What am I doing here? Abdoulaye asked himself, as he sat alone in his trailer. It's one thing risking my life every time I go out on the track, just considering the speeds and forces at play. But it's a whole different ball game when there's people out there actively trying to wreck you!
Abdoulaye could feel an anxiety attack setting on. Yet he didn't feel that he was exaggerating the situation at all. For someone used to a very different culture and set of rules concerning contact during a race, rewatching and rewatching the replays of Archer turning into Aye, who then bumped into Linde, sending him rolling multiple times, was totally appalling. He grabbed his phone and started drafting a twiit.
To hit like that is inacceptable and this is not racing! If you want to risk your life and kill the others go volunteer for the hunger games.
GFR Motorsport had wisely assigned Abdoulaye a PR manager—in fact, it was Connor. Since Connor had the login to Abdoulaye's official twii.tur account, Abdoulaye sent him his twiit in a text. Can you post this for me please?
Putting Connor in charge of Abdoulaye's twii.tur was mostly to help Abdoulaye with tweeting in English, since otherwise a lot of Gallicisms would slip through, and with NSSCRA's largely anglophone fan-base, that wouldn't have been ideal. But the extra pair of eyes proved particularly fortunate in this case since the content of Abdoulaye's twiit was obviously 'inacceptable'.
I can tell you're pretty upset, Connor texted back. Talk in 15 minutes
Abdoulaye sighed and dropping his phone on the couch got up and paced back and forth. People's lives are in danger and you're surprised I'm upset!? Of course I'm upset! This was an intentional assault! Abdoulaye couldn't help but imagine himself in Linde's car as it flipped, rolling over and over and over...
Connor's advice was good. As Abdoulaye paced, he wore off some of his nervous energy and began to calm down a bit, to catch his breath. It's okay, he realized. Everyone's okay and it's just one asshole. NSSCRA will do something about it and it won't happen again. He began to reformulate his twiit in his mind, now in a way Connor would hopefully approve... Of course, he wouldn't mention GFR Motorsports. He didn't want to pretend to speak for anyone else.
ABDOULAYE GOITA ✓
ABDOULAYE GOITA ✓
@GTAVII
Knowingly putting other drivers in harm's way in unsporting and reprehensible. Sporting rivalries are well and good, but no rivalry is worth a human life.
OLGA SEMYONOVNA GATUTINA ✓
@GTAVII
#NSSCRA needs to take official action to make sure that nothing like this happens again. Actions must have consequences.
ABDOULAYE GOITA ✓
@Olga_Gatutina_UrGa
@ItsGilArcher69 has been suspended by UrGa for the Bolgano race.
Ganglie Zhe will drive the #96 for the Bolgano race.
Full statement: urga.pdn/archer-suspended
#NSSCRA : #UrGa : #BolganoRace : #GuillermoArcher
@GTAVII
-@Olga_Gatutina_UrGa I can't tell you how glad I am to see this response. Entirely appropriate. Now let's get back to racing!