. lap 5
DNF 7 WES Lourdina Westgrens ▍Bitten Heroes Academy Ret. lap 3

Pos # DRV Name				 Team                          Tyres           Pts
 1  3 STO Olivia Stone                   Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing     In Motion       70
 2 77 GTA Abdoulaye Goita                SVJ Racing                    Solymok         60
 3 19 FAL Dom Falepeau                   Badai Angin-IGR               Solymok         58
 4 50 LNA Sara Luna                      Adelphia-VMR                  Phoenician      51
 5 75 ARJ Roman Arjenko                  SVJ Racing                    Solymok         42
 6 72 MAT Barnabas Mate                  Kaylan Racing Team            Solymok         36
 7 76 AKS Adriana Kowalski               US Navy                       Tropicorp       35
 7 97 BAK Edward Baker                   SinVal Racing                 Tropicorp       35
 9 37 PEG Jama'obo Pegasii               US Navy                       Tropicorp       33
10 18 FAN Isaia Fanene                   Kaylan Racing Team            Solymok         32
11 85 AUR Baxen Aurora                   Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing     In Motion       30
12 44 GOZ Rod Gozum                      Badai Angin-IGR               Solymok         28
13 17 LAU Janne Laukkanen                Nexus Racing                  In Motion       21
14 21 MTV Taras Matviyenko               UrGa Motorsports Division     Tropicorp       19
15  7 WES Lourdina Westgrens             Bitten Heroes Academy         Stellenbosch    18
16  8 ARC William Archer                 Bitten Heroes Academy         Stellenbosch    14
16 11 CRT Lane Carter                    UrGa Motorsports Division     Tropicorp       14
16 23 C23 Cocoabo #23                    VTM Tropicorp Engineering     Tropicorp       14
16 81 STE Drake Stevenson                Nexus Racing                  In Motion       14
20 73 LGM Lorcan Greanaya-Matthewson     Polestar Racing               Cypress G2      11
21 69 FIR Carmichael Fire                Adelphia-VMR                  Phoenician      5
22 40 JHC Jolyn Caulfield                VTM Tropicorp Engineering     Tropicorp       3
23 49 NER Mika Neretti                   Polestar Racing               Cypress G2      1
24 33 LYN Laurencia Lynds                SinVal Racing                 Tropicorp       0

Pos NAT Team				Tyres          Pts
  1 SVJ ▍SVJ Racing			Solymok        102
  2 AUR ▍Schkeska-VSK Viska Racing	In Motion      100
  3 FID ▍Badai Angin-IGR  		Solymok        86
  4 TGN ▍Kaylan Racing Team		Solymok        68
  4 SHW ▍US Navy  			Tropicorp      68
  6 STW ▍Adelphia-VMR			Phoenician     56
  7 NIM ▍Nexus Racing			In Motion      35
  7 EFL ▍SinVal Racing			Tropicorp      35
  9 PDN ▍UrGa Motorsports Division	Tropicorp      33
 10 LIS ▍Bitten Heroes Academy		Stellenbosch   32
 11 V&T ▍VTM Tropicorp Engineering	Tropicorp      17
 12 NEK ▍Polestar Racing  		Cypress G2     12

by **Togonistan** » Sun Apr 12, 2020 9:22 pm

Pryfors Bilar Raceway, Diarcesia

''Go, go, go! Fresh set of softs, you're racing on the exit!'' Dom's race engineer shouted enthusiastically in the radio. Starting from P19, Dom had been pushing since the start of the race. So far, the strategy had been bringing success. With the first 10 laps, he had broken into top 10, and stood there. This was his last pit stop. 13 laps to go, these tyres had to bring him to the finish. He managed to just slip in front of Goita, and was chasing after Stevenson. Next lap, going to Grovedoor Straight, Dom turned on his DRS, drove himself into Stevenson's slipstream and, eventually, made a move to pass him.

''Great overtake Dom! Fantastic!''

Dom did not say anything to his engineer's comment, as he was already busy chasing after Arjenko. Dom decided to play it smart, keeping Arjenko in reach and waiting for an opportunity to strike. Laps went by, with Dom catching up on Arjenko by few tenths per lap. One moment, he saw yellow flags with an Adelphia car on the side of the road.

''Okay... Luna is out of the race. Luna is out of the race.''

''Is there going to be a safety car?''

''No Dom, doesn't seem like it. Carry on.''

With Luna out of the game, Dom was now in P3. Five laps to go, he was chasing after Arjenko. Drawing closer, he eventually saw Arjenko leaving little room for him in turn 8, which Dom decided to use. He drove next to the Savojar and smoothly drove out of the turn in front of him. Dom floored his pedal and started pulling off. Only 4 laps to go now, he was P2.

''Nice job, that brought you to P2! Stone in front. Gap is 1 second, your pace is better than hers, but there's only 4 laps left...''

''Mmm... copy!''

Dom's head was doing some quick calculations. He could try to keep Arjenko behind him and defend his P2. Or, he could keep pushing, and try to catch Stone. He was on a fresher set of tyres than her, after all. Dom took a deep breath and floored his pedal again.

''I need full power! I'm going after Stone!''

''We are full power already! Are you sure though? There's not much time left and the engine looks a bit worn...''

''Sure as schnitzel!''

Dom made the car give everything it had left to offer. The engine whined as it hit the limiter, but Dom kept steadily gaining on Olivia. On the penultimate lap, moving into turn 11, Dom saw a little gap and decided to risk it. He attacked the inside of the corner, moved himself next to Viska car, when suddenly... WHAM! Their front wheels touched on the exit, Dom saw from the corner of his eye how the Viska car's front wheel came off, causing Olivia to lose any control over her car. There were also sparks coming from the front of his own car. It was his front wing that had almost detached and was scraping the floor.

''Oh my god... I certainly didn't mean to do that...''

''Dom, it is not your fault. She should have left you some space, you had nowhere to go.''

''I hope she's okay... my wing is broken as well though...''

''Can you make it to the end? Only one lap to go.''

''I'll try... how far is Arjenko?''

''2 seconds behind you, just one more lap to go. Hang on, you can make it!''

Moving into the final lap, Dom could see Arjenko in his mirrors gaining up on him. He did the best he could to steer the car through the corners. Moving to the final straight, Dom was praying as he saw the SVJ car coming closer and closer. Eventually, he managed to cross the finish line just a few tenths ahead of Arjenko.

''Yes Dom! You did it! P1 mate, that's a race win!''

''Whew... that was tight. I... I can't believe it...''

''Haha... are you crying mate?''

''It's just... it feels amazing. We did it! Thank you all for the support during the race...''

''Incredible driving there. See you in the pits. Well done!''

(O.O) · by **TJUN-ia** » Mon Apr 13, 2020 8:18 am

This weekend was a write off the moment qualifying began for Lane Carter. Being a lap down in 14th showed that.

Dom Falepeau was the surprise winner Diarcesia, taking advantage of the late retirements of both home driver Luna and Championship leader Stone.

Up next was a track Lane was personally looking forward to: Circuit d'Arès. The Grand Prix d'Île Saint-Joseph. The race that crosses an international border as they can't fit a pitlane onto Ile Saint-Joseph itself. It may be technical, but Lane thrives on technical.

The last time Lane raced on a street circuit was Round 2 in Filindostan, where he got pole but got involved in an incident with Taras late on. He hated himself after that race ended. But Saint-Joseph, Round 8, presents an opportunity for the "Forgotten Galarian" to kill the demons of Round 2...

by **Auruna** » Mon Apr 13, 2020 11:27 am

Pryfors Bilar Raceway, Diarcesia
Practice

The team manager, Jöna, is still recovering from an illness so for another weekend, Artur is in charge of the team. Practice went alright for the team, they managed to fix the flaws from the rushed upgrade. Focused on gathering data, the team is confident... for now.

The team seemed to be unlucky this second half of the season, probably due to the absence of Jöna but this will never faze them. They have the race on their mind and the data they have gathered from practice will help them.

Qualifying

This weekend's qualifying went well for the team. Olivia managed to get inside the top 10 at Q1, then qualify P1 at Q2. Meanwhile, Baxen only qualified P23, this will be a difficult start for him but this might help him out at the first lap.

Time to focus on the race.

Race

The race starts, the usual turn 1 incident occurs. A huge mix up of the order, the drivers are battling for a higher position. As they come in for the second lap of the race, an incident caused the safety car to be deployed. It's not the right time for a pit as it's too early. The drivers queue up behind the safety car, warming their tires for the restart then green flags were waved. Time for a repeat of Lap 1.

The engineers noticed something with the engines of both cars. The upgraded engine proved to be unreliable which was unusual to a Schkeska engine. They inform their drivers about the problem, "Try not to push it too hard, we noticed something wrong with the engines."

Even with this, they still went on with the race. They need to finish this race in the points in order to keep their lead in the championship. And that proved to be difficult.

Scheduled pit at Lap 18, Artur's usual two-stop strat. The pit stop went well, the two drivers managed to keep their places. Disaster struck two laps later when the engine on Baxen's car gave out with a huge smoke cloud.

In panic, race engineer Alexi comes on the radio, "Ah.. sorry mate. It was the engine, it's our fault. Pull over to a safe spot please."

Retired at Lap 20, an unfortunate one for Viska. This might happen to Olivia as the two cars have the same engine but for how long will the engine on her car can last, it might happen soon.

For a few laps, Olivia is stuck in the midfield with not much progress made. Gaining and losing positions, just like the usual racing. It's time to pounce, overtaking the others with skill and some with absolute madness at Turn 2, going flat out with the help of the Viska aero. And soon, we see her at P2. Going back and forth with the others in the Top 3, there's a chance for the win until lap 42. The engine of Olivia's Viska gave up after running 42 laps and retired with a cloud of smoke. This is what the team feared, this is a race to forget.

"Engine failure, pull over to side. Sorry Olivia."

Time to forget this race and move one. The next race should go better for the team and Jöna will be present, fully recovered. They can still catch up, even with the unfortunate events that happened here. They can fight back.

by **Hapilopper** » Mon Apr 13, 2020 5:15 pm

Pryfors Bilar Raceway, Diarcesia
Pryfurium Circuit Masters GP Two
Drake Stevenson was once again enjoying himself out there in the interesting Chase Cutter at the Pryfors Bilar Raceway, but on the second lap of the race, it appeared Drake’s life flashed before his eyes. Or, at least, something flashed before his eyes.

Running down the circuit, Drake witnessed a lynx running onto the track. His eyes got really, really wide and put both feet on the brakes as hard as he could. He barely had time to shout “OH SHIT!” before a massive flash of blue light flashed around him. The car was stopped and the lynx was right in front of him, staring Drake down with an interesting look on its face. Having gotten the scare of his life, Drake waited for the animal to scamper off the circuit to get going again.

“Holy shit, that was frightening,” Drake said over his radio. “We’re OK.”

Throughout the rest of the race, though, Drake shrugged off the lynx incident and drove a fantastic race, running as high as 2nd at one point during the race, before ending up sixth on the day, less than a second behind championship contender Abdoulaye Goita. But trying to outrun Goita wasn’t in his mind as he climbed out of the Chase Cutter at the end of the race – what the hell was that blue light that flashed around him?

Drake walked over to Doug Goodman, the grand prix reporter for the Hapilopper Television Network, who was discussing matters with longtime Stevenson associate John Malloy. The two were talking about the time a HASCAR driver, Ed Shorebrook, hit a deer during practice for a race in Garvinson back in the 80s.

“He came back and I swear the front of that car was all torn up,” Malloy said. “Scared the hell out of all of us.”

Interjecting, Drake asked both men if they had seen the blue light.

“I think I did, but I can’t explain what that was all about,” Malloy said. “Go ask what’s her name, is it Gertrude?”

“I think so,” Doug replied. “She’d know more about whatever that was than we would. Probably some kind of Imagination-related power.”

As Drake walked over to ask Gertrude Thompson with Nexus Racing about whatever the hell that blue light was, Malloy and Doug continued to discuss whatever had happened.

Hapilopper Airlines Flight 79, somewhere between Diarcesia and Hapilopper
A few hours after the race
Having been educated about that blue light, Drake and his crew flew home. There were just a handful of races left to go until Drake’s time as a grand prix driver would end. His fortune had changed lately, but the fact was, Drake was looking forward to it ending. Even still, John Malloy, sitting next to his friend, questioned if Drake was making the right choice.

“I mean, you could still turn this ship around and become a World Grand Prix champ, you know?” Malloy said.

“Or I could kick everyone’s ass in the NSSCRA,” Drake replied. “Did you see me go out there in Xanneria with no practice and put that car 8th on the grid?”

“Well, yeah, but…”

“I can do that in a Team Blue car. I bet I could win a few races next year. What are you planning to do next year, Malloy?”

“Go back to my ranch and play around with my trucks,” John said.

“Well, you know, I could stand to having you as my crew chief again next season,” Drake said. “We did a hell of a lot together. Let’s go for it.”

From 2009 to 2018, the Stevenson/Malloy/Team Blue combination won 55 HASCAR races and four Challenge Cup titles. In Hapilopper, it had been known as “The Decade of Drake,” and the combination was the one to beat week in and week out on the race tracks across Hapilopper. If they got back together, it would certainly mean terrifying news for the rest of the field in stock car racing.
Malloy agreed. He gave Drake a massive sly grin and nodded his head.

“Let’s do it.”

by **Ile Saint-Joseph** » Tue Apr 14, 2020 8:55 am

Bienvenue à Île Saint-Joseph

This week, for the first time, the World Grand Prix comes to Île Saint-Joseph, but it is not the island nation's first encounter with motorsport. The Grand Prix d'Île Saint-Joseph has a long history, albeit largely unknown outside the local sphere. Throughout the entirety of that history, it has been tightly linked to the Circuit d'Arès, although the latter has seen some changes, particularly recently.

However, before we talk about the circuit, perhaps the nation of Île Saint-Joseph needs an introduction of its own, and yes, if you're looking at a map, that is the whole country. Just off the coast of Normandy, the microstate is entirely located on its eponymous island, which is less than 360 square meters. The island, 750 meters off the coast of the mainland, is connected by a causeway that disappears at high tide, meaning the town is only accessible by land only for about ten hours every day. Since the middle ages, Île Saint-Joseph has been self-governing; originally the land was ceded by the King of France to an order of monks, who then held jurisdiction over the island themselves, but when the abbey began to struggle to make ends meet, it sold off parcels of the island until it retained only a small portion and a town had sprung up around it. This unique history meant no obligation to any external powers, and a very unique system of government within Île Saint-Joseph itself.

Most of the inhabitants of the island were fishermen, and their descendants would continue to ply that same trade for most of the new nation's history, but some established themselves as sailing merchants who would voyage abroad and return with supplies necessary for the town's growth. And grow it did, as the goods the merchants brought back contributed to its prosperity and the alms from the many pilgrims who journeyed to the abbey filled its coffers. But in the nineteenth century for the first time, the island began to turn to tourism as a key part of its economy. It was by building on this history that Pierre Garibouds, most likely Île Saint-Joseph's most famous businessman, was able to make his fortune by expanding one of the old casinos.

It was in the same spirit that the Circuit d'Arès was created in the early 1920's by a couple members of the town's échevins, or bourgeois ruling class, who had nothing better to do with their time or money. The race as it was conceived was entirely took place entirely on the island and did not traverse the causeway across the border into France. This meant it was quite short, and that to make an actual circuit through the streets of the town, it was necessary to pave over one of the old medieval streets which had always been flagged with shallow stone steps, a process that would give part of the circuit—marches—its name.

The race's potential was soon realized and it was rebranded as a Grand Prix as the organizing committee began to invite drivers of a higher and higher caliber. At the same time, the circuit was expanded via an agreement with the island's one neighbor, France, that allowed the race to cross the causeway onto the mainland, adding some more distance to make the race more respectable. This development led to the three unique qualities of the Grand Prix d'Île Saint-Joseph: it was international, crossing the border between France and Île Saint-Joseph over the course of one lap; it was a hybrid street circuit/race circuit combination, with the older, permanent half of the circuit located within the town of Île Saint-Joseph, while expressly built facilities were temporarily erected on the French side for the duration of the Grand Prix week each year; and the circuit was, for lack of a better term, amphibious—the causeway still disappeared underwater twice a day for six hours at a time. The same expansion onto the mainland gave the circuit the arrow shape from which it derived its name; looking at a map with North pointing to the bottom, the outline of the track vaguely resembles the elemental symbol of the planet Mars.

The Grands Prix here through the years, then, have had a certain inimitable quality and a strong local flavor. Fishermen still come out in their boats to watch the cars race past on the causeway (although they are increasingly joined by pleasure yachts) and the entire island settles down for a week to enjoy the festivities. It can't do much else after all; the causeway and most of the roads are closed. The circuit's unique appeal has done a wonderful job of attracting fans and racers to compete in the Grand Prix, but the race's organizing committee has recently decided that the Grand Prix's sights are set higher than just local competition. Therefore preparations were begun a few years ago to bring the Circuit d'Arès to a level that would be acceptable for WGP2 competition, with the ultimate goal being the WGPC.

The most obvious, most visible change, has been the inclusion of the new waterproof cover on the tidal causeway. The causeway may look like the most dangerous part of the race; after all, it is the fastest section and the cars are flying along right next to a drop right into the ocean. But there are no turns on the causeway: it is merely a flat-out straight. A few decades ago the race organizing committee finally put up barriers along the edges of the causeway, in addition to the one that had always been there down the middle, to prevent cars from plummeting into the sea, although this had only happened once in the race's history. Now, just two years ago, the race organizing committee put in place a retractable cover over the causeway to keep it dry while underwater and save the circuit maintenance crews some work. Historically this had never been a problem, but as the circuit chased down WGP licensing, it was determined necessary to anticipate any objection that might be raised. Last year the first test of the new mechanism proved a success, and this year the circuit finally became part of the World Grand Prix at the Tier 2 level.

Lap Summary

The starting grid lines up in the middle of the causeway. The start/finish line is in fact an international border; it being impossible to fit a Grand Prix track on the island, the track extends across the causeway into France, where the pit lane and grandstands are. With more space on the mainland, that part of the track was designed to be a racing circuit and doesn’t have the restrictions of the street circuit on the other side. More of the facilities on the French side, then, can be left permanently in place, although the road from the island does need to make its way through that general area.

A lap around the track finds the cars starting in the middle of the water, where as mentioned, many spectators come out on boats to get a nice view of the finish line and enjoy the day on the water, assuming the weather is nice enough here in often-rainy Normandy. Many of the turns in the street circuit are blind, thanks to the buildings in the way, and the first is no exception. As the cars pass through the city gate they turn to the right at La Herse, named for the now-unused portcullis under which they have just driven. Another aspect of the Circuit d’Arès is its elevation changes, and that is first encountered here, as the track begins to climb as it winds its way up Île Saint-Joseph’s main road toward the center of town. This gently curving section is taken at full speed but has no constant radius—the whole thing is usually referred to as the Change-Monnaie turn although it’s more accurately three slight corners and two small straights.

Next, the circuit bends away in the other direction, and from a driver’s point of view, disappears over a crest. Drivers can, however, see corners coming up thanks to the position of the adjacent buildings. The track winds its way down a sharply descending, hairpin-studded section to a straight along the harbor mouth. Having reached the quays, the circuit then climbs once more, arriving at its highest point—also the island’s—in the square in front of St. Joseph’s Basilica. The circuit has entered its second sector at this point, just in front of the town hall, and the second sector is dominated by fast straightaways with sharp corners, unlike the twisty first sector.

The first of these straights to begin to descend again runs from Tanneur to Falaise corners, and is just barely sloped downward as it runs past the abbey. Falaise is the most dangerous corner in the race; right at the top of a cliff, there is no space for a runoff zone, only a wall—and on the other side, a sheer drop down to the rocks and waves below. The track turns along the top of the cliff to the left, where it sweeps downward back toward the city gate. Then another sharp corner, Marches, the steepest part of the track. Turn 22, which is only the slightest of kinks, is taken at full speed, and the drivers find themselves on the causeway again, the fastest section of the track.

Having crossed the border into France by the time they reach Frontière, the cars arrive on the purpose-built section of the track in sector three. The third sector is one big bend and a few sharp turns after some more long full-speed straights, and is lined with grandstands. The pit lane is here, the only place there was space for it. Access roads connect the back of the paddocks with a gate in the track at the beginning of the causeway so teams can access the starting grid. The gate opens onto the track at Dernier, the last turn of the circuit before the cars pull away again onto the causeway and on to their next lap.

Grand Prix Week Scheduling

The Grand Prix d'Île Saint-Joseph always has an incredibly tight schedule, due to the race organizing committee's obligation to work around tide patterns, and this year is no exception. There is no time to hold any events on the full circuit as whenever the entire circuit is available, it is in use by the Grand Prix, with a few exceptions to allow spectators and staff to cross over to the island. Here are some important times to know. A full schedule can be found at www.grandprix.sj/schedule

All times in local time (UTC +2)

Friday April, 17:
Causeway open for overland island access: 23:30 (Thursday, April 16)—4:25 (Friday, April 17)
Low tide: 2:06 h
Practice: 14:00—15:15
Low tide: 14:48 h
Saturday, April 18:
Causeway open for overland island access: 1:00—5:25
Low tide: 3:26 h
Qualifying: 15:15—16:30
Low tide: 15:55 h
Causeway open for overland island access: 16:45—18:00
Sunday, April 19:
Causeway open for overland island access: 2:00—6:55
Low tide: 4:22 h
Race Start: 14:30
Low tide: 16:43 h
Podium ceremony at the mairie after race.
Causeway open after race

by **Diarcesia** » Wed Apr 15, 2020 3:33 pm

Phoenician Tires
An anonymous donor has come forward to contribute to the construction of the new generation of tires. The model, named Wanda after Ǧnziza of Kos's (the founder of Phoenician) daughter, would see service on both urban and rural racing surfaces.

For its unveiling, the Wanda would be presented, after being covered with indigo cloth, with a rim made of polished silver and wood. It would be capped by a crescent moonstone.

Sara Luna
Pre-race
“I don't know,” one of the Adelphia-VMR engineers said, “Have they got all the instruments calibrated yet?”

“They have,” I said, then I asked, “What do you measure on the tires' lifetime in this race?”

“They measure at about 20 laps.”

“Ah,” I said, “But they might live shorter, if we keep the same strategy as last time.”

“I’ve seen what similar racing surfaces can do to these tires.”

“What?”

The engineer continued, “Their grip performance is sensitive to small fluctuations in temperature.”

“But we’d be stupid not to take this consideration.”

“If we can’t get these soft tires to be properly warmed up, we’ll be nothing.”

I said, “Tread carefully... this is it?”

The engineer shook his head. His expression changed. Then it became one of determination, as he stiffened.

“This is it?” I repeated.

His expression changed again. “This is it, my friend. I must now go, lest I forget what I'm supposed to do.”

I said, “Take this time to plan to get our cars ready.”

He nodded. “Never fear. I will do my part.”

Post-race

"I knew it, I was going too fast! Too late to go back to the racing line!" Sara commented as she watched herself in the post-race film navigating the second half of that fateful lap.

She was too close to the wall to her right when she exited The River. Mistake number one. She yanked the steering wheel too much to the left.

"Ugh..."

And then too much to the right. The car is now sideways relative to the track.

"R-really!?"

She rewound the video to replay this botched exit in slow-motion. Only then she realized on what corner all of this occurred.

"Cansay Drift?!"

The car continued to slide, and then spin, and then...

*crash*

It impacted hard on the side with the wall. Sara was fine, but she lost steering control, and thus was in no position to continue the race.

Sara Luna

Retired

[401 words]

by **Recuecn** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 3:07 pm

Abdoulaye was very excited about the race at Ile Saint-Joseph, for a couple reasons. For one, he just thought the island was super cool; it had always been a place he'd wanted to visit. But the main thing was that it was that his family could attend because the race was so much closer to home than all the other ones. Travelling through the multiverse was exciting, but eventually it was nice to go somewhere on the same continent, let alone in the same universe. He didn't even have to go through customs: he just got in his brother's car with his dad, aunt, and uncle, and set off on a road trip.

Abdoulaye had gotten permission from SVJ, given the circumstances, to head out right after the race in Diarcesia to meet up with his family back home. Then, together, they drove to Ile Saint-Joseph on Tuesday so that they'd have plenty of time to sight-see before the race. They got to their hotel on the mainland late Tuesday evening and went straight to sleep, before crossing over the next day tour the island. They got to see the tidal causeway (which in the end, was just a road across the water, not too exciting), take photos of the quaint houses, visit the market, stroll along the docks, and step into the basilica. To avoid having to worry about timing with the tides or hiring a boat, they'd shifted to an AirBnB on the island itself that night.

Now it was Thursday, and Abdoulaye was regretting coming so early. The island was tiny, and there wasn't as much to do as he'd expected. There wasn't much to see that they hadn't yesterday. After lunch at the cafe in the square in front of the Basilica, Abdoulaye's dad, aunt, and uncle all went to take a siesta, while his brother Malick took the chance to facetime his wife. This left Abdoulaye to his own devices, and he headed back out into the streets of Ile Saint-Joseph, looking for a way to amuse himself.

He found himself once more in the basilica, staring upward at the vaulted ceiling and the stained glass rose windows. He’d seen plenty of other tourists around the island during his visit—after all, the grand prix events started the next day—but somehow at this moment there happened to only be one other person in the church: a silver-haired man, a bit past middle age, who’d been puttering about in the wings. His keys had jingled as he opened some doors, locked others, moved around some cleaning supplies, and emptied one of the donation boxes, but now he took a moment to sit in one of the pews and catch his breath, and the church fell silent. The man stared at Abdoulaye, who stared back, not wanting to interrupt him if he was saying a prayer, and unsure if it was appropriate to accost a stranger here. But the man didn’t let him wonder.

“Are you with the WGP?” he asked in English, his French accent clear.

Abdoulaye walked over to the man, his footsteps echoing in the cavernous space. “I am,” he replied. It hadn’t occurred to Abdoulaye that he had the perfect excuse for his sightseeing: he was here on work. “Do you work here for the parish?” he asked, switching to French.

Abdoulaye thought he caught the man’s eyes light up as he realized that Abdoulaye wasn’t a tourist, and even better, that they shared a native tongue. “I do,” the man said, standing up as Abdoulaye approached. “We always have the grand prix here every year, but this is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to meet a WGP driver.”

“The pleasure’s all mine,” said Abdoulaye.

The caretaker was clearly enjoying the moment too, however, for he offered to take Abdoulaye up the tower to see the view. Abdoulaye wasn’t about to turn that down, so he followed him as he unlocked a door in the back corner of the church, revealing a spiral stone staircase. They wound their way up until they passed through a small doorway into a long passageway through the rafters, which they followed until they were over the transept, where another, wooden spiral staircase climbed even further. A final door opened and Abdoulaye caught his breath as he stepped through it to find himself at a dizzying height above the island. They were inside the basilica’s spire, which about halfway up had a sort of balcony built into it, offering a magnificent view of the sea to the north, the island below, the causeway to the south, and beyond that the rest of the race track on the mainland, ready for tomorrow. It was a perfectly calm day, but at this height there was a decent breeze, making Abdoulaye a bit chilly all of a sudden.

Abdoulaye wasn’t scared of heights, but the sudden transition from being indoors to being at the top of the world had set his heart racing. He leaned on the railing, looking down, and felt the energy flow through him.

The caretaker sensed what he was experiencing. “Ah, I know that feeling. That’s the best sensation I know. I don’t really have anything to do up here but I come up here every time I get the chance to just lean out, feel the air and feel alive.”

Abdoulaye looked at the people—mere specks—walking the plaza below, and felt the adrenaline in his veins.

“It’s so… peaceful,” said the caretaker.

It wasn’t how Abdoulaye would’ve described it, but the man wasn’t totally wrong. The energy flowing through him was soothing. You are alive, but you are small and life is big, it seemed to say to him. Yet everything is under control. It was strange that one could feel so close to Ala at the top of a Christian basilica, thought Abdoulaye. And he was struck by a second thought: this is the same feeling I get when I race.

WGP2 Season III [Roleplay Thread]

Lane Carter: The Forgotten Galarian... (pt14-2)

WGP2 Pickem - Round 6

Lane Carter: The Forgotten Galarian... (pt15-1)

Post 8 - Week 6, 7, 8.

Lane Carter: The Forgotten Galarian... (pt15-2)

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